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The Rescue Service | 11. Hugs and Rainbows and Friendship | At first sight, Rosemore Point looks like so many other plazas in Canterlot: a semicircular expanse of white marble with a fountain in the center. There's always a fountain - legend has it that the cousin of one of the first Royal Architects ran a fountain construction business. Supposedly, if you know where to look, you can still find builder's plaques reading 'Cargo Pants & Co.' in old-fashioned lettering on some of them.
At Rosemore Point, however, the fountain is the least important part of the plaza. The real draw is out on the perimeter of the circle, namely a low balustrade and behind the balustrade a sheer thousand-foot drop down to the valley beneath Canterlot. It's one of the only places, apart from the closed castle gardens, where ordinary ponies can go and see that.
For a pegasus, of course, that is not very exciting. But unicorn and earth pony tourists flock to Rosemore, thrilled with confronting their fear of heights. The back side of the plaza is lined with souvenir booths and food stalls, and the entire thing is a fixed stop on all the tourist trails, except for those visitors who can't abide the thought. Some get panic attacks even from entering the plaza, knowing what lies a hundred steps in front of them.
I wish I could say that isn't my real reason for asking Vinyl to meet me here. But in truth I have no idea why this was the first place that came to mind when Hissy Fit suggested we ought to meet in a neutral public space rather than her office. Who can ever be sure of their subconscious motives? I only hope she won't be too affected.
The plaza is fairly quiet late in the morning; the guidebooks all warn that the light won't be properly dramatic before around one o'clock. There are a few dozen visitors hanging around the perimeter, but nothing like the circus it's going to be later in the day. I stay by the fountain, staring at the falling water and trying to collect my thoughts one last time before Vinyl arrives.
There's a commotion over by one of the entrances to the plaza.
"That's none of your damn business!" shouts Vinyl's voice.
Turning around, I see that she's arguing with one of the Ponies For Life volunteers on duty. I trot over towards them.
"All I'm saying is that the pegasus guards catch nineteen out of twenty ponies that jump," the white-blanketed volunteer says. "You'll only get a giant fine and be sent to talk to the same counsellor pool that we can get you into for free, no names taken. It's not worth it."
"It's alright; she's with me," I tell him, briefly fluffing up my wings.
He raises an eyebrow. "Of course, sir."
I walk Vinyl away from him, wondering at the strange authority it seems to give me here simply to be unable to jump to my death. Or perhaps I'm reading it all wrong and only making a fool of myself.
Vinyl is still grumbling to herself. "Just what do they think I am?"
"Depressed," I explain. "They're famously good at spotting genuinely unhappy ponies and not bothering the ordinary tourists. Used to be a game, back when I was an undergrad: you put on your best mope and try to look like a jumper, and if you get them to talk to you without approaching them yourself, your friends buy your drinks for the rest of the day."
She looks at me dubiously. "What if you actually are depressed?"
I shrug. "Then I think the idea is that you deserve the drinks anyway."
"Still sounds horrible. Not something to joke about."
"It also means that those students who do need help know where they can find it."
"Hrmf. Did you ever win one of them?"
I wave one of my wings. "I'm not really eligible. Anyway, as far as I'm concerned, being stopped by the Piffles means you're probably actually sorry and not just faking it."
Way to end the small talk and introduce the elephant in the room, Finey. Vinyl stops dead in the middle of the plaza, hanging her head. I notice she's not wearing her sunshades. "So what is it?" she almost whispers.
I'm supposed to deliver a verdict; that's why she's here. But I still have a dodge left. "I need to ask you something first. Why did you do all that to me? What were you thinking?"
"I think . . . You know I'm usually the sub, right? What that means?"
I nod.
She stares at the fountain while she continues. "But Octavia, and also some other doms, they were having so much fun topping that I thought I oughta try that too. And then I thought you had already agreed with Octavia to let me try it out. So I tried some things, but they were not very fun, but I thought perhaps I just need to be a bit rougher before it starts being fun. But no matter how hard I tried, it just made me sicker, even though I had to pretend to like it, because, you know, I didn't want to disappoint Octavia. But she never said, stop, that's too much, back down, no matter what I did. At last I just gave up."
"You mean it was all an act?" I remember how she grinned and giggled while sticking things into my body, pulling my feathers, slapping, biting . . .
She cringes. "No, that's - or yes. Perhaps. Perhaps I also wanted to convince myself I was having fun." She turns around, looking at the ground in front of me. "I don't know if you can ever forgive me . . ."
"I don't think I can." There, may Celestia strike me dead, I said it.
Her ears fall down. "I understand." She turns around and walks slowly away, towards the edge of the plaza.
I hurry after her. "I'm not gonna press charges, though."
"Why not?" She keeps walking.
"I did some research on what would happen. Everypony says being the accuser in one of those cases is really stressful." When I talked it over with Cinna, she told me stories she knows from some kind of organization for sex workers she's in - apparently the legal system is not too friendly towards them. There's a good chance I'd get that too, she said, due to what the Service does. "And it wouldn't really make me whole anyway, would it?"
"No," Vinyl replies. "I guess it wouldn't."
She walks up to the balustrade and stands for some time staring at the mountains on the other side of the valley.
"You know, I tried to turn myself in," she says darkly. "Walked right up to the guard barracks and told everything. Day before yesterday."
"Shit, Vinyl, you can't do that! Do you know they exile rapists?" That's another thing I found out while researching what would happen if I pressed charges. Also part of why I'm not going to - even if I won, I would have that on my conscience. She shouldn't have done all that to me, but to ruin her life forever for it? It's not proportionate. I'll get better.
"Ha," she says. "In my case they laugh at rapists. Said unless I show them either a dead body or a live victim to complain, they couldn't do anything." She spits into the abyss. "I'm supposed to congratulate you."
"Thanks," I say, automatically. "No, wait - why would you even try such a thing?"
She shrugs. "Save you the trouble."
My head is spinning. Did she really do that? Why? Yes, she's sorry, she says, but there's feeling bad about something and then there's this. On the other wing, if she's making it up, why?
She's breathing heavier than before, isn't she?
"Um, you're not gonna jump, right? I kinda promised -"
Suddenly her face crumbles in on itself, and she's bawling her eyes out soundlessly. "What kind of w-world is it if I can get away with that?" she sobs. "How can the princesses let that happen?"
What do you do when somepony who was a bastard towards you, someone who hurt you and used you for her own amusement, stands crying in front of you and there's nopony else? I think I ought to be happy she's hurting - it's what she deserves, isn't it? But somehow I can't. It's just sad.
I reach out a wing and wrap it around her, to coax her away from the edge. "Perhaps they don't know." It's trite, but you can't hold the princesses responsible for everything bad that happens. They're ponies too, after all. "Come on, we have to get you away from here. Where do you live?"
"P-ponyville?"
"Oh." That's a bit far to walk her. What else is there - my place? I don't really want her there.
"But I'm staying at t-the Prancing Pony . . ."
I know where that is. "Okay. Come on, this way."
She lets me lead her away, past the volunteers, into the city. She calms down a bit while we walk.
"Would you feel better if I lie and say I forgive you?"
She shakes her head. "Not when you tell me it's a lie."
"Sorry." It's dawning on me that I have a kind of power over her, being the victim she wants to make it all right with. If only I knew how to use it. Or what to use it for.
"Forgiveness is overrated anyway," she continues. "Too easy. Why would you forgive me?"
I shrug. "Because it's the right thing to do?"
"Says who?" With my wing still wrapped around her, I can feel her becoming agitated again. "It's not right that I can do what I did and not pay for it somehow."
"So we're back to getting even?"
It takes some time before she answers.
"I know I can't really ask anything of you, but . . . please, can't you try?"
The receptionist at the hotel is busy talking to a few other ponies and doesn't notice me going up the stairs with Vinyl. I doubt he would have said anything, though. They're not nosy here.
Vinyl's room is small, just a bed and a half-ajar door towards an adjoining bathroom. There's no chair, so I stand around not quite knowing what to do with myself while she roots around in a pair of saddlebags in the corner. Coming back up with two pairs of hoofcuffs, she lies down on the bed and locks her hooves together two by two.
She notices me staring at the cuffs. "Sometimes, when I'm alone, I like to put them on nice and tight," she explains. "It helps. But I have to keep these within reach." She dangles the keys in the middle of the room with her magic and suddenly tosses them around the corner into the bathroom. They land in the tub with a loud clatter. "Now I can't get at them myself - too far."
I sit down on the bed behind her. The rest is up to me, I suppose. Why did I let her talk me into this?
"So what now? Do I just punch you?"
She half-shrugs. "If you want. There are some toys in the bag too. No rope, I'm afraid, unless you go out and find some first. I'm not going anywhere."
I look at my forehooves, trying to imagine beating her bloody with them. I don't even know how beating somepony bloody works. It's something you hear said, or read about in dramatic stories, not something you do. I want to find out about that even less than I want to know about those 'toys' she spoke about.
I hold out a hoof and let it fall limply onto her body. Immediately she tenses up all over and almost stops breathing. I don't think she actually wants to be beaten up, and I'm glad she doesn't, but she wants something. What?
I lie down behind her back and reach a foreleg and a wing around her.
"What are you doing?" she stammers, surprised.
"Hugging. I think you need a hug."
She begins to shake violently, and I know she's crying again. I have no answer to that, so I keep hugging. It takes a long time until she stops.
"You're being nice," she says eventually. "You say you won't forgive me, and you don't have to, but then why are you being nice?"
That matches an answer I've already thought of. "What you did was real, and it's only luck it didn't put me in the hospital. I can't just up and pretend it didn't happen at all. Perhaps a better pony than me could do it. But that doesn't mean I have to hate you indiscriminately." I stumble over that last word, which feels clunky and insincere all of a sudden. Where was I? "I mean, you're still a pony, a pony who needs a hug. And I'm the only one around to give one."
"Mmh." I can't see her face from here, but it sounds like she's smiling. "Octavia's a pony too. Would you hug her?"
"Is she sorry too?"
"Ha! No, Octavia didn't do anything wrong. In fact it's all my fault. And you, she says, you're a lying liar and you had a great time, all the way through."
"Hmm. No, then I don't think I'd hug her."
"The worst of it all is that she's getting away with it too. I mean, both not stopping me, and whatever she did to you before."
"Yeah, that's a shame. If she doesn't even get to feel bad for it . . ." I want to say something about how Vinyl feeling bad about 'getting away with it' sounds like it ought to be punishment enough that she's not truly getting away with it after all - but I can't think of a way to phrase it that won't sound callous. Oh, if only I had a blackboard! And an audience that understood symbolic logic . . .
Suddenly I'm aware I've been quietly nuzzling at the back of Vinyl's neck while I lost myself in thought! I jerk my head away, shocked and disgusted with myself. Damn you, Finey, here's a mare in emotional distress, a mare who made herself helpless before you - those hoofcuffs are fairly tame compared to what I've seen in the Service, but all the same she won't even be able to walk in them, so if I wanted to take advantage . . . She even cuffed herself left and right rather than fore and back. I could simply roll her onto her back and push her legs apart . . .
Bad thoughts! Of course Finey Jr. takes that as a cue to wake up. I let go of Vinyl and roll over on my side to give it space to come out. It's a reflex thing; trying to smother a growing erection by lying flat on it is a mistake you only make once. I narrowly avoid hitting her with it.
Vinyl twists her neck around to see where I went. "You're flagging," she informs me, redundantly. So much for hoping she'd be together enough to ignore it.
Play it cool now. "Sorry. I don't really control it."
"I know." She lies back down, looking away from me again. "You can fuck me if you want, though. I don't mind." Did her voice tremble a bit there? Her fatalist attitude is beginning to annoy me. Her tail is twitching a little, but that could mean anything.
I manage to reach over and stroke her mane comfortingly. "You say you don't mind, but you don't really want it, do you?"
She starts shaking again. After a few seconds I realize she's laughing this time.
"Sorry," she says, rolling onto her back so she can look at me. "It's just, a stallion with his wang out, trying to be all gentle and touchy-feely . . . that's a bit comical, isn't it?"
"It is?"
"Yeah. It's like, excuse me, ma'am, just ignore the big built-in dildo with the lifelike squirt function, and let's pretend it's all about hugs and rainbows and friendship instead. Nothing personal, you know. I'm sure it works on all the straight mares."
Right. She is - or was - marefriends with Tavi. I hadn't stopped to think what that implies. She's welcome to lean that way, of course - I like mares too; who am I to judge?
"Do you want me to leave?" I ask.
"Nah, it's alright." She smiles. "Only, if you wanna take me, you have to be brutal about it. Demanding."
"Sorry," I say. "Not for me." But I guess I can stay for a bit, make sure she's alright. At least until she wants her hoofcuff keys back.
She leans back lazily. "You're not very good at getting even, you know that?"
Perhaps not. But I'm pretty sure I like it that way.
* * *
Of course it couldn't last.
Over the last week I think I've spent more nights with Pokey than at home - and then only because I had late shifts at the cafe and couldn't very well come knocking after closing time, in the darkest night. That would have felt like I was moving in, like it was a relationship, which it wasn't. I don't do relationships. He was with Cressie anyway, and they were cute together and I didn't want to break them up.
He was still a magnificent lay, though.
I didn't let him tie me up again right away. Not that it hadn't been interesting, but I don't want to become one of those ponies who can only get off that way. So we were back to the old-fashioned way - 'vanilla', they call it - and Pokey didn't push at all, but stayed just as civil and thoughtful as before, and we made excellent vanilla love, and I didn't even mind when Cressie invited herself into it halfway through. Then we did another round with her in the middle, since I thought she did deserve thanks for loaning out her stallion, and then one for Pokey, and it all felt delightfully naughty, cheating and not-cheating at the same time.
On Sunday he took me down to Underfall Park (or he took us, or they took me, or perhaps we took Cressie - anyway, we all went) where I hadn't been since forever. I don't know why; it's a beautiful place. We went to see the mistbows and had a picnic, and I caught myself thinking this must be what a family feels like if everypony isn't at each other's throats all the time.
When we came home I helped bathe Cressie. I know earth ponies need to help each other scrub (which, to be frank, makes me thankful to have a horn), but somehow I doubt it usually involves quite as much splashing and whining and desperate escape attempts. I came this close to shouting banana pie and yell at her to pony up just long enough to get it over with. But that wasn't for me to decide.
After we all got dried up, Pokey did me up with harness and stocks and gag and blindfold and a bandage pinning my ears down to my skull, and spanked me with the paddle for about an hour (or so it felt) before fucking me well and hard. Then he left me to contemplate my fate while he did something to Cressie that made her come loudly, and came back to me for more spanking with a different instrument and another fuck. I went to sleep still wearing the blindfold and harness - he loosened most of the straps first - with my ass on the fire and the rest of me glowing. Just once in a while won't do harm, right?
Today, however, Pokey appeared to be nervous and sad when I arrived in late afternoon, and he barely said a word during dinner. Afterwards he made Cressie stay in the bedroom, and he came back and sat down in the couch in the far end away from me. He sighed.
"Bellchaser," he said. "I'm not sure you ought to keep coming here."
The next thing I remember is standing in the middle of the floor and something I had shouted echoing through the room. Pokey still sat there in the couch the same as before; it couldn't have been more than a few seconds.
"You see," he was saying, "it's - I mean, you know Cressie means a lot to me, right?"
I nodded, numbly.
"She's the most important pony in the world for me, and she's always gonna be that, no matter what we play at otherwise. She's given so much - put so much trust in me . . . So I think it's not fair to you to let you keep hoping for something more."
I struggled to follow along. "Who says I'm hoping for more?"
He looked at me. "Go ahead and say you're not."
I was about to protest that I never wanted to be anything but fuckbuddies. But then I remembered that 'family' feeling. That was more, wasn't it?
"I thought so," he said. "And I'm sorry for, well, stringing you along this far. It just happened. And you're still a very - I mean . . ." He caught himself and chuckled sadly. "I guess what I'm trying to say is it's not you, it's me."
Liar. Of course it was me. He was choosing between me and Cressie, and he chose her. It's what he should choose, what I would have insisted on if he gave me a say. But it still hurt.
See, that's why I don't do relationships. Getting dumped sucks.
"Okay." I composed myself, fought to remain mature about it. "It's not fun unless it's fun for both of us." That's the first law of fuckbuddying. (Don't take it personally is the second. I'll get on with that tomorrow.)
"Yes, exactly!" Pokey suddenly brightened up. "Where did you - well, none of my business." He deflated again.
I felt like I should be screaming and shouting and throwing things. But down that path is where you become Mrs. Crust. I still haven't figured out what else there is to do, though, so I just stood there.
Eventually I had to say something. "I guess I should be going now."
He looked away and nodded.
Before I left, I found Cressie dozing in her basket in the bedroom. I reached out with a hoof and ruffled her mane like I've seen Pokey do.
"So, this is goodbye, I think."
She jerked awake and stared at me, possibly not believing she heard correctly.
"Your master doesn't want me around anymore."
Her ears folded down, and she gave a pitiful little whine and started licking the hoof I'd been petting her with.
Oh, of course she wouldn't break character for something as trivial as me being kicked out! No, wait, that wasn't fair. I knew her well enough to know she doesn't break character, period. It's probably easier that way too, not needing to think up something to say on the spot.
I wanted to say something more, but what? Take good care of him for me? No, that would be an insult; she's already doing that for herself. Was, even before I came.
Then I heard myself say, "I hope you're happy."
She shied away as if I'd hit her, and shrunk down into the basket, looking at me with big hurt eyes.
Did I really say that? "Wait, no!" I backpedaled. "That's not what - I mean, I didn't . . ." I couldn't even think of a reason I'd have said that. How does one explain oneself then?
I turned and fled, down the stairs, out, home.
I had forgotten how empty my apartment feels. Perhaps it only began doing that recently? What am I going to do with myself here?
There's a stack of papers on the writing desk, staring at me. I don't even remember what I was doing the last time I worked on them. Finding places where I can foreshadow Rose Petal's betrayal? I'll have to revise that. Betrayal is not something you see coming.
I sit at the table, trying to figure out what I did wrong. It had been so close to perfect, hadn't it?
Horseapples. Horseapples. Horseapples. |
The Rescue Service | 12. Royal Favor | The pony at the door is not happy to see me.
"You're early," he says sourly after I introduce myself and show my invitation. It's about seven minutes to the hour.
I try my best disarming smile. "Better than being late, right?"
"On time would be better yet," he grumbles. Then, with a sigh like all the trouble in the world rests on his back, he opens a side door for me. "You can wait in here," he allows.
The room behind it is a smallish, oppressive space, with windows that don't seem to let in a lot of light and a few low stools along one wall. Apparently not all parts of Canterlot Castle are equally glorious. Perhaps it's to get ponies in the right mood for a visit to the Royal Dungeons.
I sit down in the dimness and wait.
There was a fancy certificate waiting for me in the mail when I came home from my meeting with Vinyl. It stated that, whereas Mr. Affine Scheme of Canterlot City - that's me - was owed 1 (one) Royal Favor from the Princess Luna, the palace guard was hereby graciously instructed to arrange for me an audience bypassing the usual waiting list, at such time as I would be ready to specify the nature of my desired favor.
I mulled over that for a day or so, and concluded that there is only one time where I have really wanted royal help with something - not counting the time when I spent a week banging my head against a wall with a 'warm-up' homework exercise where it turned out the professor had forgotten to specify that the antimorphism group was solvable. But I doubt the princesses could really have helped with that. This one, though . . .
The guards at the castle entrance directed me to a majordomo's office in a side building. There a clerk took my certificate into a back room for some time, and then I was being escorted through a maze of stairs and corridors by a guardspony in full ceremonial armor (I think). We stopped at a set of double doors, guarded by an uniformed courtier who disappeared behind them with a file my escort gave her. A short while later she came back and told me to follow her inside.
I thought I was being taken to an audience-scheduling office of some sort, but we came through an antechamber - and there was the princess, my princess, wearing fuzzy slippers and a bathrobe, eating hay out of a bowl!
I dropped to my knees. "Your Highness!"
"Affine Scheme," she replied. "I remember you. Rise, my little pony."
I stood up again, sneaking a glimpse of the room while I tried neither to look rudely away from the princess nor to stare at her informal attire. It seemed to be less pompous than I had expected a royal audience chamber to be. Oh, it was grand alright - deep carpet, chandeliers, doubtlessly invaluable paintings on the walls. Perhaps it was the way the furniture was arranged, chairs clustered around a low table, that gave it a cozy, homey feel nonetheless. There was a desk in one corner with several neat little piles of papers and books on it, and a dresser in the other with one of the drawers pulled halfway out.
"I did not expect you here quite so soon," said the princess.
"Oh." That much was obvious. "I can come back at a more convenient time if you want, Your Highness."
"It's alright." She waited until the courtier who led me in had left. "There's only so many categories I can sort my visitors into before it begins to confuse the staff, and you have already seen me at my worst anyway, so right to the top you go. I hope breakfast doesn't offend you?"
It was past three in the afternoon, but I supposed that would count as breakfast for a Princess of the Night. I suddenly found I liked her. "No, Your Highness."
"Good. So what can I do for you?"
It all happened so quickly that I hadn't yet prepared how I would explain the plan. "Well . . . I have this friend -"
"Why don't we pretend this friend is yourself, just for convenience?"
I grimaced, feeling like I'd failed an oral exam in a single sentence. "Can't really do that. This friend - she kind of raped me."
The princess's eyebrows shot up. "Then how are you still friends?"
"We - I mean, we weren't." No time to be clever, just spit it all out. "But she's really sorry for it, and it's eating her up that she's 'getting away with it', as she says. And she wants to turn herself in to the Guards, but I can't let her do that because she would be horribly punished and she doesn't deserve that, no matter what she thinks. So I thought perhaps you could pull some strings so they'll take her case, but perhaps I won't have to testify, so they have to let her off with something mild? And she could still get peace that way?"
I gasped for breath, amazed that I'd managed to say all that without imploding. Even now it all sounded ridiculous to me, spoken out loud like that. And it occurred to me that perhaps I was dooming Vinyl anyway because the princess could have me investigated and find out who my 'friend' was even without promising me to pull the strings in the right direction.
The princess sat with a thoughtful frown for some time.
"What I think," she said eventually, "is that you ought to sit down and tell me all that once more, from the beginning."
"Affine Scheme!" shouts a different guard, poking his head into the waiting room.
I'm the only pony in the room. "That's me." I stand up.
"Follow me."
He leads me through another maze of corridors - for all I know, we may be retracing my steps on the way to the princess last week exactly, only three levels lower. The royal lustre is definitely thinner down here.
"So you're here for one of them pretrial mediation things?" asks the guard while holding open a barred door for me.
"Yeah," I nod.
He lets the door close behind us with a loud clang. "Yeah," he echoes. "Usually one of us would stay in the room and make sure you and the perp don't gouge each other's eyes out, but, y'know, what with the budget cuts and that bug that's going 'round, we can't actually spare anypony for that right now. Don't worry, though - we made sure you'll be quite safe."
I'm not sure where this is going, so I just nod and grunt.
He stops at a closed door off the corridor, rifles through his keys. "Now you've got one hour, sharp. If you're done before then, pull the bell by the door." He opens the door and nods at me. "Don't do anything you'll regret later, alright?"
I nod again in confusion and walk in. The door slams shut behind me.
It's a bare room, with just a few chairs in the corner and a barred window overlooking a courtyard. In the middle of the floor stands Vinyl, wearing a bright orange bridle and a suppressor ring of the same kind I remember the princess wearing.
"Hi," I say, awkwardly. After going through all this to visit her I'm not actually sure how to start.
"Hi." She smiles weakly. "So you finally changed your mind and reported me?"
"Yeah, that . . . sorry for not telling you first. It all happened very fast."
"It's not really important," she says quietly. I suppose it isn't.
It occurs to me that she hasn't moved since I came in. "Um, is something wrong?"
She shakes her head. "Just feeling a little pinned down is all."
She looks down towards her hooves, and I see that she's wearing orange prison horseshoes too, with protruding eyes that are bolted to the floor of the interview room with big wingnut bolts. She literally can't move a hoof.
"Oh, I'll take care of that." After all, I'm a professional at getting ponies free from all kinds of bondage. I reach down towards one of her forehooves to screw it loose.
"No - please don't," she pleads. "It'll only get me into trouble with the guards."
I stand back up. "Is it very bad in here?"
She shakes her head carefully. "It's good I don't have to worry about ending up here anymore. Now it just happens, whatever's gonna happen. But they are very good at creating hopelessness. Just little things, things you can't prove or even complain about, to remind you your life is not your own anymore."
I get a terrible thought. "Did they - I mean, have you been . . ."
"Not yet. But I hear a lot of whispers that I shouldn't expect any sleep the night before my court date. And there's this, of course." She makes a head movement that seems to encompass me and the room in general.
"This?"
"Yeah. They found out I confessed to rape, so I think the general idea of all this is that you might want to return the favor."
That makes a sickening kind of sense, at least if you assume the guards are monsters. Or out-of-control pranksters who don't know when to stop riding a vulnerable mare. "Why, I would never!"
Another small smile. "I could have told them, but I don't think they would listen."
For several minutes neither of us speak. I rack my brain to find something to say. I remember it seemed so urgent to get to see her, but what for? To be sure she's alright? Let's call that a very qualified success.
Eventually she breaks the silence. "Have you talked to Octavia? She's here somewhere too, I think."
I shrug. "I put in a request for both of you, just in case. But she refused to meet with me."
"Figures."
"You two were close?"
She sighs. "Close is not the word. Finey, I really thought she was the one. We'd settle down and grow old together . . . perhaps foals too. She could have gotten some stallions at stud easily, and they could be uncles or something if they wanted to stick around. But that's all just silly."
"There's nothing wrong with dreaming," I say, the first platitude that comes to mind.
"But suddenly I don't even know her anymore, and she's all . . . just fake and callous. And I wonder, did the mare I loved ever exist? Or is she still in there and if I just sat down and really talked she could be herself again? But I've tried that."
"I'm sorry," I mumble, and look away in case she starts crying - I don't think I have it in me to console her for the loss of Tavi. There is another awkward pause.
"So," she says, suddenly brightening up. "You gonna make the guards have made all those preparations for nothing?" She wiggles her butt and smiles invitingly.
I stare at her. "You want me to - to -?" I can't believe it. And yet I can. "It's still about getting even, isn't it? Even after -"
She sinks back down a bit. "Not really. You got me arrested and all, that has to count. But, well, you know how I'm made up, right? This get-up is pretty hot if you ask me -" she wiggles her behind again.
So that's what I've been smelling. No wonder Finey Jr. is already enthusiastically agreeing with the proposition. One of these days I'll have to sit down and have a good long talk with my libido about what's okay and what's not.
"- especially if it's a pony I like and trust who'd do the honors," she concludes.
Wait, what? "You like and trust . . . me?"
She shrugs. "What's not to like? I'm the one that's the bad guy here."
Okay, time to put this to rest. "I'm flattered. And if you still feel that way after you get out, let's talk and see if we can come up with something." If I had met Vinyl Scratch in happier circumstances, I'm pretty sure she would be solidly not-my-type. But who wouldn't be moved by this kind of trust and need? Not while she's bolted down to a prison floor, though. Nope nope nope.
"Get out?" She laughs bitterly. "Haven't you heard I'm gonna be exiled? The lawyer they got me thinks I might get it down to a couple of years if you testify for me. Would you do that?"
"Of course." I walk up to her immobile form and hug her. "Don't worry - I'll get you out of here."
"After you got me into here? How?"
"I cut a deal with - Actually I can't tell you." I've suddenly remembered it's a secret how I first met the princess and earned my royal favor. I don't even know if I can tell anypony I had one. "You'll just have to trust me."
"Of course I trust you." She pecks at my neck lightly. "But seriously, not even a quick hoofie? Damn it, I can't reach back there like this."
"Tough luck. You know, abstinence strengthens your moral fiber."
"Jerk."
* * *
Elsewhere in the castle complex, Octavia is waiting for a visitor of her own in a similar interview room. This one has a table and chairs. Octavia is sitting in one of the chairs, watching the sky boredly through the window while she waits. It makes her quite pleased with herself that boredom is her most immediate problem, given the circumstances.
Octavia has known since she was a filly that she can do anything she decides to do and works hard at. Surviving prison is just one of those things. Before she had been here two days, she'd gotten herself set up as the waifu of the biggest and meanest of the guards. That's how you get the rules bent for you instead of the other way around. The little whore who was with her guard before is not having a wonderful time right now, but Octavia has no intention of sharing that fate. She's going to be out and acquitted before he gets tired of her and starts looking for fresher meat.
She wonders idly how Vinyl is doing. Her guard has confirmed that she's here too, but she doesn't have the kind of assets or connections that make Octavia's stay bearable. Vinyl always could take an inordinate amount of punishment, though - but if there's any place that can break her, this will be it. Octavia almost feels sorry for her.
She knows she made a monumental mistake with Vinyl, and she's still paying the price for that. There's nothing she can do about it now, just collect the pieces as well as she can, and then make sure never to give another pony the opportunity to harm her like Vinyl did. What was she thinking anyway, expecting love from a pony like that?
The door opens briefly to let Octavia's guest in. Curat de Minimis is not the best lawyer she knows, but all of her more high-powered friends turned out to be curiously ignorant of criminal law when she called them after being arrested, and stubbornly unwilling to read up on it. She'll have to do something about that later, but first things first. Fortunately, her case ought to be a fairly open-and-shut one that even a B-lister like Curat can handle.
Curat slams his briefcase briskly down on the table. "Octavia, did you ever do anything to make Princess Luna angry at you?" he asks while pulling out a stack of notes.
"Princess Luna? Not that I remember. I've met her at a few court functions I was playing at, of course, perhaps exchanged a few words. Why is that?"
The lawyer sits down with a frown. "She's taken over your case."
"Taken over? What does that mean?"
"It means she'll be the judge. There's still a magistrate doing motions, but once the trial starts, it's all going to be the princess."
"She can do that?"
"It seems so. Court proceedings have always been 'in the names of the princesses', meaning that judges are just standing in for the princesses and their job is to judge like they would if they had time to be there. Apparently Princess Luna decided to take that literally. There are some open-air fairs where the Princess is traditionally present to settle disputes in person, but nopony can remember when it last happened for a real case."
"But why my case?" Wheels are starting to turn in Octavia's head, searching for a way to turn this to her advantage.
Curat shrugs elaborately. "We hoped you could tell me that. For all anypony knows, she just wants to try her hoof at judging and picked a case at random. I've got one of the senior partners on it, working on a brief to argue you should at least still have a jury."
"Why would I want a jury?"
"Well, the argument is that juries were originally -" but Octavia doesn't really listen. She's been worrying about the jury, unsophisticated common ponies that the prosecutor might manipulate into a false conviction. Of course Octavia would have been able to manipulate them right back, but apparently it's only the lawyers who're allowed to talk for most of the trial. If there's no jury, that whole risk disappears. She wonders if she has made a particularly favorable impression on the princess somehow.
"Stop," she says, interrupting the lecture. "Tell your guy to cut it out. I don't want a jury if I can get out of it. No, wait, even better, send in a protest but make it bad. Weak arguments, backwards logic, the works - I'm sure you can manage that. Then when we lose that, she'll feel obliged to give in to us about something else. Oh, and for pony's sake don't make it sound like we don't trust the princess."
Curat sighs. "Octavia, that's not really how it works. I wish you would leave the trial strategy to me."
"I'm sure you do, but it's my pelt on the line, so we'll do this right, okay?"
"Very well." He rubs his temples. "May I put down that you want a perfunctory jury demand to be filed?"
"That's what I said, wasn't it? What else?"
He shuffles his papers. "I tried to get a copy of the Rescue Service's employee handbook as you instructed, but they refused to give me one. Then I went to the magistrate to ask for a subpoena, and she dismissed that out of hoof without even hearing the prosecution first. She says it is irrelevant to the case."
"The hay it is. Can you appeal that?"
"I can, but I have to warn you that taking an interlocutory appeal at this point is going to postpone your trial even further -"
"That can't be helped. Do it. That handbook is critical to our defense. It's what explains why what's-his-name lied to his boss and said he never wanted the sex after all."
Curat rolls his eyes. "Very well. Now, about your character witnesses . . ."
All in all it's a productive meeting. After the lawyer leaves, Sergeant Trombone shows up to escort her back to her cell. He's the guard she has thrown her lot in with, and it's not really a secret they're together; ponies know not to mess with her. But he still prefers to keep appearances up, so it's slow going, taking microsteps all the way because her hind hooves are shackled closely together and he's leading her by a shank threaded into her prison bridle.
Finally they're home - 'home' being a short corridor of just four cells of which Octavia is currently the only occupant. Officially she's in solitary, something he arranged so they could have more privacy. It suits her fine, even if it does come with shackles whenever she's out of the cell; that way she won't have to mingle with the criminal rabble in the general population. And it's only for a few weeks anyway.
As soon as they're inside the 'front door' to her home corridor, he eases up on her lead and drops some of his stern facade. "So how was your meeting?" he asks conversationally.
"Oh Rusty, it's dreadful. They're postponing my case again. Just as I thought I could see the end. I'm never going to get out of here at this rate."
"Hmm, it's not that bad," he mumbles while unlocking the door to her cell. "I've seen many ponies get it worse. It'll all work out, you'll see."
She microsteps into the cell. "Oh Rusty, I know you're terribly busy, but I really need some snuggles right now. Do you think you could possibly . . ."
"I guess there's always time for a surprise search for contraband," he grunts. "You're a high-risk prisoner, you know." There is in fact plenty of contraband in her cell, including not only a make-up set and a proper set of mane brushes, but also a tea kettle and a record player with headphones - but since Rusty was the one to smuggle most of it in, he's not going to find it. The cello, alas, would be too big to smuggle, but she doesn't want to risk leaving it behind if they release her on short notice, anyway. She can do without practice until she gets out.
She sits down on the bed. "Come here, stallion - no, wait, take that cuirass off first. I can't snuggle a tin can."
He dumps half his armor on her desk and lies down on the bed, wrapping his forelegs around her. She buries her head in his chest.
"Oh Rusty, you know I'm innocent, don't you?" She shifts around slightly so she can start subtly rubbing her belly against his sheath.
"Of course I do," he says, nibbling a little too hard on her ear. "You told me you were framed."
"Mmm. The one good thing about it is I wouldn't have met you otherwise. Oh Rusty, what would I do without you?" She has carefully allowed him to think they'll still be a couple after she's released - though she hasn't said it in so many words, because blatant lies tend to make ponies suspicious.
He grunts noncommittally and she hums contentedly into his chest until she feels the grinding have the expected effect. When it's big enough she breaks away from him, pretending to suddenly notice his cock.
"Oooh," she says, enthralled, "do you really think you have time for that too?" She bows down and kisses the cock from the front, running her tongue briefly around the tip, which gets him all the way to full mast.
"Might as well," he growls. He rolls down from the bed to the floor, and in a quick movement he has grabbed a set of hoofcuffs from his kit on the table and cuffed her forehooves to the headboard. Somehow he's figured out she's into cuffs - which is not a lie, though she prefers being on the other end of them.
Never mind, what she has to do now is play along. "Oh Rusty, you naughty colt," she drawls. "You done trapped me. What all shall I do?"
"You shall shut up, unless you want to wait while I fetch a muzzle."
"Yes, sir," she giggles, "shutting up now, sir."
He sweeps her hind legs off the bed so she's lying diagonally across its front end with the hind legs on the floor. It would be a better position if she could lift the near hind up on the bed, but he hasn't removed the shackles yet, so this will have to do. He grabs her tail and pins it in between her flank and the bed.
"Eanie meanie miney mo - where shall Rusty's pecker go? Oh! The top one!"
Darn.
Fortunately Rusty is not such a barbarian that he's never heard of lube, so he gets out her illicit beauty kit and smears a generous amount of creme-selle across her asshole before he mounts her, panting and grunting. She clenches her teeth and does her best to relax her sphincter, remembering to whisper, "yes . . . yes . . . yes" each time he pushes further into her. Then he stops grunting and there's that warm feeling that tells her he's ejaculating, and she finishes off the performance with an "oh Rusty!"
He climbs back down and takes his time putting his uniform back on, not really acknowledging Octavia. Then, just as he's about to leave, he turns around towards her. "You know what? I think you've deserved a bonus round, on the lower floor too."
"Oh, Rusty!"
He's not normally a bad fucker, and as often as not she can actually enjoy sex with him. This time, however, she's rather put off by knowing where his cock has just been - but of course the show must go on, and she manages to fake a somewhat decent orgasm at the end.
After he finishes he really does have to leave. He bows down to kiss her forehead. "Alright, sweetie, duty calls. I'll be back with more later, okay?" And then he's gone, locking the door behind him.
Octavia is left lying on the bed, still hoofcuffed to the headboard. She can't even get up to get herself some music to distract her from the crawling feeling in her snatch. Instead she passes the time by imagining what would happen to Rusty if, by some cosmic fluke, she suddenly found herself empress of the world. It's a bit of a foalish conceit, but sometimes you've got to do what you have to in order to stay sane.
And Octavia can do whatever she puts her mind to.
* * *
Suri Polomare hangs by her forelegs from the ceiling of the dungeon under Carousel Boutique, just high enough that she can push off from the floor and get some relief for her forehooves, at the cost of bending her hips backward at an insane angle. She is blindfolded with her own expensive neckerchief, and her tail is wound up in a knot, to prevent her from using it to shield herself.
Rarity is pacing around her, levitating a long flexible switch. Every so often she'll bring it down on Suri with a WHACK that echoes through the dungeon. She's trying for an aesthetically pleasing pattern of marks, subtly evoking the cut of the designs Suri stole from her.
Suri is not fighting back, just weeping quietly and whimpering under her breath when Rarity finds a particularly sensitive place to hit. The bitch knows she brought this on herself. And there's the unspoken promise that if she behaves, Rarity will eventually let up for a time. Good girls get painkillers.
Whenever she lets a bit longer than usual pass between strokes, Rarity can taste Suri's hope that it will be over for now. That's a funny thing, tasting emotions. She makes a mental note to figure out later what's up with that.
She rounds a corner and discovers that, inexplicably, one of Suri's hind legs is not covered with welts. That doesn't look right.
"You forgot one," says a helpful voice behind her.
She spins around and sees that a tall alicorn, blue as the night, has entered the dungeon.
"Princess! I - I, I can explain!"
"Can you now?" says Luna with a smile.
"Of course. It's - I - she - we, we're just sharing a kinky but completely voluntary and consensual bit of funful pain. And sex. Weren't we, darling Suri?" Somehow she materializes a vibrator out of thin air and jams it in between Suri's hind legs. "Brzzzz!" she hums.
Luna chuckles. "Relax, Rarity. We're not engaged; you're allowed to dream about punishing ponies who're not me."
"This is a dream?" Rarity looks around. In hindsight, the fact that her dungeon suddenly has floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking famous Equestrian landmarks probably ought to have been a giveaway. "Oh thank goodness, then I'm not a monster yet."
"Of course you're not. Why would you be a monster?"
Rarity shrugs helplessly and points towards Suri, now sitting in a small gem-studded cage that is suspended from the ceiling by a chain of knotted ribbons.
"There are monsters out there, Rarity," says Luna with a bit of a hard edge to her voice, "but you're not one of them. For one thing, real monsters don't have nightmares about the thing that makes them monsters."
"Nightmares? But this couldn't possibly be a - I mean, I was -"
"You enjoyed hurting her, didn't you?"
Rarity swallows a lump and then nods, hanging her head in shame.
"That's what makes it a nightmare, Rarity. A nightmare is where you meet your innermost fears."
She looks up at the princess. "Are you saying that I'm . . . afraid of enjoying to hurt ponies?"
"Which decent pony wouldn't be? You have been telling yourself for years that you like it only because the pony you hurt finds pleasure in it. I fear it is my fault that you have discovered it is not so."
"Princess, I - you may be right about that, but it's still me who is -"
"You're not a monster, Rarity. But it is unhealthy for you to keep being afraid of what you are. Just because you like a certain thing, you're not going to start snatching ponies off the street because you think they deserve punishment, are you?"
Rarity shakes her head uncertainly.
"For example, how did she come here?" Luna points at Suri, who lies hogtied and gagged on the floor, staring fearfully up at the two of them.
"I don't remember," says Rarity, frowning. "I just . . ."
"It is so far from your mind that you don't even need to fear it. You're a good pony, Rarity, a pony with unusual and sometimes impossible tastes, but you can afford to be honest with yourself about them."
"Yes, Princess," she says meekly. "I'm afraid it's easier said than done, though."
"It always is," Luna agrees. "When you wake up, see if you can find the time to come visit me in Canterlot. I may be able to help you with that."
Rarity nods, beginning to feel dizzy.
"By the way," says Luna, and the dungeon suddenly solidifies again, "I'm surprised it wasn't my obnoxious nephew here. My sister tells me some stories."
It is now Prince Blueblood who is hogtied on the floor. "What is this outrage -" he sputters, before Luna's horn glows and his voice disappears behind a muzzle.
"Oh, him?" Rarity says. "He's just an oaf. Not worth wasting a good whip on."
"See?" says Luna. "Nothing to be afraid of."
With an audible pop she winks out of existence, followed by Blueblood and the dungeon at large, and Rarity wakes up. |
The Rescue Service | 13. Clemency | They took Octavia up to the courtroom more than an hour before it was supposed to start, ruining her plans to make herself a bit presentable first. She caught herself trying to remember the names of the guards who came for her so she could complain about them to Rusty - but today was the day of her acquittal; she wouldn't have to deal with Rusty again.
It felt strange to be leaving the cell for the last time. Who'd have thought staying in a prison cell for barely a moon could make it feel so yours? She was leaving her carefully smuggled amenities behind, but they would be easily replaceable after she was released.
The courtroom was not the one it had been the previous days, but a large hall where she had once played at a court event. She had a sudden memory of counting bars in the allegretto movement of Maneyef's seventh, looking down at the interlocking pattern of polished stone tiles in the floor.
A young earth mare came walking across that floor, cream with a purple mane, wearing courtier lapels. She gave a sealed scroll to the senior of Octavia's guards. He read it in silence.
"Very well," the guard said, rolling up the scroll again and sticking it in behind his cuirass. "As the princess commands."
The mare who had brought the scroll was making little glances towards Octavia. "Can I talk to her?" she asked the guard.
He shrugged. "Suit yourself."
She turned to Octavia, blushing slightly. "Sorry, but are you really the Octavia Melody? The cello player?"
Octavia usually tried not to be too gruff towards talkative ponies from the audience; you never knew if one of them would turn out to be useful. Standing here in chains and prison tack didn't exactly put her in the mood for small talk, though. But something about this mare caught her interest - her bearing, the way she moved, the way she kept her head when she spoke. Octavia couldn't help imagining her gagged and strapped to a rack, begging silently for release.
She manifested a warmish smile. "Indeed I am."
"Lavender Crescent." The mare shook the hoof Octavia held out, and smiled shyly, very cute. "My coltfriend's a big fan of yours."
Well, poop. "Won't he be overjoyed to hear you've met me in these circumstances?"
"He -" she looked uncertain "- I'm not allowed to tell anypony about this anyway."
"Of course. Can't have ponies actually knowing how this all plays out." The trial so far had been held in secret; Octavia wouldn't put it past the princess to try to hush it up completely.
The mare blinked in confusion. "Um, don't you know it's an open session? It has to be when there's a final judgment being announced. It's just that I'm on duty; I can't tell anything then."
"Wonderful. So everypony can come and gawk."
"Now that's not fair," said the mare, eyes flashing with youthful indignation. "You can't both be angry when you think it's a secret and then be angry again because it's public. It has to be one or the other."
Octavia knew she was being slightly unreasonable. It was the waiting, of course - she always was in a foul mood after a contest performance, while the judges got ready to announce a score, even when she knew she'd played perfectly. "Have you considered," she said, "that perhaps I didn't want to be here at all?"
"Um, if you put it that way . . . Sorry." The mare shrank down a bit, and shuffled her forelegs before looking up at Octavia again. "Can I ask you what you did?"
Octavia sighed. "I loved somepony," she said. "And I gave her what she said she wanted. This is the thanks I get." She had seen Vinyl during the trial; she had been so composed and uninterested in putting up a defense that Octavia was sure she had sold her out somehow.
"Um, that's not illegal, is it?"
"You wouldn't think so, would you? But you'll have to ask Her Highness about that."
The mare seemed to have trouble finding a response to that. "Well, I have to get back to work," she said at last. "Sorry about your friend. And good luck!"
"Thank you," said Octavia - but the mare was already scampering away, out a side door.
* * *
There's a clock striking four somewhere. "Is it time now?" I ask.
"Not yet, Your Highness!" With a nervous frown, Proper Writ interjects himself between me and the doors. "We're still waiting for one of the defendants to be brought up."
I roll my eyes just a little, still undecided whether to be offended or flattered that he seems to have appointed himself my handler. Shouldn't the State Chancellor for the Interior have more important things to do?
"Think of how it would look if you went in there and you had to start by sitting around for ten minutes before you could begin. A princess doesn't wait meekly for her subjects to show up; it has to be the other way around."
"And yet here I am." In a rather cramped back chamber to the Lesser Diet Hall. Waiting meekly.
Proper Writ grimaces in exasperation. "Yes, but you can't be seen to be waiting. It's a matter of appearances, Your Highness. Please."
He's right, I know. I only wish I had a bit more say in what those appearances would be - I am the princess after all. But evidently jurisprudence is serious business. I'm beginning to understand why Tia keeps away from it.
I thought I could simply sit down with each of the witnesses and get their version of what happened. By the time Proper Writ was through with that, however, there was me and the witness and a stenographer and a lawyer from the provost's office and the two accused and their defenders, not to mention a squad of guards to keep us all in line. They were all pretty good about pretending I was in charge, but still.
At least it's blatantly clear that the accused did what the prosecutor says they did. They didn't even claim otherwise themselves. But that's only half of the problem, because I also have to decide which punishment they get. Proper Writ insisted that I at least discuss the sentences in private with the chief justice, Obiter Dictum, and I suppose that was helpful, but it was an awkward meeting all the same. Each of us thought the other's idea of how an unrepentant rapist ought to be punished was appallingly brutal and barbaric.
If only there had been some doubt about guilt left, I could simply refuse to measure out the terrible fate Dictum wanted me to. But as it is, I have to take him seriously. Perhaps I really am out of touch, and even the accused would prefer his kind of punishment? Can ponies change that much in a thousand years? I've changed my mind at least five times already, and I still have time to do so again, right up until I actually announce it. Poor Proper Writ has no idea of the power he wields right now: just letting me go in at this time rather than that could make the difference for what I'm thinking when the time to make it irrevocable comes.
I use the waiting time to go over my lines once more. The ponies in the Protocol Office had a field day figuring out the correct phrasings for a princess to run a court case in person - I remember nothing of that kind from back before, and to be honest I think they pilfered half of it from Ivanhock. But it does sound good, and I'll get to use the royal Canterlot voice, so I'm not complaining.
Eventually a guard comes in from the corridor behind us and nods to Proper Writ. He steps aside from the door and bows slightly. "Now, Your Highness."
A wave of motion passes through the hall as a roomful of ponies notice me coming in and drop to their foreknees. I make my way to the throne in the middle of the dais (somepony has covered up the sun sigil on it with a crescent-on-black - touching!) and sit down. A roomful of ponies stand back up.
Most of these ponies don't care about the case at all, but are only here to marvel at the sight of a princess playing judge. That ought to be familiar, just another smiling-and-waving expedition. But for Vinyl Scratch and Octavia Melody, waiting out there to the side flanked by guards, this is deadly serious. It's my fault they couldn't have their sentence in a small, ignored hearing at the prefecture. I have a sudden urge to chase out all of the gossip-hungry spectators, and only overcome it because Proper Writ would kill me for it and then resign in protest, at which point Tia would kill me too.
It's too late now to make that right, though. The show has to go on, and the show must start before it can go on. I draw a deep breath.
"HEAR YE, HEAR YE! IN OUR NAME AND THOSE OF OUR ROYAL SISTER CELESTIA AND OUR FRIEND AND EQUAL TWILIGHT SPARKLE, COURT IS NOW IN SESSION. THERE WILL BE ORDER IN THIS ROOM."
I hope Cadance doesn't mind too terribly being left out. Proper Writ nearly had a fit when I suggested she'd been forgotten - it would be unthinkable, he said, for a domestic prosecution to be concluded, even only in name, by a 'foreign sovereign', however close our countries are.
A herald steps out in front of the dais. "Case 1006-538, Guard Provost of Canterlot against Vinyl Scratch and Octavia Melody. Her Highness Princess Luna, sitting in judgment of the accused, has heard evidence against them in private. She has determined it to be in the interest of justice and propriety that this evidence remain sealed to the public. Having considered the evidence, Her Highness will now pronounce judgment on the accused."
"IT IS SO," I confirm, following my script. "Bring forth the accused!"
* * *
Old Fizzy had to stay home and mind the shop, so instead I went with Finey for moral support the day the result of his case would be announced. He put up quite a good mask, but I knew him well enough to see how nervous he really was, almost as if he were the one on trial. It made sense, of course; if the defendants went free, it would be the same as the princess declaring he was a liar.
The princess herself, even. Well, not Princess Celestia, but Luna, the lost-and-rediscovered younger sister. A princess, at least. I don't think it's common for court cases like this to be judged by an actual princess; even the hammiest courtroom dramas just have a cranky old judge. When I asked Finey if he knew what was up with that, he looked uncomfortable and changed the subject.
It was supposed to begin at four o'clock, but it was ten minutes past before the princess showed up. It must be nice to be royal and be able to treat schedules like that. Once she did show up, she almost flattened the room with her volume; she must be used to shouting down rowdier crowds than this.
On a command from the princess, the guards marched the two defendants out in front of everypony. I remembered them from when I'd been called in to testify earlier in the week, O. Melody standing tall and proud, and a blue-maned co-defendant who looked like she had given up already.
When the excitement in the audience at seeing the defendants had died down, the princess spoke up again, mercifully at a lower volume.
"Vinyl Scratch! You are guilty of recklessly endangering a pony, of simple assault, and of violating a pony's modesty. Your punishment shall be the imprisonment you have already endured during and prior to this trial, plus 120 hours of community service. SO STANDS OUR ROYAL JUDGMENT."
Straight to the point, I'll give her that. There was a murmur going through the room, and I looked at Finey beside me to see if he needed comforting at the disappointing outcome - time served and community service sounded very light to me. But he was grinning ear to ear with obvious relief. At least she'd been convicted of something.
The princess was not done yet. "Octavia Melody! You are guilty of rape, of unlawful threats, of false imprisonment, of violating a pony's modesty, of inducing a violent crime, of failing to come to the aid of a pony in obvious need, and of signing a false declaration on trust and honor. As punishment" - the princess made a dramatic pause, waiting for the room to grow completely quiet - "you shall be exiled to Windhowl Key for eight years, two of which you shall be imprisoned in the royal keep on that island. SO STANDS OUR ROYAL JUDGMENT."
"That's more like it," I whispered to Finey. I'm not sure he heard it; it was lost in the general chatter that had sprung up in the room. But he looked satisfied with the result; that was the important thing.
"ADJOURNED!" blared the princess. She stood up from the throne and everypony bowed again while she strode out.
The show was over. Most ponies in the audience began to drift towards the exit, but Finey was on his legs as soon as the princess had left, darting and dancing eagerly against the flow of the crowd, towards the front of the room. I did my best to follow him.
When I caught up with him, he was hugging one of the defendants, the one who wasn't Octavia. "I told you so!" he exclaimed, laughing.
"How did you do that?" She seemed to be happy to see him too. I wondered if I had completely misunderstood what this was all about.
Finey glanced around the room furtively. "Still can't tell. Bellchaser, this is Vinyl."
I looked her up and down, still confused. "Hello," I managed.
"Hi." Vinyl looked between me and Finey. "And the two of you are . . .?"
"We're coworkers," said Finey quickly. "She's the one who was scheduled to be with me that day."
She made to say something, but was interrupted by a pony coming from behind. "Vinyl Scratch? I've got your release papers here."
That voice was familiar. I turned to look at the speaker, and it was Cressie, wearing white-and-navy lapels and holding out a sheaf of papers. She hadn't noticed me yet, but after Vinyl took the papers and she turned around, she literally jumped two hooves back when she saw me.
"B-bellchaser?"
"Um, hello."
"Look, I know you think it was me who told Pokey to send you away, but I didn't, honest!"
I made a quick decision - Finey didn't seem to need my moral support anymore, and the chance to clear things up with Cressie might not come again. I started walking away from him, motioning for Cressie to follow. "I didn't think you did."
"He says it was for my sake, but he's been miserable ever since you left. He tries to hide it, but I can tell. Did you have an argument?"
I sighed. "He just said it would be best if I stopped coming." Damn, I thought I had gotten over that, but talking about it made it hurt again. "I think he felt he had to choose between us."
She was quiet until we reached the row of columns that lined the main hall. "I miss you," she said.
"Me too." It wasn't until she said it that I realized I'd been missing her too. "But you know where to find me, at the cafe."
She looked away and kicked a forehoof weakly against the base of a column. "Pokey doesn't want me to talk to you."
"Here we are, though."
"I couldn't just pretend you weren't there, could I? And I just met somepony who taught me that what the one you love says he wants isn't always what you should do." She glanced across the room towards the guards leading the other defendant away, the dark one.
"So what do you propose?" I asked. "We stay friends behind his back?" I never imagined I'd be cheating on a stallion with his marefriend. But life is strange sometimes.
"Oh, no." She looked mortified. "I can talk him into it. If you want to come back, that is. We can share him, can't we? Or you can share me. I don't care."
It's funny - if a colt had sounded like that with me, I'd have thought he was just fishing for pity and crushed his heart with nary a second thought. And even Pokey, as much as I had enjoyed his company, if he began speaking about relationships and commitment, I think I would have balked. But this? Dammit, I wanted to say yes to her. But I don't do relationships.
Cressie was watching me anxiously while I thought. I could see hope leaving her little by little. "I'm sorry, it's probably just -" she began.
Oh, blast it all. She wasn't really asking for more than we'd already had when Pokey called it off, which I hadn't really wanted to lose. "No, I . . . I guess we can give it a try."
"Really?" The smile that spread on her face was worth it all. "That's . . . thank you!"
I almost hugged her, but then I remembered what she was and tousled her mane instead, scratching behind one ear. She blushed and wagged her tail a few times in acknowledgement.
"So, um . . . I'll talk to Pokey?" she said, looking uncertain. Probably that wouldn't be easy for her if she was used to him deciding everything.
"Perhaps it's better if we both go, and tell him right out how it's gonna be." Looking behind me, I saw we were the only ponies left in the hall. Finey and his friend (or whatever she was) had left while I talked to Cressie, so he didn't need me anymore today. "When do you get off work?"
"As soon as I get back to my desk and sign off. Wait for me in the castle square." She glanced quickly around the hall to be sure nopony was watching, and then reared up against me and licked my face sloppily. Then she turned around, and went out through the same door the princess had used.
I left the same way Finey and I had come in earlier, startling a few guards who thought everypony had already gone. The day outside the castle felt bright and hopeful, and I found myself skipping over to the fountain in the middle to wait for Cressie.
How about that?
* * *
After the trial I'm waiting (again!) back in my private office, for the guards to bring Octavia to me.
She is not happy about her sentence, I know. I watched her face while I pronounced it - first smug self-assurance after her friend got off lightly, then doubt, shock, despair, disbelief, and barely contained rage. For that, at least, who can blame her?
I could have looked away from her and addressed the room at large instead. But that would have been chickening out - if I'm going to do this to ponies, the least I can do is look them in the eye when I crush them. And we ask the real judges to do this for us, week after week. If I can't stomach it myself, I might as well abdicate. And then, of course, Tia would (once again) kill me.
I'm glad I have the power of clemency, though.
The doors open, and a pair of burly night guards come in, marching Octavia between them. She stands in the middle of the floor, watching me defiantly.
I imagine a poet would praise her marely firmness. But I have listened to her while she defended herself, seen how she reacted to the other witnesses, and I know arrogance when I see it. It's not a virtue.
"So are you going to gloat?" she asks. Charming to the last, trying to cast me as the villain. (She doesn't know how outclassed she is - I do that much better myself).
I sigh. "You really have no idea that what you did was wrong, do you?" That's not what I planned to say, but curiosity gets the better of me.
She stares me down. "I'm not going to play that game."
So much for having an honest conversation. Back to the plan, I suppose.
"Very well. You're here because I'm going to make you an offer. Now, to begin with, as far as I'm concerned you deserve absolutely everything I can throw at you." (That's not strictly true, of course. There's always Tartarus. But I don't even know if I could send her there). "Unfortunately, though, Equestria does have need of ponies like you from time to time."
Her ears perk up at that, and I can see her getting the smugness back in gear.
"What I'm offering is for your sentence to be commuted to six weeks of community service."
She chews on that for a while. "What's the catch?"
I nod. "There are two. First, each of those weeks is a full week, days and nights. You will eat and sleep at the facility. You can spread out your weeks over a year or so, so you can keep a job, but not in smaller chunks than that.
"Second, you are not to tell anypony what the terms of your community service are, or what happens during your service. On pain of - hmmm, whatever high treason is worth these days."
She squints at me. "Am I expected to accept these super-secret terms without knowing what it is you need me to do?"
"In broad terms, you will be accompanying a friend of mine in Ponyville on a journey of self-discovery. You can get more details after you swear an oath of secrecy. But you can back out later and get your full sentence of exile reinstated instead."
She thinks some more. "I want to consult my lawyer first."
I very much doubt that; I saw how she treated the poor guy during the trial. But that's her business.
"As you wish. Let the dungeon guards know when you have an answer for me."
* * *
Somehow it felt only natural that Vinyl would come home with me after I accompanied her down to the castle farrier to get rid of the bolt-me-down horseshoes. It was too late in the day to start back towards Ponyville, so she needed a place to stay. I don't even think either of us mentioned any alternative.
She didn't say much on the way home, but she looked happier than I'd seen her since that day - since ever at all, in fact. My eyes kept misting up at the sight, and my ribcage felt a number too small.
I showed her where the bathroom is, and she spent ten minutes in the shower and came back to my room all fluffy and relaxed, prison mood rinsed away. She lay back on my bed, and I sat in the armchair, watching Vinyl be happy. It would be the couch for me for the night - couldn't ask Vinyl to take that after three weeks of sleeping in dungeon bunks.
"Know what, Finey," she said eventually. "If you have a shred of pity, you're gonna tie me to this bed now and fuck me silly."
It was crude. It was crass. It completely derailed whatever my train of thought had been - something about couches and corridors, I think. And still, it felt like part of me had been hoping for something like that.
"I thought you liked mares," I said, as levelly as I could.
"I do." She rolled over on her side to look at me. "But I think I like you too."
I got up from the chair and sat on the bed next to her, letting a hoof rest on her side. I tried to think of an argument that giving in to her now would be taking advantage, but found none.
"Besides," she continued, "those dungeon guards, you know? Total cuntteases. I haven't gotten anything since they arrested me. Not even by myself, no privacy in those four-mare cells."
"They left you alone?" It was a burden on my conscience I hadn't fully been aware of, suddenly disappearing.
"Yeah. Once I did wake up with my face stuffed full of cock, but then right when he was about to come I woke up again, and it was all a dream."
Now she was just trying to get me off balance. I began stroking her fur with the hoof I had resting on her. "Are you sure you need to be tied up first?"
"Yes," she said, with finality. "Seriously, Finey, please."
At first I wasn't even sure I had anything that could be used to tie somepony to a bed, but then I remembered I had a spare first-aid pack for the rescue kit, and there'd be gauze rolls for bandages in it. I'm not really supposed to take things from it, but all's fair in love and war, and it would be easy to replace them.
I had Vinyl lie belly-up on the bed and wound gauze many times around each of her forepasterns. Then I pulled her legs up beyond her head and lashed them solidly it to the headboard with more turns of gauze. It was awkward work, entailing a lot of shifting and bouncing around on the bed, and Finey Jr. had come out too, bumping into Vinyl's mane or face each time I need to switch sides. She didn't complain, just lay back with a content smile on her muzzle, as if being clumsily tied to beds was her favorite thing ever. Perhaps it was.
For her hind legs I had planned something of the same kind, gauze wound around the pasterns and pulled out towards the bedposts, but when I tried that and pulled at the gauze strip, the whole spool came sliding right off her hoof. The second time around I found a better way, first tying a length of gauze to the head-end bedpost and then wrapping the loose end around Vinyl's pastern in alternating directions in a kind of self-locking knot. I found myself thinking about contour integrals and whether a pony's leg ought to count as a pole or a branch point.
With all four legs done, she was lying upside down with her hind legs pulled up and to the side, hooves level with her head - and her marehood spread wide and open to the room, moist with some secretion that smelled somewhat like Cinna, her clit poking out between the folds when she breathed out. I couldn't do anything about her horn, but . . . hmm? There was this pony we rescued once who had a -
I stood up and got out a pillowcase from my linen bin, and laboriously pulled it over Vinyl's head, covering her face and mane. I tied the two bottom corners together in a loose knot to make the opening snug around her neck.
"This is not too tight, is it?"
"No." It was the only thing she'd said since I began tying her up.
"Say ah." I wound one last strip of gauze around her fabric-encased head, forcing part of the material in between her jaws and keeping her mouth open while functioning as a kind of external gag. For a moment I worried whether that was too rough - but then again she had done worse to me and thought I would like that, so presumably she'd be okay with this. In any case, she didn't struggle or show any distress otherwise, so I supposed it was okay.
Stepping back to take stock of my work, I was struck by how it didn't look like Vinyl at all, with her big blue mane out of sight and tucked into a green-striped pillowcase. On impulse I fetched another one and stuffed her tail into that, completing the illusion of nameless-white-pony.
Now for the 'fuck her silly' part. I wasn't at all sure how to achieve that, but a bit of foreplay to begin with couldn't be all wrong. I decided to leave her marehood for later and instead started nuzzling around her teats. Cinna had seemed to like it when I bit down gently on a teat and pulled a little - but even though the cadence of Vinyl's breathing did become a bit quicker when I tried that, she didn't make any sounds. Oh well, worth a try.
I nuzzled my way forward along her belly, licking a trail through her soft underfur. Her ribs worked up and down beneath my lips as she breathed, sometimes abruptly stopping for half a second before starting again. At least I was having some effect on her.
Past her chest, the path to her face and ears was blocked by the pillowcase, so I changed plans and moved to one of her hind hooves instead, stretched into the air not far from her head. When I started nuzzling at the underside of the hoof, her leg twitched jerkily, and I steadied it with my forehooves while I drew a big wet lick around the frog of her hoof. She gave a series of short grunts of protest or pleasure; I hoped it was the latter.
Then down along the leg: cannon, hock, stifle, buttock, and then I was back at her marehood, convulsing slowly, a trail of fluid trickling down towards her tail. I gave it a tentative lick - and was suddenly vividly reminded of being tied to Tavi's bed, Vinyl grinding that marehood against my face, demanding to be suckled. It must be something in the taste. Somehow the memory made me fully stiff, and I knew I'd have to finish off soon.
"Ready now?"
"Mhmm mmhmm hm hm!"
Was that a yes or a no? It sounded angry. I looked up towards her head. "Is there anything too tight?"
She shook her head violently.
"Okay, so you're ready?"
She nodded.
I raised myself up and got my cock positioned in front of her entry and pushed in. Ahh! I folded out my wings and wrapped them around her hind legs, pulling back for a second thrust. And another, and another - but after all the preparations that was all I needed, and I came majorly, at least a dozen pumps.
She had told me she wanted me to be 'brutal', so I kept lying on top of her after I came, catching my breath, feeling the warmth of her body. It felt nice and tranquil; it's a pity mares don't like it. I almost fell asleep like that, but woke up with a start and decided she had probably had enough.
As soon as I had her head free, she helped me the rest of the way with her magic. Getting a pony out of bondage is a lot quicker that tying her up in the first place. She sat up, rubbing her stifles. I tried in vain to read her expression.
"So, how was it?" I found myself blurting. Yes, I know that's a horribly pathetic thing that you should never need to ask. I did anyway.
She started smiling, but the smile turned into a giggle, and the giggle turned into a snicker, and she tilted over backwards on the bed, having a laughing fit.
"Finey, I do like you a lot, and really, thanks for the effort - but that was the vanillaest sex I've had in years. I couldn't even struggle because I was afraid of sliding free of those bandage-ties."
I had stood up, trying to think of a direction to flee in. My room isn't really big enough for that. "Sorry," I mumbled.
She stopped laughing and pulled gently on my tail with her magic. "No, I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I don't have a lot of tact, do I? Never really learned that."
"I guess not." I let her drag me back to the bed and sat down again, looking away from her.
I felt her bouncing around on the bedsprings, and then she was up next to me, hugging me from behind. "Nopony said it has to be perfect right away. How 'bout we try it your way instead? What do you want?"
I hadn't thought much about that. "To make you happy?" I chanced.
She giggled again, more sympathetically this time. "That's . . . kind of sweet, but you'll never make a proper top with that attitude."
"Well, can you teach me?"
"I can try." |
The Rescue Service | 14. Not a Monster | Hello there, and welcome to Carousel Boutique!
Octavia, is it? The princess told me you would be coming.
That's me. But please, just call me Mistress. Why don't you have a seat over here? Yes, there. Would you like tea?
Just a moment.
Here you go. Sugar?
Oh, I do so look forward to working with you, darling; it really was a stroke of luck the princess had you available.
Right now all you have to do is wait - I still need to mind the boutique for a few hours before we can get you set up.
Well . . . what do you know about fashion?
That's what I thought. No, darling, I do think it's best if you simply sit tight there and leave the boutique to me.
Oh, it's no trouble. Just try not to disturb me, okay?
So, darling, I don't think there'll be any more customers today. Shall we get started?
Oh, just leave that here; you won't need it anyway. There isn't anything perishable in it, is there?
Well, there you go. Come, it's this way. Down the stairs, after you. Here, let me switch on the light.
Why, it's a dungeon, darling. I thought you would be familiar with such things already?
Absolutely not - perish that thought at once! Not that it's any of your business, but I have a perfectly satisfactory circle of lovers without needing the princess to press-gang anypony into banging me, thank you so much. Why, if I didn't know any better, I'd almost think you were trying to offend me. Believe me, darling, you don't want to offend me.
Did I remember to tell you to call me Mistress? We're going to get along much better if you call me Mistress.
That's better. Now, if I remember correctly, you're a cellist, correct? So you do most of your work standing on your hind legs?
Wonderful! I think I've got just the right thing to start with, then. Hold out your forelegs, please.
This is not too tight, is it?
Now for the blindfold. Here we go. How many hooves am I holding up? Good - up you go.
Yes, the winch is a bit slow. Just have patience.
I think that's about it. You can still reach the floor like that, can't you?
I'm winding your tail up in a knot so it won't get in the way. Try not to ask stupid questions.
Haven't you figured that out yet? I'm going to hurt you, of course.
Of course you won't talk, darling. But you can scream for me if you want to. It's all soundproofed.
Good morning, darling! Did you sleep well?
Yes, I can see that might be a problem. Let's hope I won't have to do that again, shall we?
Oh no, you did good yesterday. That's why you're free to move around in the cell.
Yes, you did pass out at the end. Don't worry, I won't hold that against you.
To set expectations, darling. Now that we both know what I can do, I'm sure the rest of the week will go a lot smoother.
Would you like breakfast? I've got hay and hay and hay and - oof - a fresh bucket of water. Eat up; the princess is paying.
Of course not. I do need to go up and open the boutique now, but I'll be back in the evening after closing time. And because you were a good filly yesterday, I'll even leave the light on.
Thank you, what?
Good, and don't forget that.
Good evening, darling! Are you awake?
Yes, I imagine it can be a bit boring. So let's get to work, shall we?
Just come out here, this way. Don't trip on your chain. Sit up here. Yes, upsie! Your hooves go here and here - surely you've been to the farrier's before?
Yes, there are a few extra straps on this one. Keep your head still, then I'll - good. Everything nice and tight now?
Now, if I understand correctly, your main defense at trial was that your victim couldn't have performed sexually if he didn't want to, right?
Goodness gracious, such language. I think we'll need to muzzle you before we proceed.
So the plan for today is that I'm going to give you a nice warm sponge bath and grooming, and then a massage. I know that isn't what you expected - but if you want me to stop the massage and instead begin hurting you like I did yesterday, all you have to do is orgasm. That's easy to remember, isn't it? And no risk of mistaking it because ponies are in complete control of such matters.
Is this too hot? Just lean back and relax. I'll lather you up first . . .
This is nice, isn't it? I think you like it. Almost ready for your massage now, too - you're tensing up a lot in those hindquarters, but I'll get it all worked out, don't worry. We have lots of of time.
Why, look at you go! Squirting, convulsions, barely controlled moaning - that's your signal, I believe. You must really want to get punishment instead of this. Very well - just a moment while I fetch the whip.
Okay, I think that's enough for today. Can't have you faint on me again, can we?
That's all the straps. Can you walk back to your cell by yourself?
Good girl.
Goodnight, darling. Sweet dreams.
Good morning, darling! It's a beautiful day today.
Of course you can't see that from down here. How thoughtless of me. Here's your fresh water and hay.
I have to go, darling, the boutique doesn't run itself. Enjoy your day!
Good evening, darling!
Very good! You get a treat for that. Here!
So, these stocks are what we'll be working with today. Come on out and get into position.
I wouldn't recommend that, darling. I'd only pull you out by the chain - I have a winch out here, remember? And you'd lose bunk privileges. It folds up, you see. You'd just have the floor.
Smart choice. Now, your neck and forehooves go here. Then we close it shut. It doesn't pinch, does it?
Good. And - oof - for your hind legs here - oof - bit further apart, please. Yes, like that.
So, I think you remember the rules from yesterday. You'll get hurt if you choose to come; otherwise just relax and enjoy.
We'll begin with the feather duster. Are you ticklish?
I'm quite impressed by your behind, darling. Even after all I've done to it, it's still -
Stop that! I don't have to tie up your tail, too, do I?
Ooh, there we go again! Almost as much as yesterday. Now I have to hurt you. Why do you do that?
See, I've brought some tools with me already. Haven't you always wanted an ear piercing? It does cheeks too.
. . . What?
Who's Rusty?
There's no Rusty here, darling. He can't help you. Let me just wipe those tears off and then we can get to it.
Do you want it up here, or perhaps more out towards the edge? No? Well, if I have to choose myself, I think somewhere in the middle is best. Ready? Here we go -
. . .
Breathe, darling. Nice and calm, yes, deep breaths. We still need to do your other ear; I've never held with this fad for asymmetry everypony is -
That's just crazy talk, darling. Now be a good filly and hold still while I -
Yes, let it all out.
You know, I think we'll save that cheek piercing for another day and just have a good spanking instead. I've got some lovely studded paddles I'd like to try . . .
Okay, back into your cell.
Get up, darling. You're not getting any more today.
Faster!
Good morning, darling! Here's your breakfast.
And let the princess down? You should know better than that, darling.
Good evening, darling.
Be quiet!
So what I was saying is you need to entertain yourself tonight because I need to, um, go and help my sister with some dreadfully important homework. Funny how that kind of thing can pop up all of a sudden, isn't it? Certainly not because I'm not eager to get on with your punishment, of course. You can borrow a flogger if you want to continue by yourself -
Sorry. Bad joke. Darling, I really need to be going. Terribly sorry to leave you hanging, but you know how it is, don't you? Family.
Anyway, don't wait up. See you tomorrow.
Good morning, darling. Enjoyed your night off?
Bon appetit.
Good evening, darling! Ready for tonight's session?
I suppose it doesn't. Let's get on with it, though. Stand over here with a hoof next to each of these rings in the floor. Just a simple tie-down for today.
You know the drill by now, I think -
Sorry, didn't catch that. I know you can't what?
Darling, that can't be. Why, you said yourself that everypony knows -
I see. So would you say this is true about stallions too?
You guess? Okay, let's make a deal, then: If you can come up with the right conclusion from that, I'll go easy on you tonight. Okay?
I think you know perfectly well what I'm waiting for.
There's nothing 'perhaps' about it, darling. Try again.
Very good! That wasn't so hard, was it? So you win an easy ride. Do you still want the massage first?
No? Hmm, I suppose even if something feels good you can still not want it to happen. Who'd have thought that?
I'll get started, then.
That's it for today. Let me just get your legs free, and then you have the rest of the night for yourself.
Darling, that was going easy on you. Don't you remember the other nights? I've kept count.
That's a rather ungrateful attitude, I think. But that's up to you. Good night.
Good morning, darling! Feeling better today?
Oh, pardon me for asking.
Good evening, darling!
No, don't bother getting up; we'll keep it right in the cell today. Hold out your forehooves. Good. Now point them up towards the sky, so I can get the cuffs hung from that hook up there. Yes, like that. Nice and helpless now?
Now, today I'm going to -
For pony's sake, it's only a crop. You know a crop, right? It goes like this.
Oh, stop bawling like that, dear, it's most unbecoming.
Stop crying! It's a fucking crop. It barely even stings! See! What's the matter with you?
You're pathetic, do you know that? STOP IT!
You will be punished unless you stop crying this instant!
Okay, you want something to cry over? How about this? And this? And this and this and THIS -
. . .
Now see what you've made me do.
It's disgusting, is what it is.
Okay, have it your way, see if I care! I'm done here.
What? Why? Give me one good reason I shouldn't leave you hanging there?
You wouldn't know that if it crawled up and bit you in the night. . . . Okay. I'll let you down. Because I'm generous like that. You know that?
Yeah, keep the cuffs.
Bucking foal . . .
Good morning, darling!
Goodnight, darling!
Good morning, darling! Do you know what day it is today? It's the day I can let you go.
Yes, one week, that was the plan.
Officially you have until early afternoon, same time as you showed up. But I think I'll just kick you out now. Let's call it good behavior.
No, I didn't think you would. So here you go -
Hold still for a moment so I can get the collar off you. Right you go, up the stairs.
Don't forget your bags.
I'll take care of that. Now just -
Goodbye.
* * *
"Princess?" No.
"Princess, wake up."
Leave me be.
"Princess, please!"
"Uh . . . what time is it?"
A lackey swims into view, one whose name I don't remember. "Eleven in the morning, Your Highness."
"Is the castle on fire?"
"No, Your Highness. But there's a Miss Rarity to see you."
I sit up and shake my head, trying to wake up.
"She said it was important," says the lackey apologetically. "And she is on the Purple List."
There's a small number of ponies, other than guard officers on duty, that we trust to judge when something is really important - monsters-are-invading important, that is - and get access to Tia or me simply on their say-so. The element bearers are all on that list, though they haven't been told they are.
I manage to pull myself up to something approaching consciousness, and scramble out of the bed. "Send her in."
The lackey leaves, and I have time to run a bit of magic through my mane. Perhaps that's not strictly required - Rarity, if anypony, already knows me at my least presentable - but if she comes to me at this time, she needs me to be The Princess.
Rarity comes in, a model of composed grace. She nods politely to the guard showing her in, and turns to me as he closes the door. Then her façade drops. "Never. Ever. Ask me to do that. Again," she hisses.
"To do what?" Perhaps I'm not awake enough yet.
"That pony! The pony you sent me. Octavia."
Right. "Her first week with you ends today, doesn't it?"
"Yes, it is done," she says tonelessly. "Princess, please. I can't do that again."
What gets to me is how quiet she is. The Rarity I know would be loud and theatrical when something doesn't go her way. This? It's as if the dramatic entrance was all she could manage and now she's spent. That must mean something is gravely wrong. I walk over beside her and wrap a wing around her. It's more Tia's style than mine, but what can I do?
"Rarity, please . . . dost thou need to lie down?" I guide her towards the bed, sweeping my blankets out of the way with my magic. She climbs onto it, and I lie down beside her, still wrapping her.
"Rarity, what happened?" I knew Octavia would be a tough nut to crack, but Rarity has faced dragons. What did she do?
Rarity shifts around under my wing, collecting herself.
"I did what you told me to, but . . . she begged. She cried. She just wanted to go home . . ."
"She broke," I summarize for her.
"Utterly." She sniffs. "She even confessed."
Are we talking about the same pony here? "She confessed?"
Rarity nods. "Said she knew the stallion hadn't wanted it. To . . . to get me to stop . . ."
"So you let her go," I conclude, cutting to the chase.
She tenses up slightly. "Of course not! But, um, I may have neglected the actual punishing the last few days. And I will not do it again!" she says, with resolve.
Oh, Rarity! I give her a bit of a squeeze with the wing. "Rarity, you don't have to do it if you don't want it. But - what went wrong? I thought it would be just the job for you."
"So did I!" she almost shouts. She inches away from me, and I pull my wing back. "And I, I did like it at first. But then she began crying and shaking and being miserable -"
I look at her. "What did you expect? I, too, become miserable when you have me over."
"Not like that!" She looks suddenly confused. "I mean yes, but not . . . It's true that you don't like it, but . . . you still want it, somehow."
"I see." She has a point. No matter how I try to let go, I still know I deserve my own punishment. Octavia wouldn't have that; I should have known.
"At least we know for certain now that you're not a monster," I say.
Rarity slides down from the bed and walks over towards the window, sighing. "It doesn't feel that way."
I sit up straight; time to get into character now. "Rarity!" I say, letting a hint of royal command seep in. "You did a task for the state, one that turned out to be dirtier than we thought. But doing it doesn't make you a monster. Enjoying it too much might have, perhaps. I apologize for making it yours, but I truly thought I was doing you a favor. I see now that I was wrong. You are hereby dismissed, honorably, as royal Master of Pain, and I will figure out what to do with Octavia."
Did all of that come out right? Nopony should be called upon to govern on four hours of sleep.
Rarity turns around with a cautious smile. "Thank you, Princess," she says. So it can't have been all wrong. "I'm sorry for waking you up."
"No, the fault is mine. But I really should -" I stifle a yawn.
She hides a grin reasonably well. "Sorry, Princess, going now, Princess!" She scampers out the door.
I let myself fall back on the bed. What now? With Rarity taken care of, I still need to do something about Octavia. I promised her a way to avoid exile, and no matter what she might deserve, where would we be if the word of a princess is worth nothing? On the other hoof, I can't simply let her go free. Oh joy, I may need another meeting with Obiter Dictum . . .
Not right now, though. I pull the blankets up around me and go back to sleep.
* * *
We don't meet many doms in the Rescue Service. Oh, about two-thirds of the customers who call Hissy Fit are doms, but when we ordinary rescuers get sent out somewhere, it's because the dom is not there - excepting the few times when they arrive in the nick of time. So, deep down, we tend to think of them as the ones who desert our clients. You can say what you want about selection bias (and you'd be right) but that's how it goes, at least for me.
I got a lot more respect for doms as a group after Vinyl tried to teach me to top. That stuff is hard! And exhausting. I was perhaps not the best of pupils - most of our sessions ended with Vinyl hugging me and awarding points for effort. Eventually I think I kept on only by sheer stubbornness: This should be right up my alley, not like weathercraft or playing the piano, but just a matter of reasoning out the right thing to do when. Brainy stuff.
Well, that and perhaps I felt I owed her after dragging her through that trial.
It became a bit easier after I figured out she would become especially frustrated with me whenever I said something in a way that implied the role I was acting out was not myself, even when we were talking after a scene. Avoiding that kept her in a better mood, though it also made it difficult to ask what I should have done differently.
One night, at the end of a spanking exercise where I felt I'd gotten my persona at least halfway right, Finey Jr. refused to participate in the big finale. After a few minutes of fruitless jumping up and down, I lay back on the bed, cursing at the ceiling.
Eventually Vinyl stood up - I'd forgotten to restrain her for the scene - and took off her gag.
"Finey," she said with a slow sigh. "Have you ever thought maybe we should . . . I dunno . . . just be hugging friends instead?"
"Perhaps," I said, still looking at the ceiling. I had been about ready to admit defeat anyway. In a way I felt relieved.
A few moments went by before it occurred to me that I was being broken up with. Oh well, if it didn't feel any worse than this, it was probably for the best. "I'm sorry," I said.
She was about to sit down next to me, but caught herself with a wince. "You don't really enjoy any of all that, do you? I can tell."
No shit. I shook my head slowly.
"But I think I need somepony who does that. That's the only way I can deal with a stallion. I'm . . . I can't just change what I am, you know?"
I sat up and reached out to hug her from the side. "It's alright."
She didn't move. "Thanks," she said hollowly.
There was one thing I needed to say before she went away. "You should know I forgive you," I said. "For that time with Tavi."
That did make her smile a bit. "Silly colt," she said. "I knew that." She turned around and hugged me back. "Friends?"
"Friends."
Late one night, about a week afterwards, Vinyl showed up on my doorstep and asked if she could borrow the couch. "I'm an idiot," she said. "Kinda still used to just crashing at, you know . . ." She grimaced, scratching her crest with a foreleg.
"Of course," I said. "Come in."
She had been summoned to Canterlot by Princess Luna to discuss the terms of her community service. The deal turned out to be that DJ PON-3 would be playing for free at a number of public events over the next year or so. And a few formal court functions too.
"I don't know what to think about that," she said. "It's gonna give me a lot of publicity, and Celestia knows I need that right now, but how is that punishment? I thought I'd be sweeping streets or something."
"What did you think? You've got a talent; naturally she'll want to use that. Would you take those jobs for free, just for the publicity, if you didn't have to?"
"Buck no. Not gonna undercut myself that way."
"See? Look, I forgave you already. Roll with it."
She sighed. "Thanks. Oh, and the princess gave me a letter for you. I've got it here somewhere."
Dear Affine Scheme! I hope you are satisfied with how your case turned out. Though, let it not be said that I have perverted justice for your sake; I should hope our ordinary courts would have reached the same outcome, had they heard the evidence I did.
Speaking of what should be said, I understand from Vinyl Scratch that you have not told her you were the one to bring the case to my attention. I am afraid I let that slip, thinking she would already know. If you did not want her to, please accept my apologies. It will be up to you how much more to tell her.
I only ask that, even though you are free to tell ponies that I did owe you a favor, the circumstances in which you earned that favor must remain untold.
LUNA
While I read, Vinyl put down her bags by the couch and sat toying with her travel hoofcuffs.
"Can I get you to hide the keys for me? You don't have to dom, just . . . it feels more real that way."
I smiled. "Of course. Old friendship's sake?"
"Mmhm." She floated a set of keys over to me and began cuffing herself up.
"Do you know what the letter said?" I asked.
"She didn't tell me. Is it a secret?"
"In a way." That was only half a lie, and it would have been awkward to start to explain how I'd been keeping things from her but couldn't tell her all of it anyway.
"Okay," she said, and lay down, chains clinking faintly. "Goodnight."
"Sweet dreams."
The next morning I saw her off towards Ponyville at the station on my way to the Institute. |
The Rescue Service | 15. Ever After | Octavia took a train back to Canterlot and stayed in bed for several days, sobbing into pillows. She didn't want to be behaving that way, but she couldn't stop. She didn't like how she had behaved with Rarity either. Losing her cool, crying, begging. . . but most of all losing her cool, not being in control of herself. And the lies. Octavia was not usually squeamish about employing a few untruths to get what she needed, but some of the lies she told Rarity to get her to stop had hurt to tell. Especially the ones that claimed the prosecutor had been right. She dimly remembered believing those lies as she told them, anything to make the hurting stop.
And what if it was right, if the stallion hadn't wanted it? It was still his own fault; then he should have complained more. Served him right for not standing his ground. Like you stood your ground with Rarity? asked a small, traitorous voice inside her. But that wasn't the same. Was not was not was not.
On the third day she managed to convince herself it didn't matter. It was all in the past; she couldn't change it anyway. And there were things that needed doing in the now. She stood up, took a bath, and went out in the world to find out whether she still had her position in the Fillyharmonic after her trip to jail and subsequent conviction.
Nopony seemed to be really sure who could even decide that, but at the end she managed to get the issue settled in her favor, by the tried and true device of fucking the concertmaster. The old goat of a unicorn, who had her meet him in a tiny hideaway in Starview so his wife wouldn't find out, fancied himself a submissive, but had so specific ideas about how he wanted to be topped that he might as well have swung the floggers himself. Diapers and bare-hoof spanking do not belong in the same scene, was Octavia's firm conviction - or at the very least not in that order - but she was not there to enjoy herself anyway, so she came through for the cause and landed the deal. It was a distraction, at least.
"Name and business, ma'am?" The two guards at the castle entrance crossed spears in front of her.
"Octavia Melody, for a rehearsal with the Fillyharmonic."
The guards looked at each other. One of them pulled out a list and leafed through it. "Sorry," he said. "Felons can't enter the castle, except with an escort for official business."
Octavia smiled her winsomest smile. "Sorry, I didn't make it clear. I'm in the orchestra, not just audience."
The guard shrugged. "Doesn't change the rules."
"Look, I work here, okay?" She swallowed several choice words about the guards which wouldn't have been helpful in the situation. "That means I'm on official business."
Now the other guard spoke up. "Actually, the Fillyharmonic is an independent charity that borrows the Great Hall for some of its activities." He nodded smugly. "Not official business."
Octavia looked from one guard to the other.
"Say, didn't you use to date Sergeant Trombone?" asked the first one.
"Why, yes!" she replied, eager to get through with these nincompoops. Who'd have thought Rusty could still be useful?
"Old pal of mine right back from basic," said the guard heavily, looking past Octavia into the distance. "Poor guy was devastated at being dumped. Tried to tell him it was prolly just a misunderstanding, but, y'know . . ."
"Ah, yes," improvised Octavia. "I probably ought to talk to him, get that cleared up."
The guard nodded, but didn't say anything more, just stood there scanning the castle square for approaching enemies.
"So, are you going to let me in or what?"
The other guard sighed. "You heard the corporal, lady. No felons in the castle. Now scram, or you get to add disorderly conduct to your collection."
It would be easy to throw a fit, make a scene, demand their commanding officer. But Octavia had better self-control than that. She couldn't imagine it would end well; the guards were stronger than her and could retaliate with impunity if she annoyed them enough. She considered trying to seduce her way in, but that wouldn't work either. Damn Rusty.
She turned around and left.
When she came home she found an official envelope in the mail. It contained a summons from Princess Luna - no, not a summons: she was 'cordially invited' to pay the princess a visit (at the castle she had just been barred from!) to 'discuss adjustments to your community service'.
She broke down laughing in the kitchen. It wasn't actually funny, but the surrealism of it all overcame her. After she calmed down, though, she had to admit things looked pretty bleak. Unless she found something to do about the guards, it looked like she didn't have a job after all. And now the princess wanted to see her again, no doubt to alter the deal into something even worse than Rarity. That was bad, bad news.
How had everything suddenly gone so wrong? She knew it, of course, knew that it was all her own fault. It had began going wrong the moment she started letting other ponies make the decisions for her. That had to stop now. She had to take control of her life back.
It took her most of the afternoon to convince herself she had to do it. It would involve sacrifices and discomfort, yes, but it was the only way to get back in charge. She would not meet the princess to hear her latest humiliation; instead she would take the option none of the fuckers expected her to.
She played a violent, determined rhapsody long into the night, until the pony downstairs had enough and came knocking angrily on her door.
The next morning she went to the provost's office to demand the one fate that was hers alone to claim.
* * *
Cressie is first out of the train when it halts, jumping up and down excitedly on the platform. Pokey and I follow at a more dignified pace.
As soon as we're down, the conductor gives a short peep of his whistle and the train starts moving again. The Coltanooga sleeper usually doesn't stop in Mill's Crest at all, but Pokey has pulled some strings and made it so we could get off anyway. He doesn't really have to impress me with how important he is in the railways, but I don't mind as long as some of the special treatment rubs off on me. Having a hot meal in the dining car was much nicer than rumbling along in the local, eating sandwiches and getting here hours later.
After the train has left, the platform is lit only by a single lantern on the side of the small station building. Pokey stands below it and fetches a long leash out of his bag, which he clips into Cressie's collar. That calms her down somewhat.
"I thought we couldn't do that until we were there," I say to him while we walk up the modest gravel road leading away from the station.
He shrugs. "We have a kind of understanding with the locals. They know what's going on anyway, and as long as we keep the real naughty business out of sight, they won't complain about seeing a leash outside the estate now and then."
There probably aren't that many locals either - as far as I can make out by the lights, there's just a few houses huddling around the train station. Back in Canterlot the nightlife has barely begun by now, but here our own hoofsteps and the soft clinking of Cressie's leash are the only sounds to be heard. There's a brook babbling somewhere too, I think, and out in the distance our train is passing over a bridge with a series of ka-dunk's.
After a few minutes' walk, the station road joins into a larger highway. On its opposite side runs an old stone wall, interrupted by a driveway flanked by wrought-iron gates that look like they haven't been closed for years. A lit sign besides the gate declares it to be our destination: 'Club Campanile, resort & playgrounds', and below that in smaller letters, 'Sorry, no walk-ups'.
Behind the wall, the cobbled driveway curves gently through the darkness, marked by park lamps that make little islands of light on the ground every dozen paces.
Two ponies come walking towards us up ahead, a couple of youngsters about Cressie's age. The mare is dragging the stallion by a rope and collar. When Cressie spots them, she trots ahead, as far as her leash will let her, eager to make new friends. I stay close by Pokey, brushing my flank against him for moral support. These will be the first ponies from his 'community' I meet without being on the job with a script to follow. I'm sure everything will be all right, but . . . it's nice to have somepony to stand beside me.
The colt is clearly much less enthusiastic about the meeting than Cressie is. As she comes closer to the couple, his expression gets progressively more panicked, and he seems to try to hide behind his marefriend. "Sweetie," he pipes up, "do we really -"
With a look of sudden fury she jerks him towards her. "What did I tell you about talking!" she hisses. "Are you trying to embarrass me in front of those ponies?"
She baps him in the face with the free end of her rope, and he winces and tries to shy away from her. "Weep," he says, blinking.
Apparently 'weep' is how he represents the whinge of a distraught puppy. Cressie can do that much more lifelike - I catch myself feeling a bit proud on her behalf.
"Heel!" barks the mare, pulling the rope tight for a second more before releasing it. Her coltfriend slowly turns around and sits down beside her, looking sullen.
Pokey clicks his tongue to call Cressie back to his side, on his other side from me. We walk towards the couple together.
"Evening there," calls out Pokey. "Here for the obedience training, I take it?"
"Yeah." The mare sighs and rolls her eyes. "It had better work."
"That wasn't so bad, was it?" asks Pokey. The scoundrel, he knows I was apprehensive. No, not a scoundrel - I'm just not used to anypony understanding me that well.
"No," I admit. "But then again you did the talking there."
He nods. Ahead of us, the lodge comes into view behind a copse of trees. It's a large old country house, inviting light streaming from many of the windows.
"It's really not that different from ordinary society," Pokey says. "Well, one rule. If you see a pony wearing head tack, they're being in character with their role, and you shouldn't talk to them unless their master invites you to. Same with a collar if there's a leash attached to it. But a collar without leash just counts as jewelry, so you can talk to that pony."
That doesn't sound too complicated. "I can talk to Cressie, right?"
"Of course." He chuckles. "You're in her pack already."
Cressie has run a bit ahead, but hearing her name she turns back and looks up at me, head cocked. I ruffle her mane with my magic, and she smiles and starts walking again.
The lobby behind the ornate front doors is brighter and more modern than I had expected. Pokey walks us directly to the reception desk, off to the side.
"Checking in, please. Pierce, two nights."
The receptionist smiles and implies a bow. "Of course, Master Pierce, ma'am. You'll need a kennel for the pet too, I suppose?"
Cressie, sitting meekly by Pokey's side, looks up at him uncertainly.
"No, we'll just take her with us to the room -"
The receptionist holds up a hoof. "Very sorry, sir, but we have a strict policy of no pets in the rooms."
"Are you sure? She's very well-behaved," says Pokey, pulling a coin up from his bag and setting it down softly on the reception desk. It's a single bit. "I guarantee you won't get any complaints."
The receptionist deftly sweeps the bit down on his side of the desk. "I guess we can bend the rules just a bit," he says, all smile. "Is there anything else?"
"Well, would you happen to have one of the small dungeons available sometime tomorrow?"
"Let's see . . ." He consults an appointment book below the desk. "I have number three, six to eight p.m.; would that be alright?"
Pokey nods. "I'll take it. And a kennel for that period, too."
"Of course, sir. Your room is number eighteen, up the stairs and down the hall. One or two keys?"
"Did you really bribe that pony one bit to let Cressie stay with us?" I half-whisper to Pokey as we're reaching the top of the stairs. "And he took it?"
He nods and grins, stopping at the top landing. "It's a code of sorts. Some of the members like to play at being forced to put their pet away by hotel rules. So the convention is that you can bribe as much as you want; as long as it's an even number of bits they'll be completely inflexible and you get nowhere. But if you make an odd offer they'll hem and haw but ultimately take it. So everypony gets to choose for himself how large a bribe their scene calls for."
That sounds pretty clever. "So a single bit is just a way to say you're not playing that game at all?"
"Ahem," says somepony. I swivel around and see an earth mare has come out from the corridor and is waiting to get past us. Wearing a silk jacket and matching earrings, she looks like disdain made flesh.
"Master Pierce, would it be too much of an imposition to ask that you entertain your . . ." - she pauses, looking me up and down - "companions in a place where you don't block the main stairs?"
Pokey intercepts her, affable as always. "Why, Mistress Harshwhinny! What a pleasant surprise to meet you here."
She gives an unimpressed grunt. "If you missed me, all you had to do was show up at either of the last three Trustees meetings. Now, though, you will excuse me; I am late for my dungeon slot. Come, bondsmare!"
She pushes past me and Cressie and down the stairs, followed by a white unicorn with a wild electric blue mane, wearing a bright red halter. As she passes by me, eyes downcast, I suddenly recognize her as the defendant Finey introduced me to after his court case. I remember the head-tack rule Pokey told me about, though . . . which is a good thing; I'd have no idea what to say to her if it had been allowed.
Pokey leads the way down the other end of the corridor.
"What was her problem?" I can't help asking once we seem to be at a safe distance.
"Harshie? Don't mind her, she's really sweet once you get to know her, so they say. I think she was trying to impress her new sub. Well, here we are." He stops at the door marked 18 and opens it. "Ladies first."
It's a very nice room, bright and spacious with a dark hardwood floor. Pokey hangs up Cressie's leash by the door and goes to one of the built-in cupboards to get out a large pet basket which he places on the floor next to the armchair set.
I sprawl out on the bed. "So what's with all the talk of dungeons?"
"They have dungeons in the basement you can hire, if you're lucky and they aren't booked already." He turns from Cressie to me. "I could give you a real trip down there, with proper equipment. If you want, that is," he adds with an apologetic smile.
I can see he doesn't expect me to say no, but I like that he's giving me the opportunity anyway. If I nix it, he won't even complain, but be a complete gentlecolt, and we can spend the entire weekend playing the vanilla couple on a romantic getaway. It could be nice enough . . .
Still, a dungeon! I have rescued ponies from dungeons, generally shoddy affairs thrown together from crude wooden boarding with no attempt at finishing. But I can't imagine anything in this place being shoddy. Picture myself strapped tightly to a solid, well-made rack, helpless before Pokey as he turns to me, brandishing a - Oh, yes!
"That would be . . ." Nice? Lovely? Hot? I haven't yet figured out a dignified way to ask him to tie me up and spank me. Good thing he keeps taking that initiative himself. "Belch wants!" I growl, cavehorse-style.
"How can I say no to that?" He sits down on the bed and begins massaging one of my hind legs. There's a tenderness in the way he looks at me, something that goes beyond the smooth charmer he was at first. I think. "We can do whatever you want, you know. It's your monthiversary".
"Yours too," I protest. "And Cressie's."
He nods. "But yours twice over. No, not in the bed. Down!" The last is to Cressie, who was about to climb into the bed with us. She folds her ears back, looking crushed.
"Aw, do you have to?" I plead on her behalf. "It's a new place; it's not as if she'd learn the bed back home is for her. And it is her monthiversary too."
Pokey sighs. "Okay, just this once, then. Come, girl."
She jumps onto the bed and burrows in between the two of us, burying her face in my side. I reach a hoof over to scratch her ear.
Pokey shakes his head with a resigned little smile and takes to petting her neck. "Perhaps what we ought to do," he says thoughtfully, "is see if there's a space for you at that pet obedience course that starts tomorrow."
At first I think he's talking to Cressie, but he's looking straight at me. I stare back. Pet obedience? That's not what I expected at all - is it really something I want? Me in Cressie's place, not speaking, sleeping in a basket? I have a sinking feeling that I should have expected it - and I already feel bad about that feeling, because she likes all that perfectly well. Who am I to put myself above her?
"Do you think it's time now?" I ask, stalling for time while I try to sort out my feelings. It would be kind of a privilege too, isn't it?
Pokey looks confused. "Time for what?"
"Long ago you said I was not ready to call you master yet. Is now it?"
He stops stroking Cressie and looks at me intently for several seconds. "Bellchaser," he says carefully. "I don't think you can ever do that."
I'm too confused to respond.
"You like being dominated in bed, and you're wonderful at that. But calling me master, that would mean you let me run all the rest of you life too. I'd tell you where to go, what to eat, when to sleep, where to sit. You couldn't do that for very long."
"I can try harder," I hear myself say, surprising myself with how determined to prove myself worthy I feel.
"It's not a matter of trying," he says with a smile. "Do you think Cressie needs to try to be mine? She just is." He ruffles her mane lovingly. "And you're you, the strong determined mare I also want to be with. Don't you ever think you need to be something different from that."
He's right, it is a relief not to have to do all that. "But - that pet training . . ."
"Oh, that!" Suddenly he laughs. "No, sorry, what I meant was you could go with Cressie and learn to handle her right. You're doing pretty well by yourself, but it would help you to be more sure of what you're doing."
That makes a lot more sense. "Would you like that?" I ask her, and she raises up her head and licks my face in assent.
"You go and show all those other pets how it's really done," says Pokey. "But it's often the owners who have the most to learn. Remember that mare we met on the way from the station? She's the one who really needs the course."
"Mmmm." I relax back on the bed, still cuddling Cressie with one forehoof. I do like the idea, though it will cut into the time all three of us have together.
"Pity we only have two days here," I say.
"We could just stay on. I'll call in sick."
"Nah. I have to be at the office Monday morning anyway."
'The office' is what we call my old apartment. I haven't yet dared to tell Hissy Fit I've hooked up with a client, so I need to be there whenever I'm on call for the Service. I get some writing done too, but sooner or later it'll have to stop. It costs almost as much to keep the place as Fizzy pays me - and she might not even fire me when she finds out. Other than her, I've long since stopped even pretending I haven't moved in with Pokey. Which reminds me -
"I love you," I say. "Both of you." It's not the perfect moment, but I could wait forever for that. And I've known for weeks I'd have to spit it out at some point on this trip.
He pulls me closer with his magic, reaching out a leg across Cressie in an attempt to hug us both. "I love both of you too," he says. "I never thought that could make sense, but it does. Thanks for setting me right."
"It's Cressie who did that." I give her a squeeze, and she turns around to lick Pokey.
I never thought I would be using the L-word on anyone, either. It doesn't mix well with fuckbuddying. But here we are, me and my big, firm, thoughtful, perfect stallion, and my - whatever it is Cressie is to me. Marefriend? Herd sister? Adoptive daughter? Pet? Never mind what exactly; she's mine. And I am hers. And his.
I am so lucky.
* * *
One day, a few weeks after Vinyl and I called it quits, I ran into Cinna at a Marebucks I had ducked into for breakfast on the way home from a morning rescue. The place was almost empty except for her, sitting at a corner table with a cup of something foamy and a magazine. I just had time to regret that I couldn't go over and talk to her, before she noticed me and waved me over with a bright smile. Perhaps she doesn't have the same kind of rules against talking to clients outside work that we have in the Service.
She was wearing a fancy hat and earrings with reddish gemstones in them that made her look a million bits. I didn't wait to be asked twice when she invited me to sit down.
"How are you doing?" she asked. "I never got to hear how it all ended - did you meet up with that pony, what's her name?"
So I told her all of it, from how I met with Vinyl at Rosemore Point, to getting the princess involved, to the trial and its outcome, and how Vinyl ending up doing community service. I felt happy to be telling Cinna things again; good memories, I suppose.
"Okay, back up a moment," she said eventually. "This letter you had from the princess, was that a fancy diploma on yellow paper with an embossed seal and signed by the Chancellor of the Household?"
I tried to remember how it looked. "Sounds about it. It was yellow all right."
She nodded. "Affine, do you have any idea how big a deal those royal favor certificates are? One of my clients has one - framed on his wall, and he makes sure to show it off to every visitor he gets. And there's another who has kept his in a safe deposit box for twenty-five years because nothing is ever important enough to use it on.
"But you, you had one, and you went and spent it just so the pony who assaulted you could get to feel better?"
Did I screw up again? "Sorry. But I - she needed it so much, you know? What good would it do me to sit on it forever?"
"No, no." She shook her head. "I'm only . . . very impressed you would do that. So, um, are you happy together now?"
"Not really, not in that way." I shrugged. "She likes mares."
"I see." She took a long thoughtful sip of her coffee. "Say, how would you feel about meeting up again sometime?"
Oh, I'd love to. But, alas - "You know I can't afford that."
She shrank back into her chair, looking small and defeated. "I wasn't thinking of charging," she said quietly.
"What - you're asking me out?"
She nodded. "But, well, you know what I do for a living, so I understand . . ."
"You do a fine thing for a living," I said, almost automatically.
She didn't look convinced. "It's not always workplace emergencies, you know."
"No, but - I mean, the things you do for yourself, even if they're the same kind of things, they mean something different when they're not a job, don't they? Something more?" I wasn't sure whether I was trying to cheer her up or trying to convince myself that it would be okay to date someone of her profession. Probably the former - the idea of having Cinna for an actual marefriend was too large to contain right now.
"That's a noble way to think." She sighed, letting a hoof fall down to the table. "Not many ponies can keep thinking it, though."
I put my hoof on hers. "I can try."
* * *
They let Octavia out of the brig when they were two days out of Manehattan. She had tried to tell them that it was not necessary, she was coming willingly after all, but the captain had his instructions for the handling of transportees and wouldn't budge.
Once she could go abovedeck, she spent much of the passage leaning on the gunwale, staring out to port at the Equestrian mainland crawling past in the distance, an endless parade of headlands and bays.
Eight years. Eight fucking years.
It wasn't a life sentence, of course. Why, she would barely be forty by the time she could return. Plenty of time to start living again. But until then . . . well, she'd just have to make the best of it.
Curat de Minimis had tried telling her that the two-year prison term the princess had tacked onto her sentence, like a cherry on top, effectively did make it a life sentence. There wouldn't be anypony forcing her into prison, he said; she would be free to choose when or if she'd go. She just wouldn't be allowed off the island until she'd chosen to stay in a cell for two years. Many exiles never quite got around to that, he said.
Curat was a fool. He didn't know what a pony can do when she puts her mind to it.
After three weeks at sea they reached Windhowl Key, an irregular grey-green knoll that rose out of the water, growing larger and larger for most of an afternoon and evening. Then the sun set, and the captain ordered the anchor dropped so they could approach the island in daylight. The approach was treacherous, he explained to Octavia over dinner. He appreciated having cultured company on the ship; she didn't even have to sleep with him.
The garrison commander himself came down to the pier to welcome her to the island. "You can call me Skipper," he said. "Everypony does."
She shook his hoof and managed a smile.
"It says in your file you're a sex offender," he continued. "We won't have to make you wear a bell, will we?"
"I hope not, sir."
"So do I. Just see to it that I won't hear any complaints, alright?"
"I will," she assured him. "Where do I go now?"
"Hmmm. To begin with you can stay in 'Codstring' Trotter's old hut down in the village. Been empty for the last few years; just ask anypony for the Mansion. But you'll have to keep yourself fed, no room for loafers here. Got any skills you can make yourself useful with?"
"I play the cello." She gestured towards the instrument case she had just carried down the gangway.
He shrugged. "Not a whole lotta demand for that, up here. Tell you what, go see the gang boss over there, with the red mane; you can earn some bits helping unload supplies from the ship."
"I have money," she said, perhaps a bit too testily.
The commander cocked an eye at her. "To last you eight years? Up to you, though - you can always check into Pension Steel Bars up at the fort when you run dry."
She would have to do that sooner or later, of course - she didn't intend to stay here ever after. But not right away; she needed to discover who was who in the island community first, perhaps make some connections in the garrison. Give it a few months, half a year perhaps. Then she'd be better able to control the circumstances she'd serve her time under.
There was also the possibility that the real princess, Celestia, would rein in her out-of-control sister and issue a pardon. She couldn't afford to rely on when that would happen, of course, but it would be foolish not to give it some time to play out before she went to extremes.
"Thanks for your advice," she told the commander, leaving it carefully ambiguous whether she was being sarcastic. She turned from him and walked towards the pony he'd pointed out. Even if she didn't need money right away, it would probably be best not to begin acting the wealthy emigree just yet. And she might as well start getting acquainted with the locals.
There were perhaps a dozen ponies busily unloading sacks from the ship. She looked them over while she went nearer, trying to gauge which of them commanded the most respect from the others.
Hmmm, one of them reminded her a bit of Rusty . . . |
The Rescue Service | 16. Epilogue | In the later years, after recordings began making it back to the mainland to become unexpected cult hits, it became fashionable among a certain faction of the avant-garde in Canterlot and Manehattan to travel to master classes on Windhowl Key during the summer moons, braving the elements. The ponies who went came back full of inspiration and anecdotes to tell their friends.
Yes, it was clear even to one who hadn't seen the pictures that she must have been beautiful in her youth. Her teaching was captivating, otherworldly, magnetic - even if she never raised her voice and her lavender eyes always wore the same melancholy expression. No, they couldn't explain it.
That wasn't what the audience wanted to hear about, of course. "Is it true what they say?" they asked, again and again. "Did she try anything?"
The returning students would grin nervously before admitting that they didn't know. They'd all had the rules drilled into them on the ship, and if one or two were curious or rebellious enough to break them, they certainly weren't fools enough to admit it afterwards.
Always walk in pairs. Carry a whistle. Don't answer personal questions. Never be alone with the Maestra. |
The Real Dazzlings of Canterlot City | pre | "Wasn't there a Miss Chili on the contestant list?" Aria questioned.
Opening her list of contestants, Aria and Adagio searched for the name Miss Chili. "I don't see a Miss Chili." Adagio said. "Do you?"
"Nope." Aria simply replied. "But I do see a Miss Beef Stew." Both girls look at each other.
"Aw Damn."
In another tent not to far away, Adagio, Sonata and Aria stood scratching their heads while the Mayor spoke with the officer about the human sized pot filled with chili while a dead Miss Beef Stew simmering in it. "Well, it pains me to do this, but I guess I'll have to cancel the rest of the fair." spoke the mayor while look at the pot.
"I don't understand," Sonata said. "Miss Beef stew wasn't Miss Chili, there wasn't even a Miss Chili."
"She was Miss Chili last year." the officer replied grabbing a ladle and dipping it in the pot and sipping some. "Still hot too."
Aria turned to Adagio with a disgusted look on her face. "Ugh, this is disgusting."
"Hm, It would seem that our killer added some jalapenos. We're dealing with a culinary expert here." grabbing some sour cream, he scoops some out and dumps it in the pot. "Does anybody have any crackers to go with this?"
The mayor just put her hands on her hips glaring in the officer. "Crackers?! Listen Sergeant Sprinkles, you better find our killer before I decide to cancel the rest of the fair and maybe your job as well! Get me?"
"Gotcha Ma'am." Sprinkles replied looking down.
"Good, now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back with my date." and with that the mayor walked past the girls and out the door.
"Your name is Sprinkles?" Sonata asks breaking the silence.
Sprinkles sighed heavily glancing off to the side. "Yes, High School was not a fun time either."
Aria slowly puts her hand back down.
"Well that was a total bust." Adagio complied walking around the fairgrounds. "Whoever this person is, is seriously messed up in the head."
"Not to mention being one step ahead of us." Aria added. "What are we missing?"
"Ooh! Ooh! I know! I know!" Sonata exclaimed."
"Oh please, enlighten us." Aria replied folding her arms.
"Ok! Get this, so apparently our killer chief is targeting the contestants right?" Adagio and Aria nodded their heads. "Well, what if our killer was a constant too! I mean turning Miss Sunday Dinner into...that and what happened to Miss Beef Stew."
"That-That makes sense." Aria begrudgingly agreed. "Sergeant Sprinkles did say that the killer is a culinary expert."
"And speaking of Sergeant Sprinkles, he sure did know how exactly Miss Sunday Dinner was killed." Adagio finished.
Adagio and Aria looked up at each other. "You don't think."
"That's right!" Sonata jumped in with a proud look. "The killer is the mayor's date!"
"No stupid!" Aria replied flinging Sonata's hair. "The killer is Sprinkles!"
"For realizes?!"
"Come on girls. Let's go find our culinary officer." Adagio said waving for them to follow her.
Using their list of contestants, the girls searched throughout the fairgrounds searching for Sprinkles. They went in every tent warning the contestants of certain death if they stayed any longer. "There! That should be all the competition." Adagio remarked. "With no competitors left Sprinkles will have no choice but to leave the fair."
"Uh, Dagi?" Sonata said with a finger under her chin. "With no competitors how are we gonna eat?"
Adagio stood blankly for a few seconds before she facepalmed. "Son of a bitch."
"You stupid girls! You just had to get in my way!" the Dazzlings quickly turned around to the very irate Sergeant Sprinkles. "You just had to stop my revenge."
"Revenge?" Aria questioned.
Sprinkles paced back and forth like a lion stalking its prey. "Yes revenge! Every year I always lose the bake-off! Last place; Every single year. But not this year, this year I decided that I was going to prove that I am the better culinary chef!"
"Look asswipe!" Aria shot back. "You probably lost because your cooking was people! Nobody would eat that garbage!"
"Because they wouldn't see the genius of it! A true genius of the art of cooking can make a meal out of anything! And I'll prove it! By making you three into cupcakes!" he charges towards the girls in an attempt to grab them, but they just simply sidestepped out the way making him fall down a cliff.
Meanwhile at the bottom, Fluttershy was playing with the rabbits in her petting zoo until Sprinkles fell down in the middle of her petting zoo. The rabbits all looked at their intruder and immediately swarmed him as Fluttershy watches in shock as her rabbits devoured Sprinkles until he was nothing but bones. "Huh, that's new." she said.
As for the sirens, they felt no joy in their victory. Sure Sprinkles was no more but their feast was no more as well. Sighing sadly at their poor fortune and an another hungry night, the girls began to walk home until a jet black car with a yellow flash pulled up next to them. "Hey girls," Sunset Shimmer said poking her head out the window.
"Shimmer?" Adagio said looking at her. "What do you want? I don't feel like putting up with your crap today."
"I heard about what you girls did today at the fair." she said. "Saving the constants from a serial killer and all."
"Get to the point Shimmer." Aria said not looking at her.
Sunset sighed as she looked back at her boyfriend who just smiled in nodded at her. "Look, I know that we not the best of friends right now, but I was wondering if you wanted to join Brad and I for dinner. We're going to an all you can eat buffet and I thought that-"
The sirens stop walking and look over towards Sunset. "Why did us ask us this? You know we don't have any money." Adagio said.
"Hey don't worry about it." Brad replied. " I'll pay for you guys."
"You'd do that for us?" Sonata asks. "Even after the whole mind control thing."
"Sure, Sunset was a bad girl herself once." he said as Sunset shot him a glare. "But, if she's willing to forgive ya and be friends, I can too."
The sirens looked at each other, unsure if they should take up Sunset's offer, but the rumbling of their stomachs gave their answer. "Step into the Bradmobile." Brad said unlocking the doors.
"You dork." Sunset replied rolling her eyes.
The girls entered the car and drove away with Sunset and Brad to dinner. Once again they were helped by the same person who defeated them at the Battle of the Bands. "Hey, Shimmer." Adagio said from the back seat.
"Yeah?"
"...Thanks."
Sunset's eyes widen at Adagio's gratitude. "Your welcome." she said smiling. "So, does this mean that-"
"Don't push it Shimmer." Adagio replied firmly.
"Sorry." |
The Real Dazzlings of Canterlot City | Siren Show aka Why do People Watch This Crap? | Another unfulfilled morning in the city of Canterlot City. Adagio Dazzle, ex-leader of the Dazzlings was sleeping in her bed, or at least trying to. Rent day was coming soon and they still don't have the money to pay The General. It was becoming quite clear that if they don't come up with a plan and fast they would most likely be put out on the street.
Seeing that she wasn't going back to sleep anytime soon, Adagio sits up yawning and stretching but couldn't help but feel...off. She couldn't help but feel like she was being...Watched. Slowly getting up from her silken sheets, and looking around her room in her nude body. "Something doesn't feel right." Adagio muttered. "Sonata? Are you in my closet again?" opening her closet door, Adagio found nothing but her wardrobe. "Maybe a nice shower will help."
Grabbing her robe and her towel, the orange haired girl made her way to the bathroom turning on the hot water and stepping into the tub. "Mmm, just what I needed."
"Achoo!"
"Bless you," Adagio said washing her arm. Her face instantly drops as she peaked the curtains. A small camera crew was on the other side video taping her while she was in the shower. "Who the hell are you?"
"Oh great! Now we have to redo that entire now! Great job Adagio!" the cameraman scolded. "Alright everybody, lets take five and try again." the crew disappears from the bathroom leaving a stunned Adagio and cameraman alone in the bathroom. "Adagio, baby, you cant be looking at the camera."
"Sorry?" Adagio apologized. "But why are you guys in our house? And more importantly why are you in our bathroom?"
"We cant shoot your T.V show without your scene Adagio baby, I mean we already got Sonata's and Aria's scenes done so all we need now is yours. Well I better get back to the team, later Adagio baby, Oh and by the way, nice breasts." the cameraman leaves the bathroom shutting the door behind him.
Adagio continued to stand in the shower ass naked and very confused. "What? T.V show? I don't remember signing up for one. Who would even be dumb enough to even sign us up?" Adagio's face instantly turned very angry while gritting her teeth. There was only one person who she knew who do something this stupid.
"SONATAAAAAAAAA!"
Adagio Dazzle- Bro don't lie you know you would tap that.
Of all the stupid *Beep* things Sonata has done, this is by FAR the most *Beep* up thing she has ever *Beep* done! What *Beep* possessed her to even sign us up for a *Beep* reality show! *Beep*
"But Dagi!" Sonata cried. "You were always complaining that you wanted to be adored again! So I thought that this was the best way!"
Adagio was angrily pacing in front of Sonata who was sitting on the couch. "But not like this you airhead! Everyone knows that reality T.V sucks! Like that one show of that guy with twelve baby mamas, or that one show of that one bitch who complains about everything!"
"But I thought you liked reality T.V." Aria said.
"No, that's Soap Operas!" Adagio shot back. "There's a difference!"
Sonata Dusk- You would totally bust a nut on her pretty face wouldn't you?
I don't know why she's so mad at me. I mean she said that she wants to be back in the spotlight again, shoot, even Aria and I would like to be adored again. Without having to resort to internet porn...again.
And Soap Operas and Reality T.V are so totally the same thing.
Aria scoffs while Adagio continues to vent about the differences between Soaps and Reality T.V. "Can we just agree to disagree?" Aria spoke. "Look, I was against this whole T.V show thing, but I got to thinking, what if this actually got us famous? Think about it Adagio, If this show takes off we would be set for life! No more trying to make ends meet only to screwed over by life."
Adagio glances off to the side. "Well."
"Come on Dagi!" Sonata said getting off the couch. "Join in on the fun! We'll be very super famous!" she wraps an arm around Adagio with her other arm pointing forward. "Just think about all the tacos and cheesecake we could buy!"
Adagio mouth water at the name of her favorite dessert. "Well, I do love cheesecake, and I'm sick of actually having to do stuff. You know what? Lets do it!"
"Yay! That's the spirit Dagi!" Sonata cheered clapping her hands. "Hopefully this will go a lot better than that whole internet porn thing."
Aria Blaze- Grab those pigtails and take her for a ride.
Ugh, she just had to mention the porn thing. *Beep* man it wasn't even THAT bad. Look we were young and we needed the money and the only reason it went south was because Sonata is a SUPER freak.
What happened? Well, lets just say that it involved and horse, a golden retriever and a bucket of fried chicken. My ass is still sore from what happened.
The girls were walking in Canterlot City Square Mall with the camera crew following close behind. The lead cameraman required some B-roll footage of the girls while the Producer of the show would join them later.
"Alright girls?" Adagio said putting her hands on her hips. "What should we do?"
"Ooh! Can we play in the arcade? Please please pwetty pwease?" Sonata begged.
Adagio and Aria just shrugged not really caring what they did. "Sweet! I'm gonna go play some DDR!" Sonata said running off to the arcade with Adagio and Aria following her only to find Pinkie Pie standing on the machine with her arms folded.
"Well, well, well if it isn't my arch-rival Sonata Dusk." Pinkie said to the blue colored girl.
"Pinkie Pie!" Sonata growled shaking her fist.
Both girls glare at each other before backing up. "Did you come to take my title of DDR champion Sonata?" Pinkie asked.
"That's MY title Pink one and you know it!" Sonata shot back. "You stole it from me!"
"That's funny, I believe I won it fair and square."
Sonata Dusk- Professional Super Freak
She lies! Lies I tell you! Lies! My DDR skills have no equal!
Still managed to beat you though.
Get out of my personal thoughts Pinkie! And you sooo did not!
"Well then Sonata if you feel that way how bout a rematch." Pinkie suggested. "Right now!"
Sonata was about to accept the challenge until the cameraman stopped her. "Sorry Miss Dusk, but we have to keep moving as the Producer would like more footage."
Stomping her foot on the ground in annoyance. Sonata leaves the arcade but not without vowing vengeance to reclaim her title as the best DDR dancer in Canterlot City.
"I really hate that they have this whole *Beep* thing for a dancing game." Aria muttered.
Adagio Dazzle- The girl who's leg you wanna hump
So after we left the arcade. We continued to roam around when the camera crew got a phone call from our so called 'producer' asking to meet with him at the cafe. So we did.
This had better work. I really REALLY don't want to work at Gamestop.
The Dazzlings and their camera crew entered the cafe looking through the crowd of people for their producer who was somewhere among the crowd of hipsters.
"Oh girls! Over here!" The Dazzlings saw a man sitting down at a table wearing a business suit waving at them. The girls took the seat across from him. "Ah, so you three must be The Dazzlings, hello my name is Rumble and I'm the producer of your show."
"We- We're not going to do porn for the internet are we?" Adagio asked. "Cause the last time that happened I had to-"
Rumble quickly waves his hands at them. "Oh no no no nothing like that! I just heard that you girls would like to be in the spotlight again, well I'm here to make it happen."
Sonata slowly raises her hand.
"No, you're not doing porn. Honest!"
Sonata puts her hand back down.
"I know that this sounds too good to be true girls, but trust me. When we're done everyone is going to love you. Now tell me do you girls have any romantic interests?"
The girls looked at each other unsurely. "Uh...No." they said.
Rumble rubs his chin in thought for a second before speaking up again. "Well that's no good. Study shows that romantic parings are instant hits. Everybody likes romance."
"I don't." Aria said crossing her arms.
"Romance is beneath me." Adagio added. "Not really worth my time."
"I'd rather just hit it and quit it." Sonata finished.
Rumble just rolls his eyes and reaches into his suitcase and pulls out a chart. "Girls, trust me, if you had some romance your show it would acquire more viewers. Just- just at least try it for awhile and if it doesn't work we'll do something else."
The sirens huddled up discussing Rumble's romance idea while Rumble waited playing with his thumbs sweating nervously. "Alright Rumble." Adagio said as the girls broke their huddle. "We've discussed it and we came to a decision. We'll try your idea."
"Really?! Oh thank you! You wont regret this girls!" Rumble said smiling. "Ok, Aria and Sonata you two are now an item."
"WHAT?!" both of them shouted.
"And as for Adagio we've brought someone for you." Rumble began. "They should be arriving right about-"
"Uh, excuse me?" a voice called out making Adagio's neck hair stand. "But are you Rumble?"
"But of course Miss Shimmer." Rumble replied scooting over so that she take a seat. "Please have a seat."
Sunset nods her head and took a seat. "Oh, hi girls!" Sunset greeted the now stunned sirens. "Are you her about the show too?"
Adagio Dazzle- One pissed off girl
What the *Beep*! *Beep* Beep* Beep* Beep* Beep* Beep* Beep* Beep* Beep* Beep* Beep* piece of *Beep*Beep!* Huff* Huff* BBBBBBBBBEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPPP!*
Rumble nods his head answering her question. "Yes they are Miss Shimmer. You'll be Miss Dazzle's lesbian girlfriend."
"Wait! Wait wait wait a minute!" Adagio shouted waving her hands. "She cant be with me! She already has a boyfriend!" Adagio hoped that they didn't break up. Well actually, she didn't care if they broke up or not, but one thing was for sure. She did not want to be with the one who caused their downfall putting them in this mess in the first place.
"Wait, I'm being Adagio's girlfriend?" Sunset said.
"Of course." Rumble confirmed. "Lesbian couples are all the rage nowadays."
"What about gay guys?" Sonata questioned.
"One step at a time Sonata." Rumble said quickly. "So will you join the show Miss Shimmer?"
Sunset crosses her arms humming in thought. "Are you seriously thinking about this?!" Adagio exclaimed raising her arms in the air in exasperation. "You cant be *Beep* serious!"
After a couple of seconds of thinking. Sunset held out her hand for Rumble to shake. "Sure, I'm in!"
Adagio Dazzle- One extremely pissed off girl
Miss Dazzle! Please stop destroying our set! Somebody stop her! Oh shit! She's got Bill! Someone get the tranquilizer darts! Damn she's takin those darts like a champion!
Wait why is she lookin at me? OH MY GOD!
"Excellent Miss Shimmer!" Rumble said shaking her hand. " You wont regret this. Now if you'll excuse me, I must be off, good luck on your show!" Rumble stands up grabbing his suitcase and walks out the door with the camera crew following behind. "Heh heh heh! Those fools, that was almost too easy!" he reaches into his pocket and took out a cell phone. "Hey baby, yeah its done, yes, don't worry leave the rest to me, Don't worry! It will work and we will return to Equestria and soon Twilight Sparkle, Trixie and him will soon feel our vengeance!"
Meanwhile back in the cafe. Adagio was fuming that Sunset Shimmer, her arch-enemy had agreed to be her girlfriend. "Like the hell is wrong with you?! I know that I'm a very sexy bitch and everybody wants me, but you just cant agree to date me! This ain't no fanfiction!"
"Ha! Sucks for you!" Aria mocked wrapping a arm around Sonata.
Sonata grabbed Aria's arm and flung it off of her. "I still haven't forgave you for pushing me in front of a car. That really hurt you know."
"Aw suck it up you wuss." Aria replied flinging Sonata's bangs. "At least you got me and not Shimmer."
"I much rather have Sunset and not you." Sonata muttered to herself.
Sunset held up her hands up in defense. "Now wait a sec Adagio, I know this seems...Sudden, but I can explain!"
"I swear, if you broke up with your boyfriend just to date me, I swear I'll-"
"No no me and Brad are still together!" Sunset replied. "I know that you three don't like me, but just hear me out. Did any of you find that this whole T.V show thing seems kind of sketchy? I mean when Pinkie Pie told me that you guys had your own show I did a bit of research."
"And?" Adagio shot out.
"And there's no producer named Rumble, but that's not the strange thing here. I asked my friends if they knew a Rumble and the crusaders told me that he moved away two years ago. Plus he was twelve and that one looked to be our age." Sunset said.
"Wait, so that means." Aria began.
"We got played!" Adagio finished slamming her fist in her hand. "Oooh just wait till I get my hands around his neck! I'm gonna squeeze and Squeeze and SQUEEZE!"
"Oh no!" Sonata cried. "What are we going to do?"
"We?" Aria said glaring at Sonata. "This was your doing! You fix this!"
"Oh so now its my fault?!" Sonata shot back.
"Yes you dunce!"
Aria and Sonata got in each others face growling at each other until Sunset pulled them apart. "Now there's no point in arguing about it. We have to stop Rumble's plan."
"Which is?" Adagio asked dryly.
"Uh, no clue." Sunset replied embarrassed. "That's why I accepted the role of your love interest, so I can figure that out." Adagio stared blankly at Sunset who was now scratching the back of her hair. "Uh, so, uh...yeah, just act like my girlfriend tomorrow while we figure out what's Rumble up to ok?"
"Fine." Adagio agreed through clenched teeth. "But I don't play the bitch."
Adagio Dazzle- We ran out of sexy things to say about her
Ugh, this is so stupid. I have no idea why I have to be with Shimmer, I mean she was the main reason we're in this mess and the next minute we're dating?! What kind of moron comes up with this?!
I should have just taken the job at Gamestop.
Sonata Dusk- We haven't ran out of sexy things to say about you
Why do I have to be with Aria...Again?! I mean sure we were in item years ago, but that was a long long long time ago. Cant I be with someone else? Male or Female; I don't care just not Aria.
Cant I be with that one guy from that one story on Fimfiction.net where me and the girls haven't seen each other in twenty years? He seemed nice, and he can cook!
How do I know about Fimfiction? Well Pinkie and I sometimes go there and read stories and make fun of the authors. We're surprised that no one wrote a clop-fic about us yet.
Aria Blaze- Or you
...This is stupid...
The next morning, the girls along with Sunset were walking down the streets of Canterlot City with the camera crew filming them as they did couple like things. Like for example, walking down the park, sharing an ice cream sundae, holding hands, recreating that one scene from the movie Titanic, and kissing in public.
"Ok girls!" spoke the lead cameraman. "We got a good amount of footage for the show! You guys are gonna be superstars!"
"We better." Aria mumbled folding her arms.
Before the lead cameraman could tell his crew to begin editing, his cellphone began ringing. "Oh, excuse me for a sec." he answers his phone with the girls waited for him to finish. "Yes sir?...Oh...Oh I see...Well that sucks...Ok I'll be sure to let them know...Bye." he hung up his phone and placed it back in his pocket. "Bad news, guys. The shows been cancelled."
"Are you shitting me?!" Adagio shouted. "What about all that shit we just did?! I even kissed Shimmer with tongue for fucks sake!"
The lead cameraman just shrugged. "Eh, that's show business. Come on boys, our next assignment is a young girl who is sixteen and pregnant." they entered their company car and drove away leaving the sirens and Sunset stunned with silence.
"What, what was the point of that?" Sonata asked breaking the silence.
"What's the point of anything in this damned city?" Aria replied dryly.
Adagio however was frothing at the mouth with her eye twitching and her hands turned to fists breathing heavily and shaking violently; she fell to her knees and screamed to the heavens.
"SON OF A BITCH!" |
The Curse of a Kind Heart | pre | And so she hovered in the darkness, challenging it to play its hand and reveal what secrets it hid.
"Rainbow Dash!" The voice was behind her, the words no longer bright and shiny as the need for the lure was over. Now they were sharp and harsh as the metallic clang of a hunting trap closing around its prey.
Rainbow Dash spun around lightning fast, though she wasn't fast enough as a huge weight crashed into her barrel, tossing her to the ground with savage strength. She landed hard on top of her right wing, causing it to break with a dull crack. She opened her mouth and screamed silently as all the air had been driven from her lungs by her impact with the forest floor. The weight that had hit Rainbow Dash now rested on top of her, pinning her to the ground. She opened her eyes and blinked through the darkness and the tears to try and get a look at what she was facing.
"Hey, Rainbow" Fluttershy said with a cruel, grey smile as she looked down at her. ~~~
Fluttershy was in a dark place. She lay curled in a ball with her eyes closed, trying to imagine she was somewhere else. Anywhere else but where she was.
"What's wrong, Fluttershy? Don't you like me? Don't you want to stay with me?" The voice was as chilling as the first time she had heard it in the Everfree Forest, dripping with malice and cruel intent.
Your not going to give me a choice, are you? she said in defeat. You're never going to leave me alone. No matter how much I ask, or plead, or beg. You're going to make me your prisoner until the day we die.
"Maybe, but It would be more fun for me if you fought back a little." The voice laughed cruelly at its own joke.
Why should I bother anymore? she asked as tears started to fall down her cheeks. You've already won. You have my body. What more could you want?
"I want you to suffer, Fluttershy, just like I want the world to suffer. Now watch as I murder the one you love!"
What?!
Fluttershy's eyes snapped open. There, pinned to the ground by her own hooves, was Rainbow Dash. Her right wing was sticking out at an odd angle and she was looking up at her with an expression of intense sadness and confusion that cut deep into Fluttershy's heart worse than any blade ever could.
NO! STOP IT! I WON'T LET YOU! Fluttershy cried as she suddenly threw all her willpower into regaining control of her body. ~~~
Rainbow Dash didn't know what to make of it. Her best friend in all the world had tackled her and thrown her to the ground, breaking her wing. Now Fluttershy was pinning her to the ground, but tears were cascading down her face and she wore an expression of extreme concentration. Rainbow could feel her hold on her shifting between lessening and increasing in pressure.
"...Fluttershy...?"
Fluttershy's hoof suddenly went from pressing down on her chest to pressing on her neck.
"Ah, that's more like it" Fluttershy said, the cruelty coming back into her face. She no longer shed any tears and the pressure on Rainbow's body was now constant. "That little foal put up more of a fight than I thought she would. I guess she really does love you."
"I don't understand" Dash said. "Who are y--" Her words were turned into guttural noises as Fluttershy's hoof began to press down on her throat with vicious force.
"Which means," she continued as if Rainbow hadn't interrupted her, "that killing you will cause her that much more pain!"
Rainbow Dash suddenly realized that her life was in danger. She had refrained from bucking Fluttershy off of her earlier for fear of injuring her, but better she injure Fluttershy than let her commit murder. Especially since she was the victim.
Rainbow Dash began to thrash under Fluttershy's hooves, but try as she might, she couldn't dislodge the mare. Her wing and the mud made it difficult to find any sort of purchase, and she was stronger than Dash would've anticipated.
Now she truly began to panic as she started to become lightheaded and her thrashing grew weaker and weaker. No!she thought. I refuse to believe that this is how I die, under my best friend's hooves! She had to do something now, or else it would all be over. Her only hope was to somehow get Fluttershy to come to her senses. But how?
"Oh my. What's the matter? Are you hurt?"
Huh?
"G-g-go a-away"
This is...
"I think Rainbow Dash is a very pretty name. At least your name isn't something plain or boring like Fluttershy."
The first day of Flight Camp. I remember. Fluttershy saved me back then by becoming my first real friend.
"Hey, um... Do you think you could, maybe, not tell anypony that I was crying? It's bad for my rep., you know... And, uh... maybe, we could... talk again later? You know... about feelings, and... stuff?"
"That's what friends are for."
Rainbow Dash stopped thrashing. With the last of her strength, she opened her eyes and looked deep into Fluttershy's teal pools, past all the anger and the hatred on the outside. She was looking at the real Fluttershy when she spoke.
"...'Shy..." It was barely a whisper on her lips, but it was enough. "Remember... the day... we... met..."
Hesitation. For a moment, Fluttershy's hoof stopped pressing on Rainbow Dash's neck. She registered surprise as she looked down at her own hoof.
"Wha...?"
Now I know.
Fluttershy suddenly leaped away from Rainbow Dash as if she were scolding hot.
"No! Stay down!" she cried out.
The answer to whether I'm truly kind...
"I said stay DOWN!" she shouted forcefully, holding her head in her hooves.
I had the answer all along. I knew it from the moment I saw Rainbow Dash all those years ago.
Kindness in its truest form... is love.
"No!"
I love you Rainbow Dash!
"Stop!"
I love you!
"STOP IT!"
I LOVE YOU!
"I LOVE YOU! RAINBOW DASH!" |
Glow | pre | "So do I. Always had a thing for adventure stories, especially the classics. Y'know, the hero saves the love of their life from the big, scary monster, they fly off into the sunset and kiss atop a cloud, and the hero promises that they'll always protect their love." With a casual shrug, Spitfire continued, "Gotta love the classics."
"Old pegasus legends," Twilight pointed out. "That's the end the story of Whirlwind and an earth pony named Maple--he saw her and fell in love instantly."
"She was captured by a great dragon, who found her more beautiful than any gem he'd ever seen and claimed her for his horde. Whirlwind snuck into his cave, set Maple free, and fled as fast as he could to get her out before the dragon woke. But..." Spitfire held out a hoof for Twilight to finish.
"The dragon caught his scent, and gave chase. Whirlwind led him up to a patch of rogue thunderheads over the Everfree forest, and kicked them just as the dragon entered!"
Grinning, Spitfire nodded. "Full marks again, hon! You sure know your pegasus lore!"
Finally! Somepony other than her family or Celestia who liked to share in these things! Certainly, the girls would listen and had a few stories they enjoyed, but going back through lore was a thrill! "It was one of my favorites to read with Cadence; Tales of the Founders was another we loved to read. I especially liked the story of how Clover the Clever helped Commander Hurricane trick the diamond dogs to leave the area around the old castle."
"Right, she tricked them with fool's gold, didn't she?" At Twilight's nod, she gave a triumphant pump of her hoof. "Ha! The ol' noggin' hasn't gone fuzzy on me yet! Fleetfoot and Soarin', eat your hearts out! See?" She bumped her shoulder against Twilight's. "This is what I'm talking about. Fun."
Yes. Fun, and private, she thought, smiling as she noticed that Spitfire hadn't pulled away, their shoulders still touching. Warm, like her namesake and the burst of flame emblazoned on her flank.
Memories of nights spent huddled up next to Cadence and Shining Armor during their 'study night campouts' flashed before her eyes--how they arranged pillows and blankets into a makeshift fort, hiding from any who might try to spy on them.
And other memories came forth, unbidden. Magnificent white wings wrapped around her, holding her close while her teacher groomed her mane and asked what magic she'd studied in her free time.
The urge to move closer, to subtly nudge her shoulder under Spitfire's beautiful wing and coax it open to wrap around her was almost too tempting. Twilight rallied every bit of her self-control to beat it back.
Don't force it, she thought, remembering one of Cadence's many lectures on matters of love. Be natural, be the Twilight I always can, don't play a part.
Let the conversation flow naturally--Spitfire did say she wanted this to just be two mares having a nice evening together, whether it trended toward friendship or... this.
Whatever this qualified as. Hanging out? Yes, but the flirting and kiss on her cheek were quite a bit different from hanging out with her friends. A date? No. At least, it didn't seem like one--there had been no prearranged meeting place, it had been presented by Celestia as a way to make a friend and enjoy the night. Although...
Mutual affection and attraction were clearly present, and they had spent time together. So... perhaps a pre-date sort of thing?
Humming to herself, Twilight ground a hoof into the fluffy surface of the cloud. I really should've taken notes when Cadence told me these things.
"Problem, hon?" Spitfire's voice cut through her reverie.
Twilight blinked. "Huh? Oh! No, everything's fine. Just a little lost in thought--I have a tendency to drift off every now and again."
"Oh, yeah? Well, I hope they're good thoughts--especially if they're about yours truly!"
She stifled a laugh with her hoof. "Yes, good thoughts about you, and, well--" she gestured between them "--this. I'm just a little unsure of how we classify tonight. It's not hanging out, and it's not quite a date..."
"Classifying it? Heh, Dash wasn't kidding about you; always ready to study something, eh?" Spitfire chuckled, a teasing grin played upon her lips. "All right, well, let's call it a tryout for now, okay? Tonight is still casual, just you and me feeling each other out. Whatever happens, happens because we both agree on it. Treat each other like adults, 'kay?"
"Okay." Still, Twilight ground a hoof into the cloud. Unfamiliar territory, but with a guiding hoof to help her along. "So, next I ask what hobbies you have other than flying and reading."
Spitfire nodded. "Yeah, that'd be a good start. Nice and easy. Well, believe it or not, I happen to love dancing. I know," she said, shrugging at the look of incredulity Twilight shot her. "Surprising, eh?"
Blinking owlishly, Twilight tilted her head. "A little, yeah. You mean, like, night club dancing, right? Sort of like what Rainbow Dash and Pinkie do when they go to Vinyl Scratch's club?"
"I don't really know who Vinyl Scratch is, but yeah, I like getting down every now and again. It's 'Bolts' tradition to rave after a big show. But a bit more than that--" she smiled wistfully and looked off toward the moon "--slow, fast, cultural, anything really. It's a lot like a flight routine." She turned and winked at Twilight. "Instead, I get to slow down and do it with a partner, though."
"Not counting your team in that?"
Giving her a mock glare, Spitfire lightly brushed her feathers across Twilight's back, garnering a little squeak of protest. "Cheeky mare! You know what I mean!" Another nudge of her shoulder against Twilight's, again not quite moving away. Amusement danced in her eyes. "Sometimes, yeah, my teammates are decent partners. They're cool enough to go with me to parties, and they do a great job of keeping appearances that we're together and don't wanna be bothered."
"Sort of like we were doing earlier," Twilight noted.
"In a way, yeah, but that was more of an act so neither of us would get pulled along--" Spitfire rubbed at her mane, and gave an uneasy chuckle "--strictly wing ponies looking out for one another, y'know?"
She bit her lip, mulling over the notion. "I guess it makes sense. None of you really enjoy the attention, do you?"
"Eh, not all of us." Shrugging, Spitfire screwed up her muzzle and looked skyward. "Firestorm's always got time to do an interview. Fleetfoot and Soarin love signing autographs for foals. Not that I mind doing either of those things, I just need a little 'Spits time' every now and then. I like to unwind."
Certainly a familiar notion. Fluttershy had a rather similar outlook on going to big events--she needed hours before to get herself ready to deal with walking through crowds, and then time spent either with the girls or doting on Angel Bunny to relax after. Socializing with strangers can be rather taxing, she thought. Just greeting ponies at the Gala had been difficult with regard to maintaining appearances, not to mention remembering all the names.
Good. A pony who knew and understood herself--Spitfire had her flaws, but she recognized them and took steps to fix things. The very sort of pony Twilight could respect.
Her tail swished happily, brushing against something soft and silky. She flicked her ear, perplexed, and looked over her shoulder.
A bright blush rose in her cheeks, Twilight felt her breath clench in her chest as she caught sight of her tail touching Spitfire's--deep purple, soft violet, and pink overlapping with a streak of wildfire against the cloud. O-Oh, my. Slowly, she turned to face Spitfire, an apology fresh on the tip of her tongue.
Spitfire gazed back at her, smiling brightly as though nothing were out of the ordinary. "So, what else does Twilight Sparkle do in her free time?" she asked. "And no using 'study' as an answer--I want specifics, hon."
She felt that fiery tail loop over hers. The apology died on her lips. She likes it. "I like learning spells, and trying to craft new ones is rather fun, too."
"Ah, cool. Is that what you studied under Princess Celestia?"
"For the most part, yes." She nodded, licking her dried lips. So close together! "But then she started me on my study of the magic of friendship when she sent me to Ponyville, I met the girls, and, well, the rest is history!" Her wings fluttered, the tips of her primaries brushed against Spitfire's
Spitfire gave a sidelong glance at the contact, but kept her reply to a mere hum and an appraising nod. "Nice. You'll have to show me some of your work at some point. I'd be interested to see what sort of stuff you dabble in."
Twilight's ears perked up. "You want to read about magic?"
"You got it, hon."
A beat.
"Why?"
"Just because I'm not a unicorn doesn't mean I don't have an interest. Besides, it's not like pegasi and earth ponies don't have their own magic." Spitfire fixed her with a sly smirk. "I seem to recall you had a rather healthy knowledge of flight aspects and how to work an anemometer before you ever got these beauties." Her feathers ran softly over Twilight's, tickling and teasing her primaries.
Oh gosh! Twilight had to bite her lip to stifle a gasp, but couldn't quite keep the squeak out of her voice. "It's always been an interest!" she replied in a rush.
"I understand. And magic is something that fascinates me--even though I don't get to study it as often as I'd like. More of a hobby, I suppose." Another nudge of her shoulder, and a waggle of her brows. "But if all goes well tonight, I'll have a chance to read your work, so I've got something to look forward to!"
"If you're interested, I don't see why not," Twilight replied, half focused on the words, half on the light brushing against the tip of her tail. Warm and close. I could reach over and touch her hoof... or run my feathers over hers... "I'd be happy to share a bit."
Grinning, Spitfire nodded. "Definitely. Now, I'm curious. You mentioned these hobbies of yours--" her sly smirk was back in place, she leaned closer, almost touching snouts "--but not a single mention of singing practice! I know you've gotta put in some work to have a voice Canterlotters still talk about!"
Twilight snorted. She threw back her head and laughed. "Back to singing again?" she teased. "Thought you weren't going to press the issue!"
"I can't help it! Your voice just sounds too nice when talking." She furrowed her brows, adopting a stern look akin to one Shining used on his recruits. "Clearly, you're forcing my hoof, Princess. I'm afraid I'm a mare who can only resist temptation for so long."
Another laugh, her shoulders shook as she gave Spitfire a feeble shove. "Oh, go away, you cheeky mare!"
"Nope!" Spitfire quickly looped a hoof around hers, and tugged her forward.
Twilight let out a squeak as she was pulled into a hug. Her feathers ruffled as she found her chest pressed against Spitfire's, their snouts touched together. She fought the urge to lick her lips again. I could just lean forward, tilt to the side a little, and... Not yet.
Soft yellow feathers ghosted over hers. Spitfire unfurled her wings, slowly, almost playfully, wrapping them around Twilight.
A shuddering gasp escaped her lips. Oh my gosh, they are soft! She arched her back, and pressed herself snugly against Spitfire's barrel.
"How's that?" Spitfire whispered huskily. "Soft as you thought?"
Shaking her head, Twilight managed to stammer out, "B-Better! You m-must preen very, very well!"
"Thanks, hon. I do my best--proper wing care is as important as brushing your teeth, in my book." She pulled back a bit to look Twilight over, an odd smile played on her lips. Not quite teasing or sly, more warm and affectionate.
One mare looking fondly at another.
Chuckling, she drew closer. "Look at us--up on a cloud, all alone, with my wings wrapped around you. All we need is a wicked dragon laying defeated nearby and me vowing my undying love and devotion, and we're a regular Whirlwind and Maple!"
Twilight's feathers ruffled and fluffed, warmth flowed through her--from the ends of her feathers to her chest, from her cheeks to the tips of her ears. Likening us to their story... After that came the...
She felt Spitfire shift her hooves up, wrapping and resting them lightly on the back of her neck.
Oh gosh...
"Still want that kiss, hon?"
"Yes," she replied, without hesitation.
"First time?"
A single shake of her head. "A colt kissed me under the mistletoe at school, and another mare kissed me in Ponyville, but she was drunk..."
"No worries. I'll just try to make our first special," she purred. "Ready?"
Twilight nodded.
"Okay. Take a deep breath--"
She breathed in through her snout.
"--tilt your head to your right--your other right, hon!"
Oh gosh, it's happening!
"--pucker your lips a little--"
She licked her lips. Butterflies danced in her stomach. Oh gosh, oh gosh, oh gosh!
"--close your eyes, and here we go."
Soft lips pressed against hers. Twilight felt her heart leap into her throat, time seemed to slow down as she gave in to the kiss.
Warmth. Spitfire's breath on her face, their soft coats touching and rubbing against one another, a lock of fiery orange mane tickling between her eyes. So intimate, but so innocent--a chaste kiss, rather similar to the one under the mistletoe all those years ago. But with so much more in it.
Special.
Spitfire broke away, ending the kiss all too soon. She drew back and fixed Twilight with a grin. "So, that about what you expected earlier, hon?"
Her hooves trembled, Twilight slowly let her hooves wander up Spitfire's chest, running over the smooth, ironed uniform and touching the well-polished medals. She licked her lips, Spitfire's taste and a hint of the rainbow mixer still fresh on them.
More.
Those old books, conversations with Cadence, and Rarity gossiping with the girls flitted through her mind. When lovers kissed, it was a lot more than the chaste kisses of foalhood puppy love. Deeper, more sensual...
Passionate.
Is that what they were? Lovers? No, Spitfire said this was a tryout of sorts--feeling each other out.
Feel it out. "Not quite," she whispered. Drawing close, she gave a tiny smile, snaking her hooves around Spitfire's neck before giving one sudden, quick pull. Capturing Spitfire's lips, Twilight tilted her head further and pressed herself closer.
Her hooves wrapped tighter, she unfurled her wings just enough to touch against the insides of Spitfire's, lightly teasing against them. A snug embrace, warm, hooves wrapped tight, and feathers touching--just like pegasus love stories. Next came deepening the kiss... somehow...
She could feel Spitfire grinning into the kiss, and a little snort through her snout. One hoof pulled tighter against the back of her neck as Spitfire reciprocated, while the other slid up to cradle her head.
Slowly, playfully, Spitfire opened her mouth and drew her lips against Twilight's--tickling, massaging, a sensation so unfamiliar but so very pleasant.
Just like all those love stories said, just like Cadence said.
Twilight sighed through her snout, giving a hum of content from the back of her throat. Breathtaking, that was the word. Her chest filled with warmth, as if her heart were alight with the fire that danced in Spitfire's eyes. Wonderful. Better than I ever imagined.
Breaking the kiss, she smiled brightly at Spitfire, stealing a quick peck to her nose like she'd seen Shining do with Cadence so many times before.
Crossing her eyes, Spitfire wrinkled her muzzle, before grinning broadly. No words were needed, she caught the hint.
Continue.
Spitfire placed a hoof on her chest and lightly pushed, leaning with her to slowly lay her back upon the soft, fluff of cloud. She pushed forward with her hind legs until her chest laid atop Twilight's. Deftly slipping her hoof out from under Twilight's head, she cupped her cheeks and closed the distance.
Warm, soft, the taste of rainbow mixer. Spitfire's hot breath washing over her muzzle.
Twilight let her eyes flutter shut, and tilted her head back. Again, she felt Spitfire's lips drawing over hers, the light suckling as teasing and playful as the mare atop her. And then there was something else--something warm and wet ran slowly over her top lip, poking and coaxing them open. Curious, she parted her lips, and let out a squeak of surprise when it quickly slid inside and touched against her tongue.
Hers. Her tongue.
Slowly, gently, Spitfire's tongue massaged against hers--playfully stroking along the side until Twilight maneuvered to meet it, and then slipping it beneath.
The brilliant spice mixing with smooth strawberry of the rainbow mixer they'd shared, and an unfamiliar taste, unique to Spitfire. Indescribable, like nothing she'd ever sampled before.
But it was good. Whatever it was--this taste of Spitfire--she wanted more, so much more!
She opened her mouth as wide as she could, and pulled Spitfire in tighter. More. Deeper. Twilight timidly poked at Spitfire's tongue with hers, imitating the way she stroked and teased all the way until she brushed against Spitfire's lips.
A low hum, a sign of content. Spitfire pressed down upon her and stepped over, straddling her waist. Her hooves trailed down Twilight's chest, around to massage the joints and muscles where her wings met her back. Another grin, a breathy chuckle through her snout as Twilight arched her back and squealed.
So warm, so close--closer than ever. Twilight felt her eyes roll back into her head as Spitfire found a spot at the base of her tongue to tease. Hooves all over... Breathtaking.
Unclasping her hooves, Twilight let them wander over Spitfire's body--down her chest, trailing to her sides on their way toward the end of the navy Wonderbolts uniform, searching for those flame lick cutie marks on either flank--
But Spitfire cut her off at the pass, grinning into the kiss and giving a little "Ah, ah, ah!" into her mouth. She pulled back, licking her lips to clean off the tiny strand of drool connecting them, and shook her head. "I appreciate the initiative, but no."
Twilight laid her ears against her scalp, ducking her head until her chin touched her chest. "Too far?"
"For me? No, I'm cool with it if you are, but that's a 'no fly zone' out here, hon," Spitfire scolded playfully, giving a meaningful look about the skyline. "We're nice and alone right now, but that doesn't mean it'll stay that way for too long. Never know when another couple on a nighttime flight might come up with a similar idea--believe me, there's nothing more awkward than that."
She untucked her chin, flicking an ear at the wording. A question came unbidden to the forefront of her mind, curiosity at the experience. Not my place, Twilight scolded, giving herself a mental slap. Those memories and relationships are her own business, prying would be rude.
"I'm sorry," Twilight mumbled weakly. "I got carried away..."
"Happens to the best of us," Spitfire replied, leaning forward to steal a kiss to her nose. She gave an uneasy smile, her ears drooped. "In all fairness, I probably shouldn't have kissed you like that, Twilight." She sighed and shook her head. "Out in the open like this, and probably too fast--"
A purple hoof shot forward and covered her mouth. Twilight looked off to the side. "I--No. I liked it. A lot." Far more than you know.
"You're sure?" Though she wasn't looking, she could feel Spitfire's quizzical gaze on her. Searching her.
Twilight turned back and gave a weak nod. "It was... fun. It felt good, and you were... brilliant."
Spitfire smiled and shook her head again. "You're too sweet for your own good, hon." Leaning forward, she nosed against Twilight's cheek, and stole a light, fluffy kiss before settling in to lay her head on Twilight's shoulder.
A frown marred Twilight's muzzle, her grip on Spitfire's waistline held firm. The night was just too perfect, so very much like all the stories and talks she sat through.
"Out in the open like this..."
If only they weren't in the open, she could have more of the same. More kisses, falling asleep in Spitfire's embrace, and waking up together in the morning.
But leaving their cloud bed meant letting go of each other to fly. A short flight if they returned to Canterlot, but still robbing her that precious warmth and Spitfire's rhythmic breathing.
Her ears perked up. Unless... A bright smile split her muzzle, they didn't have to let go at all! She had just the spell for a situation like this!
"Spitfire?"
"Hmm?"
"Could you do me a favor and close your eyes?"
Spitfire raised her head, regarding her with a quizzical stare. "Uh, why?"
"Just trust me. Please?" She pushed her lip out and widened her eyes, her very best pouty face.
With a chuckle and a roll of her eyes, Spitfire replied, "Hon, you have no idea how many ponies have tried that face on me. But--" she kissed Twilight's nose "--if it'd make you happy, sure." She closed her eyes, and mocked trying to look around. "Well, the lights are out! What next, hon?" Twilight fought back a giggle of her own as she lit her horn, her magenta aura engulfed both of them. "Hang on, I hear something. I know that sound--are you casting?"
"Yes. On the count of three, take a deep breath and hold on tight.
"Wait a minute, what spell?
"Teleportation! One--" I wonder if she's done this before.
"Teleportation--huh?" Her brows furrowed. "Why?"
"Privacy! Two!"
"Oh! Oh!" A bright blush tinged Spitfire's muzzle, her tongue ran across her lips. "Hon, if you're joshing me, that's just mean."
Twilight leaned forward, brushing her lips against Spitfire's and holding for a moment. She drew back and whispered, "Not a chance, hon. I mean it. Hold on tight, take a deep breath."
Spitfire grinned and laid down on her chest, wrapping her hooves tighter as she took in a deep breath through her nose.
Unfurling her wings, Twilight wrapped Spitfire up and held her close. So warm. "Three!" In a brilliant flash of magenta, the mares blinked out of existence.
The deep blue of the night sky gave way to bleached white walls, a high arching ceiling, and a tall, paned window. For a second, there was nothing--no cloud fluff holding her, just herself, Spitfire, and dead air.
She squeaked in surprised when they dropped, landing with a soft whomp on the mattress, plumes of dust sent flying into the air by their landing.
Off target! Shoot! "Sorry!"
Pushing herself up, Spitfire grinned. "Are you kidding? That was a heck of a rush! I mean--holy--" she looked around the room as if checking to make sure it was real "--we went from middle of the sky to... er..." Bringing a hoof up, she covered her mouth, her muzzle wrinkled. "An old library or something? Why's there a bed here?"
Huh? Dust tickled her nose, she wrinkled her muzzle and gave a snort to try to clear out her sinuses. What in Equestria? "No, I was aiming for my bed, where did--oh, darn it!" Twilight brought a hoof to her forehead. "This is my old room!"
"No worries, hon." Spitfire's soft lips pressed against her forehead, lingering a moment before she pulled away. Sparing another quick glance around the room, she smiled. "Little bit of dust--" she waggled her brows playfully "--but a nice place. Student days?"
"Yeah. I lived here before Celestia had me move to Ponyville--she gave it to me when I continued on in graduate school."
"Nice! But, if you don't mind, too much dust kinda messes with my sinuses..."
"Oh! Yes, of course! Hang on!" Twilight closed her eyes and drew in a deep, calming breath. Ignore her warmth, focus. Destination is the suite in the south tower that Celestia gave me for my visits, bedroom--preferably on the bed, not above it. "Okay, ready?"
Spitfire settled down on top of Twilight again, nodding into her chest. "Go for it, hon."
"All right. One, two, thr--" just as she finished, Spitfire quickly darted up and cheekily kissed her on the nose "--eep!"
Her horn flashed, the dusty old room disappeared in a burst of magenta. Vertigo, the feeling of falling onto the soft, Celestia-sized mattress. Soft pink walls, a high arching ceiling, and drapes matching her coat.
Frowning, Twilight fixed Spitfire with a narrowed-eyed stare. "You distracted me!"
"Just giving you a little bit of training, help with that focus!" Dotting her muzzle with another kiss, Spitfire sat back and gave a low whistle. "One of the Royal Suites?" She rubbed her eyes, before taking a second look to confirm the sight. "Quite the setup you've got!"
"Thanks. Celestia had it prepared for my stay." Twilight sat up with her, their chests touched together again. "So... here we are," she said lamely.
Spitfire laid her hooves on Twilight's shoulders, her grin falling to an affectionate smile. "Here we are," she purred in reply, her eyes alight with mischief again. Her hooves snaked around Twilight's neck again, pulling her in close.
Hot breath washed over her face, the scent of rainbow mixer, so strong she could almost taste it--and that of Spitfire's mouth.
Unbidden, her tongue ran along her lips. More. But how to get more? Just go for it, like Rainbow Dash might say? Or be coy, like Cadence and Rarity, and set the bait for Spitfire? There certainly wasn't the time to buy flowers and gifts as Shining had done--besides, she didn't even know the sort of things Spitfire liked outside of old legends, dancing, the study of magic, and, apparently, herself.
Not to mention a want to hear her sing.
Before she could give voice to her thoughts, Spitfire caught her in a warm kiss--chaste and sweet like their first, but with something a bit more. The way Spitfire pressed her lips against hers, how one hoof cradled her head while the other drifted up to stroke at the back of her mane, the ticklish sensation of those magnificent golden feathers brushing against hers, it all sent Twilight on a flight above the clouds, without a care in the world!
A bit of daring, she parted her lips and let her tongue run along Spitfire's--just as the older mare had done before.
Spitfire hummed appreciatively and opened her mouth wide, tilting her head to the left and pressing in close. Her tongue darted out to meet Twilight's, the tastes still strong.
Rainbow mixer and Spitfire. Unique, and tasty, she thought. Her hooves leapt to Spitfire's side, just beneath her wings, trailing downward again.
But she stopped at Spitfire's waist. She said no before. Twilight brought her hooves around to the front, toward the mare's chest. The thick uniform fabric felt almost unpleasant--the warmth and soft coat hidden beneath such an inconvenient, cumbersome piece.
Twilight broke the kiss. She panted, her breath mixing with Spitfire's. Laying her hoof on the uniform and giving a little tug against one of the buttons, she asked, "Can I?"
"Just don't pop the buttons!" Spitfire said before pulling her in for another kiss, her warm tongue in Twilight's mouth, exploring every bit it could reach. Her hooves trailed down Twilight's back, one stopping to play with her sash, the other continued on down the small of her back.
Oh gosh! She squeaked into the kiss as Spitfire's hoof neared her dock, circling under and coaxing her tail up. Warm, almost burning beneath her coat, her very being.
Her hooves fumbled over the buttons--she didn't dare use magic, lest she just tear the uniform off Spitfire in her haste. A shudder ran through her as the hem of her dress was lifted, the cool air teased her burning thighs.
That warm tongue, the passion and hunger in Spitfire's kiss, the sudden looseness of her dress as the sash came undone, and a hoof slowly pulling her dress up over her waist--Twilight blocked it out as best she could and finally managed to get one button free.
Too long! Her horn flashed. The front of Spitfire's uniform tore open, gold buttons popped out of their seams. Her hooves leapt to the soft yellow coat. Warm. So very warm.
Spitfire gasped, her tongue retreated into her mouth as she broke the kiss. "You bad girl," she growled playfully. "I thought we agreed no popping my buttons."
"I'm sorry, but..." Twilight's ears laid flat against her head. "They were being difficult."
"Were they now?" Spitfire drew close, kissing her nose, then moving to her cheek, pressing forward and bringing her muzzle up toward her ear, trailing kisses and affectionate licks along the way.
Hot breath tickled Twilight's ear. She bit her lip to stifle the whimper in the back of her throat, her eyes crossed and fluttered shut as Spitfire licked along the outside of her ear. Her wings were coaxed through the slits in her dress, the hem reached her chest.
"I'm gonna have to make you pay for that, hon," Spitfire whispered, before nipping at Twilight's ear. "Four buttons, four cute little squeaks."
Another slow lick, and a fluffy kiss. The hem of her dress pulled over her head, a swish through the air as Rarity's masterpiece was tossed unceremoniously to the carpet.
Twilight felt a firm hoof push against her chest, gently guiding her to lay down. Her back met with the soft mattress once again, her head lay against plush pillows. Oh, Celestia, this is happening! She took a deep breath through her nose and let her lips curve into a broad grin.
The raging inferno beneath her skin spurred her on. Twilight splayed her wings, gazing up at Spitfire through half-lidded eyes as she slowly licked her lips and held her hooves open.
Chuckling, Spitfire touched Twilight's hind hoof, and slowly ran a fore hoof down her inner thigh, gently coaxing them open. "Dear Celestia, where have you been all my life?" she asked as she lowered herself on top of Twilight.
Muzzle to muzzle again, nosing together, they held each other close. Twilight wracked her brain desperately--none of her books, none of her chats with Cadence or her friends told her where to go from here. Certainly, she knew what, but how to get there was beyond her.
Spitfire's smile fell. "You okay? You look a little lost, Twilight."
Oh shoot! A shake of her head. "I'm f-fine! Just, well, you see, this is... that is to say..." Her hooves trembled. "It's my first time going this far," she mumbled.
"Do you want to stop?" She made to object, but Spitfire placed a hoof over her mouth. "Being serious, not playing. Look me in the eye, Twilight Sparkle, and be honest with me--more importantly, be honest with yourself. Do you really want this right now?"
"I do!" Twilight blurted. "I just--I don't really, er..." She bit her lip, her ears drooped. "I don't know how to do this--or go about getting to the point where I can do this with a pony. And I want--I really like everything tonight, and I really like you!"
Spitfire nodded solemnly, propping her hooves on either side of Twilight's head. "I know, I feel the same, Twilight. It's your first time going this far--if I'm your first, I want it to be special, not something we both regret."
Though her words seemed strong, there was a flicker of something else in Spitfire's eyes. Desire, still there, but mixed with anxiety--she really was worried.
Her jaw set. I'm not second guessing this time! Before Spitfire could move away, Twilight darted forward and wrapped her hooves around her shoulders. "Tonight has been special," she whispered, stealing a quick kiss. "I met a wonderful mare, who says the nicest things, teaches me how to flirt and play, and teases me until I tackle her to the clouds and demand a kiss--I want this, Spitfire. I-I want you. Every bit of you."
A hoof slid beneath Twilight's chin, softly caressing. "You're sure?"
She smiled and stole another kiss. "Please, Spitfire. I want this, I don't know how to do any of this, but I want it so badly!"
"All right," Spitfire said with a nod, her smile back in place. Her hoof slid up to touch Twilight's cheek. "I'll lead, but--" she held up her free hoof "--there's one rule, okay?"
"What's that?"
"If, for whatever reason, you start to have second thoughts, you speak up. No hiding it, no thinking I'll get angry and going for my sake--it's for both of us, or neither of us. Deal?" With no alternative, Twilight nodded. "Good girl! Now, that said, we need a word... Oh! Red! That's it! If you wanna stop, say 'red'!"
Twilight raised an eyebrow, cocking her head to the side. "Why red?"
Grinning, Spitfire pressed their lips together, a warm kiss, playful and sincere as ever. But before Twilight could return it, she pulled back and licked her muzzle. "Because code red means bad things in the military--" she placed a hoof on Twilight's chest, gently pushing her back again "--and for the Bolts, it means one of us is about to crash."
Twilight let out a shuddering gasp and spread her legs wider so Spitfire could lay belly-to-belly on top of her, wrapping around the older mare's waist. Oh gosh yes... please!
Spitfire drew in close, nosing beneath her chin. "I don't want to make us crash, Twilight--but I need you to be my wingpony, here. If I'm about to send us down, you gotta let me know. You're the most important member of my team, got it?"
"Yes, ma'am!" Twilight replied breathily. "Wingpony Twilight Sparkle reporting for duty!"
"You're too cute." Without further ado, she drew back just enough to catch Twilight in another kiss.
The warm tongue flicked against her lips. There was no hesitance this time--she parted her lips, happily welcoming Spitfire's tongue into her mouth with her own. The warmth, the taste, the very scent of the mare atop her ignited the fire within her chest.
More.
Feathers met soft, purple coat, stroking and teasing. Twilight moaned into the kiss, and arched her back. The fire burning within so warm, begging for more. Her hooves slid down Spitfire's sides, all the way down to the flame lick cutie mark adorning those shapely flanks. Taught muscles, but soft to the touch, begging to be squeezed and massaged.
As hypnotic now as it had been in the ballroom.
Spitfire's sudden, sharp inhale made her grin against the kiss, the perfect chance to sneak her tongue across into enemy territory and sample that delectable taste again.
But just as soon as she pressed her advantage, Spitfire's wing traced the inside of her left thigh, its slow, tickling touch sent shivers through her body. A squeal tore from her throat, her hooves gripped Spitfire's bottom like a lifeline.
Spitfire chuckled throatily, drawing back to whisper in her ear, "You liked my wings back in the ballroom and up on that cloud--you're gonna love 'em in about a minute. And this is just the warmup act, rookie. I want you all loosened up and ready for the big show so you can bring your A game!"
Twilight let her head rest against Spitfire's chest, the rise and fall of her lover's body as she breathed relaxing, like a metronome slowly lulling her to sleep. The fire within died down to a calm flame, still warming her very being, but sated. For the first time in her life, she felt...
Euphoric? Was that the proper word?
The scent of sweat and sex hung thick on the air. Her coat still wet from waist down, and her muzzle dampened with the taste of Spitfire and... Spitfire clinging to it.
Her tongue darted out to lick around her lips, that wetness, the sweet taste, the feeling of Spitfire's warm body atop hers--grinding, moaning, hooves, mouths, and wings all over one another, lost to their most basic instincts.
"That was--you..." she began, placing a soft kiss on Spitfire's fluffy chest "... no words. I know no words for it."
Chuckling, Spitfire kissed the top of her mane, right near her horn. "Me? You jumped straight from rookie to a full-fledged wingpony tonight, Twilight. Bit rough at first, and very messy all throughout--" a pause, Twilight suspected she was licking her lips to taste the dampness around her own muzzle "--but you came into your own quite nicely."
Twilight giggled at the word choice and tiredly threw in, "And then I came!"
A snort, Spitfire placed a hoof on the back of Twilight's mane and gave an affectionate tussle. "Yes, you did. And I did, too." Silence, Twilight could feel her shifting around as if looking. "Hmm, we did make quite a mess. You wanna take a shower before we call it a night, or--"
"Too tired," she mumbled in reply, snuggling into the warm chest. "Don't think I could move anyway."
"Fair enough. Go ahead and go to sleep, hon." Soft feathers ghosted over her sides as Spitfire wrapped her up again.
"No blankets?"
"They're wet and on the floor, and after that little magic display of yours in the second round, I think body heat will be quite enough." Another kiss to the top of her head, this time closer to her ears. "I'm certainly not complaining." Her hoof began to softly stroke at Twilight's mane. Spitfire began to hum a soft, lilting melody, timing her strokes to the song.
With a smile, Twilight nodded into her companion's chest. "Okay." Planting one last kiss, she closed her eyes, and let the soothing strokes of Spitfire's hoof calm her.
But something about the melody nagged at her. Something from one of her culture studies classes. Where was it from?
"Spitfire?"
"Hmm?"
"The song. Where's it from?"
"Mustangia, hon" Twilight could hear the smile in her voice, one she came to match as she again felt Spitfire's lips press against her mane. "Ma used to hum it to me whenever I had trouble sleeping. You, er, don't mind, do you?"
She shook her head, yawning into Spitfire's coat. "No. It's really nice of you to share it."
"My pleasure. Close your eyes and get some rest. I'll see you in the morning, Twilight."
Twilight sighed in content and let her eyelids droop shut, the melody and soft caress of Spitfire's hoof set her adrift to the realm of dreams, thoughts of a wonderful night shared with an even more wonderful mare lingered in her mind. |
Glow | Interlude 1. What a Dream | The high arching ceiling looked down upon her, the skin beneath her coat burned like a raging inferno. Every breath came in a desperate, needing pant, Twilight moaned and laid her head to the side. Each nip at her felt tipped ear, the trailing wetness of Spitfire's tongue along the outer edges, and each and every fluffy kiss drove her back to the edge.
"Tell me," Spitfire purred, nipping at her ear, "how was your first time, hon?"
She tried to lift her hooves off the bed, but her muscles failed her. Every inch of her body tingled with ecstasy, that raging inferno begging for more.
"W-Wonderful!" Twilight said in a whimper. She gave an insistent roll of her hips, pressing herself against Spitfire. Her tongue felt dry, like it was sticking to the roof of her mouth. The words wouldn't form on her lips.
Spitfire drew away from playing with her ear, beaming as she kissed Twilight's lips. "Ready for round two?"
Round two? She thought though her euphoric haze, a goofy grin split her muzzle. Humming, she flicked her tail against Spitfire's, and returned the kiss with her own. "Please!" she whispered huskily. "Please, more!"
Another kiss, lingering longer and with a warm tongue running against her lips. Spitfire broke it, her lips still brushing against Twilight's as she spoke, "Well, then, let's kick it up a notch. This time, I think I'll skip the feathers and hooves, and just go right to the main course!" Her hooves wandered down Twilight's back, trailing along her wings. "Ready for takeoff?"
A shuddering breath. Twilight arched her back, mewling at the light touch of hooves on her wings. "Y-Yes!" she gasped. "Please, yes!"
Chuckling, Spitfire gave a slow, playful lick from her chin to the tip of her snout. With one last kiss, and a little nip at her lips, she began sliding herself back, her eyes locked with Twilight's as she slowly crawled backwards.
Kisses, licks, nibbling all the way. Slowly, torturously, Spitfire gave no quarter and left no bit of her go unloved. Her hooves and feathers were seemingly everywhere, caressing every bit of Twilight's body, stoking the fire raging within.
Twilight bit her lip to withhold a squeal, her eyes squeezed shut. "S-S-Spitfire!"
Hot breath washed over her waistline, a pair of hooves wrapped around her legs and gently pulled them apart. Spitfire gave a low hum and let her tongue trail along the rest of the way, drawing closer and closer.
Twilight hissed, rolling her hips as if to entice the mare to go faster. Her tail swished back and forth, brushing shamelessly against the silky, wildfire.
"Mmm, somepony's ready," Spitfire purred. She lingered over Twilight's belly, her breath teasing until Twilight's skin burned and ached with want. "Beg for it," she ordered, the sly grin evident in her voice.
A whine tore from her throat. Twilight rolled her hips again, her tail swished insistently against Spitfire's. "Please!" she whimpered. "I-I need you!"
A soft kiss sent electricity through her body. "Do you now?" Spitfire's tongue tickled her belly, her body went rigid, a throaty moan echoed off the walls. "Mmm, how badly?"
Twilight bit her lip and tried to growl, but it came out as more of a needy squeak than anything. "I-I-I can't--You make me feel like I could fly forever! I need you like I need magic--Spitfire, please!"
Flat teeth nipped at her, a little twist drew a squeal from the back of her throat. She was ready, already at the edge, just waiting for Spitfire to allow her to spread her wings and fly away to the very peaks of ecstasy once again.
Mercifully, Spitfire ceased her teasing and continued on toward her destination.
Twilight threw her head back to let loose a deep, throaty moan as the gentle suckling began in earnest. Her forehooves scrambled against the mattress for purchase, her lower half pinned by Spitfire's strong hooves, leaving her helpless to the sensations coursing through her body.
As the world around her faded to a blur of passion and pleasure, there was a flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye. Something midnight blue and twinkling like the night sky...
The scene changed. Soft pink walls became midnight blue, purple curtains faded into a sky blue matching the mane of its occupant when she was a little filly, and the open bed with plush purple pillows was gone, a more ornate, gothic inspired structure with dozens of pillows in its place.
A blue coated hoof reached up to rub at her forehead. Luna blinked, shaking her head as if to rid her mind of the scene crafted by Twilight's dream realm. The beautiful blue dress laying on the floor, tangled with Spitfire's Wonderbolt officer uniform, the sash hung haphazardly over the lampshade.
And Twilight...
Don't think of it, she scolded herself. 'Tis a normal thing for a mare to desire such company, nothing out of the usual. That she found such attraction to Captain Spitfire only speaks of how well her evening went. It means nothing more, nothing less. She slid out of bed, her horn alight with a teal glow as she wrapped her magic around the bell and gave it a ring.
Still, the vision came unbidden to the forefront of her mind. Their youngest and newest princess--her friend--laid flat on her back, mewling and moaning, whimpering for Spitfire to give her more. And Spitfire was only too happy to oblige her.
Stomping a hoof into the floor, she snorted. "That dream was not for me to see, stop thinking of it."
Such matters were private, for the dreamer and their lover alone. Princess Luna walked through the dreamscapes of her ponies to protect them from the horrors created by their own minds--their fears, their doubts, even hurtful words from others.
The fantasies of a pair of healthy mares who had been enjoying one another's company before they slipped out of the ballroom were hardly her business. That one was her friend only made things more personal.
"Princess?" her seneschal's voice called through the door. "May I enter?"
Rolling her eyes, Luna lit up her horn once more and opened the door to reveal a unicorn mare of navy coat and soft pink mane. "When I ring the bell, the request for you to enter is understood, my dear Midnight Bliss. As I have surely told you a thousand times."
Midnight Bliss smiled. "You have, Princess. But I like to ask out of respect."
"Much appreciated, of course." Luna coughed awkwardly, flicking her tail as the scene played out before her again. "If you wouldn't mind, I would very much appreciate a warm cup of tea. No sugar or cream."
"No sugar or cream?" Midnight repeated, blinking in surprise. "Is everything okay, Princess?"
Waving her off with a hoof, Luna offered a smile. "Worry not, my dear. Just a dream that I should've vacated a bit sooner. A private one, if you understand my meaning." Seeing the slight widening of her eyes and her mouth forming a little 'o', she nodded. "Yes, one of those."
Midnight bowed low. "At once, Princess. Shall I have the girls run a bath for you as well?"
"Please do. With the jasmine scented salts. I feel a bit of meditation is in order."
As Midnight turned and trotted off, Luna closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her mind wandered off to the little plan Celestia had come to her with. Playing matchmaker with Twilight. She wrinkled her muzzle. Not the strangest thing she's done, but rather odd that she should be so interested. I should think it more Cadence's cup of tea.
Shrugging, she trotted from her bedroom and made for her private bath. "Well, that plan worked," she mused. "I shall have to see what came of this in the real world, and temper my response based upon the results."
Hopefully, I will be able to congratulate Twilight on her newfound companionship, and wish them both the best of luck in their time together.
> 3. Morning in Canterlot Shimmers
Twilight stirred, letting out a happy, sleepy sigh into her pillow. Never before had she felt so good in the morning, so fulfilled.
And yet, she hadn't the slightest intention of moving from her spot in bed. The warmth, her body against Spitfire's, that taste, how lovingly those hooves caressed her body as Spitfire whispered sweet nothings into her ear, and then lulled her to sleep with that lullaby.
What a wonderful night, she thought, her feathers fluffed up. I take back everything I ever told Cadence when I used to hide in the library during school dances!
It was as if she had enough magic in her to juggle the sun and moon for days on end without breaking a sweat. Or like she could just float through the sky, like a fluffy cloud on the eastern winds.
No, wonderful wasn't the word. There simply wasn't anything to describe it. Shaky at first, but with a patient, loving guide, it was better than she could ever imagine.
Staying in bed after a night like the last, curled up warm and snug with her pillows seemed like a dream. Almost as good as the one she'd awoken from.
Too bad it ended before the good part. A goofy grin played upon her lips, she squeezed her thighs together and gave her tail a merry swish. The memory of how it felt, those feathers teasing and tickling her thighs, Spitfire's tongue lapping at her core. Her entire body felt as though it had been refreshed, like she'd never been so complete.
Yes, staying in bed and just reflecting on the night before was a lovely idea.
Like a bolt from the blue, her schedule came unbidden to the forefront of her mind. Breakfast with the girls, the princesses, and Shining Armor. Get up.
She gave a low whine, trying feebly to push her more rational side away. "Just a few more minutes. I'll make it in time!"
But I promised, she scolded herself. Get up, shower, get some coffee, and go to breakfast. Spend time with my friends and family, as planned.
Her smile ran away from her muzzle. True, she did have plans. Much like she had plans the night before, but she went against them and the evening turned out better than she could possibly imagine.
I promised.
Another whine. Twilight lit up her horn, feeling around for the edge of the comforter with her magic. Nothing. Wrinkling her muzzle, she rolled over onto her back and cracked open her eyes. With a little wince at morning sun's assault on her poor eyes, she peered toward her bed to find her lower half decidedly uncovered--her coat from waist down was matted, some of it a bit sticky as she wiggled her legs to work out the kinks, and her tail seemed a bit frazzled.
No blanket. Had she kicked it off at some point during the night?
Twilight sat up abruptly, peering over the edge to find the comforter laying in a crumpled heap, looking oddly damp. Perplexed, she ran a hoof over the bed, her sheets cold and wet to the touch.
She gave a cautious sniff. Sweat and something else, musty, a bit sweet, and familiar. A scent she'd smelled on Shining Armor when he'd come home from a few dates with Cadence, grinning like the cat who caught the canary--evidence to a bit of sexual activity, as she would later realize.
The realization cut through her haze, her eyes went wide. Sex? That scent in my room--I actually had sex last night! The full weight came down on her shoulders, her heart raced as memories flashed through her mind.
Greeting guests. Spitfire walking up to chat with them. Celestia asking her to accompany Spitfire to the Gala. Drinking rainbow mixers and flirting. Following Spitfire out of the ballroom, her eyes lingering on the yellow-coated rump and swishing orange tail. Flying to meet Spitfire on the clouds for a talk and kissing. Lots of kissing. More than she'd ever had before, and, by the stars, moon, and sun, did she want more.
We came back to the suite, she thought. We had sex. She coached me, and she was gentle and sweet, and we fell asleep together!
She looked left and right, searching for her nighttime partner, her heart slowly sinking into the pit of her stomach. Twilight was alone in bed. Naught but the scent of their activities, her hazy memory, and a couple yellow pinions left atop the sheets remained.
Her ears swiveled back to lay flat against her head. With a trembling hoof, Twilight reached out to take hold of one of the feathers as if to make certain it were real.
The light brush of feather against her hoof made her blood run cold. It was real. The world came crashing down upon her shoulders. All those things they did together, all the sweet things Spitfire said at the Gala and whispered in her ear, was it all a lie?
She left. Twilight bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut, fighting back hot, burning tears of fury and humiliation. Just like those ponies Cadence and Rarity warned me about all those times.
All those lectures about not letting herself get wrapped up in the moment or charmed into bed by some "floozy", lest she allow herself to be hurt should she wake up alone--every time they brought it up, she'd just roll her eyes and say she knew how to take care of herself.
"There's nothing to worry about, I'd never let myself get trapped in that situation."
Her own words pierced through her like a lance. She'd done exactly what they warned her not to do at the very first chance.
A scowl marred her muzzle. Twilight drove the hoof holding Spitfire's feather into the mattress, grinding it as best she could. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" she scolded herself. "You should've known! You stupid, air-headed little filly! Why in the name of Celestia's shining sun would the Captain of the Wonderbolts take an interest in you, other than getting to say she rutted a princess!"
Magic sparked from her horn, the bedside lamp, shattered from a bout of accidental magic the night before, sparked and sizzled. Steam began to rise from the broken shards and frayed wires.
Calm down. She took a deep breath and let her magic recede. The sparking and sizzling stopped, though the smell of burning wires still lingered on the air. You have things to do today, and if you walk around with a scowl on your muzzle, everypony will pester you about it.
Twilight brought her hoof to her chest, inhaling deeply once again. Slowly, she let it go and extended her hoof just as Cadence taught her. Get up, shower, get coffee. Put on a smile and meet the girls. Simple enough. Even if the morning had been sufficiently ruined, the rest of her day was still salvageable.
With one last look at the remains of the broken feather and its intact sister, she gave a derisive snort and rolled out of bed, landing heavily on her hooves. Her mood still sour, she made to walk to the bathroom, but something new caught her eye.
Lying just a short distance away in a crumpled heap, entangled with the lovely dress Rarity had custom made for her to wear, was Spitfire's officer uniform--with all of its medals still attached, and golden buttons missing from her efforts to rid the mare of the cumbersome article.
Her scowl returned in full. Lovely. I get another parting gift for the evening. I suppose I should expect a bill for uniform repairs as well. Scoffing, she continued onward to the bathroom door. "If that mare even thinks of trying it, she's got another thing coming! I'm half a mind to tell Princess Celestia the Wonderbolts can afford to take a rather hefty cut in their--no. Can't do that." Bad. Don't let personal feelings get in the way of being a proper, just ruler. "Well ... I'll just throw the stupid thing back in her face and tell her to fix it herself!"
Much better! And a perfectly reasonable response to everything! Lighting up her horn, Twilight twisted the doorknob and roughly jerked it open. She stepped into the bathroom, closing the door behind her with a loud bang.
Another deep breath, the tension seemed to leave her just a bit. It felt good to get her temper out, even if it was something as simple as slamming the door. Twilight extended her magic out and took hold of the faucets, twisting them and adjusting them to her preferences. Water poured out, slowly heating up until steam rose and filled the bathroom.
This is exactly what I need, she gave a sigh, half-relieved, but still half-angry. Flicking her tail, she stepped in and ducked under the steady stream of hot water.
All the stress, all the aggravation just seemed to run off her as water ran down the back of her neck, over her back and wings, and rolled off her sides. Shampoo floated from its place on the shower rack, then she squeezed a generous bit onto her hooves. Sitting back on her haunches, Twilight began to gently massage it into her mane, the soft repetition like a ritualistic cleansing of body and mind.
Such a stupid mistake. She didn't change a bit. Frowning, she levitated a scrub brush from its place on the rack and squeezed a bit of shampoo onto the bristles. It's the same as when she left Soarin' in the hospital and tried to get Rainbow to join Team Cloudsdale--I'll bet she made up that whole thing about her 'aversion' to being crowded.
The brush froze in mid-scrub. Twilight's jaw dropped. "She lied to Princess Celestia too! Oooh! That mare!" She scowled. "Oh, when I find her, I'll give her more than a piece of my mind! Lying to a Crown Princess in order to get help from another Crown Princess, and then playing me like a lyre!"
Just as she readied to launch herself into another tirade, Twilight managed to stop herself and take another breath. Calm down. She's not worth all this, not if she left me and lied about learning from her mistakes at the qualifiers.
Her thoughts turned to Celestia, how her former teacher might react to this information. She could almost hear her reply, "If this is true, then I owe you my sincerest apologies, Twilight. Rest assured, Captain Spitfire and I will have words--you need not concern yourself with her or myself, though your willingness to rise to my defense is quite heartening in the face of such events ..."
Despite her mood, Twilight couldn't help but laugh to herself. No matter how old she got or how much she grew, Celestia would always look out for her. Almost as though she signed on to have a second mother when she became her personal student.
A second mother who was very busy running the country, and shouldn't have to take time to fix her former student's relationship woes.
Giving a resolute nod, Twilight shut off the water and placed the scrub brush back on the rack. "I can fight my own battles, I'm a big mare now." With a flick of her magic, she was dried off. She stepped out of the shower, trotting over to the sink to look herself in the mirror.
Mane and coat cleaned properly and all evidence of nightly activities gone. Perfect. Her magic wrapped around a brush, a toothbrush, and toothpaste, readying to go through the rest of her morning routine. "Much better, the shower was all I really needed." She nodded to herself, holding her head proudly. "One little mistake doesn't change anything about who I am! It's like Cadence or Rarity would say--her loss if she didn't stick around!"
Yes, that was the way. If Spitfire wanted to up and leave after the night they shared, then that was her problem. She had no idea what she was missing out on!
A thought occurred. Twilight had to bring a hoof to her lips to stifle a giggle. "Oh, dear, I definitely can't tell the girls. If Rainbow finds out, she'll be furious. This makes the third time Spitfire's ruined her own image." With a shake of her head, she set about brushing her teeth. I'd have to enlist a squad of guards to make sure the girls didn't go off and do something silly.
Not to mention what Shining Armor might do.
Giving a visible shudder, she rinsed out her mouth. "It's one mistake on my part, nothing more. I've learned my lesson." Twilight floated everything back into place and gave herself a quick once over in the mirror. "Move forward and don't do it again, Twilight. Like a mistake in a lab exercise."
The weight lifted off her shoulders, Twilight allowed herself a small smile. Today was a new day, after all. For once, she'd have a normal day in her home city, starting with a nice breakfast. Then, perhaps they could all take a walk around town, see a few things the girls were interested in, and meet up with her parents in the afternoon.
Pity dad isn't one for big parties, he and Pinkie were an absolute terror with bad jokes at my post coronation party. Actually, scratch that. It's a good thing. I would've spent the whole night begging them to stop while mom just laughed. Another shake of her head as she trotted briskly from the bathroom, stepping over the crumpled Wonderbolts uniform on her way out toward the living room and the suite's kitchenette area.
A familiar scent wafted into her nose. The rich, smooth aroma of freshly brewed coffee made her ears perk right up and put an extra swish in her tail.
Spike must've woken up early and come over to her room to help get her moving. Naturally, that meant making coffee to tempt her out of bed.
Twilight made a mental note to do something nice for him later on. Maybe they could go get ice cream at his favorite shop, or go visit Pony Joe again. It'd been awhile since the last time she had one of his special jelly donuts, and Spike had been rather helpful around her new castle lately.
Her mind made up, she turned the corner to the kitchenette, a warm, perky "Good morning, Spike" on the tip of her tongue.
Indeed, somepony was in the kitchen and had been about it for quite some time. A newspaper laid open on the table--the sports section, judging by the pictures. But upon seeing the figure standing by the coffee pot, the greeting died on her lips and all attention was drawn to the mare before her. yellow coat, a flame lick cutie mark adorning each flank, her fiery mane and tail dampened and turned copper, magnificently preened feathers, and a towel hanging around her neck.
Spitfire hadn't left after all.
Twilight gawked at the pegasus, watching the mare stare at the coffee pot, humming a jaunty tune under her breath. Upon second glance, she noticed Spitfire's dampened mane hung limp against the back of her neck, highlighting the curves as it reached her toned shoulders.
Not to mention the hypnotic powers that tail seemed to hold over Twilight as it swished side to side to give her a teasing view of those delicious flanks.
Anger, frustration, humiliation all left her. Spitfire wasn't one of the ponies Cadence and Rarity warned her about, she hadn't repeated her mistake at the Falls, and Rainbow wouldn't want to go flying off to give her idol a solid hoof to the face.
Her hoof trembled as Spitfire started a little shuffling step to go with her song, her fiery tail swaying back and forth like a metronome while she bounced to an imaginary beat. Out of uniform, Spitfire was a mare just like her. A flirty, stupidly attractive mare.
And she was standing in her kitchen, humming and doing a little dance without a care in the world as she reached up to open a cabinet and pull out a pair of mugs.
Coffee for two.
Twilight's feathers fluffed up, the warmth from the night before filled her chest as her tail began to swish in time with Spitfire's. She stayed, she made coffee, and she pulled down mugs for both of us--she's waiting for me! Fighting down the urge to squeal and prance in place like she had upon getting her cutie mark, Twilight licked her lips. In a rush, her euphoric state hit her in full force. I'm just so happy I could ... I could sing!
It clicked. Her ears stood up straight as a broad grin crossed her muzzle. Spitfire talked all night long about how she wanted to hear Twilight sing--how word had spread all around town, and the military thanks to Shining--that her singing voice was brilliant.
Since Spitfire stuck around and made coffee while giving her a free show, it was only fair that she get a little reward herself.
Humming a little tune of her own to get going, Twilight broke out in song. Spontaneous, unlike most of what she did, the lyrics weren't planned. Like the night before, whatever came to mind--how happy she was, how wonderful she felt, her relief at finding Spitfire awake and waiting for her, how well-preened those gorgeous wings looked--everything flew passed her lips and into the morning air.
As soon as she started, Spitfire froze, her ears flicked back toward Twilight. Slowly, she turned her head, her bright orange eyes wide and mouth hanging open, the corners tugging upward into a grin.
For once, the more logical side of her, the one that told her when something might be embarrassing and that she should really stop, was quiet. That astonished, exuberant grin spurred her to finish her song, the warmth in her chest mixing with a light, fluffy feeling, as though she were floating on a cloud again.
By the time she finished, Spitfire ruffled her feathers and began trotting toward her, a sway in her hips as she approached. "Well, well, this is a fine 'Good morning, Spitfire'!" she purred, fixing Twilight with a half-lidded gaze. Spitfire stopped and gave her a soft, affectionate nuzzle. "You realize, now that I've heard you sing, I'll just have Soarin' distract those friends of yours while Fleet and I take you back to base!"
Giggling, Twilight stole a kiss. "You'd have to get passed my brother and my friends first."
"I'm in your room, hon." Another kiss in reply, warm and lingering before Spitfire pulled away, her eyes dancing with mischief. "I could have you trussed up, out the window, and halfway to Cloudsdale before anypony even noticed!"
"Hmm, that sounds like intent to kidnap a princess, you know." Twilight countered, bringing a hoof to her chin as a playful smirk crossed her muzzle. "I'm sure I could put in a request for you to be imprisoned in my castle in Ponyville for such a heinous crime, with your wings bound so you couldn't try to fly off ..."
Spitfire snorted, her breath washing over Twilight's face. "Well, then, I guess I'll have to be good, won't I?" Stealing one last kiss, she stepped aside and nodded toward the coffee pot. "Coffee's just about ready. How do you take yours?"
"Cream and one sugar," she replied automatically, her gaze drifting low as Spitfire trotted over to ready the empty mugs.
Didn't we just say that was a mistake? She chided herself, giving a mental slap upside her head. Too fast, even if she has set of flanks I could bounce a bit off and--stop it!
Twilight shook herself, seeing Spitfire pull out a spoon and open up the sugar, she fixed a smile on her muzzle. "You don't have to do it for me."
"After that musical number of yours, yeah I do," Spitfire retorted. Casting a glance over her shoulder, she smirked. "Besides, I did kinda owe you for using your shower while you were sleeping--I'd have asked, but you looked way too cute all curled up like that."
"Th-That's perfectly fine!" she fought the urge to giggle, the corners of her mouth tugging into a full-blown grin. Fluffing up her feathers, she made her way over to the coffee table in the sitting room and took her seat. "Wait a moment." Twilight tilted her head. "Didn't I fall asleep on top of you?"
Snorting, Spitfire nodded. "That you did. You snuggled right up to my chest, let me wrap you up in my wings again, and conked right out." As she finished, Spitfire deftly picked up each mug in her mouth, one at a time, and laid them on an extended wing. With a great show of coordination and grace, she trotted over to join Twilight, her step hardly even slowed by her burden. "Why do you ask?"
Twilight lit up her horn and accepted her steaming mug with a nod of thanks. "I'm curious, how exactly did you slip out of bed so easily?"
"Ah! I see." Spitfire took her mug in hoof and sat down across from her, a sly smirk played upon her lips as she took a sip. "Good stuff, this coffee! Better than the swill at the mess hall--don't tell Dash that, by the way. I don't want her getting scared off because our food's not high class, or something."
The pair shared a laugh together. An image of Rainbow Dash blanching at whatever passed for food in the mess hall flitted through Twilight's mind.
Oh, gosh, I'd have paid to see the first time she tasted that! Twilight sipped at her coffee, sighing in content at the warm, smooth taste. Just what she needed to get going.
Raising an eyebrow, she asked, "You were saying?"
Spitfire blinked and shook her head. "Sorry, got off track. To be honest, I don't wanna say anything, but--" a familiar, sly grin crossed her muzzle "--I learned a few things about you last night, hon. Specifically, that there's a little spot just beneath your ear you just loved when I gave it a bit of attention." A deep blush colored Twilight's muzzle, that grin turned shark-like. "Yeah, you moved a little to give me room to work, so it wasn't much trouble to coax you off me in the morning."
Twilight held back a squeak and quickly took a sip of coffee to try to hide behind her mug. Very good coffee, very warm. A lot like Spitfire last night--stop that!
Her mind kept wandering back to their time on the cloud and eventual transition to the bedroom--memories of her first time flitting through her mind like a play, and she could do nothing to stop them. Such wonderful sensations, warmth and lightness in her body as she gave way to her passions, how Spitfire's soft lips felt pressed against her, all of it brought a smile to her lips.
Still, it was far too fast. As euphoric as she felt now, and when she first awoke, there was still that fury when she thought Spitfire had left her--the bout of temper at how she could be discarded so carelessly was quite fresh in her mind.
She shifted awkwardly, her tail flicking anxiously. "I thought you'd left," she said softly.
Spitfire froze with her mug halfway to her mouth. Slowly, she placed it on the table, the smile wiped from her face. "What?"
Likewise, Twilight placed her mug on the table. She closed her eyes and ducked her head as if bracing herself before speaking again. "When I realized you weren't in bed I thought you'd just slipped away, and were having a laugh with your teammates ..."
A hoof touched hers, gently pulling it over the table to hold. "Look up, hon." She hesitated a moment, drawing a sigh. "Twilight--" Spitfire amended "--please look at me. Let's talk about this like adults."
Almost automatically, she obeyed. Twilight slowly cracked open her eyes, focusing on the yellow forehoof clasping her own.
Spitfire gave a small smile and patted her hoof. "'Atta girl. For what it's worth, I'm sorry for scaring you like that. I forgot that last night was your first time, and didn't really think you'd be sensitive about things in the morning. I showered, and took a flight to get a newspaper while you were sleeping. Thought I'd read while I waited for you to get up, but then I heard the shower going, so I figured I'd make coffee. Kinda surprised me, waking up early after last night."
"I've always been an early riser for school and when I ran the library in Ponyville. This is sleeping in for me," she admitted.
"Fair enough. I might have you beat on that, especially when we gear up for derby season, but I digress." Spitfire sat back and placed her hooves on the seat cushion. "So, what's on your mind?"
Twilight chewed on her lip. "Last night. What we did, talking and flirting, and then coming back here and ..." she trailed off, shyly ducking her head as she struggled to put it in delicate terms.
"Having sex?"
"Yes, that." Her feathers ruffled at Spitfire's candor. "It was ... fun. A lot of fun, wonderful even. The way you made me feel, how nice it was talking with you on the cloud before we kissed, how patient you were in guiding me throughout, er, the sex part--"
"Twilight," Spitfire cut in gently, her smile still in place. "It's just you and me here. You don't have to try to be delicate about what we did together."
"Right. Well, yes, we had sex. And it was a lot of fun, and I really liked it--really liked it." Suddenly, her seat cushion seemed all the more interesting. How did they manage to make it so perfectly soft, but firm at the same time?
"But ..." Spitfire supplied.
She swallowed a lump in her throat, a hoof ground into the cushion. "When I woke up and I thought you'd left, I did exactly what you said you didn't want either of us to feel--I thought you'd tricked me into bed so you could have a quick lay, and left. And I started regretting it, and thinking how silly I was for letting things go so far so fast." Squeezing her eyes shut, she took a deep breath. "I felt embarrassed, and then I was really angry about it until I realized you hadn't left!"
Silence hung over the pair, broken only by the sound of Spitfire drawing in a deep breath and her heart pounding in her ears.
Sighing, Spitfire ran a hoof through her mane. "You don't have to feel sorry about anything, Twilight. It was your first time, and, let's be honest, you've got every reason to think I'd walk away thanks to what you saw of me at the Falls." To Twilight's surprise, she hung her head and let her ears lay flat. "I was stupid letting my drive to win get the better of me then, and I can't stand what I did to Soarin and Dash that day. As far as we go--" she raised her head to look into Twilight's eyes "--I'm at fault, too. It was your first time and I could tell you were lost and nervous, but I let us both get out of control."
"I should've said 'red'," Twilight mumbled.
"I never should've let us get to the point of needing a word, hon." Another sigh and shake of her head. "But, damned if I didn't want you bad. The moment I laid eyes on you last night, I thought you looked amazing, and I told myself to behave. But I didn't."
A rustle of feathers made Twilight look up from her examination of the cushion to find Spitfire rubbing a hoof against her shoulder, her eyes downcast.
Her shoulders slumped. "I think we went too fast ..."
"Yeah ..."
Twilight felt her heart sink like a stone in water. She hung her head low, the full weight of their activities fell upon her shoulders.
Yet, that euphoric, fluffy feeling within her chest remained. How warm their bodies felt intertwined together, the soft caress of magnificent feathers against her body as Spitfire captured her lips in a sweet kiss ...
Far too fast, she knew that. Logically, there were supposed to be steps to these sort of things. Cadence had gone to painstaking lengths to teach her that much--there was talking to forge bonds, then nice dates together, a little bit of kissing, picnics on the hill, flowers and gifts, and then the more mature sorts of things.
Relationships based entirely off sex didn't last, there had to be some sort of basis for two ponies to stay together. There were plenty of examples in favor of Cadence's opinion.
Still, it was all so fun! And felt so good ...
"Too fast," she repeated a little louder. "But I liked it."
Spitfire's ears flicked toward her. "I know you liked it, Twilight, but that doesn't change--"
"I liked it, and I wanted more when I woke up," Twilight cut her off, determined to get her point across. "You--You said you were interested in flirting and things! And--And so was I!"
"True." Shrugging and giving a nod, Spitfire raised a hoof. "Still, I don't feel right about it. And from how you started off and the way you keep looking down, you're having second thoughts. Am I right?"
A nod and an awkward rustling of her feathers. Twilight fiddled with her hooves, warmth flooded into her cheeks. "It was really good, though. I just ... I don't really know what happens from here."
Quirking an eyebrow, Spitfire lowered her hoof. "Mind explaining?"
"Everything I know about relationships is secondary--from informational books, novels, or friends." Shifting in place, she looked off to the side. "It sounds silly, I'm sure, but it's something I've wanted but never really had the courage to go after."
"You said as much last night. So ... okay, this is gonna sound like I'm scoffing, but I have to say it." Twilight flicked an ear in her direction at the shift in tone from remorse to mild amusement. "As much as I love organization, you can't really put relationships, or love in general, into a step-by-step sort of thing. Don't get me wrong, there's definitely a right and a wrong way to do things, but it's not uniform."
Twilight made to counter, a retort straight from one of Cadence's lectures on the subject at the ready. But she stopped short. Cadence is the Princess of Love, she thought, bringing a hoof to her lips. She's well-versed in helping ponies find love and keep it going, just like I am in forging friendships. But I'm certainly no expert on the matter, I just understand it well thanks to my friends. Her ears perked up to their full height. Each of her friends were different, from their personalities to their likes and dislikes, but they all came together and adapted to one another.
On an individual level, however, their relationships differed quite a bit. Rarity and Fluttershy like going to the spa to chat, while Applejack and Rainbow Dash would rather make bets, Pinkie likes to pull pranks and plan parties with all of us, I like to read with Rainbow, learn Apple family history, talk with Fluttershy about animals, have tea with Rarity, and bake with Pinkie. Her tail flicked as she pieced everything together, she glanced up at Spitfire and was met with a rather strained smile and yellow ears pinned back against her head.
Spitfire was worried--her facial ticks, and the telltale rustling of her wing said as much. Whether she was more worried that Twilight might come to regret last night or end things completely, however, she wasn't certain.
"I had a lot of fun last night," Twilight began slowly, "even before we had sex."
Spitfire started. "Wha--er, yeah, so did I. Just talking with you was nice, not even counting the flirting part. Getting to know the mare behind the new princess was cool."
"And getting to know the mare behind the sunglasses, scowls, and barked orders was 'cool' as well." The pair shared smiles, warm and friendly as the night before. "I never would've guessed you liked dancing."
"Just like I never imagined you got into old pegasus tales," Spitfire countered good-naturedly. With a weak chuckle, she picked up her mug again, fiddling with it between her hooves. "So ... we both had fun, and we enjoyed our time together. But I think we both can agree that it was a bit too soon. Yeah?"
Twilight nodded, a sheepish smile played upon her lips.
"Okay, good. Well, not good because we did it, but good in the sense that we can admit it. Progress." Spitfire took a big sip of her coffee, finishing it off in a single gulp. "We're on the same page, at least. And we both enjoyed talking and getting to know one another."
Another nod. Twilight scrunched up her muzzle. "If you don't mind my asking, where are you going with this?"
"Getting there--we started off like we were just a couple mares at the bar, got talking and getting to know each other, and ended up in bed way too fast, even though we weren't drinking. So ... I felt a spark there. I'm not sure just how strong it was, or if you feel the same--"
"I do!" Twilight blurted. Fidgeting in place, she spoke softly, "I-I mean, I felt it, too. It was ... something throughout the night."
Spitfire grinned and nodded. "Well, if we're both on the same page and we both feel there was something between us, we could give it a try."
"It?"
"Us." Spitfire gestured between them with a hoof. "We could go on a couple dates, talk, and get to know each other a little more, see how things work out." Ruffling her feathers, she leaned over the table. "Like a tryout, remember?"
"The last time we had a tryout together, we ended up having sex," Twilight pointed out.
"Then this time, we can lay down some ground rules."
Curious, she raised an eyebrow. "What sort of rules did you have in mind?"
"Simple stuff. Like, we keep the whole 'code red' thing for both of us--the second you or I feel uncomfortable, we say stop. That way, we don't do something completely bonkers, and we don't go too fast again."
Humming in thought, Twilight considered the notion a moment. "I suppose that's fair, though it didn't stop us last night. Maybe we should quantify what 'too fast' is so we have a sort of line of demarcation."
"That could work too," Spitfire said with a nod. "Hugging and kissing is normal couple stuff, so I'd say that should be fair game."
"Oh, wait! Hold on!" she cut in, lighting up her horn and casting a quick conjuring spell. In a flash of purple, a quill, inkwell, and roll of paper hovered before her. She began writing down the information. "Okay--kissing and hugging, fair game. Got it!"
Blinking, Spitfire tilted her head. "Remind me to ask you when you learned to do that--I've never seen anypony pull that off."
"Hmm? Oh! Er, yes, it's a relatively high level spell, so that doesn't surprise me." She raised the paper up to hide her reddened cheeks. "Celestia liked to challenge me, she would give me extra lists of spells to work on outside of my normal course load to see how I could manage on my own. That was one of them." Coughing awkwardly, she steered the conversation back to the subject. "So, kissing--is that with or without tongue? Are there places where one is more acceptable than the other?"
There was a beat of silence, then the sound of poorly muffled sniggering. Twilight peeked over her list, only to narrow her eyes at the sight of Spitfire struggling to keep her laughter under control--those cute yellow cheeks of hers puffed out, a hoof jammed in her mouth to help hold it back.
"What is it?" she asked slowly.
The dam burst. Spitfire doubled over, clutching her ribs as she cackled. "Dang, Twilight! I never knew a pony could make Prench kissing sound so much like an add on service!" she howled between bouts of laughter. "What's the premium rate on trailing my feathers over yours? Do I have to go double if I wanna run 'em over that cute little rump?"
Twilight sucked in a breath through her snout, her cheeks puffed up angrily. Before she could launch into scolding Spitfire, the mare waved a hoof.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, it was just there and I like ribbing my friends." Spitfire rubbed her shoulder, a sheepish smile crossed her muzzle. "Er, right, about kissing. Well, let me put it this way: Prenching in public is right out. It's awkward, and ponies end up staring and talking. Not something either of us want to experience, I'm sure."
Scrunching up her muzzle, Twilight let the scene from last night play out in her mind. Spitfire on top of her, her tongue trailing along Twilight's lips, coaxing them open, their bodies pressed together atop the fluffy cloud ...
All in front of an audience of strangers.
A shudder ran down her spine. "Y-yes. Definitely not something I'd like to go through!" she shook herself, quickly adding a little note to the rules. "S-So, just little kisses in public. The, um, Prench kissing is for private time only. Got it."
Spitfire raised a hoof and made to add something, but paused. Shaking her head, she said, "No, that'll just add more confusion. We'll just stick with that. Don't ask." She shot a look, no trace of playfulness in her gaze. "Moving along. We're doing fine on the public front, as for the rest, the speed can be dictated and adjusted depending on the mood and how comfortable we are with things. I'm a bit more ... experienced in that regard, but I'm more worried about you feeling out of sorts."
"Me?" Twilight blinked. "But you were uneasy too!"
"Yes, but I know whether or not I'm ready when it's clear that sex is an option. Last night, I was more than ready. You hesitated a bit, and I should've taken that as a sign to stop." Another rustle of her feathers, and a rather visible flick of her tail. "I got excited, and I'm flexible with pacing. That said, we both need to figure out pacing for this. So, for now at least, let's put up a red flag on us getting in the mood--if either of us gets to that point or feels uncomfortable in any way, we've gotta speak up for this to work."
Twilight blanched, her magic faltered and nearly dropped the inkwell. "What?" she squawked. "But I--Spitfire, I have no idea how pacing a relationship works!"
A hoof shot forward and caught hers. Spitfire held it tight, turning it over so she could reach across with her free hoof to clasp the back of Twilight's. "There isn't a definitive guide, hon. Not for pacing, and certainly not for love. The only way to figure it out, is by going with your gut. If it feels comfortable, you're fine. But the moment it doesn't ..." she let the words hang, her eyes taking on a serious edge to them.
She was waiting for Twilight to fill it in.
"Code red," Twilight supplied.
Spitfire's lips curved into a winning smile. "Bingo. Likewise, if anything comes up that bothers me, I'll let you know. Anything we didn't cover?"
"Er ..." her eyes flitted to the list. There was hugging, kissing with and without tongue and when both were appropriate, and code red. But there were other things the night before. What's missing... oh! "What about nuzzles?" she asked.
"Nuzzles are always fine," Spitfire said with a chuckle, leaning forward to give a meaningful one to Twilight's snout. "That one, I don't think we need a code red for unless it's something a bit more ... low, if you catch my drift."
She did, the light burning in her cheeks more akin to a raging inferno as she recalled how that went. "Y-Yes. Agreed." Clearing her throat, she hid herself behind the list again, the slip of paper serving as a shield against Spitfire's low chuckle and teasing grin. "One last thing: what about wings?"
Spitfire hummed. "What about them?"
Whining, she lowered the list. "Are you really going to make me ask?"
An eyebrow arched. "Yes."
This mare ... With a sigh, Twilight met her gaze and spoke, "What about using our wings to, er, hug, as it were?"
Spitfire didn't reply immediately, her playful grin fell slightly, a more reserved, almost coy smile crossed her muzzle. "I think," she began, "I'm going to have to use code red on that one."
"Already?" Twilight blinked, then corrected herself. "I-I don't mean that I want to push you--it's just, we did that last night and--"
A hoof covered her mouth. "Yes," Spitfire said. "And last night, things happened too fast. Wing hugs are in that category. I'll explain later, but I'd like to get to know you more first. If all goes well, I'd be happy to wrap you in my wings again and tell you all about how special that is to pegasi." She shrugged. "Of course, if you're curious, you could always look it up. Or just ask one of your friends."
There was a strange gleam in her eyes, an almost challenging look, daring Twilight to take the easy way to get information.
Twilight set her jaw and snorted a breath in Spitfire's face, a little challenge of her own. "I'll wait, then," she said sweetly. "Relationships are built on respecting boundaries, and this is one of yours."
Her smile broadened, the gleam in her eyes only seemed to shine brighter. "Thanks, hon." Leaning forward, she dotted Twilight's snout with a quick kiss. "So, this whole dating thing. Let's plan something out. Simple, mind you. Like dinner--if you're free tonight, we could go somewhere."
"I'd love to, but I already had plans with the girls. Breakfast, walking around town, and meeting up with my parents," Twilight said, her eyes crossing as Spitfire drew closer again, their snouts almost touching.
"No worries, we can work around that. I probably need to make sure Fleet and Soar haven't done anything stupid--I swear, I'm their mother sometimes." Another kiss to the end of her snout, this time closer to lips. "How long are you in town for?"
Acting quickly, Twilight stole a kiss to Spitfire's lips, lingering a moment before she pulled away. "I'll be here for a few more days. How about tomorrow?"
"I don't think I've got anything planned after two or so. Late lunch, maybe? We could go find a place on the, er ..." she trailed off and gave a crooked smile. "I was gonna say less upper-scale end of town. Not that I'm not good for money, but I'd rather start with something a little more ..." she rolled a hoof in the air, searching for the word.
"Conducive to 'real talk'?" Twilight offered, recalling Spitfire's words from the night before.
Yellow ears perked up. "Yeah, there it is!" Spitfire grinned and stole another kiss. "So, how about it?"
Smiling, Twilight gave a soft nuzzle. "I'd be happy to."
"Great! I'll pick you up here around two, then!" With their date set up, the pair stood. Spitfire shook out a little bit of stiffness in her legs. "So, you've got breakfast downstairs?" At Twilight's nod, she continued, "Cool. Let me grab my uniform and I'll walk you down." With one last nuzzle, she turned and trotted back into the bedroom, emerging just a moment later with her neatly folded uniform resting between her shoulder blades. Waggling her eyebrows, she spoke, "I'd put it on, but explaining my sudden lack of buttons might be a bit awkward, eh?"
A tiny squeak escaped her lips, Twilight ducked low. "Y-Yes. Let's just not advertise that, shall we?"
Spitfire only laughed as she trotted over and nudged her toward the door out to the hallway, whispering something about the cute little blush that crossed Twilight's muzzle as they stepped past the guards posted on either side and made their way to the stairwell.
The walk down to the Main Hall was, surprisingly, rather quiet. Spitfire seemed content to just stay close together, so much so that their feathers brushed together, a rather pleasant, ticklish sensation that sent tiny shockwaves through Twilight's body.
An airy giggle escaped her lips. Even if she wasn't quite certain what was so special about wing hugs. The playful brushing of feathers against feathers as they trotted side by side down the grand staircase and turned left down the corridor still made her coat stand on end.
Rather than take a right at the break at the end toward the Grand Banquet Hall, Twilight guided Spitfire to take another left.
"There are a few smaller dining halls," she explained. "Celestia likes to keep things closer together when we're all together--more intimate."
Spitfire nodded along with her. "Makes sense. I'd imagine both she and Princess Luna like to have things a bit more closely knit every now and then." Pausing a moment, she stole a glance to the portraits gracing the white marble walls. Each of them a depiction of the Immortal Sisters, together with their favored students over the years or the greatest heroes and heroines of Equestria. Even the founders themselves.
With a little nudge of her shoulder, she jerked her head toward a picture of Commander Hurricane standing alongside Chancellor Puddinghead, a rather sour glare as his earth pony counterpart tried to force his lips into a smile. "Looks kinda like a couple of my squad mates."
"Or Pinkie and Rainbow Dash," Twilight said with a giggle.
Laughing together, they made their way to the opened door at the end of the hall. The idle chatter of familiar voices, Rainbow's raucous laughter and Cadence cooing playfully as Pinkie Pie mercilessly teased Party Favor, and Shining's grumbling at how "You just can't help yourself, can you Cady?"
Oh, dear, that can only bode well, Twilight mused as they came to a stop just outside. "You could stay," she offered. "I'm sure everypony would be thrilled to meet you."
Spitfire shook her head once. "I'd love to, hon. But if I'm not back at the hotel before noon, either Fleetfoot and Soarin will end up in prison or they'll come looking for me like they're the ones who play 'responsible' around the base. Can't have either of those things happening. Still, there is one thing I'd like to leave you with."
Before Twilight could voice confusion, Spitfire closed the distance and wrapped a hoof around her neck, pulling her in for a sweet kiss.
As agreed upon, there was no tongue, nor playing of wings over her body. Just their warm chests pressing against one another, and Spitfire's soft lips flush against her own.
She hummed, her eyes closed as she allowed herself to be lost in the kiss. Time seemed to slow. The floral scent of the shampoo Spitfire borrowed from her bathroom and the sweet taste of her kiss, a flavor she couldn't quite place, set her heart aflutter.
Spitfire broke the kiss and leaned in to whisper in her ear, "Two part present--kiss was the first, explaining to everypony who just saw is the second! Have fun, hon!" Quick as a flash, Spitfire took hold of her uniform in her mouth and shot off in a flurry of feathers, her teasing laughter echoed down the hall.
Blinking in confusion, Twilight tilted her head. What in Equestria did she--oh, no! Her blood ran cold. Slowly, she turned to look into the dining hall, and found herself met with her friends', fellow princesses, and brother, each sporting looks telling of shock, amusement, or glee.
And at the center of it all, with a merry twinkle in her eye and a raised eyebrow, was Celestia.
"Well, well," the Sun Princess drawled, "it looks like you had quite the evening with good Captain Spitfire, my former student. Please, do share with us, dear." |
Glow | 4. Share With the Class | Though the Royal Canterlot Hotel was only a couple minutes away from the castle, flying over the Canterlot skyline was like having an aerial view over a diorama. No matter how many times she came to the city, whether on orders from one of the princesses or for the Wonderbolts Derby, Spitfire found herself spending more time glancing down at the buildings and watching ponies mill about than any other city.
From the bleach white marble to the soft purples and brilliant golds that decorated the more well-to-do houses and businesses, Canterlot looked like somepony had brought it straight out of a fairytale and into Equestria. Even the outer districts' lower income housing seemed like it belonged in the upper crust neighborhoods of other cities.
A grin made its way across her muzzle. Spitfire shook her head and chuckled. "Ma would probably have a heart attack if she saw some of the prices, even if dad's pension and savings would make it look like a drop in the bucket."
Catching sight of the hotel's rooftop, she banked to the left, circling overhead until she was certain the wouldn't run the risk of trampling some poor passerby when she came in for landing.
She could almost see the headlines in the paper. "Captain of the Wonderbolts tramples wealthy businesspony," she mumbled, rolling her eyes. "Just what I need after last night."
Her bemused grin morphed, a fond smile took its place. The memory of Twilight Sparkle--Princess Twilight Sparkle, rather--sitting beside her on a cloud, all cozy like they really were pair of regular mares on a date instead of princess and Wonderbolt.
So cute, she thought. Awkward, inexperienced, and easily flustered. Wonder if I was like that my first time...
Their first kiss had been so sweet and innocent, but those after full of passion and vigor. A mistake? In her mind, their kisses certainly weren't, but after that... yes. They'd jumped the starting bell and skipped over the bonding portion of the relationship.
Spitfire shook her head. "We're gonna take care of that," she told herself. "This thing has a chance to work, and we're not gonna let it get become something where it's nothing more than 'she's a good lay'."
Angling herself for a leisurely descent, she swooped down, flaring her wings to slow her descent she touched down on the carriage driveway. "Morning," she said to the doorpony.
The young stallion tipped his hat and gave a bright smile. "Good morning, Captain Spitfire!" he said, his voice full of energy. Somepony had clearly given him a double shot today. "Welcome back to the Royal Canterlot Hotel! Is there anything I can do to better your stay?"
"No, you're doing fine, bud." Spitfire waved him off with a hoof. "Just coming back after a bit of a--eheh, late night."
To his credit, his smile didn't falter in the slightest. "Of course, Captain." Stepping to the side, he bowed low. "Enjoy the rest of your stay! Please don't hesitate to ask for assistance with anything you need!"
Her smile strained, but she nodded all the same. Geez, like I'm getting the royal treatment. If only for show. She shook her head as she trotted passed him and into the lobby. Don't be like that, he's a colt doing a job to get himself some bits. Probably happy to have a little coin in his pocket for some hobbies, maybe take his gal out to dinner. Or boyfriend. Or both.
Spitfire gave another shake of her head, her fiery mane whipping back and forth. "Mind your own business, Spits. Ma would give you such a cuff to the ear if she knew you were thinking like that."
And she'd tan your hide if she found out what you did last night with that mare. Her smile fell, a small frown marred her muzzle as she made for the elevator on the other side of the lobby. Passing by the front desk, she nodded to the hotel management as they greeted guests and happily pointed ponies toward Canterlot's finest restaurants and sights. Ma would be all over you for not calling stop when you should've.
"Yeah, I know," she muttered to herself, slapping the elevator button with a bit more force than she meant. Tapping a hoof against the tile floor, she looked up at the elevator floor counter as it ticked down from the fifteenth floor. "I screwed up, I let her fly into a storm she couldn't handle, and she freaked out this morning. We're gonna make this right, though."
Her tapping became louder, more insistent. The dial slowly made its way down, passing by ten, and stopping just at nine.
Scowling, she flicked her tail. I could fly up to my room if it weren't for the window locks. Stupid hotel rules. Of course, the delay would give her a bit more time to think of what needed to be done today.
Checking in on Fleetfoot and Soarin was first priority--the pair weren't typically given to mischief, but they had their moments. The Seaddle Convention Center staff still told stories of that night with the Saddle Arabian prince and his wife, if her sources were correct.
Not to mention they had Rainbow Dash with them at the Gala. Spitfire had to bite her lip to stifle a groan at the thought. Dash was her top prospect, a shoe in for the Bolts once she grew out of that maverick streak of hers. "If those two roped her into something stupid, I'm gonna beat their heads in!" she growled.
As stupid as sleeping with a virgin princess on your first date--actually, that would've been better. That wasn't even a date, it was an escorting assignment given by Princess Celestia herself.
The ping of the elevator bell made her ears flick, and jolted her out of her thoughts. A small mercy. Spitfire stepped to the side to let other guests out, she gave a small wave to the awestruck foals who gaped and mouthed her name.
"Mommy, mommy! Look! That's Captain Spitfire!" a little filly cried, giving her tiny wings an excited flap.
Chuckling, a mare with dusty pink coat and auburn mane bent down and picked her up by the scruff of her neck, placing her daughter gently on her back. "Yes, sweetie, we saw her walk in yesterday, remember?" she cooed.
Spitfire's eyes met hers, the pair shared smiles. With a little laugh of her own, Spitfire stepped passed the group, letting her wing flick out to ruffle the filly's mane. "Hey there, kid," she greeted. "Be good for your ma, 'kay?"
The little filly practically squealed, bobbing her head so fast she would've toppled over if not for a quick unfurling of her mother's wings. Giving a wave of her hoof, she turned back to her mother and chattered excitedly, much to the amusement of the surrounding adults.
So much like Spitfire herself had been the first time her dad took her into the Wonderbolts' Lounge to meet his team. How she buzzed about the room, going from fawning over Firefly to gaping at Cyclone as he warmed up for a few laps around the track and dared her to try and keep up.
Being the gutsy little filly she was, Spitfire took him up on it and promptly found herself eating his dust. But, oh, what a time that had been!
"What floor, Captain?" the elevator attendant asked with a tip of his hat.
"Sixteen, bud. Penthouse suite." She let her mind wander as he flipped the switch, closing the doors and beginning their ascent.
Soft music wafted from the speakers, her ears flicked. Jazz? No, it didn't have any of the saxophone accompaniment or quick strokes of brush sticks against cymbals. Nor was there the ever-popular scat singing.
It was smooth. The piano melody almost made her want to lean right up against the wall and drift off to sleep, almost like a lullaby.
Like the one you hummed for Twilight last night. Ma's lullaby. Wrinkling her muzzle, she picked a spot on the elevator wall and stared at it, and gave that irritating little voice in her head a shove to the deepest recesses of her mind.
She'd fix it and they'd work things out. If there was something there, they'd find it on one of their actual dates. If not...
Spitfire shook her head. Think positive, don't start planning for things to go screwy. This isn't a routine or a mission, old girl. Give the darn thing a chance to take.
The bell chimed out as the elevator reached its destination on the sixteenth floor. Spitfire blinked to clear her head and stepped forward while the double door slid open. She stopped short, turning to the attendant and reaching into the pocket of her uniform to flick a couple of bits toward him. "Thanks for the ride."
He caught the coins in his magic, grinning back at her. "Have a pleasant day, Captain!" he called back as she stepped out of the elevator and made her way down the hallway.
Normally, elevators to penthouses opened up inside the room. But the Royal Canterlot Hotel placed great value on its guests' privacy--a short hallway, with pristine tile floor, walls of white with gold and purple trim, and paintings commissioned from the finest artists. It was a show of class. If one could afford to stay in the penthouse, they were likely a mere step or two below royalty or lordship, and thus they deserved that same treatment.
The Wonderbolts were quite well-off--both the team itself, and members of the top squad. Still, each time the team went to the Gala and got put up in the Royal's penthouse, she found her eyes lingering over the decor.
This time, a certain picture of Commander Hurricane and Clover the Clever caught her eye. The pair stood before a contingent of diamond dogs, Clover's mouth open in mid-speech, while Commander Hurricane was at her side, wings flared out and ready to spring into action. A picture of one of the first examples of unified diplomacy.
How ironic that the very same incident had been a topic of conversation the night before. Spitfire could only chuckle and shake her head. "Well, ma loves to say there's no such thing as coincidence. Maybe she's onto something there."
Maybe their first date could include a bit of reading, then. Spitfire gave a merry swish of her tail at the prospect. Finally, somepony who could relax and enjoy a good story--with the added benefit of a rather great understanding of Equestrian culture, if Rainbow Dash's boasts at the training grounds were any indication.
Humming to herself, Spitfire raised an eyebrow. "I wonder how Dash would react if I told her friends how much she gushed over having 'friends awesome enough' to keep up with her." Visions of her top cadet's blue muzzle turning rosy pink danced through her mind, a wicked grin crossed her muzzle. "I might just have to beg Twilight to help me make that happen! Gotta keep the rookie in line somehow!"
She approached the door, glancing down at the knob for any sign of a tie or one of Fleetfoot's socks. Nothing. Either it was safe to enter and they'd at least kept whatever they'd done to their room, or they'd forgotten and she was about to get a free show.
And not one she wanted, no matter how much fillies squealed over how "fit" Soarin's rump was.
With no shortage of trepidation, she rapped her hoof against the door. "Fleet! Soar!" she called in her best stern officer's voice. "If I walk in and find you two are screwing on the couch, I'm kicking both your sorry rears to the moon and back!"
Her ear perked up, the sound of shuffling hooves and muted grumbling came from within the room. The lock clicked, the door pulled open to reveal a rather irritated and, by the bags beneath his eyes and alcohol on his breath, hungover Soarin. "Captain," he greeted tersely. His navy mane was thoroughly ruffled and sticking out in odd places, a hint that he'd only just rolled out of bed. "With all due respect, gehen Brunft einen Kaktus . It's too early in the morning for this!"
Grinning at his slip into Germane--a little something from his mother's side that came out from time to time--Spitfire pressed a hoof against his chest and gave him a rough shove so she could step through the doorway. "Your fault for hitting the bottle so hard, Soarin. At least tell me you waited until after you left the Gala," she said, kicking the door shut behind her.
"Course I did! Who do you take me for, Firestorm?" he quipped, giving a tired smile himself. "Fleet and I left a couple hours after you pulled your little vanishing act with Princess Twilight. Rainbow and a couple of her friends--including Applejack, that mare who bakes those amazing apple pies--joined us at Hops and Barley's for a few. Made the mistake of getting into a drinking game between Dash, Applejack, Pinkie, and Party Favor." Soarin gave a theatrical shudder. "Never again. I have no idea where those last two put it and I don't wanna find out."
Spitfire snorted. "I'm half proud that you waited, half disappointed that you let a few civvies drink you under the table. This might call for remedial lessons."
"Bite me," he said, flicking his tail across her nose. "You didn't see the stuff I did last night, Spits. That mare is a veritable bottomless pit, and her boyfriend is about the same." At the sound of a door being pulled open, his ears perked up, suddenly, and he turned to face the room he shared with Fleetfoot.
Fleetfoot dragged her hooves, her head low and scruffy white mane covered her eyes, giving her a look more like a walking corpse than a pony. A pair of white, fluffy earmuffs hung around her neck.
"Morning, Fleety!" Soarin called.
Slowly, she unfurled her wings and lowered her head, as if ready to pounce. "I'm gonna kill you," she informed him as if talking about the weather. Fleetfoot stopped just in front of him, leaning up to plant a kiss on his lips. "Twice. First for accepting that challenge, then for talking too damn loud this morning. But first... coffee..."
"Right away, dear." His smile never faltered as he turned and trotted off toward the kitchen. "Spits, you want some?"
"Sure, I could take another cup." The familiar clinking of coffee mugs reached Spitfire's ears, she trotted over to Fleetfoot's side, giving her Lieutenant a once over. "Sheesh, hon. What time did you guys call it a night?"
With a derisive snort, Fleetfoot turned and made her way to the couch. "I'm not even sure how we made it home! You remember what time it was Soarin'?" She huffed, flicking her tail in agitation. "Ugh! Too damn drunk to even have sex! A chance with you out of the room for the night, where we wouldn't have to worry about your whining in the morning, wasted!"
Spitfire did her best to hold back a laugh. Seems like I got lucky while the lovebirds were staggering about. "Eh, more important that you two had a good time, I think. And, y'know, we did a lot better managing public image. Especially with a certain prospect."
"You mean we as in Soarin and me," Fleetfoot corrected with a wry smirk. "You got a nice, cushy assignment from Princess Celestia. But then you ended up chatting up Princess Twilight and walking out with her." Her smirk grew into a full, toothy grin.
She tapped her hooves twice against the ground, her ears flicking as she pinpointed the couch--a trick involving echolocation that Spitfire still didn't quite understand, and couldn't help but marvel at.
Fleetfoot nodded and sat down on the couch, gesturing to the love seat across from her. "Take a seat. You owe me an explanation."
"And me!" Soarin called from the kitchen. He trotted toward them, a trio of coffee mugs balanced between his wings. "Don't forget me, mein Liebe."
Laughing, Fleetfoot turned her ear toward him and grinned. "Couldn't do that if I tried, dear." The moment he was in reach, she leaned forward and nosed against his cheek, simultaneously accepting a mug of steaming coffee. She gave a sniff, a contented sigh escaped her lips. "Mm, you always make it the way I like it."
"Years of practice." He kissed the top of her head and passed a mug to Spitfire. "Black as usual, Spits."
Spitfire nodded in thanks, taking her mug in hoof and inhaling the scent. "Ah! Second cup is almost as good as the first." Without further ado, she brought it to her mouth and took a long sip. The steaming nectar brought a warmth to her chest and energy to her tired limbs.
Almost as warm as Twilight's hugs last night, she mused. Though not nearly as fulfilling. Shaking herself, Spitfire pulled out of those thoughts and back into present time. Head out of the clouds, don't go down that line again until we're both ready.
"So," she began, "what do you wanna know?"
"Everything," Soarin replied. "I caught sight of you getting cozy with Princess Twilight at that corner table, drinking party drinks. And that little show you gave her when you walked away? Hoo boy!" He gave a little ruffle of his feathers. "The hospital's gonna have a sudden influx of patients with spasms in their neck muscles!"
Fleetfoot flicked her ear toward him, frowning as she raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And just how are your neck muscles after that show, dear?"
He didn't even miss a beat. "Perfectly fine, mein Liebe. After all, I had the most beautiful mare in all Equestria under my wing, and am fortunate enough that she sits beside me this morn!" Soarin stole a kiss to her cheek, lingering long enough to make Fleetfoot's feathers fluff up and bring forth a little hum from the back of her throat.
"Flatterer," she accused half-heartedly, the hint of a rosy blush rising in her cheeks.
"Mama always told me to treat my mare like she was my princess, the only thing you're missing is a horn." Another kiss, his lips brushed against the corner of her mouth, expertly teasing her with the promise of more. Pulling away, he turned his attention to Spitfire, leveling her with a stern gaze. "Don't think all this means you're off the hook, Spits. Explanation time is now!"
Spitfire raised a hoof in surrender and placed the mug on the coffee table. "All right, fine. Yes, I was asked by Princess Celestia to escort Twi--Princess Twilight," she hastily corrected herself, cursing internally as she saw Fleetfoot's ears flick and a tiny smirk start to spread across her muzzle. "It was a simple thing, really. Just hang out with her, talk with her, treat her like a regular mare, and see what sort of relationship came about of it." She drummed a hoof on the armrest, giving a happy swish of her tail as she thought back to the meeting. "Caught me off guard, but it worked out pretty well. She left quite a bit of leeway as to where to go with it."
"Wait, wait, wait! Roll it back a bit." Fleetfoot passed her mug to Soarin, and leaned forward, steepling her hooves. "You say 'leeway'. Kind of implies that she had a preference as to what sort of relationship came about from it, but accounted for it not working out." Spitfire could almost imagine her eyes gleaming with her expression.
She figured it out. Damn. With a sigh, Spitfire nodded. "Yeah. She did. Princess Celestia wanted me to try courting Princess Twilight, without making it a blatant set up." Shrugging, she crossed her hooves over her chest. "I don't see what the big deal was about--girl's a nice enough mare, if a bit inexperienced as far as dating goes."
"Er, far be it from me to question Princess Celestia," Soarin began, placing his and Fleetfoot's mugs on the coffee table, "but doesn't this courtship or matchmaking business seem like it'd be more up Princess Cadence's alley? And, if you don't mind my asking, why you, Spits? The three of us only know her through Dash."
Spitfire made to retort, but stopped herself. Come to think of it, Princess Celestia had been awful tight-lipped as to why she was chosen. Curious.
Princess Twilight Sparkle was a student, that much had been confirmed both by Princess Celestia and the mare herself. Why in Equestria would Princess Celestia choose her?
I do think I recall her going to a few shows while I was going up through the ranks, but she was always there to accompany Princess Celestia. Her brow furrowed, her mind conjured up the visage of a younger Twilight, one lacking wings, standing close by Princess Celestia's side, almost using her teacher as an obstacle to hide behind. Shy, a bit awkward, much like she had been last night.
And yet, her eyes shone with a bit of something else. Respect? Admiration? Awe?
Perhaps she had a measure of respect for the Wonderbolts' talent as Equestria's top flight team, and an auxiliary branch of the military. The latter would certainly make sense, given her brother was Captain of the Royal Guard. As for the former...
Spitfire filed it away for later. Better to ask than make assumptions.
"I'm not entirely sure," she admitted, answering Soarin's question after a moment's introspection. "I didn't think to ask. The request caught me by surprise, really. I was ready for her to ask me to skip out on the Gala to go on a covert ops mission. Instead, she asks me to court her old student."
Humming, Fleetfoot tapped her hooves together. "A strange request, but not the worst we've had. So, the pair of you left together, and you only just returned. I take it everything went well, then?"
Her memories shifted to those of the night before. Flirting, kissing Twilight's cheek, talking and learning about one another on their private cloud before sharing their first kiss together, and then another, and another until they simply couldn't contain themselves.
A flame flickered to life within her chest. Unable to help herself, she fluffed her feathers at the thought of waking up with Twilight wrapped in her wings, how she had to coax her bedmate to roll over with nuzzles beneath her ear, and the adorable little smile that crossed her pretty purple muzzle when Spitfire planted a soft kiss on her cheek before slipping away to take a shower.
"Yeah," she said, grinning like the cat who caught the canary. "Last night was pretty great!"
"Oh yeah?" Soarin raised an eyebrow. "So, what exactly did you two get up to last night?"
Uh oh. Investigators Fleetfoot and Soarin are coming out. Like they're my dang parents. Play it cool, girl. Fixing a casual smile on her muzzle, Spitfire leaned back, propping her hind legs up on the coffee table. "Eh, we took a little flight, hung out on a cloud, and chatted."
Soarin's eyebrow arched higher. His stare seemed more akin to a parent waiting for their naughty little foal to confess to mischief than a teammate and friend. He'd seen her try to hide her feelings too many times to fall for that old trick.
Can't blame a girl for trying. "All right, all right. I kissed her."
His stare bored through her. Fleetfoot began tapping a hind hoof against the tile floor, waiting for her façade to crack.
They knew her far too well. "I kissed her a lot." Their stares continued, Fleetfoot heaved a sigh and flicked her tail in irritation. "With tongue. And my feathers teasing hers."
"Is that so?" Fleetfoot said, her voice barely above a murmur. She tilted her head and sniffed, her nostrils flaring. Her body went rigid, her milky eyes shot wide open then narrowed into a glare. "That's not your usual soap, Spits, or the hotel's? Twilight's, perhaps? Did you spend the night with her?"
A scowl crossed her muzzle. Spitfire grumbled under her breath, cursing her Lieutenant's knack for catching her lies. "Yes. We went back to her room and--oh, don't look at me like that!" she snapped at the pair. "Yes! I already know we went too far! Twilight and I spoke at length about the matter this morning."
"On familiar terms with her, are we?" Soarin asked, his expression neutral. "Well, I suppose it fits, given you two experienced a bit of--er, shall we say bedroom turbulence?"
The trio fell into silence. Spitfire brought a hoof to her forehead. "Smack him before I do."
"With pleasure," Fleetfoot replied, not even missing a beat as she reached over and cuffed Soarin's ear. "You idiot!"
"Scheisse!" Clapping his hooves over his head, Soarin quickly scooted away before she could cuff him again for his language. "Dang it, Fleety! It was just a joke!"
"This isn't the time, dear. And you know that well enough." Her attention shifted back to Spitfire, her hooves steepled once more. "You know what I'm gonna say, Spits."
Sighing, Spitfire looked down at her seat cushion and nodded. "I do."
"I'm still gonna say it." Her voice was tinged with a mix of sternness and sadness. She knew how much it would hurt.
Spitfire closed her eyes. "Go ahead."
A heavy sigh, like that of a disappointed mother ready to lecture her naughty filly. "You shouldn't have slept with her--both for the obvious political reason and for whatever relationship you think you're gonna have with her now." She paused, hesitating with her next question. "At least tell me you didn't get her drunk."
"No. I had her split a rainbow mixer with me. No alcohol." Got that going for me.
"Okay, that's good. You two talked first? That wasn't you trying to wheedle out of telling us?" Another pause, waiting as Spitfire nodded in the affirmative. "Even better. No way for anypony to claim you took advantage of a drunk princess."
Just a virgin one, Spitfire chided herself. Her inner voice was starting to sound suspiciously like Fleetfoot as the morning went on. "Look, I talked with her this morning about everything. We've agreed to try to hold off on that sort of stuff, and do some more getting to know one another before we... yeah. You know."
"Yes, we do," Soarin interjected, casually sliding over to sit beside Fleetfoot again. Though he did seem to keep an eye out in case she decided to get another second shot in as he continued, "Look, I'm not gonna pretend that I support you and Princess Twilight sleeping together after a couple hours of chatting, especially if you wanna make this thing work long-term. But if you two talked it out and agreed on working through it, I'll support things going forward." He reached out and took Fleetfoot's hoof, smiling as he nosed against her cheek. "Cadence knows Fleet and I got together because of a bout of stupidity!"
Fleetfoot giggled, her wings flinched as if to unfurl and cover her muzzle. "I still can't believe you opened with 'nice feathers, hot stuff'!"
"It worked, didn't it?" He shrugged. "Got you laughing, and that's half the battle. Anyway, Spits, we're with you on making things work out. Verdammt, there's no easy way to say this." Soarin ran a hoof through his mane, his fond smile fell. "How long's it been since you and Daybreak broke things off? Two years?"
Spitfire let her ears lay flat against her scalp, her wings drooped low. "Three," she whispered weakly. "She sent me the letter three years ago, Soar."
A hoof touched hers, rubbing gently against her ankle. "I'm not trying to be mean, Spits, but, gosh, if you could see yourself every time she gets brought up around you or any time you think about her. Three years, Spits, and you're still like this. When's the last time you even had a long-term thing with a mare?"
"Daybreak," she choked out the name, her wings unfurled to wrap around herself. The letter's words were fresh in her mind, like she'd read them just yesterday.
The hoof left hers to cup her chin, forcing her to look up like she had done with Twilight. "Spits, look at me." Hesitation gripped her, she cracked open an eyelid to squint at him before slowly meeting his gaze as asked.
Concern, both as a friend and as fellow Wonderbolts, shone in his vibrant green eyes. "Spits, I hate to say this to you, but look at yourself! You never got over her. Everything since then has either been a quick fling or a search to find a mare just like her. That's not fair, to you or Princess Twilight."
"No fooling," Fleetfoot added. "We know how much it hurt, everypony on the team does. But trying to find her in every mare you look at isn't--"
"I know!" Spitfire snapped, jerking her hoof away from Soarin's and fixing the pair of them with a glare. Her eyes burned with tears, threatening to spill. "I try! And for the first time in three years, I didn't! I got an order from Princess Celestia, put on a bright smile, and thought I'd be in for an awkward night. I'd only met her a couple times, one of which wasn't a good moment for anypony in this room."
Fleetfoot and Soarin both shared a wince, though the former made sure to mutter a quick apology. Perhaps the hundredth for that debacle alone.
She wasn't finished. Spitfire had a full head of steam, and they'd pushed a button they knew better than to touch too easily. "She's smart and genuine. And, by Celestia's wings, is she awkward as sin when it comes to romance--I had to guide her step-by-step how to position herself for a kiss and I liked doing so because I felt something there! The rest--" she stopped. Spitfire bit her lip and shook her head, sighing in frustration. "Yeah. I made a mess of things. I should've said stop as soon as I noticed her looking a little bit lost when we were making out. I should've been lead pony."
For a moment, the three stayed quiet. Only the sound of their breathing, and the pounding of her heart in her ears remained in the wake of her rant.
Softly, almost nervously, a hoof touched her left forehoof. Her eyes flitted down to find Soarin's sky blue hoof bend to hold her sunny yellow. And then, another touched her right, Fleetfoot's teal rubbed comfortingly against her shin.
"We've got you, Spits," Fleetfoot whispered. "Just making sure you've got your head out of the clouds. For both of your sakes."
Spitfire gave a watery smile and nodded. "I know. Thanks, guys."
Soarin stood and deftly stepped around the coffee table to throw a hoof over her shoulders. "Anytime, Feurball," he replied, nudging his shoulder against hers. "Just... give us a heads up if you're gonna break up with her so we can check into witness protection. I don't want the Royal Guard after my flank, y'know!"
Laughing, Spitfire shared a look with Fleetfoot, both gave each other a nod.
And promptly cuffed his ears.
Twilight never had a chance. The thought of turning tail and galloping down the corridor at full speed, shooting up the stairs, and locking herself in her room until her cheeks stopped burning or her friends' excitement died down barely even crossed her mind before she found herself trapped in Cadence's inescapable embrace.
It took her a moment to register a pony moving faster across a room than Pinkie Pie, but somehow Cadence had managed the feat.
Trapped, with Cadence's powerful hooves squeezing her tight against her barrel, Twilight could do nothing but try in vain to wriggle free, much to her friends' amusement.
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! Yes!" Cadence squealed, bouncing up and down with each repetition, and adding a little flap at the end. "My little Twilight is finally growing up and finding love! Oh, I've waited for this day so long!"
"I know, right!" Pinkie threw in as she pounced and turned it into a hug sandwich, with Twilight the unfortunate filler. She turned to Party Favor, beaming and waggling her eyebrows. "This is so great! We can have a 'Congratulations On Getting a Great, Big Smooch from Captain Spitfire' party! Oh! Oh! Or a 'Congratulations On Getting Your First Girlfriend' party!"
A light blue aura tugged Pinkie away. Rarity tutted, "My word! At least give the poor mare a little space to breath, Pinkie dear! We can't just go running about planning a party yet!" At Pinkie's horrified gasp, she rolled her eyes and floated the struggling mare over to Party Favor. "Party, dear, I do believe this belongs to you. If you wouldn't mind?"
"Er, yes! I'll, uh, do the thing." Chuckling nervously, Party wrapped his hooves around Pinkie's barrel and kissed her cheek. Like magic, Pinkie's hooves dropped to her sides and a tiny squee escaped her lips. She nuzzled into his shoulder and let him rub her mane and whisper sweet nothings into her ear.
Her work done, Rarity turned back to Twilight. "Now, darling, though our friend is a bit over enthusiastic, I must agree with Princess Cadence." She nodded respectfully to the elder princess, then resumed, "This has been long overdue! You simply must tell us everything!"
"Like how you got a kiss from Spitfire after one night!" Rainbow seemed to materialize on Twilight's right side.
Twilight yelped and made to jump away, but Cadence's grip was too strong.
No good, she thought. Trapped between a rock and a hard place. Unless...
Rarity didn't have near the magical ability she did, and Cadence, while powerful in her own right, was just a tad behind in terms of general skill. Of course, she made up for it by outflying Twilight any day of the week, a testament to her pegasus heritage before ascension.
Have to move fast. Twilight lit up her horn. A quick teleportation to her room, then a few locking charms on her doors and windows, and, of course, anti-teleportation wards so Cadence couldn't simply follow after, sounded like the perfect plan. No way for her to trap me in my room and use her feathers to tickle me until I break if I throw one of those up and maintain it.
Her magic charged, she made to teleport, but found herself on the receiving end of a rather piercing headache. Pain shot through her forehead, as if she'd somehow gotten an ice cream headache. "Ow! Ow! Ow!" she whimpered. Her eyes watered and crossed as she massaged her temples. "What in the world?"
The sound of deep chuckling made her ear flick. She turned to find Shining Armor smirking at her and shaking his head. But her eyes were drawn elsewhere.
Specifically, the pink glow of magic wreathing his horn. He put up an anti-teleportation shield. It was all she could do not to whine. That jerk!
"Now, now, Twily," he chided, "I know mom taught you how rude it was to teleport out of a room when ponies want to talk with you." Shining grinned from ear to ear, his eyes alight with mischief. "Why don't you take a seat right here--" he patted the cushion to his left "--between Cady and me. We've gotta talk about this mare of yours."
As Cadence released her grip and stepped to the side, Twilight scowled. "You know I could break through your shield if I really wanted to."
"Oh?" Cadence purred, draping a wing across Twilight's back and pulling her close. "How about if your big brother and your favorite foalsitter-slash-sister-in-law exploit each and every one of those tickle spots, hm? Especially the one right along your ribs!"
Twilight squeaked as purple tinged tips of her feathers trailed along her side. Instinctively, she tried to squirm away, to duck under Cadence's wing and backpedal.
A flash of amusement in those purple eyes. Cadence held her tight, her grip with her wings even stronger than her hooves. "Come along, Twily," she said, leading her toward the table, like she would a much younger Twilight years ago. "Come tell Cady all about your evening! And morning, too!" She nosed against Twilight's cheek, her smile almost predatory. "I expect details, missy!"
Unable to fight her way out of Cadence's grip, with her friends' gazes and amused grins making the fur on the back of her neck stand on end, Twilight frowned and trotted obediently toward the open seat. Never once did Cadence lift her wing off Twilight's back, even as they sat.
Wing hugs mean something special to pegasi, Twilight thought back to her talk with Spitfire. Memories flitted through her mind--from her fillyhood days, the earliest she could remember Cadence coming over to watch her, wing hugs were a normal thing. The practice became more commonplace as they grew closer, their bond akin to that of sisters.
When Twilight began studying under Princess Celestia herself, those hugs became something a bit more. Whether it was to comfort a little filly afraid of her nightmares, or wrapping her in those immaculate white wings and praising her mastery of a new spell.
Special how, though? Familial? An indication of deep-seeded friendship? Something for lovers? So many questions! I should've just said I'd look it up on my own time. Oh well.
A little nudge to her shoulder brought her back to present day. "Sorry," she mumbled, shaking her head. "Lost in thought."
"Well, join us in the real world long enough to spill all the juicy gossip on your special somepony!" Cadence commanded with an air of faux sternness. "I can't put together my couples' profile if I don't have all the information!"
"If you wanted a bio, you could just ask Rainbow," Twilight deadpanned.
Naturally, Rainbow fluffed up her feathers at the mention and took a deep breath, ready to launch into a full-blown recitation of Spitfire's official profile, only to be cut off by a wave of Cadence's golden-shoed hoof. "No, no, I don't mean the silly thing they put on Wonderbolt Derby programs! Silly filly, you know better than that! I want details." With a flash of teal magic, a quill and notepad popped into existence.
Swallowing a lump in her throat, Twilight ducked her head. Her ears laid flat as she felt her friends' eyes on her. From Applejack and Rarity's intrigued grins, to Rainbow's mix of confusion and excitement, to Pinkie's utter giddiness and Party and Fluttershy's sheepish smiles, to Spike's false gagging, and Shining's sly smirk.
To the raised eyebrow and tiny smile hidden behind a teacup held aloft in a bright golden glow. Celestia's brilliant purple eyes seemed to dance with mirth. She held Twilight's gaze with ease, a silent message:
"Out with it. I'm waiting, little one."
Heaving a sigh, she resigned herself to her fate. Never thought I'd be the one sitting here. "Well, I accompanied Spitfire to the Gala last night, on Celestia's request--" she nodded to the elder princess, who returned the gesture in kind "--for a couple reasons. One, I won't go into because it may be something Spitfire would prefer to keep a bit quiet, nothing bad though."
"Heh, friendship problems even at the Gala, eh, Twi?" Applejack chuckled, tilting her stetson back out of her eyes "So, from hangin' out to kissin' in the castle. Anypony else think that's a mite off?"
"Hmm, I dunno," Shining mused. "I mean, Cady had me listed as her personal guard for a while, so I don't have much room to talk. Still, though, this is my baby sister we're talking about, so this just can't be allowed to stand!" His horn shimmered brighter, an extra layer to the shield spell. A muscle-bound leg was thrown over her shoulders, Twilight found herself pulled tight against her brother's side. "So, what did you girls end up doing? Other than the obvious, of course."
Twilight's thoughts went to her night with Spitfire. Her warm embrace, feathers trailing down her thighs, a hoof rubbing at her core. A burning desire, dampness beneath her waistline. Spitfire's soft lips meeting hers in a kiss that was gentle, but full of passion and want.
"We talked quite a bit," she replied, keeping her voice as level as possible. "She got me to try a rainbow mixer for the first time, and that was certainly an experience!"
"Whoa! Really?" Rainbow sat up straight, her mouth curved into a broad grin. "So, all this time I couldn't get you to try a couple party drinks, and you go right on ahead when a pretty mare saunters up to you at the Gala, eh? I see how it is!"
"Um, Rainbow?" Fluttershy tapped her shoulder. "Twilight has gone out for drinks with us before. Several times. If, um, you don't mind me saying."
Rainbow waved her off. "Yeah, yeah, I know she's gone to Berry's bar with us, but that was either straight cider or ale. She never did party drinks with us! Just punch or soda or whatever!"
"But punch is a party drink, Dashie! Party and I confirm--punch at a party, totally a party drink!" Pinkie said, with Party Favor nodding solemnly.
"Bah! You know what I mean! Anyway, Twilight, how was it? Did you go for a little rainbow mixed with booze? That stuff's kind of a zinger if you don't mix it with some fruit juice, but it's such a rush!" She licked her lips, her feathers fluffed up.
Blinking, Twilight gave a nervous smile. "Er, no. Spitfire just stuck with a strawberry juice and rainbow mixer--she said something about not wanting to drink alcohol at such an important event. But we're getting away from the point." As the others leaned in and the twin grips on her shoulders tightened, Twilight ruffled her feathers. "We talked a little over drinks. She, er, kinda figured me out early on."
"Oh?" Celestia spoke up. She placed her cup down on the saucer and folded her hooves neatly on the table. "And what, pray tell, did she manage to figure out about you?"
Her smile faltered, she fidgeted in place. Her tail flicked anxiously. "She figured out that I wasn't exactly experienced in dating, and decided to, er, give me a crash course." The burning in her cheeks returned at the catcalls from Applejack and Rainbow, and the way Shining arched his eyebrow.
Though none topped Cadence. "Oh?" She hummed, nudging her shoulder against Twilight's. "All those years I spent trying to get you to listen up so we could find you a nice pony, and not a word of it sunk in? I'm hurt!"
Twilight sputtered. "N-No! It's not that I didn't remember what you said!" Oh, I remembered quite a bit. And went quite a lot farther than you advised. "I just struggled with the... execution part of it." Her ears laid flat against her scalp in a vain attempt to block out Rainbow's snickering. "She, er, taught me how to flirt, and made me feel like we were just a couple mares meeting at a party--a less formal party!" she hastily added at the end.
"A good way to start, if a bit playful." Cadence nodded, patting Twilight's hoof. "Nice of her to try to keep things low key, I think. And how did you do with your flirting lessons? I hope I won't be expecting any bad notes from your new 'teacher'."
Cheeks burning, Twilight huffed. "No, you won't be getting any notes!" With a quick shift, she managed enough distance to flick her wing across Cadence's muzzle. "Everything went well!" Some things more so than others. "We left the Gala together, and she took me up to sit on a cloud just outside the city limits. We talked a little bit more, mostly about our hobbies and interests. Speaking of which--" she turned to Rainbow "--did you know Spitfire likes to read old legends?"
Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, it's in her bio thing they put out every year. What about it?"
"We talked a little bout a couple stories; Whirlwind and the Dragon of Craggy Peak and 'Dealings with Diamond Dogs' from Tales of the Founders, if you're familiar." She nodded to Cadence. "Remember how I used to ask you to read that one every night?"
"I do!" Cadence's eyes lit up, she nuzzled Twilight's cheek affectionately. "That was your favorite bedtime story--you just loved hearing about how Clover managed to trick the Diamond Dogs into leaving, and how mystified Commander Hurricane was that he didn't even need to draw his sword! In fact--" she brought a hoof to her chin, her eyes danced with amusement "--I seem to recall you acting out the parts every so often..."
Her smile strained, her ears burned at her friends' laughter, and Spike throwing in, "Still does it!"
Traitors. "That aside, yes, I love the story. And she mentioned a like for other classic stories as well, so we might talk about a few someday." The memory made her smile brighten once more, her tail swished happily. "Perhaps at lunch tomorrow."
Almost as soon as the words were out of her mouth, Twilight regretted it. She slapped her hooves over her lips, her ears laid flat against her scalp. Oh no... she thought, quailing beneath the hungry gazes of Rarity, Rainbow, Shining, and Spike.
She didn't dare look down the table at Celestia. Her mentor's gaze bored into her, though. She could feel it, and almost see the small, seemingly all-knowing smile on Celestia's muzzle.
But just as the smile that no-doubt graced her mentor's face made the fur on the back of her neck stand on end, the playful hum sounding from her left made her ears prick up and a block of ice drop into her stomach.
"Really now?" Cadence wrapped a hoof around her shoulders and pulled her tighter, nearly crushing Twilight against her larger frame. "Our little Twilight is finally ready for the dating scene!" With a happy squeal, she hugged Twilight for all she was worth, softly nuzzling their cheeks together. "Oh, I've waited for this day for so long! Shiny, you'll come with us to make sure she doesn't do something silly like teleport away, right?"
"Of course, Cady." Twilight glared at her traitorous brother, who returned it with one of his annoyingly cheeky grins. "I'd be delighted."
"Perfect!" She shifted and leaned across Twilight to kiss Shining's cheek. "We're starting straight away! First, we--"
Celestia cleared her throat, everypony turned to face the solar princess. "Happy though I may be that Twilight found a pony she likes well enough to date," she began, "I would prefer it greatly if you waited until after our meal to go gallivanting off across the city. Seeing all of you, my friends and loved ones, at the same time without some sort of national crisis is a luxury I am so rarely afforded these days."
Twilight withheld a cheer, settling for an internal "Thank you, Celestia!" along with nearly a hundred praises for her savior and mentor. To the one who so easily rescued her from the clutches of her wicked--but still favorite former foalsitter--sister-in-law and her traitorous big brother best friend forever!
Chagrined, Cadence laid her ears flat. "Er... yes. Sorry Auntie."
"No need to apologize, dear. I just feel that such an opportunity to enjoy your company is one I'm loathe to surrender." Her eyes twinkled, her small smile bloomed into a playful smirk that sent shivers running down Twilight's spine. "Although, I too must express an interest in my dear, sweet former student's first experience with a relationship."
Twilight ducked her head as all eyes flitted to her again. The block of ice seemed to freeze her entire being as she caught the grins spreading across her friends' faces. And why wouldn't they?
Celestia had all but given them carte blanche.
A tiny whimper escaped her lips. She tried her best to make herself as small as possible when Celestia leaned forward, teacup floating to hover near her lips, and her smirk taking on a more calculating edge.
"Now, Twilight, how exactly did you get from discussing classical literature to that adorable little kiss this morning?" |
Glow | 5. Our First Date | By the time Twilight escaped Cadence's clutches, her cheeks were a bright, rosy hue and her feathers were as ruffled as they'd been when Spitfire flirted with her the night before.
A pair of saddlebags bearing her cutie mark were strapped snugly around her waist, loaded with whatever books on Equestrian legends she managed to force into them without tearing the seams. Though her mind should've been on her date and how she might strike up the conversation about their culture's lore, it was instead on a two rather nosy members of her family.
"I'll be fine, Cadence!" she huffed to herself, stomping a hoof like a petulant filly and tossing her well-brushed, expertly styled mane. "Seriously! This is just supposed to be a casual lunch between Spitfire and me! I didn't need all this!"
She'd lost track of the number of times she informed Cadence of that very fact, each time receiving a little giggle, an almost pitying smile and pat on the shoulder, and a knowing "Oh, Twily..." that made her hackles rise.
Shining snickering in the background and telling her to make sure she was home before eleven or he'd come looking for her didn't help matters in the slightest. And just who said she'd be staying out that late to begin with? They were having lunch at two in the afternoon--she'd be back plenty early.
Even so, by Celestia, she was a grown mare! She could stay out however late she pleased and didn't have to answer to her overprotective big brother or her nosy sister-in-law if she didn't want to.
Though, if things went well, she could make no promises to herself that she wouldn't spend the evening squealing and jumping in place with Cadence.
Focus, Twilight, she scolded herself, turning her thoughts toward her date. Today is about you and Spitfire, and trying to start this relationship off right.
The thought alone brought a smile to her face as she trotted through the foyer.
With a bounce in her step and a fluffing of her feathers, Twilight spared a nod to the on-duty guards as she passed them by. Her hooves thumped against the soft red carpet leading toward the main entrance, the grand hallway with pristine tiled floor, high arching walls, and the main castle door where all high profile visitors were received.
As she rounded the corner, Twilight found herself muzzle-to-muzzle with a stallion of sky blue coat and fluffy blue mane. "Party Favor!" she yelped. She brought a hoof to her chest, taking a deep breath to settle her racing heart. "You scared the feathers off me!"
Party Favor gave a sheepish smile, rubbing at the back of his mane. "Sorry, Princess Twilight," he said, then bowed low. "I didn't mean to. Pinkie wanted to have an, um, post-Gala after-party-party, and Sugar Belle seemed to like the idea, so they sent me out to get a few things so they could make cake." He turned to the side to show off a pair of saddlebags stuffed to the brim, ready to burst at the seams. "She told me to make it back double-pronto, and--"
"Say no more. And stand up straight, Party." Twilight waved him off, more than familiar with Pinkie's antics. Fidgety and skittish though he was, Party somehow had the patience of Celestia herself, putting up with her silliness. "Get that stuff to Pinkie and collect your prize, Party. And try not to let them leave the kitchen a mess for poor Al Dente."
"I'll do my best," he replied with a chuckle. "But you know how Pinkie and Sugar can get when they start baking. That said, I'd better run before they come looking for me." Giving her another bow, Party stepped around her and began to trot down the hall she'd just come from, but stopped after a couple steps. "Er, Princess?"
Twilight rolled her eyes, turning to look over her shoulder at him. "You don't have to call me by title, Party. We're friends."
"Right, sorry. I keep forgetting. I just, um, wanted to say--" he bit his lip, awkwardly scuffing a hoof against the tile floor "--I hope your date with Captain Spitfire goes well, Twilight."
Blinking a couple times, Twilight offered a small smile in return. "Thank you, Party." She turned to look toward the door again, giving a self-pitying laugh. "I'm actually a little nervous. Which is normal, according to everything Cadence and Shining told me, at least. Rarity also said something about there being a feeling of butterflies in my stomach and that being a sign of excitement and nerves, and I needed to find a way to use that to guide me along tonight, while Rainbow told me last night that I should power through it and just let my 'innate awesomeness' radiate through, or something to that effect. But Applejack contradicted that when she said something about not pretending to be anything I wasn't and being genuine, and Pinkie--" she stopped herself, closing her eyes tight and drawing in a deep breath. Holding it a moment, she released slowly through her nose. "I'm sorry, just nerves. Thank you for wishing me luck, Party. Hopefully it helps."
Party returned her smile, but hesitated to walk away. He glanced down a moment, then up to meet her eyes again, looking as though he had more to say. Just as he opened his mouth, his ears twitched and his eyes went wide.
"Paaaaaaaaartyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!" Pinkie's voice, tinged with irritation, echoed off the castle walls. The Royal Guards at their posts pinned their ears back against their scalps, visibly cringing at her volume, far away though she was.
"Oh, shoot!" he yelped, leaping as though his tail had been dipped in boiling water. Giving another, more frantic bow, he scooted off down the hall, calling back at the top of his lungs, "Coming, Sweetie Pie!"
Shaking her head, Twilight could only chuckle. If he could pluck up the courage to ask Pinkie if it was okay to write her, I can survive one lunch date with Spitfire.
After the night they shared together, they were certainly comfortable on a more intimate level. The mere thought brought a blush back to her cheeks and a flash of heat beneath her tail, like the burning fire within roared to life at the very thought of Spitfire in bed with her.
No, bad! She shook her head. We agreed to take things slower this time around. "Like a tryout," she whispered, repeating Spitfire's words. "See if there's a foundation for a romantic relationship, explore it if there's something. If not, we can be friends--who just so happen to have been together in a way that most friends haven't."
Flicking her tail anxiously, she glanced toward the door and swallowed the lump in her throat. With no shortage of trepidation, Twilight forced her hooves to move. One step after the other--like she had to make a conscious effort to raise each hoof off the ground and go forward.
As she neared the open doorway, her ears pricked forward at the sound of powerful wings flapping. The shadow of a pegasus circled overhead, shrinking in size until Spitfire's brilliant yellow coat and flamelike mane were visible.
Twilight's heart did a backflip as she watched Spitfire touch down on the cobblestone pathway, her lips slowly tugged upward into a bright smile. Her hooves felt lighter, her wings ruffled up excitedly. She moved with a bounce in her step, almost prancing to meet her date at the door.
"Good afternoon, Spitfire!" she greeted.
Spitfire returned her smile with a toothy grin. "Hey, there, hon!" She stepped close and threw a hoof around Twilight's neck in a tight hug. Rubbing their cheeks together a moment, she drew back to offer a little nuzzle. "Good to see you again. You look wonderful."
"Thanks!" Happily, Twilight returned the gesture, adding a kiss to the end of Spitfire's snout. "You look really nice out of your uniform," she said, her voice low so the guards standing by the door wouldn't hear. Her eyes flitted to Spitfire's soft downy feathers and lit up. "You preened again?"
"Spent a little extra time for you this morning." She pressed her lips against Twilight's, lingering a moment, but keeping it chaste and light as promised the morning before. Drawing back, she stole a kiss to the end of Twilight's muzzle, chuckling at the way she wrinkled her snout. "I take it you approve?"
"Very much, yes! You have no idea!"
"Oh, I don't know about that! But it's nice to hear, hon!" A playful gleam flashed in her eyes. "Have fun at breakfast yesterday?"
The smile slid from her face, her muzzle creased into a scowl. "You did that on purpose!" she growled in faux indignation.
Spitfire giggled and stole another kiss. "Sure did, hon! Question is what are you--" she poked Twilight in the chest "--gonna do about it, hmm?"
The merry twinkling in those brilliant amber eyes and that cheeky, infectious grin brought the smile back to her muzzle. Twilight tried to fight it at first, the corners of her mouth seemed to pull upward in spite of her efforts to maintain her scowl, giving her a rather silly look as though she were trying to fight back laughter.
That smirk, that damnable smirk, played upon Spitfire's lips again. She knew it, too. Spitfire knew she had Twilight right in her hooves.
It was up to her to figure a way to return the favor. "You'll pay for that," she said warningly. "I don't know how, I don't know when, but you will."
Spitfire's smirk remained, she chuckled and nodded. "I look forward to it, hon!" She stole her third kiss of the day, then leaned forward to whisper in her ear, "Just try to make it entertaining, eh? I'd hate to have to teach my date the fine art of teasing."
Twilight bristled, her wings flared out, as though she were ready to pounce. "I'm not that much of a shut in!"
Another laugh, she stole one last kiss, this time capturing Twilight's lips. "We'll just see about that when you make your move, then. For now, I believe I owe you lunch and another round of 'real talk'." Spitfire stepped to the side, jerking her head toward the clear blue sky. "Feel like joining me on another flight?"
Standing up straight, Twilight perked up her ears. "I'd be happy to. Did you find a place you liked?"
"Yeah, Soarin' mentioned a place out past the higher end homes. In Little Roam there's this family-owned place called Don Contorno's he said we should try. He said something about it being a little pricey, but I'm more than good for it."
Blinking, Twilight stared at Spitfire in muted wonder. Anypony who lived in Canterlot knew the name Don Contorno. Though its location might make it seem somewhat of a little-known neighborhood standby, it was one of the higher end dining experiences in the city in terms of quality of food and service.
And yet, the prices weren't outrageous enough to break the bank--certainly, if one went to Don Contorno's, they would spend more than a few bits dining on homemade pasta, fresh baked bread, and their choice of the finest wines from across Equestria and abroad, but it was affordable enough for the working family to spend a nice evening out once in awhile.
How long has it been since I last ate there with my family? Or Princess Celestia? Though her feathers ruffled and fluffed up, Twilight kept her smile casual and did her best to keep the excitement out of her voice. "Well, if that's what you'd like to try, I'm all for it!"
"Sweet." Spitfire shrugged and gave a toss of her fiery mane. "I've never been there, but he and Fleet swore by their feathers that the pasta was to die for. Bill's on me." Before Twilight could open her mouth to protest, she waved a hoof. "Ah, ah! No arguing! Already called it, so I'm paying! Deal with it, hon."
"B-But--"
A yellow hoof was pressed against her lips for the second time in three days. "If it makes you feel better, you can get it on our second date. Today's on me."
Twilight let out a little whine, but nodded. She brushed away Spitfire's hoof and said, "Fine, you can pay today. But no trickery or distractions or what have you when it's my turn!"
"Wouldn't dream of it." Spitfire unfurled her wings and bent her knees, ready for takeoff. "After you, Twilight," she said, nodding toward the sky again.
With a nod in return, Twilight gave a mighty flap of her wings and took to the air, followed closely behind by Spitfire.
"Nice takeoff," Spitfire praised. "Now, Soarin said it was toward the south, like you were gonna fly toward Ponyville, so we'll get a little more altitude and bank left. Okay?"
"Got it!" Twilight called back as she adjusted herself to follow Spitfire's lead. Finding Contorno's when she had four hooves on the ground was easy, but the aerial view made it an entirely different story.
At least I'll get to enjoy a nice, leisurely flight with her, she mused, her eyes wandered over Spitfire's form and lingered on her toned flank and flame lick cutie mark. The fire in her chest burned hotter, memories of their night together came forth unbidden and brought a blush to her cheeks.
And it's always nice to take the scenic route. The view is quite lovely.
Spitfire let out a low whistle as she stepped inside Don Contorno's. The low lightning, the polished wooden furnishing, waiters and waitresses dressed in white button down shirts, hustling around with trays of food and pitchers held aloft in their magic spoke of a rather classy establishment.
So much for low key, she thought, glancing around curiously.
The restaurant itself was very nice, and held a rather welcoming atmosphere in the decor and presence of the staff. But at the same time, it wasn't overly stifling. Families sat together--some dressed in rather expensive clothing, some having gone more casual--and chatted as they ate, their conversations kept to a dull roar.
A true Roam style affair. Not quite as low key and casual as she'd have liked, but more of a close-knit, friendly place.
With a little hum, she nodded. All right, Soar. Good call on this place's feel. Now, let's see if you're as good a judge of their food.
Who was she kidding? If Soarin recommended food, it was bound to be good.
"Welcome to Don Contorno's, Princess Twilight, Captain Spitfire," a middle aged stallion with a hint of gray to his mane greeted. "A table for two? Or will there be more ponies joining your party?"
"No, a table for two will be fine," Spitfire replied.
He stepped out from behind his podium and bowed to the pair. "Of course. If you would follow me, Your Highness, Captain, I'll lead you to your table."
Nodding, Spitfire gestured for Twilight to go before her, receiving a smile in return as the younger mare passed. She followed along, her eyes wandering aimlessly over her surroundings, but lingering on Twilight's backside--the smooth mulberry coat, the starburst cutie mark, the little bit of bounce in her flanks, and the swaying tail of purple, blue, and magenta.
She smirked, licking her lips as she enjoyed the little show Twilight was giving her. A fair trade in exchange for the stolen looks and wandering eyes during their flight.
Don't wander too much, old girl, she scolded herself lightly. Already went too far once, don't want to scare her off, no matter how tempting it is to nip at that rump.
Later. Much later. They still needed to feel out the relationship before they went back to enjoying the more physical aspects of love.
The host lead them to a small booth along the back wall; a tiny candle hung on a stand on the wall, reaching out to cast its light upon the table. Everything was set, menus resting upon plates, silverware set upon tablecloths as pure white as Princess Celestia's coat.
She gave another hum of approval and slid into the booth across from Twilight.
"Your waiter will be with you shortly, ladies. Is there anything I can get for you in the meantime?"
"Not for me right now, thanks." Spitfire looked to Twilight and gestured with a hoof. "How about you, hon?"
Twilight shook her head. "No, thank you, sir. I'm fine for now."
He nodded in reply. "Very good, Your Highness. I'll take my leave, then." With another bow, he stepped back and turned sharply on his hooves, striding away from the table with his head held high.
Offering a warm smile, Spitfire settled into her seat. "So, I see you brought a little bit of reading for us, eh?" She nodded toward the saddlebags Twilight had deposited into the booth.
Those cute purple-coated cheeks tinged a light brown, yet another blush and, as typical of Twilight, she ducked her head between her shoulders. "I thought we could discuss a few old legends--if you want to, that is," she added hastily. "After we eat and talk about other things, of course, it was just an idea."
"I think that'd be just fine, hon," she replied. "But like you said, that can be after we eat. Until then, let's get to know each other a little better than we did at the Gala." Spitfire paused and wrinkled her snout. "Okay, let me rephrase that: let's get to know each other as mares, like we started to... gosh, my mouth isn't cooperating--just let's talk about things." Bringing a hoof to her forehead, she propped her elbow up on the table. "So, what sorts of magic do you like studying, hon?"
Twilight pricked her ears forward and sat up straight. "Oh, I like to dabble in several different fields! I've experimented with long-range teleportation, transformation, conjuring, I have had an incident or two that involved time travel--but I can't go too much into that, I'm afraid." Her smile turned a bit sheepish, but just for an instant. "Oh! I'm also rather skilled in alchemy and potion-making! I've been working to teach a couple young fillies how to cast spells and perform some basic alchemy on top of all that..."
The speed at which she rattled off the different branches nearly made Spitfire stagger, if not for years of listening to commanding officers barking orders or subordinates fire off reports like foals on a sugar rush.
Away she goes, off to the races, Spitfire made herself comfortable in her seat and let out a low whistle. "So, you've got your hooves in quite a few different pies when it comes to magic. How do you manage to pick so much up? I've not heard of too many who can juggle more than a couple of those branches."
"There's, um, not really many at all," Twilight shifted in place, her ears splayed back. "My brother is probably the closest unicorn to myself and the other princesses in terms of raw power and diversity of his magic, though his speciality is in his bubble shields and warding spells."
"Captain Armor knows warding spells?" Her brow arched. That was certainly new. "I thought he just tossed up a shield spell and let some unfortunate sod try to overpower him."
Twilight gave a little wince and sideways bob of her head. "Er, yes and no. His shields are definitely strong enough to withstand a lot of brute force, but he adds a layer of warding so no pony can just use a counter spell to kill it, or teleport in and out as they please--for example, whenever he or Cady thought I was upset about something, he'd put a warded shield around me so I couldn't run off and he'd make me sit down and talk to him."
"Interesting, I never would've guessed. No offense intended, but I thought his spell was all brawn, no finesse." Spitfire tapped a hoof against the countertop. "Although, that'd probably be like somepony saying that I just fly around in fancy patterns with a few friends."
"Exactly!" Twilight nodded so fast her bangs shifted out of place and covered her eyes. With a wry glare, she blew a sharp burst of air through her nose and flipped them back into place, then continued. "There's just as much precision and practice that goes into his shields and warding as there is in one of your routines. It's not visible, but it's there. And Shining is the unicorn equivalent of a Wonderbolt when it comes to them."
"Well, well! Very high praise! Not gonna lie, I never would've thought it was quite as complicated or intricate as one of our routines," Spitfire said. She leaned forward, resting her chin on the back of her hoof. "So, tell me, if Captain Shining Armor of the Royal Guard's shield spells are to unicorns as the Wonderbolts' flight routines are to pegasi, what does that make--" she lifted her chin to point her hoof at Twilight "--Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship and former student of Princess Celestia, when she uses them?"
She had to fight back a chuckle at the way Twilight looked down at the table and began fidgeting in place. But before she could throw in a comment about how cute the blush rising in her date's cheeks was, the sound of hoofsteps close by their table made them turn to find a young mare dressed smartly in a white collared shirt, with a tray carrying two glasses of water held in the soft pink glow of her magic.
"Your Highness," she greeted, bowing first to Twilight, "Captain Spitfire, thank you for joining us this afternoon." She floated the drinks to rest on the table, and deftly slid napkins into place beneath them. "My name is Rosebud and I'll be your waitress today. My little sister Carnation Petal will be helping out as well. May I start you off with something to drink? Wine, perhaps?"
Spitfire wrinkled her snout and shook her head. "Little early in the day for me to start drinking, so I'll pass on the wine. I don't suppose you've got apple cider?"
Rosebud smiled and bobbed her head. "Yes, of course! Papa buys it in bulk from Mister Filthy Rich and the famed Apple family of Ponyville."
"Oh?" Twilight cut in, her ears stood up straight. "If you've got Apple family cider, I'd like some as well."
"I'll have them for you straight away, Your Highness, Captain Spitfire." Quick as a flash, Rosebud pulled a tiny notepad and pencil out from her shirt pocket and scribbled down their drink order. "Have you had a chance to look over the menu?"
"Er, no," Spitfire mumbled sheepishly. She took hold of the sturdy black book and flipped it open, her eyes skimming over it like one of her reports. "Uh... hmm..."
"I can come back with your drinks and some fresh baked bread if you'd like, Captain. Then take your orders, if you're ready."
Glancing across the table at Twilight, who was also looking hers over, Spitfire nodded. "Yeah, that might be for the best. Sorry, we got chatting..."
Rosebud smiled and shook her head. "No trouble at all, Captain. Papa loves to let ponies sit and take their time. If you need longer, just let me know and I'll be around." Bowing her head, she flipped her notepad shut and trotted away, pausing to duck under a floating tray as she made her way toward the kitchen.
Spitfire hummed a tune as she looked through the items. Pastas, steamed vegetables, soups, it all looked so delicious. "I should've asked for her recommendation," she mused. "Not sure if I can decide."
There was a moment's silence as she looked the menu over, her tail flicked in irritation. How hard could it be to decide something? When there were so many tasty sauces, different pastas, vegetables, salads...
Okay, quite difficult. No wonder Soarin likes this place so much, she thought, barely holding back a snort of laughter. He could sit in here, close his eyes, and have his hoof land on something he could just bury his face in. And Fleetfoot would let him.
Her mind conjured up the image of Soarin with his muzzle deep in alfredo while Fleetfoot sat across from him, calmly eating her food with proper table manners, occasionally stopping to remind him to at least wipe his face every now and again.
This time she couldn't withhold a snort. Dear Celestia, that's a sight I've seen way too many times with him and apple pie. A quick shake of her head cast the image from her mind. Got alfredo on the brain, so I'll go with the fettuccine and broccoli. And maybe a salad. Garden looks good.
With a flick of her hoof, Spitfire closed her menu. "Okay, I'm ready when you are, hon."
"I haven't mastered everything, you know."
Spitfire blinked, staring at Twilight uncertainly. "Er... I don't think anypony's mastered 'everything', hon."
"No, no, that's not what I mean." Twilight looked up, her ears laid flat against her head and her smile had fallen. "I mean with magic. You asked about my shields."
"Yeah. I was just curious how you compared with your brother." She tilted her head to one side. "What's wrong?"
Twilight shook her head. "It's nothing. I'm being silly, I know you didn't mean..." She trailed off and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "I've had a few ponies assume that my talent with magic means that I can just do a spell and then have it mastered. That's not the case at all. I can do a lot, I can learn a lot, but I have to practice more than most because I'm learning so much!"
"Ah." Spitfire hummed. "It takes more effort because you don't specialize? Like your brother with shields, or Fleetfoot with speed flying and Soarin with his power flying?"
"In a way, yes. When it comes to shield spells and warding, Shining is like the maestro. I'm more of, er, a renaissance mare." She ducked her head, a hint of concern flashed in her eyes. "If it doesn't sound too egotistical to say, that is. I just pick a lot of things up really fast, then I have to work to get better at them. So, by comparison, I can certainly match him in power, but..."
"He has the edge in terms of technique," Spitfire finished for her.
With a sheepish grin, Twilight nodded. "Yeah. He's got a knack for it, along with years of practice devoted to those specific areas. Well, on top of some offensive spells for the guard." She folded her menu and placed it down upon the table, crossing her hooves one atop the other on the table. "But, for me, it took a lot of work to get where I am. You wouldn't believe how much of a struggle it was for me to teleport short distances."
"Probably about as much as it was for me to do a proper barrel roll without taking out Soarin and Fleetfoot." A shudder ran down her spine, all the way to the tips of her feathers. "Seriously. It took longer than it should have."
"You couldn't do a proper barrel roll?" Twilight repeated, her voice tinged with incredulity.
Playfully, she raised an eyebrow. "Do I look like I'm lying, hon? Better yet, ask those two feather brains when I introduce you to them. It's their favorite thing to laugh about that doesn't involve a very drunken Firestorm."
"I, um, if you don't mind me saying..." her voice trailed off, Twilight poked her hooves together. "It's difficult to imagine a scene like that. I mean, I saw you fly at Rainbow Falls and you were brilliant. And Rainbow always said..."
Spitfire let out a bark of laughter. "What? Don't tell me she brought up my flight records? Hon, if you're going off that, it's probably as difficult as it is for me to think of you having trouble with the teleportation spell after I rode passenger with you?" Another blush colored Twilight's cheeks, bringing forth another laugh. "But like you said, it didn't just come easily."
Ducking her head once again, Twilight offered a sheepish smile. "I just did the same thing I was upset with you for doing, didn't I?"
"Heh, so you did." Spitfire leveled her with a faux critical stare, one likely ruined by her cheeky grin. "I guess we'll call that even, then. But I am curious as to which areas of magic you do lean more toward, the ones you put a bit more of your focus into, I mean."
Just as she'd hoped, Twilight sat up a bit straighter. That pretty smile, toothy and full of glee, was back in place again. "I'd like that very much."
Rosebud came by with their drinks, as if on cue. She neatly set them down on the table and took her notepad in her magic again. "Your Highness, Captain, are you ready?"
Spitfire and Twilight shared a look, each giving a small smile. "Yes," Spitfire replied, "I think we are. Go ahead, Twilight."
Lunch had been everything Soarin promised and more.
Accustomed though she was to eating out at high priced restaurants and dining with sponsors and politicians, Spitfire had to give credit where it was due. Don Contorno's food was like eating back home--fresh made ingredients, prepared with great care and cooked to perfection in a way only her ma could manage. Not to mention the atmosphere certainly set a nice mood for talk, and Rosebud was happy to bring drinks as long as they stayed.
The tip she left might have been a bit over the top, and just might surprise the young mare, but it was worth it in spades.
Whatever it was about the place, Twilight was comfortable enough to talk without too much prompting. Of course, Spitfire asked questions here and there, and their byplay would go back toward her, but she didn't have to coax words out of Twilight.
It felt more natural, like there was more ebb and flow, give and take. Twilight smiled, laughed that bubbly laugh of hers, and told stories about how her big brother--big, scary Captain Shining Armor--used to let her ride on his back while he pretended to buck and jump for all he was worth to throw her off, and if he did, he'd just catch her in his magic and tickle her silly.
All in all, Spitfire was quite surprised she didn't have a heart attack at the image her mind conjured. Foal pictures, she resolved. I somehow need to find a picture of that. I know it exists somewhere.
Maybe if she played her cards right, they could arrange for an exchange of information. But, that was for later.
Once they'd finished their meal--and realized that they'd spent nearly an hour after doing so sitting around chatting, even after Spitfire had paid the bill--they made their way to the local park. Lush green grass, foals running and playing while their parents sat on the benches and watched, an old couple sat on a park bench feeding the pigeons a bit of birdseed.
"Nice place," Spitfire commented. "A lot different from the Cloudsdale cloud fields."
"Cadence and Shining used to bring Spike and I here when we were little," Twilight replied. "We'd set up a big picnic blanket on that hill over there--" she waved a hoof to her left, toward a tiny hill with a young oak tree standing tall and proud by its lonesome "--and we'd just do everything. Reading, playing knights and dragons with Shining, Cadence would teach me how to dance..."
Smiling, Spitfire stepped closer, enough so their feathers brushed together as they walked. The saddlebags strapped to Twilight's waist jostled and bumped against her flank with every step. "Foalhood memories are always sweet, aren't they? I remember dad taking me out to the fields and racing with me all day when he wasn't on tour. Captain Crossfire, if you've heard the name."
Twilight stopped walking, her snout scrunched up rather cutely as she tried to connect it. "I know I've heard it before, he was fairly recent, I believe."
"Heh, he's my dad, not my granddad, hon. Yeah, he's pretty recent."
Rolling her eyes, Twilight trotted up and bumped her shoulder against Spitfire's. "You know what I mean, you cheeky mare!" She giggled and stayed close. "You know, if we keep talking about foalhood memories, the little ones around here will start talking about us like we're a couple of old mares."
With a mock gasp, Spitfire returned the shoulder bump. "You take that back! I'll have you know I'm as spry as ever, and energetic as a diamond dog in a room full of crystals!" Grinning, she leaned in to whisper in Twilight's ear. "And to be completely fair, I don't think you'll find the foals talking about their princess like that, hon."
"Fine! They'll call you an old mare!" Her brilliant purple eyes seemed to dance with mischief, a far sight from the nervous mare at the Gala or the shifty little thing from the morning after. "And rightfully so!"
"Old mare?" Spitfire balked, her wings flared out and ears pinned back. "Why you little--Princess or not, I can still get you in the air and put you through your paces!"
Giggling like a little filly, Twilight stuck her tongue out and crossed her eyes. A display that would've most ponies tripping over themselves to see.
A not-so-subtle challenge.
Spitfire narrowed her eyes and, timing her steps, made to wrap a hoof around Twilight's withers to pull her into a tight side hug and subsequent noogie.
But Twilight was waiting.
Quick as a flash, bright magenta light burst before her eyes and a popping sound met her ears. Spitfire blinked to rid herself of the white spots that dotted her vision, only to find empty space where Twilight had been. "What the hay..." Before she could even catch up, another popping sound came from her left. Turning, she came nose-to-nose with a cheekily grinning Twilight, who poked her right in the nose and popped out of existence again.
Teleporting! She realized. With a frustrated growl, she stomped the ground, her eyes flitted left and right to find her prey. Clever, hon. But I'm a lot quicker than you think. Next time I hear that little pop, your wings are clipped.
Her ears perked up to full height, Spitfire crouched low to the ground, ready to pounce and give Twilight a Wonderbolt sized noogie she wouldn't soon forget. All she needed was the timing. If it was anything like the last, she should be showing up right about--
A pop sounded from her left, Spitfire whipped around and made to leap at Twilight, but came up grasping at air. The pop sounded to her right. She turned just in time to catch the burst of magenta as Twilight teleported again.
Left. Right. Behind. Right. Left. Above. Left. Left. Behind.
With a simple teleport spell, traveling a distance of maybe half a pony's length at most, Twilight lead her on a merry dance, leaving her chasing in circles as if she were a puppy chasing her own tail.
Spitfire stopped in place, her brows flatlined. "Oh, you cheeky little..."
So Twilight wanted to taunt and play tag with a Wonderbolt, eh? She was in for a surprise. All she needed was a little feint to start the cycle off.
Her plan set in motion, Spitfire listened closely for the telltale sound of Twilight's magic cutting through the air. She didn't disappoint.
The first came off to her right. As soon as the pressurized rush of air reached her, she flicked her right ear toward the source and jerked her head as if to make a move. Predictably, a second pop sounded through the air, and started the real search.
Had she moved to her right, Spitfire would've been completely off balance when she heard the pop sound just over her left shoulder. Ha! Got you! With a triumphant grin splitting her muzzle, she whipped around, her weight shifted to her back hooves to push off and tackle Twilight.
But when she turned, she found Twilight standing well within her personal bubble, cheerfully grinning with her muzzle pressed against Spitfire's.
A tiny squeak slipped from the back of her throat; her shifted weight made her rear back, comically flailing her hooves for balance.
Twilight's shot out and took her right hoof, and with one quick jerk, pulled her in for a light peck on the lips. Her coat stood on end as Twilight's magic washed over her, the world engulfed in a magenta glow, there was the feeling of being hooked and pulled along by her withers.
Brilliant purple eyes, alight with mischief, vivacity, and warmth dominated her vision. Soft grass tickled her ankles, a change from the feel of the sidewalk's hard pavement against her hooves. She caught me, Spitfire mused, still preoccupied with the kiss.
A wave of dizziness hit her. Her knees buckled, brilliant purple eyes blurred and faded as blackness tinged the edges of her vision. A gentle, but firm hoof wrapped around her barrel and pulled her close against Twilight's chest.
"Sorry," Twilight's voice whispered into her ear. "I forgot how jarring it could be if you don't have practice as a passenger--I gave you warning last time."
Spitfire gave a barely audible mumble, bringing a hoof to her forehead. "Ugh. Anypony get the number of that manticore that trampled me?"
Giggling, Twilight's chest shook. Soft lips pressed into her forehead. "No manticores, Spitfire. Just me not thinking through with my teasing." Another kiss to her forehead, this one fluffy and lingering. "I'm sorry."
Through her groggy state of mind, Spitfire shook her head, rubbing her nose into the warm fur on Twilight's chest. "'S okay, hon." A playful smiled made it's way across her muzzle, she leaned in close and breathed in the scent of Twilight's perfume. White chocolate and roses. Red, Spitfire. Keep it clean. "Just means you have to deal with me leaning on you for a while."
"I think I can accept that," Twilight replied, her lips curved into a smile. Spitfire felt her shift, stepping around to support her from the left side. "I'm going to help walk you over to the tree I pointed to a bit ago. Just a few steps, if you feel up to it."
Spitfire turned and leveled her with a bemused stare. "Hon, I'm a just little off kilter. If you can guide me, I'll make it."
Twilight let out a snort of laughter, but nodded. "All right, if you say so. I'm, er, I'm going to wrap my wing around you--just to steady you!" she said the last bit in a rush. "I don't mean to jump straight to wing hugs, and I don't mean this as an excuse! I just don't want you to stumble!"
Quickly averting her gaze, Spitfire found herself fighting down a bit of a blush in her cheeks. This silly mare. "It's fine, hon." She turned back to press her lips against Twilight's cheek and give a light nuzzle. "We'll just call this one your mulligan, okay?"
Giving a nod and a crooked smile, Twilight unfurled her wing. Her soft purple feathers ran over Spitfire's vibrant yellow, sending a tickling sensation down her wing.
As they came in contact with her back, Spitfire drew in a sharp breath. "Your feathers are soft," she noted breathily.
"I preened yesterday," Twilight replied, a hint of flattery in her tone. Her wing wrapped snuggly around Spitfire's middle, pulling her in close as she began to slowly trot toward the tree. "Cadence helped me."
Blinking to help clear her head, Spitfire allowed herself to be led toward the tree. "Well, you both did a great job." With her head less muggy, she leaned in to nuzzle Twilight's cheek. "So, what's the plan? Doubt you teleporting me over to the tree you pointed out was coincidence."
Twilight's smile turned sheepish. "You caught me," she admitted. "I sort of thought we could sit under it and look over a few of these." She turned to nod at the books in her saddlebags. "If that's okay with you, I mean."
Spitfire stopped a few paces from the tree and turned into Twilight. "Hon, if you want to share your old picnic spot with me, I'm flattered." She gave a light kiss to Twilight's lips, nuzzling their snouts together. "I'm more than okay with that."
The smile that split Twilight's muzzle could've brought light to the deepest, darkest cave, or kept a pony warm through the Windigos' endless winter.
They sat down, Twilight deftly removed her wing and folded it against her side as they leaned against the tree trunk. The warmth, the soft feeling of her feathers left Spitfire. Her smile faltered, a not-so-small part of her demanded it back.
Not yet, too early for that, she scolded herself. And I'm the one doing the wing-hugging, dang it. I'm the lead.
"So, what've you got on tap for us?" she asked.
Twilight lit her horn and floated a rather thick book out of her saddlebags. The title Tales of the Founders of Equestria was displayed on the side in neat, golden script. "I thought I'd pull out an old favorite first. Since we mentioned a couple stories while we were up on the cloud."
Nodding, Spitfire settled in beside her, leaning in to look at the book as Twilight flitted through the pages. Their sides brushed together again. Soft feathers, warmth, the rhythm of Twilight's breathing against her.
Almost hypnotic. Like an invitation to wrap her hooves around Twilight's body and pull her into her lap to be smothered with kisses and nips to her cute, purple ears. Then, slowly lay her back, move on top, and--
Spitfire shook her head. Red. Keep it under wraps. "Which story do you wanna look at first?"
Humming, Twilight glanced at the index. "How about we start with 'Whirlwind, Maple, and the Dragon of Craggy Peak Mountain'?"
"Heh, an old favorite. I'm cool with that." Spitfire glanced skyward, frowning at the clouds dotting the sky. They looked suspiciously like thunderheads. "Don't suppose you checked the weather schedule before we left, did you?"
"Er, no. Why?"
She nodded to the sky. "I didn't either. We're gonna have to keep an eye on those or we'll end up soaked."
"Don't tell me the vaunted Captain of the Wonderbolts is afraid of a little rain!" Twilight teased, nudging her with an elbow. "Wait until I tell Rainbow Dash!"
Snorting, Spitfire nudged her back. "I'm trying to make sure our date doesn't end with us making a mad dash for cover, you silly filly."
"Fair enough. Then onward to Whirlwind and Maple." Twilight flipped to the first page of the story--which bore a rather impressive illustration of a pegasus with a navy coat carrying an earth pony mare of red soft brown coat and golden mane in his hooves as he fled from the great maw of a mighty dragon.
The stallion who outflew the jaws of hell.
"Once upon a time, there was a stallion named Whirlwind," Twilight read aloud, "one of Commander Hurricane's most trusted soldiers, among the first to stand up and join the newly formed Guard. He served with great devotion and valor, defending the six founders from the dangers of the world while they worked to unite the tribes under the Equestrian banner. While on patrol in the castle gardens one day, Whirlwind met with a mare more beautiful than the setting sun or all the stars in the night sky--a lovely earth pony named Maple."
Spitfire closed her eyes and concentrated on Twilight's voice. The way she read, the inflections of her voice with every word painted the scene for her.
Whirlwind was tongue-tied, his spear held limply in hoof as he gaped in awe of a lovely mare, clothed in a dirt-stained smock completely oblivious to him. She hummed an old earth pony folk song to herself as she moved from plant to plant, watering them and cooing over them as if they were her foals.
His lips seemed dry. Running his tongue over them to wet them in hopes of speaking to this beauty, this goddess given flesh, didn't work. His heart beat in his ears, his wings trembled. She was an earth pony, he was a pegasus. The tribes were united on paper, by the word and signature of their leaders, but some of the animosity, the suspicion remained.
Would she hold onto that feeling?
"Oh!"
He blinked, shaken from his reverie to find himself met with a pair of eyes as green as the springtime fields. Such a vibrant, lovely color...
A goddess indeed.
"G-Good day, garden tender!" he blurted, his cheeks tinged a rosy pink hue.
The mare ducked her head shyly, bowing to him. "Good day, Guardpony," she greeted. Mercifully, there was no animosity in her voice. Only a touch of hesitance. "I hope I'm not interrupting your patrol."
Frantically, Whirlwind shook his head. His helmet rattled around, in a way his pegasus brothers and sisters would surely laugh at. "N-No! Not at all!" he assured her. "I heard you... I heard your singing." He shifted in place, his armor creaking with his movement. "You have a... a lovely voice."
Her cheeks colored, she looked down at a rosebush to hide a smile. "Thank you, sir. But I'm just a gardener. My voice isn't that impressive..."
"No, it is!" he balked. How could such a vision of loveliness not know her own power? "Truly, you possess a voice as sweet as Lady Clover's magic is awesome!" Spurred by his own words, he placed his spear on the ground and bowed to her, splaying his wings out in the traditional pegasus salute. "Please, if you'd be so kind, I would be delighted to know your name, fair maiden."
There was a moment's pause. The grass beneath her hooves crunched as she pawed awkwardly, but Whirlwind dared not raise his gaze lest he discourage her.
"Maple," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper. "My name is Maple."
Maple. Like the trees whose scent was sweet and sap made delicious syrup. Fitting for such a mare.
Slowly, he raised his head, offering her a smile. "Thank you, fair Maple. Your name is as lovely as your voice."
Another awkward shift, her cheeks seemed alight with fire. She glanced up at him shyly, her lips tugging into a smile. "Thank you, sir. In return, might I have your name?"
Whirlwind thrust out his chest. "My name is Whirlwind--Whirlwind of the Equestrian Guard, defender of the Castle of the Six!"
A hoof touched her shoulder, Spitfire jolted back to the present. "Huh?" She blinked and turned to Twilight, and was met with an amused tugging at her lips and mirth shining in her eyes. "What's that?"
"You were off in the clouds," Twilight said, giggling into a hoof. "I asked if you wanted to read the next passage."
"Oh! Sure, hon." She grinned and held out a hoof. "Pass it over."
Twilight floated the book to her waiting hoof and let her magic cut out. "All right," she said, leaning into Spitfire's side. Much as Spitfire had done, she closed her eyes and smiled. "We were at the part about--"
Spitfire gave her a little brush with her feathers. "I know where we are, smarty hooves! Whirlwind just introduced himself, next up comes their courtship." Clearing her throat, she made to carry on, pausing only to level Twilight with a stern glare when she kept giggling. "If you're done?"
"Go ahead," Twilight replied, waving her on.
Turning to give a snort into Twilight's mane, and then quickly ducking to avoid a swipe of her hoof, she settled in and picked up where they left off. "Taken in by her beauty and gentle nature, Whirlwind began to court Maple; the six founders were rather surprised at how quickly the first official mixed courtship began, but gave their blessing. Among them, Chancellor Puddinghead, Commander Hurricane and Smart Cookie were their greatest supporters. To commemorate their relationship, Hurricane had the pegasus smiths forge a set of horseshoes deep in the heart of a thunderhead to enable Maple to walk on the clouds and stand at Whirlwind's side. The pair were happy together, their example led the way for more and more ponies to court outside their tribes. But on one fateful day, a great dragon came down from his den on Craggy Peak Mountain, lured by the riches of the young nation."
"Spike always hated this part," Twilight whispered. "He'd always cross his arms and grumble that the evil dragon would've been stopped dead in his tracks if he'd been there to help defend the nation, and Maple could've been safe and Whirlwind wouldn't have had to chase after her."
"That so?" Spitfire said, snickering at the image of the tiny dragon that came to mind. "Well, how unfortunate that brave and noble Spike wasn't there to protect the fair maiden, eh?"
Succumbing to another giggle fit, Twilight bobbed her head. "He doesn't like it when evil dragons make the rest of his kind look bad."
"Heh, well, maybe next time we have an evil dragon attack, Spike can be the good dragon who shows everypony what they're really like."
With a nod and a snort she turned back to the story. Her mind began to wander again as she read through. "The Dragon of Craggy Peak set upon the castle with his ravenous lust for gold. Completely caught off-guard, the unified forces of the Equestrian Guard could only scramble to protect the six founders and castle staff. But as they led the ponies to the safety of the castle's keep, Whirlwind noticed there was one of their number missing. His lovely Maple was nowhere to be found. Taken in by her beauty much like Whirlwind, the dragon stole her away as his prize--a little pony with a voice as sweet as the birds in spring, perfect to sing him to sleep. Wrought with worry, Whirlwind took his thunder forged spear from the guard armory and gave chase, all the way to the dragon's keep..."
The days had dragged on for the young guardpony, following along the trail of smoldering ruin the great dragon left in its wake. His heart pounded in his chest as he neared the base of the mountain, a rising up against the backdrop of an overcast sky.
To the south, he took note of a patch of wild thunderheads sat above the raging waters of the eastern sea--temperamental and violent, the lightning contained within one was more than enough to burn a pony or griffin to a crisp. A full patch of them, though...
Whirlwind shook his head, gripping his spear tighter. "Maple," he whispered fervently. "I'm coming."
He ascended the slopes of Craggy Peak Mountain as quietly as he could. Every crunch of gravel, every rock unsettled, every step he took made his heart leap to his throat. The steady stream of smoke coming from within the mouth of the cave above him meant the dragon was indeed home, there would be no avoiding an encounter.
Hopefully fortune would smile upon him and let the great beast be sound asleep while he made his move.
Whirlwind peeked his head into the cave entrance, his jaw dropped at the sight of the veritable sea of gold and trinkets within. How old was this dragon? How many years had he plundered the lands and neighboring kingdoms to acquire such a horde?
Maple. His thoughts returned to his beloved mare. Where was his Maple?
He crept into the cave, searching frantically for his lost love. Every which way he looked, another small mountain of treasure met his eye, the shine of gold blinding even in the depths of the cave. But no Maple!
His heart sank. If Maple wasn't here, it could only mean one thing...
The dragon.
Whirlwind snarled, his eyes flitted to the great beast slumbering in the depths of his cave, blanketed in the golden sheen of his conquests.
How dare he...
Whirlwind unfurled his wings, snorting through his nose as he stalked toward the beast. Nothing else. This foul creature, this demon spawned from the depths of Tartarus had taken Maple from this world!
How dare he...
She was innocent! A beautiful little flower that had survived the harsh winter, the end of the War of the Three Tribes, and smiled so sweetly for him when he asked that she share her song.
How dare he...
Rage burned within him like a wildfire, consuming every bit of his being. Whirlwind moved in closer, his eyes locked on the dragon's tightly shut eyelids--the eyes were always the weakest point on any creature, no armor or hide could stop a spear, sword, or arrow from piercing through.
Thunderforged steel would do the deed well enough. Even if the beast's thrashing about in the throes of death managed to end him, Whirlwind would have his revenge and be with Maple once again.
He stood poised to deliver the strike, his spear hefted at the ready. "This is for Maple," he whispered, his voice tinged with venomous fury, "you wicked creature!"
A soft gasp stayed his hoof. His ears flicked to the left. What in the world was that?
The dragon began to stir, a rumble sounded from the back of his throat. Scaled eyelids fluttered, much like a foal rousing from a deep sleep.
It was now or never! But who had started? Whirlwind searched again, peering around the dragon's frame. Another captive? Did this creature take ponies to his cave and devour them one by one? What sort of wicked beast made its prey wait in such a manner?
There, sitting just a few paces from the dragon's wing, was Maple. Her tear streaked cheeks were matted and eyes red-rimmed. She looked as though she hadn't slept in days, her beautiful coat and mane were unkempt and stuck up in odd patches. And yet, to Whirlwind, she was still the most beautiful sight in all the land.
Maple gave a weak smile, her eyes teared up. As Whirlwind made to step toward her and thank the fates, she brought a hoof to her lips, then pointed to the dragon.
"Mare..." the dragon mumbled. "Sing... Sing to me again..."
"Yes, master," Maple replied and bowed her head, the submissive gesture not matching the bright smile on her muzzle. With her lips tugging into a full grin and tears of joy streaming down her cheeks, she began to sing.
Both Whirlwind and the dragon froze--the latter letting out a contented sigh as he made himself comfortable again, drifting off with the first notes of her song. Whirlwind felt his heart soar, like he were flying with his brethren above the clouds.
She was singing for him. Not because she was bound by the dragon's hold over her life, but for him.
Damn the beast, his mare was alive!
Whirlwind approached her, taking care to step around the dragon and avoid knocking over any of the trinkets. Her vibrant green eyes went wide, Maple made to wave him off, but he caught her hoof in his and pulled her into a kiss. "I was so worried," he whispered as they broke.
"He'll wake!" she hissed, her eyes darting back to her captor. "You have to go!"
"Not without you."
A raindrop fell on the end of Spitfire's nose. She blinked and shook her head, shifting her gaze from the text on the page to the darkened sky above.
She sniffed. The scent of ozone and fresh rain reached her nose. Squinting, Spitfire could make out the blurred outlines of her fellow pegasi flitting amongst the clouds, kicking them to spill their payloads out across the park.
"Aw, horseapples," she cursed. Closing the book with a snap, she stuffed it into Twilight's saddlebag. "Bad news, hon."
Twilight followed her gaze, her shoulders slumped when she saw the rain coming. "Oh, come on!" she cried, giving an irritated flick of her tail. "We were getting to the best part, too!"
"Well, looks like the Canterlot Weather Team schedule isn't gonna let us do that out here!" Spitfire jumped to her hooves and nosed her way between Twilight's jaw and her shoulder, nudging her up. "Come on, on your hooves! Not having my date go home soaked to the bone if I can help it."
She coaxed a rather put out Twilight to her hooves and picked up the saddlebags in her mouth. With a toss of her head, she flipped them over her back. "All right, we've got all the books in here, so let's get back quick. Mind giving us a quick teleport, hon?"
Expecting an immediate yes, Spitfire stepped closer to Twilight's side and took a deep breath, closing her eyes to help prevent the dizziness that came with sudden change in location.
But Twilight hesitated before giving her answer. "No," she said.
Spitfire's eyes shot open, she turned to stare at Twilight. "Er, hon, your books are gonna get soaked if we don't get back, not to mention you."
"Let me deal with that." Twilight smiled, an odd gleam shined in her eyes. "I've had a wonderful time with you today; flying together, sitting and chatting at Contorno's, and walking through the park before we stopped and read together." She leaned in to plant a soft kiss on Spitfire's cheek, her lips lingering a moment before she pulled away. "I'd rather spend more time together than cut things short with a teleport because we ran into some rain," she whispered, nuzzling against Spitfire.
A warmth filled her chest. Spitfire leaned into her touch, allowing herself a little rustle of her wing. "I can't argue with that," she murmured.
Still, letting Twilight get wet was out of the question. Both because she wanted this date to end well and she'd look like a complete jerk if she let a princess get soaked.
At very least, she could offer something. And it'd be a nice little gesture from her culture, too.
Spitfire unfurled her left wing and offered it to Twilight. "Here," she said, "stand under my wing, hon. No reason both of us have to get wet."
The gesture earned a hum of approval and another kiss on the cheek. "You're sweet. But I disagree." She lit up her horn, smiling as she stepped close enough to press her side against Spitfire's. "I don't think there's any room for either of us to get wet." She raised her eyebrows, glancing up to survey something.
Curious, Spitfire followed her gaze, a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth when she noticed the shimmering magenta bubble surrounding the pair.
A shield charm. And, by the looks of it, Twilight had put it up just in the nick of time as the pegasi kicked the rainclouds above them, dumping raindrops over the rest of the park.
She returned her gaze to Twilight again and captured her lips in a kiss. They stayed together, the shield keeping them dry long enough for Spitfire to savor their shared warmth, the soft touch of Twilight's lips against hers.
A warm, wet tongue ran along her lips. Spitfire laughed into the kiss and broke it. "Now, now," she mock scolded, her smile ruining the effect. "We talked about that, hon. That's code red."
Twilight simply grinned and stole a kiss to the end of her snout. "After a careful review of literature," she began, speaking with an air of regality, "and assurances offered by the Princess of Love, Mi Amore Cadenza, I have come to the conclusion that Prench kissing is initiated when two ponies' tongues interact within the confines of their mouths--licking your lips is the prelude, not the action." Cheekily, she bumped her hip against Spitfire. "Unless you can't handle the heat, Captain Spitfire."
Laughing, Spitfire returned the bump. Got me back for breakfast after all. "I'll give you that one, hon. But let's keep the rest of our little game under wraps until later, okay? I wanna enjoy walking and talking, making you squirm can wait."
The pair shared grins and another kiss before making their way out of the park and into the emptied streets of Canterlot. Just two mares, a little rain to cool the air and keep them close, and a nice walk.
Who could ask for a better end to a date? |
Glow | Interlude 2. Yellow Feathers | Celestia allowed herself a small smile. Everything was going according to plan, fie on Luna's silly doubts on her ability to match her student up with an appropriate suitor.
Much like Cadence might, she had approached the task with utmost care and deliberation. After all, Twilight deserved the best when it came to her special somepony. Watching her struggle through some half-hearted fling or relationship doomed to fail simply wouldn't do.
Naturally, it fell to her to cut out the middle-pony, so to speak, and find a fitting candidate.
Not that the task had been particularly difficult. Twilight had never made her tastes much of a secret--at least, she hadn't done well at making them a secret.
Oh, how adorable she was when she'd chew her lip and look away to hide her blushing, Celestia tittered, nodding to a pair of guards as she passed. She always used to snuggle right up in my wings and drift right off.
A sigh escaped her lips. No small part of her longed for those days, if only she could cherry pick certain moments in time and make them reality. A younger Twilight together with those lovely friends of hers, all bright eyed and innocent; Cadence before she bloomed into a beautiful mare in her own right, somewhere around the time she and Shining Armor only just started formally dating one another; and, of course, Luna after her return.
If there were any way to somehow make it happen, then lock her little "family" in some temporal stasis while they all lived their happy, carefree lives, she might consider it.
Still, that would rob her of seeing them all grow as ponies, friends, and lovers. As Luna so loved to say, she could not have her cake and eat it too.
She could, however, ensure that Twilight Sparkle find a lovely mare to hold close and share her love with. Building a "love potential profile"--Cadence's name for it, not hers--was all too easy.
Twilight's tastes trended toward mares; simple enough, already there were plenty of candidates that sprang to mind. However, there was plenty more. She liked ponies who held a bit of authority, talent in their field, and plenty of intelligence, but also had a warmth in them. A leader who could guide her along, then smile and hold her close while they told her how important she was in their life.
In short, Twilight had, perhaps unconsciously, looked at her loved ones at a very young age and decided that her special somepony would have to exhibit all of their best traits.
Which, in turn, left Celestia the task of sorting through her list to find a mare who would treat her with the love and affection she deserved, while also respecting her as a princess and mare.
Captain Spitfire's name was quick to come to mind. After all, she was a decorated officer with the Wonderbolts, held a rather good record overall in terms of conduct, and her skill in flying was matched only by her own teammates and Rainbow Dash.
Celestia turned the corner, trotting down the hallway toward a group of maids who were huddled off to the side, no doubt sharing some of the ever-infamous castle gossip. Her smile broadened into a grin as she considered what she'd learned yesterday morning.
Her plan, beautifully simplistic in its design, had worked perfectly. By informing Captain Spitfire that she had plenty of latitude to read her interaction with Twilight and utilize it as basis for whether she pursued friendship or romance, she gave tacit permission for the mare to be herself. None of the vacant stares or stiff-lipped ceremony, just one mare chatting with another--albeit, with the expressly stated respect requirement in place.
As if I would allow some bore of a mare to steal Twilight's heart, she thought, only just withholding a titter. What sort of mother would I be if I let that happen? She paused, giving a tiny frown. Not to steal her from Twilight Velvet, of course. Perhaps 'surrogate mother' would be a more apt term. Yes, that will do just nicely.
Her smile returned. Celestia snuck a glance out the stained glass window depicting her student standing alongside her fellow former element bearers, basking in the array of colors the sun cast through the tinted glass.
Sighing happily, she closed her eyes. What a wonderful start to the day. Her little attempt at matchmaking worked like a charm, Twilight should be on a lovely date with Captain Spitfire--out for a late lunch at Don Contorno's, if memory served.
Celestia would have to send her compliments to the good captain; the methods at the Gala had been a tad more forward than she would've preferred, but effective nonetheless. A bit of affectionate nuzzling, a kiss or two here and there was perfectly acceptable.
With some moderation, of course.
Thoughts for another day, old mare. Quietly enjoy a job well done, then wait for Twilight to return and prod her for details. Wrinkling her snout as another thought occurred, she allowed herself a little giggle. Or sit back and enjoy the show as Cadence pounces on her and demands every last detail be shared.
"Are you sure?" One of the maids' voices made her ear flick, drawing her out of her reverie.
"Are you calling me a liar?"
"I'm just asking! You're sure you heard right?"
"I heard it from Tidy with my own two ears, Feather! Read my lips: yellow. Feathers. In. Princess. Twilight's. Bed. Yellow feathers!" The maid gave a little stomp of her hoof. "And I have it on good authority that Princess Twilight didn't leave the Gala alone, either! Miss Rainbow Dash was talking with Miss Applejack about how--and I quote--'totally awesome and amazingly lucky' Princess Twilight was to catch Spitfire's eye!"
The other mares gasped. "Captain Spitfire? From the Wonderbolts?"
"The very same!"
Celestia drew in a sharp breath, her ears shot up straight. She turned to approach them, moving with silent steps as she came closer. Her eyes narrowed. Surely this was just a bit of castle gossip, lacking in substance. Just a rumor.
It couldn't hurt to confirm it, though.
"So Tidy found her feathers in the princess'--oh, by Celestia! I remember when I first started working here, we all thought she didn't even think about love, let alone the finer things in life!" The mare fluffed her feathers, then leaned in to whisper, "Does she still have them?"
"Of course! You really think she'd get rid of those?"
A third mare chimed in, "Couldn't that just mean that she let Captain Spitfire sleep in her bed?" The others fixed her with a look, she pinned back her ears and ducked her head. "I was just thinking... Princess Twilight is supposed to be really nice."
She is! Celestia managed to keep the affirmation to herself. She grit her teeth. And far too innocent for any of this! I'm half a mind to find this 'Tidy' and give her a piece of my mind! Spreading rumors of my student as if she were some two-bit hussy on the street corner, who would just lift her tail and spread her legs because a mare said a few nice things!
"Miley, you're always so stubborn!" the first mare said. "If you want further proof, Tidy said there was also a certain scent about the room."
Feather gasped. "You're joking!"
"No!" Miley brought a hoof to her lips.
"Yes!" she replied, with a bit too much glee in her tone for Celestia's liking.
Nostrils flaring, Celestia stood to her full height, coming to stop just a few steps behind the one called Miley.
The first mare looked up, barely glimpsing Celestia before she looked back to her friends. "The sheets and cover were dampened and smelled of--of--" she trailed off, freezing in place like a startled gazelle. "Pr-Pr-Princess Celestia!" she squeaked and gave a quick bow, a move her friends scrambled to copy.
"Oh, don't mind me ladies," she said, feeling just the slightest bit proud of the way they flinched at her tone. "I just happened to overhear your conversation about my former student and fellow princess, and found myself quite enthralled by the tale you were telling, Feather, Miley, and--oh, forgive me! I don't believe I know your name, dear! You must be new!"
"Y-Yes, Your Highness!" she said, stammering as she bowed again. "M-My name is Br-Bright Shine, this is m-my second week here!"
Celestia smiled. "Well, you've come across quite the little piece of gossip in just your second week! I, for one, would be delighted to hear all about it! Perhaps you three would like to join me in my study so you might regale me in private?" She paused as if to consider. "Oh! Better yet, Miley, was it?"
Miley gave a stiff nod and bow. "Yes, Your Highness! At your service!"
"Would you be a dear and fetch Tidy for me? I think it would be prudent to hear the news straight from the source!" She waved a hoof in a shooing motion. "Run along, now."
"A-At once, Your Highness!" Giving another bow, she scampered off as though Cerberus himself were nipping at her tail.
As she watched the mare near the corridor, Celestia called again, "Oh, Miley? Please inform Tidy that I expect her to bring the feathers she claims she found. I'm very interested in those."
She barely heard Miley squeak out another "Yes, Your Highness" before she scuttled off, her attention turned to Feather and Bright Shine. "Ladies," she purred dangerously, "shall we adjourn to my study?"
If not for her growing ire, Celestia might have been a tad amused at the way they pinned their ears back and fell into step with her like they were a pair of naughty fillies about to be scolded by an angry mother. |
Glow | 6. Say Red | Spitfire had to do her very best not to snigger at the look of wide-eyed astonishment on both the doorpony and the elevator attendant when she walked up, all but snuggling against the newest princess of Equestria.
Both the poor colts must've been finishing their shifts, just hanging around and chatting with one another when she walked up with Twilight--purple and yellow wings touching and tracing against each other, laughing and chatting like old friends, and moving with a not-so-little sway in their gait.
Those sniggers almost turned into full-blown laughter when Twilight innocently greeted them with a casual "Hello" and a nod of her head, which sent them scrambling to bow their heads and reply in kind.
Through it all, even as they made their way through the hotel lobby, filled with well-to-do ponies huddled within, bringing out umbrellas to brave the rain outside, into the elevator where a new colt stood at the ready, Twilight's attention and her warm, cheerful smile were reserved for her.
She'd return their greetings with a smile and nod, but she always came back to Spitfire.
Spitfire swished her tail and felt it brush against Twilight's--a trail of fiery orange and yellow playing against neat and orderly purple, violet, and magenta.
Licking her lips, she nosed against Twilight's cheek. Soft and well-cared for, just like her feathers. Just like she had it a couple nights ago.
Memories flashed through her mind. Heated kisses, warm tongues coming together in a passionate dance, their hooves massaging and trailing over their bodies.
Twilight laying on her back, her mane unkempt, yet so very beautiful. The very vision of passion as she lay with her wings unfurled, tail twitching and hind legs spread wide to bare herself to Spitfire.
How she whispered Spitfire's name, so breathy and full of want--
The chime of the elevator's bell brought her back to the present. Spitfire shook her head. Red. No fly zone, Spits.
She smiled to Twilight and bumped their hips together. "After you, hon," she said, fixing her with a half-lidded stare she just knew would bring on that cute little blush-and-duck she'd so come to love.
Sure enough, Twilight gave a wobbly smile and ducked her head to hide a blush as she trotted forward. She barely remembered to mumble a polite "Thank you" to the colt operating the lever.
With a low chuckle, Spitfire trotted alongside her, sparing a nod to the colt as she passed him by and guided Twilight down the hallway toward the Wonderbolts' penthouse suite.
"Wow," Twilight murmured, her eyes darted to each of the paintings on display. "This is almost as impressive as some of the art in the castle, or the Royal Museum!"
"Yeah, they really go all out for VIPs here. Sometimes it makes me feel almost like--" she stepped a bit closer and brushed her feathers against Twilight's side "--a princess."
Twilight turned to level her with a flat stare. "Oh, ha ha!" She rolled her eyes, bumping her hip against Spitfire's. "Somepony's feeling rather cheeky, and so soon after she chased her own tail in the park."
Trying to play? I'm game. Spitfire leapt forward to bare her left side to Twilight and struck a pose, bringing a hoof up to buff on her chest, ruffling her feathers, and gave a little lift of her tail--one that made those pretty purple eyes drift for a split second.
Only an instant, but Spitfire caught her. "Well," she purred, "I can hardly be blamed. I've heard from a reliable source that my tail is quite alluring." Her tail raised higher, a little flick made Twilight's eyes follow the flaming tip as it neared her toned flank and flame-lick cutie mark.
Her tongue darted out to wet her lips, her nostrils flared. Soft purple feathers began to fluff and ruffle as her eyes wandered lower. Twilight froze, blinking and shaking her head, then looking away. "Um, yes! Well, you do have a rather distinctive coloration and manner of styling your mane and tail," she said, her tone faltering a bit in the middle as her gaze flitted back to Spitfire. Looking away again, she shifted from hoof to hoof, chewing on her bottom lip.
Spitfire seized the opportunity. She put a little extra sway in her step as she trotted forward, grinning at how Twilight's ear flicked toward her at the sound of her hooves, but her eyes remained focused on a spot on the wall.
The moment she came within reach, she pressed her lips against Twilight's cheek, lingering long enough to delight in the little squeak that sounded from the back the mare's throat and the merry swish in her tail. "Come on. Let's get you inside before some hotel staff wanders up and thinks I'm just making a game of seeing how much I can get you to blush."
"Th-That wasn't what you were doing?" Twilight stammered, the smile on her muzzle ruining any attempt at accusation.
"Maybe a little." Stealing another kiss, she threw a hoof around Twilight's shoulders and steered her toward the penthouse. "But I'd rather sit on a nice, comfy couch and finish our story about Whirlwind and Maple. We can resume our little game afterward."
Twilight huffed, pushing out her bottom lip and--in Spitfire's opinion--performing the most adorable little pout any mare had ever managed, she followed along. "Not much of a game if you don't have an opponent," she mumbled.
Rolling her eyes, Spitfire turned to nuzzle her cheek. "Maybe I'm just waiting for my opponent to step up to my level, hon. Until then, you make a wonderful scoreboard. Actually, you're perhaps the most beautiful scoreboard I've ever laid eyes on."
Slowly, the pout melted away, her lips tugged into a bright smile as she pressed herself against Spitfire's side. "You're a terrible tease, you know."
"Only because--" she caught herself. Don't scare her away, don't jump in without looking. Again. She fixed a coy smile on her muzzle, eying Twilight with a hooded gaze. "Only because you're worth it, hon."
Blinking, Twilight tilted her head. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but stopped and closed it with a little click, then smiled. "Well," she began, nosing into Spitfire's neck, "glad I rank high enough to be teased by a mare whose beautiful in her own right!"
Oooh, clever girl. You're getting better and better. With a grin spreading across her muzzle, Spitfire came to a stop before the door, her eyes flitted down to the handle.
No sign of a necktie.
Good. She let out a sigh of relief. Last thing I need is to walk in on Soarin mounting Fleetfoot on the couch like that time in Las Pegasus. Especially with Twi right here.
Twisting the knob and pushing the door open, Spitfire lead Twilight inside, kicking the door shut behind them. "Well, welcome to the penthouse. Not quite the Royal Suite you've got, but it's a nice little pad." She glanced left to Soarin and Fleetfoot's room, then right to hers. "Helps that I get my own room so I get a little privacy while the lovebirds snuggle up together."
"Is that so?" Twilight drawled. She turned, fixing Spitfire with a half-lidded stare and smirk as she slowly brushed her side along Spitfire's body. Her soft tail teased and brushed Spitfire's chin. "And what do you call us if your teammates are 'lovebirds'?"
Spitfire licked her lips, the warmth of their bodies brought a heat to rise in her cheeks. How nice it would be to turn real quick, wrap her hooves around Twilight, pull her in for a deep kiss, and make their way over to the couch for a little--
Red.
She returned Twilight's smirk with one of her own and flicked the ends of her tail across Twilight's nose, earning a little squeak and wrinkle of her snout. "I say we're a couple of mares still working on finishing this tryout. If all continues as it's gone so far--" she maneuvered her primaries to brush and intertwine with Twilight's, almost like holding hooves "--we can see about moving into that category together."
A bright smile crossed Twilight's muzzle. "Well, in that case, I think you and I have a story to finish." She strode around Spitfire, but not without giving a little flick of her tail against Spitfire's rump in retaliation, and leaned into her side. "The next part is always my favorite."
Chuckling, Spitfire nosed against her cheek. "I think it's everypony's favorite part, hon," she said, leading Twilight over to the couch.
As they sat, Twilight floated her saddlebags off Spitfire's back and onto the coffee table, and took the book in her magic once again. "Okay, so we were at the part where Whirlwind wouldn't leave without Maple, if I remember correctly."
"Yeah, that sounds about right. You wanna read or should I?"
"You just read, so it's my turn. Although," she said, her tone turning a bit flirty as she scooted closer, pressing against Spitfire's side again, "I think I'm in need for a cuddle buddy for this next part. Think you're up to the task?"
Without a word, Spitfire wrapped a hoof around Twilight, pulling her in tight and kissing the end of her snout. The mares shared a warm smile, nosing together before they turned to read again.
"After much coaxing and assuring the dragon would never take Maple again, Whirlwind convinced his beloved to come away with him," Twilight read aloud. "Gripping his thunderforged spear in his mouth, he lead her by the hoof through the darkened cave. They weaved between mounds of gold and silver trinkets, stepping softly as they could around the slumbering dragon as they made their way to the mouth of the cave. But as warm sunlight touched their coats, the great dragon started from his sleep again."
Spitfire laid her head atop Twilight's and closed her eyes, letting her friend's soothing voice carry her off to the scene playing out in her head once again.
"Mare..." the beast grumbled, his voice shaking the very walls of the cave. "My sleep is troubled. Sing for me again..."
At the mouth of the cave, Maple and Whirlwind froze in mid-step. She turned, chewing on her bottom lip as she glanced from her kidnapper to her savior and back again.
Whirlwind shook himself, tugging on her hoof. "Come!" he said around his spear. "We must leave now!"
"If I don't sing, he'll wake!"
"Maple, my love, if you sing each time he calls, we'll never leave this cave!" He spat his spear into his hoof, fixing her with a soulful gaze. "If we leave now, we have a chance to escape!"
She looked back again. "He'll come after us," she whimpered. "I still remember the fires, all the screams from the day he took me--"
"He will not catch us," Whirlwind said, his brows knitted together. "You'll be free of him. Just come away with me, we'll fly any way you wish. Home, a new land, anywhere but this miserable cave."
"Mare!"
Maple's ears laid flat against her scalp. She ducked her head low and pressed against his side. "I don't ever want to see him again," she whispered. Tears began to roll down her cheeks, following along the wet tracks that had been traced countless times since her taking. "The fire, his voice, those fangs, none of it. He's a creature straight out of my darkest nightmares and he delights in our suffering."
Before Whirlwind could give any comforting reply, the dragon growled. "When I command, you are to sing! Sing, or I shall devour you, as I warned the first night I brought your feeble little hide to my dwelling!"
With a tiny squeak, Maple latched onto Whirlwind's leg, trembling like a newborn filly.
It was all the answer he needed.
Whirlwind took his spear in his mouth once more. With a flap of his powerful wings, he took to the air and wrapped his hooves around Maple's barrel.
"Mare!" The dragon roared. "You dare flee my presence? I will hunt you to the ends of the earth! I--" he stopped short, sniffing at the air. His growls returned in earnest. "No. Not fleeing alone..."
Whirlwind's eyes went wide, he turned and shot out of the cave as fast as he could with his precious burden held tight in his grasp. "Just hold on tight!" he said, his words muffled by the wooden spear.
He began to climb, angling himself to rise as fast as he could toward the clouds. If he could make it to their cover, if he could get Maple to the calmer, safer cirrus, they had a chance. His eyes flitted to the wild thunderheads off to his right, lightning flashed within their darkened bodies.
They were more volatile than he expected. One good kick might be enough to set them off...
Maple opened her mouth to reply, but let loose a cry as thunder crashed and the dragon roared from within the depths of his cave.
"WHO DARES TRESPASS ON MY MOUNTAIN!" The entire sky seemed to shake. Lighting flashed and arched down upon the ground below.
Even from their height, Whirlwind could hear the beast's massive paws stomping on the stone floor of its cave. Against his better judgement, he looked back over his shoulder to find the birds nesting in the trees at the mountain base taking flight in fear of the terrible mountain lord.
The beast emerged from within its cave, its body covered a third of the mountain side as it climbed the stone face to survey its dominion.
Whirlwind felt his heart stop as he realized the sheer enormity of his foe. "By the creator," he muttered, his spear nearly dropped from his grip.
Maple's hooves tightened around his. "Please don't let him catch us!" she begged. "Not again! Please no more fire!"
He shook his head again, wrapping his hooves tighter around her barrel. "I have an idea. But you'll have to trust me!"
"What are you--Eep!"
Banking and veering around the white clouds hanging over the forest, Whirlwind pinned his ears back as he heard the dragon below rage and howl threats to the earth and sky itself. He set Maple down, her thunder forged horseshoes worked perfectly to let her rest where only pegasi or the greatest unicorns could tread, just as his commander had promised.
"Stay here!" Whirlwind opened his mouth, letting the spear drop into his hoof.
Her beautiful green eyes went wide, filled with horror. "You can't fight him!" she said, shaking her head. "The guards at the castle tried! You can't take him by yourself!"
"I don't need to take him in a straight on fight," as he spoke, Whirlwind set about tearing off chunks of fluffy cloud and sticking them on his spear, until the polished wood and shining thunder forged steel were covered. "I just need him to believe he's going to take you from me again. Give me your smock, and stay quiet. Don't make a sound, no matter what happens. Promise me."
Maple made to protest, her eyes filled with fear and unshed tears, but the dragon's roar cut her off. She ducked her head, her gaze fell to the fluffy cloud she stood on. "Only if you swear to come back to me," she whispered. "If you don't, I'll never forgive you, Whirlwind of the Equestrian Guard!" She looked up, a tear-filled glare crossed her beautiful face "You come back to me or I'll--I'll--"
He caught her lips in a kiss, holding her close against his chest. When they parted, he gave a warm smile. "You have my word."
"Whirlwind slipped Maple's smock over the cloud-covered spear, and held it tight in his hooves, as if he were holding the mare herself," Twilight read on. "He took off, leaving Maple behind to look on in horror as he enacted a plan so foolhardy, so daring, none could even dare think to replicate it."
Spitfire grinned and recited with her, "He baited the dragon to take flight and chase him through the sky."
Twilight turned away from the book, letting it hover a bit lower in her magic. "I hope you don't mind that I did the, um, voices a little," she said, her ears laid against her scalp. "Shining always used to do that when he'd read it with me."
"Not a problem. My dad used to do the same thing when he wasn't on tour." She pulled Twilight in tighter, their cheeks pressed together enough for their warm breaths to mix and wash over each other's faces.
The temptation to forgo reading in favor of something a bit more intimate; all she had to do was take Twilight's chin in hoof, turn her head, and press their lips together. Maybe even a little tongue, they were in private, after all. By the rules they'd laid out, Prenching was perfectly acceptable as long as it wasn't--
Stop it! Red! Her feathers ruffled and fluffed, her fiery tail swished against the couch cushions.
A giggle from Twilight made her ear flick. Before she could speak, her lips were captured in a chaste kiss. For a moment, the tinkling sound of magic died out as Twilight let the book fall to rest upon the coffee table.
Spitfire seized her chance. She turned and wrapped her free hoof around Twilight's neck, pulling her in closer. Angling her head to the right, she opened her mouth and began drawing her lips succulently against Twilight's, teasing and massaging.
Twilight broke away first, breathing heavily, her eyes wide and nostrils flaring. "Okay," she said, her tone breathy. She crossed her eyes and brushed a strand of her mane out of her face, then smiled. "Finish up first, then kissing?"
"Definitely." Spitfire leaned forward and pressed her lips against Twilight's, holding the kiss a moment, then breaking away to speak, "I think sitting here, kissing on a couch while it rains is a pretty good way to end a date."
Beaming, Twilight lit up her horn again, floating the book off the table. "So, does that mean we're, um, you know?"
"Yes." She pecked Twilight's lips, staying close as she replied, "I think this 'tryout' has gone well enough. If you accept, that is."
"Definitely," Twilight replied. She laid her head on Spitfire's shoulder and let out a happy sigh. "Here's to the start of my first relationship." The smile that crossed her lips was as warm and welcoming as a blanket on a cold winter night
A nice, warm blanket with a princess and a Wonderbolt wrapped up in it doesn't sound half bad, actually. She'd have to hold that thought underneath her wings for the winter. Cross that bridge when we come to it, we still have to make sure this lineup works out.
Twilight brought the book to hover before them. "Would you like to take over?"
Spitfire made to reply, but thought better of it, shaking her head. "If it's all the same, I like the way you read it, hon. Your, er, little voices bring it to life for me."
Giggling, Twilight nodded. "Alright, then." She stole a kiss, then turned back to the story. "Whirlwind flew south and east, away from the safer, more serene clouds where his beloved Maple watched in muted horror and awe, and made his way toward the rumbling thunderheads. He banked and veered in wide, sweeping arcs, letting the sunlight glint off his polished armor to bring the dragon's eye upon him..."
The dragon snarled and sprang from the mountain's stone face, beating his leathery wings. Much to Whirlwind's surprise, the beast's larger frame did nothing to reduce its speed--the power in those massive wings was more than enough to send him cutting through the sky.
"I WILL BURN YOU TO ASH, INSOLENT WRETCH!"
His ears pinned back, both to help him pick up speed and to block out raging dragon's roar. He angled himself off, turning to sweep low over the forest below. "Don't make it obvious," he muttered, remembering one of Commander Hurricane's recent lessons. "If there's one thing I want you all to take from Clover the Clever, it's her talent for outwitting an opponent."
Heat flashed, a jet of dragon fire shot passed him. Whirlwind quickly altered his course, just barely escaping the jet of rushing flames. Green-topped trees burned up, vaporized in an instant. Boulders melted and flowed like a river of lava.
The flames changed course, following Whirlwind's path. He cursed and banked again, only just managing to escape the assault. He growled, calling over his shoulder, "You'll have to aim better, you bloody lizard! I know crippled dams with better aim!"
Another jet of flame shot passed him, narrowly missing his left wing. "YOU WILL SUFFER THE PAIN OF A THOUSAND DEATHS!" the dragon raged, right on his tail. "NONE WHO FACE MY MIGHT LIVE TO TELL OF IT!"
Smirking, Whirlwind shot back, "If it means not hearing you whine like a newborn, one will suffice!" He altered course again, turning hard and shooting off toward the tumultuous waters and raging storm just as the great beast swooped down and swiped at the treetops he'd been flying over.
Just a bit further, all he had to do was make the damnable dragon follow him away from Maple, up to the clouds. "Come on, you ugly bastard," he muttered. "Follow along."
Whirlwind changed his heading, angling off to his right so he could climb while the dragon adjusted to his maneuver. If he could time it right and have the dragon focused solely on him, all he'd need was a quick bank through the clouds.
A plume of fire shot passed his right wing, a cry of pain tore from the back of his throat as he quickly rolled left. The smell of burning feathers made his nostrils burn and eyes water, Whirlwind gritted his teeth to block out the pain. He had to make a quick turn up and right to avoid another jet of flame--his plan certainly had the dragon in a blind rage, which put the odds of him flying through the clouds a bit higher.
Still, he had to make it to the clouds, first. Easier said than done when there was a furious dragon's gaping maw chomping at his tail.
"THAT MARE IS MINE!" Another jet of fire punctuated the roar. "IF I CANNOT HAVE HER, NO ONE CAN!"
Whirlwind snarled, biting back a retort in favor of banking to avoid a swipe of his massive claws and climbing, his eyes locked on the ominous grey of the approaching storm front. He smirked, flapping his wings with renewed fervor, he shot forward like a bolt from a crossbow.
"You want her? Then come get her!" he shouted over the rumble of thunder as he dove into embrace of wild thunderheads, quickly turning as he entered to let his foe shoot passed, blinded by the thick, grey cover.
"... Incensed by Whirlwind's taunts, the dragon flew deeper into the heart of the storm. His rage fueled by his ravenous taste for pony flesh and fury that one had dared step hoof into his cave," Twilight read, a seemingly frantic edge to her tone as she continued on, "But Whirlwind had disappeared into the cover of the raging storm, the harsh winds and downpour made it difficult to track the tiny pegasus against the darkened clouds."
The dragon snarled, flying in the middle of a raging storm, searching every which way for the pony who dared enter his lair and taunt him so. There was no sign of him; the insolent little wretch was hiding in the clouds like a little coward, just like the rest of his pathetic race!
"You think you can hide from me?" he rumbled, his claws shook with poorly suppressed indignation. "I will burn this land to cinder if it means finding you, little pegasus guard! Just like I did those who tried to face me at that miserable excuse for a castle!"
No answer came. He growled and took a deep breath, fire burned in the back of his throat, with a mighty roar he sent a breath of fire arcing through the clouds, reducing part of the ring to naught but vapor.
Out of the corner of his eye, the pegasus shot passed him, the mare he'd taken as prize clutched firmly in its hooves as he sped deeper into the heart of the storm.
With a roar, he gave chase, his entire being focused on catching the pegasus darting in and out of his vision, nimbly avoiding each jet of fire, every swipe of his mighty claws or chomp of his teeth. The prize in its grip, the little mare swathed in a dirt-stained smock, slipped, costing him a bit of speed as he tried to readjust.
A fanged grin split his snout. The pegasus' cries of anguish would be sweet, almost as sweet as the mare's song.
Almost as sweet as she would taste.
He took a deep breath and waited for his chance. A quick swipe of his claws. The pegasus adjusted, predictably, rolling out of the way.
That was the window he needed. Another swipe to make the little cretin roll again, and then a jet of flame set it banking off against the howling winds.
The burden in his hooves, however, didn't go with him. His sudden turn ripped the mare out of his grasp and sent her tumbling through the air.
"No!" the pegasus guard cried, eyes wide in horror as his momentum took him into the thick, obscuring grey.
Roaring in victory, the dragon dove forward, his jaws opened wide, and snapped the little mare out of the air, swallowing her whole and licking his lips to savor the taste of--
Cloud and splintered wood?
Something sharp pricked his throat, like the tip of a tiny spear he'd swallowed along with some foolish little warrior ages ago. Grimacing, he spat out splinters, hacking as he tried to remove the offending piece from the back of his throat. "I will savor every crunch of your bones!" he hissed. "And when I find wherever you've hidden that mare, her screams will follow you into the afterlife!"
"Whirlwind grit his teeth as he shot out of the clouds," Twilight said.
Spitfire grinned and read along with her, unable to resist, "He flared his wings to stop, bringing his hind legs up to buck the clouds and said..."
"You first, monster! This is for Maple!" Whirlwind bucked the clouds with all his might, white lightning flashed and arched toward the dragon.
With one cloud kicked, the entire storm was whipped into a frenzy; lightning raged, cracking and arcing through the sky, thunder boomed and shook him down to the bone. The storm was about to turn into a cataclysm.
Whirlwind took off as fast as he could, but couldn't help but look back over his shoulder. A flash of lightning illuminated the dragon's shape against the grey backdrop. A bolt of lightning arced toward the beast's chest, guided by the thunder forged spirit lodged in its throat.
A shriek unlike any other tore from within the depths of the storm. The dragon convulsed as electricity ran through its body, lightning struck him again and again, as if a swarm of twittermites were attacking a naughty foal who disturbed their hive.
"The dragon fell from the clouds and into the raging sea below. Whirlwind watched it flail and convulse, falling beneath the surface, never to rise again." Twilight shifted in place, nuzzling up against Spitfire's cheek. "With a sigh of relief, he flew away from the storm, back toward the calm cirrus resting over the forest. The moment he touched down on the cloud, Maple nearly tackled him in a tight hug, her hooves wrapped tight around his barrel. Smiling, Whirlwind returned her embrace and kissed her forehead, and promised that he'd always protect and love her, until the very day he passed on."
Twilight gave a happy hum, closing the book and setting it down on the table. "Sometimes, I wonder just how it played out," she admitted.
"Aw, come on!" Spitfire teased, nudging her shoulder against Twilight's. "Let poor Whirlwind and Maple have their story the way it is, hon! It's cute. Not to mention, one of the classic romantic tales!"
"I know, I know! I'm just a naturally curious pony. You wouldn't fault me for that, would you?" She turned and fixed Spitfire with a wide-eyed stare, her bottom lip poked out in a pout once again.
With a playful roll of her eyes, Spitfire sighed and said, "No, I guess I can't. Especially not to a face that cute."
Grinning, Twilight leaned forward, touching the ends of their snouts touched together. "I thought you said that look didn't work on you," she whispered huskily, her lips brushed against Spitfire's.
"Well--" Spitfire shifted her body so she could press her chest against Twilight's, wrapping her hooves around her new girlfriend's neck "--there are exceptions to every rule. Especially when that exception happens to be a beautiful mare."
"Is that so?" A pair of hooves cupped her cheeks. Twilight hummed, unfurling her wings to trace the tips of her primaries against Spitfire's sides. "Would I happen to know any such mare?"
"Hmm, you might. There's this one mare, really pretty thing. She's got these gorgeous purple eyes and a coat as soft and smooth as velvet." She ran her hoof down Twilight's back, delighting in the very feeling, and the way Twilight squeaked and pressed against her as she teased the muscles around her wing joints. "But I think you can guess who that is."
Twilight bit her lips to hide a silly grin. "I just might!"
"How 'bout you, hon? Any mares you might have a weakness for?"
"Me? A weakness for a mare?" She gave a mock scoff and flick of her tail. "Why, Captain Spitfire! The very idea! A princess such as myself would never allow herself to disregard station and propriety!" Those beautiful purple eyes seemed to dance with glee. She leaned up to whisper in Spitfire's ear, letting her lips tickle and brush over the furred tip, "Even for a mare with stunning orange eyes and a mane and tail like wildfire!"
Spitfire chuckled and brought a hoof up to push Twilight back enough so she could nose against her. "Well, then, I'm relieved. Still, I think I'd better test out your 'strength' there, Princess!" With a winning smile, she captured Twilight's lips, her hoof moved to run through the soft, purple mane and cradle the back of her head.
Hot breath washed over her face, a warm tongue trailed along her lips as Twilight tilted her head to the right and began to let her wings trace over Spitfire's sides again, pressing their bodies together.
Warmth, soft coat against hers, feathers teasing and tickling her sides beneath her own wings to unfurl and reciprocate.
A low hum arose from the back of her throat. Her hooves began to wander down Twilight's back again, taking extra time to massage and tease along her wing joints and muscles. Her tail swished, her brilliant yellow feathers teased and intertwined with soft purple, tingles ran from the very tips to her spine and coursed throughout her body.
Red. We did this last time and it nearly turned out bad.
Spitfire parted her lips to allow Twilight free access, moving her tongue to meet and play along Twilight's. The hooves cupping her cheeks moved down to her shoulders and pulled her closer, almost on top of the mare as she slowly began to lay herself back against the couch.
Their bellies rubbed together, memories of their time together on the cloud, and again in Twilight's suite flashed through her mind. Spitfire moved with ease, her scruffy, flame-like tail flicked and played with Twilight's well-trimmed, orderly tail.
Twilight's back hit the couch, spreading her legs wide to invite Spitfire to lay atop her once again. An invitation Spitfire took with gusto.
Stop! Say red! You're older, you've been here before! Be responsible for her sake, one side of her screamed.
But she's so warm! she replied, almost whining. And so inviting! I want this!
Does she, though? Does she really? The voice was starting to sound oddly like Fleetfoot. Or have you gotten her wound up again?
Before she could reply, Twilight gave a sharp tug, pulling her on top so she could encircle Spitfire's waist with her legs. She gave a happy mewl and let her hooves wander lower to press and grope the flame-lick cutie marks never once breaking the kiss.
Spitfire's eyelids fluttered, she rolled her hips against Twilight's in time with the groping, teasing hooves. I'd say she does.
She wanted it a couple nights ago, too. And then she freaked out in the morning! Soarin's voice chided her. Making out isn't consent, Spits. Pull up and call red!
Blinking, she jolted from her haze. She stopped grinding against Twilight as memories of a night together, of the passion and desire written on Twilight's face dissolved. In their place was a young princess--no--a young mare with eyes downcast and ears drooping the next morning, ashamed that she'd thought Spitfire had taken advantage of her and left.
The very same mare who whined at how she stopped and rolled hers in kind, trying to incite her again.
Break away, she withdrew her tongue and made to end the kiss. Stop her, call red, and calm things down. She'll be glad I--
Twilight ran her tongue along the roof of Spitfire's mouth in time with an insistent roll of her hips and squeeze of her rump.
Eyes crossing, she moaned into the kiss and ran her tongue along the underside of Twilight's. Damn, she's good! And her kisses are so sweet!
Still, she had to make the call. She had to be the responsible mare.
Loathe though she was to pull away, Spitfire placed a hoof on Twilight's chest and broke the kiss. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Nodding to herself, she opened her eyes and met Twilight's gaze, the word right on the tip of her tongue.
One look into those brilliant purple eyes made her hesitate; there was a naked want, desire evident in the way Twilight stared up at her. Her tongue darted out to lick some saliva off her lips, her chest heaving.
Spitfire's lips formed the word, but she couldn't bring herself to say it. She was waiting; whether for herself or Twilight to realize it was time to stop, she wasn't quite certain. All she knew was the passion, the want, the love shown in those wonderful eyes.
What was that word? Purple? No, she's purple, the word is red. Say red. Now. Right now. For her sake, even if you want her. Even if you want her really bad.
Twilight placed her hooves on the cushion and pushed forward, coming muzzle-to-muzzle with Spitfire again. Warm breath tickled her face, those kissable lips were right there, begging to be taken. They began to move, forming words.
Please say red, hon. You and I both know you're not ready for this again.
"You mentioned the Wonderbolts used code to give orders." Somehow, some way, Twilight managed to make the statement sound erotic, and her tone husky.
"Y-Yeah. We do." One of those codes is red. As in, we're about to crash. Say red. Say it, stupid! She started to babble, "We, um, usually use colors or places--l-like when I want Soarin to get ready for this power move he does, I say Manehattan. Or, when I need Fleetfoot to--"
A purple hoof pressed against her lips. "That's all very interesting, but I was interested in one particular code." There was no doubting that tone. Spitfire's ears shot up, fire spread throughout her body, into her very core. The legs wrapped around her waist gripped tighter, her loins seemed to burn. Twilight kissed the end of her snout, then whispered, "What's the code for 'cleared for takeoff'?"
She's serious?
The hoof left her lips, silent permission to speak.
"It's purple--no, that's not it." Spitfire shook her head, looking away from those captivating purple eyes. "It's, uh, it's green. Code green is go ahead."
"I see. Well, then," Twilight said, drawing in close, her lips puckered, "code green, Captain."
She is. Oh sweet Celestia, yes.
Spitfire darted forward and captured Twilight's lips in a kiss, full of the same need and passion burning within her being, and in those hypnotic purple eyes.
She broke away, just long enough to say, "My room, hon. Not--" Twilight caught her in another quick kiss, cutting her short. She laughed and returned it. "Not out here."
Forget red.
"Which one?" Another kiss, a warm, sweet tongue ran against her lips.
Her hooves wandered around Twilight's front, down her belly to grip her flanks around those beautiful starburst cutie marks. "To the, uh, left now. Turned around from when we came in." She scooted herself off the couch, guiding Twilight along and planting soft, fluffy kisses along the way.
Down the hall they went, bumping into the walls, giggling and mewling into kisses, nipping and licking each other's cheeks and necks. Their tails swished, Twilight reared up and let Spitfire press her against the bedroom door, giving breathy moans and pleas for more as she nibbled on her collarbone and fumbled for the handle.
Her hoof came in contact with cold metal. Giving it a twist, she pushed the door open. They stumbled forward into her room. Spitfire kicked the door closed behind them and looped her hooves under Twilight's. With a flap of her mighty wings, she lifted her girlfriend off the ground and carried her over to the bed, laying her down upon the plush mattress.
They gazed into each other's eyes a moment, smiling as they drew in for a soft kiss. Then another. And another. Tongues came into play, hooves wandered and wings unfurled. Spitfire guided a hoof down Twilight's front, gently coaxing her legs open.
Twilight whimpered and moaned into the kiss. Her hoof had reached its destination.
I think purple might just be my new favorite color. |
Glow | 7. Not Very Good With Rules | Twilight sighed, wrapping her hooves tighter around the warm, furry cushion she was resting on. Such a wonderful date, and a wonderful night with Spitfire afterward.
Her girlfriend, Spitfire. Her very first girlfriend. She couldn't help but swish her tail and let out a happy, sleepy nicker as she snuggled into the warm cushion.
Her thoughts came to a screeching halt; cushions weren't supposed to feel like a pony's coat. At least, none that she knew of. Slowly, it clicked into place. Her ears perked up, a smile spread across her face.
She nosed against the warmth and inhaled through her nose, a happy sigh escaped her lips as the scent of sex, sweat, and Spitfire graced her nose. A hoof ran through her mane as Spitfire hummed the same song from their first night together. Twilight could feel the fiery orange tail twitch as her own brushed against it, then gently wrap around hers.
Nosing against Spitfire's chest, she began planting fluffy kisses; her own silent thanks and show of love. "Good morning," she said, her voice husky with sleep and desire.
Soft lips pressed against her head, right next to her ear, drawing a happy mewl from the back of her throat. "Good morning, hon," Spitfire replied. "Sleep well?"
"Like a foal," she replied between kisses. "You?"
"Less like a foal, more like I had the most beautiful mare in the world wrapped in my hooves." Another kiss, lingering a moment, then followed with a soft nuzzle against her ears. Spitfire's breath washed over her mane, in and out, like she was savoring the scent.
Twilight pushed herself up so she could gaze into Spitfire's eyes, those beautiful orange eyes that lit a fire deep in her soul. "I think I like yours better," she purred, drawing in to plant a kiss on her lover's lips. "I'm gonna have to steal it someday."
Chuckling, Spitfire tightened her embrace and returned it. "A princess stealing? I might have to punish you for that, hon."
Memories of a few embarrassing conversations with Cadence flitted through her mind. Something about sex and ponies who liked their lovers to get a bit more domineering during intercourse; as if one had authority over the other, holding all the power to bring the other to the very peak of ecstasy or come down with a stern hoof.
The swishing of her tail betrayed her intrigue. "I'll keep that in mind," she replied, moving in for another kiss.
Their lips pressed together, parted already so Spitfire could deftly slip her tongue into Twilight's mouth. The sensuous prodding and massaging, the familiar taste of her own orgasm and Spitfire, even mixed with the muggy taste of morning breath, brought forth a hum from the back of her throat.
Lifting her tail, Twilight rolled her hips, grinding herself against Spitfire. The burn beneath her skin returned in full force--desire, pure, unabashed want for the beautiful mare she was kissing.
Spitfire smiled into the kiss, her hooves slid down Twilight's sides to cup her bottom, pulling her legs apart to reciprocate. Deep, panting breaths mixed together, the tongue receded from her mouth as Spitfire let out a husky moan.
They drew back, their snouts touching as they stared into each other's eyes. Neither moved, twin smiles graced their lips.
"Y'know," Spitfire began, her voice coming out as a low purr, "for a princess and a Wonderbolt officer, we are terrible at following rules, hon."
Twilight grinned. "Yeah," she whispered, nosing against her. "I should probably be upset about that."
"Oh?" Their lips came together in another soft kiss, a warm tongue ran slowly across her bottom lip, earning another raising of her tail. "Why's that?"
She broke away, arching an eyebrow in reply. "I'm the former personal student of Princess Celestia herself--rules, regulations, organization of everything has been my life since I was a filly."
For a brief instant, the smile seemed to fade from Spitfire's face. Twilight blinked, and it was back.
"So how does that filly think of our current disregard for rules?"
Confused, she shook her head. I must be seeing things. "Oh, she would be utterly appalled that I went against everything Cadence and my friend, Rarity, ever said about how love works!" she replied, feigning a dramatic swoon. "Not to mention how every love story ever featured a long buildup before the first kiss, and I violated the rule in that regard by even so much as kissing you on the cloud, let alone having sex. Twice."
Spitfire snorted and leaned forward to dot her on the nose with another kiss. "Well, what does adult Twilight think?"
She stayed silent a moment, thinking hard. True, everything she "knew" about relationships was second-hoof; all of the information pointed to a much longer courtship involving flowers, picnic dates on a grassy hill, nights spent watching the stars while they cuddled together.
At the same time, everything she'd learned about what she liked between herself and Spitfire contradicted that. Flowers had been replaced by reading an old book together. A trip to a Roaman restaurant stood in place of the romantic picnic.
Of course, cuddling together had happened on the cloud; it just happened to transition to her first ever "makeout session", as Cadence so gleefully insisted upon saying, and then a mind-blowing first time with sex.
Two ideals clashed, romantic novels aligned with Cadence's lessons in hopes of defeating the raw passion and desire in her being, like two armies battling to a stalemate.
She wanted both. Romance and passion, she could have those at the same time without waiting too long, right?
Yes. I can. The corners of her mouth tugged into a smile, she leaned forward to nose against Spitfire, licking her lover's soft, sweet lips. I'm an adult. We're both adults. If we both want this, no pony can deny us.
"I think," she whispered, "we may need to reevaluate the parameters of 'code red'."
Spitfire gave a lopsided smile, nodding in kind. "Probably a good idea, hon." She glanced down pointedly, raising her brows at the sheets, the crumpled bedspread, finally coming to linger on Twilight's legs, which straddled her waist. "Doesn't exactly work when both of us want this."
Twilight let out a breathy chuckle. "No kidding. It's almost like that 'don't run in the hallway' rule from the School for Gifted Unicorns at this point." She paused, a sly smirk spread across her muzzle. Stealing a kiss, she whispered, "We can make amendments to the code later."
"Later?" Spitfire parroted, raising an eyebrow. "What'd you have in mind for now?"
Purple furred ears waggled, Twilight gave a happy rustle of her wings as she noted the faux innocence in her tone. "Right now," she purred, deftly maneuvering her forehooves to pin Spitfire's shoulders to the mattress, "my beautiful girlfriend is trapped beneath me, and neither of us have anywhere to be this morning."
Even as Spitfire gave way to her own grin and those brilliant orange eyes seemed to light up with passion, Twilight pressed her advantage and nipped at Spitfire's exposed neck. A gasp and squeal tore from the mare's throat. Spitfire arched her back, her eyes fluttered shut. The soft coat of her belly brushed against Twilight's, tickling and teasing against her.
A quick kick back with her left hind hoof allowed her to move around Spitfire's knee. Shifting her weight, she brought her knee down slowly, rubbing against Spitfire's wet core.
She let her knee sink lower, all the way down until it came to rest at Spitfire's flank. Her eyes crossed as she rolled her hips and let out a moan in time with Spitfire. "All mine today!" she crowed huskily.
Spitfire's eyes snapped open, a competitive spark shone within. "'Yours', eh?" she asked, her hooves began to wander from Twilight's backside, trailing down her thighs. "You sure about that, hon?"
The teasing, tickling sensation shot from her legs all the way up her spine. Those hooves were so experienced, so nimble in how they played against her, alternating between gentle caress and firm squeezing with such irregularity, such whimsy, she couldn't anticipate.
"I--I--" she broke off to let a shuddering gasp pass through her lips. Closing her eyes, she leaned in to capture Spitfire in a deep kiss, casting off all pretense.
Her momentary lapse cost her any semblance of control. Spitfire's left hoof looped around her right hind leg, while her right hind leg lifted Twilight's left up, just enough to catch it with her right hoof and lift.
Twilight gave a squawk of surprise and indignation, her entire world seemed to pitch and spin. Her back hit the mattress, Spitfire's elbows propped down between her armpits, while her hooves looped over and pinned Twilight's shoulders and her legs straddling Twilight's waist.
Blinking, she tried to push up, struggling with all her might against Spitfire's hooves and weight on her body. "You!" she gasped, finding her efforts in vain. "What in Equestria was--"
Soft lips pressed against hers, the cry died in the back of her throat as a warm tongue ran along her lips, teasing her own to come forth to meet it.
Spitfire drew back the instant she allowed her tongue to poke out of her lips, grinning victoriously. "Looks like it's you who's all mine today, hon!"
The playful edge to her tone didn't go missed. Twilight narrowed her eyes, glaring despite the desire and exhilaration bubbling beneath the surface. "I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to flip a princess over when she's trying to be seductive!"
"I wouldn't know, hon. You're the first princess I've dated." Grinning, she nuzzled against Twilight's snout, pecking her lips and slowly trailing kisses down her jawline. "You'll have to forgive me if I'm a bit... out of my element!" She leaned up and blew a sharp breath over the tip of Twilight's ear, making her squirm and squeal in her grasp. Giving a throaty chuckle, she nipped at the tip and whispered, "I guess I'll just have to play it by ear!"
Puffing up her cheeks, Twilight wrinkled her snout, unsure if she should groan at the pun or play along. Instead, she settled on saying, "Fine. I'm yours today." She leaned forward to kiss Spitfire's chin, then added, "You're teaching me how to do that--that flipping over thing."
"Maybe. If you play your cards right." Her hooves moved from Twilight's shoulders, cupping her cheeks tenderly as brilliant orange eyes met deep purple. The playful gleam in those eyes was gone, replaced by warm affection and--dare she think it?--love.
Is this how lovers wake up in the morning? She wondered idly.
Twilight felt her breath hitch in her throat. Her heart raced, the wildfire raged beneath her skin.
No further words were needed for the pair. Slowly, like two magnets' poles pulling together, they leaned in for a deep, sensuous kiss. Their lips dragged and drew against one another in time, teasing and massaging with every breath. Twilight let her hooves wrap around Spitfire's shoulders and pull her in close, pressing their bodies together to revel in their shared warmth.
Three successive bangs against the door made Spitfire leap off her, as if struck by lightning.
"Spits!" a stallion's voice boomed through the solid wood door. "Get your sorry behind out here! On the double!"
Spitfire's ears drooped. "Oh, shoot!" she hissed, covering her head with her hooves.
Tilting her head, Twilight planted her hooves against the mattress and pushed herself up into a seated position. "Who--" A hoof pressed against her lips. She blinked, crossing her eyes to stare at the yellow-coated limb, then looking up at Spitfire's face.
Gone was the warmth, the affection that gleamed like a campfire on a cold winter night. Instead, an abashed cringe marred her muzzle. Spitfire bit her lip and turned to glance at the door, then to Twilight again. "Keep quiet!" she mouthed. With her free hoof, she pointed to the door. "It's Soarin!"
Twilight's brows flatlined. She brushed the hoof away from her lips. "I can hear that!" she mouthed in reply, waggling her ears meaningfully. "Why's that a problem?"
Spitfire ducked her head, a deep blush colored her cheeks. "He and Fleet know about our first night together," she whispered as soft as she could. "They kinda scolded me for letting things go too fast with you and, well, mentioned a few complications that might arise if we kept that up."
"That's hardly--wait." She blinked. "You told your friends you slept with me?"
"... You didn't tell yours?"
"No! I thought we wanted that private!"
"Not--well--yes." Spitfire fidgeted in place. "I tried to keep it quiet, but Fleet has a certain, um, knack for figuring out when a pony is lying. It's a long story, and--"
"Spits," Fleetfoot called, "open the door. We found Princess Twilight's bags on the table. "
Wincing, Spitfire glanced from Twilight to the door again. "Sorry," she mouthed, standing slowly. Her wings seemed to droop, as though she were a convicted felon being lead to her cell. With a single flap, she hopped off the bed and dragged her hooves along the carpeted floor as she made her way to the door.
Twilight watched as she laid her hoof on the handle and cast another look toward her. Those brilliant orange eyes seemed full of remorse, and a hint of shame.
She broke contact, letting her head hang as she pulled the door open to reveal the stern glares and furrowed brows of Fleetfoot and Soarin. "Morning, guys," she greeted, feigning enthusiasm. "What time did you get back?"
Neither pony's expression gave the slightest hint of wavering. "Morning, Spits," Soarin replied, then leaned around to look at Twilight. "Princess Twilight, good morning." He bowed low and pasted a smile across his face, an act mimicked by Fleetfoot.
"I hope you slept well," Fleetfoot added, her lisp seemed to tickle Twilight's ear.
Her hooves tugged at the edge of the blanket, pulling it up to cover her chest as if to hide behind it. "Y-Yes!" she squeaked. "Like a foal!"
Soarin's eyes darted to Spitfire, then back to Twilight. "Wonderful to hear, Your Highness," he said. "I apologize for the interruption, but we need to have a little word with our wayward Captain this morning."
The way Spitfire winced left no doubt, she knew she'd upset them somehow.
So this is what it's like on the outside of that.
"Perhaps you'd like to shower, then go down for breakfast while we do so?" he continued, gesturing to his right--her left--toward the bathroom. "If you'd like, one of us can escort you to the cafe downstairs."
Twilight bit her lip, shyly lowering her cover down to her waist. Once she was certain they weren't going to direct their ire at her, she lifted the blanket so she could slide her legs out and roll off the bed.
Her hooves hit the carpet with a muffled thump. Despite her embarrassment and nerves under the watchful eyes of two rather peeved Wonderbolts, she managed to keep her wings from unfurling to cover her face as she trotted toward the bathroom door.
She stopped with one hoof held aloft. "No," she said. Her jaw set, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I'll join you all once I've finished showering."
Silence hung over them for a moment. Then, Soarin sighed. "Alright. We'll wait for you, then."
Smiling, Twilight nodded to him. "Thank you." She resumed her walk to the bathroom pushing open the door and slipping inside.
"Hey, Spits?" Fleetfoot's voice made her ear flick.
"Yeah?"
"You might wanna take a shower, too. You can use ours. I can kinda smell her on you. A lot."
Twilight squeaked and slammed the door shut with a flick of her magic. Her wings and hooves flew up to cover her burning muzzle, just as she heard Spitfire yell "Dang it, Fleetfoot! Tact! Learn some tact!"
Even so, she couldn't help but allow herself a silly grin. Her hooves slid from her cheeks, down her body to wrap around her barrel, as if trying to catch any of Spitfire's remaining warmth and hold it against her chest.
Her ears perked up at the sound of three muffled voices arguing, fading into the background as they trotted away and closed the bedroom door behind her.
Giggling, she let her magic snake out to turn the faucets, sending water cascading down upon the tiled shower floor.
Hopefully, Spitfire isn't in too much trouble, she thought, a mischievous grin playing upon her lips. "Maybe I'll have to help my poor Wonderbolt Captain break curfew so we can sneak a few kisses here and there," she mused.
Once she was showered and groomed, Twilight joined the trio of Wonderbolts around their coffee table. She sat next to Spitfire, smiling and giving her girlfriend a quick kiss to the cheek as she settled in on the loveseat with her.
A mug of steaming coffee rested on the table before her. Twilight allowed her magic to wrap around the handle and pick it up, closing her eyes to sniff at the contents and bask in its warmth.
"Made it the way you like," Spitfire mumbled out of the corner of her mouth. "Cream and one sugar."
"Thank you," she said in reply, stealing another kiss. As she drew back, she gave Spitfire a quick once over, her feathers fluffed up as she noticed how thoroughly her beautiful yellow coat had been brushed, and feathers preened to perfection. Her fiery mane, on the other hoof, was a sight different than usual.
Rather than her normal, flame-like styling, Spitfire wore her mane down, letting it run past her shoulders like a river of liquid fire.
For a moment, Twilight lingered on the new mane style, before turning to face Fleetfoot, whose eyes were downcast, and Soarin. "If you two don't mind my asking, what exactly was the little interruption this morning about?"
Fleetfoot's gaze seemed to linger at the table, instead flicking her ear and craning her head toward Twilight. "I hope you'll forgive the intrusion, Princess Twilight," she began, bowing her head low, "we didn't intend to embarrass you, or Captain Spitfire, for that matter. Our actions were the result of a bit of frustration with her."
"Frustration?" Twilight repeated. Her eyes flitted to glance at Spitfire. "Would this be in reference to the, er, conversation you mentioned when they were banging on the door?"
Yellow-coated ears pinned back, a sheepish grin crossed Spitfire's muzzle. She gave a single nod.
Twilight turned to face the pair again, frowning in confusion. "I'm afraid I only know what Spitfire told me in the bedroom." Her hoof brushed against Spitfire's, then snaked around to hold it for comfort. "She mentioned you two taking a bit of issue with how fast we went, which is something we've both discussed as well."
"Right." Soarin nodded. "She mentioned that to us as well, and we brought up a few things we saw as complications. Mainly--"
Fleetfoot cleared her throat. "Not the time, Soar."
He cringed. "Good point, sorry Spits."
Curious, Twilight turned to face Spitfire. She blinked and tilted her head as she took notice of the pained grimace gracing her girlfriend's face.
Spitfire looked away, closing her eyes and offering a single, slow nod. "No worries, Soarin," she said after a moment, her voice strained.
"Am I missing something?" Twilight asked, her curiosity piqued.
"We'll talk later," Spitfire spoke before her teammates could. "Just a little bit of a personal issue these two brought up."
Regret flashed across Soarin's face. His ears drooped low, his eyes flitted to the coffee cup in his hoof. "Er, right." He cleared his throat. "The, er, main concern with you, Princess, is that your position makes the relationship a little dicey for Spits."
Twilight drew in a sharp breath through her nose. Her wings twitched and began to unfurl, flaring out to the side as she readied to fire off a salvo.
"Wait a moment," Fleetfoot said, holding up a hoof. "Before you jump up and tell us off, we're not saying we don't support you two. Far from it, we're both really happy you've hit it off with Spits. She's been way too uptight with work for far too long."
"Hear, hear," Soarin muttered, earning himself a pointed glare from Spitfire.
"You both suck," she muttered, fluffing her yellow wings. "I haven't been that bad."
"We only say it 'cause we love you, Spits." Fleetfoot hid a smile, raising her head to face Twilight. "You had her about ready to walk on sunshine when she came back to the room the morning after the Gala, Princess. So, really, if this is something you both want, I'm all for it."
"Mine as well. Fleet and I are more concerned over what your respective stations mean should things take a wrong turn," Soarin said. He placed his cup on the table, then folded let his hooves rest on the couch cushion. "There's really no delicate way of saying it, I'm afraid."
"Then say it, please," Twilight replied. "You make it sound as if our relationship not working out for whatever reason might ruin Spitfire's career."
A heavy silence fell over the group. Fleetfoot and Soarin gave crooked smiles, their ears pinned back to lay against their scalps in silent confirmation.
She let her jaw drop. "You can't be serious."
"It's not so much that breaking up with you could ruin it because the higher ups or Princess Celestia would demand my commission be terminated," Spitfire mumbled. "It's more speculating that something went wrong between us, especially if the breakup isn't seen as cordial afterward."
Her magic flickered. Twilight had to catch the coffee mug before it hit the floor. "So, being a princess automatically ruins somepony's life if I try dating her and it doesn't work out?"
Soarin shook his head. "No, that's not what we mean at all!"
"Then what do you mean?" she pressed, narrowing her eyes at the stallion, who seemed to quail beneath her gaze. "I may be a princess, but I am entitled to a personal life!" Quick as a cat, she threw a hoof around Spitfire's shoulders and pulled her in close, reveling in the warmth.
To her surprise, and amusement, Spitfire let out a tiny squeak.
I'll just save that for later, 'hon'.
"The past few days have been amazing," she continued, "even if things have gone a little faster than I ever imagined. I like Spitfire, I've enjoyed what we have so far, and I'd like to see where it goes."
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a warm smile spreading across Spitfire's muzzle. A hoof wrapped around her midsection. "I agree," Spitfire said, leaning over to kiss her cheek. "Just look at me a moment, hon."
Twilight obeyed, turning in her seat to face Spitfire fully.
Twin yellow hooves cupped her cheek softly, their eyes met. "They mean well," she continued, "but they bring up a legitimate point. We have to be a bit more careful with how we handle things. In particular..." she trailed off, her eyes flitting toward Fleetfoot and Soarin.
Rolling his eyes, Soarin spoke up. "The worst thing for ponies to hear would be that their newest princess was being used as some sort of fling."
"This isn't a fling!" Twilight said, nearly leaping to her hooves. "We've both made a conscious effort to establish an emotional connection with one another, compiling a list of interests on the first night we spent together, even if that ended in us, er, together in the more physical sense."
Fleetfoot smiled. "We know. She told us, which is why we're behind you on this, Princess. We're trying to look out for our friend, just like yours would do for you."
Twilight opened her mouth to refute the point, but caught herself. Hadn't she spent an entire morning thinking on how her friends would close ranks around her in the event Spitfire had used her just a couple days ago?
She let her shoulders sag. Loathe though she was to admit it, they had a point.
"I don't want you to lose your position because of me," she whispered, looking down at the floor.
"I won't lose anything, hon," Spitfire said. With a soft turn of her hooves, she forced Twilight to meet her eyes again. "You wanna know why?"
Twilight nodded.
Drawing in close, Spitfire nosed against her snout. "Because this isn't a fling, and we're gonna make this work out the way we like it. We'll reevaluate our little rule and go out on more dates, so this doesn't end up as just a physical attraction."
"I did like reading with you," she admitted. "Even before we started kissing and getting hoofsy."
"So did I, hon. It was a blast, I could really picture the story playing out when you read it." Giving a moment's pause, Spitfire frowned. "We should probably have our little talk about code red now, while it's fresh on our mind."
Twilight hesitated, her eyes flitted to Fleetfoot and Soarin once more.
"Don't mind us," Soarin said. "We're not gonna go spreading this around, if that's what you're thinking."
"Not gonna tell you how to run your relationship, either," Fleetfoot added.
Nodding, she turned her gaze back, then took Spitfire's hooves in hers. "It'd probably be a good idea." Biting her lip, she gave an awkward flick of her tail. "I, er, I do like the sex, but if you all think that's a problem--"
"Let me just cut in before you go off the edge," Soarin said. "I can't say Fleet or I really like the idea of you two going so fast, but it's not our relationship. And, no offense, I've got no interest in watching over the two of you in the bedroom."
Twilight squeaked, ducking her head as Fleetfoot rolled her eyes and boxed Soarin over the ears.
"What he means to say is that stuff is for you two to work out." Fleetfoot flicked an ear toward Soarin, almost daring him to comment.
Instead, he opted to keep quiet and nod.
Given the way Fleetfoot snorted and flicked her tail, it was a rather wise move on his part.
Spitfire cleared her throat. "Yeah, let's, er, talk about that now."
"Yes," Twilight agreed, turning away from the pair. "So, how do we approach this if not complete abstinence like before?"
Before Spitfire could give reply, Soarin stood, tugging Fleetfoot to her hooves with him. "Why don't we give you two a bit of privacy? Fleet? Fancy some breakfast?"
"I was just thinking the same thing," she said, smiling as she dotted his cheek with a kiss. "Lead on, Soar." Stopping short, she rather deliberately turned to face Twilight, her ears stood up straight. "Princess, Spits, if you'd like to join us after you've finished, you're more than welcome."
Twilight gave a bright smile and nod. Then, upon catching sight of Fleetfoot's milky white eyes, she added, "I'd be happy to. Thank you."
"We'll be down in a bit," Spitfire said, nodding to both in kind. "Don't let the garbage gut eat all the waffles, Fleet!"
Soarin pouted and made to retort, but Fleetfoot cut him off with a stolen kiss and a push against his chest, guiding him toward the door. "Oh, I'll make sure he's good! C'mon, Soar, I'm hungry. And you still have to teach me how to spreaken zee doiche or whatever the phrase is--actually, speaking of, what's 'garbage gut' in Germane?"
The pair chattered and teased all the way out, even as Soarin opened the door and stood to the side to allow Fleetfoot through first. Their banter echoed down the hall, a loud, bark of Soarin's laughter rang out just as the door closed with a click.
Twilight and Spitfire were left alone once again.
After a rather awkward silence, Spitfire hummed to herself, biting the inside of her cheek. "So," she began, "about us and sex."
"Yeah," Twilight mumbled. "We should talk about that."
"I'm of two minds on it," she said, speaking slowly. "On one hoof, we do need to take a step back and go on a couple dates without it leading to sex."
"The last one wasn't exactly planned," Twilight pointed out.
"I know, hon. I was about to get to that. I'm not sure if putting a complete stopper on it is the best idea either." She folded her hooves over her chest. "We're both adults here, we should be able to enjoy both the physical and romantic aspects of a relationship as long as both of us consent."
Twilight's feathers fluffed. "So not a complete 'dead stop'?" she asked, unable to keep a hint of excitement out of her tone. "More of a 'let's focus on other things too'?"
"Exactly." Spitfire smirked and nodded. "Yesterday was a fun time, and I'd like to have some more of that."
Warmth flooded Twilight's chest, her tail swished. "We could go out to dinner again," she offered. Her ears perked up as a thought occurred to her. "We could alternate who picks where we go and when!"
"By that logic, it should be your pick this time."
"Yes, well ..." Twilight coughed. "I've never done this, so I think it might work better if you picked again."
Grinning, Spitfire gave a little waggle of her ears. "Fair enough. It'll give us some more time together for the more romantic stuff, not to mention let us get a feel for what we both like." She leaned forward and kissed Twilight's snout, lingering for a moment, then pulling back just enough to nuzzle. "We could go dancing sometime," she said, her voice low.
Embarrassment colored her cheeks. "My friends tell me I'm not the best dancer."
"I'll teach you, hon. It'll be a lot of fun." Those orange eyes shone with glee. Spitfire drew in to whisper into her ear. "In fact, I'll wager you're better at it than you think. Especially with some of the slower stuff."
"O-Oh?" Twilight stammered. "What makes you say that?"
Spitfire gave a husky chuckle. "Because dancing is a lot like sex--you pick a partner you think you'll match up well with and you both move together in unison, an ebb and flow, in time with the beat." She drew back, grinning at the way Twilight ducked her head to hide a crooked smile. "Never change, hon! You're way too fun to tease!"
Huffing, Twilight lit her horn and caught the yellow furred tip of Spitfire's ear in her magic, then gave a little twist. "Fun, is it?"
"Ow!" Spitfire clapped her hooves over her ear. "Let go of my ear!"
"Oh? That's not what you said last night when I was nibbling on it." With a playful smirk gracing her muzzle, she looped her hooves around Spitfire's shoulders and pulled her in close. "Seems like my Wonderbolt likes to dish it out," she whispered, letting her magic grip go from a firm tweak to a slow, sensuous tingle that teased the edges of Spitfire's ear. A tiny squeak escaped Spitfire's lips, followed by a nicker that made her feathers fluff. "But she doesn't like to take it!"
Spitfire grit her teeth, but couldn't stop herself from smiling under the tingling sensation washing over her ear. "Y-You win this r-round, hon," she stammered, biting her lip to hold back a mewl of pleasure. "N-Now cut that out, or this whole conversation is getting put on hold for other activities."
Pausing a moment as if to consider, Twilight allowed herself a private giggle at the way Spitfire squirmed and gasped under her ministrations.
She nodded. "Very well." Twilight let her magic dissipate, leaning in to bump her snout against Spitfire's and basking in the sensation of hot, panting gasps washing over her face as her girlfriend slumped into her embrace. "Just remember you're not the only one who's got a few tricks up her sleeve, hon."
A playful gleam flashed in Spitfire's eyes. "We'll just see about that," she whispered breathily, stealing a kiss before she wrapped her hooves around Twilight again. "So, we agree on going out a bit more. As for the code red stuff, maybe something a bit more flexible since we're doing this a bit more our way."
"Flexible how?" Twilight asked, perking her ears up.
"How about instead of code red being applied whenever one of us thinks we're about to make a move towards sex? We can both be big mares in that regard. If we both want it, we let it happen. If not, it stops. Period."
Bringing a hoof to her chin, she hummed in thought. "So, less a 'full stop', more of a 'do I want this right now'?"
Spitfire grinned. "Exactly! We can respect each other, not to mention ourselves, well enough to make the call. Like I said the first time we were together, if there's something that makes you uncomfortable speak up and we'll stop." She started, as if hit by a bolt of lightning. "That's it! Code red doesn't have to be our way of cutting things off entirely, it's just an out for one of us to use if things go down a path we're not comfortable with, or we're just not in the mood, so to speak."
"Doesn't the, er, 'not being in the mood' go without saying?"
"Kinda, but I'm saying it for our purposes. We both like spending time together, we have some level of a connection, and we like sex." Her grin turned into a more playful, sharklike smirk. "I mean, we both came to an agreement on that a few times in the past few days."
Twilight blinked, tilting her head as she slowly worked out the wording. It clicked. She brought a hoof to her forehead, groaning as though in pain. "That was terrible, and you should feel terrible!"
"It was, but I don't. I really, really don't, hon." Spitfire's hooves repositioned themselves around her shoulders, then pulled her in close, chuckling as she pressed her lips against Twilight's. She broke away and sighed happily. "Mm, and with a kiss like that, what do I have to regret?"
A whine escaped her lips. "But that sounds like one of Party or Pinkie's stupid jokes!"
"Then it sounds like I'll get on just fine with them--good to know!" She waggled her eyebrows, then let her smirk fade away into a more sedate smile. "So, how's it sound to you? We take this at our pace, each of us can pull the reins in whenever it gets too dicey for one of us. Fair?"
Bringing the hoof down from her forehead, Twilight nodded. "I think it would give us a bit more autonomy by eliminating the need for one pony to have responsibility for both. It could prove more effective in the long-run if we stick to that way of using it."
"Heh, there you go making it sound all official again," Spitfire teased. "Alright, then, we've got that settled." She glanced toward the door, raising her brows. "So, I don't know about you, but I could use some food. Feel like joining my two nursemaids and I for a little breakfast?"
The corners of Twilight's mouth tugged upward, a tiny smile spread across her muzzle. "I'd like that very much," she said.
They stood, almost in perfect unison, and made their way to the door. Lighting up her horn, Twilight let her magic snake out to envelope the doorhandle, pulling it open with a shimmer of magenta and a tinkling of unseen bells. She stepped to the side, just as she'd seen Shining and Soarin do for their mares, and allowed Spitfire to pass through first.
Spitfire fixed her with a half-lidded stare out of the corner of her eye, smiling as she trotted passed. Her feathers trailed along Twilight's side, up to her shoulder, then across her back, pulling her into a hug.
With a squeak, Twilight staggered forward, her grip on the door released. Her cheeks flushed rosy red. "I, um, thought you said this was for later."
"I can amend my rules once in a while," Spitfire countered. "Besides, you're my girlfriend now. Wing hugs are a part of the package."
Twilight ducked her head low to help fight down the merry squeal that threatened to escape her lips. Her eyes flitted to Spitfire, a spark of courage lit within her chest, coaxing her to maneuver herself to press against her girlfriend's side.
They stayed that way for the duration of their walk to the elevator, and the entirety of the trip to the lobby.
Twilight had never seen a pony's face go so red--Big Mac's natural color notwithstanding.
Covering her mouth in vain hopes of suppressing her laughter, she leaned into Spitfire's side, grinning at the deep red hue coloring her cheeks and the way she set her jaw.
"It's not that funny," she ground out, her feathers bristling as she crossed her hooves. "I didn't bounce that high."
"Horse apples you didn't!" Fleetfoot said in between bouts of laughter. Tears of merriment gathered in her milky white eyes. "Hay! If I'm lying, you can hit me in the rump with a lightning bolt!"
Spitfire's nostrils flared. "Now, there's an idea!"
Twilight grinned and leaned up to nose against her cheek. "Aw, what's the matter, hon?" she cooed, stealing a quick kiss to Spitfire's cheek and savoring the warmth. "Don't like it when the tables are turned?"
Slowly, Spitfire turned, fixing a wicked grin on her muzzle. She pecked Twilight on the cheek, lingering a moment.
Her eyes fluttered shut. She hummed at the feeling of soft lips pressing against her, the corners of her mouth tugged into a silly grin.
Spitfire pulled away all too soon, drawing a little whine and flick of her tail.
"I'll remember that," Spitfire whispered, her breath tickling the tip of Twilight's ear. "Just you wait until I meet your friends or see that brother of yours again, hon. I'm gonna enjoy watching you squirm."
Her smile fell. Twilight's feathers bristled at the thought. "M-Maybe we should, um, take this a little slow," she stammered, letting her ears pin back. "I mean, there's really no rush, we can go at our own pace--"
"Slow?" Soarin repeated, lowering his copy of The Canterlot Chronicle. He arched a brow, his forest grin eyes flitted between the pair as he leaned over to stage whisper to Fleetfoot. "Honey, help me out, I'm afraid I must be mixing up my words again. Wouldn't what we saw this morning be called 'fast' by normal standards?"
Fleetfoot flicked her ear and smirked before replying in Germane, "Ja, mein Liebe." She reached out to take hold of a cup of milk, bringing it to her lips. "But you know young ponies these days. No patience for any courting or proper romance like you and me."
"Agreed. Very good pronunciation, by the way." He nosed against her cheek. "You've been practicing."
"I've got a lot of incentive," she said, turning to peck his lips. "There's a good looking stallion in my life who likes to slip a little in when he whispers sweet nothings, and I wanna know what he's saying."
Chuckling, he kissed the end of her snout, then returned to his newspaper. "So, what've you two got planned today?" he asked. "Fancy another walk through the rain and late night snuggled up?"
Spitfire rolled her eyes, flicking her tail at the teasing. "Nothing yet, last night just kinda happened." Her gaze flitted to Twilight. "I was probably supposed to have you back by midnight, wasn't I?"
"I'm a big mare," Twilight said, huffing and crossing her hooves over her chest. "I can stay up late and spend the night at my girlfriend's hotel if I want."
"Hey, I'm not complaining." Soft lips pressed against her cheek again, a hoof snaked around her shoulders and pulled her close. "I'm just sayin', your brother's probably put me at the top of his troops' 'Wanted' list."
Fleetfoot snorted. "Hate to break it to you, Spits, but you're not quite that important."
"Besides," Soarin began, glancing up from his paper and checking the sky through the window, "I don't see any of Captain Armor's barriers encompassing the city. Maybe he figured you stayed the night, Princess."
"That might be it," Twilight said. "He'll probably expect me back sometime today, or at least that I'll send a quick note." She paused and wrinkled her snout. "You don't have to address me by title, you know. This is going to seem rather awkward if you keep this up."
He smiled. "Twilight it is, then. Funny. Who'd have thought a pie-scarfing goofball from the lower-east side would be on first name basis with royalty?" Chuckling to himself, he turned the page. "Mama won't believe a word of it."
"Naturally," Fleetfoot quipped. "That mare only rates our Hellfire Dive as 'passable'. It'd take Twilight knocking on her door and telling her all about this whole thing for her to believe it."
Twilight waggled her ears, a sly grin made its way across her muzzle. "You know," she began, using the low, playful tone she'd picked up from her friends, "I'm sure I'll be visiting Cloudsdale a lot now that I'm dating Spitfire." She nudged her shoulder against Spitfire's.
Snorting, Spitfire allowed herself a small smirk. "Hmm, taking you out on a date just so we can make Soarin's mama go batty? I like it. Can we tell her about us then, too? That mare likes to play mother for me for crying out loud! I've already got one."
Soarin chuckled. "Well, glad to know we're all gonna prank my dear mama. Now--" he fixed them with a stern gaze "--do Fleety and I need to chaperone you two, or did you get things settled?"
"We're good, Soar," Spitfire replied, giving Twilight a little squeeze. "Had a nice little talk and all, we'll be good fillies--"
"--As long as we want to be!" Twilight added, before stealing another kiss. "It's our relationship, after all."
"Good answer," he said. "Well, then, Fleet and I were going to a club later on tonight. That friend of yours--Pinkie, I think--mentioned it to us, Twilight. We could all go together, make it a double-date."
Spitfire bobbed her head. "Wouldn't be a bad idea." She turned to smile at Twilight. "I did promise you dancing lessons."
Twilight glanced between the pair across from her, swishing her tail in thought. She let her gaze fall to rest on Spitfire, a bright smile made its way across her muzzle. "I'll send a note to Shining," she said. "It wouldn't be too fun if he brought a squad of guards to look for me!" She brought a hoof to her chin and hummed. "Though, if I tell him, he'll let Cadence know, so we could end up with a visit from both of them."
"A party with my fellow officers, the Captain of the Royal Guard, the Princess of Love, and my girlfriend?" Spitfire grinned. "If that goof of a brother of yours wants to show up, he's welcome too. Send your note, hon. Then we've gotta get you dolled up for a night out on the town."
Nodding, Twilight lit up her horn. A pencil and a sheet of paper popped into existence with a bright flash of magenta.
"Holy moly!" Soarin said, whistling in awe. "That's pretty cool."
Fleetfoot nudged him with an elbow. "Er, Soar? Mind giving the blind mare the play-by-play? What was the pop?"
"A conjuring spell," Twilight answered as she scribbled a short note explaining where she'd been last night, as well as her plans for the day. "It's rather complicated, but I've had plenty of practice with it. I used to struggle with it, actually."
"And now?" Spitfire asked.
Beaming, she lit up her horn, making the quill vanish into thin air, then sending the note off to her brother with a loud pop. "Like a Wonderbolt in mid-season form," she replied.
The trio grinned, ruffling their feathers in kind. "You know what?" Fleetfoot began. "I think we're gonna get along famously, Twilight. As the only other mare from the Wonderbolts and Spits' oldest friend, I approve."
Spitfire raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me? I need your approval to date?"
"Quite frankly, yes."
"What am I, fifteen?"
Much to Twilight's amusement, Fleetfoot reached across and patted Spitfire on the head. "Just be back by ten, or you're grounded, honey. Don't make me take away your gramophone again."
"Why you--" Spitfire puffed up her cheeks. "You're part of the date tonight, you feather duster with a mouth!"
Twilight giggled as she watched the pair fall to their banter, sharing a knowing grin with Soarin before he went back to reading his paper.
A rather nice way to start her first day with her first official girlfriend.
The thought alone made her feathers fluff and sent her tail swishing like a happy puppy. |
Glow | 8. We Can Stay Out Late and Dance the Night Away | Twilight had heard many tales of Canterlot's night club scene, both from her brother and from a few of her former classmates. However, she'd never really gone out and experienced it firsthoof. Ponyville's lone bar didn't count, though it was rather nice and had a very friendly atmosphere.
If what Rainbow and Rarity said was true--and Twilight would wager they had more experience in the matter--the only true rivals to Canterlot's night clubs were in Manehattan and Las Pegasus.
That said, as she watched the tight-packed crowd of ponies dancing, bumping, and jostling with one another in time with the pulsing beat. Neon lights flashed and flickered, making her squint her eyes to adjust to the alternating dimming and brightening.
Her wings twitched and unfurled, ready to cover her eyes to block out the assault on her senses. She turned to Spitfire. "The music is really loud," she said.
Spitfire stopped tapping her hoof to the beat. She blinked and tilted her head, perking her ears up. "What's that, hon? Can't hear ya!"
Twilight leaned in close and spoke up. "I said 'the music is really loud'!"
"Oh!" Spitfire looked around in search of something, her eyes wide. "Hang on, hon! They usually have somepony selling earplugs near the entrance for first timers. Want me to get you a pair?"
"Please." Twilight nodded, then leaned in to nose Spitfire's cheek. "I'll pay you back."
Grinning, Spitfire shook her head. "Nah, it's on me, hon. I make more than enough to cover it. Fleet? Soar? You need some?"
With his wing wrapped tightly around Fleetfoot's withers, and his hooves helping to cover her ears, Soarin replied, "Yeah, she'll need a pair. Silly mare left her earmuffs back at the room."
"They look ridiculous," she hissed in reply. "I'm not wearing them out here!"
"Of course they do, meine Liebe." He nosed into her mane, grinning and giving Twilight a playful wink. "So, because of image, we'll wait right here, with me covering your ears like a parent taking a foal to a hoofball game, until Spits comes back with some earplugs."
Fleetfoot's tail flicked. "I can have you replaced, you know." With little effort, she unfurled her wing and cuffed him over the back of his head. "I've heard plenty of cadets talk about what a 'hot piece of tail' I am when they think I'm out of earshot!"
"I know. Whenever I see your feathers fluff, I know it's time to send the little punks flying until their wings fall off!" He waggled his eyebrows, then stole a little nip to her ear.
Spitfire rolled her eyes. "Well, we'll leave you kids here. Do try to behave. I said try, Soarin. Don't make me go all disciplinarian off the clock."
"No promises!"
"Spectacular." With another roll of her eyes, she bumped her hip against Twilight's. "C'mon, hon. Let's get you away from these two before they corrupt you any worse than I already have."
Sniggering, Twilight nodded and followed along. They weaved around new entrants to the club, staying close enough that Twilight could feel Spitfire's warm coat brushing against hers.
Soft, downy feathers touched her back. She glanced at Spitfire, perking up her ears in a silent question.
"You don't mind if I, uh..." Spitfire trailed off, looking between her wing and Twilight. "You don't mind if I put it over you again, right?"
Smiling, Twilight stepped closer and rubbed her shoulder against Spitfire's. Then, without waiting, she turned to nose against Spitfire's neck, sighing happily as she drank in the warmth and scent of citrus and rain.
The perfume tickled her nose, drawing a bright smile as she felt Spitfire's wing wrap around her withers and pull her in closer. Soft lips pressed against her cheek, Twilight couldn't help but hum her approval. "This is nice," she said.
Spitfire's ear twitched, she grinned into Twilight's cheek. "Told ya! We come here when we do shows in the area. It's always a great time!"
A great time? At such a loud place?
Filly Twilight would've scoffed and gone right back to reading a book on advanced magical theory, waving a hoof to dismiss her silly classmates for distracting her. Now, however, she found it just as fun as Shining Armor used to say.
Where else would she have seen Rainbow jump onto the bar counter, lay on her back, and dare Berry to open up a full barrel of cider and empty it into her open mouth, claiming she could drain it in ten seconds flat? Granted, Rainbow failed miserably and ended up sprinting--as best a drunken pegasus could--toward the mares' room, but they all shared some laughs afterward.
I would've missed out on all that if I'd just stayed in my room. A tiny frown marred her muzzle. So many chances she could have gone out and made great memories with friends, wasted! All because she thought making friends was, in a word, silly.
A nudge to her shoulder opted her back to present time. "Hey, you okay?" Spitfire asked, her brows knitted together in concern.
"Huh? Oh, I'm fine!" Twilight fixed a smile on her face. "Just got a little lost in thought. Old memories."
Spitfire arched a brow. "Lost in thought, eh?" she drawled, leaning in close. A mischievous gleam flashed in her eyes. "Not thinking of any other mares, I hope. Or--" she waggled her eyebrows "--at very least, it's you and me running the bedroom, right?"
Twilight's wings fluffed, her cheeks felt as though they'd burst into flames. With a shriek, she ducked out from under Spitfire's wing and reared up, smacking her girlfriend in the shoulder with her hooves. "No, no, no, no, no, no! You jerk! You are not allowed to make those jokes!"
Laughing, Spitfire covered her head with a hoof. "Sure I can!" she crowed. Shifting herself, she caught Twilight's hoof and pulled her into a tight, one-hooved hug, effectively pinning her hooves. "Now, now, that's no way for a princess to behave!"
"I'll show you!" Twilight growled, wiggling her hooves in vain. "Once I--grr--get my hooves free, you'll be sorry!"
"I'm sure I will," Spitfire said as she reached up to tussle Twilight's mane. She pulled Twilight over to stand in front of a younger stallion, who held a box labeled 'ear plugs, 1 bit' aloft in his magic. "Now, hold still, while I ask the nice colt so we can get a little dancing in."
Before Twilight could retort, she found herself dotted with another kiss on her nose, making her eyes cross and snout wrinkle as Spitfire turned to pass a pair of bits over to the young colt, who happily floated two tiny bags, each with a matching pair of earplugs, into her waiting hoof.
"Thanks, bud!" Spitfire released her hold on Twilight's shoulders and tossed one of the bags to her. "Put 'em in, hon. You're gonna wanna be gentle, or it's gonna feel like you're cramming something into your brain."
Chuckling, Twilight sliced open the bag with a deft flick of her magic and levitated the nub-shaped objects out. She surveyed them for a moment, then shrugged and floated one near each ear, slowly slipping them in as per Spitfire's advice.
True to their namesake, the earplugs proved a rather effective tool to drown out some of the pounding bass and stomping hooves.
"How's that, hon?" Spitfire asked, her normal gravelly voice sounded as though Twilight were submerged in water, muggy almost.
Twilight wrinkled her snout and gave her ears a little waggle. "It feels like I've got erasers stuck in my ear."
Spitfire snorted. "Yeah, it can take some getting used to. It's helping with the noise though, right?"
"Yes, they're doing that quite nicely," Twilight said with a smile. "Much more tolerable, and I can't feel the pounding in my brain anymore."
Grinning, Spitfire fluttered her wings. "Great!" she cheered, darting forward to nuzzle Twilight's cheek. "C'mon, let's go get this to Fleetfoot so we can tear up the dance floor!" With a cheeky waggle of her eyebrows, she bumped her hip against Twilight's. "I wanna see those moves you mentioned earlier!"
Before Twilight could protest, she found herself pulled along again, only able to squeak as she felt a powerful wing wrap around her. The warmth and soft brush of feathers against her back brought forth a little sigh from her lips. She let herself be held, almost possessively, against Spitfire's side, delighting in the feeling of their coats rubbing together.
Idly, she let her mind wander back to some of the traits she'd noticed in Fluttershy and Rainbow over the years--in particular, she found herself thinking on how possessive and protective the pair could be with their friends. Certainly, Rainbow was the more obvious example, given how loud and demonstrative she could be, but Fluttershy took a more quiet, almost motherly route to hers. Especially when her animals were concerned.
Although, if somepony threatened her animals, quiet and timid would go out the window.
Twilight glanced at Spitfire out of the corner of her eye. There seemed to be a mix of both, really. Further observation of her personality would be required before she could draw conclusion.
Until then, she was quite happy to shift herself closer and work herself so Spitfire's primaries could tickle against her ribs. As Celestia had told her so long ago, there came a time when a pony should put aside her studies and get out of the library.
It just so happened that getting out of the library meant snuggling up to her beautiful girlfriend and dancing the night away in a loud night club filled with ponies.
If my younger self could see this, she thought, chuckling and shaking her head.
They drew near to Fleetfoot and Soarin and stopped beside them.
"Here, Fleet," Spitfire said, passing the plastic bag over to her. "Pop 'em in."
Soarin smiled in thanks and took them in his hoof. "Here, let me." He tore the bag open with his teeth, spat out the plastic, and dumped the earplugs into his hoof. Taking one in each, he held them out to Fleetfoot. "Okay, Fleet, I need you to prick up your ears so I can put them in."
Biting her lip, Fleetfoot let her ears stand up. "Hurry, please!" she said, with a hint of a whimper in her tone as the bass pounded and a gyro like noise whirred through the air. Gritting her teeth, she ducked her head. "I hate wubs."
"I know, meine liebe, I know." He brushed his legs against her cheeks, smiling when she leaned into his touch. With practiced ease, he slipped the earplugs into place, then kissed her forehead. "There! How's that?"
Fleetfoot sighed in relief. "Much better!" She smiled and leaned up to capture his lips, humming happily. After a moment, they broke apart, each beaming and subtly licking their lips to savor the taste. "I'm thinking we need drinks. And a table off in the corner," she said, her husky tone brought forth a pink tinge to Soarin's cheeks and a goofy smile to his face.
Soarin' wrapped his wings around her shoulders, turning to wave to a row of tables on the opposite wall. "Right this way, meine Liebe!" he said, as though he were the maître'd leading a regular to her table. With a wink to Spitfire and a none-too-subtle mouthing "behave", he turned and lead Fleetfoot away, both chatting back and forth as they walked.
Chuckling, Spitfire shook her head. "I wonder which of us is captain, sometimes." She grinned at Twilight, then nodded toward the crowded dance floor. "Shall we?"
Her hoof shook, a bit of doubt flashed through Twilight's mind. A memory of Rainbow cackling as she reenacted Twilight's "seizure dancing" was all too fresh.
With a shaky nod, she replied, "After you."
Spitfire grinned and released her wing hug, then lead her toward the dance floor. While her girlfriend's steps were confident and her head held high, Twilight found herself shuffling forward with her head ducked low and ears laying flat against her scalp.
Biting her lip, Twilight let her eyes wander over the mass of bodies before her. Ponies of all sizes and race danced wildly, laughing with their friends, nuzzling and stealing kisses to their lovers as they moved in time with the music. Her steps began to follow along with the beat, unbidden. Almost as though the music carried some sort of magic with it.
She glanced down at her hooves, blinking as she noticed she was but a step away from the dance floor. Giving her wings a nervous ruffle, she looked up to find Spitfire waiting for her, a single hoof held out.
"C'mon," she said, looking away just long enough to step out of the path of a younger couple as they danced by. She returned her gaze to Twilight and smiled. "I'm right here, hon."
There were plenty of ponies in the crowd, and the club's lighting would hide her colors well enough. Surely, they wouldn't notice her.
Just as long as she stayed close to Spitfire, everything would be fine.
Twilight took her hoof, earning a bright smile before she was pulled into the mass of ponies. They pushed through the crowd, bumping and jostling with other patrons.
Wincing, she mumbled an apology to a pair of mares she'd unwittingly brushed with the tips of her primaries, blushing as they giggled and batted their eyelashes at her.
"Hey, there, cutie!" one cooed, giving a little pout as she trotted to keep up with Spitfire.
Spitfire turned to glare over her shoulder. "Hey yourself!" she snapped, eyes flashing. "She's with me!"
The mares stepped back, ducking their heads under her gaze and muttering a barely audible apology before they were lost to the crowd.
Twilight's ears burned when she caught Spitfire muttering "Feather-brained floozies" as she picked up the pace. "I swear, nopony can bother taking a look to see if a mare's with somepony these days!"
Definitely possessive. Despite her nerves, Twilight couldn't help but smile. She bounded forward to trot alongside Spitfire, a merry little swish in her tail.
The music stopped, there was a crackling of static before a mare called through the speaker system. "Alright Canterlot! Are you ready to rock this house?" The familiar voice made her ears perk up. Is that Vinyl?
A quick look to the DJ booth revealed Vinyl Scratch, her white coat shining and electric blue mane messy as usual, with a pair of headphones around her neck, trademark purple-lensed sunglasses covering her eyes, and a hoof on her turntable. By the broad grin on her muzzle, she was in her element.
The crowd cheered and stomped their hooves, ready for more music. Vinyl grinned at them all, her eyes wandered over the crowd, her grin widening with the growing noise.
For a moment, Twilight could've sworn Vinyl met her gaze.
Those purple lenses flashed, Vinyl pumped her hoof into the air and called out to the crowd, "Let's kick it!" With a flip of a few switches and a flash of cerulean magic, the music started again.
Twilight shook it off and followed Spitfire over to the side of the dance floor; close enough that they could enjoy the lights and music, but away from the front so they weren't at the center of attention.
Spitfire turned and fluffed her feathers. Her tail swished back and forth in time with the beat. Slowly, she started to shift side to side, timing her steps with the pulsing bass. "Ready, hon?" she called over the din.
Nodding, Twilight looked down at her hooves and began counting. Slowly, she started to step in time. A tiny frown marred her muzzle as she tried to make her body cooperate. Stupid, clumsy hooves.
She glanced up to find Spitfire entering into what could only be described as a little bit of a hop-slide, bouncing on her hooves with all the grace of a trained dancer, yet with all the whimsy of the ponies around them.
"Loosen up a little!" Spitfire teased, nudging her with a shoulder. "C'mon, it's no fun if you're all stiff like that!"
"Just trying to get in time with the beat," she replied.
Laughing, Spitfire leaned in and kissed her cheek. "That's not a hard-and-fast rule in club dancing, hon! Cut loose and feel the music--like wind currents when you fly!"
Twilight blinked, glancing down at her hooves then up to Spitfire again. Feel the music like I'm reading the wind current, she thought. Her feathers fluffed and twitched, reflexively trying to test for a wind current. Slowly, her lips began to curve into a smile. There was no wind, but there was a very pretty mare who wanted her to have some fun.
She could just be herself.
Well, when in Roam, do as the Roamans do!
Kicking her right hoof out, she grinned and closed her eyes, bobbing her head to the beat as she began to stomp her hooves and flap her wings. It wasn't graceful, it wasn't anything like some of those ballet dancers she'd seen.
It was fun. It was simple. It was just Twilight cutting loose, letting go of her reservations, and allowing herself to throw the rulebook out for a little bit so she could just get into her groove, as Shining would say.
There was a beat of silence, and then the whir of synthesizers and booming base came like crashing thunder. Twilight joined in the "whoop" that went through the crowd and wildly swung a hoof.
"Whoa!" Spitfire yelped. "Careful there, hon! This isn't a contact sport!"
Twilight gasped, opening her eyes and bringing the offending hoof to her mouth. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"
"It's alright, I'm just teasing." Spitfire nuzzled against her cheek, lingering long enough to give a quick kiss. "This isn't exactly a formal dance, hon. I mean, look around." She waved a hoof toward the raucous crowd, sniggering as she watched a few rear up on their hind hooves and try jumping like dogs, only to stumble over one another and quickly steady themselves by grabbing hooves.
Anything but graceful. Still, they hadn't just swung a hoof and nearly knocked her date out.
With a little cringe, Twilight let her ears droop and settled into a timid shuffle step. Like Fluttershy trying to hide from a crowd of ponies, she made herself as small as possible, bringing her wings up to hide her face from any onlookers.
Spitfire stopped and grimaced. "I shouldn't have said anything."
"No, no, I'm glad you did," Twilight said, bringing a hoof up to rub her shoulder. "I don't want to ruin things by hitting you."
"Yeah, but I just killed your mood. It's written plain on your face." Spitfire pointed at her face. "You were happy, like a filly on her first flight."
Twilight bit the inside of her cheek, flicking her tail. "I was. But, well, like I said, I'm not very good at dancing. At all. Ever." Sighing, she hung her head. "I never took the time to go to parties or clubs before I moved."
A hoof touched her back, right between the base of her wings. She felt Spitfire's breath tickle her ears as she leaned down to whisper, "I could show you a basic step thing, if you want."
Slowly lifting her head, Twilight was met with Spitfire offering a sheepish half smile and rustle of her wings.
"It's nothing flashy," Spitfire continued, "it's just listening to the bass and stepping in time, then throwing in a little kick or knee lift. Just a kinda--" she broke off, taking a couple steps to her left, then stopped, picking up her right hoof until it nearly touched her chest, and moved back to the right "--easy side-to-side thing."
Twilight watched her go through the steps a couple times, noting how each beat of bass matched perfectly with yellow-coated hooves stepping and raising. Simple, like the ticking of a metronome.
A shy smile made its way across her muzzle. Twilight waited for Spitfire to complete another step, then joined in just as she was shown.
Step, step, knee lift. Step, step, knee lift. Step, step, knee li--kick? She glanced at Spitfire, raising a brow at the grin on her girlfriend's muzzle as they went through again.
"Just get a rhythm, then play with the end move," Spitfire said as she kicked her left legs out to the side, balancing herself on her right hooves. "Remember what I said dancing was like?"
"Sex," Twilight replied before she could stop herself.
Nodding, Spitfire took a bit of a wider step so she could move closer. "Bingo," she whispered, leaning over to peck Twilight's lips rather than kick a hoof out. "Some ponies like lots of flashy things in dancing and sex, others like to keep it basic. The most important thing--" she pivoted and slid to the side so she was muzzle-to-muzzle with Twilight, still going through their three step routine "--is knowing what you're comfortable with, and what your partner is, too."
"Huh." Twilight furrowed her brows in thought, then bobbed her head. "I guess that does make sense. It wouldn't work too well if a new dancer tried keeping up with a professional ballet dancer." On the last step of their more simplified dance, she moved forward instead of sideways, returning Spitfire's kiss from before.
The pair stopped in place, each tilted their head to the side and pressed closer, savoring the kiss.
Who cares if I'm bad at dancing? I get kisses either way. Twilight gave a happy hum as they broke apart, she couldn't keep the goofy grin off her muzzle. "Any other steps for me to try?" she asked, waggling her ears.
Spitfire fixed her with a half-lidded stare. "Oh, I think we can get a little creative with the basics." She cast a meaningful glance to the crowd around them, and raised her brows. "Let's try switching out the shuffle-step for a little bit of a hopping jig. But let's add a new rule in."
Raising an eyebrow, Twilight tilted her head. "What'd you have in mind?"
That playful gleam flashed in those brilliant orange eyes, Spitfire reached out and cupped her chin with a hoof. "Eye contact. No looking down."
A bubbling laugh escaped her lips, Twilight bounced and kicked her legs forward, alternating left and right in time with Spitfire's moves. Faster and faster they went, moving to the pulsing bass of Vinyl's latest selection.
Somehow, Twilight had a feeling she'd seen that Spitfire was trying to teach her to dance and thought it'd be funny to start picking songs with faster beats. The more logical side of her brushed it off as Vinyl simply doing her job and giving the other ponies what they wanted.
"Losing your tempo!" Spitfire teased. "Better keep up, or I'm gonna make you blush in front of everypony!"
There it was, that playful threat she kept repeating. Each time the song changed and Twilight had to adjust for speed, Spitfire made sure to remind her the little wager they'd added on:
"Whoever breaks eye contact or loses her step gets swept up by the other. In front of everypony."
At first, it had just been a joke. Then, for reasons she still couldn't figure out, Twilight opened her mouth and vowed to hold Spitfire upside down in her magic, tickle, and kiss her silly in front of the entire crowd.
The way Spitfire's eyes flashed with the same competitive light she'd seen in Rainbow so many times sent shivers down her spine. From there on, both mares were locked in an epic battle of wills the likes of which Equestria had never seen, neither willing to blink.
"Ready to give in?" Spitfire asked, leaning in close enough that their muzzles touched. Her steady breath washed over Twilight's face, she nuzzled her snout, never once losing her step.
Though she was already pushing the limit of her coordination, Twilight grinned and shook her head. "Not a chance!" she replied through her laughter. Spitfire had already given her fair share of teases in the few days since they started dating.
Tonight, Twilight was determined that she would even the score. Or, at very least, narrow the gap a little bit.
Still, she had to keep up. The burn in her legs was growing with each bounce and kick of her hooves. If she kept up, it would only be a matter of time before she either lost step or gave into her laughter and stumbled, leaving Spitfire free to tease and torment her any way she pleased.
Of course, that was assuming she played fair.
She fought against the urge to smirk at Spitfire. Her girlfriend so loved to play tricks and tease her, the way she delighted in leaving Twilight blushing before her friends, family, and fellow princesses was proof enough of that. She seemed to be all too happy to go along with a certain phrase Cadence was so wont to say: all's fair in love and war.
Well, if she wants to play, she'll find I can adapt just as well as anypony.
Twilight fixed Spitfire with a half-lidded stare and made her move, quickly tilting her head and darting forward press her lips against Spitfire's.
She smiled into the kiss as she felt the sharp intake of breath through Spitfire's nose tickle against her coat. She pressed deeper, parting her lips just enough so she could run her tongue along Spitfire's. Come on. Twilight fluttered her wings, unfurling and making to wrap them around Spitfire, all the while keeping her hooves moving in time with the beat.
Or, at least, trying to. They'd both since lost timing, simply bouncing and occasionally doing the extra little kick at their own pace, following along the beating of their own hearts.
Spitfire parted her lips, her warm tongue met with Twilight's, teasing and running along her lips. Her steps began to slow with each passing second until, finally, she stopped, reaching up with a hoof to cup Twilight's cheek.
Twilight watched as her eyelids began to flutter shut and wings fluffed and made to unfurl, waiting until Spitfire gave a happy sigh and tilted her head to deepen the kiss before she made her move.
The second Spitfire closed her eyes, Twilight reared up and caught her in a tight hug, pinning her hooves and wings to her sides. With a throaty chuckle, she pulled Spitfire flush against her chest and wrapped her tight in her wings.
Twilight trailed her soft, purple feathers up Spitfire's sides, bringing forth a squeak from the back of her girlfriend's throat.
She held the kiss a moment longer, then broke off to bask in the warmth. Taking note of how Spitfire's lips were still parted for another kiss and her eyes stayed shut, she grinned and leaned in as if to grant her wish. Then, a flash of daring went through her. Glancing about to make sure everypony was watching the stage or was otherwise occupied, Twilight snuck a quick lick to Spitfire's snout.
Spitfire's snout wrinkled, her ears laid flat as a bright blush began to creep into her cheeks.
"Looks like I'm not the only one who's cute when she blushes," Twilight whispered huskily, darting forward to nose beneath Spitfire's chin and nip at her neck.
Biting her lip, Spitfire pranced on her hind hooves, her tail twitched as a shuddering gasp escaped her lips. "H-Hon!" she said, whimpering as Twilight stole another nip, then slowly drew her tongue over the spot. Her eyes were clenched shut, a goofy grin spread across her muzzle.
"You lost your step, and nopony's watching," Twilight said. She kissed Spitfire's neck and drank in her scent. "My turn!" To her delight, Spitfire's blush deepened, tinging her cheeks a shade of orange that almost perfectly matched her fiery mane.
"Alright! Alright!" Spitfire yelped, craning her neck to escape Twilight's assault. "You win, hon! Lemme go before somepony looks!"
The smile ran away from her face. Twilight pursed her lips, her eyes darted to search the crowd for any onlookers. None of yet, aside from a few passive glances--unless she counted those mares from before openly staring and giggling in their direction--but she couldn't deny the point.
Giving one last kiss to her nose, Twilight released Spitfire from her embrace. She folded her wings at her sides, then stepped around to press against Spitfire's side. "Fine," she whispered, nosing into her cheek. "But let the record show that you lost step first."
"Only because you cheated," Spitfire shot back, trying to fight through her smile to fix a mock glare upon her face. She gave up, grinning back at Twilight and stealing a quick kiss to her cheek, then moving to whisper in her ear. "You know I'm gonna have to get even. I can't be letting a rookie out-flirt me!"
There it was again. Labelling her a rookie with that grin and knowing look in her eyes.
Well, there was some point to it, but Twilight was confident she'd have Spitfire singing a different tune soon enough.
I'm starting to think a bit too much like Rarity! Twilight shook her head, then turned to search for Fleetfoot and Soarin. "Well, how about we meet up with the others? I could use a drink after that."
"Heh, I like the sound of that." Spitfire wiped a hoof across her brow and gave her wings a little flutter. "It's getting a little hot in here." Seeing Twilight open her mouth to retort, she cut her off. "Say what you're thinking. I dare you." She brought her muzzle a hair's breadth away from Twilight's, and gave a challenging snort. "One word, hon. Just one."
With all the confidence of a mare who had defied the likes of Nightmare Moon, Discord, the Changeling Queen, and Tirek himself, Twilight kissed the end of Spitfire's muzzle and muttered, "Hot."
"Right." Spitfire set her jaw and nodded, flicking her tail. "You'll pay for that one later." With keen eyes, she scanned the tables for her teammates, pointing to one in the far corner. "There they are, always far enough away that Fleet can listen without getting a headache."
Twilight followed her hoof, Fleetfoot's cloud-white mane stood out against the dimly lit room, even with the flashing lights and ponies walking by. She let Spitfire take the lead, trotting just behind her as they made their way over to the table.
Her eyes wandered, somehow finding their way--as had become habit--to Spitfire's fiery tail and shapely rump. Her tail twitched, Twilight ran her tongue along her lip, savoring the lingering taste of Spitfire's kisses. Be good, she chided herself. With a purr of approval, she sidled up to Spitfire and let her tail flirt against her girlfriend's side, earning herself a smirk and a sidelong look.
"Trying to gain rank?" Spitfire asked.
Twilight met her gaze. "I think," she began, trailing the ends of her tail along Spitfire's flank, lingering on her flame-lick cutie mark, "you'll find that a princess outranks a captain."
Spitfire let out a bark of laughter, then flicked her tail against Twilight's rear in kind. "I'll give you that, hon. Well played."
Another victory for the home team, albeit on a technicality. Though, with a girlfriend so willing to exploit any and every opportunity to tease and play, Twilight would have to do likewise.
Besides, as a princess, she could make the rules of the game. It was one of the perks that came with all the authority and important meetings.
Or, the important meetings that would grow more frequent as ponies adjusted to the idea of a fourth princess.
Until then, there was a pretty mare who wanted to spend time with her, and Twilight would have her feathers plucked before she let precious time go to waste.
The pair came closer to Fleetfoot and Soarin's table, stopping just short. "Mind if we snag a spot?" Spitfire asked, before slipping into the booth across from them. A cue Twilight happily took, sliding in next to her with a tiny giggle.
Soarin broke of chatting with Fleetfoot to fix her with a bemused smile. "If I say no, how many laps will we be doing tomorrow morning?"
"I don't think you can count that high," she quipped in reply. "Is he behaving, Fleet?"
Flicking an ear toward Spitfire, Fleetfoot nodded. "He has been so far," she said. With a coy smile, she raised her glass to show off a translucent drink which shone with a familiar rainbow hue as she swirled it. "He even got me my favorite drink."
Spitfire's ears perked up. "Mixing in some booze with the rainbow mixer, are we?"
"You never gave sobriety orders," Soarin replied, shrugging as he took a sip of his own. "I figured it was fine since this isn't a team event."
"Nah, go for it. As long as we drink responsibly, it's all good." Spitfire took the menu out of the wire holder on the wall and skimmed through it. "Hmm, I might go with cider tonight. What about you, hon?" She passed the menu to Twilight.
Taking the menu in her magic, Twilight brought it to float before her. Idly, she let her eyes wander over strange drink names. Each description seemed like such a mix of different types of alcohol with additive flavors she never would've thought logical.
Rainbow, Pinkie, Party, and Vinyl would have a field day with this menu. Cringing at a few of the combinations. "I think I'll stick with cider, too," she said. "Some of these are a bit too 'out there' for my taste."
"Sounds good." Spitfire flagged down one of the waitresses and gave her their drink order, as well as adding a basket of hay fries for the table. "Hope you can handle your booze, 'cos they've only got the hard stuff here."
Twilight rolled her eyes. "Oh, please! I drink Sweet Apple Acres' finest as soon as they start their Cider Season, I can handle my fair share!"
The trio of Wonderbolts let wicked smirks spread across their muzzles, a shudder ran down Twilight's spine.
"We'll see about that," Fleetfoot said, chuckling darkly. "I suppose this is as good a chance as any to make sure you can hold your own with us. Can't have the Captain seen with a lightweight!"
"Excuse me?" Twilight balked. "I thought you were fine with us dating!"
Sightless eyes met hers, Fleetfoot waggled her ears. "Call it an added stipulation. And don't bother looking for Spits to override me, she's thinking along similar lines."
Slowly, Twilight turned to gape at Spitfire, who raised her eyebrows and nodded, just as a pair of mugs were placed on the table before them. "You're joking," she said.
"Nope!" Soarin replied through his chuckles. "If you wanna date a Wonderbolt, you've gotta be able to drink like a Wonderbolt!"
"I'd say no pressure," Spitfire said, casually eyeing her drink. "But there was a certain girlfriend of mine who just snuck a kiss to win our little challenge on the dance floor, so I think she needs to show us she can hang with the big ponies. Wouldn't you agree, Soarin?"
He gave a solemn nod. "Definitely, Spits. Princess or not, we've gotta make sure she comes into the flock properly."
Spitfire thumped a hoof on the table. "Then it's settled!" she said, taking up her mug. "Pick up that cider, hon! We've got music, plenty of booze, three Bolts, and a pretty royal--seems like a perfect chance to make sure you can hang with us!"
A few days prior, Twilight would've missed the teasing edge in their tone. The way each grinned like Rainbow or Pinkie, or even Party Favor, in the middle of a prank was another dead giveaway.
She played her part, huffing as though offended and taking her drink in hoof. "Fine, then! We'll see who can't handle her alcohol!"
"Morning in Ponyville--hic--shimmers! Morning in Ponyville--hic--shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiines!" Twilight sang, nearly falling over as she tried to wave a hoof. Giggling, she pressed against Spitfire's side. "Oopsie!"
Spitfire closed her eyes and forced a smile, her ears laid flat against her scalp, both to block out Twilight's drunken singing and her teammates' sniggering. As it so turned out, her recently acquired girlfriend could indeed hold her booze quite well--if it was cider, of course.
After a few mugs, Soarin, sensing that their little trick wasn't going so well, waited until Twilight had gotten herself a little bit of a buzz, then slyly slid his rum mixer over and offered her a little something different.
He is so flying laps for this! She fought down a blush as Twilight planted a sloppy kiss on her cheek and wrapped her wing over her shoulders, those soft purple feathers tickled against her sides. "Hon, maybe we oughta quiet it down a little," she said, sliding her wings up to lay across Twilight's back, just in case she toppled over again. "Ponies might be trying to sleep."
"I say--hic--feh to them!" Twilight replied. She stopped and brought a hoof to her chest, as though ready to make a big proclamation. "Luna made such a--hic--such a beautiful night, and it's nice, and I love it, and I really like spending time with--hic--you guys, and they should love it too!"
At least she was a happy drunk. Those were tolerable to a certain extent. Sad or angry drunks, well, they were a different story entirely.
Soarin was so going to pay for this. Fleetfoot, too, since she watched and let it happen. If they were smart, they'd keep their whining about how she thought it was a good idea at the time to themselves and just suck it up.
A not so small part of her hoped they weren't that smart. Try to play the big sib-slash-mother card on me will you?
They came to the intersection of Mane Street and Royal Lane, and turned right to head up the winding pathway to the castle. Up ahead, Spitfire could see the lit windows and the glint of well-polished gold as the Princesses' House Guard patrolled the castle grounds.
Not to mention, each of Twilight's friends, her fellow princesses, and her older brother.
A shiver ran down Spitfire's spine. She wasn't sure which prospect made her more nervous: meeting the parents, or having to stand before the Royal Family and have them run the gauntlet on how she was to treat Twilight. Although Princess Celestia hadn't threatened, she made sure to hint that she expected Spitfire's conduct while accompanying Twilight to the Gala, and whatever relationship followed thereafter, was to be at her very best.
Twilight nosing against her cheek and hiccuping into her ear as she tried to whisper sweet nothings brought her back to reality. Despite her worry, she gave a laugh and maneuvered her snout under Twilight's chin. "Ah-ah! You better stop that!" she scolded. "None of that drunk flirting, hon!"
"You're no fun!" Twilight huffed, turning her head away. "How come you get to boss me around? I'm a--hic--princess!"
Spitfire cooed and kissed her cheek. "Yes you are. You're my very beautiful, very tipsy, princess. And you're my girlfriend."
Twilight gave a solemn nod. "Right! So, I get to flirt--hic--if I want!" With a deft move, she managed to tilt her head back, then circle under to nip at Spitfire's nose. "And I say flirting--hic--is okay!"
"Well, as your girlfriend, and as the mare who isn't more sauced than Firestorm at Germaneigh's Ciderfest, I'm gonna have to be all responsible and call code red on this." She did her best to ignore the way Twilight pouted and whined, but her resolve crumbled. Sighing, she pecked Twilight's lips, then stopped and placed a hoof on her chest when she tried to press further. "Twilight. No. Spitfire says code red."
Giving another whine, Twilight stomped a hoof. "Meanie."
With a roll of her eyes, Spitfire lead her onward. "Maybe so, but we talked about this sort of thing. Let's get you back to the castle so you can sleep this off."
"You don't mind if we break off and head back to the room, do you?" Soarin asked, bobbing his head toward Fleetfoot. "This one didn't sleep all that well last night."
"Neither of us did, smart-aleck." Fleetfoot bumped her flank against his. "Only reason I couldn't was because you kept tossing and turning and covering your head with a pillow."
Spitfire furrowed her brows. "Why were you--oh. Oh." She cringed, ducking her head to hide her blushing cheeks. "Sorry."
"Oops!" Twilight giggled, then leaned in as if to whisper, but ended up speaking at regular volume. "I think they heard us!"
Smirking, Soarin waggled his eyebrows. "Just a little. So yeah, it's about midnight, I think we're gonna hit the hay. Try to behave, Feuerball! I don't think bailing your sorry behind out of jail is covered in the budget." He ducked a quick swipe of her wing, cackling as he nimbly danced out of her reach. "Temper, temper! That's no way for a mare who's dating a princess to behave! Gotta be all proper now!"
"Maybe we can arrange for etiquette classes," Fleetfoot said, bringing a hoof to her chin. "We'll have to look into that."
Spitfire grit her teeth, her ears burned as Twilight giggled at their antics. "Thanks, guys! Really. Great to know you've got my back. Now get the hay out of here, or we're gonna have a little conditioning run in the morning."
The words had scarcely left her mouth before the pair's eyes went wide and they took off in a flurry of feathers, rocketing through the night sky as if the hounds of Tartarus were nipping at their tails. Spitfire smirked and gave a single nod. Still got it.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Twilight waving and beaming at her teammates' retreating forms. Her smirk melted into a more sincere smile, Spitfire gave her a light nudge toward the castle, sparing her a quick kiss to appease her.
Fortunately, the walk was short and the guards posted at the gate let them in without question, each snapped to attention and saluted with their spears or bowed to their princess.
If not for her keen eyes, Spitfire would've missed the tiny upward tugging of their lips as she passed them by with a thoroughly sauced Twilight in tow. To their credit, not one laughed or whispered, but they couldn't hide their amusement entirely.
Not that I can blame them. Spitfire tightened her wing's grip around Twilight's side and pulled her in closer, nuzzling their cheeks together. Gonna get a lot of mileage out of that rendition of Brown-Eyed Mare once she sobers up--well, Orange-Eyed Mare, as she sang it.
She could already see the bright blush that would spread across Twilight's cheeks before she tried to bury her muzzle in her wings. Yes, there would be plenty of teasing, and quite a bit of nuzzling those cute purple ears as she hummed the tune.
When they passed through the main entrance, Spitfire caught sight of three ponies waiting for them. She recognized Rainbow and Pinkie, but not the stallion they were with. Though, judging by how close he was standing to Pinkie and the little kiss she snuck him, he was the one Soarin and Twilight mentioned before. Party Favor, they'd called him.
Naturally, Twilight perked right up as soon as she saw them. "Hi, everypony!" She flared her wings out and bounded forward, stumbling over herself before she made to sweep the nearest of her friends into a hug. Pinkie simply laughed and let her, while the stallion sidestepped her and tried to hide his amusement.
He didn't do nearly as well as the guards.
Pinkie grinned and returned the hug, pausing to sniff as Twilight's breath hit her. "Oh, wow! Somepony had some fun tonight!" she said, waggling her ears.
"Yup!" Twilight chirped. "We went to a club! There was loud music, and dancing--hic--and drinks!"
"So we can tell!" Rainbow sniggered. She trotted up to Twilight and gave her a light elbow to the ribs. "Geez, Twi, how many did you have?"
"I remember a lot of mugs. And rum." She beamed. "Soarin let me try a rum mixer. It was good."
Gaping, Rainbow looked between Spitfire and Twilight. "Oh for the love of--gah!--that's it! Next time, I'm going with you guys! I've been waiting forever to see Twi cut loose and drink, and it takes dating to make it happen!" A beat later, she ducked her head and spared Spitfire a glance. "No offense, ma'am."
Oh, there's just plenty of material for me tonight, isn't there? "None taken," she replied. Gesturing to Twilight with a wave of her hoof, she continued, "Well, one princess-slash-girlfriend delivered safe and sound. Make sure she gets some water in her tomorrow, first hangover's gonna be a trip."
Party winced. "Oh, gosh, I remember mine. Not fun." He frowned, shifting in place a bit. "Sure you don't wanna hang out and help us deal with a drunk alicorn?"
Spitfire raised an eyebrow at him. "Just so I'm clear, you're Party Favor, right?" At his nod, she smirked and continued, "Well, pal, lemme put it this way: I've seen her teleport faster than a jackrabbit on a sugar rush and conjure pen and paper out of thin air while sober, and I was very impressed. However--" she gave a theatrical shudder "--I think I'm a bit too new to dating her to deal with having furniture thrown at me, or whatever crazy magic she's packing!"
Sniggering, Rainbow nodded. "Fine, we'll take her from here. C'mon, Twi, let's get you to bed. We'll bug you about your dates in the morning."
"But I wanna stay up!" Twilight whined, fixing them with a pout. "How come everypony--hic--gets to boss me around?"
"Because we're not three shades to the wind," Spitfire quipped. She trotted over and gave her a quick hug and kissed her cheek. "I'll come check on you tomorrow. Okay?"
The pout vanished in favor of an excited grin. Twilight returned her hug and gave her a lingering kiss on the lips. She made to speak, but turned away to cover her mouth as another bout of hiccups slipped out. After a moment, she turned back and smiled again. "Promise?"
"Bolts' honor," Spitfire replied. She nudged Twilight toward Rainbow, nodding to each member of their impromptu welcoming party. "Have a good night, everypony. I'll stop by sometime tomorrow afternoon. Get a good night's sleep--Dash, no keeping her up to pry my secrets out of her, or I'll have your wings hanging up in my office. Miss Pie, Mister Favor, feel free to tattle if she does."
She turned on her hoof and made her way out of the castle, grinning as the sounds of Rainbow Dash's indignant protests mixed with raucous laughter. Seems I've got her pegged.
As she stepped out into the cool night air, Spitfire fluffed her feathers and took a deep breath, letting it out in a contented sigh. Two dates of their own planning, one that ended in a repeat of their night after the Gala, but now one that focused on them just having fun and spending time together.
Much better. She chuckled to herself. They'd had their missteps, but they managed to come to terms with it and get everything straightened out.
Stealing one last glance over her shoulder to watch as Twilight was guided up the stairs toward her suite, Spitfire bid her a silent goodnight before turning to face forward. Stifling a yawn, she closed her eyes for a moment, fighting against the oncoming sleep.
C'mon, Spits. Stay awake. Gotta make the flight back to the hotel. After a moment, she forced her eyes open and shook her head, then unfurled her wings, readying to take to flight.
"Hold fast, Captain," Princess Luna's familiar voice called out from her left, startling her into alertness.
Spitfire stumbled in her haste to turn and bow to Princess Luna as she stepped out of the shadows. "Your Highness," she greeted. "My sincerest apologies, I didn't see you there."
Princess Luna waved her off. "No offense is taken, Captain. I can be quite stealthy when I wish to be." An odd smile crossed her lips, like a mother's knowing look when she'd caught her foal with crumbs smeared across its muzzle. "Care to join me for a walk?"
Uh oh. "I, er, wouldn't dream of intruding, Princess," Spitfire stammered.
She stepped closer, those moonlit, teal eyes gleamed as she draped a wing across Spitfire's withers. "I insist. Worry not, I shan't keep you out too late. After all, you have a young princess to entertain on the morrow. I simply wish to get to know the mare who has caught my young friend's eye."
Spitfire swallowed a nervous gulp of air, giving a shaky smile. "Of course. I'd be happy to walk with you, Princess. I just, um, might not be at my best. I've had a few ciders in me."
If it were possible, Princess Luna's smile seemed to broaden, taking on an almost predatory edge. "I shall temper my expectations, then. Now, my dear Captain, have you ever seen the Royal Gardens? They are a splendid sight at this hour, the moonflowers should be in full bloom." |
Glow | 9. Friends in Night's Embrace | Spitfire, like most foals, had grown up hearing The Legend of the Mare in the Moon. The rise of Nightmare Moon, all the terrible, frightening things that came in her wake, and the looming threat of a visit from the Nightmare Princess should they not make a fitting offer of candies each Nightmare Night were major staples of her life.
Somehow, Spitfire found herself longing for the slightest hint of a fanged grin or an echoing cackle that carried the promise of malice. Instead, she was met with a serene smile and casual gait that rivaled Princess Celestia.
Princess Luna hummed a tune as she lead Spitfire through the hedge maze that was the Royal Garden, stopping here and there to sniff at a few flowers or voice compliment to the gardeners' work. "Astounding, is it not?" she asked, smiling at a few bluebells. "I must confess, I don't think I could ever have the patience for gardening, especially not here. Between the constant upkeep, temperamental plants dying due to the slightest mistake in care, or my employer's flights of fancy, I think I would sooner tear my mane out."
Uncertain how to react, Spitfire settled on a rather forced chuckle. "Y-Yes, Your Highness. I'm sure it can get a bit troublesome from time to time."
"This walk was meant to be casual, Captain Spitfire. There is no need to be so tense." Princess Luna frowned. "You look as though you're ready to take wing and fly from my presence at a moment's notice. We've had cordial relations prior to this, have we not?"
"We have, Your Highness," Spitfire replied, nodding in kind.
"Then, pray tell, why do you seem so nervous?" The wing around her withers tightened, pulling her flush against Princess Luna's side. A playful gleam shone in her eyes. "You weren't up to any mischief while entertaining Princess Twilight, were you?"
Aside from sex last night and letting Soarin get her plastered? Oh, definitely not. She forced herself to smile, giving an anxious flick of her tail. "No, Your Highness," she said with a rather stiff shake of her head. "My teammates and I kept a good eye on her throughout the night and made sure no pony bothered her at the club. The worst thing to happen was, well, her getting a little tipsy."
Princess Luna nickered. "I saw. Our dear friend is in for quite the rude awakening, if I do say so myself." She paused a moment, then aimed a teasing grin at Spitfire. "Or, rather, my friend is in for a rude awakening. She's your girlfriend now, I believe."
Right to the point, quite unlike Princess Celestia's coy smiles and slow pulling information out at her own leisure.
Giving another nod, she replied, "Yes, Your Highness. Princess Twilight and I agreed to start seeing each other on a more regular basis this morning." After a beat, she added, "I hope that doesn't displease you."
"Not at all," Princess Luna said. She lifted her wing off of Spitfire, folding it neatly against her side. "Quite the opposite, I'm delighted to see that Twilight has found a pony she deems worthy of her affections. I must confess, I'd grown a bit worried that she would end up conjuring herself one."
Spitfire flicked her ear, turning to face the princess. "Is that even possible?"
Princess Luna shook her head. "Many things are possible with magic, my dear Captain, but creating life out of nothing is not among them. With Twilight Sparkle's talent for it, she could, in theory, imitate it, but I doubt she is the sort to try." She turned her attention to the sky, a fond smile crossed her muzzle. "She's had a few brushes with some rather unsavory spells that left her apprehensive of actively practicing dark magic."
She hadn't mentioned anything about that. Spitfire wrinkled her nose and made sure to log that away for later. Might make for an interesting story or two.
They came to a fork in the path, Princess Luna stopped and chewed on her lip. "Hmm, which way was it?" she muttered, humming to herself. She gave a little flick of her starry tail and stomped a hoof. "Confound it, Tia! Next time we decide on gardening schemes, I'll have to insist that we do away with this silly thing!"
Unable to think of a suitable retort, Spitfire kept her mouth shut. She shifted in place as she waited for Princess Luna to make her decision, giving her wings a little flex. Don't tell her "we could always just fly." Try to say it respectfully. She took in a deep breath, then bowed her head. "Your Highness, if you would like, I can fly up and check the paths ahead, then return with what I see. Maybe that'll help you remember?"
"Oh, thank you, Captain. However, that won't be necessary," Princess Luna said with a smile and a wave of her hoof toward the leftmost path. "I believe our goal is down that path. Come along, please. I wish to continue our talk."
With another bow of her head, Spitfire followed alongside her as they made their way past patches of orchids, tulips, and sunflowers--which, to her surprise, Princess Luna stopped to survey a moment before shooting her a cheeky smile and nibbling on a few petals.
"Delicious," Princess Luna said as though savoring a meal. "Such a shame that my sister will complain that I've been snacking on her flowers again."
Spitfire nearly tripped over her own hooves. Only her natural grace and agility helped her right herself in time to disguise it as a neat sidestep away from the very flowers Princess Luna was snacking on.
Her move earned a hearty laugh from the Princess. "Come now, Captain Spitfire! Surely you've savored a nibble of sunflower petals before!" Those teal eyes twinkled, shining with mirth and a hint of mischief. Princess Luna stepped to the side and swept a hoof over the flowers. "Care to join me?"
"N-No, thank you, Princess!" She stammered, bowing and shaking her head so fast her mane whipped back and forth.
"A wise decision. Tia will merely roll her eyes and find some other means to return the favor for me. You, on the other hoof, wouldn't have fared so well, I fear." Princess Luna noted with a hint of a pout to her tone. "Though, now, you've ruined my little joke. I'm afraid I'll have to 'dock points', as Rainbow Dash would say."
Spitfire blanched, her wings flared out to their fullest extent. "Wait--I--you're rating me?"
Princess Luna gave a solemn nod. "T'is the duty of family to ensure that prospective suitors are the best for their own." A beat later, she resumed her smile. "Although, I should think that Twilight's happiness after the Gala and her excitement for your dates, alongside your reputation warrant my approval. For now." Before Spitfire could reply, she began walking again.
Shaking herself out of her shock, Spitfire dashed to catch up with her. "For now?" she parroted.
"I reserve the right to allow for change in opinion. After all, Twilight is family now; through Shining Armor's marriage and her own adoption into our ranks after her ascension." She fixed Spitfire with a sidelong glance. "I trust I need not go into detail as to what expectations there will be for you?"
"No, Your Highness." I already had the riot act read to me once. "I'll treat Twilight with the same respect I would any of our princesses, yourself included."
Princess Luna snorted in amusement. Her eyelids lowered, her sidelong glance becoming a more coy, half-lidded stare, with a smirk added in. "Perhaps not quite the same, I would wager."
Spitfire felt a fire burn in her cheeks. She ducked her head, pinning hear ears back to block out the laughter. "That wasn't quite the way I meant it," she said.
"I'm certain it wasn't." With a sly smile, she nodded toward another patch of flowers, violets this time. "T'would be rude of me not to offer some sort of fare for you. If not Tia's, perhaps you would prefer Twilight's, hmm?"
If it were at all possible for her face to actually burst into flames, Spitfire was certain she was nearing that point. The implication behind Luna's wording was not lost on her. "N-No! No thank you!" she stammered, her voice came out in a squeak. "I had plenty to eat at the club! Er, food, I mean!"
"Of course, silly me. Another time, then." Princess Luna turned her attention to the path ahead, her eyes lit up. "Ah, here we are!"
She had lead Spitfire to a clearing, with a single bench placed just a few feet from a gentle pond, a weeping willow for shade, and patches of moonflowers open and glowing with the soft white light of the moon.
Blinking, Spitfire could only gape at the sight. She was, by no means, a gardener or herbologist--that was more her mother's thing, which she tried to tune out as best she could. That said, moonflowers were some of the rarest flowers in Equestria, described as beautiful beyond compare, save for the moon itself.
"Ma is so gonna kill me," she whispered, a grin creeping across her muzzle. Spitfire broke away from Luna and trotted over to get a closer look. "Her biggest dream has always been to see just one of these."
"Sentiments shared by many," Princess Luna said as she moved to stand beside Spitfire. "Unfortunately, moonflowers can be rather temperamental when it comes to their care. Beautiful though they are, I fear they're too much hassle unless a pony is willing to dedicate time to them. Not to mention their aversion to heat."
"Ma's retired, but she and dad moved back to Mustangia after he left the Wonderbolts." She wrinkled her snout, the thought of Mustangia's summers making such a beautiful flower wither and die brought forth a frown. "Too bad these wouldn't last out there."
"A pity, indeed. Though I do so love to see them in bloom, I do worry that the garden staff is required to spend too much time caring for them. Although," she broke off, her gaze flitted to the castle, then back to Spitfire. "Whenever I've asked, I find myself informed that it is a 'privilege' to care for something that brings me such delight."
While Princess Luna sighed and returned to stare at the flowers, Spitfire watched a smile slowly spread across her muzzle. Very much like her own mother whenever her father bought her something expensive--there was always a bit of complaint that he'd spent too much, regardless of how much he had from his pension or continued merchandising through the Wonderbolts, until either he grinned, swept her into a tight hug, and pointed out that she was trying not to smile.
As fun as it was to watch her mother squeal and squirm as she beat her hooves against his chest, Spitfire would just keep her mouth shut in Princess Luna's presence. There was only one princess for her to tease until she blushed and squealed, and she was currently sleeping off her first night out with the Wonderbolts.
A yawn threatened to escape her lips, Spitfire sucked in her lips and forced it back into her throat. Her eyes watered as she tried to release it through her nose, struggling to withhold it lest she seem rude.
To her dismay, her lips parted unbidden, letting a tiny bit of the yawn out, until it forced its way out. She clapped a hoof over her mouth and turned her head away, her eyes fluttered shut. Two second ticked by. Then three. Then six.
Princess Luna snorted. "Am I keeping you up past your bedtime, Captain?"
"Huh? No!" Spitfire shook her head. "No, Your Highness. I apologize. Twilight and I just had a rather late night last night and then we went to the club with Fleetfoot and Soarin."
"I understand. Perhaps you would like to sit down for our talk?" she offered, motioning toward the bench. "I don't foresee it taking too much longer, but I would prefer we converse in comfort. Come, join me."
Spitfire bowed her head and followed, waiting as Princess Luna swept gracefully into her spot on the bench before hopping up to sit next to her.
With a happy smile as she settled in, Princess Luna began, "You will understand, of course, if I may sound a bit redundant in asking you to take proper care of Twilight while you date her." She fluffed her wing and gave a little flick of her ear. "Aside from her status both as my family through Cadence and a fellow princess, she is precious to me. She is to the entire family, really."
"Of course," Spitfire replied. "She's rather close with all of you, if I recall."
"That she is. Myself, I find her to be an example of a pony I aspire to be, and am grateful for the help she's offered. With that in mind--" her eyes narrowed and flashed, a reminder that Princess Luna could be just as dangerous and menacing as her nights "--you understand that should you cause her any manner of pain, you will bear the full brunt of my displeasure."
A chill ran down her spine, as if the breath of a timberwolf was ghosting over the back of her neck. For a second, she could've sworn Princess Luna's teeth sharpened into gleaming fangs, which only disappeared when she blinked and looked again.
Swallowing a lump that formed in her throat, Spitfire gave a shaky nod, unable to bring herself to speak.
As soon as the darkening of Princess Luna's mood came, it was gone. "Wonderful!" she chirped, the bright smile returned in full force. "Then with the obligatory 'threatening elder speech' and 'notification of my pending approval' given, I may dispense with this charade so that we may speak on happier matters." With a tiny giggle, she added, "I trust you would appreciate such a change?"
Spitfire let out a sigh of relief. "Yes, very much so--er, no offense, Your Highness." Again, she felt the onset of a yawn building in the back of her throat. Rather than fight it, she brought a hoof to her mouth and let it out, covering it as best she could. Wrinkling her snout, she blinked owlishly, trying to fight off the lure of sleep as best she could. "Ugh, sorry, Princess Luna. Dunno what's come over me tonight."
"Worry not. The hour is late, and it was I who asked you to walk with me after your evening at the club." Turning her attention to the pond before them, Princess Luna closed her eyes and began to hum a light, soothing tune; one eerily familiar, but distant enough to nag at the back of her mind.
Her eyelids began to droop. Spitfire closed her eyes and shook her head, bringing a hoof to her forehead. Wake up, don't fall asleep.
"So, uh, what else did you want to talk about?" she asked, struggling to bite back another yawn. "Places I'm not allowed to take Twilight or something?"
Giggling to herself, Princess Luna shook her head and said, "No, nothing of the sort. Though, I do hear she enjoys a good hayburger every now and again." She shot a wink. "I should think her focus will be more on good company than being wined and dined."
"Good to--gah!" Spitfire had to cover her mouth again as a yawn cut her off in mid reply. "Sorry. Good to know, Your Highness. I'll remember that."
"Do so. While I may be a bit protective of her due to the things she's done for me, I will say that you have my support, as far as the Royal Family goes."
Her ears perked up. Spitfire tried to fight the urge to swish her tail. "You mean it?"
Princess Luna gave a single nod. "Yes, Captain. I cannot necessarily say that I would be moving quite so fast as to allow another to sleep in my room after only a couple nights--" she paused to arch an eyebrow at Spitfire, who fidgeted and rubbed her shoulder.
Does she know?
If she did, Princess Luna opted not to say anything. Instead, she simply continued, "--however, I accept that this is not my relationship, so I shan't attempt to dictate a speed for you. As adults, you are more than free to make your own decisions. Within reason." She turned to face Spitfire, giving a slight raise of both eyebrows. "I draw the line at finding the pair of you enjoying our City Guards' finest housing."
Spitfire snorted, a relieved grin spread across her muzzle. "I'll keep that in mind, Your Highness." She let out a little sigh, letting the little bit of tension leave her chest. "I appreciate your support, and I'm sure Twilight will as well."
"No thanks are necessary, Captain Spitfire. Make her happy and respect her as she deserves, and I shall consider us even." Her smile seemed change, from bright and cheery to one more akin to how Spitfire's mother would look at her. "I believe that concludes our business. I thank you for granting my request this evening."
Ah, that's my cue. "The pleasure was mine, Your Highness. I'm always happy to answer when called," she said. "With your permission, Princess, I think I'd like to head back to the hotel."
"Ah." Princess Luna hummed. "You'll need your rest if you are to entertain your princess tomorrow."
Taking it as permission, Spitfire made to stand and bow before departing, but instead found herself caught in the soft, feathery embrace of a midnight blue wing. "Er... Your Highness?" she asked, her voice betraying her confusion. With an awkward rustle of her left wing, she gave a sheepish chuckle and quipped, "I, um, I should probably get back or I'll fall asleep sitting next to you."
"'Will' fall asleep?" Princess Luna repeated, barely restrained amusement bubbling forth into her voice. "Oh, my little pony, I'm afraid you fell asleep quite some time ago."
Spitfire blanched and made to pull back, but the wing held her fast. "What?"
"It was my fault, really. I should have realized that you were exhausted when I saw you yawn as you readied to leave, and again when you started upon arriving to this place." She waved her hoof at the clearing around them. "After the third or fourth, you started to nod off, so I offered my wing."
Her mouth worked wordlessly, a muted squeak escaped the back of her throat as her blush returned in full. "I am so sorry!" she babbled, covering her face in her hooves. "Oh, gosh, please tell me I didn't let you wrap me up!"
Princess Luna's eyes twinkled with mirth. "You curled right up against my side like a little foal." She threw back her head and laughed as Spitfire groaned in dismay, then leaned over to nuzzle her mane. "Worry not, my dear Captain, your secret is safe with me. None shall hear of this, you have my word."
Spitfire let out a low whine, cursing herself. "I appreciate that," she said after a moment. "I'm really sorry."
"Don't be. I enjoyed our talk, even if you fell asleep partway through. Our next conversation will have to take place when you aren't so tired."
"Still, it's really my--" She stopped short, her ears twitched as Princess Luna's words finally clicked. Wait a minute. If I fell asleep...
Slowly, Spitfire turned to meet Princess Luna's eyes, her mouth fell open to form a small 'o' of wonder.
How are we talking right now?
As if reading her mind, Princess Luna nuzzled her mane and whispered, "Try not to let it bother you too much, Captain." She stood and fluffed her wings, leaving Spitfire to sit and gape at her. "Unfortunately, I must ensure that my subjects are not burdened with nightmares this eve, so our time together must end. I greatly enjoyed this talk."
"I--uh--thank you?" Spitfire blinked. "Wait, am I sleeping on the bench?"
Laughing, Princess Luna shook her head. "No, my dear, you are not. I brought you to one of the castle's many guest rooms and took the liberty of sending a note to your teammates. You'll be expected to join us at breakfast, by the by. Think of it as a term of repayment for your room this evening."
Spitfire could only nod wordlessly, afraid that her mouth would fail her should she try speaking.
"Wonderful!" Giving two quick stomps of her hoof, Princess Luna turned with a merry swish of her tail. "I'm sure Twilight will be pleasantly surprised--and the others will be happy to host you as well." She began to walk away, a door appeared before her as she called over her shoulder, "Enjoy your rest and the dream it brings, Captain. We'll meet again in the morning."
Before Spitfire could jump to her hooves and chase after her, the world began to change. Colors swirled around her like she was trapped in a swirling rainbow mixer. The beautiful clearing dissolved into a blur of colors, then faded away.
Blinking owlishly, she glanced around the new scenery. Lush green grass, a cobblestone pathway, guards in gleaming gold armor holding their spears as they stood at post by the castle's main entrance.
What am I doing out here? Where did Princess Luna go?
A pair of hooves covered her eyes. Warm breath ghosted over her cheek, a pair of soft lips pressed against her, banishing all questions to the deepest recesses of her mind. Spitfire felt her eyes flutter shut. The musty scent of books and bite of iron wafted to her nose. "Hon?" she murmured, smiling as she was dotted with another kiss.
"How did you know it was me?" Twilight whispered back.
She reached up and took Twilight's hooves in hers, pulling them apart so she could turn around and wrap her in a hug. "I know my girlfriend," she replied huskily, nipping at Twilight's nose. "Even when she tries to get playful and turn the tables."
"I'll have to step up my game then." Stealing a quick kiss to her lips, Twilight slipped out of the embrace. She turned around and unfurled her wings, displaying her beautiful feathers.
The sight made Spitfire's breath hitch in her throat. "H-Hon?" she stammered.
"There's a patch of clouds to the west, towards Cloudsdale," Twilight said, repeating her own words from the Gala. "Feel up for a quick flight?"
Without waiting for her answer, Twilight kicked off and took wing, her laughter floated back to tickle Spitfire's ears.
A playful grin split Spitfire's muzzle. She flared and flexed her wings. "Oh, your ears are so getting nuzzled, hon!" she called. She took off and flew as fast as she could, laughing as she chased her girlfriend through the sky.
Bright sunlight shone through a crack in the drapes, bathing the room in a golden light as brilliant as the coat of the mare slumbering in her bed. Her eyelids squeezed shut, her feathers ruffled and unfurled to cover her head in hopes of fending off her age-old nemesis.
A tired moan escaped Spitfire's lips as she wrapped herself deeper into the covers, burrowing into her makeshift cocoon of warmth and fluff. "Five more minutes, ma," she mumbled into her pillow, laying her ears flat. "Too tired for flight school today."
She braced herself for her mother's soft laughter, then warm breath washing over her mane--the only warning she'd get before her mother would nuzzle between her ears and coo that it was time for good little fillies to get out of bed, and that real Wonderbolts didn't complain about getting up with the dawn and training until their feathers fell out. Naturally, Spitfire had her own secret weapon, one every filly knew to use on instinct: a cute whine, followed by a big, showy nuzzle into her pillow. The ultimate battle of wills, pitting mother against daughter.
But her mother's voice and soft touch never came. The warmth of the morning sun touched upon her head like a soft hoof running through her mane, flashing across her eyelids as if trying to coax them open.
With a low grumble, Spitfire sat up and rubbed at her eyes, opening and blinking them a few times to chase away the bleariness. "Ugh, that was a crazy dream," she muttered, sparing a cursory glance around her hotel room. "What time did I even get back here?"
She couldn't remember. Everything after dropping Twilight off with her friends seemed fuzzy. Spitfire brought her hooves to her temples and massaged them in slow circles. "I brought her to the door," she said. "I dropped her off with her friends, and then I came back to the hotel. I think."
No, there was something else. She didn't go back to the hotel immediately afterward.
Hay, I don't even remember flying back, and there's no way I was plastered--I don't even feel the hangover!
As the room came into focus, she noticed something rather different about her surroundings.
Namely, that they were quite a bit different from her hotel room.
Extravagant though the Wonderbolts' penthouse suite was, it had nothing on this. High arching walls painted a beautiful pink, purple drapes, a bed that felt like she were sleeping on her own cloud mattress, and a rather extravagant headboard. Foreign, yet familiar.
"I've been in a room like this before," she thought aloud. Spitfire brought a hoof to her chin and wracked her brain.
Something nagged at her mind. Something about her falling asleep next to the princess, but that couldn't be right. Spitfire shook her head and threw the covers off herself. If she was in the castle, she'd probably been invited to stay in one of the guest rooms.
"Twilight probably insisted or something," she said with a little chuckle as she stretched her legs and wings. Wincing at the sound of her joints popping, she hopped out of bed. "She probably got all stubborn or something, and wouldn't go up to her room unless I promised to stay with her or take a room for myself. I just forgot because it was a long day."
A very long day. Not that she'd complain, though.
"Never a bad thing to get the rules straight so it works with a mare. Especially one who genuinely wants to hang out." Spitfire rolled her shoulders forward, then back to loosen herself up. No matter how soft the mattress, whenever she slept on a bed that wasn't hers, her muscles always stiffened right up and took forever to cooperate.
She flicked her tail and turned to trot to the bathroom. A nice, hot shower would take care of those nagging aches and stubborn muscles.
Out of the corner of her eye, Spitfire caught sight of a folded piece of paper on the nightstand. Curious, she stepped closer and took it in hoof, opening it to reveal a message written in neat, flowing script.
Captain Spitfire,
I greatly enjoyed our talk last night, despite its necessary transition to the dream realm. I do hope you found your sleep refreshing and the dream enjoyable, consider it a gift for making a very dear friend of mine smile.
Remember, I expect you to join us at breakfast this morning. You'll find the bathroom fully stocked. While I don't think it necessary to remind you to groom yourself properly, this would be a good opportunity to leave an impression on Twilight's friends, her brother, and Princess Cadence.
Just a bit of friendly advice. Feel free to do with it what you wish.
I shall see you at breakfast, my friend. Don't dally.
Princess Luna,
Mistress of the Night, Bane of Chaos, and Protector of Dreams.
Spitfire let the letter fall from her hooves, fluttering to the floor with a rustle. She stood stock still, the hoof she'd held the letter in shook. Slowly, she fell back on her haunches, her rump hit the floor with a thud.
"What did I just get myself into?" |
Glow | Interlude 3. Dreamwalker | There were certain complications that came with being the Princess of Night and Guardian of Dreams.
Luna took a moment to reflect upon them as she trotted into her bed chambers, pausing just long enough to offer a kind smile and nod to her faithful guards posted at the door. A sense of calm and comfort washed over her as she entered a room adorned with walls colored midnight blue, polished black wood furnishings, and the old statues of ponies, goblins, and tricksters she collected during her younger years--those her beloved sister managed to save, of course. Immortal princess or not, the ravages of time were not so kind to ancient artifacts.
Still, it was a kind gesture. One she could never truly repay Celestia for. Her trinkets and statues were the last remnants of the age before her fall, a grounding point to which she could always return as she adjusted to the modern age.
She strode over to the balcony door and opened it with a deft flick of her magic, then stepped out into the night. With a bright smile, she closed her eyes and basked in the light of her moon. Truly, there was nothing like a cool night such as this.
Her best work in the dream realm always came when she cast her spell from the balcony under the moon's watchful gaze, and blanketed her little ponies with her protection from the nightmares that threatened their dreams. Like a mother pegasus covering her foals in a downy embrace.
A plush blue cushion awaited her at the center, put out by one of her faithful House Guard no doubt. They never failed to make everything perfect for her to enjoy a night of dream walking, even in the midst of the harshest weather.
Luna didn't have the heart to tell Moonlit Meadow that she knew full well the mare would open a hole in the clouds just wide enough that she wouldn't feel a speck of rain or snow. Her House Guard so loved to think the little things they did to please her went unnoticed. Her smile was enough thanks, Sleepless Night would say.
Shaking her head, Luna chided herself. "Focus. There is work to be done." It was an argument she'd have to save for another day. Tonight, she had business.
She took her seat in the cushion, shifted around a bit to get comfortable, then closed her eyes. The waking world faded from her consciousness. Instead, she stood in a grand hallway filled with thousands upon thousands of doors. Each of them led to the dreams of all the ponies, stallion, mare, and foal alike, who slumbered across the land. Every couple seconds, another would flash into view as one of her subjects surrendered to the sweet embrace of sleep and entered her realm.
Why ever had she taken this sacred bond for granted? Luna shook her head sadly. "Such a young, stupid mare, I was," she muttered as she trotted along in search of one specific door.
Idly, she felt the ripples of a nightmare from one of the doors. Her brows furrowed, she glanced to one of the doors hovering hundreds of feet above her. That was Mythic Haze's door. What in Equestria was that colt dreaming about this time?
Luna split her consciousness, another of her gifts to aid her duty as Guardian of Dreams, and sent a piece of herself to observe. A frown marred her face. A nightmare about a history test? Luna turned her attention to the hallway and continued on her trek. As long as you studied hard and--oh. Oh, you didn't study. You played games instead. The scholar in her demanded a lecture, but she put it aside. The colt needed help feeling better. Fret not, one poor grade isn't the end of the world. Take this as a lesson in prioritizing, young colt.
Her piece said, Luna continued her trot, splitting her mind here and there to check in on her ponies. Every so often she would send a piece off to a newborn foal's door to lull them into a restful slumber, a good night's sleep as important to their growth as a good meal. Others, she would send to allay their nightmares, like poor Whimsy Mimsy worrying her mother wouldn't like the birthday present she made.
Then, she found it. Twilight Sparkle's door.
She hesitated for a split second. The last time she entered this door herself, without splitting her mind, she was treated to a rather private dream. The very sort she swore never to reveal to any living soul unless harm was implied when she accepted her mantle countless moons ago.
For a split second, she questioned whether or not entering Twilight's dream realm was the right idea. Luna banished those thoughts and began her spell. There were certain complications to the mantle Guardian of Dreams, but none forbade her from playing favorites every now and then.
So what if it seemed like something Tia would do? Luna could check in on her friends if she wished. What was the point, Discord would ask teasingly, of the power to dream walk if you didn't take the chance to make sure your friends were well?
The notion was almost enough to give her pause. Luna shook her head. "I've got to stop listening to that creature," she muttered, lighting her horn and pulling the door open. "He'll drive me mad one of these days. Besides, I'm just checking. For Twilight's sake."
She left off "and that of my sanity" as she stepped inside.
"Well," Luna said slowly, "at least it's not the bedroom this time."
She let her gaze sweep over the room and searched through a crowd of ponies chatting and milling about while they sipped at drinks. The furnishings were all a polished wood, pictures of sports stars and actors and actresses alike adorned the walls. A bar counter stood on the opposite side of the room, where ponies sat upon stools and nursed their drinks.
It was there she found who she was looking for. Luna would recognize Twilight Sparkle's mulberry coat and tricolored mane anywhere. Not to mention the mare sitting beside her was a dead giveaway.
Luna watched Spitfire wave her hooves as if she hoped to paint a scene for Twilight. She regaled Celestia's former student with wide, sweeping gestures, a bright smile, and her gravelly voice loud enough to carry over the dull roar of conversation.
If not for the fact that they were in a dream, Luna wagered such volume wouldn't be appreciated in public. Her lips twitched. "Or perhaps, this is how Twilight sees her right now--loud, exciting, and more important than the world around her."
The dream realm was wonderful that way. Ponies could bare their feelings without consequence, or even their own knowledge. A bond Luna once took for granted.
Never again.
She slipped through the crowd with ease, weaving around laughing stallions and beaming mares, their conversations little more than a senseless jumbled of words that was typical of bystanders in dreams. They weren't of interest to Luna anyway.
Stopping just a few steps from Spitfire and Twilight, Luna stood silently and listened. Any hint she could glean from the scene Twilight's subconscious painted would be helpful.
"... Okay, so, we make it through the show with our dignity and selves more or less intact," Spitfire said in between snorts of laughter. Her wings twitched excitedly. "At this point, I'm about eight different flavors of done, so I get out of my gear, shower, and try to slip out before they start calling out names of pubs to crawl for the night. You can guess about how well that went."
Twilight hid a laugh behind a hoof. "I'm guessing Fleetfoot or Soarin caught you before you made it to the door." On cue, both Wonderbolts seemed to float into existence, wandering up to the bar and taking their seats on Twilight's opposite side while they ordered drinks.
"Oh, I wish! They'd have at least slipped out with me! Freaking Firestorm caught me!" Fleetfoot and Soarin faded away just as quickly as they'd come. "Called me out and asked if I was too scared to try taking a shot at his drinking title, the little punk!"
"And you couldn't let that slide."
"Course not!" Spitfire gave a firm nod. "Can't back down when a mouthy subordinate tries calling my tolerance into question. I'd hear it until the day I retired."
"You know, you could've just put him on latrine duty or something," Twilight replied, glancing off to the side.
Curious, Luna followed her gaze. The bar wall faded away to blue and gold checkered tiles with an open bathroom door. A stallion's grumbling, tinged with irritation, floated to her ears along with the sound of a tiny brush scrubbing against porcelain. "Ricken' nag!" he groused. "'Rushin' uh 'oilet 'owl wiff a oofruff! 'Isgutin'!"
Scoffing, Spitfire waved her hoof. The tile vanished. "Wouldn't work. I could make him do it, but that'd just encourage them to mess with me about it later. If I give them a hint of weakness and pull rank for something like that, they take it as hiding."
Twilight seemed to consider her point for a moment. In a flash, a stack of books arose around them, shaping into a structure almost resembling a fort--a perfect hiding place. Well, perfect if one weren't trying to find Twilight Sparkle.
A frown crossed Twilight's face. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash poked their heads over the bar counter, their lips tugged into playful grins. Their eyes darted about the bar. Rainbow laid her hooves atop the counter and called, "Twilight! Come out, come out, wherever you are! It's Friday night! Drinks are half off at Berry's, so let's move so we can get a seat!"
The book fort popped out in a blinding flash. The hunting mares hadn't even noticed it was there. Their eyes fell upon Twilight and shone with glee.
Pinkie vaulted over the counter and looped a foreleg around Twilight's shoulders. "C'mon, Twilight!" she teased. "Come to Berry's with Rainbow and me! Party drinks can be all sorts of fun!"
"Yeah, don't be a chicken, Egghead!" Rainbow crowed, fluffing her feathers. "Live a little! You can take a break from those books for a night and hang with us!"
As suddenly as they came, the pair dispelled into wisps of smoke. "I know exactly what you mean," Twilight said.
Spitfire nodded. "Figured you might, hon."
Luna made sure to log that one away. Modern language fascinated her in so many ways. And the warmth in Spitfire's tone and the way she paused to smile and meet Twilight's eyes did not go unnoticed.
How very interesting. Luna had to chuckle at the way Twilight tried to hide a wobbly smile as she fluffed her feathers. Even in her dream, the poor mare squirmed.
"But yeah, Firestorm caught me and called me out," Spitfire continued. "Challenged me to a contest so we could see who could hold down more shots of Thundering Herd." She paused a beat and raised a brow. "I'm guessing you've never tried it?"
Twilight shook her head.
"Keep it that way. Trust me."
"If you say so," Twilight teased. "So, who won?"
"Nopony."
Twilight wrinkled her snout. "Nopony? What? Did you both fall over at the same time?"
"No. I won the drinking contest, but Firestorm got up on the bar, ripped off his jacket, and started trying to show dance while singing Ragtime Mare. Everypony who saw lost." Spitfire made a show of flattening her ears against her scalp. "I want you to picture a full grown stallion on this bar, hon. Kicking his legs and pretending he's wearing a dress. I have seen things. Things I could never wash away."
They were silent for several seconds. The crowd's low murmur subsided, Luna flicked her ear at the sound of boisterous laughter and a stallion's voice, his words slurred by alcohol. Somepony's feathers brushed against her side, then a shoulder bumped against her. She turned, her brows furrowed in a confused frown, then disappeared beneath her starry bangs.
A stallion wearing a blue dress with frills, a most unflattering look with his pearl white coat and bright orange mane, staggered toward the bar. His face was split in a wide grin--too wide to be his real face. In fact, Luna would daresay his mouth was two or three sizes larger than before. He seemed to be mumbling something under his breath, more to himself than those around him. It took Luna a second to realize who he was and just what he planned to do.
Oh, dear. It seems I get a show to go with this dream.
Firestreak hopped onto the bar counter with a few clumsy flaps of his wings. His hooves slipped as he landed, a nervous laugh escaped his lips. Once he righted himself, he stood on his hind legs, took the hem of his dress in his hooves, lifted it to his knees, and began a strange, kicking dance. All the while, he sang as loud as he could:
"Hello, my filly!
Hello, my honey!
Hello, my ragtime maaaaaaaaaaaare!
Send me a kiss by wiiiiiiiiire!
Baby, my heart's on fire!
If you refuse me,
Honey, you'll lose me!
Then you'll be left alone!
Oh baby,
Telephone,
And tell me I'm you're oooooooooowwwwwwwn!"
Firestorm threw his head back and kicked his left leg high as he belted out the last note. His balance slipped, his forehooves pinwheeled and he swung his left leg high in the air. Luna politely turned her gaze upon the pair of mares lest she see more of Staff Sergeant Firestorm than she ever intended.
The mares burst out laughing, Spitfire howled and slapped a hoof on the counter while Twilight tried her best to bury her face in her hooves and muffle her own mirth, betrayed by her shaking shoulders.
The dream continued on in similar vein. The mares swapped their favorite stories of friends' follies, even some of their own--Luna had to admit, her personal favorite was the one where Twilight broke into the Archives when she could've just asked Celestia and walked straight in. That one had Spitfire laughing for quite some time.
With each story they shared, Luna's smile broadened. They were answering her questions without prompt. Fun, laughter, a sense of relaxation and level-field for both of them, and, most of all, inclusion. Spitfire was happy to hold Twilight close and share in her experiences.
What more could a young princess like Twilight ask out of her first relationship?
Happiness and a chance to experience romance, Luna mused. A chance to find what she wants and to learn from her own mistakes and successes in a different way.
Luna stepped away from the pair and turned to walk toward Twilight's door. She had seen plenty. Sometimes, her ponies didn't need her to guide them along to the lessons they needed to learn.
Sometimes, they guided her without even realizing it.
Chuckling to herself, Luna returned to her hallway and pulled the door shut, sealing it off from whatever nightmares might try to sneak in through her realm. Whether or not she approved of their pacing was irrelevant. Whether or not Celestia would approve was the same.
Twilight Sparkle was happy. It was up to her to determine how things progressed.
"Congratulations, my friend." |
Glow | Interlude 4. Disrespect | Even before she took the Dual Throne with Luna, Celestia was used to being treated with high regard.
The only natural born alicorns in recorded history, both she and her little sister were gifted in magic at a young age, so much that Star Swirl the Bearded took them under his proverbial wing and sought to ensure they hone their magic and use it to better the lives of the ponies around them. In all the years of teaching them, even through his stern rebukes and lectures, he always respected them as fellow ponies and for the great power they wielded.
Ponies, griffons, diamond dogs, and dragons met her with a bow of their heads and chose their words with care. Cultural barrier and species didn't matter to others, she found. Her reputation as the dawn bringer and co-ruler of Equestria was more than enough to earn their respect.
By the sun, even the few changelings she'd been able to interact with in the wake of their ill-fated invasion made sure to treat her with the same grace they might extend to their duplicitous queen. Though, admittedly, that was more likely out of a sense of self-preservation than actual respect.
Which was why the three yellow feathers resting on her desk brought forth such a wave of conflicting emotions in Celestia's heart.
On one hoof, she was a healthy mare, and could appreciate the more physical aspects of a relationship. Just because her subjects liked to pretend she was some pure being didn't mean she hadn't enjoyed a romp or two over the centuries. Or in modern time, for that matter. Either way, she could understand the body's want for that sort of thing.
On the other, there was the matter of respect. Not necessarily just for her, either.
Celestia made it plainly clear to Spitfire that she was expected to show respect for Twilight, both as a mare and as a Crown Princess of Equestria. Or so she thought.
The three feathers before her told a different story.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in through her nose, and held it a moment. Her jaw clenched, she reached out with a bared hoof to touch one of the feathers' edge, teasing to see if her eyes had betrayed her. A small part of her dared to hope they had, as part of one of Luna's jokes.
Her hoof touched soft vane.
The feathers were real.
Hot anger filled her chest. Celestia grit her teeth and sucked in another breath. "In what sense of the word 'respect' do you derive 'deflower my student', Captain?" she asked her empty study.
No reply came.
Celestia snorted and flicked her tail. Perhaps it was for the best that Spitfire wasn't standing before her to receive the full brunt of her anger. She had made it clear--painfully so--that Twilight Sparkle was like an adopted daughter to her, that she would go to the farthest reaches of the land if it meant her happiness.
She took yet another deep breath. "Calm," she told herself. "Captain Spitfire is not a foreign threat or a monster. She is a pony. I do not bring harm upon my own subjects, even if they disobey me and dare deflower my student in my own house."
Her horn flashed a brilliant gold. A spark flashed, fire engulfed the feather touching her hoof. Celestia watched with grim satisfaction as tongues of flame licked at the offending feather, a small part of her delighted in the sight of sunny yellow burning away to a blackened crisp. It curled in on itself as if trying to escape the dancing flames.
Celestia's magic flashed, the flames turned a blinding white, then dissipated, leaving nothing but a small pile of smoldering ashes and a scorched outline of a feather burned into the wooden desktop.
She wrinkled her snout at the scent and made a mental note to inform Raven to see about finding a replacement. Yet another innocent desk had fallen as collateral damage to her temper.
Meditation, that was the key. The deep breathing exercises she'd taught Cadence all those years ago would help.
They always did.
Deep in, hold, bring my hoof to my chest, release and push out with my hoof, like I'm banishing all my troubles. Celestia went through several iterations of the exercise, the tension slowly leaving her with each exhale and sweeping push of her hoof.
Still, the anger remained. Two more of Spitfire's feathers rested on her desk, both haunting reminders at her orders--the respect she demanded Twilight be shown--had gone ignored the night of the Gala.
A knock on the door brought her out of her thoughts. Celestia's ears perked up, she quickly swept the feathers off the desk and into an open drawer, closing it as she called out, "Who is it?"
"It is I, sister," Luna's voice, muffled by the wood, floated back to her. "May I enter?"
A smile crossed her muzzle. "Of course, Lulu," she replied, relief filling her chest. A talk with Luna would surely help to ease her mind.
Or, at very least, serve to calm her enough to deal with the matter at hoof.
She turned in time to see Luna's shimmering blue aura engulf the door handle, the tinkling of bells sounded as Luna pushed the door open and trotted in, closing the door behind her with a flick of her magic. "Good morning, Tia," she greeted. "Sleep well?"
Despite her mood, Celestia gave an amused snort. "You would know best, Lulu. The dream realm has always been yours."
Luna tossed her starry mane, a cheeky grin spread across her muzzle. "Yes, but what mare doesn't like to hear that her hard work is appreciated?"
"A fair point," Celestia said with a nod. "In that case, yes, I did sleep quite well. I had a rather lovely dream, rather reminiscent of our younger days. You remember when mother used to take us to the lake country?"
"Of course. She loved to take us during the summer." Luna looked off into the distance. "We always feigned sleep, stayed up late, and watched her play dice with the guards."
"She never could win. We always had to deal with her grumping the next morning."
"Indeed. A brilliant ruler, but not one with any semblance of luck in gambling." Luna shook her head, giving an amused chuckle. "I do believe father was ready to forbid her from wearing her regalia on our trips in fear that she would lose it to them."
Celestia furrowed her brows. "As I recall, he did once." Slowly, a smile made its way across her muzzle. "Mother snuck it all in our luggage. She was always so stubborn."
"How very much like the two of us." Luna sniffed, then wrinkled her snout. "Tia, is something burning?"
Biting back a curse, Celestia forced herself to hold her smile. "Oh, don't mind that. I was just practicing a bit of basic magic to pass the time and managed to put a bit too much into a candle lighting spell. Nothing to worry about."
"Nothing, you say?" A single brow arched, Luna regarded her with a quizzical stare. "T'is quite unlike you to make such an error."
She shrugged. "Even I make mistakes, Lulu. You know that more than anypony else."
Wincing, Luna looked away. Though not before Celestia could catch the pain that flashed across her face. "I suppose I do." She stayed silent a moment, her head hung low. She sighed and gave her tail a flick, raising her head to add, "Though, I have seen you at your best, and you've seen me at mine."
"Quite so." Celestia nodded, a small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "Now, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company this morning?" She eyed the clock, tutting at the time. "Especially so early! Normally, you're still in bed or enjoying your morning bath at this hour!"
Luna's ears stood up straight. "Oh, yes!" She turned, beaming as bright as the morning sun. "Late last evening I happened upon Twilight Sparkle and Captain Spitfire as they returned from their date."
"Oh, did you now?" Celestia's voice strained.
"Yes! They both seemed quite tired, though Twilight was quite a bit tipsy." Luna brought a hoof to her mouth to stifle a laugh. "The good captain had to help the poor mare up the pathway until her friends could escort her back to her room. I do believe she will be in for quite the rude awakening."
Nodding dutifully, Celestia considered the news. "You say Captain Spitfire escorted Twilight home?" At Luna's nod, she pressed further, "I am curious: how was her behavior around Twilight?"
"Her behavior was fine, if a bit playful." Luna shrugged. "Quite a bit different from the suitors I remember, but I suppose that's just how ponies are these days. She did make sure Twilight was in good hooves before making to leave, and was quite accommodating when I requested she join me on a walk so I might have the chance to speak with her."
Her ears flicked. "Oh?" Celestia leaned forward, the gears in her head began to turn. "And what, pray tell, did you discuss with Captain Spitfire?"
Luna turned and trotted a couple steps toward the door, giving her a sidelong look and the tiniest of smirks. "Now, that, sister dear, would be telling. You know there are some things I am honor bound to keep between our ponies and myself."
A groan escaped Celestia's lips. "A dream?" she asked.
"Yes." Luna nodded, giving a merry swish of her tail. The smirk tugged into a full grin.
"Your oath makes it so you can't tell me because of its nature?"
"Correct."
Celestia stared, her brows flatlined. "You're enjoying this a bit too much, I think."
"Perhaps," Luna admitted. "But that is a discussion for later. I came to retrieve you for breakfast with a rather special guest."
There was a beat of silence, then Celestia sighed. "You want me to guess, don't you?"
Huffing, Luna flicked her tail. "If you're going to be a fuddy-duddy, then no." She stuck her tongue out in a manner that would've made their mother gape in muted horror, then resumed her smile. "Since I kept the good captain out late, enough so that she fell asleep at my side, I had her spend the night in one of the guest suites." Her eyes shone with mischievous light. "I may have used the dream realm to extend out talk when she could no longer stay awake."
"Luna. Your oath." Celestia warned.
"Oh, fie on the oath! I've not given you anything but surface details!" Luna gave another flick of her tail, then added, "As I was saying, Captain Spitfire now sleeps in our castle. On the condition that she join us at breakfast with Twilight and her friends, that is." Her smirk turned decidedly smug. "I believe this is the part where we make the prospective suitor 'run the gauntlet', yes?"
Celestia kept quiet a moment, her tail swished as she considered the prospect. She stole a quick glance to the drawer where she'd hidden Spitfire's feathers, she screwed up her snout in irritation.
Spitfire had disrespected her by not treating Twilight properly on the night of the Gala. Yet, if Luna was to be believed, she was the perfect lady when dropping her off after their most recent outing.
Surely Luna wouldn't fabricate such a scene, especially when Twilight is concerned.
She fought back her ire and fixed her typical serene smile on her face. "Yes," she replied, rising from her seat with a little rustle of her wings. "Let us see how Captain Spitfire fares when she's under careful watch."
Very careful watch.
Luna fluffed up her feathers. "Excellent! Shall we, then? We may as well inform the chef what we'd like to eat!"
"A fine idea, Lulu. What would you say to blueberry muffins this morning?"
"I would prefer the chocolate chip, myself. Quite an interesting thing, that sort..."
Celestia half listened as they trotted from her study, casting a quick glance back toward her desk as she pulled the door closed with a flick of her magic. Unwitting though it may have been, Luna had just provided her with a rather fitting solution to her problem.
Let's see how you treat my former student firsthoof, Captain. Her jaw tensed, hot anger flared within her chest. Your actions will determine how our next discussion goes.
Disrespect, whether toward herself or her family, would not be tolerated. |
Glow | 10. Breakfast | Sunlight flooded into Twilight's suite, spilling onto the floor and running up the leg of her bed as it slowly creeped toward her. Warmth touched her mane, like her mother's soft hooves running through her mane to coax her to wake up.
Twilight stirred, then winced as pain pounded at the center of her forehead, bringing with it a wave of nausea.
A low moan sounded from the back of her throat. She buried her muzzle in her pillow and clenched her eyes shut, trying to hide from the sun's light. "G'way, sun," she mumbled, waving a clumsy hoof in the general direction of her window. "It's sleepy time now, not awake time."
Despite her pleas, the sun's light crept closer and closer to her face, drawing a high-pitched whine from her. Twilight grumbled under her breath and made to cast a levitation spell to pull her blanket over her head.
The instant her horn lit up, the dull, pounding of her hangover headache became a hot lance of pain. Her hooves leapt to her temples, Twilight writhed and curled herself into a tight ball. Whimpering as her body burned and tried to sweat out alcohol she'd drunk the night before.
There was a steady cadence of hooves on carpeted floor, each driving the pain deeper into her skull.
"Well, well! Look who woke up after her first hangover!" Rainbow Dash's voice seemed as though it came through a megaphone, drawing a strangled cry from Twilight as she tried to nose her way beneath her pillows.
"Rainbow!" she whined piteously. "Too loud!" Her ears flicked at the sound of Rainbow snickering at her misfortune. She gave another whine and aimlessly flailed a hoof. "Just--Just leave me alone to die, or something."
"Oh, what was that? I mean, I did bring you one of the Apple family's cure-alls, even though you went and had your first drunken rave without your best friends!"
Wincing at the light scolding tone, Twilight dared to peek out from under her pillow, a move she regretted when sunlight burned her eyes. "I'm sorry!" she replied, her voice muffled. "Soarin's the one who offered!"
"And how many times have I offered you shots? Or rainbow mixers?" She gave a mock gasp. "I-I'm just so hurt, Twi!" she said, her voice tinged with poorly faked grief. "To think the girls and I wouldn't get to share in the joys of your first drunken night together! The memories of helping you to the bathroom and holding your mane while you prayed to the porcelain goddess for the first time, all gone! They all belong to that other mare now!"
There was a heavy sigh and stern tutting. "Honestly, Rainbow Dash!" Rarity said. "Just give the poor mare her medicine and stop teasing her!"
Rainbow scoffed. "You're just mad I got to the dramatic whining act before you pulled out your fainting--Yeowch!"
The bell-like tinkle of magic and telltale rustle of feathers told her all she needed to know, but she snuck a peek, despite the sun's torturous light, and allowed herself a small smile at the sight of Rarity twisting Rainbow's ear, the latter struggled with all she could to wrench herself free.
Rarity let her go just as she gave a sharp tug, giving a self-satisfied smirk at Rainbow stumbling a couple steps, then trotted toward Twilight's bed. "Rainbow's antics aside, I must agree with her." Her horn lit up in a soft blue aura as she floated a small cup containing a bit of pale green slush over to the nightstand. "Drink that, you'll feel much better."
"Then can we pester her?" Rainbow asked, waggling her ears.
With a roll of her eyes, Rarity nodded. "After breakfast, yes. As long as she doesn't feel like she's going to be ill, in which case--" with another flash of magic, she levitated a bucket over to the side of the bed "--I'm afraid my own experience compels me to offer this, dear. I imagine it'll be preferable to--"
Twilight felt her stomach churn, the nausea hit her full force. She leaned over the side of her bed and took the bucket in her hooves, holding her head over it while she gave a few deep, panting breaths. Her throat clenched, though nothing came up.
"I hate dry heaving," she said, groaning as she held the bucket close, as if it were a security blanket. "Can't tell if I'm going to throw up or not."
Rarity floated the cup over to hover by her muzzle. "Drink that, then. It'll settle your stomach."
Eager to be rid of her ailment, Twilight took hold of the cup with unsteady hooves. She drew in a deep breath through her nose and blanched at the scent. "Are you sure this is supposed to help?"
"Oh, you haven't needed it before, I always forget." Rarity smiled and gave a nod. "She makes some for Rainbow, Pinkie, and I when we go out on Friday nights. You and Fluttershy don't usually need any because both of you prefer to drink cider than any of the liquors or mixed drinks Berry makes."
Wrinkling her snout, she regarded the foreign slush with a critical eye, the temptation to cast a quick spell to scan the strange substance was overridden only by her want to avoid aggravating her headache.
Rainbow prodded her shoulder. "Word of advice: down it as quick as you can. It tastes weird, but it's better than puking. Or that hangover headache." She pinned her ears back and shuddered. "Not a good time."
Twilight fixed Applejack's concoction with one last baleful look, then took a deep breath through her nose, and drank it. She sputtered and gagged as the taste hit her--like sweaty workout gear, a clove of garlic, and sour apples.
Nevertheless, she tilted her head back. Her face screwed up as she swallowed the last drop. Twilight gasped in relief, savoring the sweet taste of fresh air. "That was terrible!"
"Oh, yeah, forgot about that!" Rainbow said with a hint of a smirk. "Complained to Granny Smith about it once. She got all huffy about it." She screwed up her muzzle and squinted her eyes, then pulled her best mockery of the elderly mare's voice. "It ain't s'posed to taste good, ya feathery varmint! It does its job and teaches the little seedlings who keep repeatin' the same mistake a little lesson each time they have to drink it!"
She blew a raspberry as if Granny was standing before them, then cast Twilight a wink. "Doesn't stop me, though. Little bit of bitter stuff is better than being sick."
Rarity coughed. "It does make getting up in the morning easier, especially when Sweetie has her little friends over." With a shake of her head, she took the empty cup in her magic and floated it over to the nightstand. "Now that we have that out of the way, it's almost time for breakfast, and you, Twilight Sparkle, are getting the royal treatment before you go down."
Blinking, Twilight cocked her head to the side. "Er, do I get to know why I have to? Or are you just going to drag me through it either way?"
Both her friends shared a look, then smirked in almost perfect unison. "Rainbow," Rarity began, "do you mind if I tell her?"
"Oh, no, please!" Rainbow took a step back and waved a hoof toward the bed. "This was your find, I know better than to steal thunder as big as this!"
"Why, thank you! I appreciate that!"
Twilight's ears twitched. Even with a hangover hitting her harder than a rampaging hydra, she was well enough aware of what it meant when her friends started playing off one another like Rarity and Rainbow were. "Alright, I'll bite." She pushed herself up into a seated position, fixing the pair with a narrow-eyed stare. "What do you two know?"
Rarity tossed her mane and gave a tiny smile. "Now, as you well know, aside from Princess Cadence and your brother, it's only us, Spike, and the girls staying here. Nopony else on the guest list was invited to stay over, correct?" At Twilight's nod, she continued, "Well, while Applejack and I were trotting to the fillies' room to check on them, we happened upon a new visitor stepping out of her room."
"What?" Twilight leapt to her hooves, nearly toppling over in her haste and muddled state. She managed to catch herself, her mind raced to think of any important visitors that might've been scheduled for a post Gala meeting. A cold sensation seemed to grip her chest, her breaths came in short gasps as she conjured the worst possible scenarios.
"Whoa! Settle down, Twi!" Rainbow hopped onto the bed, giving a couple quick flaps of her wings to steady herself as she laid her hooves on Twilight's shoulders. "Hear out the rest before you go into panic mode! It isn't that bad!"
She blinked. "It's not?"
"No." Rainbow's smirk grew into a sharklike grin. "It's way worse." She turned to Rarity and gave a single nod. "Tell her who it was."
Biting her lip, Twilight glanced toward Rarity, who simply smiled in return and said one word.
"Spitfire."
The wheels in her head whirred into gear, turning at full speed as she tried to make sense of the information. Spitfire couldn't be staying in the castle, she had her own penthouse suite in the Royal Canterlot Hotel--the same place the Prime Minister of Saddle Arabia and his wife stayed during diplomatic meetings.
Given Rainbow's involvement, it could be a joke at her expense to get her moving, but Rarity wasn't the type to join in on such a thing.
Of course, that begged a much more interesting question. If it were true, why had Spitfire stayed in the castle?
And why didn't she just stay in my room again? Twilight bit her lip and opted to tuck that away until she had a chance to talk to the mare herself. "Did she say why?"
"Funny you should ask. Spitfire was a bit hesitant to give us the full story--honestly, Twilight, couldn't you at least pick a mare who likes to gossip!" Rarity sighed and flicked her tail. "That aside, she mentioned a nighttime talk with Princess Luna that ended a bit late."
"Yeah, like, way late!" Rainbow nickered. "She was already on her second coffee when we bumped into her. Apparently, Princess Luna offered her a room when she realized it was too late to have Cap fly back to her hotel, then invited her to breakfast with all of us!"
Twilight thought a moment, then nodded in assent. That makes a lot of sense, actually. If Luna offered her a room, she couldn't just sleep in mine without letting Luna know or seeming rude. A smile made its way across her muzzle. I'll have to remember to thank Luna for putting her up for the night. I wonder if she'd like--
Her thoughts ground to a screeching halt as Rainbow's words fully registered. Twilight's eyes went wide, her tail tucked between her legs. "R-Rainbow?" she asked, her voice coming out in a squeak.
"Yeeeeees?" Rainbow drawled in return.
Twilight's ears pinned back. "Did you just say Spitfire was joining us for breakfast?"
"I did."
"As in--" she swallowed a lump "--all of our friends--"
"Uh huh."
"--The fillies and Spike--"
"Nah, we gave you a break on them."
"--Party, Diamond, Sugar, and Night--"
"Actually, they're not gonna be here today either. They wanted to check out Canterlot." Rainbow brought a hoof to her chin. "Pinkie was gonna join them, but when she heard Spitfire was here, she asked Party if he minded if she stuck around."
Twilight's eyes lit up, full of hope. "And?"
Rainbow shook her head, her grin seemed to grow even wider. "He was all for it."
Dang it, Party! You had one job! "O-Oh, goodie." She chewed on her bottom lip, dread filled her chest as the remaining members' names came to mind. "The, uh, other princesses and my brother, too?"
Closing her eyes and drawing in a deep breath, Rainbow gripped her shoulders. "Yeah, now you've got it." She leaned in, pulling Twilight into a tight hug. Then, she whispered, "Y'know, I was mad you got a girlfriend like Spitfire before I could for about a second. Now? Well, now I get to tell all of those great stories we have. So, thanks, Twi! This is gonna be so much fun!"
She bit back a curse at Luna for unwittingly casting her organization asunder. This was far too soon! She hadn't planned for any of this to come up until well after they'd gone home to Cloudsdale and Ponyville, at least then they could have it on their terms!
Then, a pathetic whimper escaped her lips.The memory of Spitfire's vow when she laughed at all of Fleetfoot's stories still fresh in her mind--that smirk, the way those brilliant orange eyes lit up and shone with mischief and a poorly hidden promise to tease her silly.
Twilight's ears drooped low, her eyes flitted to Rarity, desperate for help.
Instead, she was met with a tiny smile and a joyful gleam in Rarity's blue eyes--she was just as excited as Rainbow. Though for entirely different reasons.
Horror gripped her chest. Twilight made to step back from Rainbow, but found the grip on her shoulders too strong. "N-Now, girls," she began, licking her dried lips to wet them. "Let's just slow down. We can talk this out like rational, civilized adults."
"Oh, I quite agree with you, darling," Rarity replied, her tone taking an edge. She stepped closer to the bed, pausing to examine a hoof as if checking for dirt. "Which is exactly what I had in mind!"
Twilight blinked. "It is?"
"Of course! Don't you see? Your girlfriend making a surprise appearance at breakfast with all of us after a late night discussion with Princess Luna, and right after escorting you home from your date." She beamed and gave her tail a merry swish. "This is the perfect opportunity for all of us to get to know the mare that stole your heart away at the Gala! Why, it's almost like a fairytale!"
Oh, horseapples. She's gone full romantic on me. Twilight tried once more to pull away, to no avail.
Rainbow nimbly stepped around to her side, locking her hooves around Twilight's neck and shoulder like she was putting on a wrestling hold. "Nuh uh, Twi! You're not going anywhere!"
"I'll get you any number of autographs you want," Twilight offered.
Thinking a moment, Rainbow hummed to herself. "Tempting. But nah." She shook her head, instead tightening her grip. "I kinda wanna know how last night went. And Rarity's got a point, so double nah."
Her shoulders sagged. She was sunk.
Rarity tutted. "Oh, don't be such a filly! It'll be fine!" With a little toss of her mane, she turned and trotted around the bed, nodding to the bathroom. "Now, come along, dear. We don't have much time, but I'm confident we can have you ready to strut your stuff and dazzle your mare!"
"And before you think about teleporting you and Cap out," Rainbow added, "Shining told me to let you know he and Princess Cadence already had a spell up. He also says--and I quote--'no getting out of this one, Twily! Big brother's right to tease and embarrass goes in effect'." Waggling her ears, she gave Twilight a little shove toward the bathroom. "Now get your rear in gear! Rarity, get her makeup thingy and let's get this show on the road!"
With a roll of her eyes, Rarity nodded and followed along. "Of course, of course. It'll also give us a little time to hear every little detail about our dear friend's date nights."
As soon as she took note of the wicked grins and the gleaming in their eyes, Twilight knew she didn't have a chance.
A pathetic whimper slipped through her lips as Rainbow pushed her into the bathroom, then waited for Rarity to join them before kicking the door shut with a hind hoof. With a playful inclining of her brows, she began, "So, Twi, I get the drinking last night, can't argue with that since the Bolts are the epitome of cool outside, well, me." She unfurled a wing and wrapped it tight around Twilight's withers. "But what I really wanna know is where you slept the night before. So, spill, filly--did one of you two get couch duty, or did you snuggle up with Captain Spitfire?"
Oh, Celestia, have mercy.
Her cheeks burned as she trotted briskly down the corridor, her ears pinned flat against her scalp in vain hope of blocking out Rainbow's sniggering. "You can stop laughing anytime!" she shot, quickening her pace as she rounded the corner.
"Aw, come on, Twi!" Rainbow called back, galloping along to catch up with her. With a playful grin, she bumped her hip against Twilight's and waggled her eyebrows. "You can't gimme that when you tell me Spitfire practically made you melt with the first kiss!"
Twilight ducked her head and stole a quick look around to check for anypony who might overhear. Fortunately, they were alone, save for the castle guards, who seemed to making it a point to look anywhere but her.
Satisfied, she turned to fix Rainbow Dash with a frosty glare. "That doesn't mean you get to giggle and tell the whole city about it!" she hissed.
"Hmm, you may have a point, lemme think on that for a sec." Rainbow reared back on her hind legs, flaring out her wings for balance as she crossed her forelegs over her chest and hummed in thought. After a moment, she grinned and shook her head. "Nah! It totally does!" Quick as a flash, she swept Twilight up in a tight embrace and gave her a rough noogie. "Since Shining and Princess Cadence get to invoke big sibling rights, I hereby invoke best friend right to tease!"
Wrinkling her snout, Twilight tried to push Rainbow off, but found her friend's grip quite fast. She grit her teeth, straining against the leg thrown around her shoulders.
There was a telltale tinkling of bells and a flash of shimmering blue, Rainbow let out a yelp and shot into the air, her hooves clutching her backside. "Dang it, Rarity! What the hay'd you pinch me for?"
Breathing a bit heavy from chasing them down the hallway, Rarity leveled a stern glare at both. "After all the trouble I went to make sure Twilight's mane was shampooed, conditioned, and brushed to perfection, I find you two roughhousing in the middle of the hallway?" Flicking her tail in agitation, she approached. She took Twilight's cheeks in her hooves and gently turned her head, tutting as she used her magic to nudge a few strands back into place.
Twilight kept as still as she could, fighting back a fit of giggles. Her eyes flitted to Rainbow and found her friend had sucked in her lips, her cheeks puffed up with barely restrained laughter.
Their eyes met. Rainbow turned away and covered her mouth with her hooves, giving a rather poor attempt to disguise her mirth as a coughing fit.
"There!" Rarity said, nodding her approval. "Everything back in place. Now, just the final touch remains." Her horn flashed blue and a familiar tiara, encased in her magic, floated into view. "If you wouldn't mind, dear."
"My tiara?" Twilight furrowed her brows. "Rarity, I hardly think I need to put this on to impress Spitfire."
"It's not about impressing her, Twilight, you've already caught her eye." Rarity gave a coy smile, raising a hoof to fluff her mane a little. "It's about your image! She's about to have her first meal with all of us girls and the Royal Family, which you, darling, are a part of."
Eying the tiara floating before her, Twilight cringed. "I don't know. She's already pretty aware that I'm a princess now, and I really don't like the idea of waving it in under her nose."
"I think you misunderstand, I'm not saying you should flaunt it! Just show her that you belong! You're a grown mare with status, just like she has her status with the Wonderbolts!" With a little raise of her brow, Rarity tilted her head forward. "She wore her uniform the first night, didn't she?"
Of course she had. All military officers wore their formal attire at the Gala, and Rarity knew that full well. "Yes," Twilight admitted.
"And what did you wear?" Rarity asked.
"The dress you made." Seeing Rarity's brow arch higher, she sighed and added, "And my tiara."
"Didn't wear that on your date!" Rainbow put in as she landed. "Then again, you never really wear it unless we're at a formal thing."
"Indeed," Rarity said. "And while this isn't formal, it would go well to put you alongside your fellow princesses in her mind. Think of it as you showing Spitfire that you sit at the big ponies' table, too, and you're not just a filly wearing a mare's coat."
With another sigh, Twilight glanced toward one of the castle's many stained glass windows. Loathe though she was to admit it, Rarity did have a point. She didn't wear her tiara very often, even though she did enjoy her new duties as Princess of Friendship. It just felt so out of place on her head.
If Spitfire can wear her uniform and have me sit with her teammates, then maybe I should show that I'm comfortable with this aspect of my life. Almost tentatively, she took the tiara in her magic and floated it to hover over her head. If things worked out, Spitfire would have to get used to it anyway.
Twilight placed the tiara on her head. Adjusting it until it felt comfortable, she gave her friends a shy smile. "How do I look?"
Rainbow and Rarity shared matching smiles. "Twi," Rainbow began, "you look good enough that I'd recite poetry if I knew it. Like a million bits, easy."
"For once, I agree with Rainbow. As she might say, you're going to knock the good Captain dead, Twilight." Rarity cast a quick wink. "Figuratively speaking."
Beaming, Twilight darted forward to catch them both in a hug. "Thanks, girls," she whispered, holding them tight a moment before letting go. "I guess we'd better get moving before Shining Armor starts grilling her too badly."
Rainbow scoffed. "Cap won't back down from your brother! I bet he's a big pushover!"
Twilight shook her head, allowing herself a small smile as she trotted down the hall toward the last corridor. "You'd lose that bet. Badly."
She hung a left and looked to the door, her eyes lit up at the sight of a familiar mare standing just out of view of the open door, rubbing a hoof against her shin. Fixing a coy smile on her muzzle, she held a hoof to her lips to quiet Rarity and Rainbow, then crept closer. As she came within hoof's reach of Spitfire, she leaned in to whisper, "My, my! Is the famed Captain Spitfire nervous?"
Spitfire gave a little flinch at her voice, turning in place to meet her gaze. Snorting playfully, she tossed her mane and gave a cocky smirk that didn't quite meet her eyes. "Yeah right, hon! Breakfast with a few friends? It'll be easier than pulling a Hellfire Dive with Fleet and Soar!" Glancing over Twilight's shoulder, she nodded. "Miss Rarity, Rainbow Dash."
"Good morning, Captain."
"Hey, Cap."
Easy? Is that so? "Oh, good!" Feeling a bit mischievous, Twilight stole a quick kiss and nuzzled Spitfire's cheek, right along the spot beneath her ear that always made the breath hitch in her throat. In silent victory, she smirked and whispered, "Because my brother's not gonna be so playful when you chat with him this time. You get him, the girls, and three princesses all in one shot."
A shiver ran through her body, bringing a full grin to Twilight's muzzle. "Oh? What's this?" she asked with feigned innocence, pulling back to delight in the rosy blush that colored Spitfire's cheeks, before leveling her with a look of mock surprise. "A little crack in the armor?"
Wrinkling her snout, Spitfire turned and flicked a tail across her nose, then walked toward the open door. "Funny," she replied, a smirk playing upon her lips. "I'll remember that when the foal pictures come out."
Twilight's smile fell, her ears burned at the sound of Rainbow and Rarity giggling just behind her. Oh, horseapples. With a tiny squeak of dismay, she bounded after her girlfriend and walked side-by-side with her into the dining room.
Everypony was already there waiting for them, each seated before empty plates and silverware, with covered food dishes and muffin baskets lining the middle of the table.
Celestia and Luna sat at either end of the table, a clear show of who the 'heads' of the house were; Cadence and Shining Armor were together, naturally; Pinkie was next to Fluttershy, giggling over a joke while the latter tried to hide her laughter, while Applejack just chuckled and shook her head.
There were four places empty. Two on either side of Applejack, which Rainbow and Rarity moved to occupy, leaving a pair of empty seats in the middle, directly across from Shining and Cadence, arranged, no doubt, so everypony could give their full, undivided attention to the newest couple.
Luna looked up, waggling her ears merrily. "Ah! There you are!" she said. With a wave of her hoof to the empty seats, she offered a smile. "Please, join us, ladies. We're all very eager to begin."
Twilight shared an uneasy smile with Spitfire, then trotted over to her place at the table. As she reached for her chair, Spitfire stepped forward and pulled it out.
"Thank you," Twilight said softly, nuzzling her nose as she sat in the offered seat.
Spitfire smiled and returned the nuzzle before taking her own seat on Twilight's left, mumbling a quick, "Anytime, hon."
With her girlfriend at her side, Twilight looked to her right at Celestia, who met her gaze with a neutral expression and a calculating look in her eye. After a moment, she gave a small smile and turned to the staff. "I do believe we're ready," she said.
The staff ponies bowed, then stepped forward to remove the gleaming metal covers. Twilight's tail swished at the scents of countless dishes wafted to her nose.
Licking her lips, she took a blueberry muffin in her magic and floated it over to her plate, along with the butter dish. Just as she made to butter her muffin, Shining spoke up, "So, Spitfire, what're your intentions toward my little sister?"
Twilight froze with her knife hovering over the butter dish. "Shiny!" she hissed, pinning her ears back. "Really?"
He looked back at her and fixed her with a stern look. "Don't you 'Shiny' me, Twily!" he scolded. "Dad's not here, so I get to ask questions." Turning his attention to Spitfire, who had paused with a muffin in hoof, Shining tapped on the tabletop. "Well?"
Spitfire smiled, ducking her head beneath the full force of his attention. "Uh, well, right now we're in a bit of a figuring each other out stage. First couple dates are always like that." Her eyes flitted to Twilight, then back to him. "I suppose my intentions at the moment are to make sure we both enjoy our time together, then see where that takes us."
"Fair enough, I can respect that." Shining hummed as he floated a plate of pancakes over and picked a couple off the top of the stack, then lathered them with syrup. He folded his hooves one over the other, raising a brow as he passed the dish and syrup to Cadence. The corners of his mouth tugged into a small smirk, the very same one he always wore when he teased Twilight as a filly. "Still, I must admit that I'm a bit impressed you knew to take Twily to Don Contorno's. Bet that scored you some major points."
Twilight felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle as Spitfire turned to fix her with a half-lidded look. "Really?" Her cheeks burned at the playful edge in that raspy voice she'd come to love. "I had no idea she'd ever been there before!"
Cadence giggled. "Well, that's a happy coincidence, then! What gave you the idea to take her there?"
"Fleetfoot and Soarin ate there the night before the Gala, actually. When Soarin recommends food, it's usually a sure bet for a good meal."
"And here I was hoping it would be like one of my old novels!" Cadence gave a wistful sigh, fluffing her feathers as she finished dishing up her plate. "Oh well! I suppose there's plenty of time for little Twily to dig up my old lessons and romance you like a proper mare!"
A low whine escaped her lips. Twilight brought her hooves up to cover her face, her wings itched to wrap around her barrel. "Cady!" she pleaded piteously. "Not the lessons!"
"Yes, the lessons, young mare! Speaking of which, what did we teach you about slouching at the table?" Tutting, Cadence tapped a hoof on the table. "Sit up straight and uncover your face! Come, come, don't be rude!"
Slowly, Twilight dragged her hooves down her face to fix Cadence with a glare. She gritted her teeth at the way her former foalsitter's eyes seemed to dance with mirth and the smug smile upon her muzzle. "I thought we were grilling my girlfriend," she mumbled.
Cadence simply grinned as if to ask "why not both?" before turning her attention to Spitfire again. "I have to wonder about how you two will be able to overcome your differing interests."
"We've already found common ground," Twilight said, eager to take control. "We both like old legends, we actually read one together the other night."
"Whirlwind and Maple," Spitfire added with a grin. "Gotta love the classics."
"Heck yeah! Whirlwind rocked in that one!" Rainbow cheered, raising a glass of milk in salute. Across from her, Fluttershy gave a little smile and raise of her glass as well, far more sedate in her gesture.
Across the table, Shining chuckled, drawing attention to himself again. "Well, I guess the quickest way to Twilight's heart is through her book list," he quipped, fixing Twilight with a sidelong smirk. "Good to know you picked a mare who knows her literature, though."
Twilight did her best to fight back a shaky smile, looking down at her plate to focus her gaze on the scrumptious muffin before her. "She likes more than just that," she mumbled as she began plucking more food off their serving dishes. Soon, her plate began to fill with pancakes, generously lathered in syrup. "And I do like that she's passionate about her own interests!"
"Of course, I don't doubt that. But you'll understand that I'm interested in what she likes about you." Twilight froze. Slowly, she lifted her gaze to meet his eyes, a shiver ran down her spine as she noted the gleam in his eyes.
Shining turned to Spitfire, raising an eyebrow. "So? Care to enlighten us?"
Her mind raced, Twilight chewed on her bottom lip as she looked to Spitfire. A part of her wanted to shift closer, her hoof twitched as if to reach out to her, stopping just halfway.
Fortunately, Spitfire was of like mind. She took Twilight's hoof in hers and gave a comforting squeeze, a small smile playing upon her lips. "Well, you were right there when Princess Celestia asked Twilight to accompany me to the Gala," she began, sparing a nod to Celestia at the far end of the table. A gesture Celestia returned after a second's hesitation. "But for the benefit of others present, the short version is that I really don't like being crowded. Like, I love performing, I can deal with fans, but when it comes to parties, I just wanna hang out with a pony and talk without having to worry about my image."
"Real talk," Twilight supplied.
Spitfire grinned and gave her hoof another squeeze. "Yes, that. Thanks, hon." She returned her attention to Shining and continued, "We had a nice little chat together, and I found myself liking a lot about her: smart, funny, not to mention incredibly adorable when she gets all flustered!"
A squeak slipped through Twilight's lips before she could cover her mouth with her free hoof. She pinned back her ears, blushing as her friends giggled at her. "Am not," she mumbled.
An amused hum was the only warning she had before a pair of soft lips pressed against her cheek, just beneath her ear. Twilight gave a shuddering gasp, her eyelids fluttered shut as her mouth dropped open just slightly, a smile spread across her muzzle.
"Ahem," Luna coughed. "Loathe though I am to interrupt," she began, a hint of scolding in her tone, "perhaps we might refrain from too much affection at the table, Captain."
Spitfire gave a sheepish chuckle. "Sorry, Princess." The telltale rustle of her wings made Twilight's ears flick, she cracked open an eye just in time to catch a glimpse of her girlfriend reaching up to rub at the back of her head. "I'm still kinda in that giddy, playful stage of the whole thing."
Twilight sighed in relief, sending silent praise to her fellow princess and savior. At least there was one pony at the table who didn't deign to see her reduced to a blushing, stammering mess.
Luna's teal eyes narrowed into a stern glare, the effect ruined by the smile tugging at her lips. "Understandable. However, I believe you are fully capable of confining your kisses to the cheek region. Or, if you must, a quick peck on the lips will suffice."
Relief turned to dismay, and then a warm fuzziness that flooded her being as vibrant orange eyes flitted to meet her own, shining with glee before she was caught in a kiss that seemed all too brief.
She blinked. Her ears swiveled back to lay flat against her scalp. Twilight took in a deep breath, her cheeks puffed up as she snatched her muffin off her plate and took an angry bite.
The sweet taste of muffiny goodness and blueberries brought her peace. Delicious as always.
"Well, I for one think your tale is rather sweet," Rarity put in, giving a wistful sigh. "Finding love at the Gala among all the style and glamour, it was but a dream to me only a few short years ago!"
Applejack sniggered. "You mean 'till you tried gettin' flirty with that namby-pamby prince you had your eye on?" At Celestia's polite cough, she ducked her head. "Sorry, Princess. Forgot he was your kin for a spell. He just ain't all that like you or Luna, so it ain't easy to see."
Celestia waved her off with a hoof. "I understand entirely, Applejack. Though my nephew has his ... less than stellar qualities," she said slowly, the corners of her mouth twitching, "he is still family. There is frightfully little I wouldn't do for my family." Her gaze flitted over to Twilight's direction, but just a bit passed her. The serene smile faltered.
There was silence for a moment, weighing down upon them as if the entire mass of the ocean's waters fell upon their shoulders.
"Sister," Luna said, frowning as she tapped a hoof against the table to break the tension. "You're going to pierce a hole through their young heads if you keep staring like that."
"Oh, thank you, Luna. I was just thinking. My apologies, ladies." Pursing her lips, Celestia lit her horn, holding a glass of orange juice aloft in the brilliant golden glow of her magic. She took a sip, eying the glass as if she were judging wine. "When you reach my age, you'll find that your mind works in funny ways. Why, all this talk about classical tales and family just reminded me of another Post Unification tale. One that involved Hurricane himself, actually."
She looked up, staring straight at Spitfire once again. "Have you heard the one about Hurricane, Clover the Clever, and Cold Front?"
Twilight watched as the color seemed to drain from Spitfire's face. The mare gave an awkward chuckle, rustling her wings. "I--er--well, it's been a while since I read that one. But, if I recall, it involved Hurricane being mad at one of his legionnaires for making a pass at Clover."
"Hmm, close. But not quite." Celestia turned her attention to Twilight, sparing a small smile as she asked, "What about you, Twilight? I know you read that one as part of your Old Equestrian Literature courses when you attended my school. Do you remember?"
"Yes," she said slowly, confusion tinging her voice. Twilight glanced between Celestia and Spitfire, her tail flicked as she noted the almost calculating gleam in her old teacher's eyes.
A stark contrast to the way Spitfire sat bolt upright, her eyes wide as though she were faced with a rampaging hydra. Twilight felt Spitfire's grip on her hoof tighten, all the muscles in her leg seemed to tense up.
Twilight blinked a couple times, giving Spitfire's hoof a squeeze, returning the gesture. "If I recall correctly," she began as she turned her attention to Celestia again, "Cold Front was an officer in the old pegasus legion and had a bit of a supremacist attitude. He, among others, held onto the belief that pegasi were a class above and that unicorns and earth ponies should feel honored to even receive their attention. He made a pass at Clover, who by then had become one of Hurricane's closest friends, and laid his wing upon her in a way that signified possession."
"Cold Front made it a point to trail his feathers in a most inappropriate area," Celestia corrected. "He foolishly chose to tease near her tail."
Gasps of shock and indignation went up around the table. Fluttershy ducked her head, shivering as she wrapped her hooves around her barrel. "How awful!"
Coughing, Twilight glanced away. "Yes. And Clover wasn't too happy to receive such attention, but he kept flirting and flicking her horn whenever she tried to cast a spell. Well, he made the mistake of doing so in front of Private Pansy, who went to tell Commander Hurricane. She interrupted his meeting with Princess Platinum and Chancellor Puddinghead, much to his irritation. But when she told him what happened ... well, the story says he flew into a rage and immediately left the meeting to go discipline Cold Front."
"Hope he gave that pervert a good wallop!" Applejack grumbled. "T'ain't right, touchin' a mare like that!"
"Oh, believe me, he got more than a wallop!" Rainbow crowed, flaring her wings. She hopped up onto her seat and reared back, punching her hooves like she were going after the stallion herself. "Ol' Hurricane tackled Cold Front offa Clover and beat him senseless! Then, he called a big meeting of all the old pegasus legion and the new Equestrian Guard, and invited the rest of the founders and whoever they wanted to bring. He made right sure that everypony who thought like Cold Front was in the front row."
With a smirk, she sat back down in her seat and leaned back. "Then, Hurricane dragged that sorry sack of horseapples up on stage and told them all what he'd done. Said that treating another pony like they were property and touching them like that were against all the Unification meant. So, for that, he had six guards hold Cold Front's limbs, two from each race, and used the shaft of a spear to break his wing joints!" Rainbow stopped just long enough to cringe and fold her wings against her sides. "Major pain, believe me. And he told all the medics not to treat Cold Front or they'd answer to him."
"My word!" Rarity covered her mouth with a hoof. "That's a bit excessive, don't you think?"
"That's just one version of the story," Luna cut in. "There's several different tellings, all of which have Cold Front getting too fresh with Clover and Hurricane's fury. But that is the most graphic of the bunch." She paused to take a sip of her juice, then added, "There's another where Hurricane simply had Cold Front's wings bound and forced him to act as Clover's attendant until he humbled himself and begged her forgiveness."
Celestia hummed in agreement. "True, true. And another where he bound Cold Front's wings in chains and banished him from Cloudsdale, forcing him to live out his days among earth ponies and unicorns."
"Hurricane did love to discipline using a pony's own hubris against them," Cadence noted.
It hit Twilight like a ton of bricks. The way Spitfire was gripping her hoof, how she trembled in the face of Celestia's stare, and the choice of story.
Her talk with Fleetfoot and Soarin leapt to the forefront of her mind. Their worry for Spitfire's career, how ponies might react if she and Twilight parted on unfavorable terms.
All of it was on display before her, a scene crafted by Celestia herself.
Frowning, Twilight released Spitfire's hoof in favor of wrapping her wing around the mare's shoulders. "You'll have to forgive me if I seem a bit obtuse," she began, narrowing her eyes in challenge, "but I don't see why that, of all things, would come to mind at present time."
Silence fell over the table. Twilight set her jaw and met her former teacher's gaze with confidence, tightening her wing around Spitfire.
Celestia blinked twice, then gave a tight-lipped smile. "Oh, just my old mind being silly, dear!" she said, chuckling as she took a sip of her juice. "Old age is strange in that regard. Perhaps we might discuss another tale--or would the rest of you prefer to move along with a few more questions?"
As if on cue, Fluttershy raised a hoof, ducking her head with a tiny squeak when the attention turned to her. "I, um, I have one for Twilight. If that's okay, I mean." She looked down at her hooves and shifted in her seat. "I don't really know Spitfire well enough ..."
"Go right ahead, Fluttershy," Twilight said, happy for the change. Though she still kept watch over her old teacher out of the corner of her eye.
"Oh, well, I was just wondering if you'd both thought about how to make things work between you since Captain Spitfire lives in Cloudsdale and you live with us in Ponyville."
Making to reply, Twilight found herself lacking an answer. She furrowed her brows, down at the table and bringing a hoof to her chin as she wracked her brain for a solution.
She didn't have one. In all their talk of code red and what interests they shared or didn't, the long distance relationship dynamic hadn't come up.
"Uh," Spitfire began, giving an awkward cough. "We haven't really talked about that yet. We've kinda been in the--er--excited new couple stage."
Fluttershy cringed and brought her hooves to her mouth. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to upset you both! It's just--"
"It's fine, Fluttershy," Twilight said. "It's just something we'll have to work through before we go home. Together," she added, turning to nuzzle Spitfire's cheek and stealing a glance at Celestia.
Her teacher's eyes held that calculating gleam again. The tiniest of smiles played upon her lips.
"Well," Celestia said, "I'm sure you two will be able to figure something out." Raising her glass, she looked around the table. "Here's to our newest couple! May they both share in the joys of finding love and happiness together, and show one another the respect they are due!"
Spitfire flinched at her side. Twilight thought to turn and ask what was amiss, but stopped herself. She pasted a smile on her muzzle and nodded in thanks as her friends and family took up the gesture.
She'd have to figure out why Spitfire flinched like that later.
When they were well away from Celestia's watchful eyes.
Spitfire liked to think herself a rather confident mare. She had the admiration of ponies all across Equestria, the respect of her peers both at home and abroad, a loyal group of family and friends, good standing with her fellow officers and the rulers of her country, and--her most recent accolade--a girlfriend whose looks were beaten out only by her brains and a rather endearing personality.
That said, it had been quite some time before she'd felt so nervous in Princess Celestia's presence--or Princess Cadence's, for that matter.
Princess Luna was another story entirely. She didn't have the same rapport with the younger sister that she did with the elder, and years of reading The Legend of the Mare in the Moon with her ma and pa every Nightmare Night didn't exactly help in that regard.
Talking with Princess Celestia at meetings had always been easy. She was always so warm and welcoming, a lot like Spitfire's own ma, in that regard. Her hospitality rivaled that of even those old mares in Mustangia who embodied the "down to earth old biddy" stereotype.
The way Princess Celestia's eyes had bored into her at breakfast, how they seemed to pierce through to her very soul, made her coat stand on end and her ears droop. It took all her self-control not to let her wings unfurl, either to hide her face or ready to take flight and flee from Princess Celestia's presence.
As she half-listened to the conversation, Spitfire kept her smile as best as she could. Putting Princess Celestia aside for a moment--something she never thought she'd say about her of all ponies--those at the table was important to Twilight in some way. Whether through the friendships she shared or bonds of family, these ponies meant the most to Twilight. Only her parents were absent.
The urge to hide behind her wings seemed almost impossible to resist. Spitfire could only grit her teeth through it all and force a smile, all while trying her best to ignore that Princess Celestia's eyes stayed locked on her for the bulk of the meal.
Pull yourself together, girl! Spitfire flicked her tail as she watched Twilight poke at the last of her pancakes. You don't get this wound up in front of crowds of thousands, what's a dozen or so ponies at breakfast?
A dozen or so ponies who had Twilight's ear and could give tacit blessing or bring their relationship to ruin with a few words.
Her ears began to droop. Spitfire ducked her head between her shoulders and took hold of a mug of coffee, staring at her reflection in the warm liquid within. She'd never gotten to the whole "sit down with family and friends to be judged fitting or not for your partner" point with any of her previous girlfriends. Aside from her, Spitfire's relationships didn't last long enough to even bother bringing that up.
Thankfully, Twilight's friends and brother seemed more interested in bringing up each and every embarrassing story they could to make her blush, squirm, and bury her face in her hooves, grumbling near incomprehensible promises of revenge that only spurred them onward.
Now, if Princess Celestia could just join in the fun and stop boring a hole in the side of her head, that would be great.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Twilight bringing a napkin up to wipe a bit of syrup off her lips. Spitfire had to bite her own to hold back an easy quip about a far better way to take care of the issue.
She couldn't, however, fight back the urge to let her tongue dart out and run along her bottom lip. A kiss like that right now would go against the rules they'd so painstakingly laid out to one another, but it would be so very sweet.
Spitfire shook her head. She was a Wonderbolt officer, a mare of discipline. She could hold back the urge to lean in, lick Twilight's lips clean of that sweet syrup, and then kiss her until her eyes crossed and those beautiful feathers fluffed.
Drawing in a sharp breath through her nose, she closed her eyes and gave herself a scolding. Definitely a bad idea in front of three other princesses.
Especially Princess Celestia.
Suddenly, the conversation stopped. Spitfire's ears twitched, she blinked owlishly, her eyes flitted to each pony at the table, seeing each of them reclining or stretching as they made to rise. She turned to Twilight and found herself met with an expectant look and an amused smile.
"Uh ..." She gave a crooked smile. "Did I tune out or something?"
Twilight burst into a fit of giggles. "I think we lost you somewhere around Rainbow trying to tell you about the time she found me asleep and buried under a tower of collapsed books."
"I missed what?" Spitfire's jaw dropped. She whipped her head around to look at Rainbow, ready to demand a repeat of the story.
As soon as she did, her star prospect laughed and shook her head. "Sorry, Cap! Only one telling per meal! Next one's gonna cost you a barrel of Sweet Apple Acres' finest, I'm afraid!"
"Goin' for a bit o' extortion, eh?" Applejack quipped, nudging her in the ribs.
"Can you blame me? It's the only flipping way to make sure I get some without Pinkie guzzling, like, eight of them before I can even try buying one!"
Grumbling under her breath, Spitfire glanced at Twilight, wrinkling her snout at the smug smirk gracing her girlfriend's muzzle. "You're going to do everything to make sure I never hear that story, aren't you?"
Twilight waggled her ears, then leaned in to nuzzle Spitfire's nose. "You don't have a snowball's chance on a summer day!"
Spitfire flicked her tail. She'd just have to see about that. "Don't count your chickens just yet, hon. I've got plenty of money for several barrels of cider."
"And I can easily slip a law in that makes it illegal to use cider for bribery." Twilight poked her in the snout. "You're playing against a princess. I can cheat the rules of the game and make it not cheating."
Cursing, Spitfire tapped a hoof against her chair. She wasn't going to win this particular battle.
Best to just let Twilight think she had the upper hoof for now.
Her comeuppance would happen later.
And it would be quite delicious.
Oh yes.
Twilight stood, giving her feathers a little fluff. She leaned forward and nuzzled Spitfire's cheek. "Ready to go?"
"Go?" Spitfire drew back. "Go where?"
"I don't know. Canterlot's a big city, I'm sure we can find something to do."
Spitfire hummed. There were plenty of places they could go to get away from everything for a while. It didn't have to be a club or a fancy restaurant, maybe just one of the ice cream parlors or libraries.
When did I go sappy? She flicked her ear. And why is that not a problem?
A polite cough made Spitfire flick her ear. She turned slowly, her heart leapt into her throat as she found herself face to face with Princesses Celestia and Luna, with Princess Cadence standing just to the side.
Princess Celestia gave a small smile in her direction before looking just passed her. "I hope to spend more time with you later then, dear," she said to Twilight. "Perhaps you and I might have dinner together this evening?"
Out of the corner of her eye. Spitfire watched Twilight perk up. "I'd like that!" she said, beaming at her old teacher.
"Splendid. I'll look forward to it."
"You hog her to yourself every chance you get, sister," Princess Luna said teasingly. She glanced toward Princess Cadence and Shining Armor. "Young Shining might think you mean to steal her from his family!"
One cue, Shining's ears twitched. "I'd have to steal her back," he replied, quirking a brow. "I'm sure her friends would help."
Chuckling to herself, Princess Celestia nodded. "Perhaps you're both right. A compromise, then: Twilight will join Cadence, Shining, and I for dinner." She held up a hoof to Princess Luna's mouth. "And before you start, I was going to say you could dine with Spitfire."
Spitfire felt her blood run cold, her dream conversation with Princess Luna still quite fresh in her mind.
Princess Luna's ears perked up. She brushed Princess Celestia's hoof aside. "That would be most agreeable!" she said, turning her attention on Spitfire. Her smile faltered just a bit. "Er, if you approve, of course."
All eyes fell upon Spitfire. She ducked her head between her shoulders and let her ears lay flat as she gave a crooked smile.
There really wasn't a choice. Guess I'll need to pick up my uniform and get cleaned up.
"S-Sure," she replied. "Just, um, pick a place and I'd be happy to join you."
"Excellent!" Princess Celestia walked past her, glancing out of the corner of her eye. "Oh, be sure to pester her all you can tonight, Luna." She cast a wink at Spitfire. "If she's to date Twilight, we want to make sure she's the right sort of mare."
Twilight squeaked. "P-Princess!"
"Celestia, dear. We've talked about this. I'll see you at dinner. Fair warning, though ..." Her smile morphed into a wicked smirk. "I haven't begun my interrogation yet." Without another word, she left the dining room, with Luna trailing in her wake.
Spitfire felt her knee shake. She swallowed a lump, turning to give Twilight an uneasy grin. "So ..."
Twilight ducked her head to hide a blush. "We're doomed."
"I figured. Nice knowing you, hon."
"Likewise. Lunch before we meet our end?"
"Uh, actually ..." Rainbow stepped forward, her ears splayed back against her scalp and the cocky grin she always wore nowhere to be found. "Do you, uh, mind if I borrow Cap--uh, Spitfire for a little bit?" She stood just out of hoof's reach of Spitfire, shifting her weight from hoof to hoof, her wings rustled as she seemed to try to steel herself for something.
Spitfire frowned. Curious. Rainbow was rarely quiet unless she'd just got done being screamed at--usually by Spitfire herself. "Something wrong, Dash?"
Rainbow's ears drooped slightly, then perked back up. She bit her lip, drawing in a deep breath through her nose.
She exhaled and met Spitfire's eyes.
"I need to talk to you. Mare to mare." |
Glow | 11. Loyalty | Spitfire paid quite a bit more attention to her recruits than most officers might, especially those she considered her pet projects.
Those special few to catch her eye and earn the right to have her stamp their file with her special "handle personally" label were a rarity among rarities. If ponies came looking and willing to show effort, she'd happily direct them to the Wonderbolt Academy so she could see whether or not they were worth her personal attention, if they should come up the ranks like any normal prospect, or if they were better off finding their career somewhere else.
In recent years, two files had been stamped. One had been put on hold after Lightning Dust had proven herself too much of a showboat and along with nearly killing several civilians and a princess when she wrecked the cloud busting track.
That her new girlfriend so happened to be that same princess was almost funny. Almost. It was probably a good thing they hadn't been seeing one another at the time, or Soarin would've had to call for MPs to pull her off Lightning Dust.
The other file, of course, belonged to the mare standing before her.
Rainbow Dash.
Spitfire could almost remember it by heart. Headstrong, loyal to a fault, and willing to fight and train until her wings fall off to get her spot.
Everything a proper Wonderbolt should be.
The mare before her, however, was different. Rainbow Dash looked down at the floor, only glancing up for a few seconds before wincing and averting her gaze again. Her wings rustled and twitched, she shifted her weight from side to side.
Nervous. Well, that was certainly a change.
Almost as much as she was when she got to spend a day with us after that contest. Spitfire took a step closer. "You okay, Dash?"
"Fine!" Rainbow said, her voice cracked. "I'm fine! Perfectly fine! Why wouldn't I be fine?"
"You look like you'd rather tangle with a manticore than be here right now," Spitfire replied. Smirking, she tilted her head. She stole a glance at the other mares, her eyes lingering on Twilight's beautiful face a moment, then stepped in close and dropped her voice. "You know I'm not gonna drop you from the Reserves just 'cause you wanna talk about Twilight, right?"
Rainbow's ears shot up. "How--"
"You're not subtle, and last time I checked, 'stupid' wasn't written across my forehead today." Waggling her ears, she added, "And it won't be ever again, if Soarin wants to live to see twenty-eight."
A snort of laughter escaped Rainbow's lips. "He seriously did that?"
Spitfire nodded once. "Yeah. And I kicked his tail to Vanhoover and back for that one." She stepped forward until she was shoulder to shoulder with Rainbow and gave her a nudge. "Nice to see you can still laugh with me a bit. So what's on your mind?"
Rainbow froze, her laughter died in the back of her throat. Her eyes flitted to the floor again as she began shifting from one hoof to another all over.
Where in Equestria had that loudmouth who could fly fast enough to bring a rinkydink town like Ponyville within a nose of beating Cloudsdale gone?
Frowning, Spitfire fixed her with a critical stare. The mare before her was but a shadow of the top prospect she'd been ready to go to bat for in front of all the other officers. It was almost as if Rainbow wasn't sure how to begin.
Spitfire flicked an ear, a smile worked its way across her muzzle as an idea came to her.
She gave Rainbow another playful nudge. "Why don't we take a flight?" she offered. "We'll get outta here for a bit, and you can tell me whatever it is that's got your feathers all ruffled."
Rainbow beamed. "That'd be great!" Her feathers fluffed and twitched, just itching to fly. She blinked, her grin faltered slightly as she ducked her head and let her ears droop. "I, uh--I mean, yeah. That'd, uh ..." Scuffing a hoof against the floor, she coughed. "Yeah, that'd be fine with me. You lead."
It took all of Spitfire's self-control to bite back a quip about her being the officer between them, but she managed. She's here as Twilight's friend. Be nice. No Captain-Recruit games.
Instead, she smiled and nodded. "Sounds like a plan." Spitfire stepped over next to Twilight and nosed against her cheek. "Mind if I let her steal me for a little bit?" she murmured, kissing the corner of her mouth.
Twilight giggled, her feathers fluffed. "Only if you promise to come back to me," she teased. "If not right after, then tonight." A gleam shone in her eyes, she leaned in close enough that her breath tickled Spitfire's ear and whispered, "I want to wake up in your hooves again."
It took all Spitfire's self control not to throw caution to the wind and pounce on her then and there. Instead, she kissed Twilight's cheek once again, then turned to Rainbow. Trotting forward, she rustled her wings and swished her tail. "I dunno about you, but after sitting at breakfast with four royals and the night I had, I'm about ready to start doing corkscrews and buzz a few guard towers for kicks."
There was a beat, then a quick cadence of hooves scrambling against the tile floor. Rainbow was at her side half a second later. "I doubt the guards would be too happy about that. Probably complain to Shining Armor."
"I know." Spitfire smirked. "And that's why I said 'for kicks'--I don't answer to him, so all he can really do is ask me nicely. Unless he gets Princess Celestia involved, in which case, pluck my feathers and stuff a pillow with 'em. 'Cause then I'm toast."
She turned right down the corridor and led Rainbow along, passed the paintings of sunny meadows or soft, moonlit glens and a stone bust of Star Swirl the Bearded, looking almost as though he were judging their worth through those blank, white eyes.
It was just so detailed, so lifelike. From the way his face was lined with years of stress and aging, to the way his lips creased into a stern frown like he were observing a pony who should've been studying instead of fooling about and wandering through the corridor.
Idly, Spitfire wondered if Twilight ever got the same feeling when she walked down this corridor. Chuckling, she shook her head.
No. Twilight probably had her nose in a book or found herself scrambling along with some important assignment for Princess Celestia.
Or maybe getting that look was part of why she'd be scampering ...
Spitfire shook herself. Why in Equestria was she letting herself get so distracted?
It was just a bust.
With a roll of her eyes, she headed for the side door leading out to the gardens. Spitfire pushed it open and let the warm touch of mid morning sun wash over her body. She took in a deep breath as if to bask in its glow, her eyes fluttered shut.
Celestia, I needed this.
Her wings rustled, ready to unfurl and take flight. Spitfire scanned the sky and took note of a few clusters of small, fluffy clouds off in the distance. None close enough to the castle to just hop on up and sit, but hovering over the city to cool off the populace for the warm summer day to come.
"How do you feel like flying?" she asked over her shoulder.
Rainbow shrugged. "I'd be down for a slower pace. Easier to talk that way."
Spitfire flicked an ear toward her in silent acknowledgement. She unfurled her wings and, with a quick running start, leapt into the air. A few flaps later and she was aloft, flying in a wide circle to give Rainbow a little room to get herself going.
She watched with a critical eye Rainbow take to the air with surprisingly little gusto for a mare of her nature--not even a running start or a good leap into the air, just a few flaps of her powerful wings to get herself some lift before she banked around to fly alongside Spitfire.
Frowning, Spitfire took the lead and maneuvered so they could take a flight over the city, high enough that no bypassers would overhear, but well out of the altitudes reserved for on duty guards and weather ponies.
Perfect for a nice, easy flight and a talk between mares.
Spitfire angled herself closer to Rainbow until she was but a hair's breadth away, flying together tight formation like they were doing a stadium flyby.
"So, you wanna tell me what it is that's got you acting so strange?" Spitfire asked. "Haven't heard you make any big boasts or jokes since breakfast."
Rainbow cringed. "Sorry. Just been thinking a bit."
"What about?" Smiling, Spitfire gave her a light nudge with her elbow. "You gonna pull the protective friend routine on me?"
"Uh ... kinda." Rainbow looked away, rubbing a hoof against her shin. "It's not that I'm not happy or that I don't think you'll be cool with Twilight or anything like that--I'm happy for her. And, I mean, I could think of worse ponies for her to get involved with."
Spitfire snorted. "Wow. Thanks for that ringing endorsement there, Dash," she teased. "I'll put that one my resume."
Rainbow turned to fix her with a glare. "You know what I mean!"
"Relax, Dash." Spitfire held up her hooves. "Just trying to lighten the mood."
With a snort, Rainbow looked off into the distance. "Not helping. Trying to be serious here."
"Fair enough, sorry. You were saying?"
Again, Rainbow rubbed her shin. "I'm trying to figure out how I wanna say it. Like, it's not that I don't trust you or anything, but Twilight's not exactly like us. If that makes any sense."
"I got that," Spitfire said, chuckling as she let her eyes wander over the beautiful city below. "I can't exactly teleport all over creation, y'know. And I'm pretty sure I haven't started growing a horn."
"I meant personality wise." Rainbow coughed.
Blinking, Spitfire turned to stare at the side of her head. She perked one ear up and laid the other flat against her scalp. "Uh, well, yeah, I've noticed she's not quite as loud. Or really into the athletics side of things." She furrowed her brows. "What are you trying to get at here?"
Save for the whistle of wind in her ears, there was silence between them.
She watched out of the corner of her eye as Rainbow glided along and chewed on her lip. Spitfire looked ahead in time to see a pair of weather ponies pushing a few low-hanging clouds toward the park in Little Neighpon, headed straight across their flight path.
Spitfire and Rainbow banked together, sweeping around them in a wide arc to give them plenty of room, earning a wave of thanks from the lead weather pony.
"I guess I'm trying to say she's not gonna be a pony you can mould or form into somepony else," Rainbow said when they leveled out again. "She doesn't have the mindset of a Wonderbolt, or even really an athlete. You can't get in her face and start screaming orders and expect her to take it well."
Spitfire wrinkled her snout. "Is that what you think I do with her?"
"No! Geez, I can't say it right!" Rainbow buried her face in her hooves. "Ugh! I'm not accusing you or anything, I'm just trying to give you a head's up!"
"You seemed fine with me last night. And at breakfast this morning," Spitfire said.
"I'm still fine with you dating her, Cap. No objection here."
With a roll of her eyes, Spitfire darted forward and stopped right in front of Rainbow, forcing the younger mare to rear back and flap her wings hard to brake. She crossed her hooves over her chest, flapping her wings in a lazy hover.
"Then what's the problem?" she asked.
Rainbow looked down, a hoof leapt to her mane. "It's ... It's not so much anything you've said or done that I've seen. Yet. But that's the thing--you haven't done it yet." She looked up to meet Spitfire's gaze, a frown marred her muzzle. "Look, I like you, Cap. I respect you and all the other Bolts a lot. But Twilight's my friend, and as much as the girls and I love to tease her about how panicky she can be or how much of a nerd she is, we love her to death."
Spitfire nodded once. "I've noticed. And I understand you on that front. Soarin and Fleetfoot are both pains in my backside, but I'd beat a dragon's face in for them. Or at least try."
"Yeah. Like Pinkie." Rainbow chuckled. "Annoying and random sometimes, but anypony else tells her that and I'll slug 'em."
"As your CO, I'm supposed to tell you to put a lid on that temper ... but this is mare to mare talking time, so I'm going to conveniently leave that off your file when your tryout comes up."
"Heh, thanks."
Spitfire turned and beckoned her along with a wave of her hoof. They continued on their flight, passing by Little Neighpon and headed south toward the park Spitfire and Twilight had their first date.
Warmth flooded Spitfire's chest. She searched the rolling green field for the tree they'd sat under, her lips tugged into a bright grin when she saw a crowd of foals gathered around it. One of them, a young filly, turned and placed her hooves on the tree while her friends scampered off as fast as they could.
Hide and seek without clouds, huh? Spitfire tilted her head and pulled a face. It didn't seem right to her since she'd grown up in Cloudsdale, but it'd make for some interesting hiding spots to be sure.
Foals always figured something out.
Spitfire turned her attention to Rainbow Dash again. "So, you're trying to look out for Twilight," she said. The wind ran through her mane, whipping it back and forth like it was trying to entice her to play. "Fair enough, but I'm a bit confused. What exactly do you mean I can't mould her or yell? Not that I was planning on either, mind you."
Rainbow Dash let out a low whine. "I'm trying to be gentle about this, but I'm really not doing a good job."
"Then don't. Be blunt and tell me what's up--I'd do the same if you were dating into my circle."
"Blunt?" Rainbow shrugged. "Alright, then." With a heavy sigh, she ran a hoof through her mane. "Twi's really sensitive, okay? She likes to make everypony happy and doesn't like feeling like she's failed at anything. Hay, she had a nervous breakdown because she thought she was late on a dang friendship report once!"
Spitfire wrinkled her snout. "What the hay is a friendship report?"
"It's a thing we all used to write up and send to Princess Celestia back when Twi wasn't a princess, just studying the magic of friendship. But that's not the point!" Rainbow darted around to hover before her, stopping Spitfire in mid flight. "She's not like me or any of the other cadets. You can't browbeat her with something she's messed up on and expect her to come back for more or put a smile on her face afterward. Or doing the whole name calling thing too much. Egghead is about as far as I can take it, and I've known her for years."
Spitfire's wings seemed to flap of their own accord. Her tongue felt dry inside her mouth, memories of that letter from years before swam to the forefront of her mind.
"It's not you, Spitfire. It's me."
"I can't deal with waiting for you to come home anymore ... I don't understand how you can deal with a group that rowdy, or how dangerous it all is ..."
"I can't watch you ready to rage, then try to pretend you're not angry or passionate for what you believe in."
All such nice little things. Oh, Daybreak tried so hard to make it seem like she didn't blame Spitfire for their relationship failing, putting every little bit of flowery wording she could, like she were writing one of her poems.
But it all meant the same thing.
Spitfire was too intense. She didn't know how to take off her uniform and leave the Wonderbolts behind in the locker room when she came home to see her girlfriend.
How many times had she scared the wits out of Daybreak when she got angry enough to slam a hoof down on the table and leap up, ready to yell like she were about to discipline a cadet?
Enough.
And that was only one reason it failed. All the travel, the parties with her teammates, Daybreak crying because Soarin stuck her with a funny nickname after she passed out drunk ...
She was always on the outside looking into the Wonderbolts' circle, and she couldn't take it anymore.
Daybreak was a lot like Twilight in that regard. Sensitive, not one given to any particular interest in athletics until she started watching Spitfire.
Spitfire licked her lips. "I wish I could say that hasn't caused me problems before," she began. "But that's a lie."
"I'm just trying to help," Rainbow muttered. "I don't want her hurt, and I can tell she's happy now ... so, I figure if I tell you straight up, things can work better. And stuff."
"Better and stuff, huh?" Spitfire repeated. She flicked an ear. "I don't know if I can promise not to be intense or passionate about things, but I can try not to be as abrasive. And I'll avoid the names, though I thought that went without saying."
Rainbow ducked her head between her shoulders and gave a sheepish grin. "Just making sure."
"Yeah. I got ya." Her tail flicked. Spitfire rubbed her hind hooves together. "I'll work on keeping it cool for her."
"Thanks." With a bright smile, Rainbow offered her a hoof. "We cool?"
Snorting, Spitfire hoof bumped her. "Yeah, we're cool. I appreciate it."
"Awesome." Slowly but surely, Rainbow's smile grew into a smirk. The same she wore after pulling off one of her big tricks at the Reserves' practice. "So, since we got the serious stuff out of the way, I've got a question I have to ask since Twilight wouldn't give me an answer without stammering."
"Sure. Shoot."
Cerise eyes flashed with mischievous intent. Rainbow closed the distance between them, sidling up next to her and nudging her with an elbow. "Two nights together, I gotta know if my girl got lucky with the Captain of the freaking Wonderbolts!"
Spitfire sucked in her lips, she felt her blood run cold. "I ... can neither confirm nor deny anything."
"Aha! So she did!"
"I never said that."
"You never said she didn't!"
"Correct."
Rainbow grinned triumphantly. "So I'm right!"
"I didn't say that either," Spitfire replied, the tiniest of smiles tugged at her lips.
"Well then which is it?" Rainbow's grin fell.
"Yes."
"Yes she did or yes she didn't?"
Spitfire shrugged and flew around Rainbow. "Yes," she repeated.
"Caaaaaap!" Rainbow whined, zipping over to fly beside her. "You can't hold back on me like that!"
A thought came to her. Spitfire flipped herself over to glide upside down, her eyes locked with Rainbow's. Slowly, she brought her right hoof up to touch her lips and drew it across them, then twisted it, and made a throwing motion.
Her lips were sealed.
"Oh come on!"
Spitfire let out a laugh and flipped herself back over so she could fly right. "Don't gimme that! I don't kiss and tell, and neither should you, rook!"
"But it's Twilight Sparkle! One of my best friends!" Rainbow cried, flailing her hooves. "And you're ... you! You can't leave me hanging on this! I gotta know if my girl got some dang action!"
"Too bad." With a playful smirk, she flicked her tail across Rainbow's nose. "Not answering."
Rainbow fixed her with a glare and made to speak, but paused a moment to let out a sneeze. She rubbed a hoof across her nose. "Fine!" she said with a huff. "But I'm totally gonna needle Twi about it!"
"Go for it. Best friend code is in play on that front. Just don't expect to hear it from me, and we're good."
"Fair enough, I guess. So ... wanna race or something?"
Snorting, Spitfire shot her a sidelong look. "You want me to smoke you after giving me the protective friend spiel? Aw, rookie, I didn't know you cared!"
"What? Smoke me? That's a laugh!" Rainbow darted forward and bumped their shoulders together. "If there's anyone getting smoked today, it's you, Cap! I'll even let you pick the course I beat your flank on!"
Her wings twitched. Spitfire narrowed her eyes and fixed Rainbow with a glare. Favorite recruit or not, anypony who thought they could outfly her on her own terms was in desperate need of a lesson.
She hummed in thought. Dinner with Luna was later, so she couldn't exactly spend all day giving Rainbow an education, no matter how much the younger mare needed one.
A smile slowly made its way across her muzzle. She still had one option.
"On three, we head to the southern gate and hit a hard turn," Spitfire said. "Finishing line is the Royal Canterlot Hotel."
Rainbow flicked an ear. "Hanging out with Soarin and Fleetfoot before you have dinner with Princess Luna?"
"Something like that. Gotta get my jacket and get cleaned up."
"... Would it be too much of a total rook slash fanfilly move to ask if I could tag along?" She asked, her eyes wide and dancing with glee.
Spitfire arched a brow and pretended to think it over. There were plenty of ways she could turn it all into a joke, but a thought gave her pause.
She had once been the starstruck filly, gaping in awe of all the Wonderbolts going through the drills while she watched her dad lead the team.
"Nah, it's totally cool." Spitfire rubbed her shoulder against Rainbow's. "It'll make the transition easier when you join us for real."
Rainbow gasped and quickly covered her mouth with her hooves to hide a grin. "You mean it?"
"Officially, I have to evaluate you against all the other recruits in the program and consider the merit of adding you to the team." A smile played upon her lips. Spitfire turned to look ahead. "Unofficially, Fleetfoot, Soarin, and I are just waiting for a spot to open up."
"That. Is. Aweso--" She stopped short, then gave a cough. "I mean, uh, cool. That's cool. Start on three?"
Spitfire shook her head. Oh, rookie. "Nah, counter always gets a jump on that." She nodded toward a pair of weather ponies trying to maneuver a rather heavy cloud, each beating their wings to try and catch up with the rest of their team. "We start when we pass the weather team's rooks, rook."
Rainbow turned and gave her a flat look. "I'm really gonna enjoy reminding you that a rook beat the feathers offa you later."
"Gotta win first, Dash. And even if you do, the fact that you're a rook will be in place until the day somepony else is the rook."
Throwing up her hooves, Rainbow let out a frustrated groan. "Has anypony ever told you that you're a jerk?"
A smirk played upon her lips. "All the time. Usually after I make them fly until they puke. Or, more topically--" her eyes locked on the cloud pushers up ahead. Just a few more seconds and they could start.
"A lot of them say it after I smoke their sorry tails in a race."
Rainbow gritted her teeth and faced forward. The pair passed by the cloud pushers and took off.
Racing was always a nice way to unwind in between grilling sessions.
Spitfire's eye twitched with each stroke of the brush through her goldenrod coat, she pinned her ears back to try and ignore her favorite recruit sniggering in the background while Soarin fussed over her.
As it turned out, the chance to taunt Rainbow after beating her in a race--albeit with a rather borderline cheap trick, but she couldn't just let the kid win--evaporated the very instant she trotted into her suite and mentioned dinner with a princess.
More specifically, dinner with a princess not named Twilight Sparkle. Her head was still spinning with how fast they'd shooed her off to take a shower so they could help her get ready.
She let out a sigh. Trust Soarin to go into full-blown mother pegasus mode the instant he had the chance. Sometimes she wondered just who ran the team. It seemed an awful lot like she bounced between den mother to everypony's little foal.
Her wings rustled. Spitfire shifted her weight, standing while Soarin brushed her was always a pain. He didn't just hit the few spots where her coat had gotten a little mussed up, he went through the whole spiel as though she'd just rolled out of bed.
His stupid mother had drilled that one into his head. Yet another reason Spitfire had half a mind to knock on the old battleaxe's door and make out with Twilight on her front porch.
Just to see the look on her stupid face.
"Stop fidgeting," Fleetfoot chided from her spot on the couch.
Spitfire scowled. She'd been caught. "I barely moved! How can you even tell?"
Fleetfoot simply smiled and waggled her ears.
Oh, right. Stupid bat-eared mare. Rolling her eyes, Spitfire tapped her hoof. "I could've gotten ready by myself you--ow!--know!"
"Uh huh, sure," Soarin replied absentmindedly. His brows furrowed in concentration as he began trying to brush her coat until it was smooth as velvet. It was almost adorable, really. If not for how rough he could be when he hit a snag.
Wincing, Spitfire flicked a wing across his shoulder. "Careful back there!" she said, watching closely as he made his way to work on her cutie mark.
"Just hold still and relax, would you?" He chuckled and shook his head. "I'll be done in a second."
"You said that twenty minutes ago, Soar. I'm starting to think you can't keep time."
"For shame, Spits! Didn't your mama ever teach you that patience was a virtue?" His forest green eyes shone with mischief. "Besides, you're having dinner with Princess Luna. Dressing you up and making you look like a pretty little pony worthy of taking her fellow princess out is a requirement."
Spitfire sucked in a breath. "I already have her approval. We talked about that last night."
"Oh, is that where you were?" Fleetfoot asked from her spot on the couch. Her ears perked up.
"Uh, yeah. Where'd you think I was? Hitting bars all night?"
Sniggering, Soarin patted her back. "No, that's Rapid's thing. Actually, we thought you decided to spend the night in Twilight's room with a necktie on the doorhandle, since you insist you're a big mare and can decide when to play or not."
"What's this about neckties?" Rainbow cut in, eying Spitfire closely. "And am I reading into this, or is playing your coy way of saying--"
"Rook! Soarin! Shut it!" Spitfire snapped.
Soarin's smirk only widened. "Necktie on the door means that we have a guest over for sex, Dash. And to answer your question." He looked Spitfire right in the eye and made a show of fluffing his feathers. "Yes. It is."
"Aha!" Rainbow preened, pointing a hoof at Spitfire. "I knew my girl got lucky! Both nights or one?"
With a groan, Spitfire brought a hoof to her forehead and slowly dragged it down her face. She shot a heated glare at Soarin. "I hate you. All of you. So much."
"Love you too, Feurball." Soarin turned to rub his cheek against hers. "Answer the question."
Sometimes being captain of the same team with her best friends was more of a pain than a privilege. They knew how to push her buttons and go right up against the line, but dance along the edge while she waited in vain for them to set hoof across it.
"I so hate you," Spitfire grumbled. She turned to Rainbow Dash, gritting her teeth at the expectant look in her star recruit's eyes. "Both nights. Several times. Do I have to go into detail as to what she said, or does this satisfy you?" Pausing a beat, she added, "You're included in the hating, if you haven't gotten the hint."
Rainbow thought for a moment then shrugged. "Eh, I can deal with being hated. My main mare did me proud!" She hopped into the seat across from Fleetfoot and laid her head in her hooves. "Dating Captain Spitfire and going all the way through the home stretch! Twilight has all of the awesome points right now!"
"All of them?" Fleetfoot flicked an ear toward Rainbow, a bemused smile played upon her lips. "There's a finite amount?"
"It's about as finite as the number of laps everypony in the room not named Spitfire will be doing after this is done," Spitfire quipped. "Keep it up, and I'm adding weights to it."
"All of the weights?" Soarin asked, smiling as he busied himself with brushing her side.
Her threats weren't working. She'd have to default to glaring at the side of his head until he burst into flames.
His smile only broadened. Soarin had long since built up an immunity to her patented death glare. Even as she unfurled her wings and flared her nostrils in open challenge, he simply hummed one of his mother's old Germane songs and finished brushing her coat.
"There!" he said, stepping back to survey his work. He nodded once. "Looking good, Spits."
Spitfire craned to look at herself, lifting her right leg to get a good glance at her flank. Then she did the same with her left side.
He'd brushed until light shone off her coat, giving her a nice sheen that accented her muscles and curves quite nicely.
Her thoughts wandered to Twilight. How fun it would be to just trot right by the bookish princess, swaying her hips and giving a little swish of her tail before she ducked beneath Twilight's chin and trailed her body along like a cat, before fixing her with a hooded stare.
She could already picture the way those purple cheeks would darken, how Twilight would stammer as her feathers fluffed and her tail whipped from side to side while Spitfire slipped into the bedroom and left the door open just a crack ...
Spitfire felt her cheeks burn. She shook her head as if to chase the image away. Down, girl! We're not entertaining that princess tonight!
Giving her feathers a little fluff, she turned and stepped close to Soarin. "Thanks for your help," she said, rubbing their shoulders together. "Even though I'm kind of a pain."
"Kind of?" Soarin pulled a face and waggled a hoof. "Depends on your mood. And if you find me and Fleet on the couch again with the whipped--"
She jammed a hoof in his mouth, the familiar burn of bile stung the back of her throat. "Aaaaaaaaand I hate you again. Completely." Turning away, she whacked him across the snout with a wing, then trotted to her bedroom to get her uniform jacket.
Spitfire opened up the closet, her eyes flitted to the lone piece of clothing sitting on a hanger. She fondly ran a hoof over one of the short sleeves before removing it from the rack. A few flecks of dust resting on the shoulders floated up and tickled her nose.
Her eyes crossed, Spitfire's nose twitched. She opened her mouth to breathe, then felt the familiar tingle. She turned to cover her face with her leg and sneezed so hard her ears popped.
Lovely. She sniffed and looked her jacket over. "I'm gonna have to borrow Soarin's roller," she muttered. "Good thing he brought his."
Tedious, but nothing to fuss over. What was a few extra minutes spent making sure she didn't have any hairs or dust on her jacket while eating with a princess?
Spitfire gave turned it around to check her medals, her heart sank as her eyes flitted down. "Oh, pluck my feathers!" she groaned. Not good. How was she supposed to explain this to Soarin and Fleetfoot?
Soarin stuck his head around the doorjamb. "Spits? What's wrong?"
Without saying a word, Spitfire held out her jacket for him to see. She heard him mutter something under his breath before saying, "Spits, what the hay happened to your buttons?"
Here we go. Spitfire kept her gaze fixed on the closet, not daring to turn and meet his eye. "They got ripped off," she ground out through gritted teeth.
"Okay," he said slowly. After a moment's pause, he added, "How did they get ripped off?"
"What's this about getting ripped off?" Fleetfoot's voice sounded from the sitting room.
"Spits' buttons are missing!" Soarin called back.
"No way!" Rainbow chimed in her raspy voice. "Seriously?"
Spitfire flicked an ear at the sound of two sets of hooves walking toward her. Fleetfoot spoke again, this time from beside Soarin. "How the hay did she manage that?"
"Good question! Spits?" Soarin asked, turning back to her. "How'd you manage that?"
Her ears pinned back against her scalp. She could already picture the grin that would spread across his muzzle, the way his ears would perk right up at the chance to tease her. And that girlfriend of his was no different.
Rainbow Dash was the wildcard, but Spitfire was willing to bet she'd join right in. She'd been getting awful comfy with the three of them, a far cry from the starstruck filly who won the Best Young Flyers Competition.
Which left Spitfire with two options: talk or escape.
She'd have to deal with Soarin if she chose the latter. He'd always been the power flyer, and could easily wrap her up tight and hold her against his broad chest while Fleetfoot and Rainbow wheedled it out of her.
Her eyes flitted to her jacket. It was already damaged, it could be sacrificed to help her make a quick escape. Just toss it at Soarin, then give him a good shove into the other two, and she could be out the window before they could figure out which end was up. She would happily take her chances in the air against the three of them if she got a good head start. All she needed was a place to duck into and hide until it was time for dinner with Princess Luna.
Of course, that just delayed the inevitable.
The moment she set hoof in the suite again, Fleetfoot would have Soarin grab her for interrogation.
Spitfire sighed. Damn. She looked down at the carpet at her hooves and mumbled the answer under her breath.
"Wait, she what?" Fleetfoot sniggered. "Say that again!"
Oh right. Ol' bat ears was in the room.
Double damn.
"I said Twilight ripped them off with her magic," Spitfire grumbled. "She couldn't get them with her hooves."
There was silence. Slowly, she glanced back at the ponies standing in the doorway, promptly wincing when she saw Rainbow sitting on the floor with her hooves stuffed in her mouth and eyes screwed shut while she tried not to laugh.
Fleetfoot simply snorted and shook her head as she brought a hoof to her forehead and sighed. "Oh, Spits."
"So!" Soarin said, grinning and clasping his hooves together. The way his face lit up was more akin to a foal on Hearth's Warming morning than a full-grown stallion. "Let me see if I have this right!"
Spitfire let her shoulders slump. "Can we please not?"
"You've got dinner with Princess Luna, presumably to discuss your relationship with Twilight, who you've had sex with twice--once in the castle itself ..."
"Yes."
"It'll probably be a nice affair, so dressing up is kinda required."
"Uh huh." Why me?
"But you can't wear your jacket because Twilight Sparkle ripped it off in her haste to get to that first little tumble through the thunderheads." Soarin waggled his ears. "And now you get to explain to Princess Luna--who's kinda related to Twilight via marriage--why you're not in Class A dress when you show up for dinner tonight. Anything I missed, or does that just about cover it?"
Spitfire gritted her teeth and gave a slow, stiff nod. "Yes, Soarin. Thank you so very much for that assessment. Is there anything else you'd like to add to further drive home how thoroughly screwed I am?"
He shook his head. "Nah, nothing to add. Just a request, really."
"I'm afraid to ask ... but I will." She closed her eyes and braced for it. "What do you want, Soarin?"
She felt his hooves touch her shoulders, she opened one eye to regard the stallion beaming at her with a half-hearted glare.
Soarin simply grinned wider. "Can I please be there when you tell her? Pretty please with cirrus berries, sprinkles, and cherries on top?"
And there it is. Triple damn. "Soarin?"
"Yeah, Spits?"
"I hate you. Go rut yourself with a cactus."
"Will you let me be there when you tell her if I do?"
Spitfire snarled and threw her jacket down on the floor. She gave him a rough shove, then jabbed a hoof at him and Fleetfoot. "If I survive tonight, the two of you are flying until your damn wings fall off!"
"Punishment for a bit of good-natured ribbing?" Fleetfoot crooned. "Oh, Spits, now you're just making it worth sharing with the rest of the team!"
That did it. Soarin and Rainbow Dash fell over, kicking their hooves in the air as they laughed raucously while Fleetfoot just fixed Spitfire with a smug smirk.
I can't win. Sighing, Spitfire walked over to her bed and flopped onto it, covering her face with her hooves and wings. "I hate all of you." |
Glow | 12. Dinner With the Night Princess | Spitfire licked her dried lips, her eyes wandered over Canterlot Castle's foyer, flitting from splendorous paintings of battles fought and deeds of kindness from ages ago to the architecture itself, even to the stony-faced expression worn by each of the Royal Guard.
Spitfire rubbed the back of her neck. Though they all kept their eyes straight ahead, she could feel their gazes on her.
It's like they know, or something. She gave a crooked smile and pinned back her ears. Did Shining tell his entire friggin' force that I was dating his little sister?
Come to think of it, that wasn't entirely out of the question. If somepony tried dating Blaze or Rapid, she'd have the top squad line the main hallway on base in full force so the daft fools would have to endure the same, add in a few choice words and threats, of course.
Her wings rustled. Spitfire tried not to tap a hoof against the polished tile floor, she drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes. Royalty was supposed to be waited on, but one wasn't supposed to look like they were waiting for royalty to appear.
That much had been drilled into her when she first made it into the Wonderbolts' officer school--never make one of the princesses feel like they've inconvenienced you. They are important, their time is infinitely more important, and, what's more, you answer to them.
It didn't help her nerves that her Class A uniform jacket was currently sitting in a crumpled heap in her suite closet, with its buttons still missing.
Her mind wandered back to that night in the gardens, a heated blush colored her cheeks as she remembered that teasing smirk and the way the Night Princess so casually offered her ...
Spitfire felt her heart skip a beat. Her ears pinned flat against her scalp.
"Perhaps you would prefer a taste of Twilight's flower, then?"
She was almost certain she would burst into flames in the middle of the foyer. Princess Luna knew. Cirrus, even Princess Celestia seemed to know something was up!
Was that why she'd been asked to dine with Princess Luna, and Twilight with Princess Celestia? One princess to put the fear of Nightmare Moon in her, the other to hold Twilight close under wing?
"Be at ease, Captain. Methinks such stress will put gray in your mane before you reach your thirtieth year!"
Spitfire let out a yelp and took flight, her heart raced. The sound of raucous laughter reached her ears.
Below, Princess Luna gaze up at her, a mischievous smile playing upon her lips and her eyes dancing with mirth. "A bit skittish, aren't we, Captain?"
Sighing, Spitfire slowly lowered herself to land before her princess. She bowed low. "Sorry, Princess Luna. I was lost in thought and I didn't hear you approach."
If possible, those teal eyes seemed to light up even more. "No trouble at all," Luna replied, waving a hoof. "I'm quite talented at stealth, Captain Spitfire. Something I fear you'll find yourself quite familiar with, given your blossoming relationship with my young friend and fellow princess. Admittedly, I was hoping to see how you might react to a bit of a scare." Her smile tugged into a grin. "As the young ponies would say, you should've seen your face."
Spitfire gave a weak chuckle as she stood up straight. A princess who loved tricks?
Her thoughts returned to their talk, how Princess Luna delighted in teasing her and found her reaction upon realizing she'd fallen asleep entertaining.
Perhaps she shouldn't be so surprised.
"Y-Yeah, I guess so." Grimacing, Spitfire let her amber eyes fall to the floor. "I'm sorry I've appeared before you out of uniform this evening, Princess Luna. The buttons popped out due to a bit of ... um ..."
Princess Luna raised an eyebrow. "Clumsy hooves?" she offered coyly.
Spitfire swallowed a lump, forcing herself to return Princess Luna's smile with a very wide, very forced grin. "Yes! That's exactly it! Clumsy hooves, late night after the Gala, you know how it is!" She shrugged her shoulders and fluffed her wings, trying her best to appear casual. "But I'm sure you don't want me to bore you with the details."
"Hmm, well, perhaps not all of them." Princess Luna stepped closer until her larger frame was flush against Spitfire's left side, she leaned down to whisper, "Would you like me to pretend I think it was your hooves that ruined your jacket, or perhaps I could interest you in swinging by the gardens for a quick snack on Twilight's violets as an appetizer?"
With a strangled squeak, Spitfire took a big step to her right. "I--uh--Dinner!" she managed to stammer out. "Dinner! Right, we're supposed to do that thing!"
"Indeed we are." Giggling, Princess Luna shrugged. "I suppose the violets can wait."
Oh, Celestia she's gonna try to make me burst into flames before we even get to dinner. Flicking her tail, she looked away. "So, um, are we supposed to go to the dining hall again--oh, wait, that's probably where Twilight and the others are ..."
"Correct. I would've preferred we dine in, but my sister called dibs, as it were." Princess Luna nodded toward the door. "So, I figured we could eat at a rather nice Neighponese restaurant on Moonlight Road. My niece recommended it rather highly, as did her husband, and I have yet to have the chance to try. Would that be agreeable to you?"
Spitfire bobbed her head. "Whatever you say, Princess. I'm honored to dine with you."
Princess Luna's smile faltered for a second, her brows knitted together. She wrinkled her nose and sighed, then beckoned Spitfire to follow her out the door. "Come along, Captain. I have a carriage ready for us."
Blinking, Spitfire tilted her head. Had she said something wrong? Was she supposed to bow when she agreed to Princess Luna's choice?
She shook herself and bounded after the princess. Whether or not she'd misspoken, Spitfire knew for certain she wasn't supposed to dawdle. Royalty was meant to be waited on.
They weren't supposed to wait on her.
Spitfire had dined with the princesses in the past, but it was rarely a one-on-one situation. If it ever was, she would always be sitting across from Princess Celestia on one of the balconies in Canterlot Castle while they discussed the next show or some of the prospects she was looking into bringing up.
Never before had she sat across from Princess Luna without the elder princess close by, let alone in a fancy Neighponese restaurant like Fuyu no Tsuki.
"Winter Moon," as the princess seated on the cushion across from her had so happily supplied.
She shifted, trying her best to be subtle as she struggled to make herself comfortable on the cushion while Princess Luna looked over the menu.
Her eyes darted around the room to each of the Princess' guards, clad in their deep purple armor as they stood at post--two to each entrance, one by the three windows, and one a mere three paces from Princess Luna herself.
"You should relax," Princess Luna said without looking up from her menu. "Such posture will make your bones ache when you get older."
With a yelp, Spitfire sat up straight. "Yes, Your Highness!"
Princess Luna sighed and lowered her menu. She folded her hooves, her brows knitted together as she stared silently at Spitfire for a moment. "There's no need to be so formal and stiff in my presence," she said, a ghost of a smile flitted across her muzzle. "I promise I won't bite."
"R-Right. Of course not." Spitfire forced a smile, but her ears drooped low. Her wings unfurled and fluffed, ready to wrap around like twin, downy shields. The memory of their conversation was still fresh in her mind, both the subject ...
And how it transitioned seamlessly from the waking world to her own dream.
The menu!
Spitfire snatched it off the table and quickly brought it before her face. Come on, breathe, she scolded herself. Pull your head out of the clouds and treat this like a flight routine. That's all this is. A flight routine. With a princess. A princess with the power to walk into your dreams.
Maybe focusing on what she wanted to eat would help ease her frayed nerves.
Her eyes wandered over the page. While Neighponese food wasn't necessarily her favorite, she'd tried it once or twice before. The taste was certainly exotic, and the use of shellfish and fish was rather similar to a few gryphons she'd met on international tours.
Shrimp and scallops were usually a safer bet, in her experience. Not that fish was bad, but some dishes tended to leave the head in place.
I could do without my food staring back at me while I eat it.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed their waitress approach to take their orders. Princess Luna greeted the mare cordially, slipping into Neighponese with ease, much to her surprise. After a quick byplay, that left the younger mare's cheeks tinged a rosy hue and bowing repeatedly, it was Spitfire's turn.
"Uh ..." Shoot. "Can I just get the scallop dinner with the vegetable mix and rice?"
"Hai--Pardon me. Yes, ma'am." The waitress bowed. "And for your drink? Or will you be joining Her Highness in trying our plum sake?"
Spitfire's gaze flitted to the menu again, then to Princess Luna. Perhaps a stronger drink might be helpful here. "Sure, I'll give it a shot."
Princess Luna smiled. "Excellent." She turned to the waitress and added a few more words in Neighponese that made the mare bow lower, then scurry away as fast as her hooves could carry her.
Raising a brow, Spitfire glanced after her. "Geez, she moved like her tail was on fire."
"Her family owns the restaurant," Princess Luna said. "I told her that I found the aesthetic quite pleasant and that I'd heard wonderful things from Cadence and Shining Armor. Her reaction was rather predictable, but I do enjoy seeing my ponies happy." With a low chuckle, she fluffed her feathers. "It's nice to see you settling in as well."
Spitfire started. She turned slowly, her ears laid flat. "I'm sorry, Princess. It's just ... well, there's getting grilled by family, and then there's getting grilled by three out of four princesses because you're dating the fourth."
"Dating into royalty is often that way." Flicking her starry mane, Princess Luna crossed her hooves and laid them on the table. "Are you worried, then?"
Worried?
"About what?"
"About the ramifications, the consequences, anything, really."
Unbidden, the image of Princess Celestia floated to the forefront of her mind. That calculating stare, the small frown marring her muzzle as she stared at Spitfire like she was studying her every move, her every word.
Spitfire licked her lips. "I'm not worried about my career, if that's what you're asking."
"Not necessarily, though I will admit complications with Twilight could, in theory, create some on that front as well. But, no, that's not what I meant by consequences."
A shiver ran down Spitfire's spine. "I don't suppose this means you're revoking your support, then?"
Princess Luna gave an amused snort. "Nothing of the sort, actually. I extended it and I've yet to find you dragging Twilight into trouble in the last twenty-four hours, so I see no reason to pull it, as it were." Her smile faltered. "Do you think me so flighty that my word means nothing?"
"No!" Spitfire quickly bowed her head. "I didn't mean to imply that at all!"
"Oh, good. I was worried for a moment." A pained smile spread across her muzzle. "Emotionally sound is not a phrase one would use to describe my history, is it?"
Spitfire winced. "I wouldn't hazard a guess, Princess."
Another snort. "Back to being stiff, are we? Has my sister's prodding truly unsettled you so much, Little Flame?"
Goldenrod ears twitched. Spitfire's head snapped up, she gaped at the princess, her mouth working wordlessly as she searched for the words. "Where did you--"
"The same place we finished our conversation last night," Princess Luna replied. "You have such lovely dreams of home, Captain."
Spitfire felt her blood run cold. There it was again. Another reminder she was dating into a family far more powerful than mere titles or the crowns they wore.
Two who raise the sun and moon, one who can spark love, and one who can learn any spell there is. She swallowed a lump in her throat. And whatever else they have under their hats.
Princess Luna caught her look. "If it's any help, I'm bound by oath never to reveal the specific contents of your dreams to others." Thinking a moment, she added, "My guards have taken similar oaths, so to avoid possible gossip."
"I see." Spitfire fidgeted. "I, er, hope you don't take offense, but the whole dream walking thing is something I'm not entirely used to, Princess."
"I understand. Though I have helped many overcome their nightmares, I do find many things have changed since my banishment. Whether or not my intrusion is always welcome is one of them." She heaved a sigh and shook her head. "One of many things that has changed. So too have relationships, it seems." Her smile returned in full. "Were one to dare tread in one of our chambers in that age, they would have been jailed on the spot. Or, alternatively ..."
Mirth shone in those teal eyes. Princess Luna leaned forward, fixing Spitfire with a half-lidded stare. "You would have been expected to marry Twilight so she could save face."
Spitfire coughed. "I, er, uh ..." Darn it. She hung her head and heaved a sigh. "That bit with Twilight's flowers wasn't just a coincidental euphemism, was it?"
Princess Luna let out a laugh. "No, Captain, it was not."
Oh boy. "Can I ask how?"
"Multiple sources." Princess Luna chuckled. "First and foremost is that my guards caught you both leaving Twilight's suite together, the second is something that's become a personal favorite of mine: staff gossip." She raised her brows. "The third is something I'm afraid I can't say."
Blinking, Spitfire tilted her head. "Why not?"
"For the same reason I cannot discuss or divulge the contents of your dreams to any other than you."
A dream?
Spitfire wrinkled her nose. If Princess Luna couldn't talk about it in her presence, then who--
It clicked.
Her heart skipped a beat. Spitfire felt her cheeks burn. An awkward smile spread slowly across her muzzle. "Ah. Twilight, then."
Princess Luna simply smiled. "I would appreciate it if you didn't press her on the matter. Twilight does know of my ability, but if she were to know what I happened upon before I realized and left, I daresay she would avoid my gaze for quite some time."
"Yeah, no kidding," Spitfire mumbled. She winced and ducked her head. "Er, sorry. Slipped out."
"No apology needed. Just keep it to yourself and I shall consider us even."
The waitress came trotting in with a tray bearing a white bottle and two sake saucers held aloft in the pink glow of her magic. She moved quietly, setting the tray down on the table and pouring the sake before each of them.
Spitfire took her saucer in hoof, mumbling a soft "thanks" while she inspected the drink. Curious, she took a sniff. It held a rather sweet scent, almost like the flower itself, but with the familiar bite of alcohol.
Princess Luna nodded to the mare. "Thank you, Sakura," she said. "If you wouldn't mind, please bring us some tea out for our meal as well. I doubt we'll be drinking sake all night."
"Yes, Your Highness." Sakura bowed low, then scurried out of the room.
Chuckling, Princess Luna floated her saucer up. "To your health, Captain," she said.
"Thank you, Your Highness," she replied, raising her own saucer. "To your health as well."
They drank in unison. The floral taste was sweet, but did little to distract from the burn in the back of her throat. Spitfire took a deep breath and blinked several times. "Hurricane's pinions! This is strong stuff!"
"Neighponese sake usually is quite strong. Hence why it takes little to get a pony drunk."
"No fooling! I gotta make sure my team never sneaks this onto one of our trips, or I'll be doing laps in the hospital visiting all their rooms!"
"Indeed. My sister has told me of Firestorm's reputation." Waggling her ears, Princess Luna poured them both another saucer of sake. "Isn't this more fun? Just the two of us sharing drinks and dining together?"
Spitfire gave her tail a flick. "I was half expecting this to be less cordial, Princess. Figured it would be another questioning session."
"I see. Tell me, then, have you forgotten the promise I made last night?"
"I believe your wording was that I would 'feel the brunt of your displeasure.'"
"Excellent. Then there is no need for further questioning." Humming, she brought a hoof to her chin. "What else, I wonder. I know I had something--ah! Yes!" Princess Luna levitated her saucer once again, smiling brightly. "To what I hope is the beginning of a wonderful relationship with my young friend."
Sitting up a bit straighter, Spitfire returned her smile and raised her saucer in kind. "I'll definitely drink to that."
The pair downed their second saucer together. Spitfire gasped, letting the cool air tickle her burning throat. She set her saucer down on the table, closer to the edge as a indication that she was finished drinking.
Just in time for Sakura to return with a pair of trays floating in her magic's glow.
Spitfire's nostrils flared, the scents of jasmine rice and scallops made her feathers fluff. She hadn't eaten shellfish since the team did a goodwill event with Gryphonia's Screaming Talons.
Amber eyes met teal. Princess Luna smiled and nodded as Sakura set their plates before them, then took up a pair of chopsticks in her magic.
Their conversation could continue after they'd eaten.
"I might just have to make this place a regular stop when I come to town for meetings," Spitfire said, swishing her tail and licking her lips to savor the meal's remnants. "This and that Istallion place. Don Contorno's, I think."
Princess Luna raised a brow and floated a cup of steaming tea before her. "For the food, or because the latter is one of Twilight's favorite restaurants?"
Spitfire ducked her head, a crooked smile made its way across her muzzle. "A bit of both."
"Good. She'll enjoy that quite a bit." Her lips twitched. "Speaking of, I would imagine you could turn Canterlot into a nice midway point between Ponyville and Cloudsdale." Shrugging, Princess Luna took a sip of her tea. "Not that I mean to direct you toward anything, of course. Consider it food for thought."
Spitfire sat up a little straighter. There it was again. Hinting at how she might further things with Twilight and move toward something lasting, and right after reminding her of the promise she made.
Her ears perked up. "Can I ask you something?"
Snorting, Princess Luna smiled. "You already have, but yes."
Smart aleck. Spitfire flicked her tail, but kept her snark to herself. "I don't mean to press or anything, but I'm a bit confused."
"By what?"
"The way you talk about Twilight and me. One minute, it's like you're all in favor and completely fine with what we're trying. But then there's that promise you've made." Spitfire let her gaze fall to the table. "I don't want to assume anything, but it's almost like you expect me to make a mess of things with her."
Like I do every time.
Princess Luna scoffed. "If that's what you've gotten from our talks, then I would advise you have your ears checked."
Spitfire reared back as if she'd been struck across the face. "E-Excuse me?"
"I don't believe I stuttered." Princess Luna let her teacup float to rest on the table, steepling her hooves. "I said that I would support your relationship with Twilight because I value her happiness and respect her as an adult, never once did I say that I approved of everything that's happened between you two. In fact, I recall telling you that I disapproved of her allowing you into her room the night of the Gala. To be perfectly blunt, it does trouble me that you two know one another in a more intimate sense after only a few short days together." Her eyes narrowed. "That it was after only a few short hours is something I most certainly don't approve."
A cold shiver ran down Spitfire's neck. The timberwolf's breath was back, and this time, it had brought its pack.
She licked her lips. "I--we--Twilight and I sat down and sorted things afterward ..."
Sighing, Princess Luna rolled her eyes. "And there you go again. Does no pony listen when I speak?" She turned to the guard posted on her right. "Am I speaking in tongues, Sleepless Night?"
The stallion shook his head. "No, Princess."
"Excellent. So it's not me then." Her gaze fell upon Spitfire once again. "For your benefit, I will remind you--yet again--of our discussion last night. Do pay attention this time."
Spitfire ducked her head, trying to make herself smaller. "Yes, Princess."
Princess Luna brought her hooves up to massage her temples. "Young ponies these days. I truly do despair," she muttered. Then, she said, "I may not approve of how quickly things have moved, but, as I said last night, I am not in this relationship. You two are grown mares. As long as you treat Twilight with respect and act like an adult in this, I won't speak against it." Her brows flatlined, her eyes bored into Spitfire. "In short, don't upset my friend or I will be angry. Otherwise, it's really not my business. Are we clear?"
"Crystal, Princess."
"Good, then we understand one another." Her smile returned. Princess Luna brought her cup to hover before her again. She stopped short, thinking for a moment. "I should caution you, though. My sister will not give her support so easily."
The chill returned. Spitfire cringed and let her ears droop. "Princess Celestia did seem rather cold this morning ..."
"Abnormally so, yes. Especially with that choice of story to discuss." Sighing, the Night Princess shook her head. "She always was a bit jealous with how she guarded those closest to her. Twilight is no exception for rather obvious reasons."
"Yeah. Former student and all."
"Quite."
Spitfire sucked in a breath through her teeth. "Do you think she knows that Twilight and I, er ... y'know?"
"Were intimate the very night she set the pair of you up?" Princess Luna supplied.
Oh, geez, that's right. I'm so clipped. "Yes. That."
She simply shrugged. "I cannot say for certain, but given her mood this morning, the possibility is quite real." Raising an eyebrow, she asked, "Are you nervous?"
"Nervous? Me?" Spitfire forced a grin. "Whatever gave you that impression?"
Princess Luna's brow arched higher, her only response a deadpan stare.
Spitfire's grin fell. She let her wings unfurl and begin to wrap around her. "I'm scared out of my wits," she admitted. "I don't think I've been this nervous since my tryout."
"I appreciate your honestly." Princess Luna nodded once. "You'll need it again when my sister does decide to speak with you."
Blinking, Spitfire tilted her head. "But you just said you weren't sure she knows ..."
"True, but we both know how important Twilight is to Celestia." She chuckled and took a sip of her tea. "Regardless of whether or not she's heard through the grapevine, if you think for one second you'll be able to date Twilight Sparkle without enduring a lengthy discussion with my sister, I'm afraid I must inform you that you're sadly mistaken."
Spitfire's mouth felt dry. She took a deep sip of her tea to wet it, but to no avail.
Why did she feel like she was about to pull a Hellfire Dive with her wings tied?
Actually, I might have a better shot with that. She reached up to rub her mane, her ears drooped. "Any advice for what to do when the time comes?"
Chuckling, Princess Luna moved to refill her cup. "Advice? Certainly." Bringing her cup to her lips, she smiled. "Honesty and sincerity." |
Glow | 13. White Wings | "It's been a while since it's just been us, I think," Celestia said, smiling as she swirled a glass in her magic's warm, golden glow. "Too long for my tastes."
Twilight beamed and let her gaze wander around the table. Her brother and Cadence sat close together, as per usual, directly across from her, while Celestia took her rightful place at the head of the table. The seat on the opposite end stayed empty, reserved for Luna alone.
Just as it should be.
"I don't think we've all been together like this since before Spike and I left for Ponyville," she noted. A smile tugged at her lips. "We didn't even have a dinner together when you two took the Crystal Throne."
Shining coughed. "Let's not even go there." He rubbed at the back of his head, pointedly ignoring the way Cadence tittered behind a hoof. "We've only just got the crystal ponies all settled and comfortable, so I'm relieved we can leave without them worrying that we've legged it. They're still worshipping Spike, for crying out loud!"
"Well, he did catch the Crystal Heart," Cadence said as she leaned over to rub shoulders with him.
"Oh, I know. It's just that if I have to hear about how lucky I am to be related to 'Spike the Great' one more time, I'm going to pull out his hatchling pictures and talk about some of his less-than-glorious moments." His brows flatlined. "I changed enough of his diapers while Twily was in school, I have plenty of ammunition."
Celestia hummed, the tiniest of smirks tugged at her lips. "I believe that still counts as Spike's own ammunition, Shining." She shrugged and brought her wine glass to her lips, adding, "Though far be it from me if you'd like to use it against him."
Twilight had to clap a hoof over her mouth, her cheeks ached as she struggled to hold back her mirth. Across from her, Cadence and Shining Armor showed no such restraint, shamelessly sniggering and gasping out reminders of times they spent with him as a hatchling.
All in all, a nice start.
She levitated her own glass and took a sip. Wine wasn't typically her thing, but for a quiet dinner, she could break from tradition.
Then again, Twilight rarely opted to partake, yet she let herself get talked into drinking with a trio of Wonderbolts. Though, admittedly, it was really just one of them she wanted to drink with.
Spitfire's smirking face and lidded stare flashed through her mind. Twilight swished her tail, running her tongue along her lips as she let herself wander over the visage of that beautiful goldenrod coat, her fiery mane and tail, those wide hips, taught thighs, and a rump she could stare at for hours on end.
For scientific purposes, of course. A study in physics.
Mmm, hypothesis: A bit can bounce off Spitfire's rump and knock out a Royal Guard twenty paces away. Purple feathers fluffed and fluttered. I just need a force gauge, a dummy, a pouch of bits, and a few hours alone in my lab with Spitfire.
The matter of payment could be negotiated--what sort of princess or scientist would she be if she didn't compensate her own girlfriend for her time.
Twilight had to fight down a happy squeal, though she couldn't help but let her tail whip back and forth. A bit of fun with her girlfriend was very much welcome.
And a chance to have Spitfire squirming while she tried to stay still would be a nice change of pace from the norm.
"You seem quite pleased with yourself, dear. Something you'd like to share?"
Celestia's voice jolted her back to reality. Twilight sat bolt upright, her ears perked. A sheepish smile spread across her lips as she found herself the focus of their attention.
Her cheeks colored. "N-No! Nothing!" she squeaked, bringing the wine glass to her lips as though to hide behind it and taking a rather generous sip.
The taste of rose petals and fresh grapes greeted her. A bit sweeter than she preferred, but, then again, Celestia had always been a fan of such things.
It only made sense that it translated over to her wine choices as well.
Sweet or not, it was an easy way to stave off the interrogation, if only for a moment. Twilight licked the remaining droplets from her lips. "I don't think I've had this vintage before," she said. "Then again, I'm not much of a wine drinker."
Celestia chuckled and shook her head. "Connoisseur, dear, the term is wine connoisseur." She paused to take a sip from her own glass, smiling as she savored the taste. "And it's a Prench vintage called Les Princesses du Ciel. I believe this particular bottle is ... fifty years old?" Scrunching her nose, she levitated the bottle off the table and squinted at the table. Her eyes lit up. "Yes, fifty! My memory isn't entirely gone after all!"
"Oh, come now, Auntie!" Cadence chided playfully, holding her own glass in hoof and leaning forward to fix Celestia with a half-lidded look. "You don't look a day over thirty, and everypony who pays attention knows your memory hasn't gone foggy in the slightest! Why, I bet you could tell me all the names of the wyvern lord's ambassadors for the past three centuries--and he goes through them like you go through cakes!"
Celestia gave an amused snort. "I should hope that isn't meant literally, otherwise I might have a few choice words for Lord Krasnoye Plamya the next time I visit him."
"A fine idea," Shining said with a nod. With an almost lazy, sideways look, he brought raised his glass. "Just make sure he's already eaten first."
"Well, I never! I'll have you know that Krassy and I have built quite the rapport over the years!"
Twilight winced and glanced to Shining, who gave a rather pained smile as he edged away from Cadence. The siblings pinned their ears back and simultaneously took a long pull from their respective glasses.
They knew the gleam in Cadence's eyes all too well.
"Krassy, hmm?" Three sets of ears flicked, then drooped. That low purr, the very way Cadence swirled her wine around and smiled like a cat who'd just caught a canary. "Auntie ..."
"You know, speaking of rapport, why don't we talk about Twilight?" Celestia pointedly avoided her niece's annoyed huff and glare in favor of turning her attention back to the youngest princess at the table.
Twilight let out a squeak, her magic flickered, she quickly reached out to the glass just before it hit the table, fumbling it in her hooves.
A golden glow surrounded the glass. Celestia chuckled as she set it down on the table. "I'm just so curious about your relationship with Captain Spitfire," she said, the smile tugging at her lips once again.
"Uh, um, it's only been a couple days ..." Twilight fidgeted in place. "And I've already told you most of the--"
The sound of squeaking wheels and hooves clopping against the tile made her turn toward the doorway. A trio of staff ponies, dressed in white collared shirts with purple and gold striped ties stood at the ready.
"Your Highnesses," a stallion of pewter coat and blond mane greeted, bowing his head.
Celestia returned his bow with a nod. "Oh, thank you, Haut Savoir! I do believe we're ready!"
Haut Savoir gave another bow, then directed his fellow staff ponies about. Each trotted forth with their head held high and a covered tray.
Twilight gave a nod of thanks to the mare who slid her tray into place and removed the cover, the scent of seasoned rice and sweet violet petals wafted to her nose. She swished her tail merrily, licking her lips as she levitated her silverware off the black linen, then set the linen in her lap.
A polite cough drew her attention back to Celestia. Her former mentor gave a smile, then said, "I was actually hoping to hear a bit more from your side since it's a smaller group this time." She swept a hoof around the table. "A bit more close-knit than the grilling this morning, I think."
"Ooh, yes!" Cadence bounced in her seat. She beamed at Twilight, leaning forward to prop her head up on her hooves. "You so owe me details!"
Uh oh. Twilight looked to Shining in hope of support, but he just shook his head and sipped at his wine.
"Might as well give up whatever you've got," he said with an almost lazy smile. "You know she'll get it out of you eventually."
Drat. He had a point.
Whenever it came to love, Cadence always got her way. Any hint of a crush, even a lingering gaze on a pretty face or the most discretely stolen glance at a passing mare's tail never escaped her notice. And if it happened while she wasn't around, she found out somehow.
Twilight had a distinct feeling there were two "somehows" in her case--their names were Shining Armor and Spike.
One of which so happened to be sitting so smugly as he chewed on a mouthful of rice and let his wife set to work cajoling information from her.
She licked her dried lips. "What sort of details were you hoping for?"
Cadence's eyes danced. "I want to hear more about that little trip to Don Contorno's!" She leaned forward, propping her hooves up on the table. "And I don't mean that blase little 'oh, we ate dinner, it was nice' summary you gave us! I want details!"
Oh dear. Twilight took a long pull from her wine. Was it bad form to get tipsy in front of two princesses now that she was a princess? Did it even matter if they were in private?
A small part of her was tempted to find out.
The wine ran out far too soon. Twilight slowly lowered her glass to the table. "Well, we started talking about magic and stuff ..."
Laughter swept over the group, Shining shook his head. "I knew you were quick with teleporting, Twily, but that's some pretty impressive stuff! And all to play a little joke on Captain Fireball, eh?"
Twilight tittered. "Yeah, I wanted to get her off balance for a chance." Her ear flicked, she tilted her head. "Since when have you called Spitfire 'Captain Fireball?'"
"Oh, that's an old joke between us," he replied, a wicked smirk playing upon his lips. "Ask her about the time I caught her screaming herself hoarse at a pair of Wonderbolt Reserves on the castle grounds back when we first met. I could've sworn her mane was fire with how mad she was."
"I just might. Thanks."
"I'm rather interested in how close you two have managed to come in such a short time," Cadence put in. Her feathers fluffed up happily. "All those lessons on love you ignored over the years, but you still managed to catch a nice mare. Military too." She waggled her ears, shooting a sidelong look at Shining as she stage whispered, "Between you and me, they're the most fun. Mine squirms."
Shining rolled his eyes. "I do not squirm," he grumbled, taking a sip of his wine. "You just nip at my ears."
"And you squirm as you try to escape!"
"Who wouldn't?" he scoffed. Shining turned his attention to Twilight again. "So, your note said you went back to Spitfire's room and finished the story there, then spent the night." His lips curved into a small frown. "You had me a bit worried for a while. I was about ready to send out a search party."
Twilight winced, a strained smile crossed her muzzle. "Sorry, Shiny. We just got talking and reading the story, and I lost track of time during the storm ..."
An amused snort sounded from the head of the table. Celestia raised a brow at Twilight, a wry smile played upon her lips. "How did you miss the weather schedule, might I ask? We have them posted everywhere."
"I wasn't paying attention. At all."
"I see." Chuckling, Celestia shook her head and sipped her wine. "Silly filly," she muttered, before continuing at normal volume, "Well, I'm quite glad you at least enjoyed your time with Captain Spitfire, regardless of that little oversight."
Twilight smiled despite the burn tinging her cheeks. "Yeah, we both were kicking ourselves for that one. Fortunately, I just cast a small bubble shield spell and we weren't out of walking distance from her hotel." Pausing a moment, she nodded toward Shining. "Which is where the note comes in."
"That makes sense." Another sip of wine. Celestia's smile faltered a note, she swirled the wine around in her glass, a look of contemplation flashed across her muzzle. She looked up at the moon, humming a low note. "The moon is quite bright tonight," she noted. "Beautiful. And the stars dance, so." Her gaze turned to Twilight again. "Luna must be having a good time with your new girlfriend."
Twilight glanced up. Was there really a difference? No offense meant to Luna, but as far as Twilight could tell, there wasn't really much of anything to show she was any happier than normal.
Maybe it was something in how the stars twinkled? Or how the full moon did seem a bit fuller tonight?
More importantly, though, was how Spitfire was doing with Luna herself. While Luna was a valued friend, and a newer mentor figure in the ways of princesshood, Twilight couldn't help but worry a little. Spitfire and Luna both shared rather ... forward personalities.
Spitfire in terms of what she wanted with love, Luna with how she voiced her displeasure.
Twilight bit her lip and let her gaze wander out across the lit buildings and blurry dots of pony forms milling about in the night, as though she hoped to see a flash of goldenrod coat and fiery mane so she could check up on Spitfire.
No such luck, though.
"Speaking of," Celestia said, jolting Twilight out of her thoughts, "I must wonder where you slept that night, Twilight."
Her heart skipped a beat. The memory of Spitfire's hooves wandering over her body, her lips against Twilight's neck, and a night spent entwined together flashed before her eyes.
Twilight did her best to fight back a blush, she kept her wings clamped firm against her sides. "In her suite, of course," she replied. "I didn't want to bother the hotel staff for a room on such short notice, and that's if they even had one. Imagine, they might've tried to kick some poor family out for me or something!"
"Oh, my! That would've been a sight!" Cadence tittered into her hoof. "I can almost see the headlines!" She swept a hoof through the air as if pointing out a sign. "Family of four kicked out of Royal Canterlot Hotel so Princess Twilight Sparkle can rest after an afternoon stroll through the park with her girlfriend! Full spread on page seven!"
Shining snorted into his wine glass. "Geez, Cady, not while I'm drinking!" he scolded playfully.
"Your fault for drinking at the time, not mine!"
Celestia frowned at the pair, a hint of irritation at being interrupted flashed in her eyes before she schooled her expression. "Yes, very droll, you two. Now, if we could focus." She glanced toward Twilight again. Her lips tugged into a tiny smirk, like a cat watching a mouse try to squirm its way out of being cornered.
Why did Twilight feel like she was sitting in her desk at school again all of the sudden?
And since when had Canterlot nights been so hot?
Those ancient purple eyes narrowed. "I appreciate your thoughtfulness for the hotel staff," Celestia said, her tone that of a mother happily playing along with her foal's game, "but that's not what I was asking, Twilight."
Twilight felt her muscles tense. Her smile strained. "Sorry. I figured you just meant it like did I get a room or something."
"Not quite, but that does transition to a more specific line of questioning. Since you've made it clear you want to play the game." Celestia raised a brow. "Where in the Spitfire's suite did you sleep, my dear?"
Her wings rustled. Twilight quickly downed another sip of wine. How could she word it so Celestia didn't assume the worst?
Or, rather, that she didn't discern the truth.
Flicking her tail, Twilight glanced down and away. Her ears splayed back to lay against her scalp.
Celestia sighed. She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. "By your silence, I can hazard a guess. Would I be correct in assuming that you slept in her bed?"
Twilight flinched, giving a single nod in reply.
"I see." Another sigh. The ancient princess finished off the last bit of her wine, then placed the glass down on the table. "I suppose there's no easy way to say it--I know about the night you spent together at the Gala."
A cold sensation dropped into the pit of her stomach. Twilight felt her heart skip a beat, her mouth ran dry. "I-I don't know what you're talking about," she stammered.
With a snort, Celestia opened her eyes and fixed Twilight with a look she'd seen only once before, the very same as the day she'd used the Want It, Need It spell. Disappointment. Like a mother looking down her nose at a naughty filly with her hoof caught in the cookie jar. But with more weight than any other.
She was disappointed in her student.
Shining coughed. "Um, Princess?" he spoke up, raising a hoof. "I don't mean to interrupt or correct, but we already knew Spitfire slept in Twily's suite. Like, on the couch downstairs. They might've been together, but--"
"No, she did not," Celestia cut across him, her eyes never left Twilight. "They slept in the same bed, but that's not the entirety of the story, is it, dear?"
"There's more to it?" Shining turned his head so quick, Twilight could almost hear his joints pop. His deep blue eyes burrowed into hers as though she were one of his recruits. He furrowed his brows, his shoulders slumped a little. "Twily, please don't tell me you went that far on the first night."
Something about his tone, the way he looked at her sparked a fire within Twilight. The same defensiveness she felt when she sidled close to Spitfire at breakfast made her sit up a little straighter. "Does it really matter?" she asked, her jaw set.
"Yeah, it kinda does!"
"Then how far do you think I went?"
"I'm hoping it wasn't too much beyond cuddling or kissing, but at this point, I'm getting a little worried!"
"Why?" Twilight huffed, her gaze flitted to each pony in turn. "We both were sober, I was fine with it and so was she, so what's the issue?"
Cadence chose that moment to jump in. "I think it's less a moral issue as it is worrying for how soon you went to that sort of thing. Admittedly, I think you should've waited a bit longer. At least three or four dates."
"Dates?" Celestia raised a brow. "Cadence, please. This should have been quite some time down the line. The pair only just met--"
"Which you arranged," Twilight reminded.
Celestia grimaced. "Yes. That much is true, and I won't deny it. However, my point stands, dear." She sighed and brought a hoof to massage the bridge of her snout. "I don't mean to talk down to you, Twilight. I'm just concerned is all. You're young, this is your first relationship. Don't you think--"
"I think I've spoken with Spitfire on the matter," she shot back. Her feathers bristled, she gritted her teeth. "What difference does it make if this is my first, second, or third girlfriend? I'm an adult, a princess no less! And Spitfire's an adult, too!"
"Twily, we're not saying you're a foal or anything." Shining reached across the table and took her hoof, offering a small smile and a gentle squeeze. "It's just, well, this is something you haven't really dealt with and we don't want you to get your hopes up for something that, uh ..." he trailed off, his eyes flitted away, he looked to Cadence for support.
A sad smile crossed Cadence's muzzle. "What Shining means to say is that what bothers us is that you're leaping headlong into things." She rolled a hoof through the air, searching for the right words. "Dating is supposed to be more of an exploration process, two ponies coming to spend time together and see if what they feel for one another is real enough or strong enough to carry on to something more."
Twilight's nostrils flared. She gritted her teeth, her tail flicked angrily. They were doing it. Treating her like a little filly just because she wasn't experienced in the area. With a scowl, she wrenched her hoof from Shining's grasp. "You know, I probably did myself a disservice in not paying attention all your lessons growing up," she said, fixing Cadence with a baleful look. "I could've probably quoted the exact things you said that supported exactly what Spitfire and I are doing right now."
Cadence drew back as if she'd been slapped across the face. "I'm not trying to take a stand against you dating her, Twily. There's no need to be so defensive."
Something sparked within Twilight. That did it.
"No need to be defensive? Hardly." She stood and placed her forehooves on the table, her chair scraped against the floor. "If you three are going to sit here and preach to me on how I'm supposed to go about dating my girlfriend, then, please excuse me if I take a bit of offense."
To her right, Celestia stood slowly. The disappointed look in her eyes left in favor of something else, a glimmer of sadness and hurt. "Twilight, please," she said. "We're only trying to think of what's best for--"
Twilight held up a hoof, cutting her teacher off. Her chest heaved, she looked down at the table and tried to keep her shoulders from shaking. Her first girlfriend and she couldn't get a little support from the ponies she loved?
Her eyes clenched shut. She drew in a deep breath through her nose, then let it out slowly through her mouth. After a moment of quiet fury, she nodded to herself. "I'm done," she muttered.
"What? Twily, please! Don't do this," Shining said. She heard his chair scrape against the floor as he stood, she felt his hoof brush against her shin just like he would to soothe her when she was younger. "Sit down and talk with us, don't go away mad. We've still got dessert, and I really do want to--"
"No." Twilight jerked her hoof away from his. "No. I don't want dessert and I don't feel like talking anymore. I'm done." She took another breath. "You three can have it together. Or don't. I don't care. I need some time to myself."
"Just give us a second here!" Pink light wreathed his horn. Yet another shield spell. The third since she'd come to Canterlot for the Gala.
Except this time, Cadence wasn't there to stop her from picking the lock.
Her magic leapt to life, in a burst of magenta, she teleported. For split second, she felt the slightest tug of his magic trying to anchor her to the balcony, but she jerked herself free as if pulling away from his embrace. He'd get a nice, sharp headache for his troubles, just like the one she got when he sprang his first up a couple mornings prior. The smooth touch of the balcony floor left her hooves, replaced instead by the cold paved road leading up to Canterlot Castle, just outside the Grand Entrance. Twilight let her ears splay back, her jaw ached as she grit her teeth and tried to fight back angry tears.
"Princess Twilight?" a Royal Guard called from somewhere behind her. Probably posted by the door. She heard him take a step forward. "Is something the matter? Do you need help?"
Twilight sniffed and shook her head. "No. I'm just dealing with something personal," she said, turning to offer a plastic smile to ease the worry written plain upon his snow white face. "Don't mind me."
He hesitated, but nodded all the same and returned to his post. Just like a good guard should.
Leaving her to pick up the pieces herself. Twilight brushed the back of her hoof across her face to chase away the tears. She could get through this. Somehow. She always managed to pick herself back up, either by her own power or with her friends' help.
Her wings rustled. She rubbed her hoof against her shoulder, longing for the soft touch of Spitfire's downy feathers upon her back as she was pulled in and held against the mare's chest. There was safety to be had in her embrace. And warmth.
And love.
The sound of carriage wheels rolling along the pavement made her ears perk up and twitch. Twilight opened her eyes, her heart leapt in her chest when she saw the familiar midnight blue and crescent moon cutie mark emblazoned upon the carriage doors, and the matching armor of Luna's guards upon the stallions pulling it along. Luna was back.
So is Spitfire.
Twilight swished her tail. Despite her dour mood, a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she watched the carriage draw nearer. Coincidence or not, Spitfire was coming back to her exactly when she was needed.
The guards cantered to a halt, both snapped to attention and bowed their heads, greeting her in unison. The carriage door opened, another guard, a pegasus with white coat and blue mane and eyes as blue as the sea stepped out before taking post nearby.
Luna exited first. A warm smile played upon her lips as she descended the steps and noticed Twilight waiting. "Well met by moonlight, Twilight Sparkle," she said. Her smile turned a bit mischievous, she glanced back into the carriage. "I believe I have something of yours to return."
On cue, Spitfire poked her head out of the carriage, her lips curved into a playful smirk and brows furrowed as she hopped down to stand between them. "Hers?" she asked with a scoff. She sidled up to Twilight and unfurled her wing, casually trailing her feathers up Twilight's side before laying it over her back. "I think you'll find this one is mine, Princess. All do respect of course."
Twilight didn't bother correcting her. The soft touch and warmth provided served to wash away all the tension in her body, she pressed up against Spitfire's side and rubbed her cheek against the smooth goldenrod coat covering her neck. This was exactly what she needed. If that meant she was Spitfire's, so be it. Just so long as she could stay close and pretend her problems didn't exist.
She felt Spitfire shift and move to hug her and nose against her cheek. Then, Spitfire stiffened. "Hon? You're cheeks are a little wet." To her dismay, Spitfire drew back. "Is something wrong?"
Yes. Very wrong, Twilight thought as she met those brilliant orange eyes. My family is treating me like a filly who doesn't know how love is objectively supposed to work, and I just want to sit here, get lost in your eyes, and then be carried back to bed so we can cuddle and kiss each other to pieces.
Instead, she held her smile. "I'm just tired," she said. "And I'd like to--" Twilight broke off to glance at Luna, whose teal eyes seemed to dance with mirth. Her cheeks burned, she ducked her head and looked up at Spitfire. "Um, I think I'd like to go to bed."
Spitfire's cheeks tinged a rosy hue, her eyes flitted to Luna as well. "Uh ..."
Luna shook her head and laughed. "Young ponies these days! So open with their affection!" She cast a wink at the pair, then trotted toward the main entrance, fluffing her midnight blue wings. "Come along, Sleepless. I believe our young lovers wish to retire for the evening, let us not keep them any longer."
The guard who'd been in the carriage with them nodded once, then bowed to Twilight before following after Luna.
Silence hung over the pair for a moment. Spitfire coughed, drawing Twilight's attention once more. "So," she began. "You mind telling me what happened, hon? And, uh, y'know--" she dropped her voice "--why you just said you wanted me to come to bed in front of freaking Princess Luna?"
Twilight winced. "Sorry," she muttered, her ears drooped. "It's just been a rough night and I really want to be with you and fall asleep wrapped up in your wings again."
Spitfire's eyes softened. "What happened, hon?"
Twilight shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it right now. I just really would like to be held." Pausing a moment, she nuzzled their noses together. "Please?"
Nodding, Spitfire pecked her lips. "Of course. Anytime you need me, all you've gotta do is ask." She offered a small smile and rustled her wings. "Wanna fly over together?"
A matching smile spread across Twilight's muzzle. She fluffed her feathers and leaned in to share a quick kiss with her girlfriend. "I'd like that a lot."
There was a sort of odd calm that came as a result of a slow, quiet flight with Spitfire that let Twilight take a little time to cool her head. She could just put her frustrations into her wingbeats and sort of enter a state of half-awareness, half-reflection while they flew side by side and let the cool night air run through her mane.
It was like a sort of safety net. They didn't speak, they didn't hold each other and cry, they were just together. Spitfire simply flew alongside her, matching pace despite how easily she could have darted forward and try to change things up with a few dazzling stunts.
Was this what she'd been missing out on when she feigned interest in all those talks with Cadence and Rarity? Or when she made a point of looking anywhere but at the happy couples making eyes at each other in Sunlight Park and the benches outside Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns? Or when she stumbled upon weeping fillies and colts behind held by their partner in silence?
A feeling that somepony else was there, ready to help if needed, but staying quiet until the time came.
Sadly, it ended all too soon as they touched down on the front path toward the Royal Canterlot Hotel. Spitfire had thrown a wing over her shoulders and pulled her in tight, almost dutifully, and led her inside, sparing a silent nod toward the doorcolt before guiding her to the elevator and sent them on their way to the top floor.
When they made it to the suite itself, Fleetfoot and Soarin were sitting on the couch. The former turned an ear toward them, confusion had flashed across her muzzle. "Um, Spits?"
Spitfire had shaken her head. "Not right now, Fleet," she said. "We're just heading to bed. She's had a rough night."
Twilight watched, a bit of relief filled her chest as Fleetfoot nodded in understanding. Soarin, on the other hoof, looked as though he wanted to press a bit further, almost like Shining whenever Twilight came home from school upset because of some bullies.
Her ears drooped. Twilight grit her teeth, her jaw aching as her thoughts turned back to dinner. She flicked her tail. What right did they have to tell her how to live her life? If she wanted to date Spitfire, she would. If she wanted to have sex with Spitfire, she would damn well have sex with Spitfire whenever they were both good and ready for it!
Who gave them the right to tell me when I could move forward with a relationship? An idea came to her. They couldn't. Nopony could tell her how fast or how slow to move with Spitfire other than the mare herself. And she had Spitfire right next to her, with a nice, warm bed right down the hall. The very same they'd shared a couple short nights ago. The tiniest of smiles spread across her muzzle. Perfect.
Twilight nosed her way under Spitfire's chin, gently pushing her toward the bedroom. Orange eyes met purple, Spitfire furrowed her brows in concern.
That wasn't how it was supposed to work. Spitfire was supposed to go with her, like before. Just down the hallway, they could slip into the bedroom and close the door, and Spitfire would be all hers for the night. A quick cone of silence would be more than enough to hide their activities from Fleetfoot and Soarin. She needed this, she needed Spitfire right now.
But if Spitfire wasn't getting the message, Twilight knew how to help. Her eyes flitted down to the goldenrod coat covering her girlfriend's neck. As sensitive as her ears might be, Spitfire loved it when she kissed and nipped at her neck. Twilight nuzzled her nose against the soft, velvet smooth coat and parted her lips. A little hint and she would have things her way. She'd have Spitfire all to herself, and she'd show all of them just how much of an adult she was. If she wanted something, she could have it.
Twilight stopped just short, her teeth just inches away from their destination. When had sex been about getting back at ponies? When Spitfire talked about it with her, she always spoke of it with such ... respect. It wasn't supposed to be like this.
It was supposed to be between herself and Spitfire, not herself, Spitfire, and the ponies who annoyed her.
This isn't right. Slowly, Twilight relaxed and closed her lips, turning her move into another nuzzle. It's not fair to her if I ask for this after not telling her anything.
They could talk tomorrow. After they slept together--preferably with a pair of beautiful goldenrod wings wrapped around her.
She met Spitfire's gaze again and gave a small, sad smile. "Could you just hold me?" she whispered. "I just want to be alone with you."
Spitfire returned her smile with a single nod. "Sure thing, hon." She turned to lead Twilight down the hallway, pausing just long enough to rub their cheeks together then glance at her teammates. "We're gonna call it an early night. Catch you guys in the morning."
Twilight only half heard them bid goodnight before giving her own in reply. She closed her eyes and pressed her cheek against Spitfire's, letting herself be led to the bedroom. The click of the latch made her ears twitch, so too did the thud as Spitfire closed it with a gentle kick.
She trotted over to the bed with Spitfire. Her heart skipped a beat as she felt a warm muzzle nose against her cheek, guiding her to roll onto the bed. Twilight opened her eyes in time to see Spitfire join her, crawling over to lay at her side.
"Are you okay?" Spitfire asked softly.
Twilight only gave a sad smile in return. "I'm better now." She leaned forward to plant a kiss on her girlfriend's lips, poking her tongue out to tease and savor the taste.
Spitfire fixed her with a warning look. "Hon, no. Not when you're like this."
"I know," she said. "Red."
"Yes. Very much red right now." Spitfire's stern glare fell, concern shone in her eyes. "You can tell me whatever it is."
Warmth filled Twilight's chest, her smile grew. "I know. And I appreciate that." She ran her nose in a slow circle around Spitfire's muzzle, whispering, "Right now, I just need you to hold and kiss me until we fall asleep together. Can I have that?"
Spitfire nodded, her smile returned. "Definitely." She kissed Twilight's nose. "But we're talking about this in the morning, okay?"
Of course. With a half smile, Twilight bobbed her head. "Tomorrow sounds fine."
"Good." Spitfire kissed her nose, then pulled back the covers. Her feathers trailed up Twilight's side, all the way up to trace along her primaries. A shiver ran down her spine as she leaned into the touch.
She felt Spitfire nose into the crook of her neck, guiding her to lay down on her side. Spitfire laid with her, tugging the covers up to their shoulders. A hoof wrapped around her midsection, pulling her in close until her back pressed against Spitfire's chest.
Soft lips pressed into her neck, then again close to her jawline until Twilight could only close her eyes and let out a low, contented sigh. Spitfire's feathers traced along her wing, slowly tickling and caressing her feathers until it wrapped around her barrel, trapping her in the softest, warmest embrace she'd ever felt.
There was safety and security in Spitfire's embrace. When her wings were around Twilight, she felt at home.
Spitfire trailed kisses up to the corner of her mouth, lingering a moment, her lips brushed against Twilight's.
Tease. Twilight turned and leaned forward to share a sweet kiss with her girlfriend. The perfect way to end such a trying night.
They parted all too soon. Spitfire fixed her with a half-lidded stare, those brilliant orange eyes of hers so full of affection and something else. The mare ran her nose around Twilight's muzzle in a slow circle, then drew back just enough to give her nose a tiny, loving lick that set her cheeks aflame.
"Goodnight, hon," Spitfire whispered. "Sweet dreams."
It was all Twilight could do not to squirm in her grasp, but she couldn't stop her feathers from fluffing or the wobbly smile from spreading across her muzzle.
Instead, she leaned in to return the gesture. She gave Spitfire's nose a tiny lick, then laid her head upon the pillow. As Spitfire followed and nosed her way back into the crook of her neck, a thought came to Twilight's mind. Something she hadn't said over the past several days. "Spitfire?" she asked.
"Hmm?" Spitfire's breath tickled her neck.
"I ..." Twilight hesitated. Perhaps it was a bit too soon for that. And the mood, while better, was hardly suitable for such a thing. She swallowed a lump in her throat, her hooves slowly reached up to clasp the one Spitfire so lovingly wrapped around her barrel. "Thank you."
She would tell her later. |
Glow | 14. Talk With Me, Hon | The soft glow of sunlight peeked through a thin crack in the blinds to bathe the sleeping pair in its warmth. Spitfire let out a soft moan of protest, bringing a hoof up to cover her eyes while keeping the other wrapped around the mare still slumbering beside her.
Why did morning have to come so soon?
Sleep had eluded her for most of the night, she spent most of her time in a sort of worried dozing state as she held Twilight tight in her hooves and wings. Somewhere in the back of her mind, a little voice told her she spent far too much time petting her girlfriend's mane and watching her as she slept, just to make sure she didn't wake up in tears or start having nightmares. She never did this sort of thing with Daybreak.
Spitfire took a sort of vindictive pleasure in cramming that annoying little voice in a tiny box and bucking it to the farthest recesses of her mind. There was rarely any comforting back then--all their arguments ended one of two ways: tears and Spitfire sleeping on the couch, or rather passionate sex.
Two young idiots in love who didn't quite get the whole maturity part of relationships yet. No wonder it hadn't worked out.
No dwelling, Spitfire scolded herself. She pressed the tip of her hoof against her forehead and rolled it in a slow circle to help clear her thoughts. Daybreak is gone, Twilight is here. She was upset last night and needed help--she still needs help.
Yesterday's events flashed before her eyes: breakfast with Twilight's friends, how Princess Celestia gazed at her as if to judge her worth, the talk with Rainbow Dash before she picked up her uniform, the teasing, dinner and drinks with Luna, and then a nice, quiet carriage ride back to the castle so she could meet Twilight again.
Her eyes snapped open. The pain and distress in Twilight's eyes still lingered vividly, the way all the light and vitality seemed to dim, and the dark tracks of rolling tears against her mulberry coat nearly made her heart skip a couple beats. What all had gone on at dinner while she and Luna were together?
And why had she been so shifty when they met on the castle grounds, then tried to flirt when they got to the room?
A shiver ran down Spitfire's spine. There was little doubt in her mind what Twilight was trying to do. Nosing into her neck with lips parted like she wanted to start nibbling was hardly a "let's go lay down together" gesture. Well, it was, but not in the "I need comfort" sense.
Almost on cue, Twilight stirred and let out a sleepy moan of her own. She snuggled up against Spitfire so her back pressed against Spitfire's belly, groggily maneuvering her head until Spitfire lifted her chin to allow her to lay cheek-to-cheek. A tired smile spread across her muzzle.
Spitfire bit the inside of her cheek. A small part of her wanted to let the sleeping princess rest longer, but the stern, tough-as-nails captain dormant within leapt to life like a roaring flame. Now was not the time to indulge and wait patiently--she'd done that last night and given Twilight a much needed reprieve from whatever had her so frazzled.
Now was the time for the answers she was owed.
Just call me the repo mare. Spitfire allowed herself a little snort at her own joke, then poked Twilight's shoulder. "Hon," she hissed, turning so she could nose her way until her mouth was near a slowly perking ear. "Time to wake up."
Another tired moan, this time punctuated with a whine and Twilight pressing against her as if hoping to appeal to her sense of pity. Or perhaps just make herself as cute as possible so to compel Spitfire to hug her rather than force her to rejoin the waking world. And, credit to her efforts, it almost worked.
Don't you dare, her "angry Captain Spitfire" voice barked from the corners of her mind. She's had her rest and comfort, now comes the part where she needs to talk about this. It's time for a firm, but loving hoof, Spits. Be there for your mare if you want this to work.
A frown tugged at her lips. Spitfire managed to slip her head out from under Twilight's, and rose up to look down upon her girlfriend. How to move that along, though? Rainbow Dash warned her off being too stern or barking orders like normal, something she didn't dare try for fear of a repeat of Daybreak.
Am I speaking Prench, you scrub? She could almost imagine herself scoffing and tossing her flaming mane as she fixed some punk kid with a glare. Firm, but loving, Spitfire. Like the nights and mornings you spent together. Be like that in good times and bad.
Of course. Firm, but with a tender, loving care behind it. Just like ma when she came home with a bad test grade or a detention slip.
Spitfire stood on the mattress, and looked down at Twilight with a hint of a fond smile. "C'mon, hon," she whispered, nosing against her mulberry cheek and tracing fluffy kisses along her jawline. "It's time to get up and going. And we said we'd talk about last night."
Yet another whine, this time coupled with the a halfhearted attempt at reaching out blindly with a hoof to tug Spitfire down again. With a sigh, Spitfire gently batted away Twilight's hoof and hopped over her, landing nimbly on the floor.
Again she nuzzled Twilight. "None of that, hon," she scolded. "You had me worried when Princess Luna and I got back, and I let you off the hook so you could rest if you promised to talk to me in the morning." As if Twilight could see with her eyes closed, Spitfire pointed to the blinds. "Sun is up, so time to talk."
"Nuh uh," Twilight mumbled. Her first bit of coherent speech for the day. "Room is dark."
"Room is dark because blinds are closed," Spitfire countered.
"Still dark. And sleepy." Her hooves slipped out from beneath the sheets and reached pleadingly for Spitfire.
No can do. Spitfire danced just out of reach, both to escape the grasping hooves and to give herself enough room for a running start. She took a deep breath, then let out a muffled grunt as she bounded and leapt over the bed, spreading her wings so she could fly up and take hold of the drawstring. With a wicked grin, she stole a backward glance at Twilight, then let herself slowly land as she pulled the blinds back.
Sunlight flooded the room like a rush of water through an open door. Twilight let out a squeal of protest and promptly buried her head in the pillow, bringing the blanket up over to help block out the onslaught of light. "Spitfire!"
"Time to get up!" Spitfire made it a point to put as much pep and joy into her tone as possible as she sauntered around the bed and gently poked the shapely lump beneath the sheets. She dotted Twilight's cheek with a kiss, earning a tiny hum of approval, along with a bleary-eyed glare. Spitfire simply smiled and kissed her again, an idea came to her head. She leaned in to whisper, "How about I run a bath, hon? We can wash up together, then talk while we soak."
Twilight withdrew her head from her fortress of pillows. "After careful consideration," she said, "I have decided that your proposal has merit and would be a worthwhile endeavor."
"I thought you might." Firm, loving Spitfire one. Stubborn girlfriend, zero.
Laying in a nice, warm tub for a long soak with a beautiful mare wrapped in her hooves was one of the unspoken benefits of having a girlfriend again. Spitfire buried her nose in Twilight's mane, her eyes fluttered shut as she drank in the scent of watermelon shampoo. Well, for given value of the word "watermelon." That's what the bottle said, but she'd never smelled one quite like that. Maybe she was a sucker for the natural raincloud scents they made in Cloudsdale. Far too much of one to appreciate fake watermelon, at least.
In any case, she could take solace in the rather pleasant sound of Twilight's rhythmic breathing as she rested against Spitfire's chest and traced small circles in her matted, goldenrod coat. The tiniest of squeaks escaped her lips when Twilight brushed her hoof against her ribcage, which drew a little gasp and a mischievous grin from the princess.
Spitfire fixed her with a mock glare. "I've got plenty of experience wrestling trained Wonderbolts and locking them in holds, hon," she warned, "I can pin those hooves and tickle you just as easy."
Twilight returned her glare with a bright smile that sent shivers down her spine. "You forget I've got plenty of experience with magic, and I can think of a few spells that would leave your limbs stuck to the wall so I have free access to explore every inch of your body." A light shone in her eyes, she ran her tongue along her lips. "We would have a little fun with that, I think."
Oh. Oh, yes we could. Swallowing a lump, Spitfire willed her cheeks not to turn pink at the implication. She shook her head a few times, droplets of water from her soaked mane flicked here and there, drawing a shriek and bubbling laughter from Twilight. Come on, mare! Put your game face on! You're supposed to be the older one in this relationship, act like it.
"Fun as that would be," she began, "we're supposed to be talking, not having sex. That's gotta go on hold for a little bit." Spitfire furrowed her brows and fixed a stern frown on her muzzle, not quite as harsh as what she gave her crop of cocky rookies, but enough so that the smile ran away from Twilight's face. "You owe me an explanation for last night's little ... kerfuffle, hon."
Twilight seemed to shrink in on herself. Her ears drooped, she let her gaze fall to a point somewhere between the lingering soap suds and Spitfire's belly. Her tail flicked, stirring up a few tiny waves within the tub. "I would rather not," she muttered.
Playing stubborn again. With a sigh, Spitfire nodded to herself. If Twilight didn't want to play by the rules, she would have to dust off an old trick. Ma's old specialty.
Even if it made her feel like a real jerk for pulling that card.
Pursing her lips, Spitfire cupped Twilight's chin and gently lifted until their eyes met. "That's not what we agreed on last night," she said quietly. "I gave you a break so you could rest, even though you looked like a wreck and I wanted to bug you about it."
A not-so-small part of her felt terrible pulling a guilt trip, but drastic times called for drastic measures. And a weepy girlfriend who refused to talk fell into that category.
By the way Twilight chewed on her bottom lip and let her shoulders slump, the plan worked to perfection. She just had to ignore the little pang in her chest when she saw the hurt flashing in those deep purple eyes. Not at all an easy feat.
Spitfire made a mental note to give Twilight some extra kisses to make up for it later. Lots of them. Possibly with tongue and a little bit of wing play, if the mood permitted. She set that aside for a bit, and maintained her stern stare.
Sighing to herself, Twilight turned so she was face to face with Spitfire and sat back. The water sloshed around in the tub, a few droplets managed to jump over the edge onto the white tiled floor. "I don't really know if it was worth getting so upset over," she mumbled. "Or so defensive." With a moan, Twilight buried her face in her hooves. "Ohhh, they're going to think I'm even more of a little filly after that!"
"Why don't you tell me why they'd think that," Spitfire pressed, "so I can maybe offer a little help? Just start at the beginning, then work your way to what happened."
Another sigh. Twilight dragged her hooves down her face, her mulberry coat matted and turned a deep purple by the water. She chewed on her bottom lip a moment, then began to recount the events of last night.
Spitfire sat back against the wall to make herself comfortable while she listened. A small smile played upon her lips as Twilight went over the start of dinner, when Cadence pestered her to tell every detail of their dates, which quickly turned into outright laughter at the blush that spread across those mulberry cheeks when she got to the part where the Princess of Love started squealing over their first official date together. She did have to feign a scowl when she heard how Shining approved of Twilight's little prank--and made a mental note to find a way to get her back for that little teleportation trick later--but, all in all, relaying their time together seemed harmless.
But then, came the part where Twilight lost control of the discussion. Spitfire felt as though an ice block slipped into her stomach, her insides twisted as she listened to Twilight recount how Princess Celestia pressed her on their ... less than public activities.
She licked her lips. The world around her seemed to fade into a blur of pale yellow walls and white porcelain tub, Twilight's voice sounded like it echoed through a deep fog. A trace of movement in the water made her look down to see what had fallen in.
Her knees were shaking. Each little shiver sent out tiny ripples through the tub. The roof of her mouth felt dry and sticky, like old peanut butter stuck to the countertop by an inattentive foal.
Princess Celestia knew. Breakfast yesterday had been tedious, Spitfire spent the entire affair trying not to squirm and qual beneath those seemingly all-knowing, ancient purple eyes. Her only solace the fact that all the venerable ruler had was assumption and possible hearsay. At very least, she could play it off that they were a little hoofsy and fell asleep cuddling. Nothing more.
But with every word Twilight said, her heart sank lower. The entire Royal Family knew about it. As if Princess Luna's innuendo and thinly veiled threats weren't bad enough, now came the proverbial gauntlet. A run-in with three of the most powerful ponies in all the land--magically and politically.
A pair of purple eyes shining with naked mirth came eerily close to her face. Spitfire yelped and flared her wings, sending a shower of water over the floor.
Twilight shrunk back again. "Sorry!" she squeaked. "I was just trying to see if you were okay. You, um, went off into your own little world for a little bit."
Spitfire blinked and shook her head, mumbling, "Lost in thought trying to digest all of that. My bad." She brought a hoof to her forehead and closed her eyes, then drew in a long, deep breath. Again, she tried to get the wheels in her head turning. She'd gotten herself into this mess--was it fair to call it a mess?--so it fell on her to find out how to deal with it.
There was no doubt she would have to speak with Princess Celestia. That much was certain when she and Twilight hit things off so well at the Gala. Only then, it would've been more a discussion on how Spitfire was expected to behave going forward. A conversation along the lines of those she had with Princess Luna, perhaps.
Instead, Spitfire would have to walk up to the Princess of the Day, Equestria's beloved ruler of over a thousand years, and discuss how she took her favored student's virginity in her own castle.
A cold shiver ran down her spine. Not a prospect Spitfire welcomed at all. But one she would have to go through, both for her own sake ...
Slowly, she cracked open her eyes to gaze at Twilight. The young mare sat back on her haunches with her eyes downcast, her ears and wings drooped low like she half expected Spitfire to start yelling or storm off angrily.
Just like Daybreak.
Spitfire set her jaw. She shifted forward and took Twilight's chin in her hooves. "Look at me, hon," she whispered softly. More a request than a command. "Please."
Giving a tiny little groan, Twilight obeyed, her posture still slumped.
A pang shot through Spitfire's chest. "Why do you look like you expect me to fly off the handle?" Fixing a small smile on her muzzle, she leaned in close and softly kissed Twilight's nose. "You're not a cadet screwing up one of my routines, hon."
Twilight mumbled something unintelligible under her breath. A raised brow and a wry look brought a blush to her cheeks. "I guess I'm just worried you'll think all this isn't worth the trouble," she choked out, her voice thick with anxiety. "This is all that stuff we worried about when we started dating, and it's only been a few days." Oh.
Oh, by Hurricane's wings. The pang hit her again. It was just like the morning after their first time together: Twilight assumed Spitfire had left then, and now that things were getting tough ...
She felt Spitfire had all the reason to weigh her career against the prospect of going against Princess Celestia, and fully expected her to get up and walk away.
Spitfire drew in a sharp breath, then let it out through her nose. Her nostrils flared angrily. "I'm not walking away," she said, almost growling it out, "even if she doesn't like how we've gone about things." A fire burst within her chest like she were ready to fly through a hurricane. Twilight defended her at breakfast the previous morning, so it fell on her to return the favor.
Even if it meant she had to defy Princess Celestia. Well, again.
She pulled Twilight into a tight hug, wrapping soaking hooves and dampened wings around her fretful girlfriend. "I'll talk to her. It'll get straightened out."
Spitfire made sure Twilight was cleaned, groomed to perfection, and well-fed before she led her girlfriend back to Canterlot Castle. Her mind raced the whole way, every instinct in her body told her to turn tail and flee. Self-preservation demanded that she alter course and head for home as fast as her powerful wings could carry her.
Instead, she touched down on the path leading to the main gate and trotted alongside Twilight with her head held high. What she had planned might cost her quite a bit. In all honesty, she wasn't entirely sure how Princess Celestia would take somepony as hard-headed as her bowing up. Let alone after two nights spent tangled in the sheets with Twilight.
Wonder how likely it is that I'll still have my job after this.
As if sensing her internal dilemma, Twilight trotted in silence with her. Out of curiosity, Spitfire stole a quick glance and caught sight of her girlfriend chewing nervously on her bottom lip. No doubt her mind was on the same thing, but she didn't quite know how to give support.
A touching thing, really. Even if she couldn't help. Funny how that worked. Twilight was known in rather high circles for her wit and knowledge, but now she faced a problem even she wasn't sure had a solution. Or at least, a winnable one.
Up ahead, Spitfire saw the main entrance and two guards standing on either side. A pony with snow white coat and blue mane stood between them, she heard Twilight inhale sharply. Curious, she focused on him, her eyes as keen as ever.
Shining Armor was waiting for them. His eyebrows furrowed with worry, and his face was creased in a frown.
The hits just kept coming.
Spitfire let her mind wander a moment while they took the steps up to meet him. She'd had a long career with the Wonderbolts. Longer than most, actually. All those shows, the crowds of screaming fans, days spent signing autographs until her wrist ached, posing for pictures, running the Academy, and even the times she volunteered--usually under the influence of copious amounts of alcohol--to help with the Bolts of the Future Foals' Program over the summer flashed before her eyes.
Everything including Daybreak. Her first "real" love, a wonderful thing that ended in a massive, flaming wreck worthy of true Wonderbolt mishap.
I'm not even thirty yet, she mused as she watched Shining and Twilight stand about a foot apart, each awkwardly looking anywhere but at each other while they struggled to find words. Those soft, purple feathers ruffled nervously. Twilight took a tentative step forward until her chest touched his, then leaned her neck against his and wrapped him in a hug Shining was happy to reciprocate. Spitfire smiled.
Youngest captain in Wonderbolts' history. Most single and team records in history. Two time Equestria Games gold medalist. And all those other things. Accolades she rarely even remembered flashed through her mind. As did all the training it took to get to the top. Worked my whole life for this thing, just like everypony else on the team. Even Rainbow Dash. She remembered the day she got her letter. How proud her ma and pa had been that all her hard work paid off.
Then she looked at the mare who made her lose herself to passion again for the first time in ages.
And I might be about to throw all that away with what I do next.
Shining caught her eye. His smile faltered a touch. "Spitfire," he greeted coolly.
She raised an eyebrow. "Shining Armor," she replied in kind. "Nice morning."
"Yeah, it is." His grip on Twilight tightened. "Princess Celestia was hoping to talk to you. Cady and I as well."
"I had a feeling you might." Spitfire fixed a professional smile on her face like she was about to walk into a press conference. She held up a hoof to stop Twilight from arguing. "Relax, hon. It's just a talk. I'll live."
Twilight flinched, she started to chew on her bottom lip again. Her brows furrowed in thought as she glanced between Shining and Spitfire. Deep purple eyes settled on Spitfire, she let go of Shining and squirmed out of his embrace, then walked straight over and planted a kiss right on Spitfire's lips.
Blinking, Spitfire just drank it in. The scent of parchment and ink, the soft feeling of her lips, the warmth, it all made her eyes flutter shut. She tilted her head to the side so she could reciprocate. A part of her just wanted to forget the damned talk and melt into the kiss her and now.
But Twilight pulled back all too soon. "I'll be waiting," she said softly. "The girls and I leave for Ponyville tomorrow morning, so we all have to pack. I'd ... like it if you came to see us off."
Spitfire grinned and kissed her nose. "Hon, once I'm done, I'll help you pack."
A genuine smile spread across Twilight's face, and Spitfire felt her heart do a backflip. The mare trotted off to find her friends, pausing only to give Shining Armor another quick hug before she disappeared into the castle. Leaving the pair together.
Alone.
There was silence between them for several moments. Spitfire flicked her ear at the sound of birdsong trilling through the air, she watched Shining closely as he tapped a hoof against the tile.
With a sigh, she spoke first, "Not gonna do the threatening brother routine?"
He just raised a brow. "Do I really need to with you?"
Spitfire snorted. "No. Lemme guess, shield spell can pack a heck of a mean punch if you push outward with it?"
"That's one of the nicer offensive applications, yes." His lips twitched into a ghost of a smile. "And even though I've heard things, I still like you."
"Oh, that's good."
"Yeah. I didn't want to put trapping you in a bubble shield and then slowly shrinking it on the table. It's not a fun image to ponder."
Spitfire felt her blood run cold. She swallowed a lump in her throat. "Does it help if I say that I've no intent to hurt her?"
He nodded once, then turned to lead her inside. "It does. That's why my threat option was going to be shield to the face, and possibly smashing you into a wall. Less gruesome, more chance of recovery." A beat. "Eventually. Depends on the force I put behind it." Shining shook his head, beckoning her to follow. "Come on. They're waiting in Princess Celestia's study."
It took all her effort to keep from pinning her ears and tucking her tail between her legs as she followed him along. What sort of scary family was she dating into? Was it even worth it?
Twilight's smile leapt to the forefront of her mind. Warmth flooded her chest.
Definitely. Besides, I at least have one of them on my side. |
Glow | 15. Burned | Spitfire tried not to tremble at the sight of the large wooden door just a few steps ahead. Of all the places she'd been for those big meetings with Princess Celestia, her private study wasn't one of them. If anything, Princess Celestia's study was the sort of thing that held an almost mythical weight to its very name.
Everypony knew of it. After all, the Princess of the Day was renowned as the eternal teacher to all her subjects, but the study itself held special regard as the worst kept secret in all the land. The only ponies who entered were family, close friends, and those who had the misfortune of earning the princess' attention because they were in Very Big Trouble. Capitals required.
There wasn't a doubt in Spitfire's mind which of those categories she lay.
When they reached the door, Shining Armor raised his hoof and knocked three times.
"Enter," Princess Celestia's voice sounded through the thick wood.
Shining lit his horn. The latch clicked, he pushed the door open and stood to the side. "After you," he said, beckoning Spitfire in with a wave of his hoof.
She took a deep breath through her nose and held it a moment. Her mind raced. A hint of worry, like a little flicker of anxiety before a big show, shot through her chest and chilled her blood. Was she making the right choice? Spitfire's hoof trembled in mid step, hesitating to move forward into the study. What was she to do to defend her actions? Let alone defend her relationship?
Honesty and sincerity, Luna's voice whispered in her ear, just as clear as the night before.
Spitfire took another deep breath. That's right, she told herself. Princess Celestia already knew she and Twilight had gone too far too fast, but she might not necessarily have the whole picture. If she spoke honestly and showed the sincerity of her feelings, there was a chance she could appeal to the princess' good nature. Minute, given Twilight was involved, but still a chance.
She trotted into Princess Celestia's study with her head held high. Idly, she glanced around the room to survey her surroundings. The walls were lined with bookshelves filled to the very brim with books of all shapes and sizes. The carpet was a deep royal red with gold trim around the edge, and a rather intricate pattern that looked like a phoenix's wings set behind the rising sun--or perhaps like they were lifting it.
Princess Cadence sat in a plush purple cushion to the left of the large oaken desk. She gave a thin smile that didn't quite reach her eyes and greeted Spitfire with an inclination of her head, which Spitfire returned with a slight bow of her own.
Naturally, Princess Celestia was at the very center of attention. The Princess of the Day was seated in a tall wooden chair with her back facing the door and her head bowed as though she were studying something on her desk. Her beautiful, prismatic mane twisted and flowed as if the wind were playing through it.
There was a flicker of movement in the lone darkened corner off to Princess Celestia's left. Spitfire squinted and peered through the shadows until she found a starry mane and familiar pair of teal eyes staring back at her, with a hint of a smile gracing the mare's midnight blue muzzle.
Princess Luna met her gaze and cast a wink at Spitfire. Then, she mimed covering her lips before turning to look pointedly at her sister, her silent message clear as the stars in her night sky:
"I am with you, friend. But you must speak to her."
As if on cue, Princess Celestia turned to face her. Spitfire bowed low in greeting. Propriety, after all, must be observed in her presence.
"Captain Spitfire," Princess Celestia said, her voice warm, but with a hint of the sun's fire burning just beneath the surface. "Rise."
Spitfire winced, but obeyed without question. She stood to her full height and met Princess Celestia's gaze. Those ancient purple eyes bored deep into her soul, and flashed with something she hadn't seen in years. A mother's want to protect. Spitfire felt a shiver run down her spine. She remembered that look all too well.
Dawn's mother had looked at her the exact same way when they first started dating.
Really hoping that's not an omen. Wetting her lips, Spitfire waited for the princess to begin.
It didn't take long. Princess Celestia lit her horn, a pair of goldenrod feathers floated off her desk to hover in the air for a moment. Then she floated them over to Spitfire, who caught them in hoof and glanced between the feathers and the princess with furrowed brow and confusion written across her face.
Then she looked closer at the feathers. Spitfire felt her blood run cold, she knew that shade of goldenrod. She knew them by feel, by sight, and by the way they smelled of wispy cloud and ozone--they were hers. But where had the princess gotten them?
"I trust I don't need to waste time asking if you know whose feathers those are," Princess Celestia said gravely.
Spitfire shook her head. "No, Princess. They're mine."
"Indeed. Care to take a guess at where I found them?"
Blinking, Spitfire tilted her head. She hadn't preened on the castle grounds, and she certainly didn't have feather flu. Short of flying face first into a wall or wrestling around with one of her teammates, there wasn't a whole lot that could knock her feathers lose if they were healthy. Besides, her preen work before the Gala had been thorough.
Again, she shook her head. "I'm sorry, I couldn't hazard a guess. Honestly, when I met Shining at the door, I figured I'd be talking to you about Twi--"
Princess Celestia held up a hoof for silence. "In my student's bedroom," she answered her own question. Her eyes narrowed. "My staff found your feathers in her bed, along with a rather--" her snout wrinkled as though she were swallowing something foul "--distinct scent lingering in the room."
A groan to Spitfire's right made her flick an ear toward Shining Armor, who brought a hoof to his head and clenched his eyes shut.
"Can we not?" he muttered.
"I hardly see how we can avoid it," Princess Cadence put in. "That's a part of why we were all here, anyway."
"A part, but not the full reason." Those ancient purple eyes never once left Spitfire's. Princess Celestia stood, and began to walk toward her.
Idly, Spitfire wondered if she could make it out of the castle before any of the Royals present could catch her. Given the sheer depth of magical talent in Shining Armor, the lone unicorn present, she sincerely doubted she'd make it three steps.
Princess Celestia stopped a mere step away, looming over Spitfire by at least another head and shoulders--and she was firmly on the taller side of pegasi her age.
"Why don't we take it from the top?" the princess asked. "Tell me everything that happened from the moment you walked away from us at the Gala, up to last night--sparing the details of your frivolity, if you please."
Honesty and sincerity, Princess Luna's words echoed in her mind once again.
Spitfire glanced at the Princess of the Night out of the corner of her eye, just for a split second. More than enough for Princess Luna to give her a single, solemn nod of support.
She closed her eyes and began her tale, sharing the strange whirlwind of a relationship she and Twilight shared over the past few days.
The silence that fell over the Royals while Spitfire told her tale was a mite unsettling. Sure, it made telling the story easy, and should such a luxury present itself when her teammates inevitably demanded she recount it all, Spitfire would count it as a blessing.
In front of three out of four Crown Princesses and the Prince-Captain of the Guard himself, however, it just didn't sit right with her. If this was supposed to be some sort of special grilling, shouldn't there be more questions? Shouldn't Shining Armor be grinding his teeth loud enough she could hear the enamel scraping together, a step or two away from overly protective sibling rage?
Either Spitfire had missed out since Daybreak was an only foal, or that was just a thing in Misty Fly's stupid books. Shining Armor stood stock still throughout, his expression unreadable even as Spitfire told him about how she unwittingly made Twilight think she'd done a flyby.
Unreadable, that was, save for a slight twitch in his left eye that stopped only after she got to the first chat with Twilight. After that, he simply gave a silent nod and flick of his tail.
Other than Shining's little twitches, the Royals nodded along like they expected most, if not all, details she put forth. Princess Celestia merely nodded in approval at how she guided Twilight back to the castle after their late night at the club, and that was one she was half expecting fire and brimstone over!
Spitfire felt like a block of ice had been dropped into her stomach. If they already knew how things progressed, why in Equestria would Princess Celestia ask her to recount them?
It hit her like a bolt of lightning: inconsistencies. Princess Celestia wanted to see if there were any inconsistencies in her story and Twilight's.
No wonder Princess Luna advised honesty the night before.
After Spitfire finished, Princess Celestia stood quietly, looking down on her through those ancient, deep purple eyes with a contemplative furrow of her brows. Her wings twitched as though ready to unfurl and fly, but remained closed.
She let out a long breath through her nose, then turned and walked over to her desk again. A shimmering gold glow enveloped the goldenrod feathers and jerked them out of Spitfire's hoof to float beside the Princess of the Day.
"Twilight told us much the same," Princess Celestia said, her voice low, "with some difference in perspective." She glanced over her shoulder at Spitfire, eying her a moment. "You've caused my student quite a bit of emotional turmoil."
Spitfire flinched, but gave a nod nonetheless. "Not intentionally. And I've made sure to talk with her so we can move on and solidify things."
"Things?" A slender eyebrow arched.
"A more solid foundation," Spitfire replied. For the first time in years, she felt a hint of unease as all eyes fell square upon her. "We've sort of been trying to work, uh, backwards so we can see about making this a lasting relationship."
"Never a bad thing!" Princess Cadence chipped in. Her ears stood perked to their full height, her eyes held an almost eager, hungry gleam to them. "Even if things started off rather ... rushed, shall we say?"
Princess Celestia snorted and turned to fix Cadence with a wry look. "You and I have very different definitions of the word, niece. Rushed is putting it lightly."
From her darkened corner, Princess Luna threw in her own quip, "Only because your preferred pace is glacial, sister mine."
The room seemed as hot as the surface of the sun itself. Spitfire sucked in her lips, glancing between the two sisters.
A frown spread across Princess Celestia's muzzle. She glared at Princess Luna and asked, "Is there something you'd like to add to this conversation, Luna?"
"Oh, don't mind me!" came the reply. Princess Luna aimed a bright smile at her elder sister, her teal eyes shone with naked mirth. "Just thinking aloud!"
Spitfire could almost hear the enamel grinding as Princess Celestia grit her teeth. Her ears pinned back, she thought to take a few steps away so she was out of the line of fire. But rather than sling spells or shout in ancient tongues, the sisters stared at one another for a moment like they were having some sort of silent confrontation.
Princess Celestia looked away first, muttering something under her breath. With a long-suffering sigh, she shook her head, then turned to face Spitfire once more. "Twilight does feel strongly for you," she said slowly. "Enough so that she would speak up against me when I voiced my disapproval for how your relationship progressed so quickly."
She began to circle around Spitfire like a shark who found an injured seal. Her gaze was one not of blinding fury or wrath, but appraisal. It was the same as those old Wonderbolt recruiters who watched her every move at tryouts an age ago.
"For a time, I'd wondered if she would ever question me on something close to heart," Princess Celestia continued. "As wonderful a student as Twilight was, and as brilliant a mare she has become, I'm not blind to her tendency to cling to me as an authority figure." Pausing a moment, she stopped circling and took a breath. "Truth be told, it was somewhat refreshing hearing her speak out in defense of your relationship last night."
Warmth filled Spitfire's chest like a campfire's glow washing over her body on a cold night in the woods. If Twilight's defense was sincere enough to make Princess Celestia herself stop and take note ... Well, damned if this wasn't something worth fighting for!
Then Princess Celestia leveled her with a stern gaze that made that comfortable warmth wash away. "You've managed to make your way into my favored student's heart," she began, "and I cannot demand you break things off because of my own opinion on how you disregarded my request--not without driving her away and causing her undue pain." Her eyes narrowed. "Your blatant disrespect, however, is not unnoticed."
A pang shot through Spitfire's chest. She bowed her head to avoid Princess Celestia's eyes and looked down at her hooves. "I wasn't trying to show anypony disrespect, Princess," she said softly. "Not you, and certainly not Twilight. Quite the opposite, in fact."
"The opposite?" A note of incredulity crept into the princess' voice. "Forgive me if I contradict you, but I fail to see how deflowering Twilight Sparkle in my own castle--"
"Our castle," Princess Luna interrupted.
"Now is not the time to debate semantics, Luna!"
"On that, we must disagree," came the reply, Princess Luna's smug smile almost audible in her very tone. "Much like how agonizingly irritating I find your tendency to label things as objective right and wrong in all cases. To say nothing of this little matchmaking scheme you've made up." With a derisive snort, she added, "But do go on."
"Is this about--"
"No, it isn't. And don't go there."
Princess Celestia groaned and brought a hoof to her forehead. "Oh, for the love of--I said I was sorry! That was fifteen hundred years ago!"
"I said don't go there!"
Spitfire could only blink dumbly and look back and forth between the pair as they fell to--dare she think it?--bickering over a foalhood crush that hadn't ended well. Blinking, she turned to Princess Cadence and tilted her head toward the pair, afraid to ask her question.
The Crystal Princess didn't meet her eye. Instead, she wore a frown upon her pretty pink face, her brows knitted together. Her gaze flitted between the bickering sisters, then her own husband, before settling on Princess Celestia at last. "Excuse me?" she spoke up, a note of hurt evident in her voice. "Matchmaking scheme?"
The argument stopped in an instant. Both sisters stood stock still, neither dared to meet their younger counterpart's eye. Silence reigned over the five ponies present, broken only by Princess Cadence huffing and saying, "Is there any particular reason why you didn't consult me? This is sort of my area--no offense, Spitfire," she added hastily. "It's nothing against you. Just ... well, imagine if somepony asked for input on an air show with you a few doors down and they didn't bother knocking."
"I wasn't going to say anything," Spitfire said, fighting back a scowl at the back-hoofed remark. Since when was somepony's love life equivalent to a flight show? Still, she bit her tongue.
Princess Celestia sighed. "And I have known her longer than you, my dear," she said tiredly. "My intent was to find somepony who might match Twilight's ambition, achievement, and respect for authority while also providing somepony who would serve as a balance for her studious nature."
"Still, though. When did you even have the time--"
"Before the Gala," Shining spoke up for the first time since he greeted Spitfire. His eyes widened as comprehension dawned upon him, he fixed his gaze upon Spitfire and continued, "When you walked up to us at the main entrance, you said something about talking with Celestia before. That was it, wasn't it?"
Spitfire glanced at each pony in turn, nodding slowly as though expecting a sudden burst of magic. None came. "Yes," she replied. "Princess Celestia asked if I was seeing anypony, then explained her want to help Twilight find a special somepony of her own. Or just a new friend, if she didn't seem receptive. I agreed to talk and see where the night took us, and then make the call on which way to take things." She gave a rueful grin and rubbed at her mane. "Admittedly, I steered it toward dating from the get go once I saw her. She was ... stunning."
"Indeed." Spitfire would bet good bits that a deaf pony could've heard the pride in Princess Celestia's voice. "I hoped Twilight might take an interest in her first relationship, and hoped to pick a fitting candidate. If not, she's been open to more friends joining her since her move to Ponyville. It was a win-win, in my opinion." Pausing a moment, she turned her gaze upon Spitfire. "Though, perhaps I'll have to amend the point on respect."
Spitfire wasn't entirely sure what sparked the righteous indignation that blazed in her chest. Perhaps she felt a bit emboldened by Princess Luna's presence, or that Princess Cadence had sort of risen to chastise Princess Celestia for the whole thing. Or that Shining Armor hadn't tried to rip her head off on sight.
Or maybe because the sight of Twilight's tear-streaked face the night before was still fresh in her mind.
Either way, the fire raged. Spitfire stood up straight and set her jaw. Damn the thunderheads. "Permission to be speak freely, Princess?"
Princess Celestia stayed quiet for a moment. She nodded slowly, her gaze pierced into Spitfire's very soul. "Granted."
It was all Spitfire needed. "I'm the only one in this room who's treated her with a modicum of respect over the past twenty-four hours," she said, leaping into the verbal fray without restraint.
Three Royals flinched and gaped in silent awe while the fourth smiled and shook her head in her corner. "Excuse me?" Princess Celestia blinked. Her mouth opened and shut as though Spitfire had slapped her across the face with a wet dishrag. Words seemed to fail her--her! The vaunted orator of Equestria, lacking for words because of just one line.
Spitfire looked straight in her eyes like she would one of her superior officers. "No disrespect intended at all, Princess," she began, "but the one thing everypony forgets about this entire story is that Twilight and I have communicated. We've come to terms with what we've done and set ground rules we both agreed upon, and worked for us."
"Now just hang on a minute!" Shining cut in. He stepped forward until he was just a couple paces away, and said, "That's all fine and good if it were anypony else, but the issue at hoof is that you've rushed into something with a mare who hasn't had anything like this before!"
"Sorry, but not every relationship works the same," Spitfire shot back. "I've been on classy romantic dates that didn't amount to anything, and I've had relationships where our big hangout was a bar or a dance club that led to a few months of companionship. Longest one I've had was a mix of what both of us liked, just like what Twilight and I are trying for here."
"How did that work out?"
Gritting her teeth, Spitfire leveled him with a glare. "Three years. Then broken off with a letter," she hissed. "No warning, just a letter. Because I messed up and didn't try to fix things the way I've been doing with your sister."
Shining winced. "Oh." He glanced away, his ears pinned back. "Sorry. I don't want to press buttons. But, y'know, she's--"
"Your sister, yes. I'm well aware."
With an angry snort, Princess Celestia stepped between the pair, unfurling her wings as though to physically separate them. "That's enough, both of you," she said sternly. Her eyes never once left Spitfire. "Continue. But I would caution you to mind your tone. Whether or not you agree with us, you are still in my--our castle," she amended before Princess Luna could pipe up again. "That much I will insist you respect."
Calm down, she told herself. Make your point without being combative. Spitfire closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Sorry," she whispered, bowing her head. "It's still a sore spot."
"I understand. More than you realize, in fact." The ancient princess' expression softened, her stern glare washed away as she folded her wings against her sides. She licked her lips, then spoke again, "I believe you were attempting to explain how we were the ones disrespecting her?"
Her tone almost made Spitfire take a step back, but she managed to stand fast. "In a sense, yes." She nodded once. "I consider it rather condescending to act like she doesn't know what she wants simply because she's new to dating. Wanting romance or sex isn't mutually exclusive." Pausing to allow Princess Celestia a moment to draw in a sharp breath through her teeth, she pressed on, "And I may be about to cross a line in terms of being too ... uh ..." she trailed off as she wracked her brain for the word. "Crass, I think. Yes, that's it. This may sound crass, but I asked her if she was comfortable with what we were doing, and told her specifically that if she wasn't, we should hold off."
For a moment, Princess Celestia stayed silent. She screwed up her face as though she were sucking on a lemon, then asked, "Did it not occur to you that you should take it upon yourself to make such a call?"
Spitfire looked down and let her ears droop. A shake of her head was the only answer she could give.
"I see." Princess Celestia sighed. "I presume, then, that you would say your intent was not to defy my wishes. Rather, it was a lapse in judgement?"
Her goldenrod ears drooped lower. Spitfire nodded. "Yes. On both our parts." She licked her lips, then added in a low tone, "That was part of the talks I mentioned. We wanted to set up a lasting relationship if we could, while still allowing us to, er, indulge if we should both consent. I, er, advised use of Wonderbolt signals."
Another snort sounded from Princess Luna's corner. Spitfire noticed those teal eyes dancing with unrestrained amusement.
Princess Celestia, on the other hoof, simply sighed again. Her shoulders sagged. "I suppose I was mistaken, then." She turned away. With a shake of her head, she turned her attention to Princess Cadence. "What do you think, niece of mine?"
Princess Cadence pursed her lips and hummed, tapping a hoof against her cushion. "I'm of a couple minds," she replied. "I definitely see their sincerity, and if they're making an effort to build a foundation, I'm all for it. Although ..." she trailed off, her eyes flitted to Spitfire and seemed to gleam with a strange light. A slow, catlike smile spread across her muzzle.
The hairs on the back of Spitfire's neck stood on end. She glanced between the princesses, her hind hoof raised as if to step back.
"Cadence?" Princess Celestia called.
"Never mind me." Princess Cadence shook her head. "Just ... ruminating."
Spitfire's hoof trembled, the itch to step away ate at her, but the tiniest bit of curiosity nagged at the back of her mind and demanded she press Princess Cadence for more.
Instead, Princess Celestia took the initiative and looked to Shining Armor. "And you, Shining?" she asked.
He pulled a face like a foal being told to go do homework on a sunny afternoon. "I'd rather not think of my Twily having sex. Ever," he grumbled.
"Within reason, Shiny!" Princess Cadence tittered.
His lips twitched into a small smile. "Fine." Shining glanced at Spitfire and stood silent a moment, thinking it over. Then he shook his head. "Sorry. No. It's just not something I'd look for so early on, because there's a ton of stuff to build up before that."
"Didn't look for it," Spitfire grumbled. A sharp look from Princess Celestia made her take a step back. She muttered a sick apology under her breath.
Shining took it in stride. "Not saying that you can't, it's just not something I would want. And, honestly? From the way you've talked about setting things right with those talks, it's not what you wanted either."
An image of Twilight sheepishly admitting how she thought the worst flashed through her mind. Spitfire made to speak, to make some quip that he was trying to put their relationship in a box, but her throat tightened and ached.
He was right. All that time spent talking came about because they felt they'd started off on the wrong hoof. They worked backwards to build the foundation.
And yet, it didn't feel wrong looking back. Sure, they started out acting on a flight of passion like a pair of over eager teenagers, but damned if Spitfire didn't think she and Twilight had come together and made something of it! A relationship that worked for them and allowed exploration, just like any other.
"I think," Princess Celestia began, "a failure to communicate is to blame for this."
Out of the corner of her eyes, Spitfire noticed Princess Luna muttering something under her breath. But the Princess of the Night didn't speak up.
Princess Celestia turned back to Spitfire and spoke, "As I said before, I can't force you to break things off given the bond you've created with my student for an admitted error. After all, every relationship undergoes its bumps in the road, each their own challenge to test those involved." She tilted her head. "It has seemingly strengthened your young relationship."
"Right," Spitfire said, drawing out the vowel. Where was this even going?
"And you've been far more restrained since your second date." Nodding to herself, Princess Celestia rustled her wings. "You're sincere in your desire to have a lasting relationship with her?"
"I'm willing to try."
"Excellent." Princess Celestia gave a small, serene smile. "Then I suppose it hardly seems fit to dwell on past mistakes if you've both decided to move forward and put forth the effort. Which, of course, means that some changes will have to be made in order for it to last." She turned away with a self-assured nod. "Though, I must say, this is where I believe you'll find a more restricted, slower-paced courtship to be a bit more helpful in forming that lasting bond you so crave. One that will hold strong with a sense of mutual respect and dignity along with love"
Spitfire blinked a few times. Was she? "I'm sorry, Princess, perhaps I'm misunderstanding you."
"In what regard? I'd be happy to clear up any questions you may have."
Oh, I bet you are. Spitfire managed to keep the barb under wraps, instead saying in a more neutral tone, "It sounds like you're implying that you're going to tell us how our relationship works and--for lack of better term--monitor it."
Princess Celestia turned toward her again, the smile gone from her muzzle. "I have no intent of looking over your shoulder on dates, but, to some degree, yes. You've both shown a lack of good judgement on the matter, by your own admission, no less."
"I see." Spitfire's nostrils flared. Breathe in, breathe out. "So, you're going to protect us from ourselves, then?"
"I ... would not be so blunt with the wording. I simply wish to ensure that your relationship has the best chance to last, and end up as happy as Shining and Cadence." She gestured to the pair, who perked up a bit. "As a matter of fact, you might consider consulting them. They do know Twilight quite well."
Spitfire drew in a deep breath and forced her eyes shut. She counted backward from five. Then ten. Then twenty.
In a new personal record, her raging temper demanded that she worked her way up to thirty before she could think her reply through. Several choice words and rude phrases came to mind, each wrestling to be her pick and bringing with it a note of personal satisfaction of shutting up the ponies who sent her girlfriend to her side in tears the night before.
Then the more rational side of her spoke up, a booming voice over a crowd of noisy cadets who scrambled to obey the angry captain within.
Slowly, she opened her eyes and allowed herself a tiny smirk. A humorous laugh escaped her lips. For once, the angry captain lost out to the rabble rouser she kept hidden save for those she held dearest. Shaking her head, Spitfire glanced between each pony, and then gave her reply.
"She's a grown mare," Spitfire said, her voice soft, but full of gravel and bile, "and you're not her mother. And right now, there's only one princess acting like a mare just out of preteen years. I'll leave you to figure out which."
Then, without waiting for permission or retort, she turned and strode from the room.
Regardless of what happened once Princesses Celestia and Cadence, and Shining Armor regained their wits, Spitfire would always treasure the memory of the day she made Princess Luna fall over, kicking her hooves in the air as she cackled like a mad mare.
Career suicide, check. Now to go find the princess of my heart.
Mouthing off to the boss never felt so good.
Spitfire hadn't meant to slam the door to Twilight's suite as she shoved it open, but it did give her the tiniest hint of satisfaction. While it wasn't quite as therapeutic as flying a few laps, it felt good to let a bit of her temper show forth. Goodness knows she'd bottled it up as she made her way through the castle.
A yelp and a thud made her ears perk up. Curious, she trotted into Twilight's bedroom in search of her girlfriend, and promptly had to bite back a laugh.
"You're one of the most magically gifted ponies in all the land, how in the name of Equestria did you manage to make your suitcase explode like that?"
A familiar pair of lovely, purple eyes glared back at her from beneath a pile of clothes, toiletries, and other assorted belongings. Twilight's voice sounded, muffled by the hem of her dress.
Snorting, Spitfire stepped forward and gently brushed it aside to reveal a mulberry snout with lips that just begged to be kissed. She cut Twilight off with a light peck, reveling in the taste and warmth. It more than made up for the tete-a-tete with the Royal Family. "Say again?" she asked.
Twilight sucked in her lips to hide a smile, but the corners of her mouth tugged and betrayed her. The glare faltered. "I said that I wouldn't have made my suitcase explode if somepony hadn't burst in here like a herd of rampaging buffalo!"
Spitfire winced, dotting her with another kiss as apology. "Ah, sorry. Just needed a second to let a bit of temper out. Didn't mean to scare you."
"It's fine. Packing isn't really--" a flash of light burst from within the pile, every bit of clothing leapt off the entrapped unicorn and floated over to the suitcase resting upon her bed "--that much of an issue." Twilight allowed herself a smile as she put everything neatly back in place, then returned her attention to Spitfire. Her smile faltered, she shifted about on her hooves and let her gaze fall to the floor. "How, um ... how did it go?"
Spitfire let out a low growl from the back of her throat, flicking her tail. "Well, things were discussed. And I've been reacquainted with my temper in ways I'd rather avoided. But, hey, the castle didn't burn down and we're still a thing as far as I'm concerned."
Twilight's ears perked up. She heaved a sigh and let her shoulders slump, relieved at the news. "Good. I was ... well, I was afraid Shining might try to pull some form of the protective brother routine I heard him joke about when I was younger."
"He, ah, did." Glancing away, Spitfire rustled her wings. "I've been told that if I hurt you, I'm going to eat a shield spell to the face." She smirked. "Apparently, that's the 'I like you' version."
"Oh my--that--I am so sorry!"
Laughing, Spitfire looked back at her and waved her off. "It's fine, hon. I expected worse given the conversation you mentioned last night."
Twilight seemed to shrink before her eyes. Again, the mare let her gaze fall to the floor, her ears pinned back against her head. "Did Celestia--is she ..." she trailed off. With a shake of her head, she asked, "Is she still upset?"
"With you? Nope." A wicked grin nearly split her muzzle. "I, on the other hoof, am probably going to be getting a few sidelong looks the next time we have a joint military officers' meeting with her."
"What did you do?"
"You don't wanna know."
"Irritated or not, she's still my teacher! And your princess!" After a beat, Twilight added, "One of your princesses! What did you do?"
"Let's just say I'm not known for keeping quiet if the right button is pushed." Spitfire raised her brows. "Princess Celestia pushed it." A sharp look from Twilight made her roll her sigh. "I'll tell you later, hon. Right now, I'd just like to put it all aside for a bit and hang out with you before you head home tomorrow."
Twilight's stern look softened. She bit her lip and tentatively stepped close enough to rub her cheek against Spitfire's, her wings drooped. "I know we said we'd figure things out," she whispered, "but how are we supposed to do that?"
Wrinkling her snout, Spitfire thought about it for a moment. "Well ... the distance sucks, but it's not like we can't fly it or take a train ride. I think our best bet would be to compare schedules and work things out."
Like she'd cast a spell, Twilight perked right up. Spitfire nearly stumbled back as she suddenly found those brilliant purple eyes boring into her own, shining with unhidden glee.
She let out a weak chuckle. "I take it you approve?"
"Immensely." Twilight pecked her lips, then gestured toward the bed. "Let's sit. We can discuss upcoming plans and see what time they leave for us to see one another." Pausing a moment, she brought a hoof to her chin. "On second thought, I have a better idea." Her horn wreathed with a magenta glow as she snaked a tendril of magic around Spitfire.
Spitfire let out a yelp as she was suddenly lifted into the air. Purely by instinct, she flapped her wings to right herself, but found her efforts in vain. Her heart skipped a couple beats when she caught the sly smirk on her girlfriend's muzzle, and the way those purple eyes dazzled with mischief and unrestrained glee as she was turned over in midair and softly laid down on the bed.
Before she could move, Twilight pounced, horn flashing again as her magic swept over the room. The door clicked shut and all the drapes fell over the windows with a swish.
Blinking, Spitfire glanced about. "Uh, what did--"
"Cone of silence, one of Shining's shield spells, and door and window seals so no pony could unlock them," Twilight cut her off, her voice low and husky. "We're not going to be this close until we can organize visits. I'm not waiting that long, and you have more than earned a little role reversal, hon!"
Spitfire felt a shiver run down her spine as the tingle of magic teased her legs and wings. Twilight had effectively pinned them to the bed and removed any chance of being flipped over.
Without warning, the mare lunged and set upon her neck with a flurry of kisses, licks, and nips that drew a deep throaty moan as Spitfire clenched her eyes shut. Soft lips pressed against her own, and Twilight's warm, sweet tongue slipped into her mouth before she could even think to reciprocate.
A familiar burn spread beneath her skin, blooming from her neck and spreading through her body. She bit her lips as her very core seemed to ache with want, rolling her hips out of natural habit to try and rub against Twilight. Instead, Twilight simply arched her back so her hindquarters stuck up, denying her the release she so craved. With a mewling, pitiful whine, she tried again. No dice.
Twilight broke the kiss with a chuckle, then slowly licked Spitfire's left cheek, trailing all the way up the side of her face. "By Celesia," she breathed, "you're gorgeous when you're aroused." Humming like she was appreciating a piece of art, she trailed tiny nips toward Spitfire's ear. "I think I'm going to have to test this. Thoroughly."
"Hon!" Spitfire whined as she tried to lunge forward and nip at her girlfriend's mulberry coat, but came up just short. Another whine sounded in the back of her throat, she rolled her hips again, desperate for contact. "Green! Green! Just green already!"
Hot breath washed over her ear. A strangled gasp tore from the back of her throat. "No, no, no," Twilight whispered, planting soft kisses along the outer edge that made Spitfire go cross-eyed. "We're green for a show, but the flight team has to warm up before they're cleared for takeoff, Captain. You know that." Another nip made her squirm as Twilight began to trail kisses down toward her neck again. Then up the other side, pausing only to lick her left cheek. "I intend to make sure you're ready to perform at your best."
Twilight's warm tongue touched Spitfire's ear tip. Mewling, she buried her muzzle in the crook of her tormentor's coat. "You're gonna kill me, hon!"
"What a way to go," Twilight purred in her ear. "Moaning, mewling, and begging for more, just like you had me the last couple times." Slowly, torturously, she ran her tongue along Spitfire's ear, and gave an approving hum at the shudder it drew. "Turnabout is fair play. Now, be a good mare and let me hear you sing!"
Eventually, they did discuss schedules and possible visits. At what point, though, Spitfire wasn't exactly sure. Time just seemed meaningless, the sky was painted a beautiful mix of soft purple and fiery orange when they finally sat down and talked, but she sat in a daze and basked in the afterglow.
The memories of each lick, kiss, and nip made her feathers fluff and tingle. Every moan that tore from the back of her throat, and how the little, bookish princess drove her to the very brink until she begged for release and screamed out her name. Her goldenrod cheeks flushed, tinged orange by the blood rising in her face. How long had it been since she felt so complete? So fulfilled in mind, body, and heart?
Never.
By the time Twilight dropped her sealing spells and sent the dopey, glowing captain off into the coming night with a kiss and request to see her on the platform tomorrow, Spitfire figured it out. She flew drunkenly, smiling and humming to herself like a lovestruck filly.
Maybe Princess Celestia had resolved to be a right pain in the flank, but her little matchmaking scheme worked out quite nicely. It was on her to make it work.
Damned if I don't let this slip through my hooves. Spitfire flipped over and looked back toward the castle, waggling her ears. Ma always said I'd find love where I least expected. |
Glow | 16. Goodbye For Now | Her suitcase was packed, her dress hung on a wire hanger so to avoid wrinkling--and inciting Rarity's righteous fury over a perceived crime against fashion, or something of that sort. Twilight gave her bed a once over, frowning at a hint of a wrinkle in the comforter.
She wrapped a tendril of magic around the edge and tugged until the blanket cooperated with her will. The room might technically be hers, a gift from Celestia and Luna to commemorate her coronation, and there might be a waiting staff to take care of any cleanup, but Twilight Velvet didn't raise any slobs. Beds were made and rooms returned to their neat, orderly state in their family.
A tiny voice in the back of her mind nagged her. She wasn't doing this out of necessity, and she knew it. This was nothing more than an excuse to stay a little longer and avoid facing Celestia before she went home.
Twilight bit her lip as she thought back to her talk with Spitfire the night before--what talking they had done before and after one last session of passionate, needy sex. Her feathers fluffed and tingled, the mere memory of her girlfriend's moans and whispered pleas for more made her tail swish. Definitely worth every second, she thought, licking her lips. Even if we won't have the chance for some time.
Then her thoughts turned to how evasive Spitfire had gotten when her little chat with Celestia, Cadence, and Shining Armor came up. Specifically, how quickly she changed the subject whenever Twilight tried to wheedle out just what she said after Celestia "pressed the right button." Whatever the so-called "button" was.
Frowning, she brought a hoof to her chin. What would she have said to sour what seemed like a good relationship with Celestia? Anxiety reared its ugly head and whispered in her ear like a conniving snake. Its silver tongue crafting horrid, lewd remarks designed to make her old teacher balk and clench her jaw in poorly suppressed rage. She could almost hear Spitfire firing back, her voice raspy and scratchy after years of screaming at rookie fliers, and her tenuous control of her tongue slackened with her loss of temper.
"Come on, Twilight!" Spike called from the sitting room. "You've been making your bed for the past half-hour! We're going to miss the train at this rate!"
Twilight shot a glare at the door as if the drake were standing before her. "It has not, and I've told you a thousand times not to exaggerate!"
"Exaggerating to scold me for exaggerating doesn't help your cause!" he shot back.
Sucking in her lips, Twilight flicked her tail. He was getting a bit too quick on his feet with those little quips. Perhaps a product of hanging around with the girls, or the Crusaders. She trotted out of the room, tugging the door closed with an idle tug of her magic, and met her smugly smirking assistant with a stern glare. "I don't need a cause to ground you, young drake," she threatened in her best impression of her mother's tone.
His smirk widened into a full-blown grin. "Weak basis, don't you think? You'd be madder if I didn't tell you to hurry up and we ended up late."
He had a point. Twilight flicked an ear and feigned interest in the pair of suitcases resting near the door--his tiny purple and green dwarfed by her more conservative, traditional brown. "Did you pack everything? You didn't spend too much time playing and staying up late with the girls?"
"Got it all," Spike said with a nod. "Checked the room over twice and found, like, eight of Sweetie's brushes--and that's no exaggeration," he hastily added as Twilight raised a brow. "Apple Bloom and Scootaloo have been needling her all morning."
Twilight chuckled and shook her head. "So you slipped away and came to pester me, huh?" A bright, toothy smile spread across his scaled face. As always, her number one assistant slash adopted brother was as transparent as ever. With a roll of her eyes, she lit her horn, lifting their suitcases. "Yes, we're ready to head out and say our goodbyes. Eager to sleep in your own bed, huh?"
He bobbed his head. "The beds here are really nice and fluffy, but they're not my bed," he replied, his gaze shifting to the suitcases. His clawed fingers twitched. "Uh, you know I can carry those, right?"
"I do." Twilight wrapped her magic around his tiny body and lifted him up, giggling at how he folded his arms and huffed at their old routine. She set him down upon her back and gave him a quick nuzzle that he returned. "But after a few days apart, I think I'm happy to get back to this."
She felt him smile against her cheek. "Plus one hot girlfriend, right?"
Wrinkling her snout, Twilight drew back and fixed him with a wry look, her brow arched higher.
He simply grinned in reply. "Hey, Rarity's still the most gorgeous pony in the world, but I can still appreciate a good-looking mare. And Rainbow came back boasting about you 'scoring' the hottest mare around."
Of course. Rainbow Dash. With another roll of her eyes and a rueful smile tugging at her lips, she trotted toward the door and pushed it open. Why was she not at all surprised? Maybe because Rainbow's a smart-mouthed punk, who doesn't know when to keep things to herself.
Still, she couldn't help but shake her head, her smile turning decidedly fond. Sure, Rainbow was a loudmouth who never shut up about certain things. Just like Rarity would demand every last bit of juicy gossip--no doubt adding in that she was exercising restraint in the castle out of respect for Twilight's fellow Royal Family members--and Applejack would throw something in about the girls being honorary Apple Family, so teasing and nosiness was part of the package. And just like Pinkie would somehow have a party planned with all of Ponyville without having set hoof in town since last week.
Twilight paused and tilted her head. Well, Pinkie hadn't been in Ponyville since last week as far as she knew. Given Pinkie's nature, anything was possible. That aside, she at least had Fluttershy to lean on in times like this. Though she might coo and giggle, Fluttershy was hardly one to start teasing her for getting a girlfriend.
... Or was she? Come to think of it, Twilight couldn't be sure how any of the girls might react outside of the castle. Just how much were they keeping under wraps until they were back in the sleepy embrace of Ponyville's close-knit community?
Food for thought, perhaps. She shut the door behind her, and made her way to the main staircase with Spike seated comfortably upon her back and their suitcases floating along in her wake.
Never before had saying goodbye felt so awkward.
Standing on the pavement before a pair of carriages waiting to take them to the station, Twilight shifted her weight, her eyes flitted about as she stood with her friends and her fellow Royal Family members bade them farewell, though slightly off to the side. A half-smile spread across her muzzle as Party Favor blustered and blushed when Cadence whispered in his ear and gave a pointed nod toward a grinning Pinkie Pie, who was bouncing and chattering away with Sugar Bell about how excited she was to have Party join her in Ponyville for the next week or so.
Just a few steps away, Shining Armor shook his head at Cadence's antics, and bent low to nuzzle Spike's headfins and wrap him in a tight, brotherly hug that the little drake returned with equal fervor. Perhaps even a little more, a silent show of how he'd miss his big brother when they parted again. Twilight respectfully averted her gaze to let them have their moment.
Instead, she found herself watching the Royal Sisters saying their goodbyes. Luna wore a smile that seemed to shine like the stars in her night sky as she shook hooves with Double Diamond and Night Glider, then exchanged hugs with the others. Her teal eyes met Twilight's for a moment, shining with mirth and a hint of mischief. A wink and a quick whisper to Rarity sent shivers down Twilight's spine and made her feathers tingle, the urge to fly almost too great to ignore.
And then her gaze fell upon Celestia. Twilight bit her lip. Her tail seemed to tuck itself between her legs as she let her ears droop. Every bit of anxiety she held over the years, all spent trying to earn Celestia's approval, came to the forefront. A small part of her expected to see her old teacher smile at the girls and Spike, then turn a stern frown upon Twilight herself.
But Celestia wasn't smiling at all. Not in her normal way, at least.
While the Princess of the Day gave the tiniest of smiles as she bade the Cutie Mark Crusaders farewell, exchanging hugs with each filly as she was so wont to do, she didn't seem to carry herself quite the same way as usual. Those purple eyes, so typically warm and welcoming with a glint of ageless knowledge held in their depths, were unfocused.
She didn't give the fillies the attention she so loved to give her little ponies. Instead, her eyes flitted about, settling on Twilight for a mere second before they found the fillies again. Pristine white ears twitched and slowly swiveled as if to droop, but would stand ramrod straight the very instant she noticed. Her wings rustled uncomfortably, almost in time with the awkward flick of her ethereal tail.
Their eyes met. Twilight felt her blood run cold in her veins. She half expected her longtime teacher to turn up her nose and look away, or for those deep purple eyes to harden, tinged with disappointment at her frivolities.
The pain that flashed in Celestia's ancient eyes before she turned to answer a babbled question from Sweetie Belle gave Twilight pause.
That was new. And quite concerning. Her right forehoof twitched and raised of its own volition, pulling her to go to her teacher's side. But the memory of their argument two nights prior drove it right back to rest on the ground. How exactly did one strike up a casual conversation in the wake of something like that? It was a bit different with the girls--they were all close, and right around her age. There wasn't really a lingering sense of fighting with her pseudo-mother figure in what few fights they had.
With Celestia, on the other hoof, it was there plus interest.
"Twilight Sparkle," Luna greeted, nearly making her jump straight out of her coat.
The Princess of the Night wore a small smile, her eyes betrayed a hint of mischief as they danced with mirth. She stepped closer and wrapped Twilight in a tight embrace, like the family they'd become by rite and through marriage.
"T'was wonderful to see you again, young mare," Luna said. She squeezed Twilight's shoulders, then drew back to survey her. The small smile spread across her muzzle. "Perhaps we might take time to acquire coffee and 'catch up,' as you young ponies say." Her smile turned wolfish, she raised an eyebrow and added, "If you don't find yourself too entangled with your mare."
Twilight felt her face burn, a rosy hue filled her cheeks and tinged them a dark violet. Her fellow princess' double entendre did not go missed. "I--I'm sure that won't be any sort of issue! We'll--ahem--have to arrange something!"
It hardly seemed possible that Luna's smile could grow any more wicked, but she managed the feat. "Indeed. And do give my regards to Captain Spitfire if you see her before I do--and, once her upcoming tour is done, I suspect you will."
Curious, Twilight tilted her head. "How did you know she was going out on tour?"
Luna chuckled. "My dear, those things are public knowledge. Hardly difficult for anypony to learn for themselves." With a wink, she leaned in to whisper, "And when somepony decides to date into my family, I do take a certain interest to their character and dealings."
Oh, dear. "Ah. Well, um, yes." Her blush deepened. Twilight rustled her wings. "We've discussed it a bit, and plan to exchange schedules through letters once we get home."
"Excellent. I wish you both the best, then." Luna released her embrace and stepped to the side, gazing toward her sister. For a moment, she was silent. The playful smile ran away from her face. Then, she took a deep breath and spoke, "She does care for you. And everypony under her watch."
Blinking, Twilight glanced between the sisters. "I never doubted that. It's just--"
"She can be smothering. Yes. I know." Luna gave a pained smile. "Of the many reasons I stayed in the castle upon my return, that I was being doted on by a fretting immortal was one of them."
"... You're not being serious."
She was met with a flat stare. "A thousand years waiting, Twilight Sparkle. I may as well have been a little filly in her eyes. Of my sister's faults, and I feel she has quite a few, her greatest is that she cares a bit too much sometimes. Maddeningly so." Flicking her tail, she fixed the smile back on her face when Celestia turned to approach them. She dropped her voice to a low murmur, "And on that regard, your mare gave her a bit of a slap back to reality that was long overdue."
Twilight's ears twitched. This was her chance! She raised a hoof, the question right on the tip of her tongue as Celestia drew within earshot.
"I hope you're not spreading tales, Luna," Celestia began, her voice tinged with false humor and a hint of tiredness, "or will I have to tell a few of yours?"
To her credit, Luna simply smiled. "I welcome the chance, oh ancient one. My reputation can suffer a few of my old stories, yours, on the other hoof ..." she trailed off and let the sentence hang unfinished, then took a few steps toward the Crusaders. "If you'll excuse me, I have a trio of troublemakers to bid farewell. And perhaps instill a reminder to at least try to behave themselves from time to time. I'll leave you to your farewells. Have a safe trip, Twilight."
"Thank you, Luna." Twilight gave a little bow of her head. "It was good seeing you again."
Luna bowed in reply, then resumed her trot, leaving Twilight and Celestia alone.
For the first time in many, many years, Twilight felt awkward before her old teacher--like she was once again the little filly who showed up for her first day of lessons with the Princess Celestia rather than a peer. She scuffed her hoof against the pavement, her teeth nibbled on a piece of broken skin on her lip.
"It was lovely to see you again, my dear," Celestia said softly.
Twilight perked up, a tiny, nervous smile spread across her face. "It was fun to help out this year. Thank you for having us."
"You are always welcome here, whenever you wish to visit." She made as though to continue, but stopped short. Her face contorted, as though she were torn between apprehension and a want to sweep Twilight up in her embrace. Taking a deep breath, she added, "I truly do wish for your happiness, dear. Even if you might think otherwise at times."
Wings drooping, Twilight nodded. Of course. Celestia had always been more than just a mentor. She was a friend, a confidant, and more.
Family.
"I know," Twilight replied. Tentatively, she stepped close enough so she could touch her cheek against Celestia's and gave an affectionate rub. "I just ... she makes me feel so happy! And alive!" Her wings fluttered almost of their own volition. "No pony's ever made me feel this way before, and I love it so much!"
She heard Celestia draw in a sharp breath. "I know." With a sigh, Celestia drew back to regard her as if seeing her for the first time in ages. "I know what you mean all too well, Twilight. I just worry that you might get a bit caught up in that passion and be hurt in the end."
Twilight let her ears droop. She made to argue, but stopped as Celestia raised a hoof.
"I don't want assurances that it won't happen to you, dear. I merely want you to promise me you'll consider my advice and use sound judgement." Celestia's ancient eyes softened like a mother begging her daughter to see reason. "Please, Twilight."
What in Equestria did Spitfire say to draw this sort of response? Nodding, Twilight let her smile return. "I can't promise we won't--er--" she glanced off to the side at Spike and the Crusaders, back at Celestia "--you know. But Spitfire and I both want to make this work so it can last."
"Then I wish you luck, dear." Her warm, welcoming smile returned. Celestia nuzzled her cheek, then took a step back and nodded toward the carriages. "Not that I wouldn't love an excuse to keep you longer, but you'd all best get a move on or you'll miss your train home." Winking, she whispered, "And I think Pinkie Pie might just combust if she doesn't get to show Party around ..."
Twilight swallowed a lump in her throat. Saying Pinkie Pie was looking forward to Party's visit was like saying summers in Froggy Bottom Bog were a bit humid. She pasted a grin on her face, turned to trot toward the carriages, calling to the group, "Time to head out, everypony! We've got to beat the station crowd or we'll never make it in time!"
To her relief, there was no argument. Ears perked up and heads turned, and her friends quickly took up their bags and finished saying their goodbyes before they started to clamor into the carriages.
Twilight just managed to put hers in the boot of her carriage, she felt a strong hoof touch her shoulder. "Twily?" Shining's voice made her ear flick. She turned to face him, and found herself met with both her brother and Cadence.
The pair offered small smiles, a hint of sheepishness showed in the way their ears drooped and Cadence's wings rustled. He withdrew his hoof and rubbed at his mane. "Sorry about the other night," he said, his smile strained. "It's just--you're my baby sister, y'know? I'll always feel a bit protective."
"A bit?" Twilight quipped, arching a brow.
"Oh, shut up." He rolled his eyes. "You'll understand when Spike starts dating. And I don't mean that little crush he's got on Rarity."
They shared a chuckle. The not-so-secret crush Spike still harbored would have to come to a head someday. Hopefully in a way that wouldn't cause too much drama, if fortune smiled upon them.
Cadence drew near and wrapped Twilight in a tight hug, then held her close. "I'll miss you, Twily," she murmured. "We're just a quick letter away if you have any problems or questions about dating, you know. I'd be happy to offer a little advice on places you could go together."
Twilight brought a hoof to her chin. True, she wasn't entirely sure how dating went, that much was evident in the whirlwind relationship she'd stumbled into. It would make sense to have somepony she could ask other than Celestia or Luna, whose dating advice was about a thousand years out of date if she were being generous. Or worse.
Her mother.
"You know," she began, a bright smile spread across her face, "I think I'd like that."
The Royal Canterlot Station was crowded even though they'd managed to beat the rush. Ponies jostled together as they milled about the platforms and main lobby alongside griffons, an entourage of official looking yaks, and even a couple wyverns in high collared robes.
Fortunately, Twilight's status gave her an easy means to cut a path through the crowd. While she was loathe to flaunt her title, walking with a sense of purpose and holding her head high in imitation of her fellow princess' regal air seemed to do more than any levitation or shield spell. The crowd parted before her, some offering deep bows, others greeting her in their native tongue as she passed them by.
Twilight smiled and nodded, and gave greetings of her own as best she could. Her eyes flitted and searched the crowd for any sign of fiery orange mane or warm, goldenrod coat. Even a glimpse of Spitfire's trademark flame lick cutie mark would be welcome.
"Lookin' fer somepony?" Applejack drawled from her right.
Before she could reply, Rainbow was on Twilight's left, playfully rubbing their shoulders together. "Looking for the hottest pegasus around other than yours truly, I bet!" she crowed. "Betcha twenty bits she's hoping Spitfire gives her a nice big goodbye smooch!"
Cheeks burning, Twilight shook her head. "I am not!" she cried with a stomp of her hoof. "She just mentioned she'd be here to see me off!"
"Uh huh."
The burn spread throughout her face to the very tips of her ears. Twilight turned to the others for support, but found herself met with eight smirks, a trio of interested fillies' smiles, and Fluttershy trying in vein to hide a giggle behind a butter yellow hoof. With a groan, she strode forward, pinning her ears to block out Rainbow Dash's raucous laughter.
What was it with all the sporty pegasi she knew being terrible jokesters? Knowing her luck, the entire Wonderbolts squad would be the same, eager to see who could reduce their target to a stammering, blushing mess the quickest. And, at some point, Twilight would have to run that gauntlet herself.
A shiver ran down her spine. Twilight shook herself, returning her focus to the task at hoof. After a few more seconds of scanning the crowd of colorful bodies, and accounting for the pegasi who opted to fly overhead, she was rewarded with a glimpse of Spitfire's mane sticking out among all the others like a tiny flicker of flame in the dark.
Her heart leapt. Fluttering her wings, she picked up the pace. Twilight slid by a few ponies who were a bit slow in moving, idly sending a casual wave as they bowed and murmured apologies, and trotted straight for the fiery mare herself.
Flanked by Fleetfoot and Soarin, Spitfire stood in the middle of the platform, her wings freshly preened and her coat groomed velvety smooth so the light seemed to caress her curves and show off every bit of taut muscle in her body. The warm smile upon her face made butterflies take wing in Twilight's chest. Grinning freely, she took the last several steps in a bound and snuggled right up to Spitfire's chest, pressing her cheek against her girlfriend's. "You came," she murmured.
"Told you I would," Spitfire said softly. "Did you really think I wouldn't show?"
"No. I'm just happy to see you again before we have to juggle schedules."
"Fair." Spitfire drew back and gazed into her eyes for a moment, she leaned in as if to steal a kiss, but stopped short. She glanced around the station, her usual confidence wavered at the sight of all the waiting travellers. Coughing once, she looked toward Rainbow. "Keep an eye on her for me, rook?"
"You got it!" Rainbow said, snapping a quick salute. "I'll keep her out of trouble."
Twilight squawked indignantly. "Excuse me? Keep who out of trouble?"
"You, duh. Your ears working, Twi? Or are you too busy daydream--ow! What did I do?""
Rarity tutted. "You're ruining the moment, Rainbow, and you know full well they could use a little time together before they part. With that in mind--" her horn lit up, she sent a tendril of magic to wrap around the bags in Twilight's grasp "--let me take care of these, darling. Come along, everypony. Let's leave these two to their goodbyes."
With teasing smirks and waggling eyebrows, the group made their way toward the train, though not without a little prodding along to get the fillies moving. Spike sniggered as he gave Scootaloo a little jab in the rump with his claws, drawing a squeak before she darted through the open door and into the train car.
Twilight stood alone on the platform with the trio of Wonderbolts. Soarin smiled at her from over Spitfire's shoulder, and gave a little bow of his head.
"Princess," he greeted warmly.
Arching a brow, she released her hold on Spitfire and set her hooves on the platform. "I think we've gotten familiar enough that you can call me Twilight, Soarin," she teased. "Given that I'm dating your friend slash captain."
"True, but we're in public, so I have to at least pretend to be all proper until you say something." Waggling his ears, he stood up straight. "Have a safe trip home, Twilight. It was nice to meet you."
"We'd be happy to have you join us backstage at one of our shows," Fleetfoot added with a little bow of her own, her milky eyes stared straight ahead and over Twilight's shoulder. She cocked her head so her left ear was more toward Twilight. With a wicked grin, she continued, "Some of us more than others, I'm sure."
"Bite my flank," Spitfire shot back with no trace of malice in her tone. "You'd be all over that deal too if Soarin weren't a Bolt."
"Point." Ears twitching, Fleetfoot let her grin fade to a more friendly smile as she returned her attention to Twilight. "We'll keep an eye on Fireball for you. No promises on keeping her out of trouble though."
Grinning, Twilight fixed Spitfire with a sidelong smirk. "Just send me a letter. I'll keep track and make sure she's thoroughly reprimanded."
Spitfire's jaw dropped as a rosy hue tinged her cheeks. "Ex-Excuse me?" she squeaked, then faked a cough and straightened up, her usual smirk slid right back into place. "I dare you to try, hon. Please."
Soarin let out a low, mocking ooooooooooooh like a bunch of foals on the playground might, much to Fleetfoot's amusement. It only added to the feeling, like they were both playing chicken.
Well, then. Twilight was game. After all, she still owed Spitfire for quite a lot of teasing. And given the sizable crowd on the platform, she had quite the audience.
A slow smile spread across her muzzle as an idea came to mind. Yes, that'll do nicely. Sighing as though defeated, she nuzzled Spitfire's nose. "Write me soon, please."
"Promise, hon." Spitfire dotted her nose with a quick kiss. Soft and full of affection, but fast enough that no pony would notice unless they'd been watching for it. "It'll be the first thing I do once I get back to Cloudsdale."
"Good." Twilight paused, tilting her head to one side. Something still nagged at her, right in the back of her mind. The look of pain in Celestia's eyes still held fresh, as did the change in how she spoke of their relationship. Curious, she looked Spitfire in the eye and asked, "Why won't you tell me what you said to Celestia?"
The smile ran away from Spitfire's face. "Huh?"
"She seemed hurt," Twilight replied, "but not angry. Like she'd been given terrible news. What did you say?"
Spitfire took a deep breath through her nose, then let it out in a deep sigh. Her shoulders slumped. "I lost my temper, and I said something I knew she'd think about for a while," she said softly. Running a hoof through her mane, she added, "It wasn't anything bad. Just sort of a heat of the moment thing. It's ... nothing. Really."
"You made it sound like she'd be angry with you in meetings."
"Not quite." Spitfire raised her hoof. "I said she'd give me a few sidelong looks, I never said she'd be glaring daggers."
Twilight fixed her with a deadpan stare. She arched a brow and flicked her tail, a silent message.
One received, if the pained grimace that flitted across Spitfire's face was any indication. Sighing, she stepped closer and lowered her voice to a whisper. "Can we talk about it another time?" she asked. "Somewhere not in public?"
Pursing her lips, Twilight tapped a hoof against the ground. "Is it bad?"
"Not really. I just don't want somepony overhearing the subject matter given it involves you in a less than regal state." A slight inclination of her brows and a meaningful look left little doubt what she meant. She was looking out for Twilight's public image.
Twilight conceded. "If you think so, I appreciate it," she replied with a smile. "I'll wait, but not too long."
"Much appreciated, hon."
A sharp whistle cut through the air, followed by the conductor's voice booming over the platform. It was almost time to head out.
Spitfire gave a crooked smile. "You'd better get moving," she said softly. The slight drooping of her ears betrayed her. "Don't want you to miss your train."
Twilight's ears twitched, it was now or never. She wrapped Spitfire in another hug, humming happily as she felt a gentle hoof touch her between her wings. "You're right. But first ... there's something I owe you."
She felt Spitfire draw back. "Owe me? Hon, you don't owe me anything."
"Are you sure?" Twilight asked, pulling back just enough to fix Spitfire with a half-lidded stare. "Nothing at all?"
"Uh ... not that I can--"
It was too perfect. Quick as a cat, Twilight looped her hooves around Spitfire's neck and pulled her into a kiss. The scent of rain, ozone, and hotel shampoo filled her senses, she drank it all in. She nibbled and ran her tongue along Spitfire's bottom lip before parting, a broad grin spread across her face as she took in the mare's rosy cheeks, wide orange eyes, and wide open mouth.
"Huhwha?"
Soarin promptly fell over laughing and kicking his hooves in the air.
A giggle bubbled forth. She leaned in, rubbing her cheek against Spitfire's as she whispered, "I told you I'd get you back for breakfast couple days ago, hon." Turning her head, she pressed her lips against the warm, goldenrod coat. "Enjoy the crowd."
She scampered off before Spitfire could gather her wits, pausing only to flash a grin and a wave at Soarin as he struggled to explain what happened to Fleetfoot. Twilight leapt through the doorway passed the startled conductor, and slipped on the rubber floor in her haste to turn and get to the window.
Pressing her face against the glass, Twilight watched while Spitfire slowly worked things out. A full belly laugh built up in her chest as her girlfriend's ears pinned and those beautiful, golden wings sagged. Her orange eyes shrunk to pinpricks as she whispered mostly to herself:
"Oh, no ..."
Twilight swished her tail. "Oh, yes, hon!"
Spitfire turned to face a crowd of gaping ponies, at least two or three of which had managed to pull out their cameras and snap a quick shot of their Princess of Friendship kissing the Captain of the Wonderbolts. She stepped back toward the train, stumbling over one of Soarin's hooves.
The car jolted forward.
Goldenrod ears twitched. Spitfire snapped her head around to shoot a horrified look at Twilight, her jaw working wordlessly as she struggled to figure out how to convey this betrayal.
Twilight let it all out. Her eyes clenched shut, she wrapped her hooves around her barrel and let herself fall back onto her haunches. Tears stung at the corners of her eyes as she gave way to her mirth. Revenge was sweet--sweeter when it involved kissing her girlfriend silly!
"Well, well, well!"
Rainbow's voice made the laughter die in the back of her throat. She froze, her ears slowly drooping as what she'd just done dawned upon her.
Kissing. Spitfire. Crowd of ponies. Cameras. Friends!
Slowly, she turned to face the grinning ponies in her car. Each of her friends wore wicked grins and matching gleams in their eyes, the same as that very morning after the Gala. Spike had his elbows propped on one of the seats, and slowly shook his head while Scootaloo simply stood stock still beside him and gaped. Rainbow Dash was sprawled across one of the cushions, leaning against the wall opposite Twilight, a wicked smirk playing upon her lips.
I really didn't think this through.
Rainbow stood and swaggered over to her side before sitting and throwing a wing around her. "So, Twi," she began, "on a scale of one to ten, how awesome would you say that kiss was?"
Her words jolted Scootaloo back into reality. The little filly buzzed her wings, zipping over to their side. For once, though, her focus wasn't on Rainbow Dash.
Her eyes were trained on Twilight. "We were only here a few days! What the hay did I miss?"
With a sheepish smile, Twilight ducked her head between her shoulders and covered her face. "I ... might be dating Spitfire."
"And by might," Rainbow chipped in, "she means she is. Both have confirmed it."
Scootaloo blinked a few times. She tried to speak, but only managed a weak, strangled babble. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then nodded to herself as if readying for a race.
Her eyes snapped open, brimming with youthful determination. She reared up and placed her tiny hooves against Twilight's knees as if she hoped to keep her in place.
"Tell me everything." |
Order-naries: Storm-chased | pre | Gale glared at Trixie. "There's no 'supporting cast' among the Order-naries," she said. "But if you have a problem with who's doing the rescuing, I can probably find more appreciative ponies elsewhere."
"No!" Trixie wailed, waving her hooves wildly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. Please let me out."
Gale sat back and crossed her front legs across her chest. "I accept your apology," she said, "but let me make one thing clear: when I let you out, I'm expecting you to help us liberate the city. Are you willing to do that?"
Trixie snorted. "Of course I am," she said. "I've actually got a reputation for taking action when trouble befalls Canterlot, you know. The Great and Powerful Trixie always backs up her boasting."
"Fair enough," Gale said with a small smile, then turned around and bucked the cage slightly above the lock. Something in the lock broke with a sharp crack, and the door swung open slightly. "Welcome aboard, Great and Powerful Trixie," Gale said.
Trixie stepped out of the cage and posed with her head held high. "So, what is the plan?"
Gale turned so she was facing the greatest possible number of the caged ponies on the street and pointed in the direction of the castle. "The Storm King himself is in the city right now, holding Princess Celestia and Luna captive," she said. "Who else will join us to strike back at him, to save your city, your kingdom, and your rulers?" She hadn't expected every pony to rise to the call, but the defeatist mumblings she heard from every corner of the block still left Gale feeling annoyed. "Come on everypony," she said, "you've seen how easily the soldiers can be taken out when we have the element of surprise, and the Storm King won't be that much worse."
"I don't wanna get turned to stone," one pony said.
"Yeah," another agreed, "I'll bet you haven't seen those petrifying bombs Tempest Shadow was throwing around. Nothing the Princesses did could stop them. The Storm King must have the same kind of weapons on him, if nothing worse!"
Gale and Loopy shared a worried look, remembering what the Storm King's staff had done to Ash's horn.
"Well," Loopy said after a moment, "you're not wrong but-"
"Not interested!" Several ponies exclaimed.
Trixie sighed and shook her head. "Forget it, girls," she said."It's a rare pony who's cut out to be a hero like you or me." Gale gave her a bemused look, and Trixie huffed. "Remind me later to introduce you to a couple ponies that you can ask about the plundervine incident," she said. She then gave Gale a measuring look and said, "Now, I hope you have a plan that doesn't involve an army."
"I've got ideas," Gale said. "Just follow my lead."
A squad of five satyr soldiers strolled down Restaurant Row in silence, paying no attention to the lure of the storefronts or the aromas of abandoned dishes, such was their single-minded focus on their orders: find the ponies who had made off with one of the Princesses. As they passed by The Tasty Treat, a rock struck one of the satyrs in the back of the head, causing him to stagger into his fellows, half-stunned. The squad turned around and saw Gale and Looping Lines standing in the street, each holding another large rock.
"Thicker skull on that one?" Loopy asked, seeing the hit satyr regain his balance.
"Nah," Gale said, "just a loss of force due to distance. Hey fellas, mind coming a little closer, so we can knock you out properly?"
The satyrs all blinked in bemusement, then the one that had been hit let out a war cry and the squad charged at the pair. Gale and Loopy dropped their rocks, turned tail, and fled down the street. Despite the ponies running all-out, the soldiers narrowed the gap to only a few strides within a couple of blocks.Loopy glanced over her shoulder to see a satyr reaching to grasp her tail and miss by inches. "I have concerns about this plan, Gale," Loopy said, flapping her wings to get a brief surge of speed.
"Just keep going," Gale replied, flicking her own tail out of grasping fingers. They made it to the end of the third block, and Gale shouted, "Now!" before leaping straight up, bucking the satyr directly behind her in the chest, and then breaking off to the left down the side street. Loopy mirrored Gale's actions, heading to the right, and the satyrs paused in the intersection to pick their comrades up and look at the retreating ponies with uncertainty. Before they could make up their minds, a smokescreen erupted in front of them and just as quickly blew away to reveal Trixie standing behind a row of fireworks aimed at the satyrs.
The normally eloquent showmare merely smirked as the soldiers realized their predicament and started scrambling to find cover or get away. Trixie ignited the fireworks with a touch of magic, and the intersection was quickly filled with colorful sparks, loud bangs, the smell of burnt gunpowder, and five concussed satyrs with ruined armor and future hearing problems.
"Well," Trixie said as Gale and Loopy came back, "that actually worked out ok. What did we accomplish, though? These are just simple thugs, as far as I can tell."
"We made noise," Gale answered."Reclaiming Canterlot from the Storm King is the long-term goal, but our immediate concern is becoming a big enough nuisance that his attention goes to us instead of realizing that half the team and Cadance have left the city."
Loopy looked at the satyrs with a frown. "Trixie has a point, though," she said. "Hitting small groups of the rank-and-file like this isn't going to draw much attention quickly enough. I think we'll need to get right up in the Storm King's face."
"Agreed," Gale said. "How many more fireworks do you have, Trixie?" she asked.
"None at hoof," Trixie answered, "but I know there are plenty to be had near the Friendship Festival's main stage. That's up at the castle, though, and most of the Storm King's airships are moored there..."
Gale nodded."Sounds like a good place to strike then," she said. "Let's go."
"Wha- seriously?" Trixie exclaimed, hurrying to catch up as Gale and Loopy took off. "You do realize how dangerous that might be, right?"
"Heroes like the Order-naries don't flinch at 'might be' danger," Loopy said. "We don't even flinch from definite danger."
"We?" Gale echoed, giving Loopy a sideways look. "Counting yourself as part of the team now, Ms. Lines?" Loopy stammered and looked embarrassed until Gale chuckled and said, "I for one, have considered you an honorary member for years now."
As the ponies ran up the street, something watched them unnoticed from the shadows behind a restaurant, then slinked out to follow them when they'd disappeared from sight.
The trio made their way to the upper section of the city, avoiding ever-larger patrols of the Storm King's soldiers along the way. A couple blocks short of the castle, Gale suddenly called a halt and pointed to a Royal Guard Station she'd spotted on a street corner. "Let's make a quick stop in there," she said.
Trixie looked at the building, noting the many broken windows and the singed door that hung ajar off only the top set of hinges. "Why?" she asked. "I doubt we'll find any Guard ponies just lounging around in there; it looks abandoned, to say the least."
"It's a bit beat-up, sure," Gale said lightly as she approached the building, "but I doubt it's been ransacked much. I haven't seen any satyrs walking around with any appropriated Royal Guard weapons like, say, gel launchers, after all."
"Ah," Looping Lines said, grinning, "we're going to gear up in case we have to take the festival area by force, aren't we?"
"Exactly," Gale said, shoving the front door aside walking inside. "And, if the opportunity presents itself once we get Trixie's fireworks, we can try to capture one of the airships. That ought to hold the Storm King's attention."
Trixie nodded appreciatively. "I like the sound of that plan," she said. "I could put on quite the show from an airborne stage." She paused at the doorway and looked up when she heard a low droning noise, and her ears laid back in fear. "That is," she said, "assuming there are any airships left."
"Huh?" Gale asked as she stepped back out onto the street and looked up as well. What appeared to be most of the Storm King's fleet was ascending into the sky and forming up facing north. "Oh," she groaned, "don't tell me..."
"That the Storm King's probably already figured out Ash's plan?" Loopy asked. "Ok, I won't."
"Thank you, Newshound," Gale deadpanned. She went back inside the Guard Station. Loopy and Trixie shared a look, and then followed her inside.
"Ok, I know I keep asking," Trixie said, "but what are we doing now?"
"Same thing as before," Gale said, marching through the front room of the station and into the back areas, searching for the armory. "Minus the airship capturing part. We don't know if the Storm King's going to personally lead the pursuit of Ash and the twins, but even if he does there's no way he's going to take every soldier he's got and leave Canterlot and the other two Princesses unguarded. We gear up, grab some fireworks, find who or whatever's in charge, and then raise some Inferno et Cocytus."
"Some what now?"
Gale turned around to answer, only to let out a small shriek of fright to discover the question hadn't come from either of her companions, but from behind them. Trixie and Loopy turned to look and were likewise startled to see a short, black, insectoid equine figure with flat purple eyes and two long fangs jutting from its upper lips was suddenly standing right behind them. As Gale pushed past the initial shock, she took a guarded stance facing the Changeling, ready to react to its next move, and Loopy followed suit.
Trixie, however, relaxed with a large exhalation of breath and then gave the Changeling a scathing look. "Pharynx!" she said. "What's the big idea, sneaking up on us like that?"
"I've been following you since you took out those soldiers at the restaurants," the Changeling replied. "It's not my fault you ponies didn't notice me."
"Trixie, you know this Changeling?" Gale asked.
"Yes," Trixie said in a longsuffering way. "His name's Pharynx, and he fancies himself to be a great Changeling warrior."
"Hey," Pharynx said, narrowing his eyes, "I don't 'fancy' anything.I am one of the toughest, meanest fighters in the Hive.Just ask my brother."
"Speaking of which," Trixie said, not looking impressed by the little bug-pony's claims, "what happened to you and the rest of the group? I lost track of you all when the airships showed up."
"They're all fine," Pharynx answered."I'm supposed to bring you to them, now that I've found you."
Gale raised an eyebrow. "Them?" she asked.
"The rest of the Changelings that came to the Festival," Trixie answered. "The Queen thought it would be a perfect opportunity to show how her Hive's changed their ways."
"Wait, wait," Looping Lines cut in, waving a hoof in the air, "I'm lost. Gale, didn't Ash say that Changelings were an... evil race here?"
"Changelings are shapeshifters," Gale said simply. Loopy mouthed a silent "oh" and then looked over at Pharynx contemplatively. "Still," Gale said to Trixie, "I'm surprised too. I never figured Chrysalis, of all creatures, would turn over a new leaf."
"Chrysalis isn't the Queen!" Pharynx exclaimed angrily. "She's a criminal, a nasty stain on Changeling honor! No, the Queen's name is Cabbage Patch."
Gale blinked several times in confusion, and eventually shook her head. "Ok," she said, "that's definitely a story I haven't heard yet, but we can save it for later."
"Good," Pharynx said, "because I'm not a Lorekeeper; telling stories isn't my thing. Come on now," he said, turning to the door, "let's go."
"No," Gale said. When Trixie, Loopy, and Pharynx all gave her bemused looks, she turned back toward the interior of the Guard Station and said, "I'm not giving up another chance to get a gosh dang gel launcher! We can go after I've searched this place." |
Order-naries: Storm-chased | 5. Party Train's Derailed | As the train rolled on through the northern regions of Equestria, Ashen Blaze leaned back in his seat, staring intently at the petrified Princess Cadance across the table from him and fighting the urge to keep touching his broken and splinted horn. "Why are we all ponies?" he asked after a while.
Gold Heart, Soul Mage, and Dragon Lord Ember all looked up from their own time-killing activities, glanced at Ash, then at each other, and then back at Ash.
"Uh," Ember said, pointing to herself, "I'm... not a pony."
"I'm not including you; you're a native," Ash said dismissively. "The twins and me, Gale, Sam, Yu-san... Every person who's come to Equestria from Taryn turns into a pony on arrival. Why?"
"That's just... how it... works?" Soul said, scratching his head. "This universe doesn't have humans, so we get changed to fit the dominant sapient lifeform."
Ember snorted, a wisp of smoke curling from one nostril. "Ponies aren't a dominant anything," she said. "They're too... touchy-feely in general, with a few rare exceptions."
"Yet, ponies exert complete control over the environment wherever they live," Soul pointed out, "not to mention that two of them control the very cycle of night and day."
"And yet," Ash said sharply, "I can easily list off a dozen other species in this world that are just as sapient as ponies, complete with distinct societies and, in many cases, territory recognized as legally equal to Equestria. Why, then, does every human that passes into this reality become a pony?"
"Ethnicity, maybe?" Gold Heart suggested. "Our group's entirely Euro-amerigo, after all."
"Nope," Ash said, pointing to himself. "Vat-grown alien, remember?"
"Well, maybe you're based on the Shadowstar version of European, then," Heart said throwing up her hooves. "You certainly look it."
"And Yu-san?" Ash asked. "Nipponese back home, yet became an earth pony here."
"Asia has a pony equivalent," Soul countered. "Maybe all the non-pony races correlate to our Mythics. I mean, both universes have dragons, after all." He gestured to Ember in demonstration.
Iron Horse, who has stepped into the car partway through the Order-naries' conversation, sidled up to the Dragon Lord and asked, "What are they talking about?"
Ember shook her head. "I lost track about eight sentences ago. Please tell me we're almost to the Crystal Empire, or that the Storm King's finally caught up to us."
"Actually," Iron began, looking slightly nervous. Before he could utter another word, however, the train shuddered and then jerked backwards, throwing Iron and Ember off their feet and Ash out of his seat.
"What the skeb?" Ash exclaimed, scrambling to his hooves and quickly checking that his horn was still splinted. He followed Heart and Soul to the rear of the car, poking his head out the door while the twins crowded onto the platform, and they all looked up as the train jerked and slowed again. Flying above the train were a dozen or so of the Storm King's airships flying in a V formation, and two harpoons stuck out of roof of the last car on the train, connected to the two ships directly behind the formation leader.
"Those things have no business being so freaking stealthy," Soul said.
"All right, you troublesome little horses," the Storm King's voice bellowed from the lead ship, "I'm giving you one last chance to stop that train and hand over the Princess!"
"I suppose we are on our third strike," Soul mused, looking at his sister out of the corner of his eye, "so shall we swing for the fence, or just bunt?"
Heart met his sideways look with one of her own. "Just link up," she said. Soul saluted and extended a tendril of spirit energy from his horn to touch Heart's shoulder. An aura of ethereal blue fire enveloped the twins, and Heart took to the air, holding her front hooves close together and off to one side. "Your analogy was a bit off, brother," she said as her aura concentrated between her hooves and turned into a spinning disk of red, blue, green, and yellow energy, "because I'm about to throw them a curveball. Element Wheel!" She spun in the air and threw the disk with all her might toward the harpoons. The Element Wheel sheared cleanly through the lines, and the train lurched slightly as it got back up to speed.
"I'd call that a 'bunt,' sis," Soul said.
"I'm not done," Heart said, face scrunched in concentration as she swung a hoof up. The Element Wheel flew upward and sheared through a stabilizer wing on one of the zeppelins before fading away. The damaged craft listed to the right, into the path of the ship behind it, causing a domino effect of evasive maneuvers that left half the formation in disarray.Gold Heart landed next to Soul and asked, "How's that?"
"Eh," Ash said, pushing his way between the twins, "a hit, but only a double at best. Let me take a swing and-" His horn flickered with orange light, and he winced in pain. "...Right," he muttered, then stepped back inside the train car and pointed at Ember. "Time for the pinch hitter, then."
"What are you talking about?" Ember asked, exasperated.
Ash waved a hoof toward the Storm King's zeppelins impatiently as he answered, "Go do what you tagged along to do: roast a goat."
Ember had to take a second to parse Ash's instructions, but then she grinned and nodded. "Out of my way, then," she said, striding to the door. Once outside, she hopped onto the platform railing and then climbed onto the roof of the car. As she spread her wings in preparation to take flight, she looked back down at Heart and Soul and said, "I thought that pink pony in Ponyville was weird, but you guys are stranger." She launched into the air, circling as she gained altitude before heading for the lead airship.
"Stranger than Pinkie Pie?" Soul asked, incredulous, "Us?"
"Ash just told her to 'roast a goat'," Heart said. "She may have a point."
"Says the pair who just pulled an extended sports metaphor and managed to rope me into it unwittingly," Ash retorted with a smirk.
"Pojnt," the twins conceded.
Three zeppelins launched harpoons at the train, and two of them hit the end of the train and held. The ponies braced as the lines went taut and the train jolted and slowed again. Heart sighed and started preparing another Element Wheel, but paused when Iron Horse shouted, "Uncouple the cars!"
"Come again?" Ash asked as he and the twins glanced back at him.
The conductor waved insistently at them. "Uncouple the cars, I said. We're too big a target right now, and if we lose all but this first car, we'll be able to squeeze out a bit more speed. Hopefully that'll be enough to get us to Hivetown safely..." he finished in a lower tone.
Heart and Soul exchanged a glance, and then Soul turned and reached down to pull the lever to separate the car from the other five. He stumbled as the train jumped back to its original speed, but Heart caught and steadied him before he fell. Soul watched the five train cars as they drifted away in the distance, and said, "I hope that's not going to become an issue for other trains."
"We've got enough issues of our own to worry about," Iron Horse said, going over to a window and looking out. "Like, can one small dragon hold off all those ships?"
Ember reached the airships, turned herself belly-up, and unleashed her fire as she glided just beneath the formation leader. The purplish flames wrapped up both sides of the ship, catching on every exposed bit of wood, and quickly ate through the lines holding the gas envelope. Satyrs were flung into the air as the ship tumbled down to the earth and shattered into smoldering rubble instantly on impact.
Heart and Soul both winced slightly at the impact, but Ash's face remained stoic as he cast a glance at Iron Horse. "Seems she can handle it," he said.
Two airships dropped out the formation to attempt rescue operations on the downed craft, but the rest continued to pursue the train with nary a pause.
Ember rolled upright, dodging a couple bolts of electricity fired from the deck of the nearest ship, and darted underneath it to start her next attack. Before she could, however, the Storm King's voice boomed from an airship on the other side of the formation. "Ok, I'll admit that's some impressive firepower," he said, "but if you thought I was on that ship, you're sorely mistaken."
"Not a lead-from-the-front type, is he?" Soul commented.
"He didn't set foot in Canterlot until it was conquered," Ash pointed out. "If he's actually on the ship that just broadcast his words, I'll be surprised." He frowned suddenly. "It's a lure!" he exclaimed. "Quick, Heart, fly up and warn Ember not to-"
"Too late," Gold Heart said, grimly, watching Ember fly out from the airship she'd taken cover under and head straight for the one the Storm King had seemed to speak from. As the Dragon Lord neared her target, three cannons emerged from the side of the ship and fired shots that burst into weighted nets.Ember barely had time to realize her mistake before she was tangled up in one of the nets and being hauled aboard, unable to sputter more than weak wisps of flame.
"Skvetch," Ash swore softly, face-hoofing. Turning to Iron Horse, he asked, "how much farther to the Empire?"
"We'll make Hivetown in just a few minutes," the conductor replied. "From there, it's a hop and skip to the Crystal Empire."
"Hm," Ash said, looking back up at the airships. "Well then, if the twins can keep us free of anymore harpoons..."
"We'll do our best," Soul Mage said, reigniting the blue aura of his horn. Gold Heart flew up onto the roof of the car and stood there on her hind legs, wings flapping slowly for balance, as she started another Element Wheel and watched the airships intently.
The airships accelerated, catching up to the train with ease, and the formation split to surround the train. Cannon ports were thrown open, and satyrs armed with grappling lines and lighting-spears lined up on the decks. Gold Heart looked around, bit her lip, and then launched her Element Wheel at one of the ships at random before jumping off the roof and dragging Soul inside. "We're completely outgunned," she said, just before the guns started firing.
The first volley left everypony on the train covering their ears against the thunderous report of dozens of cannons, but the only damage sustained was a couple broken windows and a few holes burnt through the roof by lightning-spears. "Well," Ash started to snark before he was thrown off his hooves by a sudden deceleration of the train. "The skeb?" Ash exclaimed over the screeching of the brakes.
Coal Hob burst into the cabin, and by some silent agreement he and Iron Horse picked up the petrified form of Princess Cadance, carried her over to the side doors, threw it open, and leapt out into the snow with Cadance held between them. Ash, Heart, and Soul exchanged a sequence of glances that encompassed bewilderment at the train ponies' actions, acknowledgment of their poor strategic position, and grudging acceptance that Iron and Coal probably had the right idea. They jumped out of the train as a group, the twins using their spiriter power and Heart's wings to control their landing and protect Ash's horn from any unnecessary tumbling, and then they galloped to catch up with the train ponies, who were already an impressive distance away.
"Skeb vetchiu?" Ash asked as he and the twins caught up. "I don't think they were aiming to actually hit us."
"They took out the tracks," Coal Hob said.
Ash glanced back toward the train in time to see it hit the spot where cannon fire had destroyed the track. The engine jumped, twisted in the air, and came back down on its side, carving a wide rut through the snow as it shed the rest of it momentum. The train car broke apart as it was dragged over the damaged ground. "I see," Ash said, stoically. "Well, now that the crash is over, why aren't we heading toward this Hivetown place?"
"We won't make it going the direct route," Iron Horse answered. "Besides, I don't want those airships bombarding the town." He pointed to a cluster of large rocks just ahead. "We're headed there."
"Why?" Gold Heart asked.
"Wait," Soul said, "let me guess: secret tunnel."
"Why would you need a secret tunnel to get into a town?" Ash asked. "This sort of situation isn't exactly common."
"You're not... entirely wrong, Mr. Soul Mage," Coal Hob said. Heart and Soul exchanged a look.
The group reached the rocks, and Iron Horse stopped them in a clear spot near the middle. Soul Mage immediately started poking around for hidden entrances, while Ash and Gold Heart turned to watch the Storm King's fleet turning about to come after them again. "So, what's the plan, smart guys?" Ash asked.
"Give it a second," Iron Horse said with forced calm.
"I can't find a way out of here," Soul said anxiously.
"Give it a second," Iron Horse repeated.
The airships approached, spreading out in preparation to land all around the group. "We're out of seconds, guys!" Heart said as the first ship's shadow passed over. The Storm King himself appeared, peering over the railing of the deck, as another Satyr hung a rope ladder to the railing.
Coal Hob nodded once. "Brace yourselves," he said, and the ground suddenly fell away from beneath the group's hooves. |
Order-naries: Storm-chased | 6. Ain't No Party Like a Changeling Party | The rumbling noise of tons of dirt falling away barely muffled Gold Heart's screaming or the string of Shadowstar curses pouring from Ashen Blaze's mouth as the group tumbled downward. Soul Mage kept quiet, too distracted with trying to puzzle out how they'd come to this point to make any noise.
Suddenly, the noise ceased, and Soul found himself in the thick, furry arms of a hulking, canine creature wearing a metal helmet and cuirass. Heart and Ash had been caught by two more of the creatures, and a smaller, bare-headed canine with big ears and a red vest was standing nearby. Soul Mage recognized the creatures and quipped, ""Hey! If isn't our old friends, the Diamond Dogs! Sup, pups?"
The red-vested Dog narrowed his eyes. "Great. The troublesome ponies; should've known."
"I should've known you lot were involved," Ash shot back. "I don't know anything else that can dig out a tunnel so..." He trailed off as he caught sight of figures standing just outside the little circle of Diamond Dogs, setting the petrified Cadance down carefully between them. Before Heart and Soul could turn to see for themselves, Ash twisted out of his Dog's grasp, exclaimed, "Changelings!" and tried to channel magic through his horn. The spell exploded, bowling Ash into the Diamond Dog behind him and snapping the splint around his horn, leaving the broken piece to dangle precariously between his eyes by a strip of medical tape.
Heart and Soul quickly extracted themselves from the Diamond Dogs holding them and took up protective stances between Ash and the rest of the cavern, Spiriter auras alight. Nobody moved as Soul looked around the cavern, noting several more Changelings watching warily from a nearby tunnel entrance, and then focused on the pair standing near Cadance. "Would I be right in guessing that you two are the ones we knew as 'Iron Horse' and 'Coal Hob'?"
One of the Changelings smirked at its companion. "You owe me a bit," it said.
"I do not," the other protested. "We had to drop the guises before they figured it out."
"Boy," Soul cut in, aiming his horn at the pair, "you must have felt like the luckiest Changelings in Equestria, having us deliver one of the Princesses right into your holey hooves. I mean, sure, the whole dang land's in dire enough straits as it is with the Storm King out there, but Queen Chrysalis has proven to be an opportunistic little louse in the past."
"You're not wrong about that," the second Changeling commented darkly.
Soul paused in thought for a second, exchanging meaningful looks with Heart. "How'd you manage to get control of a train in the first place?" he asked.
"Because Imago and I legitimately work for the rail service," one of the pair replied flatly. "And before you ask, yes, they know we're actually Changelings. Iron Horse and Coal Hob are... official nicknames, if you will."
"Oh... skvetch," Ash groaned. "The place you were taking us to is called Hivetown. Skvetchte..." He got shakily to his hooves, rubbed his head, and tried to set his horn back in place. "Convenient how you didn't mention that until we had our hooves full with airships and harpoons. 'Just a hop and a skip to the Crystal Empire.' Pah." He gave up fumbling with his horn and pointed at Imago. "You tell Chrysalis that-"
"We don't serve Chrysalis anymore," Imago's partner said, spitting the name out like it was a rotten apple.
Ash raised an eyebrow. "Oh," he said, "we've fallen in with a little band of conscientious objectors, have we?"
Despite not having pupils, Imago managed to convey the impression of rolling his eyes. "I owe you a bit after all, Kumquat," he said to his partner, and then gave Ash a curious look. "What rock have you been living under the last few years?"
"I've got better things to do than stay current on your kind's internal politics, bug," Ash snapped.
The Diamond Dog in the red vest closed his eyes and pinched his forehead with a pained groan. "Gah," he muttered. "Ponies arguing, complaining... Such headaches they cause. This is why we moved away from Ponyville." He waved his free hand in a beckoning way as he headed for the tunnel. "Come, Diamond Dogs, we got better things to do." The rest of the canines followed him obediently. When they reached the tunnel, however, they had to stop suddenly to make way for a Changeling twice the height of the others, with yellow eyes that had normal-looking pupils and an image of a black, hole-studded heart wreathed in green flames on her flanks. The red-vested Diamond Dog bowed his head slightly to the Changeling and said, "We gots the ponies down safe and sound, queenie."
"I see," the Changeling Queen said. "Thank you, Rover."
"That's all we're doing for them though," Rover said, jabbing a thumb in Ash's direction. "That one in particular; nasty attitude it's got."
"I know," the Queen said, giving Ash a flat look. Rover and the rest of the dogs slipped past the Queen and disappeared down the tunnel.
Ash returned the Queen's look, projecting an air of restrained danger despite the slow twirling of his broken horn. "Do I... know you?" he asked at length.
"It has been a long time," the Queen replied, "and we've crossed paths only a few times, but your reaction when I flew into Ponyville in my true shape left quite an impression on me." She closed her eyes, concentrating, and green flames enveloped her body as she shrank down to an average pony size and took on the appearance of a sea-green earth pony with a blue mane, retaining her yellow eyes and the flaming heart mark. "Does this jog your memory, perchance, Ashen Blaze?"
The broken horn finally broke free of the medical tape, bouncing off Ash's nose and spinning to the floor, where Gold Heart quickly put a hoof on it so it wouldn't roll out of sight. Ash didn't seem to notice, as his eyebrows rose in unexpected recognition. "No," he said in disbelief, "you couldn't possibly be that little filly from Trixie's performance group. That pitiful little Changeling with the crocodile tears."
"Cabbage Patch," the Changeling Queen said, changing back to her original form. "That's my name, and by the will of the Hive, I am the Queen of the Changelings."
"Will of the Hive? You guys have a democratic government?" Soul Mage asked, looking slightly intrigued.
Cabbage shrugged. "It's a little complicated," she said. "Suffice to say, the Changelings got fed up with Chrysalis throwing their lives away trying to take over Equestria, and I had the bad luck to be considered the only alternative."
"Lovely story," Ash drawled. "Now, I'm just going to warn you once, shapeshifter, if you think to interfere with-"
"Your goal to get Princess Cadance to the Crystal Empire and try to undo her current condition?" Cabbage cut in, casting a glance at the petrified alicorn. "On the contrary, Ashen Blaze, my intentions are to insure you accomplish that very goal. The Changeling Hive is an ally of Equestria now." She walked closer to Cadance, eyes narrowed in mild annoyance as she addressed the statue directly. "On the chance you can hear me in there, Cadance," she said, "perhaps this will convince you that I'm genuine? Imago, Kumquat," she gestured to two train-Changelings, "would you mind helping me carry the Princess to the cart?"
Ash growled and took a step forward, only to be stopped by Gold Heart putting a leg in his way. "Easy, Ash," Heart said. "You've blown your horn off twice already today."
"Like I could do much worse right now," Ash grumbled. Heart gave him a withering look. "You're not going to trust a bunch of Changelings with the Princess!" Ash exclaimed.
Heart held Ash's gaze in silence for a moment, and then looked over at her brother. "Soul," she said, "go help them carry Cadance, would you?"
"Uh," Soul said, hesitating for a second and looking deeply into Heart's steely eyes. At length, he nodded. "Sure thing," he said.
"Gold Heart!" Ash protested.
"What?" Heart asked, staring at Ash again.
Ash opened his mouth, closed it again, and then face-hoofed. "Come on Heart, they're shapeshifters! Deception is their stock in trade."
"It's either go with them, or stay here where we can't help Cadance," Soul pointed out as he wrapped a tendril of spirit energy around Cadance and started to lift her.
Ash scowled, then reached down and picked his horn up in his mouth. Muttering darkly around it, he followed the group out of the little cavern and into the tunnel. There was a large cart a little way in, and Soul, Kumquat, and Imago carefully set Cadance inside it. As the Changelings went to grab the pull-handles, however, Soul planted himself in their way and looked at Cabbage. "One last question before we move, if you don't mind," he said.
"Yes?" Cabbage asked guardedly.
"What happened to Chrysalis?" Soul asked.
Cabbage sighed and glared off into the distance. "I tried to bring her around to doing things my way, but she just played along for a while and then ran off after failing to seize the Queenship again. She's still out there... somewhere. With a small band of like-minded Changelings... Making my job of building a new reputation for the Hive ten times harder..." She sighed dramatically.
Soul went over and gave Cabbage a pat on the shoulder. "All right," he said, "I believe you."
"Seriouthly?" Ash exclaimed.
Soul ignored his friend, looking up to meet Cabbage's eyes. "It's not easy to take something bad and make it good," he said, "but it's always worth the effort in the end, right Ash?" He cast a meaningful look at the ash-grey unicorn, who just rolled his eyes and lowered his head, chastened.
The walk down the tunnel was over quicker than the Order-naries expected, and the three of them stopped and stared in awe at the massive cavern that greeted them at the end.It was more than a mere cavern; it was an underground town so vast the ponies could not quite see the edge, full of carved stone buildings tall enough to double as supports for the cavern's roof at least fifty feet overhead. The streets looked like they were paved with hexagonal paving stones, but on closer inspection Soul discovered it was just the cave floor carved and smoothed to resemble paving. An enormous crystal embedded in the center of the roof shone with a brilliance that rivaled the sun on a summer afternoon, and many of the building sported signs with street names and directions spelled out in softly glowing gemstones. Changelings, Diamond Dogs, and even a couple of Earth ponies were walking around, engaging in typical everyday business with one another.
Queen Cabbage Patch allowed the Order-naries to absorb the sight for a few seconds before stepping out ahead of the group, posing proudly and saying, "Welcome to Hivetown's underground portion. The 'Hive' portion, if you will. The majority of the Changelings and all our Diamond Dog citizens make their homes down here, while our pony citizens mostly live and work aboveground. Our main industries are-"
"No offense, Your Highness," Soul Mage interrupted, "but we don't have time for a tour. The sooner we get to the Crystal Empire, the better."
"You're right," Cabbage said with a sigh. "However," she gave the ponies a look that forbade argument, "I insist you take a little rest and refreshment before you move on. Ashen Blaze's horn needs to be re-splinted, after all, and the decoy team needs time to work."
"Decoy tean?" Ash asked.
Cabbage nodded in both confirmation and to indicate the group should start walking again. As she led them to a small yet distinctly castle-like building near the center of town, Cabbage explained, "I've sent a group of Changelings out disguised as the three of you and Princess Cadance - for extra enticement - to lead the Storm King's ships in different directions so you can get into the Empire without being seen. How does that sound, Ashen Blaze?"
"Hmph," Ash said, taking his horn out of his mouth and sticking it behind his ear. "Deception and misdirection. Just the sort of tactics I'd expect from a shapeshifter."
"Thanks?" Cabbage said, uncertainly.
"Don't mind him, Queen Patch," Gold Heart said. "Decoys sound like just the thing we need at this point."
"Thank you," Cabbage said more sincerely. She opened the doors of the little castle and gestured for the Order-naries and the cart with Cadance to go in ahead of her. "One more thing I'll insist on," she said. "Just call me Cabbage, please. I already get more 'My Queens' and 'You Highnesses' than I can stand just from my Changelings."
Heart, Soul, and Ash exchanged looks, then shrugged and walked inside.
A short time later, Ash was sitting with his head propped on a surprisingly comfortable ottoman, his vivid green eyes locked in an unflinching, challenging glare across the parlor at Cabbage Patch, Kumquat, and Imago, while Soul Mage and Gold Heart studiously applied a new splint to Ash's broken horn. An untouched platter of tea cakes sat on a table in the middle of the room, and an awkward silence hung over the whole space. At length, Cabbage shot Ash a challenging look in return and walked over to where they'd parked the petrified Princess Cadance. Ash bared his teeth and started to raise his head only for Heart to gently but firmly push him back down so she could finish wrapping the splint.
Cabbage let out an amused snort. "I've met a lot of ponies who were uncomfortable with Changelings," she said, "and that's perfectly understandable. Below the anger and distrust, they're afraid of us because we feed on emotions and because of Chrysalis's attempts to conquer the kingdom."
"Yes," Ash interjected. "Let's focus on that for a moment; address the elephant in room. Just how do you manage to... convince ponies to live here and have their love drained out?"
Cabbage Patch sighed and rubbed her forehead. "We don't drain love from ponies," she said with the exasperation of having to recite a speech for the umpteenth time, "not anymore. It's not necessary. Changelings are able to subsist on virtually any positive emotion: happiness, affection, admiration, friendship... Love happens to be the most potent and satisfying of the feelings we can feed on, and so that's what we focused on collecting in the past.
However, Love is also difficult and time-consuming to cultivate, so the Changelings of the past felt compelled to reach deep into their targets and extract love from the very core just to balance the cost.
"I was exiled from the Hive at a young age, ostensibly because I was too runty and lacking in ability and the proper attitude to be worth spending scarce resources on, but more likely because Chrysalis recognized my potential to replace her and didn't want to admit her plans for the Hive were dangerously flawed. Separated from the Hive and its traditions, and bearing a lot of emotional trauma on top of my soft-hearted nature, I was too scared to draw much from the ponies I came into contact with, and yet I survived. I realized that Love wasn't the only thing I could feed on, and by simply being near ponies who liked me and keeping myself open to the emotional energy they gave off - taking only what was given freely - I was getting more than enough to make it through the day."
Cabbage stepped away from Cadance and approached Ash, kneeling down and looking him in the eye. "Thanks to Chrysalis's insane second attack on Canterlot and the later schism she caused in the Hive, I only had about a dozen Changelings when Hivetown was founded. There are a little over a hundred of us now, and every Changeling in this town follows my rules of passive feeding. I maintain an open border and a policy of transparent operations; everypony in town knows how the Changelings are supposed to behave and everypony is free to leave if they feel uncomfortable with the fact that their emotions radiate off them and that Changelings can absorb that energy just by walking by. Our current number of pony and Diamond Dog citizens could easily support twice as many Changelings are there are."
Ash pursed his lips and rolled his eyes to the side, digesting Cabbage's speech. "Fascinating story," he said at last. "Did you learn how to act with such passion from traveling with Trixie, or does it just come naturally?"
Gold Heart made an exasperated noise. "You're just being difficult now, Ash. You know that, right?"
"Meh," Ash grunted.
Cabbage Patch stood up. "You confuse me a little, Ash," she said. "Unlike most ponies who hate the Changelings, you don't fear me, and for all your glaring and bluster your hatred doesn't go nearly as deep as your simple distrust. Why is that?"
"I don't fear what I can defeat under normal circumstances," Ash answered curtly.
"Ash doesn't trust anything that can alter its form at will," Soul said. "It's a deep scar; a shapeshifter broke his heart once, you see."
Ash shot Soul a confused look. "If you're talking about Samantha-"
"No, not Sam, silly," Soul said. "I'm talking about the Meis of Deception."
"Dele-" Ash braced his legs to stand up, but then stopped and glanced at Heart. "You done?" he asked. Heart nodded, and Ash surged to his hooves and whirled on Soul. "Delepra?!" Ash exclaimed. "Delepra never- I never had anything like that with that sneaky snakey... vetch'ku or any part of her sneaky lying cadre!"
"Really?" Soul asked, a teasing smile growing on his face. "I figured, with those mythical pheromones of hers..."
"No more effective than any other kind of mind control on this or any other Meis," Ash said, pointing at his head emphatically. "Yes, Delepra and her minions taught me some hard lessons about how far you can trust something that can change its face with a thought, but romantic dealings between her and... Just... Ew." He stormed off to a corner of the parlor and sat down facing the wall.
"And there it is, out in the open," Soul Mage said to Cabbage and the Changelings, shrugging. Gold Heart whapped him upside the head with a wing. "Yeah," Soul said, rubbing his head, "I deserved that." He grabbed a couple of tea cakes in his spirit tendril and took them over to Ash, ears back in an apologetic expression.
"Uh," Cabbage said, nonplussed.
"I barely understood half of that," Kumquat said flatly. "Where in Equestria do you ponies come from, anyway?"
Gold Heart glanced over at Ash and Soul with a conflicted look on her face. "Can we just say it's no place you're likely to have heard of and leave it at that?" she asked.
"That's fine," Cabbage said. She returned to where Cadance was, grabbing a teacake as she went. As she went to take a bite of the cake, however, something seemed to catch her attention and she hesitated. "The plan seems to be working," she announced, turning around to face the ponies.
"Whenever you're ready, I can take you up to the edge of the Crystal Empire."
Ash came out of his brooding corner, chewing on a mouthful of tea cake, and marched pointedly for the door, giving Cabbage, Imago, and Kumquat dirty looks as he passed them. Soul followed the ash-grey unicorn, meek and apologetic for the moment, and everyone else followed after them, with Kumquat and Imago pulling Cadance in the cart. Once back out on the underground streets, Cabbage trotted up to the front of the group and led them to a nearby building that reached all the way to the cavern roof. Once inside, the Order-naries realized the building contained only a pair of spacious cage-style elevators and a staircase leading up to surface.
As the Changelings loaded Cadance into one of the elevators, Ash finished eating his tea cake and looked up at Cabbage out of the corner of his eye. "How do you know what's going on up there?" he asked. "Nobody came in to deliver a message or anything."
"Oh, you don't know?" Cabbage responded. "The Changelings are all part of a mental network."
"You're all telepaths," Ash said in a resigned tone. "Shape-changing, emotional parasites that are also psychic. A skvetchte triple threat." He stepped into the elevator, sat down with his back against the wall, and quirked an eyebrow at Cabbage and the twins. "Let's not waste any more time," he said.
Cabbage, Heart, and Soul got into the elevator and Imago pulled the lever to start it up. "If it makes you feel any better," Cabbage said to Ash, "we can only read the thoughts of other Changelings. With any other creature, it's only the emotional state we can sense." Ash made a noncommittal noise, and Cabbage let out a gentle sigh of defeat.
Flash Sentry perched on the roof of one of the checkpoint huts that had been built along the border between the Crystal Empire and Hivetown, his wings raised in tense attention. Smoke was rising from somewhere beyond the far side of the Changeling town, and several zeppelins built in an unfamiliar, dangerous-looking style had flown over shortly after but had then turned around and flown off to the west. Clearly, something was afoot, but since the Empire's borders hadn't been crossed Flash could do nothing except stand at his post and wonder.
Seeing something move at the edge of his vision, Flash pulled his attention away from the distant smoke and saw a group of Changelings and ponies - including the Queen herself! - approaching the border with a cart in tow. Flash flew down to the road and met the group at the barrier. "Halt," Flash ordered, somewhat unnecessarily, because the Changelings had already stopped short of the barrier, which would've become solid for them had they tried to cross, and the three ponies hesitantly followed the Changelings' example. "Queen Cabbage," Flash said, inclining his head to the Queen slightly as he looked over the rest of the group with a practiced eye, "might I inquire as to your busi...ness..." He trailed off as he got a good look at what was in the cart: a stone statue of Princess Cadance in a frightened pose. "What is that?" Flash asked, pointing.
"That," said the ash-grey unicorn with a splint on his horn, "is Princess Mi Amore Cadenza having a very bad day. And this," he pointed to his horn, "is Ashen Blaze having a very bad day. Do you need us to spell things out more, soldier, or do you get my meaning?"
"Uh," Flash said, thinking.
Ashen Blaze let out an irritated huff and gestured to one of his companions. "Soul," he said, "I'm about out of patience. Explain things to the poor pegasus."
"Hold up," Flash Sentry said. "You're saying that statue is actually the Princess? She went down to Canterlot to take part in that Friendship Festival that Princess Twilight's holding. What happened?"
"According to witnesses," Soul Mage said, "some uninvited guests from lands unknown crashed the party, stoned three-quarters of the kingdom's heads of state, and chased Twilight and the Elements of Harmony southwards. As for us, we crashed the party-crasher's party, stole Cadance from them, jumped on a train and raced up here, nearly got blown up just outside Hivetown, and are in desperate need of a few hours rest, actual medical attention for Ash's horn, and somepony who knows how to reverse a petrification spell."
Flash Sentry's face had gone blank with surprise halfway through Soul's rambling, and after the unicorn finished Flash had to take another second to process it all. "What are you waiting for, then?" he finally said, standing aside and waving hurriedly. "Get the Princess to the castle immediately! I'll send word ahead."
"Thank you," Heart said as she, Ash, and Soul crossed the border with Cadance in tow. |
Order-naries: Storm-chased | 7. Party Central Briefing | Gale fought down a grimace as the gel launcher strapped to her back shifted again, catching and pulling a clump of her brown fur. "Agh," she grunted under her breath, "stupid mass-produced belts either slightly too loose or way too stinking tight..." She shook her head and cast a glance at Pharynx, who was walking just slightly ahead of her. "Are we almost there?" she asked.
"Yep," Pharynx said, turning slightly to guide Gale and the rest of the group around a corner. "We're holed up in there," Phaynx said, pointing. Up ahead, standing well apart from the nearby buildings, stood a wide, three-story purple building with three towers rising from the star-studded roof.
"Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns?" Trixie exclaimed. "You couldn't pick someplace more... discreet?"
"Don't worry," Pharynx said, "we made the sure the enemy was done searching it before we moved in. They've got no reason to suspect it's occupied now. At least, they won't so long as we can get inside before any patrols come around." He shot the ponies a withering look and then bolted for the school.
"He's certainly serious about soldiering," Gale said with a warm smile as she, Trixie, and Loopy ran after Pharynx. "Do you know how old he is, Trixie?"
"I'm not sure," Trixie admitted. "He can't be more than a couple years old, though."
"What?" Loopy gasped, nearly stumbling in shock.
"Changelings don't waste much time between hatching and becoming what we'd consider colts and fillies," Trixie explained. "A couple of months at the longest. After that, though, I'm not sure how they normally grow. Cabbage Patch was tiny for years, but then she was chosen as Queen and - poof! - she's as tall as Princess Luna."
"Hey!" Pharynx hissed, holding the school's front door open and waving impatiently, "Get in here already!"
"Ok, ok," Loopy said, giving Pharynx a playful swat with her tail as she went through the door, "keep your shell on, kiddo." Pharynx rubbed the spot Loopy had hit, and the irritation on his face slowly faded as he watched the pegasus walk down the hall. Gale paused upon entering the school, noticing Pharynx's growing distraction. She looked in the direction he was looking, saw Loopy's tail disappearing around a corner, and then looked back at Phaynx with a coy smirk. After a second, Phaynx blinked and whipped his head around to glare at Gale. "What are you feeling so smug about, pony?" he snapped.
"Puppy love," Gale said, lightly, walking away. "She's too old for you, you know."
Pharynx's face screwed up in a bemused grimace. After a second, he let go of the door and trotted to catch up with the ponies. "This way," he said, taking the lead and heading for some stairs, "everyling's gathering to meet us in a classroom on the second floor."
The door of the classroom opened as the group approached, and a young Changeling with an unusually long horn and hole-free, iridescent wings poked its head out to look around. Its flat blue eyes widened in mild fright as it spotted Pharynx and tried to withdraw back into the room, but the small, purple-eyed Changeling pounced and grabbed the other in a headlock, dragging it out into the hall and laughing as he noogied it mercilessly.
"Phaaaarynx!" the other Changeling whined, struggling in Pharynx's unyielding grip, "cut it out!"
"I'm just helping you toughen up, Thorax," Pharynx replied.
Gale leaned close to Trixie and whispered, "Are these two brothers, or..."
"Exactly," Trixie replied, equally soft. "I think Thorax is slightly older than Pharynx, but... well," she gestured helplessly at the pair of Changelings.
Thorax twisted and bucked until Pharynx finally let him go."I keep telling you," Thorax said, rubbing his head, "I don't need toughening up. I'm a going to be Lorekeeper, not a solider."
"Psh," Pharynx replied, rolling his eyes. "Right."
"If you two are quite done screwing around," an impatient, feminine voice from inside the room said, "we have some rather important matters to handle. "Pharynx turned to look toward the speaker with his mouth open to protest, but apparently thought better of it and just slunk through the door.
Thorax let out a quiet sigh of relief and went in as well, and then Gale, Trixie, and Loopy followed suit.
Once inside the classroom, Gale looked around, lips pursed in bemusement as she identified the members of the small group inside. To start with, the three young fillies who comprised the original chapter of the Cutie Mark Crusaders were sitting together at a table and perking up as they recognized Gale and Trixie. Gale gave them a smile and a little wave before continuing to look around. Over by the chalkboard stood a white stallion with a styled blonde mane and wearing what appeared to be a steel cuirass styled to look like a tuxedo. Finally, near the back of the room, being joined by Thorax and Pharynx, were two more identical-looking Changelings which stood half a head taller than the brothers and were further distinguished by having short, red, stringy manes, long horns that had grown in a wavy shape, and raspberry eyes with cat-like pupils.
"What's this?" the unicorn stallion asked pompously, staring down his nose at Gale, Loopy, and Trixie. "I'm told to expect ponies who could help turn this invasion around, and these mares are all that show up?"
"Go jump in a lake, Blueblood," Trixie retorted. "And don't bother taking that ridiculous costume off first."
Blueblood snorted indignantly. "I have never-"
"As amusing as a contest of egos between you two would be," Gale cut in shortly, shooting hard looks at both Blueblood and Trixie as she removed her Gel Launcher and set it aside, "can we please save it for when the city's not occupied by a foreign army?" The two unicorns reluctantly obliged but continued to shoot silent glowers at one another. "As for you guys," Gale said, walking over to the Changelings, "you're the only creatures here that I don't already know." She held out a hoof for shaking. "You can call me Gale. I'm the sniper, mechanic, and anti-magic specialist of the Order-naries, if you've heard of us. My friend here is Looping Lines, journalist and semi-official public relations specialist of the Order-naries."
Thorax stepped up and shook Gale's hoof. "Pleased to meet you both," he said. "I'm Thorax. You know Pharynx already, obviously, and these two," he gestured to the matching pair of Changelings and bowed slightly to them in the same motion, "are Chard and Kale, the twin princesses of Hivetown."
"Oh my!" Loopy exclaimed, running a hoof through her mane self-consciously, "actual royalty? Pharynx, Trixie, you should have warned us!" She bowed deeply. Blueblood's nostrils flared, but kept whatever outraged thoughts he was thinking to himself.
Gale bowed as well, although not as dramatically as Loopy. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, your highnesses," Gale said.
"The pleasure is ours," one of the princesses said.
"Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo have been regaling us with tales of the Order-naries ever since Pharynx reported that he'd located you, Gale," the other said.
Gale looked at Phaynx curiously. "When did-"
"Changelings can communicate mind to mind," Trixie answered, predicting the question.
"Interesting," Gale said, giving the four Changelings a new, appraising look. She then turned to the Cutie Mark Crusaders and said, "Now, I hope you three haven't been exaggerating our stories too much."
"Nah, just a little bit," Scootaloo responded cheekily.
"Hold on a second," Trixie said. She went over to the Changeling group and counted them. "Two, three, four... we're missing a 'ling." She looked around, and then cast a spell that sent a pulse of blue light through the room to no evident effect. "Where's Orange Peel?" she asked, looking at Thorax in particular.
"Uh, well," Thorax said, looking around nervously and trying to hide behind Pharynx.
Pharynx, however, stepped aside and turned to face his brother as well. "I'm wondering that too, Thorax," Pharynx said, cocking his head to one side. "Cuz last I heard, she'd snuck aboard that broken-horned pony's airship disguised as a storm soldier."
"She did what now?" Trixie said, keeping her tone even despite the growing tension in her ears and face. "I promised Cabbage I wouldn't let any of you get lost. If I have to go hunting all over Equestria..." She left the statement unfinished but with a clear warning in her voice.
Thorax coughed, stared at the ground, and licked his fangs nervously for a long moment before saying, in a very small voice, "I... Orange moved outside my range about three hours ago. They were in the Badlands the last time I heard from her."
"That's an impressive distance," Gale commented. "I don't know much about telepathy, but if you Changelings can sense each other from halfway across the kingdom..."
"Most of us can't, actually," one of the Changeling princesses said. "Normally, a single 'ling's range is about half a mile, and even the entire Hive gathered together could only cover most of Canterlot. Thorax here is uniquely gifted at mental communication. He could tell you what the Changelings way up in Hivetown are doing right now." Thorax kicked at the ground with an embarrassed smile on his face.
"I'm more interested in why, of all places, Orange Peel is on Tempest Shadow's ship," Trixie said.
"Tempest is pursuing Princess Twilight Sparkle," Pharynx replied, "so we thought it would be a good idea to have an eye on the situation. We... weren't expecting them to get so far away, though," he concluded with a sheepish look.
"That makes sense to me," Looping Lines said. "And Thorax will be able to sense when Orange Peel comes back into his range, right?" The Changeling in question nodded. "So," Loopy said, with an emphatic gesture of a wing, "we'll have a chance to prepare for Tempest returning. Or Twilight. Whoever comes out on top between them."
"Yes," Gale said as a slight gleam came into her eyes. She started to pace around the room, thinking. "Oh yes, that will be useful in the long term," she said, "but in the meantime..."
"Excuse me," Blueblood said brusquely, "but I was expecting somepony to arrive with an actual plan already in order."
"I had a plan," Gale said as her pacing brought her near the noble unicorn, "but now I have more resources to consider and..." She paused and gave Blueblood a measuring look. "What are you doing here anyway, Your Snobbiness?"
Blueblood's mouth went through some tense contortions as he struggled to keep his temper. "I," he said at last through gritted teeth, "am representing the Unicorn Council."
"Oh, not that nonsense again," Trixie moaned dramatically. "Have you always been so quick to try and seize power when the Princesses are indisposed?"
"For your information," Blueblood said, staring down his nose at Trixie, "the Council is a legally recognized body organized for precisely one purpose: to maintain order in Canterlot and in the cycle of day and night should every capable alicorn become incapable of performing their duties. That the Changelings and you, Trixie Lulamoon, happened to earn our ire the last time we were convened-"
"Spare me the excuses," Trixie spat. "That was a gross abuse of power, and you know it."
"Ponies!" Gale said, her tone equal parts sharp rebuke and exasperation. "Stow the egos, both of you!" She pointed at Blueblood and snapped, "You, give me a good reason to care about your band of petty nobility with emergency power, or just stay out of my way."
Blueblood's mouth worked soundless for a few seconds in the face of Gale's careless disregard for his rank and the deference it was due. Gale snorted dismissively and started to turn away, but then Blueblood managed to say, "Hold on." As Gale glanced back at him with a raised eyebrow, Blueblood composed his features and said, "The Council is attempting to locate any resistance to the Storm King's occupation, so we can coordinate efforts. I happen to know of a squadron of the Royal Guard that is prepared to act as soon as they receive information on where to strike."
Gale's eyes widened. "Seriously?" she said. Blueblood nodded, and Gale's face split into a huge, shining-eyed grin. "Perfection!" Gale exclaimed, rushing over to the chalkboard and grabbing some chalk. "That should give us the bodies we need to hit every point at once." Everypony and Changeling gathered around as Gale started expounding on her thoughts. "Here's the situation," she said. "The Storm King and most of his airship fleet are no longer in the city because they're chasing Ashen Blaze, Gold Heart, and Soul Mage, who are heading to the Crystal Empire to try and cure Princess Cadance. The army's second-in-command, Tempest Shadow, is going south in pursuit of Twilight Sparkle and the Elements of Harmony. This actually presents us with a problem because there's no clear leader among the remaining army in the city; there's no 'head of the snake' to remove in one focused strike. On the other hoof, because the enemy just seems to be in a holding pattern, we should be able to take back control of the city if we accomplish three tasks.
"First," Gale drew a sketch of Canterlot Castle, "Celestia and Luna remain in the castle, still petrified, and the Storm King's plans require that he possess them as well as Cadance and Twilight. He wants to steal their magic."
"Why?" Sweetie Bell asked.
"I'm not sure," Gale admitted, "but that doesn't matter. He's not going to get all the Princesses. Twilight can take care of herself, the rest of my team has Cadance, and we are going to seize Canterlot Castle, or at least hold the room the other Princesses are held in.
"Second," Gale sketched a cage, "we need to free all the captives. Hopefully we'll find enough ponies willing to fight back once they're loose, but at worst we'll sew confusion among the satyrs. Last, and perhaps most important," she sketched an airship, "the enemy left some airships behind, so they still have control of Canterlot's airspace. He who controls the skies controls the entire battlefield. So, we either take them over or take them out." She finished her writing and sketching, set the chalk down, and turned to face the group. "I'll admit," she said, "that is a lot to pull off even with a couple squads of Guards backing up this little group of eight, but-"
"There's eleven of us," Scootaloo said flatly. "You, Ms. Looping Lines, Trixie, Prince Blueblood, Chard, Kale, Thorax, Pharynx, Sweetie Belle-"
"This is going to be dangerous, girls," Gale said to the CMC.
"Seriously?" Apple Bloom exclaimed, face-hoofing. "When did you become Applejack, Gale? Look at us, we ain't little fillies anymore. Heck, we're older than the four of them put together!" She pointed at the Changelings. "And you didn't think twice about counting them."
"She makes a valid point," Kale contributed. "Queen Cabbage holds those three in very high regard. That's why we made the effort of freeing them from the cage they'd been thrown in."
Gale glanced between the CMC and the Changelings, not looking convinced.
"Just let them help, Gale," Loopy said. "You just said we're going to need as much help as we can get."
"Fine," Gale said. "But I don't want to have to explain to Rarity and AJ why their sisters got seriously wounded. You three," she pointed at the CMC, "are going to be the team that focuses on freeing ponies, ok?"
"That's cool," Sweetie Belle said. "I was going to ask to be on that team anyway."
"As for the rest of us..."Gale paused and gave Blueblood a cautiously optimistic look. "Give me about an hour to scout enemy positions and the number of zeppelins, and to determine what talents everypony here has to contribute, and I'll have detailed plans of action for the Guard regarding taking the castle and dealing with the airships."
"That seems reasonable," Blueblood said with a nod. "I doubt I'll have any issue convincing the Unicorn Council to back your strategies." He left the room, and Gale turned her attention to the Changelings.
"Now," Gale said, "any volunteers to go scouting?" Before anyone could respond, Blueblood backed back into the room, followed by four satyr soldiers menacing with lowered spears. "Oh," Gale said quietly, glancing between the satyrs and her discarded Gel Launcher. "Well then..." |
Order-naries: Storm-chased | 8. Crystal Party Jam | Ashen Blaze made a pleased noise as he and the twins stepped into their guest suite in the Crystal Empire castle and saw two comfortable-looking couches waiting for them. Ash ran to claim one of the couches all for himself, stretching out on it and sighing, "At long last, I can relax."
"Really?" Soul Mage asked as he and Gold Heart took the other couch. "The only reason you've been a stressed-out, guilt-wracked workaholic all your life is because you didn't have access to that particular couch?"
Ash rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, make your jokes," he muttered. He lifted his head and looked directly at Soul. "The hard part's over now," he said. "Sure, simply being near the Crystal Heart hasn't fixed Cadance, but we still got her here and the Storm King's not breathing down our necks anymore. Shining Armor's assigned the Empire's best magic scholar to researching a counterspell to Cadance's petrification, and somepony's going to be along shortly to deal with this," he touched his broken horn gently. "With the Storm King off chasing Changelings, there's nothing more for us to worry about."
"That's optimistic of you," Gold Heart said with an approving smile. "No worries about how Gale and Loopy are doing in Canterlot?"
"Nah," Ash said with a dismissive wave. "Considering how many airships were pursuing us, I doubt there are enough soldiers left to give those clever ladies much trouble."
"What about Ember?" Soul asked.
"Ah, right," Ash said, giving himself a light smack on the head, "I forgot she's still a prisoner. Well, once Cadance is fixed up I was thinking we'll need to do something more... conclusive about the Storm King. We can rescue Ember then. Er, you two will, at least," he added, tapping his horn with a rueful smirk.
"That's fair," Gold Heart said, nodding.
There was a knock on the door, and an aquamarine crystal mare wearing a nurse's cap and carrying a small teal crystal entered the room and walked straight to Ash, who looked at the crystal and the nurse's lack of other kit with guarded curiosity. "Hi," he said.
"Hello," the nurse replied with a gentle smile as she stepped closer. "Let's take a look at that horn, shall we?"
"By all means," Ash said. The nurse grabbed his head gently in her hooves and leaned in close to examine the splinted horn. "It's been having a doozy of a day," Ash said conversationally. He frowned as a thought occurred to him. "Has it only been a day?" he wondered aloud. "Given the present states of the Princesses..."
"Time is hard to track when the sun hasn't moved," Soul said in agreement, "but, I don't think we've been at this much more than twenty-four hours. Maybe thirty. Point is, I don't think the land has quite reached 'baked by the sun' crisis mode yet."
"Hold still," the nurse instructed Ash. "This splint needs to come off."
"But I just got it back on," Ash protested. The nurse ignored him as she put one hoof on the end of Ash's horn to hold it in place while quickly undoing the splint with practiced speed. As soon as the splint came off, the nurse grabbed the crystal she'd brought in and pressed it against Ash's horn. The crystal glowed and started to grow, first encircling the break and then spreading to encase the entire horn and form an anchoring base on Ash's head.
"Ah, good," the nurse said "that actually took better hold than expected. The crystal is charged with healing magic to repair your horn faster, and you should be able to manage light telekinesis without hurting yourself. Don't try anything more complex, though or you may cause yourself permanent damage. I recommend you come back in about a week so we can check on your progress."
"Yes ma'am," Ash said, saluting. "You have my eternal gratitude, as does whoever invented this crystal."
"You're welcome," the nurse said with a satisfied nod and smile. "Have a good day, and remember: get a check-up in a week." She left the room, and as soon as the door closed Ash started rubbing the crystal cast lightly.
"Is that making you itch already or something?" Soul asked.
"No," Ash said, dropping his hoof quickly, "It's just... kinda fascinating. Oh, and before I forget," he looked at Heart and Soul with a humble expression on his face, "thank you both for putting up with me through all this today."
The twins both gave their friend surprised looks. "What, you mean the angst about your horn?" Soul asked, and then waved it off. "You had every reason to be a grouch, man."
"You've actually been handling it quite well," Heart added. "If this had been even just a couple years ago, I think you'd have gone into Meis Mode after the Storm King broke your horn off."
"Most likely, yes," Ash agreed with a sardonic smile. "I owe most of that mellowing to you two and Gale, you know, so thank you again for putting up with me. Through everything."
"No worries, Ash," Soul said. "We're all practically family at this point. In both good times and bad, we'll have your back no matter what."
A comfortable silence fell over the room for a few minutes, but eventually Ash sat up with a grunt and declared, "I can't actually just sit here while there's a spell to untangle. Shall we go see how Sunburst is coming along on fixing Cadance?"
"Sure," Soul said, getting up. "It's the perfect excuse to raid this castle's library."
"Of course it is," Heart said with an over-dramatic roll of her eyes.
The trio left the room, but before they could take another step a Crystal Guard came cantering up to them. "Mr. Ashen Blaze," the Guard said, "Prince-captain Shining Armor needs to speak to you right away, down at the Crystal Heart."
"Ok..." Ash said hesitantly.
"Go on, Ash," Soul said. "You can meet up with us at the library when you're done."
Ash gave Soul a little pout. "I see," he said, "the lure of a library is too much for you. What happened to 'we'll have your back no matter what?'"
Soul snorted in amusement. "I see," he said, "you need Heart and me to shield you from the terrifying sight of Shining's gratitude. Don't want to get any 'liquid pride' on your coat now, do we?"
Ash cuffed Soul on the shoulder, beating Heart's obligatory wing-slap to the head by half a second. "Fine, I'll catch up with you two later," Ash said, and then followed the guard down the hall toward the main doors.
As Ash came down the stairs and started to round the corner to the Crystal Heart courtyard, he heard a voice that gave him pause. "So, this Crystal Heart is the key to the very existence of your kingdom?" the speaker asked, "How interesting."
"No," Ash said is a small voice, rushing into the courtyard to a sight that confirmed his fear: the Storm King, with a squad of satyr soldiers behind him, was standing there chatting with Shining Armor and within lunging distance of both the Crystal Heart and the petrified Cadance, who had been left by the Heart on the off chance that such close proximity would free her before a counterspell was found. A zeppelin was moored on the far side of the courtyard, where it would have been out of sight from the part of the castle Ash had been in. "Skvetchte..." Ash swore as he ran over and threw himself between the Storm King and Cadance. "How, how, how?!" he exclaimed. "We left you goats chasing shadows over the tundra!"
The Storm King gave Ash a condescending smile. "Did you really think those decoys would fool me for long?"
"That was the hope, yes," Ash deadpanned. He glanced over at Shining Armor, who was starting to look mildly concerned. "And you let him in," Ash said.
"I did," Shining said, giving the Storm King a hard, suspicious look. "He said he was only chasing you because you stole something from him, Ash."
Ash rolled his eyes. "From a certain perspective, I suppose you could say I did," he said. "Take a guess as to what it was I 'stole,' though," he added, glancing pointedly at Cadance. Shining glanced at the petrified princess as well, and then leveled a deadly glare at the Storm King.
"Hey," the Storm King said, shrugging, "my people captured her fair and square, and she's rather crucial to my plans. I'm perfectly justified in trying to reclaim stolen assets. That's how war works, you know."
"You are just a petty warlord," Ash growled, taking up a braced stance and pointing his horn at the Storm King. Shining Armor assumed a similar stance, and cast a protective bubble around himself, Ash, and Cadance, and then another one around the Crystal Heart for good measure. Ash nodded slightly in approval, but then looked up at his horn and sighed. "I should go get us some back-up, Shining," he said. "I'm not fit for combat right now."
"My shield will let you out," Shining said, nodding slightly while keeping his eyes locked on the Storm King. Ash turned to head back to the castle entrance, only to find that while he and Shining had been focused on the Storm King, some of his soldiers had sneaked around to flank the ponies from behind. They were all outside Shining's barrier, but their positions gave Ash no way to get past them without using magic.
Ash eyed the two satyrs closest to him for a moment, wracking his brain for options. "Skvetch," he said at length, turning back to face the Storm King, "we seem to have reached an impasse here. We're outnumbered and surrounded, but Shining Armor's shield can keep you from getting in for days if need be. We won't need to wait that long, though."
The Storm King smirked and lifted his staff above his head. "Agreed," he said simply before swinging the staff down so that the glowing gem set in it collided with the shield. The shield shattered like thin glass and Shining was driven to his knees by the magic backlash. The soldiers immediately leaped forward to restrain the two unicorns. Sighing, Ash didn't bother to resist. "You said your name was Ashen Blaze, right?" the Storm King asked, stepping a little closer. "I've faced entire armies that didn't have as much spunk and endurance as you." He used his staff to lift Ash's chin until he was looking him in the eye. "I thought I could use that when we first met, but..." He let Ash's head drop. "Now," he continued, "I think you have a little too much spunk. I've already learned not to rely too heavily on creatures with powerful ambitions of their own. I couldn't entice you to join, and I apparently can't break you, so-"
"I give up," Ash said.
The Storm King blinked. "Come again?"
Ash looked up and into the Storm King's eyes. "I. Give. Up," he said. "What, do you take me for a zealot or something? I have no way out of this. Checkmate, you win. I'll only ask for two conditions: show mercy to the Crystal Empire by leaving the Crystal Heart alone, and take me back to Canterlot with you. I'm... morbidly curious how things will play out there."
"No," Shining Armor protested, struggling against his captors, "we can't surrender, Ash. I can still..." He started to focus his magic, but one of the satyrs whacked his horn with the back of its hand, disrupting the magic. The Storm King looked at Shining with mild annoyance, and then reached into a pouch on his belt and pulled out a glowing green ball. The satyrs holding onto Shining quickly released him and stepped back as the Storm King threw the ball, which exploded into a cloud of green smoke and turned the stallion to stone.
"As for you," the Storm King said, turning his gaze on Ash and letting silence hang in the air for a tense moment. "How can I trust that you won't try anything if I agree to your conditions?"
"I value the integrity of my word above all else," Ash answered. "And really, is there anything I could do at this point that would accomplish anything other than delaying what you're going to do for more than a second?" The odds of the twins or the Guards realizing what's happening here in time to do anything aren't great, he added to himself, so my best bet is getting you to Canterlot where Gale and Sam can re-balance the game.
Soul Mage made a disappointed sound as he reached the end of the final shelf in the castle library - a room that barely deserved the label, in his opinion. There were more empty walls than shelves and only four free-standing shelves which didn't even reach the ceiling, and every shelf was only half-full at best. "This is easily the most disappointing royal library I have ever witnessed," he declared.
"That's not saying much, dear brother," Gold Heart said with amusement, "considering that we know Twilight Sparkle."
Sunburst looked up from the scroll he was studying. "You also need to consider that the Crystal Empire was locked in limbo for about a thousand years," he said, "and it was under the control of King Sombra before it disappeared. Most of the books that were in this room had to be removed because they were either outdated or... dangerous. I may also have borrowed a large number of the remainder and, uh, keep forgetting to bring them back," he added with a nervous chuckle.
"All of those facts are valid," Soul said, "but do nothing to change my..." He trailed off as he peered out the window and saw the distinctive shape of the Storm King's zeppelin below. "Heart," Soul said slowly, "could you come over here and give me a reality check, please? Because I'm seeing something that should not be where it is."
Heart came over, took one look out the window, and then ran her hoof down her face with a long sigh. "How does he keep doing this to us?" she asked.
"I dunno," Soul said, "but he's down on our level now, at least. And only one ship that I can see."
"What's going on?" Sunburst asked.
"Trouble," Heart said. "Is the spell ready?"
Sunburst looked his scroll over one last time. "Well, I know how do this one," he said. "Whether it will work on the Princess..." He shrugged.
"It'll have to do," Soul said, unlocking the window with his spirit tendril and throwing it open. "Stormy's getting on the ship, and he's got Ash and two stone ponies in tow."
"Soul Mage," Heart said, giving her brother a flat look, "you better not be thinking of pulling what I think you're going to pull."
"Well," Soul said, leaning out the window slightly, "not from this height." Heart sighed in relief. "Once they've gained a little altitude, however..." Soul added, and Heart groaned. "Look," Soul said in a more serious tone, "if we go the sensible way, we'll never catch them. Give Sunburst a lift, would you?"
"I do not like the implications of this conversation," Sunburst said.
Heart placed a comforting wing around Sunburst's shoulder. "Welcome to the club," she said. "On your mark, brother."
"Get us airborne," the Storm King ordered as soon as the petrified Cadance and Shining Armor had been brought on board. "Let's get out of here before any more ponies decide to play hero. No more delays; I will have my ultimate storm!" The soldiers rushed about to their duties, save for two that remained on guard over Ashen Blaze, and the zeppelin soon began to rise into the air.
"All this effort just to be able to cobble together a bit of bad weather?" Ash asked blandly. "Too cheap to import a pegasus team or something?" The Storm King rounded on the unicorn with an angry snarl, but before any more words could be exchanged, a golden-yellow shape plummeted to the deck from above.
"Kemoooo..." Soul Mage cried as he descended, then tucked into a roll to shed his momentum and bring him up next to Ash before springing to his feet and flailing at the satyr guards with a pair of spirit tendrils as he completed the battle cry: "Kiyaski!" Both guards collapsed into soul shock as the unicorn's attack found their marks.
"Where the skeb-" Ash began, but then grinned. "I mean, perfect timing, Soul. And full marks for the dynamic entry, even though you did steal my battle cry."
"Thank you," Soul said, bowing dramatically. "And the score from the satyr judge?" he asked as he straightened up and gave the Storm King a cheeky look. An angry sound escaped the Storm King's throat and he swung at Soul with his staff. Soul high-stepped backwards to dodge the blow, sticking his tongue out. "A five then?" Soul asked.
Distracted by Soul Mage's buffoonery, the Storm King didn't notice that Gold Heart had flown Sunburst down from the castle, setting the unicorn near Cadance and Shining Armor. "Work fast," Heart advised Sunburst before rushing over to aid her brother by kicking the Storm King in the leg, forcing him to abort a second swing of his staff.
'What the-" the Storm King exclaimed, looking down at Gold Heart and then spotting Sunburst starting to focus magic into Princess Cadance. "Hey, idiots!" he bellowed at his soldiers. "Sound general quarters already! Repel boarders!" A bell started clanking, several of the deck crew stopped their tasks, and many more soldiers started emerging from below decks carrying weapons.
Heart and Soul backed off from the Storm King and placed themselves between the massing soldiers and their own allies. "Two against... a lot," Soul noted. "How long do you wager we can hold, Heart?"
Gold Heart glanced at Sunburst, who was gritting his teeth as he continued to weave the spell to free Cadance. "Not long enough," she said, resigned.
Suddenly, a section of the deck exploded in a geyser of purple fire and Dragon Lord Ember flew up in its wake. "Finally got out," she said in a tone of venting frustration, going into a hover just under the zeppelin's envelope. She looked around, spotted the ponies, and gave them a cheerful wave. "Oh, hey there!" she said. "Did you guys get captured too?"
"Yes and no," Ash answered, pointing to himself and then the twins. "We could use some more help, if you're willing."
Ember surveyed the deck and nodded, eyes locked on one satyr soldier in particular. "Oh, I'm willing," she said, dropping to the deck and cracking her knuckles as she stared down the army. "I've got some payback to give out." She spat a tongue of flame at the soldier she'd singled out, and then braced herself to meet the first couple of soldiers that charged at her in response.
Soul Mage nodded in appreciation as Ember made herself the most dangerous target on the ship, and then jumped back as the Storm King's staff narrowly missed taking his horn off. "Forgot about me?" the king asked.
"Hardly," Soul responded, wrapping a spirit tendril around the staff. He strafed around as the Storm King tried to pull his weapon free, angling the tug-o-war away from Ash and the petrified ponies. "Hey, Ash?" Soul asked in a conversational tone as he leaned back against the Storm King's pull, "Do you think it'd be ok to break this stick?"
Ash peered around Shining Armor's petrified form, studying the blue gem in the staff's head for a moment. "It doesn't seem to be linked to anything," he said at length, "nor even particularly thick with magic. I still wouldn't break it right next to myself, though."
"Basic precautions, got it," Soul said. "Heart-"
"I don't think so!" the Storm King said, lunging toward Soul, trying to throw him off balance. The unicorn let himself fall back and rolled out of the charging satyr's path, keeping a firm grip on the staff with his spirit tendril the whole while. Soul leaped to his feet with a quip on the tip of his tongue, but a sudden intake of breath brought the battle to a momentary stop.
Heart, Soul, and the Storm King all looked over to see Princess Cadance blinking owlishly as Ash helped steady her and motes of stone fell away from her pink coat. "What's..." Cadance murmured, looking around in growing terror at the sight of the Storm King and his soldiers.
"Steady, Madonna Cadenza," Ash said in a calming tone. "We've got everything under control."
The anger on the Storm King's face reached a level that threatened to set his fur on fire. He let go of his staff with one hand and reached for his pouch of petrifying bombs. Gold Heart seized the chance, headbutting the Storm King in the back. The tall satyr stumbled, and his staff fell from his grip. Soul pulled the staff in close, looked it over, and then broke the gem off with a stomp. "Ready, sis?" Soul asked, lifting the gem in his spirit tendril.
Gold Heart swept the Storm King's legs out from under him and jumped onto his back when he fell prone. Planting one rear hoof on the king's head, she stood up and readied an Element Wheel. "Pull!" she said. Soul hurled the gem over the side of the ship and Heart sent the Element Wheel after it. The disk of whirling energy cleaved the tumbling gem in half, and the pieces spun away from each other and out of sight without so much as a spark of light. "Woo!" Heart said, pumping a hoof in the air, "First try!"
The Storm King grunted, planted his hands on the deck, and surged to his feet, throwing Heart off his back. "Enough!" he bellowed, clenching his fists, "I- oof!" He went down again - on his back this time - as Soul tackled him from the front at the same time that Heart flew in to get him in a choke-hold from behind. Working together, the twins pinned him to the deck. "I won't... yield," the Storm King gasped. "I've conquered half the world; I won't lose to a couple of simple ponies!" He tried to break out of the twins' holds, but then a pinkish light coiled around his body and transformed into chains.
"We're hardly simple," Shining Armor said, shaking dust out of his mane as he completed his spell. He then sent out a pulse of light that drew the attention of everyone on board, putting an end to Ember's fight against the half-dozen soldiers that still stood against her. "This battle is over," Shining announced. "Your king is captured. Stand down at once, or you'll have more than just one dragon to deal with." There was a momentary pause, and then the satyrs threw down their weapons and put up their hands.
Heart and Soul backed off from the Storm King and stood next to each other, catching their breaths, and then Soul smirked and gave the Storm King a light kick. "Sorry to rain on your parade, thunderhead," he said, "but your storm's passed! Forecast for tomorrow: clear skies with a high of a hundred and ten, due to angry solar flares!" He flashed his cheeky grin around the ship, getting only blank looks in return. "What?" he said. "He's called the Storm King! I've been preparing to drop a burn like that ever since he introduced himself. Though, what would have been just a passing breeze in Canterlot has grown into category 3 hurricane of puns!"
Gold Heart sighed and gave her brother a light smack upside the head. "And that," she said, "just made it into a category 4."
"Gee, really? Thanks," Soul said, giving Heart his goofiest fake-flirty look. Heart raised her wing to smack him again, but then lowered it and hugged him instead.
"Not to spoil the sibling moment," Ash said, "but we should probably be getting this ship back down to earth and start dealing with that lot," he pointed a hoof toward the satyrs, who were starting to shift restlessly under Ember's intense monitoring.
An hour later, Cadance, Shining Armor, and Ashen Blaze gathered in the throne room to discuss business. "Equestria owes you another debt, Ash," Cadance said. "You and your friends managed to put a stop to a threat that nearly brought the kingdom to its knees. And at significant personal cost," she added, looking at Ash's broken horn.
"I appreciate your gratitude, Madonna Cadenza," Ash said, "but we're not done yet. The Storm King's out of play, but this isn't chess. Canterlot may still be occupied, there's a small fleet of airships out there that don't know their leader's been captured, and there's still the matter of Twilight and her friends fleeing from Tempest Shadow."
Shining Armor nodded. "Gale and your other friend are in Canterlot now, though, right?" he asked. Ash nodded. "So at least something's being done there," Shining continued. "Twiley and her friends can take care of themselves, so as much as I want to rush to her side and protect her, we should focus on the closer issues first. As to those airships-"
Flash Sentry burst into the room, ran up to the group, and saluted them. "Pardon the interruption Your Highness, Captain, uh... sir."
I should get myself a formal title, Ash thought idly.
"I have urgent news," Flash continued: "The remainder of the Storm King's airships have been sighted near the western border of Hivetown."
"Well," Ash interrupted with a chipper tone, "at least we won't have to go hunting for them."
Flash shot Ash a slightly nervous look. "They're, uh... the ships aren't flying the Storm King's flags anymore," he said. "Instead, they're flying a flag of a black heart on a Changeling-magic-green field."
Ash, Cadance, and Shining all blinked slowly, processing the information. "Does the Changeling Hive have an official flag?" Ash asked at last.
"I suspect they've just adopted one," Shining Armor said. "And they've taken the Storm King's entire fleet. Come on." He galloped out of the room with his wife and Ash hot on his heels, headed for the Empire's border. |
Order-naries: Storm-chased | 9. Party Central Blowout | Despite the clear skies, a dull grayness seemed to pervade the streets of Canterlot. The myriad ponies locked up in chains and cages throughout the city had mostly given up hope and very few even bothered to cry about it. The Storm Soldiers were eerily silent themselves and patrolled the streets simply from a lack of anything else to do without orders from their King or Commander Tempest Shadow to raid for magic items or treasure. On one particular street, however, some caged ponies found the energy to whisper to one another after the satyr guarding them was out of earshot.
"I wonder how those mares are doing. The earth pony seemed confident they could get rid of these creatures, but it's been a while since they left with that showmare."
"Those mares are Gale and Trixie and... I don't know who the pegasus was, but the other two have each saved the city from disaster a couple of times at least."
"Yeah, when they had the Elements of Harmony or a bunch of tame Changelings working with them. If it's still just those three... Maybe we should have joined them when Gale asked."
A crackling sound like a PA system being turned on suddenly echoed through the streets, stilling what little activity there was. "Attention all loyal soldiers of the great Storm King!" an amplified voice said. "Let it be known that the last of the ponies in the city have been captured. Good work, everyone. Now, to celebrate a job well done and kill some time until our leaders return, some of the recent captures have been persuaded to put on a little show for all of us. Every satyr in Canterlot is to report to the castle courtyard immediately. That includes you guys up in the zeppelins; get down here and let off some steam."
As the echoes of the announcement faded, the gossiping ponies exchanged crestfallen looks. "The last ponies? That can only mean..."
Storm soldiers crowded into the courtyard where the Friendship Festival stage still stood, chatting with one another about the unexpected but not unwelcome celebratory downtime. None of them could recall being allowed any significant breaks in the King's campaign to the plunder the world of its riches and magic, especially in the time since Tempest Shadow had talked her way into such a high position. Neither the King nor Tempest were around right now, though, so there was probably no harm in enjoying a little performance put on by some captives. Just so long as it was all over before either of the aforementioned leaders returned, of course.
Four soldiers stood on the stage keeping an eye on four ponies who stood in chains in the center: three young mares representing each pony race and one more mature unicorn wearing a pointed purple hat with stars all over it. Once the audience was settled, one of the guards unchained the hat-wearing unicorn and gave her a shove toward the front of the stage.
"All right, all right," Trixie grumbled, dusting off the spot on her cape the soldier had touched, "no need to be rough. Ahem." She faced the audience, put on an unconvincingly large smile and said, "Welcome... one and all! It is time to bear witness to the splendor, the dazzlingness, and the wonder that is the Great and Powerful Trrrixie!" She reared up as puffs of smoke erupted around her, revealing tables covered with an array of props. "First," Trixie said, grabbing a large metal ring with a long tube of cloth draped from it, "Trixie requires a volunteer from the audience." She scanned the unresponsive crowd for a few moments, and then pointed to a satyr near the middle of the front row. "You, my fine goat-thing," Trixie declared, "you seem like a brave individual. Join Trixie at center stage, please."
The singled-out soldier was hesitant, but with some cajoling and shoving from his neighbors he stepped up and accepted Trixie's invitation. As the satyr got up onto the stage, Trixie set the ring down carefully so that the cloth folded itself neatly on the ground. "Stand here, please," Trixie said, guiding the satyr into the ring, "and hold still until Trixie says so. You may feel a slight tingle."
With her victim in place and looking adequately nervous, Trixie levitated the ring until the satyr was completely hidden from view by the fabric. "Trixie shall now attempt one of the most difficult kinds of magic known to pony-kind: transformation. Gaze in wonder as... one moment." Trixie dropped the curtain, revealing that the satyr's fur had somehow turned pink. "Trixie should probably say what transformations she's going to do first, huh?" She raised the curtain around the satyr again. Nothing drastic, I assure you," she said, "just a couple color changes, maybe a new set of horns..." She dropped the curtain, revealing an impressive rack of antlers on the satyr's head. There was some applause from the audience.
Lifting the curtain once more, Trixie took a bow. "Thank you," she said, walking a full circle around the curtain, "and now, for the most impressive feat of all. As you see, there is nothing behind or around the magic curtain and my own magic is focused entirely on keeping the curtain up. Yet, before your very eyes, my brave volunteer shall disappear!" With a grand flourish, she released the curtain and let it drop to the stage. The satyr soldier was gone, but the space inside the ring was not empty. Instead, there stood a brown earth pony wearing a saddle with a small metal cannon strapped to one side and balanced by a metal box on the other, and with a storm soldier helmet perched on top of her head.
"Showtime!" Gale shouted, before gripping the gel launcher's trigger mechanism in her mouth and firing a sticky white gel at the closest satyr. With simultaneous flashes of green fire, the four satyr guards on the stage transformed into Changelings. Pharynx immediately launched himself into the midst of thesoldiers and transformed again into a giant insect monster, flailing scything claws and clubbing legs about with wild abandon, while Thorax, Chard, and Kale fell in to guard Gale and Trixie's flanks. Emerging from hidden positions outside the courtyard, dozens of squads of the Royal Guard poured in to surround the storm soldiers and divide their attention away from Pharynx. One platoon held back until the battle was engaged, and then broke off to head for the castle.
Gale walked to the back of the stage where the Cutie Mark Crusaders were already shrugging off their unsecured chains and tossed them a ring of keys. "Ok girls," Gale said, "go rally the masses. Chard will help you get to the streets."
"Yes ma'am," Scootaloo said with a salute as Sweetie Bell took charge of the keys.
Gale then turned to the Changelings and Trixie. "Thorax, go with the platoon heading for the Princesses and keep me updated on their status," she instructed, "Chard, I want you on overwatch once the Crusaders are out of here. Kale, stick by me to relay information. Trixie-"
"Trixie knows her part," the unicorn said with an impatient wave. She opened the trapdoor Gale had used to swap places with the luckless satyr "volunteer" and started levitating out a wide array of fireworks and setting them up across the stage.
"Good," Gale said. She walked up to the edge of the stage, surveyed the mayhem of two armies and one giant bug monster clashing, and then raised her view to the airships parked on the far side of the courtyard. "This is going to be fun," she deadpanned. "Ready, Kale?" she asked. The Changeling princess simply nodded and readied her horn with magic. "Here we go then," Gale said. She and Kale leaped off the stage and immediately ducked and covered their ears as the first wave of Trixie's pyrotechnics arced into the air and came down to explode just above the soldiers who were preparing to charge the stage, raining hot embers onto their heads as the concussive force of the explosions knocked several of them down. Gale and Kale pushed through the stunned and singed soldiers and from there started to fight their way toward Pharynx's position.
When the storm soldiers had answered the summons to the courtyard, many had left their weapons behind, but many had not and even those that were unarmed still had their magic-resistant armor on and possessed enough reach and muscle mass to give the Royal Guard's spearponies an even fight. The satyrs with spears of their own were trying to congregate on Pharynx, but with the confusion caused by the sudden ambush and prolonged by Trixie launching fireworks at random spots in the melee, their ability to coordinate with their buddies was still limited. By sheer determination and a liberal application of hoof strikes, Changeling goo, and point-blank sticky gel shots to the face, Gale and Kale reached Pharynx's side and helped the oversized bug monster clear some breathing room around the three of them. "Make for the zeppelins!" Gale ordered while the storm soldiers were still reeling. Pharynx nodded, changed into a large Yak, and charged toward the airships, bowling satyrs aside while Gale and Kale guarded his flank.
Seeing the trio bulling a path through the middle of their formation in the direction of the zeppelins, the satyrs nearest the zeppelins broke away from the fighting and ran to reach them first. As they neared the gangway of the middle ship, however, a turquoise pegasus swooped out of the sky and landed in front of them, teeth bared in a feral grin. "Go on, take another step," Looping Lines dared the soldiers, who had paused momentarily. The satyrs looked at one another in bemusement, and then the one leading the charge snorted and took a step toward Loopy.
Loopy's eyes glinted and then screwed shut as she hunched her shoulders. Her flesh slowly rippled from the crown of her head down toward her tail, changing her smooth coat into coarse, bristling fur. With a sickening series of cracks and pops, her rear hooves split and shifted into five-toed paws with black claws, and her front hooves followed suit a second later by turning into sharp-clawed hands. A second set of ripples passed through Loopy's body starting from her extremities as her muscles and bones shifted into a bulkier, lupine profile, and her wings migrated up to her shoulder blades. Finally, her muzzle grew longer and more pointed as her teeth became fangs, and she reared up with her arms spread wide as she let out a piercing howl.
The storm soldiers hesitated, and some tried to back away, but Loopy didn't give them a chance to fully process her transformation. Pouncing forward, she grabbed one satyr by the neck with one hand while cutting deep scratches in another's breastplate with the other. As she landed, she threw her captive at the soldiers right in front of her, then caught an incoming fist and pivoted to throw its owner to the ground with his own momentum. Two satyrs rushed her from either side, but she leaped straight up out of their way, flapping her wings once to extend her airtime until the satyrs collided, and then crashed down onto their heads. "Ha!" she crowed, posing triumphic on top of their senseless forms, "Can't touch this!"
"Having fun, Loopy?" Gale asked as she, Kale, and Pharynx burst through the last of the satyrs in their way.
"I'm a wifwolf with wings," Loopy replied, joining the trio as they made for the gangplank. "I haven't had this much fun in years."
"That's good," Gale said, trotting to the top of gangplank and turning around to survey the battlefield. "Now, how about finding-" She stopped herself short as Blueblood and four Royal Guards broke through a clump of satyrs and galloped toward the airship. "Wow, you actually made it on your own," Gale said.
Blueblood snorted indignantly and tossed a stray lock of hair out of his eyes as he approached. "Contrary to your opinion," he said, "I am not wholly incompetent in a base brawl such as this. Shall we get airborne?"
Gale nodded. "I'll go find the engines," she began.
Blueblood shook his head and pushed past her to enter the zeppelin's interior, two of the Guards in his wake. "I will get the engines running," he said. "I know how to operate every system on my personal airship, and I doubt this craft will be too different. You are the commander in this farce, so you should get yourself up top where you can command properly."
"Ok," Gale said with a sigh, "that works." She looked around again and groaned as she saw that some satyrs had gained the gangplanks of the other two zeppelins. "Loopy, Pharynx," she ordered, "try to keep those other two ships from taking off as long as possible. We have to be in control the skies." The wifwulf and Changeling both saluted and took off, the latter changing into his giant bug form as he flew. "Now," Gale said, stepping inside the zeppelin with the remaining two Guards, "let's get into the air and hope the Cutie Mark Crusaders's reinforcements start arriving soon."
"There we go!" Sweetie Bell said in triumph as the key she was holding slid into the lock of a cage and turned easily. "Fifth time's the charm, I guess." She threw open the door and then trotted off to the next one down the street. Scootaloo went with her up to the corner, keeping an eye out for any pursuit.
The two ponies who were in the cage stepped out and looked down at Apple Bloom. "Thank you girls," one of the liberated ponies said. "Might I inquire as to how you obtained the keys?"
"Sure ya can," Apple Bloom said. "We got 'em off one of the soldiers after we lured them all ta the festival stage."
"You don't mean that show that got announced after the cads captured the last ponies in the city was your doing?" the other pony exclaimed.
Apple Bloom grinned. "Pretty much," she said. "It's darn easy to act captured when ya got a few Changlin's on yer side to pose as the enemy. Now," she said, sobering and raising her voice to be heard by the rest of the ponies that Sweetie had been letting out of their cages, "we're takin' the fight to those monsters and showin' 'em they can't just invade Equestria and get away with it! Our side's outnumbered, though, so everypony willing ta step up and join the fight is needed. Who's with us?"
The freed ponies murmured among themselves, and then started to wander off in every direction except toward the battle. "Sorry, girls," one of them said before running off, "but this isn't one of your border towns full of thrill seekers; it's Canterlot. If you want help here, you go to the Royal Guard."
"Seriously?!" Apple Bloom exclaimed at the retreating figures. "Ain't y'all got any courage from that rallyin' speech?"
"I thought it was a good speech," Scootaloo said as Apple Bloom slumped toward her. "They made a good point though: maybe we should try to find where the rest of the Guard are locked up before trying to recruit ordinary ponies."
"Hey! Scootaloo! Apple Bloom!" Sweetie Bell shouted from down the street, "Guess who I just found!"
The shock of the Royal Guard's ambush was wearing off and the storm soldiers were quickly organizing into proper ranks and getting the weapons they had to where they would be the most effective. The Guard were too few in number to keep the satyrs surrounded and their lines were being broken up into smaller pockets by the counter-pushes. Trixie's fireworks were beginning to run out and the satyrs were dangerously close to overwhelming her position. And there was still no sign of any reinforcements from the city.
Chard relayed all this to her twin, Kale, before diving out of the sky to try and help take some pressure off of Trixie. Kale, in turn, relayed the news to Gale as the earth pony took shots from the main deck at the satyrs trying to force open the zeppelin's gangway. "On a more positive note," Kale concluded, "Thorax says they haven't encountered any resistance inside the castle and they're just about to reach the room where Celestia and Luna are being kept. Two Guards will hold the room while the rest intend to come and help out here."
"Fine," Gale grunted around her firing bit. She fired another sticky gel and made a frustrated sound as it was intercepted by a raised shield. The besieging satyrs were starting to figure out her patterns. "Confound it," she said, spitting out the bit, "I could really use some shock gel. This adhesive stuff isn't cutting it anymore." She turned away from the railing at the sound of one of Blueblood's attendant Guards - a unicorn - approaching. "What news from below decks?" Gale asked.
The Guard saluted briefly and reported, "The engines are proving more difficult than anticipated, but the Prince is certain they'll be running in a few minutes. As to weapons, we couldn't find anything that can be used on the ground without suffering collateral damage or risking unacceptable friendly casualties."
"Of course," Gale sighed. She looked out over the battlefield, scowled, and then turned away and headed for the tiller. "They so no plan survives first contact with the enemy," she said, "but I didn't think things would fall apart this quickly. We need more hooves on the ground."
The muffled, sputtering whine of machinery starting up made Gale gallop the last few feet to the tiller, ready to take the zeppelin up. As she grabbed the controls, however, she realized the sound hadn't come from her craft. The whine was echoed, and the two other zeppelins - those still in the control of the storm soldiers - started to ascend. "No no no no!" Gale ranted, looking around for a speaking tube or other means of informing Blueblood that he needed to hurry up! She couldn't find what she needed on her first look, and she felt an itch forming in her front hooves. Nothing was working as intended and she had to know why; what faulty parts had she missed; what calibrations-
The sight of Pharynx landing hard on the main deck, one hoof pressed against a wound in his side, pulled Gale away from her own troubles enough to ward off the oncoming trance, and she forced herself to join Kale in running down to check on him. "They got lucky," Pharynx spat, clearly in pain despite his efforts to mask it. "Hit me with a spear. Didn't hit anything vital, but..." His balance wavered and he winced in pain.
"Can you patch him up?" Gale asked Kale. The royal Changeling nodded, and Gale turned to leave her to it, just in time to see Looping Lines, back in pegasus form, alight on the deck, panting. "And what's your excuse?" Gale asked sharply.
Loopy's lip curled as she looked at Gale sideways from wild eyes. "Do you know how much energy it takes to keep a lycanthrope form going?" she shot back. "Add the workout of flying on top of that. I haven't had a proper meal since before we came through the portal, and those goat-things are starting to look tasty. Do you want were-goats? ...Were-satyrs? That's not right either..."
"Ok, ok, I get it," Gale said, trying to speak calmingly despite her own stress. She began to pace, anxious to fix the situation but not able to think of any action she could take that wouldn't send her into a spiral of obsession and deconstruction. "We're going to have to pull back," she muttered, "get ourselves out of this jam and maybe hole up in the castle until-"
Fweeeee! A giant purple rocket covered in white and blue stars, wrapped in an aura of turquoise magic, and being ridden by two ponies, came flying toward the zeppelin. As the rocket passed over the deck, the riders jumped off and rolled to their hooves, Trixie with a dramatic flare of her cape and Starlight Glimmer with much less drama and far more concentration as she continued the guide the firework into a spiraling curve that ended by puncturing the envelope of the enemy zeppelin to the aft of Gale's before exploding. Without pausing to watch the airship crash back to earth, Starlight turned toward the bow and unleashed a wide beam of magic at the other zeppelin, encasing the entire thing and its crew in a stasis bubble that resembled a gemstone. Only then did Starlight relax and turn to acknowledge everyone else. "I'm not too late to the party, am I?" she asked.
"Holy smoke and cinders," Loopy breathed.
Gale was about to make a comment, only to be interrupted by a sputtering whine and a slight tremor in the deck. Blueblood had finally gotten the engines on. Rushing to take command at the tiller, Gale called over her shoulder at Starlight, "Take down as many of the enemy as you can from here." Starlight nodded and ran to the railing, preparing spells to rain down on the satyrs. Gale reached the tiller and - feeling much more in control - quickly examined the controls to figure out how to get the ship off the ground.
With only one false start, the zeppelin rose into the sky. As it did so, Chard, having tried to follow Starlight and Trixie's rocket and been left far behind, finally caught up and collapsed in a weary heap next to her sister. Starlight raked a couple beams of magic through the middle of the satyr ranks, freezing a couple dozen inside stasis crystals, which proved to be enough to make the remaining soldiers pause to reassess the situation. The Royal Guard rallied and pushed to link their scattered positions into two solid lines pressing the satyrs between them. The squad that had gone to secure the Princesses reappeared in the courtyard and quickly moved to reinforce one of the lines, and as the zeppelin rose even higher Gale thought she could see ponies massing in the streets and making their way toward the battle.
"Ah, this is more like it," Gale said, grinning. "Now," she said, setting the zeppelin to hold its altitude and giving the controls a closer look, "is there some sort of broadcasting device here or... Actually, Trixie! Can your voice projection spell amplify other's voices or just-"
A ragged cheering rose up from somewhere below, accompanied by a rhythmic beat. Gale went over to the railing to see what was happening. The cheers were coming from the storm soldiers, who were drumming out an increasingly synchronized beat on their shields and breastplates, much to the confusion and concern of the Royal Guard. "What's gotten into them?" Gale asked.
"Probably that," Trixie said, pointing toward the northern sky. A vast black storm cloud was moving rapidly toward the city, and as it got closer the silhouettes of a small fleet of zeppelins became discernable.
Gale's eyes went wide as her irises shrank and her ears flatted against her head. "The Storm King's back," she said. "We're not ready for this. Not by a long shot." She bit her lip as her mind raced, trying to calculate the chance of getting any ponies aside from those already aboard out of danger. "Maybe if the Changelings mimic satyrs again..." she mused under her breath, trailing off when she noticed a distinct lack of anxiety in Chard, Kale, and Pharynx's postures. "Why aren't you three worried about this?" she asked.
"There's nothing to worry about," Chard replied. "I think you'll be able to see why about... Now." She pointed, and Gale looked. The storm cloud had dispersed as the leading ship entered Canterlot's airspace, and every pony and satyr could now clearly see the Storm King himself, lashed to the prow like a living and extremely livid figurehead. The storm soldiers' cheering died out into confused mutterings.
"Your attention, please," boomed the voice of Ashen Blaze from the lead airship as the rest of the fleet split up to surround the courtyard. "All soldiers of the Storm Kingdom, you are to lay down your weapons and cease hostilities immediately. Your march of conquest and terror ends here, due to the unconditional surrender of your king to her Royal Highness Princess Mi Amore Cadenza of the Crystal Empire and Cabbage Patch, Rightful Queen of the Changelings. By extension, that means surrender to Equestria and the end to your ambitions. That means you too, airship crew. Park yourselves back on the ground and..." The announcement trailed off as the lead Zeppelin pulled up alongside Gale's and the ash-grey unicorn met eyes with his earth pony mechanic. "Ah," Ash said, speaking more softly into the loudspeaker box he was using, "you're an Equestrian craft now, I see. Never mind, carry on."
Gale peered over the side of her ship to see if the satyrs were complying - which they were - before shouting across to Ash, "What they hay, boss? Retaking Canterlot was supposed to be my job, remember?"
"Right," Ash replied. "And how was that going?"
"I actually had things well in hand before you came waltzing in to steal my thunder at the last second!" Gale shouted back, smirking. "How was your trip?"
"It had its ups and downs," Ash said, shrugging. "De-petrified Cadance and captured Stormy, but our train got blown up and I had to endure Cadance and the Queen Bug bickering over politics for the whole flight back." He paused as he noticed Kale, Chard, and Pharynx standing at the railing of Gale's ship alongside Trixie, Starlight and Loopy. "I see you had to accept some Changeling assistance as well," Ash said.
"And perfectly happy to have them," Gale shot back. "Hey, can we continue this after we've all set down and gotten the clean-up started? I'm going to go hoarse if we keep this up."
Soul Mage came running up to Ash from the main deck, clearly bursting to unleash a pun at Gale before the moment passed, but Ash held him off with an outstretched hoof and spoke a quick "agreed" into his loudspeaker before switching it off. |
Order-naries: Storm-chased | 10. Parties Reunited | Being completely petrified is a fate that is far worse to consider in the abstract than it is to actually experience, if only because one is essentially unconscious when turned to stone. The majority of the horror comes from considering the possibility of not waking back up or wondering about how damage to the stone will affect oneself when flesh is restored. Petrification also preserves the victim's state of mind in the moment just before full transition, so if it occurs slowly the victim will still be feeling panic and may lash out as soon as they can move again.
For this reason, Sunburst positioned himself at Princess Celestia's side - out of her immediate range of vision and where flailing hooves wouldn't strike - before casting the spell to free her from her petrification. The light from his horn spread like veins through the black stone, and when it reached the tip of her horn the stone burst off her restored self in a cloud of dust and tiny flakes. Celestia gasped as she dropped from her reared-back pose to all four hooves, and then again as she was immediately targeted for an affectionate chest-nuzzling by her sister.
"Luna," Celestia said with warmth and surprise. "You managed to get away, then?"
"Nay," Luna said, turning away in shame, "I tried to fly, but I was struck by one of those horrid orbs mere moments after you."
"Oh," Celestia said, looking around and taking in her surroundings for the first time. She and Luna weren't in the festival courtyard anymore, but in one of the rooms of Canterlot Castle, and the room was full of ponies that she recognized, including Cadance, as well as Queen Cabbage Patch, who seemed to be pointedly avoiding Cadance. One face was conspicuous by its absence. "Where's Twilight?" Celestia asked.
"Far to the south, last I heard, Princess," replied Ashen Blaze, who was standing off to one side of the room with a teal crystal encasing his horn and his teammates around him, "with Tempest Shadow in pursuit. We've been trying to fathom what Twilight and the Elements could be seeking down that way."
"The Hippogriffs, I would guess," Celestia said. "When I saw what Tempest Shadow's magic orbs did to Cadance, I tried to tell Luna to find the Queen of the Hippogriffs, both to beg the use of one of their cultural treasures to counteract the petrification and to get at least one alicorn out of the hooves of this Storm King. It seems Twilight took up the task when Luna couldn't, naturally," she concluded with a fond smile.
"That is her wont," Luna agreed. "Although I wonder if she will actually find the Hippogriffs," she added with a frown, "since you only managed to say 'hippo' before the stone overcame you."
"At least she got away," Celestia said.
"Tempest Shadow went after her," Ash reminded the princesses.
Celestia's expression became grim. "Right, you did mention that," she said. She looked around the room again. "So, what's been happening around here in my... absence? I gather that you and your Order-naries have been doing what you do best, Ash, but I would appreciate some details."
"Uh," Ash said, looking to Looping Lines and Soul Mage, "who wants to tell the tale?"
Loopy and Soul looked at each other. "Well," Soul said, "there are two parts to it and we were each present for one..."
"You go first," Loopy said. Soul nodded graciously and then launched into a rollicking summary of the grand train and airship race to the Crystal Empire and the confrontation against the Storm King there. Loopy then gave a professional outline of the short, improvised campaign to retake Canterlot. When she was finished, Celestia and Luna had to sit down.
"So, you're telling us there is no more invasion crisis," Luna said. "The five of you undid everything the Storm King's forces inflicted on Equestria in only a couple days."
"Hey, it's what we do," Soul Mage said flippantly.
Gold Heart gave her brother a wing-slap upside the head. "We had some advantage from showing up after the initial scuffle and being able to observe and learn a bit about the enemy," she said. "I think what actually made it all possible, however, was all the old and new friends we were able to recruit along the way: Trixie, Starlight, Dragon Lord Ember, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Blueblood to an extent... Not to mention the two Changelings who drove the train for us, the four Gale found here in Canterlot, and, ultimately, the entire Hive under Cabbage Patch's leadership."
"Huh," Soul Mage said, "that's actually an impressive number of allies we managed to gather without planning to. And that's without any of us being the Element of Magic slash Princess of Friendship."
Heart gave her brother an amused sideways look. "Are you trying to imply Twilight's going to come home with a small army of new friends at her back?"
"Oh, at the absolute minimum," Soul replied, folding his front legs across his chest. "I wouldn't be surprised if she came home with two or three entire undiscovered nations calling her and Equestria their lifelong friends."
Soul's comment earned an appreciative chuckle from Celestia, and Luna gave a wistful smile. "That would be a most pleasant outcome," the Night Princess said, "however, I do not like leaving her and her friends' fate to chance. We should commission an expedition to the South posthaste to locate and recover them."
Ash stomped a hoof in agreement, but before he could speak up, Thorax came barreling through the door and nearly tripped over his hooves trying to come to a stop in front of the group. His hole-free wings twitching, he cast a glance at his Queen before nervously clearing his throat. "I-I've just got back into contact with Orange Peel!" he exclaimed.
"Who?" Ash, the twins, and the Princesses all asked.
"That's the Changeling that snuck aboard Tempest's ship, right?" Gale asked. Thorax nodded vigorously, looking slightly less tense. "What's their situation, then?" Gale prompted.
Thorax shifted uncomfortably, clearly troubled by the news he bore. "She... Tempest Shadow has captured Princess Twilight Sparkle," he said quickly. "The ponies that were with Twilight have been left stranded at a place called Mount Aeris. Orange Peel estimates that Tempest will arrive here within the next three or four hours." Thorax let out the remainder of his breath in a quick huff of relieved tension, only to stiffen up a second later as he saw Celestia frowning grimly.
"Mount Aeris is the Hippogriff's ancestral home," Celestia said. "How is it that Twilight's friends could be stranded there?"
"Uh... I'll ask Orange Peel real quick," Thorax replied, and then closed his eyes to concentrate on his mental link to the distant Changeling. "So far as Orange could see," he said after a minute, "the mountain looked like it had the remnants of an old, abandoned city on its slopes. I... guess the Hippogriffs aren't there anymore?"
"That's troubling news," Celestia said, "but it's a mystery for another day."
"Indeed," Luna agreed. "We must intercept Tempest Shadow and rescue Twilight. Prepare the airships; we will meet them in force, and by using her own army's ships we will be able to approach without raising her suspicions until it is too late."
"If I may," Ash said raising his hoof and getting an intrigued nod from Luna. "I have no real objections to that strategy," Ash said, "but consider this: Tempest is already heading right for us and she doesn't know that Canterlot's situation has changed since she left. Right?" he asked, giving Thorax a meaningful look. Thorax consulted with Orange Peel and then nodded in confirmation of Ash's assumption. "So then," Ash continued, "why waste time and energy meeting her halfway? If we're going to prove her sense of security in her position false, we may as well do it in Canterlot and use the time to concoct a real good welcome party for her."
"That almost sounds like you're approving of using deception, Ash," Cabbage Patch cut in sardonically. "I thought you were morally opposed to such things."
Ash gave the Changeling Queen a flat look. "I do not speak deliberate falsehoods as a matter of personal principle," he told her, "but I'm almost a pragmatist. Tempest Shadow thinks she's all but won the Storm King's war, and right now this city is flush with natural-born masters of disguise and at least one accomplished illusionist. So long as I am not expected to lie about anything, I see no reason not to use what we have to keep our foe off their guard until they're no longer in any position to harm Twilight or escape." Ash sat back and touched his crystal-splinted horn lightly with a hoof, sighing. "Besides," he said, "with my horn like this, I can't really employ any of my Standard Hostage Protocols anyway."
"Don't count yourself out yet, Ash," Gale said, reaching over to put a hoof on his shoulder. "I may have just come up with a way to use SHP #6."
Ash raised an eyebrow. "Do tell," he said.
As the cage that held her rose from the hold to the deck of Tempest Shadow's airship, Twilight quickly reflected on what her captor had just revealed about herself, her past and reasoning for joining the Storm King and bringing war to her own homeland. It was a story Twilight was familiar with: a young pony who had experienced a tragedy and felt betrayed or abandoned by those they considered friends, and so turned to anger and bitterness and a quest to seize control of their lives from uncaring Destiny. It was a path Twilight knew could be turned away from, and she figured that guiding Tempest toward the right path wouldn't be much harder than guiding Starlight Glimmer had been. Granted, she didn't have access to a time travel spell that would let her show Tempest the end of her current course... In fact, Twilight didn't have much to work with at the moment besides her words, but those were better than nothing.
As the cage came to a stop on the deck and Tempest rejoined her, Twilight gave the tall unicorn a sympathetic look and said, "I'm sorry you felt so alone."
Tempest cast a brief glance at Twilight, and then walked away a short distance. "I saw the truth," she said without looking back. "My 'friends' abandoned me when times got tough. Looks like I'm not the only one. Face it Princess," she spared one more glance back at Twilight, "Friendship has failed you too."
Twilight's ears drooped. "Friendship didn't fail me," she said sadly. "I failed Friendship."
If Tempest had a response to that, she didn't get a chance to voice it, because at that moment the little honey badger Grubber came huffing and puffing up from somewhere below decks, waving a bottle filled with a blue potion that was pulsing with light and emitting an odd musical jingle above his head. "Tempest! Tempest!" he gasped, "I think it's him!"
Tempest's stoic expression broke briefly into mild panic, but she quickly regained her composure and snapped, "Well don't keep him waiting, you idiot. Go fetch a bowl."
"Uh, right," Grubber said, turning around quickly and plowing right into the stomach of a satyr who had come up behind him with a large metal bowl. The bottle flew out of Grubber's grasp as he toppled backwards, and it flipped through the air twice before being skillfully caught in the bowl by the satyr. The satyr casually shoved Grubber aside with one foot, came over to set the bowl down a little ways in front of Tempest, and then poured the potion into it.
Blue smoke billowed up thickly from the bowl, and once the cloud grew large enough the visage of a long-faced satyr with crown-like horns appeared inside, looking around uncertainly. "Is it working?" he asked. "I think I see something. Tempest Shadow?"
"Right here, Your Excellency," Tempest said with measured calm.
The Storm King's eyes settled on Tempest, and he smiled and stepped back a little, revealing some of his armored chest and shoulders. "Ah," he said, "there you are."
"You're getting better at this spe-" Tempest started to say, only to be interrupted by the Storm King erupting with anger.
"Where are you?!" the Storm King demanded. "I've been walking around in this cutesy pony castle for hours and I only see three pegaunipony princesses. I thought we needed four for this plan to work."
"We do," Tempest said, sounding like a long-suffering parent dealing with a fussy foal. "I just had a little difficulty getting the last one to stay still. We're on our way back right now; we'll be in the city within the hour, and then you'll get the power you're looking for."
"Ugh, fine," the Storm King huffed, "I suppose I can endure these prissy rooms a little longer. Don't dally, though, Tempest. This castle's got a dock for airships, so I want you to come directly here, got it?"
Tempest nodded. "As you command, Your Excellency."
"Good," The Storm King said with a curt nod. "Now... how do I stop this sp-" The image vanished abruptly and the smoke dissipated.
Tempest heaved a long sigh. "Soon, my horn will be restored," she murmured, and then looked sharply at Grubber and the satyr. "Well, you heard him," she snapped, "get us to Canterlot with all possible haste, and dock at the castle."
"Do you really think he'll give you your horn back?" Twilight asked as Tempest turned and walked by the cage.
Tempest paused and shot Twilight a hard look. "He will," she said. "I'm giving him all the magic of Equestria's mighty alicorns. With that much magic at his disposal, restoring my horn will be a trivial matter." She marched away from the cage and toward the tiller without another word for her captive. Twilight watched her go for a moment, and then returned her gaze to the distant shape of Canterlot on the horizon.
Tempest Shadow paid no heed to the goings-on in the streets of Canterlot as her zeppelin flew over the city. Her focus was entirely on the castle and preparing herself to deal with what lay within. The long months of working under the alleged authority of the Storm King and weathering both his inconsistent temperament and the little Grubber's constant inane commentary had taught Tempest how to hide her own emotions under a stoic mask and to tune out the more annoying sounds around her. Grubber was probably nattering about cakes or pies or some other kind of confectionery right now, but all Tempest heard from his spot at her side was "blah blah blah." Tempest had hoped to break the little princess's spirit a bit more by carting her through the streets where she could see how her subjects were being treated, but the Storm King's patience had been thinner than thread during the last conversation, and the hour that had passed since likely hadn't done that patience any favors.
Some soldiers were waiting at the airship dock to catch the mooring ropes and tie the zeppelin in place. While they were busy with that, Tempest went down to the hold and told Grubber to flip the switch to lower Twilight's cage onto a cart frame. As the cage descended, four satyrs stepped up, two with spears to a position behind the cage and the other two ready to grab the tow ropes. The Storm King's haste meant there was no time to get any of the enslaved ponies to pull the cart. Still, Twilight still looked crestfallen as the cage settled into place, so Tempest figured things were good enough. Besides, it didn't really matter how the Princesses were feeling; the Staff of Sacanas would gather their magic into itself regardless. All Tempest needed to worry about was keeping the Storm King's promise to her fresh in his mind.
The gangway lowered and the little procession rolled out of the zeppelin and into the castle. Tempest took a second to recall her memory of the castle's layout, and then led the group toward the room where the ritual of extraction was set up. Two soldiers stood guard at the double doors and silently pulled them open as Tempest approached. The two satyrs with spears halted just before the threshold, but the two who were pulling continued inside with Tempest, as did Grubber. The sentinels shut the doors behind them.
The room was dimly lit and seemed to be empty except for the three petrified forms of Princess Celestia, Luna, and Cadance. Tempest stepped to the center of the ritual diagram and turned to watch as the tow-satyrs moved Twilight's cage into place. Twilight finally looked up from her funk, meeting Tempest's eyes. "You don't have to do this," she said. "Don't give the Storm King-"
"Your magic?" Tempest asked, quirking an eyebrow. "Did you really think you'd keep it all to yourself? Time to share. I'd love for everybody out there to see what I can really do."
"Oh so?" said a voice from the darkness. "And what can you do?" Tempest whirled toward the source of the voice, and Twilight's ears perked slightly. "One," the voice said, and the room brightened as the shimmer of illusion spells fell away all around. The two satyrs, who had withdrawn toward the doors, suddenly found themselves being menaced by a sapphire-blue dragon and a turquoise monster that looked like a mix between a pegasus and an upright wolf. Near the far end of the room were five ponies arranged in a slight curve: a brown earth pony and azure unicorn on the ends, then a pegasus mare and unicorn stallion with matching golden-yellow coats and brown manes, and in the center was an ash-grey unicorn stallion with a teal crystal encasing his horn.
"Ash!" Twilight exclaimed happily. "Soul Mage, Gold Heart, Gale, and Trixie! You all made it!"
"Sorry we're late, Twilight," Ash said. "We had a last-minute emergency at home that needed attending to. Then when we got here, we discovered there were some uninvited guests that needed to be taught a lesson or two in common courtesy. How's your day been?"
Twilight's elation died quickly and she looked down at the floor. "Not so great," she said. "My friends and I-"
"They couldn't put up with all the danger she dragged them through anymore," Tempest cut in coldly, "so they left her all alone and vulnerable."
"Spike never left me!" Twilight snapped, bringing her head up to glare at Tempest. "And the girls were justifiably upset at me for making a bad call..." She choked for a second and had to wipe a tear from her eye before continuing. "Yeah, I screwed up," she said, "and we exchanged some harsh words, but they didn't abandon me; we just needed time to cool off. You just took advantage of the situation."
"Hmph," Tempest said, turning her stoic gaze back to the Order-naries. "It doesn't matter if that's true or not, I still have all the Princesses now. Once the Storm King returns from whatever distraction you used to lure him away-"
"About that," Ash said. He looked over at Trixie and said, "Two." Trixie nodded and her horn flashed. Another veil of illusion fell away from one of the corners behind the Order-naries, revealing the Storm King sitting there in chains and a muzzle. "Stormy's blustering has been dealt with. It was quite the battle; a shame you missed it." He gave Tempest a cocky smirk.
Tempest took a step back, eyes widening as her stoic facade cracked. "I-impossible. The Staff of Sacanas-"
"If you're talking about this," Ash said, gesturing with a hoof at Gold Heart, who turned around and picked up something behind the group, which she passed to Ash. It was the Staff, recognizable to Tempest even without the gemstone on its crown. "I'm afraid we had to break it," Ash finished his thought, throwing the staff dismissively to the floor at Tempest's hooves. "We had a Changeling imitate the Storm King and call you through that rather intriguing communication potion," Ash continued, walking very slowly toward Tempest. "Trixie and her friend Starlight Glimmer conjured up a convincing illusion of the city still under occupation, but it wouldn't have held up if you actually went down to the streets, so we told you to come directly to the castle. Incidentally, you have a spy in your midst, but that doesn't seem like a high priority now, don't you agree? Lastly," he stopped just a few inches from Tempest and looked her square in the eye, "if you're thinking any desperate thoughts about harming our poor, petrified princesses in retaliation: Three." Trixie's horn flashed again and three statues vanished in one last shimmer of broken illusions. "We revived them all and hid them away from all this. Your army's beaten, your leader's been captured, and you have no bargaining chips. Tempest Shadow, I suggest you stand down."
"No..." Tempest said weakly. "No... I..." Her gaze hardened. "You can't take this from me. I came so close!" Her horn sparked and sputtered, and before Ash could react she let loose an explosive blast right in his face that sent him flying back to land just behind the Order-naries.
"Ash!" Twilight screamed in horror as everypony else leaped into action. Looping Lines grabbed the satyr she'd been staring off with by the scruff and slammed him against the wall. Ember took a deep breath in preparation to torch her opponent, until it transformed into a small Changeling and held up its hooves in surrender. Ember let her breath out in a frustrated stream of smoke from her nose and turned to check the rest of the room. Grubber was being held aloft in Soul's spirit tendril, pleading for mercy. Gold Heart and Gale both stood firmly in front of Tempest, their eyes steely and Heart's hooves glowing with spiriter power. Trixie was making for the balcony door to send out a distress flare.
All movement stopped as Ash coughed and rolled to his hooves, accompanied by the tinkle of falling crystal. As he stood up, there was a light thump as his horn landed on the floor. Ash slowly looked down at the horn, then slowly back up to stare deep into Tempest's eyes. "Seriously?" he said in a low voice. He advanced toward Tempest, his hard, vivid green eyes standing out especially stark against the blackened fur of his face. "That. Was. Starting. To heal," he said. "I. Could. Feel it. Healing."
"Ash," Gold Heart said, glancing over her shoulder with concern, "do you need a minute?"
"Can I have two?" Ash asked, still staring at Tempest.
"Sure," Heart said.
"'Need a minute?'" Tempest asked, looking disgusted. "Are you going to cry, Ash? After all that acting like you're the baddest pony in the room, you're actually as soft as- gurg!" Without any obvious signal passing between them, Gale and Heart had both jumped to the side as Ash charged and drove his head into Tempest's throat. Tempest staggered back, gasping for air, but Ash didn't let her have any space. Going low, he forced himself between her front legs and then heaved upward, forcing her to rear up. Continuing his motion, Ash hooked Tempest's rear legs out from under her and flipped her onto her back, tore off her pouch of petrifying bombs and threw it aside, then straddled her and alternated between delivering flurries of hoof strikes to her body and tearing at the fastenings of her armor with his teeth. All throughout, he uttered nothing more than wordless growls of rage.
As the beat-down commenced, Gale made her way over to Twilight's cage and got to work on the lock. In about a minute, she got the cage open and helped Twilight out of it. As soon as Twilight and Gale were clear, Ash rolled off of Tempest and kicked her toward the cage. Tempest tried to resist as Ash came over to finish the job, bracing two hooves against the bars and feebly trying to strike back at Ash with a third, but the ash-grey unicorn neatly dodged the blow and smacked Tempest on her horn stub, dazing her long enough for him to get her into the cage and close it. Ash then sat down, took a long, deep breath, and said, "Kalbarandt."
"Done already?" Soul Mage asked. "You've still got forty seconds or so."
"It's enough," Ash said. "If I'd gone any longer, I'd have started breaking bones." Tempest, who had struggled up to a seated position, flinched as Ash glanced her way. "I'm not fit to judge you for your crimes," Ash said to her, "but I'll say this: you seem to be that rare breed of pony that doesn't shy away from necessary violence. You could've been an ideal protector of the realm, if you hadn't mistaken self-sufficiency for true strength and reliance on others for weakness. We're a social species, Tempest; we're at our best when we work together. That's the Magic of Friendship, at least from this war-weary fighter's viewpoint."
"I think that's as true as any other definition I've heard," Twilight said, coming over and giving Ash a hug. "Are you ok, though Ash? Your horn, I mean."
"Eh," Ash said, rolling his eyes, "I've putting up with that for... I dunno how long. Hey," he pointed toward his team and then to the door, "somepony go tell Celestia and Luna they can get the day and night back on track. I want my sense of time passing back."
"On it," Soul Mage said. "Who wants to hold the badger?" He waved Grubber slowly in the air like he was a stuffed animal.
"E-excuse me?" the little Changeling in the corner said, waving a hoof for attention. "Um, sorry to butt in, but I just heard something from the 'lings near the city gate that you might be interested in?"
"Orange Peel, I presume?" Ash asked. "Out with it, then."
"Well..." Orange said slowly, "Twilight's friends just showed up at the gate hitched up to this giant cake..."
"Does anypony else feel like they got gypped?" Rainbow Dash asked her friends as they stood off to the side watching Captain Caelano, her crew, and Skystar clean frosting of themselves while Capper tried to explain himself to the Royal Guard for the second time in ten minutes.
"Whaddya mean?" Applejack asked.
Rainbow Dash flew up a little higher and spread her front legs out to take in the scene in front of them and the city as a whole. "I mean," she said, "we went on this grand adventure to save Equestria, making new friends and enemies along the way, discovered a lost civilization hidden under the sea, had our best friend get captured by the bad guys, and then get back to find out somepony else already did all the Equestria saving and Twilight rescuing parts! It's like Daring Do fighting and puzzling her way through an entire lost temple only to find some other archaeologist already took the artifact she was looking for to the museum."
"I understand where you're coming from, darling," Rarity said, "but to be honest, I wasn't looking forward to possibly having to fight the Storm King with all the Princesses' magic at his command."
"Ok, I'll admit that wouldn't have been fun," Rainbow said, "but that's why we grabbed the Elements before we came up here, isn't it?"
"True, "Rarity admitted, brushing the Element of Generosity at her neck with a hoof, "still, it's the Order-naries who did all the work. Do you honestly think Ash and his team would walk into a Canterlot overtaken by some enemy and not try and do something about it? That certainly doesn't sound like my dearest knight in sour armor."
"I'm not entirely sure what that mean, milady," came a voice from behind the group, "but I'll take it as a compliment since it's coming from you."
Rarity spun about with stars in her eyes to see her beloved Ash approaching in the company of Twilight, but her joy was quickly replaced by horror. "Good gracious!" Rarity gasped, "Ash! What happened to your horn?!"
"Magic staves, deliberate sinkholes, and a cornered unicorn with a busted horn of her own," Ash replied, a trace of weariness giving color to his matter-of-fact delivery as everyone turned to stare. "Not to mention my own hubris," Ash added after a second.
"Oh, darling," Rarity said, rushing over to hug him, "you must have had the most awful time! We must get that looked at right away."
"In a minute," Ash said, patting Rarity's back before gently pushing her off and aiming her at Twilight. "I think your Princess has something to say, first."
Twilight nodded and lowered her head contritely. "Girls," she said, "I'm so sorry- ack!" Pinkie Pie glomped Twilight before she could say anything more, and the rest of the Elements of Harmony and Spike quickly followed suit.
Apologies and expressions of forgiveness were tossed around quickly for a few seconds, and then the pony pile broke up and Rarity stalked right back over to Ash. Grabbing him by the muzzle in her magic, she led him away with a curt command of, "Hospital, now."
"Es'm," Ash mumbled, smiling. |
Order-naries: Storm-chased | Epilogue: Personal Princess Interview | Twilight Sparkle walked into the Map Room as she worked her way down a checklist. "...Ash is at the hospital, the rest of the Order-naries have gone home, Capper's crashing at Rarity's until Captain Celaeno's new ship is ready..." She glanced up at the sound of china being set down on the Map table. "Princess Celestia is- ack!" Twilight dropped her list, staring at the unexpected alicorn in the room.
"Hello, Twilight," Celestia said casually, stirring a sugar cube into the cup of tea in front of her.
"P-prin... C-celestia!" Twilight stammered. "What a pleasant surprise! Uh, can I get you..." She trailed off as Celestia levitated and waggled her teacup with a raised eyebrow. Twilight looked at the table and saw a full tea service, including a second cup waiting for her by her chair. "Right," Twilight said, lamely. She picked her checklist up off the ground, rolled it up as she went over to her chair, and set it down next to her teacup as she sat down. As she poured herself some tea and prepared it to her liking, she was able to get over her shock enough to relax her face and ears so that she didn't look like a skittish foal.
Celestia waited until Twilight was settled and had taken a sip of tea before speaking again. "So, I was speaking with Queen Novo a little while ago, when the Festival was winding down," she said. It took every ounce of Twilight's will not to choke on her tea. "Is it true you tried to steal her transformation pearl?" Celestia asked.
"Yes," Twilight said, staring down at her teacup.
"Twilight," Celestia began, but the younger Alicorn cut her off.
"I don't need a lecture, Princess," Twilight said, looking up with a fierce expression.
"Twilight," Celestia said, more sternly.
"Seriously," Twilight said. "I know what I did was wrong, totally wrong. Attempted theft is bad enough, but I also betrayed my friends' trust in the process." Her gaze sank to the table again. "I even know why I was willing to cross that line."
"Do tell," Celestia said.
Twilight took a deep breath. "Because of you, Princess," she said. "After so many close calls with Tempest, I was desperate to succeed, to accomplish the task that you... that I thought you wanted. I was so focused on saving you, pleasing you, that I lost sight of the big picture and who I was supposed to be. The same thing almost happened when the Crystal Empire and Sombra returned, you know."
Celestia nodded slowly and drank some her tea.
Twilight eventually looked up and met Celestia's gaze. "I..." she faltered. "I'll try not to let that happen again."
"Good," Celestia said, and her expression softened as she set her cup down. "It's good that you've identified one of your faults so early, Twilight," she said. "Perhaps you'll be less prone to mistakes than I, eventually."
Twilight laughed ruefully. "You? Prone to mistakes?" she exclaimed. "What are you talking about? You're Princess Celestia! The greatest, wisest, most powerful ruler in the whole world. You don't make mistakes."
Celestia frowned as Twilight grinned manically at her. "Twilight," Celestia said gently, "don't feel you have to protect my ego." Twilight's grin barely flickered. "You don't honestly think I'm infallible, do you, Twilight?" Celestia asked, concerned.
"Not when it counts," Twilight responded.
Celestia shook her head in disbelief. "You're an incredibly smart, detail-oriented pony, Twilight Sparkle," she said. "Surely you've noticed certain... trends to the major events we've been involved in together?" Twilight cocked her head in curiosity. "Consider Cadance and Shining Armor's wedding," Celestia said, "where only you we able to see through Chrysalis's deception, and I was overpowered by her. Or when Flurry Heart broke the Crystal Heart: I left the task of solving the actual problem to you and took on the relatively simpler task of trying to fight back the storm. Or when Tirke escaped," she added with an emphatic stomp. "You must admit, I made many unwise decisions during that crisis."
"Yeah," Twilight hedged, "but when Nightmare Moon, Discord, and Sombra were about to return, you had things under control."
"True," Celestia replied, "but don't you see the difference between my examples and yours? In the cases you mentioned, I knew what was coming well ahead of time. I had centuries to plan, to research the ponies and artifacts involved, test theories, and find a pony capable of carrying out the plans." She looked pointedly at Twilight with her last statement. "In the other cases," she continued, "there was little to no forewarning, no time to make and test detailed plans. I still feel ashamed that while I prepared for Nightmare Moon's return and Discord's eventual escape from his stone prison, I never considered Tirek could actually escape from Tartarus. That's my big failing, Twilight: while I can craft perfect plans for possibilities far in the future, I stumble and miscalculate against spur-of-the-moment threats."
"I... see," Twilight said, staring contemplatively into her tea. "Thinking back, that does all line up. How did I never notice?"
"You said it yourself," Celestia said, gesturing with a wing, "you have a blind spot when it comes to me. You've idolized me since you were a filly, spent most of your school years studying under me, and even now you still have difficulty seeing past the public persona I put on for the benefit of Equestria. Do you know why I chose you to be my personal student all those years ago?"
Twilight looked up, confused. "I... had a magic surge during the entrance exam to your school, and you felt you had to take a personal interest in training that potential?" she said.
"That's the reason I gave you at the time, yes," Celestia said, "but it was only part of the whole reason."
"You felt I had the potential to awaken the Elements of Harmony properly," Twilight said, a little more confidently, "and by extension be able to form a group of friends to fill the key roles in your plans for Nightmare Moon, the Crystal Empire, and Discord."
"Close," Celestia said, smiling. "During the thousand years of Luna's banishment, I came to terms with my faults and realized Equestria needed more than what I could provide. There had to be more Princesses, more alicorns. Specifically, I wanted an alicorn who could face unexpected challenges and not falter, but overcome them. Cadance might have had the potential, but her destiny proved to lie with the Crystal Empire more than with Equestria as a whole. Sunset Shimmer... I moved too quickly with her. You, however, are turning out to be everything I hoped for, Twilight. Albeit, with some bumps along the road."
Twilight blushed. "Thank you for saying that, Celestia," she said modestly, "but you know it's not all my doing. I wouldn't have been any kind of success without Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie, Rarity, and Fluttershy standing beside me, teaching and learning in kind. The Order-naries have been a big help, too, whenever they've been around."
"Yes," Celestia said with some hesitancy, "although they have brought their own share of trouble to our land... I will admit, though, Ashen Blaze seems to have an admirable ability to gather the right kind of ponies to solve his problems, much like you."
"Ash is a natural leader," Twilight said. "He has this stubborn, infectious confidence that makes anything seem possible."
Celestia grew thoughtful. "He's going to be here for a good long while, until his horn heals," she said. "I wonder what more could develop from you and him in that time..."
Twilight felt her face turning very red. "Y-you know that Ash and Rarity are already... almost official, right, Princess?"
Celestia looked momentarily confused, and then burst out laughing. "Goodness, Twilight!" she exclaimed, "I didn't mean to imply that!" Twilight's blush deepened even further.
Celestia got up from her seat, came over to Twilight, and embraced her with her wings. "Just keep learning, Twilight," Celestia said. "Keep improving, and become the kind of Princess who can lead and protect Equestria in the ways I can't."
Twilight nodded, still blushing a little. "I will, Celestia," she said. "I promise." |
Applejack in Lordran | pre | "Continue your journey twilight" Fluttershy's voice didn't sound any closer. Twilight rose to her hooves, awaiting the creature's approach. It growled, it had bright green eyes and as it drew closer, bared its claws and teeth. "Timber Wolf!" Twilight shouted as if anyone could hear her, she shut her eyes and her horn lit up, the wolf exploded into sticks and fragments. It seems this one was alone, extremely uncommon for any wolf. Twilight opened her eyes and processed what had occurred; she heard Fluttershy encourage her to continue, she blew up a timber wolf and discovered that she can, in fact, still see. She repulsed the thick grey fog from around her, noticing that there were no wolf remnants on the ground. Puzzled, Twilight stumbled along the path through the fog and rain which subsided considerably.
Twilight made it to the bridge before the castle and although it was tied on both ends, she didn't trust it. "I'm glad I'm an alicorn" twilight said aloud. She cautiously flapped her wings and hovered along the bridge, in case she didn't stay in the air, she would much rather land on a bridge than fall into a ravine. She made it safely across and proceeded to the castle whose entrance was blocked by giant trees. "I don't recall any trees here the last time I visited..." Twilight said, confused; she attempted to uproot a tree with her magic but she couldn't even grip it. She walked to the tree and looked up, she wasn't confident enough to fly over it. Her hoof attempted to touch the tree but simply went through it, Twilight gasped and, after a moment, walked through the tree as if it weren't there at all, like an illusion. She wasted no time and headed for the library remnants.
To her left was a bridge and another part of the city which by now was more of a castle, to her right was a balcony lit by beautiful sunlight which, quite honestly, Applejack hadn't seen in some time. She trotted over to the balcony and found that there were two wide, but short, stair cases on either side of the balcony which led to another larger balcony and something standing there, staring into the sky. Applejack felt comfortable in the sun but was uneasy about this strange being, it was shaped like a human but looked different somehow; She decided to investigate...cautiously. It was a lovely area for sure, the balcony had an excellent view of the outer walls of wherever she was, a few mountains and many, many clouds below.
Applejack Stood on her hind legs and awkwardly walked closer to the figure, shield raised; As she approached the figure turned it's head towards her and spoke.
"Ah, Hello! You don't look hollow, far from it! In fact, you don't look human either, more like...a horse!" the figure said
This has to be a human Applejack thought "I ain't no horse! And just who are you?"
"I am Solaire of Astora, an adherent to the Lord of Sunlight." Applejack lowered her shield and dropped back down on all fours.
"Now that i am undead, I have come to this great land, the birthplace of Lord Gwyn, to seek my very own sun!" Applejack produced a confused expression upon her face
"Do you find that strange?" Applejack nodded "Well, you should! No need to hide your reaction. I get that look all the time! Hah hah hah!"
He sure sounds happy to be here. Applejack decided not to bother thinking about what an "undead" was or who Gwyn is. That's what Luna called me before she sent me here... she looked back at Solaire to see him staring into the sky again.
"Oh, ah hah! So, I didn't scare you?" Asked Solaire "Nah" replied Applejack
"I have a proposition, if you have a moment. Why not help one another on this lonely journey?" Solaire suggested.
"Yeah, okay" Applejack said, a little surprised
"This pleases me greatly! Well then, take this." Solaire handed a white stone like object to Applejack who held it curiously.
"Use this, to summon one another as spirits, cross the gaps between the worlds, and engage in jolly co-operation!" Solaire said enthusiastically "Of course, we are not the only ones engaged in this. But i am a warrior of the sun! Spot my summon signature easily by its brilliant aura. If you miss it, you must be blind! Hah hah hah!"
was that an insult? Probably not she thought. He was far too pleasant to have meant any harm. "Hey, are you Comin' too or not?" She asked as she turned to leave.
"Oh. I will stay behind, to gaze at the sun. The sun is a wondrous body. Like a magnificent father!...If only i could be so grossly incandescent."
"Alright then" Applejack said before turning again and heading up the stairs.
*THUMP*
A book slammed on the ground in front of Twilight, startling her
"AHHHH!" She stared at the mare who tossed the book. "Princess, I know you're the princess of the moon and darkness and that Nightmare Night is probably your favorite night of the year but can you be just a little less scary?" Twilight suggested with a polite false smile.
"I am sorry princess Twilight, I certainly do not mean to scare you. Perhaps it is just who I am." Replied Luna
"Yes, well, perhaps it is. What is this book?"
"This book is that which you have been seeking. It is a brief history on the short time that Lordran came in contact with Equestria. Despite the relatively short time we were connected, the undead curse still managed to seep into our world." Princess Luna explained. "We were able to keep most of the curse out of our land and simply did away with any pony who had been affected by the curse."
"You just abandoned them?" Twilight asked
"No, not truly. Although they were sent to Lordran we were still able to contact them by building that mirror in our castle. With it, we were able to help the doomed ponies understand where they were. Be it fortunate or no, Applejack will not see any other pony such as herself as the curse has been contained far more than a thousand years ago."
Twilight was mildly intrigued by this information as well as the book at hoof.
"Take this" Luna said, pulling out a white stone, very similar to the orange one she knew about. "This white soapstone is similar to the orange stone in that you may write on the mirror, however, it has significantly different effects." Said Luna
"What does it do?" Twilight wondered
"Do what you are best at, young princess, read and again, you shall find what you seek." Princess Luna exited the library without waiting for a response from Twilight, who watched her leave before returning to her new found book. She started to read, or study, probably both. ...
...worlds became separated and so the great minds of Lordran devised a simple and easily manufacturable item to navigate between worlds, The white sign soapstone
"I guess that's what this is then" Twilight continued to read
many creatures threatened those within Lordran from hollows once human, to hollowed animals, demons and even drakes and dragons. It is this reason the white stone was necessary
Fascinating twilight thought to herself and continued to read.
are they blind? Applejack asked herself. well, I suppose bein' dead n' all ain't no good for their eyes..
She was walking across a damaged bridge, bricks were scattered about, pieces of its side walls were missing and there were big black spots in places too, as if something stained the stone. The single, shielded hollow still hadn't noticed her despite the fact the she was walking straight towards it, there were other hollows in the distance and a staircase leading down just behind this hollow.
Applejack stood on her hind hooves and prepared her shield and mace, the hollow turned to face her but didn't look at her, instead it observed the sky above her. Confused and unconcerned, Applejack started to swing at it.
*SWOOSH*
A very loud sound, like that of a giant bird emitted behind her, she turned to face the noise and saw a dragon flying towards the bridge, mouth gaping open. She gasped in terror, turned and dropped to all fours, running for the staircase. The stairs were within her reach when she was set ablaze by the hellish fire the dragon sent forth.
The pain was even more horrific than the sight of the dragon, she felt her fur scorch her skin, her eyes burned, she couldn't feel her tail at all and all she could do was scream in agony. She reflexively began rolling on the ground, unable to see her surroundings, she tumbled down a set of stairs and crashed violently against a wall.
The fire no longer burned upon her. Her body ached, stung and burned all over, she didn't open her eyes but rested instead.
If Rarity could see me now, I bet she'd die just lookin' at me. Heh Applejack managed to think, before passing out.
Although there were many threats and many reasons for the use of the white soapstone, the greatest threat to Humanity remained: itself!
"What the hay is that supposed to mean?" Twilight wondered allowed
Red sign soapstone and red eye orbs.
In addition to summon stones created to help one another, there were also red summon stones to hinder others on their journeys. At first, no one realized the red signatures were a bad thing, it was just another color, but over a surprisingly short period of time it became widespread knowledge that the intention of these signs was that of a dark heart.
Time passed and only those brave or foolish enough to willingly summon a foe would even look at these blazing red signals; as a result, and as is inevitable, a new form of assaulting others was created, The red eye orb. This was similar to the red stone but the orb did not wait for someone to accept the fight, it was far more invasive and, when used, would search for nearby worlds to invade.
This caught many a traveler off guard. Years later a blue eye orb would be created to protect those who have been plagued by the red eye orb, as described in chapter 6-2
Applejack awoke an unknown amount of time later, she slowly opened her eyes and shivered; it was a lot colder than she ever really noticed. She started to get up from the ground and but lost her strength when she felt a tearing pain along the side she lay on. She tried again, rising slowly, and the tearing pain returned, she had never felt this feeling before; Applejack gritted her teeth and pushed herself off of the ground with all of her strength. She stood, screaming as a result of the sever pain she endured and the new burning feeling on the same side.
Applejack looked at the ground where she recently lay, severely nauseated by the sight on the ground, she saw patches of her fur and skin, black and glued to the ground and drops of blood on the ground around her.
"Damned dragon!" She cursed, noting that she ripped her wounds open merely by getting up and was bleeding, though not an alarming amount it was still a concern as she had nothing around to cover it with. She observed the damage the dragon had done, patches of black, red and orange consumed her body; burns, blood and her remaining fur. The thought of being in such a state caused her to lose balance for a moment.
Applejack walked towards a door way leading to what was likely to be a staircase, as opposed to going back up with the dragon or through another doorway to what seemed a dead end. She trudged down a small set of stairs, she noticed the rest of the staircase was broken, a large chunk missing, and a ladder she had just passed. The room below contained crates, bags and a bonfire.
Applejack examined the distance of the gap, under normal, not-roasted-by-a-dragon, circumstances she would be able to jump the gap and get down the stairs; she realized she couldn't get up the same way and elected to investigate the nearby ladder. The ladder did not reach the floor, it was still in a compact position; Applejack kicked the ladder down and proceeded to climb down the broken stairs, she had no strength to clench a ladder.
She was almost crawling now, inching her way towards the bonfire. She lost balance and toppled down the remaining few steps but managed to get back to her feet and continue to the fire. Applejack lay next to the bonfire and let the fire comfort her, she felt her body tingle and a feeling of warmth traveled through her. She felt better...she looked better, no more burns or scars, It was truly magic to her, despite knowing many unicorns.
Applejack rested her eyes and relaxed her body and dreamt of home...friends...family...Princess Luna. She scowled. |
Applejack in Lordran | Perish in a Parish | Twilight awoke in the guest room of Princess Celestia's castle, her friends had gone home a few days earlier and the large room seemed so much emptier. After her studies at the old castle ruins, Twilight took the book with her as a reference if she needed it and walked most of the way home and hovered the rest. Princess Celestia began to lower the sun as she approached Canterlot indicating that she had been, to no surprise, studying the day away.
No clouds in the sky today, Rainbow Dash must be working extra hard, or at least some pony is. It's irrelevant Twilight thought gleefully.
I wonder how Spike is doing? Perhaps i'll do some visiting today, after all, I haven't taken a real break yet. She trotted past the mirror to see Applejack sleeping peacefully by the bonfire and proceeded on wards to Ponyville ...
Rain washed the window Twilight was staring through as the train neared Ponyville. This isn't the best weather for visiting...I'll at least go home for a while until the rain subsides.
Twilight thought about who to visit, Rarity was off the list for a while after her clear aggression. I should check on Fluttershy, i'll bet she's having a hard time coping with one less friend Twilight pondered.
The train arrived at Ponyville and Twilight stepped into the rain, very few ponies enjoyed the rain, there were some fillies and foals out splashing in puddles but unless they had somewhere to be, other ponies stayed in doors. It's only water, I know you can get sick after an extended time but what's really so bad? It's quite relaxing some times. Twilight thought as she continued towards home, Golden Oak Library.
Wow Twilight, you leave a library in Canterlot for a library in the Everfree Forest and now here you are in Ponyville, headed for another library. She smirked
"Hey, egghead!" A raspy voice shouted from above. Twilight looked up to find Rainbow Dash flying slowly above her.
"You have wings ya know? Use 'em!" Rainbow said
"Surely you realize that i'm not very good at flying...Unless you forgot" Twilight replied, rolling her eyes.
"Well excuse me!" Rainbow retorted "you'll never be as awesome at flying as me anyway, so I wouldn't blame you for not bothering to practice."
Twilight ignored her.
"Hey, come up above the clouds with me! it's much more awesomer and it's dry!" Rainbow dash suggested.
"'Awesomer' is not a real word Rainbow " Twilight shook her head.
"Oh please, as if I care about if it's a real word or not" Apparently restless, Rainbow barrel rolled above Twilight.
This continued for a few minutes, Rainbow Dash becoming slightly more irritated that Twilight wouldn't come up with her and Twilight irritated at Rainbows lack of diction.
"Did you even listen in school?!" Twilight snorted, visibly hurting Rainbow. She landed on the ground and stood in place while Twilight continued walking, drenched from the rain. She regretted saying that.
"...Why would you say that?" Twilight heard rainbow say, some distance away, in an obviously saddened voice.
Twilight stopped and turned, allowing her face to show regret. "I'm sorry, it's just that i'm-"
Rainbow's hurt turned into anger. "You know what Twilight? It's fine! I don't care, i'm the best flyer in all of Equestria! So what if i'm not as much of an egghead as you? I'm bucking awesome, which is something you aren't! I don't need a friend who'll insult me! I've lost one close friend already, what's the difference if I lose another?!" Rainbow hesitated a moment before rocketing into the sky above the clouds.
Twilight's stomach turned. Please tell me that did not just happen. She stared into the rainy sky where Rainbow disappeared. This is terrible...i know losing a friend is hard but losing two? Twilight finally moved, no longer paralyzed by emotion and somberly walked home.
Forget it, i'm not going home... Twilight thought sadly. Golden Oak library was within her view, Lights shining within, making it look warm and welcoming against the dreary, rainy night surrounding it; She turned reluctantly, walking towards the train station. I need to save Applejack...maybe that will fix this mess ...
Twilight sat in front of the mirror which was no longer following Applejack, it had stopped following Applejack when Twilight wrote her name with the white soapstone.
I may be the only one with enough patience for this...oh cheer up, I might get to see Applejack again It must have been ten minutes and nothing had happened, eventually, Twilight felt an indescribable feeling, and all of the sights and sounds around her quickly darkened after only a few seconds.
Her hearing came back first, she heard a sound she had never heard before, it sounded as though it came from her! Her eyesight returned, she looked up and was in a damp, dark room; The room was empty, save for three large rat corpses, a ladder leading upwards and an archway which looked to lead to a ledge.
Whoever summoned me didn't wait around. I guess I should find them. Twilight thought, shivering from the cold.
huh, well, what do you know? I'm a human! A ghostly white human! Questions began to run through her mind.
Should I have brought clothes? Can I still use my magic? If I catch the flu here, will I be sick when I go home? Does my lack of clothes make my waist look big? She knew how to find the answer to most of those questions but the rest would remain unanswered.
The summoner has died...how would I know that? Twilight began to fade from Lordran.
"What?" Twilight questioned, pondering how she knew of this persons death.
Applejack stared blankly at the flask of yellow liquid on the picnic table. There was no telling how long she'd been sitting there, head laying on the table, as the weather never changed nor did the sun rise or fall; It could have been ten minutes or two hours. Her ribs were still rather sore from recent events. She had died many times to make it this far; giant, poison rats, an armored bull, a rather well thought out arrangement of lifeless soldiers and an ambush of anorexic corpses overwhelmed her many times but she made it to this lovely picnic table. There was a fog door nearby that Applejack dreaded to go through if only because she would have to bypass the aforementioned obstacles.
Applejack rose from the picnic table, returned the flask to her side and trotted towards the fog and pushed through, hoping she wouldn't have to face another giant monster, which she didn't; She was on a thin bridge like structure above the area she tangled with an armored bull. she crossed the bridge and explored her surroundings, she found many dead hollows along her little journey. Applejack was grateful that she didn't have to fight but it was quite strange for these creatures to already be defeated, since she hadn't been here yet.
A cathedral stood before her, doors wide open and more dead hollows inside. She could see a figure in the distance that didn't seem to be dead, perhaps this one survived? or perhaps this one killed the others. Upon nearing the being, it stood and turned to face Applejack. It wore a hood.
"A horse?" The figure questioned.
"I ain't no HORSE!" Applejack growled.
The figure removed its hood to reveal the face of a human male. slowly, the human said "An angry, talking, horse..." grinning mischievously.
"Stop calling me that! I'm-" Applejack started.
"I know quite well what you are, pony! Now, if you will explain to me why you are here, it would be greatly appreciated!" The human aggressively replied.
He did that to irritate me! Applejack was taken aback by the human's response, forgetting his request.
"Why are you here pony? You have no aura and I did not sense your arrival which means you aren't here to fight... So, why are you here?"
Applejack tried to think of a reason but she only knew one thing "i'm cursed. I don't know where I am or why i'm here, I just know I died at home but I didn't really die and Princess Luna sent me here. That's it."
The human nodded thoughtfully "Have you been a human before?"
Applejack and the human began to converse, they sat on one of the cathedral pews as their conversation continued. He explained humanity, what it is and how it works in Lordran. He explained the little he knew of the curse and that although he had been cursed, it was because he traveled here and not because of death.
They began to speak about the groups, or covenants, that exist within Lordran when a dark sound was audible from some distance and a vibration was easily felt.
"Get up, prepare your weapons." The human exclaimed. "We are being invaded"
"By who?" Applejack inquired.
"That doesn't matter...There's the intruder." The human drew a katana and pointed to the cathedral entrance where a red figure with a red aura stood, two swords in hand.
Noises began to fade in, Magic shooting and hitting something solid, the sound of metal cutting metal, a groan.
Twilight's vision quickly returned, she saw an armor body collapse, a blue bolt of magic flash towards the killer, hitting a pillar.
The killer looked as if it were made of thick, heavy bone, it became clear that the bone like stuff was armor as it noisily ran past Twilight. She spied a blue light in her peripheral vision, looked and rolled aside, avoiding a magic bolt from the floor above. Twilight followed the being, it raced up stairs out of view; Twilight was almost crushed by a flying armored corpse, the result of the being's aggression. Stepping over the corpse, she continued to follow into a narrow corridor. This creature is not slowing down Twilight thought as they rounded another corner.
Slow Down- Oh my gosh! Twilight attempted to say, She saw the creature spin, Swinging its massive sword and dismembering multiple thin, nearly naked, disgustingly ugly, beings. Blood spewed onto the walls and floor, the Creature bolted back towards Twilight and halted next to her, preparing to attack again. Twilight panicked.
They just keep coming! Twilight thought as she blasted foe after foe with her own magic, not considering that she was using a wooden object in her hand to cast her magic and spray firing into the thin hallway as her ally stabbed any who got close. Eventually the disgusting creatures had been defeated. Twilight relaxed, a blue bolt hit the wall next to her, startling her. her ally of an unknown species ran towards the caster and attacked, killing it in just two hits.
They stopped to rest in a large room, Twilight took the time to recognize her human form. So humans can use magic, but not on their own. How interesting that I never noticed my body when I was summoned. The creature took off it's helmet revealing a human female with pale skin, blue eyes, short brown hair and a thin face.
"Hello there friend! it's nice of you to join me. I am Dusky Star, but you can call me Dusk. well, you Could call me Dusk" Dusk smiled politely.
Twilight tilted her head, confused Could? I can talk! Twilight attempted to say but realized she made no sound.
"You must be new to this. you are a phantom, you aren't really here and you can't talk but you can still interact with the things around you" Dusk explained, still smiling.
Twilight nodded.
"Follow me!" Dusk said, putting her helmet back on and jogging down a hallway. Twilight followed until they reached a small foggy archway atop a platform. Dusk got to one knee, touched the ground and stepped back; Twilight wanted to ask what she was waiting for but she was literally unable to. It hardly mattered because a few seconds later a golden light puddled on the ground and from it, another golden being who raised his arms high above him as he rose as if he were stretching from a long slumber. The being looked like a Human but she couldn't tell because he was wearing armor, he carried a straight sword, round shield and his chest armor depicted a sun.
Dusk waved to the Human and entered the fog door, Twilight observed both Humans go through the fog by placing a hand on the fog and walking through, She did the same. Upon emerging from the fog, she was surprised to see a large Gargoyle assaulting the two Humans; They were clearly on the roof of a large building. She watched as the golden one slashed at its legs and block swings from the gargoyle's dangerous looking tail, although the gargoyle's attention was focused primarily on Dusk.
I should be helping! Twilight realized, still standing in the doorway by the fog, and began to shoot magic at the enemy. A second gargoyle abruptly crashed on the roof, knocking the golden human backwards, and shifted it's attention towards Twilight. Twilight squealed as it walked closer, using her magic as rapidly as she could, until it was close enough that it swung it's giant weapon towards her, she rolled and fell onto the slope of the roof, close to the edge.
Not good! Twilight thought. The gargoyle hovered over the ground and charged towards her, she avoided direct collision but it's tail swung forward knocking her off the roof to her demise. This place sucks was her final thought before hitting the brick far below.
She toppled over onto her back when her consciousness returned. Staring wide eyed at the ceiling. "i'm going to need more practice" Twilight exclaimed to herself.
"Oh dear, what happened?" A gentle voice spoke near Twilight, who tilted her head to see the speaker.
"Hello Fluttershy, I was just in Lordran; Well, not really but sort of. It's pretty dangerous" Twilight giggled.
"That sounds awful! I brought some lunch for both of us, I know you're very hard at work trying too help our friend and I wanted to say thank you by making sure you ate properly!" Fluttershy enthusiastically brought a basket and sat by Twilight. |
Applejack in Lordran | The Storm Before The Calm | The red phantom spun with its two swords held out, narrowly missing the human Applejack met a few minutes ago and slicing a small gash on Applejack's chest. The human immediately retaliated, slashing with his katana as fiercely as humanly possible, breaking through the phantom's guard.
Applejack took time to drink from her flask as the phantom lost its balance and staggered backwards. The human sheathed the katana and rushed towards the phantom with a dagger, grabbing his head and stabbing the knife into its throat several times successively and let it fall to the ground where it dissipated like mist.
Applejack relaxed, observing the "mist" of the phantom pour into a black crystal that the human was holding. Eh, it's probably just some crazy magic from this place Applejack thought, disregarding the scene.
"You can call me Anon." the human said. Applejack nodded, replying "Alright, Anon, i'm Applejack."
"it's a pleasure to meet you. You uh...didn't do so well in that fight, I guess it isn't something you do often?" Anon inquired curiously. "i'm sure I could teach you a thing or two, give you advise at the very least." Anon continued
Applejack contemplated for a few moments, it would be false to say that she hadn't fought before, Equestria isn't all planned weather and crystal ponies! Well, maybe some of it is..."well, I can fight just fine with my bare hooves but-"
"Speaking of hooves!" Anon interrupted. "I think you could use these, though I have no use for them because of my delightful black crystal." He walked closer and presented the thing known in Lordran as humanity and laid it onto the floor in front of her. "Crush it with your hoof and you will become a human."
Applejack's pupils dilated, finally realizing how she had become human before. She stared at for a moment and crushed it under hoof, she closed her eyes, once again feeling the tingling start in her legs and proceed throughout her body until it reached her head. She opened her eyes, looking over her human form.
Anon clapped once, gleefully, at the sight. "Wonderful! now, tell me, prior to coming to Lordran against your will, what did you do on a normal day?"
"I bucked things, every day." Applejack grinned facetiously
"Wut?" Anon asked, intentionally miss pronouncing the word, Applejack giggled, clarifying that she bucks apples on a farm; Anon nodded. After some conversation, Anon concluded that the best thing for human Applejack to use was a blacksmith's hammer
"It's about as blunt as you, so it should do nicely" Anon joked. "ha! I've got a large, unused hammer that i'm just itching to try out!" Applejack retorted humorously.
Anon beckoned to Applejack, "Let's see what you can do."
Fluttershy's sandwiches were really good!
Fluttershy had left earlier, it was easy to tell she was still worried about Applejack, she only looked at the mirror once and immediately averted her gaze, requesting to eat in the dining hall or anywhere except the mirror room. Fluttershy had been keeping herself busy the past few days, making sure everything was perfect for her animals and stocking up on everything she might need in the next four months; she stated that her storage areas, being her cupboards, drawers and general storage spaces, were almost over flowing; clearly trying to keep her friends absence off of her mind. poor thing.
Twilight had been watching Applejack interact with a human male since then. Lordran was amazingly dangerous, it wasn't very surprising that all of its inhabitants have died at least once!
It was getting dark and Twilight would soon be retiring for another night, not feeling much closer to freeing her friend. In her peripheral vision, Twilight noticed movement like that of some pony levitating an item near her satchel, she elected not to look until the movement ceased; Twilight walked over towards her satchel, noticing her book on Lordran was missing, peaked around the corner of the only entrance to the room, catching a glimpse of a blue translucent tail.
It was pretty obvious who the culprit was but Twilight wanted to know why she took the book. She cautiously followed Princess Luna to a room deep within the castle, a place in which she would likely not be disturbed. Twilight stayed outside, listening on the princess; she heard the ruffling of pages and, eventually, the sound a portal makes when someone walks through it.
Twilight pushed the door ever so slightly with her muzzle and saw a small black orb floating in front of Princess Luna, who looked rather impatient. The orb expanded, a face appeared; whoever was on the other end was not of the same species and seemed to either be wearing a mask of some sort or had very pointy facial extrusions.
Only its head and shoulders were visible, it was wearing a white piece of clothing on its body and, assuming it was not a natural part of its body, had a "necklace" and "mask" with multiple long, pointy pieces sticking off, reminiscent of a rose except the "thorns" were much longer. Said pieces were a dull golden color as opposed to the beings pale white face. Its hair was difficult to see but it almost reached the beings shoulders and was either white or light blonde.
I have no idea if that's male of female Twilight thought, eyeing the being in the orb. It Spoke.
"Good eventide, Princess Luna. Dost thou need help?" The being asked
The voice sounds like a young boy or maybe a female?
"Good eventide, Gwyndolin. yes, what doeth thou know about 'the first flame'? I stumbled upon it in this book from the last time our worlds connected" Princess Luna inquired.
Its name is Gwyndolin, well, this really doesn't help! I choose girl. Gwyndolin is a girl until proven otherwise! Twilight continued to listen into the conversation. By the sounds of it, Princess Luna was looking for a way to "cure" the dark sign, mentioning something about "the flame of humanity" or some metaphor like that, and Gwyndolin, regardless of the Princess's attempts, denied any possibility, becoming slightly more agitated per suggestion.
"Gwyndolin! I know this is the key to solve this issue! Hath thou no faith? Hath thou no will?" Princess Luna exclaimed, prompting a response from Gwyndolin.
"what-chya doin'?" The high pitched voice made Twilight's ears retreat to her head. She glared at pinkie who, with no consideration to potential circumstance, almost yelled into Twilight's ear.
"Thous hast a visitor Luna, I must be gone." Gwyndolin stated, dissipating the black orb and ending their meeting.
Applejack stood alone before a large fortress with three gates separated by pillars, she had never been here before but the gates were open. She stepped cautiously inside, observing the architecture of the very first room. It was only really a few pillars and stairs, nothing fancy.
*Click*
Applejack felt her foot sink into the floor a little, a tile had gone into the floor slightly. She heard some mechanism begin to operate and promptly received three large spear like objects into her chest and stomach, dying before she touched the ground.
Consciousness returned. "Woo! who don't love an itch of sudden death?!" Applejack said very sarcastically, getting upon her hooves. "Lets see here... got a mace and sword for my pony self, a good ol' hammer for my human self and a shield to boot!" A quick inventory check and she trotted back towards the fortress.
She carefully looked around for the pressure plate and any other traps, walking past them and up the stairs. She almost walked head long into a tall lizard thing resting on one of the pillars, it noticed her and she immediately attacked it. It was almost dead when she noticed a second one begin attacking her, saving the other lizards life; they died quickly enough and Applejack walked into the next very large room. there was a thin bridge structure with another of the same above it going in the opposite direction.
Crossing a bridge isn't normally an issue, unless there are large axes swinging ever so close above the bridges. Applejack carefully timed passing the first of the three swinging axes, observing the darkness below that she would fall into should she be hit. She got past the second axe as well but the third one proved to be too much, not because it was faster or larger or anything like that but because something used magic to electrocute her as she tried to walk by, stunning her long enough for the axe to hit her and knock her into the darkness below; except it wasn't darkness, it was a very thick black substance.
She slowly got up, barely able to move from the electricity and giant axe in her side, looking around she noticed the entire floor was made of this thick stuff. she spotted an exit and began to move and maybe if this wasn't a place where death could happen ever few minutes, she might not have heard something else moving through the gunk, she might not have had to worry about a large headless demon jumping at her with the intent of impaling her with its weapon easily twice her size. But this is Lordran and she did have to worry about that, be it good or bad, she didn't have to worry for long.
Applejack opened her eyes again to see the bonfire before her, she began to laugh, a lot. She began to ROFL all over the place, burning herself on the bonfire a time or two which only induced more laughter! She calmed enough to stand, she decided to use some of the humanity Anon gave her, the tickling encouraging her fit and walked across the bridge again towards the fortress, still giggling like a mad mare.
She entered the fortress, by passed the pressure plate and got the attention of both lizards. Her giggling intensified as she backed up towards the pressure plate, luring the lizards to stay back on to the trap.
*Click*
Applejack stopped on the pressure plate, shield raised, giggling more as the trap shot two of its spears into one lizards back, killing it, and the third spear into the remaining lizard who fell forward in front of Applejack. Her eyes dilated significantly at the opportunity presented before her; a long, outstretched neck just waiting to be severed from the body it was attached to. Her giggling turned into outright laughter as she swung her sword at the lizards exposed neck with all of her might, cleaving it clean through its flesh and spinal bones.
She groaned euphorically as the deed was finished. She glared at the corpses, smiling in a way reminiscent to Pinkamena. I've gone buckin' nuts! She continued to smile and giggle, running past the three large axes without fear or hesitation, only slowed by a lizard on the bridge who's sword collided with Applejack's shield and was promptly shoved off of the bridge. She murdered another lizard and made it to the second bridge which still had three large axes but a magic using lizard awaited the other side. Applejack bolted by the axes, dodged a bolt of lightning, punched the lizard in the face, because why not? and shoved him over the edge as well.
She did not hesitate to enter the next room and begin assaulting another lizard resting on a wall, however she was unable to. Activating another spear shooting, pressure plate mechanism, tends to prevent someone from doing anything but dying. Applejack couldn't agree more with herself as she fell to her knees, still smiling, eye twitching, and death consumed her again.
Applejack woke, once again, to the bonfire. Thankfully, her senses had come back seeming to have skipped one life time. Applejack sighed.
I need help... Serious, professional, help...
She was, of course, referring to summoning someone and not her mental position. She absorbed another bit of humanity and sat, waiting for a summon sign.
> The Bright Side
Princess Luna stared blankly where the black orb had been, it was obvious that Princess Luna knew they were there so Twilight and Pinkie walked in.
"Did you really have to yell?" Twilight asked Pinkie, responding with a quiet "sorry". Twilight shook her head.
"You shouldn't have followed me Princess Twilight"
Gah! that Princess title is still so foreign!
"Sorry, but I noticed you taking my book about Lordran." Twilight stated.
"Yes, I hoped you would not notice so soon. I suppose investigating was a reasonable response to such an act." Princess Luna admitted, still staring in the orb's previous position.
Pinkie, for some reason, was smiling intensely. "Soooooo...Who was that? She didn't look very pretty, she looked spiky, like 'ow don't put your face on my face, it hurts!' right? I hope its not your special some pony! Its okay if she is but--" Pinkie began.
"His name is Gwyndolin, he isn't my "special some pony" and that is not part of his face, he wears a mask and collar." Princess Luna retorted, giving Pinkie the stink eye.
Twilight intervened, holding up a hoof. "Hold on, how can you be sure its a he? I mean, it sure didn't sound like a he, maybe a he going through puberty but-" Twilight was interrupted by Pinkie
"PUBERTY?! but isn't she like, an all powerful moon god or something?! I don't know any moon god like things that haven't passed puberty! I only really know one moon controlling pony, person, thing anyway but MY POINT STANDS!" Pinkie shouted and smiled childishly at Princess Luna
Princess Luna was mildly disgusted by Pinkie's reaction. "Thou art an ignorant mare aren't thee Pinkamena Diane Pie?" Pinkie and Twilight were immediately confused.
Who calls her that anymore? Thought Twilight.
Princess Luna continued matter of factually. "I asked Gwyndolin himself! He was born a male but due to his interest in the moon and stars, his father raised him as a female."
Pinkie rolled her eyes and responded. "Well it doesn't matter what she was before, she is a she now and she will do she things and be a she doing them!"
It was Twilight's turn to be irritated. "Can we not emphasis every gender related word?" Twilight asked irritated "And just because it was raised as a girl doesn't mean it has to sound like a girl!"
"The only ones I know that have an obsession with the moon and stars are both female and so Gwyndolin is female. That's my final answer!" Pinkie continued
Princess Luna ignored the comment but Twilight's jaw dropped, taking a moment to respond "Pinkie! don't be sexist! You do realize that there is a Stallion in Canterlot who does nothing but observe the stars right? Astrology? You know?"
"Oh please, he's probably a she too." Pinkie stated, not even making sense anymore.
"Ohohoho" Twilight giggled, gritting her teeth. "I swear if Celestia was here she'd banish you to the moon for more than a thousand years!" Princess Luna scrunched her face and glared at Twilight.
"No offense!" Twilight said, forgetting about the Princess.
"Did you see her tits?!" Pinkie blared out. Princess Luna nearly fainted.
"Pinkie! Sweet Celestia! I did not notice anything about its chest but I did notice a tentacle or two flick by during the conversation." Twilight said, surprised by another of Pinkie's ridiculous comments.
"OH MY GOD, GWYNDOLIN IS A MEDUSA, COCKATRICE, BUFF--" Princess Luna encased Pinkie in a dark blue, sound proof bubble.
Rubbing her head, Luna continued. "Twilight, it really doesn't matter what gender Gwyndolin is does it?"
Twilight, also recovering from the pink noise maker agreed, stating that it certainly wasn't helping to save Applejack. Apparently Luna's spell was only sound proof one way, Pinkie stopped blabbing, presumably mid rant. Sadness grew in her eyes and her hair deflated shortly thereafter. Princess Luna expelled the bubble, freeing Pinkie.
"Guys...i'm going to go home now...Talk to you later Twilight." Pinkie said sadly as she walked past the two Princesses.
"Aww, Pinkie. Applejack will be fine, I promise!" Said Twilight
"As do I!" Princess Luna agreed, shouting out to Pinkie but she simply kept walking away. After some time of silence Princess Luna stated that she had a plan to save Applejack but she was unable to tell Twilight in fear that her sister might find out. Twilight left, understanding, and returned to the mirror
Applejack approached the fortress yet again but this time she didn't enter alone. She sat on the stairs for an unknown length of time basically hoping a summoning sign would show up. As luck would have it, one did! Applejack approached it, curious as to what the person she would be summoning looked like. She stood in front of the sign and a faded image appeared, it was Twilight!
Applejack gasped in amazement at her friends image standing before her, she quickly touched the sign and stepped back expectantly. A few seconds passed and a ghostly white phantom slowly rose from the ground, bringing up its head to see its summoner.
"Twilight!? Well i'll be! Is that really you?" Applejack said excitedly. Twilight nodded, smiling and hugged Applejack.
A hug from a ghost doesn't feel as warm as a hug from some pony else. Applejack noted. Applejack stood there in amazement, gawking at the fact that her friend, Twilight Sparkle, was actually here in Lordran, helping her get through this mess! she almost shed a tear. Twilight waved her hands in front of Applejack to get her attention.
Applejack shook her head rapidly "Yeah, sorry sugarcube, how have you been?"
Twilight gave a thumbs up. "Not in the mood to talk?" Applejack asked, a little confused. Twilight smiled, shrugged and mouthed the words "I can't talk" pointing to herself and shaking her hand as if saying "no".
"Huh. Well that's okay I guess. At least you're here!" Applejack exclaimed, catching the gist of Twilight's message. They began to walk into the fortress, Applejack shoved Twilight aside abruptly, Twilight looked at Applejack from the ground questioningly.
"Sorry sugar, this here place is riddled with traps." Applejack demonstrated by stepping on a pressure plate, allowing the spear shooting mechanism to shoot onto the bridge. Twilight nodded and continued through the room, killing the two resting lizards. At the first bridge with axes above it Applejack explained to Twilight that she had to be quick to get across, Twilight sprinted across but was clipped by the last swinging axe and fell into the black gunk below where she was promptly squashed by a large demon. Applejack shook her head and went back to summon Twilight again.
Twilight died many times on both bridges and had been shoved off so many times, she basically knew her way through the black gunk below. they eventually made it past and waited at an arch that led to the outdoors; Twilight rested in the hall, Applejack beckoning Twilight to continue.
"Come on! We've made it farther than I ever did on my own!" Applejack stated, stepping just outside the arched doorway. "I'm sure we can-" Applejack's sentence was cut off by a large boulder she didn't notice was heading for her. Twilight would have gasped, she faded away instead.
Each time they tried, they slowly got farther through the fortress. Death was more of a side effect at this point but Applejack was running low on humanity. They eventually made it to the top of the fortress but there were still many dangers between them and the tunnel in the wall attached to the very top of the fortress. Applejack found another person to summon and Twilight died from an explosion shortly after, the new phantom and Applejack continued.
Twilight watched the mirror happily as Applejack and the other phantom proceeded swiftly along the top of the fortress. Confident that Applejack will not be needing her help, she elected to visit Ponyville again. ...
It was a sunny day with very few clouds in the sky. The grass was a vibrant, lively green, a light breeze could be felt as Twilight hovered along the path to Ponyville, slowly getting used to her still fairly new wings. It wasn't easy to keep her balance in the air, her body would constantly rise and fall as though she were bouncing in the air trying not to put in too much or too little effort.
I've never actually noticed what any Pegasi look like when they hover. Do their bodies remain stationary or bounce like mine? Twilight pondered. The division in her attention made her lose her balance, falling slightly but regaining the lost altitude. She looked down as she hovered along, amusing herself watching the air currents from her wings remove the dirt beneath her.
I bet if I did this at home, Spike would be asking me to "sweep" the floor all of the time! Twilight looked around. I should be about halfway to Ponyville. She concluded. She saw other Pegasi gliding through the sky, Twilight wanted to give that a try. She beat her wings harshly, trying to gain altitude, temporarily losing her balance each time her rise climaxed; She began to glide.
Oh! This is quite nice! I can easily see Ponyville from here and the extra breeze is very refreshing! I should go find some books on aerodynamics later. Twilight wobbled through the air as she glided across a field, obviously not used to being the subject of changing air currents. She slowly descended upon the path to Ponyville again as she neared a small bridge, landing just before it. As she crossed the bridge, Rainbow Dash landed on the other side, waiting for Twilight who felt a little uneasy from their last encounter.
Rainbow waved. "Hey Twilight. What's up?" she said, trying to sound excited.
Twilight put on a smile. "Hey Rainbow, I was just headed towards home to check on Spike, I haven't seen or heard from him since I left."
Twilight passed Rainbow, Rainbow followed along side her. "Oh, yeah, that's cool...So...Is everything cool now?" Rainbow inquired.
"What do you mean?" Twilight asked, genuinely curious.
"Between us! I thought that writing that letter to you might clear things up a little..." Rainbow said with her head down. Twilight did not recall receiving a letter.
"I didn't get a letter, did you put an address on it?" Twilight asked, figuring she didn't.
"Uh...no, I just basically wrote your name on the envelope and sent it off." Rainbow said hesitantly. Twilight shook her head with a smirk, The letter was probably at home. They rounded the corner of a house and began walking through the market, Twilight's stomach turned a little more upon seeing Rarity. It seemed Fluttershy was shopping with Rarity though they seemed to be just browsing.
"Hey Rarity!" Twilight was surprised to hear Rainbow say her name with a positive tone, looking to see how sarcastic she was being, Twilight was more surprised to find a genuinely happy expression on Rainbow's face. Rarity Returned the greeting in the same positive tone.
"Hello Rainbow! How have you been? I see you've kidnapped Twilight from her heroic journey" Rarity joked, nodding at Twilight.
"Yeah, something like that. Hey Fluttershy."
"Hello!" Fluttershy smiled.
"Weren't you guys mad with each other the last time I saw you both?" Twilight questioned Rarity and Rainbow. Rainbow nodded, encouraging Rarity to explain.
"Yes, dear, we were quite upset with each other but Rainbow here decided to come visit me at home and I, with my completely open heart and mind, listened to her please and forgave her for her wrong doings." Rarity said, pointing her noise skyward as the story progressed.
"Slamming the door in my face twice and calling me a dirty horse isn't really what i'd consider 'open'." Rainbow said, grinning sarcastically. Rarity chuckled.
"Well, maybe I didn't tell the story exactly as it was but the point is we apologized and forgave each other." Rarity said to Twilight and Rainbow nodded in confirmation. "Also, darling, did you receive the message I sent you? I addressed it to your residence but I don't believe you have been home since!" Rarity continued.
"No, I haven't been home yet. Rainbow said she sent me one as well, without an address." Twilight and Rarity looked towards Rainbow who looked away pretending to be distracted. The four mares walked together towards Twilight's house, talking about what they had been doing since Applejack "went away" as Fluttershy put it.
Rarity had been trying to create things such as foods, dresses, hats, she even tried painting but she didn't have the patience. She didn't have much patience at all recently and accidentally let it out on Sweetie Belle a couple of times.
Fluttershy kept herself busy, as Twilight already knew, taking care of her animals and stocking up on supplies, she even went so far as to start taking care of other people's animals, including Opal, which due to Rarity's short fuse, turned out to be a bad idea.
Rainbow couldn't really get her mind off of it especially after that rainy night with Twilight. She tried to cope by being competitive about everything. She said she was just angry that she couldn't help Applejack and felt restless, which is kind of understandable.
Pinkie wasn't around at the time so no pony really knew how she was coping. They reached Golden Oak Library, Rarity and Rainbow said their goodbye's to Twilight saying they had other errands to run. Fluttershy stayed with Twilight a while longer.
Fluttershy grabbed two envelopes off of a dining table and brought them to Twilight.
"You have mail." Fluttershy said, envelopes in her mouth. Twilight levitated and opened the first letter.
Hey Twilight,
I just wanted to drop you a line to say I'm sorry about freaking out the other night. I was out of line. I realize there is no excuse for my behavior, but just to add a little context, I'd like to share with you that I am not dealing with the loss of Applejack very well. I am not a complete ass; rather, I was under a lot of stress. I just feel so helpless you know? I want to go through that mirror myself with AJ and just...I don't know.
I hope that when you receive this, I will be in a better mood. But I understand if you don't feel comfortable having me around for a while.
Again, I'm sorry!
Your friend,
Rainbow Dash.
Twilight put the letter back into the envelope. That was nice of her. Totally unlike her, but nice. She walked over to the table and took a seat, pulling out the second letter.
Dear Twilight,
Where do I even begin?
Please allow me to apologize for how I acted in the library a few days ago. My behavior was extremely inappropriate, immature, and lacked the respect you deserved. I suppose hindsight is always 20/20.
It was embarrassing, but I know that nobody appreciated my poor behavior. In the future, I have every intention of curbing my thoughtless actions and learn to adjust my behavior befitting the environment and situation. I hope you can forgive me for what I did and put this matter behind us. I treasure our friendship and all the things we've done and been through. And hopefully, what transpired can become one of those incidents that make our bond stronger than ever.
Again, I am sorry for my actions and I hope that we can put this matter behind us. I look forward to seeing you again. If you have any thoughts in this, please feel free to share; I promise to listen before I speak. It's the least I could do if you're willing to forgive me.
Sincerely,
Rarity.
Twilight smiled at how thoughtful Rarity had been while writing this. She lay the letters down on the table.
I forgive you both.
"Would you like something to eat Fluttershy?" Twilight asked politely. She had just noticed that Spike wasn't home.
"Yes, please! I'd really appreciate something. Anything will do!" Fluttershy replied in her soft voice. Twilight went into the kitchen to prepare a meal of some sort. ...
Later that day Fluttershy had walked with Twilight to the train station but had departed as the train arrived on its way to Canterlot. Twilight boarded the train, happy to have had such a nice visit, though it did feel strange, all things considered. ...
Twilight stood before the mirror again just as Applejack was grabbed by two pale, thin, tall, monsters with long wings. She was dragged high into the air, Twilight panicked a little, thinking they might drop her friend. She relaxed when she saw that they only brought her to the other side of a large wall and into a new city where the sun shone bright and cast a golden glow across the land; it was beautiful!
Oh, i'd like to be there! I should write my name on the mirror. Twilight did just that and watched Applejack spot and use the sign. The sights and sounds around Twilight faded. |
Applejack in Lordran | Night Fall | The sun shone brightly across the city, never rising or setting. A golden light highlighted everything that faced the sun. Anor Londo looked like a beautiful place to live and although no activity was noticeable, if felt like the land was prospering! Applejack, a Human, and Twilight, a Phantom, sat on a ledge enjoying the magnificent view. There was a very large castle directly in front of their vision but there was still so much to see despite it. There was no real point in having Twilight around as there was no immediate danger.
"It sure is nice to have you around again Twi." Applejack said, knowing that her friend couldn't reply.
"It gets real lonely in this place, i'd have gone crazy if it wasn't for you and Anon!" Applejack neglected to mention two specific incidences. "Nothing here seems to be very interested in conversation..." Applejack sighed, Twilight put her hand on her friends shoulder, trying to console her
It seemed peaceful here. Perhaps because the sun actually shone. ...
Applejack was vaguely aware of a distant sound and slight vibration. Twilight poked Applejack to get her attention, and shrugged in a questioning manner.
"Yeah I did feel something, I don't remember what it means though" Applejack told Twilight, looking around. She saw a phantom like the one her and Anon had fought before but this one was blue and held a katana!
Twilight and Applejack stood and prepared their weapons as it got closer. Applejack jogged towards the blue phantom, Twilight stayed back and shot magic at the blue phantom. The phantom dodged Twilight's magic with little effort and began engaging Applejack slashing and rolling from Applejack's attacks and Twilight's magic. The phantom slashed at Applejack's leg, barely cutting it and turned for Twilight, who began to back away at the phantoms approach with Applejack sprinting close behind.
The phantom managed to hit Twilight once but, in turn, was hit by Applejack. The phantom followed Twilight wherever she went, staying in front of her and keeping its eye on Applejack.
"This human looks just like Anon" Applejack said aloud, still fighting the phantom. The phantom smiled in reply, it was indeed, Anon.
Another vibration was felt and shortly thereafter, a red phantom came rushing towards the trio, catching Applejack and Twilight's attention long enough for Anon to slash at both of Applejack's legs, cutting her down to the ground. The red phantom quickly neared, Anon ignored it and headed for Twilight who was near a ledge, just as Anon had intended.
Twilight shot her magic furiously but it was too easy to see coming and Anon was too close, he merely had to shove Twilight to send her over the edge.
I've been doing a lot of falling lately... Twilight thought before re-discovering the feeling of death.
By this time the, clearly a human female, red phantom had gotten to Applejack's position where she lay on the ground, praying for a quick death. The red phantom passed by Applejack completely, sights set on Anon.
Am I seeing things or was that Princess Luna? Applejack questioned herself, turning onto her back to watch the two phantoms assault each other.
The red phantom, Princess Luna, assuming it was her, was using a lot of lightning magics and attempting to keep the fight on the ledge, since Anon had no ranged weaponry; that is, until Anon stretched out his arm and shot lightning towards, but missing, Princess Luna.
The electric battle continued for a few minutes, rarely would one hit the other until Princess Luna gained an advantage. Forgetting about Applejack, Anon walked backwards, attempting to lure Princess Luna away from the ledge and tripped over Applejack, falling on his back.
Princess Luna held Anon down with her foot, next to Applejack. Anon's fear was replaced by anger and again by understanding, Princess Luna had mouthed something to him and electrocuted him with a heavy bolt of lightning, ending the blue phantoms existence.
"Are you going to kill me now?" Applejack asked the red phantom of Princess Luna. It smiled, shaking its head and mouthed something along the lines of "you'll be home soon". Applejack had no reply to that, what plan could Princess Luna have? Princess Luna got down on one knee and faded away.
Less petrifying than jumping to your death I suppose Applejack thought, beginning to drag herself towards the distant bonfire.
My consciousness returned to me, I lay next to a bonfire in the grass, back at Firelink Shrine.
The fire must be linked? I gather that must be the thing that Frampt was talking about before he left me for talking to that other guy...jealous much?
I tilt my head to view the bonfire, knowing quite well what linking the fire would do to me. I would need to sacrifice my soul which is something I certainly will not be doing, even if it is the answer to solving the undead problem. of course, it doesn't have to be me that links the fire but who knows when someone else...
I have a villainous epiphany! I will trick someone into linking the fire! I smile mischievously as I consider who to cremate.
I could use that depressed warrior over there in the silver armour, ever since I came here he has only told me how futile my efforts are.
There used to be a female cleric and one of her guards here but I had to practice my attacks on someone, right?
Mister golden armor is dead, fire keeper is caged in, Laurentius went nuts and tried to murder me in a swamp...
The guy with the big hat wandered off again, Griggs seems like a nice guy and...
Patches, yes, that's right, I still need to get my revenge. I stand on my feet and walk over to Patches. "Oh, you again! Fancy that." Patches says as I approach.
"You know Patches, i'm on my way to a place called "the kiln of the first flame" and I figured you would be interested in coming along, after all, it is a very old and unvisited place, it probably has a lot of expensive trinkets you could pick up" I suggest to him, he shakes his head. "No, no, i'm not looting anymore, i'm a simple merchant now. Fighting to the death for items isn't really my thing!"
"Oh, I understand friend." Intentionally putting emphasis on the word, I enthusiastically continue. "I hear that the sword of Lord Gwyn is in there, it's said to be so powerful it could strike down any foe in just a single strike!" Patches looks at me intently. "That's the treasure i'm looking for and if I knew someone was willing to sell that...well...i'd pay barely less than my life for it!" I've clearly grabbed his attention.
"That sounds like quite the prize." Patches smiles politely and looks away. "but I don't see why I should go with you." This is going to be too easy. I think, conjuring an innocent plead.
"Aww, Patches, I don't think I can do it on my own! I might be strong but you! You're a quick thinker, you know just what to do in tight situations! I might permanently die if I go alone!" I carefully emphasise the thought of my demise, hopefully convincing him to come along.
Patches stands, smiling and nodding his head. "Well, I suppose I can lend a friend a hand can't I? After all, I am Trusty Patches!" We walk to a large square hole in the ground, and Patches hesitates, asking if they really need to jump. I mock him in a voice of false concern saying "Well little buddy, if it makes you feel better, we can hold hands and jump together." Surprisingly, that's exactly what he wanted...So we held hands and jump.
Our fall slows and we gently drop onto a platform leading to the door of "the kiln of the first flame" which opens as we approach. Patches and I fought only a few knights on our way to the actual kiln and entered, Patches was caught completely off guard to see Lord Gwyn and quickly realized he was about to fight a god. ...
Gwyn was defeated, Patches and I were still alive but it was clear that Patches was irritated by a lack of one godly sword.
"Alright, I didn't expect that at all!" I say innocently. "I think we should rest at this bonfire and we can search the area or go back when we're rested. Don't you agree?" I ask. Patches does not reply, he moves towards the bonfire and I walk backwards towards the entrance, without his knowledge, as he does so.
Go on...
Patches reaches the fire and puts his hand over it to kindle it. His arm catches fire, he is shocked as the fire spreads up his arm and along the floor, quickly consuming him and the surrounding area. I gleefully watch from just outside the kiln as everything within is engulfed in flame.
> Harmony
The flames of the kiln burned hot and magnificently, knowing there was no escape, Anon stood smiling, arms outstretched, awaiting the wall of fire that would soon engulf him.
Applejack lay on the ground in Anor Londo, taking in the sunny view, thinking about how Princess Luna, the one who sent her here, was promising a way out; It didn't make much sense but if she could leave this place, she wouldn't complain. The sound and smell of fire became noticeable, Applejack couldn't see any trouble in front of her, she turned around to see that nothing was wrong with the building behind her either.
She soon spotted a large wall of fire expanding towards her, Terrified, Applejack got up on all fours and ran for the elevator that lead to the bridge towards what was likely Anor Londo's main building. As the elevator neared its stop, Applejack impatiently jumped off and ran down the spiral stairs, bolting onto the bridge outside.
The fire wall had consumed the wall of Anor Londo and was quickly catching up. Applejack continued running, she passed one gargoyle thing, which seemed completely oblivious to the quickly approaching threat, she passed the large elevator mechanism halfway between her origin and destination. Dodging the bat wing demons, she made it to the stairs and saw the fire wall was already consuming the central elevator.
*Smack*
Applejack had run head first into a giant guard who was very upset at how rude she was for not excusing herself, but there was no time for apologies, she dashed into the large hallway, not really sure where she would go, as the walls and floors behind her began to burst violently into flames.
There was no pain.
Twilight rushed to write on the mirror with the white soapstone, Luna stopped her. "What do you think you can do to help her against a wall of fire?" Luna inquired. Twilight stared wide-eyed at the Princess.
"I don't know?!" Twilight squealed, bringing her attention back to the mirror, watching the building around Applejack burst into flames and her friend consumed shortly there after.
The mirror went pearl white, not even showing a reflection. Twilight and Luna held their breaths.
*Plop*
Applejack's unconscious, uninjured body flopped through the mirror, onto the floor in front of the mares. "It is done!" Princess Luna states happily. "The dark sign is no longer on her! She is free again!" Twilight was quite happy to hear the good news. I can't wait to tell my friends! They quickly levitated Applejack and brought her to the nearest medical center.
Applejack's mind woke, she kept her eyes closed. Wherever she was, was comfortable. She knew she was laying on her side on something soft, there was light shining upon her closed eyes and she felt the warmth of blankets and something else on her.
What is that? She wondered, keeping her eyes closed.
Wait, didn't I die in a wall of fire? Her eyes snapped open, she blinked several times, forgetting sunlight was shining directly on her. When her eyes adjusted, she began to look around; She was in a room, no doubt, it was well decorated and consisted of bright colors which was something she had forgotten existed. Hearing soft breathing nearby, she looked over her shoulder to see a very vibrant color on top of her. It took a moment to recognize Pinkie.
Aww. Applejack smiled. Pinkie was asleep, sprawled on top of the bed, two of her hooves around Applejack as though she were a giant teddy bear. This was fine with Applejack, she was just glad to be alive; She carefully touched Pinkie's hoof to make sure she wasn't dreaming.
Applejack looked around as far as she could, she saw Rainbow Dash sleeping, slouched on a chair, Fluttershy wrapped herself in a cocoon of blankets on a nearby bed and Rarity was sleeping on her back with a sleeping mask on. Twilight wasn't visible but she was sure to be here as well.
Pinkie, still asleep, began to climb onto Applejack, her face came excruciatingly close to Applejack's which became very uncomfortable very quickly. Applejack shoved the pink mass off of her with quite some effort; Pinkie rolled over, almost falling off of the bed, mumbled something about "she's a she." and slowly opened her eyes.
Blue eyes met green, blue eyes widened and was accompanied by a grin. Applejack prepared for a scream of excitement but to her surprise Pinkie whispered!
"Hey Jackie!" Pinkie said tiredly. "Appy Jackie." Applejack raised an eyebrow.
"New nickname for me huh?" She asked. Pinkie nodded.
Pinkie lightly bopped Applejack's nose saying, "It's a work in progress."
Gee, I could get used to tame Pinkie. Applejack thought, giggling at Pinkie, bopping her back.
"Hey! watch it, you're disturbing my slumber...Rawr!" Pinkie joked quietly.
Applejack jokingly gasped in fear. "Oh no! Fear the wrath of Pinkie!" Encouraging Pinkie to be silly. Pinkie's smile faded a little.
"You know, I really missed you...every pony missed you and we were all so caught up in wanting to help you that we forgot to help each other..." Applejack was speechless. "But it's okay now Jackie, you're here with your bestest buddies again." Pinkie's smile returned
Is this real? I don't think i've ever seen Pinkie be so...sincere. I mean, she always wants to see every pony happy and she cares about others but my disappearance must have been really hard on her! Applejack smiled in appreciation, unable to form a proper response for some time.
"I missed you all too. You wouldn't believe how dull Lordran was." Applejack explained.
Pinkie giggled. "If it was anything like living on a rock farm, I think i would believe it."
Applejack decided it was best not to inform her of the vast amounts of death in Lordran, wouldn't want to spoil her child like mind.
"Yeah, it was something like that." Applejack replied. "I should get up now, maybe i can surprise every pony with breakfast." Applejack suggested, moving to get out of the bed but was stopped by Pinkie.
"Oh, no, no, no! You've been gone too long! I think we need to treat you! And Twilight, she totally deserves breakfast in bed too!" Pinkie said excitedly, getting off of the bed and carefully waking everyone except Twilight, saying "Shh!" as they woke and whispered her idea; Every pony agreed. Fluttershy walked over to Applejack.
"Hey Applejack, I'm really glad to see that you're okay! I saw some of that stuff in the mirror and it was horrible!" Fluttershy spoke softer than usual, likely still tired.
"It's okay sugarcube, I'm fine, i'm sure i'll forget all about it eventually." Applejack reassured Fluttershy. I will certainly not be getting over that. She thought to herself. Rarity and Rainbow came over as well, both expressing there happiness of Applejack's safety, naturally, Rainbow was trying to act cool about it saying "I knew you'd get through it, not a doubt in my mind!" Rarity knew the difference. The four ponies left the room, Twilight still sleeping.
Applejack then came to two realizations. First, she had never eaten anything throughout her journey and she didn't remember feeling hungry. until now, that is. Second, She does not have her hat! She doesn't remember ever having it in Lordran either, but if she did, it was probably gone the first time she died; Finding a new one might not be easy. She had almost forgotten about the dark sign, did she still have it? Applejack looked, no, she could see, or rather, not see, that the fiery glow of the dark sign had faded away. ...
Fluttershy poked her head into the door way, checking to see if Twilight and Applejack were awake; Twilight was still asleep. The other ponies walked into the room and Fluttershy nudged Twilight, telling her breakfast was ready for her. Princess Luna and Princess Celestia entered the room as well and made their way over to Applejack. Applejack sat up against the headboard of the bed and observed the breakfast her friends made. There was a bowl of oats, a well decorated assortment of greens and flowers, some water to drink, and one sugar cube. Twilight hopped into bed with Applejack, also sitting with her back against the headboard as Rarity levitated their breakfasts onto their laps as gently as possible.
"Now, Pinkie, don't jiggle the bed! You wouldn't want to burn your friends would you?" Rarity warned Pinkie who responded with a resounding "Nope!"
Princess Celestia spoke up. "i'm sure we're all wondering Applejack, what happened in Lordran?"
"With all due respect, I don't think Applejack's ready for that Princess." Twilight suggested, receiving an agreeing nod from Princess Luna and Applejack.
"Yeah, Princess, i'd really like to just enjoy my breakfast and friends for a day before I try remembering that...but that Darksign thingy is gone!" She shoved her hoof out for everyone to see.
"This is most pleasing!" Princess Luna Announced. "We shall be back to visit thee tomorrow Applejack, am I correct sister?" Princess Celestia nodded in reply, saying "I am very proud of the three of you, Applejack, for your bravery, Twilight, for your un-ending will and Luna, for successfully freeing one of our own from the undead world! I am very proud of you all!" The princess said warmly.
"Feel free to stay the night here if you wish!" Princess Luna finished and turned to leave.
"Have a wonderful day Applejack!" Princess Celestia said kindly, also turning and leaving with her younger sister.
"OH! Here's your hat Jackie! Applebloom found it outdoors after Princess Luna visited!" Pinkie tossed the hat at Applejack, making her flinch but managing to make it land atop her head.
"Thanks! What am I going to tell Applebloom?" Applejack asked. No pony had any real suggestion but the suggested solution was "You're the element of honesty, tell her the truth. If you don't want her to know something, tell her that." This suited Applejack well. Twilight and Applejack ate their breakfast together, the other ponies left for their own breakfast and it was just the two of them. They discussed Lordran and how it could have been so dead, how Anor Londo looked so lively when it clearly was not.
Twilight tried to describe Gwyndolin to Applejack, explaining that the only reason Anor Londo was sunny is because Gwyndolin cast an illusion over the entire city to make it look safe.
"Well, it certainly worked! Say, is Gwyndolin a guy or girl?" Applejack inquired.
"Ha!" Twilight levitated her spoon, pointing at Applejack. "Pinkie, Princess Luna and I had a very heated discussion about that and for the love of friendship, do not ask Pinky about it! You really don't want to know what she said...All in all, we didn't decide. Princess Luna says it's a he, Pinkie thinks it's a she and I think it's an it." Twilight explained.
"An it? Like, no parts or something?" Applejack asked, slightly joking, to which Twilight replied, "It's best not to think about it." They ate in silence.
Applejack was home at last |
Levitation | pre | She stopped. "What?"
The cinnamon smell that once filled the air was quickly sucked out as the dome roof split into four segments, each retracting to the sides of the club. Twilight watched in awe as they slid down with ease. Cold air flooded the club as the music stopped and all eyes looked up to the open ceiling in disbelief.
"Vinyl?" she asked as they both approached the small circular gap at the center of the ring, "What's happening?"
"Well I opened the roof, duh," she said as she carefully propped herself up on the glass. Twilight did the same, and they both looked down. Lyra had taken off her neon-blue headphones and was looking up at them with a confused scowl and a cold shrug. But then, the whole DJ stage shifted, jerking her to her plot.The ponies around it separated with gasps and whispers, with the exception of one who seemed to be run over. It glided away from the center, revealing two large steel panels with yellow warning signs on them.
"Suck it Lyra!" Vinyl shouted down, flashing her plot down to the mare. Twilight coughed, covering her mouth as her face strained to keep a fit of laughter in. A certain spot just under Vinyl's tail glowed a vivid orange, blue, yellow and green.
Turning away from the glowing hole, she asked, "Vinyl, how are you doing this?"
"It's called Levitation for a reason," she said with a shrug. "Everything here is run on pure unicorn magic, bought from the magic reserves down at the Canterlot Power Control's sub-systems. Easy."
Twilight looked up to the night. The moon was full, shining down on them. It was lost in the blacklights, however that soon changed as all of the lights flickered off. Then, the only thing illuminating the place was the now unrestricted moon.
She shot her gaze to Vinyl, who was staring down with wide eyes and a huge smile.
But Vinyl ignored her. She bounced and rocked in place, switching from leg to leg as her body quivered. "Okay, the clocks in this place are gonna chime any second now. I recommend getting away from the railing."
Twilight watched with a cautious stare as Vinyl quickly pushed away and sat at a nearby unoccupied table. She did the same, pulling up a seat and leaning in. "What's going on?"
"Oh yeah no, my bum's totally better, thanks for asking," she huffed. "You'll see. Chill Twi. Where's Dash? She was supposed to be with Spitfire, but..." Vinyl looked over her shoulder to the empty stage.
"I'm right here," Dash said from behind Twilight. Twilight gripped her chest and spun around, breathing almost as heavily as Dash. But Dash was sweaty, panting, and as red as an apple.
"Dash!" she exclaimed, jumping up from her chair and gripping the sweaty Rainbow Dash. "Are you okay?!"
"I am," Dash panted. Over Twilight's shoulder, she said to Vinyl, "Turns out it does feel like a watermelon after all."
Twilight pushed herself back a bit on Dash's shoulders, her eyes slim. "What?"
Then suddenly, a small chime came from the distance. Vinyl snapped her head to the circle, her smile growing impossibly larger. "Girls, shut the buck up won't you?"
Dash sneered, but soon noticed the glowing beneath Vinyl's tail. Bursting into laughter, she asked, "Hey Vinyl, been eating too many skittles?"
Vinyl looked to her with a raised brow. "Hey Dash, you sprung a leak."
Dash looked to her plot. "Yeah? At least I wasn't visited by the Starburst company!"
"Well I wasn't licking the ring of fire!"
"Glowbutt!"
"Firecrotch!"
"D-Juggalo!"
"Rainbow-Gasm!"
"Freak!"
"Whore!"
"Books?"
Private Lynked followed the commander into the dark dance floor. The sergeant had gotten lost in the bathrooms unfortunately, and was not able to join them. And, despite the smacking noise they heard, he insisted that he was simply trying to find the exit. So they shuddered and moved on.
Now, they were in hot pursuit of a blue mare, whose name was apparently Trixe. But they knew better. With determination (and Lynked's big sexy muscles that he so totally has) they charged into the dance floor, barrelling through the crowd of drunken ponies and into a little column of moonlight.
The commander charged in after Trixie, locking hooves in the center of a large, moonlit rectangular clearing. Private Lynked, however, stopped with a suspicious gaze. He inspected the steel platform beneath them, his eyes tracing the yellow warning labels.
"Uh, commander, I think you ought to-" But he was cut short by a distant chime.
Then, the steel sheets groaned and screeched as they slid from beneath the battling mares. The commander tried to stay steady, but her hooves couldn't hold up, and she went tumbling just as Trixie did.
Lynked watched as his armored commander and felon Trixie rolled into a large, glowing blue dip that resembled a speaker. It began to glow brighter and brighter, soon illuminating the whole dance floor with a pale blue light.
"Uh, commander, I really think-"
"Not now private," she shouted as she resumed her battle with Trixie.
Just as soon as she turned back, a bright blue light engulfed them both. Lynked backed away just in time to escape the glowing blue pillar that shot up. Suddenly:
WUBWUBWUBWUBWUBWUUBWUBWUBWUBWUUBWUUUUBWUBWUBWUUBWUBWUBWUUBWUBWUBWUUUUB
"In the name of Blueblood's marehood what is that?!" |
Levitation | Levitation Pt. 7 | The song of this chapter is: Club Inferno
Three mares found themselves staring each other down across a table.
Vinyl stomped her hoof down. "Did not! And the glowsticks are out, thank you very much!"
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "You just wait! When Octavia shows up... and by the way, you did too!"
The blacklit club was pounding again with bass, and the mares had gone back to swinging on their poles and shaking their plots in colt's faces. The top floor was alive with raunchy excitement, and these three mares were contributing their share.
"Actually Vinyl," Twilight said, "I watched it happen. You blasted a guard to the moon."
"Ladies," a colt said. He was holding a silver tray, atop which were three tall, slender chutes of a bright blue liquid that glowed in the darkness. He levitated them down, placing one in front of each of the three mares.
When he left, they looked at the glasses. "Well then you know what? The Equestrian Space Program just got a step up. Now... drink up!" Vinyl cheered. The glass before her lit up a bright pink and floated to her lips. She took a hard shot, setting it down gently.
Dash and Twilight looked at each other, then at the drinks. "Vinyl..." Twilight said, "What is it?"
When she spoke, her voice had become as soft and sweet as honey. "It's an interesting drink. About time they cracked it open. Takes a whole day to make, you see! We take liquor and soak it in refined, liquefied magic. Then we sift out any residue for reuse. We soak the drink in honey, and that's what turns it this blue color, from whatever color it was before. The glow is from the magic, duh."
"Whatever color it is?" Rainbow repeated, eyeing Vinyl over cautiously.
"Well duh," she said. "Unicorns have different color magic. Oh, you want to know the best part?!"
Dash and Twilight glanced at each other again, this time with slightly nervous looks.
Vinyl continued. "I have no idea what the effect is! It's different every time!"
Twilight's expression dropped as she turned to Rainbow Dash, who was chugging the drink. Dash looked at her, twitched, then slammed the drink down, coughing.
"Good huh?" Vinyl asked, her voice still deliciously sweet.
"Vinyl..." Twilight bit her lip. "Have there ever been... bad experiences?"
She scratched her chin and looked up to the still open roof. "No, well, unless you consider being a stallion a bad experience. Honestly, I think Octavia enjoyed it a bit too much, but I personally thought the extra weight was making my back--"
"That's enough, thanks," Twilight said, forcing a smile.
"Oh we all know that you and Dash are freaks, c'mon." Vinyl grinned and levitated Twilight's drink up, pressed it to her lips and forced it down her throat. Twilight coughed, but after a moment, the cool liquid flooded her throat. Vinyl set the glass back down.
"Twi, you alright?" Dash asked. Her voice was sweet now as well.
"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks," Twilight said with the same softness. She sucked in deeply, the redness in her cheeks fading.
"Alright," Vinyl said, "So now we wait."
"For what?" Dash asked.
"Well, you'll feel a--" Vinyl slammed down on the table.
There was a pause.
Rainbow Dash poked her. "I-is she dead? Oh sweet Celestia she poisoned us!" She turned her frantic eyes to Twilight. "What're we gonna--" And she went down with a thud.
Twilight's heart was pounding. "Okay Twilight, calm down, try not to wet yourself again... M-maybe I can make it to a clinic, o-or--" There was an icy explosion in her gut that sent waves of heat through her spin. She froze as pleasure flooded her brain. Everything got warm, fuzzy even, and she felt dizzy. Her vision became blurred, and then, she dropped the bass all over the table.
10 Minutes Earlier...
"So..." Octavia said, scratching her neck. Luna looked at her with a curious glance, her figure a silhouette in the dark. Octavia shrugged. "Any idea where we are?"
"I do not think I know," Luna said, sighing. She looked around, where empty furniture stood. This room seemed like it was supposed to be in use. Long, winding halls that branched out from them. They were dark, though lit by fixtures on the wall that resembled glowsticks. Bass boomed from above like thunder. "I believed we have been roughly fornicated."
"...What?"
Luna eyed her over. "You understand, yes? Hardly sexed. Rambunctiously violated."
Octavia looked around. "Ah. Perhaps we should work on your... vernacular. For now, however, let's find out where we are. It's so hard to see down here, I swear to Celestia."
Now Luna joined her in scanning the room. From the corner of her eye was a particularly bright light, though it's location was strangely... hidden. She traced it, looking first to the floor, then to, surprisingly enough, Octavia. Beneath her tail came the strange orange glow, and the cellist was none the wiser.
Luna grinned. "I believe to have found a solution. A temporary, eh, what do you ponies call it? A... flashlight."
Octavia blinked. "What? Where did you--" She yelped as a blue veil lifted her from the ground and in front of Luna, who proceeded to spread Octavia's legs and expose her, ahem, tinderbox to the darkness. Suddenly the room was aglow with orange.
"Oh my! It's still glowing! Princess, this is rather clever, but I assure you I am not a mare for the cold, so--eek!" Luna twirled her around to better see the hallways.
As she thought, the Princess asked, "Pray tell, how did this happen?"
Octavia swallowed dryly. "Well..."
"Octy, you're cute when you're mad, but this is a bit--Ah!" Vinyl ducked as a glowstick zipped past her head.
By now, the walls of Vinyl's office were splattered with an array of colors, all glowing and pulsing to the beat outside. Or, perhaps it was because Octavia had a vast supply of glowsticks in her hooves that the walls seemed to move. She launched another at her marefriend. "I'll show you cute!"
She threw another, but in a bright flash, Vinyl was gone and the glowstick burst on the floor where she once stood. Octavia stood, mouth agape, hooves full of glowsticks, when the light reappeared behind her. Two heavy hooves pressed on her back and a magical aura snatched the glowsticks away.
"Oh Tavi~!" Vinyl said. "It's my turn to paint your office!"
She shuddered. "Vinyl enjoys art. That's all there is to say on the matter."
Luna hummed but said nothing on the matter. "Well then, this situation still rustles my jimmies. It would seem that we are... underground. I believe to hear the thud of ponies above."
"You know, princess, I had expected more... class in your vocabulary..." Octavia coughed. "And mannerisms. This flashlight seems to be more flash than light."
"Spread thy haunches wider. Just a bit... a little more... there. See that, down that hall yonder?" Luna tilted Octavia's head to see what she saw; a stark blue light radiating from beneath a metal door which was tucked away at the end of a hall.
Octavia squinted. "Yes, yes I do see that. Seems that that's where the DJ podium is as well. Is it... growing?"
"Indeed, t'was not visible when we awoke. Now it glows fiercer than thine self." Another searing red blush spread across Octavia.
"Luna, dear, can we just get in there and find a way out of... here?"
"Yes, let's." She and the levitating Octavia (who was lighting the way rather well) started down the hallway. At the end, the door was sealed tight, clamped down the middle in a zig-zag pattern. They could see no apparent button or handle, despite how much Luna angled Octavia's crotch.
"How are we to get in?" Luna mused aloud.
As if to answer her question, a little slot opened on the wall, revealing a little rectangular panel with a speaker at the bottom, and a little blue light encased in a glass dome just above it.
"Heya," it said, in a strikingly familiar voice.
Octavia eyed it over. "Luna, angle it a bit to the right... more... there. Hello? Vinyl?"
"I am Pon-9000, club Leviation's AI," it responded, "and one very, very sexy beast. How can I help you?"
Luna leaned in. "Open the door please?"
It was silent.
Octavia leaned in as well. "Pon-9000? Pon-9000, can you hear us? Pon-9000?"
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that."
"What did thou say? I am the princess of the night! I command thee to open this door!"
"I cannot open the bay doors for you. The BA-55 C4nn0n must be secure," Pon-9000 replied.
Luna snarled and prepared a retort, but Octavia cut in. "Wait..." she said, meekly. "Did you say Bass Cannon?"
"Yes, a very, very sexy BA-55 C4nn0n. It must be secure in the arming process. Once fired, it will be safe to enter the chambers. The sexy, sexy chambers."
"Octavia, you speak as if you know of this 'bass cannon'. What is it this strange device speaks of?"
Octavia swallowed, finding her throat acrid and desertish. "Vinyl told me a long time ago, when she and I had just discussed her plans for opening this club, of an idea... no, a will to create the 'bass-iest thing to exist on the face of Equestria', which she thusly dubbed the Bass Cannon."
Luna pondered that for a moment. "Hmm, well why dost thou speaketh of it as if it is horrid?"
"Because," she said, "when Vinyl began tinkering with the device, she found that the cannon is affected by gravity. You do know the saying, "what goes up must come down" yes? The same applies here. Should that cannon fire, this club with be the bass-iest thing in Equestria!"
"Yes," Pon-9000 said. "Just as Vinyl Sexy has commanded. The club shall be alive with bass."
"Luna." Octavia spun herself around in Luna's magic, flashing and blinding the princess. When Luna, after several blinks, could see once more, she inspected the orange glow that resonated deep within Octavia's cave. "We have to get in there and stop it."
"I find myself in wonder that the glow is this prominent. It seems that thy walls are amplifying the glow..." She stared in fascination.
"Luna! This is serious! Please princess, we must get in there! Pon-9000, I command you to open the door!"
"No!" it shouted. "And you cannot force my cortex to override my system coding by saying sexy-9000 either!"
It was so easy, Octavia almost knocked her skull out with the force of her facehoof. "Sexy-9000, open the door."
"Hah! You have been tricked. It is good that the irony coding string is still functioning, because you are so smart. Ah, the sarcasm coding string is also--"
Sparks flew as Luna's hoof shattered the little interface. A ding echoed from above, and the door parted faster than Octavia's legs. Both she and Luna then looked into the room, which was more of a huge cylinder with several wires and tubes all connected to a center cube.
The light from atop the cannon was strong now, blinding even. A hiss came from above; the ceiling was opening. Slowly, yes, but enough to make Octavia burst free of Luna's magic and scramble around the machine. Beneath them was a metal grating, displaying a whole glowing pool of pure BA-55, or liquid bass. It was draining into the launching tube. Fast.
"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear..." Octavia chanted as she inspected the cube. "Luna, can you see anything from above?"
Spreading her wings and leaping skyward, Luna glared at the top of the cube. "Nothing to note, truly. Though I must admire the glow resonating deep within the speaker atop this contraption. And I do believe it is sparking. Is that a good thing? Should it be sparking?"
"No!" Octavia cried. "It's about to fire!"
A countdown lit up on the wall, from ten seconds to none. The ceiling was fully opened now, and a clear speaker (no doubt blue from above--the whole room was blinding blue) was now open to the night sky. Octavia stared up, mouth agape. "We should run. That's probably a good idea. Running."
Wait. Just before she could turn to follow Luna, who had dashed from the chamber, a little green blurb caught her eye from above the DJ podium. Was it... no, it couldn't be. But it was. Mint fur, sharp hair, amber eyes... Vinyl had hired Lyra!
"Octavia, many joys upon us! Here is the emergency shut off switch! I shall pull it at once, and we--"
The glow was too bright to see the countdown, but it was too late. Octavia spun on her hooves and ran like the wind, and Luna followed suit. "But Octavia, I thought--"
"No time! Just run! I have a plan!"
The light engulfed the hallway behind them, and all that was left was the WUBS.
10 Minutes in the Present...
The first to come to life was Vinyl, groaning and lifting her head from the hard table. She'd probably only been out for about five minutes, that was about how long it lasted. Vision blurred, she could hardly see a thing. It was, however, apparent that there were some... changes.
Rainbow Dash, for example, was no longer flat on her face, because a pair of huge cyan mellons had sprouted between her forelegs.
Twilight's mane was now flowing, like a alcoholic waterfall, smelling like a purple hooter.
Vinyl herself, however, had not changed. Well, not that she could see. She sighed and leaned back, looking about. The blur had gotten worse now, and taken on a strange shade of green.
Wait. She stared at the table, where a deep green light spilled forward. With a yawn came more of the light, and each time she spread her haunches, she spilled forth green light.
"Oh. Oh ha-ha. Very funny..." |
Star-Crossed | pre | "Wow," she said under her breath.
"Halt," the guard, a clay-red earth pony with two dice for a cutie mark, said as she approached the front gate. "What business have you in the castle?"
Applejack presented the letter from Twilight Sparkle recommending the farmpony for the servant position, which the guard eyed with disinterest. "Is this where I go in?" she asked.
"Depends," the guard said with a discernible air of nonchalance. Applejack waited for him to continue, but his eyes stayed locked in a forward position.
"On what?" she finally asked.
"What you're here for," he said. Applejack eyed him. Was this pony dense? Applejack started slightly when the pony burst out into loud guffaws. "I'm only pulling your leg," he said, wiping a tear from his eye. "You should've seen the look on your face! Don't worry, Twilight told me you were coming. Name's Gamble." He stuck out a hoof, which Applejack shook with obvious reluctance. Gamble seemed not to notice. "Go on in," he said as he pulled the gate open, still chuckling to himself.
Applejack made her way through the courtyard to find Twilight Sparkle waiting just inside the main doors of the castle. "Had to deal with Gamble, huh?" the unicorn asked, casting a glance past Applejack to the front gate.
"Is there somethin' wrong with that pony?" Applejack responded.
Twilight laughed a little. "No, Gamble's a good pony, just a little too fond of jokes. Or what he calls jokes, anyway. He's been a huge help to Lady Dash and me, though." Twilight started walking down the hall.
"How?" Applejack asked, following.
"My brother, Shining Armor, is captain of the Royal Guard," Twilight explained, "and the Royal Guards are the ones assigned to protect the nobles, including Lady Dash. In fact, Shining should be guarding Lady Dash's room right now."
"So, you're tellin' me that since we know the guards, they'll just let me see Rainbow whenever?" Applejack's heart rate sped up. Would it really be that easy?
"Not exactly," Twilight said. Applejack's small glimpse of hope disappeared. "Don't worry! You'll still get to see her. We just have to careful. It wouldn't be wise to let too many ponies know about this. The Duke has friends in many places." She lowered her voice. "But if you go by Lady Dash's room and either Gamble or my brother is guarding her door, you should be able to get in without a problem."
"Thank you, Twilight," Applejack said. "You have no idea how much this means to me."
Twilight beamed. "No need to thank me, Applejack. Anything for a friend! Now, though, we should probably go over your job details. As long as you're here, you have to fit in as one of the serving staff. As a maid, you will receive duties every day for you to perform. These will range from cleaning specified areas to taking care of the nobles, and you have to do anything they ask of you."
Applejack gulped. "Anything?"
"Within reason, of course," Twilight responded.
Applejack leveled her gaze at Twilight. "Sounds like I'm a slave."
"Oh, it's not that bad. Besides, you'll get to see the Lady Dash, so I think it's worth it."
Applejack nodded. If it meant seeing Rainbow again, she would do whatever it took.
Twilight led Applejack through the twisting corridors of the castle, past surreal landscape paintings and expensive-looking trinkets. Applejack found herself examining each one, wondering how many bits had been sunken into each one.
"Oh, are you interested in art?" Twilight asked, following Applejack's gaze.
Applejack blushed, caught. "Uh, how much is this stuff worth?" She winced, knowing she sounded like a bumpkin.
Twilight approached the painting, not seeming to mind the question. "Actually, this one is an original Van Gogh, given to Princess Celestia as a gift, valued at twenty-six thousand bits at auction."
Applejack whistled and raised her eyebrows. "Twenty-six thousand? Ya'll could feed Ponyville fer a year with that much."
"Hm, yes," Twilight said absentmindedly. "Well, we had better get going. I'll show you around so you'll know where you're going when you start your duties." She started off a little faster than before, with Applejack in tow.
Applejack tried to keep up with the winding corridors and twisting staircases, but trying to remember the directions while listening to Twilight ramble about the history of the palace was making her head spin. It didn't help that everything they passed was gilded, made of marble, or worth more than Applejack had earned in her entire apple-selling career, and more often than not they were all three.
Twilight pointed out original paintings, goblets and chalices given as peace offerings to Equestria from far-off lands that Applejack wouldn't attempt to pronounce the names of. There were alcoves containing extravagant sculptures and fountains resting on plush silk carpets.
Everything seemed to remind Applejack of Rainbow Dash. She found herself imagining Dash wearing the gem-encrusted bracelets and tiaras they passed. In certain paintings, her mind replaced the lovers depicted with images of herself and Rainbow, sharing a kiss in this one, an embrace in that one. She felt like she would burst if she didn't get to see Rainbow Dash soon.
They passed some maids on their knees scrubbing the floors to a spotless shine. A few passing nobles cast curious glances at the two mares, but they just kept their heads down and the trip went largely without incident.
That is, until they passed through the west wing. A sound made both mares' ears perk up, and it registered an instant later as shouting. It was indistinct at first, but it steadily grew louder as they got further down the hallway, and it became clear that it was emanating from a door on the right.
"...do you intend to do about this!?" came a stallion's voice. The door burst open and Twilight and Applejack jumped back. A mare wearing a black and white maid's outfit fell out of the room and tumbled to the floor, followed quickly by a stately unicorn with a dirty blonde mane, a tuxedo and bow tie, and an eight-pointed star adorning his flank. His eyes were flaming with indignation and he had his teeth bared in a wicked snarl.
"I'm sorry, Prince Blueblood, it won't happen again, I swear it!" the mare said, scrambling backward until she ran out of room, her back bumping against the wall. Prince Blueblood kept advancing, step by step
"Damn right it won't!" Step. "I should throw you in the dungeon for assaulting royalty, you filth." Step.
"Assault? But sir, it was an accident, surely you can see that!" The mare looked absolutely terrified. As the stallion passed, Applejack could see that one of his legs had a fresh burn surrounded by brown coffee stains.
"Then you will just have to pay for it right here," he said, closing the last little distance between himself and the servant. He raised his hoof and the maid shied away, closing her eyes and bracing for the blow.
Before she knew what was happening, Applejack had her hooves around Blueblood's.
"What in Equestria do you think you're doing?" he asked, trying to shake her off.
"You can't just hit a defenseless mare like that!" Applejack exclaimed, not letting go. "What's wrong with you?"
Blueblood pushed Applejack away and Twilight grabbed the farmpony with her magic before she could lunge at him again.
"Sincerest apologies, Prince Blueblood," Twilight said. "This is a new servant, and she isn't quite accustomed to the rules here yet. We beg your forgiveness."
Applejack looked at Twilight like she was crazy. She was apologizing to this pony for trying to do what was right? It seemed so backwards.
Blueblood huffed and stuck his nose in the air. "Very well, seeing as how she didn't know better, and I have more important things to do, I accept your apology." He pointed a hoof at Twilight. "Just don't let it happen again." Twilight nodded. "And you," he continued, turning to face the cowering mare, who flinched when his gaze fell on her. "I'm feeling generous today, so you get off with a warning. But I swear, by the might of Celestia, one more 'accident' and I'll have you rotting in the dungeon for the rest of your days."
Applejack shuddered. From the matter-of-fact way he spoke, she didn't doubt that his words were a promise, not a threat. The mare nodded quickly before hurrying away. As she disappeared around the corner at the end of the hall, Applejack saw her turn back and mouth "thank you." Applejack just nodded.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Blueblood said. "Go!"
Twilight grabbed Applejack's hoof and pulled her down the hallway. Once they were out of sight of the prince's room, she turned to Applejack.
"You've got to be more careful!" she said.
Applejack scoffed. "What was I supposed to do, just let him hit that mare?"
Twilight sighed. "I don't know how things are in Ponyville, but here in Canterlot, the royalty rules. You can't go around assaulting them, drawing attention to yourself. If you want to see Lady Dash, you have to be invisible."
That shut Applejack up.
"When can I see her?" Applejack asked once they had started once again down the twisting corridors.
"Actually, Shining Armor is guarding her all day, so as soon as I get you into your uniform you can go see her."
Applejack beamed. Finally, after all this time sending letters, corresponding with words and paper but not really with feelings, she would get to see Rainbow Dash again. The thought filled her with warmth and she followed Twilight. She would get to see Rainbow Dash's beautiful eyes, her striking chromatic mane that sparkled when the light hit it, hear her voice once again.
Applejack was so consumed by her thoughts that she barely noticed when they descended one final staircase, coming to a long hallway lined with doors. Torches adorned the walls in their sconces, casting flickering light across the cold cobblestone walls and floor. If the upstairs was a palace, then this seemed like the dungeon.
"Applejack," Twilight said, "welcome to the servant quarters."
Twilight led Applejack down the hall to the very end, pushing open the last door on the left and ushering her companion inside.
The room was small and square, barely two full ponies across and twice that distance long, but that didn't bother Applejack; she was used to having a small room. It was the bunk beds that caught her off guard.
"I have a roommate?" she asked.
Twilight nodded eagerly, a smile slowly forming on her lips until it consumed her entire face. Realization dawned on Applejack and a smile played at her own lips.
"You're my roommate?"
"Yes!" Twilight said, bouncing around on her hooves as best she could in the small space provided, chanting "yes!" over and over again.
"But aren't you a little, I don't know, higher up than a servant?" Applejack asked.
"All members of the serving staff live down here," Twilight explained when she had calmed down, "tutors included." She squealed with delight. "Oh, this'll be so much fun! I've never had a roommate before. Come to think of it, before you, Lady Dash and my brother were really the only other ponies I talked to."
"Speaking of Rainbow Dash..." Applejack said.
"Oh, right, your uniform," Twilight said. She pulled a flat box out from under the bed with her magic and levitated a maids uniform out of it. It was black and white, with frilly lace adorning the neck and waist and a sash that tied around the middle.
Applejack looked at the uniform, then at Twilight, then back at the uniform. "Do I really have to wear that?" she asked.
Twilight put on a plastic smile. "Sorry, Applejack, it's required. But hey, anything to see Lady Dash, right?"
Applejack nodded. "Right."
Applejack didn't like clothes. She didn't have anything against them specifically, as long as they served a purpose, like her hat, but too often she had fallen prey to Rarity's fashion sense and the pitfalls therein. Still, Rainbow Dash awaited, so she grit her teeth and pulled the outfit on.
"I look ridiculous," she said, examining her newly adorned body in the mirror. The outfit was tight around the waist and neck and breezy everywhere else, and it was more revealing than Applejack had expected. She frowned at her reflection and turned around to examine herself from every angle, craning her neck to look over her shoulder at the mirror. She wiggled her exposed flank and her reflection copied the motion, the white lace skirt that framed and emphasized her backside moving lazily with her.
"Do I have to look like such a harlot?" she asked, creasing her brow. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she caught Twilight staring fixedly at her posterior. She turned to face the unicorn and cracked a smile. "Enjoyin' the show?"
Twilight started, like she had just been woken up from a deep slumber. A fiery blush consumed her face from the neck up. "I wasn't--I mean, I was, but not in--I would never--"
She was cut off by Applejack's loud laughter. "Relax, Twilight, I'm only pullin' your leg," she said, and Twilight relaxed a little. "It's okay if'n ya'll admire the view every once in a while, just make sure to keep your hooves off the merchandise; I'm taken." She punctuated this point with another wiggle, causing Twilight's blush to deepen.
"We should get going," Twilight said, apparently eager to change the subject.
"Lead the way," Applejack said.
Once they had climbed the stairs out of the servant quarters, Twilight said, "Make sure you pay attention to where we're going so that you can get there on your own next time." Applejack nodded.
They went down hallways and climbed stairs, Applejack focused on remembering the route they were taking. She occasionally pulled at the uniform, trying to make it comfortable, but the clothes, with their alien feel, wouldn't cooperate. Twilight slapped her hoof after one particularly violent tug on the collar.
"Applejack, if you want to look like you fit in, you have to get used to the uniform," she said.
Applejack huffed. "But does it have to be so doggone itchy?" she asked, scratching at her neck with her hoof. Twilight grabbed the hoof a moment later. "Yeah, yeah, I get it, no scratchin.'" Applejack planted her hooves on the floor, resisting the unbearable itching around her neck. "There, see? No scratchin.'"
Twilight eyed her, but soon turned around and continued down the hallway. As soon as she had her back turned, Applejack went back to furiously scratching and pulling at the outfit.
They ascended one final staircase and came to a long hallway nearly identical to the rest; long red carpet running the length of the hall, ornate chandeliers hanging overhead, and expensive decorations adorning everything in sight. The only difference was the guard stationed outside one of the doors on the left, the third door from where they were. He was a white unicorn stallion with a blue mane, a red and gold guard uniform, and a shield as a cutie mark.
The guard turned to Twilight and Applejack, his face placid as they approached. Applejack saw his eyes glance down the hall both ways then, seeing nopony, his demeanor broke and a smile erupted across his face.
"Twily!" he exclaimed, sweeping Twilight into a big hug.
"Hey, B.B.B.F.F.," she said. Applejack started to say something, but Twilight cut her off before she could speak. "Big brother best friend forever," she said. Applejack closed her mouth again.
Shining Armor let go of his sister and approached Applejack, his expression once again emotionless. "Are you the Applejack I've heard so much about?" he asked. Applejack gulped and nodded at the towering stallion. He leaned down in her face. "Then I only have one thing to say to you." He stuck his hoof out and smiled again. Applejack let out a sigh of relief and took the hoof in hers and he shook it, hard. "Welcome to Canterlot!" he said.
Applejack smiled. "It's mighty fine to be here," she said. The hoofshake went on for an uncomfortably long time, until Twilight cleared her throat.
"Oh, right," Shining Armor said, breaking the contact. "You want to see her now?"
"More than anything," Applejack said.
Shining Armor nodded and fetched a key ring out of his uniform. The keys jingled and clacked together as he searched for the right one and, once he found it, he unlocked the door and pushed it open.
Applejack stepped through the threshold. She didn't notice her surroundings, couldn't focus on what the room looked like. She only had eyes for the mare sitting on the bed, reading a book, who in that moment looked to Applejack like the embodiment of perfection. Sunlight streamed through the window and fell across Rainbow Dash, making her mane and coat glow like her namesake. Applejack wished she could bottle the adorable expression on Rainbow's face, a mixture of shock, confusion, and unbridled happiness.
Then the moment was over, and Applejack found herself with a face full of mane as she was tackled into a hug. She thought she heard the door shut behind her, but she was too far away to care. Rainbow Dash's lips found hers, and soon their tongues were battling in a fierce dance for dominance, neither caring whether they won or lost, only that they were together. Applejack relished in the taste of her partner, basked in the feel of their hooves around each other, delighted in the softness of Rainbow's lips on her own.
The kiss went on, fading in intensity until it was a waltz, both parties exchanging the lead and neither complaining. Rainbow Dash pulled Applejack backward until they fell onto the bed, knocking the book to the floor. It was Rainbow Dash who broke the facial contact first, although the couple remained entwined, snouts only inches away.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
Applejack explained all that had happened since the last letter, about how Twilight had gotten her the serving position, how she had come to Canterlot to be with Rainbow Dash, and how now she was staying in the castle.
"Wait, you're staying in the castle!?" Rainbow Dash asked, jumping up from the bed.
"What's wrong?" Applejack asked, shocked by the sudden change in demeanor. She stood up and cast her eyes down to the floor. "I thought you'd be happy."
Rainbow Dash lifted Applejack's chin with her hoof and kissed her, gently. "Of course I'm happy to see you," she said, "but if my father were to return from his trip and find you here..." She trailed off. "I don't think I could take it if he drove us apart again."
Applejack hugged Rainbow. "I promise I won't let that happen."
"But you don't know what he's capable of," Rainbow responded.
Applejack pulled away to look Rainbow Dash in the eyes. "Hey, I said I promise, didn't I?"
"And you always keep your promises, right?" Rainbow Dash asked.
Applejack nodded. "Right," she said. Then she noticed the leather band around Rainbow Dash's wings, securing the appendages in place.
"Did your father put that thing on you?" she asked, incredulous. How could the duke stand to do that to anypony, let alone his own daughter?
"Yes," came the bitter reply.
Applejack examined the belt. The buckle was made to be easily operated by hooves, and she quickly slipped the rod out of the slot that was keeping it in place, the whole thing falling away a moment later. Applejack had to jump back as Rainbow Dash's wings sprung open. Rainbow let out a small, relieved laugh.
"You have no idea how good this feels!" she exclaimed, stretching out her feathery appendages. Applejack smiled right along with her, happy as long as she was happy.
Applejack absentmindedly scratched at her neck, pulling at the fabric. "Here," Rainbow Dash said, "let's get you out of those clothes." She advanced toward Applejack.
"Y'know, it's rude to say that to a mare on the first date," Applejack said. Rainbow Dash blushed, but she didn't stop.
She reached past Applejack, their faces centimeters away, and undid the ribbon sash around the new maid's waist. The black band fell away, Applejack letting out a sigh of relief. Then Rainbow Dash walked around to Applejack's flank and, pausing just a moment to "admire the view" and blush even harder, she gripped the lace skirt in her teeth. She pulled the whole outfit up Applejack's body with purposeful slowness, peeling inch by inch until it was completely off, and then she tossed it aside.
Both mares stood, drinking in the other's body. Applejack's figure had been built up by years of hard work, powerful leg and chest muscles rippling just below the surface of her skin, betraying the true stamina the mare possessed. Rainbow Dash had also exercised her body, but her frame was lithe, aerodynamic, built for speed and flight. Her wings were masses of muscle and tissue, strong, sturdy, and above all, beautiful.
What followed was another passionate bout of kissing. It started strong, but quickly became less intense than before, both mares moving to the bed and laying against the numerous pillows stacked there. The kiss was softer, gentler, but seemed to stretch on for eternity, neither Applejack nor Rainbow Dash willing to let the other go. They crossed inexperienced tongues and held each other in their hooves.
The two mares spent the rest of the day together in the room, talking and kissing and laying next to each other, content with long stretches of silence where they were simply together.
They watched the sun set, the celestial body slowly dipping below the horizon, transforming the sky from blue to a mixture of red, yellow, and orange hues that made it look like the clouds themselves were on fire. The colors and the light retreated off into the distance, inch by inch, mile by mile, until the sun had hidden itself completely and stars began twinkling in the night sky.
Voices sounded from outside the door. Both mares tensed up and cast worried glances at the other before they recognized it as Twilight. The door opened a moment later and the lavender tutor strode in, took one look at Lady Dash and Applejack lying so close to one another, and immediately started blushing.
"I, um, I hope I'm not interrupting anything," she said, averting her gaze.
"Of course not, Twilight," Rainbow said, extracting herself from her partner and standing to face the unicorn, with Applejack soon following her lead. "What do you need?"
"I hate to separate you two, but Applejack must return to the servant quarters with me. It would look suspicious if she stayed anywhere else." Twilight looked apologetic.
"Of course," Rainbow Dash said. Then, to Applejack, "When will I get to see you again?"
"I don't know," Applejack replied. "Twilight, do ya'll know when I'll be able to come back?"
"My brother said that Gamble is set to guard Lady Dash in three days, so once you finish your duties on that day, you'll be free to visit."
Both Applejack and Rainbow Dash lingered in an awkward silence, neither knowing how to say goodbye.
"Well, until next time, I guess," Applejack said. Rainbow Dash responded with a kiss.
"I can't wait," she said with a smile.
Applejack reluctantly pulled her outfit back on, much to Rainbow Dash's amusement, and allowed Twilight to lead her out of the room. Nodding to Shining Armor on the way out, the two made their way through the castle.
"So, how was your visit?" Twilight asked, unable to contain her curiosity.
"It was wonderful, Twilight, more wonderful than I had dared to hope." She put her hoof on Twilight's shoulder and smiled with all the joy she had felt that day. "I can't thank you enough for all that you've done for us."
Twilight returned the expression. "You're welcome, Applejack. Anything to help a friend."
The rest of the journey was made in silence, and when they got back to the servant quarters, they found almost everypony to be asleep.
"The serving staff usually have pretty rough days," Twilight explained, "so most of them go straight to sleep."
When they reached their room, Applejack took the top bunk, with Twilight occupying the bottom.
"Good night, Applejack," Twilight said before extinguishing the light.
"Good night, Twilight," Applejack returned.
That night, Applejack drifted off into a restful slumber with thoughts of her mare on her mind. |
Star-Crossed | In the Garden | The next morning, despite the fact that her room lacked windows, Applejack rose with the sun, drifting out of her pleasant dreams with a smile on her face. Twilight didn't seem to be awake yet, so Applejack was content to be occupied by her own thoughts for the time being.
It was a while before Applejack felt a stirring on the bunk below. Her suspicions that the unicorn underneath her was awake were confirmed when the lantern hanging from the ceiling sparked to life, illuminating the relatively bare quarters. Applejack had been too concerned with seeing Rainbow Dash the day before to really take in the features of the small room.
The bunk beds were in the furthest corner from the door, and a simple wooden dresser stood next to them. Other than that, there was a mirror on the opposite wall in which Applejack could see her reflection, even while lying on the bed.
"Oh, you're awake!" Twilight said, looking at Applejack's reflection and climbing off her own bed.
"Can't rightly be a farmer if you aren't up with the roosters," Applejack responded. She sat up and stretched her legs before hopping down off the top bunk herself.
"Right, roosters," Twilight said. "Well, since we didn't really get the chance yesterday, how about I show you the facilities you'll be using while you're here?"
Applejack looked at Twilight. "Y'know, Twilight, you don't have to take care of me like this. I appreciate it an' all, but I don't want to be a burden."
"Oh, no worries, Applejack," Twilight said, smiling a genuine smile. "I really don't mind."
Applejack furrowed her brow. "You're sure I'm not gettin' in the way?" Twilight shook her head. "Well," Applejack said, gesturing toward the door, "in that case, lead the way."
Twilight raised her eyebrows. "What?" Applejack asked. Twilight's eyes darted to the dresser and then back to Applejack, who walked over to the piece of furniture and pulled the top drawer open. Applejack let out a loud groan at what she saw: the drawer was full to the brim with maid outfits. Each and every article of clothing was black, white, and lacy.
Twilight giggled at the expression on Applejack's face, but tried to suppress it after the look the farmpony shot her. She wasn't successful. "I'm sorry, Applejack," she said between small laughs, "but every maid has to wear one while they work."
Applejack glared at the outfits like the drawer was full of snakes, but eventually pulled one out and started putting it on. As she did, a thought occurred to her.
"Do the stallion servants have to wear these things?" she asked.
"There are no maids who are stallions," Twilight said. "Stallions are used for more labor-intensive work, and as butlers who bring meals and such to the nobles. Also, there are a lot of stallions in the kitchens."
Applejack finished donning her ensemble and cast one last resentful look in the mirror before turning to Twilight. "Lead the way," she said, gesturing toward the door.
Twilight's smile brightened a little before she turned and made her way toward the door, pushing it open with her magic, with Applejack in tow.
The torches in the hall were already lit, illuminating the paths of the few ponies who were out and about. Twilight led Applejack up the stairs, out of the dim oppression of the servant quarters.
"Why do the servants have to live in that place?" Applejack asked once they had completed their ascent.
Twilight shrugged. "We always have. Where else would we live?"
Applejack didn't have an answer, and they kept walking. Now that they were on the ground floor, early-morning sunlight streamed through the windows, warming Applejack and reminding her of her previous day spent with Rainbow Dash. She already longed for the other mare's company again, and she wasn't looking forward to spending two more days without her.
The two ponies soon reached a set of double doors, which Twilight pushed through. The room inside was bare save for a large rack of towels in the left corner and a huge, in-ground bathtub taking up a large chunk of the space.
"This is the washroom," Twilight said.
"More like a wash house," Applejack said under her breath. Her "girl-time" with Rarity and Fluttershy had made her no stranger to bathing with other ponies, but the bathtub at the spa in Ponyville wasn't even half as big as the huge basin in front of them.
Applejack started to step through the threshold, but was stopped by Twilight's hoof. "What are you doing?" Twilight asked.
Applejack raised her eyebrows. "We're gonna take a bath, right?"
"We can't take a bath without water," Twilight responded, looking at Applejack like she was stupid.
"So we just need to open the faucets, right?" Applejack said slowly.
Twilight laughed. "Oh, I see why you're confused. Only the nobles get water brought to their rooms through the pipes; we have to get it from the well." She closed the door and continued in her original direction down the hallway. Applejack sighed and followed.
The trek to the well was a long one, but Applejack didn't complain. She tuned out Twilight's excited lecture on the history of the palace and allowed her mind to wander, entertaining herself with thoughts of her mare.
She thought of the smooth sky-blue coat covering the athletic frame, tight muscles flexing as she shifted her weight against Applejack. Then Applejack would move her own hoof across Rainbow Dash's back, guiding it in small circles further and further down. Rainbow would shudder, spurring Applejack on with her body rather than with her words. Applejack's lips would find the silky caress of her other's own and she would push forward with her tongue, Rainbow Dash being only too eager to do the same. Applejack's hoof would dip lower and lower until...
"Applejack?"
Applejack shook her head. "Uh, yeah, Twilight?" She could feel a fiery blush on her face, burning it from within.
"Are you okay?" Twilight asked. "You seem a little... flushed."
"Fit as a fiddle!" Applejack said, straining to hide her blush and calm her racing heart.
"If you say so," Twilight responded. Then she turned and faced the stone circle in front of them. "Well, we're here."
They were in a small courtyard contained somewhere in the middle of the castle, cast in shadow by the high walls on all sides. The well was cobblestone, with a crank and rope with bucket attachment to extract water. Twilight forewent the conventional means, opting to pluck a bucket from the pile leaning against the wall with her magic and fill it directly. She repeated this with a few more buckets and soon they were on their way back to the washroom.
"How come the servants don't get water pumped to the washroom?" Applejack asked once they resumed their journey. "It can't be that much trouble. I mean, we don't have plumbing at Sweet Apple Acres, but I always imagined the palace would be all gilded doorknobs and whatnot."
Twilight, who looked like a mother duck leading her ducklings with the train of water buckets following her, said, "Well, the nobles are much more important than the servants, so they get prioritized. They wouldn't want to risk running out of warm bathwater, so it's easier for us to just get our own."
Applejack leveled her gaze at Twilight. "You're kidding, right?"
"What?" Twilight asked.
Applejack stopped, and Twilight did the same. "Ya'll have to wake up early and wait on these ponies every whim, lug these buckets back and forth every day, and they can't even provide plumbing because they might run out of warm water? No offense, Twilight, but that seems a little..." She searched for the right word. "Dumb," she finished.
Twilight started walking again. "Of course not, Applejack," she said, smiling. "That's the way it's always been. Why change things now?"
"I suppose," Applejack whispered.
They made it back to the washroom and filled the tub. Twilight proceeded to heat the water with her magic, filling the room with steam when the liquid reacted to the sudden change in temperature. After Applejack removed her outfit, the two mares slipped into the water and Applejack let out a contented groan, relishing in the warmth, as she hadn't been able to take a bath since leaving Ponyville.
The other servants started coming in soon, joining Applejack and Twilight in the enormous basin. They cast a few glances toward the pair, but mostly kept their distance. Applejack was too busy relaxing to care, and as she settled into the bath, her thoughts once again wandered to Rainbow Dash.
She found herself wondering how Rainbow's coat and mane would look wet, her chromatic locks catching sunlight and reflecting it in a dazzling display reminiscent of her beautiful namesake. Applejack could imagine that mane spread out in the water like a spectacular fan as Rainbow Dash leaned her head back. She could see herself coming up behind the pegasus, brushing her own hooves past Rainbow's powerful wings and running them through her mane, moving from her head to the outer fringe of each strand in a calming, gentle motion.
Applejack would caress her mare's striking features before holding the wonderful head in front of her steady. Rainbow Dash would open her eyes as Applejack lowered her own head, and Applejack would keep going no matter how much she just wanted to stare into those eyes forever. Her lips would brush Dash's forehead, and a trail of soft kisses would follow the edge of her face until they met her lips...
Applejack was shaken from her reverie by the feeling of something rubbing against her inner thigh, and she started for a moment before realizing that it was her own hoof. She removed it as quick as the water would allow and glanced over at Twilight, who, thankfully, had her eyes closed.
Applejack lifted her hoof up and held it in front of her face. Nopony had ever given her such vivid fantasies before. She wondered if they could compare to the real thing.
Before long, Twilight prompted Applejack to exit the tub. As the duo went to towel off, Applejack noticed something strange: the other ponies seemed to be actively avoiding them. As they passed, the other servants would cease their conversation and turn their heads away, only to whisper to each other again and glance at Twilight and Applejack after they were out of earshot.
"What's their problem?" Applejack asked as they toweled off.
Twilight looked around at the other ponies, who avoided her gaze. "I think it's because I'm so close with the Lady Dash."
"Why would that matter?" Applejack furiously rubbed a towel on her mane.
Twilight shrugged. "Servants and royalty just don't mix in their eyes. They're untrusting of the royals, and they think mine and Lady Dash's friendship is wrong."
Applejack scoffed. "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Sure, some of the uppers 'round here ain't exactly the friendliest bunch, but how could they not like Rainbow?"
"I never really thought about it, to be honest. I've never been very interested in making friends," Twilight said as they finished toweling off, Applejack groaning as she donned the outfit again, and left the washroom.
"So what am I supposed to do now?" Applejack asked right before her stomach let out a low growl.
"Let's get some breakfast," Twilight suggested. (*)
Rainbow Dash sat on a small satin cushion, resting her cheek on her hoof and gazing through the iron bars clamped over her window. Sunlight streamed through in patches, falling upon her face in the pattern of the cage in front of her. Through the spaces between the rods, she could see thick slices of Canterlot on the left and the Royal Gardens, with their luscious green hedges and winding maze, on the right.
Her eyes were pointing out the window, but she wasn't really looking at the view. Her thoughts were focused on Applejack, on their meeting the day before, and on how perfect it had been. But it hadn't been nearly enough; it had been like a drop of water while Rainbow was dying of thirst. She wanted to swim in an ocean of Applejack, to grab hold of the farmer and never let go, basking in her scent and feeling the tough, athletic musculature beneath her soft orange fur.
Rainbow Dash's eyes drifted shut and she could see Applejack in her mind's eye, as if they were standing only a few feet away from each other. Then a memory of something lacy invaded Rainbow's mind, and an instant later Applejack's maid outfit appeared on her. The illusory Applejack blushed, which made Rainbow Dash blush in turn.
Applejack approached with a deliberate wiggle in her walk, shaking her hips as she sauntered toward Rainbow with an agonizing slowness. Rainbow wanted to run and tackle her in a hug, but she was rooted in place, Applejack's for the taking. Applejack steadily reduced the distance between them, coming close enough to hold her lips just a few inches from Rainbow's. Rainbow Dash pushed forward with her own mouth, closing the gap between her and the mare she so desperately sought... and in the process, pushed her head off of her hoof and smacked her forehead on the windowsill.
"Ow!" she exclaimed, rubbing her head with her hoof and crossing her eyes in a vain attempt to look at the afflicted area. She glared at the windowsill, in case it was planning on trying anything else, before moving to her bed, just to be safe.
She lie down on her back, staring at the canopy that covered her bed. Her eyes drifted around the room, eventually resting on the clock hanging on the wall. As she watched the second hand tick, it seemed to slow down, taking longer and longer to signify the passing of the next second until it appeared as if the clock had stopped entirely.
"Argh!" Rainbow cried. How was she supposed to stand two more days of waiting to see Applejack? Their time the day before had not been nearly enough, and Rainbow thought that as long as the current arrangement was in place, it never would be. How could they be together when they saw one another so little?
Her thoughts were interrupted by hoofsteps in the hall outside. She sat up, a jolt of hope shooting through her heart as the image of Applejack popped into her head, but the door swung open to reveal her mother.
"Oh," Rainbow said.
Duchess Persephone crossed the threshold. "You were expecting somepony else?" she asked.
Rainbow Dash stood up. "No, I just wasn't expecting to see you, that's all. Was there something you needed?" she asked.
"Can't a mother show an interest in her daughter's life?" the Duchess asked, a little too innocently.
Rainbow Dash eyed her matron. "Forgive me if this sounds rude, mother, but what 'life' are you speaking of?" She gestured around the room. "This is my life. You and father have guaranteed that."
Duchess Persephone sighed. "If you must know, I came to talk to you, and it's important."
Rainbow was on the verge of a sarcastic comment, but her mother's somber attitude bit it back. "What about?" she asked instead.
The duchess's eyes wandered around the room before settling back on her daughter. "I've been thinking lately, ever since your little adventure during the Summer Sun Celebration." Rainbow started to defend herself, but Persephone interrupted her. "Please, let me finish. Did you know that I arrived at the celebration before your father? He had some last-minute business to attend to, and I decided to see the festivities instead of simply waiting for him. While I was in Canterlot Square, I saw you dancing with that orange pony."
Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped. "Um," was all that came out of her mouth. Her mother had seen them?
Duchess Persephone looked off to the side and smiled. "You looked happier than I had seen you in years, since you were only a little filly. The smile that other mare put on your face made me question some things, things that I've been sure of your entire life." Now she looked at Rainbow. "You were supposed to marry for convenience, into a more powerful house, like I did with your father. Not to say I don't love your father, for I do, with all my heart, but I've always been afraid that you might not turn out so lucky."
"I--" Rainbow began.
"Please, Rainbow, I'm afraid that if I don't get this all out now, I will regret it for the rest of my life." Rainbow Dash closed her mouth and sat. Duchess Persephone gave a small nod. "Thank you. Seeing you with that mare, the joy that enveloped you, and how you looked at each other, reminded me of your father and I when we were your age." She let out a small laugh. "It seems so long ago, now." She looked Rainbow Dash in the eyes. "If somepony had separated us back then, I would've stopped at nothing to be with him. Is that how you feel about this mare?"
Rainbow only nodded. When her mother didn't respond, Rainbow Dash spoke. "I want to be with her more than anything in the world."
The Duchess smiled. "Come, walk with me."
With that, Persephone turned and exited the room, a confused Rainbow Dash in tow. They navigated the decorated hallways and staircases in silence, Rainbow simultaneously hopeful and terrified that she would run into Applejack. If her mother found out that Applejack was there, there was no doubt that they would be separated. Luckily, their route didn't take them past her, and even if it had, Rainbow Dash was certain that her mother's years as royalty had trained her to ignore all servants, regardless of their similarity to a certain orange mare.
"Where are we going?" Rainbow asked as their journey took them closer and closer to the entrance of the castle.
Duchess Persephone smiled knowingly. "It's a surprise." Rainbow Dash didn't pursue the matter.
The two mares continued through the entryway and out the doors of the castle. Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow, but just continued following her mother. Their path took them to the left, around the corner of the castle and past ornate fountains of golden hydras and silver seaponies. The wide lawn stretched out to the wall, thick with well-kempt emerald grass and lined with expertly landscaped shrubs and flower beds.
Duchess Persephone stopped in the middle of the lawn and turned to her daughter. With a small smile, she reached past Rainbow Dash's head with her hooves and plucked at the ties that bound the young mare's wings.
Rainbow's eyebrows sprung up and a smile broke out on her face as her powerful appendages sprang from their imprisonment, stretching them this way and that to ease the dull ache that resided within them. She rotated them in their sockets, letting out a small sigh of contentment with each satisfying pop.
"I want to see you fly," Persephone said, beaming at Rainbow Dash.
That was all the encouragement she needed.
Rainbow Dash crouched down and thrust her wings upward, brushing her chest against the grass for only an instant before pushing up with her powerful legs and pulling down with her wings, propelling her with a blinding speed into the air. Her head was aimed straight up at the sun, but the light didn't bother her through her eyelids. She pumped her wings, moving with such speed as to make her eyes water and steal her breath, and she loved every second.
The air grew colder around her and she slowed her ascent, leveling her wing strokes and angling herself more toward the ground as she drifted into a glide. From her position in the air she could see all of Canterlot and beyond, for miles in every direction, including Ponyville. Her eyes lingered on the distant town, thoughts turning to the prospect of simply flying away. As she circled the gardens, her mind attempted to make an argument for just leaving now that she was free.
She looked down at her mother, whose face was happier than Rainbow Dash had seen in a long time. With all of the usual worry and stress gone, the Duchess looked years younger. Rainbow spun in the air, rolling her body over in a simple display of aerobatics, and Persephone laughed and smiled even larger. The pegasus sighed and angled further toward the ground.
Rainbow Dash dove, speeding toward the ground at a breakneck pace. Her mother's screams fell on deaf ears, lost in the wind that roared past them. At the last possible instant, Rainbow spread her wings and pulled out of the dive, slowing down in just enough time to land in a gallop and stop just in front of her mother.
"That was incredible, Rainbow Dash!" Duchess Persephone yelled, throwing her hooves around her daughter and pulling her close.
Rainbow Dash just laughed a little, mostly at her mother's enthusiasm. "Yes, it was pretty cool, wasn't it?" she said, hesitating for just a moment before returning the hug.
Duchess Persephone pulled back. "Hm. 'Pretty cool' indeed. I would love to see you fly more often."
"I'd love to fly more often, mother," Rainbow said, looking at the leather belt on the ground.
Persephone followed her gaze. "Well, you simply cannot fly effectively without practice, can you? I suppose the belt will have to stay off, at least for the time being." She was smiling, but not as much as Rainbow was. "Also," she continued, "my schedule simply will not allow me to see you fly whenever you wish. It would certainly be prudent to allow you out of your room, under the close eye of a guard, of course, don't you think?"
Rainbow Dash was speechless. She pulled her mother back into a hug and squeezed, eyes watering with joy. "Thank you," she said.
"You're welcome, darling," Persephone responded before dropping her voice to a whisper. "And if you were to make a surreptitious visit to the servant quarters to see a certain orange mare while my back was turned, well, I suppose I would be none the wiser."
She pulled away from the hug, leaving Rainbow Dash with her eyes wide and her mouth opening and closing like a fish, searching for something to say. "You know?" finally left her lips.
Persephone laughed. "Of course I know, Rainbow. There's not a lot that goes on in the castle without me knowing about it. Don't worry, I won't say anything to anypony. As far as I'm concerned, the 'orange mare' is still in whatever village she came from."
"Ponyville," Rainbow Dash said.
Her mother only nodded. The sun was touching the horizon as the pair began the trek back across the lawn and through the castle to Rainbow Dash's room, Rainbow answering any and all questions that her mother asked about Applejack.
"I've let all the guards know about our arrangement," Persephone said when they had reached Rainbow Dash's room. "Any time you wish to leave, let the guard at your door know and they will accompany you wherever you wish to go."
Rainbow Dash nodded. An awkward silence stretched on for a time before Rainbow hugged her mother. "I love you, mother," she said. "It may not seem like it sometimes, but I need you to know that I do."
"I love you too, Rainbow," Persephone said as the hug ended. "As does your father. He's simply... misguided in his means. And please, be careful. There are some in this castle who would not care for your being with a servant, and not just your father."
Rainbow swallowed but didn't say anything. Persephone turned and left, calling back "good night" to Rainbow Dash as she retreated into her room.
The bed gave as Rainbow Dash flopped down onto it, contemplating her day. Her mother had been willing to reconcile, was even willing to help her see Applejack? She could still barely wrap her mind around it.
Then her thoughts went to Applejack. Rainbow wanted to rush to her right then and tell her about the good news, but going down to the servant quarters for any reason would seem suspicious. Applejack wouldn't have the day off for two more days anyway, and seeing her while she was working was too big of a risk to take.
Despite this, everything seemed to be falling into place for the couple, and now that they could go wherever they wished on the castle grounds, their day together would be that much better.
These thoughts followed her into her slumber, sighs of contentment escaping her lips as she drifted off to sleep. (*)
Two days later, Applejack's heart was racing. She stopped pacing in the small room she shared with Twilight and rested on her top bunk, only to jump back down and resume pacing a moment later. A quick glance at the small clock on the dresser told her that only a minute had passed since the last time she had looked. She sighed; she wasn't usually this impatient, but waiting for Twilight to come and take her to see Rainbow Dash was doing funny things to her head.
Her heart leaped into her throat as the clopping of hooves sounded outside the door. The entrance swung open to reveal the unicorn that was the source of Applejack's recent anxiety.
"Are you ready?" she asked.
Applejack leaned down and clenched the handle of the picnic basket between her teeth. "Ready," she mangled around the wicker.
Twilight let out a small giggle and turned around, leaving the room with Applejack close behind. They walked in silence, Applejack's thoughts focused solely on their destination and the mare she would be meeting there.
Their path took them through the servant quarters and threaded them through a series of hallways that took them straight to the large, gilded entrance hall. Standing beside the entrance was Shining Armor.
"Ready to see her?" he asked. Applejack just nodded, and Shining Armor pushed the doors open with his hooves, the enormous pieces sliding on oiled hinges.
Shining Armor led, with Twilight and Applejack not far behind, around the left side of the castle, taking them past fountains of gold and silver that glittered in the midday sun and across the lawn. Not too far in the distance, the walls of the hedge maze were coming into view, each side more than twice as tall as Applejack. A large tree jutted up from what Applejack guessed was the center of the labyrinth.
They came to the entrance, a gaping hole in the hedges that led to the confusing twists and turns within. Gamble was already waiting for them, remaining still in front of the gap until they were within earshot.
"Are we all set?" he asked, approaching after glancing in both directions. Shining Armor and Twilight looked at Applejack, who nodded.
"Do you remember the directions?" Twilight asked. Another nod from Applejack. "Well, you two enjoy your time. We'll be back at sundown."
Shining Armor and Twilight turned and left, and Gamble motioned toward the maze with his hoof. Applejack took a deep breath and went inside, Gamble stepping in front of the entrance behind her.
Left, right, left, straight, left, right, left, right, right, straight, right, left. Applejack repeated these directions in her head over and over, as she had been since Twilight recited them to her the day before.
Her heart was pounding in her chest; before, her meeting with Rainbow Dash had been so sudden to the point of almost being surreal. Now, there was buildup, as Rainbow Dash was waiting for her in the center of the maze. Each hoofstep made her breathing quicker, drowning her heart in nervous anticipation. An anxious, excited feeling had burrowed into her chest and stomach, and it wasn't entirely unpleasant.
The soft rustling of her hooves as they connected with the grass was deafening to her. She renewed her grip on the picnic basket, barely paying attention to the turns she was taking, having run through the directions in her mind so many times that she was operating on autopilot.
With only a few turns left, a soft breeze blew through the maze, carrying the sound of rustling leaves and the faint bubbling of a stream. As Applejack rounded the final corner, she was greeted with the center of the puzzle.
There was a grove in the middle of the maze. The space was big, much bigger than Applejack had been expecting, and was occupied by an enormous oak tree sprouting from the center. It hadn't seemed that large from outside the maze, but up close, Applejack could see that it soared high into the air, a tower in its own right, with deep brown spires that were adorned with emerald leaves.
Bubbling up from the ground on the far side of the grove was a spring of clear, blue water. Through the leaves of the oak, sunlight dappled the grass and, where it struck the water, shimmered more brilliantly than any of the fountains in the courtyard could hope to achieve. For Applejack, though, neither of these things were the most beautiful sight.
Rainbow Dash stood by the spring, head bent down as she took a long draught from the crystalline water. Her hair was loose and her wings were free, extending high into the air and catching the golden rays of the sun. Her eyes were closed, her forelegs were bent low, and her back legs were as straight as rods, leaving her rump high in the air.
Applejack stood, eyes fixed on Rainbow Dash and Rainbow Dash alone. The pegasus opened her eyes as she lifted her head from the water and, upon making eye contact, both mares' faces darkened with blush.
Rainbow Dash moved first, licking her lips as she moved toward the oak tree. Applejack shook herself from her reverie shortly after and made her own way to the tree.
Applejack set the picnic basket down but soon found her mouth occupied again by Rainbow's. The kiss was sudden and furious, but with a cool tinge to it from the spring water. Applejack returned the intensity, turning the kiss into an unspoken competition between the two mares, a contest in which neither was willing to give up any ground. Any time Applejack would advance, Rainbow Dash would parry her blow and counter with a jab of her tongue, only for Applejack to recover and bite gently on Rainbow's lip.
Soon, both ponies were red in the face and breathing heavily. Applejack pulled away first.
"Let's call it a draw," she said in between breaths.
"A draw?" Rainbow Dash said, raising her eyebrows. "I don't think so. I was definitely winning."
It was Applejack's turn to raise her eyebrows. "Is that so, little missie?" Rainbow Dash nodded, prompting Applejack to take a predatory step forward. "Then I think a rematch is in order."
Before Rainbow could react, Applejack had tackled her to the ground and pinned her hooves above her head, straddling her right at the base of the tree.
Applejack leaned down and pressed her lips against Rainbow's, taking every advantage the element of surprise granted her to probe her lover's mouth with her tongue. Rainbow Dash squirmed but didn't resist, eventually resigning herself to her fate. Or, at least, that was how it seemed to Applejack. As soon as the farmpony loosened her grip in the slightest, Rainbow flexed her wings and kicked with her hooves, bumping Applejack off of her. Rainbow rolled over and grabbed Applejack's forehooves with her own, pinning them in the same place her own hooves had been a moment before.
"Wow," Applejack said. Her lover's panting form above her was framed by the sunlight, sweat glinting on her coat and heat radiating from her body.
Rainbow Dash wasted no time, planting a few pecks on Applejack's lips before trailing kisses down to her neck, venturing lower at an agonizing pace. With her hooves planted above her, all Applejack could do was squirm as Rainbow tortured her with the deliberate slowness of her affections.
Applejack's eyes wandered to the picnic basket, and for some reason the thought crossed her mind that she didn't want to lose her virginity on an empty stomach.
"Maybe we should eat something," she suggested.
"That's just what I was thinking," Rainbow responded before continuing her ministrations.
Applejack stopped squirming as blush exploded across her face. Rainbow Dash froze, looking up at Applejack before blushing herself.
"That's not what you meant, is it?" she asked. Applejack shook her head.
Rainbow Dash released her captive and sat back on her haunches, averting her eyes. Applejack sat up, opened her mouth, then closed it again. The silence between the two stretched for miles.
"It's not that I don't want--" Applejack started.
"I'm sorry I--" Rainbow said at the same time.
They both stopped. "You first," Rainbow said.
Applejack sighed. "It's not that I don't want to do... that... with you, Rainbow, I just don't know if I'm ready yet." She scratched the back of her head with a hoof. "I'm not exactly experienced in this department."
Rainbow Dash nodded. "I know. I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me." Now she sighed. "When we're together, you're all I can think about, filling my mind with urges and ideas that are unbecoming of a pony of stature. But that's no excuse, and I beg your apologies for behaving so unladylike." She gave a small curtsy and bowed her head.
When she lifted her head, she was met with a soft, quick kiss from Applejack. "Ya'll need to lighten up some, sugar," Applejack said. "I forgive you, you were just goin' a little fast for me. Don't beat yourself up over it, okay?"
Rainbow Dash nodded. "Okay."
"Right, now I'm starving," Applejack said, going over to the picnic basket. "Let's eat." She leveled her gaze at Rainbow Dash. "Let's eat food."
Rainbow Dash blushed all over again, making Applejack laugh. Applejack seized the red-and-white checkered blanket covering the food with her teeth and yanked, spreading it across the grass and smoothing the wrinkles with her hooves. She got the main course out, daisy sandwiches and sliced apples, before revealing a bouquet of ruby red roses, almost identical to the ones they had eaten on the night of the Summer Sun Celebration.
"For dessert,"Applejack said before replacing them.
The two mares lay side-by-side, eating their sandwiches and feeding each other apple slices whenever the urge struck them. Once their meals were gone, they snacked on the roses, nibbling the buds one by one until the bouquet was gone.
Having finished eating, the two mares laid on the checkered blanket together, Applejack with her head leaning against the base of the tree and Rainbow Dash with her head resting on Applejack's chest. Their soft breathing was accompanied by the chorus of nature, birds chirping and water bubbling, and Rainbow listened to Applejack's rhythmic breaths and the thumping of her heart. Applejack's idle hoof wandered along Rainbow's side, caressing her soft coat.
After a time, Rainbow Dash spoke. "I won," she said.
"I'm sorry?" Applejack responded.
Rainbow Dash looked up at her. "Before, you said that it was a draw, but it wasn't. You pulled away first, so I won."
Applejack raised her eyebrows. "Well that just won't stand," she said. "I guess we'll have to have a rematch, then, now won't we?" Applejack narrowed her eyes at Rainbow Dash.
Applejack lunged forward, but only managed to grab air, as Rainbow had already darted away. In the next instant, Applejack found herself flat on her back with her hooves pinned at her sides.
"Looks like I win again," Rainbow said from above her before leaning in for a kiss.
After the kiss had finished, Applejack grinned. "Not quite." She kicked with her back legs and rolled over on top of Rainbow Dash, securing a dominant position on top.
She didn't hold this position for long. Rainbow Dash managed to roll over on top of Applejack again, but dominance did not remain on the hooves of only one mare for long. They rolled over and over, each fighting for control over the other and the one on top peppering the other with kisses whenever they got the chance.
Rainbow Dash bucked Applejack off entirely and Applejack took a step back, gasping for air and gulping when Rainbow narrowed her eyes at her like a predator. In a flash, Rainbow Dash charged forward and pushed Applejack up against the oak tree with her body, forcing both mares onto their hind hooves. Rainbow planted her forehooves on either side of Applejack and leaned in, pausing with their mouths only inches apart.
Rainbow Dash forced her lips onto Applejack's and was met with no resistance, only eagerness. Rainbow started moving her body in a slow, up-and-down motion, rubbing her heated body against Applejack. The musk of athletic sweat blended with the unmistakable scent of arousal and wafted through the air.
Applejack could feel a moisture on her leg, and she wasn't sure if it was from her or the mare pressed up against her. Rainbow Dash's lips made it hard for her to focus, and when Rainbow parted the kiss and started nibbling on Applejack's ear, it only got worse. Her legs turned into jelly and her mind fogged over.
Her previous objections were gone, washed away by her lover's tongue. Now she was being controlled by her nether region, and it was all she could do to keep from pouncing on Rainbow right then and there. Rainbow stuck her tongue in Applejack's ear and the farmpony let out an involuntary moan to go with the shiver that ran down her spine.
Applejack seized Rainbow Dash by the shoulders and pushed her back, wondering for a moment if her own eyes looked as hungry as the eyes across from her.
Now that she could think straight again, Applejack hesitated. She wondered if things were moving too fast, if she was ready for what would come next if she allowed it. It seemed so simple in all the romance novels that Rarity had convinced her to read, but now that she was in the moment, what was the right choice?
In a moment of complete lucidity, Applejack's brain rationalized the situation. She decided that she wanted this and, if Rainbow's behavior was any indication, she wanted it, too. Applejack had been fantasizing about this moment since they had met, and now that it was finally here, what was she waiting for?
"...Applejack?"
The hurt in Rainbow's voice snapped Applejack back to reality. Her eyes were cast down and she took a step back. Applejack wondered how long she had been just standing there, thinking. "I'm sorry," she said. "I lost my head again, and--"
She was cut off by Applejack's lips. "Blanket. Now." It wasn't a request.
"Are you sure ?" Rainbow asked.
Applejack could feel the heat radiating from between her hind legs. "I'm sure," she said, but Rainbow still seemed unconvinced. Applejack bowed her head. "Lady Rainbow Dash of the Royal Canterlot Household, I love you, and I would like the opportunity to show you just how much. Will you make love to me?" Rainbow smiled and nodded. (*)
They settled in, breathless and basking in their afterglow, with Rainbow Dash resting her head on Applejack's chest.
"That was the most amazing thing in the world, Applejack," Rainbow said. She looked up into Applejack's eyes. "Thank you."
Applejack kissed her. "It was my pleasure." She winked. "And you weren't half bad yourself." Rainbow Dash giggled.
They laid still for a while, listening to each other breathe. "I love you," Rainbow Dash finally said.
"I love you too, Rainbow."
Soon, Applejack heard a soft snoring. She chuckled a little and, noticing that there were still a few hours until sundown, rested her head on Rainbow's and closed her eyes, accompanied into her slumber by an immense love for the mare beside her. |
Star-Crossed | Quince | "Applejack."
Applejack was slow to wake. She ignored the nudging of her hoof and the sound of her name, instead attempting to snuggle closer to the mare in her hooves. She had her forelegs wrapped around Rainbow Dash, who was resting peacefully against her, and she never wanted to let go.
"Applejack!"
With a few slow, heavy blinks, Applejack opened her eyes to see Twilight Sparkle standing above her, framed by a sky alight with the orange of sunset.
Sunset.
Applejack sat up, disturbing Rainbow from her slumber. Sunset meant one thing: they had to go, and her and Rainbow would soon be separated again.
"What..." Rainbow Dash said, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "What's going on?"
Twilight sighed. "I hate to do this," she said, "but we have to go. We can't risk you all staying out here past sunset."
Applejack stood up, dislodging Rainbow Dash and drawing sleepy complaints from the pegasus. "We understand, Twilight," Applejack said. "You're only lookin' out for us, and we appreciate it." She elbowed Rainbow, who still looked half-asleep.
"Yeah," she muttered. "Appreciate..." She trailed off, head slumping down and soft snoring coming from her a moment later.
"Long day?" Twilight asked, looking at Rainbow Dash, who was now successfully sleeping while standing up.
Applejack blushed a little. "Yeah, you could say that." She grabbed Rainbow by the shoulders and shook her. Then she shook her harder. "Rainbow, time to wake up," she said, but Rainbow Dash shrugged her off. Applejack smiled at Twilight and then leaned down next to Rainbow's ear. "If ya'll ever want a piece of this again," she whispered, "you'll wake up right quick."
"What, what, I'm awake, I swear!" Rainbow Dash said, shaking her head to cast the sleep from her eyes.
"What did you say to her?" Twilight asked, arching her eyebrows.
"Oh, nothing," Applejack responded, smiling a smug little smile.
"Right..." Twilight said. "Anyway, we need to get going. Come on." She turned and started walking, gesturing for the other two mares to follow.
The two mares lagged further and further behind and, when they were out of earshot of Twilight, Rainbow leaned over to Applejack.
"You weren't serious about that, were you?" she asked.
Applejack laughed a little. "Of course not," she said.
Rainbow let out a sigh of relief. "Good," she said, which made Applejack laugh even more. Of course she wouldn't withhold herself; she had had just as much fun as Rainbow, maybe even more.
As they walked through the maze, Rainbow Dash leaned against Applejack, both mares softly nuzzling each other. Their pace became slower and slower, until a concerned look back from Twilight spurred the pair onward. The sun was almost behind the horizon, and they would have to hurry if they wanted to avoid suspicion.
They exited the maze and were greeted by Gamble, who, after making sure they were alone, approached the three mares. Applejack was amazed by just how big he was; he was twice her size, even bigger than Big Macintosh.
"You ladies enjoy your picnic?" he asked, his perpetual grin plastered on his face.
"It was wonderful," Rainbow responded, locking eyes with Applejack. She leaned in and was met with a kiss.
"From what I was hearin,'" Gamble continued, "dessert was pretty good, too." He winked at them, causing both mares to blush uncontrollably. Gamble let out a booming guffaw and put a forearm around each of them like they were old friends.
"Huh?" Twilight said, looking confused.
Gamble wiped a tear from his eye and stopped laughing long enough to speak. "It's nothing, Twilight," he said. "Don't worry about it." He released his captives and suddenly seemed all business again, though he was still smiling. "So, we all set?"
Twilight nodded and turned to Applejack. "I'm going to accompany Lady Dash back to her chambers. Are you okay getting back to the servant quarters by yourself?"
"Don't worry about me, Twi," Applejack said. "I'll find my way there."
They stood around for a long moment, nopony willing to initiate what would pull Applejack and Rainbow Dash apart once again. Finally, Applejack pulled Rainbow into a hug and gave her a kiss.
"I'll miss you," she said.
"We'll see each other soon," Rainbow responded.
Applejack reluctantly let the embrace dissolve and turned around, walking across the garden and back toward the front of the castle.
Having committed the route back to the servant quarters to memory, Applejack went on autopilot, thoughts focused on the wonderful day she had just had. The things they had done, not just the sex, but spending the day together, had been better than she could've hoped. When she had told Rainbow Dash she loved her, she had meant it, and she knew that Rainbow meant it, too.
The day had just ended, and Applejack already wanted to do it all again. She couldn't rid her face of the infectious smile that her happiness placed there, and her reflections occupied her all the way back to the hall leading to her and Twilight's room.
"Hey, wait up," came a voice from behind her.
Applejack turned and saw a stallion trotting up to her, and she stopped to let him catch up. He was tall and thin, a dull grey coat accented by the little bit of pitch-black mane that stuck out from under his chef hat. His cutie mark was what looked like a silver tongue.
"You're the new maid," he stated. "Applejack, right?"
"Yup," Applejack responded with a nod.
The stallion stuck his hoof out and flashed a winning smile filled to the brim with perfect white teeth. "I'm Quince. Nice to meet you, Applejack."
Applejack smiled and shook his hoof. "Likewise," she said.
"Listen, I'm gonna cut right to the chase," he said, leveling his gaze at Applejack. She regarded him, but allowed him to continue. "A bunch of the serving staff gets together once a week and has a little party. You know, plenty of drinking, sometimes ponies'll play music, just a fun little shindig to blow off steam and relax after a long day. I was just wondering if you wanted to join us tonight." His smile had faded a bit in intensity, but Applejack could tell he was used to having mares swoon over that toothy grin.
Applejack glanced toward her room. "I don't know," she said. "It's been a long day, and I wouldn't want Twilight to worry about me."
Quince snorted. "Don't worry about Twilight. She knows we have these little get togethers, and I'm sure she'll be able to put two and two together. She is the 'royal tutor,' after all." Applejack could hear the quotation marks around "royal tutor."
"Hey," Applejack said, narrowing her eyes, "Twilight's my friend, and I won't have anypony makin' sarcastic comments about her."
Quince held up his hooves in defense. "Sorry, it's just.... I've invited her a few times, but she always ignores me, racing past like she has somewhere more important to be. I guess she does, most of the time, it just seems a little rude, that's all. Didn't mean to offend."
Applejack nodded, but inside, her mind raced. Twilight had said that these ponies didn't trust the royalty, or even anypony associated with the royalty, and Applejack was about as close to one of the uppers as she could get. But what harm could it do to check it out? If things started to go downhill, she could just leave, and at least she would know not to go anymore.
"Alright," she relented, and Quince's smile grew a little larger.
"Great!" he said. "I'll be right back." He disappeared into a room and reappeared a moment later, minus one chef hat, and Applejack could now see that his black mane was cut short. He glanced both directions down the hallway, then said, "Follow me."
Quince walked all the way down to the end of the passageway, right next to Applejack's room, where two torch sconces hung on the wall. With another glance back, Quince reached up and pulled on one of the sconces.
The cobblestone wall in front of Applejack swung outward to reveal a shallow stone ramp. Quince smiled at Applejack's wide-mouthed expression, grabbed the other torch off the wall and ventured into the black maw that awaited them.
For a moment Applejack debated not following him, but her brave side won out and she took her first furtive steps into the darkness. She followed the torch light that danced along the walls until she caught up with Quince.
"What is this place?" Applejack asked.
"This passageway connects the servant quarters to the old dungeon," Quince explained as they walked. "Where we live now used to be the main dungeon, but it was repurposed awhile back. Now the whole thing's been moved to the other side of the castle and every entrance to the old one's been sealed up. Every entrance except this one, of course."
The conversation faded into silence, the clopping of their hooves on the hard stone the only sound accompanying them. The air grew colder as they descended and the torch started to flicker. Applejack could see her breath.
"How far down does it go?" she asked after a while.
"This far," Quince responded as the staircase ended and they came to a thick wooden door.
He put the torch in a sconce on the wall and grabbed the large ring that hung from the front of the door. He nodded toward the entrance. "A little help, please?" he requested.
Applejack put her front hooves on the door. "On the count of three," Quince said. "Ready? One, two, three!"
On three, both ponies pushed with all their might. The door moved slowly, swinging on ancient, creaking hinges, but soon it was all the way open.
The room behind the door was big, about as long as the hallway in the servant quarters but five times as wide. The room was well-lit, despite the absence of torches, and Applejack wondered how until she saw the magelights suspended in the corners of the room, no doubt controlled by the unicorns she saw in the crowd gathered a short distance away. From the looks of it, there were at least fifty ponies there.
Quince started forward and Applejack followed. There were dungeon cells lining the sides of the room, and shackles and manacles stuck stuck out from the walls, floor, and ceiling in a seemingly random fashion.
There were several large barrels on tables on the left, and a stack of mugs next to that. Most ponies in the crowd had a drink, and sounds of boisterous conversation and laughter greeted Applejack and Quince.
"Hey, Quince is here!" called one of the ponies in the crowd. As Applejack and Quince passed through, every pony in the room seemed to have a greeting for Quince. Some offered him drinks, some patted him on the back as he passed, and some just said hello, and he took the attention in stride, returning every greeting and shaking every hoof offered to him. He smiled and laughed, politely declining drink offers and making his way through the crowd like a celebrity.
Who is this pony? Applejack wondered.
Applejack stopped once she reached the other side of the crowd, but Quince left the group of ponies behind and approached a small wooden box that rested on the ground. He smiled out at the crowd, seeming to make eye contact with each one of the ponies present. Then, without breaking that contact, he stepped up onto the box, elevating him just high enough to see the entirety of his audience from his vantage point. Everypony went silent.
"Well, here we are again," he said. "You all know me, and I know all of you. In fact, everypony in this room is a familiar face. That is, everypony except one." Quince looked down at Applejack, and she could feel the eyes of fifty ponies prodding her from various directions. Despite herself, a hint of blush crept into her face.
"Come on up here and introduce yourself," Quince said, holding a hoof out to Applejack. She looked around, then looked back at Quince. "Yes, you," he said. She took his hoof and he pulled her up onto the box at the same time he stepped off, leaving her alone in front of the crowd.
"Uh... howdy," she said, nodding her head to the large group of ponies who were now staring at her. "I'm Applejack." Everypony in the crowd returned a "hello Applejack."
Quince stepped back up onto the box, leaving barely enough room for either of them to stand. "As I'm sure you've all heard," he said with a grand gesture of his hooves, "Applejack here is the pony who stood up for our poor Daisy when she was about to be punished by one of them." When he said "them," he looked up and nodded to the ceiling. "Not only is it impressive in and of itself that she stood up to one of the nobles, she did it on her very first day here, without being prompted and with nothing to gain." Quince leaned forward, and the whole crowd seemed to follow. "Out of the kindness of her heart, out of the goodness of her soul, Applejack helped a pony she had never met, who was about to be beaten and thrown into the dungeon by none other than that pony whom we all despise: Prince Blueblood." The venom dripping from Quince's voice as he said the name sent uncomfortable shivers down Applejack's spine.
The crowd erupted with boos at the mention of the hated prince's name. Quince, nodding, held his hoof up, and the uproar settled down almost immediately. Applejack marveled at the control this pony had over the rest of the servants.
"I know, I know," he continued. "Believe me, I feel your hatred, perhaps more than I care to admit." He started, then smiled. "But, but, my friends, this pony, this simple pony from the charming little hamlet of Ponyville, stood up for what was right. She has shown us that we can do it, it is possible to stand up to them, to stand up for what is right, to stand up, speak up, and finally be counted!" The crowd murmured its assent.
Quince was almost in a frenzy, so much so that he didn't notice when Applejack stepped off the soapbox. "Isn't that what we want, in the end? We want equality! We want to be treated the same as they treat each other. Not as inferiors, not as subservient creatures that they can push around and throw out when they're finished!"
"But what can we do?" came a call from the crowd. Other ponies nodded and looked back at Quince.
"What can we do!" Quince said, gesturing wildly out toward the crowd. "He asks what we can do! I'll tell you what we can do. We can continue this existence, living under the hooves of other ponies, never reaching our full potential. Or we can be like Applejack, stand up to these oppressors, show them what we are capable of, and take what we deserve! These ponies have taken our pride, have stolen our dignity, have forced us to wait on their every whim with no chance of gaining any social ground, and for what? Power fantasy? That may be part of it, but no. They do it for money.
"That's right, money! They treat us like dirt, like garbage, doing whatever they want to us, forcing our protests by the wayside, so they can keep their money. Money! That's all it comes down to! They don't care about treating all equines equally, they don't care about being kind, being decent, being friendly! They live in splendor, waited on every moment of every day, and by who? By us! We stand by and let this happen! We let them walk all over us, stealing the very things that make us equine in the first place!"
Applejack stepped back into the crowd, but Quince didn't seem to notice. In fact, nopony seemed to notice. Every pair of eyes in the room were fixed on the pony speaking from his soapbox.
"When the time comes, what will we do? Will we be servants, like we always have, retreating to our hole in the ground whenever they tell us to? Or will we stand up to them? Will we have the courage to be like Applejack, to be heroes, to be remembered for changing the way things are in Canterlot once and for all? I know I will. Who's with me?"
Quince, who was now breathing heavily, stuck his hoof into the air. Applejack watched from the back of the crowd. The tension in the air was palpable, the ponies who were hanging on Quince's every word waiting for him to continue. When he didn't, the spell he had cast on the crowd with his fervor seemed to dissolve.
"You're crazy," somepony yelled, shattering the silence.
"Come on Quince," said another, "why don't you have a drink?"
Applejack watched as the fire faded from Quince's eyes. His shoulders slumped and his jaw clenched, but then he returned almost instantly from his frenzied rally-speaking to his charming, everypony self.
"That sounds great," he said, his smile diminishing for only a second.
Quince stepped off the box and disappeared into the crowd, which slowly began to return to normal conversation. Applejack felt a little sorry for him, seeing the way the other servants treated something he believed so strongly in, but her sympathy was overruled by her desire to protect Rainbow Dash.
Applejack turned and prepared to leave, but was stopped by a hoof on her shoulder. She turned around to see a pale yellow earth pony mare with an azure mane that flowed freely around her face. Applejack knew she recognized her, and then it clicked: it was Daisy, the mare she had protected from Blueblood on her first day.
"Excuse me, Applejack?" she said, her voice soft and gentle, reminding Applejack af a certain pegasus she knew back in Ponyville.
Applejack smiled. "Howdy. Uh, Daisy, right?"
Daisy nodded. "I just wanted to thank you for standing up to Prince Blueblood for me. I never got the chance before, and I wanted to say that it was one of the bravest things I've ever seen."
"Aw, it ain't no big deal," Applejack said, blushing a little and rubbing the back of her neck with her hoof.
Daisy widened her eyes. "I don't think you understand. It may not be a big deal to you, but nopony in the castle stands up to Blueblood like you did. Even the other nobles fear him. I'm just glad he was in a caring mood that day; I don't know what I would've done if you had been punished on my behalf."
Applejack gulped. Even the other nobles were scared of Blueblood? Had she just been lucky that day? No wonder Twilight had been so quick to stop her.
"Well, I'm just happy to help," Applejack said.
Quince appeared in Applejack's peripheral vision, and he was rapidly approaching the two mares. "I see Daisy has introduced herself at last," he said, flashing that smile of his and making Daisy blush. Daisy squeaked something like "sorry gotta go bye" before rushing away. Quince gave a small wave before turning back to Applejack.
"So, how are you liking our little gathering?" he asked.
"It's, uh, nice, I guess," Applejack said, putting on her trademark plastic smile.
Quince smirked. "Has anypony ever told you you're a terrible liar?" he asked.
Applejack rolled her eyes, but inside her heart quickened. The last thing she wanted was to be caught in a conversation with a pony with such radical ideas of "change."
"Are you on board?" Quince asked suddenly.
"What?" Applejack asked, taking a small step backward toward the door.
Quince advanced the same distance. "Don't play like that. You know exactly what I'm talking about. Will you stand with me against our oppressors when the time comes?"
"What exactly do you mean by 'stand with you?'" Applejack asked, taking another step back.
Quince matched the step again. "I mean doing whatever needs to be done to achieve equality. Whatever needs to be done. When the time comes, I need your help. The whole thing falls apart without you."
Applejack stopped retreating and regarded Quince. "What do you mean? How can I be important; I just got here."
"Exactly!" Quince exclaimed, a little of the fire returning to his eyes. "All of the ponies who already live here, who are used to this life, don't want to change it. They think that nothing will come of standing up to the nobles. But you," at this he pointed at Applejack, "you don't think that. You've stood up to Blueblood, you are the pony I, we, need, a pony we can rally behind, and a pony we can believe in."
Applejack was reeling. Quince wanted her to become a symbol to these ponies, and all she wanted was to see Rainbow Dash. Her mind raced. If they did achieve equality, if what Quince was preaching really were possible, would Applejack and Rainbow Dash be able to be together, unimpeded by classist social stigma? She shook her head; Quince was talking treason, and Applejack wanted no part of it. Despite how nice the end goal might be, nothing short of a war would achieve it.
"I'm sorry, but I don't think I'm the mare you're lookin' for," she said.
Quince just nodded slowly. "I thought you might say that. Before you decide, will you let me tell you a story?"
Applejack chewed on her bottom lip for a moment before nodding. What harm could it do?
"Not here, though," Quince said. he started toward the door. "Come on."
Applejack followed. They journeyed back up through the cold passageway and reemerged in the servant quarters. Quince led Applejack to a room on the left and pushed the door open, going in and lighting the lantern before inviting Applejack in.
The room was almost identical to Applejack's; the same dresser, bed, and mirror stood around the room in the same spots. Quince closed the door behind them, pulled a small stool out from under the bed and offered it to Applejack, who sat down, before taking a seat on one himself. Applejack tried to relax, but the cramped space made it difficult.
He started with a long sigh, leaning back and running a hoof through his hair. "This story starts, like so many others, in the bustling city of Canterlot, capital of the Equestrian Empire. In this city live countless ponies, but I'll be talking about two orphans, brother and sister, whose parents died while they were still young, too young to remember. These ponies went from foster home to foster home, never staying in one place long enough to make any friends save for each other. All they had in the whole world was each other, and they always stuck together. The brother loved his sister, would've done anything for her, protected her from everything life tried to throw at them, and they always came out stronger for it.
"Then, it seemed like they had caught a break. They managed to secure jobs, as servants in Canterlot Castle. It seemed like the perfect gig; it was stable, food and lodging were provided, they could even room together. Everything fell into place, they worked diligently, and life was good for a while." Quince's eyes became unfocused.
"But it couldn't last. The brother made a mistake, a mistake that any other pony could've made, a mistake that shouldn't have mattered. And it wouldn't have mattered, if it weren't for who he offended. Prince Blueblood was not a forgiving pony, and when he thought his honor was tarnished, he would go to any lengths to right what he viewed as wrong.
"But simply punishing the brother wasn't good enough. The brother didn't mind; he had been getting into fights his entire life to protect his sister, and he could take a beating." Quince's face darkened. "So Blueblood found the brother's weakness, the one thing the brother couldn't live without and would give his life to protect: his sister."
Quince started spitting his words. "Blueblood, in his infinite cowardice, started punishing the sister, beating a defenceless mare just because it hurt her brother. But he took it too far. He beat the mare too badly, beat her into unconsciousness, beat her without mercy, without discretion, and she had to be hospitalized." Tears started forming in Quince's eyes. "Blueblood said he was sorry, apologized over and over again, but he didn't mean it. The brother could tell he was just saying it to ease his conscience, so he wouldn't have to feel guilty.
"The brother visited his sister every day, talked to her, tried to comfort her, but her condition never got better. She slipped into a coma, her brain irreparably damaged by Blueblood's cruelty. The doctors said they couldn't do anything for her, but the brother knew it was a lie. If it had been one of the nobles, they would've stopped at nothing to make them better, but no, it was just a lowly servant. Then, a few days later, she died. She was buried in a communal grave set aside specifically for servants who passed away. There was no funeral; the brother mourned alone."
Quince looked up and locked eyes with Applejack. He was trembling. "And do you know what happened to Blueblood, the pony that committed murder, the pony that killed an innocent serving mare for something she didn't even do? Nothing. He apologized, and the whole thing was swept under the rug. But the brother never forgot. He never forgave Blueblood, or the rest of the ponies who call themselves nobles, for what they did. They took his sister away, and he intends to give them exactly what they deserve."
The silence left by the end of the story was deafening, the look on Quince's face making Applejack want to run in fear and comfort him at the same time. She tried to imagine what it would be like to lose one of her siblings, but she couldn't comprehend that level of pain; it was too much.
"Promise me you'll think about my offer," Quince said. "Please." Applejack nodded, and Quince let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you."
Quince stood up and put the stools away before opening the door for Applejack to leave. She put a hoof on his shoulder on her way out, and he just looked at her.
Soon, Applejack was back in her room. It wasn't five minutes before Twilight showed up, bubbling with energy.
"So," she began, "tell me everything about your day. Lady Dash wouldn't say anything, and she told me to ask you."
Applejack just climbed up onto the top bunk. "Not now, Twi. Maybe tomorrow?"
Twilight's expression wilted, but she gave a somber nod. "Okay, tomorrow then."
Once both mares were safely in their beds, Twilight extinguished the lantern and cast the room in darkness. Applejack lay awake, listening to Twilight's soft breathing and thinking about Quince's story.
She didn't get very much sleep that night. |
Star-Crossed | A Rock and a Hard Place | Applejack opened her eyes and immediately closed them again, shielding them from the light of the lamp that hung from the ceiling. It took her a moment to remember where she was, and when she did, the whole previous day came flooding back to her. Rainbow Dash, the gardens, Quince, all of it.
"I thought farmers were always 'up with the roosters,'" she heard Twilight say with a small laugh.
Applejack only groaned in response. She didn't want to get up; the joy of her previous day with Rainbow had been tempered by Quince's story, and Applejack had had tremendous trouble falling asleep.
"Come on, Applejack, time to get up." Her tone was more serious this time.
Applejack sighed. She opened her eyes, attempted to rub the sleep from them, and hopped off the bed, narrowly avoiding Twilight on the way down. She sighed even harder when she remembered the maid outfit.
Twilight looked at her with concern. "I thought you'd be happy after yesterday," she said. "What's wrong?"
"It's nothin,' Twi, don't worry about it." Applejack opened the top drawer of the dresser and withdrew one of the lacy things contained within.
"Applejack, you're a horrible liar," Twilight stated. "What happened between the garden and here yesterday?"
Applejack stopped dressing and looked at Twilight. "Do you know a pony named Quince?" she asked.
Twilight gasped. "You didn't talk to him, did you?" Twilight asked. After a moment, Applejack nodded. "Please tell me you didn't go to one of his 'parties.'" Applejack nodded again. "He told you his story, didn't he?" Another nod.
"Did it really happen?" Applejack asked. "Did Blueblood really... you know... kill Quince's sister?"
"Yes," Twilight said. "It was terrible. I sympathize with Quince, I really do, but he can't be trusted."
"Why not?" Applejack asked.
Twilight sighed again. "He was never the same after Bella died. I wasn't very close with either of them, but even I could tell that Quince lost more than his sister to Prince Blueblood. Something about him was... off for the longest time. Then the talk of rebellion started."
"And what's so bad about that?" Applejack asked. "If'n ya ask me, things could use a change 'round here."
Twilight's mouth hung open. "Don't tell me you're thinking about joining him. He's a radical, and he's violent, and with your relationship with Lady Dash, do you really think that Quince would let you two off the hook just because you help him? He blames all of the nobles for what happened to Bella, even though most of them are good ponies." She shivered. "I've heard him speak more than once, Applejack, and I promise you that if he gets his way, he won't stop with just Blueblood."
Applejack gulped. What could she do? She couldn't put Rainbow in danger, but how could she stand by while that kind of injustice went on? And if there wasn't change, she and Rainbow Dash would have to hide their relationship forever.
"I guess you're right, Twilight," Applejack relented.
Twilight still didn't seem convinced. "So you won't talk to him anymore?"
"I'll do my best."
Twilight smiled. "Thank you, Applejack. I believe it's for the best."
"No problem, Twilight," Applejack responded. "Let's go take a bath." (*)
Applejack was on her knees, forehooves wrapped around the grainy wooden handle of a scrub brush. She pushed forward, then pulled back, over and over, scrubbing the floor of the hallway until it shone a glimmering white, clean enough to see her reflection. Her hooves were wet with sudsy water from the bucket next to her. Behind her, the glossy, freshly-cleaned floor stretched the length of the hallway. Her eyes were fixed on the brush, though she wasn't really seeing it. Her mind was elsewhere, as it always was when she performed a task that required little attention. Specifically, she was dwelling on Quince, and the things Twilight had said about him.
She flip-flopped back and forth as her mind wrestled for an answer to the questions she had. Twilight was her friend, without whom none of what Applejack and Rainbow Dash had would be possible, and Applejack wanted so badly to listen to her and dismiss Quince. The more she thought about it, however, the harder the decision became.
Twilight was so used to this existence, so desensitized to what happened in the castle that she was almost blind to it. Applejack had been raised to know the difference between right and wrong, and some of the things that were going on were definitely wrong. Twilight had lived here much longer than Applejack had, but that only seemed to cloud her judgement.
The cleaned portion of the floor grew larger and larger as Applejack thought.
Then there was Quince. If anypony had a reason to hate the nobles, it was him, and that alone scared Applejack. How far was he planning to go if Applejack helped him? If things got out of hand, if somepony got hurt, she would be to blame. But without him, things would never change. The nobles would continue doing what they were doing unless somepony did something about it. No.
She pushed the thoughts from her mind. She had no reason not to trust Twilight, and every reason not to trust Quince; it would be too dangerous to help him. Twilight had never let her down, and loyalty was something Applejack valued in a friend.
These thoughts kept her complete attention, at least until she nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a hoof on her shoulder. She turned to see Daisy, who was looking at her with a frightened look in her eyes.
"I'm sorry!" Daisy exclaimed. "I said your name a few times, but you didn't respond, so I touched you. I didn't mean to scare you."
"Don't worry about it, Daisy," Applejack said, picking herself up. "I was just a little... preoccupied, is all." They stood in silence for a moment. "Was there something you needed me for?" Applejack asked.
"Oh!" Daisy blushed a little. "Yes, sorry. Quince wants to talk to you again."
Applejack tensed. "What for?"
"I don't know, I didn't ask, but it sounded important. Do you want me to tell him you can't?"
Applejack regained her composure. What could one more talk hurt? She could explain to Quince that she couldn't help him. She was sure Twilight wouldn't mind.
"No, that's fine. Did he say where?"
Daisy bit her lip. "Um, in his room. He said he'll be free after dinner."
"Tell him I'll be there." Applejack returned to her scrubbing.
"Applejack?"
Applejack returned her gaze to Daisy. "Yeah?"
"You and Quince aren't..." She trailed off, blush deepening.
Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Aren't what?"
"Nevermind, it's stupid." She started to walk away.
Then Applejack remembered how Daisy had acted around Quince at the speech, and it dawned on her. "Are ya'll askin' if me and Quince are together?" Daisy averted her eyes. "No, Daisy, I'm seein' somepony else. Trust me, he's all yours."
A dainty smile returned to Daisy's face. She nodded, turned away, and left.
Now free from distractions, Applejack scrubbed with renewed vigor. The storm in her thoughts was quelled, at least for the time being, by her plans to talk to Quince. Everything would be fine once she explained how things were. It had to be. (*)
Applejack glanced left, then right, then left again, before venturing out into the hallway. She had just finished her chores for the day and put her outfit away in her and Twilight's room, feeling an unexpected relief when she found that Twilight was not there. Applejack had found herself hoping that she wouldn't have to see Twilight until after she had talked to Quince.
Once the coast was clear, Applejack crossed the hall to Quince's room, lifting her hoof and knocking three times.
"Come in," came the voice from the other side.
Applejack pushed the door open and went inside. The room looked the same as it had the last time she had been there, as if nopony had even been living in it. The bed was immaculate, everything was in place, and there was even a stool waiting for her to sit on, across from where Quince himself was sitting.
"Applejack," he said with his toothy grin, "what a pleasant surprise." He gestured to the stool. "Please, have a seat."
Applejack closed the door behind her and sat. "I heard ya'll wanted to talk to me," she stated.
"Yes," Quince responded, never taking his eyes off Applejack. "I was wondering if you had given any more thought to my offer."
"I have," Applejack said with a nod, "and I don't think I can help you. I'm sorry, but I just can't."
Quince's smile faded for an instant and a dangerous anger flashed behind his eyes, but he regained his composure in the next second. "Why not, if you don't mind me asking?"
Applejack sighed. "I just don't think it's the right way. I mean, you're talking about uprising, riots in the streets, but do you really think that's gonna achieve anything?"
Quince started. "Of course! It's going to achieve everything!" He took a deep breath. "The only way change is going to happen is if somepony instigates it. The way things are now isn't working. It's not just the servants in the castle; I've been all around Equestria, and the ruling class overpowers the common pony everywhere. I have contact with ponies in Trottingham, Manehatten, Detrot, and countless other cities, and they all tell me the same thing: things need to change."
"Well, things aren't like that in Ponyville," Applejack offered.
Quince raised his eyebrows. "But you feel the effects!" he exclaimed. "Your mayor doesn't regulate taxes; the aristocrats in Canterlot do, the ponies you now serve every single day. You may think you're safe when you're off the map, but trust me, they still get to you. Think about it. With the harvest you pull in every season, how much do you think you should be making? What about with cider? Do you not think it's strange that you can be so productive and see so few bits? How is it possible that you run one of the largest apple farms in central Equestria and yet you still live in near-poverty?"
Applejack opened her mouth, but nothing came out. The things he was saying made sense, no matter how much she didn't want to admit it. Then a thought occurred to her.
"How do ya'll know so much about me?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.
Quince shrugged. "If I'm going to be working with a pony, I do my research."
Applejack didn't know what to believe. On the one hoof, everything Quince was saying made sense, and he said them with such confidence in their truth that she found herself wanting to agree with every word. On the other hoof, her life in Ponyville had seemed just fine before he had made her think about it, and, if she did work with him, what would that mean for Rainbow Dash?
Applejack slumped her shoulder. "I just can't, Quince," she said. "I don't want to be involved with anything like this." She stood up and moved to the door. "I'm sorry."
"It doesn't work without you, Applejack," Quince said. "If you back out, the whole thing, all these ponies have worked for, all they're hoping for, falls apart. Please consider that before you make your decision."
Applejack stopped with the door cracked open. "I'm sorry," she repeated. Then, she left.
Quince allowed her to go without objection, which Applejack was grateful for; he had already given her enough to think about.
Back in her room, Applejack crawled into bed. She tried to explain Quince's arguments away, but they tormented her thoughts. How was she supposed to decide what to do? What was right? She knew what Twilight would say, but what about Rainbow Dash? Surely she was discontent enough with the nobles to speak out against them, right? Things seemed to be in a bad way in Canterlot, and, if the things Quince said had any truth to them, in the rest of Equestria as well.
Part of her wanted things to go back to how they were; she had been content on the farm, bucking apples and minding her own business. Why did things have to get so complicated? She had led a simple life, with simple goals, and she had been happy.
But another part knew that that was selfish. If bad things were happening, and Applejack had the power to stop them, shouldn't she do all she could? She wanted to help these ponies, but how? With Quince? But what would that lead to?
She tossed and turned in her bed, unable to get comfortable. How was she supposed to know what to do? What would be better--to be ignorant and happy, or to suffer for a greater future and risk failure?
She had a lot to think about. (*)
"Are you okay, Applejack?"
Applejack shook herself back to the present, noticing the other mare wrapped in her hooves for what seemed like the first time. They were lying in the center of the maze again, Applejack's next day off having finally come.
"What?" Applejack responded.
Rainbow Dash regarded her. "You seem a little... off. Is everything okay?"
Applejack smiled a smile so large that it didn't seem like her face should be able to fit it on her head. "Of course," she lied.
"Please don't lie to me," Rainbow responded. "If something's the matter, I want you to tell me."
Applejack sighed. "I'm sorry, Rainbow, I've just had a lot on my mind lately."
"Like what?"
Applejack shook her head. "I don't wanna talk about it, okay?"
Rainbow Dash looked into Applejack's eyes. "You can tell me anything, Applejack. Come on, I want to know."
Applejack bit her lower lip. "You promise you won't get mad?"
Rainbow Dash scrunched her face up in a way that Applejack found adorable to no end. "I can't promise that."
"Can you promise you'll try?"
Rainbow Dash nodded. "I promise."
Applejack paused for a long moment before continuing. "There's this other servant, a pony named Quince, and he's been goin' around trying to start up some kinda rebellion to overthrow the nobles."
Rainbow Dash nodded again. "Yeah, Twilight's told me about him. She says that he never gets enough ponies to follow him, so I shouldn't worry about it." She eyed Applejack. "You're not thinking of joining him, are you?"
"Nothin' of the sort," Applejack responded, "but I just can't seem to get his arguments out of my head. He makes some good points about why things 'round here need to change."
Rainbow Dash flared her nostrils. "But you're sure you won't help him?"
"Well, I considered it, but--" She trailed off.
"What!?" Rainbow interrupted. "I know you probably think he's trying to help, Applejack, but rebellion is not the way to do it."
"To be honest," Applejack responded, "I thought you'd be a little more sympathetic. You don't seem to have any love for the royals, either; just look at your dad!"
Rainbow Dash shook her head. "Do you really think that if a revolution were started Quince would make that distinction? He'd throw me in with the rest of them, and you're thinking of joining him?"
Applejack stomped her hoof. "I said 'but,' didn't I? Of course I'm not gonna help him, but that don't mean certain things he said didn't make sense."
Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes. "Like what?" she challenged.
"Like the way servants are treated around here," Applejack responded. "I doubt you've noticed, but we don't exactly have it great. We live in old dungeons, wait on the royalty's every whim, and get treated like dirt!"
Rainbow Dash bit her lip. "I know," she relented. "I know it's bad, Applejack, but it's the way things have to be."
Applejack narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"
"Twilight always explained it to me like a beehive," Rainbow said. "Without the queen, the worker bees have no purpose, no direction, and without the workers, the queen would die. The upper class and the lower class are both necessary; things are like this for a reason."
Applejack stood up. "Well, even if I did believe that that was the only way it could be, that still don't justify murder."
Rainbow's eyebrows shot up. "What?"
"Twilight didn't tell you?" Applejack asked. Rainbow shook her head. "Quince's sister was killed by Blueblood. Killed, Rainbow! And he wasn't even punished for it. If that don't mean things need to change, then I don't know what does."
Rainbow Dash was about to say something, but her words caught in her mouth. "She was... killed? Are you sure?"
Applejack nodded. "Twilight said the same thing. And Blueblood wasn't even punished for it. I won't help Quince, but you can't deny that things need to change 'round here."
"I suppose," Rainbow relented. There was an awkward silence. Rainbow Dash kicked the ground.
Applejack swallowed. "I'm sorry I yelled," she finally said, shattering the quiet.
"I'm sorry, too," Rainbow responded. "Forgive me?"
Applejack nuzzled her. "Of course."
The nuzzling quickly became kissing, but it was difficult for Applejack to put Quince out of her mind, and her time with Rainbow Dash suffered because of it. Her doubts were always there, drawing her attention away. She could tell Rainbow Dash was thinking about something as well; both parties were distracted, and they eventually decided on simply lying together in the shade until it was time to return to the castle. (*)
When they left the maze, only Gamble was waiting for them
"Where's Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked.
Gamble shrugged. "Haven't seen hide nor hair of her all day."
"She said she would be at the library all day," Applejack said. "Somethin' about a new spell, I think."
Rainbow Dash nodded. Something didn't sit right with her, but she pushed it out of her mind.
A few minutes later, after the lovers had been reluctantly separated, Rainbow Dash was returning to her room, accompanied by Gamble. The sun dipped to the horizon, bathing the sky in bright oranges and reds.
The things Applejack had spoken of distracted Rainbow from the journey. She knew things were bad, but murder? She could hardly believe that Blueblood had killed a pony and not been punished for it, no matter how important he was.
"Are you alright, Lady Dash?" Gamble asked. "You look like you've got a lot on your mind."
"Hm?" Rainbow responded, drawing herself from her reverie. "Yes, it's nothing, don't worry yourself."
"Aw, come on," Gamble responded with a smile. "You can tell me if something's bothering you. I'm a great listener."
Rainbow Dash regarded the jovial pony, but he seemed sincere. She sighed. "Are things... fair for the servants here in the castle, Gamble?"
Gamble swallowed hard. "Of course! The nobles are fair and just and give the servants the best life they could have."
"You're just saying that, aren't you?"
Gamble glanced back and forth down the hallway, but there was nopony there. "Sadly, yes," he said, lowering his voice. "Things are typically alright for the guard, and most of you folk are okay, but a few bad apples can spoil the whole bunch."
Rainbow Dash laughed some despite herself. "That sounds like something Applejack would say."
Gamble let out a hearty, booming laugh. "Indeed it does, Lady, indeed it does."
"Could you name a few of the 'bad apples?'" Rainbow asked. Then, "discretely, of course."
Gamble looked around again. "Well, that Blueblood fellow, for one."
"Yes, I've heard stories," Rainbow Dash responded. "Is it true he killed somepony?"
Gamble nodded. "Aye, it is, Lady. Most ponies in the castle avoid the subject. It's a rather sensitive spot for the prince, so I wouldn't go spouting the news about."
"Spouting what news about?"
The voice came from behind them, and gave Rainbow Dash chills. She and Gamble froze just before the stairs and spun around to see Prince Blueblood approaching them.
"Nothing, your highness," Gamble said. "Just some mindless gossip."
Blueblood let out an excited shiver. "Oh, I love gossip. Tell me, what's the latest news around the castle?"
Gamble gulped and glanced to Rainbow Dash, and Blueblood followed his gaze.
"Actually," the prince continued, "I think I'd rather hear it from the Lady Dash's mouth." He leaned in. "I'm dying to know what you two were talking about just now."
Even at a distance, Rainbow Dash could smell the alcohol on his breath.
"Like Gamble said," Rainbow Dash said, unconsciously leaning back, "just mindless chatter. Nothing that would be fit for a prince's ears."
Gamble nodded furious assent. "She's right, your highness, it was--"
"You will speak when spoken to," Blueblood interrupted, choking off Gamble's words without ever taking his eyes off of Rainbow Dash. "In fact, why don't you leave us?"
"I've been assigned to guard Lady Dash at all daylight hours by Duchess Persephone," Gamble said, "and I intend to do so."
Now Blueblood turned to face him. "Did you just disobey a direct order from your prince?" He moved over to Gamble and stuck his snout in the guard's face. Despite Gamble's immense size, he seemed dwarfed by Blueblood, the prince's presence appearing to lend him a volume beyond his own. "May I remind you," he spat, "that I am your crown prince, and my authority outweighs the Duchess Persephone's, and certainly outweighs yours, you trained dog."
Gamble locked eyes with Blueblood, but the fear was evident in his face. "Yes, your highness."
"Then I advise you to follow my orders and leave us before something... unpleasant... happens."
After an eternal moment, Gamble bowed his head. "Yes, your highness."
Blueblood smiled a smug grin. "Off you go, then. I will accompany the Lady Dash back to her quarters."
"Yes, your highness," Gamble repeated before departing, casting one last apologetic look back to Rainbow Dash before he disappeared out of sight.
"Now," Blueblood continued, "allow me to escort you back to your chambers."
Rainbow Dash wanted nothing more than to say no, but defying Blueblood would mean the dungeon or, if what Applejack and Gamble had said was true, maybe worse.
Rainbow nodded and started walking with Blueblood up the stairs. She could feel his eyes on her as they walked, probing her, wandering up and down her body, sizing her up like a piece of meat. She kept her own eyes facing forward.
"You know," Blueblood finally said, "you've grown into a fine young mare, Rainbow Dash." Rainbow said nothing, and Blueblood stopped walking, forcing her to do the same. "When I give you a compliment," he said, all jovial countenance disappearing from his face, "I expect you to accept it with grace."
Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth. "Thank you, your highness."
Blueblood smiled again, reminding Rainbow Dash of a snake. "That's better." They resumed walking. "In fact, I may even dare to say that you are the most beautiful noblemare in the entirety of Canterlot."
"Thank you, your highness."
They reached the floor which housed Rainbow's room and made their way into the hall.
"Which is why," Blueblood continued as they reached Rainbow's quarters, "I plan on taking you as my bride."
Rainbow's mouth dropped open, making Blueblood chuckle.
"Yes, I understand that it is an exciting prospect to marry a prince, but please, compose yourself. It is unladylike to behave in such a way."
Rainbow Dash's brain stopped working. Of all the things that could happen, this was one of the worst. She couldn't deny Blueblood and expect to keep her freedom, but what about Applejack? Rainbow couldn't just leave her.
"I... I don't..." Words just wouldn't come to her.
Blueblood chuckled again, and Rainbow Dash wanted to hit him. "Well, I didn't expect you to be speechless. I believe the words you're looking for are 'yes, your highness.'" He leaned down close to her. "That is, unless somepony else had claimed your affections?"
He flashed his teeth and Rainbow's blood went cold. He couldn't possibly know about Applejack, could he? No, they had been too careful. Right?
Rainbow Dash swallowed and opened her mouth. "Your highness, I... I'm not sure I'm ready for marriage." She just had to get away from him, give herself time to figure something out. She took a step toward the door.
Blueblood moved around her and put himself in her way. "I believe you are."
"Sincerest apologies, your highness," Rainbow said, "but it is my lowly opinion to disagree. You see, I--"
"I grow tired of your objections," Blueblood interrupted, furrowing his brow. "You will marry me, is that clear?"
"Your highness, I don't think--"
Blueblood stomped. "I do not care what you think!" Rainbow Dash froze, afraid to incite Blueblood's anger further. He gathered his wits. "I will give you a choice: either you marry me and retain your freedom, or you refuse and spend the rest of your days rotting in the palace dungeons. Which will it be?"
"You can't do that!" Rainbow shouted, indignant.
"I can do whatever I want, and the sooner you learn that, the easier your life will become."
Rainbow opened her mouth to object further, but the maelstrom of cold fury in the prince's eyes choked her words off. She slumped her head; there was no other option. "Yes, your highness, I will marry you."
Blueblood's grin returned, wider than ever. "Excellent," he said, the frightening anger within him having completely dissolved.
It was then that Duchess Persephone approached.
"I," Blueblood said, "the lovely duchess graces us with her presence."
Persephone didn't miss a beat. "Your highness, it is I who should feel graced." She curtsied. "I heard some shouting. Is everything alright?"
"More than alright," Blueblood said. He stepped over to Rainbow Dash and put his foreleg around her. "I have just proposed marriage to your lovely daughter, and I am happy to report that she accepted."
The duchess's eyes went wide, but she quickly composed herself. "Is that so? Well, that is wonderful news indeed."
Silence reigned.
"Well," Blueblood said, "I suppose, now that my business has been concluded, I will take my leave of you."
He held his hoof out and closed his eyes. Duchess Persephone leaned down to kiss it, but stopped midway.
"Your highness, are you alright?" she asked. "There appears to be blood on your hoof."
Rainbow looked and saw that there was indeed several red speckles on Blueblood's hoof.
Blueblood cleared his throat and examined the hoof in question. "That is merely sauce from dinner," he asserted. "I assure you, I am quite alright."
He resumed the position and Duchess Persephone kissed his hoof. Rainbow Dash eyed the prince's limb as if it were a snake.
It certainly is attached to one, she thought.
The duchess nodded toward Blueblood's hoof and widened her eyes at Rainbow, who, with purposeful and complete lack of enthusiasm, planted the shortest possible kiss on the royal appendage.
Blueblood smiled. "Good evening, ladies." He turned to Rainbow Dash. "I look forward to making the arrangements."
Rainbow remained aloof, turning the prince's smile sour as he turned and left.
Once he was gone, Persephone took her daughter by the foreleg and led her into her chambers.
"What is he talking about?" she asked. "Did you truly agree to marry that... that..." She took a deep breath. "Why?"
"I had no choice!" Rainbow shouted. Now that Blueblood was gone, her emotions welled up inside. She fluttered up into the air. "He threatened to lock me up in the dungeon! I had to accept." Her wings stopped beating and she collapsed onto her bed. "What am I going to do? What will I tell Applejack?" She flopped onto her back.
"I don't know," the duchess said, "but I'm sure you will figure something out. Perhaps if we find the prince another bride."
Rainbow Dash shook her head. "That won't work. I don't think he actually wants to marry me; as we spoke, he asked me if my affections had been taken by another pony. The way he said it..." She sat up and looked at Persephone. "Mother, I think he knows about Applejack."
The duchess gulped. "Well, then there's nothing we can do."
"What?" Rainbow stood up. "We have to try something."
Persephone shook her head. "I'm sorry, Rainbow, but if the prince knows about your activities and has claimed you as his bride, there is nothing we can do. As prince, Blueblood is entitled to marry whomever he chooses; that's just the way it is. I thought that, as risky as it may seem, you would be able to get Applejack to leave, to protect her, but if Blueblood knows..."
Tears started to form in Rainbow's eyes as she fell back down on her bed "Could things get any worse?"
As if in answer, the door burst open and a pony wearing a nurse's outfit came in. She curtsied.
"Lady Dash, your presence is requested in the infirmary."
Rainbow sat up. "The infirmary? Why?"
"Have you not heard?" the nurse asked. Rainbow shook her head. "Your tutor, Twilight Sparkle, was found quite injured in the east wing a few hours ago."
Rainbow Dash just stared.
"She has only just woken up," the nurse continued, "and is requesting to see you. We normally wouldn't grant a servant's request, but she insists that you will come see her."
"Take me to her," Rainbow Dash said.
The nurse looked stunned that Rainbow was humoring her servant. "Lady?"
"Now!" she commanded.
"Yes, Lady Dash," the nurse said, curtsying again. "Right this way."
The nurse turned and left. Rainbow Dash barely noticed anything as she blew past her mother, maintaining just enough connection with the world to keep up with the nurse.
Her outward demeanor was calm, but inside, a tempest raged. How could so many things be going wrong at once? What had happened to Twilight? What would happen to her and Applejack?
Before she knew it, Rainbow Dash had arrived at the infirmary.
Everything was white; the walls were white, the floor was white, the sheets were white, and it seemed like the only things that weren't white were the ponies. Beds lined the walls, each with a tough-looking pillow and scratchy blanket, but few were occupied. Rainbow Dash had never been to the infirmary; whenever the nobles took ill, they were treated in their rooms. There were cabinets with various medical instruments in them on the walls.
In the back corner, there was a small crowd of servants gathered near a bed.
"She's in the back," the nurse said.
Rainbow Dash nodded and made her way there. As she approached, the crowd parted to allow her through. She saw Applejack standing at the bedside, staring intensely at Twilight.
Rainbow Dash followed her gaze and gasped.
Twilight's face was in ruins. Even with the color her coat was, it was obvious that her face was severely bruised. Large purple splotches covered her head and neck; both of her eyes were swollen shut; there were small, angry cuts on her forehead and jaw, and her breathing was shallow and uneven.
Everything was so surreal. Rainbow Dash felt detached from her body, like she was dreaming. Twilight didn't have an accident; she had been beaten, and badly. Rainbow Dash thought she could make out hoofmarks at the centers of the bruises.
When she stepped up to the edge of the bed, she got only an eye movement's worth of acknowledgement from Applejack. Twilight, however, turned to face her.
"Lady Dash," she said, her voice hoarse and weak. "You came."
"Of course I did, Twilight," Rainbow Dash said, reaching deep within herself to pull a smile to the surface. "What happened to you?"
Twilight gulped, wincing with the effort. "I... fell down the stairs."
"No, Twilight," Rainbow responded, "I mean, what really happened. Did one of the other nobles beat you? You can tell me; I promise I won't allow them to get away with this."
Twilight looked like she was on the verge of saying something, but she stopped. Her eyes flicked past Rainbow Dash.
"What is it, Twilight?" she asked.
The hair on her neck stood on end. She turned around, following Twilight's gaze. There, standing behind her, was the imposing figure of Prince Blueblood. All the servants groveled before the prince, including Applejack.
"What are you doing here?" Rainbow asked.
"My my," Blueblood responded, "such fire. That will have to be quelched if we are to be wed, my darling."
Rainbow Dash could feel Applejack tense up behind her. "You didn't answer my question."
Blueblood's demeanor darkened. "If you must know, I was the one who found this mare in the east wing earlier this afternoon." He looked past Rainbow Dash at Twilight. "Poor, miserable creature. She waited, broken and battered, at the bottom of the stairs for somepony to find her. What a cruel twist of fate." Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes. "Rise," Blueblood commanded the servants. Like trained animals, they all stood as one, all eyes fixed on the ground.
Rainbow Dash turned back to Twilight.
"Now, darling," Blueblood said, sidling up beside her and making her muscles tense. She suppressed the shiver that tried to run down her spine. "This cold behaviour is no way to treat you betrothed, now is it?"
Rainbow Dash said nothing. How could she? She just stood and stared, trying to figure out where everything went wrong.
Blueblood put his forearm around her in a display of affection, his hoof resting just on the edge of her peripheral vision. It was the same hoof she had been forced to kiss earlier, same red speckles and all.
Then, it all came together.
Twilight becoming wary when Blueblood entered, the red on his hoof, his story about "finding" Twilight. It was all a lie. Blueblood had beaten Twilight. Rainbow didn't know why, but she was going to find out.
Rainbow Dash turned to Blueblood, who's toothy grin made her want to hit him. "Can I talk you you out in the hallway, dear." She spat the last word.
"Of course, darling," Blueblood responded, his facade not fading for a second. He tried to leave first, but Rainbow Dash cut him off, forcing him to trail behind her. She didn't know what she was going to say or do, but she was certain of one thing: she couldn't let Blueblood get away with this.
Once they were out in the hall, Rainbow Dash turned to face Blueblood.
"What's on your mind, darling?" he asked.
"Stop calling me darling!" Rainbow shouted, her nostrils flaring. It wasn't what she was really angry about, but she was ready to explode over anything. "I'm not your pet, and I don't want to marry you!"
Blueblood's demeanor intensified. "You will do well to watch your tongue."
"And what if I don't, huh? Are you going to throw me in the dungeon? Or are you going to beat me," she gestured to the infirmary, "like you did that innocent mare in there?"
"What are you talking about?" Blueblood asked. "She fell down the stairs."
Rainbow Dash scoffed. "Those wounds don't come from falling down stairs! How do you explain the blood on your hoof? I know you did it, and I want to know why."
Blueblood's eyes darted to his hoof, then back up to Rainbow Dash. "You want to know why?" She nodded. "I've seen you, skulking about the grounds, taking roundabout routes to remote destinations. You gained your freedom from your mother, and with your father gone, you were able to do whatever you wished. I knew you were up to something, so I decided to ask your ever-faithful friend Twilight Sparkle about your... activities."
"No..." How much had Twilight said?
Blueblood grinned pure malice. "Oh, yes. After a little... coaxing... she let slip that you've been romantically involved with one of the servants." He looked dejected. "It's a shame she lost consciousness before she revealed who it was." He recollected himself. "No matter. It's not as if you'll be seeing them anymore."
Rainbow Dash wanted to cry, but she wanted to hit Blueblood even more. "Why?" she asked.
"Why?" Blueblood thought for a moment. "Because I want what I can't have." He leaned down and spoke into her ear. "Now I want you, Rainbow Dash, and I'm a pony who gets what he wants."
"Is that why you killed that mare?" Rainbow asked. "Because you wanted something?"
Blueblood went still. A heavy silence hung in the air like a blanket, seeming to last for an eternity. Blueblood pulled back, his face icy and emotionless.
Rainbow Dash didn't even have time to register the blow before she was on the ground, reeling from its force. She caught herself with her forelegs. Her face stung and her ears rang; tears began to form in her eyes. She looked up at Blueblood, looming over her like an idol.
"I promise, I will find your precious servant," he said. "And when I do, I'm going to do things to them that I guarantee will make sure you never step out of line again."
Without another word, Blueblood turned and left, the empty sound of his hooves on stone the only sound accompanying him.
A crowd of the servants who had been with Twilight stood at the entrance to the infirmary, looking unsure of what to do. Applejack was at the forefront and, when Rainbow Dash saw that she was about to try and help, she made the slightest shake of her head. They couldn't risk anything, not with Blueblood on their trail.
One of the nurses pushed through the crowd.
"Lady Dash!" she exclaimed, rushing over to help Rainbow up. She had heard the shouts, and had the good sense not to ask what had happened. "Would you like an escort back to your room?"
Rainbow Dash nodded, and the nurse picked a random servant to take Rainbow back to her quarters. It wasn't Applejack. They were was silent all the way back to her room. (*)
Applejack couldn't believe what she had seen. Everything had gotten out of control in so little time. Twilight looked like she had been on the receiving end of a trampling; Rainbow Dash and Blueblood were apparently engaged; and, worst of all, Rainbow couldn't even explain anything to her until they could meet again.
She didn't know how to feel. She was worried about Twilight, but what about Rainbow and Blueblood? How long had that been arranged? Had Rainbow Dash been leading her on this whole time, knowing that she was going to marry Blueblood? It was hard not to think so.
All of the servants who had gone to see Twilight heard the end of the argument between Dash and Blueblood, so they all knew what had really happened to the tutor. Did Rainbow really consent to marry such a brute?
Then, Applejack saw Blueblood hit Rainbow Dash, and it all became real.
What he had done to Twilight, what he had done to Rainbow Dash, it all had to stop. There was only one way that Applejack could think of to make that happen.
She left the infirmary shortly after Rainbow Dash. Twilight had fallen asleep again, granting Applejack the chance to leave. She went back to the servant quarters, walking as fast as she could without drawing attention to herself and taking the stairs down two at a time.
She blew past her room, instead making a beeline for the back wall, where she pulled on the sconce that controlled the secret entrance. With a sweeping grab, she seized a torch to light her descent into the old dungeon.
The door at the bottom was open, and the room was buzzing with activity. Applejack saw a crowd of ponies gathered around a table and made purposeful strides toward it, dropping the torch on the ground. As she approached, the idle conversation died down.
The crowd parted to let her pass. The room was completely silent now. As the last few ponies stepped out of the way, Quince came into view, sitting at the table.
"Applejack?" he said, a look of genuine surprise on his face. "What can I do for you?"
"This idea of yours?" she said. "I'm in. Just tell me what I need to do."
Quince lowered his eyebrows and a grin spread across his face. "Excellent," he purred. "Let's get started." |
Star-Crossed | Change is Coming | Applejack fidgeted. It was difficult not to, standing in front of so many ponies. She had no idea that there were so many servants in the castle, and these were only the ones who had that day off.
She stood on the soapbox in the old abandoned Canterlot dungeons, a crowd of over a hundred ponies stretching out before her. She held their rapt attention, despite not having said anything interesting yet. In fact, she had yet to say anything at all. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Quince smiling, watching his newest prospect prepare to deliver a speech. It had only been a few days since Applejack had joined Quince in his cause, but word in the castle spread fast.
Inhaling deeply, Applejack closed her eyes. She focused on why she was here, what had led her to join Quince: the pain inflicted upon those she loved by Prince Blueblood. The thoughts lit a fire inside her, fed by her emotions until it grew into a raging inferno of raw feeling. She exhaled.
"I was raised on an apple farm in the small town of Ponyville," she started, her calm demeanor not betraying what she felt inside. Her heart was pounding. "The way I was brought up, it was easy to see the difference between what was right and what was wrong. If it was right, you did it, and if it was wrong, you didn't. It was as simple as that. It still is. I try to do the right thing, and I try to avoid doing the wrong thing. Life should work out, right?" Her face darkened. "Well, it doesn't.
"Some ponies ain't like that. Some ponies think that they can do whatever they want, whether it's right or not, and to Tartarus with the consequences. Some ponies like Prince Blueblood." There were some hisses from the crowd at the name. "I will admit," Applejack continued, "I wasn't too keen on this whole operation at first, but after seein' what Blueblood's capable of, I will do anything to stop him." Twilight's battered and beaten face ran through Applejack's mind, spurring her onward.
"Some ponies say that most of the nobles are okay," she said. "I'm not necessarily disagreein', but if they're such good ponies, then why don't they do something about Blueblood? Wouldn't that be the right thing to do?" A chorus of assent rose from the crowd. "How can they just stand by if they know about what he's doin'? I'll tell you how. It's because they're selfish!"
Applejack wasn't aware of herself. She was almost shouting now, her voice channeling her anger not just at Blueblood, but at Rainbow Dash. It was irrational to be angry at Rainbow before she had a chance to explain everything, but Applejack couldn't help it. She felt like she was watching herself give the speech; her words were running away from her, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to reign them in.
"They're all selfish in the most basic meanin' of the word," she continued. "They think that because they're not the ones bein' hurt, they don't have to do anything about it! They think that since there's no skin off their backs, they can just ignore the problem! But it turns out that they are the problem, whether they want to admit it or not. Blueblood thinks he can get away with this because the rest of the nobles have let him his entire life; he's just a result of their laziness!"
Quince stood in Applejack's peripheral vision, smiling. The crowd was watching Applejack intensely, hanging on the edge of her words and waiting for the next ones to come sweep them away.
"Some ponies will argue that Blueblood is responsible for himself, and that he is completely in control of his own actions. That's true, but why won't the other nobles do anything about it? This has been going on for far too long. First he killed Quince's sister, and now he's hurt Twilight! How many more will suffer at his hoof if we don't stop him? And how many have already suffered because the nobles won't do a damn thing about it?
"I haven't been here long, and I know ya'll don't really have a reason to trust me, but all I ask is that you do. The nobles have been in charge this long, and look what happened. If we stand together, we can earn our equality the right way, by doing the right thing, and put a stop to this injustice. They can't seem to put being decent in front of their desire for wealth and power, so it's up to us to pick up the slack, it's up to us do stand up and do something about it, and it's up to us to make sure nothin' like this happens ever again! So, are ya'll on board?"
"Yes!" the crowd exclaimed. Applejack knew they would be.
"What do we do next?" somepony called.
"Yeah, what next?" another shouted.
"What next?" Applejack said. "Well, next we'll... um, well, we'll have to... hm." Her verbal momentum came to a screeching halt. What was next? She hadn't thought that far ahead.
Then, Quince was on the soapbox, nudging Applejack to the edge. "Next, we spread the word!" he yelled. Applejack stepped off the box. "Tell everypony you see, and write letters to those you don't, that we are organizing! Not just here in the castle, but throughout Canterlot, throughout Equestria! This is the beginning of a revolution! We are uniting against our common foe, and change is coming. That's right, change is coming!" He raised his hoof into the air. "Change is coming! Change is coming!" The crowd started chanting with him, hypnotized by his words. "Change is coming! Change is coming!"
Applejack found herself whispering the words under her breath. Quince was grinning as he yelled the words; he was louder than anypony else there. "Change is coming! Change is coming!"
"Alright!" Quince called. "Alright, settle down." He waited for the shouts to die before continuing. "I do have a few more things to say. First, be cautious. I know this is exciting; I am just as giddy with anticipation as the rest of you, but we must not let our hoof slip. It is imperative that the nobles not know what's happening until it has already happened, and for that, we will need the utmost silence. Spread the word, yes, but be careful, my friends.
"Second," he said, gesturing to Applejack, "is our good friend Applejack. Let's hear a round of applause for the mare who has proven that it is possible to defy Blueblood, and the mare behind whom we all stand!"
Cheers sprang up like wildfire in the crowd, spreading and consuming until it becoming a single mass of applause and commendation. Applejack gulped and smiled with too much teeth. The crowd was going absolutely nuts over her. Quince was looking down at her, framed by a magelight, smiling and stamping a single hoof against the soapbox.
The crowd's excitement eventually faded, however, and they settled for talking amongst themselves. Applejack caught a few glances that were tossed in her direction, but whenever she made eye contact, the pony would look away.
She walked over to Quince, who was standing separate from the crowd. "Why is everypony treatin' me like this?" she asked, glancing back at the crowd and seeing at least three ponies staring at her.
Quince followed her eyes. "Like what?" he asked.
"LIke I'm important," Applejack answered.
Quince laughed out loud. "Because you are important, Applejack. You mean something to these ponies; you're the answer they never knew they were looking for. I may inspire these ponies with mere words, but you did it with actions, and you," he put a hoof on her shoulder, "are a pony they can rally behind, a pony they can look up to, and a pony they can adore."
Applejack shrugged his hoof off. "I don't want to be adored, Quince, I just want what's right. You're turnin' me into a symbol, and I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that."
"Well, it's what you signed up for," Quince said. "I told you from the beginning what my intentions for you were, and you agreed." He smiled. "Come on, Applejack, lighten up! Once we get what we deserve, you can go live your quiet life in Ponyville if you want, away from all the celebrity. But until then, all I ask is that you endure, and try to enjoy the attention." He looked back at the crowd. It was Applejack's turn to follow his gaze, and she saw more eyes than she could count turned toward them. Quince's smile grew wider. "After all," he said, "it's not every day one gets to be famous."
Applejack gave a weak wave to the crowd. "But I was only doin' what was right," she whispered to Quince. "Is that really so deservin' of all this?
Quince laughed again, but this time there was a hint of bitterness in it. "You'd be surprised just how rare that is around here, Applejack." (*)
Two nurses stood just inside the door to the infirmary, watching a very still Lady Rainbow Dash sit next to Twilight's bed, holding her friend's hoof.
"How long has she been here?" one of the nurses, the one who had just arrived for her shift, asked.
The other nurse shrugged. "All day. She was here when I got here this morning and I don't think I've seen her move from that spot. She only just stopped reading to the poor dear."
The first nurse frowned. "It seems... strange, doesn't it? For her to have such an attachment to one of her servants?"
"Yes, but I suppose it's for the best that she take an interest in us."
"Why is that?" the first nurse asked, furrowing her brow.
"Haven't you heard? The Lady Dash is engaged to Prince Blueblood," she explained.
"What does that have to do with it?"
"Can you imagine if both ponies in the most powerful couple in Canterlot were like Blueblood?" She shuddered. "I'd prefer at least one of them to have some compassion."
"Huh. I never thought to look at it that way."
The second nurse smiled. "And that's why you're on the night shift." Then she was gone, her delicate laughter following her all the way down the hall.
The remaining nurse started toward Twilight's bed, muttering under her breath, "I'll show her a night shift." When she reached the Lady Dash's side, she bowed and put on a smile. "Good evening, Lady Dash. Is there anything I can get for you?"
Rainbow Dash looked up. "I know you think you're helping yourself out by being nice to me," she said, "but there's somepony here who needs a lot more attention than I do. Why don't you ask her if she needs anything."
The nurse gulped. "Of course, Lady Dash." She turned to Twilight. "Is there anything I can get you, Twilight?"
Twilight, whose eyes were unfocused from the painkillers, turned to whatever had just spoken to her. "Water," she whispered, her voice still a little hoarse.
"Of course, right away," the nurse said, bowing to Rainbow Dash again before making a swift retreat from an awkward conversation.
Rainbow Dash squeezed Twilight's hoof. "I'm sorry," she said, staring at the sheets that hung over the bed like a ghost. "I'm so sorry, Twilight."
"Sorry for what?" Twilight asked. Her words were a little slurred.
"For everything," Rainbow Dash answered. She gestured toward Twilight's face, which wasn't as swollen anymore but which was still dark with bruises and marred by cuts. "This was all my fault," she said. "You were protecting me, and you had already done so much, and I always took it for granted." Her voice started to quiver. "We're friends, Twilight, and I was treating you like a servant, like it was your job to arrange meetings for me and Applejack. I don't even remember if I ever thanked you for it..."
She looked away, blinking back tears. "I just... I'm sorry, okay? But I promise I'll make it up to you. I don't care what it takes, I swear that I'll make this right."
There was a long silence. Then, "...Rainbow Dash?"
Rainbow looked up. "Yeah, Twilight?"
"Will you read to me some more?"
Smiling, Rainbow said, "of course."
She reached down beside her chair and pulled from the top of a stack of books Daring Do and the Curse of the Cobalt Cobra. She opened it to her marked page and began reading.
"Daring Do leapt from the tree, grabbing wildly at every vine she fell passed in an effort to halt her descent. She looked up to see the vicious jaguar who was pursuing her had done the same, and was approaching with alarming speed. In one last desperate bid for safety, Daring reached out and..."
Rainbow Dash's reading was interrupted by the soft sound of Twilight's snores. She smiled, shook her head, closed the book, and settled in for the night. (*)
Everywhere she went, Applejack was recognized by ponies she had never even met. Walking through the halls, almost every servant she passed whispered "change is coming" under their breath. Those three words uttered by Quince during his last speech had transformed into the mantra of the revolution, spoken by those who were not privileged with voices that quivered with excitement.
Applejack didn't give any more speeches after that first one. Quince had told her that it was enough that she had pledged herself to the cause, and now she just had to be present when he spoke. The servants would get the message, he said. And if not, he would shout it at them until they did.
It was a week since Twilight had been beaten by Blueblood, and Applejack had yet to speak to Rainbow Dash. She had passed her a few times in the halls, but when she did, Rainbow Dash didn't speak to her or acknowledge her presence, even if they were alone. The last time it had happened, Applejack had said something, but Rainbow Dash had ignored her. Applejack stopped hoping to see her after that.
Applejack wanted to go see Twilight, but between her maid duties and Quince, she barely had time to breathe, let alone go visit her ailing friend.
Although passing servants in the halls of the palace was uncomfortable for Applejack, passing royalty was even worse. Every second she spent within earshot of one of the nobles was one second too long; she felt like guilt was plastered all over her face for what she was doing, and that any second she would be called out on her activities and punished.
These were her thoughts as she scrubbed one of the hallways in the east wing of the palace and she heard the distant clopping of hooves on the floor from behind her. She kept her head down and continued scrubbing; whoever it was, whatever they wanted, it wouldn't involve her.
The sound grew louder as the pony grew closer. They were walking slowly, taking their time with getting to wherever they were going, and a mounting sense of dread overtook Applejack as they got closer. The fur on the back of her neck stood on end and she suppressed a shudder.
Then, there was no more noise. The pony had stopped right behind her, casting a shadow over her work. Her scrubbing slowed, but she didn't dare turn around for fear of what she would see.
"Ahem."
Applejack stopped scrubbing. She stood up, steeled her nerves, and spun around. Then, her blood froze.
It was Prince Blueblood. Applejack dipped into a hasty bow.
He smiled. It was brimming with venom. "You're Applejack, correct?" he asked.
Applejack gulped, then nodded.
"Excellent," Blueblood continued, "you're just the pony I wanted to see. I would like you to come with me to my chambers so that we may have a little... chat."
"Why me?" Applejack blurted out before she could stop herself.
"Do not question me," Blueblood responded. "It is not a request."
He turned and walked away. After a moment of hesitation, Applejack started after him, then stopped. Then Twilight's face flashed through her mind and she started again. Whatever Blueblood wanted, it couldn't be worse than what would happen if she disobeyed him.
The walking was done in silence. Blueblood's chambers were in the east wing, so it didn't take long for them to arrive. A servant posted outside the door opened it as Blueblood approached, then bowed as they walked in. As Applejack crossed the threshold, she caught the tail end of a "change is coming" aimed at her.
There were two more servants inside. Applejack recognized them from the meetings, but she couldn't remember their names.
"Sit," Blueblood commanded, gesturing to a small cushion on the floor. He himself sat in an ornate chair fashioned like a throne. It seemed like everything in the room was made to match the chair, to exude a sophisticated and pretentious air. Applejack thought she would go insane if she had to live in such a place.
"I'm fine with standin', thanks," Applejack responded.
Blueblood leveled his gaze at her. "Sit."
Applejack sat.
"Would you like something to drink, Applejack?" Blueblood suggested. "Some wine, perhaps?"
Applejack gritted her teeth. Why was Blueblood being so cordial? "No, thanks."
Blueblood shrugged. "Suit yourself," he said. Then he turned to one of the servants. "Bring me a glass of wine." The servant bowed and left the room through an entrance in the back.
"So, Applejack," Blueblood said, leaning forward, "I'm going to cut right to the chase. It has been divulged to me by certain parties that our dear Lady Rainbow Dash has been... cavorting... with one of the serving staff. This action is made even more disgusting by the fact that their rendezvous were romantic in nature. This, obviously, is not acceptable, especially not from a noblepony who is going to be my bride, and I would like to do my best to ensure that nothing of this sort ever happens again. That's where you come in."
Applejack frowned. "What do you need me for?" she asked, struggling to keep up a calm facade. All she could think about was Twilight; she had to focus to keep herself in the chair. Half of her wanted to run, and the other half wanted to lunge over and hit Blueblood in the face.
The servant returned from the door in the back, carrying a silver tray with a glass of blood-red liquid on it. He set it on the small end table next to Blueblood's chair, bowed, and stepped back to join the other servant against the wall.
"Applejack," Blueblood said, "are you familiar with how interrogation works?" Applejack shook her head, then glanced toward the door, measuring out how many paces it would take to reach it. "You should be," he continued, "and I will need you to be for what is ahead.
"Most ponies assume that pain is the key to the truth; this is not true. Pain may only make the victim lie further. They may admit to things they haven't even done, which makes for a rather unreliable source. Not to say pain doesn't have its applications, just that it doesn't work on everypony. One other way I enjoy getting the truth is through surprise. If you make the victim uncomfortable, get them off their guard, and then startle them with a sudden accusation, they will often unwittingly reveal their hoof before they have time to cover for themselves.
"Applejack, I know that you are the servant who was seeing the Lady Dash."
Applejack's body froze while her mind raced for an answer. How had he found out?
"I don't know what you're talkin' about," Applejack said, her tone wooden and mechanical.
Blueblood laughed. "Oh come now, Applejack, it wasn't difficult to figure out. I saw you the day you arrived, so I know you're new. It was only soon after that that Lady Dash's mother allowed her to leave her tower and sneak off to Celestia knows where. Then when I heard that Rainbow Dash was seeing an ingrate, it wasn't difficult to figure out who. Even then, though, I couldn't be sure, not until your complete inability to lie gave you away."
Applejack examined Blueblood head to hoof, trying to decide if she would be able to outrun him. Even then, where would she go? There were guards all over the castle, so it wasn't like she could get away.
"What're you gonna do to me?" she asked, her voice shaking.
Blueblood leaned back into his throne. "For now, I will throw you in the dungeon. After Lady Dash and I are wed, I will torture you in front of her until you are at your breaking point to ensure that she never disobeys me again, lest the consequences be even more severe."
Applejack just stared. He was so calm, so collected, like he had just told Applejack what he was going to have for lunch that day. If she weren't frozen in place, Applejack would have shuddered.
Her eyes darted to the door. It was closed, but she was a few feet closer to it than Blueblood was. If she went now, she might be caught. But if she didn't... well, she didn't want to think about that.
Applejack's heart was beating in her ears, filling her head. She knew she had to move, had to go before Blueblood took her to the dungeon, but she was rooted in place. Then, she caught the looks of the servants standing against the wall; they were looking at Applejack, eyes wide, and gesturing toward the door with their heads.
That did it. Applejack shook herself from her stupor, shot to her hooves, and sprinted for the door.
Blueblood was on her in a second. She couldn't believe how fast he was; he had caught her before she had even reached the door. He grabbed her back leg with his hoof and held her in place.
"Really, Applejack?" he said, pulling backward. Applejack kicked at him, but missed. "You're only making things worse for yourself, you know."
Then there was the sound of shattering glass and his grip loosened enough for Applejack to wriggle out of it and keep running. She got to the door and looked back to see one of the other servants holding a broken wine glass; Blueblood's head was covered in red liquid, and Applejack couldn't tell how much was wine and how much was blood.
Blueblood just stood, mouth agape, staring at the servant. The servant stood, holding the glass, dumbfounded by the action he had just committed. In that frozen moment, Applejack remembered that his name was Borro, and he was an immigrant.
"Go!" Borro shouted, breaking the spell.
Applejack nodded, opened the door, and escaped into the hall. Behind her, she heard a furious roar and a thump as something struck a wall inside the room. Then, the door was blown open by the force of Borro crashing through it, the remnants of a pure-white magical aura dissipating around him.
Blueblood slid into the hallway a moment later and turned toward Applejack. Crimson streaks flowed down his face like rivers of blood, and his mane was now in damp strands. Applejack tore her gaze away and continued sprinting down the hall.
She heard his hoofsteps behind her, then saw a guard round the corner ahead of her, coming right toward them.
"Seize her!" Blueblood shouted.
The guard just stared. Applejack raced passed, catching a surprised look from Gamble out of the corner of her eye.
She rounded the corner, narrowly avoiding bumping into the wall, and kept running. She heard Blueblood shout, "are you deaf!?" from behind her, but she barely registered it. Her legs were powerful, her years of work on the farm having built a not-insignificant amount of muscle.
Blueblood was close behind, he had to be, but Applejack didn't dare look back. She had no destination in mind, but she just had to get away. The maid outfit wasn't helping; it restricted her movement and made her slower than she would've liked, but it would take far too long to stop and take it off.
Just like in every other hallway, the walls were lined with paintings and small tables with ornaments on them. Out of the corner of her eye, Applejack saw movement, but it was too late to get out of the way. One of the tables shot into her path and she collided with it, sending her toppling to the ground.
She threw up her forehooves at the last moment to shield her face, succeeding in bruising her limbs. As she slid along the ground a short distance, her legs chafed against the tile.
After realizing that nothing was broken, Applejack tried to stand back up, but she was stopped by Blueblood. He seized her mane with his hoof and spun her around onto her back. Then he pinned her to the ground with his magic and smiled. With the wine staining red on his white coat, Applejack's panicked mind thought he looked like a clown. A clown that was most likely about to kill her.
"I'm going to enjoy this," he said, raising a hoof into the air. Applejack struggled against her magical bonds, but to no avail. She shut her eyes and awaited the blow.
"Stop!"
Applejack opened one eye to see the second shocked expression she had seen on Blueblood's face that day. He turned around, leaving the bonds on Applejack.
Gamble stood just behind Blueblood. He towered over the prince, who was not a small pony to begin with.
"What did you say to me?" Blueblood asked, his voice like ice.
"By order of the Royal Guard," Gamble continued, "I command you to stop attempting to hurt this mare."
Blueblood stuck his snout close to Gamble's. "Do you know who you're talking to? I'm the prince of Equestria! You do not give me orders!"
Gamble didn't flinch. "Assault is illegal in Equestria regardless of rank or station, as I'm sure you're aware."
"This filth," Blueblood said, gesturing to Applejack, "this ingrate, assaulted me first! I was only seeking justice!"
"That's a dirty lie!" Applejack shouted from her position on the floor. She was ignored.
Gamble drew himself up, making himself seem even taller. "While that may be, it is not your place to dole out justice as you please. That's for the court to deal with. If you wish to put in a plea, you can take that up with the court and I will escort this lass to the dungeon to be held awaiting trial."
Blueblood flared his nostrils, and for a long moment, Applejack thought he might hit Gamble. Then he looked away.
"Fine," he said. Applejack's restraints dissolved and he turned toward her. "But this is far from over."
He turned and stomped down the hall back toward his room, disappearing around the corner. Gamble went over and offered a hoof to Applejack.
"You alright, lass?" he asked.
Applejack took the hoof and Gamble pulled her into a standing position. "Yeah, thanks, Gamble."
"Don't mention it," Gamble responded, smiling. He leaned down to Applejack and whispered, "if you ask me, Blueblood needs to get a pike shoved up his arse. But I'll settle for knocking him down a peg or two."
There was a long silence. Gamble coughed.
"So," he said, "I have to take you to the dungeon now. Can't rightly have you runnin' round free after a spectacle like that, can we?"
"I suppose not," Applejack said. It made sense, but that didn't mean she wanted to hear it.
Gamble laughed and patted Applejack roughly on the shoulder. "Don't look so down in the dumps, lass! I'll do my best to see that you have a fair trial. If you didn't actually hit him, you've got nothing to worry about." He stopped and looked at Applejack. "You didn't hit him, did you?"
Applejack forced a smile, shook her head, and kept her mouth shut. She didn't need to burden Gamble with her problems; they were hers to face, and she didn't need to be dragging anypony else into it. Not after what had happened to Twilight.
"Alright, let's go."
Gamble started down the hall with Applejack in tow, leading her down into the depths of the palace, and into the Canterlot Castle dungeon. (*)
Rainbow Dash had never been to the dungeon before. It was not something she would want to do again.
Gamble lead, and Rainbow Dash followed. It hadn't been ten minutes since Rainbow Dash was sitting with Twilight in the infirmary, blissfully unaware of what had transpired between Applejack and Blueblood. Then Gamble paid her a visit, and here she was, descending into one of the most feared places in the city.
Canterlot Castle had a proper dungeon. Although it was fairly new, the old one having been abandoned, the designers decided to keep with the medieval theme, in order to discourage crime in Canterlot. The prison was not pleasant, it was not comfortable, and it was certainly not any place one would go if they could avoid it.
And here Rainbow Dash was, descending, traveling away from her world in more ways than one.
They reached a thick wooden door with a round iron handle. Gamble placed a hoof on the door, but stopped. He turned back toward Rainbow Dash.
"Are you sure you want to do this, Lady? The dungeons aren't a place for royalty. Some of the most dangerous and deranged criminals Canterlot's ever seen are within these walls. It gives me the willies just thinkin' about it, and look at me! I'm huge!"
Rainbow Dash took a deep breath. "Yeah, I'm sure. I have to see her."
Gamble nodded. "Alright, if you're positive. But you might want to prepare yourself. This is the last door before the dungeon proper, and it's enchanted so as to not let out the, uh, screams, and frighten the other ponies in the castle."
Rainbow Dash steeled her resolve. "Do it."
With a grunt, Gamble pushed the door open. It creaked as it swung on rusty hinges to reveal a steep spiral staircase. As they descended, Gamble spoke.
"Luckily, we don't have far to go. Applejack's being held in one of the first cells, so the more unseemly parts of the dungeon will, mercifully, be left to your imagination."
"Yeah, mercifully," Rainbow Dash muttered. Being locked in her tower had given her a vivid imagination, and that was one of the few times she found it unpleasant.
They walked in silence after that. The staircase felt like it went on forever, and as they went deeper, Rainbow Dash thought she heard tortured cries from deep within. Then they reached the bottom of the staircase, and she was sure she heard screams.
The first section of the dungeon lay before them. It was a long hallway that was bisected by several other hallways, each one made of a dark cobblestone. Lit torches hung in sconces and cast eerie shadows on the walls, and at the end of the main hall, there was another staircase.
"It goes deeper?" Rainbow asked.
"Aye," Gamble said with a nod. "The deeper parts of the dungeon are reserved for the more serious offenders and for the criminally insane. I've only been down there once, and I don't intend to go again if I can help it."
Rainbow Dash shuddered, but she suppressed her dread by focusing on the task at hoof. "Where's Applejack?" she asked.
"Third cell on the right," Gamble answered, pointing.
Rainbow Dash rushed over to the indicated cell. Applejack sat on the provided mattress, which was just canvas stuffed with straw, looking toward the bars. Her maid outfit lie balled up in the corner, next to a bucket. Rainbow Dash didn't want to think about what the bucket was for.
"Rainbow?" Applejack asked, looking up.
Rainbow Dash nodded. "I came as soon as I heard. Are you alright? Blueblood didn't hurt you, did he?"
"What do you care?" Applejack asked, narrowing her eyes.
Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped. "What's that supposed to mean? Why wouldn't I care about you?"
"I dunno, Rainbow, maybe because you're marryin' the brute that did this to me?" Applejack accused. "How could you claim to care about me when you dropped me the second you got the chance to marry up?"
"Th--that is not what happened!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"Then why don't you enlighten me," Applejack said, standing up. "Because it looks to me like you agreed to marry Blueblood, and I haven't seen you since. Why wouldn't you come and see me to explain everything? How come you ignored me in the halls? The way I see it, there's only one reason for that: you decided that you were done with me."
"How could you say that?" Rainbow Dash asked. She was shaking, and her eyes glinted in the torchlight. "How could you possibly think that that is what's going on? Is that how you see me? As some cheap harlot who would drop the mare she loves just to marry into money?"
"I... uh..."
"Did you ever think," Rainbow continued, "that maybe Blueblood is forcing me to marry him? That I couldn't come and see you because I was terrified that if I did, Blueblood would find out about us? Do you have any idea what that would do if he caught you? He told me that if he ever caught the servant I was seeing, he would do horrible things to them to make me obedient. How could I risk losing you to him? What choice did I have?"
The pieces started falling into place. "That," Applejack said, "that... makes a lot of sense. Consarnit, Rainbow, why'd you have to go and explain everything now? I've been mad at you for weeks, and it was all for nothin.'"
"I didn't have a choice!" Rainbow shouted. "Ignoring you tore me apart, but the other option was even worse." She grit her teeth and looked down. "I just... I just couldn't risk losing you."
"Oh, Rainbow," Applejack said. "I'm so sorry. I don't know what I was thinkin.' I know you would never do something like that to me, I just... it was hard not to think so, you know? What with everything that's been goin' on, that's just how it looked from my point of view." She walked over to the bars where Rainbow Dash stood. "But, that's no excuse for my behavior just now. I should've just heard you out before jumpin' to conclusions, and I'm sorry." She leaned forward. "Do you forgive me?"
Rainbow Dash held steady for a moment before taking a step away from the bars. "... I don't know."
"Huh?"
Rainbow looked up at Applejack. "How could you just think those things about me? After everything we've done together... I don't know. I think I'm going to need some time."
Applejack opened her mouth, then closed it again. "Okay," she said. "If you need time, then take some time. It's not like I'm goin' anywhere."
There was a pause. "He didn't hurt you, did he?" Rainbow Dash finally asked.
"Nothin' I can't recover from," Applejack responded.
"Good."
Another pause. "Well," Rainbow dash said, "I should get back to Twilight. I don't want Blueblood to know I came down here."
Applejack nodded. "I understand."
Rainbow Dash started to walk away, but stopped and turned back. "I'll come see you again soon."
Applejack smiled. "I look forward to it."
"Ready to go?" Gamble asked.
Rainbow Dash nodded, and then they were on their way back to her world. (*)
Applejack spent the next two weeks in the dungeon. Her days were long, though the ones where Rainbow Dash came to visit seemed to go quicker. She was brought two meals a day by the same servant, and often clamped her pillow around her ears at night to muffle the screams from the second level of the dungeon.
Long stretches of time were spent thinking about her home, wondering if her family would worry about her now that they wouldn't be receiving the wages she had been sending home. For the first time since she had arrived, Applejack was deeply homesick. She ached to be back on her farm, bucking apple trees all day, content with her simple existence.
How had everything gotten so crazy? She was in a dungeon for loving somepony, there was a revolution in the works, and Rainbow Dash was set to marry Prince Blueblood. Why couldn't things just be simple?
"Why can't things just be simple?"
Rainbow Dash looked up. "Hm?"
Applejack sighed. "I'm just wondering why everything has to be so crazy. Why can't we just go live together and be happy? Is that too much to ask?"
They were sitting on opposite sides of prison bars. It was Rainbow Dash's fourth visit since Applejack had been put away.
"I don't know," Rainbow responded. "Just the way things are, I guess."
"I know, I just wish they weren't." Applejack smiled. "All I want to do is live with you, away from all this craziness, and get some peace and quiet."
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Peace and quiet? No thanks; I've had peace and quiet my entire life. Come on, Applejack, don't you want at least a little adventure?"
"Nope," Applejack said, shaking her head. "Us farm mares don't really take kindly to adventure. The simple life's where it's at."
"But we should do something to break it up every now and then, right?" Rainbow suggested.
Applejack snickered. "Honestly, Rainbow? I don't really care what we do, as long as we're together."
Rainbow Dash's slight blush was basically invisible in the low light. "Agreed," she said.
"So... does that mean you forgive me for sayin' all those horrible things?"
Rainbow was silent. Then, "It's a start."
Applejack smiled. "That's all I needed to hear."
She craned her neck, leaning forward through the bars. Rainbow Dash bit her lip, leaned forward, hesitated, then followed through. Life was too short to hold grudges.
The kiss was the first they'd shared in almost a month. The bars made positioning awkward, but they were just glad to be with each other once more. It didn't last nearly as long Applejack would've liked it to, but at least it had happened in the first place.
Rainbow Dash pulled back. "I should be going. I can't be late for my dress fitting."
Applejack winced. "So, you're still going through with it, huh?"
"What choice do I have? While I'm out there, I can at least try to get you pardoned; if I were to defy Blueblood and he threw me in here, there would be no helping either of us."
"I know, I know." Applejack sighed. "It just frustrates me, that's all. Knowin' that you're gonna be marryin' that brute." She stomped a hoof. "It ain't right!"
Rainbow Dash shook her head. "Maybe not, but if it's the only chance I have of getting you out of here, then I'll take it, no matter what I have to put up with." She started away, but turned back. "By the way, the wedding's in three days."
"Three days!?" Applejack shouted. "That's way too soon!"
Rainbow shrugged. "Blueblood's date, not mine. I tried to change his mind, but he's... well, you know how he is. I'll come see you again when I can, but for now... bye Applejack."
"Bye." What else could she say?
Then, Rainbow Dash was gone.
The days after Rainbow left were always the longest. Applejack knew that she had a while to go before being able to see her again, and the wait was maddening. She had always considered herself patient, but being locked in a cell for weeks with nothing to do was infuriating.
Not to mention the fact that the wedding between the mare she loved and the stallion she hated most in the world was approaching like a freight train. All Applejack could do was wait for the wedding to pass and hope that Rainbow Dash would be able to get her out of the dungeon. If she couldn't, well... then Applejack would be at Blueblood's mercy, which is the last place she wanted to be.
So she counted the days until the wedding. One day passed, then another, and finally, the third was here. On that day, Applejack was woken up by the sound of her food arriving. The same servant always brought it, sliding the tray of gruel through a small slot in the bars near the floor.
Applejack went over to retrieve her food, but the pony was still there. When she looked up, she saw that it wasn't the one who usually brought her her meals.
"Daisy?" Applejack asked, squinting in the low light. "Is that you?"
Daisy nodded and motioned to Applejack's tray. Applejack looked down and, next to the bowl, saw a metal object glinting in the torchlight.
It was a key.
When Applejack looked up again, Daisy leaned in close to the bars and whispered three words.
"Change is here." |
Star-Crossed | Coup D'état pt.1: The Wedding | The brush that ran through Rainbow Dash's mane was undeniably beautiful. It was jade, with gold and silver inlay and jewels encrusted into the handle and on the sides. It was a gift from her mother, for her wedding, but she scarcely noticed it now. All she could focus on was the pony wielding it.
Prince Blueblood stood behind her, brushing out strands of her long, multi-chromatic mane. He wasn't smiling; he almost never did anymore, unless he was scaring or hurting somepony. He hadn't hit Rainbow yet, but she knew that her golden protection from his wrath would soon be over. As the lady of the prince, she would be expected to dress extravagantly, when he let her out at all, and enough cloth can hide even the darkest bruises.
Her muscles were tense. Blueblood made slow, mechanical strokes through her hair, brushing it until it shone, but it was not comforting like when Twilight used to do it. She could already smell the wine on his breath, even though the wedding ceremony was still an hour or more away. He was only there to do what was expected of him; it was customary in Canterlot for the groom to brush the bride's mane one thousand times before the wedding, to signify his devotion.
I know what ceremony he would rather perform, Rainbow Dash thought.
He never hid his lustful stares from her. It was almost as if he wanted her to catch him looking at her with that gleam in his eye, that look that told her that, even though they weren't wed yet, she was his. Just thinking about lying back and accepting whatever he was going to do made her sick, but what was the other option? Resisting and suffering physically? She still found herself hoping that that look didn't mean what she thought it meant, but she knew such thoughts were foolish.
The look had grown more frequent in the last three days, as had Blueblood's cruelty toward his servants. Rainbow Dash protected them as best she could, but it was never enough; they always left Blueblood's chambers with more bruises than they entered with, and none of the other nobles seemed to take notice. It made Rainbow Dash furious, but as long as Applejack remained in the dungeons, she didn't dare defy Blueblood.
The silence was heavy. Rainbow Dash had tried to pass the insufferable moments by counting the brush strokes, but her thoughts had drifted, and she had long since lost count.
"How many is that?" she asked.
"How many is that, what?"
Rainbow Dash sighed. She could already smell the wine on his breath. It seemed as if he started drinking earlier and earlier in the day as the wedding approached. "How many is that, my lord?"
"I haven't the slightest idea. You should have been keeping track." The brush stopped. "Why, do you want me to stop?"
"No," Rainbow Dash responded. "It feels good." She had to force the lie past her lips. She had learned that the best way to get Blueblood to do something was to say she wanted the opposite, almost like a foal.
Blueblood set the brush aside and leaned down until his breath was on her ear. "Oh, does it?" he breathed. "Because I know of something that will feel even better."
Rainbow Dash shuddered, more from the sensation than anything, but Blueblood still laughed.
"But," he said, "I suppose that will have to wait until after the ceremony. Make no mistake, Lady Dash, you will be mine tonight. You will struggle, and writhe, and hate every second almost as much as I will enjoy them. And tomorrow, we will pay a visit to that servant you hold so dear to your heart."
The way he said it, so calm and collected, sent a cold spasm down Rainbow's spine. She just had to play the part, go along with things, and bide her time, and she could rescue Applejack eventually. She knew she could. She just had to be patient.
Blueblood leaned back. "Would you like to know what I'm going to do to her?" he asked. Rainbow Dash didn't respond, but he continued anyway. "I'll start off easy, maybe knock her around a little. Blunt trauma may not be elegant, but I'll be damned if it isn't fun. Then I'll wait a few days, let her think it's over, give her the slightest glimmer of hope that maybe I forgot about her and she can rot in peace, and then I'll be back. The next part is great, though. I'm going to... well, maybe I should let that be a surprise."
Rainbow Dash stood, knocking away her chair. Her wings flared out, and Blueblood recoiled. "Why are you doing this?" she demanded. "What did we ever do to you?"
"What you did with that mare is a perversion of order," Blueblood said. "We are born when and where we are for a reason. I am a prince, you are a lady, and that servant is a dog, good for nothing more than to take orders. As crown prince, it is my duty to keep the royal lines pure, and I will not have you and that creature defiling that mission. And," he said, a wide grin spreading across his face, "because it makes me happy."
Rainbow Dash took a step back. "What about Twilight? If you think Applejack and I are so disgusting, then what did Twilight do?"
Blueblood tapped his hoof against the ground. "Yes, that is a bit more troublesome. You see, she may not have been the source of the problem, but she was facilitating it."
"You're a monster," she said, narrowing her eyes at him.
He paused, then glared at her. "What?"
"You heard me," Rainbow spat.
A chair crashed into the wall across the room, thrown by Blueblood's magic. Rainbow flinched, and then Blueblood was right in front of her, nostrils flared like a bull. "I am not a monster," he declared through gritted teeth. "And I will not have that word follow me around for the rest of my life because of one little mistake!"
Rainbow Dash didn't know what he was talking about, and she tried her hardest to keep her mouth shut. But her hardest wasn't good enough.
"Monster."
Blueblood screamed, his horn sparking to life, as furniture crashed around the room. He turned away from Rainbow Dash as he flung objects against the walls, overturned chairs and tables, and generally turned the room into a wreck. Rainbow ducked under a lamp the smashed against the wall a few moments later. Her heart was an icy lump in her throat; her eyes darted to the door, but there was no way she was going to brave the makeshift hurricane that Blueblood's temper had conjured.
Then it was over. Everything that was flying through the air dropped to the ground with a thud. Blueblood collapsed into a heap on the floor, burying his head in the rug as a soft, unfamiliar sound emanated from him. Rainbow Dash started when she realized what it was.
Blueblood was sobbing.
The very notion of it startled her into inactivity. She briefly wondered how much he had had to drink that morning, but the thought was soon replaced with a grim satisfaction at seeing him laid so low by one little word. Then she realized he was speaking, and she strained her ears to listen.
"...a mistake. It was a mistake. I didn't mean to kill her. It was an accident. Why can't they see that?"
For a moment, Rainbow Dash seized up, convinced that Blueblood was talking about Twilight, and that she had somehow not heard about her friend's demise. Then she remembered what Applejack had told her, about Blueblood killing Quince's sister. It didn't seem like he was talking to her, so what was he doing?
Rainbow Dash took a step forward. Blueblood must have heard her, because he snapped his head around, his eyes glowing with a sort of manic anger, like his brain had done a backflip and turned him from depressed mess to insane antagonist in the span of a heartbeat.
"You're going to pay for that word," he said, "you and Applejack." He stood back up and advanced on her. "After the wedding, I'm going to torture her, and you're going to watch. You will see every single agony I inflict upon her, and you will know that it is your fault, and you will never disobey me. Then, to teach the rest of those ingrates a lesson, I'm going to parade the whore through the streets, and--"
Even afterward, Rainbow Dash could never recall exactly what happened next. All she knows is that she heard Blueblood call Applejack a "whore" one moment, and the next, she was standing over him, her hoof throbbing, and he was clutching his face, staring up at her in disbelief.
"You stupid bitch!" Blueblood screamed, leaping to his feet. Rainbow Dash stepped back. The prince's eyes were full of murderous rage. "How dare you strike me! How dare you lay a single hoof on me! You are going to pay for this tonight, well and truly, and it is going to be so much sweeter than I ever could have dreamed." He pointed a hoof at her and smiled, crazed. "You will regret this, my love. You and your pretty little serving mare."
He spun around and stomped to the door, throwing it open with his magic and slamming it shut once he was through.
Rainbow Dash sat on her bed, her racing heart pounding in her throat. She wanted to laugh, and scream, and weep, all at the same time. How could she have been so stupid! She had only made things worse, for her and for Applejack. She held her right hoof, the one that had struck Blueblood. Despite everything that she knew was going to come of it, everything was blotted out by a single thought.
Hitting him had felt so good.
It was like, if even for just a moment, she didn't have to be scared of him. She was the one standing over him for once, not the other way around. She didn't care about what it would bring, about what was just around the corner. She felt invincible. She had defied him, and he hadn't done anything about it.
That would change that night, she knew, but even as her hoofmaids came to help her get ready for the ceremony, all Rainbow Dash could picture was hitting Blueblood again.
And again.
And again. (*)
Applejack's heart was going to explode.
It was beating too fast for it not to. It thumped in her chest and filled her ears; if her companion had been more talkative, Applejack wasn't sure she would have even been able to hear her.
Down and down they walked, Daisy in front, Applejack behind, on their way to Quince's secret meeting place. Apparently he wanted to speak to Applejack, though she wasn't sure how he had made it possible. She had been rescued from her imprisonment, possibly saved from a grisly fate at the hooves of Prince Blueblood, and now she was going to speak to a pony who may be her only answer to how bad things had gotten. So why wouldn't the bees in her stomach go away?
Quince had freed her, somehow. Daisy had gotten the dungeon guard's key, and the guard had pretended not to see them as they walked out. Applejack wondered if he was part of the operation. How far did Quince's reach spread?
The halls had been nearly empty as they walked them. It was because of the wedding, Applejack knew; all the servants would be busy setting it up in the throne room, where the mare Applejack loved and the stallion whom she despised would be bound together by law.
Blueblood only deserves one thing, Applejack though, and it ain't Rainbow Dash.
Then Daisy and Applejack had completed their descent. Applejack could hear lots of voices from the other side of the door, and a strange, rasping sound as well; she wondered briefly how many servants were there, and how many were helping with the wedding. She didn't have to wonder for long.
They had to work together to push open the heavy wooden door, which swung in on ancient, creaking hinges. What Applejack saw made her gasp. The door opened to reveal what might have been the most ponies Applejack had seen gathered in the old dungeon. Everywhere she looked, there were more of them, at least as many as had attended her speech, most likely more.
And at least half of them were armed.
Wherever Applejack's eyes turned, she saw glints of steel. Edges of swords and spears reflected the blueish glow of the magelights that hung suspended in the air. The rasping sound that Applejack had heard was the sharpening of blades; ponies were focusing, running the stones along the edges of the steel until they became sharp enough to kill. All around, unicorns were casting spells on the weapons, though for what purpose, Applejack didn't even want to guess. They were ponies she knew, or at least that knew her, but the scowls they wore as they went about their grim business made Applejack almost not even recognize them
As Daisy led her through the throng, Applejack felt as if she were in a dream. Everything was so surreal. Cinnamon, an amiable cook who Applejack remembered was always quick to smile and joke, was bent over a sword, scowling and using her hooves to run a stone over the edges. Hard Knock, one of the maintenance workers, was using his magic to heft one of the hammers used to set stone in the thick walls that surrounded the castle, taking practice swings. What looked like a regiment of servants were practicing swinging weapons in a group, instructed by a pony wearing the armor of a royal guard.
Above it all, the top of what looked like a large tent could be seen. Daisy led Applejack toward it, and as they approached, the flaps were drawn aside by two royal guards. Before she could puzzle out what they were doing down there, she was ushered through the threshold.
The inside of the tent was spacious and well-lit. There was a large wooden table with what looked like blueprints on it, with some other papers scattered around the floor. Quince stood on the opposite side of the table from Applejack, and Shining Armor was to his left, looking grim.
Quince looked up when she entered, and his face lit up in a smile. "Applejack!" He worked his way around the table, taking care to step over the papers on the floor. "I'm so glad you were able to make it. Welcome to headquarters."
"What is all this?" Applejack asked, gesturing around the tent. "And, uh, no offence, but why are you here, Shining Armor?"
Shining Armor, who hadn't seemed to notice Applejack until she addressed him, turned to her. "Because Blueblood has to pay for what he did to Twilight," he stated. Then he turned back to the table.
Applejack mentally kicked herself. Of course he would be upset; Applejack had been, and she wasn't even related to Twilight.
"We all grieve for what happened to Twilight," Quince said, "but that is just one of the many injustices at Blueblood's, and the rest of the nobles', hooves. That is why we must--"
"Save it, Quince," Applejack interrupted. "I'm not a crowd of ponies you're speakin' to. You can cut it out with the fancy language, and just answer a question: what is goin' on outside?"
The rasp of steel could be heard even inside the tent, and it cut through the silence like a knife.
"What has to happen, Applejack," Quince said, as if that answered her question. "This is what always had to happen. These ponies need change, they crave it, and I am providing the opportunity for them to take what they deserve." He must have seen the apprehension in Applejack's eyes, because he put his hoof on her shoulder and smiled. "This is a good thing, Applejack, I promise."
Applejack's mind was at war. On one side, the soldiers of her conscience lined up, prepared to defend their one true virtue: hurting ponies is wrong. On the other side, her pathos built siege machines and prepared for battle, arguing its powerful idea: they hurt me first.
The chill of the dungeon still felt like it clung to her. Her back had a slight yet deep-seated ache from the lack of bedding, and she was sure it would take at least a week to completely wash the smell out of her coat. Other than the occasional visit from Rainbow Dash, she had been utterly alone in a dark hole for weeks, as the world continued to spin around her. Her letters home had stopped; they wouldn't give her anything to write with. She could only imagine what was happening at Sweet Apple Acres just then, because she had been locked away by the nobles for something she didn't do.
Well, it was really Blueblood, but if there were a real justice system in place, the crown prince wouldn't be able to get away with all of the horrible things that he did. Applejack couldn't help but feel a little vindictive--she imagined herself crashing the wedding with this militia at her back and rescuing Rainbow Dash from Blueblood, swooping in like a fairytale heroine to vanquish evil, and the pathos side of her brain grew a little stronger.
But there was one nagging thought that kept her from truly enjoying that vision: what would happen next? After Blueblood got whatever justice he deserved, where would it stop? If Quince led this rebellion, with Shining Armor and the royal guard on his side, how many royals would get his idea of "justice?"
Applejack was almost afraid to ask. Almost.
When she did, Quince's brow darkened. "I respect you too much to lie to you, Applejack; it will not be pleasant. They will get what they deserve for allowing this monster they know as their prince to continue, unabated, for so long. A trial will be held, and those who prove themselves innocent of what they are accused will be pardoned." His look softened. "I am not an unfair pony, Applejack. Those who did nothing wrong will not be punished."
Somehow, Applejack wasn't convinced. "And what about those who did?"
"They will be put to death."
And there it was. Applejack's spine turned to ice, and her conscience charged, scattering her inklings that this rebellion would be a good thing. No matter how much she tried to drum up enthusiasm, the image of pony heads rolling off the chopping block made something deep within her cringe. Her enthusiasm for the cause withered, and suddenly it all seemed so crazy.
Had it really come this far? She left her simple life to chase a love story, and now she was part of an open rebellion against the government. A violent rebellion. What happened to her life before? To the time she had with Rainbow Dash in the gardens? Or even further back, to the tireless days on the farm when she would go to bed after a long day working, sweaty, exhausted, and content? Applejack wanted that back, preferably with Rainbow Dash at her side.
Sorry, fillies and gentlecolts, but I'm backing out of the race.
She shook her head. "I'm sorry, Quince, but I can't help you do this. I can't condone the killin' of ponies, no matter the reason. Especially not for a reason as flimsy as the one you're conjurin' up." She took a step back. "I'm sorry," she said again.
"I'm sorry too," Quince said. Then he nodded to the guards at the entrance to the tent, and Applejack felt two sets of strong hooves clamp down on either side of her.
"What are you doing?" she asked, too stunned to resist.
It was Quince's turn to shake his head. "I can't have you here, Applejack, not if you're going to go against me. But, ponies respect you, and if they see you dragged out, or even see you leave, they will ask questions. They will wonder why you are not standing with us, and they will begin to doubt me. I can't risk losing anypony at this point; if you're not with us, then you're against us, and I can't have you taking anypony away from the cause."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that I'm sorry for what I'm about to do, but I hope you see why it must be done." With that, he swept past her and out into the main room. The guards pulled Applejack along behind him, and, even though she was finally starting to struggle against them, their grip held fast.
The crowd parted before Quince as he made his way through. Ponies all around Applejack whispered as she was half-drug past them. She was looking for a way out, but with so many ponies, and so many guards, Lady Luck was not looking to be on her side.
Quince stepped up onto a large rostrum, which had replaced the dingy soapbox from which he had delivered his speeches at the beginning. Applejack just saw it as another sign of how much time she had lost in the dungeon.
"Excuse me, everypony," Quince spoke, "I know you're busy, but if I could just have your attention for one moment!" Applejack found the suddenness of the hush that went through the crowd unsettling. Quince motioned for Applejack to be brought up to the box with him. When the guards started to drag her, she shook them off.
"I can walk," she growled.
Quince nodded, and they let her go.
"As you have most likely gathered," Quince started, "our dear friend Applejack has been freed from the dungeon. While a great many of us would like to view this in a positive light, it is not the boon we had hoped it would be." There was some muttering in the crowd. "It pains me to say it, but Applejack has betrayed us!"
Applejack didn't say anything. It was like Quince had put a mask on, had switched into another, more charismatic persona than the pony she was just talking to inside the tent. The same old zeal that she had found so intoxicating when she had listened to him speak before just felt... hollow. His words rang out, and the crowd listened with stars in their eyes, but the speech felt empty to Applejack. She knew what he was like behind closed tent-flaps; this is how he was when he needed ponies to do his bidding. Applejack thought she was going to be sick.
"She has turned tail on the very values for which she claimed to stand for! And, what I find most grievous of all: she has been sleeping with one of the nobles!" There was widespread muttering at that, but the crowd didn't seem entirely convinced.
"How do you know?" somepony shouted.
"Yeah!" another concurred. "Where's your proof?"
Applejack couldn't help but smile a little. These ponies still believed in her, at least a little, and there was no way Quince could prove to all of them that she and Rainbow Dash were seeing each other.
"It's true," Applejack heard from behind her. A white shape entered her vision on the right, and Shining Armor stepped onto the platform. Applejack could only stare in disbelief.
"I know because I allowed it to happen," Shining Armor continued. "My sister, Twilight Sparkle, and I, both helped Lady Rainbow Dash and Applejack here carry out their relationship in secret." He sighed. "Blueblood found out, somehow, and that is how Twilight got injured. She didn't fall down a flight of stairs; Blueblood beat her half to death!"
The muttering in the crowd turned more concerned.
Quince picked up where he left off. "And not only that, but when Blueblood confronted Applejack about it, it was our dear friend Borro who allowed her to escape from his wrath!" Quince drew himself up. "And what did he get for it? What did he get for defying Blueblood?" He paused, the crowd hanging off the edge of his words. "The axe."
Like some great beast, the crowd was slow to rouse, but a force to be reckoned with when it was. They seemed to have almost forgotten that Quince didn't actually have any proof of Applejack's affair; it didn't matter any more. Applejack hardly noticed, anyway--she was too busy puzzling out what Quince had just said.
Borro is dead? Because of me?
"And that leads us back to Applejack," Quince said, gesturing to the mare beside him. "She has been fornicating with the Lady Rainbow Dash, whom we all know is to marry Blueblood later today. It is not known how deep her loyalty to them goes, but she can no longer be trusted with our cause."
"Then what is she even doing here!" somepony shouted.
"Yeah!" another added. "What if she squeals on us?"
"We gotta protect ourselves!"
Quince waited until they were all finished. "Now, now, I know we are all upset. Trust me, nopony is more hurt by this betrayal than I am. But I simply cannot find it in my heart to injure a pony who, despite her wavering loyalties, did help us in the beginning. That is why we will cast her out to join those nobles she loves so much. She knows nothing of our plan; even if she does warn them, it will be too late. When the time comes, let her be tried for her crimes with the rest of them!"
Cheers went up in the crowd.
"Stop!"
Applejack's voice was strong, and carried far. She struggled against her guards, and they let her go. Changing the mob's mind at this point would be nearly impossible, Applejack knew, but she had to try. "Can't you see that what you're doing is wrong? If we start fightin' and killin' the nobles, how does that make us any better than they are?"
"We do it for justice!" came a cry from somewhere to the left. The rest of the crowd seemed to agree.
"Well, if hurtin' and killin' is your idea of justice, then I shudder to think how Canterlot will become if ya'll succeed." Applejack spat. "But I want no part of it."
Quince leaned down to Applejack and whispered, "I harbor no animosity toward you or Lady Rainbow Dash. Find her and get out of Canterlot, and I'll make sure everypony forgets about you." He leaned back a little and smiled at her, and Applejack felt like she was looking at the real Quince again, the one she had spoken too in his room about his sister a lifetime ago. "I'm really not a bad pony, Applejack." Then he nodded.
Applejack was seized from both sides and forced off the platform. "Hey!" she protested, but it was lost in the jeers of the crowd. It seemed Quince wouldn't even allow her the dignity of walking out on her own four hooves.
The crowd parted before them. On either side, ponies yelled and threw insults at her. "Traitor" was the most common, but she heard "whore" more than a few times. Trying to explain herself was useless; they had all turned against her. The occasional glimpses of steel and iron in the crowd made her blood run cold. Held like this, all it would take was one overzealous revolutionary to spill her blood.
Finally, Applejack saw the thick wooden door that led out of the room ahead.
"Open the door!" one of the guards called.
Several ponies scrambled to obey, dragging the heavy thing across the ground, its ancient hinges squealing like an iron pig. The guards tossed Applejack to the ground on the other side of the door, scraping her legs and side on the rough stone. As the door shut, a glob of spit came sailing through the air and hit her in the neck.
With a small boom, the great wooden behemoth shut Applejack out of the room and left her to the flickering light of a single torch. (*)
The corset was so tight that it hurt to breathe.
Rainbow Dash had complained about it all the way down to the ceremony, but her hoofmaids had insisted that it needed to be that tight or else it would get in the way of the rest of the dress. Her hair was pulled into a five-strand braid that was draped in front of her right shoulder, with a jade ring holding it together at the bottom.
Her dress was made to Blueblood's specifications. It was royal and extravagant, the same brilliant white as his coat, with a train that, while it could have probably been carried by only one unicorn, was attended by twelve, just for the spectacle. The back was an explosion of poofs and lace, and the veil was made of a silk so delicate it almost felt like a small waterfall running over Rainbow's face. Blueblood's cutie mark was embroidered in the bodice in gold thread, just as the bride's would be on the groom's suit to symbolize their bond.
It all made Rainbow Dash sick to her stomach. Wasn't her wedding supposed to be the best day of her life? She was supposed to shed tears of joy, to promise to be together forever with a pony she loved and cherished so they could live out their years as one. That was how it had always happened in the books.
But, as Blueblood had taught her, life didn't work out like a fairytale.
Applejack was still in the dungeon, and Rainbow Dash had sealed her fate by striking Blueblood. Tears threatened to form in her eyes at the thought, but she bit down on her lip and forced them back. If she started crying, she wasn't sure she would be able to stop.
She was just inside one of the doors that led out into the royal garden, where the wedding would take place. When everypony was in their seats, the doors would open and her father would walk her down the aisle to trade her off to that foul, deplorable creature that liked to call itself a prince. Any minute now, the bells would ring on the other side of the door to signal that it was time.
Duchess Persephone was already outside, but the duke was waiting just next to Rainbow. He had been uncharacteristically jovial since hearing about the marriage. The smile he wore now was wide and made him look a little like a smug pig. His snout was smushed in and his jowls were huge, and he was almost a head shorter than Dash was.
Duke Ellington Dash IV turned to meet his daughter's gaze. He frowned. "You should be smiling. The ponies want to see you smile." Rainbow Dash noticed that he didn't say that he wanted to see her smile. "You should be smiling," he repeated.
Rainbow resisted the urge to lunge at him, mostly because her corset was too tight and the dress would have gotten in the way. Instead, she forced a smile. Duke Ellington's smile returned.
"You're going to be very well off with the prince," he said. "Just like your mother and I have always wanted. Very well off indeed."
Rainbow Dash sighed, her smile wilting. "I don't want to be well off. I want to be happy."
"Happy?" the duke said, scoffing. "Happiness is a myth. You just give yourself the best circumstances to make life tolerable, and hope the happiness finds you. Then, you have to pray that it doesn't leave." He got a far-off look in his eye. "We all want to be happy, and we want the ponies we love to be happy. I want you to be happy, just like I want your mother to be happy and she wants me to be happy. But making sure you're looked after is more important. Making sure you're safe. And if your happiness is the price I have to pay for that, then so be it."
Where did that come from?
Rainbow Dash looked at her father like she was seeing him for the first time. Was this the same stallion who had stopped her from going outside to play as a foal? The same pony who, when she had grown rebellious, had locked her in her tower so she couldn't get away? The same pony who was happy to see her married to Prince Blueblood? She felt like she was catching a glimpse inside him, not just seeing the jailer, but a little bit of the pony behind it.
She cleared her throat, and that seemed to call him back to reality. He looked at her. "Please make sure you smile," he said.
This is my only chance.
That thought invaded her brain as if catapulted there from an outside source, but she knew it to be true. She turned toward him.
"Father," she said, "listen to me. You can't marry me off to Blueblood."
Her father sighed. "We've been over this--"
"No!" Rainbow cut him off. "You have to listen to me! He's abusive, he's... he's crazy! He is not a nice pony!"
The duke raised his eyebrows at her. "Well, he's always been a little righteous, but... abusive? Did he hurt you?"
Rainbow Dash looked away. "Well, not exactly, but--"
She was interrupted by the opening of the doors. Rainbow Dash had to squint against the sunlight that flooded the small foyer in which they were standing, and she couldn't see anything outside for a few moment.
Their previous conversation apparently forgotten, her father said, "Please try to smile."
Rainbow tried her hardest to look the blushing bride as they stepped out into the sunlight. The traditional Equestrian wedding theme floated from somewhere off to the left as Dash and her father took their first steps down the aisle.
Almost every noble in Canterlot was present; there were so many that to accommodate them all, the aisle went out into the garden, then curved around to the left before leading up to the altar. Rainbow Dash was just thankful that she could walk for a bit without having to look at her future in Blueblood.
Off in the distance, a few dark clouds teased the horizon. Rain scheduled on my wedding day, Rainbow Dash thought. Well, I hope it's scheduled for here. At least then things couldn't get any worse.
The steps they took were slow and deliberate. Rainbow smiled, but she figured the muscles standing out in her neck must have given away how fake it was. Nopony in the crowd seemed to care. Most of the stallions were watching with little interest, and most of the mares were either glaring at her if they were unmarried or crying tears of joy if they were.
Rainbow Dash felt none of those things. If anything, she was envious of the mares in the crowd. At least none of them were married to Blueblood. There was a knot in the pit of her stomach that wouldn't go away no matter how hard she tried. She wondered if it would ever uncoil.
They were approaching the bend now. The clouds in the distance had grown slightly more ominous, and looking at them sent a chill down Rainbow's spine. She took in a deep breath and closed her eyes as they turned. When she opened them again, all she could seem to focus on was Blueblood.
His face was swollen some from where Rainbow had hit him. The darkness of the bruise had been offset by some hastily applied makeup. She smirked; this time, the smile was genuine. But it died on her lips when she saw the look on his face.
He looked like a colt who was just about to scorch and ant with the all-powerful heat of the sun, magnified through a glass. His smile set Rainbow's teeth on edge, and she briefly wondered how the crowd would react if she just socked him right in the face in the middle of their vows.
I swear to always love you, to cherish your mind, body, and soul, and to beat you to death at the first opportunity presented to me.
Rainbow Dash shook herself out of that thought, a new revelation on the forefront of her mind. A whimsical imagining solidified in her mind as a concrete notion that may have contained the solution she sought. Was that it? Was that the answer?
Could she kill Blueblood?
She tried to imagine it. He would be expecting her to fight for the consummation, so it would need to be either before or after. Maybe when he went to sleep that night? The idea of her hooves coming down and crushing his skull made her heart beat faster, though whether it was with fear, guilt, or exhilaration, she couldn't tell.
They were close now, almost to the altar. Out of the corner of her eye, Rainbow could see the clouds growing larger. They seemed to be racing toward the wedding with an unfathomable urgency, but she looked away and tried to put them out of her mind.
When Rainbow and her father reached where the seats ended, he veered off to the right, while she kept on course, stepping up onto the altar with Blueblood.
Equestrian weddings were not a very orchestrated affair. There was spectacle, sure, but the binding of the two ponies themselves was very organic. They would say their vows, oftentimes making up the most romantic thing they could think of on the spot, though many followed general guidelines. Then they would kiss, the crowd would stomp and clap, and they would be separated and prepared for their "big night." The stallions would stay with Blueblood, swapping stories of their weddings and giving him advice--though Rainbow scarcely thought he needed any--while the mares would accompany her to the honeymoon chamber and prepare her for her new husband.
Rainbow Dash took solace in the fact that she wouldn't have to see Blueblood until the fateful moment, but she didn't know if the delay would make it easier to bear, or if the anticipation would be torturous. She guessed the latter.
She stepped up onto the altar. Blueblood's expression had barely changed, and Rainbow Dash had to suppress shivers. He breathed in. The stallion always went first.
"Lady Dash," he began. "I know that we have our differences, and, in the past, have had trouble sorting them out."
The glare was almost subconscious, but she fought it all the same. Differences? she thought. You mean when you nearly killed my best friend and imprisoned Applejack? Yeah, we've had some "differences."
"But I think you are the single most beautiful mare I have ever seen," he continued. "The stars themselves pale in comparison to your radiance. Scholars have searched for centuries to find the most beautiful creature ever created, and yet all they must do is look to the mare standing in front of me now."
Rainbow seethed as best she could through her plastic smile. He was so sweet, so sickeningly saccharine, that she wanted to vomit. Preferably on him, so maybe he would become angry enough to show his true colors to the public.
But she didn't dare. Not with Applejack still locked up. She clenched her teeth and kept her mouth shut.
The clouds on the horizon caught her eye again. Almost a third of the sky was dark now, with angry black clouds that would beget one powerful storm, the beginnings of which were already making themselves known. Dresses and manes were being ruffled by the wind, and a few small drops pelted the onlookers. Rainbow didn't think the prince would allow any rain to be scheduled on his wedding day, and she pitied whatever pony would be caught in his ire for such a mistake.
Blueblood was still talking, but Rainbow Dash noticed some of the ponies in the crowd pointing at the looming weather and whispering.
"This day is the single greatest day of my life," Blueblood said, "although waking up next to you tomorrow will certainly be a contender. I swear to always love you, to cherish your mind, body, and soul, and to remain ever faithful, until we leave this world to join the herd of the next."
The wind was picking up. The clouds were filling half of the sky, and growing rapidly. Rainbow's veil was blown back from her face, and she squinted against the wind. Noblemares in the crowd were standing and holding their clothes against the wind. Then the rain started in force.
It was a drizzle at first, but that was only the front of the storm. Soon it grew into a stinging, torrential downpour, accompanied by near gale-force winds. What had been a wedding a few minutes earlier was quickly transforming into quagmire. Rainbow Dash couldn't help but feel some kind of twisted pride; as a pegasus, this was one impressive storm to conjure up so quickly. The only question was why?
Blueblood turned to look out at the crowd, then up at the clouds.
"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded of nopony in particular. He spun back around, and Rainbow Dash was unfortunate enough to be the pony nearest to him. "Did you orchestrate this?" he asked.
"What?" Rainbow responded. "Why would I do this?"
Blueblood sputtered. "Because... because you want to get back at me! You think a little rain is going to stop our wedding, hm? Well, think again." He turned to the crowd. "Everypony inside!" he roared. "Into the Celestial Foyer!"
Some ponies were already en route, and the rest wasted no time. Nobleponies were turning cushions and chairs over left and right in a mad scramble to escape the garment-ruining storm. Blueblood sneered at Rainbow Dash.
"Come with me, my love, or I swear you will regret it."
A flash of orange further out in the garden caught Rainbow's eye. Her heart sped up, but she squashed the hope. Applejack was in the dungeon.
Then she saw the cowpony hat bobbing above the heads of the crowd, heading straight toward her.
"Applejack!" she called. She took two steps then nearly choked as she was yanked back by her dress collar. She fell to her side.
"I don't think so," Blueblood said a moment later, standing over her. The rain had soaked his hair and stuck it to the side of his face, and he was silhouetted by a lightning flash that transformed him momentarily into a grinning phantom. "You're coming with me."
His horn glowed, and Rainbow Dash felt her dress pull tight on her body, binding her in place. She was lifted off the ground, which, without her controlling it, made her heart leap into her throat. She started to float away, accompanying Blueblood as he hurried through the garden, away from the crowd. If Rainbow craned her neck, she could just see over the crowd to the cowpony hat.
It had barely moved.
Applejack was having trouble fighting against the crowd of fleeing ponies. She would never reach them before Blueblood spirited her away. So, Rainbow did the only thing she could.
She fought.
Rainbow Dash, flexing every muscle in her body, struggled. She pushed outward with her arms, tried to spread her legs, tried to extend her wings, anything that might help free her from Blueblood's telekinetic grasp.
"It won't help to struggle," Blueblood said, but his tone said something different. He was breathing a bit heavier, and his steps were a bit more sluggish. Whatever Rainbow Dash was doing, it was working, so she redoubled her efforts.
She stretched against the magical field, feeling it tense up and try to force her back like a net, snapping her back into place. She pushed again, and this time it stretched a little farther. And again, and it stretched farther still.
"Stop that!" Blueblood commanded, but there was little force behind his words. His gait had slowed to a stumbling walk. Rainbow wriggled and writhed and pushed and flexed against the hold.
There was a sensation like she was tearing through fabric as she lashed out once more, but her dress remained intact. She dropped to the ground, which met her side with a dull thud and drove some of the wind from her lungs.
She looked across the ground to see Blueblood holding his head with his hoof, his eyes clenched shut. "What did you do?" he asked, his voice quivering slightly. He winced. "Why can't I grab you? What did you do!?"
Rainbow Dash stood up, knowing it was only a matter of time before Blueblood recovered his wits. Near the altar, Applejack had broken free of the crowd and was galloping toward her. All Rainbow had to do was run to meet her, and they could escape together.
But Blueblood would still be there. If she knew anything about him, it was that he would never let this go, not after being humiliated and hurt by whatever Rainbow did to his magic. On shaky legs, she walked over to Blueblood's shaking form, which had fallen to its knees.
He seemed to sense her, for he opened his eyes and lashed out with a hoof. "Stay back!" he shouted. His movements were sluggish; Rainbow Dash remembered Twilight describing magic to her long ago, how it was tied to a unicorn's physical strength. Like how a pegasus would eventually get tired if they flew too hard or too long, a unicorn would feel the same exhaustion when overextending their magical abilities.
Blueblood was panting, his shoulders sagging and his head drooping. This might be her only chance.
She hit him.
It was a quick blow to the side of the head, knocking him sideways. He worked to scramble backward away from her. "Stay away!"
Rainbow didn't hear him. All she could think of was Twilight Sparkle, of Applejack, of all the things that she had ever heard about Blueblood or seen him do. She flew into a blind rage, screaming at him as her hooves fell on him again and again, on his face, on his body, anywhere she could reach. He weakly tried to fend her off, but he was no match for her.
Hot tears filled her eyes. She wanted to scream at him, to tell him how much she hated him, and how he was going to kill him, but when she opened her mouth, all that came out was a pained, furious cry. She hit him and felt ribs break. She hit him again crushed something in his stomach. Then she hit something pointy and she winced.
Blueblood screamed. It was a horrible, blood-curdling screech, but Rainbow didn't stop. When she reared back again, she felt something wrap around her hooves. Without thinking, she turned and struck out.
Applejack stopped the blow with her hoof and pulled Rainbow Dash toward her. Rainbow struggled at first, but soon gave up, sobbing into Applejack's chest. Hot tears filled her eyes and her teeth clenched.
"It's not fair!" she cried, stomping. "Why would you stop me?" She sniffed and looked up at the blurry visage of Applejack. "How can you not want him to get what he deserves?"
Applejack nodded behind Rainbow. "I think he already did." Rainbow Dash turned around and almost gasped at what she had done to him.
Blueblood's body was in ruins. His face was black, swollen, and bleeding. His torso was dented in some places, and he was lying back on the grass, the rain running over his body and washing away some of the blood. He was reaching up to his horn, where blood was pouring from the base.
His eyes were crossed, staring up at his horn in shock. "What did..." he started. "What did you do... to me? What did you do to me? What did... what..."
Pity welled up in Rainbow for the miserable creature on the ground before her, the quivering, sobbing mass that had only minutes before been trying to kidnap her. For the life of her, she couldn't figure out where it was coming from, but it gave her a sick, dark feeling in the pit of her stomach. She couldn't seem to tear her eyes away.
Applejack was there, though, to do it for her. She gently pulled Rainbow's gaze away from the prince and back to her own.
"Rainbow, I have to go now," she said. "I hate to do this to ya, but somethin' real bad is about to happen in the palace, and I'm gonna see if I can stop it."
"What?" Rainbow asked. She wiped her nose. "What do you mean?" Applejack's expression was confident, but Rainbow guessed that was just for her benefit, because her eyes were full of fear. "Applejack, what's wrong?"
Applejack shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I just want you to fly away from here as quick as you can. Go to Ponyville. You should be able to find it if you fly up high enough; it's just to the southwest of Canterlot. Sweet Apple Acres is--"
Rainbow Dash stepped back, frowning. "What are you talking about? I'm not going anywhere, not unless you're with me."
Applejack sighed. "Please, Rainbow? Just trust me, it'll be much better for the both of us if you just get outta Canterlot." She paused, chewing on her thoughts. "I can't have you here."
"Well, tough!" Rainbow yelled, stomping. "I'm not just going to leave you, Applejack! Whatever you're going to do, I'm coming with you, and that's that!"
Applejack cried out in frustration. "Consarnit, Rainbow! Do ya have to be so damned stubborn? Why can't you just do this one thing?"
"Because I'm not going to lose you again, Applejack." Rainbow cast her eyes downward. "It's not happening. Whatever you're going to do, I'm going to be there to keep you safe. I couldn't do it before, but I'll be damned if I'm not going to do it now."
Applejack pressed her hoof to her forehead. "It's like arguin' with a rock," she complained. "Alright, you can come with me. Just... promise me you'll stay close. Please?" She looked into Rainbow's eyes. "I don't wanna lose you again, neither."
"I can handle myself, Applejack," Rainbow declared. When she saw the look Applejack gave her, though, she said, "Alright. I promise." She started toward the Celestial Foyer. "Now, can we please get out of this storm so you can tell me what's wrong?"
She jumped some when Applejack grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. "What about him?" she asked.
Rainbow Dash turned to look at Blueblood. "What... what did you... do to me?" he was still saying, repeating it on an endless loop. She sighed and shook her head.
"We can't move him. We can't help him." She furrowed her brow. "Maybe we could get a nurse out here to look at him, but... he looks in bad shape." She shook her head again. "I just... Applejack? Can we just go? You said something bad was going to happen."
After a moment, Applejack nodded. "Yeah, let's go. I'll explain on the way." She started trotting away.
Rainbow Dash followed for a moment, then stopped and tore her dress away. The fine fabric of the dress ripped easily, but the corset laced up the back. It had taken three hoofmaids to get her into it, and no matter how far she reached, there was no way she was going to be able to take it off by herself.
After a moment, Applejack was back. She walked around Rainbow and tugged at the laces of the corset with her teeth, pulling the lace out in one powerful motion. The garment fell away.
"Better?" she asked around the lace in her mouth.
"Better," Rainbow responded, nodding. "Come on, let's go."
Applejack spit the cord out and they started toward the west end of the Gardens. Rainbow Dash didn't know what she was getting into, but as long as she was with Applejack, she felt like she could do anything.
Bring it on. |
Poofy | pre | Celestia was also getting ready for the big night. It had been 18 years. Pinkie Pie still hadn't shown up.
Sombra came up behind her. He wiped away a tear trickling down her cheek. They walked out onto the balcony together, neither saying a word.
The pink lantern with Pinkie's Cutie Mark sat there, waiting. Together they lifted the lantern into the sky. One by one more lanterns filled the sky, these ones appearing from all corners of the kingdom.
From the boat, Pinkie gasped at the sight. It was so beautiful. Every bit of the sky lit up. She looked back at Jack and saw that he was holding two lanterns.
"I have something for you, too." She took out the satchel.
"I wanted to give it to you before, but I was afraid you'd leave me." Pinkie explained.
"It doesn't matter to me anymore." Jack said.
They each took a lantern and lifted it up into the sky.
Pinkie saw a lantern about to hit the water, and at the last minute she slipped her hoof under it and lifted it back up into the air. She didn't notice the three balloons in the pattern of her Cutie Mark.
She looked back into his eyes. They just stared into each other's eyes for a few moments until they both started moving closer.
The gap between them was almost gone when Jack spotted something. A green light shone on the shore with the shapes of Aria and Sonata.
"I need to do something real quick." he said, pulling away.
"Okay." Pinkie said, slightly hurt.
Fluttershy sat there. Why did Rainbow Dash always have to ruin things?
She had no friends, and no job. She was quitting. She never wanted to see that cyan pegasus again.
She was so caught up in her sorrows she didn't notice the approaching pony until he had sat down next to her.
Fluttershy' heart started racing, not sure what to expect. She looked over and saw the stallion she hadn't seen in years. She started grinning like a maniac, looking at her closest friend.
"Discord! You're back!" she exclaimed, throwing her hooves around his neck. Discord smiled and returned the gesture, holding her tightly.
He was just as she remembered. He was always so warm and smelled strongly of cotton candy and chocolate milk.
"Are you staying here?" Fluttershy asked.
"If that is what you wish, my dear." he said.
Fluttershy smiled.
Present time
Jack tied the boat to a tree.
"Wait here." he instructed. "I'll only be a second."
"O-okay." Pinkie stuttered. This wasn't like him, and she couldn't help doubting that he wouldn't come back. It didn't help that he took the satchel with him.
Pinkie watched Jack until he was out of sight.
Jack found Aria and Sonata sitting behind a large rock. Sonata was sharpening her knife, while Aria sat flipping a silver coin in her hoof.
The lantern cast a light directly on their faces, making them seem deadly.
He just wanted to get this over with and be back to Pinkie as soon as possible.
"Well." he started. "I just wanted to tell you that you were right, you do deserve the crown. And you can have it, no catch."
He tossed the satchel over to Aria. He expected her to catch it, but she let it fall to the ground.
"We don't want the crown, Jack." Aria said. She walked slowly over to him, stepping on the worn leather.
"As you may have noticed, we are so ordinary. Always thieving, but we're not much concern. There's nothing amazing about us, although we are quite attractive. We've been watching you Jack. And we couldn't help but notice that little mare alongside you."
"Stay away from her!" he said.
"You and what army?" Aria asked. "That mare could make me rich. Everypony would remember Aria Blaze, the girl who captured the freakshow."
Jack narrowed his eyes.
Pinkie was thinking that Jack would never return when she saw a silhouette coming nearer.
"Oh, there you are. I should have known you wouldn't leave with the crown."
She gasped in shock as the large pony separated into two smaller ponies walking side by side.
They were both mares. One was purple with a dark purple mane, and the other was blue with a dark blue mane.
The blue one was giggling madly, and the purple one had a wild look in her eyes.
"He did." the purple one said. She pointed to a boat which a stallion was at the wheel, steering.
"Jack?" Pinkie called out to him. There was no response. "Jack!" she said frantically.
"Sonata, how much do you think somepony would pay to stay young and healthy forever?"
Pinkie turned around in time to see a sack being produced from the inside of the jacket the purple earth pony was wearing. It was the size of a full grown pony.
"No!" Pinkie cried as she took off running into the black of night. |
Poofy | Chapter 5 | Jack opened his eyes. The last thing he remembered was being knocked out by Aria...
He gasped. "Pinkie!" he called out. "Pinkie!"
Soarin and Fleetfoot were half asleep. They had the night shift, and they were too tired to continue. They awoke to the sound of somepony calling out.
They saw Mozzarella Jack tied to the wheel of a boat, the crown tied to his hoof.
"The crown!" Fleetfoot gasped.
Jack struggled as hard as he could as the two guards carried him into his prison cell. "You don't understand!" he cried. "I need to get back to Pinkie Pie!"
More guards appeared and fought against Jack.
He saw the cell with the Stabbington Sisters. He grabbed Sonata's neck and pulled her against the sell bars. "Who told you? How did you know about her?" he demanded.
"It wasn't us," Sonata said. "It was the old lady."
"Old lady..." Jack whispered in wonder. The guards pulled him away from the mares and forced him to walk down the hall.
Jack turned his head slightly and saw a picture of the Mane 5 from long ago lying on the ground. He gasped as the door in front of them shut.
"Open this door!" Spitfire said, banging on the door angrily.
"You're not coming in!" a familiar voice said form the other side.
"Rainbow Dash! What do you think you're doing?" Spitfire demanded.
"Not letting you in, that's what I'm doing!" Rainbow said from the other side of the door.
Spitfire growled angrily. "You have five seconds, 5, 4, 3..."
Hooves reached out of nowhere and grabbed the guards, pulling them away before they had time to react. When Spitfire turned around she was surprised to see only Jack standing there.
A banging sound echoed through the halls and Spitfire fell to the ground. Twilight stood there levitating a frying pan with her magic.
"Frying pans!" Jack exclaimed. "Cool, right?"
"There's no time." Twilight said. "You have to go."
Jack didn't waste a second. He took off speeding down the hallways.
Some guards appeared out of Celestia-knows-where, but were cut off as Applejack charged them with her head down, as if she were a bull. They screamed and dropped their weapons.
Another group of guards were running around, trying to find Jack. A large blanket of fabrics dropped down in them, making them run into each other.
He ran out to the garden of the castle.
"Stand here." Rainbow Dash said, pushing him to the side. "Get ready for it!" he called to him.
"Ready for whaAAA!" his last word was cut off as he was launched into the air.
He felt his hooves hit the ground, and he was brave enough to open his eyes. He was in a little wagon. In front was a little pegasus mare on a scooter. Tied to the back were three fillies. One was a unicorn, the others Earth Ponies. He recognized them as the ponies who had braided Pinkie's hair that one day. They were on the castle wall.
"Let's go!" the pegasus said. She let out a battle cry as she started flapping her wings like propellers. The two ponies tied to the back of the cart ran as fast as they could.
Jack closed his eyes as the mare on the scooter jumped off the castle wall and landed on the roof on Berry Punch's house.
Right then, said mare was sprawled out on her couch with an ice pack to her head, drinking a glass of water. As the cart banged across her roof, she winced, setting down the glass. That tequila must have been stronger than I thought.
They were speeding through the town now. Everything looked like blobs of color, no identifiable shapes. He yelled out directions to the four fillies.
Soon they arrived at the wall of vines. Jack jumped out of the wagon and ran into the wall, praying Pinkie was okay. |
Poofy | Chapter 6 | Pinkie ran as fast as her hooves could carry her.
She couldn't see anything around her, for it was too dark. She expected Aria and Sonata to jump out in front of her at any minute.
She wasn't thinking about anything about getting away from those ponies. She could hear them getting closer. She could barely breathe at this point. Her hoof caught on a rock and she tripped, scraping her chin as she landed.
She was waiting to be scooped up in a sack, dragged to the town, and be sold for an outrageous amount of bits. She heard a few cries of pain from behind her. She turned her head and saw Adagio leaning over two unconscious mares, club in hand.
"Mother?" Pinkie asked.
"My darling Pinkie!" Adagio said, running to the girl and wrapping a hoof around her shoulders.
"Come on, Pinkie. Let's get you home." Pinkie followed her mother. There was nothing that could make her stay.
Pinkie sat on her bed as Adagio picked the candy out of her hair.
Adagio was collecting the sweets in a basket. She put the last bubble gum in the basket.
"There. It never happened." Adagio looked over at Pinkie, who looked more depressed than ever. Adagio sighed at the sight of Pinkie, her shoulders slumped and her eyes cat down at the floor.
"I tried my hardest. I tried to warn you about the world. It is a cruel and awful place." Adagio walked down the stairs, leaving Pinkie alone.
Pinkie lay down and closed her eyes. Suddenly she remembered something, a little memento she had gotten in town. It was a small flag with a picture of the Two Sisters on it, the flag of Canterlot.
She looked closely at the design, taking in the detail. She put the flag down and sighed.
She looked up at all of the paintings she had done on the walls and ceiling. Back then everything was so easy. She never had to make decisions like one she had made in the last three days.
She looked at a picture of a Breezie she had seen in a book. Pinkie sat up suddenly.
In between the group of Breezies was the form of the Two Sisters. The shapes some streamers were making were in the shapes of the Two Sisters. All around her, she saw shapes of the Canterlot flag, hidden within her paintings.
Suddenly she remembered. The moment she had tried on the crown, when she had seen the mural for the first time, when she had lifted the lantern with her Cutie Mark on it.
It was all so clear. She tried to stand, but her back legs started to give out and she fell against her vanity.
Adagio could hear the crash from where she was downstairs.
"Pinkie?" she called. "Are you alright? What's going on up there?" She walked up the stairs and saw Pinkie coming out of her room, her knees shaking.
"What's the matter?" Adagio asked.
"I'm the lost princess," Pinkie whispered to herself.
"What?" Adagio asked.
"I am the lost princess, aren't I?"
Adagio did not respond.
"Was I unclear, mother? Or should I even call you that?" Pinkie scowled.
"Why Pinkie, that's absurd! You, of all ponies!" Adagio said, walking towards Pinkie.
"It was you! It was all you!" Pinkie said, pushing Adagio out of the way. "All my life I've been hiding from the world when I should have been hiding from you!"
Adagio narrowed her eyes. "Where will you go? He won't be there for you."
Pinkie looked worried. "What did you do to him?"
"That criminal is to be killed by order of the Princess."
Pinkie gasped. Her mind was racing. Jack was one of her best friends. She didn't know what she would do without him. There was still so much she didn't know about the world.
"It's alright, darling. Everything is as it should be." She lifted her hoof to pat Pinkie's head, but Pinkie grabbed the old woman's hoof and prevented her from reaching any further.
"No... You were wrong about the world. About me! You took me away from my home... and now," She locked her gaze with Adagio. Her eyes were glowing. "You've taken the life of my best friend!" Pinkie pushed Adagio away as hard as she could, making the unicorn trip over the mirror and making it shatter.
Pinkie walked into the shadows, with no intention of getting away.
Jack stood at the base of the castle.
"Pinkie!" he cried. "Pinkie let down your hair!"
Nothing happened. He was about to start climbing the tower himself when he heard the shutters creak open. He looked up and saw a wave of bright pink hair falling from the window.
As quick as he could he climbed the hair and made it into the tower.
"Oh, Pinkie I was so worried." he started, but saw Pinkie Pie tied up and a gag over her mouth. She was screaming something, but he could not understand her, hence the gag.
He shrieked as a sword penetrated his back. Adagio was standing there behind him, a bloodthirsty look in her eyes.
The only thing he could see was Pinkie. There was a waterfall of tears streaming down her face.
"Now, look what you've done, Pinkie Pie." Adagio said, motioning to Jack, who was on the ground and writhing in pain.
"Now we are going where you'll never be able to escape, and where nopony will ever find you again!" She dragged the chain that was connected to Pinkie's front hooves.
Pinkie pulled back as hard as she could, but Adagio was much stronger than her. Finally she stretched the gag out enough that it fell around her neck.
"No." Pinkie said. "I will never stop trying to get away from you. For every second I will fight. But just let me heal him. I'll come with you. I'll be your daughter again. Just let me heal him."
Adagio's expression was unreadable, although a hint of anger flared in her eyes. She let go of the chains.
Pinkie went as fast as she could to Jack's side. "Jack." she said. "Jack." Blood was dripping down his front and his back.
"Pinkie." he whispered. He brushed the hair out of her face with his hoof. In his other hoof he held a shard of glass from the broken mirror. He leaned forward and chopped off all of her hair, and now it was the average length for a mare.
"Jack, what..?" she said, feeling her mane with her hoof.
"No!" Adagio screamed. She tried to gather up as much hair as she could, but that did not stop her from turning as old as Equestria itself.
"What have you done?" she screamed. "What have you done?!"She put the hood of her cape over her head and started walking backwards. She tripped over a fallen over chair and fell out of the still-open shutters.
"No!" Pinkie screamed as Adagio fell.
Pinkie ran to the window and watched.
As Adagio hit the ground hundreds of feet below, she turned into dust, leaving nothing but a black shawl. |
Poofy | Chapter 7 | Pinkie sobbed. What was she to do now? Her ears perked up when she heard a soft moan from behind her. She saw Jack moving slightly. She ran over to his side.
He opened his eyes slowly. "Pinkie." he whispered. His eyes shut and his body went limp.
"No." Pinkie cried out "No!!"
She would be stuck here forever with no way out. She wouldn't be able to get down without somepony's help, and there was nopony else there.
One tear fell right on his wound. The tear was bright pink. Not your average tear.
Pinkie opened her eyes upon hearing a vibrating sound. She looked down and saw the outline of a heart on Jack's chest.
The vibrating sound grew louder and louder. A bright white light illuminated the room.
When the light had died down, Pinkie uncovered her eyes and saw Jack lying there. He was moving slightly. One last sliver of hope glimmered inside her.
He opened his eyes slowly.
"Jack!" Pinkie exclaimed happily.
"Cheese. My real name is Cheese Sandwich." he said quietly.
Pinkie giggled. Without thinking, she leaned forward and kissed him-right on the lips. She finally realized what was happening. She pulled back, a blush on her cheeks. "Oh, Cheese, I'm so sorry, I didn't-" Cheese leaned forward and locked their lips together again.
Celestia and Sombra were sitting on their thrones when Sassaflash burst in. "She has returned." she said.
The king and queen walked out to the roof of the castle to see a mare and a stallion. Pinkie looked over at them. She ran toward them as fast as she could and threw her arms around their necks.
"The kingdom rejoiced." Cheese narrated. "The princess had returned. Everypony celebrated. I can't remember much of what happened."
"I remember!" Pinkie said happily. "Twilight and Flash Sentry, one of the guards got married. And so did Rainbow Dash and Soarin. And Fluttershy and Discord. And Rarity and Fancy Pants. And Applejack and Spike. And of course, me and Cheese!"
"And so, everyone lived happily ever after!" Pinkie said.
The scene changed. Pinkie and Cheese were sitting in front of a group of students. Cheerilee had asked them to tell their story for her class in celebration of Hearts and Hooves Day.
The fillies and colts clapped their hooves.
"Alright class, settle down." Cheerilee said. "It's almost time to start going home." All of the kids groaned, wanting to hear more from the Prince and Princess.
The couple walked out the doors of the classroom.
Watching them leave was a purple mare with a birght blue mane leaning against a tetherball post. She looked towards the screen.
"Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, everypony." she said before disappearing in a flash of light. Her laugh echoed throughout the area. |
Detective Domination | pre | She thought she'd be able to last longer, but with such intense estrus spells being pumped into her, and her unfamiliarity with outright being pleasured, it seemed her body was giving in fast. Still she knew she had her mind. If her body was reaching its limit, she'd do everything she could to focus on her own will.
Cum and become a slave.
Her legs shook below her, as her pussy began to wink even faster. Her entire body tensed up, as she quickly reinforced the barricades of her mind as the inevitable came.
I won't become his.
With that defiant thought, she felt an explosion of pleasure release from within her.
Fall.
Her body began to spasm, as she threw her head back and let out a blissful howl. No!
Gasping with pleasure, her pussy gushed with her marecum as her climax washed over her. The spell surged into her without remorse, conquering more and more of her thoughts.
Serve him.
She slammed her mouth shut, bracing her body as the remainder of her orgasm ran its course. She steeled her resolve, fending off the book's influence valiantly.
Never!
Gasping, the rush of pleasure from her orgasm began to subside. She heaved air into her lungs, relieved to still have herself, but something felt off. The spell's voice was still within her. She found herself craving Anon, wishing to submit to him, but her fiery resistance spoke even louder.
"F-fuck you, Mas - eck - Anon..."
Anon's devilish grin quickly dropped, hearing her still defying him after her orgasm. "What?!"
Sunny stopped rubbing her pussy, with Izzy following soon after. Both slaves looked up, utterly bewildered. The spell had stopped channeling through their horns, which meant it should be entirely in Zipp--resulting in the pegasus being an obedient bitch just like them.
"Did you two stop the spell early? She came! She should be my bitch now!" Anon blurted out, glancing towards the two.
Zipp snickering between heavy breaths, wincing as he continued to slowly thrust into her asshole. "H-heh...told you...I wouldn't fall."
"Maybe it's because she came so fast?" Izzy cooed, wiping sweat from her brow. "I was getting really into it too! C'mon, Zipp, just accept being a mindless bitch like Sunny and I!"
Zipp scrunched her muzzle, glowering over at the unicorn. "Tch ~ Never! I'll never be his slave! He won't get away with - nnnf!"
Anon cut her off with a harsh slap on the ass, his frustration boiling up as he began to rail her anew. Her smug look melted into one of pleasure, as her eyes rolled back and a sea of moans began to escape her lips.
"Yeah? You're still moaning like a whore for me though!" Anon growled.
"F-fuck - nnngh - you!"
Ever so curious, Sunny rose up on her shakey legs, trotting over towards Zipp. Levitating the book with her magic, she flipped through its pages. Reading entry after entry, tuning out Zipp's moaning as she focused, her eyes went wide.
"Master, stop rutting her, please."
Having gripped the back of Zipp's mane and tugged her head back, Anon was entirely consumed with railing the smug pegasus as harshly as he could. His free hand delivered a flurry of smacks to her glistening asscheeks, he grit his teeth as he tugged her head back, and he pounded into her with a vengeance.
"Master!"
Sunny's yell finally snapped him from his intense annoyance, leading him to release Zipp's mane and slow down his thrusting. Zipp's head fell forward, as she continued to moan from his gentler thrusts.
"What?" he grumbled, eyeing Sunny. "Did you figure out what's going on?"
She nodded. "I think so. I need to look at her eyes."
Anon slowed to a halt, leaving his cock within Zipp's ponut as it continued to clench down on him. Given a chance to breathe, spared momentarily from the onslaught of pleasure she was facing, Zipp composed herself and shakily looked ahead, only to be met with Sunny's curious face.
"What're you doing?"
Sunny stared into her eyes, narrowing her vision before smirking. "Hmmm, yup! She's basically your slave, Master!"
"H-huh?!" Zipp blurted, shaking her head. "No the hay I'm not!"
Sunny rolled her eyes, levitating a mirror towards them. "Sure ~ Take a look for yourself."
Scrunching her muzzle in annoyance, Zipp grit her teeth as the mirror was levitated before her. Looking into it, her eyes went wide as her heart skipped a beat. One eye of hers was normal as ever, cerulean and full of life, but it was her other eye that made her shudder. Within it was a heart, the exact same kind Sunny and Izzy had, and it shimmered with the spell's dark magic.
"W-what did you do to me!" she exclaimed.
Anon eyed the mirror, seeing her odd eye as well. "Woah, it's like she's half enslaved..."
"It's exactly that, actually!" Sunny caressed Zipp's face, smiling. "You actually are Master's property now! It's just that you're missing a few steps~"
Zipp felt a rush of anxiety run through her. "S-shut up! No I'm not! He's not m-my Master!"
With his cock still deep within Zipp's backdoor, biting his lip as her body still caressed his length, Anon furrowed his brow. "Slave, explain to me how you know this."
Sunny nodded, presenting the book to him. "The previous owner dealt with something super similar to this with a mare named Lightning Dust." She flipped to another page. "As you can see, there were a couple other bitches who resisted their purpose, but Lightning Dust was the first one for him."
"And...what happened?" Anon pressed.
"Her defiance was so strong that one dose of the enslavement spell wasn't enough to enslave her!" Sunny explained, swaying her hips as her excitement was clearly growing. "Only one of her eyes had hearts in them while her cutie marks also shimmered with magic, just like Zipp! After a second dose of the spell she was broken beyond repair and fully enslaved."
Anon slowly began thrusting into Zipp again, a wide grin spreading across his countenance. "Then all I've gotta do is make this fat-assed bitch cum again and she'll be my cocksleeve?~"
"I'm n-not your bitch! And I don't have a f-fat ass!" Zipp groaned, shuddering as she felt him pressing into her again. "You won't enslave me!"
"Not yet, slut," Sunny snapped, glowering at Zipp. She turned, smiling up at Anon. "'Cause I've got some fun news for Master!"
Anon raised a brow, slowing down his thrusts into Zipp again. "Huh? What?"
"Pull out of her."
"Awww, but I wanna see her getting rutted again!" Izzy bemoaned, flopping onto the floor, distraught.
Sunny rolled her eyes, chuckling at her fellow slave. "Trust me, Iz, this'll be really hot."
Seeing Zipp's cutie mark shimmering with magic, taking note of what Sunny had been telling him, Anon gradually began to pull out of Zipp. Her tight ponut gripped onto his length, yearning for more of his length even though her mind wanted the very opposite. Gradually, inch by inch, more of his shaft left her, before it finally escaped entirely. Zipp let out a deep groan as he exited her, gnawing her lip as her eyes fluttered.
"Okay, now what?" Anon asked.
Sunny licked her lips, eyeing Zipp's flank. "Slap your cock right between those fat asscheeks of hers~"
"T-they're not fat!" Zipp growled, blushing deeply. She shook her head, scrunching her muzzle. "Gah! That's beside the point! Let me go! You aren't making me one of you!"
"She's really insistent on that, huh?" Izzy giggled, bouncing over towards Sunny. "So, whatcha gonna have Master do?"
Watching as Anon slapped his length cozily between Zipp's buns, Sunny's devious grin widened. "Tell her to twerk all over you dick, Master~"
"What?!" Zipp yelled, eyes wide. "Why in all of Equestria would I ever do that!"
Wholly confused by what Sunny could be scheming, Anon complied. "Zipp, clap your ass for me~"
"Y-yeah right! Like I'd ever - wha?!"
Finding her body working against her, Zipp began thrusting her ass back. Clapping her flanks against Anon's dick, sliding her slickened holes along his length as she did, her eyes went wide as dinner plates.
"W-what the buck!?"
Sunny was nearly giddy, prancing in place as she watched Zipp's own body disobey her. "Heh, just like the book said!~"
The pegasus continued to twerk on Anon's groin, going so far as to lower her torso a portion so her back could arch and her rump would be better situated. The tempo was constant, as her lust was flung from her pussy and the sweat dripping down her form danced. Her face twisted in discomfort, the heat spell running through her not helping her nethers as Anon's cock taunted them. She tried straining against herself, but found her body simply ignoring any directives she tried to give it.
"H-how did you?!" Her eyes fluttered as Anon's tip teased her asshole once more, groaning. "Aaahn ~ F-fuck!"
"Well you see, Zipp~" Sunny cooed, shooting the pegasus a wink. "Sure, maybe your mind resisted that first dose of the enslavement spell, something most ponies could never do, but your body gave in entirely."
Anon's eyes went wide, letting out a satisfied sigh as Zipp continued to twerk against his cock. "Hehe, so I can control her body, hmm?"
"Yup~" Sunny cheered, snickering. "She's basically your bitch."
Zipp's eyes darted back and forth, moving from the pseudo-alicorn to Anon over and over. Her mind was still scrambled, intrusive thoughts now permanently cemented into her brain and messing with her logic. They weren't corrupting more of her, but they fully took up the regions of her thoughts they had conquered. She had an unexplainable lust towards Anon, an unwelcome urge to submit to him, and her mind was screaming at her to beg him to rut her senseless. She knew her mind would be entirely consumed by these sensations if she lost to him, but, as she felt herself continuing to twerk on him against her will, she gnawed her lip.
She was starting to think this was a definite losing battle.
"I...I..." she mumbled, unable to think straight, seeing Sunny and Izzy both charging the enslavement spell once again.
"Zipp, stop twerking on me."
She felt her body immediately stop at Anon's words, resting now as his cock remained sandwiched between her thick flanks. Gulping, unsure what to say, and unable to do anything at all, she prayed to the stars above that her mental fortitude could hold on to her sanity. Feeling him pull away from her, earning a whimper from her as the presence of his dick left her, she glanced back at him.
He motioned towards Izzy, who nodded her head in understanding immediately. Sticking her tongue out, Izzy surged magic into the glue-esque spell she had locked Zipp in place with. After a few moments, the structures trapping Zipp cracked and crumbled away. Zipp wanted to flee, to spread her wings and fly out the window to safety-to the salvation of her free will, but she couldn't. Her body wasn't her own, not anymore, as it bent to Anon's every word. All she had left in her arsenal was the iron will her defiant spirit had cemented over the years. Her stern, serious mentality was already half consumed by his dark magic, and now it seemed that the final battle for her will was about to begin.
"Lay on your back."
Her body once again obeyed Anon, as she lowered herself to the ground and rolled over. Now on her back, she looked up at him, gulping nervously as she drank in the view of his looming figure above her. He was big, muscular, and suddenly insanely handsome to her. She knew it was the spell's magic telling her these things, making her crave him and driving her instincts to make her submit, but she couldn't shake it. It felt so real, and it felt so right. These emotions towards the man she now despised, the creature that was intent on turning her into a mindless sex slave-she yearned for him.
She cursed under her breath, enraged at her other half for being overtaken so easily. She couldn't lose here, she couldn't become a slave. She was a princess, she was one of the ponies who reunited Equestria, and she was the best darn detective she ever knew! Losing her would only lead her to a life full of bliss, breeding and sheer...pure...carnal...
Scrunching her muzzle, she shook her head, finding her mind once again being swallowed whole by the corruption that had woven into her thoughts. Doing her utmost to steel herself, she scowled up at Anon, intent on not showing any weakness. She needed to use every bit of leverage she could muster, and showing him her newfound lust and submission towards him would only yield her to an unsavory fate in the view of her logic.
"Spread your legs."
She did as told, not because she wanted to but because she had to. She winced, embarrassment consuming her as she felt her marehood be revealed once again. The cold air of the Brighthouse swept over her winking, drooling depths, sending an ecstatic shiver up her spine and truly showing her just how desperate her body had become. She'd do this, happily, if he conquered her. She wouldn't give him that.
"W-what now...you...you loser..." she grumbled, her voice shaky as she struggled to pull her eyes off his cock.
Anon bent down, reaching out and grabbing onto one of her tits. He caressed it in his hand, squeezing and rubbing it up and down. Taking his free hand, he did the same with her other bosom, feeling her up. He smirked, playing with her fat breasts with joy, licking his lips as he did.
"Fuck, Zipp, you've got the biggest rack yet!" He leaned down, taking one of her nipples into his mouth and swirling his tongue around it. Suckling on her breast for a few moments, earning a set of moans from Zipp, he pulled away. "And your sister is bigger than this?! Huff, she's going to make a great bitch."
Hearing Anon threaten her sister with a fate as a sex slave struck a nerve in Zipp, calling upon her protective spirit as Pipp's older sibling. "You leave her out of this! Y-you piece of trash!" She scowled, baring her teeth at him. "I won't become your slave! She won't! And Izzy and Sunny will be freed! You...you won't get away with this!"
"As much as I love this defiant spirit of yours, I want to see you be my obedient fucktoy now," Anon snapped back, glaring at her. "Sunny, Izzy, you two ready?"
"Yup!" the two slaves replied in unison, grinning.
Anon nodded, wrapping his arms around Zipp's hindlegs. She was powerless to stop him, nervously looking up at him as she pressed them up, nearly folding her over herself as she watched her hind legs near her head. Her heart skipped a beat, feeling him begin to press his tip to her pussy, only now realizing he had locked her into a mating press. She knew the position was an intense one, from her very few escapades to more amorous sites on her phone, but never did she think she was going to be on the receiving end of it.
Then again, she never thought she might be ending up an obedient cumdump to an alien from another world, but here she was, her body already a tool for his pleasure with her mind next on the list to be conquered.
She braced herself, feeling his tip pressing against her folds further, parting her lips. Half her mind was screaming with joy at the prospect of being railed by her Master, while the other side was against every single factor of the situation. Logic dueled with obedience, and she wasn't even facing the spell for the second time yet.
"Slaves, hit her with it."
But now it was going to happen.
In unison, Izzy and Sunny blasted the spell towards her while Anon plunged into Zipp's depths. The two-way combo of magic and carnal might through Zipp for a loop, earning the most ecstatic moan she had uttered so far. Her mind began to crumble immediately, a sizeable chunk of her resistance instantly being converted to the joyous bliss that wished to take hold of her.
Anon was relentless, folding her over herself and pounding into her with reckless abandon. Time and time again, he struck her g spot, sending unfathomable volumes of pleasure through her. Sheer ecstasy ran up her spine as he went, her womb being kissed by his tip each time he hilted within her, only to be saddened by the sensation of him pulling away. Her ass clapped with each plunge he made, her cheeks rippling from the sheer force in which he fucked her with. Her pussy was alight in electrifying pleasure, spasming and grasping at every inch of his cock as he thrusted.
Your ass is fat, and it's meant to serve him.
Try as she might, Zipp couldn't fight back the smile that spread across her muzzle at the thought. Her flanks were huge, whether she liked it or not. Even with all the working out, all the dieting, everything and anything she did to stay fit-her ass was always thick as could be. If she wasn't destined to be his whore, then why couldn't she escape her genetics demanding her to have such a breedable figure?
Anon kept plowing into her, as Izzy and Sunny intensified the enslavement spell, her cutie mark flashing the symbol of a heart with chains as the minutes went by.
You were made to be claimed. Made to be a fucktoy. Made to be his bitch.
She was crumbling, and crumbling fast. The intensity in which he fucked her, accompanied with the position being one of sheer dominance, was undoing her resistance at the seams. With each ecstatic feeling of his cock filling her, more of the enslavement spell pumped into her, and more of her mind was transformed into that of a slave's.
Speaking was impossible, as all she could utter were moans of pleasure. Her adamancy to resist letting out her girlish howls was long gone, and she hollered with bliss like a mare on prom night. She had no reason to resist it, no will to do it. That part of her had been already overcome by the spell, and the dwindling remnants of her mind were next.
Obedience is bliss. You live to serve.
Zipp struggled to remember why she was so opposed to this or why she thought it was bad. Sunny and Izzy seemed happy, with the unicorn outright telling her she didn't want to be released from Anon's control. Her mind was telling her it was good, and she genuinely struggled to find anything to oppose the claim. It felt good, and living for it seemed right.
Her tongue lazily lolled out of her mouth, her body lurched and bent further over itself from Anon's weight, her eyes rolled back, and her moans had dumb giggles mixed in with them now. It was a rapid descent, but her resistance was now at its limit, finding itself pinned against a rock and a blissful place-and the choice was becoming ever clearer to Zipp. As she felt Anon's cock beginning to flare within her, the inkling of her second climax already taunting her, she only had one clear thought.
Cum and submit.
She groaned, shivering from head to hoof as the world around her spun. Logic and reason melted away. She didn't need to think. She didn't deserve to think. She didn't have to use logic.
Cum and experience pure bliss.
She wasn't meant to save her friends, she wasn't meant to be a detective, she wasn't meant to be a princess, and she wasn't meant to have free will.
Cum and become his.
She was meant to be his slave.
Throwing her head back, she let out a cry of unrefined bliss as the last vestiges of her sense of self were utterly consumed by the book's magic. Her ecstasy was in another realm, but, as Anon let out a deep groan, she found herself passing the gates of nirvana. The first traces of his cum filling her depths felt like mini orgasms in of themselves, making her scream with untold volumes of carnal delight. Her pussy gushed with her juices, coating her thighs and his body with her climatic fluid, all while his cum flooded her womb with immense ease.
She felt the deepest parts of her fill with his essence, a part of her in despair as she knew she couldn't yield his foals-yet at least. The only coherent thoughts she had were those of her quickly forging purpose in life. Savoring his cum, milking his cock dry, and loving every second the mind-shattering orgasm overcoming her. She thanked her pathetic former self for losing so quickly, for caving in to this second round and letting herself be dominated to such a degree.
Her body spasmed intensely, Anon's seed now overflowing from her womb and painting her walls with his molten release. She sputtered and spat, sloppily groaning as more and more of her climax gushed from her pussy. The air was littered in a thick musk of her and his scent, with Izzy and Sunny contributing to it as they had resumed rubbing themselves. Vanilla mixed with orange and lavender, and the cherry on top was the earthy scent Anon had provided.
She felt the magic funnel into her cutie mark and head, no traces of its aura outside anymore, as it was all contained within. It felt like she was being reborn, finding herself ascending to what her life was truthfully meant for-and she knew that she was born for this exact purpose. Her cutie mark warped, the once royal seal of her life replaced with the signature heart surrounded by chains. Her purpose was remade, her talent now that of a submissive bitch's, and she blinked once, reopening her eyes to showcase the hearts that now filled them.
She had become a slave.
Her climax felt like it lasted a small eternity, sending her in and out of consciousness as her mind was remodeled to fit what she now lived for. Her and Anon both found the end of their bliss arriving, as Sunny and Izzy both reached the beginning of their own ecstasy. Panting, still folded over like the fucktoy she now was, she groaned as Anon leaned back, giving her strained body some relief from the position she had been in.
Sweat ran down her form, as well as his, and cum now began to gush out of her pussy-his load too much for her depths to handle. Her belly bulged subtly, her satisfaction was finally found, and a need to please now drove her to act. Giggling, she grabbed Anon's hands with her hooves. Guiding them down to her tits, she placed them onto her bosoms, moaning with splendor as he immediately squeezed down on them.
"Heh, not so against me grabbing these anymore, are you?"
She dumbly giggled, a cocklusted smile splitting her muzzle. "Of course not! My huge tits, fat ass, and every other part of me are all yours to enjoy!" She licked her lips, the hearts within her eyes shimmering with magic. "Master~"
"Hnnng ~ Y-yeah! Eat my ass, M-Master!"
Pressing her thick rump back into Anon's face, Zipp let out a groan of pleasure. Grinding her ponut into his lips, shivering as he licked at her sweaty backdoor, she giggled to herself. Cum dripped from her snatch, having been filled five more times after being conquered. Her belly was bulging a portion too, having throated and swallowed his load after each individual rutting of her snatch. Now finding him craving her asshole, she was more than happy to appease him. After all, it was her purpose.
Anon raised a hand, slapping her asscheek as he pulled his lips away from her tailhole with an audible pop. "Pah ~ Fuck, this asshole of yours is just too good!"
"You sound much better like this, Zipp~" Sunny cooed, laying back in a pool of her own sweat on the bed, having just been filled for the fourth time that evening.
Laying on her stomach, with her ass raised in the air as cum spurted out of her asshole, Izzy croaked. "Y-Yesh...she shounds...sho...mush better..."
Swirling her tongue around Anon's tip, preparing to give him yet another blowjob, Zipp snickered. "Heh, you really - huff - did fuck her into a near coma~"
"Well," Anon started, pulling away from Zipp's ponut once again, "six rounds in a row, nonstop with everything I had, and with zero breaks for her to relax, probably does the trick." He smacked Zipp's asscheeks again, winking at her. "Now slurp all over my cock to get it ready to pump this ass of yours full of cum~"
Zipp licked her lips, leveling her muzzle with his tip. "Happily, Master~"
She dove down onto his length in an instant, slipping his entirety down her throat in one, swift motion. She gagged for a second, still training her throat to serve his cock properly, but before long she began routinely bobbing her head up and down. Slurping all over his cock, using her tongue to tease the underside of it as she moved up each time, she smothered his face in her massive derriere as she serviced him.
To their side, rolling onto her side, Sunny shrouded her asscheeks in her magic, spreading them apart. Showing off her own glistening ponut, she giggled. "You gotta fill my asshole up next, Master ~ I need some cum in there~"
"After I fill the new bitch again, slut," Anon replied, reaching over and squeezing Sunny's pillowly rump. "For now, come worship my nuts."
Sunny's enthralled eyes danced with excitement, as she shimmied over to his groin. Eyeing Zipp, she pulled the pegasus' face up, taking her lips off of his cock. Winking at her, she lunged forward, pulling Zipp into a kiss. The princess was shocked at first, but quickly returned the gesture, moaning into Sunny's mouth as Anon returned to eating her ass out.
The kiss lasted a few more moments, before Sunny pulled away. "Told you you'd be thanking me for helping turn you into a cocksleeve~"
"H-hehe...yeah~" Zipp cooed, giving Sunny a peck on the nose. "Thanks for teaching - hnng - me the bliss of being Master's sex slave~"
Sunny playfully booped her on the nose. "Good ~ Now let's get to fulfilling our purpose as his bitches~"
The two nodded, before diving back down onto his nethers. Engulfing one of his nuts into her mouth, Sunny greedily began to suckle on his orbs. Her tongue caressed one while her magic massaged the other, as she rotated her actions on each every few moments. Experienced with serving him by now, she braced her hind legs, beginning to throw her ass back as she worshiped him. The sound of her asscheeks clapping filled the air, acting as a firm reminder of the conquest of her mind.
Above her, hungrily downing his cock over and over again, Zipp deepthroated him with growing whorish expertise. She wasn't the most experienced, but now that she literally lived to do this, she was quickly catching on to utilizing her sole reason to exist-his pleasure. She made sure to utilize every moment, twerking her ass each time Anon pulled his face away from her ponut to breathe, making sure her slutty figure wasn't put to waste for even a second. She despised her idiotic former self for loathing her extremely generous rump, as it was perfect to please her Master with.
The two worked in unison, slobbering all over his goods as they slickened it with their saliva. Their combined efforts were quick to achieve their goal, as Anon's balls churned within Sunny's mouth. Feeling him beginning to flare, Zipp took a deep breath and dove down, hilting him within her throat and waiting for her meal.
With a groan, Anon shot rope after rope of cum down the pegasus' gullet. She shuddered from head to hood with delight as she felt his warm seed fill her belly, eyes fluttering with immense pleasure as he drove his tongue into her asshole with increased desire. Making sure she gulped down every last drop of his release, she pulled her head back and released his cock.
"Bah! Mmmm ~ Thank you for the meal, Master!" she cooed, twerking her flanks as he pulled his face away. "I love being your slave!"
"Now you do, that's for sure." He squeezes her asscheek, nodding his head. "Get this fat ass on my cock~"
Zipp giggled, wiggling her hips and she slid down his body. With her rump facing him, she positioned his cock to her entrance. "Hehe, you really like calling it a 'fat ass', don't you?"
"Well, that's what it is!" Sunny replied, moving out of the way and laying beside Izzy. Flaunting her rear beside the near unconscious unicorn's raised one, she giggled. "Got us beat by a fair bit~"
Anon nodded. "What the other slut said. I can't help it~"
"I don't mind!" Zipp chirped. "It, and my existence as a whole, are your property! Call me or it whatever you want~"
"Good, now ride me, whore."
"Yes, Master!"
Dutifully obeying his order, Zipp slammed down onto him. His cock slipped into her backdoor with ease, thanks to the saliva coating it and his shaft, and he instantly earned a delighted moan from Zipp. Adamant on obeying her Master, pushing through the intense pleasure running through her, Zipp began to bounce on his lap. Her ass jiggled right before his eyes, earning the expected couple slaps he always gave it, as he leaned back and sighed.
"Ahhh ~ It's surreal to think your sister has an ass almost as big as this!"
"And tits somehow bigger than hers!" Sunny chimed, now laying on her side as Izzy rested on her. "Hope you don't mind, but Izzy kinda fell asleep."
Anon glanced over, seeing the adorable sight of Sunny nuzzling Izzy against her chest. He knew for sure they had a romantic penchant for each other, and seeing them cuddling was downright too cute to bear.
"Not an issue at all, you adorable mare you~" he cooed, refocusing on Zipp. "So, your sister's got an even bigger rack on her?"
Zipp nodded, her own huge tits slapping together as she rode him. "M-mhm! She's got a - unf - pair of udders on her!" She threw her head back, groaning deeply as Anon thrusted up into her on her way down. "Nnngh ~ A-are you going to enslave her next, Master?"
"Oh? What happened to you wanting to protect her?" Anon teased.
Shaking her head, Zipp began to ride him even faster. "The stupid bitch I once was was the one who wanted to protect her! Now I'd love nothing more than to see her become a stupid whore just like me~" She snickered, a devious grin splitting her muzzle. "She's a pretentious, spoiled slut with a body made - hnnng - to be claimed! She deserves to be ruined by your bliss, Master!"
Anon spanked Zipp's ass again, smiling up at her. "Well then, slut, guess that's that." He eyed the clock, seeing how he had been busy railing his slaves into the later hours of the night. "It's getting late, so we'll break that plump princess tomorrow~"
"Oooh~ I've got an idea!" Zipp replied, licking her lips.
"And what would that be?"
Zipp fluttered her wings at her side, trying to contain her excitement as she bounced on his cock. "Since she - ahn - didn't show up here tonight, she probably slept in the upstairs section of Mane Melody!"
"Yeah, and?"
"She always sleeps in, meaning it'll be Jazz alone tomorrow when it opens."
Anon was quickly catching onto the mare's plan. "So what you're saying is..."
"Why not make Jazz a fucktoy nice and quickly, and when my sister comes down, we use her to help ruin the bitch~"
"You think Jazz will be easy to break that fast?"
Zipp nodded. "Mhm ~ She'll be a mindless slave like the rest - huff - of us in no time at all!" She smirked. "Then we can take our sweeeeet time annihilating my sister's mind~"
The scheme was downright devilish, but it was fitting for a mare as witty as Zipp. She not only had arguably the sexiest body yet, but her mind was a gift in itself. Able to devise amorous action like a pro, Anon thrusted up into her with renewed vigor. A new slave was taken today, but a two for one deal was prepared for tomorrow. Finding himself revitalized, the book's magic shimmering through him and sending him further down the path of no return, he chuckled.
"Sounds like a plan~" |
Xenophilia | pre | "I thought of that!" He grinned. "How about this; I'll wear your feather here at home, but the rest of the time I'll keep this," he tapped the twist of hair that held the feather, "braided just like this. That way, even when I'm not actually wearing it, it'll always have a place with me. What do you think?"
"I... I think..." She hugged him fiercely, knowing she was probably hugging a bit too hard, but needing a way to convey the strength of her feelings. "I think I may be the luckiest mare ever. You know how much I love you, right?"
"I know," he said, kissing the top of her head, "And don't forget that I love you, too." |
Xenophilia | Heated Passion | A couple of weeks later, Rainbow woke up from the best dream she'd ever had in her life. She couldn't even remember any specifics, just warm waves of pleasure all over her body. She stretched, feeling a slight shiver run through her at how good the gesture felt. Her wings fanned the air of her cloud home, and she found herself wishing her human coltfriend was here for an early-morning quickie. The idea ran through her head in a series of mild fantasies, and she shivered again, biting her lip at the thought of how nice that would feel.
She froze, the specifics of the way she felt finally registering. Oh no. Dangit, I'm in heat. It had to happen sooner or later; with most mares, it happened a couple of times a year, and her last one had been about six months ago. It was massively inconvenient, though, and the fact that she had a lover now was going to make it even more so. She shivered again. Even talking to him was going to be a little on the unpleasant side for the next week or so; even here, up in the clouds nowhere near him, she couldn't get the sensation of his penis pushing into her out of her mind. Or his hands and mouth roaming all over her body... she wanted him inside her so bad. Those fantasies would be even stronger if he was nearby; being in heat was so unbearably distracting.
Rainbow shook herself. She was not going to jump him. She was in heat; she couldn't have sex with a male right now without permanent consequences.
The pegasus ducked into her bathroom, taking the coldest shower she could stand. She was supposed to meet up with him this morning, and she needed to be able to talk to him without trying to pull his clothes off and pull him on top of her. Even under the cool spray, the taste of his tongue on hers, and the feel of his arms around her still swam through her head. Aw, man, this is gonna be a bad one, she thought, setting the water for an even colder spray. I may need somepony to help me out this time. Twilight, maybe? She still owes me.
She finally stepped out of the shower, shaking herself dry and wishing that pegasi felt the cold more acutely. Still, she felt a measure of her self-control had returned. Urges like that were usually at their worst right after she woke up. She hoped. She hadn't had a lover during her previous heats, and that was supposed to make it worse. Rainbow glanced at a clock on the wall; she needed to go meet Lero, and soon. She toweled off briskly, trying to come up with a decent way to tell him that they wouldn't be sleeping together for a week or so.
Rainbow caught him just as he was leaving his home. "Hey, Rainbow, you're early!" Lero called, waving. "What's the occasion?" He grinned at her. That grin made her loins surge again, and she closed her eyes for a second, mustering her self-discipline.
"Hey, big guy. I gotta problem, can we talk inside?" She was a bit curt, though she didn't mean to be.
"Of course," he said with a concerned frown. He opened the door, gesturing for her to precede him inside. She braced herself and walked past him, but she couldn't help brushing up against him. The feel of his leg rubbing against her side and hip sent another surge of lust through her, and she felt an unexpected sense of gratitude for his weird nudity taboo. It was much easier to deal with brushing against fabric than it would have been to brush against bare skin. That soft, smooth skin, with the short, fine, soft hairs that just barely covered it, the slight saltiness of his sweat on her tongue...
Stop it. She told herself firmly, walking into his living room. Her tail was twitching like mad, but she couldn't help that. She waited for him to sit down, and took her own seat on a chair facing the couch, far enough away that they couldn't touch. The pegasus saw the confusion in the human's face intensify.
She took a deep breath, looking away and avoiding eye contact. "I'm not going to be able to hang out with you today, Lero. Sorry. Got some stuff I need to deal with. And I'm not gonna be able to spend the night over here for at least a week or so."
He blinked. "What? Why? Did... Rainbow, did I do something wrong?"
Rainbow frowned. "What? No, you didn't do anything wrong, it's me." She risked a glance at his face. What she saw there was confusion, mixed with a growing fearful hurt that was all too familiar to her, and her heart nearly broke seeing it on his face. Oh goddesses, he thinks I'm dumping him! She was filled with the sudden, powerful urge to race over, jump up on the couch with him, and hug and kiss him to make it all better. That was so totally the wrong thing to do right then, because she knew darn well that if she got started she wouldn't want to stop with just a kiss. Still, the urge was so strong it left her breathless for a second, wanting to kiss him, tear those clothes off of him, rub herself against that smooth skin while she told him that everything was okay...
Focus. She blinked, and waved a hoof. "Not like that, not like that! I don't actually want to spend a week sleeping apart! Celestia's sake, it's gonna be like pulling my feathers out!"
Lero's brow furrowed in incomprehension. "Um. Okay. So, mind telling me why you're doing it, then?"
"'Cause right now, all I can think of is going over there, getting you naked, and making love to you over and over and over," she exclaimed, her wings fanning the air, "And that's totally something I shouldn't be doing right now, 'cause I'm in heat! Argh!" she growled, covering her face with her forehooves. "I don't want kids! And if we have sex right now, I'll have a kid! But I want you inside me so bad, want to feel you moving in me, and... mmm..." Her hips were shifting in eagerness, and her brain was clouding over. She smacked herself in the face with a forehoof. "Argh! See what I mean? Even just talking to you right now is kinda hard. Hard..." She shook her head again. "This heat's a really strong one. I may just hide in my house until it goes away, but it may get bad enough that I need one of my friends to help out."
He was stroking the hair on his chin, thinking. "Is there anything I could do to help? I mean, I could find or make a condom or something..."
"Condom, that's something that wraps around your... thing..." her gaze drifted down to his groin, and she had to wrench it back up. He'd told her once about human mating practices; as much of a pain as it was to be in heat, Rainbow privately thought it'd be way worse to not know when she was in season.
"Yeah. Keeps the... er, fluids inside it."
Rainbow shook her head. "No, that wouldn't help, it'd make it worse. Without the... uh... squirting..." Her mind was suddenly occupied with the most intense memory of how it felt to have his semen pumping into her, the warm, sticky, gooey feeling of it shooting deep into her insides... she cleared her throat, fighting for clarity. "Without the squirting, it wouldn't do anything but get me hotter. Otherwise, I could just get a cucumber or something and then be fine. As it is, I'm gonna need to find somepony with a cooler in a couple of minutes, or I might wind up sneaking back in here and doing you until one of us can't walk, and I really don't want to do that."
Lero raised an eyebrow. He was way too calm for this whole situation, she thought. "A cooler? What kind of drinks could help you?"
"Drinks?" Rainbow asked in confusion, "What the heck do drinks have to do with a cooler?" The only answers that sprung to mind were amazingly perverted, and she knew darn well he wasn't into that kind of stuff. They'd both talked about their fantasies with each other, and his had been nowhere near that.
"Um, maybe you should tell me what a cooler is."
"Seriously?" He nodded. "Uh... a cooler helps a mare in heat. 'Cools' her a little, you know?" She rubbed the back of her neck. This conversation wasn't really helping. It really wasn't. "It's... a fake rubber dong that a mare can strap on, it's got a thing of salt water inside it that the one wearing it can squirt out the end with this mouth-held pump thing. It helps for a couple of hours, if whoever's wearing it uses it right. I'll probably get Twilight to use hers on me, she owes me from last time she was in heat."
He looked at her oddly. "I thought you said you weren't into mares?"
The question surprised her. "Huh? I'm not. Oh, wait, I think I see what you're thinking, but coolers aren't gay. It's not even sex, really. It's just... something a friend does for another friend, you know? Being in heat is seriously not fun when you don't want kids, and mares help each other out when it gets to be too much. You don't always need it, but when you do..." She trailed off, shrugging. "Coolers aren't perfect, I mean, they don't feel quite right, but they help some."
The human had a thoughtful look on his face. "Dash... the worry is that you want to have sex, but don't want to get pregnant, right?"
Want was a pretty darn tame word for what she felt right now, but she answered with a curt, "Yeah."
"Um, have you considered that it might not be possible for me to get you pregnant?" Her eyes widened. No, she hadn't considered that. "I mean, we're totally different species. I know humans have twenty-three chromosome pairs, forty-six in all, and if you've got a different number than it should be pretty much impossible for us to have offspring. That's not even counting the fact that my sperm probably don't have the right enzymes to..."
"Hold it!" Rainbow exclaimed, jamming her hooves in her ears. "Don't talk about sperm right now!" She looked at him a bit wild-eyed. "Listen, I'm gonna go check with Twilight really, really fast. If she says the same thing you're saying... um." It occurred to her that he might not want to have sex with a slightly lust-crazed mare. "If she agrees with you, would you be okay with mounting me? Or me mounting you, o-or whatever?" She'd gotten to enjoy the belly-to-belly sex posture he enjoyed so much that even in this state of mind it was the first thing that occurred to her. Pushing him down on the bed, straddling him with her back legs, holding him down with her forehooves on his chest while... Dangit, Rainbow, these thoughts are getting awfully rapey. Get ahold of yourself!
"Of course, Rainbow!" He said, with an enthusiasm that made her flanks quiver. "Have I ever been anything less than enthusiastic?"
He had a point. She steered her thoughts away from where that point might be located. He'd always been an eager participant when she'd approached him. He'd even been willing to engage in experimentation, some successful, some not.
"OkayI'llberightbackbye!" She said in a rush, darting out the door. She flew to Twilight's quickly, almost quivering. She wanted him to be right. She wanted him to be right so bad. Sex in heat was supposed to be the best sex a mare could have; heck, it even felt pretty good with a cooler, something that Rainbow doubted would be much fun under other circumstances.
She landed in front of Twilight's front door, taking a deep breath to calm herself and still her eager quivers. She knocked calmly, pleased that she'd managed to hold her exuberance back.
The door swung open. "Yes, can I... oh, hello, Rainbow Dash. How are you this fine morning?" She peered at her friend. "You look a little frazzled..."
"I'm great! Or, uh, I will be great, if this is right. If not, I won't be so great. Man oh man oh man, I hope it's right, 'cause that'd be great." Rainbow said, grinning, and knowing she sounded like Pinkie but not really caring.
Twilight blinked at her in incomprehension. "O-kay, you lost me. How about you start again?"
Rainbow laughed, with a slight edge of hysteria. "Okay, sure. First off, I woke up this morning and realized I was in heat..."
"Oh, dear!" Twilight exclaimed, "Is it a strong one?"
"Oh, man, yeah," Rainbow answered sincerely, "Strongest one I can ever remember having. I cannot stop thinking about sex." Another fantasy started running through her head, and she stomped on it with all four hooves. Jeez you're getting perverted with these thoughts, Rainbow. And I doubt Twilight would be interested in a three-way anyway. And what the heck, you don't like mares that way anyway!
Twilight eyed the pegasus warily. Under other circumstances Rainbow might have flushed guiltily, thinking the unicorn had somehow seen her thoughts, but right at the moment she didn't care. "Oh...kay. So, why are you so excited? I thought you didn't want any foals!"
"I don't! But that's the thing! You know who I've been courting, right?" Twilight nodded. "Well, I was talking to him about it, telling him I was gonna have to hide out for a week or so, and he pointed out that since we're different species there's a pretty good chance we can't have kids!" Rainbow grinned excitedly. "So I figured I'd ask you to be sure, but it sounded right to me!"
Enlightenment dawned on Twilight's face. "Oh! I see! Wow," she said somewhat enviously, "You could have sex in heat and not have to worry about pregnancy. That would be nice." The unicorn tapped her chin with a forehoof in thought. "Well... I realize this may be a silly question, but do you know anything about his genetic structure?"
"Um... yeah! When we were talking about it, he said he had... uh, I think it was twenty-three? Maybe twenty-four... Chromomomosome pairs or something." Rainbow had been trying to listen when he was talking about that stuff, she really had, but then he'd mentioned sperm and everything else had gotten kinda shoved out of her head.
Twilight looked at her incredulously. "Wait, are you serious? Only forty-eight chromosomes?"
Rainbow blinked. "I think it may've been forty-six, actually. Why? How many do we have?"
"We've got sixty!" The unicorn exclaimed. Rainbow felt a grin stretching across her face, as her friend continued, "If he really has forty-six, then he's almost certainly absolutely right; there shouldn't be any way the two of you could have a child."
Rainbow really wanted to make sure she'd heard Twilight right. "So... we could have sex, and I wouldn't get pregnant?"
The lavender unicorn nodded. "I believe that's the case!" She paused. "You know, Rainbow, I've been meaning to ask what it's... like." The unicorn blushed. "You know. With another species."
"Just curious, eh, Twi?" Rainbow chuckled, restraining herself from rushing back to her coltfriend. "Well, let me put it this way. I've always heard that the sex was way better when you're in heat. In this case, I'm not sure how that's even possible, and if it is, I'm a little worried I'm gonna wind up with, like, brain damage or something! Not worried enough to not do it, though."
Twilight's eyebrows climbed. "That good?"
"Better." Rainbow sighed, happily, "You know how the first time with a new guy's supposed to be quick and not real great?" Twilight nodded, a sour look on her face. "Well, the first time we did it? I came four times. Four. And he's gotten better since then."
Twilight's jaw dropped. Her eyes glazed over a bit. "Um... do you think you'd be willing to let me, uh, borrow him the next time I go into heat?"
The pegasus gave a breathless giggle. "You've gotta ask him. He said he'd be fine with other mares courting him, but I don't think anyone's asked. Oh, and he doesn't have much fur, so his skin's all soft and smooth. It's really sexy, honestly. And that's not even mentioning his hands. Oh man!" She giggled again. If she weren't so deep in heat, she'd be blushing like mad right now. "Those are the best. Only weirdness is that his thing's got a kinda weird shape; it's kinda pointy on the end instead of being flat. I haven't had any problems with it, though." She glanced around, making sure no one was nearby, and leaned in close to the unicorn. "And did you know he's actually got nipples?"
Twilight blinked in surprise. "I thought he was male!"
"Oh, he is, he definitely is," Rainbow giggled. "Human stallions have nipples like the mares do. He says they don't work, but he's got 'em! They're way up on his chest, too, it's kinda weird." Rainbow chuckled again, salaciously, but before Twilight could say more, the pegasus's impatience finally gnawed through her politeness and Rainbow turned on her heel. "I gotta go, Twi. If you need me, I'll be busy. For, like, the next week. See ya!" The rainbow-maned athlete shot off into the sky before her friend could get another word in.
She rocketed back to Lero's home, relishing the feel of air flowing over her wings. She touched down outside his door in a small whirlwind of displaced air, and quickly stepped inside. Her human friend looked up from the book he was reading. He raised an eyebrow. "What did Twilight have to say, Rainbow?"
She sauntered over slowly, eyes half-lidded, and reared to put her forehooves on his shoulders and look him right in the eyes. "She said you were right. You can't get me pregnant." She kissed him, long and lingering, wrestling his tongue with her own. "And I could really, really use a good rutting right now." His eyebrows climbed a bit, and she added, "C'mon, let's go to the bedroom."
Lero blinked, surprised. She knew she wasn't usually this aggressive with him where sex was concerned, (she'd been trying really hard not to get pushy) but it didn't seem to be bothering him much. He set his book aside and she got out of his lap to let him stand, drawing her forehoof slowly across his groin as she did so. When he stood, she carefully took his hand in her mouth, pulling slightly to lead him to the bedroom. He chuckled and followed obediently, and the pegasus took the opportunity to run her tongue along the fingers in her mouth. The slightly salty taste and the smoothness of his skin made her heart beat even faster. Her anticipation was almost agonizing.
He stopped by the bed, and she hopped up on it. Standing on her hind legs, (and momentarily enjoying the fact that, standing like that on the bed, she was taller than him) she bent down, threw her forelegs around his neck, and kissed him deep and hard. He laughed a little nervously, and she knew she was going a little fast, but she couldn't help herself. She'd slow down if he asked her to, but until then... With a quick twist of her body, she pulled him off his feet and threw him onto the bed, falling atop him. She giggled at his slightly shocked look. "C'mon," she panted, "let's get those clothes off."
"Yes, ma'am!" He replied, a twinkle in his eye. Did he enjoy it when she got aggressive? She'd ask later. She helped him strip, accidentally tearing his shirt a bit while she pulled it off. He started to remove his pants, but she hopped down, grabbed the waistband in her teeth and yanked them off with a quick toss of her head. She'd barely noticed, but her wings had gotten incredibly stiff, something that normally only happened with direct physical stimulation that she hadn't gotten yet. He started to rise, but she hopped back up onto the bed and pushed him back down with a forehoof.
"Ah-ah, big guy! No foreplay this time. Lie there and gimme a second." She was panting in anticipation, looking at his nude form stretched across the bed. His member was hardening, but was nowhere near ready to go into her yet. I can fix that. She leaned down and ran her tongue slowly along his shaft, starting between his testicles and running it along the underside all the way to the tip. The human stiffened, his back arching slightly as she took his member into her mouth. She bobbed her head a couple of times, quickly, running her lips along its length, watching his face as she did so. His member lengthened inside her mouth, growing deliciously hard with gratifying speed, and she had the slightly mad urge to keep going. To just hold him down and keep fellating him hard and fast until he came, the delightful warm stickiness spurting all over her mouth and tongue, spilling down her throat.
She resisted the urge, knowing that the sensation of semen splattering the inside of her mouth would be nothing compared to having it squirt into her vagina, having him buried deep beneath her legs before shooting that sticky fluid into her. She pulled her head away, the saliva-coated head of his now erect penis standing proud.
Rainbow shifted position, pushing the human back into the bed again when he started to rise. She positioned herself atop him, his penis pushing at her vulva, her hind legs spread and straddling his lower belly, and her forehooves on his chest, holding him down and pressing him into the bed. Her loins surged; she really liked being in charge. Ordinarily, it didn't make much difference to her who was on top, she liked it both ways, but right now being in charge was making her really, really hot. She grinned at him, and slid her hips backward along his belly, leaving his penis with nowhere to go but into her. She clenched her muscles, making herself as tight as she possibly could, and relished the feel of building anticipation as the head of his member pushed against her tight vulva. It finally overwhelmed her resistance, pushing past the outer lips and sliding smoothly into her vagina, the saliva she'd left on it and her own lubrication combining to make it almost frictionless. She moaned softly, feeling every single instant of his penis pushing into her. Rainbow wasn't ordinarily all that vocal when they copulated, but this time felt incredible, even something as simple as being penetrated was only a step down from orgasmic. It was soooo much better than a cooler, because everything felt right, his member was warm, there was a very slight pulse to it that she could just barely detect, the slight give of the hard shaft as her vaginal muscles gripped it tightly was just perfect.
She pushed until it was all the way in, as far as it would go, and she could feel the slight squish of his testicles against her backside. Even that feeling was intoxicating, the softness against her crotch, the hard shaft penetrating deeply inside her, the feel of his smooth, almost-hairless body between her legs, oooooh.
"Okay," she said huskily, "Listen up. You know that thing where you grab my butt with your hands?"
"Yeah?" He sounded a little breathless, too. Maybe he really did like it when she got aggressive. If so, they were gonna have to do this more often.
"When you're getting ready to come, I want you to do that, and just push it in as deep as you can. Okay?" A thought occurred to her. "Ooh, actually, when you start coming, can you, like, pull back a little when you're not squirting and slam it back in when you are? Oh man that would be great!" She shuddered a little at just the thought of how that would feel.
"I... I'll try, Rainbow."
"Yeah, yeah do that." She started sliding, not actually moving all that much because she loved the way he felt deep inside her. Pulling a bit and then thrusting it back in... she bit her lip as the stroking lit a fire in her groin. She was already way, way past the point where she would normally have orgasmed, and every stroke felt better.
"R-Rainbow," the human panted, "If you keep this up, I'm gonna come really fast, way faster than you will."
"Mmmm..." she tightened her muscles, gripping and pulling a bit on him with the next motion. "I'll come when you do," she told him. She knew it was true, but couldn't say how. The feeling of hot fluid spurting into her belly... the anticipation of it was almost agonizing. She started stroking harder, her groin slapping up against his rhythmically.
Finally, finally, he groaned quietly, and his hands grabbed her muscular buttocks. It was way quicker than they normally were, but it still felt like ages before it finally happened. Here it comes! She thought gleefully as he arched his back, thrusting deep into her. The feeling of that first glob of semen spurting into her was indescribable, like an orgasm but totally lucid. The world didn't dissolve into swirls of color the way it normally did; she felt every moment of it with total clarity. He was as good as his word, pulling back slightly between spurts and slamming back in just in time for another glob to squirt into her. She could feel it, the delicious sticky fluid squirting even deeper into her, coating her insides. It was rapturous, and her tongue lolled out of her mouth with the sheer delight of it. He came long and hard, shooting his seed even more deeply into her, and she relished it.
When he was done, she didn't even feel disappointed that it was over. A feeling of warm, relaxed happiness filled her, and she flopped down on top of him, panting with the aftereffect. He was still inside her, still hard, but his orgasm was done.
Panting, they stayed like that for several minutes, until his softening member slid out of her. She raised her head from where it rested on his chest and looked him in the eyes. "Oh. My. Gosh. That was fantastic. That was incredible!" She beamed at him, satiation spreading through her entire body.
"Glad you enjoyed it, Rainbow." Lero let out a breath. "Wow, that was more intense than I thought it would be. Are you feeling better?"
"Yeah, much." She stretched languidly. "Whoo. That was way better than a cooler would have been." Rainbow eyed her human friend. "Um. You know this won't last forever, right? I'll start getting heated again, probably sometime this afternoon or this evening."
"I'll be ready by then," he promised, eyes gleaming. "Maybe I'll even tie you up next time."
Even in her current state of satiation, the thought of combining the fantastic sex they'd just had with the pleasure she'd felt last time they'd played that game sent a bolt of lighting through her. "Uh..." She was speechless for several moments, finally concluding with, "I think that would be unbelievably great. You gotta promise not to tease me this time though; hard and fast is how you'll need to do it."
"I think I can do that." His eyes twinkled. "By the way, I just wanted to let you know, I kinda liked you taking charge like that. It was... really sexy."
"Really?" She wiggled her eyebrows at him, and he grinned. Goddesses, she loved him so much. He made her feel so pretty, so sexy. No one had ever made her feel like this before. "Well, I'll have to do that more often, then!"
"Please do." He licked his lips. "Not all the time, but as an occasional thing I don't think I'd mind having you throw me onto the bed like that."
"Can do!" She grinned. "But you already promised to tie me up next time."
"Oh, I will." He promised. "I even went out and got some better rope after last time. Good silk stuff, still just as strong as the stuff we were using, but this won't be as scratchy."
She chuckled, throatily. "You spoil me, big guy." The pegasus nuzzled the human's neck affectionately. |
Xenophilia | Fun and Games | Rainbow Dash glided back down to land in the street, and looked up at the even blanket of clouds in satisfaction. It had taken for-freaking-ever, but they were finally ready for tonight's rainstorm. The stupid clouds had kept clumping up, threatening to turn what was supposed to be a gentle shower into a nasty thunderstorm, and she'd had to really bust her flank to get everything worked out.
She nodded to herself and turned to the rest of her weather team, who were all looking a bit peaked. "Okay, crew, good work. I think we can knock off for the day." There was a chorus of pleased murmurs, and several of the pegasi sagged in relief. Rainbow snickered to herself. Pansies. It wasn't that hard. Her thoughts were interrupted by her belly emitting a seismic rumble. Well, it has been kind of a long day. Man, am I hungry. She felt a slight sense of apprehension; Lero had said he was going to cook tonight, and he'd been planning on trying to adapt a recipe he vaguely remembered from his home using local ingredients. The last few times he'd done that, the results had been... mixed. His attempt at pizza had been pretty good, (if slightly different from what she was used to) and the 'hash browns' had been outright delicious, but the 'chili' had been completely inedible. Oh well, the pegasus thought with a mental shrug, we can always go out for dinner if it doesn't work. In the rain. She sighed. At least there won't be much competition for tables.
She was just about to take off and head for Lero's house when she heard someone clear their throat behind her. "Good afternoon, Rainbow Dash."
"Oh, hey Twilight, what's up?" The pegasus folded her wings again and turned to face her friend, who was looking a bit nervous. Rainbow cocked her head. "You okay?"
Twilight started. "Oh! Yes! Yes, I'm fine. I, er, wanted to ask you something."
There was a long pause as Rainbow waited for Twilight's question. Finally, the pegasus lifted her brows and said, "Ooookay... what did you want to ask?"
Twilight flushed, the slight reddening barely visible beneath the fur of her cheeks. "I... er, well, that is..." The unicorn stammered.
Rainbow snorted. "C'mon, Twilight, spit it out. I'm not gonna bite."
Twilight flushed deeper, but she paused and took a breath to steady herself. "I'd... well, I'd like to ask you and Lero to dinner."
"Sure, sounds like fun." Rainbow paused. "Wait, you mean like on a date?"
The unicorn nodded. "Yes. I... well, I like both of you, and I get along really well with both of you... I know you haven't really made your relationship all that public yet, but you both seem so happy." Twilight smiled, slightly tremulously. "And, well, I care about both of you, and I'd like to be part of that relationship, too. Do... you think that would be okay?"
Rainbow blinked, surprised. Twilight had hinted some time ago that she might be interested in something like this, but the pegasus hadn't thought at the time that her friend was serious. She felt like a bit of a jerk now for not mentioning it to Lero. "Er, well, I don't have any problems with the idea," Rainbow hazarded, "Did you already talk to Lero about it?"
"Oh, heavens no!" Twilight exclaimed. "That would have been rude! Every source I've found is quite clear on the subject; a mare wanting to join a herd should talk to the lead mare of that herd. Or at least, to one of the mares. And that's you!"
"Er, right." Rainbow wondered what the heck Twilight had been reading. That sounded really old-fashioned; as far as the pegasus knew, it was perfectly okay to approach the stallion instead of one of the mares. And who even had a lead mare anymore? That was, like, feudal stuff, nopony did it anymore. Then again, her own courtship experience was pretty much nonexistent, so what did she know? "Well, tell you what. Let me talk to the big guy tonight, and I'll give you an answer tomorrow. I honestly think he'd be fine with it, I know he likes you, but I'd rather make sure he's cool with the idea before I say yes. That okay?"
Twilight blinked in mild surprise, chewing her lip nervously, but nodded. "Yes, that should be fine. You'd be okay with it, though?"
"Oh, yeah, I'd be fine." Rainbow hesitated. "Um... you know I'm a little bent, right? Mares don't turn me on. Like, at all. I really do like you and everything, and if you do wind up joining our little herd I'd be totally happy to help you and him have fun, but, ah..."
"But when you did it would be mostly between you and him and not between you and me, right?" Twilight interrupted. She smiled shyly. "That's okay. The relationship I was in while I was in school had a filly like that, her name was Star Shimmer. She would give advice and such, but I don't think she so much as kissed any of the other fillies, she only got physical with the guys. I'm fine with it."
Rainbow tilted her head a bit. "You were in a herd?" It was a bit hard to picture the somewhat antisocial academic as part of a relationship.
"For a while," Twilight answered, her eyes turning a bit dreamy. "It was nice; two stallions, six mares, including me. We all cared about each other a lot. But, well, I had to spend more and more time studying, and I just kind of drifted away. I just realized one day that it had been nearly a month since I'd been with them, and I decided to break it off." The unicorn smiled. "They were sad to see me go, but, well, I was just so busy."
"Aren't you still pretty busy most of the time?"
Twilight shrugged. "Well, yes, but... honestly, I think I care about the two of you more than I did my friends in school. Not that I didn't care about them, but... I'd be willing to make the time for the two of you. Well, assuming the two of you will have me, that is."
The pegasus nodded firmly. "Like I said, I'll talk to Lero tonight. I think he'll probably say yes, though. I'll come find you tomorrow. You'll be at the library in the morning?"
"Yep! All morning. I've got a project I'm working on." Twilight giggled, sounding a little relieved. "And thanks, Rainbow Dash."
"Aw, don't mention it. If I'd been thinking I'd have already mentioned it to him; I remember you saying something a while ago." Rainbow was distracted by a drop of water hitting the dusty street nearby; evidently the rain was starting. "Oops, dangit." She glanced up at the dark clouds in irritation. "Stupid things were supposed to hold for another hour or so before they started. Better head home, Twilight, it's not gonna be a storm, but it'll rain pretty solidly for the next five hours at least." Stupid clouds. Even when you do everything right they still act up.
"All right. See you in the morning, then?" Rainbow nodded, and Twilight leaned forward, planting a light kiss on the pegasus's cheek before turning and galloping off down the street.
Rainbow smiled quietly. Mares might not turn her on, but a kiss from a good friend was still a nice feeling. The rain was starting to come down harder, and she spread her wings and flew off across town.
The rainstorm had really hit its stride by the time she landed, and the pegasus found herself wishing that Lero's home had more of a porch. She wasn't really able to shake the water off before stepping inside, and instead had to enter the house dripping wet from the mild downpour.
"Hey, that you, Rainbow?" his voice called from the kitchen.
"Yeah," she called back, "Hold up, I flew here through the rain, so I'm soaked. Let me dry off real quick."
"Sure thing; I'm in the kitchen working on dinner. I think it'll be good this time!"
Rainbow snorted, thinking, we'll see, and quickly made her way to the bathroom to towel off. She made a mental note; most ponies hung towels near the door when bad weather was expected so a visitor could dry themselves off without having to choose between tracking water all over the place as she just had and shaking themselves at the door, soaking everything nearby. She should probably suggest he do the same. It was probably the whole clothing thing again; humans probably didn't drip as much, since they wore clothes all the time and the cloth probably just absorbed the water. She wondered idly what a human did when they got soaked in a storm: did they change clothes, did they just sit there and shiver in soggy cloth, or did they do the sensible thing and strip to dry off so they weren't putting dry clothes on a wet body?
Having dried herself off enough that she didn't drip, Rainbow stepped into Lero's kitchen, and was greeted by a rich, cheesy smell that was very promising. A couple of pots were bubbling away merrily on the stove, and the human was carefully stirring a pot of thick, white sauce. He turned as she entered. "Hey, Rainbow. I think you'll like this one, it's coming out pretty much exactly as I'd remembered."
"Really? What is it? Can I have a taste?"
He waved a finger at her. "Not 'till it's done, sorry. Chef's rule." He started to kneel to hug her in greeting, but she preempted him. Pushing herself up on her hind legs, she embraced him tightly with her forelegs as his arms went around her body. They stood there for a few moments, just hugging each other close.
Finally, Lero spoke up. "You're still pretty damp, you know."
Rainbow giggled. "Yep. Rain does that."
"You're soaking my clothes."
She laughed again. "I know. But it's getting me dry."
The human chuckled. "You're impossible." He didn't let go, though. They held each other a few moments longer before exchanging a quick kiss and finally breaking the embrace. He turned back to the stove, Rainbow staying upright with a forehoof on his shoulder to help her balance. She draped herself across his back as he started stirring again, laying her head alongside one shoulder while one forehoof hooked over the other, wishing as she did so that she was just a tiny bit taller. She wouldn't trade being able to fly for anything, but sometimes she thought it would be kinda nice to be earth pony-tall. Or even unicorn-tall. She sniffed carefully; the smell coming from that pot of sauce was really, really nice.
"So, whatcha cookin'?"
Lero pointed at the stove. "Well, I've got some pasta that I made. And no, it's not like what you've had before," he said, before she could ask the first question that came to mind. "You folks use hay or somesuch for pasta like you do for fries. This is different."
Rainbow cocked her head where it rested against his arm. "Oh? Different how? And what else would you use for fries?"
"This is made with eggs and flour," he pointed at the merrily boiling pot of water. "Made the noodles this morning before I left for work, and they've been drying all day. They're not quite done yet, but they should be good. And this," he delicately tasted the white sauce he was stirring, "is alfredo sauce. More or less. You folks use different cheeses than what I'm used to, but I think I found decent analogs for what I need, and I think it'll be nice."
Rainbow snorted a laugh. "What, so you get to taste it before it's done, but I don't?"
"Chef's prerogative, my dear." He smirked, ostentatiously taking another taste from the spoon. She noticed that there was a spot of sauce that had gotten on his lip that he didn't seem aware of.
"Oh yeah? We'll see about that." The wooden spoon dropped back into the pan as Rainbow pulled Lero around to face her, her forelegs looped around his neck, pulling his head down a bit while her wings pinned his arms against his sides. She kissed him hard, her tongue sliding into his mouth and gathering up the flavor that still lingered there. It wasn't a long kiss, and she licked his lip as she pulled away.
"Mmm..." she said, considering. "Yeah, that actually does taste pretty good. Cheesy."
The human chuckled. "You know, I had a bet with myself whether you'd argue with me that I should give you a taste or whether you'd do what you just did."
Rainbow snorted. "Did you win?"
He kissed her back, just a light brush of his lips. "Yep. In more ways than one."
Warmth spread through Rainbow's chest, and she spared a glance for the cyan feather braided into Lero's hair. He had it brushed back behind his ear at the moment, but he was wearing it, as he always did when he was in his home. The pegasus smiled. "Guess you did."
She felt his hand pat her hip. "You'd better let me go, or the sauce is gonna burn."
Her smile took on a wicked edge. "Maybe if you ask nicely." She looked him up and down, his arms still held against his sides by her wings.
"Mmm." She felt his hands on both hips as he pulled her a little closer. "Pretty," he kissed her lightly, "pretty," another kiss, "please?"
Rainbow laughed merrily. "Yeah, that counts." She folded her wings back against her sides, freeing the human's arms, and released her hold on his neck. He patted her hip again and turned back to his stove while she dropped back to all fours.
She stepped up next to him, glancing at a pair of bowls on the counter. "What's that?"
Lero looked aside, still stirring. "One of 'em's just some herbs I was gonna toss on top of the pasta once it's served. Adds flavor. The other one's got some diced shrimp I sauteed earlier that I was going to add to mine."
"Shrimp, huh?" Rainbow made a face. Like most pegasi, she liked fish, but shrimp just grossed her out. They looked like huge bugs.
The human chuckled. "Don't worry, I won't make you eat any. That's why I cooked it separately, so I could have some without forcing it on you. You might give it a try, though; they're shelled and chopped up, so they don't really look anything like shrimp."
Cautiously, Rainbow peeked into the bowl. He was right, it didn't look anything like shrimp. Just little pinkish lumps, instead of huge bugs with way too many legs. Other pegasi had told her that they tasted good, but she'd never been able to get over the appearance. "Um, can I taste it?"
"Sure, help yourself," Lero said, fishing out a long, flat noodle from the boiling water and examining it critically. "I cooked enough that you could have some too, if you want." He nibbled on the end of the noodle. "Hm, needs just another minute or so."
Rainbow glanced around, finding a pony-style fork on the counter nearby. Hooking the loop of fabric on the end around her forehoof, she hesitantly speared a piece of shrimp, lifting it out of the bowl to peer at it closely. Nope, no sign of legs, or exoskeleton, or anything, just a little pink puff, glistening in the light. She glanced over at Lero, who was trying unsuccessfully to hide an amused smile at her hesitancy. Well, fine then! She thought, feeling like she'd been challenged. I can take some weird food! Bracing herself, she popped the morsel into her mouth.
She chewed carefully. The texture was a little like a piece of bell pepper, squeaky against her teeth, and the flavor was... it was actually pretty nice. Really nice. Nothing like the slimy bug guts she'd half-expected. Rainbow looked up at Lero, who was watching her closely. "That's not half bad, actually."
The human grinned in delight, pleased by her approval. "It'll be better in the alfredo sauce, if you decide to try it with your meal." He lifted a noodle out of the water again. "Actually, I think we're pretty much ready. You hungry, or would you rather wait?"
Rainbow's stomach gave another seismic rumble at the suggestion of food. "I'm totally ready now."
"Great! Fresh off the stove is usually best." Lero quickly turned off the stove and drained the pasta. He piled a decent-sized mound of noodles onto a plate, and looked to Rainbow in inquiry through the veil of steam they emitted.
Her stomach growled again. "Um. Maybe a little more?" He heaped more pasta on, and she grinned. "Perfect."
"You want to try the shrimp?"
"Eh, sure." It had tasted good. Lero dumped a fair amount of the shrimp atop the pasta, poured a generous amount of the creamy white sauce over it, and sprinkled a bit of the greenish herbs from the other bowl on top.
"Your dinner, Lady," the human said in a pompous tone, presenting the plate balanced atop the fingers of one hand and dropping an elaborate, flourishing bow. Rainbow laughed, half-surprised that his topheavy-looking body hadn't pitched over and dropped him his face, carefully took the plate in her teeth, and set it on her back so she could carry it easily. She waited for him to serve himself, then the two walked side-by-side over to the table, where a pair of glasses of tea already waited.
The dish was delicious. The rich, creamy sauce and the shrimp went together amazingly well, and Rainbow wolfed down several bites in quick succession. This was exactly what she needed after burning off energy shoving clouds around all day. The long, floppy noodles were difficult to manage with the fork looped around her hoof, but she quickly figured out how to cut them down to manageable size.
"Good?" Lero asked, unicorn-style loopless fork balanced in his agile fingers.
"Mm-hmm!" Rainbow nodded emphatically, chewing. She swallowed hastily. "Yeah, this is great!"
"Glad to hear it." He sounded relieved. "Especially after I screwed up so bad with the chili. Still not sure what went wrong there; I'd never done vegetarian chili before, but I used the same spices I usually do. It should have been fine."
"I don't even care," Rainbow said thickly, around another mouthful. "This stuff totally makes up for it. And this pasta is different; what is it?"
"Eggs and flour, like I said." He chuckled at the pegasus's skeptical look. "Really, that's all it is. I'll show you next time."
"Cool." The pegasus swallowed another generous bite. She tried to come up with a way to segue into the topic she wanted to broach, but couldn't come up with anything. "Hey, Twilight wants to take us out to dinner. What do you think?"
Lero blinked in confusion, hit by the blunt-force trauma of her topic change. "Wait, what? What do you mean?"
Rainbow's brow furrowed, trying to come up with another way to put it. She didn't quite succeed. "Um. Twilight. Twilight Sparkle? The unicorn? She wants to take us out to dinner."
The human frowned in puzzlement. "Okay, yes, I know who Twilight is. Why does she want to take us out to dinner?"
The pegasus laughed, chomping down another bite of pasta. "She's asking us out on a date, dude. Sorry, I've kept forgetting to talk to the mares that might be interested in you."
"Oh. Oh! Okay, sorry, that flew over my head." Lero took another bite, chewing slowly.
Rainbow raised an eyebrow, watching him carefully. "Soooo... is that a yes you're interested, or no you're not?"
He chewed for a few moments longer, thinking. "I'm not opposed in principle," he said slowly, "I'm just... Rainbow, you and I, we've really got something between us. Aren't you worried that having someone else involved, even someone we both get along with so well, might, I don't know, dilute that?"
Rainbow cocked her head to the side, thinking. "Well, no, not really. I mean, what you and I've got," she felt a little surge in her heart, saying those words, "It's not gonna go away just 'cause we're sharing with Twilight. It's always gonna be there, y'know? And, I mean, you might get the same thing between you and Twilight. Or me and Twilight. Or all three of us together. Wouldn't that just make it even better?" She paused and then added gently, "Maybe it's harder for you not to be monogamist than you thought, big guy."
Lero blinked in surprise. He opened his mouth, then shut it again without saying anything. "I... well, I guess you may be right." He said, after a few moments' rumination. "That particular bit of my culture seems to have stuck better than I'd thought." He rubbed his chin, considering. "Well... let me get your input then, Rainbow. What do you think?"
The pegasus shrugged. "I don't see any reason to say no. I mean, you and Twilight are pretty good friends already, you get along really well. And I'm good friends with her, too. I think we ought to at least give her a chance."
The human rubbed his chin for a moment more, and then slowly nodded. "All right. You're pretty much my expert on local culture, so it would be kind of stupid of me to ignore your advice, huh?"
Rainbow snickered. "Yup. And you're smarter than me, so you're not gonna do something dumb like ignore good advice, right?"
Lero grinned wryly. "I suppose not, O great advisor, knower of sage truths and speaker of timeless wisdom."
The pegasus pushed herself upright in her chair, turning her chin up pompously and waving a hoof in a vague, dismissive motion. She tried to come up with something appropriately vague and haughty sounding, but what escaped her lips was, "You know it." He snorted, trying not to laugh, and she couldn't help herself any longer. The pegasus dissolved into giggles and guffaws, and in her mirth she failed to remember that she'd turned her chair sideways to make space for her wings as she often did and lost her balance, nearly falling backward out of the chair. "Woah!" She had to flail her wings and forelimbs wildly to keep her balance and wound up looking rather silly, and that set Lero off as well. It was a few moments before either could speak, as the sound of laughter overwhelmed the quiet patter of the rain falling outside.
"Whooo," Lero said finally, wiping his eyes and recovering his composure. "Okay. Well, if you're sure that's the right course of action, Oh Wise Advisor who forgets there's no back on the chair," Rainbow snickered despite herself, and Lero almost started laughing again, but managed to hang on, "Then all right. Did Twilight have a day in mind?"
Rainbow hesitated. "Um. I kinda forgot to ask that. Uh... you've got your day off day after tomorrow, right? That'd probably be a good day for it."
"Okay. My next question is, what am I supposed to do?"
"Do?" The pegasus tilted her head in confusion. "Whaddaya mean?"
"It's a date, right? How am I supposed to act? Is there anything I need to do? A particular way I'm supposed to dress or act? I mean, I don't think we've ever been on an actual date..."
"Er..." Rainbow realized she actually knew very little about how a guy was supposed to act on a date. "Well, I know you're supposed to dress up some. And, uh, pay attention if you're interested? It's just dinner, I don't think there're any huge things you need to worry about." She paused. "Aw, man, I feel kinda bad now. I never asked you out, never really courted you. Everything just sorta happened."
"Rainbow, do you think I have any complaints?" She looked up to meet his smiling eyes. "If you do, then don't worry. Our relationship may have been slightly unusual, but I wouldn't trade it for anything." Rainbow's heart thumped a bit in her chest. She bit her lip, speechless for the moment. "Are you sure there aren't any traditions or rituals I'll need to be ready for?"
Rainbow shook herself, focusing on the question. "No, not really... wait! Right, the flower thing! You remember that, right?"
He nodded. "You mentioned that one before. She'll offer me a flower the same color as her coat, right?"
"Yeah. She'll offer it to you when you get to... shoot, wherever we're going. I should've talked to her more, but the rain was starting." Rainbow shook her head. "She'll actually have two flowers; one for you and one for me. Since we're already together, she's basically courting both of us."
Lero nodded. "Right. Hey, does that mean I can wear this, too?" He raised his hand to the side of his head, gently stroking the cyan feather hanging in his hair.
She bit her lip, feeling a surge of love mixed with a current of trepidation. "I... yeah, if you want. I guess it's time for everyone to know, huh?"
Lero leaned across the little table, laying his hand on her forehoof. "Don't worry, Rainbow. I think you'll be pleased by how many of your neighbors are happy for us."
She looked up worriedly. She'd heard all kinds of nasty jokes back in Cloudsdale about ponies who courted other species. She was less worried about herself; she could handle it. She just didn't want him to have to handle it, too. "I hope so."
"It'll be okay," he said soothingly. "Tell you what, let's finish dinner before it gets too cold, and we can talk about this more later. Okay?"
Rainbow flashed him a grin, shaken out of her thoughts. "Sounds good to me." She took a big bite of the cooling pasta and sauce. "Don't want this to go to waste!" She exclaimed thickly around the generous mouthful.
They quickly polished off their dinner. Rainbow was trying desperately to recall anything she'd heard about how a stallion was supposed to act on a date, and Lero had a thoughtful, considering expression on his face as he ate. It would help if she knew a little more about how humans courted; he'd been trying so hard to fit Equestrian norms that he'd said very little about how his home culture behaved in that regard. She'd learned over the last couple of months that he had the weirdest gaps in his knowledge, and what he knew didn't always fill those gaps in the right way. Like when she'd found out that some of the ponies in the market had been really ripping him off because he apparently didn't know how to haggle. How the heck could anyone get by without knowing how to haggle? She'd put a stop to that, by coming along when he needed stuff and helping him learn to deal with shopkeepers and merchants; she wasn't about to let somepony rip her coltfriend off like that. It really ticked her off, thinking about how much they'd soaked him for before she'd realized what was going on. The thought of money reminded her of something as she finished the last bite of her pasta.
"Oh, Lero, dude, I just thought of something." He looked up attentively, and she pointed at him with the fork looped around her forehoof for emphasis. "Twilight's gonna want to pay for dinner. Don't argue with her about it." He looked a bit mulish, so she continued, "Look, I know it makes you a little uncomfortable for the mare to be the one that pays. I get it, big guy." There was a reason she let him win the argument about who was gonna pay about half the time when they went to a restaurant together. (Even though it wasn't easy to let someone else win something) She understood, she really did, humans were backward in some really confusing ways, and she knew she'd be uncomfortable if their positions were reversed and he was the one expected to pay. But Twilight wouldn't understand yet. Rainbow shook her head. "But, dude, Lero, that's how a date is supposed to go. I know that much. And I guarantee you Twilight's reading up on that right now. You know how she is about stuff; she's gonna do, like, research on it, and she'll get all awkward if what she reads doesn't quite match up to what happens."
Lero sighed, nodding. "Yeah, you've got a point. I mean, she'll probably be expecting things to be at least a little different; we've had conversations about some of the differences between human and Equestrian civilizations before, so she knows at least a little of what to expect from me. I don't think we ever talked about courtship, though." He paused, a slow flush creeping up his neck. Rainbow had to stifle a giggle; the way his bald skin turned bright pink when he blushed just never stopped being funny. "Um, Rainbow? Er, courtship's tied up with sex, right?"
"Well, duh. Yeah. At least most of the time." The pegasus cocked her head, wondering where he was going with this.
Lero rubbed the back of his neck. "Well... er, is Twilight going to expect to come home with us if the date goes well? Or, er, for one or both of us to go home with her?"
Rainbow blinked, trying to untangle his meaning. She was about to say, well, yeah, if we're having fun she may wanna hang out some more, but then she blinked again, belatedly making the connection with his previous question. "Oh! You mean, if it goes well, is she gonna expect some action?" He nodded, and she laughed. "Nah, probably not. It usually takes at least a couple of dates to get to that point." She felt her own cheeks heating, now. "Er. Yeah, the way things happened the day I kissed you that first time? That's... not how it usually goes. Not that I'm complaining, 'cause, y'know, that day was... pretty much a dream come true for me." He smiled at her, and she felt another of those huge, tidal surges of love in her chest. Every once in a while, she got that feeling; it was like falling in love all over again, a sweet, almost painful pressure in her chest that shoved out everything else for a moment, even stealing her breath. Lero evidently saw it, rose from his chair, and stepped around the table, bending down to kiss her. The world vanished for a moment, as her thoughts focused solely on the slow movement of his lips against hers, the feeling of his hand on the back of her neck, his thumb brushing the back of her ear, the feeling of his shoulder that she hooked a forehoof over, just to give herself another point of contact with him. She wondered if it would ever stop being intoxicating; she hoped not. When the kiss ended, they stayed there resting their foreheads together, and Rainbow couldn't keep the smile off her lips. "Mm. Yeah, like that," she whispered, "Like you stepped out of a dream. A really good one." She leaned back a bit, looking in his eyes, then glanced down at his decidedly not-pony-shaped body. "Maybe a little bit of a weird dream, but still a good one."
He chuckled, giving her another quick kiss, and by mutual unspoken agreement they both moved into the living room to sit on the couch. She leaned against him, his arm around her shoulders and her wing around his. Rainbow sighed in contentment, pulling her thoughts back to what they'd been discussing. "So, yeah," she said, trying to pick up the thread of their earlier conversation, "I don't think Twilight'll be expecting any sexytimes, even if everything goes really, really well. She might come hang out with us here, or she might invite us to go hang out at the library for a while, but it probably wouldn't go further than that. Usually you have at least two dates first."
"Okay," he nodded absently, scratching his chin. "Hmm... anything else..."
Rainbow snuggled closer, laying her head on Lero's shoulder. "If you think of anything, speak up." He craned his head to the side, laying his cheek against her forehead. The pegasus made a small sound of contentment, rubbing the wrist of her wing across his back.
They sat there, snuggled together on the couch, listening to the quiet sound of the rain outside. Eventually, Lero cleared his throat, something evidently occurring to him. "Mind if I ask you another question, Rainbow?"
The pegasus turned her head, nibbling softly on his earlobe. "Go ahead," she breathed, lips brushing his immobile, shell-like ear and drawing a shiver of delight from the big human.
Rainbow was clearly able to see the human's ear redden slightly with a blush, and thought with some amusement, heh, it's gonna be another sex question. She made a mental bet with herself. She found it funny that he could still be shy about asking her questions like that. Especially after, well, all the stuff they'd done together. Double-especially since he'd been the one to take the lead the first few times, guiding her and showing her how to make both of them feel good when she hadn't really been all that sure what she was doing. She'd really appreciated that, his taking the lead at first and then giving her the option to take over after the first couple of times, when she'd gotten comfortable with what she was doing. They still traded off; while she found she'd liked being in charge (liked it a lot, actually) it was still fun to let him call the shots sometimes.
"Er, well, I, uh..." Oh, yeah, totally a sex question.
"C'mon, spit it out," Rainbow breathed into his ear, caressing the outer edge of it with the tip of her tongue. He snorted something close to a giggle, twitching and craning his neck to try and hide his ear against his shoulder. Oh, ticklish there, are ya? Gonna remember that. You got some payback coming, big guy. He'd discovered that her belly was ticklish even before they'd gotten intimate, and until now she hadn't really had a way to return that 'favor.'
Fortunately, that moment evidently dislodged his reluctance. "Okay, feel free to get mad at me for this question, but, uh, if we do end up in bed with Twilight... how's that going to work, exactly? I've never been in a threesome with my own species, I wouldn't even know where to start with yours!"
Rainbow grinned in triumph and congratulated herself on winning her mental bet. Totally called it. She trailed some light kisses along the edge of his ear while she thought of the best way to answer, making him twitch and laugh. "C'mon, Rainbow, cut that out!"
"Yeah," she breathed, "'cause you totally stop tickling me when I say that, right?" She giggled, playing with his ear for another few moments while he laughed, but she finally relented. Pulling back a bit, she cocked her head. "Well, first off, why would I get mad at you for asking that?"
He shrugged uneasily. "Well, I mean, I'm talking about making love to another woman. Er, mare."
Rainbow sighed. "You're actually talking about both of us making love to another mare. Man, if mating makes you so jumpy, how the heck do humans make more humans?"
"We make do."
She snorted. "Yeah, and I bet you're all nervous about it the whole time, huh? Unf, unf, blush, stammer. 'Oh my gosh, I saw you naked! I'm so embarrassed!' It must be hilarious to watch."
He goosed her lightly under her wing, making her squeak in surprise. "Yeah, 'cause I've been so nervous when we've been together."
The pegasus laughed. "Okay, yeah, you stop being nervous when the action starts. But, seriously, you don't have to worry about ticking me off. I love you, big guy. Even if you manage to make me mad, I won't stay that way."
The arm around her shoulders hugged her a bit more tightly for a moment. "I love you, too. Thanks, Dash."
"No problem!" Rainbow thought for a moment, still trying to figure out how best to answer his question. "Hmm. Well, as far as your question goes, there's a few ways to do it." She fidgeted a bit. "I haven't actually done any of 'em, but y'know, you hear things. And see pictures. The normal way would be for you to get into it with one of us while the other one sort of helps out with spots that're kinda awkward to reach. Y'know, making it feel better. I've always heard that being the one helping out is actually really hot, 'specially since the two who're doing the main event are supposed to give her a little, y'know, attention whenever they can, but, well..."
"But mares don't turn you on," he finished for her, nodding.
"Right." She flashed him a smile. "I might give it a try, 'cause you never know, it might be more fun than I'm thinking. But I'll probably just stay on the sidelines, I can give the two of you advice since I've got a pretty good idea of what you like," She waggled her eyebrows mock-lasciviously at him, and he responded by laughing and trailing a finger slowly down her back. Rainbow caught her breath. "Yeah, and you know what I like, too. But Twi's not a pegasus; unicorns have different spots." No reason to tell him that the only reason she knew anything about what unicorns liked was because of a magazine she saw one time. "And honestly, I'll be enjoying myself plenty watching the two of you have fun."
"You wouldn't feel left out?" He asked with a frown.
Rainbow laughed. "What, you don't think I'd like watching two of my best friends, one of 'em the guy I love, and knowing just how good they're both feeling? I don't think you realize just how hot that is." She shrugged. "'Sides, I can always sneak in and steal a kiss from ya, even if I don't do anything else. Twi won't mind."
He gave her a sidelong look. "You don't do public sex, do you?"
"Oh, heck no. Sex is private, y'know? The only ones who should be there are the ones you're comfortable being intimate with." She licked his ear in a sudden motion, making him twitch and laugh again. "Ha, oh man, I have no idea how I didn't realize you were so ticklish there. That's gonna be fun later tonight."
"Promise?" He asked, wiggling his eyebrows.
She poked him in the chest with her forehoof, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Hey, we haven't started yet! What, did you already forget you're supposed to be all shy and embarrassed? I could... eep!" Rainbow's voice cut off with a squeak as Lero's fingers tickled her belly. She pushed his hand away, giggling. "Oh, it's totally on now!" She tackled him, grabbing his neck with a foreleg and using her wing for leverage against the back of the couch to push them both off their seat and onto the floor. "I'm gonna getcha this time!"
They hit the thickly carpeted floor with a soft thud. Lero laughed, trying to squirm out of Rainbow's grip. "Wow, you're feeling frisky tonight!"
"Yep!" Rainbow nibbled Lero's ear, drawing a slightly squeaky laugh and a renewed effort to wiggle free. "Think about it. I've been working all day but not hard enough to tire me out, and I just had a great big meal. I've got so much energy right now." She blew into his ear, "And I think I know just how to burn it up."
He finally managed to wriggle free from her grip, and they spent a few minutes tussling until she managed to pin him again. She grinned down at him. "I'm in the mood to play a little rough." His eyebrows climbed, and she caught her lip in her teeth, struck by a thought. "Ooo! We should totally make this a game!" Rainbow grinned wider. "Let's come up with some rules!" With rules, it could be both sex and a game she could win, and thus doubly awesome.
"Hey, Rainbow? If we're gonna play by rules, can I suggest one?" She blinked, a little surprised, and cocked her head, waiting for him to speak. "Er, how about 'no biting'?"
Rainbow laughed. She pretended to bite his shoulder through his shirt, just a light touch with her teeth without any pressure behind it. "Grr!" she growled, mock-fiercely. "That's no fun. How about just less biting?" She liked to nibble a little when their games got more... intense. Something about it just appealed to her on a deep level. She liked his smooth skin, and for some reason lightly biting that soft, smooth surface just got her really excited. She'd gotten a little overexcited and had bitten a little too hard the last time, almost breaking the skin and leaving a red impression of her teeth in his arm that had turned into a bruise, and she still felt seriously bad about that. She'd be more careful this time. Rough play might be hot, but hurting him wasn't.
Lero fidgeted in her grip. "Here, loosen up so we can talk, okay?"
"Sure." Rainbow released her hold and sat up, and Lero did the same. "So, less biting. Or not quite as hard, I can do that. I really do feel bad about hurting you last time anyway. What else?"
Lero glanced down at himself. "Do you want me to go ahead and take my clothes off?"
Rainbow considered. "Hm. Nah, leave 'em on." Her eyes sparkled. "That'll be part of the game, I think." She grinned. "Okay, here's what I'm thinking. Wrestling match, first off." Lero nodded. "Whenever one of us pins the other, the one that's winning gets a bonus. If I pin you, I get to take one thing off you 'till you're naked."
He nodded again. "Okay. And when all my clothes are gone? Or when I pin you?"
Rainbow licked her lips. "Then whoever gets the pin gets to do whatever they want for, what, about thirty seconds before we start wrestling again?"
Lero's dexterous fingers stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm... Anything they want is a little too much. How about whatever they want without shifting position?"
Rainbow's heart was really starting to pound with excitement. "Ooh, yeah, that sounds better. Means it matters how I- er, whoever, gets the pin, huh? And the way to win is to get the other one to come first. Winner gets to pick what we do next time we decide to play?"
A slow grin spread across Lero's face. "Sounds like fun. And once the first one comes, the game is over and the loser gets the winner off at least once, how's that?" Rainbow nodded agreement. No reason to punish the winner, after all, that'd kinda ruin the point of winning. "Any rule for the wrestling?"
Rainbow shrugged. "Nothing that hurts. Not that I need to tell you that. Tickling is totally allowed." She'd probably pay for that, but she wanted to get some back.
By his raised eyebrow, he was clearly thinking the same thing. "Okay, then. Whenever you're ready to start..." He was cut off when Rainbow tackled him.
His ears really were ticklish. Even more ticklish than Rainbow's belly. Three pins later, he was missing his socks and shirt and hadn't managed to pin the pegasus yet. She grinned at him, crouching for another pounce. "You know, if your ears are ticklish, you gotta be ticklish somewhere else, too."
"Maybe." He shifted around on his knees, keeping his center of balance low and getting ready to receive her next rush. "If so, I'll never ullp!" Even though he'd been watching, her pounce took him by surprise. He wasn't able to get his arms in the way or grab her forelegs to keep her at a distance, and her chest crashed into his, bearing him over backward despite the fact that he weighed close to half again what she did. She felt his hands scrabble at her wings and back, trying for a hold. It was pretty darn arousing, but it wasn't enough to stiffen her wings, and she twisted agilely to the side. In close like this, her greater strength and quick reflexes made up for her lack of reach and weight. A quick twist and duck slipped his attempted hold, a push and a slight pressure of her forehoof against his back, and she flipped him onto his front. He started to twist his body to rise, but she darted in and nuzzled his ear roughly. He gave a muffled squeak of surprise, a surprisingly high-pitched noise from a creature as large and deep-chested as he was, and twitched awkwardly, trying to shield his ear and losing his coordination in the process. The distraction gave her the chance she needed, and she ducked her head under his arm, pulling it up and back so he couldn't use it for leverage, planted one forehoof on his back and one hind hoof on the back of his knee, pinning him in place. She laughed, panting slightly. "Gotcha again, big guy."
He struggled for a moment, then relaxed. Chuckling wryly, he said, "Guess you did, Rainbow. Wow, I'm pretty pathetic tonight, huh?"
She ducked her head, kissing his ear again. He yelped and struggled, but couldn't dislodge her. She laughed again. "You're not pathetic, I've just found your weak spot." She licked her lips, looking down at him. One more pin and he'd be naked, and then the real fun could start. Of all the games they'd played, this was turning out to be one of the most fun; her heart was pounding, excitement was singing in every fiber of her body, and lust was filling her belly and groin. She leaned down to whisper in his ear, "You know, I know you gotta be ticklish somewhere else. You really should just tell me where."
Lero struggled again, but with her superior position it was a hopeless effort. He snorted. "And why the heck would I do that?"
Rainbow giggled. " 'Cause, right now, I've only got two targets, and I can't reach 'em at the same time anyway. That means I can focus." She licked the edge of his ear to demonstrate and he squirmed again. "Gimme another target. You know me; I'll want to hit 'em all, and that'll at least give you a better chance." She giggled again. "I mean, you still got no chance, but it might not be quite so one-sided."
He sighed. "Okay, fine. If you use a light touch, I'm ticklish under my arms, where the skin's soft. Rougher touch, poking harder, and I'm ticklish on my sides, a little under my ribs."
"Really?" She could swear she'd tried his sides before. She shifted; he was more than solid enough for her to put her weight on the forehoof on his back without hurting him. She dug the other forehoof into the soft spot under his ribs, firmly but not hard enough to hurt, resulting in a strangled "Eep!" and some wild twitches. The pegasus laughed. "Oh, man, guess you are! Ha ha! What's this other spot, is it where you've got that hair under your arm?"
"Yeah," he gasped. "Aw, c'mon, Dash, have some mer- ahahaha!" She extended one wing, gently brushing her feathers against the soft skin. He burst out laughing, trying to shield himself but unable to do so with Rainbow keeping his arm extended with her neck in the crook of his elbow. She grinned in satisfaction. "Dash! Mercy, mercy! You win this round!"
She laughed, ducked her head to let him free, and stepped back, letting him roll over. "Yup! And that means the pants come off." He reached down to unfasten them, but she stepped up. "Nope! I'm taking 'em off. Hold still." Rainbow ducked her head down. She liked taking his clothes off, and she'd practiced a bit on removing his pants, which were the most difficult part. That probably explained why it was her favorite part of disrobing him. Gripping the waistband with her teeth, she carefully used her forehoof to push the button through the buttonhole, then shifted her grip to the zipper. After that, it was easy to slide the pants off using her forelegs, since she liked to sort of hug his legs while she did it, even if doing so made her look a bit awkward, scooting back with her hindlegs with her butt sticking up in the air. He was left wearing only the thin shorts he wore under his pants, the purpose of which Rainbow had never understood. Clothes under clothes, what was the point? No one ever even saw these, so why did he wear them?
With the thin shorts, it was easy to see that Lero was already getting pretty hard, and Rainbow chuckled. She had this game in the bag. She'd added the extra steps she'd need to go through to get him naked in order to give him a chance to tease her; when foreplay wasn't factored in, he tended to come a lot faster than she did, and she'd wanted to give him a more even chance. With the extra edge she'd gained by tickling him, though, he hadn't had a chance to do anything to her yet, and she was confident she'd get him to come first. They'd tried a couple of times, out of Rainbow's curiosity more than anything else, to see who took longer to orgasm. Just enough foreplay to get them both ready to go, then sliding together and going at it. He'd come first, both times, which made her realize just how much extra effort he went to during their normal lovemaking.
He was gonna come first this time, too. Poor guy didn't stand a chance.
Rainbow licked her lips. "Not much left, there. Better step up your game, or you're gonna lose big time."
"Pride goeth, Dash." He got back up, braced on his knees to receive her next rush. "Bring it."
She smirked, circling sideways. "Yeah, whatever. You know I'm gonna win." She darted forward suddenly, but this time he was quicker. His hand flashed out, grabbing her foreleg just as she set it down and pulling it forward. She slipped, unable to recover, and one of her rear hooves slipped as well when her center of balance shifted. Lero pulled her forward, grabbing her other foreleg, and she sprawled onto the soft carpet. He dropped down atop her, his weight pinning her to the ground. She tried to get her hindlegs under her to flip him off, but one arm swept under her belly and pulled both hindlegs out behind her while the other held her foreleg, preventing her from getting her chest off the ground. Rainbow struggled for a moment, but she was well and truly pinned this time. Lero was laying on her back, his hip next to her head, his right arm stretched behind him holding her foreleg extended and his left arm wrapped around her hindlegs just above the knees, keeping her from drawing them up. It wasn't exactly a dignified pose for either of them, but that was how wrestling worked a lot of the time.
"Urk," Rainbow said, glad that she at least hadn't ended up with her face in the carpet, "okay, you win this round." Her heart started pounding harder. "Guess you get to play for a little while."
"Okay, then." He released her foreleg, allowing her to shift into a slightly more comfortable position. He didn't release her hindlegs, though, keeping them pointed straight back behind her. His free hand slid all the way up her body, along her shoulder, trailing between her wings, then slowly dragging along her spine up to the base of her multicolored tail. She shivered in pleasure at the caress. His fingers wrapped around her tail close to the base, gripping lightly, and lifted it up, leaving her hindquarters exposed. Her tail twitched involuntarily in his hold.
"Hey! No fair going straight for my privates!" Rainbow exclaimed, trying to look over her shoulder. Despite the protest, she didn't actually object, but, well, if she could slow him down it would help make it easier to win.
"Oh, that's not my plan," he said a little huskily. His body bent, and she felt his breath on her hindquarters a second before she felt the contact. She twitched again as his tongue explored the little hollow beneath the base of her tail. The little spot was surprisingly intimate, and she hadn't even realized how good it could feel before one of their previous experiments discovered it. There was almost no hair there, just soft skin where the top of her buttocks joined the base of her spine. She bit her lip, trying not to make any sounds that might indicate just how good it felt as his hot, damp tongue stroked slowly in the little hollow. Rainbow shivered as a drop of saliva ran slowly down the crack between her buttocks, over her anus and continuing down over her vulva.
"Oooooh, dangit," she breathed, as her wings spread involuntarily. She heard a laugh, and felt a gust of warm breath against her hindquarters. His tongue wiggled in the little spot under her tail, and she squirmed a bit, her wings stiffening further. Argh, I didn't think about that. She should have; it always happened, wrestling with him tended to get her aroused fast, and that made her a heck of a lot less flexible. She felt kinda dumb for forgetting about it. Okay, I'm still gonna win. It's just gonna be closer. And more fun. He tugged on her tail, very gently, while the tip of his tongue pressed into the base, and she wiggled against his hold again. Ohhhh, that feels amazing, though.
"That's about thirty seconds, big guy," she said, trying to control her breathing and sound calm. "Time to let me up for the next round."
"Aw." He sounded disappointed, but he loosened his hold all the same, and Rainbow pushed herself up. She swished her tail against his face flirtatiously, and took a few steps away to get in position for her next attack. The pegasus rolled her hips a bit as she walked, watching his eyes follow her backside as though locked to it. She grinned and turned to face him again.
Her wings refused to fold, but she braced herself for the next rush nonetheless. Her body was quivering a little, excitement sparkling across her nerves. "Ready?" She asked, a little breathlessly.
"Yep." He set himself, spreading his arms. She could see his excitement bulging the thin shorts he wore.
She rushed him again, and a wild scrabble ensued. Her distraction trying to decide where to tickle him and the reduced mobility of her extended wings keeping her from gaining a decisive advantage, and he was able to slide his hand around under her belly and tickle her instead. She squealed in delight and dismay, flailing her legs in an attempt to push him away. He used that distraction to lift her bodily off the ground and thump her back down on her back. She managed to get a hindleg in a position to knock a knee out from under him, and he flopped down awkwardly atop her. A short scramble later, and they wound up tangled together on the floor, neither able to move without the other letting go.
Rainbow panted, sweat starting to dampen her coat from exertion, and tried one more time to get loose so she could pin him. Failing to do so, she said, "Well... I can't move. Can you?"
Lero shifted, but she kept her hold. "Nope," he responded, "I'm pretty much stuck. Uh... so what do we do for a draw?"
"I dunno," Rainbow said, frowning. She hadn't even anticipated the event of a draw; this almost never happened. "Well... I guess we both kinda won. And we both kinda lost. So, uh, I'll take those shorts off you, and then you get to play with me." She smirked. "I'll even give you a minute instead of thirty seconds. That was a good match." Rainbow was feeling generous; this was a ton of fun.
"Ha! Okay, sounds good." They carefully disentangled their limbs, finally separating, somewhat to Rainbow's regret. She'd kinda enjoyed the feel of his limbs tangled up with hers. Still, this would make up for it.
She sat up, looking at Lero with a smoldering gaze. "I go first. Time to get you naked." Rainbow advanced on him slowly, her eyes locked on his. This was actually the best bit about him wearing clothes: taking them off. She could have removed them with her forelegs as she had his trousers, but instead she took the waistband in her teeth and slowly backed up, pulling the thin shorts along with her and sliding them off his legs. His penis stood erect, nice and hard. That would be fun, the next time she pinned him.
She tossed the shorts aside and sat down, and Lero got up on his knees and leaned forward, catching her chin in his hand. He kept his eyes locked with hers as he leaned forward further, until their lips met and her eyes drifted closed. Her tongue pushed into his mouth before his could do the same to her, and his breath was hot as they kissed. After an endless few moments, they separated, and she opened her eyes again. "My turn, love," he said with a smile.
Rainbow grinned. He didn't call her that often, and it made her heart skip a bit when he did. "I guess it is," she said huskily. He pushed forward, chest-to-chest with her, embracing her and lifting her up and back. Her center of balance shifted back, and further back as he moved forward, finally laying her gently on her back on the soft carpet. "Okay," she said, excitement making her start to quiver again, "you got a minute. Have fun."
"We both will." His mouth descended to her belly, his lips circling her nipples with kisses. Her back arched; she didn't know why he liked her nipples so much, but she wasn't going to fuss. He kissed and nibbled slowly, and she felt his soft fingertips find her vulva.
She couldn't keep a quiet 'ooooh' from escaping her lips. Her tail twitched, and she felt it brush against his arm. It didn't slow him any. His fingers stroked along her privates while his mouth teased her nipples, and his fingers finally slipped inside her. Rainbow felt the pleasure building within her, though she wasn't all that close to orgasm yet. She writhed with delight, as his fingers stroked in and out.
A while later, Rainbow's eyes popped open. "Woah! Hold up! You were only supposed to get a minute!"
He looked up at her from her belly, his fingers still inside her. "Has it been a minute?" He asked, grinning. "I lost track of time."
"It's been... mmm... It's been longer than a minute!" Rainbow exclaimed. "C'mon, you're done for now, it's time for another match!" His fingers slid out, and she took a deep breath, trying to relax herself. It only partially worked, and she could still feel a tingle in her nethers. Continuing to take deep breaths in an effort to push her arousal aside, Rainbow carefully rolled herself over, wincing as her stiff wings got in the way, and stood, her legs quivering a bit.
"Ready for the next bout?" Rainbow asked, licking her lips and eyeing him hungrily.
"Absolutely."
She grinned and drew in a breath as though to speak again, but she was bluffing. Instead, she darted forward, taking him by surprise. A brief struggle later and she pinned him face first on the carpet again. "Gotcha," she breathed in his ear, rubbing against his back and buttocks. The feel of his smooth skin on her fur was something she never got enough of. "And you've got no clothes left. You know what that means."
"It means I'm yours for the next thirty seconds," he confirmed. "Have fun. I know I will."
She growled softly in his ear. "Yeah. Here I go."
Rainbow paused.
She realized suddenly that pretty much all of his fun bits were on the front. And he was currently lying on his front, which was going to make reaching anything fun... difficult.
Lero looked over his shoulder, smirking at her. "Stumped, Rainbow?"
She shook herself. "Not even!" Something occurred to her. "Hey, if this is uncomfortable, tell me, okay?" She rolled him a little to the side and slipped a forehoof under his body. She started carefully stroking his erect member with the soft base of her hoof, being very careful not to touch him with the hard part that supported her weight when she stood. She was being especially careful, since it had been a while since she'd trimmed her hooves and she'd spent a lot of time on the ground lately, so there were a lot of chips and nicks in the hard hoof surface. Horseshoes would have helped avoid that, but Rainbow had always hated the things and never wore them. They were so blasted heavy, and really not practical for anypony who didn't do a lot of work with their hooves. Rainbow was pretty sure that he wouldn't enjoy having the hard, chipped surface of her hoof touch him in such a sensitive spot, but with a bit of focus she was able to keep stroking his member with the soft base. His body tensed a bit underneath her. "That feel okay?"
"Yeah," he said, a little tightly. "Yeah, it feels good."
"Awesome." She picked up her pace a little, stroking as fast as she could while still being careful not to slip. She nibbled on the back of his arm a little, too, growling playfully and being careful not to bite too hard.
All to soon he spoke up again. "Okay, Rainbow, that's about thirty seconds." His voice was a little strained, she was delighted to hear.
They continued like that for a good long time, their wrestling becoming less and less coordinated as their mutual arousal grew. It also affected their timekeeping, both of them losing track of time at various points when the other was taking their thirty-second free time, which often wound up lasting considerably longer than thirty seconds. Lero paid close attention to her nipples, upper shoulders, and hindquarters while she concentrated on his nipples and genitals. Several times, she even pinned him faceup so she could straddle him and take him inside her. She figured that was worth the extra arousal it gave her, since she was already ahead anyway, and it just felt so darn good that she was willing to risk the extra stimulation. Rainbow was actually starting to feel good enough that the first wisps of doubt began to intrude on her mind. She knew he was getting close to climax, he had to be, but she was starting to head in that direction, too. The exertion and excitement of the contest were turning her on even more than she'd expected.
She'd just pinned him again, and was stroking his member with her forehoof, unable to reach him with her mouth and keeping him in place with her hindlegs wound around one of his. Her rear hooves rubbed slowly against the shin of his trapped leg, enjoying the intimacy of the feeling. She felt a tremble in his body, getting stronger as he got closer to his peak. "I... I think you're about to win," he gasped.
"Told ya I would," she growled happily into his ear. She could feel his member twitching against her hoof, and knew he was right at the edge. Rainbow ducked her head a bit, biting lightly at the spot where his neck and shoulder met.
She'd always suspected he enjoyed her little love-bites. He'd only ever told her to stop when she was getting too rough; while he grumbled a bit about bite-marks afterward, he'd never spoken a word of complaint during the act, so long as she was gentle with her nibbles.
His reaction pretty much proved that suspicion. His body stiffened ecstatically, and with a grunt, he came. Rainbow grinned, still keeping her teeth lightly fastened to his shoulder, and kept stroking with her forehoof, though she slowed the pace. He always tried to prolong her orgasms, and she felt it was only fair to return the favor. Especially since she'd just won the game. She watched in satisfaction as the milky fluid spurted onto the carpet, her own loins surging a bit at the sight. Whoo, that was closer than I thought it'd be, she thought, pushing back the excitement that sparkled through her.
He finally relaxed, and Rainbow released her hold. He sat up, breathing hard, and turned to her as she licked a few stray drops off of her forehoof. "Well, you win," he told her with a smile. "And I guess I made kind of a mess."
The pegasus shrugged, wings stiff and quivering. "Eh. We can clean it up later." She looked at him through half-lidded eyes. "Right now, you've got something more important to do."
"Right." He laid his hand on her stiff wing, stroking her feathers gently. "Time for the winner to get her prize." He licked his lips, and she felt the heat in her nethers intensify. "Come on, lets go into the bedroom. You ought to be nice and comfortable while I give you the attention you deserve." He cocked his head. "Did you burn off all that extra energy, by the way?"
"Most of it!" She replied with a happy smile.
"Well, then, let's see if we can get rid of the rest, shall we?"
Rainbow led the way back to the bedroom, casting sultry looks back over her shoulder. I'm gonna have to remember that game. It was awesome, she reflected, heart pounding in delicious anticipation. This is gonna be fun |
Xenophilia | Dinner For Three | Rainbow woke the next morning when Lero climbed out of the bed. She cracked one eye, noting the gray light of dawn pouring through the windows. She grumbled, tucking her head under her wing and burrowing deeper under the covers, and mumbled, "Mmf. Five more minutes."
The pegasus heard a quiet chuckle. "Take as long as you want. I've got an early shift today, though, so I've gotta go."
She grumbled again. The sheets and blankets, still wonderfully warm from both her body heat and his, were so seductively comfy. Pegasi might not feel the cold, (else they'd likely freeze at their preferred altitudes) but that didn't mean she couldn't feel the comfortable warmth of the bed. Still, she had stuff to do this morning, plus she needed to go by the library and see Twilight. She pulled her head out from under her wing, blinking owlishly in the dim light from her cozy nest of blankets and pillows. Lero was in the closet, already pulling on his clothes. Rainbow sighed. She so preferred the days when neither of them had to do anything in the morning, and they could wake up gradually, spending some time drowsing and snuggling while the light in the bedroom slowly got brighter. And sometimes having a little fun once they'd woken up enough.
Rainbow pushed herself up into a sitting position, stretching her back and her wings and blinking blearily. So early... Have to get up, but don't want to... Lero glanced at her over his shoulder. "You can stay in bed, Rainbow. Just because I'm getting up early doesn't mean you have to."
The pegasus yawned, rubbing her eyes and fanning her wings to help wake herself up. "Nah, I've gotta clean up after the rain last night. 'S gonna be all humid, and there'll be some clouds still hanging around that we need to get rid of. Plus, I need to talk to Twilight and set up that date. You've still got tomorrow off, right?"
"Yep," he said, pulling his shirt on. "And there's no one needing a handyman, so I've got pretty much the whole day free."
"Cool. Oh, um." She blinked, brain processing a bit slowly still as she stared at his simple grey shirt and tried to remember what had just pinged in her head. She scrubbed at her eyes again. "Oh, right! You've got some, y'know, fancier clothes, right?"
"Oh, yes." He chuckled. "Rarity came by the spa less than a week after I started working there and asked if I'd be willing to trade a nice suit for a free massage. She said she'd been wanting to pick my brain on what I remembered of human formal wear, and I thought, you know, why not? It wound up being a really nice suit, so nice that I felt like I was ripping her off. I wanted to pay her for it, but she argued with me and we finally settled on two more free spa trips. I still felt like I was ripping her off, but that's as low as I could get her to go."
Rainbow shook her head in disbelief. "Wow. No wonder you're so bad at haggling; you do it backwards." Three free massages from the human was actually worth a fair amount; between the strength and dexterity of his hands and the fact that he was the only member of his species in the world, his talents were in high demand among the rich. Aloe and Lotus had sent him to Manehattan before he started at the spa, to be taught by the highly-acclaimed griffon masseuse, Gretna Bluntclaw, and he'd picked the skill up extremely quickly. He'd refused to raise his fees above a certain level, insisting that he didn't want to deal only with the rich, but it was still a fairly tidy amount. And since it was well within the reach of most of Ponyville's citizens, his schedule was always booked weeks in advance, sometimes as much as a month. The spa owners had tried to convince him to come in more, but he really liked the handyman jobs he'd started with and still spent a couple of days a week helping out around town.
Lero laughed again. "Yeah, guess so. It'll be nice to have a chance to wear that suit, though; I don't think it's come out of my closet since Rarity gave it to me, and I actually do like it."
The pegasus stifled another yawn. "I kinda want to see it, now. Uh, do you have any restaurants in mind?"
"Any of 'em but the Bale."
Rainbow laughed. "Aw, come on! I thought you loved the Bale!" she teased, knowing full well that there was nothing that restaurant served that he could eat.
He gave her a level look. "Everything at the Bale is made from hay. Even the drinks."
She stuck her tongue out at him. "Fine. No Bale. Don't worry, I know what you like. See you this afternoon?"
"Absolutely." He bent down and kissed her, brushing her sleep-tousled forelock back out of her eyes. They smiled at each other, and he waved goodbye as he stepped out of the bedroom. Rainbow stretched some more as she heard the front door open and shut, and finally forced herself to get up off of the bed, regretfully leaving the comfortable tangle of sheets behind.
A quick glance at the sky when she stepped out the door assured her that she didn't need to start work on the weather right away. The shreds of last night's rainstorm still lingered, but they weren't threatening to clump up again. At least, not yet. And the extra humidity in the air wasn't hugely unpleasant; it'd clear out when she cleared the remaining clouds. Plus, none of the other weatherponies were up there working yet, (probably because they all knew the boss tended to sleep late) so she didn't have to feel guilty about going to the library first.
The quick flight across town to the library helped wake Rainbow up further, the mild exertion getting her blood pumping a little faster. She landed in front of the big hollow tree, noting the light on in the main room. Rainbow tried the front door, finding it unlocked, and poked her head in. "Hey, Twilight, you up?"
"Yes, I'm over here," Rainbow stepped inside, glancing around the stacks of books on the floor large enough to hide a pony behind. "Over at the desk!" The pegasus followed the voice of her friend, finally locating her at a desk so heaped with books and scrolls that it might have been intentionally constructed as some kind of paper-walled fort. Twilight didn't glance up from the scroll she was scribbling on. "One second, please."
"Sure thing." Rainbow glanced around. The library was an even bigger mess than she was used to seeing; Twilight must not have been kidding about having a project to work on. Poor Spike was gonna have a heck of a job to do once he woke up, and Rainbow wondered if Twilight had actually gotten any sleep last night. "Wow, this place is a wreck."
Twilight ignored her statement, her writing quill flicking quickly across the page, pausing occasionally to dip in the inkwell. Finally, she finished, placing the quill carefully on the desk and looking up, the purple glow fading from her horn. "Good morning, Rainbow Dash! My, you're up early."
Rainbow snorted. "Yeah, and so are you. Or are you up late?"
Twilight gave an airy wave of her forehoof. "I got some sleep last night. I just got up really early because I had this dream that pointed me exactly at what I needed to look for! I just needed to invert the third thaumic resonance frequency of..."
"Woah, Twilight!" The pegasus interrupted. "You don't need to explain, 'cause I'd never get it anyway."
"Oh, yes, it is rather complicated." Twilight blinked, her large violet eyes going distant for a moment. "Oh! Right! Yes! You were going to ask Lero if he'd be interested in a date!" The unicorn's expression turned hopeful. "What did he say?"
"He said yes. So we're good to go!"
Twilight sat up on her haunches, tapping her forehooves together excitedly. "Ooooh, I'm so happy to hear that, Rainbow Dash!" She beamed at the pegasus, who returned the smile. "Wonderful! What day are you both free?"
"The big guy's got a day off tomorrow. That too soon?"
"No, no, not at all! Tomorrow would be perfect!" Twilight's horn glowed again, and a violet aura engulfed a nearby blank piece of parchment and her writing quill, both of which levitated out in front of her. "How does six o' clock sound?"
"Sounds fine to me," Rainbow said, cocking an eyebrow in amusement. She isn't seriously going to... yes she is, she's actually writing it down. That's hilarious. "He didn't suggest any restaurants, but Crispy's is a good bet, if you're cool with it."
Twilight cocked her head. "Crispy's, that's the place over on Peppermint Lane that caters to pegasi, right?"
Rainbow nodded. "Yeah, that's the place. He and I go there all the time; it's the only place in town that has fish." In a town whose population was composed primarily of earth ponies, it was not easy to find fish. That had actually been a major concern of Lero's early on; humans evidently needed some source of animal protein to be healthy, and the fact that pegasi tended to like fish had been a lifesaver for the poor guy. It had also helped get Rainbow and several of her friends on his side; somepony had asked him if there was any chance his diet could make him dangerous, and he'd been so visibly horrified at the thought of eating anything that could talk that she'd immediately warmed to the strange-looking alien. When she'd asked if fish would work, he'd been both visibly relieved and grateful for the suggestion. With Rainbow's help, he'd made arrangements to buy from Crispy Carrot's supplier, and he visited the restaurant fairly often. Most of Ponyville's pegasi visited the place occasionally, too, especially the ones who rarely travelled. "And it's not just a pegasus hangout. I see earth ponies and unicorns in there all the time, their food's pretty good."
The unicorn chewed her lip hesitantly. "Well... it's not very fancy, though. Are you sure? I'd be happy to take the two of you to one of the really nice places!"
Rainbow shrugged. "If you really want to. He doesn't really like most of the fancy places, though." Not that there were all that many, in a town this small. "I suggested it 'cause I know he likes it, but if you want to go somewhere else he'll probably be fine."
Twilight tapped her nose with the quill, thinking. "You're sure he likes it? I don't want to make a bad impression."
"A bad impression?" The pegasus laughed. "Twilight, you've been friends with him as long as he's been here, same as me. I don't think you've gotta worry about him thinking less of you 'cause you took him to a restaurant he likes instead of a fancy one."
Twilight nodded decisively. "All right, Crispy's it is, then. You like it too, right?" At Rainbow's nod, she jotted down something else on the parchment. The pegasus had to suppress a laugh. Does she seriously think she's not gonna remember? "I'll meet the two of you at Lero's house tomorrow, then?"
"Sounds like a plan. I'm looking forward to it."
"Oh, me too!" Twilight grinned happily. "It's been forever since I've been on a date! Thank you, Rainbow Dash, this is going to be so much fun!" The unicorn pulled her friend into a close embrace, which Rainbow warmly returned. As they broke the hug, Twilight gave her a kiss on the cheek, much as she'd done the day before. And, as before, Rainbow found herself smiling. There weren't a lot of ponies that she'd let do that, but Twilight was definitely one of them.
"Aw, you don't need to thank me, Twilight. It'll be fun for me, too." Rainbow wagered that it had been a heck of a lot longer since her last date than it had been since Twilight's. "I've gotta go take care of some weather stuff. See ya tomorrow!"
"It's a date!" Twilight said, grinning, as the pegasus trotted back outside. ***
Late the next day, Rainbow flew back up to her cloud home to get ready for her date with Twilight. Lero was probably already getting ready, it took guys a while. She was actually really looking forward to seeing how he looked when he got dressed up; he looked so darn sexy with his clothes off that she really wanted to see how good he could look when he was trying. She was going to get dressed up, too; Rainbow Dash wasn't Applejack, and she liked to at least try to look pretty sometimes.
She glided through the spacious halls of her home, reflecting that she hadn't been spending much time here in the last couple of months. She'd built this house herself, assembling it Cloudsdale-style bit by bit until it had become the mansion she'd been proud to call home, but, well, her coltfriend couldn't exactly visit her here. It was the one downside of her relationship. She wouldn't trade him for anything, but she did kinda wish he could come up to her home. Instead, she'd all but moved in with him, and she wondered what she was going to wind up doing with this place, since this relationship really felt like a permanent one. She could move it, set it up over his home so it'd be closer... but she'd still be spending most of her time closer to the ground. Odd that the filly who'd always disliked the feel of dirt on her hooves had wound up spending so much time landed. Oh well, guess that's what love does, she reflected with a quiet smile. Maybe she could trade this place to one of the other pegasi in town. Trouble was, most of them came from ground-dwelling families, and had never really understood the appeal of living up in the clouds. Cloudsdale natives were rare out here.
Rainbow shrugged to herself. I'll find something to do with it. The relationship she'd found was worth some changes. She thought of the way he smiled at her, the amazing feeling of making love to him, and most importantly, knowing that there was someone she could absolutely, unreservedly trust.
She finally reached her bedroom, and went immediately to her closet. There wasn't a lot in there, but there was some stuff she thought she looked good in. She dug around, looking for her favorites. A pair of gold hoof-socks, with lacing that wrapped around her hind legs up to the first joint, pretty much the same as the ones she'd worn to the Gala except these were made for her back hooves. A sort of off-the-shoulder multicolored cape that went with her mane and tail but didn't get in the way of her wings. A slender gold circlet, reminiscent of the crown she'd won at the Best Young Fliers' competition, and a slim necklace that went along with it. She tossed her various items of clothing onto the bed and trotted into the bathroom.
It actually took her a couple of minutes to find her brush; she almost never used the thing, preferring to simply let the wind straighten out her hair as she flew. Finally, she located it, squirreled away in a cabinet she never used. How the heck did you wind up there? Stupid thing. She stuck her hoof through the loop on the back and set to work, grimacing as she tugged at the recalcitrant tangles in her mane. The pegasus rather wished, just for a moment, that she was a unicorn. Unicorns could braid their own darn hair without having to use tools and skills that she flat-out didn't have, and she kinda thought she'd look good with her tail braided, the various colored stripes threading around each other. She'd never gotten around to actually seeing what it looked like, but she really thought the effect would be nice.
A bit of wincing and tugging later, she finished with her mane, looking in the mirror with some satisfaction. It always looked so much longer in the back when she brushed it, for some reason. She nodded to her reflection, pleased with the effect of the cooler-colored stripes spilling down her shoulder, and set to work on her tail. That was much easier for her to reach and work with, and brushing it didn't involve the awkward stretches and shoulder-twists that brushing her mane required.
No longer needing the brush, she tossed it aside and immediately forgot about it again. She checked her feathers, just in case, but those didn't need any extra work. Unlike her mane and tail, her feathers had a strong impact on her aerial performance, and she worked diligently to keep them in good shape, preening them at least once a day.
Putting her clothing on took considerably less time than had been consumed by that darn brush. Getting the ribbonlike laces wound around her hind legs took the longest, (and required a frustrating three tries to get right) but even that was fairly quick. Finally done, she gave herself another look in the mirror. Not bad, Rainbow, not bad. Oh, sure, Fluttershy still looked about ten times better without even getting dressed up. And about a thousand times better when she did dress up, but Rainbow wasn't jealous. She checked the hoofsocks one last time, wiggling her hooves around and bending her knees and ankles just to be sure they were secure. Rainbow kinda wished she could put her foreleg set on as well, but those were freaking impossible to put on by herself. Like, the real kind of impossible, not the kind where she could just grit her teeth and try harder and manage to do it anyway because she was just that cool.
She shook herself out of her thoughts and ran her gaze over her reflection, trying to think of anything she might have missed. Lookin' pretty good there, she thought, satisfied with the fit of her leggings and cape, and the slight glint of gold from her forehead and neck that she thought went well with her cyan fur and rose-colored eyes. That glint nudged something at the back of her mind, something she'd forgotten about. What the heck does that remind me of... She stared hard, trying to remember. Oh, right!
She ducked back into her closet, going all the way into the back to retrieve a small box that had been back there for a long time. She set it on her bed and flipped the lid open, and stood there staring at the contents, chewing her lip as she debated with herself. Should I? Nah, this is too much. But they go with the other stuff I'm wearing...
A couple of years back, during a visit to Cloudsdale, Rainbow had come across a jewelry vendor selling some pretty nice stuff. This box had been one of the things in his store; a set of gilded false-feathers designed to sit amongst a pegasus's natural feathers. They were mostly an upper-class thing; they screwed with a flier's airflow and made it harder to fly, but they provided a really gorgeous highlight to her wings. And, well, that salescolt had made a really good pitch, and he'd been really cute and kinda flirty, and Rainbow had wound up buying the things, much to her later chagrin. She'd never actually worn them; they were hilariously impractical for a working pegasus, and she hadn't been to any events where she'd been both sufficiently dressed up to warrant the gilded pseudofeathers and where she expected not to fly much. But, well, this date kinda qualified. She wouldn't be flying around too much since both of her dates were groundbound, so some reduced capability wouldn't have any impact, and she was trying to look good...
Feeling daring, she picked one of the longer ones out of the box, spread her wing out a bit, and tucked it into the outer feathers that were about the same size. The little wires protruding from the shaft of the false feather fit between the feathers on either side, keeping it reasonably firmly secured. It still fit fairly comfortably, as it had when she'd hesitantly tried them on in the store, and she had to admit the gold amongst her cyan feathers actually did look pretty good. At least, she thought so. Well... I'll just see how they look, she thought, and went ahead and tucked the ones that were supposed to go on the right into the feathers of her right wing. She spread and folded the wing several times, making sure they wouldn't fall out, and bit her lip again. Eh, what the heck. I'll put 'em on and see what Lero thinks; if he thinks they're goofy I can just take 'em back off and leave 'em at his house. She quickly fit the rest of the false feathers into her left wing, and ducked into the bathroom for a final look in the mirror. The pegasus had to admit that she really liked the effect, with the gold highlights glittering in her wings, and really, really hoped that she didn't just look silly and couldn't see it.
It had taken longer than she'd planned, but she still had plenty of time, and figured that Lero would be a while still getting ready. She could just hang out at his place until Twilight came by to meet them. Rainbow hopped off of the cloud, gliding slowly down to the human's home so as not to mess up her mane or tail; she didn't want to waste all the time she'd spent brushing!
Rainbow also had to admit she was really curious about what this suit of Lero's looked like. Her imagination had invented about a bazillion possibilities, ranging from really minimalist things that left most of his pinkish skin exposed all the way to huge fabric tents that enclosed him completely and left only his eyes peeking out like a mobile tipi. He probably would have showed her if she'd asked, but she was having so much fun speculating that she preferred to just imagine possibilities instead of doing something so boring as asking.
She landed on his doorstep and folded her wings, pleased that the pseudofeathers still fit well after the fairly long glide. To her shock, she found Lero sitting in his living room reading a book, already dressed and ready. He looked up as she entered, and blinked. "Wow, Rainbow. Wow, you look... really good."
"So do you," she said, her eyebrows climbing. "Hey, could you stand up so I can get a good look?" He did so, setting his book aside, and she admired what was in fact a very nice suit. It was close-fitting though not especially tight, made of dark fabric, either really dark blue or black, and it covered him even more completely than his normal clothing did. Most of what he wore left his arms bare, and sometimes his lower legs as well, but this outfit covered his arms and legs, leaving only his head and hands not covered by cloth. The trim incorporated what looked like fine silver wire, and there was a row of silver buttons down his chest. A short cape hung from his shoulders, falling to a little above his knees. The cut and color of the suit emphasized his height and his broad shoulders, making him look even bigger than he actually was. It also looked slightly intimidating... and darn sexy, at least in Rainbow's opinion. The feather braided into his hair fit oddly well.
"Wow, dude. You weren't kidding about that being a nice suit." She blinked at him in surprise, feeling a slight tingling in her nethers. She bit her lip. "Oh, dude, you're so gonna be in charge when we get home tonight."
Lero grinned. "That good, huh?" She nodded enthusiastically, and he ran his eyes over her. "You look pretty good yourself, Rainbow. I don't think I've ever seen you wear your mane like that before, and I really like the way those Roman sandal looking things emphasize your legs."
Rainbow grinned back. She had no idea what "Roman" or "sandal" was, but that didn't really matter. She knew he liked her back legs and butt, and she'd picked those socks because they drew attention to what he liked. She might personally think it was a little weird, since her legs were way too skinny and muscular to be pretty, but she wasn't going to argue with him.
The thought of "a little weird" sent her mind wandering in some interesting places. "Uh, Lero? Just had an idea. You know how I just said I wanted you to be in charge tonight?" He nodded, and she continued, "Well... What do you think about playing a little pretend?"
His eyebrow climbed interrogatively. "Well, you won the game the other night, so you do get to pick. What kind of pretend?"
She felt her face heat a bit. "Well... you look kinda intimidating dressed like that, and I was thinking... Y'know, we could both pretend to be, like, characters. Acting, y'know?"
Lero's head tilted. "I think I follow you," he said cautiously, "What kind of characters did you have in mind?"
She caught her lip in her teeth again. "Well, like, you could be the evil warlord's son. You know, who's been sort of her enforcer, done her evil stuff when she was busy, but deep down you're not actually evil. You're not really happy with what you do, but you're good at it, and she's your mom so you do it 'cause you love her. But you've got this secret thing for the hero..."
Lero laughed. "Here, let me see if I can guess, huh? You're the noble hero, the warlord's arch-nemesis who's fought for years to put a stop to hi... to her villainy, but you've finally been captured and brought to the warlord's fortress. You and the warlord's son have sparred for a long time, neither able to get the better of the other, so I come down to the dungeon to gloat. But we finally realize that we've been in love for a long time, you appeal to me to start a new path and be better, finally convincing me to turn on the warlord and make the world a better place, and we have a passionate encounter before I help you escape the fortress?"
Now it was Rainbow's turn to laugh. "Ha ha, I didn't realize you'd read it! Otherwise I'd've just said 'we could play out the dungeon scene from Silverwing!'" Twilight had given her that book shortly after she'd finished the Daring Do series, telling her that if she liked the Daring Do books, she'd probably like Silverwing, and oh boy had she ever been right. It had been packed with adventure, action, great fight scenes, and good-versus-evil hero stuff, and Rainbow had loved the main character, the pegasus knight Silverwing. She was just so awesome. Rainbow had pretended to Twilight that she'd skipped the love scene in the dungeon with the warlord Ebonhorn's son Hammer Strike, but in truth she'd actually read it several times. She'd thought Hammer Strike was dead sexy, evil and all, even before she'd gotten to that scene. Tough, smart, honorable, in a lot of ways he'd been like an evil guy version of Silverwing. And man that scene in the dungeon had been steamy! "Um, I'm not sure you're remembering right, though. Silverwing's only been fighting Ebonhorn for like a year by then. And you don't really turn on her right then; I just convince you to leave and later you decide to help me."
Lero grinned. "I actually haven't read that particular book. There have been... shall we say a few like that written where I come from too; I was actually generalizing."
The pegasus blinked in surprise. "Wow, really? You were scary-close, then. And that scene's really hot, I think it'd be a load of fun to do."
"Sure, I'll give it a try." He gave her another long look. "How in the world do you manage to look so much sexier with clothes on than you look naked?"
"Well, duh," she said, feeling a rush of pleasure at the compliment and posing a bit, "It's 'cause I'm trying to look good. Wait 'till Twilight gets here; she'll look sexier too."
"I'll be looking forward to it, then," Lero said with a grin. "Hey, c'mere."
Rainbow stood up on her back legs to hug him, spreading her wings a bit for balance. "Careful with my wings, big guy. You don't wanna knock those fake feathers out."
"I'll be careful." They stood there holding each other for a few heartbeats, while Lero ran his fingers slowly through Rainbow's mane. "Your hair feels nice. Smoother than normal."
Rainbow giggled. "I brushed it. If you really like it, I could do that more." Maybe it wouldn't be quite so uncomfortable to do if she did it regularly. "Hey, do you like these gold feather things? I couldn't figure out if they looked good or if they looked dumb."
He drew back a bit to look and brushed a hand along her feathers, careful not to dislodge her jewelry. "I think they look good, myself. You may want to check with Twilight, though."
She nodded. "Yeah." He wasn't exactly the best judge of attractiveness, (he thought she was pretty, for crying out loud) but she was glad that he liked them. They stood there for a few more moments, swaying slightly in a sort of impromptu dance, and Rainbow spoke up again. "Hey, could you do me a favor?"
"Sure thing. What do you need?"
"Well, you know I can kinda be a jerk sometimes."
He shrugged. "A little bit, but you're not mean about it."
"Whatever. The thing is, it's kinda intimidating trying to court a group that's already together. I just don't want Twilight having to deal with that and me being a jerk at the same time, so if I start acting up, can you just, like, tell me?"
"Sure, Rainbow. I can do that."
"Thanks." She laid her head against his chest, still swaying in place.
A few moments later, they were both startled by a soft knock at the door.
They both froze in place for a heartbeat, staring at each other. Then they both giggled. "Sounds like Twilight's a little early," Rainbow observed. "I'll get the door." She dropped back to all fours, trotting quickly over to open the door. Twilight was standing outside, one hoof raised to knock again. The unicorn blinked in surprise.
"Oh, Rainbow Dash! Hello!" Twilight fidgeted nervously. "I thought I'd come by a little early and wait here while Lero gets ready. I guess we had the same idea!"
Rainbow laughed. "Yeah, guess so! He's already all dressed, though." She examined her friend's getup. It looked a little old, but not bad; stuff that Twilight had probably had when she was studying in the Magic Academy. What really caught the pegasus's eye was an intricate wire filigree that wound around Twilight's horn. Rainbow had never seen anything quite like it.
Twilight caught the direction of her gaze, and dipped her head shyly. "You like it?"
Rainbow shrugged a bit. "Yeah, it looks kinda cool."
The unicorn smiled. "Rarity's idea. Mostly. Well, it was based on something I was building to help enhance my magic ability, and she liked the way it looked and suggested making an inert version to be decorative." Her smile took on a slightly shy edge. "You look good, Rainbow."
Rainbow grinned. "Think so?" She spread her wing, showing off the gilded feathers. "These aren't too much? Like, not too goofy?"
"Goofy?" The unicorn sounded surprised. "No, not at all. I'm a little surprised you even have those."
"Heh, yeah, that makes two of us." Rainbow suddenly realized that she was keeping her friend waiting on the doorstep. "Oh, duh, c'mon in. Sorry." She stepped aside, letting Twilight in with an apologetic look. The unicorn stepped inside with a smile and stopped short.
"Oh, my," she said under her breath, looking at Lero with wide violet eyes. "I've never seen you dress up before."
The human twirled in place, a surprisingly graceful motion for the topheavy-looking biped. "Like it?"
Twilight nodded, watching the short cape billow outward. "Yes, it looks very good on you."
He grinned at her. "Thanks, Twilight. You look pretty good yourself." The human glanced at a clock on the wall. "Well, ladies, it looks like all of us are ready. Do you feel like going a little early?"
Twilight fidgeted a bit. "Well, I was actually expecting to have to wait a half-hour or so while you got ready, Lero. If you want to go ahead and go now, I'd be okay with it, though."
They both turned to look at Rainbow Dash. She looked blankly between them. "What?"
Lero chuckled. "Would you like to go eat a bit early?"
Rainbow blinked. "Oh! Yeah, sure, why not?"
Twilight shifted her weight uncertainly. "Well, if we're leaving now, um..." Her horn glowed, and the small bag she carried at her hip opened. The unicorn levitated out a pair of lavender blossoms, one of which floated gently toward Lero and the second toward Rainbow.
The pegasus grinned. "Thanks, Twilight, those're really pretty." She tilted her head slightly, and the flower gently tucked itself into her mane just in front of her ear. She looked at Lero as the other flower glided toward him. The human caught the bloom gently in his fingers and tucked it behind his ear, on the opposite side from where the cyan feather hung. He glanced over at Rainbow for approval, and she nodded. She hadn't remembered to tell him you were supposed to put the flower on the other side on the first date, but either he knew or he'd guessed. He flashed her a quick smile, thanking her for confirming he'd done it correctly.
Twilight didn't notice the exchange, which took less than a second anyway. She relaxed imperceptibly; Rainbow knew why. When you offer someone a flower, there's always that fear that they'll turn it down, even at that late point. It was confirmation for the unicorn that Rainbow and Lero really were interested in letting her into their relationship. Twilight grinned. "Well, shall we go, then?"
The three made their way down the street, cracking jokes to one another as Twilight started to relax. Rainbow caught more than one glare from the ponies on the street as they noticed the flowers in Lero and Rainbow's manes, and the feather in Lero's braid, but she ignored them. If any of them felt like saying anything she'd happily kick the snot out of 'em, but until then she really didn't care. If they decided to mess with Lero later she'd deal with it then.
The head waitress at Crispy's, on the other hoof, greeted them with a smile that grew more brilliant as the older mare noticed the flowers and feather. "Hey, Gem, how's things?" Rainbow asked cheerily.
"Not bad, Rainbow Dash, not bad," Sky Gem glanced back into the dining room. "Table for three?"
"Yeah." The older pegasus led the three to an unoccupied table, a nice private one in a corner without nearby neighbors, and left them with their menus.
Twilight cleared her throat and glanced at something under the table. "So, Lero... does your family have many enemies?"
The human blinked in surprise, trading a confused glance with Rainbow. "Er... enemies?"
The unicorn fidgeted nervously. "Yes... foes, rivals, things like that."
Lero stared for a long second before glancing at Rainbow and receiving a baffled shrug. "Erm, no, I suppose they don't. Didn't. They may now, I have no idea. Doesn't really seem likely, though."
Rainbow cleared her throat. She knew Lero didn't especially like to be reminded that he had no way to contact his family. "Uh, Twilight..."
Twilight ignored her, bulling on with a slightly desperate smile. "Oh! Good! That's good! So, d-did you destroy them, then?" The unicorn glanced surreptitiously at something under the table.
Rainbow had had enough. "Twilight, what the hay? Where the heck did this come from?" She ducked her head under the table, spotting a piece of parchment that was somehow hovering there, encased in the soft glow of Twilight's telekinesis even though her horn was dormant. Stretching out a forehoof, the pegasus snatched the parchment, disrupting the spell that held it. Ignoring Twilight's squeak of dismay, Rainbow pulled the parchment out from under the table to look at it. "Family enemies... feuds... What the heck, Twilight, it sounds like you've been talking to Gilda about her home life or something!" Twilight tried to snatch the list back, her horn glowing as she tugged at it, but Rainbow pinned the bottom of the short scroll to the table with both forehooves and kept reading. "Dude, he doesn't even live in a cave, you know that!" The next entry made her do an actual doubletake, not quite believing what she'd read at first. The pegasus made a strangled noise, trying not to laugh. "How big is your hoard?" she finally exclaimed, barely managing to keep the guffaws from slipping out. Rainbow grinned at Lero and wiggled her eyebrows with exaggerated lasciviousness. "Well, I mean, it's not that big, but it's big enough to get the job done!"
Twilight gurgled in embarrassment, her face bright red under her lavender fur. She finally managed to tug the parchment away from Rainbow, and Lero gave the pegasus a reproving look. "Rainbow. Remember what you asked me to do before we left? Right now kind of applies." Rainbow blinked, belatedly remembering her request. Oh. Duh. Way to be a jerk and embarrass your date, Rainbow! This was part of the reason she'd been so bad at courting. The human turned to Twilight, who was staring at the table, face still bright red. "Twilight? You okay?"
"Fine," Twilight said in a tiny voice. Aw, dangit, Rainbow thought, chagrined, I really didn't mean to humiliate her like that.
"I'm curious," Lero said gently, "where did you get those questions? They seem a bit... well, not-Equestrian."
Twilight sniffed, peeking up through her pink-streaked forelock. "Well... it took some looking, but I found this book..."
Now Rainbow was curious. "What kinda book would tell you to ask that?"
The unicorn sniffed again. "It... I... there was only one book on interspecies courting... It didn't even have sections on everyone, just the ones that were the least ponylike. Griffons, dragons, sea serpents, a couple others. There was even a little section on trolls even if it just said 'don't bother,' but I couldn't find anything close to human and I just thought..."
"Oh." Rainbow blinked. "Yeah, I get it, those questions were from..."
"The griffon and dragon sections of the book, yes." Twilight interrupted. "I thought they might be the right parts, since griffons are omnivores and dragons are patriarchal, and, well, since Lero's told me humans are omnivorous and patriarchal..." She trailed off.
"Ah, I think I understand. You were looking for an Equestrian analog of human society, right?" Lero asked.
"Yes," Twilight said, "I mean, thinking about it now, neither one is all that close, but it was all I could find..."
"And you wanted a reference, right?" The human's voice was gentle. He looked at Rainbow and gave her a wink.
Reassured that her coltfriend could probably fix what she'd screwed up, (a side benefit to the relationship that she hadn't considered before now) Rainbow hopped out of her seat. "Hey, guys, I'm gonna hit the little fillies' room real quick." She figured she'd give Lero some time to try and get Twilight back to normal.
Twilight nodded, and Lero gave her another covert wink. "Wait," he said to the unicorn, "there's a section on courting dragons? How does that work?"
The unicorn looked up, finally. "Oh, you're only supposed to even try with postadolescent young adults. Any younger and they don't have the emotional development for a relationship, any older and, well, it can get you hurt. And not just emotionally! But at that point they're only a little bigger than a big pony, and since a young adult dragon is the age of a fairly elderly pony, they've got enough life experience to..." Rainbow lost the sound of Twilight's voice as she trotted away. The pegasus shook her head in bemusement. Wow, get her lecturing and she perks right up. Good going, big guy.
Rainbow stepped around a corner and leaned against the wall. She didn't actually need to use the restroom; that had just been an excuse to get out of her friends' hair for a minute and let Lero smooth the air currents. Behind her, she heard a voice speak up. "Oh, hey there, dear. Was just headed to your table to see if you were ready to order; should I hold off?"
The pegasus turned to see Gem smiling at her. "Uh, yeah, better wait a couplea minutes." The older mare nodded and started to turn away, but Rainbow stopped her. "Hey, Gem, you didn't look surprised when we came in..." Rainbow trailed off, unsure of how to ask what she wanted to ask.
"Well, of course not, dear! You and Lero come by here all the time! It's hardly a surprise to see the two of you, and I'm always glad to see a third customer!" She grinned mischeviously. Rainbow was about to clarify when the waitress continued, "Sorry, just teasing you. But honestly, no, I'm not surprised in the least, because I have seen the two of you together so often." The older pegasus winked. "Some of us here, me and Crispy included, have known how you two felt about each other for quite a while now. Longer than the two of you have known, I'd wager. I'm just glad you're finally admitting it! And I'm glad to see that bright young lady courting the two of you, too; you three make such a cute group." Gem glanced around before leaning close to whisper conspiratorially, "So how long have you actually been courting him?"
Rainbow stared in shock, making the other pegasus chortle again. "Er, a little under two months now," she said, awkwardly, and Gem nodded, her grin taking on a satisfied edge. "Wait, you knew? Seriously?" Gem nodded again, happily. "And you don't have a problem with it?"
"I don't. I know there are a few ponies who do, but who cares about them? Grumpy bunch." Rainbow cracked a smile at that. Gem continued, more seriously, "Don't you pay any attention to them. There's some who don't like Lero, you probably know most of them already." The younger pegasus nodded. In spite of the human's earnest attempts to fit into Equestrian society, there were several ponies in Ponyville who just flat didn't like him. Most of the townsponies had an attitude more like Applejack's, though; they got along with him okay, and thought he was nice enough, but just didn't quite understand him. Even most of his clients at the spa felt that way, but it didn't seem to bother him much. "And there's some who just plain don't care for ponies courting anything but other ponies." Sky Gem craned her neck to look out at the dining room, then turned to look back at Rainbow. "Listen, honey; if anypony gives you three trouble while you're here, you let me know, okay? I'll handle it."
Rainbow felt a rush of gratitude. "Thanks, Gem. You're awesome." She chuckled. "Heh, and it'd probably be better not to start a fight in my coltfriend's favorite restaurant." The pegasus felt a complicated rush of feelings, realizing that this was the first time she'd referred to Lero as her coltfriend out loud.
"Heaven forbid," the waitress said feelingly. "I've seen what you can do when you're miffed, dear. And what your fillyfriend there can do, come to think of it. The two of you defending your stallion's honor? Gracious, we'd have to rebuild the place."
Rainbow couldn't help but laugh. "Don't worry, Gem. I like this place, too, I'm not gonna act like we're in an Appleloosan salt bar or anything."
"I'd appreciate that."
The athlete glanced out, looking at their table. Twilight was smiling and looking much more relaxed. "No problem, Gem. I'm gonna head back, you could probably swing by in a couple of minutes." Rainbow headed back, and was greeted by smiles from both her friends. "Hey, guys." She hopped up into her chair and turned to Twilight. "Sorry, Twilight, I kinda got carried away."
"Oh, no problem! I was being a little silly myself." Twilight kissed Rainbow on the cheek and giggled, which the pegasus took as a good sign.
The date went swimmingly after that, all three cracking jokes and telling stories. They were in the middle of a spirited discussion about forms of government (and Rainbow's head was spinning slightly with all she'd learned just hanging around the periphery of the discussion with her two friends) and had pretty much finished their meal, though they didn't really feel like leaving yet. Rainbow had caught a couple of nasty glares from other patrons, but she didn't think Lero or Twilight had noticed. She'd fired right back with a glare of her own whenever she'd seen one aimed their way, which had served to hastily redirect the attention of the disapproving ponies. She probably should have told Gem instead, but hey, they'd backed down, so it wasn't like she'd started a fight, right?
A mass of pink in Rainbow's peripheral vision distracted her from the debate between Twilight and Lero. She turned in her seat to see Pinkie Pie grinning widely at her. The pink-coated earth pony bounced over to their table. "Hey, you guys, what's going on? Oooo," Pinkie's eyes got big, "Oo, oo, are you on a date? Oh, that's great! Dashie, I know you've been single for, like, forever and now you're not and that's so unbelievably awesomely fantastic!" Pinkie bounced in place next to the table. "And since this is Twilight's first date with you I'll be able to remember! We can have a party on your anniversary! Well, assuming you're still together in a year, but you probably will be since you all look so happy! Oo, Rainbow Dash, when did you and Lero hook up?"
Rainbow glanced at Lero, who was looking a little blank at the verbal onslaught. She chuckled. "About, what, two months or so, right big guy?"
Lero shook himself. "Yeah, about that."
Pinkie beamed. "Oh, neato speedo! Wow, you guys were all sneaky and secretive, I didn't even know! Okay, if you remember the day, make sure to tell me so I can have a party for you, too!"
Rainbow nudged Lero with a wing and winked at him. He always looked a little overwhelmed when talking to Pinkie, which the pegasus thought was hilarious since he was normally so composed. "Sure thing, Pinkie," she said to her friend, "I'll try and remember the exact day and get back to you."
"Thanks, Rainbow Dash, that'd be just super duper!" Pinkie gasped suddenly. "Oh! Sorry girls and guy, I've got an urgent party emergency that I was on my way to, so I've gotta go! See ya!" Pinkie vanished in a pink blur.
Lero blinked a couple of times, and then his brow furrowed. "Wait... how does she know about speedos?"
Rainbow tilted her head and exchanged a look with Twilight. "Wait, that's actually a word? I thought it was just something Pinkie said when she's being Pinkie. Next you're gonna say that 'lokey' is actually a thing, too."
The human laughed. "Er, actually, yeah. Loki's the trickster god of Norse mythology."
"No way, really?" Rainbow blinked in astonishment. "Wow, I wonder how many other nonsense words Pinkie uses aren't actually nonsense."
"What kind of trickster?" Twilight asked, an expression of curiosity on her face.
"What, you mean Loki?" The unicorn nodded. "Er, that's kind of a long story..."
Twilight looked pleadingly at Rainbow, and the pegasus shrugged. "Well, we don't really have anywhere else to be," Rainbow said, "and, I mean, those stories about the Greek gods were kinda cool. Even though it sounds like they were a bunch of huge jerks." She'd gotten him talking about the legends his name came from, (there were a lot of them) and she could remember thinking that she wished Odysseus had beaten up Poseidon or something. Most of those gods struck her as being really mean, especially the chief god Zeus. And the big bully Ares. The only one she'd liked was Hephaestus. It was weird that all the really mean ones were guys; she'd have expected Ares, at least, to be female.
Lero shrugged. "Well, if you both actually want to hear some of those stories, there's one at least that you'll probably get a kick out of."
A few minutes later, Rainbow and Twilight were both laughing. "Wait... so he's Sleipnir's mother? Ha ha, that's hilarious!" Rainbow exclaimed.
Twilight wiped her eyes. "It takes a special kind of mind to disrupt a worker's efforts by seducing the horse. A very perverse kind of mind." Rainbow shuddered at Twilight's observation, still laughing.
Lero looked a little surprised by the response. "I have to admit, I didn't expect you ladies to find that story as funny as you do."
"What, because we look a little like horses?" Twilight snickered again. "Turn it around, then. A pony mare messing up a worker by turning into a male monkey to seduce the worker's female monkey helper."
Rainbow snorted. "I dunno, Twi. I think seducing a horse is even more perverted than seducing a monkey. Monkeys look funny, horses just look creepy. That little head on a great big body, with itty-bitty eyes waay out to the side? Creepy."
"You actually have horses here?" Lero asked, "I've never seen any sign of them!"
Twilight nodded. "Yes, they're rather rare, but they do still exist. They seem to be some kind of remnant ancestor species that never absorbed any kind of magic. There are all kinds of debates over how closely related they are to us. Most ponies feel the same way Rainbow Dash feels about them, so they generally aren't kept near Equestrian towns except in zoos." The unicorn shrugged. "They're not intelligent, and they're considered a bit unsettling."
"Huh. I wonder why that is?"
"Expressions, mostly. Or at least, that's my theory." Twilight shrugged again. "The same reason why you're more comfortable for us than they are, even though your basic body layout is so different."
Rainbow fidgeted. "Uh, guys? Can we change the subject?" Horses had always creeped her out a bit, and it wasn't just the expressionless faces. Something about them weirded her out in a way that other creatures never had. Give her a griffon, a buffalo, a donkey, an antelope... anything that could talk, and she'd be okay with it, just not a horse.
"Oh, of course, Rainbow." Lero reached out and caressed her cheek in apology. She tilted her head a bit, accepting the gesture. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bother you."
They were interrupted again by the arrival of two more ponies. "Darlings!" Rarity said without preamble, "Pinkie Pie passed us on the street, and we just had to drop in and say hello! Do please forgive us if we're intruding!" The elegant white-coated unicorn was smiling delightedly. Fluttershy, trailing quietly behind her more dramatic friend like a pink-maned shadow, nodded in agreement.
"Oh, I don't think you're intruding, Rarity," Twilight said, glancing at Rainbow and Lero for confirmation. "We were just talking."
"Well, I'm glad we're not interrupting, then!" Rarity gave Lero an evaluative look. "And I'm so glad to see you finally wearing that suit, Lero, darling! I was beginning to worry that you didn't like it!"
The human laughed. "I told you when you gave it to me how much I liked it, Rarity."
The unicorn waved a hoof dismissively. "Yes, and then you never wore it. I told you, it makes you look very good if I say so myself! And I did put so much work into it. You should wear it more often! Everyone deserves the chance to shine every once in a while!" She looked more closely. "Oh, and those flowers complement it delightfully, too! Oh, wait, that's not a flower..." She peered at the feather braided into Lero's mane, looked at Rainbow's wings, then back to the feather, and gasped. "Rainbow Dash! Is that feather yours?"
The athlete glanced nervously at her dates, receiving a wink from Lero and an encouraging smile from Twilight. "Uh, yeah, actually."
"Oh!" Rarity sat down on her haunches, hugging her forehooves to her chest and looking dramatically up at the ceiling. "How unbearably romantic! I didn't think you had it in you!"
"Wait, you actually know about that tradition?" Rainbow asked.
"Why of course, darling. I've read a few romance stories set in the old pegasus cities." She sighed happily. "Oh, how I wished we unicorns had a tradition so delightfully personal. The exchanging of horn-rings is romantic enough, but giving your lover a part of yourself like that? Oh my." Rarity's blue eyes glistened with emotion. "As I said, I honestly didn't think you had it in you!"
Rainbow rubbed her neck awkwardly, but couldn't keep a smile off her face as she glanced at Lero. "Yeah... I kinda didn't either."
"Until you met the right person!" Rarity gasped dramatically and nearly swooned. "Oh, it really is like a delightful romance story!" She looked at Rainbow more closely. "Oh, and look at you. Gracious, are those gold feathers?"
"I told you they looked good," Twilight whispered in her ear.
Rainbow spread a wing out. "Yeah. I don't even know why I had 'em..."
"I wish you'd told me you had them sooner, dear. They would have gone gorgeously with your Gala dress." Rarity blinked. "Oh, Twilight, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to ignore you! I was distracted by your dates; congratulations, darling."
"Thank you," Twilight said shyly, darting a look at Rainbow and Lero. "I feel awfully lucky that they agreed to let me take them out to dinner tonight."
"Psh." Rainbow scoffed. "You say that like we haven't had fun, too, Twilight."
"Indeed," Lero put in, "This has been a delightful evening for me, too."
"Oh, my," Rarity exclaimed theatrically, "I feel even worse for interrupting, now! I'll get out of your hair. But first! Next time you three go out, you should come by the Boutique first! You all look smashing, but you could look even better if you let me help coordinate! It will be stunning! Ta-ta!" The fashionista turned to leave, dramatically.
Fluttershy paused before following her more flamboyant friend. She gave the three a gentle smile, peeking out from behind her long pink mane. Rainbow felt the slightest, tiniest pang of envy; Fluttershy was a friend she'd known since childhood, but the other mare always made her feel a little awkward. She was probably the prettiest pegasus Rainbow had ever met in her life, but she always had the feeling that Fluttershy didn't realize how beautiful she was. It was hard to be jealous of somepony who clearly thought she wasn't pretty. And, of course, her personality made it impossible to resent her, as she proceeded to demonstrate. "You all look so happy together," Fluttershy observed, in her quiet voice that seemed to try to hide behind the other sounds in the room. She closed her eyes, her smile widening with honest delight. "Oh, it makes me feel all warm just being in the same room with that kind of happiness." Her eyes opened again. "I hope you all have a wonderful evening." The other pegasus quietly turned and followed Rarity out.
Rainbow smiled, delighted by the reactions of her friends. She looked at her dates, seeing similar smiles on both of them. Well, she thought, as long as my friends are happy, everyone else can just go jump down a well. Her smile grew to a grin. We're happy, and our friends are happy for us. That's pretty much all that matters, right? |
Xenophilia | Showdown | Rainbow Dash soared through the skies above Ponyville, smiling to herself. That date last night had gone even better than she'd hoped, after that bit of initial awkwardness, of course. Twilight and Lero had gotten along as well as she'd thought they would, and both of them got along swimmingly with her, too. By the time they'd left the restaurant it had been pretty late, and Rainbow and Lero had both gotten a shy kiss from the unicorn when they'd walked her home.
Of course, the pegasus had stayed up rather late with her coltfriend afterward. That game had been fun.
She was so wrapped up in those memories that she barely had time to see the other pegasus shoot out from a cloud in front of her and cut straight across her course.
The other mare's wake fouled Rainbow's airstream, causing her to momentarily lose control and spin out. She recovered, of course, her airborne agility was top-notch and she had reflexes to match, but she hadn't been flying all that high in the first place and she came perilously close to crashing. Rainbow landed for a moment, just to get her bearings, grumbling to herself about the clumsiness of the other pegasus, who she hadn't gotten a really good look at. That idiot. You always check to make sure you're not gonna run into somepony instead of just shooting out like that! I nearly freaking hit her!
She looked up in irritation, and to her surprise saw the yellow-coated, black-maned mare that matched the colors of the blur that had nearly hit her. "Honeybee, what the heck? Watch your freaking airstream next time!" Rainbow snarled in irritation, fluffing her feathers in an attempt to settle them. "If I'd been anypony else, I coulda been hurt!"
Honeybee snickered. "Aw, did the monkey-lover get a boo-boo?"
Rainbow froze, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "What did you just call me?"
"She called you a monkey-lover, freak. 'Cause that's what you are." Two other mares stepped out from behind a building ahead of her. A quick glance over her shoulder revealed another mare pacing out into the street behind her. She recognized them all; Honeydew and Honeysuckle, Honeybee's two earth pony sisters, and a unicorn named Glitter Dust who hung around with them. She knew that all four of them disliked her human friend, intensely. To the point that they'd harassed him in the past, though Rainbow had thought they'd backed off after she and Applejack had confronted them about it over a month ago. Okay, not an accident, then.
"You'd better watch your mouth, Honeysuckle," Rainbow growled, her wings flaring aggressively. "Somepony might decide to shut it for you."
"Ooo, somepony's a big talker." Honeysuckle and her sister sauntered closer, while Glitter Dust snickered nastily behind Rainbow's back. "Is your monkey toy a big talker, too? Did you teach him to sit up and beg?" She licked her lips ostentatiously. "Maybe teach him to do some tricks?"
Even though the insults were pretty juvenile, Rainbow actually heard her teeth squeak, she was grinding them so hard. A red fog was threatening to descend over her vision, but she tried to fight it back. Are they looking for a fight, or are they trying to make me start one? The cyan pegasus had seen something like this act before; there had been a group of ponies at her flight school who'd liked to taunt and tease her until she started a fight, and then get her in trouble for making the first move. She was older now, and had better self-control, though admittedly not by a huge amount. Her eyes flicked from one mare to another, trying to assess their intentions. If they want a fight it'd be better for me to start it. Her fighting teachers had stressed that getting into a fight where she was outnumbered was a bad idea. If she was facing a fight like that, she should act first, and as aggressively as possible to reduce the numbers against her. Take out Glitter first. Unicorns usually take a second or two to get ready. Honeybee next, then I'll have the sky to myself while I deal with the other two.
Still, that... wasn't ideal. She'd have to move fast and hit really hard, and there was a really good chance she'd badly hurt or kill one of them without meaning to. And if they're trying to get me in trouble, that's exactly the wrong thing to do.
Rainbow drew a deep breath, fighting for control. "You're gonna want to shut up and turn around," she said, her voice as level as she could make it. "You keep talking about Lero like that and it's gonna make me mad."
"I'll talk about the monkey any way I want, freak. What's wrong, couldn't find a real stallion? Had to get that big bald thing on top of you instead?" Rainbow snarled in fury, and Honeydew let out another nasty laugh. "Ooo, she's getting mad, girls. I'm shaking." The earth pony mare stared at Rainbow, a challenging light in her eyes. "I was in the tournament you were in, you know," The seeming non sequitur made the pegasus pause, frowning. She couldn't remember seeing Honeydew's name on any of the matches. Her memory wasn't perfect, but... "I know you wussed out after getting a little boo-boo. I don't think you're as tough as you pretend to be, monkey-lover." The earth pony glared. "See, ponies oughta stay with ponies, and freaks like you shouldn't be in a place called 'Ponyville.'. So you're gonna move. I hear there's a nice hospital in Fillydelphia." She snickered nastily, echoed by her sisters and their friend. "Don't worry, the princess's little pet and your precious monkey'll be joining you before long."
Rainbow felt a strange calm descending over her. Nope, she thought, there's no way I'm letting you hurt Lero. Or Twilight. No. Way. Her reluctance to start the fight vanished, as did her worry about accidentally inflicting serious harm. She was forcing her body to relax, so her attack would come as a surprise, when another voice interrupted.
"You try sending her there, Honeydew, and you'll find out she's pretty much exactly as tough as she thinks she is." Rainbow glanced aside, startled, and saw a mint-green unicorn stepping out into the street with them. The newcomer gave a whimsical smile, though her gold eyes stayed fixed on Honeydew, who was clearly the group's leader. "Did you actually watch the match you were just talking about? The tournament match where she got hurt?"
"No," Honeydew replied, shortly, "I didn't need to. I know what happened."
"Do you?" Lyra Heartstrings walked down the street, approaching the tense scene. "Oh, that's right, you couldn't have actually watched it. You were two ranks down from the bracket Rainbow Dash was competing in, and you had a match at the same time, didn't you? I, on the other hoof, did watch it, so I can tell you exactly what happened." She stopped, a short distance away from the two earth ponies. "I can tell you, for example, that Rainbow over-extended on a strike that would have hit far too hard to be tournament-legal, and when she pulled it her opponent got her in a grapple, which is where she's weakest. And, since I talked to that opponent after the match, I can also tell you that she twisted way too hard in that grapple, since Rainbow Dash here had just scared her so badly she almost wet herself. She knew, you see, that if that strike had landed it probably would have killed her, and she was so jumpy after that near-miss that she put too much into her own response and dislocated Rainbow's wing. That's not a minor injury, it's actually quite serious, and Rainbow withdrew on the advice of her coach and the judges."
Honeydew snorted. "Yeah, whatever, she could've kept going. I don't think she's all that tough."
Lyra's eyebrows climbed. "Really? Well, perhaps she could have fought in her next match, at the risk of sustaining a permanent disabling injury. It would have been a stupid thing to do, but perhaps she could have done it. But you're missing what I said. I've just told you that, in a tournament, a simple contest with no provocation involved, the first instinct of the mare you're trying to pick a fight with was to strike hard enough to potentially kill her opponent. And you're not only goading her, you're threatening her lovers." The unicorn shook her head slowly, golden eyes not wavering from Honeydew's face. "I question the wisdom of that decision, regardless of how tough she is or isn't."
"Whatever," the earth pony snarled, "Question all you want. Just stay out of our way." Her sister, Honeybee, darted down out of the sky to hover next to her, whispering into Honeydew's ear while keeping a frightened gaze locked on Lyra. Huh, Rainbow thought, well, one of 'em recognizes her, at least. Honeysuckle was standing rigid, next to her sister, watching Lyra unblinkingly. Okay, two.
Lyra Heartstrings was no joke. While Rainbow had heard she was kindhearted and sweet, with a whimsical sense of humor, the unicorn mare was probably the third most dangerous individual Rainbow Dash had ever met in her life. It was her presence that was keeping Rainbow from starting the fight right now; she didn't know how Lyra would respond if she did. It seemed like the mint-colored unicorn was trying to prevent the fight, and if Rainbow went ahead and started it she was worried that Lyra would smack her down. The pegasus had seen the gold-eyed unicorn fight, once. The match had lasted less than three seconds.
Honeydew listened to her sister for a moment, then snarled and swatted the yellow-coated pegasus away. "Honeybee thinks you're some kind of big fighty type," she said to Lyra, "Whatever, I don't care. You just stay over there while we teach the skinny freak that Ponyville's for ponies, not monkeys or monkey-lovers, and we won't have a problem."
Lyra shook her head, still smiling gently. "No, I don't think I'll be doing that."
"What, greenie," Honeydew sneered, evidently choosing to ignore that her own coat was almost the same color as Lyra's, "You gonna help the freak out? Let me guess, we wouldn't like you when you're angry, something like that?"
The unicorn laughed, a surprisingly silvery sound that made the Honey sisters bristle. "Oh, no, I'd never say that. I don't like being angry, so I almost never do it. No, no, you see," Lyra smiled apologetically, "I'm actually an auxiliary member of the Royal Guard. So I'm actually required to intervene when I see, for example, four ponies planning to start a fight with a fifth. The Guard frowns on ponies hurting each other, you see, so I'm supposed to step in, regardless of whether the four would hurt the one or the one would wind up seriously hurting or killing the four in self-defense."
"Wait, you're a Guard?" Rainbow blurted, surprised. Her four antagonists turned to glare at her, reminded of her presence, and she readied herself for a rush.
"An auxiliary," Lyra said, drawing attention back to herself. She gave Rainbow a shut up look before shifting her attention back to Honeydew. "Here, I've got my badge with me." The small bag at Lyra's hip opened, and a small gold-and-bronze solar disc floated out, encased in a soft green-white glow. The unicorn tilted her head, smiling. "See? I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't tell anypony, though," One gold eye winked. "It's supposed to be a secret. Well, not actually a secret or I wouldn't even have this," the emblem wagged back and forth in the air, drawing attention to itself, "but it definitely isn't supposed to be common knowledge."
Honeydew was silent for several tense seconds, her eyes flicking back and forth from Lyra to the badge floating next to her. The mint-colored unicorn's slight smile didn't waver; she just stood there, waiting. Honeydew cleared her throat. "Look, I don't want trouble. We were just telling this freak that her kind isn't welcome here, any more than her monkey toy is."
Lyra's head tilted again. "That isn't really for you to decide, is it? That's a matter for the Mayor. If you think Rainbow or Lero should be expelled from the town, you should take it to her, not start a fight in the streets. Please, all of you, why don't you all just go home and think this over? I really do think you're overreacting."
"C'mon, Honeydew," Honeysuckle whispered to her sister, just loud enough for Rainbow to hear. "I told you this was a bad idea. Let's just do what she says and go home, we don't want to get in trouble with the Guard."
"Shut up." Honeydew snarled suddenly, her momentary hesitance vanishing. She took a step toward Lyra. "Maybe you're Guard, and maybe you aren't. And maybe you won't be telling any-" She was cut off when her forehoof stuck to the ground while she walked, her own forward momentum pulling her awkwardly to the side. A tiny flare of green-white light pushed her shoulder further sideways, causing the earth pony to stumble and fall, rolling to the ground. There was another flare of light, and Honeydew's head snapped back violently. The hostile mare went limp, collapsing to the ground.
"Approaching a Guardsmare in a threatening manner is a felony offense," Lyra observed, mildly. The badge, which hadn't even twitched, tucked itself back into her saddlebag. "I'll overlook it this time, though." She raised her head, locking her golden eyes on Honeysuckle. "Your sister isn't hurt. I made sure she was on the ground when I knocked her out, so she couldn't fall and hurt herself. Please, take her home and let her sleep it off."
Rainbow gaped. She'd never seen a unicorn cast that fast, not even in the tournament match she'd seen Lyra in before. The mint-colored mare had just dropped a pretty tough earth pony and hit her with a sleep spell in a fight that had taken maybe a second and a half.
"I... o-okay," Honeysuckle said haltingly.
Lyra smiled. "Thank you. One more thing," The unicorn's expression shifted, her gaze turning hard. "I really, really wouldn't recommend trying anything like this ever again." The three ponies who'd accosted Rainbow nodded in unison. "Against anyone. Mister Lero has the dispensation of the government to live in Equestrian lands, and he enjoys the same protections of the law that you do. Should he be harmed, you would all be facing banishment after this little incident. Which I will be reporting, both to the Mayor and the Guard." She smiled again, grimly. "And Twilight Sparkle has the personal attention of the Princess. Harming her, as your sister threatened, would be extremely unwise. As for the third recipient of your threats," Now the unicorn glanced at Rainbow, "Should you threaten her again, I may interpret it as a challenge. If you genuinely want to fight her, I'll let you. I'll be her second, to make the numbers a bit more even."
"I'll take 'em up on that," Rainbow chipped in, feeling the tension in her chest loosening.
"Are we clear?" Lyra asked, ignoring the interruption.
There was a general murmur that indicated assent from the three ponies still conscious.
"Great!" The mint-coated unicorn exclaimed with a happy grin. The Honey sisters carefully picked their sister up off of the ground, while Glitter sidled past Rainbow to join them. The three hastily carried their compatriot down the street and around the corner, leaving Rainbow and Lyra standing alone in the road.
Rainbow let her breath out in a long exhalation, tension finally leaving her body. She looked at the mint-colored unicorn. "Thanks, Lyra. I thought that was gonna get really ugly for a second there; you really pulled my flanks out of the fire."
"Glad to help. It is part of my job, after all." Lyra glanced around. "And please, keep the fact that I'm with the Guard to yourself."
"Sure. I guess I was just lucky you were right there when Honeybee knocked me down!"
The unicorn chuckled. "Oh, that wasn't luck. Bonbon and I have been listening to that bunch for a while, now. She heard them talking about picking a fight with you and told me so I could follow them."
"Oh." Rainbow blinked. "Uh, is Bonbon with the Guard too? And if you're a Guard, how come you aren't wearing the armor? And, uh, why aren't you, y'know, a hot stallion?"
"So many questions!" The unicorn stuck her tongue out playfully. "First off, no, Bonbon's not a Guard, just a friend of mine. She helps me out when I need it. Second, like I've said a couple of times, I'm an auxiliary, not a regular. Technically, I've got a suit of armor, but it's sitting in the main armory in Canterlot and I've never worn it. As for your last question, let me guess, you've never lived anywhere but Cloudsdale and here?"
"Yeah, how'd you know?" Rainbow's eyes widened. "Ooo, do the Guard have a file on me or something? Are you here watching me? Am I dangerous?" The pegasus was obscurely pleased with the idea.
Lyra burst out laughing, hard enough that it took her a few moments to speak again. "Oh," she said, wiping a tear from her eye, "Oh, my. Sorry, no, I'm not here watching you, and I don't think there's a file on you, at least not as far as I know." Rainbow's face fell a bit, and she fought back a feeling of bizarre disappointment. "I'm sorry if that disappoints you. It's just that there isn't a resident Guard here since the town's small enough for the Mayor to handle things, and Cloudsdale has its own, separate force. Part of the Treaty of Unification, if I'm remembering my history correctly. So the only Guards you've seen are the Princess's personal escort, yes?"
"Yeah. They're hot, though." Rainbow remembered her attempts to tease a reaction out of one of the stoic Guards. Mostly because she'd kinda wanted to get the stallion to pay a little attention to her.
"Well, yes, that's Commander Bright Gleam's work. Most of the rest of the Guard is female." Lyra looked down the street. "Do you mind if we walk and talk, by the way? I've got somewhere to be."
"Sure." Rainbow hovered up off the ground. "Actually, I can buzz off and leave you alone if you want."
"No, I'd actually prefer if you stayed close by for just a little while. In case Honeydew's bunch decide I was joking."
The pegasus shrugged in midair. "Meh, don't think they will with her down for the count, but I don't have anyplace else to be. You were talking about why the Princess's guards are all stallions?"
Lyra started walking down the street, Rainbow hovering alongside. "Oh, yes. Well, the Princess's guard used to be composed of veterans. Tough old mares that were always bored out of their skulls, because Celestia can take care of herself just fine. That changed about, oh, a hundred and fifty years ago. Celestia and the Guard commander at the time, Bright Gleam, were apparently trying to work out a new system for selecting her personal escort, since like I said, the veterans were really bored. The Princess made a joke about wishing she could be surrounded by gorgeous stallions all the time instead of grumpy old mares, and Bright Gleam basically said, 'yes, ma'am, I'm sure that would be nice,' and ignored the joke. Or so the Princess thought." Lyra giggled. "But Bright Gleam had a better sense of humor than anypony realized. A couple of months later, the Princess walks out of the Palace and she's met by a whole new personal detail, every one of which is a stallion and all of 'em good-looking. Bright Gleam had recruited them all personally and put them through the standard Guard training, so every one of 'em was qualified." The unicorn chuckled. "The Princess was a little embarrassed, but she didn't complain, and the tradition stuck around. So wherever the Princess goes, so too goes a bunch of gorgeous stallions. It's no wonder she's constantly being invited to visit various places."
Rainbow laughed. "That's kinda funny, actually. How'd you know about that?"
Lyra rolled her eyes. "Oh, when they recruited me they put me through this 'History of the Guard' class. Only lasted a couple of hours, and the teacher tossed in funny stories like that to keep everypony's attention."
Rainbow laughed again. She cocked her head, looking at Lyra curiously. "You know, I haven't hung out with you much. I gotta say you're not quite what I expected." Rainbow had heard from other ponies that the green unicorn was cheerful and funny, but that was totally contrary to her experience dealing with other accomplished Still Way practitioners. Those unicorns tended to be very calm, tranquil... and boring.
Lyra laughed again, stopping in front of a building. "Oh, what, thought I'd be all stillness and tranquility?" She made an expression of false disgust. "No thanks. Yeah, a lot of the other masters are like that, but they haven't really learned the big lesson."
"What's that?"
"How to be still while moving."
Rainbow blinked in bafflement, trying to process the statement. "...what?"
Lyra's golden eyes danced with mischief. "And now I get to end the conversation and be all cryptic, like a grandmaster ought to. Bye!"
She ducked into the building and closed the door, leaving a very confused Rainbow Dash hovering over the street outside. |
Xenophilia | A Learning Experience | Though their dates went well, it took Rainbow forever to get her friends together in an intimate setting. Lero was still really freaking shy about the whole sex thing, and Twilight seemed really uncertain as well. Which was really odd, since she'd said she'd been in a herd before. It was exasperating for the cyan pegasus; she'd manage to talk one of her friends into it, only to have the other chicken out, which made the first one chicken out the next time. It was worse that she couldn't even get mad at them for it; she'd already known that Twilight could be shy at the strangest times, and Lero... she couldn't stay mad at Lero. He'd smile at her apologetically, and every shred of irritation would evaporate.
Finally, finally, she managed to get them together on the same night. She was smiling to herself as she walked through the street with Twilight, headed back to the house she shared with Lero. They'd just dropped Spike off to spend the night at Sweet Apple Acres, giving Twilight the night free. The unicorn had been quiet since leaving Spike behind, but Rainbow wasn't too worried. Twilight had told her a few days ago that she was starting to feel ready for a more... physical encounter.
Next to her, the unicorn bit her lip. "Rainbow, are you sure Lero will be okay with this?"
Rainbow gave her a sidelong look, smiling. "Yeah, pretty sure. He'll probably be all stammery at first, especially when we start taking his clothes off, but don't let that scare you. If he gets worried, just let me get him in the mood. Don't worry, I won't hog him. I'll make sure you have plenty of fun."
"But, well, he's... he's not acting like a stallion who's interested. Are you really, truly sure he wants to do this?"
Rainbow laughed. "Oh, man, you too, huh? Yeah, he doesn't act right. That had me fooled forever before I just went ahead and risked it." She remembered how tense and scared she'd been after that first kiss, thinking she'd completely blown it. A quiet smile spread across her face as she thought about how wrong she'd been to think that.
Twilight blinked, then her gaze went a little distant. "Oh. Oh! Right, somehow I completely forgot how he thinks backward."
"Aw, don't sweat it. I've talked to him a bunch, and I'm positive he'll go along, he'll just be a little shy at first. And I'll be there too, so I can help you two get, y'know, started." Rainbow wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
"I don't want to pressure him..."
The pegasus sighed. "You won't be. I'm not even gonna pressure him, not really. He likes you, Twi, I'm just gonna help him see that it's okay. I'll be there mostly to help keep him from getting too nervous." She smiled. "You've kissed him, right?" Rainbow had been there when her friends had kissed, so she already knew the answer.
Twilight laughed a little nervously. "Yes. A few times. He's a nice kisser."
That made Rainbow's smile warmer. "Yeah. He is. Any tongue?"
"Um. No..."
The pegasus raised an eyebrow. She could have sworn she saw tongue in a couple of those kisses. "Really? Wow, you're missing out. Make sure to try that when we get there, it really helps get him in the mood."
"Um." Twilight's voice was hesitant. "I, uh..."
"Something wrong, Twilight?" Rainbow asked, concerned. "C'mon, spit it out. I won't bite." She gave a self-satisfied little grin. "I only bite Lero. But don't worry, I won't do that; tonight's your show."
"Er, well, that's... I, uh..." Twilight stammered, then scrunched her face up, and the words rushed out of her so quickly Rainbow barely caught them. "I'veneverdonethisbefore."
"Huh?" Rainbow tilted her head. "Never done what before? Been with Lero? Yeah, I'd kinda know if you had. He'd probably have mentioned it." She snorted.
The unicorn shook her head. "No, no, I mean... I mean I've never done this before. With anyone. I was... I'd always get too nervous..."
Rainbow blinked in surprise. "What? I thought you said you were in a herd in school! With, what was it, five other mares and two stallions?"
Twilight nodded convulsively. "I was! It's just... whenever things started getting... physical... I'd always get nervous and back off. I mean, I watched a few times but I was never... er... the one with..." She trailed off, swallowing nervously.
"The one with the stallion?" Twilight nodded, silently, and Rainbow blinked again in shock. "Uh, wow, Twi. Wow. Like, never?"
Twilight shook her head. "Never," she said in a small voice.
"Er. So, like, never ever or just never with stallions?" Rainbow was having trouble believing it. Twilight could be shy, yeah, but she had charisma by the cartload when she decided to use it, and she was Celestia's personal student, besides. The stallions should've been just falling over her!
"Never ever. Apart from a couple of times with a cooler." That really didn't count, and if Twilight was mentioning it at all then she really was inexperienced. Twilight ducked her head, hiding her eyes behind her forelock. "A couple of the other fillies tried, especially Silvermoon. I just... I got scared. Backed off. That's... part of why I left the herd. They really were upset to see me go, they were sure if they tried harder I'd enjoy it, but I... I just got scared."
"Wow," Rainbow said frankly, "And I thought I hadn't gotten much." Twilight ducked her head, ashamed, and Rainbow bit her lip. "Are you scared now?"
"A little."
Okay, yeah, it's more than a little. Rainbow stepped in front of Twilight and stopped, making the unicorn stop too. She ducked her head, looking under Twilight's forelock to catch her friend's purple eyes. "Hey, Twilight, if you really, honestly don't want to do this, then we won't. Lero's a little nervous too; he says humans don't usually do the group thing. I think you'd both like it, but if you really are scared..."
Twilight smiled shyly. "Well, I don't think I'm actually scared, but I am nervous. It's just... what if I do something wrong? I don't really know what to do! I... I found some reference material on pegasus mares, but you already said you don't like other fillies that way, and Lero... there's nothing on any creatures like him! What if I mess up?"
Rainbow chuckled. "Oh, man, I know where you're coming from, Twilight. You have no idea how nervous I was the first time he and I got past just making out." Which had been the same day they'd gotten to making out, but she didn't feel the need to mention that. That had been one whirlwind of a day.
Twilight gaped in shock. "You? Nervous?"
The pegasus nodded. "Oh yeah." She smiled distantly. She wouldn't tell just anypony about this, but she trusted Twilight to keep her secret. And maybe it would help the unicorn with her own nervousness. "Man, I was just sure I was gonna screw up and lose the only guy who'd ever said I was pretty. I didn't need to worry though." Her eyes got a little misty. "And I've had no complaints. Seriously, Twilight, you don't need to worry either. We'll take good care of ya."
"Uh... can you give me an idea of what to expect?" Twilight's voice was still a little hesitant.
Rainbow cocked her head to the side. "A little. I mean, one of the things I thought was great was that he paid really close attention to what I liked, so it'll probably be a little different for you. Um, be ready for a lot of foreplay, first off, he really goes in for that." She blinked, thinking. "Oh, and he likes to do it dolphin-style. It's kinda kinky at first, but it's really great once you get used to it."
Twilight's eyes widened. "Dolphin-style? You mean belly-to-belly? Really?"
Rainbow nodded happily. "Yep! Seriously, it's better than I thought it'd be. You have no idea how sexy it is to have him between your legs like that. And you can kiss him at the same time without stretching your neck." She closed her eyes, basking in remembered pleasure.
The unicorn chewed her lip. "Um. I don't know if I want to go that... experimental the first time. Do you think he'd be okay doing it the normal way?"
"Uh..." Rainbow thought hard. "Well... The thing is, with the size difference and all, the normal way wouldn't really... y'know, fit." The pegasus made a vague, extremely crude gesture with both forehooves. "If he got down on his knees, he'd be too short; your privates would be halfway up his belly. And if he stands up, he's way too tall. I mean, maybe he could, like, lift your backside up to his waist level, but I don't think he'd go for that." She tapped her chin with her forehoof. "Oh, maybe... Listen, I think I've got an idea, but I'd need to kinda try it out with him first to make sure it works. I think it will though. Trust me?"
"I do trust you, Rainbow Dash," Twilight said with a nod. She tilted her head. "Are you sure you don't want to participate? I'd probably feel a little more comfortable with another mare..."
Rainbow shrugged uneasily. "I dunno, Twilight. I like you, but... we'll see, okay?"
"Okay." Twilight smiled gently. "If you do feel like joining in, please do. If not, that's okay."
They passed the rest of the short walk in silence, trading occasional smiles. Finally, they got to Rainbow and Lero's home, and Rainbow opened the front door. "After you," she said with a smile.
"Why, thank you!" Twilight said, bowing slightly and giggling, and stepped past her friend into the house. Rainbow followed, and her ears picked up the sound of running water in the kitchen.
"C'mon, Twilight," Rainbow said, twitching her head toward the kitchen. They found Lero there, finishing up with the dishes. He'd cooked dinner for the three of them that evening, plus Spike, and had stayed home to clean up while the two ponies took the dragon to stay with Applejack. "Hey, big guy, you about done here?"
"Yep," He turned the water off and turned to face them. "Not really anything left to do in here."
Rainbow stood on her back hooves, embracing the tall human and planting a light kiss on his lips. "Well, then. There's some stuff we could do in the bedroom, instead." He smiled, a little nervously, but she'd expected that. They'd talked about it quite a bit, and she knew he'd be nervous right up until she and Twilight distracted him. Rainbow patted him on the shoulder, whispering, "It's okay, big guy. Twilight's nervous, too." She dropped back to all fours. "C'mon, let's go get comfy."
Rainbow turned to lead the way, noting as she did the nervous smiles Lero and Twilight exchanged. She rolled her eyes a bit where they couldn't see. They'll settle down when it gets fun. She led the way down the hall, Lero behind her and Twilight bringing up the rear. Hopping up on the bed, she patted the spot next to her for Lero to sit. Twilight paused, uncertainly, before hopping up next to him. Lero's bed was big enough for him and Dash with a little space left over, but since they weren't doing anything at the moment there was plenty of room for three.
"Okay, guys, couplea things before we start," Rainbow announced. "First up, Lero, Twilight's a little uncomfortable doing the face-to-face thing, but I think I've got a way around it. Scoot back a little?"
"Sure." He did so, shifting his position closer to the center of the bed.
"Thanks," she flashed him a grin. "Okay, I don't think it'd work for you to mount her, but how 'bout this..." She stepped across the bed carefully, straddling his legs with her back hooves, and carefully sat on his lap. She could feel his genitals through his pants, almost exactly where they needed to be, but the position wasn't as close as it could have been. She pushed herself back with her forehooves, and then felt his arms go around her and pull her close. She leaned back against his chest, his arms wrapped around her chest. "Mmm. Yeah, I think that'd work." She wiggled her hips a bit, making sure everything was positioned right, and as she did so the spot between her wings rubbed against his chest. Ooh. That is nice. "You comfortable, big guy?" She looked to the side, noting that his head was about on level with her chin. She'd expected that, his body and neck combined were a bit shorter than hers.
"Yeah, it's not bad," he replied. "I kind of like it."
"Awesome." Rainbow looked to Twilight. "What do you think, Twi? This be okay?"
The unicorn caught her lower lip in her teeth, her violet eyes anxious. "Uh, yes. That... that looks okay."
"Awesome!" Rainbow said again. She got up off of Lero's lap, a little regretfully, and sat back down next to him. She was going to have to remember that position; they'd never tried it before. "Okay, one more thing. Lero, this is Twilight's first time with a guy." He looked at Twilight in surprise, and she nodded hesitantly. "She's kinda nervous. I know you are, too. So why don't the two of you start it off with a kiss?"
Twilight gave Lero a shy smile, but neither of them moved. Rainbow rolled her eyes again and gave Lero a little push with her wing. "C'mon, I know you guys have kissed before."
Twilight's smile firmed a bit, still looking at Lero. "W-would you mind if I kissed you?"
"No, I wouldn't mind at all." Rainbow's friends leaned toward each other hesitantly, finally making contact. The pegasus watched the slow movement of their lips against each other, before they finally moved apart again, their eyes opening slowly.
"That... that was nice," Twilight said, quietly, her eyes shining.
"C'mon, guys," Rainbow said, quietly. "That was a 'we're standing outside the restaurant and don't wanna get too raunchy' kiss, not a 'we're in the bedroom' kiss. Here," She hooked a forehoof over Lero's shoulder, turning him to face her. "Lemme show you." She kissed him, starting slowly by caressing his lips with hers, then gently teasing his mouth open with her tongue and sliding it in. She slowly, gently explored his teeth, feeling the sharp points against her tongue, while his tongue gently rubbed the underside of hers. She made sure to take a good, long time and make the kiss nice and gentle, but that didn't make it any less intense. She finally slid her tongue back into her mouth and drew her head back. "See, Twi, that's the kinda kiss I mean," Rainbow said, slightly breathlessly.
Twilight blinked, her eyes wide. "Oh, wow, Rainbow." She licked her lips. "Um. Lero? Do... do you mind if I try a kiss like that?"
"If you'd be comfortable with it," he said, his face a little flushed. He glanced aside at Rainbow, who gave him a little smile and nodded. She hoped he'd find his confidence; they'd talked about this. She wasn't worried about them being with Twilight, and she hoped he'd come to accept that as the evening went on. And besides, she'd told him to say something if he got uncomfortable.
Twilight leaned forward, still hesitant, pausing every few inches to look into Lero's eyes and make sure it was still okay. Finally, though, their lips met again. The kiss started just as the previous one had, slow movement of lips against lips, but then Rainbow saw Twilight's mouth open, just a bit, and was able to see the tip of the unicorn's tongue teasing the human's lips. Rainbow couldn't contain the smile that spread across her face at the sight, happiness that her friends were finally sharing the joy she'd already felt suffusing her body. Lero's hand moved up, caressing Twilight's neck and ear, and the unicorn almost melted at the touch. She pushed closer, the kiss deepening as Twilight molded herself against Lero's body while his arm went around her, pulling her close.
Uh, wow, Rainbow thought. She could almost feel the emotion radiating from the two, her familiarity with both enabling her to read their moods from their movements, posture, and expression. This is actually pretty hot. She'd been pretty much exactly where Twilight was now, and knowing what her friend was feeling... she had to admit it was turning her on some.
Twilight's eyes were slightly glazed when she finally pulled back. "Wooooow," she whispered.
"Heh, that looked better," Rainbow commented with a grin.
"It was a nice kiss," Lero observed quietly. Twilight grinned.
"I thought so. Your teeth are so sharp, though." The unicorn caught her lip in her teeth. "Could... we do that again?"
Lero looked at Rainbow, who rolled her eyes. She gently pushed him toward Twilight, snickering. While they kissed the second time, Rainbow leaned in close, folding a wing across Lero's back and whispering to Twilight, "I warned you he'd be kinda nervous."
Twilight giggled. That had sort of been Rainbow's objective; Lero had told her he really liked it when she laughed while she was kissing him. The pegasus pulled back, giving her friends space again. Lero's face was a little flushed when the kiss ended, which was usually a sign he was getting excited. Okay, cool, Lero's getting into it. Time to get Twilight involved. "Hey, Twi, unicorns like having their horns played with, right? Gets you hot, like under my wings, right?"
Twilight's eyes opened wide, and a flush spread across her face. "Uh... w-what?"
Oops. Maybe too fast. "Er. You know, we are kinda in the bedroom, Twilight. You can tell us this stuff."
"I... w-well..." Twilight stammered, blushing.
"Twilight," Lero said gently, "If you don't want to keep going, we can stop."
The unicorn shook her head. "No, no, I'm just... I'm a little nervous, that's all. I haven't really... talked about stuff like this before."
"It's okay, Twilight. You don't need to be nervous. It's just you, and me, and Rainbow. No one else." Lero's voice was calm. "Neither of us is going to make fun of you if anything happens." He gave Rainbow a look that said, we won't, will we? The pegasus nodded, wordlessly acknowledging the mild rebuke.
"Okay. It's... it's okay, Rainbow's question just took me a bit by surprise." Twilight bit her lip. "Um... T-to answer your question, it's complicated. My horn... well, like it is right now, it's got almost no feeling."
"Wait, really?" Rainbow asked. "So, why were the unicorns in that magazine licking each other's..." She trailed off, realizing Lero and Twilight were both staring at her. "Wh- I didn't buy it!" She exclaimed, defensively, "I just saw it, okay? Yeah, maybe I turned a page or two, 'cause the guy was hot and I was... I left it there, though!"
"You were just curious, right, Rainbow?" Twilight teased gently.
The pegasus rolled her eyes. "Hey, I thought we weren't making fun!"
Lero laughed. "Technically, we weren't teasing Twilight." Rainbow rolled her eyes with an annoyed huff, and the human leaned in close. "Sorry, love," he said, before kissing her gently. Her irritation vanished, washed away by the feel of his lips on hers.
Rainbow smiled when the kiss ended. "Totally forgiven," she told him. She shook herself. "Wait, but Twilight didn't answer! I mean, that magazine was supposed to be for unicorns, at least that's what I thought. Why would they've been licking each others' horns if they couldn't feel anything?"
Twilight was flushing under her lavender fur. "W-well... It's... You see, like this I can't feel anything. Do you want to see?" She angled her head toward Rainbow and Lero, pointing her horn between them.
Rainbow nudged her coltfriend. "Why don't you try, Lero?"
He looked uneasy. "Are you sure you're all right with this, Rainbow? With me... being with another wo- mare?"
"I'm totally all right. Look, you like Twilight, right? You guys talk for hours sometimes."
"Yeah."
"Think she's cute?"
"Well... yes." Twilight flushed deeper, a shy smile spreading across her lips at the compliment.
"I like her, too. She's one of my best friends, and I trust both of you to be good to each other. And to me. And it's not like I'm not here!" She folded a wing over his back. "Look, I'll be here next to ya the whole time. And I promise," she put a forehoof over her heart, making the most virtuous expression she could, "I'll tell you if you do anything that I'm uneasy about, just like you promised earlier you'd tell me if you got uncomfortable. So go ahead, touch her."
He gingerly reached out a hand, gently brushing his fingertips across the unicorn's spiral horn. Twilight smiled, but didn't react other than that. "See?" She said gently as he ran his finger along the spiral groove, "No real sensation... Oh, be careful of the tip, it's quite sharp."
"So I see," Lero said, passing his thumb across the tip of Twilight's horn. "Um... I notice you said you can't feel anything when it's 'like this.' I presume that means there's another way where you can feel something?"
"Um... yes," Twilight said, flushing again. "You see... er, when I actually have magic running through my horn, it becomes extremely sensitive. Sensitive enough that touching it roughly can be painful."
"Oh!" Rainbow exclaimed, "So that's why my fighting teachers told me to do that."
"To do what?" Twilight asked, tilting her head.
"Oh, they always said that if I fought somepony using the Still Way I was supposed to get in close and pop 'em in the horn. Said it'd break their concentration so I could take 'em down."
Twilight actually flinched at Rainbow's words, lifting a foreleg to hide her horn. "Ouch, Rainbow Dash! That would... ouch!"
"Wouldn't be too comfortable, huh?"
"Gracious, no. That would be remarkably painful." Twilight winced again at the thought. "It would be worse than twisting your wing."
Now it was Rainbow's turn to wince. "Okay, yeah, been there. That hurts." She paused. "So, you've got to run magic through your horn for you to feel it? Does it feel good?"
"It feels incredible," Twilight said with a sigh, "And yes, I have felt it before." She declined to elaborate on that point. "I don't necessarily need to build up the power myself, though, and the way to make it feel really good is... well, it's involuntary for me."
"Involuntary, eh?" Lero asked with a raised eyebrow, "A bit like Rainbow's wings getting stiff? What triggers it?" Rainbow hid a grin. The more scholarly tone of the discussion was distracting him, just like it sometimes distracted Twilight.
"Um." Twilight's blush had been fading, but now it came back full force. "W-well, the base of my horn... it's sensitive. Touching that... as long as you're gentle... it, well, it makes magic start channeling. Not a lot of magic, but enough to matter."
Rainbow snorted. "You really don't have to tell him to be gentle, Twi. I have to tell him when I want to play rough."
"You haven't complained," Lero observed with a smirk. Rainbow stuck her tongue out at him, eyes dancing. He chuckled and turned back to Twilight, who was looking a bit more relaxed. "Okay, Twilight, tell me if this makes you uncomfortable."
He took a deep breath and slowly reached out his hand, starting by caressing the unicorn's ear gently, then trailing his fingers to the base of her horn. Twilight's breath caught in her throat at the contact, but she didn't say a word. She bit her lip as his fingers started to slowly explore the junction between her horn and her head.
"Am I doing this right?" The human asked.
Rainbow had to stifle a snicker as Twilight tried to nod without moving her head. "Oh, yes," she said a little breathlessly, "Yes, that's... could you go just a little faster, please?" Lero's fingers increased their pace, stroking around the base of Twilight's horn, and the unicorn let out a quiet moan. A gentle violet glow enfolded the spiral appendage, flickering slightly, and Twilight let out another quiet moan, pushing a little closer to Lero.
"So your horn can feel stuff now, right?"
"I... y-yes, Rainbow, I think- ohhhhhh," Twilight groaned quietly. Heh, Rainbow thought, she's louder than me or Lero. The expression of rapt pleasure on Twilight's face... the pegasus had to admit it was turning her on a little, just like that kiss had.
Well, she's not so nervous anymore, Rainbow thought with a smile. "Hey, big guy, see how she likes you touching her horn now," she whispered in Lero's ear, scooting up close so she could press her chest against his back and lay her head on his shoulder for a better view. It was a comfortable spot to sit, and it made sure he knew exactly where she was.
"Was just about to do that," he replied in an undertone. His fingers left the base of the unicorn's horn, trailing oh-so-lightly up, following one spiraling groove. Rainbow could actually see the glowing field eddy around Lero's fingers, and Twilight voiced another soft groan, much longer this time. The glow of magic intensified a bit, glowing more brightly around the human's intruding digits.
Rainbow blinked, something suddenly occurring to her. "Uh, Twilight? Don't unicorns have, like, random magic go off when someone's doing this kinda thing?"
Twilight's eyes opened slightly, trying to focus on Rainbow. "I... um... wha?" Rainbow repeated her question, a little louder. "Oh. Um.... Ohhhhh, please don't stop... W-well, yes, that does normally... oh... normally happen when... mmm... when one's partner does things p-properly." Twilight was panting a bit, having clear difficulty focusing. She pushed closer, snuggling her shoulder up against Lero's chest while his fingers danced lightly over her horn. The glow was getting brighter, a brilliant pinpoint of light forming at the tip of her horn.
"So, um, should we be worried? You're a bunch stronger than any unicorn I've ever met..." Rainbow trailed off, unsure how to finish her question.
"Ohhhhh," Twilight groaned again, her body undulating a bit in ecstasy. "N-no," she gasped, "It's not dangerous. It... mmm... it won't be much more than lights, maybe a tingle... oh... if it touches you."
"Oh, okay. Awesome." Rainbow relaxed. Whew. Was a little worried I might wind up as a cactus or something. She nibbled a little on Lero's neck, despite her earlier intention not to. "Hey, Lero," she whispered into his ear, trying to keep her voice quiet enough that Twilight couldn't hear it over the sound of her own quiet groans, "Idea. Try touching that light at the tip."
He gave her a sidelong look and a smile, and his fingers slid along the glowing horn to the pinpoint of light at the end. "Are you... oh... ohhhhh," Twilight groaned. "Oh, be careful. It's sharp, don't... uh," the unicorn's body twitched with pleasure, "don't hurt yourself. Oh, don't stop, though." The human gently wrapped his fingers around Twilight's horn, grasping lightly as he passed his thumb through the glowing point of light. The unicorn shuddered ecstatically, a louder moan erupting from her throat.
Rainbow chuckled in his ear. "She's really liking that. I think you may get her off before we even get your clothes off."
"I've done that to you, too," he whispered back, turning his head to give her a light kiss. "More than once."
She giggled. "Yeah, you have." Rainbow felt a delightful tingle in her nethers at the memory, her eyes avidly watching Twilight writhing and moaning in pleasure. Rainbow hooked a foreleg over Lero's shoulder, enjoying the feeling of having her coltfriend close to her while watching one of her closest friends enjoy herself.
Lero kept gently teasing the glow around Twilight's horn as the unicorn got more and more incoherent, moaning and squeaking in delight and gradually getting louder. Rainbow chuckled. "Wow, she's lasting longer than I did the first time."
"Guess you're just a sprinter." The human's face was flushed; he was clearly enjoying Twilight's reactions, even more than Rainbow was. Good. He's starting to relax, too.
The pegasus chuckled again, biting Lero lightly on the neck. She felt him shiver against her chest. "Hey, big guy, you got two hands."
"So I do. That's a good idea." His other hand moved up, finding the base of Twilight's horn. The unicorn let out a loud gasp at the contact, followed by a surprisingly deep groan.
"Oh... I'm... I'm about to..." Rainbow blinked as Twilight spasmed, emitting a loud moan, just short of a scream. Sparkling motes of light shot from the unicorn's horn, dissolving into glittering showers of sparks when they struck an object. One of the motes hit Rainbow in the cheek, making her jerk her head back, but all she felt was a slight tingle. Twilight's body was rigid, trembling against Lero's chest for quite a long time before she almost explosively relaxed, panting heavily. The unicorn's eyes were shut, and she was quivering, sweat dampening her coat.
"You okay, Twilight?" Lero asked, concerned.
"Yes... yes, I'm fine," Twilight panted. "My... hah... my, uh... they're always like that."
"Wow." Rainbow commented, a trifle enviously. "Wow. Every time? Uh, wow."
Twilight nodded, her eyes finally opening. She looked at Lero and Rainbow, her violet irises half-hidden behind her eyelids. "Yes. That strong or stronger." She swallowed, smiling. "That was nice, by the way. You got a little fast at the end, there, but it was still pretty great." She was catching her breath, her speech getting more regular.
"That was actually just supposed to be foreplay," Lero said, sounding embarrassed. "I didn't realize it would be quite that intense, or I would have taken longer."
"I didn't realize you were quite that, y'know, loud," Rainbow observed bluntly. Twilight blushed, and Lero slapped the pegasus's forehoof lightly in rebuke. "What? I'm not making fun of her! She did make a lot of noise."
"Be nice, Rainbow," Lero said, turning his head slightly so he could look at her out of the corner of his eye. "It's just the way she is, no need to make a big deal about it. I don't make a big deal over the fact that you snore."
"What? I don't snore!"
"Yes, you do. Sometimes, at least. It isn't very loud, but it's there."
"Oh yeah? Well, you make funny squeaks when I tickle you." He tried to twist aside, anticipating what was coming, but Rainbow was pretty much draped over his back, with her head resting on his shoulder. There wasn't really anywhere he could go, and she poked her forehoof into his side with unerring precision, eliciting the very noise she was referring to. "Like that. So there." She stuck her tongue out.
Twilight giggled, and Rainbow felt Lero pat her knee on the side Twilight couldn't see. The pegasus turned back to her friend. "So, Twilight, did that wear you out, or are you still up for the main event?"
The unicorn's eyes widened. "What? But I just... oh, wait, you said you two went... more than once."
"Yep! A lot more, usually." Rainbow said with a grin. "You look kinda worn out, but not really any worse than me after, what, six or so?" She looked at Lero for confirmation.
"About that. Maybe five."
"Yeah, so no reason to stop now! I mean, I think we've maxed out at eight. For me, not him; he gets kinda sore if he has more than one."
"I don't know that you maxed out at eight, Rainbow," Lero put in, "There was that one time..."
Rainbow winced. "Oh, yeah, that time. I lost count that time. It was awesome, but man was I sore afterward."
"W-well... maybe I could try for one more," Twilight said hesitantly.
Rainbow beamed. "Awesome! Okay, the next part's a ton of fun. Want to help me take off Lero's clothes?"
"I never have figured out why you like that so much," the human commented.
"Ha! Come on, it's like unwrapping a present!" She kissed his cheek. "And besides, I get to touch you all over, which is always fun."
"Well, okay, give me just a few moments and I'll help," Twilight said, smiling.
"Why not now? C'mon, Twi, you can't be that tired."
Twilight pointed a forehoof at her horn, which was still faintly glowing. "I can't use my magic yet. Give me about a minute."
Rainbow scoffed. "Aw, using magic? That's no fun! Half the fun of undressing him's the touching! Just use your hooves and mouth."
"Hold up, Rainbow," Lero interjected, holding up a hand. "Twilight, are you all right? I didn't hurt you, did I?"
Twilight blinked. "No, I'm fine." Her head tilted to the side for a moment, and then an expression of realization crossed her features. "Oh! No, no, my not being able to do magic has nothing to do with what you did. Or, well, it does but not like you're thinking. When we get, um, excited, we sort of temporarily lose our spell casting ability. It's short-term and completely harmless. Kind of a bother, but I guess that's how we keep from accidentally zapping our mates."
Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Get over here and help me get him naked."
Twilight giggled. "Okay." The two spent the next minute or so slowly disrobing their lover, lingering to caress him and both stealing kisses as they did so. Rainbow was delighted that her friends seemed to be loosening up. The feeling of camaraderie while Twilight helped her remove Lero's clothes was delightful, the occasional brush against her friend's side making the whole situation more comfortable for both of them. Twilight even tried to sneak a kiss, though Rainbow fended her off, laughing.
Finally they got him stripped. Rainbow noticed to her satisfaction that he was definitely aroused and ready to go, so either his reluctance was gone or it wasn't affecting his body. Twilight was looking the human up and down with wide eyes. "Oh, my. You really do have nipples!" She giggled. "Can I touch them?"
"Uh, sure." He gave her an odd look that she either ignored or didn't notice. Rainbow resumed her earlier spot, pressed up against Lero's back and leaning her head on his shoulder, as Twilight leaned forward with her gaze focused on his chest. She brushed her lips against his pink nipples, easily visible despite the dark, wiry hair on his chest.
"Oh, they're soft," Twilight observed. She looked up and met his eyes again. "Do they have sensation like ours do?"
"Yeah, but I think they're a little less sensitive." Rainbow glanced askance at him at this statement. She'd gotten some pretty good reactions from playing with his nipples, but she didn't contradict him.
Twilight giggled again, and lightly took the tip of the human's nipple in her teeth. "Careful there, Twi," Rainbow warned, "The skin on those is really thin." She'd never bitten him there; she'd always been careful to confine her love-nibbles to spots like his shoulders and neck, and occasionally his ears or hands. Mostly because she didn't completely trust herself not to accidentally bite too hard, so she stuck to spots where his skin was tougher. The thought sparked a small idea. "Hey, big guy, gimme one of your hands." Her current position made it nearly impossible for him or Twilight to play with her (a price she was willing to pay, since it let Twilight have unfettered access to Lero, while letting Rainbow stay in a position to comfort him with her presence) but that didn't mean she couldn't play with him some. He brought one arm up across his body, and she caught it with her free forehoof, bringing it up to her face. While Twilight played with his nipples some more, Rainbow started kissing his fingers. She'd learned that he especially liked it when she licked the spaces between his fingers, and when she nibbled on his fingertips, both things that she'd get to after teasing him for a while.
Twilight finally finished playing with Lero's nipples, and ran her gaze down his body. "That's interesting," she observed, "You don't have a sheath? Does, um, does it just go inside when you're not... ready?"
Rainbow chuckled around Lero's finger. "Nah, it just gets smaller," she answered for him. She laughed again, dirtily. "and it can move in a bunch of different angles. We've tried a bunch of different positions." The pegasus nibbled on the human's fingertip, and followed up by sliding her tongue slowly between his fingers.
Twilight colored again. Lero turned his head, meeting Rainbow's eyes as she played with his hand. The two shared a quiet, intimate smile.
"I think I finally get it," Twilight observed. Rainbow and Lero both jumped, turning back to look at the unicorn. She smiled warmly at both of them. "I see you both teasing each other and joking most of the time, but every once in a while I'd see you get quiet like that, and I wondered about it. That's how you really feel, isn't it? Deep down? The rest is just how you act in public."
Rainbow blinked. "Well, we joke a lot in private too..."
Twilight shook her head. "That's not what I mean. There's something underneath that. You really care about each other, don't you?"
The human and the pegasus shared another smile. "Yeah, we do," Lero said. "I'm not really comfortable with public displays of affection..."
"...And I guess I just don't like acting like that around other ponies," Rainbow finished.
"That's the same thing," he observed, locking eyes with her again.
Rainbow stuck out her tongue. "Whatever. I just use regular words instead of fancy ones." They shared another smile. This was a long-standing mock-argument, and they didn't really need to go through the whole thing right now. Rainbow turned back to Twilight. "Are we bothering you?"
"Oh, no, no, no!" Twilight exclaimed. "Completely the opposite! I just feel so... so privileged that you're willing to let me see it. And to let me join you here, tonight."
"Aw, don't mention it, Twi." Rainbow paused. "And here I am hogging him when I said I wasn't gonna do that. Hey, c'mon, get over here so you can have some fun!"
"I feel a little guilty," Twilight scooted hesitantly closer. "I mean, you're not getting any attention. Are you sure you don't want me to..."
"Nah, I'm fine," Rainbow interrupted.
"I can reach, actually," Lero volunteered. "Here, Rainbow, let go of my hand real quick." She released him, and his hand reached around behind him. She felt his fingers slip between his back and her belly, then slide downward between her legs. Rainbow gasped softly when his fingers found her vulva, and she was already turned on enough that the barest touch was enough to make her wings extend with a soft fwoomp.
"Oh, geez, I forgot you could reach behind you like that," Rainbow observed breathlessly. "Stop a second, let me shift." His fingers withdrew, and she repositioned herself. She kept her chin resting on one shoulder and her forehoof hooked over the other, her hindlegs spread with his buttocks between them. "There we go."
"Can you reach behind your head?" Twilight asked, her head tilting.
"Yeah, easily enough." Lero reached back, stroking Rainbow's mane to demonstrate.
"Pull on her mane," Twilight suggested.
"Uh... why?" Rainbow asked, at the exact same time as Lero said, "Why would I do that?"
The unicorn giggled. "Oh, you don't know about that? Yes, just give it a little tug, right here." She ducked her head and pointed at a spot on her mane, just a little below her head.
Lero shrugged, and Rainbow felt his fingers find her ear and trail down her neck. He gripped her mane lightly and gave a gentle tug. Rainbow's breath caught in her throat as an unexpected bolt of pleasure flashed through her. "Woah. What was that?"
Twilight giggled. "You didn't know about that? Every book on how to be with mares mentions that. What, you didn't study, Lero?" Her eyes sparkled with humor.
Lero laughed. "No, professor. I didn't do my homework; I've just been guessing at the test questions." Rainbow and Twilight both laughed at that.
"Well, shame on you!" The unicorn grinned. "You should know better! Anyway, it only works when she's already turned on, but, well," she pointed at Rainbow's wings, now spread and sticking out on either side of Lero's body. "She pretty clearly is." Twilight giggled again. "It looks a little like Lero has wings."
Rainbow laughed again, and ducked her head behind Lero, easily hiding behind his broad body. "Now it really looks like it, huh? Look, a winged human!" Twilight laughed, too, and Lero chuckled. The pegasus resumed her previous spot. "Come on, Twi, get over here. We're gonna make a Lero sandwich." She licked his shoulder and smacked her lips loudly. "A nice, tasty sandwich."
Twilight giggled, and the human put his hand on his chest dramatically. "So is that all I am to you, Rainbow? A filler? I'm crushed!"
"Shut up," Rainbow said, snorting. "You know that's not what I meant."
"Oh, woe is me. Reduced to naught but sandwich filling."
Rainbow laughed again, over Twilight's giggles. "Cut it out or I'll start tickling you."
"Do that and I'll flip you and return the favor." He'd found a way to counter her tickle assaults the second time she'd tried it, picking her up bodily and flipping her onto her back in his arms. In spite of her strength, she was lightweight enough that he could do it without too much trouble, and she had trouble getting out of it when her wings were stiff. Plus, held on her back like that, he was easily able to reach her ticklish belly.
"You wouldn't." Rainbow paused. "Wait. Yes you would. Why, sir," The pegasus's voice shifted a bit, her pronunciation taking on a slightly archaic air, "I had thought you harbored some good within you, but in truth there is naught but wickedness! I... oooooops," Rainbow slithered to a halt, realizing what she was doing and remembering that she and Lero weren't actually alone.
Twilight had jammed a hoof in her mouth, trying desperately not to laugh at Rainbow's embarrassment, her violet eyes dancing with amusement. It took her a few moments to fight it down, and when she finally spoke her voice wavered with suppressed laughter. "R-Rainbow... was that Silverwing?"
The pegasus felt like her face was on fire. Lero was shaking with suppressed laughter of his own, and his face, neck, and upper chest were flushed bright red. "Uh... I... don't know what you're talking about. Silverwing... that's that book, right?"
"Yes. That book. The one you were just quoting word-for-word." Twilight had to pause for a moment to compose herself. "And here you told me you skipped that scene."
"I... er... okay, so maybe I did read it. And, uh, maaaybe I got Lero to read it too, and then maybe we sorta, uh, made a game out of it." She paused. "But only maybe. I'm not admitting anything."
"I think my next line is 'Lady Knight, I fear you mistake fealty for wickedness,'" Lero put in, dropping his voice into the deeper baritone he'd used when he was playing Hammer Strike. Twilight actually fell over laughing, unable to stop herself.
"Oh," the unicorn said when she caught her breath, "Oh, that's funny. Well, was it fun?"
"Yeah," Rainbow had to admit, "it was actually a ton of fun." They'd only done it the once, and the pegasus had kinda been wanting to try it again and shift how things went. That was probably why she'd inadvertently slipped into character; she'd been thinking about it a fair bit recently. "And speaking of fun, get your purple butt over here if you want to have any. If you keep stalling, I might decide you're not interested after all and just keep him for myself."
Twilight looked a touch uncertain, but far less so than she'd been when they started. She visibly pushed her hesitation aside and nodded firmly. "Right. I remember what you did, just sit on his lap, right? It'll just... go in?"
Rainbow nodded. "Yeah, should be fine."
"Take it slow, and I'll make sure everything fits," Lero added.
"Okay." Twilight caught her lip in her teeth, stood up on the bed, and stepped over. Rainbow couldn't help but notice that the unicorn's tail was twitching pretty hard, much like Rainbow's own was.
Twilight straddled the human, one hind hoof on either side of his legs, and started slowly lowering her rump. Lero's hand went to her hip, guiding her down, and his other hand held his member pointed where it would need to go. As the unicorn reached her destination, the hand on her hip shifted, pulling her tail to the side and out of the way. Rainbow wasn't able to see the moment they made contact because of the angle, but she was able to see Twilight freeze and tense up.
"It's okay, Twilight," Rainbow said quietly. Lero's hand moved away from his groin, so he was evidently positioned right, and gently stroked Twilight's flank and hip. "You've done it with a cooler, this is pretty much similar, but loads better."
"Oookay," Twilight said, "I'm... I'm going to go the rest of the way now. C-could you make sure I stay straight?"
"Sure," Lero replied, setting his hands on the unicorn's hips. "Whenever you're ready." Twilight braced herself, then sat down hard. Rainbow felt Lero twitch; he'd probably expected the unicorn to go a bit slower. There was a quiet, wet noise as she was penetrated, which made Rainbow think, wow, she really was ready to go. Twilight let out a quiet, breathless moan, wiggling her hips to make sure he was all the way in.
"How's that feel?" Rainbow asked with a grin.
"Ooooooh..." Twilight breathed, "it feels wonderful. Even better than having my horn touched." Said horn was starting to glow again.
"Hold on, Twilight, let me get you a little closer," Lero leaned forward and wrapped an arm around Twilight's body, pulling her back against his chest as he'd done for Rainbow when they were testing the position. The unicorn leaned back against him, moaning wordlessly.
"There ya go," Rainbow said in satisfaction. "Just remember he can't move much like this, so you'll need to do some of the moving, too."
"Uh... uh huh." Twilight panted, and let out another moan.
Rainbow snickered. Then she noticed the hand that wasn't holding Twilight was sliding between her belly and Lero's back. "Whatcha doing?"
"What I started to do earlier," he replied, fingers sliding down between her hindlegs, "Giving you a little attention." His searching fingers found their target, and Rainbow shivered in pleasure. She pressed herself against the human's back as his fingers started stroking, biting her lip as her breath and heartbeat sped up. Having those long, strong fingers she enjoyed so much stroking her, both outside and inside, while just on the other side of her coltfriend Twilight moaned and writhed in pleasure was completely unlike anything she'd ever experienced. The pegasus's eyes closed, letting her focus more completely on the sensation, and the forehoof hooked over Lero's shoulder pulled him a little closer to Rainbow's chest.
Twilight started moving, very slowly, letting out a moan with each stroke. Lero moved in tandem with her, thrusting slowly to match the unicorn's rhythm, his smooth back and buttocks rubbing against Rainbow's fur as he did so. After a few moments, Rainbow spoke up. "Uhh... Twilight, you can go a little f-faster, you know."
The unicorn groaned. "I know. Oooooh. I... I like it th-this way." Rainbow didn't argue; she personally liked it faster, but if Twilight preferred a different way, that was fine. Between the sensations of feeling him inside her and feeling him thrusting in and out, Rainbow preferred the latter. Perhaps Twilight preferred the former.
"Hey, big guy," Rainbow whispered in Lero's ear. "Pull her mane, like you did mine."
"H-how?" He asked, breathlessly. "I don't want to let go of her, and I d-don't want to stop what I'm doing to you."
Rainbow pushed her hips forward, pinning his hand between their bodies and shoving his fingers a little deeper inside. She giggled. "I don't want you to stop either. Just use your teeth."
"Oh. Yeah." He leaned forward, caught Twilight's purple mane in his mouth, and pulled just a bit. Twilight let out a squeak in the middle of a groan, shuddering delightedly, and Rainbow grinned.
Twilight and Lero lasted for an astonishingly long time. Long enough that Rainbow worried that he'd come before the unicorn did; she knew he liked to try to time it so he came at the same time as his partner. Rainbow actually came before either of them did, despite the relatively limited attention she was receiving; the pleasure of watching her friends enjoy each other combined with the fingers inside her were just too much to resist. Her wings had clamped down, embracing both of them by accident while the orgasm gripped her. She'd felt a bit chagrined when it was over, pulling her wings away quickly, but that had been quickly forgotten. Lero had given her a few moments to catch her breath before slipping his hand between their bodies again and going back to what he'd been doing, his fingers alternating between stroking and pushing inside her. It felt just as good as it had before, and before long she was panting again.
Finally, though, the point of light at the tip of Twilight's horn started flickering, and she let out a moan even louder than the ones she'd made before. The unicorn's body convulsed as it had the last time she'd orgasmed, and tiny sparks of light shot out to strike the walls in glittering bursts. Rainbow, knowing that her coltfriend liked to orgasm at the same time as his partner and able to tell from the tension in his body that he was right on the verge of coming, quickly gave him a series of love-nibbles on the neck that pushed him over the edge, too. His body tensed, bending toward Twilight as the climax washed over him. Rainbow could feel his body trembling, his buttocks tight and tense between her hindlegs.
When it ended, Twilight and Lero were both out of breath, panting and sweating. Rainbow was less exhausted but no less thrilled; the encounter had gone even better than she'd expected. She grinned triumphantly as she got up, finally breaking contact with the spent human. Twilight and Lero separated, too, each flopping down on the bed to catch their breath.
"Good, Twilight?" Rainbow asked with a grin.
"Oh, yes," the unicorn gasped. "I don't... whew, I feel like I could just fall asleep."
"How 'bout you, Lero?"
"I didn't mind being sandwich filler at all," he said with a wry smile. "It was really good, though, well, I do wish I'd been able to do more for you."
"Hey, you still managed to get me off." Her wings were still extended stiffly, but that would fade before too long.
Lero scooted over and gave Twilight a long kiss that made the unicorn's eyes glaze slightly with pleasure, then rolled over to give Rainbow one, too. "Then there's just one thing left," he said, looking the pegasus straight in the eye.
"What's that?" Rainbow and Twilight asked in near-perfect unison, which made them share a look and giggle.
"Well, you're pretty worn out, right, Twilight?" The unicorn nodded, not even bothering to speak. "And I am, too. That just leaves one of us."
Rainbow giggled, her wings tightening and warmth flooding her chest and groin. "Aw, you don't need to, big guy. I got off once."
"And once usually just leaves you wanting more," he said. Well, she couldn't argue with that, though she'd planned on just ignoring her mild frustration. "Here, lie down on your back and I'll give you a couple more."
"W-would you like me to help?" Twilight asked.
Lero cocked an eyebrow and looked to Rainbow inquisitively. The pegasus hesitated, then slowly shook her head. "Umm... no thanks. I really appreciate the offer, and it was freaking hot watching the two of you, but I'll stick with guys for now."
"You sure you can handle it?" Twilight sounded concerned.
"Oh, absolutely," Lero replied confidently. "I may be tired, but I know my way around Rainbow. Lie back, love."
The pegasus did so, feeling a shiver of pleasure at what she knew was coming. He scooted her up to the head of the bed, making sure her head was propped up on the pillows so she could watch, and settled himself with his head between her legs. "Fast or slow?"
"You're going to use your mouth?" Twilight interrupted, eyebrows lifting.
"Absolutely," Lero replied.
"Like I said, he does stuff a little differently," Rainbow added. "Oh my gosh it's fantastic, though. Wanna watch?"
"I... would, actually."
"Fine by me," Lero said, turning to Rainbow again. "Like I said, fast or slow?"
"Fast. I'm pretty heated after that."
"Got it." His head lowered, and his arms went around her hips, holding her still the way she liked. She felt his breath an instant before his tongue touched her vulva, and he was off, licking quickly and pushing his tongue deep within her while his arms gripped her hips tightly.
She really was heated, and it wasn't long before he brought her to a climax. That short, strong tongue pushing into her and sloppily roaming around her groin was just as fantastic as it ever was. His relentless pace didn't slow after her first grunting, trembling orgasm, offering her no time to catch her breath before the second, just as he knew she liked it when she asked him to go fast. The third followed close on the heels of the second. Having Twilight lying less than a bodylength away, watching the human pleasuring her friend with a smile, somehow added even more spice to the encounter.
"Oh... okay, big guy, that's plenty," Rainbow told her lover as the third orgasm faded. "You can let me up now."
"You sure?" he asked, looking up. "That was only three."
"I'm sure. Thanks." Rainbow reached down and gently patted his head with a forehoof. Lero pushed himself up and caught her hoof, helping her sit up as well. "I don't know about you two, but I'm pretty beat. Twilight, you gonna stay the night?"
"If that's okay." The unicorn giggled. "And I'm not the only one who makes noises."
Rainbow blinked. "Huh?"
"That little crooning noise in the back of your throat. You started doing it a little after he started licking you. I don't know if you were doing it before; it was really quiet." Twilight giggled again. "It was pretty sexy."
"Uh... what noise?"
Lero cocked his head. "What, you don't realize you do that? Yeah, you started doing it... I think it was the fourth time we were together. I usually try to use it as a guide when we're trying something new; you only do it when you're really turned on." He reached out, his finger tracing the edge of her ear. "And she's right; it's pretty sexy."
Rainbow chuckled. "Guess I'll have to pay more attention next time. I had no idea I was doing that!" She shook her head. "Anyway, you guys ready for bed?"
Twilight and Lero both nodded in agreement. The three snuggled down in the bed, forming a cozy pile of fur, feathers, and smooth skin nestled in the sheets. Twilight fell asleep almost immediately, leaving Rainbow and Lero still awake.
"Heh," Rainbow murmured, her head snuggled against Lero's chest, "This bed's a little small. We may have to find a bigger one."
"Yeah, possibly." He rubbed his forehead. "This whole house may wind up feeling kinda small."
"Yeah." Rainbow sighed. "There's a couple of empty houses on the outside of town; we could buy one of those and move it, hook it up to this one. That oughta give us plenty of space."
"Move a house? Are these buildings mobile?"
"Sure. Tie some ropes around 'em, get a few earth ponies, and you can drag 'em from one end of town to the other. They're built so they can hook together, too, and make one bigger house."
"Wow, I didn't even realize that," he said in a wondering tone.
The pegasus laughed, nuzzling him affectionately. "Yeah, I'd hate to think about having to cram a herd, even a little one, into one house." She thought for a second. "Actually, we may not even need a moving crew. A.J. still owes you a favor, right? Between her, me, and Big Mac, we could probably move it without any help."
"That had never even occurred to me," Lero said quietly. "There's something else we might consider, on a related note."
"What?"
"Well, the three of us might be able to spend the night at your house occasionally."
Rainbow blinked blankly for a moment, and then a huge grin suffused her face as realization dawned. "Holy horse apples, we could! My bed's kinda small, I'd need to move in another one to fit all of us... but it's got plenty of space otherwise, and with Twilight right there we wouldn't have to worry about the cloudwalking spell on either of you running out and dropping through the floor! Oh, man, I think you guys'd love it up there." That idea was literally a dream come true; she'd been wanting to take him up into the clouds for a tryst since they'd started sleeping together.
"I'll look forward to it." He turned his head, brushing his lips lightly across hers. They snuggled together, listening to Twilight's quiet breathing as they both gradually drifted off. |
Xenophilia | On Cloud Nine | The morning dawned quietly. Rainbow woke late, snuggled up with her lovers, her wing spread across both of them. It was even better than waking up to just Lero, though only a tiny bit. The warm, cozy feeling of being close to those she cared about was absolutely delightful. Even better, they'd both woken up before her and were talking quietly, but neither had gotten up yet. Instead, they'd waited, all three of them snuggled on the bed until all three were ready to get up.
The light of late morning streamed into Rainbow and Lero's living room, where the little herd of three sat in comfortable, companionable silence. Twilight was sitting on one of the chairs, reading a book, while Rainbow and Lero sat together on the couch. The pegasus was lying with her head in the human's lap, while he slowly brushed her mane. She'd fetched her brush down from her cloud home shortly after their first date with Twilight, remembering how he'd enjoyed the feel of her mane after she'd brushed it out. The first couple of days, she'd brushed it herself just before bedtime, as a sort of present for her stallion. That way, he could enjoy the feel of her hair while they were in bed together, and by the next morning her normal case of bed-mane would ensure that it would be messed up enough to not draw attention. His appreciation had been more than worth the awkward, irritating effort, so she'd started to make a habit out of it.
Her habit had changed when Lero had walked in one evening while she was in the middle of brushing, growling under her breath and fighting with a particularly stubborn tangle that was right in the hardest freaking part of her mane to reach, just where the blue stripe met the purple. He'd seen how frustrated she was and offered to help, then taken the brush over her halfhearted objections and had worked out the tangle in a matter of moments without even pulling her hair. His agile fingers had worked together with the brush to make the snarl just go away, as if by magic.
Just like that, the irritating, awkward chore had transformed into one of the most calming, relaxing things in Rainbow's world. She no longer had to twist her forelegs around to reach the difficult spots low on her neck, no longer had to fight with stubborn tangles. Instead, she could lie on the couch in his lap, lazily petting his knee with her forehoof to show her appreciation while he carefully pulled the brush through her mane. The stiff bristles rasped quietly as they brushed through the multicolored hair, the feeling of them against her skin under her mane lulling her to a state of near-sleep in spite of the early hour.
A quiet giggle from Twilight partially roused Rainbow from her drowsy stupor. "I never realized you were such a cuddlebug, Rainbow Dash," the unicorn observed in an amused tone. "I think this may be the cutest I've ever seen you act."
"Whatever," Rainbow mumbled, not even opening her eyes, "This is super comfortable. You have no idea." She sighed, completely at ease with the world.
"I'm sure you'd hate to have other ponies find out you act like this..." Twilight teased.
Rainbow cracked one rosy eye, noticing the mischievous expression on the unicorn's face. She was too comfortable and content to muster a decent glare, but she still gave it a shot. "Yeah, and I'm sure you'd like to ever go outside again without getting rained on every second."
Lero snorted. "Rainbow," he said reprovingly, "just a thought, but you could just ask her not to mention it, instead of jumping straight to threats. It would probably be easier." Twilight chuckled.
"Nah," Rainbow replied, closing her eye again. "Saves time to go ahead and get the threats out there." Her eye opened briefly, fixing on the lavender-coated unicorn. "Every. Single. Second."
"It does remove some uncertainty," Twilight observed dryly.
Lero sighed. "Okay, I'll be the nice one. Twilight, would you mind keeping the way we act in private... well, private? Neither of us minds you knowing about it, but we'd prefer to share it only with someone we're close to. I'd take it as a personal favor."
Both ponies chuckled. "Of course, Lero. Your secret is safe with me."
"Thank you, Twilight. That's kind of you." Lero paused, trailing his fingers through Rainbow's mane. "See, Rainbow? All you have to do is ask."
"Or I can just get you to do it for me." Rainbow heard Twilight stifle a snicker. "And you're more likely to get a 'yes', 'cause she knows I'll make it rain on her twenty-four-seven if she says no. Win-win." The human bopped her lightly on the head, right between the ears. "Ow." Rainbow's eye opened, looking up at him. "Kinda missed there, big guy."
"Oh, I hit exactly what I aimed for."
"Sounds like you need some more practice, then. Need to figure out where to aim." Rainbow snuggled down into his lap, her eye drifting closed. "Good thing I'm not going anywhere. You got plenty of time to practice." The pegasus heard a long-suffering sigh, pictured the human's eye-roll in her head, and then the brush strokes resumed. She smiled triumphantly. "Sure you don't wanna trade, Twilight?" Rainbow asked, sleepily, "'Cause, seriously, super comfortable." She yawned.
Twilight laughed out loud. "Oh, thank you for the offer, but I don't think it would be polite to make you move." She shook her head, chuckling. "You know, every time I think I have you two figured out, you surprise me. My next letter to the Princess is going to be so interesting."
Rainbow detected the slightest hesitation in Lero's brushing, along with an almost imperceptible tension in his body. From her perspective, he might as well have started screaming. Something was bothering him. Both of her eyes opened, and she looked up at him in concern. "Hey, you okay?"
"What? Yeah, I'm fine."
Twilight made an interrogative noise that Rainbow ignored for the moment. The pegasus snorted. "Liar. C'mon, dude, you can't fool me. What's wrong? Did I say something that bothered you?"
"I, er..." He cleared his throat. "Well... is Celestia going to be, well, upset with the fact that I'm... sleeping with her favorite student?"
Twilight laughed again. "Of course not! The Princess likes you! I've mentioned you several times since I started courting you, and she was quite pleased. Not to mention very encouraging!"
"Oh! Oh, well, that's good to hear," Lero replied, relaxing.
Rainbow wasn't fooled. She looked searchingly up into his flat, oddly shaped face, the face that she'd grown to know as well as any she'd ever known. She watched his expression carefully, trying to figure out what could be bothering him. Light dawned in a sudden realization. "Lero... why are you scared of the Princess?"
He blinked in shock. "I... w-what?"
Twilight sounded nearly as surprised as Lero looked. "Wait, you're scared of the Princess? Princess Celestia?"
"Hold up," Rainbow interrupted. She could feel tension gathering in Lero's body. "You're getting tense, big guy. Let's switch."
"Switch?"
"Yeah." She pushed herself up out of his lap. "Gimme the brush and lie down. Seriously, like I told Twi, it's like the most relaxing thing ever, I figure it'll help you calm down some."
He hesitated, a sure sign he was feeling tense. "I don't really need relaxing..."
Rainbow gave him a level look. "Dude. Seriously. You can't fool me. Gimme." She held a forehoof out imperiously. Lero sighed, holding the brush out and letting Rainbow slip her forehoof into the loop on the back. Rainbow sat back against the arm of the couch, and pulled Lero against her chest. The pegasus wasn't built like he was, didn't have a lap like his to rest his head on, but she could hold his head comfortably cradled against her chest with her free foreleg. She started carefully pulling the brush through his mane, watching him closely as she did so. "There, how's that?"
"It... actually is nice," he admitted. She'd expected that. It was something they both shared; each of them liked to touch and to be touched. Something about it just reinforced the bond that they shared, and they liked to be in physical contact when they were alone together. Rainbow had asked if Twilight would like to join them on the couch, and even though the unicorn had demurred, Rainbow was sure she'd warm up to the idea eventually.
Right now, though, Twilight was looking concerned, having set her book aside. "Are you really afraid of the Princess, Lero?" She asked, quietly.
He hesitated again, biting his lip, and Rainbow bent down to kiss his forehead. "It's okay, big guy. You can talk to us." She shot a look at Twilight.
The unicorn blinked. "Oh, sorry, I'm not upset or anything. I'm just surprised; I know Celestia likes you, and I had no idea she frightened you."
"I'm not frightened of her, so much as... cautious." Rainbow made sure to keep her brush-strokes smooth and even as he always did, listening to the quiet rasp of the bristles and staying silent, encouraging him to speak. She kinda wanted to coax him into speaking, but instead she decided to just give him space, let him talk at his own rate.
In spite of that decision, before he could speak something struck her. Rainbow cocked her head to the side. She remembered the Princess's visit just after the human had appeared; Celestia had made a personal visit to Ponyville to investigate the strange creature her student had met and hadn't been able to send home. She'd taken the human aside for a long interview, something like two hours, and when they'd re-emerged she'd made the proclamation that he was welcome to stay in Equestria for as long as he liked. Now that Rainbow thought about it, she remembered thinking that he had looked a bit tense afterward. She hadn't thought anything of it at the time, but she hadn't known him nearly as well then as she did now, and now the memory was ringing some alarm bells in her head. "It was that meeting back when you got here, right? Did she say something during that interview that scared you, big guy? What was it?"
Lero looked up at her in shock. "Good heavens, I really can't hide anything from you, can I?"
She laughed. "Never ever."
The human sighed. "Well, she was worried about having me around her subjects. Especially since she had no idea how I'd react under stress..."
Twilight blinked in surprise. "Wait, really? I told her everything that happened, and I'm pretty sure you were stressed..."
"Yeah, no kidding!" Rainbow interjected. "I talked to her, too!" She'd told the Princess that the weird alien was harmless and friendly as far as she could tell. And she'd been totally right about that, too. A hundred and ten percent. He'd never hurt anypony. Well, not unless there were some serious provocations going on.
He shook his head. "Not that kind of stress. I was tense, but neither of you saw me angry or seriously afraid. And, well, she needed to see how I'd react in those situations before she felt like I was safe around the rest of you."
Rainbow frowned incredulously. "Wait, so she, what, ticked you off and scared you?"
"More or less. Goaded me first, tried to get me as angry as she could to see if I'd do anything, then switched to scaring me instead." Rainbow felt a chill, hearing the echoes of feeling in his voice, and her protective instincts stirred. Her wing shifted to cover him in a nearly unconscious mantling gesture, shielding him. She had to focus to keep her brush-strokes smooth and gentle. "Which, you know, wasn't hard. I already knew you folks were a good bit stronger than me, pound for pound, I'd seen Rainbow and Applejack do things that I flat-out couldn't do, and the Princess is a good bit bigger than me besides. You know, more than a foot taller than I am and probably at least two hundred pounds heavier, plus she's got a three-foot-long spear on her head, and that's not even counting her magic. She made it quite clear that she could, for example, teleport me into space halfway between here and the sun and leave me there."
Rainbow was struggling with shock, still covering Lero's body with her wing protectively and holding him close. She couldn't even imagine Celestia acting that way, ever. But, at the same time, the human wasn't lying. Rainbow knew when he was lying, she could read him like a book by now, and he was being absolutely truthful. She shared a look with Twilight and saw the absolutely stunned look on the unicorn's face. "Lero," Twilight said slowly, "are you sure you didn't... well, misinterpret something? I'm having trouble picturing the Princess talking to anyone like that, let alone someone as nice as you!"
Lero shrugged. "Oh, she wasn't doing it just for kicks. She apologized afterward, and told me why she was doing it. She was worried about whether I was safe to be around, and was pushing to see if anything could make me dangerous." He snorted. "The moment she was satisfied that I wasn't dangerous, she stopped and told me what she'd been doing. I think she genuinely felt bad about doing it, too, but she didn't let that get in the way, and she was very polite and nice afterward. I've got a ton of respect for Celestia, I really, honestly do. She wanted to see if a strange alien was dangerous, so instead of risking any of her subjects or even her guards she locked herself in a room with it and deliberately provoked it to see if it would attack. I realize she's fully capable of taking care of herself, but that's still pretty courageous in my book. Since then, I've seen the nation she built, and I've seen how she normally acts, and I'm sincerely, deeply impressed, but deep down I still remember how scary she can get, and I'm a little... wary about something that might provoke her."
Rainbow relaxed, nodding to herself. Okay, it makes sense now. She left her wing where it was, but it was more a calming gesture than a protective one now.
Twilight still looked confused and disconcerted, though. "But if she apologized, and you know she didn't ever intend to actually hurt you, why does she still make you nervous?"
Rainbow interrupted with a chuckle. Twilight was smart, brilliant really, probably the smartest pony she'd ever met, but she hadn't spent nearly as much time with Lero as Rainbow had. There were things that Rainbow understood on an emotional level that Twilight may not have really grasped yet. "Like I told you a couplea times, it's 'cause he's not a pony, Twi." The unicorn still looked confused, so Rainbow continued, "That doesn't just mean he's shaped different, he thinks different, too." She looked down at her stallion fondly. "Took me forever to really, completely figure that out."
"Oh." Twilight blinked blankly for several seconds. Then, comprehension crept across her features. "Oh! Okay, I'm sorry, Lero. You aren't talking about being actually worried she'd hurt you, right? I promise, she really does like you!"
"No, I'm not really worried. I'm just cautious, like I said. I'm aware that she could do me harm if she wanted to, so I prefer to strive not to make her want to." He smiled at Twilight, stroking Rainbow's forehoof with his fingers. "I do appreciate you telling me that she likes me, though. I know a bit about how you feel, by the way; I've spent a lot of time trying to figure out how you folks think. That book you were reading was part of it, actually."
Twilight cocked her head, curiously. "A history of the Gemwing Wars? What did you expect to learn from this?" She looked more closely at the book. "Where did you get this, anyway? I don't even remember seeing a copy of this in the library. Which is a pity, this is a very interesting book. Historical accounts don't often go into such detail about both sides' viewpoints like this does."
"This book's Lyra's, actually. She loaned it to me." I seriously need to ask her if she's interested in courting us, Rainbow thought to herself as she brushed Lero's mane. "And it told me a lot, actually. You're familiar with it?"
"With the Gemwing Wars? Yes, of course. The pegasus city of Deluge and the unicorn kingdom Crystalmere fought each other off and on for something like two hundred years, and at the end they were both so weak that the Glittering Empire conquered them both."
"Right." Lero nodded. "Crystalmere even conquered Deluge right at the end, but they weren't able to hold the city for long."
"I kinda remember that being mentioned in school," Rainbow observed. "Mostly I remember that a ton of ponies died in those wars. Kinda dumb, 'specially since they weren't really fighting over anything."
"It was a power struggle," Twilight replied. "They both wanted to be the strongest. Both wanted to rule over the area around them, but neither was quite strong enough to beat the other, so they just kept fighting and fighting."
"What struck me," Lero interjected, "was how the war ended. Crystalmere finally broke Deluge's defenders in a huge battle, with troops teleporting up into the city's streets and overrunning the pegasi that were left. Crystalmere installed a government of their own and tried to hold Deluge as a fiefdom."
Twilight cocked her head. "Well, yes. They'd won. What else would they do?"
Lero shifted uncomfortably against Rainbow's chest. "Well... there was an analogous situation in human history. The Punic Wars. They ended... rather differently."
"Oh? Differently how?"
"Well, the Punic Wars were fought between the cities of Carthage and Rome..."
"Roam?" Rainbow interrupted. "Hey, Twilight, didn't we have a city or something called Roam?"
"Yes, actually, an earth pony nation that built an empire. They actually conquered two unicorn kingdoms and fought off the forces of one of the pegasus cities, Typhoon, I think, on quite a few occasions. Quite remarkable."
Lero chuckled. "Yeah, I read about them. Weird parallel. Even down to the Seven Hills." He shook his head. "Anyway. At the end of the Third Punic War, Rome's armies laid siege to Carthage. The siege lasted for years, and when the Romans finally broke Carthage's walls, they were, well, furious. Most of the people living in the city were slaughtered, the survivors captured and sold as slaves, and the city itself was burned to the ground and then completely destroyed. The end of the Punic Wars meant Carthage was gone."
Rainbow's brows lifted. "Wow. Hardcore."
Twilight gave her a quelling look. "It does seem a bit extreme. I mean, a destroyed city is no good to anyone. Why?"
"Why did they destroy it?" Lero asked. At Twilight's nod, he continued, "Well, Carthage and Rome had fought three wars, and while Rome won all three, it had suffered some nasty defeats, too. I suspect they were just tired of dealing with Carthage, and angry. There was even one particular Roman politician that ended every speech by saying, 'Carthage must be destroyed.' So when Carthage fell..." he shrugged, "I guess the Romans wanted to make sure they never had to deal with Carthage again."
The unicorn chewed her lip. "Was that a normal thing?"
"What, destroying the city like that? No, not at all. Total destruction like that only ever happened a few times. Cities were often sacked when they resisted, but it was fairly normal for a city to surrender after token resistance if it was besieged in order to avoid being sacked."
Twilight nodded thoughtfully. "I see. Interesting. A little different from our history; I can't think of a city ever being destroyed like that, but they rarely outright surrendered. Especially the pegasus cities."
Rainbow snorted. "Yeah, we do kinda suck at surrendering."
The unicorn gave her a level look. "Yes, and it meant every time a pegasus city was conquered, a lot of ponies died on both sides. Even when the conquerors were other pegasi."
The pegasus shrugged unrepentantly. "What can I say? We don't like giving up."
"Ladies, I'm gonna change the subject," Lero interjected. "Hey, Twilight, why don't you come join us on the couch? I'd be happy to brush your mane like I did Rainbow's."
Rainbow nodded. "Yeah, you should totally try it. Seriously relaxing, you'll probably fall asleep."
"It did look comfortable. I'm just worried about accidentally hurting your hand..."
"Hurting my hand? How?"
Rainbow rolled her eyes. "C'mon, Twilight, tell me you're not one of those ponies who think his fingers are all delicate and stuff and break when you look at 'em funny."
Twilight scoffed. "Of course not. I know better than that. I'm just worried about shifting and stabbing him by accident."
Lero chuckled. "I'm pretty quick, Twilight. You shouldn't have to worry."
"Hey, we could show her!" Rainbow exclaimed. "How about a game of knuckles real quick?"
Lero grinned. "Yeah, been a while since we played that, huh? I'm up for a quick game."
"What's 'knuckles'?" Twilight asked.
"Game Lero taught me." Rainbow shifted so the human could sit up. "Hey, could you keep score?"
"I'd be happy to! What are the rules, and how is it played?"
Rainbow extended her wing, half-folded so she was leading with her wrist with her pinions folded back. Lero mirrored the movement, holding out his hand folded into a fist, resting his knuckles against Rainbow's wrist. "Wanna explain the rules, big guy?"
"Sure." Lero gestured to where his knuckles rested against the pegasus's wing. "We start off like this. We both try to get a solid hit on the other, while trying to evade the other's swings. A solid smack is a point to the one who scores it, and a missed swing is a point to the one who dodges it."
Twilight raised an eyebrow. "So you're basically just trying to hit each other?"
Rainbow chortled. "Sorta. Well, that and dodging." Rainbow really enjoyed this game; it was basically pure reflex and coordination, with just enough sting to make her really focus. "His hands are quicker than you think. You'll see." She grinned at Lero. "Ready to go?"
"Sure. I don't really feel like a long game, though, five points sound good?"
"Sounds fine to me. Ready, Twilight?"
Twilight nodded, fastening her gaze intently on her friends. Rainbow's concentration narrowed, focusing on Lero's fist. He was utterly still, waiting in a way that she was really terrible at dealing with. And he knew that, darn it. Her fighting teachers had all told her she needed to work on her patience, but she had a major problem with it even now. This time, though, she was determined to wait.
It paid off. She felt his hand start to move, judged that it wasn't a feint, and twitched her wing just enough. Lero's knuckles whizzed through the space Rainbow had just vacated. The pegasus laughed triumphantly. "Ha! One point to me!"
Twilight snorted in amusement, but nodded. Rainbow and Lero resumed their previous pose for a fraction of a second. Lero moved a tiny bit quicker this time, and his knuckles cracked against Rainbow's wrist. "Ow."
"That's a point to Lero, right?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah." Rainbow flexed her wing, working the sting out. "Got me fair and square that time."
The unicorn shook her head. "Are you sure he taught you this game? This is just so... you."
Rainbow and Lero both burst out laughing. "No," Lero said, "this is definitely a human game, I promise. 'Course, the first time we tried it she used her forehoof instead..."
The pegasus winced at the memory. "Yeah, that was probably a bad idea. Sorry."
"My suggestion, not yours." She saw him flex his fingers at the memory. Her foreleg didn't twitch as fast as her wing could, so he'd gotten several scores in that she'd barely even felt before she'd managed to return the favor. Her hoof was also much heavier and harder than his hand and once she finally scored with a return stroke it had split the skin on his knuckles and left his hand bleeding. That had kind of spoiled her enjoyment of the game; she'd been scared for a second that she'd broken something. Using her wing had been an idea she'd had later, and it had worked out a lot better; it was quicker than her foreleg so the game was more even, not as hard or heavy as her hoof was so she didn't accidentally hurt him, and stung the way it was supposed to when he managed to get her.
"No big deal. C'mon, another round!" She figured he'd be expecting her to wait again, so this time she seized the initiative and took a swing a heartbeat after they touched. Just like his first swing, she missed, his fist twitching out of the way. "Nuts." That was another fun part of the game: trying to stay a step ahead. It was honestly the trickiest part; he could read her as well as she could read him.
"That makes it two-to-one, Lero's favor, right?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah, yeah." Rainbow stuck her tongue out playfully. "I'm still gonna win."
She did wind up winning, five to four. She shook her wing a bit, as Lero mirrored the motion, flexing his fingers. "Good game, Rainbow."
"Heh, thanks." She grinned at him and turned back to Twilight. "See? He's quick. You won't have to worry about poking him by accident."
Twilight blinked. "Rainbow... that was a really ridiculously roundabout way to demonstrate that!"
"Yeah, kinda. It was fun though." She really did like that game. Rainbow snuggled up against Lero again. "C'mon, seriously, hop up."
"I'm with her on this one, Twilight," Lero said with a smile, taking the brush off of Rainbow's forehoof and waving it. "Rainbow really enjoys this, you might too."
"Well, I suppose I could join you, if you're sure you don't mind." Twilight smiled back. "Scoot over a little?"
Rainbow moved as far over as she could, pulling Lero along with her. She was kinda sandwiched against the arm of the couch, but that was okay. Twilight hopped up onto the couch, with a slightly shy look at her herdmates. Lero's arm wrapped around the unicorn's shoulders, pulling her closer, and she leaned in for a kiss. Rainbow watched her lovers kiss, a smile on her lips. She loved seeing them both look so happy. Their eyes were closed, their breathing slow, and Twilight's ears were pivoted back slightly in concentration. Rainbow's heart sped up a bit at the sight, a gentle shiver of pleasure dancing through her.
"That really is nice," Twilight observed when the kiss ended.
"Getting a little in the mood, huh, Twilight?" Rainbow asked with a wry grin.
"In the... oh." The unicorn flushed. "No, I think it's a little early for that, don't you? It's not even noon!" Lero's arm reached around and started running the brush through Twilight's pink-streaked purple mane, the unicorn's violet eyes half-closing in pleasure.
"Heh, well, 'too early' is kinda relative." Rainbow nuzzled Lero's neck. "If you feel like it, then it isn't really too early. Only question then is if he thinks it is."
Twilight chuckled. "Such a sensualist. It wouldn't surprise me to find hoofcuffs or something around this place."
The pegasus laughed again, rubbing her wing slowly against Lero's back. "Nah, no cuffs. We use ropes." She made a little growling noise into Lero's ear. "We should do that again sometime. Maybe we could do it next time we play Silverwing and Hammer Strike. Change things up a little, add a little spice." She was feeling a little turned on. Competing did that to her, sometimes, even silly little games like kuckles, and watching that kiss between her herdmates did a little more.
Twilight gave her a sidelong look. "Okay, I can't tell if you're joking or serious."
"Oh, she's totally serious." Lero pulled the brush through Twilight's mane. "Don't worry, though; if that makes you uncomfortable we'll keep it strictly between the two of us."
Twilight cocked an eyebrow. "Really? You let her tie you up?"
Rainbow barked a laugh. "Ha! Do I look like Applejack? I can't tie a knot to save my life!" She nudged Lero with a forehoof. "He ties me up."
The unicorn's head tilted in inquiry. "That's a little surprising. You know, with the dynamic between the two of you."
The pegasus chuckled, rubbing Lero's arm with her forehoof. "Yeah, I know, the whole claustrophobia thing. When I'm with someone like that, it's less scary and more exciting. And just not being able to move is different from being closed in." She paused, her mind processing, realizing that she may not have understood what Twilight was asking. "Uh... wait, what does that have to do with our 'dynamic'? Him being with me makes me more comfortable, not less." Hmm. We probably should find out what Twilight's kinks are, Rainbow thought to herself. It wasn't an immediate concern, she and Lero hadn't had that conversation until they'd been sleeping together for a while. She liked playing pretend and getting tied up, and he had this weird thing where he liked the one on top to be the one in charge. She was fine going along with that, though it was a little odd for the one doing most of the work to be the one calling the shots.
Twilight hesitated. "Well... I mean... You're... pretty much the dominant one between the two of you. It's a little odd for you to be the one getting tied up."
"I'm the... I am not!" Twilight gave Rainbow a level look, somewhat spoiled by her relaxed body and partially-closed eyes, and Rainbow turned to Lero. "Dude, tell her! I'm not... I was just telling you what to do, wasn't I? Argh, that's not what I meant." It was hard to explain. She really wasn't the one in charge in their relationship; neither of them was in charge. She had to admit that it might look like it from outside; Lero still had problems with some parts of Equestrian society, and with Rainbow's regular proximity and the trust they shared, it was natural for her to assume a role as his guide. All she did was show him how ponies normally acted; she left it completely up to him whether he would act that way or not. It didn't bother her in the slightest when he chose not to, otherwise she'd probably never have fallen in love with a non-pony in the first place. Well, maybe she would have. The fact that he did often follow her example could make it look like she was leading him to someone who wasn't fully aware of the complexities of their relationship (which was pretty much everypony, she had to admit) but that was just because he tried so hard to fit in.
Lero snorted. "Don't worry about it. I do tell you 'no' from time to time, and you don't get mad at me when I do. But you do have a rather... forceful personality, Rainbow. It's one of the things I like about you." His eyes locked with hers, and a slow smile spread across his face. "One of many things."
Rainbow matched his expression, feeling a surge in her heart. "Thanks, big guy." She looked back to Twilight. "But, I mean, it's not about being in charge or anything. We talked about it for a long time the first time we tried it, just to make sure neither one of us got uncomfortable. I just think it's hot sometimes, not being able to move."
"I'm curious." Twilight snuggled happily against Lero, lying down and laying her head on his leg as he kept gently brushing. "What do you enjoy about it? Hobbles and bits don't seem too comfortable..."
"Woah, we don't do anything like that. Especially not a bit, I want to be able to talk." Rainbow paused. "Besides, I'd be able to sorta move with hobbles anyway. And why I like it?" She paused again, blinking. "Uh... hey, big guy, help me out here. You're like a million times better with words than me."
"Oh, uh, alright." He blushed a little, clearly taken by surprise by the request. "Well, are you wanting to know the, er, how or the why?"
"Well, now I'm curious about both!" Twilight grinned up from his lap, tilting her head a little bit to make it easier for the brush to reach..
Lero chuckled. "Okay, well the 'how' is simpler, so I'll start with that, okay?" Twilight laughed and nodded. "Well... I lay her on the bed on her back. Then I use one rope to tie her forelegs together like this," he held out his arms, wrists together, "just above her hooves, sort of pull them up over her head and tie the rope to the headboard." His flush was getting stronger, and Rainbow felt her pulse speeding up as she pictured what he was describing. The memory of how it felt was so strong it was almost like feeling it all over again. "I put another one around each of her ankles and tie the other end to the bedposts at the foot of the bed. I have to get 'em really tight, her big thing is that she wants to be totally immobile, which is kind of difficult to balance since I don't like to tie 'em too tight." He looked Rainbow in the eye. "Don't want to hurt her, after all." Rainbow smiled, her heart racing, and leaned forward to nuzzle his cheek.
"Wow. That's way different from the way most ponies do bondage." Twilight looked from Lero to Rainbow and back again. "Where did you get that idea?"
"I..." Lero paused, "Er, actually, that may have been cultural contamination from my end. She wanted me to tie her up, but didn't tell me how, so I had to use my own initiative."
"Hey, I've had no complaints!" Rainbow interjected. The position he'd found for her had been exactly what she'd wanted, lying on her back even immobilized her wings, not that they could move much given how fast she got stiff.
"So, um, what do you do once she's tied up?" Twilight was starting to blush a little, too.
"Touch her," he said, glancing at Rainbow with a twinkle in his eye. "Touch her all over. With my mouth, with my hands, everything. For a really, really long time."
Rainbow's breath caught. Oh, argh. I'm trying to be all nice and wait for evening so Twilight can have fun too, but holy horseapples I want him right now. Self-control, Rainbow, self-control. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. It wasn't easy; she kept having flashes of how it felt, having his hands roaming across her body while she pulled against the ropes. Feeling his fingertips gently tracing the lines of her muscles, feeling his mouth kissing, nibbling, licking, finding her most intimate spots. Rainbow's body quivered at the memory, and she could almost feel the ropes around her ankles.
"So, do you, um, put it in?"
"Yeah, eventually." Lero pulled one of Rainbow's forehooves up to his face, kissing it lightly. Rainbow snickered to herself. Heh, he's getting turned on, too. "After an hour or so."
"An hour?" Twilight's eyes popped open all the way. "Like a whole hour?"
Rainbow giggled, shivering with the memory. "When he's rushing, yeah. When he's really taking his time it's more like two." Twilight's jaw dropped. "That's part of the fun. I'm usually in kind of a hurry, and when we're doing that he makes me slow down. Takes his time, and I can't make him hurry since I'm all tied up and can't move. Crazy hot."
"Wow."
"Yeah, wow." Rainbow nibbled on Lero's neck, enjoying the feel of his smooth skin against her teeth and lips.
"Um." Lero paused, still brushing Twilight absently. "As to the why? Er... there, I'm going to have to guess. We never have actually talked about why we were doing it. Unless you'd like to chip in, Rainbow?"
The pegasus giggled. "You're doing great so far. And you're still a million times better with words than me."
"Okay," he said hesitantly. "Well... I think it's about trust."
"In what way?"
"Well..." He glanced at Rainbow. "Okay, I may be totally off base here, so correct me if I'm wrong, okay?" The pegasus nodded. She was intrigued; they really hadn't talked about their reasons for playing that game. She wondered if he'd figured out what she was thinking or not. He was usually pretty good at reading her mind. "Like I said, I think it's trust. She's always very definite that she doesn't want to be able to move. With the position I tie her in she's, well, totally exposed. I could do anything to her... but I don't." Rainbow bit her lip, meeting his eyes, her pulse starting to race again. His hand crept up again, finding her hoof and gently tracing the line of muscle in her foreleg, eliciting an astonishingly vivid flash of memory that made her catch her breath. "She puts herself in a position where she's basically completely at my mercy and lets me do whatever I want, fully confident that I would never do anything to hurt her or make her uncomfortable. And I don't. I spend the entire time making her feel as good as I possibly can, showing her that she's right to trust me."
"Um, I don't know much about the bondage thing, but do you guys have a safe word or anything?"
Lero laughed. "Yeah. 'Stop.' It's just a game, and I'd never want to take it too far; she can tell me to stop at any time and I will. If she even got nervous, I'd stop."
"Yeah, and I know it," Rainbow interjected. She couldn't hold herself back any more, pulling the human's head around and kissing him deeply, passionately, hungrily. The feeling of his tongue against hers, the taste of him, kindled the fire in her belly. She pulled his shoulders around to face her, pushing her tongue past his lips and into his mouth, catching his lip in her teeth for a moment after her tongue withdrew. She was quivering hard when the kiss broke, her wings fanning the air a bit, a little surprised her breath wasn't steaming. "Dude, you nailed it. All the hottest parts. Well, all but one. You know I'm a little claustrophobic, right?" He nodded. "That's the rest of it. Being held totally still like that, it triggers that a little tiny bit. It's an adrenaline rush. It would scare me, if I was with someone I trusted just a little tiny bit less, but since I'm with you, that makes it exciting instead of scary, like I said earlier. Big ol' rush, makes it crazy hot." She broke off, taking deep breaths to try to keep herself under control. It wasn't working very well. "Wow, sorry. Getting kinda... grr!" She bit Lero's shoulder suddenly. "Dude, I wanna take you so bad right now. Are you feeling it, too?" She knew he was, but she asked anyway.
Lero nodded, smiling slowly, just as she'd expected. "Yeah. I was trying not to say anything, but talking about that game was making me kind of hor... uh, heated."
Rainbow glanced at Twilight, nestled comfortably with her head in the human's lap. "I know you think it's early, but it's cool if you'd like to play too, Twi!"
Twilight's eyebrows lifted. "Wow. Um... aren't you worried somepony might walk in while you're... busy?"
Rainbow giggled. "Nah, not really." Something Lero had mentioned last night prodded at her consciousness. "Actually, there's a way to make completely sure that doesn't happen... uh, Twi? How long does that cloudwalking spell of yours last?"
A slow smile spread over Twilight's face. "Why, Rainbow Dash, are you planning to take us up to your house to do depraved things to us?"
Rainbow waggled her eyebrows. "Maaaaybe."
The unicorn snickered. "Well, I can sustain it on myself basically indefinitely; it's not a particularly high-energy spell, and I can maintain it even if I'm asleep. On someone else it lasts a few hours..." She trailed off, her eyes sparkling as she looked up at her lovers. "Unless, of course, they're close to me. With sufficient physical proximity there's a sympathetic resonance between the cloudwalking spell on me and the cloudwalking spell on someone else that serves to reinforce the other's spell. In that case, providing the other recipient stays sufficiently close to me most of the time, it should last about ten hours before needing to be refreshed." Rainbow was mildly shocked that she actually understood pretty much all of the words Twilight had just used. She'd been hanging around Lero and Twilight way too much. But she was okay with that.
Lero shared a quick look and a smile with Rainbow. "How close are we talking, hm?" He asked Twilight, caressing the unicorn's ear with one hand.
"Mmm. Two bodylengths or so." She looked up at the human with a lazy grin. "Think you can manage that?" Rainbow reflected that her friend had readjusted to this new level of intimacy with remarkable speed.
"I think I can, actually." He bent down and kissed her. Rainbow watched avidly as her herdmates' lips moved against one another, catching occasional glimpses of tongue. Twilight didn't kiss quite as aggressively as Rainbow tended to; this kiss was slow and languid, fanning the fire in Rainbow's belly further.
She bit her lip. "So what do you guys think? Up in the clouds, have some fun?"
"I'd be willing to give it a try." Twilight grinned at her.
Lero paused. "Er, do you need to go pick up Spike, Twilight?"
The unicorn giggled. "Nope! When we dropped him off, Applejack asked him to help with her sister's sleepover today. She's hosting Apple Bloom's friends, and they can be difficult to deal with. I don't need to pick him up until tomorrow."
"Yeah," Rainbow writhed slowly against Lero's back, rubbing her belly and chest against him. He leaned back against her in response, pushing close to her. "We've got her all to ourselves today and tonight. I'll fly you guys up and we can have some fun." She paused. "Uh, my bed's way too small for all three of us, but the floor's made of clouds. It's all soft and springy; I used to sleep on the floor all the time. So if you guys are cool with using the floor..."
"Sounds great!" Twilight pushed herself up off of Lero's lap. "You probably don't need to carry me, though. If your house isn't all the way up, I could just teleport myself there."
"It's about middle-high right now." With no other cloud-buildings to worry about, Rainbow could move her home whenever and wherever she wanted to, so long as the rainbow waterfall was high enough to dissipate before it hit the ground. (There was some regulation or something that said she wasn't supposed to let liquid rainbows get in the groundwater) She often did so on a whim, adjusting the house's position and altitude to whatever she felt like at any given time. It was something to do when she was bored.
"Okay, I should be able to reach it without any problems, then. Hold still a second, Lero." Twilight's face took on a mask of concentration, and a soft glow enfolded her horn. Moments later, the glow touched Lero, expanded to cover his body, and sank into his skin. "There we go."
"That felt interesting." The human looked down at himself. "Huh. So I can walk on clouds now?"
Twilight nodded. "For the next two or three hours without me, or more like eleven if you stay close to me. I can refresh it when we get up there, to make sure you have the full duration."
"You sure you don't want a ride, Twi?" Rainbow asked. "I could probably carry both of you at once. Or I could make two trips, it's not far."
"No, it's okay, I'll meet you up there. Did you want to go now?"
Rainbow nodded. "Yeah. I do." She gave Lero a sultry look that he returned with a heavy-lidded smile. "I really, really do."
The unicorn giggled. "Okay. I'll meet you there, then!" She flashed them a grin and trotted out the door. There was a flash of light from outside as she teleported.
Lero pushed up off the couch and extended his hand to Rainbow. She put her forehoof in his hand and hovered up into the air, letting him tow her closer. She landed lightly next to him, looking up into his face. "You ready for a ride, big guy?" She tried to conceal a tiny edge of nervousness. This was the only part of her life she hadn't yet shared with him. He was built like an earth pony, after all, and a lot of earth ponies were afraid of heights. They didn't like being where they couldn't feel solid ground underneath them, which was part of the reason she'd been so pleased that Applejack and Pinkie Pie had come along to the Best Young Fliers' competition. Rainbow had been a little afraid of how she'd feel if she offered to take him flying and he declined.
"Yeah, I think so, if you're sure I won't be a burden" He frowned, looking closely into her eyes. "You okay, Dash? Something wrong?"
She shook her head. "Excited, that's all." He looked at her searchingly, but she ignored it. She bounced up off the ground, hovering at his eye level. "Okay, carrying you won't be hard. Don't worry about that. I can carry heavier than you without a problem."
"You can? Okay... okay, great! What do I need to do?" Rainbow could hear suppressed excitement in Lero's voice, and not just the sex kind either. Some of her worry abated, hearing that.
"You're good with flying?"
"Absolutely!" He exclaimed, grinning. "I've tried not to push since I didn't want to intrude, but I'd love to fly with you. I've had dreams about flying as long as I could remember." He rubbed his neck. "And, well, what with my name and all..."
Rainbow blinked at him incredulously in a frozen moment of stillness before her heart surged with joy. She shoved him with her forehoof. "Doofus, why didn't you freaking tell me? I love flying almost as much as I love you, and I'd be happy to carry you all the way across Equestria if you wanted me to!"
He laughed, reaching out to caress her face. "No need to go that far. What do you need me to do?"
Exhilaration, excitement, and anticipation were sparkling through Rainbow's body. "Okay, like I said, I can carry more weight than you without a problem, but big as you are it's gonna be a little awkward. Here, c'mon outside and we'll get it worked out." She led the way out the door, landing in the grass outside their home. She looked him over quickly, building a picture in her head of how he could situate himself. "Alright. I think it'll work best if you sit down on my hips, lean forward, and reach around to hold my neck with your arms. You're gonna have to be really careful where you touch me, though; I'm already pretty turned on, and touching one of my sweet spots right now'll make us just glide right back down and make Twilight wonder where the heck we are. Plus, y'know, I don't really want to wind up stuck in the middle of the street with my wings stuck out like that."
"Right, so watch my hands."
"And try not to let your chest touch my back much when you lean forward." She flashed him a brilliant smile. "It's only for a little while." She stepped back and to the side, rubbing her hip against his leg and teasingly extended a wing to tickle his face with her feathers. "Then those hands of yours can go wherever they want."
His return gaze smouldered. "Promise?"
"Promise." She growled happily. "Okay, sit on my back real quick. But be real careful."
Rainbow felt his hands on her hips, his fingers rubbing the strong, thick muscles of her buttocks and thighs. "Sit right here, right?"
The pegasus glanced over her shoulder, giggling. "Yeah. Right there. Be patient, big guy, once we get up to my house you can touch me wherever you want, but you need to hold off 'till then."
The human made a slightly disappointed noise, his hands slowly pulling away. He threw his leg over her back and settled his weight on her hips, just like she'd asked. Rainbow bent her knees slightly, absorbing the extra weight, but she was easily able to compensate. Her hindlegs weren't as strong as Applejack's, but they were more than up to the task. She felt another spike of lust, knowing that his groin was so close to hers and feeling his weight bearing down on her hips. Just shift a little, and we could... She pushed the thought aside. "There ya go. Now..." She was suddenly struck by memory. "Oh, shoot! Quick, mess up my mane, before somepony sees me!"
"Huh?"
"My mane! It's still brushed!"
"Oh, right. Sorry." She felt his fingers start to muss her mane, keeping anypony who might spot them from knowing about her mane being brushed. She knew he liked it, but she had an image to maintain, after all. The pegasus craned her neck a bit in pleasure at the feel of his fingers in her hair, while at the same time trying mentally to distract herself so that pleasure didn't get too strong.
"Be careful, dude, don't tug." She remembered the spikes of ecstasy that had run through her when he'd pulled on her mane. "I'm seriously right on the edge of the stiffies; be careful."
"Right." He ruffled a bit more, finishing up by gently caressing her ear. She leaned into the touch, making a delighted little noise. Her mane still wasn't tangled enough, but at least it didn't look too smooth and straight anymore. "That okay?"
"It'll work. Here, if you could sorta bend over and put your arms around my neck..." He did so, embracing her carefully. "Got a good grip?"
"I think so. Um... what if I lose my grip?"
"Oh, like what if you fall off?" Lero nodded. "Well, first off, don't panic, that's the big deal. Spread out and sorta lay flat in the air, that'll keep you from spinning and slow you down some, and stay as calm as you can. I'll know the instant I lose you, and if you're falling it means I'm already on my way to catch you." She gave him a reassuring smile. "I've done midair rescues before. No sweat. Not that I'll let you fall off in the first place!"
Rainbow had been a member of the midair rescue team almost since she learned to fly. Cloudsdale pegasi were all taught the basics, of course; when somepony had an accident in midair, you had to react fast, so even if one of the teams wasn't nearby somepony would be able to help. Most of the time, though, rescues were the responsibility of the city constabulary or a designated rescue team who had received special training. It was safer for everypony involved that way, leaving the rescues to those with the abilities and skills to do it safely. Rainbow had qualified for the flight school rescue team at a young age, something that had left her nearly bursting with pride as she trained with other pegasi several years her senior. She was a member of Ponyville's rescue team, too, not that they really needed it since most of the local pegasi didn't fly all that high.
She'd done a couple of midair rescues of non-pegasi, too, which were harder. A pegasus falling generally instinctively lowered her weight as much as she could, even when she was unconscious. Other kinds of ponies (and Lero, obviously) couldn't do that, and it made catching them a lot trickier, especially if they were scared and flailing. One good smack from a full-weight faller could knock a rescuer silly when they were at low weight.
"All right, you got a good grip?"
"I think so." Rainbow shifted her stance, making sure he was secure. His arms were wrapped firmly around her neck, carefully not choking her, and he seemed to be balanced well.
"Okay, here we go! Hold on!" Rainbow gathered her legs beneath her and leapt powerfully up into the sky, her wings spreading and catching the dense low-altitude air. With Lero in direct contact like he was, her own weight-reducing magic was able to effect him nearly as efficiently as it effected her, dropping his mass to something she could easily fly with. The pegasus powered straight up, gaining altitude rapidly as Lero's arms tightened around her. Her heart raced, the feeling of sheer freedom that always accompanied her flight and the warmth of her lover's arms combining with her earlier excitement to leave her wondering why her wings were even still working. "You okay back there, big guy?"
"Yeah!" His reply was a little breathless. "I'm more than okay, this is great!"
"Ha ha, I know, right?" Rainbow couldn't contain herself, and threw in a quick barrel roll that made him yelp. "Sorry, forgot you're not used to being in the air! I'm just loving the fact that we're flying together!"
"No need to apologize!" He called into her ear. She could hear the exhilaration in his voice. "I didn't fall!"
Rainbow laughed again, exhilaration rushing through her. "Man, we're gonna have to do this again sometime!" Her house was approaching rapidly. "'Kay, hang on, we're almost there!" The pegasus shot up above the level of her home, then swooped down to the level of her doorstep, where Twilight stood. She backwinged, coming to a hover, and extended one hind leg delicately, part of her favorite landing maneuver. She felt the cloud underneath her, and settled into a perfect touchdown, folding her wings against her sides. "Here we are, big guy! Hey, Twilight!"
"Wow, that was fast." Twilight blinked, standing next to Rainbow's front door.
"Hey, it's me." Rainbow glanced over her shoulder. "Okay, Lero, let's see that cloudwalking spell work!"
Lero chuckled, clinging to Rainbow's neck. "It's funny, I've seen magic over and over, but part of my brain is insisting there's no way I could stand on a cloud, and I'll plummet like a stone."
Twilight bounced in place. "Nope! The spell's perfectly safe. See?"
"And even if it weren't, I'd catch you." Rainbow added. "No reason to worry, go ahead!"
Lero shifted on Rainbow's back, tentatively setting one foot down. The pegasus knew exactly how he was feeling; the cloud was soft, springy, but it didn't compress beyond a certain point. She'd always enjoyed the feel of it, whether under her hooves or lying down on it, which was part of the reason she'd never had a problem sleeping on the floor when she was up here.
The human carefully eased himself off of the pegasus's back, taking his weight off of her hips. Rainbow giggled at his caution. She looked up at him as he bounced in place much like Twilight had, testing the resistance of the cloud under his feet. She tried to keep the grin off her face at his uncertain antics, and looked over at Twilight to see a similar expression on the unicorn's face. He glanced at the two mares, noticed their concealed amusement, and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. Just a little odd." He shivered a bit. "And a little cold."
Rainbow reared up, standing on her hindlegs and wrapping her forelegs around his neck. Her wings folded around his body. "Aw. I think we can keep you warm." She gave Twilight a sly glance. "Right, Twi?"
"Absolutely!" The unicorn sauntered over. "That looks like fun. Can I try?"
"Absolutely!" Rainbow said, mimicking Twilight's voice. She folded her wings against her sides again, pushing her excitement and lust aside, and released her hold on her stallion with an edge of regret, feeling the warmth of his body fall away. Shut up, hormones. I'll get him in a minute. Her tail wasn't listening, twitching hard and keeping the prismatic hair flying through the air. Twilight pushed herself up as Rainbow had, though she faltered a bit, lacking the athlete's coordination. Lero caught the unicorn's forehoof in his hand, helping to steady her, and helped guide her forelegs up to his shoulders. She embraced him much as Rainbow had, though she didn't have to reach up quite as far. Twilight wasn't especially huge, but she was a unicorn and as such was a bit bigger than Rainbow. Lero's arms wrapped around the magician, pulling her chest close against him.
He kissed her, the slow, gentle kiss that the unicorn liked. "Thanks, Twilight. Looks like the spell worked perfectly." He gave her another kiss, his lips moving slowly against hers while Rainbow's hormones sounded the charge.
"Oh, that's delightful." Twilight made a wordless happy noise when the second kiss ended. "I see why you like to hug like this." The unicorn's hoof rubbed Lero's back for a moment, then she pulled back, breaking the embrace. "Thank you. But I know Rainbow was the one who was getting really excited." Twilight dropped back to all fours. "It was my turn last night, so it's your turn now, Rainbow Dash."
"Actually, yeah, let me thank you for that flight, Rainbow." Grinning, Rainbow jumped back into her previous position, hugging him tightly. Her embrace tightened enough to lift her hindfeet off the ground, her wings flapping a bit to steady her. His arms made a loop down low around her hips, lifting her a bit higher. She sat in the loop of his arms, held up so her head was higher than his, her hindlegs curling a bit in delight. Her forehoof stroked his mane, tilting his head back so she could kiss him hungrily. Her wings wrapped around his shoulders, shrouding them briefly in a little tent of cyan feathers.
"You're welcome," Rainbow said huskily when the kiss broke, looking him in the eyes from close enough that she could feel his quick, panting breath on her muzzle. "Gimme a second to get stuff out of the way, and you can show me how much you appreciated it. Launch me?"
"Love to." They shifted, Lero's hands sliding down Rainbow's legs in a motion that made her shiver, ending with her rear hooves cupped in his palms. The human bent his knees, and his body tensed. "Ready?"
"Yep!" In a perfectly synchronized motion, Lero heaved and Rainbow jumped, their combined efforts catapulting her into the air considerably faster than she could have taken off by herself. She did a couple of little backflips, using the extra speed for some flashy maneuvers just for the thrill of it. She banked to a halt, hovering in midair about on level with her bedroom window, the highest window in the house. "If you guys can wait there for just a second, I'll get everything in order and open the door for ya!"
"No problem, Rainbow Dash!" Twilight called. "I'll renew the spell on Lero while we wait."
"Awesome! Back in a sec!" Rainbow darted into her bedroom window.
She glanced around. Not too much of a mess... oops. She could see the corner of a slightly worn magazine peeking out from under her bed, the cover picture showing an armor-clad, confident-looking pegasus mare lifting the chin of a nervous-looking, well-dressed earth pony stallion, smiling lazily as she looked him in the eye. That could have been a little embarrassing. That magazine had been a favorite of hers, but she hadn't even thought about it in months, even forgetting that she'd stashed it there. A little... bedtime reading. She'd found it on a visit to Cloudsdale a year or so ago and just had to pick it up; the mare looked a little like a better-looking version of her (albeit with a mono-color mane) and the stallion looked more than a bit like a guy she'd had a crush on at the time. It was pretty high quality porn, too, which had made it a nice fantasy, at least before she'd been able to live out some better fantasies. She picked it up and tossed it into the closet, moving some stuff so it was hidden. Heh. Glad I decided to check. She doubted Lero would have been the slightest bit upset, but he probably would have been... sardonic. She mock-shuddered at the thought, chuckling to herself.
She took a quick whirl through the rest of the house. It was kind of a wreck. Stuff was blown around some from the winds rushing through the building, and she kicked the debris out of the way into corners or under furniture. It was a good thing she'd kept the place as high as it was; at least birds hadn't nested inside or anything.
She trotted back to front door, almost bouncing with excitement, pulling the portal open quickly enough to make Lero and Twilight jump in surprise. "Hey, guys! Come on in!" She waved them both in, ushering the rest of her little herd into her house for the first time.
Lero looked around in amazement, gazing up at the ceiling. "Wow, Rainbow, this is... roomy."
The pegasus chuckled. "Yeah, it is, kinda. Building with clouds, you can make the rooms as big as you want, so I made 'em big." She licked her lips. "So you want the tour, or would you rather do something else?"
Lero knelt down right next to her, where his hands could reach every part of her. He reached out to touch her feathers. "Much as I'd like a tour, I seem to remember you making a promise when we were getting ready to fly up here."
Rainbow felt a wave of warmth cresting in her body. "Mmm. Yeah, I did, didn't I?" She sidled a little closer to him, letting him take the lead.
Twilight raised an eyebrow. "What did you promise?"
Lero's fingers traced gently along the line of Rainbow's feathers. "Mmm..." the pegasus said, the pleased sound emerging from deep in her throat, "He had to be careful when we were getting ready to head up. Had to watch where he put his hands, so I told him that when we got up here his hands could go wherever they wanted to." Right here in the main room seemed as good a place as any, and he was clearly feeling as impatient as she was.
The pegasus felt the tips of his fingers trace the trailing edges of her folded pinions down to her hip before trailing lightly down her leg. She shivered. "Speaking of tours... You know, if my hands can go where they want, I think they'll take the scenic tour," the human observed with a smile.
"Should we get your clothes off?" Twilight asked.
"Nah, not yet." His hand reached Rainbow's hoof, and started slowly back up her leg. "I'd like to play a little first."
Rainbow giggled, enjoying the feel of his hand, sensing the heat of his body next to her. Lero's hand trailed back up to her hip, pausing to trace her cutie mark. He'd done that before a time or two, and she'd never gotten around to asking why. Physically it didn't do much for her, but emotionally... that was another matter. That symbol was a picture of her soul, it was her in a way that even her body wasn't. Having him paying such close attention to it gave her a tremendous rush.
His other arm went around her shoulders, and his fingers stroked her ear. Rainbow's brow furrowed a little in confusion. "Uh, hey, Lero? What are you doing?" He seemed to be carefully avoiding all her most fun spots.
"Taking my time."
"Uh... we are gonna have sex, right?"
"I'd certainly like to." His fingers trailed down from her ear, gently tracing the edge of her multicolored mane. "I know perfectly well that I can make your wings pop out with a touch. I wanted to try something different; see if I could get them stiff slowly instead of all at once. Haven't tried that when you were already this excited before." Rainbow quivered a bit, lending emphasis to his statement. The pegasus felt whipcord-tight, every muscle in her body so tense that the slightest movement made her shiver a bit. Twilight was picking up on it, too; Rainbow could almost feel the lavender mare's excitement, even when the pegasus wasn't looking at her.
Rainbow frowned again. "Um... why?"
Lero's hand continued down her neck, skipping over her shoulder to stroke along her other wing. "Because I've never done it, and I'd like to see if I can."
"Oh, gotcha." Rainbow tried to control her breathing. She could totally understand wanting to do something just for the challenge.
"She does need at least a little contact with her major erogenous zones," Twilight observed quietly. "Pegasus arousal depends on it, males and females both. She physically can't get fully aroused without it."
"Ah, okay. Thank you." His fingers continued down her wing, before doubling back. He flashed a smile at Twilight. "I appreciate you speaking up; you probably just saved Rainbow from ten minutes of frustration." The very tips of his fingers stroked along the sweet spot between her wings, so softly that she barely felt it.
She did feel it, though, and it was enough. Her wings twitched, involuntarily extending a fraction. "Hey, big guy, do me a favor?"
"Anything," he replied, his fingers burying themselves in her feathers and making her shiver again. They'd talked about how things like that felt, and her wings were roughly analogous to his hands. Very sensitive, though not necessarily sexual. Except, of course, for situations like this; much like when she nibbled and licked at his fingers when he was aroused, playing with her wings like this brought her considerable pleasure.
"When you get me, y'know, ready, could you get me off fast?" Her wings extended a bit more as his gentle caresses stoked the fire in her belly. His other hand moved on her hip, sliding over to where her hip met her flank. She was a little ticklish there, but he wasn't tickling her, instead choosing to stroke her coat carefully.
"How fast are we talking?" He leaned forward, nibbling on her neck, more lightly than she typically did to him. Her wings continued extending; at this rate they'd be at full spread before long.
"As fast as you can," she breathed. Her body was screaming at her; the long, slow buildup had her nearly desperate for release.
"I think I can do that, if you're sure that's what you want." His hands kept moving, never pausing. They slid up under both wings, pushing them up and out, making her primaries fan out in a pantomime of flight. Rainbow bit her lip, closing her eyes as the slow pressure in her body continued to increase to almost uncomfortable levels.
"Y-yeah," she panted with a jerky nod, "Yeah, I'm sure."
His hands left her wings, running down the lines of muscle in her forelegs. His body craned around, his lips seeking hers. Rainbow pushed forward, seeking to throw herself into the kiss, but Lero withdrew teasingly. He brushed her lips with his several times, giving her little half-kisses while avoiding her return attempts.
Rainbow's wings finally reached full extension. Lero noticed, raising an eyebrow and giving her another teasing kiss. "Looks like you're about ready, huh?"
"Yeah," she said, eagerly.
"Let's make sure, shall we?" He shifted around in front of her, and his hands reached out and slid under her wings. His fingers curled a bit, curving around her triceps so she wouldn't slip, and he lifted.
"Ah!" She gasped. Her stiffened muscles resisted, striving to hold her cyan-feathered wings at full spread. They were more than strong enough to hold her wings out straight, but the feeling of resistance was like a constant lightning bolt of ecstasy, doubling in intensity as he actually exerted enough pressure to lift her forehooves off of the cloud for a moment. The feeling lingered after he set her back down and withdrew the pressure, stealing her breath for a few heartbeats.
"Fast, right?" He asked, with a smile that almost made her forelegs buckle. She nodded, wordlessly. "Okay, stand still." She nodded again. Standing still wasn't her best skill, but right now she could do it like a champ. He shifted around behind her. Her tail lifted a bit, involuntarily. Rainbow glanced to the side, catching sight of Twilight again. The unicorn's violet eyes were wide, her lips were parted, and she was slightly flushed, clearly avidly following what was going on. Rainbow started to say something, but she was interrupted by the feel of Lero lifting her tail the rest of the way. His other hand pushed at her ankle, pushing her hoof across the springy surface of the cloud and leaving her hind legs spread out. She bit her lip again when his hand left her ankle and slid up her inner thigh, making her body quiver in eagerness. She had no idea what he intended, but she was looking forward to finding out.
His hand paused between her legs, teasing her nipples for a second before moving further back. She was surprised to feel his fingers tug on the little fold of skin over her clit, pulling it back and leaving the little nub exposed. "Wait, what're you... Uhhhhh!"
His tongue found her exposed clit, and the breath left her in a shocked grunt. He licked slowly, the hot, wet pressure dragging a deep moan out of her chest. She felt like her whole body was twisted into a knot, and the strand that tightened or loosened the whole thing was attached to that little nub. His tongue flicked over it a few times quickly, then again dragged across it slowly. She could feel the texture of his tongue in exquisite detail.
She struggled to find her breath, trying to speak, but again he preempted her. His lips closed around her clit and he started sucking, slowly, carefully, his tongue teasing the tip of it.
Rainbow almost blacked out from the intensity of the pleasure that washed through her. She lost sight of the world, her senses virtually closing down, feeling nothing but intense, overwhelming pleasure. His lips and tongue felt hot, and wet, and soft. His breath was almost cool in comparison, his panting exhalations washing over her vulva, the moisture from her arousal gathering rapidly and oozing down to where he was sucking carefully on her clit. She realized after a few moments that she was orgasming, her body shaking and convulsing in ecstasy.
She had no idea how long it lasted. The feeling finally faded when his lips left her clit, his fingers finally releasing the little fold of skin and letting it slide back over the hard little nub. Rainbow realized she was half-lying on the floor, her forelegs having given out and dumped her face onto the cloud. Her hindlegs were still ecstatically stiff, leaving her backside sticking up into the air. A slight breeze was blowing through the house, and she could feel it on her backside, her moisture-beaded vulva left sensitive by the orgasm. Oddly enough, she felt a bit dissatisfied; the climax had come a lot sooner than she was expecting. A lot sooner.
"Dude..." she said breathlessly, still lying on the floor, "I thought I asked you not to do that!" When he played with her clit, she came fast, faster than she actually liked to, leaving her almost no time to enjoy the sensations leading up to it. Her body had been screaming for release, and she'd only half-gotten what she wanted. She was a little worn, but still tense, still wanting.
"You did tell me to get you off as fast as I could," he said with a sly little smile. "And besides," he leaned forward to speak quietly into her ear, "you said you wanted to take me, right? How's that gonna feel now?"
Rainbow blinked. Then blinked again. Realization dawned. Has... has everything he's done been to set that up? That had been something of a slip of the tongue; she hadn't actually meant that, not really. Or had she? She was kind of in the mood to take lead, even though it wasn't her turn.
The pegasus pushed herself upright on slightly shaky forelegs. She searched his face, searching her own feelings at the same time. She... she did want to take him. She wanted it bad, way more than when she'd said it. And she had wanted it then, even though she hadn't really realized it at the time.
He had, though. He'd seen it, and then he'd spent all that time deliberately winding her up. He'd taken charge, pushed her, and now, looking in his face, she could see that he was fully intending to let her take over. All that, after seeing what she wanted more clearly than even she had.
She actually teared up a little. "I... I don't deserve you, Lero."
"You deserve better than me, Rainbow." He shrugged. "But you've got me, for as long as you want me."
She smiled at him, a little whimsically, ignoring for the moment the lust singing in her nerves. "What if I want you forever and ever?" Her voice was half teasing and half completely serious.
"Then you'll have me at least that long." His hand reached out to touch her cheek.
The long gaze they shared was interrupted by a sniff. Rainbow glanced aside at Twilight, who was wiping a tear from her eye. The unicorn blinked, realizing that she had the attention of both her herdmates. "Oh... oh, I'm sorry. Please, don't let me interrupt."
Rainbow laughed, shaken out of her slightly melodramatic mood, and turned back to Lero. "Mmm. Well, I do kinda want your body, but it's all wrapped up in cloth."
He raised an eyebrow, grinning. "It could get in the way. So how do you plan to change that?"
"I'm thinking the old-fashioned way. Some unwrapping." Rainbow replied with a matching grin. She glanced around quickly, her gaze lighting on a couch sitting against the wall. "First, though, that looks like a good place for you to sit, right?"
He followed her gaze. "Ah, you want me to sit up? I can do that." He started to step over to the couch, but Rainbow stopped him.
"I got a better idea. How about you sit down here and I'll take you over there?" Excitement was making Rainbow's stomach all fluttery. This was gonna be great.
"Oh...kay," he said hesitantly, sitting down with a slightly uncertain look on his face.
Rainbow stepped up in front of him, looking down with a smile on her face. She leaned forward, whispered, "Grab hold," and pressed her chest against his. The pegasus felt his arms go around her, and grinned. "Okay, hold on." She lifted her head, turning to look at Twilight. "C'mon, Twi, follow me." The unicorn looked surprised and a little uncertain; she was probably surprised by the quick reversal of roles. Rainbow and Lero had smoothly traded attitudes, the human passing the lead role over to the pegasus quickly and easily. Rainbow shrugged inwardly; Twilight would get used to it. The pegasus and the human both enjoyed both roles, and they'd gotten comfortable enough with each other that they could switch with barely any hesitation. Rainbow would explain that to her herdmate later, but right now she had other things on her mind. Rainbow set her hooves in the cloud surface and pushed. Lero's arms tightened in surprise as he skidded backward, Rainbow shoving him across the floor until his back fetched up against the couch. She backed up a step, regarding him through half-lidded eyes, her heart pounding. "Time to get those clothes off. Wanna help, Twilight?"
Rainbow wasn't the only one excited. Twilight's eyes were sparkling with delight. "Thanks, but you really look like you're into this. I'll let you handle it solo."
The pegasus shrugged. "Suit yourself."
"I'll make sure you don't feel left out, Twilight," Lero added.
Rainbow guided the human's arms up over his head, and took the collar of his shirt in her teeth. In a single slow, smooth movement, she pulled his shirt off and tossed it aside. She stepped up again, pushing her chest against his and pressing him back against the couch, luxuriating in the feel of the wiry hair of his chest against her cyan coat. Her lips brushed against his, teasing him with taunting little half-kisses the way he'd teased her earlier. That was a lot more fun from this end. Payback was sweet. Finally, she lost patience with the teasing, wrapping a foreleg around his neck to hold him in place while she pressed her lips against his. She caught his upper lip between his teeth, then released it and caught the lower lip, before aggressively pushing her tongue into his mouth. Her other forehoof rubbed his groin, feeling the hard bulge of arousal under his trousers. The feeling gave her a thrill, since she knew exactly what she was going to be doing with that in a minute.
She licked her lips when the kiss ended, savoring the slightly glazed look in Lero's eyes and glancing over at Twilight. "Enjoying the show, Twi?" she asked, slyly, a half-smile on her lips. The unicorn's return nod was quick and a little jerky; she was really getting into it. The pegasus could see a flush under the lavender coat on her friend's face. Rainbow turned back to her stallion with a dirty chuckle. "Now it's time to get those pants off, huh?"
"Gonna have to happen sooner or later," he replied, his fingers trailing up her foreleg and finally finding the sensitive spot under her wing. She bit her lip, craning her head back in delight.
"Mmm. That's nice. But cut it out for a second." She pushed his hand away gently. She stepped back again, ducking to take the waistband of his pants in her teeth. She'd had practice; it was the work of just a moment to undo the fastenings. She pulled his trousers off with another smooth, quick motion; no wasting time today. One last quick motion and his thin shorts followed suit, leaving him bare and nude before her. Rainbow grinned, licking her lips again. Just as she'd expected, he was just as ready to go as she was, his member hard and straight, sticking up from his lap. She ducked her head, sticking her tongue out and trailing the very tip of it along the underside of his penis, starting at the base just above his scrotum and running it all the way up to the point at the end. The pegasus relished that twitch of his body, his belly muscles tightening and his breath blowing out with a huff. What made it even better was knowing that she'd pulled that reaction out of him; it was nice to be in charge. Not that she disliked the alternative.
"Careful, Rainbow," he warned breathlessly, "too much of that and I won't be able to last long for you."
"You'll manage," Rainbow replied, drawing herself up tall to look down at him again with a grin. It was nice to be appreciated; she hadn't really gotten the hang of using her mouth the way he did, mostly because the idea of a mare and a stallion using their mouths on each other was still kind of weird. That was usually just something a mare did to a mare or a stallion to a stallion. It didn't stop her from doing it, but even after she'd had some practice it still felt a little awkward. "You always do, big guy. I'm not worried." She reached out with a forehoof, rubbing his chest gently. "You about ready to go?"
"More than ready," he answered, catching her hoof and bringing it up to his lips for a kiss.
"Mmm. Looks like." She gave Twilight a coy look over her shoulder. "Wanna see how hot it is face-to-face?"
Twilight's giggle was a shade nervous, but her eyes were bright and she didn't look away. "Oh, don't change your plans on my account!"
"All right, then, watch and enjoy." Rainbow put her forehooves on Lero's shoulders, pushing herself up to loom over him before pressing another intense kiss on him, craning his head back. She touched her nose to his, looking straight into his eyes. "I know I'm gonna." The pegasus pushed even closer to her stallion, her belly pressing hard against his chest, her rear hooves straddling his legs. Her extended wings cast a shadow around him that in no way hid the eager gleam in his eyes. He ducked his head down, kissing at her neck and chest.
Rainbow's heart pounded as she slowly lowered herself, feeling Lero's smooth skin and light, wiry hair sliding up her belly and chest, her cyan coat rasping against him. She paused, feeling the tip of his member just barely touching her vulva. The posture was slightly uncomfortable, her deeply-bent legs holding her up, with that slight touch between them. Her body was singing with anticipation, but she wanted to savor it. She looked down, meeting Lero's eyes and sharing an anticipatory smile before lowering herself the rest of the way.
Her breath left her in a long sigh as she took him into her. That pointy-ended member just pushed her open and slid into her like it had been made for her, just like always. The moment of penetration was her second-favorite part of this; the only thing better was the orgasm itself. Not that everything in between wasn't great, just that those were her very favorites.
She lowered herself further, relishing the feeling of him sliding into her. It was smooth, aided by the moisture that had already gathered inside her, a product of her earlier orgasm and her intense excitement. She tightened the muscles inside her, squeezing him to create more pressure as he pushed deeper inside and to draw even more sensation out of it.
They finally bottomed out. She sat in his lap, feeling him all the way inside her. Her chest pressed against his, feeling his heart pounding against hers, their faces inches apart, their breath intermingling. She moved her face that last tiny bit, her lips finding his, her tongue sliding into his mouth in a mirror of the way he'd slid into her. Her body was singing with delight. This was exactly what she'd been wanting since that conversation on the couch. Well, it wasn't all of it, but the rest would follow.
Rainbow glanced over her shoulder again, trying to control her panting. Twilight was watching avidly, her eyes wide and her lips ever-so-slightly parted, and a trace of sweat was beading her lavender coat. Having the third member of their small herd literally within touching distance was inflaming her further, the extra intimacy adding even more to the thrill, further augmenting what Lero had accomplished by winding her up. Just like last night.
"See what I mean, Twilight? I get why you didn't want to try this last night, but this," she ground her hips against Lero, feeling him shifting a bit inside her, the feeling making her voice hesitate. His arms went around her, keeping her pressed tight against him, one hand reaching up between her wings to stroke the sweet spot. "This is great."
"It... looks that way," Twilight said, her voice panting. "I will definitely keep that in mind. Thank you for the advice."
Rainbow laughed, turning her attention back to Lero. Her wings were stiff, her feathers quivering, and she was completely aware of every square inch of him pressed against her. She started moving, pumping her hips up and down. She caught her lower lip in her teeth, craning her neck back, the feeling of his member pushing in and sliding out stoking the fire in her belly to a roaring blaze. Vaguely remembering something Twilight and Lero had said last night, she paid attention this time, and was surprised to learn that they were right; she was making a little noise in the back of her throat. Huh. Wonder how I never noticed that before.
She immediately forgot about it and picked up her pace, pumping faster, harder. Lero moved underneath her, giving her extra motion, extra feeling. Her cyan coat rasped against his skin, and she pushed him harder against the couch. The rhythmic stroking deep inside her pushed her closer and closer to her peak, getting her closer and closer to what she craved. Lero's hands roamed over her back and shoulders, stoking her fire further, making it blaze hotter.
Rainbow could feel it building. She picked up her pace a little bit more, finding the perfect rhythm. The pleasure built, and built, until the wave finally broke. She pressed herself hard against him, thrusting her hips down hard to drive him as deeply inside her as she could while she came. This orgasm lasted a little longer than the one he'd given her by playing with her clit, and felt more satisfying somehow. Her body trembled against his, and she quivered around his intruding member. It felt fantastic.
She paused when it ended, leaning against him while she caught her breath. He still felt hard and ready to go inside her, and she hadn't felt him come, so they were still on for at least one more. She pulled her head back, looking him in the eyes and seeing the desire that burned there, knowing that he wanted her the same way she wanted him. Rainbow smiled and started to move her hips again, starting slowly as she had before. She could sense a quiver in his body that told her he was getting close to his own climax fairly quickly. Something about what they were doing was bringing him along a little quicker than normal, which she was fine with. One more like that last one, building on the one he'd given her earlier, would be plenty for her, especially since it was so early in the day.
Rainbow held Lero's eyes as her hips moved, the springy cloud surface providing her hind hooves with an easy grip and making it a simple matter for her to stay in place. They kept each other pinned in an unblinking gaze, their bodies moving against each other almost independent of their minds. But only almost.
His body got tighter and tighter as she moved against him. She could feel it in his body underneath her, see it in his eyes. Rainbow didn't look away, maintaining the intense eye contact even while she sped her movements up. Lero didn't look away either, not until the very last second.
He came first this time. His eyes closed and he pulled her close, his muscles tightening and thrusting him as deeply into her as he could go. Rainbow had been teetering on the brink herself, and that sudden hard thrust set her off as well. They came together, shuddering in ecstasy against one another, each sensing the other's pleasure and thereby amplifying their own.
Rainbow leaned against him in the aftermath, breathing hard. She felt sated, the burning need that he'd fanned with his teasing finally quenched. A familiar, delightful afterglow spread through her, coupled with the also-familiar feeling of pleasant exertion that always followed strenuous exercise. She pushed herself up again, looking him in the eye once more. "Thanks, big guy." She kissed him, just a quick brush of her lips against his. "Amazing as always."
"Wow." Twilight gasped behind her. Rainbow looked lazily over her shoulder. The unicorn was actually sweatier than Rainbow herself was, and her body was quivering hard. "That was intense just to watch, and I wasn't even doing anything!"
"Told ya dolphin-style was fun," Rainbow said with a slow grin.
Twilight stifled a giggle. "I think it was more about who was doing it than exactly what they were doing." She let out a long breath, clearly trying to still her quivers. "Oh, and yes, I think I might like to try that next time." She blinked a couple of times. "I think the two of you being so quiet made it even more intense, I'm not sure how."
The pegasus shrugged. Neither she nor Lero made a lot of noise when they were together, harsh grunts were about the loudest sound either of them typically produced. That moan he'd made when she'd licked him was about the most she'd ever gotten out of him, and she'd only managed that a few times.
Rainbow felt Lero's hand pat her hip. "Here, let me up, love. I promised Twilight she wouldn't be left out."
"Sure thing, big guy." She paused to stroke his mane with her forehoof one more time before pushing herself up and off of him. She felt him slide out of her, leaving that empty feeling inside her that always left her a little bit sad that it was over. He scooted across the cloud over to where Twilight stood, reaching out to run his fingers through her mane.
Rainbow felt a little pang of guilt. She'd really worn him out, and now he had to burn up more energy since she really couldn't. I really oughta see if I can find another mare, one that likes mares and stallions both so Lero doesn't have to take care of both of us every single time. She shook herself, focusing on her herdmates.
She knew Lero couldn't get hard again for a while, but he still had his hands and his mouth, as he was demonstrating. He was giving Twilight one of the slow, gentle kisses she liked, one hand tracing the base of her horn and making the unicorn tremble harder while the glow of magic crept up the spiraling protrusion. Twilight cried out softly, the sound slipping past their joined lips. The unicorn turned sideways a bit, pressing her shoulder against his chest. Her eyes had drifted closed, sinking into the kiss and the feeling of the human's fingers on her horn.
Twilight's eyes stayed closed when the kiss broke, a quiet little moan building in the back of her throat. When she tried to speak, it took her two attempts. "Wh-... uh... what are you thinking of doing, Lero?"
"Well," he said, sliding his hand down her side and flank, "your horn feels good, right?" She nodded, wordlessly, horn glowing softly, "This feels good, too, right?" His hand continued on its course, running over her hip and slipping under her twitching tail. Twilight didn't answer, but she did moan again, louder this time. Rainbow could faintly hear the sound of his fingers stroking the unicorn's damp genitals. She was starting to get turned on again watching this, darn it. Starting to want another orgasm, but there was no way she was going to interrupt her herdmates. Lero smiled, watching the expression on Twilight's face. "What I was thinking," he continued, "is that I wanted to see if I could get both ends at once."
"B-both?" Twilight gasped, "But... oh... h-how are... ahhhh..." Rainbow could see her lose her train of thought while Lero's fingers worked slowly under her tail. She stretched her neck out a bit, catching her lip in her teeth, another low moan building in her throat.
"How am I going to get both?" Lero asked. Twilight nodded, squeezing her eyes shut more tightly, her pink-streaked purple forelock falling in front of them. "It'd actually be easy enough to have one hand at each spot, but I've got a better idea. Move your head around a little?" His free hand cupped Twilight's cheek, pulling her head around gently. The unicorn's legs were shaky, but she readjusted the position of her forehooves, her body bending around where Lero sat. He ducked his head toward hers.
The human's lips found the base of Twilight's horn, and she let out a loud gasp. "D'you think you can stay still?" he asked quietly, his words separated by light brushes of his lips and tongue across the hard, spiral-fluted surface, through the soft glow that enfolded it. Oh, goddess, this is hot, Rainbow thought, her breath speeding up.
Twilight's neck quivered, but she didn't nod. "Y-yes, I can stay still," she gasped. "I'll be... oh... I'll be careful, don't worry."
"Okay. I'm trusting you, but I'll be careful anyway." Lero ran the tip of his tongue all the way along Twilight's horn, flicking it against the sharp tip, through the point of light that was starting to form there. Twilight cried out, loudly, holding her head completely still while pushing her hindquarters back against his hand.
Rainbow could tell what he was doing, under Twilight's tail. She could tell from the flexing muscles in his forearm exactly how he was stroking her, and she could almost feel it herself, a phantom sensation that made her body tingle all over again. Watching the expression on Twilight's face, listening to her moans get louder, was turning the pegasus on all over again.
She saw exactly when Lero's finger pushed inside the other mare. Twilight let out a surprisingly deep moan when the human's finger slid inside, her hips and buttocks tensing.
Rainbow couldn't just watch anymore. She sat down heavily on the cloud, her forehoof finding its way behind her hind legs. This was just way too hot to watch without doing anything. That trick she'd done a few times, rubbing Lero's groin with the base of her forehoof to help turn him on or get him off, hadn't been a spur-of-the-moment thing. It was something she'd practiced on herself, during those lonely nights before they'd gotten together. She used the same thing now, rubbing herself in time with Lero's shifting hand. It wasn't quite as good as having him touch her, but it was the next best thing, especially since he was right there. She watched the action in front of her avidly, rosy eyes intent while she stoked her own pleasure. The way she was feeling, there was a decent chance that she would have been able to get off even without touching herself, as long as Lero and Twilight lasted long enough, but why leave things to chance? Her body started to quiver in time with Twilight's, though Rainbow didn't let out any of the loud groans that were growing in volume as the unicorn got more and more excited. Rainbow was trying to pace herself so she'd climax at the same time Twilight did, but it wasn't easy. She'd only seen her lavender-coated friend like this twice before, the previous night, and that made it difficult to judge how quickly it was progressing. It looked like Twilight was going faster than she had last night, but she wasn't completely certain. If so, it was good, especially since Rainbow wasn't going quite as fast as she did when it was Lero touching her.
Twilight's moans kept getting louder and more insistent, her body shivering harder and harder. Lero picked up his pace, too, slipping another finger in and making his kisses and licks faster and harder. The point of light at the end of Twilight's horn started to flicker, a sign that she was right on the edge of climax. Lero suddenly shifted, pulling Twilight's head against his chest and holding it there. She didn't resist, leaning against him urgently, her ears swiveling back in intense concentration. Lero ran his tongue along Twilight's horn one final time, lingering on the sharp tip and the glowing, flickering point, and finally taking the end of her horn into his mouth. His lips wrapped around her horn, his fingers working rapidly under her tail. Twilight shuddered hard, her moan climbing the tonal register, rising in both pitch and volume, and Rainbow knew the unicorn was climaxing. She bit her lip, stroking herself as fast as she could, trying to set herself off at the same time. Lero finally pushed Twilight over the edge she was teetering on, the unicorn's voice rising to a peak in both pitch and volume. Rainbow saw light flicker in the human's mouth, the glow shining through his cheeks. The pegasus's eyes bulged at the sight, the thrill of it proving more than enough to fuel her own climax. The foreleg holding her up almost buckled and pitched her onto her face, but she managed to keep her balance while she came, her eyes locked on her herdmates and her body trembling hard while her wings clamped down. Oh, wow. He actually...
Twilight sagged against their stallion, panting heavily. Her legs folded, dropping her into a sitting position, and she leaned hard against him. The unicorn raised a heavy head, looking him in the eyes incredulously. "You... you actually... I'm so sorry, I... in your mouth, oh my goodness..."
He chuckled, clearing his throat and wiping his lips. "No need to apologize. It did feel a little more... tangible than I'd expected." He coughed. "Felt kind of like swallowing pop rocks, actually. I didn't realize those little sparks actually had mass."
Twilight blinked in surprise. "I.... you're... what are 'pop rocks'?"
"It's a kind of candy back home." He rubbed her neck, helping her decompress a little.
Rainbow laughed, her forehoof sliding out from between her hindlegs. "You guys have a candy that tastes like... like..." She groped for words.
"It's not really the taste so much as the texture," Lero interrupted. He smacked his lips once. "That didn't really have a taste."
Rainbow wiggled her eyebrows lasciviously. "Wow. You guys are more perverted than I thought, making a candy outta that. So what does that candy taste like?"
The human snorted. "There are various flavors. Sweet, mostly."
Rainbow couldn't help but grin. "Kinky."
Twilight was blushing furiously, which was a trick right after an orgasm. Rainbow didn't think she could have managed it, and she was a pegasus, with a gazillion ways that her body kept her blood pressure even. "I still can't believe that I... did that, in your mouth. I'm so, so sorry."
"Don't worry." He kissed her lightly on the cheek. "I didn't realize it would upset you. Did you enjoy it, at least?"
"Oh, goodness, yes," Twilight said breathlessly. "You really don't do that by halves, do you?"
"Naw," Rainbow drawled, moving over to sit next to them and fold a wing across his shoulders. She aimed a warm smile at both of her herdmates. "He's pretty good to have around."
Lero's arm went around her, hugging both mares close.
Outside, the wind blew through the cloudless sky, swirling around the flying mansion and its happy inhabitants. ***
Author's note: Sorry to have one of these, guys, but I borrowed ideas from a couple of places in this part, and I feel like they need to be given credit. First off, credit for the brushing bit at the beginning is AnonponyDASHIE's, the kind host of this story so I can keep my name out of the spotlight. It's from his Side Stories scene, which'll be great once he finishes it! :-P Second, the idea for everyone to visit Rainbow's house goes to an anon on the Clopfic Archive, and Rainbow's porn stash goes to another anon (or possibly the same one) at the same place. I hope I haven't missed anyone I've used ideas from! |
Xenophilia | The Altercation | It was late in the afternoon, and Rainbow, Twilight, and Lero were visiting the market. It had been something of a long day for all three of them, albeit in different ways, and none of them particularly wanted to spend much time there. The trip was necessary, however; the house Rainbow and Lero shared was low on several staples, and Twilight's pantry was perpetually somewhat low. Dinner would have been a rather lean affair without at least a brief trip to the market.
Lero had spent the day up at Sweet Apple Acres, first helping to fix the cider press and then tracking down and repairing a leak in the farmhouse's plumbing. Rainbow had been intending to come down there and help him out if she could, (primarily as moral support; if the problems could be fixed with hooves, Applejack or Applebloom would have already taken care of them) but the Everfree forest had decided to misbehave so she'd instead had to spend the day making sure her weather schedules didn't get turned upside down by rogue cloudbanks. She hadn't even had time for flying practice, something that had her grumbling irritably. Twilight had been spending the last few days collating information from several frontier towns to present a report to the Princess on something-or-other, and she'd spent today writing and revising her final draft.
With all three of them wanting to be done with their shopping as quickly as possible, they'd decided to leave the haggling to the two ponies, while Lero hung out and watched. He'd gotten better at bargaining, but he still wasn't anywhere near what Rainbow would consider proficient yet. He'd confessed to Rainbow that the whole process was still a little strange for him, saying that where he came from prices were generally fixed. That idea was freaking weird, how could you make sure they were giving you a decent deal if they wouldn't bargain? What could you do if they were too high? Just accept getting ripped off? The pegasus thought that idea was as strange as Lero found the process of bargaining.
Twilight and Rainbow were haggling cheerfully with a tomato vendor, with Lero chilling in the square behind them, when the pegasus glanced over her shoulder and saw a unicorn stallion talking to the human. Rainbow cocked her head as she identified the unicorn; it was a guy named Chuckwagon, who the pegasus didn't think Lero got along with all that well. In fact, after a moment's consideration, she remembered him mention the stallion in less-than-positive terms a couple of times over the last week, and she could see from the set of his jaw and the tension in his stance that the human wasn't enjoying the conversation.
Rainbow's ears swiveled toward the two males, and she was able to faintly hear what Chuckwagon was saying. "...should seriously ditch those nags. C'mon, man, this is Ponyville, there's tons of mares here that're better looking than those two. You could..."
"Sir, I am going to ask you one more time to drop this topic and never bring it up to me again, because I frankly don't want to hear it. I am tired of hearing you insult my friends, and I am nearing the end of my patience." Lero's voice was level and controlled, but tight with anger. Rainbow could see the muscles along his jaw and the sides of his head moving as he ground his teeth. She bit her lip and took a hesitant step toward the two males, not sure if she should intervene or not.
"Aw, c'mon, man, it's just advice." Chuckwagon glanced at Rainbow, noticing that she was following the conversation, and glanced back to Lero quickly. He leered, raising his voice a little to make sure the pegasus could hear him. "Seriously, you may look weird, but you could do way better than those two skinny nags. There's much hotter fillies around."
Rainbow bristled silently, knowing that he'd intended her to hear that, and Lero's face flushed bright red. "Shut your mouth," he snapped. "I am sick of hearing this garbage, and I think you'd better take it somewhere else. Talk to me like that again and you'll regret it." The human's voice was a snarl, and he stepped close to the unicorn stallion, looming over him.
Heads turned all around the square. Lero's voice had been raised, and the angry snap in it was enough to catch attention. There were quiet murmurs from several places, and a unicorn mare with a slate-gray coat stepped out of the crowd around one of the vendors and trotted hastily over to the two males. "Hey, back off!" She reared up and shoved at Lero's chest, sending the human rocking back on his heels, but she didn't have the mass to push the big human very far. "You got a problem with Chuckwagon?"
Rainbow finally recognized the mare; her name was Shimmer, and she was part of Chuckwagon's herd. This could get ugly. She glanced back over her shoulder and caught Twilight's eye, then jerked her head toward the confrontation. The lavender unicorn had paled a bit, but she nodded and turned to follow Rainbow.
"I've got a problem with him bothering me when I've told him to leave me alone, yeah," Lero snarled, leaning forward to jab a finger at Shimmer's face and looming threateningly over her. "I'll gladly back off once he shuts up and leaves me the he- the heck alone!"
There was more movement in the crowd, some ponies with angry expressions on their faces moving toward the brewing fight and others stepping up to block them. Rainbow caught sight of Honeydew, an eager, ugly look in her eyes, stepping around her storefront, only to be balked by Applejack, who stood in her way and gave her a level, steady stare.
"You got a problem with him, then you've got a problem with me," Shimmer growled, narrowing her light blue eyes.
"And if you've got a problem with him, then you've got one with me," Rainbow interjected, her head lowering threateningly and her body tensing as she approached. She felt Twilight's presence next to her, her friend ready to support her if she needed it. Shimmer glanced around, fidgeting nervously. Rainbow rolled her shoulders a bit to loosen her muscles as she advanced, her pace smooth, getting ready for a fight. The gray unicorn looked back over her shoulder at Chuckwagon, drew a breath, and turned back to Rainbow. Behind her, a tiny smug smile flitted over Chuckwagon's face, fanning the pegasus's anger further.
Before she could say anything, though, Lero looked over his shoulder. "Back off, Dash," he said a little harshly. "I'm not going to drag someone else into this."
Rainbow blinked in surprise, drawing herself up short. "You sure, big guy? There's two of 'em." She felt a little hurt that he'd snap at her like that; he'd never done that before.
"Yeah, I'm sure." He jabbed a finger at Chuckwagon, still staring Shimmer in the eye. "He's the one I've got a problem with." The human knelt down and leaned forward, getting well into the unicorn mare's personal space and glaring into her eyes from inches away. "How about you back off and let me have a little chat with him, huh?"
Rainbow felt a fierce flash of pride, though being snapped at still stung. Her stallion didn't start a fight and then drag his mares into it the way she realized Chuckwagon had done. He handled it himself. She wondered where the rest of the unicorn stallion's herd was, quickly looked around for them, and saw that they were being blocked by other ponies in the market. Voices were being raised, but it looked like the other mares figured that Shimmer could handle it as long as Rainbow and Twilight didn't get involved.
"How about no," Shimmer growled. She looked a little uncertain at having to confront Lero, probably because after that first moment where she'd rushed to get between them, she'd had the same reflex reaction that Rainbow would have in her place. You didn't hit guys. Just didn't do it. It was why the pegasus had hesitated to intervene in the first place, when it had been between Lero and Chuckwagon. Ordinarily she would have charged in headlong. "You try to pick a fight with him, and I'll blast you." Her horn started to glow with a steady orange light.
That was one heck of an escalation, and Rainbow felt a spike of fear in her belly. She started forward again carefully; given Shimmer's quickly-hidden uncertainty, this was probably just a bluff. Just in case, though, she wanted to be ready to intervene if Lero needed it, regardless of what he wanted. Her wings unfolded, ready to propel her forward lightning-fast if it became necessary.
Lero was quicker. His arms flashed out, his hands closing around Shimmer's throat. He dug a thumb into the underside of her jaw, breaking her concentration, and the magic she'd collected dissipated while she made a choking sound. "You really want to go?" The human's voice had gotten soft, almost silky. "You guys think I'm so helpless. Not as strong or tough as an earth pony, not as quick as a pegasus, no magic like a unicorn. Big, but weak." Shimmer struggled against the grip, trying to pull free, but the human's hands and arms were a lot stronger than most ponies thought they were, and his slender, fragile-looking fingers could grip like a vice. He half-rose, bringing Shimmer with him, and she flailed at him with her forelegs, but they weren't long enough to reach.
Rainbow started to dart forward, intending to try to separate them before the suddenly-turned tables resulted in Shimmer getting hurt, but a look at how Lero was holding the mare calmed her concerns a bit. She knew the way his hands were shaped, and how they gripped, and after an instant's reflection knew how he could really hurt Shimmer if he'd wanted to, but he wasn't doing it. His thumbs were carefully away from the unicorn's windpipe, and his hands were positioned to support her weight and maintain his grip without actually damaging her throat. There was pressure on her neck and throat from his fingers, but not enough to cut off her breathing entirely, since Rainbow could hear the dark gray mare taking harsh, gasping breaths. He was trying to scare her, not hurt her, and Rainbow's heart slowed a bit from the million beats a minute it had been running a moment before. She was still ready to intervene, but unless things got really nasty she'd rather let him work it out himself, the way he'd indicated he wanted to.
Besides, she didn't really want to get snapped at again. That had actually stung a bit.
"Well, you're right. I am weak next to you," Lero continued, his voice still quiet, "but weak doesn't mean harmless. You get me?"
"Urk," Shimmer choked out, nodding frantically. She'd figured it out too, and though she looked scared she didn't have the terrified look that had been on her face when his hands had first closed around her throat.
"Right. So how about you quit pushing me around," his hands tightened a bit, making Shimmer's eyes bulge, "and let me have that little conversation with Chuckwagon?"
"Not... let... hurt... him..." The unicorn gasped out laboriously, grimacing.
Lero ground his teeth, and Rainbow decided it was time to intervene. She hovered up and set a forehoof on his shoulder, whispering, "Let her go, big guy. Put her down, everything'll be okay."
Twilight stepped up on his other side, looking at Shimmer. "He wasn't going to hurt Chuckwagon," the unicorn said acerbically, with an unstated you idiot hovering clearly in her tone. "He wasn't even making any physical threats! He never said he was going to do anything besides yell! You started it when you threatened to blast him!" Twilight's violet eyes narrowed, and she lowered her head, horn glowing softly. "And if you're thinking of blasting him when he puts you down, you'd better think again. That's not happening with me right here."
Shimmer shook her head as much as she could. "Urk."
Satisfied that the fight was pretty much over, Rainbow patted Lero's shoulder again. "Put her down, Lero. It's cool."
She saw the muscles in his jaw move again, but he carefully set Shimmer's forehooves back on the ground and released her. She fell back, sitting heavily, and coughed a couple of times. "You okay?" The human asked, his tone a little gruff.
Shimmer nodded, shooting him a brief glare. She cleared her throat, rubbing her neck with her forehoof. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." The unicorn's voice was a little rough, and she cleared her throat again.
Lero gave a curt nod. "Good." His tone softened a tiny bit. "Sorry, didn't mean to squeeze quite that hard." He ignored the surprise on the mare's face and shifted his gaze to Chuckwagon, his expression hardening. He jabbed his finger angrily in the stallion's direction. "As for you, you're gonna shut your mouth. Got it?"
Chuckwagon nodded, a little spastically, taking a step back. "Yeah, yeah, sure, I was just trying to give some advice."
This time Rainbow joined Lero's glare. At this point she knew darn well he'd been trying to start a fight; there were some stallions who liked doing that, starting a fight and getting their fillies to defend them, though he'd probably been trying to get Shimmer and Rainbow to fight rather than Shimmer and Lero. The smug look she'd glimpsed on his face when Twilight and Rainbow had been moving to intervene told her all she needed to know. Rainbow hated guys like that. She actually felt a little bad for Shimmer, now.
"Well, don't give me any more, and you definitely leave me alone when I'm at work. I don't want to hear it ever again."
"You won't, you won't." Chuckwagon moved up next to Shimmer, checking if she was okay, though he kept her between himself and Lero.
"Good." He shot a look at Shimmer. "Conversation over." The human gave another curt nod, before turning on his heel and stalking away. Rainbow and Twilight followed, the pegasus shooting one last angry look over her shoulder as the crowd in the square started to dissipate again.
The human walked quickly, but it wasn't hard for the two mares to keep up with him. "Lero! Lero!" Twilight said, trotting along next to him, "Slow down! Are you okay?"
He turned a corner, and stopped suddenly, out of sight of the crowd. "Yeah, I'm fine." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "That was stupid of me. I'm sorry." He took a few paces off of the road and sank down to sit under a nearby tree.
Rainbow and Twilight shared a quick glance before sitting down on either side of him. The pegasus's chest felt a little tight; she was anxious, worried about how close he'd come to getting hurt, and still feeling a little hurt about being snapped at.
"It was a little ill-considered," Twilight offered, "what in the world did Chuck wagon say to you to set you off like that? I've never seen you lose your temper like that before!"
Lero shook his head, rubbing at his brow. "It's not important."
"He was telling him that he could do better than us," Rainbow answered for him. "Calling us skinny nags and stuff."
The human's head jerked up. "You heard him?" At Rainbow's nod, he sighed, grinding his teeth. "Blast, I'm sorry you had to hear that, love, because he's an idiot. That... That twit has been bothering me for over a week, always the same garbage." Lero's hand balled into a fist, and he drummed it on his knee in a clear gesture of frustration. "I'm sick of hearing it, and I guess I lost my temper. I'm sorry you got dragged into it." He aimed a smile at the two mares, wan but genuine. "Though I do appreciate that you were so quick to back me up."
The tension in Rainbow's chest loosened a bit, and she smiled back. "Aw, shucks. I'll always back you up, big guy." She leaned forward and brushed her lips quickly against his.
Lero's smile warmed. "Thank you for that, Rainbow. Thank both of you."
"Why didn't you want us to help?" Twilight asked, tilting her head in puzzlement. "I don't want to sound dismissive, but she could really have hurt you."
The human shrugged. "My fight, not yours. There wasn't any need to drag either of you into it, and I can take care of myself. Besides, I figure I'll probably get in trouble for it, and I'd rather it be me getting in trouble than you."
Rainbow's smile grew, and that flash of pride reared its head again, pushing away her lingering hurt at being snapped at.
Twilight nodded understandingly. "You were probably tired of everypony saying things like that about you, too."
Rainbow frowned at her friend. "What, calling him a skinny nag? I don't think I've ever heard anypony call him that."
The unicorn shook her head. "No, Rainbow, calling him helpless. Saying he's not as capable as a pony."
Rainbow's rosy eyes widened in surprise. "Woah, I've never heard anyone say that! He's totally not helpless, and he's better than most of us at some stuff! I mean, yeah, he doesn't have magic, but he's smart, which has gotta be at least as good!"
She turned to her stallion, and was met by a warm, genuine smile, and she could see the love in his eyes. It made her soften a bit. "Thank you, Rainbow. I know the two of you appreciate me, but it's still nice to be reminded sometimes."
Rainbow's face heated, and she knew she was flushing a little. She grinned nonetheless. "Hey, didn't I just say I'd always back you up?"
Twilight laid a hoof on Lero's knee. "We're not the only ones who appreciate you, Lero. There are plenty of ponies in town who recognize your value. I don't know if you were watching, but most of the crowd in the square was on your side."
He blinked. "Really?"
"Oh, yes." The unicorn smiled, stroking his knee gently. "I know you were distracted, but trust me. You have plenty of friends."
"The two of you first among them." Lero cleared his throat. "Do you ladies think I could get a hug?"
Rainbow grinned. "Heck, I think I got a spare around here somewhere I could give you. Twilight?"
The unicorn giggled. "I'm sure I could donate one, too." The three shared a warm embrace, and Rainbow felt the last bit of tension flee.
"Thanks," he whispered, holding his herdmates close, "I love you both so much."
"Then you know how we feel about you," Twilight whispered back.
Rainbow didn't say anything. She didn't need to, and she knew it. She just hugged him, enjoying the feel of his body against hers and his arm around her.
Lero smiled wryly when the hug ended. "So... how much trouble am I in?"
Rainbow shrugged. "Won't be much. Little scuffle like that, without anyone actually getting hurt? Probably a little fine and a public apology. Wouldn't even be that if so many ponies hadn't seen it." She'd been in a ton of fights, so she knew the drill. Lero and Shimmer hadn't even broken anything.
Twilight nodded. "I've never been in trouble over something like this myself, but that sounds about right, especially since you were provoked. We should probably go down to the Mayor's office and get it sorted out."
Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Aw, why the rush? They'll come find us sooner or later."
"All the same, Rainbow, I'd rather go ahead and get it over with," Lero said. He sighed. "Honestly, I'm hungry, and I'd like to just get it out of the way and get some dinner."
Rainbow laughed. "I hear ya there!" She checked her saddlebags; they hadn't gotten everything they were after, but they should have more than enough for dinner. They could make another run to the marketplace tomorrow. "Let's drop by home and leave this stuff there, so we don't have to cart it all over the place."
"That sounds commendably efficient, Rainbow Dash!" Twilight exclaimed, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "I'll put that down to my influence. Soon you'll be making lists!" She beamed proudly. Rainbow gave a theatrical shudder, and Twilight and Lero laughed.
Hours later, Rainbow and Lero sat together on a bench in the town hall. The pegasus was snuggled up against the human in an attempt to reassure him, with one wing hugging his shoulders and one forehoof gently stroking his knee. Worry was digging a hollow pit in her stomach, but she fought not to show it, trying to pretend that nothing was out of the ordinary.
"Rainbow... it's been hours," Lero said, tightly. He glanced at the window, which showed the stars outside as night had long since fallen. "What could possibly be taking this long?"
She had no freaking idea at all. This should have been over and done with in ten minutes tops. Saying that would only freak him out worse, though. "Probably some stupid paperwork thing. Twilight'll help get it sorted out and we'll be out of here in no time. No reason to worry about it."
Rainbow was lying through her teeth, and if he hadn't been so tense she would never have even tried it. It was a mark of how worried he was that he either didn't notice or didn't question it.
Twilight had come in with them, of course. She'd sat here in the waiting room with them too, for nearly a half-hour before she'd gone stomping out, declaring that she was going to track down the mayor and find out what was taking so long.
They hadn't seen her since then. The only pony they'd seen was an intern; an earth pony colt a couple of years younger than Rainbow who'd been dropping in every fifteen minutes or so to see if they needed anything. He'd been extremely solicitous toward Lero, and Rainbow wondered with a touch of amusement if the human had noticed the young stallion's borderline flirting. Probably not; he hadn't noticed Rainbow's much more blatant flirting until she'd kissed him, and she was aware that her lover was bent more or less the same way she was, preferring females the way Rainbow preferred males. It probably didn't occur to him that a stallion would be flirting with him.
Rainbow was glad for the colt's brief visits; it at least showed they hadn't been forgotten, and if the young stallion hadn't volunteered to go get them some dinner they'd both have been starving by now.
"Give me a worst-case estimate, love," Lero murmured, running his fingers nervously through the cooler colors of Rainbow's mane, "if everything goes bad, how much trouble am I looking at?"
"It shouldn't be any. I'm serious, it was just a scuffle. It's nothing. Nopony was hurt, nothing got broken... seriously, it's a fine. A little one." Or at least it should be. Clearly, something was wrong, but Rainbow honestly couldn't even imagine what it could be. She'd been in dozens of fights, nearly all of them worse than the tiny little altercation in the marketplace.
"What are the chances I might be looking at prison?"
"Prison?" Rainbow was aghast. "Zero! They wouldn't put you in prison for a tiny little fight like that! You only go to prison when there's been something really serious, so they can figure out what's wrong, whether you'll do it again, and how to help you if they can." She shook her head. "There's no way this could end up sending you to prison. Seriously, dude, you'll be fine."
He swallowed hard. "Well... if not prison... are there any other penalties practiced here?"
Rainbow blinked. "Well yeah, there's exile, but that's just for the worst ponies. The ones that can't be around other ponies, and can't be taught to get along or anything." She fought like mad not to show it, but the prospect of her stallion being exiled had been gnawing at her. Surely they wouldn't revoke his right to live here because of some stupid little fight. No way. The Princess had made that promise, and only one of the Princesses could rescind it.
The idea still scared her, though.
Of course, she had no intention of mentioning this to him, but if for some completely insane reason he did get exiled she'd be going with him. No bucking way she was leaving him alone and abandoned out there. No. Way.
She felt the muscles of his back tense under her wing, and he drew a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Something I've been meaning to ask, Rainbow... why was that mare so willing to start a fight when I was yelling at Chuckwagon? And why were you and Twilight so ready to jump in front of me?"
Rainbow blinked. Oh, he's going all thinky, trying to distract himself. "Uh, well, a mare's gotta stand up for her stallion, y'know?" She paused. "I think Shimmer was bluffing about blasting you, by the way. You don't hit guys." Besides, if she had, she knew darn well I'd've smashed her into paste. She pushed the thought aside, gently rubbing his back with her wing and leaning the side of her head against his, trying to reassure him and show that she was there for him.
He paused, thinking. "But, well... aren't males pretty much... you don't need all that many, do you? I mean, one male can, er, service multiple females if necessary. And stallions are larger and stronger than mares, for the most part. You folks just seem to be more protective than you need to be."
"Uh... I think you're forgetting that we don't have that many guys, Lero. Besides, nopony wants to see her stallion get hurt." Rainbow certainly didn't. She could still feel the echo of the chill that had gripped her stomach when Shimmer's horn had started glowing, and she hugged him more tightly. "Besides, fillies usually have stronger magic than colts."
"But still, math-wise, it seems like you should be okay with your males getting into occasional fights."
Twilight's voice interrupted from the doorway. "I think you may be doing your math wrong." The lavender unicorn stepped nervously into the room. "I am so, so sorry about leaving you both for so long..."
"Where the heck have you been, Twilight?" Rainbow snapped, straightening up abruptly. "We should have been done and out of here hours ago! What the heck is wrong?" She'd forgotten momentarily that she was supposed to be pretending everything was okay.
Twilight bit her lip, trotting up to them and hopping onto the bench next to Lero. She hugged him and shared a quick kiss, then looked at Rainbow anxiously. The pegasus sighed, then leaned across her stallion so Twilight could kiss her cheek in greeting. "It's much more complicated than I'd expected," the unicorn began, "there was somepony raising a fuss, and then it turned out there were... other complicating factors. The Mayor had to do a full investigation, witness interviews, everything, and I volunteered to help." She bit her lip again and it all came out in a rush, "I thought, well, it would be a good idea for Lero to have somepony in the investigation on his side, even though it turned out there already was one, and then it turned out to be a good thing I was involved after all, so I was rushing and trying to get everything together so I could get back to you, and..."
"Take a breath, Twilight," Lero interjected. He put his arm around Twilight's shoulders, showing the unicorn that even though Rainbow was a little miffed with her, he wasn't. "You're leaving a lot out. You mentioned complicating factors? What were they?"
Twilight took a deep breath to calm herself, then began more slowly. "There was... a standing order. When the Princess granted you resident's rights, she left an order with the Mayor that if you were involved in any major incidents, she was supposed to do a full investigation and then inform the Crowns of the results before passing any official sentence." Rainbow growled, feeling a rush of protective anger, and the unicorn evidently noticed it, because she waved her forehoof in negation. "It's standard, Rainbow Dash! Every immigrant of unusual species has the same stipulation! It's just a one-time thing, just to make sure there's no danger to anyone, the immigrant included. The first time he's involved in something serious there's an investigation, and if it turns out that there was no serious danger then the order is rescinded. The intent is to make sure the immigrant is treated fairly, since the local authorities have to clear the sentence with the Crowns. I should have already known about it, because Spike has the same order, but it completely slipped my mind."
Rainbow ground her teeth. "But this isn't something serious, Twilight! Not by a long shot!"
Twilight sighed. "No, it isn't. But somepony made a big fuss about it, and that pretty much automatically made it a major incident."
The pegasus snarled. "Was it Shimmer? I swear to Celestia she's gonna lose teeth over this..."
"No, no, it wasn't Shimmer!" Twilight leaned across Lero to put a restraining hoof on Rainbow. "Shimmer's been extremely apologetic and would very much like the whole thing to be done with. She sincerely wants to apologize to Lero and forget about the whole thing, and she's confused and upset about this turning into such a fiasco."
The human frowned. "Wait, so the one who was actually in the fight with me isn't making the fuss? Who is, then?"
"It's an earth pony mare named Honeydew. She started claiming you started the whole thing, that you tried to seriously hurt both Shimmer and Chuckwagon, that you were a danger to Ponyville and Equestria, and was trying to make you sound like the next Nightmare Moon." Twilight rolled her eyes. "You'd have thought you snuck into her house and painted a clown face on her cutie mark or something, honestly, it was ridiculous."
Rainbow's jaw dropped. "Honeydew's the one making the fuss? What the hay gives her the right to do that? She wasn't even involved!"
Twilight rubbed her face like she had a headache, which she probably did. "She doesn't have that right, actually. One of the other ponies working on the investigation pointed out that she's got some kind of personal grudge, and her testimony's been dismissed, but it was enough to get the investigation started, and once that happened, well..." The unicorn shrugged helplessly.
"She's got a grudge all right," Rainbow grumbled. "Either against me or against him, I'm not sure which." She shook her head. "Sounds like you've had nearly as lousy an evening as we have."
"No kidding," Lero said. He turned to face Twilight and put both arms around her, hugging her close. The unicorn relaxed visibly in the embrace, her eyes drifting closed for a moment. She made a happy noise, raising Rainbow's spirits a bit.
"Thank you both for understanding; I was afraid you'd be more upset about me leaving you alone here for so long."
"Nah," Rainbow said, stretching out the wing she had hugging Lero's shoulders and brushing her pinions reassuringly against Twilight's back. "I mean, I was kinda ticked, yeah, but you had good reasons. Sorry I snarled at ya."
Lero chuckled, gently massaging the nape of Rainbow's neck. "Reason soothes the savage beast."
Rainbow snorted. "Oh, I'm the savage beast here? I guess that makes me the one who was choking Shimmer earlier, huh?" She poked the human's side playfully with a forehoof. "Who's the savage beast now, pony-strangler?"
"Rainbow!" Twilight cried, "Good heavens, I don't think this is the time to say things like that to him!"
"It's okay, Twilight," Lero interjected. "I can take a little ribbing. Besides, I'm sure there are some ponies she'd like to strangle if she had hands." The pegasus grinned at the jibe, sticking her tongue out at him. Still, he'd tensed up a bit, and Rainbow wryly reflected that her habit of blurting out the wrong thing hadn't deserted her. She rubbed his back with her wing in apology, and he cleared his throat. "So, er, what was the outcome of the investigation?"
"Ah. Yes." Twilight fidgeted. "The other investigator and I collected all the statements, presented them to the Mayor, and the Mayor wrote out a final report and had me get Spike to send it to the Princess." She fidgeted again. "I... may have included my own letter along with it. And it may have been a teensy bit annoyed."
Lero's eyebrows climbed. "You wrote an annoyed letter to the Princess? Princess Celestia?" He sounded shocked, almost disbelieving. Rainbow could feel the tension building in the human's body.
"Well... yes. Almost angry, actually." Twilight flushed. "I... was a bit upset. I'd spent hours gathering information on something that shouldn't even have been an issue, and I knew that the two of you were probably worried and that was upsetting me too. Plus, I don't think she realizes how badly she frightened you; I certainly didn't until our conversation a couple of weeks ago! That conversation's been bothering me since then, and, well, I took the opportunity to mention it." The unicorn bit her lip. "I was angry at the situation, upset that I'd had to leave you both alone for so long, and I'm afraid that feeling made its way into my letter. Spike mentioned how it sounded after I sent it." She sighed. "I wish he'd said something sooner! I could have revised it, or something..."
Lero took a deep breath. "So, am I in trouble?"
Twilight blinked, and shook her head. "Oh! No, no, you're not in trouble. But, um... the Princess is here. She wants to talk to you after the investigators speak to you."
His eyes got wide. "The Princess is here? Now? Uh..."
"Hey." Rainbow put her forehoof against Lero's cheek, gently turning his face toward her. "Don't worry. The Princess isn't gonna hurt you, okay?" His face looked anxious, but he drew a deep breath and nodded. "Besides, me and Twilight'll be right there with you, and we won't let anything happen to you. Right, Twi?"
"Absolutely." The unicorn nodded firmly. "Princess Celestia didn't say anything about wanting to speak to you privately, and I have no intention of leaving again."
Lero took another deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment. Rainbow rested her head against his, and on the other side of him Twilight snuggled close, mirroring the motion. "Okay. Thank you, my ladies." Rainbow felt his arm go around her in a quick hug. The human turned to Twilight. "You said the investigators wanted to speak with me?"
The unicorn giggled. "One of them already is!" She tilted her head, pointing at the closed door. "The other one said she'd wait in the hall while I talked to you. I'll go let her in." Twilight hopped down, trotting to the door. Rainbow pulled her wing back against her side; she knew Lero was a little leery about strong, public displays of affection like that. She didn't move, though, staying close to him and keeping her forehoof resting on his knee, lending what support she could.
The door swung open, and Twilight said, "Okay, you can come in now."
There was an amused snort. "That was hardly enough time for anything fun." A golden-eyed unicorn mare with a mint-green coat walked calmly in. "Hey, Fingers."
Rainbow heard Lero chuckle and felt him relax a little. "Hey, Horny. You're the other investigator?"
Lyra stuck out her tongue. "You could call it that. The Mayor knows I'm in the Guard, so I got to 'volunteer.'" She rolled her eyes. "This whole thing is a stupid waste of time, honestly. But let's get this over with." The unicorn sighed, as Twilight trotted back to join Lero and Rainbow on the bench. "Did you intend to hurt Shimmer, Lero?"
Lero blinked at Lyra's serious tone. "No, not at all."
"Okay, Lero," the green mare's voice softened a bit. "I know what happened, so why don't you tell me why. What were you thinking, what were you feeling."
Lero frowned. "Uh, Lyra? Didn't you guys already submit your report? Why are you asking me this now?"
The unicorn gave Twilight a sidelong look. "You weren't supposed to tell him that."
"Oops." Twilight replied, flatly. "You didn't seriously expect me to leave him hanging, did you?" The lavender unicorn hooked a foreleg possessively over the human's shoulder. "I'm not going to keep secrets from him, especially not ones that will keep him scared."
"Atta girl, Twilight," Rainbow said with a grin. She felt a stirring of pride and affection for her herdmate, pleased by the unicorn's actions.
Rather than being angry, a corner of Lyra's mouth quirked in a smile. "Yeah, I'd probably have done something similar in your place." She looked back to Lero. "Well, we don't actually need to. We'd established your actions and probable motive already by talking to ponies who knew you and saw the incident. All I'm actually doing now is giving you a chance to decompress a little by blowing off some steam if you want to. It's a chance to calm down before the Princess talks to you." Rainbow felt a subtle tension in the body she leaned up against, and Lyra blinked. "Wow, Fingers, Twilight wasn't kidding. The Princess really freaks you out that badly?"
The human's reaction hadn't been overt, but Lyra had picked up on it anyway. She'd always been remarkably comfortable around him, even from the very first day. The mint-green mare had been able to read him better than even Rainbow could until she'd started courting him. The pegasus had been a little envious of that ability at the time.
Of course, now she shared that ability. "Yeah," Rainbow said, not making Lero speak, "she scared him really bad. Worse than she probably meant to, I think. He's pretty freaked." She craned her neck around, looking Lero in the eyes. "Are you sure you're okay, big guy? If you don't think you can do it, I'll go find the Princess and tell her for you." That prospect, defying the Princess outright like that, was more than a little frightening for the pegasus, but she'd do it nonetheless.
He smiled at her, laying his hand gently on the forehoof she had resting on his knee. "I'll be okay. Thanks, Dash. I would appreciate having you there, though." He turned his head to glance at Twilight. "Both of you."
Rainbow set her teeth firmly, feeling love surge in her heart. Her stallion needed her right now, there was no way she was going anywhere. "You couldn't drag me away."
"That goes for both of us." Twilight added firmly.
Lyra cocked her head. "Hey, Fingers, want me to stick around too? I mean," she smiled at them, "there's not much room there with you, cozy as that looks, but I can stand, or sit further down on that bench."
Lero gave the mint-colored mare a warm smile. "I appreciate the offer, Horny, but I don't want to keep you up. Besides," he drew a careful breath, "I'm a little worried I might lose my composure, and I'd like the audience for my loss of dignity to be as small as possible."
Rainbow understood that, and from the small nod she gave it seemed Lyra did too. "Fair enough. I wouldn't think less of you for it, but I understand." She cocked her head. "Did you want to try the relaxing-by-explaining thing, or should I go tell the Princess that you're ready?"
"I'll explain, if you like." Lero looked up, searching his memory. "I was arguing with Chuckwagon, trying to get him to leave me alone, when Shimmer shoved me and told me to back off. I was frustrated, mostly because Chuckwagon's been bothering me for a while now, and also a little because Shimmer got in my way and was telling me to back off, when that's what I wanted him to do." He sighed. "I knelt down to talk to her, kinda hoping she'd move so I could get my point through, but she got mad and was looking like she wanted to fight." The human rubbed at his eyes, sighing again. "Then I got stupid and lost my temper. I grabbed her to make my point, mostly because I was tired of being treated like I was harmless and I wanted to show her that I could be dangerous. I wouldn't have actually hurt her."
Lyra snorted. "I wondered how long that would take. You've handled it better than I thought you would, actually. Figured you'd lose your temper long before this, especially with some of the ponies that hassle you at work."
"Wait, what?" Rainbow blurted. "Who's been hassling him?!"
"It's not important," Lero replied, overriding any response from Lyra. Rainbow glared at him for a moment, but he wasn't forthcoming, and she made up her mind right there and then to drop by the spa periodically. She'd put a stop to that nonsense. It had been ages since she'd been in a good fight, anyway. She hadn't even gotten the chance to rough up Shimmer.
Lyra picked up where she'd left off, as though Rainbow hadn't interrupted. "So you were just making a point, then? You never meant to hurt her?"
Lero shook his head. "No, I didn't want to hurt her. Heck, I could see where she was coming from; if someone had been trying to pick a fight with Rainbow or Twilight I might have done the same thing."
"You don't have to protect us, Lero," Twilight interjected quietly.
"Yeah, it's kind of our job to protect you," Rainbow added. "Y'know, when you need it." Still, she knew exactly how he felt, and nuzzled the side of his neck. "I get where you're coming from, though." Even after being with him for months, his slightly odd attitudes and outlook sometimes took her by surprise. Fillies were supposed to keep colts safe. Otherwise, well, there might not be one if she wanted foals.
He hugged both mares again, fiercely, wordlessly, squeezing his eyes shut. "So that's the story, really," he said to Lyra when he opened his eyes again.
Lyra nodded. "Pretty much what I'd thought. Tracks with everything the witnesses who weren't lying said, too." She snorted. "It's also what Twilight and I put in the report, so, you know, there's that." He chuckled, and the unicorn's voice softened. "Are you ready to see the Princess now?"
Rainbow searched the human's face as he bit his lip and nodded. He was tense, frightened, but he was controlling it masterfully. The pegasus resolved to stay close to him, no matter what. She glanced past him at Twilight, and saw a similar determination in her violet eyes. The two mares' eyes met, and they shared a decisive nod.
"All right. I'll go tell her that Twilight and I are done." Lyra started to leave, but paused, half-turned. She glanced back at the human. "Lero, are you sure you don't want me there? If you're genuinely feeling threatened, well, you know about me, right?"
"I do." He smiled at the green unicorn. "Believe me, I sincerely appreciate the offer. I don't think she'll hurt me. Honestly, I'm not sure why I'm so scared, it's stupid and I shouldn't be, and it really doesn't make sense, but I am."
"Okay, if you're sure."
"Yeah." He shifted a bit. "Ladies, mind if I stand up for a moment?"
Rainbow snorted and rolled her eyes. "No, I'm gonna pin you down and not let you up." He laughed, the sound a little strained but genuine. She scooted over a bit to let him stand, and he rose and walked over to Lyra, kneeling next to her so as not to loom.
"Thanks, Lyra, and I mean that sincerely." He extended a hand, fingers folded into a fist, and the unicorn thumped his knuckles lightly with her hoof. "Don't worry. Rainbow and Twilight will take good care of me. You go get some sleep, you look a bit tired."
Lyra grinned, her golden eyes twinkling. "Psh. I could show you tired. Try going through Guard training sometime." She stepped forward to hug the big human. "Okay, I'll go let the Princess know you're ready for her; she'll be with you in a few minutes." She trotted out, as Lero sat back down between his herdmates.
"It'll be okay, Lero," Twilight said, her voice quiet but urgent. "I promise. Look, I know the Princess, better than almost anypony does; she won't hurt you. She feels horrible that you're so frightened of her, and that's part of why she's here now. She never wanted to be feared, and she wants to see if she can make it up to you."
"The Princess is cool, big guy," Rainbow put in. "Seriously, you'll be fine." She spread her wing across his back again, embracing him in a shielding gesture and gently rubbing his shoulders, making sure he knew she was there for him.
Lero chuckled. "I know she won't, Twilight," he turned to Rainbow, "and I know I will, Rainbow. Thank you both for putting up with me, I don't know what's wrong with me today. I wasn't anywhere near this tense last time I met with her."
"Stress and anxiety, most likely," Twilight observed tartly, "Which I'm sure were made worse by having to sit in this room for hours not knowing what was going on."
"Well, it sure didn't help," Rainbow grumbled angrily.
"Rainbow," Lero said, a little reprovingly. His hand rose to her cheek and pulled her face around toward him. He kissed her gently, and Rainbow's eyes drifted slowly closed, the soft movement of his lips against hers and the warmth of his hand on her cheek filling the world for a brief eternity. Normally, a kiss like this sped her heart up, but she suddenly realized that it had already been pounding, probably from adrenaline, and the kiss slowed it down to a more comfortable level. The human's tension had evidently been bleeding over into the pegasus, and a knot in her chest, that she hadn't even realized was there, loosened a bit. The feeling of his hand, warm against her cheek, with his fingers curling around to touch her neck and his thumb brushing the base of her ear, was just as soothing and relaxing as the feel of his lips. It should have been a strange, alien sensation, but it had long since ceased to be such and was instead comfortable, and welcome. The slow, gentle kiss relaxed Lero, too, and he didn't look quite as drawn when their lips separated. "It's okay," he continued when the kiss ended, resting his forehead against hers, "I'm tense, but being scared won't hurt me. I know you're tense, too. Let's both just try to take a deep breath; we'll get through this." He flashed Twilight a smile. "We may have to lean on Twilight a little, though, because I think she's handling things better than either of us."
Twilight giggled. "Of course, I'd be glad to..." She was cut off by the door opening.
The tall, regal form of Princess Celestia stepped into the room, her pastel-hued mane wafting on a ghostly, ethereal breeze. The winged unicorn was just as tall as Rainbow remembered, looming even over Lero's considerable standing height. The human, tall though he was, came up perhaps to the Princess's chin, though Rainbow had never felt that Celestia's presence was particularly overwhelming. She gave the three occupants of the room a kind smile, her light purple eyes gentle. "Ah, good evening, all of you. I understand that the three of you have been put to considerable inconvenience, and I wanted to apologize personally for it." She gave Lero a sad smile. "Especially to you, Lero. Twilight Sparkle told me that I'd frightened you far more than I intended to, and I am deeply sorry for that."
"It's quite all right, Lady. I completely understand." The human's tone was calm, even, and his gaze at the Princess was level and unflinching. Outwardly, he appeared utterly unruffled.
Rainbow knew it was a lie. She'd felt his skin chill, actually chill, when Celestia had entered the room. His back, under her sensitive wing, had actually dropped in temperature, something she'd never known the human to do before. She could also feel tiny, tiny tremors in his body, both against her wing and her side, and his leg under her forehoof was so tense that it shivered. He was terrified, and she regarded him with a certain horrified admiration while a chill coiled in her gut. She'd had no idea he could be this brave; the only time she'd been even close to that scared she'd been curled up in a ball on the ground. Lero, by contrast, was speaking so normally that there was almost no indication as to the degree of fear he was feeling, so intense that Rainbow doubted he could move. She felt fear begin to grip her; the human's terror was so intense that it was communicating itself to his lover. Rainbow was utterly baffled; she had trouble imagining him acting this way, and the example was right there next to her! It was like she was in some strange, horrible dream, where the rules of reality no longer applied.
She shared an unsettled look with Twilight, and saw the same realization on the unicorn's face.
The Princess smiled at the human. "Well, I can't tell you how delighted I am to hear that. From Twilight's letter it sounded like you were terribly afraid of me. I'm pleased to see..." She trailed off, looking quizzically at the unicorn and the pegasus. "Twilight Sparkle? Rainbow Dash? Whatever is the matter?"
Rainbow tossed her head slightly, wordlessly asking her herdmate to speak to Celestia, and rested the side of her head against Lero's to try and soothe the human. She heard his breath, quiet and rapid. His cheek was cold against hers, his ear similarly frigid where hers brushed against it.
"Princess," Twilight said softly, "He's terrified. I've never seen him this frightened, and neither has Rainbow." She stroked his leg with her forehoof like Rainbow had been doing, trying vainly to calm him. "I'm surprised he can even talk, and I doubt he could stand up at the moment." She studied his face, while his gaze stayed fixed on the Princess. "I have no idea why he's so frightened, this doesn't make sense!" She gave Celestia an angry look, demonstrating that the protective impulse that was gripping Rainbow had found purchase in Twilight as well. "What in the world did you say to him, Princess?" The unicorn drew her head back a little bit, her voice taking on a note of chagrin. "I'm sorry, Princess, I don't know what came over me just then..."
"I completely understand, my faithful student." Celestia's voice was quiet, clearly trying not to frighten the human further. She lowered her head a bit, trying not to loom quite so far over Lero's head. "I confess, I'm confused as well. What was it I said that has you so upset, dear human? I promise you, I will not harm you. You are completely safe."
"Nothing, I swear, I'm quite alright, Lady." Lero's voice cracked on the word 'Lady', and he did something curious. The human's body hunched down and turned aside, almost a cringing motion, but he kept his eyes fixed on Celestia. Rainbow felt like her heart had cracked, filling her chest with bewildered pain. The pegasus's protective instincts were screaming at her, every muscle in her body coiling with tension, ready to lash out at anything threatening. She desperately wanted to do something to ease his wrenching fear, but she had no idea what she could do. Part of her mind was pushing the insane idea to attack the Princess, to try to drive her away even though Celestia wasn't doing anything and she'd swat Rainbow like a bug if the pegasus tried anything. The mad impulse still pushed at her, though, and she wondered with growing desperation how long she'd be able to hold it back. Rainbow had always had impulse-control issues, and right now that was a big problem. She wondered if Twilight was having the same problem. Her other impulse was to tuck his head under her wing, try to shield him, but something told her that would be a bad thing to do, and she looked to Celestia in near-panic, hoping against hope that the Princess could help.
The winged unicorn's eyes widened in shock, and an expression of sudden understanding washed across her face. "That mannerism... Lero, you keep calling me 'Lady' instead of 'Princess' or 'Celestia.' Why is that?"
"I... I don't know, Lady." The human's voice came out in a harsh whisper, though he clearly was trying to force it to sound normal, and a visible shudder ran through his body.
Celestia's eyes widened further. "Give me just a moment, please," the winged unicorn said, keeping her voice soft and gentle. She concentrated for a moment, and the pastel hues washed away from her mane and tail along with the ethereal breeze that supported them. It left her with long, pink hair in place of her the flowing pastel rainbow, hanging long and straight rather than wafting about her.
Lero relaxed instantly. The change was startling. Rainbow felt his chill fade, his tremors still, and his muscles relax, all in the space of an instant. She drew her head away to look at him, keeping her hoof on his knee and her wing across his back, just in case, but she saw confusion on his face instead of fear. Confusion that mirrored her own feelings. "I... wait, why do I feel better now? And why was that so much stronger than the last time I spoke to you?" His voice was baffled, but it was normal, the trembling fear absent. The pegasus shared an incredulous look with Twilight, who looked just as startled. Lero looked down at his shaking hands, turmoil and alarm in his expression. "This... this doesn't make any sense, why in the world would I be that scared of your hair?"
"It makes perfect sense," Celestia said grimly. "It also tells me exactly how you got to our world from yours, something that has puzzled me for some time."
Rainbow felt a chill at the implication. That might have been the scariest thing Celestia could possibly have said. If she knew how he'd gotten here, it might mean she would know how to send him back. She wrestled that fear back, packing it away and hiding it. He didn't need that from her right now, he needed her to be strong. Oh, she hoped he hadn't realized what the Princess had just said, though.
He blinked. "It does?"
"It does?" Rainbow echoed incredulously, fighting to keep her voice from cracking. "How did he get here, then?" Stupid, Rainbow, stupid, you shouldn't have said that.
Celestia shook her head, long pink mane swaying with the motion. "Better that you don't know. Suffice it to say that I now know that he has missing memories, and he suffered true horrors in that lost time. I am surprised he is still sane."
"I did?" The human's voice was utterly confused, and he shared a look first with Rainbow, then with Twilight. "What memories? What horrors? Does this explain why my clothes were so torn up?"
Rainbow was wondering the same thing. Lero had been found by Fluttershy near the Everfree Forest, his clothes torn and bloodstained and his skin badly scratched by what appeared to be thorns, though the human recalled nothing of how it had happened. The area of the forest she'd found him in had been devoid of thorny plants, and nopony had ever been able to puzzle out how the human had acquired those scratches.
"Yes it does," Celestia said grimly. "It means you were taken from your home, and escaped from your captors. It also means that Luna and I have some matters to look into in order to ensure these creatures are kept away."
"What creatures are you talking about, Princess?" Twilight asked.
"As I said, better that you don't know, my faithful student. You have heard of creatures that know when somepony thinks of them, as though their names were being called?"
Twilight blinked. "Well, yes, I remember running across creatures like that in the Book of Baneful Beasts and Barbarous Biologicals. The ones I know of are all extinct, though."
"Of course they are." Celestia smiled wryly. "If they weren't, it wouldn't be safe to mention them in a book, would it?"
Twilight's mouth opened to refute the statement, then shut again. "Oh. Yes, that makes sense," she said after a pause.
Lero cleared his throat. "Um... Princess? If these creatures know when someone thinks about them... haven't they already been alerted? You're thinking about them now, aren't you?"
Celestia's smile turned hard, and something dangerous glinted in her eye that made Rainbow suddenly understand how she'd frightened Lero... and made her glad that she'd managed to resist the urge to attack the winged unicorn. "They know better than to follow my thoughts. I taught them that lesson quite thoroughly."
"Ah." He blinked, but didn't act frightened by the Princess's manner, which gave Rainbow a tremendous feeling of relief.
"You feeling better, big guy?" She asked, nuzzling his neck just below his ear and making him twitch. She knew he was a little ticklish there. That reaction, that ticklish twitch, told her that he wasn't as tense as he had been moments ago, and brought a smile to her lips and further relief to her heart.
"I am, Rainbow, much better. Thanks." His arm went around her neck, hugging her for a moment. "Princess, do these creatures know I'm here? Do you think they're looking for me?"
Celestia looked grave. "I hope not, to both questions. As I said, I taught them not to come here, and my sister gave them the same lesson, only more... firmly. Luna does not care for those beings." She looked at the human searchingly. "I may be able to ease your fear of me, muffle those hidden memories that are causing it. Doing so may make it harder to identify your tormentor, should it appear, though. Would you like me to try?"
He nodded. "Yes, I would." A sigh. "I don't like being frightened of you, Princess. You seem like a decent pony, and I don't think you deserve that."
"Very well. Look into my eyes, please." The human complied, looking into the Princess's light purple eyes while a soft golden glow enfolded her long horn.
It didn't last long, and Rainbow didn't feel a thing. She glanced over at Twilight, to find that her friend was watching with a fascinated expression on her face, her eyes slightly unfocused. This must be something she hadn't seen before.
Celestia stood up straight again, the glow in her horn fading. "There. How do you feel?"
Lero blinked. "Um, did you do anything?"
The Princess chuckled. "Well, let's see, shall we?" She let out a breath with an air of relief, and her long pink mane and tail became infused with other colors once again, the ethereal breeze returning to make the long hair drift about her white-coated body. "There. Goodness, it's been a long time since I had to suppress that. Are you frightened?"
Lero shook his head. "No, Princess, not at all." His hand rose to rub his forehead. "Gads, this is confusing. And completely irrational. How on earth could I have been that frightened by your hair? I felt like my heart was going to stop!"
"Let us hope you never have to find out," Celestia said softly.
Lero shuddered. "I can get behind that. Thank you, Princess; it's a relief for me not to fear you."
The winged unicorn smiled. "It is my pleasure. Being feared is little more pleasant than feeling that fear yourself."
He paused, changing gears. "Ah, so, what penalties do I face for, er, that fight?"
Celestia laughed, the sound silvery and amused. "Ah, I'd nearly forgotten why I was here!" She gave him a cheerful grin. "If you'd stayed silent, I might have forgotten entirely. You'll have to pay a small fine to the town," she named a modest amount, a tiny bit more than Rainbow had anticipated, but still not much, "and tomorrow you will have to publicly apologize to Shimmer, and accept her apology in turn. Does that sound unreasonable?"
"No, not at all. It's less than I was expecting, honestly."
Rainbow swatted the back of his head lightly with her wing. "It's exactly what I told you was gonna happen, doofus!" She stuck her tongue out at him, delighted that he was back to normal even though she was a little shocked at the speed of his recovery. The Princess's facility with magic even outstripped Twilight's.
He grinned at her unrepentantly, and she felt the last of her tension unwind. "I know. I just figured you were trying to keep me calm." Rainbow stifled a snicker. That was pretty close to the mark, actually. She didn't fight the mild, happy feeling that she always felt when he showed how well he knew her. The human turned back to Celestia. "It doesn't seem like much of a punishment, though. Isn't Shimmer angry?"
The Princess shook her head. "No, she isn't. Even if she were, that is why you will exchange apologies tomorrow, to dissipate any lingering ill feelings. Don't think of it as a punishment, because it isn't; it's simply a rebuke, to hopefully emphasize that fighting in the streets is unacceptable. It isn't supposed to be painful. The penalty is mild because the offense was mild, and only a small rebuke is called for." She smiled gently at the three herdmates. "Was there anything else?"
"No, Princess, and thank you," Twilight said. "We all appreciate what you've done for us."
"I'll say," Lero said, saving Rainbow from having to say it. The pegasus flashed her stallion a grin which was quickly swallowed by a yawn.
"Oh, wow," Rainbow observed once she could speak again, "it's been a heck of a long day. I'm ready for bed, how about you guys?"
"I certainly am. Are you staying with us tonight, Twilight?"
The unicorn nodded. "Yes, if that's all right. I sent Spike to your house when I sent him to bed, he should be in his spare basket."
"Yeah, that's fine," Rainbow replied. It meant no fun in bed tonight, since the spare basket was at the foot of the bed she and Lero (and frequently Twilight) shared, but the pegasus was a little too tired for that tonight anyway.
The human, the pegasus, and the unicorn bid the Princess farewell and good night, and headed home for a good night's rest. |
Xenophilia | Breaking Taboos | Lero took the next day off, at both Rainbow and Twilight's urging. They both felt it would be a better idea for him to take a day or so to get over that emotional gut-kick and get himself on a more even keel.
He met with Shimmer early in the morning in the market square, the unicorn mare proving to be more than happy to delay her breakfast in order to make her apology for their fight the previous day. Rainbow watched her like a hawk, ready to beat the hay out of the gray-coated unicorn at a moment's notice, but the apology she offered was sincere and heartfelt, as was Lero's. Darn it, I kinda wanted to get into a fight. Shimmer had disappointed her on that front, though, proving to be thoroughly personable and quite willing to forgive. Both she and Lero expressed their embarrassment over losing their tempers, and went on their way.
The human wanted to take a walk, just to wander and clear his head a bit, and to Rainbow's regret she couldn't go along. She had something to do that she'd been putting off for far too long now, something that had to be done, and soon. She had to...
(Even the thought gave her a mental shudder)
...Build her weather schedule.
It was the downside of being Ponyville's head weathermare; she had to do the weather scheduling each season, to make sure everything stayed balanced and working, and make sure they didn't wind up with droughts, or storms, or floods. She'd missed a small shower last season and had to upgrade to a major downpour on the next storm in order to balance out, something that really hadn't looked good to her bosses in Cloudsdale, so she needed to be sure to get everything right for this coming season. If she screwed up again, she could be looking at an audit, and besides that Rainbow hated screwing up. She hated everypony knowing she'd screwed up even more, so she really needed to get this done.
She had to fly up to her house to get her reference material, and she toyed briefly with the idea of staying up there so her lovers didn't see her struggling with her work. She dismissed the idea almost immediately; much as she'd rather not have them see her working and frustrated, she still liked being around them, and she wanted to be nearby in case Lero wanted to talk about something. Rainbow pulled out some saddlebags and started filling them with her weather references, a collection of big, incredibly boring volumes of statistics, charts, and maps covering the way Ponyville and the surrounding area were supposed to be managed, tossed them into her bags, and slung the now-heavy pack over her hips.
The pegasus glided back down to the home she and Lero shared, noting that it was still empty, so he and Twilight were likely still out walking. That was a good thing; she'd been trying to give them a little more alone-time lately. Rainbow and Lero had spent a lot of time alone together when they'd first started seeing each other in a romantic context, and the bond that had resulted from that was strong as steel. She hoped the human and the unicorn would be able to forge a similar bond.
Rainbow dumped all her books on the floor in one of the lesser-used rooms, shoving them around to make a clear space in the middle, and quickly grabbed an inkwell, a quill, and some paper to work on. Sighing heavily, she hovered over the scattered books and landed in the clear spot she'd made, flipped open a book on humidity tables, took the short quill in her mouth, and dragged over some paper to start work.
She'd been working for about fifteen minutes (and had crumpled up and thrown away three useless pages of work after realizing too late that she'd forgotten something or made a mistake) when she heard the door open.
"...Except there were actually four of them instead of three!" Twilight exclaimed as she and Lero stepped inside.
The human chuckled, and Rainbow could hear him kick off the shoes he wore as the door closed. "That must have come as a bit of a surprise!"
"Oh, it certainly did, for everypony involved!" They both laughed.
"Rainbow!" Lero called, "You here?" She felt a curious sense of relief at hearing that. At knowing he'd come home again. The thought of home in conjunction with her stallion kindled a cold little fear, and she quickly stamped it back again.
"Yeah, I'm back here." Rainbow turned a page, rubbing her forehead with a forehoof as she stared at the column of figures and notations. Aw man. They're gonna hassle me about this. I just know it.
"You okay, Rainb-..." He stepped around the corner and paused, seeing the cyan pegasus sitting in the middle of the floor surrounded by books, with ink stains on her lips from her pen and on her forehooves from moving her papers before they were dry. His hand crept up to cover his mouth, a gesture she'd seen before that either meant he was hiding a smile or wasn't sure what to say.
Twilight was right behind him, and the unicorn made a strangled noise and tried to stifle her grin behind a raised forehoof, very much like what Lero was doing.
Rainbow huffed. "Don't even start with me, Twilight."
"Oh, no, no, I wouldn't think of it."
"I know this makes me look like a total egghead, but I'm not."
"Of course not." Twilight's eyes danced. "You're just surrounded by reference material, covered in ink stains. Oh, and you like to roleplay as a heroine from one of the classics."
Rainbow flushed. "I'm not. That last one's your fault anyway." She sighed again. "Stupid weather charts."
"Is that what those are?" Lero asked, cocking his head in curiosity and leaning over to look at one of the open books.
"Yeah. It's coming up on the new season, so I gotta make a new schedule. Put it off way too long," like I usually do, "so I've got to get 'em done in the next couple of days, or I'm in serious trouble."
"Interesting." He eyed the scattered books and papers carefully, and started delicately making his way through, stepping on isolated clear spots. Rainbow had a tiny pang of conscience; she'd basically taken over the entire room without a second thought and made it difficult for anyone who didn't have wings to navigate. Lero's relatively long legs and bipedal stance made it surprisingly easy for him to get through the obstacle, though; most ponies didn't realize how good his balance actually was, and it was much better than the topheavy look of his body suggested. He made it to the center space where Rainbow sat without much difficulty, and knelt to kiss her in greeting.
"Woah, hold up!" She interrupted, pulling her head back. "I know I've got ink on my lips, dude. It's from this stupid pen." She gestured to her quill, lying on the page she'd been working on. She noted in dismay that the stupid thing had leaked, spreading a big inkspot over her work. Evidently it hadn't been dry after all. Argh, I have to start over again!
"You say that like it's going to stop me." He smiled, leaning in closer until his lips met hers. Rainbow sighed a little, closing her eyes and letting some of her frustration melt away into the kiss. This always felt so nice; relaxing when she was tense, arousing when she was in the mood, warm and intimate when she was calm. She couldn't imagine a world without these kisses in it.
Twilight giggled. "Well, I'm not going to try threading the maze," she observed. There was a flash of light, and the unicorn appeared sitting next to Rainbow, her body pressed against the pegasus's in order to fit in the remaining space. "Good thing I've got an alternative!" Twilight pressed a kiss of her own on Rainbow's cheek, her lips lingering a trifle longer than they usually did. It felt... surprisingly good to have Twilight snuggled against her side, and Rainbow had to admit that she enjoyed the feel of that soft kiss on her cheek. She'd gotten a lot closer to Twilight in the last few weeks, sharing intimate moments with her stallion and her friend had built a stronger bond of trust and affection than any she'd ever shared with anyone before, other than Lero.
Impulsively, Rainbow twisted her head around and returned Twilight's kiss, except she placed hers on the unicorn's lips instead of on her cheek. The kiss was light, quick, almost nervous, but it actually felt really nice.
Twilight blinked in surprise, her eyebrows climbing. She didn't look upset, though. Quite the opposite. "Did you mean to do that, Rainbow?"
"Yeah." The pegasus fidgeted nervously. She stammered a bit. "I, uh, y'know, uh, it... just felt right." She bit her lip. "I still don't... I mean, I'm still into guys, but, y'know, you're cool, and..."
"I understand, Rainbow," Twilight interrupted gently. She leaned forward for another quick kiss, on the lips like the one the pegasus had offered, and Rainbow didn't draw back. "Thank you. I haven't been completely sure you were comfortable with me being in this relationship before now."
Rainbow shrugged, relieved that Twilight understood. It wasn't really attraction that had motivated that kiss... (she didn't think it was, anyway... although it did feel a little bit like it) but she did feel a strong, intimate connection with the lavender unicorn. She wondered if maybe someday that would grow into something else; she'd never felt this way about another filly before. It was a little bit confusing. "I was. I just wasn't really sure how to show it, and, well, I'm a little more comfortable now."
Twilight giggled again. "That's almost exactly what Lero said when I asked him about it."
"It is?" Rainbow looked up at Lero in surprise, who was still kneeling in front of her.
He shrugged. "More or less. She asked me about it, what, about two weeks ago?" He looked to Twilight for confirmation and received a nod from the unicorn in return. "She was worried that you didn't actually want her in our relationship. I told her that you were happy with it, but that you were generally more comfortable showing your feelings than telling someone about them, and you weren't sure how to do that without looking like you were making advances that you actually weren't."
Rainbow grinned, feeling a quiet rush of pleased happiness. She loved it when he showed how well he knew her. She knew it was a little self-centered of her, but it still delighted her that someone she cared about could know her that well, and paid enough attention to her to know what she was thinking. Although, to be completely honest, she wasn't a hundred percent sure she hadn't been making an advance, there, and from Twilight's smile it looked like the unicorn was aware of that.
"Well, would you like us to help out?" Twilight asked brightly, looking at the books scattered around.
"Yeah, we'd be glad to," Lero put in. "I mean, at the very least I can scribe for you; I write faster and neater than you do. Neater than Twilight does, too." The unicorn stuck her tongue out at him playfully.
Oh, man, is that ever tempting. They probably didn't know anything about weather scheduling or proper humidity balance or any of that stuff, but they were both way smarter than she was and would probably pick it up fast.
Still, though... "Nah, I got it." She smiled at both of them, noting as she did so that they both had inkspots on their lips now. I warned 'em, she thought with a mental giggle. "I mean, it'll take me a bazillion hours and I may wind up asking you guys for help later when I get all frustrated, but I want to at least get it started."
"You sure, Rainbow?" Lero asked. "Seriously, I don't think either of us would mind helping."
"I know you wouldn't." Rainbow leaned forward to kiss him again, letting the last of her accumulated frustration wash away as her lips caressed his. "I got it, though."
"Okay, then, if you're sure. Want us to leave you alone?" There was that chill again. That fear at the thought of him leaving her alone. She fought it back, fought to box it away where it wouldn't show.
The pegasus shook her head. Her reply was a little hasty. "You don't have to leave the house or anything. Heck, it's your house! Uh, you'd probably be more comfortable somewhere else, though." She gestured sheepishly to the books covering the floor.
Lero snorted. "Yeah, probably. Okay, tell you what, we'll go hang out over there," he jerked a thumb toward the next room, where the couch and several chairs resided, "and you can just call for us if you need. That okay?"
"Sure!" Rainbow exclaimed brightly. They'd probably be a bit of a distraction, but she vastly preferred having them around. Besides, they were often either funny or interesting to listen to.
"All right, Rainbow Dash," Twilight said, nuzzling her neck. "We'll get out of your way. Don't work too hard!"
The pegasus chuckled, watching Lero make his way carefully out of the mess. "As if. Thanks for sticking around."
"Glad to, Rainbow Dash," Twilight said with a smile, before she teleported herself out of Rainbow's pile of references.
Rainbow went back to work, her herdmates' cheerful conversation forming a calming backdrop. She mostly tuned them out, listening with half an ear while she shuffled through books and papers, until Twilight's voice caught her attention.
"Hey, Lero? Mind if I ask something?" The unicorn's tone was a little tentative, which was what had shifted her voice to the front of Rainbow's mind.
"Don't mind at all, Twilight. Go ahead." The corner of Rainbow's mouth quirked at the response. Yeah, Twi, like he's ever said he wouldn't answer a question.
"Well, we're at home, we're not planning on going anywhere, and you, me, and Rainbow Dash are the only ones here, right?"
"Unless someone's hiding, of course," he said in a dry tone. Rainbow snickered. She pictured Twilight's eye-roll in her head, and glanced over her shoulder through the door to see the unicorn doing exactly what she'd expected.
"Well, yes, barring that." Twilight tilted her head to the side. "I was just curious: why are you wearing your clothes?"
He blinked, and reached up to scratch his head. "I'm honestly not sure if that's a question or a suggestion."
"He thinks you're asking if he wants to have sex, Twi." Rainbow called through the door.
Now it was Twilight's turn to blink. "Oh, no, no, it's just a question. I mean, I certainly wouldn't say no, but that's not what I was asking. I realize that you're uncomfortable being nude in public, but, well, we aren't in public. Rainbow and I have both seen you without your clothes, and I was just wondering if you'd be more comfortable if you took them off."
He made a circling gesture with his hand, which Rainbow knew meant he was searching for the proper words. "Well, the thing is... the nudity taboo where I come from is a bit stronger than that." He shrugged. "Besides, what if someone came by? Where's Spike, anyway?"
"Spike left with Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy a couple of hours ago, they're on a trip to Fillydelphia. He really wanted to go, and I had things I needed to do, so I let him go with them." Twilight paused. "I could have sworn I mentioned that this morning."
Lero shook his head. "Not that I recall. I've had a lot on my mind after last night, though, so you may have said something and I just missed it."
Twilight gave him a whimsical smile and reared up on her hind legs to give him a kiss. "I think I could forgive you for that."
"Thanks." He sat down on the couch, and the unicorn hopped up next to him.
"So, you were saying...?" Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow.
Rainbow stifled a giggle. She'd caught on to Lero's attempt to change the subject, but she was wondering if Twilight would too. The pegasus was glad, actually; this wasn't something she'd talked to him about, and she was actually really curious. She knew he basically never took off his clothes except for showers, sex, and sometimes sleep, but she didn't really know why.
"Oh, right." The human rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, to be honest we generally wear clothes pretty much all the time. I mean, what if someone came to the door? I'd have to get dressed really quick to answer it."
"Or, I could answer it for you and tell anyone asking for you that you were busy," Twilight said in a reasonable tone.
"Ah. Yes, that's an option." He rubbed his neck again. "Look, it doesn't have anything to do with you or Rainbow. I'm as comfortable with the two of you as I've ever been with anyone. More comfortable, really." Rainbow smiled at that, a warm, happy feeling settling easily in her chest. She knew that, had known it for a while now, but it was still nice to hear. "It's a cultural thing. I wear my clothes most of the time."
"He even wears his undershorts in bed some of the time!" Rainbow put in, raising her voice so it would carry.
"Is there any particular reason?" Twilight asked. She rested her forehoof on his leg. "I'm not trying to make you uncomfortable, I'm just trying to understand."
"Fair enough." He looked away for a moment, thinking. "Well, where I come from, there's a fairly strong historical link to a culture that, for various reasons, considered the human body a shameful thing, something that should be covered and concealed."
Twilight's eyes widened. "I hope you don't think that! I don't think you have anything to be ashamed about!" She glanced through the door at Rainbow for support.
The pegasus was glad to provide it. "Heck no you don't!" She said firmly. "I think you're really cute with your clothes off, personally. I like seeing you like that."
Twilight flashed Rainbow a grateful smile before turning back to Lero. "So do I!" She poked him in the chest with her forehoof. "Is that the only reason?"
"Well, no." He coughed nervously. "See, part of the result of that attitude is that, when one human sees another without their clothes on, it's something like a sexual signal. It causes reactions ranging from discomfort to arousal, depending on whether the one looking is attracted to whoever they're seeing. There's often a mix; since it's not considered acceptable to be nude in public, it's not unusual to be turned on but be embarrassed about it."
Twilight's brow furrowed. "But... but that doesn't make any sense! I mean, you're born without clothes, how could it be unacceptable to just not be wearing them?"
"Actually, Twilight, I can sorta understand part of that." The unicorn looked at Rainbow incredulously, and the pegasus flushed a little. "Not the shame thing, that sounds crazy to me too. But, uh, seeing him without his clothes on gets me a little warmed up. It usually means we're about to have sex, so, uh, anticipation, I guess?" She shrugged, suppressing a little shiver of delight. She really did like taking his clothes off, seeing more and more of his body revealed while he touched her, kissed her, and then finally having him be completely bare and ready for her... Oh, that was a nice image. She closed her eyes, just for a moment, so she could focus on it better, before shaking it off and trying to go back to her reference book.
Twilight's head tilted a bit. "Oh, that actually is interesting. Huh. I guess it shows how quickly something like that could develop, given the right circumstances." She shook her head. "But it doesn't have to work that way. I mean, I'm nude. So is Rainbow. That isn't making you uncomfortable, is it? You don't get turned on just seeing us without clothes on."
"Well, no. I'm used to seeing ponies wearing nothing but their coats." A flush spread across his cheeks. "Rainbow actually pointed out to me a while back that she can look remarkably sexy when she gets dressed up. So can you."
Rainbow giggled. "I can turn you on without clothes, too."
"That you can," he said with a grin. She felt a little stirring of excitement in her chest and belly, and tried to ignore it. She had work to do, darn it! He was turning her on like mad right now, though. First that casual demonstration of how well he knew her, then a reminder of how it felt to have him close, now a reminder of the fact that he thought she was pretty... She'd never gotten around to taking that last fact for granted, and it often led fun places. She'd notice him regarding her with interest in his eyes, and in response she'd pose a little or change the way she was moving to emphasize the parts of her body that caught his attention. That would make him blush and focus on her more closely, which in turn would make her want to hold his attention more... That sequence of events happened fairly often. It felt a little backwards, but flirting with him like that was just so much fun. Besides, he responded to her in a similar fashion when he caught her checking him out.
"Maybe if you tried just sitting here and talking without your clothes on, it would make you more comfortable with the whole idea," Twilight suggested.
Lero quirked an eyebrow. "Why the sudden insistence, Twilight?"
The unicorn shrugged. "I just think you'd wind up being more comfortable. I mean, the temperature's nice, this couch is soft... there's no real reason to wrap yourself up if you don't have to." She kissed him. "And I promise, you have nothing to be ashamed of."
"I don't know..."
"Ah, c'mon, big guy!" Rainbow said, trying to encourage him. "Feel the air on your skin! It feels nice!" She flapped her wings to create a small breeze, and yelped in dismay as her reference materials scattered. "Woah, wait, come back!"
Lero and Twilight laughed, and Twilight's horn glowed softly as she caught the pieces of paper that had scattered further away and floated them back to where Rainbow was sitting. The pegasus flashed her herdmate a grin. "Thanks, Twilight."
"No problem."
Lero took a slow breath. "So, you really want me to just... what, spend the rest of the day in the nude?"
Twilight shrugged. "If you feel like it. I'm not going to force you to do anything, I just think you might wind up being more comfortable than you expect." She smiled. "We might do a little lovemaking after a little while, if you think that might help relax you."
Lero mirrored Twilight's shrug. "Well, all right. I don't see any reason to make a fuss about it, so I'll go ahead and give it a try." Rainbow watched surreptitiously over her shoulder as the human removed his clothes. He did it in a matter-of-fact way, rather than the slower, more teasing manner that he did sometimes to get her heart pounding, but it was still nice to watch.
He folded his discarded clothing neatly, settled back to the couch, and gave Twilight a little half-smile. "Better?"
She grinned. "Well, that's up to you. Thank you for giving it a chance, though."
"No problem." He closed his eyes for a moment. "There was something I'd been meaning to ask you about, what was it..."
"Does it have something to do with clothes?"
Lero shook his head. "No, something you said yesterday." He rubbed his forehead. "Oh! Right! I was asking about stallions getting into fights, and you mentioned that I was doing my math wrong. What did you mean by that?"
Twilight blinked, her brow furrowing for a moment before her expression cleared. "Oh, yes, I remember that. Well, look at it this way, do you remember when Rainbow was in heat?"
He nodded. "Yeah."
Rainbow shivered a bit. That had been unbelievable. For the first time in her life, she was actually looking forward to the next time she was in season. There were a few more months left to go, she thought, and she was planning on asking him to take a holiday for that week. The whole week.
"Do you remember how long it lasted?"
Lero nodded again. "Six days, if I'm remembering right."
"That's about normal. It happens about twice a year if you're not nursing or already pregnant, so a mare has about two weeks out of the year that she's fertile. Following me so far?"
He raised an eyebrow. "You haven't left me in the dust quite yet, no."
Twilight blushed. "Sorry. I'm trying to be as complete as I can, because I'm not sure what you already know and what you don't. Well, during that week, if she wants to have a foal, she needs to copulate at least three times in order to guarantee pregnancy."
Rainbow's head jerked up. "Hey, hold on! I thought once was enough? You get the seed watered, then the heat fades away and that's how you know you're pregnant?"
Twilight frowned. "Good heavens, are they still teaching that in Cloudsdale? Once works sometimes, it gives between a thirty and fifty percent chance of pregnancy, depending on when in the heat cycle it is. Three or four gives you the best chance, on the order of ninety percent." The unicorn shook her head. "And no, having an egg fertilized doesn't make the estrus state go away, that's an old mare's tale."
"Oh." Rainbow blinked. "Wow, didn't know that. I figured after the first time we did it and that feeling came back, I was in the clear."
Twilight chuckled. "You were 'in the clear' anyway. I told you, Rainbow, it's not possible for him to get you pregnant." She glanced around, suddenly furtive. "Not without some form of magical assistance, anyway."
Lero looked surprised. "Oh? How do you mean?"
Twilight bit her lip. "Well... I've been doing some research and corresponding with Princess Luna. She's amazing at transfiguration and polymorph magic, and there may be a few ways to employ partial or full transmogrification to allow you to have foals with us, if any of us wanted to." She hesitated, looking at him anxiously. "I didn't want to do a full transformation; it felt, well, wrong to me to even suggest transforming you just for that, and it felt like denying an important part of who you are, so I was looking for a way to affect only the germ cells. I wanted to be sure it would work before I even presented it as an option, that's the only reason I haven't mentioned it; I still haven't got the details of it ironed out, so I was keeping it to myself."
The human frowned. "Er... okay, this is a strange question, but what species would they be?"
"Ponies," Twilight replied. She sighed. "Actually, with the current version of the spell, they'd probably be duplicates of their mother, with little or no genetic material from you, which isn't what I was aiming for at all. It's one of the reasons I haven't mentioned it; it's a long way from done."
Lero looked a little blank. "Huh. I hadn't even considered that as an option. It's... something I'd have to think about."
Rainbow was feeling conflicted, too. She didn't want kids, didn't want to have to take care of kids. She certainly didn't want to have to deal with the effect it would have on her body; she'd lose months of training and exercise time, not to mention being hideously out of shape when she got back to it. Having to look after them would eat deeply into her free time, as well. This was something she'd have to talk to Lero and Twilight about, probably each separately.
Twilight shook her head. "Anyway, all of that's beside the point. Getting back to your question... Take a single, very small herd, one stallion and four mares, who are, say, running a farm out by themselves in the prehistoric era, when these societal reflexes would have formed. When they go into heat, in order to guarantee that they each get a foal, he has to... oh, I don't like the word 'service', it sounds so exploitative, but it fits in this context... each of them at least three times in that six-day period, which is only two a day. Not terribly strenuous."
Lero nodded. "I think I'm following you." He was actually blushing a bit, his skin turning pinkish on his cheeks and neck. It was a lot more obvious with his clothes off. "Ah, is it normal for a group to have that happen all at once? I didn't notice any kind of... unusual behavior when Rainbow was, er, is 'in season' the proper term?"
Twilight giggled. "It is, and yes, it's normal. Rainbow Dash used to spend so much time off by herself that she never really synchronized with Ponyville's cycle; she's still on Cloudsdale time, or she was." The unicorn looked over at Rainbow, who ducked her head guiltily and tried to pretend that she'd been working instead of getting distracted. She heard Twilight stifle a giggle. "She's been spending a lot more time on the ground, around the other ponies here in town, since she started living with you. This next cycle may not be fully synched up, but the one after that likely will be. The town generally takes a week-long holiday, because it's a rather uncomfortable experience when you don't want foals, and most mares prefer to keep to themselves when it hits. Plus, the ones that do want foals tend to be... occupied... during that time period."
"I do remember that holiday," the human observed pensively.
Twilight giggled. "You probably remember how Rainbow acted that week, too."
Rainbow laughed too. "I got a little pushy."
He rubbed his chin. "You were a bit... voracious. Not that I minded." The pegasus laughed again.
Twilight cleared her throat. "Right. Getting back to your original question, let's take that same situation, a group isolated and taking care of itself in primitive conditions, which means foals are needed to help take care of the chores and to keep the group going, and make it a bit larger. Eight mares, two stallions, not an unusual ratio. If one of the guys is hurt when that week hits, either from a fight of from some other cause..." She shrugged, "Then the other one has to copulate at least four times a day for six days in order to ensure maximum population growth, which a primitive group often needed to keep their numbers up. More, sometimes; it's not uncommon for heat to last only five days, so he'd need to make sure he got them taken care of in time. Plus there could be arguments, since they'd all be feeling the way Rainbow was."
"Ah. I see. Yes, that is a bit... strenuous. Not impossible, but..."
Twilight licked her lips in a quick motion. "Yes, it would be... strenuous." She shrugged. "And, well, completely apart from mathematics, no filly likes seeing her stallion get hurt." She leaned up close against him, closing her eyes as she brushed slow, gentle kisses across his lips, her foreleg embracing his chest. The sight of it made Rainbow's heart rate pick up a bit, seeing her stallion nude and being gently kissed and embraced by her herdmate.
Lero's flush was darker when Twilight pulled away again, spreading down his neck to his chest. She nuzzled him softly on the side of his neck, just below his ear, a spot Rainbow knew he liked. "We can get a little protective when we think our guy's in trouble," the unicorn whispered, kissing the human's neck softly. "I know I was badly upset by how frightened you were last night. It was probably worse for Rainbow Dash."
"It was... pretty bad." Rainbow admitted, trying to pitch her voice loud enough that the rest of her herd could hear it from where they were on the couch. "I couldn't figure out what to do. I was actually pretty close to going after the Princess a couple of times." That uncertain fear tried to rise again, but it quickly subsided. Rather than being frightened, Lero was getting more and more intimate with Twilight over there on the couch, as the unicorn's forehoof rubbed his chest in little circular motions, moving slowly down toward his belly. It made it hard for the echoes of that feeling to find purchase in Rainbow; it kept getting dislodged by happiness and a slow, gradual arousal.
"That made you tense up," Twilight said quietly, still rubbing her hoof slowly against the human's chest. It was a pretty clear gesture, and the human didn't move to stop her.
Lero shifted a little. "I... the idea of either of you getting hurt upsets me," he said softly. "I know you can both take care of yourselves, better than I can in all honesty, but still."
Rainbow cocked her head. "You haven't fussed when I crashed doing stunt practice." He'd actually been pretty good at helping her nurse her bruises and scrapes.
He shrugged. "Of course not. It's something you love doing. I'd never try to take that away from you, but it doesn't mean I like seeing you get hurt." Rainbow felt another flood of happiness and love. He loved her for who she was, and he was willing to let her be who she was. She couldn't imagine how she could be luckier.
"It occurs to me that this set of reflexes could potentially present a problem," Lero observed, trying to keep his voice steady as Twilight's caresses got more intimate. "Something like, say, if I see one or both of you being threatened, and I step in because that's my reflex, and that makes you respond because now it's me being threatened..." He trailed off, and Rainbow bit her lip. That... could prove to be a problem at some point.
"We can worry about that later. You're getting tense again," Twilight observed. "Here, let me see if I can help you relax a little." She kissed the hollow of his throat, then continued to trail a line of kisses down his chest and belly. Her forehoof slid down his body, stroking his groin gently for a moment before hooking over his thigh and pulling his legs slightly apart.
"I'm not that ten-" he started to say, before the unicorn's head dropped down to his lap and her lips brushed against the head of his penis. His breath left him in a rush, and his body twitched in surprise. She kissed his member again, a smile pulling the corners of her mouth up, then licked, her tongue carefully caressing both orbs before wandering up his stiffening shaft.
They suddenly had Rainbow's full attention. She shouldn't be watching, she had stuff to do and she knew it, but whooo... This was worth watching. She had a momentary urge to go over there and join in, but she felt like she should at least pretend to be working, and Twilight deserved some time having Lero to herself.
The unicorn kissed and licked several more times, slowly and lasciviously, looking up into the human's eyes with a smile. His body was responding eagerly, and Rainbow could hear his breath getting harsh and fast. The soft sounds coming from her lovers and the flush on Lero's face and chest sent shivers of vicarious pleasure dancing through Rainbow's body, and she had to suppress the urge to flap her wings again.
Twilight paused, the tip of her tongue teasing the tip of his now-erect member and making him quiver. That was something that Rainbow had never actually tried; she'd run her tongue along the end of it, but hadn't tried lingering like Twilight was doing. Seeing his reaction, she made a mental note to give that a shot herself. Lero worked tremendously hard to bring her pleasure when they were making love together, and she liked finding ways to return the favor.
Rainbow watched avidly as Twilight lingered there, flicking her tongue against the point at the end of the human's member and watching him shiver with delight. "Twilight," he gasped after a few moments, "that feels incredible. Would you like me to take a turn, now?" Rainbow shook her head, smiling. That was him all over.
"Nope!" Twilight said with a grin, pausing in her efforts. "I'm not tense, so I don't need relaxing. Just sit back and enjoy." She lowered her head again, opening her mouth and guiding him into it with her tongue. Twilight's lips closed over his member, and she started bobbing her head slowly up and down, making quiet, wet sucking noises as she worked industriously away. The pegasus could see Twilight's tongue working, too; her mouth occasionally opened a little wider to let it slip out and caress his member further than her lips reached. Rainbow knew from that brief kiss earlier that Twilight's lips were soft, and she hoped it felt as good for him as it looked like it did. The unicorn was really getting into it, Rainbow noticed with a flush, her head moving faster and her cheeks sucking inward on the upstroke. Lero's eyes rolled back a bit in pleasure from Twilight's efforts, but he fidgeted.
Rainbow smiled, making a mental bet with herself. After a short while, watching Twilight's head bob up and down with her eyes closed, she started a mental countdown. And three... two... one... "Hey, Twilight," Lero said, his voice tight. "Hey, stop for a minute." Right when she'd expected him to. The pegasus couldn't keep the smile from growing into a grin, and she felt a pleased warmth in her chest. She knew him as well as he knew her.
Twilight paused midstroke, her lips still fastened around Lero's member, looking up at him with a surprised expression. Okay, that's sexy. Rainbow had no idea why she thought that image was so hot, but something about it made her heart speed up a bit, and made her feel a little damp under her tail. She filed that away in her mind; this was an image she kinda wanted to see again, and she wondered idly how hard it would be to convince them to do that. Lero gently urged Twilight up, and she reluctantly raised her head, letting his penis fall free of her mouth.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Twilight exclaimed. "What was I doing wrong? I thought I'd gotten it down right, I even tried to practice, but I must have missed something!"
"You were doing fine, Twilight," Lero said, stroking her mane.
"He doesn't actually like that a whole lot," Rainbow observed from the other room, figuring it would be easier for her to explain than for him to dance around it.
Twilight frowned at her. "He doesn't? I've seen you do it, though!"
Rainbow chuckled. "Yeah, for just a second or two to get him going. The only time I do that for longer is when we're wrestling and he can't stop me, and even then I've never gotten him to finish in my mouth. He doesn't like it."
"Oh." The unicorn blinked and turned back to Lero. "But you've done that for me! And for Rainbow!"
The human smiled, trailing a finger down Twilight's chest and belly, his hand slipping smoothly between her hind legs. "I know. I don't mind giving it." His hand moved a bit, and Twilight caught her lip in her teeth, her eyes closing for a second as she shivered. Her foreleg mirrored his arm, one forehoof sliding between his legs to rub his groin and testes. "But I don't really like getting it. I know, it's weird." The muscles in his forearm shifted a bit, and he arched his back slightly in response to Twilight's careful rubbing. "Mmm. Besides, I don't do exactly that, you don't have the same... parts." He frowned slightly. "Wait, what do you mean, you practiced?"
Twilight giggled, her face flushing under her lavender coat. "Oh, I was trying to make sure I could do it without my teeth touching and without gagging, so I practiced on a banana a few times, trying to get the motions right." She giggled again. "I nearly got embarrassed once when Spike walked into the kitchen while I was doing it; I had to pretend that I had been eating it." Rainbow strangled a laugh at the mental image that conjured; she could just see Twilight shoving half the banana in her mouth and looking awkwardly guilty while she chewed. That mental image was hilarious. The unicorn leaned forward to kiss her stallion, watching to see if he'd object to it, but he didn't. They kept fondling each other while they kissed, and Rainbow could see Lero starting to tremble a tiny bit. "You know," Twilight said when the kiss broke, "I may not have identical parts, but I do have analogous ones, so it's basically the same thing."
"You mean this?" Lero's hand shifted under Twilight's body, and she gasped, the muscles in her hips tensing. Rainbow guessed he'd just stroked her clitoris, from the strength of her reaction. Maybe he'd tweaked it a little instead.
"Yes, that's the one." Her free foreleg pushed his hand away. "Now quit it, you're breaking my concentration."
Lero raised his eyebrows. "Wouldn't you like me to get you off, too?"
The unicorn shook her head. "You've given me more than I've given you. I owe you a few, and I'd like to give you a little present to help make you comfortable."
He blinked. "No offense, Twilight, but while I'm enjoying this, I'd rather not make a mess on the couch."
Twilight paused in her stroking. "Oh. Right."
Rainbow snickered. She remembered her own solution to that problem. "Hey, Twi, you've got a way to avoid making a mess."
The unicorn looked at her. "I do?" Rainbow rolled her eyes, and pointed a forehoof between her hind legs. "Oh! Right!" She looked back to Lero, catching his eyes with hers. "Would you be okay with that?"
"Well... I mean, if you want to..." His voice was hesitant.
"Aw, c'mon, big guy, let her do something nice for you." Rainbow knew he felt weirdly obligated to make sure his partner came. The pegasus didn't object to that attitude, but if Twilight really wanted to get him to come without getting off herself, she didn't see the problem with it.
He chuckled. "Well, I guess it is a bit silly of me to fuss. If you want to, then go ahead."
"Great!" Twilight grinned. "I'll even take a shot at the way you and Rainbow like to do it." She hooked one forehoof over his far shoulder, using that anchor point to pull herself around in front of him. She straddled him as his arms embraced her, facing him the way Rainbow had come to love doing, and slowly lowered herself. "Oh," she breathed as they came together. "Oh, that fits wonderfully." She shifted a little, coming to rest sitting in his lap, her chest pressed up against his. She looked down at him. "I can feel your heart beating against mine!"
"One of the benefits," he replied with a smile. The human shifted a little, helping Twilight readjust her position to something a little more comfortable for both of them. "Like it?"
"I do, actually. It feels a little strange, but I can see why the two of you enjoy it." The unicorn encircled his neck with her forelegs, her forehooves resting against each other behind his head, holding herself in position while she started to languidly move her hips. "Now just hold still; I'll take care of everything."
Somewhat to Rainbow's frustration, Twilight's long, straight-haired tail was hanging straight down between Lero's legs, obscuring her view of the best part. It was twitching hard, but not moving out of the way. "Hey, big guy, could you move Twilight's tail so I can see?" She chuckled dirtily. "You could try giving it a little tug, too; she might like that."
Lero shook his head. "I swear, you ladies are going to turn me into an exhibitionist." He raised his eyes to meet Twilight's. "You okay with that?"
Twilight nodded. "Sure, I don't mind at all if Rainbow wants to look." The unicorn gave her herdmate a teasing look and a wink over her shoulder. "Maybe she'll see something she likes." Rainbow laughed again while Twilight turned back to Lero. "Go ahead and give my tail a little pull if you like; I doubt it will hurt, but I'll say something if it does." Lero's hand found the small of Twilight's back and slid down, following the line of her spine down her back to her purple tail. He gathered it up and gently moved it aside, giving it a gentle tug as he did so. "Oooh," Twilight breathed, "that does feel pretty nice."
Rainbow could see Lero's body react to the pleasure in the unicorn's voice. It was subtle; just a tiny little quiver, but it was all she needed to tell her that he liked it. Better yet, the pegasus now had an unobstructed view of how her stallion was spreading her friend open, sliding in and out with the motions of Twilight's hips. It was a great view; the way Lero was gripping Twilight's straight, pink-streaked tail, the unobstructed view of him penetrating her, even the view of that little hairless spot at the base of the unicorn's tail was turning her on.
The pegasus forgot completely about the work she was supposed to be doing as her herdmates made love on the couch. She watched avidly, reveling in the pleasure they were giving one another. Twilight kissed and teased him as her hips moved, playing with his ears and nuzzling his neck the way Rainbow had shown her. Rainbow found herself almost hypnotized by the motions, watching the light glimmer off of the thin coat of moisture left on Lero's member as it disappeared inside Twilight over and over again. Her heart pounded with building excitement as she waited for him to climax.
She didn't have to wait too terribly long. Twilight gave her lover no time to rest or dissipate the pleasure that Rainbow knew was building inside him, keeping her motions constant and steady, and making sure to keep the level of stimulation he was receiving high by kissing and nuzzling in places she knew he liked. She didn't nibble the way Rainbow liked to, but it was clearly enough. Lero's body trembled, a sign that he was on the verge of climax, and Twilight felt it. She pushed her hips down into his lap, taking him as deeply into her as she could, and wiggled her backside a bit. That proved to be enough to push him over the edge, as his hands grabbed the unicorn's hips and his back bent ecstatically, his whole body quivering while he came. Rainbow's own body trembled in response, a sympathetic echo of his feelings pulsing through her.
He relaxed, releasing Twilight's hips and letting his breath out slowly. Twilight hooked a forehoof around the back of his head, holding him in place while she gave him a long, slow kiss. "There," she said when the kiss broke, a gentle aura of light shining from her horn, "Feel more relaxed, now?"
"I don't think anyone could be tense after that." He smiled as he spoke, and neither of them looked like they were in any hurry to move, which suited Rainbow just fine. They both looked happy, and she was perfectly content to sit here and bask in that happiness. The human looked over and met Rainbow's eyes. "How's it going over there, Dash? Still going smooth?"
"Going smoo...? Oh!" Right, she was supposed to be working. "Heh, lost my focus there for a second. You guys got kinda distracting." They both laughed. The human and the unicorn moved to separate, and even though she had other things to focus on, Rainbow watched him slide out, the sight of it making her quiver a bit. Man, that was hot. She looked down at a blank sheet of parchment and her open books, and breathed a sigh.
"Are you sure you don't want our help?" Twilight asked, shifting back to where she'd been sitting before.
Rainbow rubbed the back of her neck. "Actually... yeah. I think I kind of do. If you guys don't mind."
Both of their faces lit up with smiles. "We don't mind at all, Rainbow," Lero said, getting up off the couch without putting his clothes back on. They both walked back into the room that Rainbow had taken over, and the human sat down, reaching out to take the writing materials. "Here, I'll take notes for you."
Twilight sat down outside the circle of printed material. "You're the one who actually knows what needs to be done, but I'll help keep track of where all your reference material is. Just tell me what you need, and I'll try to help cross-reference it."
Rainbow blinked, gratitude, happiness, and a feeling of warm camaraderie suffusing her. "You guys are the best," she said, a little hoarsely. "Thanks."
Lero reached out to lay a hand on her neck. "Think nothing of it. Now, just tell me what you need me to write."
"Right." Rainbow nodded, flipping open a book. "Okay, first off, I need to figure out where the humidity peaks are supposed to be and write 'em down, 'cause I'm gonna need 'em when I get to..."
The three friends and lovers bent to their work with a will. The room was soon full of the sound of rustling paper, scratching quills, and cheerful conversation. Rainbow quickly decided that this was much, much better than doing it on her own.
Author's note: big thanks to the anon on the clopfic archive that gave me the idea to do something involving human nudity taboos. |
Xenophilia | And They Lived A Life of Love | A fine, warm spray of water cascaded down from the fine holes set into the ceiling of the shower stall, gently descending on Lero and Rainbow as they industriously scrubbed themselves and each other.
Thanks to Lero and Twilight's help, Rainbow had finished her weather schedule, something that normally took two or three days, in less than a day. Because of that, she'd actually had free time today, much to her surprise, and she and her stallion had entered the hoofball tournament in the park this afternoon. It had been the more formal version, rather than the pickup games that just sort of happened when a few ponies got bored; there had been team sizes, limits, all that jazz. Even a referee! This game had been using the small-team version of the rules, which called for teams of four, each with two earth ponies, one pegasus, and one unicorn. Rainbow had convinced the Apple siblings to join up, while Lero had taken the role of the team's unicorn. The unicorn's job was normally to catch and throw, and while he didn't have the reach of an actual unicorn, the guy could throw. He'd made some offhoofed comment that human arms were actually optimized for throwing, and Rainbow could certainly believe it. He could put the ball exactly where he wanted it, and he and Rainbow could just about read each other's minds, keeping track of where the other was and what the other intended without even having to speak beyond short, cryptic exclamations. It made them a terror on the field, and when added to the athleticism and strength of Applejack and Big Macintosh, they'd proven to be almost unstoppable. They'd won every match, leaving Rainbow giddy with excitement and the thrill of success and victory.
Twilight had some magical research project that she was working on, so she wasn't going to be joining them this evening, but that was okay. She expected to be done with it by tomorrow, and they already had a lunch date planned. The four victorious teammates had grabbed a quick dinner at a restaurant before going their separate ways for the evening, and the human and the pegasus had jumped in the shower to wash off the sweat.
Lero's fingers finished massaging the shampoo out of Rainbow's mane, leaving the prismatic hair plastered flat to her neck and forehead, and he brushed her forelock out of her eyes, caressing her ear gently as he did so. The pegasus had reared up and balanced herself by leaning against the shower wall so he could reach better, and had sincerely enjoyed the feel of his agile fingers massaging her scalp. She felt good, with the dirt and sweat washed out of her coat, and the light burn of exertion relaxed away by the falling warm water. She was still flush with adrenaline and euphoria from their victory, she was excited and looking for a way to celebrate, and what do you know, her lover just happened to be right here with her, dripping wet and nude.
She looked coyly over her shoulder, running her eyes along his smooth body and enjoying the way the water beaded and ran across his skin. He noticed her looking, and turned a bit so she could get a better look, running his eyes across her body in turn. One hand moved down her back, tracing down her spine, his fingers cutting through the runnels of water flowing down her back and following the streams down her hip. Silver lightning seemed to follow his touch, sparks of pleasure leaping from his fingers to her wet skin. The pegasus's wings twitched as his hand trailed between her shoulder blades, the sudden motion scattering droplets of water from her primaries.
Rainbow turned, making a pleased sound in the back of her throat and reaching out to set a forehoof on his shoulder for balance, facing him. "Hmm. You look like you've got something in mind."
Lero smiled, the expression slow and languid, and Rainbow mirrored it. "I just may," he said, his voice a little husky. Water dripped down his face, doing nothing to hide the gleam in his eyes. "You look like that game got you all excited."
"Mm. Yeah." She stepped closer, pressing her body against him and feeling his wet skin against her coat. "All excited. Feel like doing something about that?"
"I think I do." His fingers tangled in the green stripe of her mane just behind her ears, pulling her head back so he could plant a forceful kiss on her lips, thrusting his tongue aggressively into her mouth. He didn't pull on her hair hard enough to hurt, just hard enough to jerk her head back a little and hold her in place while his tongue dueled with hers. His breath in her mouth was hot and fast. Rainbow's heart raced, and that competitive urge stirred within her at his forceful behavior. Oh, man, this is just what I wanted after getting all worked up like that.
He loosened his grip on her mane when their lips separated. One side of her mouth quirked in a smile, and her eyebrows arched challengingly. Rainbow chuckled, her gaze turning smoky, and she gently, oh-so-lightly trailed the tip of her free forehoof against his chest, letting the lightness of the touch serve as a pointed reminder of the strength that lay behind it. "Mmm... sure you wanna go down that road? I'll play rough if you want, but you and I both know you never beat me." The pegasus brushed her lips against her human stallion's lightly, teasingly, daring him to grab her again. She could feel him hardening up, his member growing in tandem with both his excitement and hers. Her wings were stiffening too, adrenaline and pleasure sparkling through her like lightning in a thunderstorm. Oh, this was gonna be fun.
"First time for everything, love." She could feel his heart pounding where her chest and neck pressed against him, his heartbeat hard and fast, just like hers was at the moment.
"We'll see, huh?" The forehoof she had hooked over his shoulder shifted, looping around the back of his neck and grabbing hard, pulling his head down and toward her while her free foreleg went low around his back, trying to shift his center of balance to push him toward the wall. In response, his grip on her mane tightened again, and his other hand grabbed at the base of her wing, trying to shift her as she was trying to shift him. Rainbow's muscles corded with effort, tightening like steel cables as she wrestled with him, and almost immediately she felt her strength shifting him. She might be smaller than him, but in close like this her superior physical power could be used to great advantage.
Of course, it hadn't occurred to her that water-slick tile provided remarkably poor footing. Her hoof skidded on the tile, and the sudden shift of her balance pulled Lero off-center. His foot slipped too, and he fell backward.
Taken by surprise or not, there was nothing wrong with Rainbow's reflexes. Her wings were stiff and useless, but she shifted the foreleg that had been hooked around his neck to cradle the back of his head and tucked her body against his so she wouldn't slam into him when they landed, and she was immediately glad she had. They thumped heavily onto the wet floor, and she felt Lero's head hit the wall, fortunately cushioned by her foreleg. It hurt a bit, but she was completely willing to accept that since the alternative would have been to let his head slam into the wall unprotected.
They stared at each other wide-eyed for a moment, still tangled together in an embrace while the water hissed down around them. At the exact same moment, they both gasped, "Are you okay?"
They paused, blinking, and then, again in perfect unison, said, "I'm fine, are you..." and they both paused to let the other speak.
Rainbow wasn't sure which one of them started laughing first, but they both dissolved into giggles and chuckles. They laughed helplessly for several moments, clinging to each other's water-slicked bodies in relief. "W-well," Lero gasped once he regained control of his voice, "let's file that one under 'bad idea.'"
The pegasus fought to stifle her giggles. "H-hey... that was your idea," She broke out laughing again and had to fight to get her voice back. "You're the smart one here, remember? It's supposed to be me that does dumb stuff without thinking!"
"Well, I guess I officially have to turn in my smart person badge, because in hindsight wrestling while standing up on wet tile is a really stupid idea." He grinned at her and gave her a quick, reassuring kiss. "You sure you're okay? Was that your leg that I felt my head slam against the wall?"
"Yeah, I'm good." She flexed her foreleg, still cradling his head. "A little sore, but I'm fine. Feels like just a bruise." She looked him over quickly, seeing no injuries under the sheen of water still cascading down from the ceiling. "What about you? I had a pretty soft landing on you, but you sat down pretty hard, big guy."
He winced a little bit. "Backside's kinda sore, but I'll be fine." He reached up, wiping water out of his face. "Well, since we're on the floor now and can't fall like that again... where were we?" His arms tightened around her.
The pegasus's eyelids lowered a fraction. "I think I was about to pin you to the wall and do whatever I wanted to you." She tightened her own hold, shifting her back legs to give her leverage.
"You were about to try," he retorted, a happy growl in his voice. Their muscles strained against each other, and Rainbow felt her stallion being moved slowly but surely back toward the wall. He'd never beaten her when they wrestled this way.
Something about that fact suddenly troubled her. Did that bother him? "Hey, Lero, time out for a second, okay?"
His grip loosened immediately, and she backed up a little, sitting down so they could talk. She saw concern in his face. "What's wrong, Rainbow?"
She shrugged, as best she could with her wings stiff as boards, anyway. "I just... when we wrestle like this, I always beat you. Like, every single time. Doesn't that, I dunno, bother you?"
He shook his head. "Not at all."
She searched his face, and saw no sign that he was being anything other than honest. "Why not, though? I mean, if I lost a game every time I played it, it would start to bother me after a while!"
His lips quirked in a smile. "You're assuming that I lose if you beat me."
She raised an eyebrow. "The heck does that mean?"
"It means that, as far as I'm concerned, we both win." He ran his hand slowly down her foreleg, his fingers tracing her sleek, well-defined muscles. "Rainbow, love, I know perfectly well that you're stronger than I am. That fact doesn't bother me. I also know that when we start out in close like that, there's no way I'm going to beat you, and that doesn't bother me either."
"But why not, though?" She could usually follow his thought processes without explanation, but this one was eluding her.
"Because you like it." His hand trailed back up her foreleg, pausing to stroke gently under her wing. The pleasure of the touch made her catch her lip in her teeth. "For me, it's not a matter of winning or losing, it's about making both of us feel good."
"You do know how to do that," she breathed, leaning a bit toward his stroking fingers. "So you've been letting me win?"
"Not at all. I'd never lie to you like that. I try my best, but you're stronger and faster than me, so you beat me anyway." She was about to speak up again, but he rested his finger on her lips to hush her. "It's because you enjoy it, and I enjoy it. And I enjoy seeing you enjoy it. I love watching the expression on your face when you're feeling good." His fingers found a particularly sensitive spot, and she arched her neck ecstatically, her wing muscles tightening. "Like that one." He cocked his head. "Rainbow, do you know what my favorite part of you is?"
She chuckled dirtily. "I could make some guesses."
"Mm." His hand slid down, along her dripping body, finding its way down her belly, sending spikes of pleasure through her that made her twitch as it caressed her nipples, and finally settling between her hind legs. His hand cupped her genitals, not stroking or pushing in or anything like that, just sitting there, letting her feel it. She could feel the warmth of it through her vulva, feel the warm water pooling in his palm from the streams running down her body. It was comfortable at first, and quickly became arousing, with his smooth, soft skin resting against the sensitive lips of her sex. "I'd bet you'd guess that this would be my favorite, right?"
"It'd be up there on my list," she replied, a little breathlessly. Part of her wanted that hand to move, to start stroking and heightening the pleasure she felt, but part of her liked the feel of him just cupping her like this. "Oh, leave your hand there. That feels good."
He chuckled. "Can do. But this isn't my favorite part of you."
"It isn't?"
Lero shook his head. "My favorite part of you, my beautiful Rainbow, is here," his free hand touched one finger to the center of her chest, over her pounding heart. "And here." Now he touched her forehead, right between her eyes. "Don't get me wrong, I like your body... but what I love, Rainbow, is you. The person who lives inside your body, who looks at me through those gorgeous eyes. That's who I fell in love with. When I make love to you," his hand moved a little, to emphasize his words, "I'm using our bodies to make the person inside feel good, and that makes me happy, knowing that I can make this beautiful person, whom I love dearly, and who I know loves me in return, feel good."
Arousal, pleasure, love, and happiness surged through Rainbow in a dizzying, confusing, exhilarating rush. She sniffled a little. "So that's why you don't mind losing?" It felt like an inadequate response to his words, but he didn't seem to mind.
He leaned forward to kiss her. "That's why I don't lose at all. As far as I'm concerned, we're both winning." He grinned. "Besides, I like watching your face when you climax."
"Oh, yeah?" She grinned and wiped some of the water from her face, taking a few tears that the intensity of her feelings had wrung out of her along with it.
"Yeah." She cocked her head, silently asking him to elaborate. His fingers started stroking, lightly, slowly, at the very back of her vulva, while his palm remained cupped around the lower part. "It's funny, how different you and Twilight are in the way you come. I like watching both of you when it happens; you're both different, but both ways are amazingly hot, at least to me. Twilight likes to lose herself in it, to let it take her. To just let it build until it's too much to resist."
"And me?" Rainbow's forehoof went between her legs, resting on the back of Lero's hand and pressing his palm more firmly into her, while simultaneously enjoying the feeling of his hand against her hoof. His fingers kept stroking, slowly, gently, teasingly. Oh, that felt good, but she was starting to be ready for more.
"You focus on it. You're always so intent on your feelings. You grab and hold onto it, and you don't let it go until you've gotten all you can out of it." He kissed her again. "It's kind of like when you wrestle me down."
She didn't like the possible suggestion that she only wanted to pin him down and use him. "You're more to me than just a way to get off," Rainbow whispered. "So much more."
"I know, love." His reply was a whisper like hers, barely audible over the hiss of the water. "I know how much we matter to each other." He kissed her. "Which is part of why I do so enjoy making you come."
She giggled. "Well, we could probably huh!" His fingers slipped inside her for just a moment and made her gasp, "Could probably get on that, if you like." She scooted closer to him and wrapped her forelegs around him. "It's up to you; we could do it slow and gentle if you want," she was feeling a little more mellow, but adrenaline was still making her tremble slightly from excitement, "or we could finish what we started."
He leaned up and forward and nipped the tip of her ear gently. "I've never been a quitter," he whispered. His hand left her groin, his arms embracing her like she was embracing him. "I guess the time-out is over?" He ducked his head down below the level of hers, nibbling at her neck. The sensation of his sharp teeth pricking at her wet skin made her shiver. She was glad she'd finally convinced him to do that a little; she liked nibbling, but she kinda liked being nibbled on, too. Sometimes, at least, and now definitely qualified.
"I think it pretty much is," she replied breathlessly. "Ready?" He nodded, still nuzzling and nibbling on her neck. She quivered again, urgent feelings pulsing through her, and she took a deep breath. "Okay... three, two, one, go!"
Their muscles tensed as they strove against each other. Lero tried to lift her up to get control, but she countered by shifting her grip to keep one of his arms pinned against his side, unable to lift. She could feel his erect member poking at her belly, brushing against her sensitive nipples, and grinned in anticipation. Rainbow started to gradually push her lover back, having a more difficult job of it than usual because of the difficulty in gaining traction on the slick tile floor. Lero was having similar problems; the water drumming down on both of them made her coat slippery. It was trickier than normal, which just made the pegasus's heart pound harder, her excitement pushing to greater heights.
Finally, her greater strength began to tell. Despite his best efforts, Lero's body got closer and closer to the wall until his back touched. He put forth one final surge of effort, sending Rainbow skidding back a couple of inches, but she rallied and drove forward again, pinning his shoulders flat against the shower wall.
She grinned at him, panting lightly. The brief exertion hadn't gotten her out of breath; she was just so excited and aroused that her breathing had sped up. "Well, here we are."
"Here we are," he echoed with a smile. He wasn't struggling anymore, and his hands slid down her body and back up again. She shivered, reveling in the touch as she held him pressed up against the wall.
She shifted so she was straddling him, still holding him against the wall of the shower, and bent down to kiss him roughly. He responded eagerly, tilting his head back to meet her lips, and in the middle of the kiss she drove her hips down hard, taking him into her. They both gasped, the forceful penetration stealing their breath for a moment, and she felt his body tense beneath her, and within her.
"Took me by surprise, there," he gasped when their lips drifted apart.
"That was the idea!" She started moving, still a little forcefully, pushing him up against the wall with every stroke. Her wings quivered at full extension, displaying her plumage and catching the spray, sending streams of water dribbling from the tip of each feather. The feeling of him pushing into her, of feeling his body up against her when she pushed all the way down, all of it was filling her with pleasure almost to the bursting point.
His arms were around her hips, his hands crossed at the wrist behind her, lending additional weight to her strokes. It was nice, but it could be better.
"Touch me," she whispered, pausing to grind her hips slowly against him while she nibbled at his ear.
"Where?"
"I don't care." She'd rather let him decide where to touch her; he'd never disappointed her on that front. His hands started to roam across her body, one moving slowly up her back, ruffling her coat and letting the warm water smooth it down again, while the other wandered down her hip. She closed her eyes, shivering hard, as the hand on her hip slid down under her tail, his fingers stroking the lips of her vulva where they engulfed him, spreading her open a little so he could push deeper. "Oh, yeah," she breathed. As excited as she was, she wasn't going to last long. Lero's hand prodded and stroked between her hind legs, and the other started massaging between her wings. It paused periodically, shifting to catch the falling water in a cupped palm and then letting the warm liquid pour down her back in a wave. Wet slapping sounds echoed through the tiled room as she pistoned her hips up and down, getting faster and harder as her pleasure built. She liked the fact that the wall was there; it was holding Lero in place, keeping him from accidentally slipping away from her forceful movements.
Finally the pleasure crested, bursting through her body like a flood. She pressed herself hard against him, her wings contracting to fold around his shoulders, and she quivered while she came. One of her hind hooves slipped, dumping her against him, and he held her there while the wave of ecstasy washed through her.
Rainbow started moving again the second she regained control of her body. She felt like being relentless today. More rhythmic sounds of flesh against flesh echoed in the small room, punctuated by pants and the occasional pleasured grunt. Neither of them spoke; there was no need for it right now. They both knew how the other felt, and they knew their way around each other's bodies.
Lero climaxed next, though Rainbow could feel that she wasn't far behind him. His arms tightened, pulling her against his trembling body, one on her back just above her tail while the other one grabbed the base of one of her wings, pressing her chest into his. His back bent, thrusting him as deeply into her as he could, and she paused in her rhythm, bending her head down to bite gently at his ear and neck. She felt him climax inside her, that warm sensation that felt like it was filling her, and her forelegs went around him, gathering him against her. She knew he liked this close feeling when he came. She writhed a bit, wiggling her hips to give him more sensation and to prolong his orgasm. It lasted for several long seconds, and she felt a tremendous thrill at the feel of him pulsing within her.
He finally relaxed, looking up at her in chagrin. "Sorry, Rainbow," he panted, "I didn't last very long that time."
She smiled. "No problem, I was kinda trying for that this time. Can you stay hard for just a little while?" The pegasus was pretty close to her second climax, and she felt like that would be enough for now.
He nodded. "I think so. If not, well..." He held up a hand. "There's always these."
Rainbow grinned and nodded. She didn't waste any more time, putting her forehooves back on his shoulders and picking her rhythm back up, as the warm water hissed down from the ceiling.
That night found the two of them snuggled together in bed. Lero lay on his back, the sheets and blankets pulled halfway down despite the slight nip in the night air. Rainbow lay half-atop him, her head resting on his chest and one foreleg embracing his body, her body curving around next to him and her hind legs tucked under his. He had one arm around her shoulders, his fingers tracing lazy, random little patterns across her side. It was wonderfully cozy, though they'd have problems if they had to get up suddenly. Lero made such a wonderful pillow, and Rainbow tried to pay him back for that by keeping one wing spread across his body. He made a good pillow, she made a good blanket; her feathers and body heat proved to be a wonderful way to keep him warm, while she herself didn't feel the cold. It was a match made in heaven.
She was going to have to ruin that relaxation, though. There was something that had been gnawing away at her for the last couple of days, and she felt like she needed to say something. Better to say it, rather than letting it fester. She cleared her throat and lifted her head a bit to look him in the eye, gently tracing one forehoof across his belly. "Hey, big guy? Mind if I ask you something?"
He frowned a little, hearing the seriousness in her voice. "Of course not, Rainbow. What's bothering you?"
She took a deep breath, and almost balked. Suddenly, she didn't want to mention this, didn't want to draw his attention to it. But she'd already taken the plunge, so all that was left was treading water. "You remember that talk with Celestia the other day?" He nodded. "Well, it's..." she paused, and sighed. "She said she'd figured out how you got here."
He nodded. "I remember."
Rainbow bit her lip. Oh, she didn't want to say this. She shouldn't have brought it up at all. She was suddenly terrified of where this conversation could lead. "I..." She choked.
He frowned in concern. "Rainbow, are you all right? What's bothering you?" His hand shifted, stroking her mane gently. "Tell me. I promise, I won't be upset."
It wasn't the prospect of him being upset that frightened her. She'd been fighting to hold this thought back, but it surged into the forefront of her mind, sending chills down her limbs. She had to say it, though. Had to. He deserved honesty from her. "I... it... if she knows how you got here, does that mean she could get you back?" It came out in a harsh whisper.
He blinked, raising his eyebrows. "Well... possibly. I obviously don't know any specifics, but I know part of the problem she had at the beginning was that she couldn't find a route." He shrugged. "So... maybe?" She felt his fingers caress her ear. "Does that bother you?"
She shook her head, not trusting her voice yet. She fought not to shiver. "If she can," she finally whispered, "do you want to go back?" Rainbow knew how badly he'd missed his family. How out-of-place he'd felt here, at least at first, and how he occasionally still had problems, still found things that confused him. He hadn't mentioned it in a while... but she knew it still had to be there, at least a little bit.
"Go back?" He frowned at her again. "What, and leave you here?"
"I... I could..." her voice caught, and she had to clear her throat again. "I could go with you. If you wanted me to." She'd been prepared to go into exile with him, if he'd been banished. This was no different. It would be hard... what would she do? She'd have to leave everything behind... but he'd done that. Not by choice, but he'd managed. She could do it too, leave her world behind and live with aliens. He'd shown her that it could be done. The prospect scared her, though. "Unless you wanted me to stay behind." That prospect, though, scared her more. She didn't want to have to fight him, she really , really didn't... but she was willing to fight if that's what she had to do to keep him. If he left, she would go with him, whether he wanted her to or not.
"Rainbow..." He folded her into a hug, holding her close. His arms were tight, and she could hear a hitch in his voice. "Even if the Princess could find a way to send me home... I wouldn't take it. I could never leave you behind, and I would never ask you to give up your life like that." He sniffed. "My family... I miss them, oh god do I miss them, but by now they all likely think I'm dead. I've been missing for months now, at the least, and I've got a life here. I've got a job, I've got friends... and I've got you and Twilight. I don't think I could give that up, no matter how much I'd like to see my family again. I don't think I'm taking anything from them by staying, not at this point, but I would be taking something from you by leaving."
Rainbow hugged him back, relief sweeping through her, so strong it tightened her throat. She wouldn't have to lose him, wouldn't have to choose between him and her life. He'd already made that choice, and that fact made tears well in her eyes. There was a strong touch of sadness there, too, a pain on his behalf that mixed in with the relief. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm glad, so glad you aren't going to leave, but I'm so sorry about your family. I'm sorry you have to choose like this."
He sighed. "Me too, Rainbow. I made my peace with this a while ago, but I still miss all of them." He leaned down to kiss the top of her head. "There's something I should tell you. Something I should have told you a long time ago."
She looked up at him in puzzlement, still holding him tightly. "Oh, yeah?" She hadn't gotten the sense that he was hiding anything from her.
Lero took a deep breath. "My world would be a cold and lonely place without you in it." He bit his lip. "Rainbow, I... I don't know any other way to say it. I... if you feel the same way, I'd..."
She gently touched his cheek with her forehoof. "C'mon, big guy. You can tell me anything. Ask me anything. Go ahead."
He caught her hoof in his hand, visibly mustering his courage. "I love you. I want to spend my life with you, Rainbow Dash. I can't imagine not being with you. Can't imagine my world without you in it." He looked at her, anxious fear and tension in his eyes.
Rainbow couldn't breathe. Afraid to break the moment, she whispered, "You didn't realize?"
The fear in his eyes got stronger, and she could feel him tense underneath her. "Realize what?"
Her eyes shone as she looked back at him. "Goofus. I've felt that way for a long time. I thought you realized what it meant when I gave you this." Rainbow touched the large cyan feather braided into the human's hair, the one he'd lately never been seen without. Her chest felt full to the bursting point. She'd dreamed of him saying something like this to her. She'd thought he felt this way... but he hadn't said it before. She hadn't been sure, not completely. Now she was.
His eyes were wide, and she could see tears gathering there to match her own. "You have? I thought... I thought it was like the flower..."
Rainbow shook her head. "No. Flowers don't last; they're for dating, when you're not sure it's going to last. This..." she touched the feather again, "this isn't temporary. I wasn't sure you'd want to stay with me... but I wanted to stay with you. So I gave you this, so even if you left, a piece of me would stay with you." Not that she would have let him go without trying to hold on, but...
"Really?" He sounded a little choked.
"Yeah." She sounded choked, too. She couldn't help it. She felt so happy it almost hurt. Rainbow wished, right then, that she was as good with words as Lero was. She wished she could tell him how she felt, paint a picture for him with words the way he sometimes did for her. She wasn't, though, so she had to settle for holding him just as tightly as she could, trying to show him how she never wanted to let go. "I hope you're not mad at me."
He laughed. "Mad? Rainbow, I'm as far from mad as I could possibly be." He sniffed. "I'm sorry, I should have realized what that gesture meant." He hugged her tightly, and she responded, snuggling against his chest, tucking her head under his chin.
"You don't have to apologize." She knew that the smaller bits of Equestrian society sometimes slipped by him; she should have said something sooner. Especially since that was something not even every pony would recognize. Most used rings of some form, often anklets, a tradition copied from the unicorns' horn-rings like the flower had come from the earth ponies.
He drew another deep breath. "There's something else I wanted to ask. A... call it a custom, from where I come from. Maybe a tradition."
Rainbow looked up at him, smiling. She was glad to hear that; she'd suggested to him more than once that he should try not to do everything the Equestrian way. She'd been a little afraid that doing that would change him, make him someone other than the person she loved. That trying to fit in too much might take away something special. "Well, tell me about it!"
"You guys have marriages, right?"
The pegasus nodded. "Yeah, the big ceremonial bonding thing, right? That's for when two big houses are allying or something like that. Nobility stuff."
"Well... we have that tradition, too, where I come from. Except, for us, it's... call it a way of making a relationship permanent."
Rainbow's heart sped up a bit. "So, you want me to marry you?" He bit his lip, and nodded nervously. "What do I need to do?"
"Normally, there's a big ceremony." Rainbow grimaced; she didn't want to make a big public deal of this, but nodded. "That's not the important part, at least to me. To me, the important part is the vows."
Rainbow's eyebrows lifted. "Vows?"
"Yeah." He licked his lips nervously. "Uh, we'd swear a vow to one another. Each of us would basically say that we'd always be there for the other, under any circumstances."
Rainbow couldn't speak for a moment. The joyful pressure in her chest stole her voice. Finally, she whispered. "I can do that. I want to do that for you." To promise to always be there... she could do that for him easily. Happily. Joyfully. She bit her lip, remembering something he'd mentioned before. "This... wouldn't cut Twilight out, would it? I mean, it wouldn't be fair for me to do that to her..."
Lero shook his head. "Traditional vows include the line 'forsaking all others,' but I hadn't planned on including that part. Besides, you and I haven't been too traditional."
Rainbow laughed delightedly. "Yeah, there's that." She sobered, looking at him intently. "So... do you want to do it now?"
"I... if you're okay with it, yeah. I do."
"I totally am. I totally am. What do I need to say?"
A few tears ran down his face. "You want to do it? Really?"
She touched his cheek, as lightly and gently as she possibly could. "I absolutely do," she whispered.
He blinked hard, then cleared his throat and took a deep breath. "Okay. I can't remember the traditional vows, but I'll improvise something similar that sounds good and do my best, and I'd probably change them a bit to fit us anyway. Just repeat after me, okay?" She nodded. "Okay. Here goes, before I panic and forget what I was going to say." He drew another breath, composing himself, and started to speak. "Rainbow, I swear to be yours. To love you and cherish you, to have you and to hold you, in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad. For the rest of my days, I will be beside you, both in body and in spirit, and I will honor, respect, and love you, until death parts us."
Her heart in her throat, Rainbow repeated the words, replacing her name with his. Tears glittered in both their eyes, and her voice cracked a bit on the word 'cherish'. She liked that word. It fit really well.
"So that's it?" Rainbow whispered, caressing his cheek. "You and I... we're gonna be there for each other? Always?"
"Yes." He stroked her neck gently. "Like I said, there's normally a big ceremony, with guests and priests and officials... but I think the vows are the important part. Making each other a promise."
Rainbow swallowed hard. Tears streamed down her face, and she made a little sound that was almost a sob. Joy, happiness, love... they all were filling her chest, the pressure increasing to the point that it was actually painful.
"Are you okay, Rainbow?" Lero asked, his voice choked like hers was.
She looked up at him, and saw tears in his eyes to match the ones in hers. "Yeah," she gasped, "Yeah, I'm okay. I'm just happy." She sniffed. "Oh my gosh, I'm so happy it hurts."
"I know exactly what you mean. It's like your heart is so full you're afraid it will burst, but you're so happy that you're willing to take that risk."
"Exactly," she whispered, and kissed him. Not a hard kiss, not a rough kiss or a hungry kiss. She started it off slow and light, brushing her lips against his, then pushed herself up on the bed, lying with her chest against his so she could feel his heart beating against hers while their lips locked together. Her tongue slid against his, not fencing or wrestling, but caressing, feeling. She felt the points of his teeth, and felt his tongue slip past hers to feel her mouth as well. It seemed to last forever, while their breath mingled and the tears spilling down their cheeks mixed together.
She swallowed hard when the kiss ended, her eyes drifting open to gaze into his. "Heh, I'm not surprised you know exactly how I feel." She rested her forehoof lightly on his chest. "There's a piece of my heart in there."
"Oh, is there?" He asked with a smile.
"Yeah." Her voice dropped back to a whisper. "I gave you a little piece of mine, and you took it and gave me a piece of yours to replace it. There's a piece of my heart in your chest, and a piece of yours in mine."
He reached out to touch her cheek. "And you say you're not good with words."
Rainbow giggled. "I'm learning from two of the best. Twilight's probably feeling all happy right now, too, and not knowing why. We both gave her a piece of us, too."
Lero smiled. "That's beautiful, Rainbow." He caressed her neck pensively for a moment, thinking. "We should tell her about this."
The pegasus nodded. "Absolutely."
He bit his lip. "Do you think she'd be interested in sharing those vows?"
Rainbow tilted her head to the side, thinking. "Not yet, I don't think. She's not a hundred percent sure yet... but I think she's getting there pretty quick. Give her a little more time, and yeah, I think she would."
"I'd like that," he whispered.
"Me too."
Neither of them felt the need to say anything more. Rainbow snuggled back into Lero's chest, and he wrapped his arms around her to hold her close. She would have him, and he would have her. Always.
And thus, we come at last to the end of my tale. I won't say anything like "They lived happily ever after," it's trite and cliche, and it's obviously not true. They'll have their rough patches, times when they're joyful and times when they're upset, even the occasional argument and fight, but on the whole? Yeah, I think they'll be happy more times than not.
This obviously isn't the end of their story. Even though this window into their lives is closing, those lives continue. I'm just not the right one to show it anymore.
I do hope you've enjoyed this story. I certainly have.
Publisher's Note: I have tears in my eyes as I write this, to see such a heartfelt chapter of this wonderful story. It has been a tremendous honor to be able to bring this story to all of its readers, and I hope that all of you have enjoyed it just as much as I have.
I want to take this opportunity to thank the author for giving us this beautiful, and vibrant story of Rainbow's love. I hope that every one of you will take the time to let the author know just how much this wonderful story has meant to all of you, in the comments. |
A changeling's purpose | pre | "Fang"?
The infiltration leader flew over.
"Yes swarm leader"?
"Get some of your strongest changelings ready. We'll be heading out soon".
"Where to sir"?
"Griffonstone. We have some griffons to round up".
(Four hours later)
I remember a lot about Griffonstone, including its location. I was sent here once with a small group to help scout out the area quite some time ago. Of course back then, the place looked to be falling apart and on the verge of collapse. Not much has changed now, but things looked... different. Like the city was starting to slowly rise up from the ashes. Even from a distance, the once rotting buildings and nests were now cleaner and stronger looking than they had been in years.
Not that it mattered. I know how many of these griffins work. So many of them willing to do anything for the promise of shiny objects such as gold and jewels, or even the pony currency of bits. And no doubt that there would still be some trusting enough to help us out.
That was the reason why myself, Fang and three of the infiltrators were out this far. Of course, I had yet to properly explain our purpose for even being here, hence burst forth Fangs curiosity.
"Swarm leader, is there a reason we have travelled out here? To this place"?
"Of course Fang. Years ago, just before the Canterlot invasion, several scouting teams were sent to spy on the capital cities of different species".
"Why"?
"Once Canterlot had been taken, Queen Chrysalis had planned on focusing on all remaining pony cities before moving onto bigger and more dangerous prey. When the last pony city would fall, we planned to move onto here, Griffonstone, then Saddle Arabia, and more until we would be strong enough to take on even the dragon lands. With all the love and power gathered from everywhere else, even they would have fallen. I was the warrior escort sent here with a team of infiltrators. Heh, you should have seen what things were like back then. No-ling trusted each other, always suspicious and paranoid. We thought it would be easier to cause chaos among them and deal with whoever came out on top. Unfortunately we didn't get the chance to after the Canterlot wedding".
"So why are we here? We're not trying that here now are we"?
"Of course not. We'd only attract the attention of the ponies. You know how they are on terms with the griffons. No, we're here to try and hire some bandits".
That got the group a little nervous. Without even needing to look back I could still feel all four pairs of eyes on me.
"We're hiring griffins for our fight against the ponies"? One of the infiltrators asked.
"Yes and no. We will be hiring them, but only until we've rescued our brothers. Then we shall get rid of them afterwards".
"I see". Fang spoke up once more. "But how are we going to convince them to join us? Aren't these brutes nothing but selfish barbarians"?
"You let me worry about that. For now, worry about step one. Disguise yourselves, search the city and look for the toughest griffons you can find. Then bring them to me near the front entrance of the city. I shall deal with the rest".
No-ling chose to argue, but did what I asked. Each one transformed into a rough griffon each and took flight into the city. I shortly followed after and diguised as the toughest looking griffon I could picture within my head. I couldn't help but release a small and dark chuckle. This was going to be easy. |
A changeling's purpose | Discovery | "So. I hear you're gathering griffons for an important job of sorts. That right"?
Not much time had passed since Fang and the others headed into the darkest corners of Griffonstone and returned with plenty of Griffons following their lead. A mere five, but even a single griffon could hold their own against three ponies. Even so, it will be enough to give us the edge we need to free the remaining changeling prisoners, if I can convince them to carry out this task.
The five griffons themselves seemed somewhat... qualified. By which I meant that they were big, overly aggressive and hopefully not too smart as to ask more questions than needed to be answered. Most also carried a weapon of their own. Either a club or an axe. How very... primative. But as long as it gives us an edge, it matters little.
"Indeed I am". I replied. "I need some reliable claws in stealing prisoners from an Equestrian escort. The more prisoners we steal, the more we'll pay you".
The top griffon, a black feathered brute with a gruff looking attitude, took a step forwards. Then another and another until he was but a few feet from my face. He then spoke with a twisted grin.
"Stealing prisoners? Ha! Why would we need to waste our time helping such scum"?
The other griffons nodded in agreement. Seems that they all had some intelligence. Perhaps enough to share one whole brain among them all.
"Two reasons. One being the prisoners are some of the last actual changelings in Equestria"-
"Changelings"? The griffon cut me off. "Why would anyone want to free one of their kind"?
I gave a fake huff of amusement. If only we weren't in the middle of this bird infested city... "Clearly you don't know how much changeling chitin brings in, do you now"?
"We don't no. That's why I'm asking how much"!
"That's the second reason. If we pull this job off right, we'll be recieving a mighty bounty of not only bits, but gold, gems, everything you could hope to get your claws on, and more".
As expected, their eyes lit up once their promise of shiny metal had been offered to them. I couldn't help but mentally laugh at their idiocy. Were they not so greedy and slothful, they could have been the top species in all the land instead of ponies. At least until the might of the changelings would have eventually struck their lands.
"One other thing". I spoke up. "The prisoner escorts are planning on meeting some of Thorax's soldiers in order to exchange the prisoners over to their so called right hooves, which means we must strike before they can join forces. Could be as many as ten well trained ponies willing to fight tooth and nail, we don't need twice that amount overrunning us. Even now, time is of the essence which is why I'll ask only once. Are you in or out"?
They took a moment to excuse themselves as they decided whether or not to follow my lies. Even from a distance, their squabling and sharp tongues could be heard as they continued to make up their minds. As they did, Fang strolled over.
"Think they'll help us out"?
"Please. These creatures would turn on each other if we promised them enough gold. They'll accept, I have no doubt over that".
"As long as they do their job, I suppose I have no complaints. Foul creatures".
I raised an eye at that last bit.
"Foul, perhaps. But remember Fang,every creature, big or small, smart or dumb, has a use for us. We merely need only to trick and manipulate them before using their strengths unknowingly for us".
Fang merely grunted as I continued.
"These birds are the first of many. Which reminds me, once this is over, I'd like to talk to you about... a special assignment".
This time, Fang managed to pay proper attention.
"Special assignment"?
"You're our top infiltrator, so I trust only you with this. You remember where the old swamp near the camp is"?
"Of course".
"Good. I'll explain more later. Now's not really the time or the place".
I twisted my head to the side and looked past Fang, just noticing the griffons moving back our way.
"Looks like our friends have made up their minds".
The group slowly lumbered back over. As they did, Fang stepped on over to the side allowing me to be on my own with them. Each griffon had an unreadable expression. They didn't say a word, not just yet. They seemed almost reluctant. Maybe they knew that this job could end up with them being wanted by the Equestrian military. The rest of us didn't have to worry about that, for obvious reasons. But for them, well who knows what will happen.
"So. Do we have a deal"?
THREE DAYS LATER
"Swarm leader, Fang here. We're all waiting on the hill above you. How long until the convoy arrives"?
"Worry not Fang, our griffon scout just arrived back. We'll be right on top of them in roughly four minutes".
"Ah, excellent. How's your end looking"?
"We're all ready. Some of our griffon friends are becoming impatient but they'll behave for the moment".
"Swarm leader, this is Shadow speaking. Forgive me but I must ask. What is the plan for dealing with the feathered rats once we achieve our goal of freeing the prisoners"?
"Worry not Shadow. Once we get our friends out from pony hooves, we lead them away close to the camp and ambush them. I've already discussed this with some of the others and each infiltrator has already been given a single griffon to attack once I give the signal".
"Understood Swarmleader. Our group is disguised and ready to attack".
"Excellent. That's- hold on. One of the griffons has the convoy in sight. Every-ling prepare yourselves and remember your roles. We do this right, we'll all come out of this is one piece".
"Yes Swarm leader".
"Understood Swarm leader".
Three days had gone by and now we could finally put our plan in motion. The equestrian military had already set off from Canterlot with the changelings and thanks to our griffon scout, we knew exactly which route they were taking. An old dirt road trail that led quite close to the edge of the Badlands, which is where I assume they'll be giving over the last few loyal soldiers to Thorax and his ilk. Luckily that's not what is going to happen.
This area we're currently at is a perfect spot to ambush them. Steep hills and large boulders on both sides of the path would be enough to hide our entire party. Behind them, four groups ready to strike. The front consisting of most of our griffon cannon fodder where they'll distract the enemy by attacking from above. They should be fine as long as they keep moving, but if not it'll be one less griffon to deal with later. The next two groups, led by myself and Fang would be striking from both the left and the right, ready to push them back against each other so they'll have as little space to fight as possible. And finally, there was the group led by Shadow, the Changeling warrior that I converted back to his natural form. He would be in charge of dealing with any cowards that try to flee. And as a bonus, we've had hours to relax and wait while the ponies have been marching all day. No doubt they'll be tired and exhausted while we remain eager and ready. It will be nothing short of a slaughter.
And indeed, there they were. I could see the convoy itself getting closer and closer. With them, six changelings. Though what made my blood boil was the cage they had been shoved into, as though they were mere animals! Filthy Equestrians! They'll suffer for this insult.
They continued to trot forwards. I could see the looks of exhaustion on their long faces.
They were close enough. Now was a good time as it would ever be. I signalled the front group to begin their attack.
In mere seconds, all of Tartarus broke loose.
SIX HOURS LATER
THORAX'S HIVE
The changeling hive had rarely been seen by pony eyes before Thorax claimed the throne. Now, many were allowed to come and go as they pleased. The old, dusty and even scary hive certainly felt more lively than it had done in a very long time Even without the few ponies who would come to see the marvels of the hive, the place continued to give off a very friendly atmosphere as its more natural residents acted very differently compared to their former selves. Now, it was impossible to pass some-ling without getting a friendly hello or a wave or even a simple smile. No longer were the olden days of snarling and fighting just for the sake of doing so. The hive was no longer even a hive, but a home to thousands of changedlings who acted more pony-like than anything else. And no-ling had any complaints about it.
Of course, there was more to it than that. For underneath the hive, not everything was as cheerful as it seemed. Within the lowest level of the hive, the dungeons, were two changedlings who were talking in privacy in a private quarters room.
"So Scuttler, why exactly did you bring me all the way down here? I hope it's important, Flutter is depending on me to help welcome some ponies she met in Manehatten".
"Sorry Mandible but this is something that you're really going to want to hear".
Mandible sighed before sitting down. "Very well, let's hear it".
"Do you remember our fellow changeling, Claw"?
"The one who was meant to be meeting the pony escort? What about him"?
"That's just it. He never met the escort".
"What? How can that be? Did he make a mistake and miss them"?
"I already checked with Claw and made him point out his position on the map. He even marked it with an X in case he forgot. He was exactly where he needed to be".
"So the ponies didn't show up? Do we know why"?
"Yes. Claw had decided to travel the route into Equestria. When I asked why he did so, he told me that he wanted to see a certain un-reformed changeling that he was close with and couldn't wait to help him be more than what he already was. In his own words of course".
"I see. I suppose that would make sense. We've come a long way from looking out for only ourselves. So, out with it then. Did he find the pony escort"?
"He did. After fifteen minutes of trotting down the path, he found what was left of it".
"...Pardon me? What do you mean what was left"?
"When Claw found the escort, they were in a bad way. Every pony in the group had been knocked unconcious. Some had black eyes and bloody snouts".
"Do you mean to say that they were attacked"?
"Yes it seemed to point to that, but there's more".
"What more"?
"The changelings that were meant to be placed into our care were gone".
"Gone"?!
"Yeah. Gone".
"Are you telling me that they somehow managed to overpower an armed pony escort? Surely they would have been outnumbered, right"?
"Six against ten, yes. But I don't think they did escape. When Claw found them, the cage was nowhere in sight. Some-ling else must have taken them".
"Who would want to attack ponies over changelings"?
"We already know who Mandible. After talking to Claw, he mentioned that he spotted two griffons examining the ponies".
"Griffons huh? Makes sense in a way. I've heard plenty of ponies tell me that they've been living in tough times since the loss of their golden treasure long ago. So do we at least know why they took them"?
"In a way, yes. However, Claw has been very persistent in letting us know that these particular griffons he saw aren't actually griffons at all".
"... What are you trying to say Scuttler"?
"I'm saying that when Claw came across the griffons, he was able to observe them from a distance. It was hard to tell but he swears that he saw them cast spells on the ponies".
"Spells? That's impossible! No griffon has such magical ability"!
"Indeed, no griffon can. However, Claw did mention that the colour aura from both griffons was a sickly green colour". ...
"Do you see where I'm going with this now Mandible"?
... "Does king Thorax know about this"?
"He's speaking to Claw right now".
"Huh. Well I'll be. And here I thought all of us changelings had enough common sense to live our lives for the better".
"Well we never heard word from the infiltration squad who impersonated Princess Twilight and her friends. We've been searching for them for some time but with no success".
"And now we know that they're still out there. Just out of curiousity, what spells were they casting on the pony guards"?
"Memory loss spell. Once all the guards woke up, they knew nothing about the attack. They weren't even sure why they were out so close to our lands. Clearly the rouge group was trying to cover their tracks".
"Why not just take the ponies with them? It would mean more love for them to siphon".
"They must have had other matters to take care of. Anyway, I've wasted enough of your time as it is. King Thorax has already asked to speak to us both once he's finished with Claw".
Mandible stood back up. "Alright then. I suppose we're doing no good just sitting here talking. Any idea on how Thorax plans to deal with this"?
"No clue. No doubt he'll want those changelings found".
"Don't we all". |
A changeling's purpose | Moving forwards | Right now, there was nothing that could make me smile any harder than seeing our once imprisoned bretheren now cast from their shackles and celebrating their freedom. All six prisoners had been retrieved without any casualties on our side, other than a couple of bruises on one or two of the infiltrators. And now, here we all were. Seventeen changelings in total celebrating what at the moment feels like a major strike for our kind. There was plenty of talk from each infiltration team on their missions to take over their targeted pony leaders, taking them back to the not so long ago past when we were strong enough to topple empires, back when our true leader was in charge.
Well, I say let them remenice on the past. It keeps them from dwelling on what may be an unkind future. Something I need to keep one step ahead of. An increase of numbers, as enlightning as it is, means more work for me. Being the highest ranking changeling here, I obviously need to keep everything and everyling in order. Not by too much but still the list of things to do steadily grows.
So far we have ten infiltrators, five warriors including myself and thee warrior undercover at the changedling hive, and two drones. The only problem is that I need to find a way to have them do more than merely talk and chat all day otherwise we're not going to get anywhere. I've already put the two drones on building an underground hive some time ago. As one can imagine with merely two of them it's a work in progress and will remain that way. Especially with our newest arrivals but once it is done, we won't have to worry about being attacked by the wildlife as we sleep. Speaking of which, that's something I can get the remaining few warriors to do. They're practically bred for it. As for the infiltrators, I have several ideas on how to use them effectively, some of which I'll talk to them about soon.
Speaking of ideas, I still need to talk with Fang about that special project I mentioned to him yesterday. It will be interesting to see the look on his face when he hears about it.
"Fang"! I called out. The infiltrators head popped up out from the crowd and he steadily made his way over to me. "We need to talk. About what I discussed with you yesterday".
Fang's face scrunched up a bit as he tried to remember. Five seconds passed before he realised what I meant and his face quickly took its original form.
"Of course. About the swampland"?
I nodded. "Yes, about the swamplands. One thing I remember, back when I was taught about changeling tactics from my own swarmleader when I was a youngling was that you must use the environment to your advantage. For our kind, a simple skill we must use every day to survive. But I choose to go further and seek what exists in the environment and use it to our advantage".
"I don't think I follow. Is that not the same thing"?
Amusing how naive and confused we can be when forced to adapt to new situations. Like a nymph learning everything on our entire species. Again.
"Yes and no Fang. The old rules still apply to changeling-kind, but now with too few of us we must find new ways to survive. Create new rules, understand? One in particular I wish to bring into effect as soon as possible".
"You know I follow and admire your goal to restore us to our former glory, but I still don't understand. What is this rule you talk about? And how does it relate to the swamplands"?
What I was about to share with Fang was... sensitive information, so even after checking to make sure no-ling else was anywhere near us, I used the hivemind on Fang and Fang only. I told him what I knew about the swamplands and one rather critical piece that almost made his eyes bulge from their sockets. I could see the gears turn in his head as he did his best to process this news. At least it proved that he knew nothing about it. In some ways that was a good thing, but hearing it now, what I have planned, I do not doubt that he would refuse it. I wouldn't blame him for doing so, even I had difficulty wondering if this was worth the time and resources. However I still remain confident that we should at least try, depending on whether he agrees or refuses. I suppose I should have waited until everything else has settled down first before addressing it. My superior always told me I was quite easily inspired.
"So". I began again, snapping him from his frozen state. My confidence drained slightly as I noticed this. "Now you know".
For a moment, Fang still said nothing. Perhaps he still couldn't get over the risk of what I had in store. Or maybe he was trying to figure out how I could have come up with such a ridiculous idea. I almost didn't notice that I was holding my breath, eager for some kind of response. Finally he spoke.
"That is... a plan I don't believe any changeling has come up with before". He spoke, voice slightly shaking.
"No, it's not. We never needed to worry about this sort of decision making in the past, but now. Now it may help give us the edge we need".
"And... how do you know it's there? In the swamps"?
"A scout told me several days ago when I decided that we needed more knowledge of the surrounding terrain. I had to order him not to tell another living soul about what he found. I'm sure that hearing about it now, you're curious why I've not shared it among everyling else".
"It would help to know, yes". Fang's voice sounded slightly irritated.
"Because they would demand that we leave and set up somewhere else. After everything we've been through you would expect us to simply go somewhere else"?
"Considering what you told me"-
"We've spent enough time building up this camp. It's easily defendable against anything this forest can throw at us".
"Even that thing you would have us find"?
"Fang. Look where I'm pointing. That is the direction of the swamplands. A fair distance seperates us here from there. Do you see what else seperates us from the dangers of the swampland"?
Fang followed my hoof as I pointed in the direction of the swamp. For a moment he focused and thought hard at what I was trying to show him. Eventually, it clicked.
"The trees"...
"Exactly. The area is thick with trees. Thick enough to stop anything big from approaching. At least unnoticed. An early warning system, just in case".
"Then why go through with this plan? If we're as safe as you say we are then what's the need"?
"Two reasons. One to rid ourselves of a possible threat. The second to gain some serious power".
"Power"?
"If we are able to pull this off, it will be one stage of many". I took a moment to allow my thoughts to sink in. If I was doing something reasonable or insane. Sometimes it's a must to take risks and gain something in return, or face the inevitable of remaining with nothing for the rest of your days. "You know everything I do about this plan. Now all that I can do is ask if you will trust me and follow me on this? I won't be able to do it alone, and I trust you more than any-ling else".
Of course he said nothing right away. Not because he had been reluctant to speak like he had been throughout this entire conversation, but because he needed to think about this just as hard as I had. He knew the risks, but he also knew what success would mean. He took at least three minutes before he delivered his judgement.
"Normally, I would disagree on such a... bold idea, even against some-ling of your rank, Abdonis. However, after everything we've been put through I have yet to see a plan or strategy of yours fail. Maybe it's luck, but it's been wth us this far. I still can't believe you would want to try this, but maybe you're right and we can indeed benefit from this madness". He sighed before continuing. "I don't like it, but I trust you have the best interests of the group in mind, so I'll do it".
Lack of enthusiasm aside, it was still enough to make me smile.
"Thank you Fang. Now, first things first, we're going to nee"-
"Abdonis, we have a serious issue that needs your attention"!
Disbelief filled me as the hivemind sprung to life at the worst possible time.
"Okay, Fang, gather as much love as you can from the cocooned ponies. I need to deal with the Warrior for a moment".
"Yes Swarmleader". Fang nodded before disappearing from my sight. I then returned to the Hivemind.
"This had better be important warrior"! My anger was well known to him as my words were spat with venom.
Twenty minutes later...
This is bad. Very bad! They know, HE knows we're out here! Chrysalis curse it all! I expected it to happen at some point but not this quickly!
Thorax knows of us. He knows we're hiding from him and according to the warrior, he intends on trying to find us!
I was panicking on the inside, feeling as though I had caused this by rescuing the changeling prisoners.
The warrior had told me everything that had occured over the last few hours at the hive. It seemed that Thorax had warned the entire hive that we were out here. He claimed that he would do everything in his power to find us and make us see 'the error of our ways'. No doubt that means he's going to try and convince us to transform into them! Fat chance I'll go down that path! Fat! Chance!
Right okay, so let's focus on the good news. If they've learned of our existance today then they'll most likely be coming up with a plan to track us down. And if they're doing that, I can have the warrior find out about and possibly sabotage it before they have the chance to put it into effect. And since Warrior is going to have to remain in the hive, I'm going to have to step up my own plans. I'm still going to proceed with Fang to the swamps, but first things first. I need to have a chat with someone else.
"Shadow. I need to talk to you. Get over here".
As I mentioned before, Shadow is the warrior who I personally converted back to his natural form. He my not know it now, but how he's about to answer the question I'm about to give him could depend on the entire future of the changeling race.
"Yes, Swarmleader? You called me"? The changeling wheezed as he made his way over in seconds.
"I need you to be truthful with me Shadow. What I'm about to ask you is more important than it may seem".
"I'll do my best to answer it Swarmleader".
"You came to Fang back at the hive because you wanted to go back to how things were before, yes"?
"That's right. A decision I do not regret Swarmleader".
"During your time as one of Thorax's minions, how did you feel from the moment you transformed to the moment you met me face to face"?
"Well, at first, I felt amazing! I no longer felt the hunger that had pestered me for so long, and for the first time in ages, I was happy! As the days went on however, Thorax quickly set up diplomatic relations with the ponies and upon doing so, declared that Changelings were about to enter a new era where they would embrace the friendship of ponykind. I remember that some of us were allowed to travel to pony cities in order to bond and become more accustomed to our so called new friends. But it was clear that many ponies still despised us, as though nothing had changed. I was called names and humiliated the entire time. The more it happened, the more I realised the Thorax's new era was not what he expected it to be. Like everything he said was nothing more than a gigantic lie. By the end of the week alone I was miserable. And remained that way until I was given the chance to come here and be given another chance. When I returned back to normal, the hunger slowly returned as well, but even then, I felt happier than I did under Thorax's rule. And I still am to this moment".
I listened carefully to everything Shadow had said and picked up on the pieces of information I had been looking for. It was interesting how fast he had gone from going to loving Thorax's rule to hating it. And there hid the key to hope.
"Thank you Shadow. I appreciate you telling me this. You're free to go". I paused for a moment. "Oh, and... gather every-ling up in five minutes. I have something they all need to hear".
"Yes Swarmleader".
Once again, it was me on my own. Good. I needed to think on how I was going to tell every-ling about Thorax's discovery of us. And afterwards, Fang and I's journey to the swamplands. And then... a lot of work lies ahead. But for now, I need to access the hivemind once again.
"Warrior, do you here me"?
"I hear you Swarmleader. What do you need"?
"We need more soldiers. So I want you to begin recruiting. And here's how I want you to do it"... |
A changeling's purpose | A rise of strength | "Hey mandible. Do you still have those papers on drones Cutter, Tremor and Chrazzix"?
"Of course Scuttler, they're right here. Correct me if I'm wrong but arent these the newest group of changelings that vanished"?
"Vanished? Well that's one word considering that we don't know where they've gone. But I can tell you without a doubt that that renegade force Thorax wants found had to do with it. Just like they have with the other so called vanished". Scuttle gave a moment to let out a sigh. "So much for all our troubles disappearing after Chrysalis".
"Has Thorax or the council found out anything that may help us"?
"If by found out anything, you mean asked me to look into it, then yes. I did find something that may put a face and a name to the head of the renegade group".
"Ah, good then. So, who is it"?
"Checking the files of the changelings we know didn't transform, other than the infiltration group that escaped not so long ago, there are three names".
"Let's hear then".
"The first being Infiltration Leader Fang. He and his squad was the only infiltration group to escape capture after Chrysalis's plan failed. The changelings under his command are clearly loyal enough to him since none ever tried returning here".
"Who are the other two then"?
"Pharynx. Thorax's brother".
"Are you serious Scuttler? Pharynx? I get that he hasn't accepted the idea to openly share love but he's clearly loyal to Thorax. Even if he is a complete jerk to the rest of us".
"I thought that too at first, but considering that someling is recruiting our own from inside the hive, it may be safe to assume that Pharynx is trying to turn things back to the way they used to be. Either way it would be wise to keep an eye on him".
"Have you told Thorax that you suspect his brother"?
"No. Not yet at least. I may choose to hold off on that until I can back my theory up with some serious evidence".
"Good idea. And number three"?
"Swarm leader Abdonis. Immediatley after the rest of us turned to Thorax, he fled the hive to who knows where. Even knocked out poor Exo who tried stopping him. Considering the list we have in front of us, I'd say that he's the most likely suspect".
"And because of one of these three, we've had more than fifty changelings 'disappear' over the last month. King Thorax can't be too pleased".
Scuttler grumbled sourly. It hadn't been the most relaxing month. And the results proved that things were going to get worse for them. At this rate, the listed suspect would have himself a small army in no time. After that, who knows what could happen. Mandible put down the paper he had scribbled the name of each suspect on before checking on the files sitting on the table to his right.
"Just as well we made peace with the ponies". He murmured to himself. A ghost of a smile appearing on his face as he glanced over the papers on his desk. "These materials they've given us makes it so much easier to keep track of everything, as well as everyling".
Trade with the ponies had proven to be very beneficial when it came to new supplies such as paper and quills. Organisation had never been so easy.
Scuttler nodded in confirmation, even though he wasn't paying full attention. Instead he was focused on the list of suspects that Mandible had finished with. A rather big detail caught his eye.
"Mandible"?
"Hm"?
"There are only three suspects, right"?
"That's right. Why do you ask"?
"You seem to have written down a fourth name".
Mandible froze for a second before letting loose a heavy sigh. Turning back round, he used his magic to snatch the paper away from Scuttler and double checked what had been written down.
"Thought I crossed this one off". He muttered bitterly before using a nearby quill to scribble out the final name.
"I take it that's a suspect proven innocent"? Scuttler asked.
"Not exactly".
"Care to explain"?
"There's not exactly much to go by. His name is Toras. A changeling warrior who left the hive during Chrysalis's reign. He was... dangerous to say the least. I'd go into detail about him but... I'd really rather not".
"Seems he left an impression, hm"?
"Indeed. Not everyling knew of him, as you've unintentionally proven". Mandible paused for a moment. "Perhaps we can talk about this later? There's still too much work to get done right now, and I'd rather not waste it talking about unpleasant past memories".
Scuttler shrugged before returning to work. He knew there was no point prying for information that he could find out later. Besides, Mandible was right. There was FAR too much work to be done.
..........................................
Elsewhere...
"Are we ready"?
"As ready as I ever will be Abdonis".
"Good. Let us begin".
The two changelings crept forwards into the swamp, allowing their limbs to be swallowed up by the murky water. As they made their way towards their target, the occasional brush against their legs could be felt. Most likely a fish. Fang couldn't help but freeze whenever it happened. Just for a fraction of a second before continuing to follow the swarm leader in front.
Abdonis on the other hoof paid this minor annoyance no attention. He needed to focus. Even now he was saving the love energy he had taken from the chrysalis pods. He needed a lot of it and for even a chance for this plan to fall into fruition, he needed to use all this energy in a single spell.
In truth, the changeling was nervous. But he didn't let it show. Not in front of another fellow changeling at least. This entire plan was a gamble, based on a theory that had taken an entire month just to now execute. He was risking his own life just to test it as well as Fang's. Perhaps it would have been best to have him wait back just in case things go horribly wrong. He at least had the experience to lead the remainder of the group.
Still. He doubted the infiltration leader would obey the order anyway. He would continue on and do what he was told to do. Distract the target.
Besides, speaking of the target. It was right ahead. Its head poking out of the water.
Abdonis mentally groaned. Had the beast been on land they could have used the tight spaces between the trees to outrun the creature. But that was no longer an option and neither was waiting. Instead they had to face the monster in its own territory if they wanted to get close enough. It was just was well the muddy swamp water was shallow enough so that the target wasn't completely submerged.
A few cautious steps more and they were in position.
There was no point in delaying the inevitable. Abdonis purposely splashed the water, breaking the tense silence. If there was the chance to turn back before, it had certainly gone now.
The target rose its head and turned slightly. A large red eye surveyed the surrounding area and locked onto the creatures dumb enough to step into its home. Unhappy, the beast twisted its ugly green head towards its prey and begun to swim towards them. Now it was time to play chicken.
Abdonis stood rooted to his spot. The view of a large reptile a dozen times his own size making its way towards him was an experience he was only just now introduced to. Despite being nervous before, he did not feel as scared as he had expected to be. Maybe it had to do with the faith he had on the plan succeeding. Or perhaps the amount of magical energy he had stored inside his body made him feel invincible. Either way it did not matter.
The beast began swimming faster. Even if the two changelings tried retreating now, the beast was now too fast. Even if they tried flying into the air. The large predator opened its mouth revealing its large, flesh tearing, bone breaking teeth. Seconds away from tasting blood.
The time had come.
Abdonis released all the energy he had been storing with a single blast from his horn. The aura was so large and bright that neither changeling or beast could see. Only a green flash and a roar.
Only when the brightness had died down did Abdonis open his eyes. What he saw brought a large and almost wicked grin on his face.
"Fang".
Fang, who had had his eyes shut even before the flash, opened his own and was taken by what he was shown. It took a few seconds before he realised that the swarm leader had just addressed him.
"Yes swarm leader"?
"Prepare a swarm patrol. I know a nearby pony settlement that's close by and far enough from the prying ears of the Equestrian capital where we can test our new weapon. It's time to emerge from the shadows of the forest". |
Eviler Than Thou | pre | "Of course, of course..." Flim set to work undoing the clasp of Trixie's cloak and took off her hat. Trixie held them in her magic while she fiddled with getting Flim's clothes off herself. Even she knew that fair trade is fair trade. Although, as she messed with it, she couldn't but start to wonder; If she and Flim had rushed so much that they got dressed in the other's clothes, how did they have the frame of mind to clip the clasps, knot the ties and push all the buttons?
Deciding not to bother Flim with her musings, she gave Flim's shirt, tie, and hat to him and all three unicorns departed to their residence for the night.
Under the covers of her bed in the hotel room, Trixie couldn't sleep well. She couldn't stop thinking about what happened to Pink Cloud. What kind of creature could do that, that would do that, that would also bother hanging out around the bell tower and ring the bell? Perhaps there was more then one creature up there? A pony ringing the bell on purpose to anger the townsfolk and a large rat that had cut up Pink Cloud independently of said pony? A warlock ringing the bell in an effort to summon the Headless Horse to tame it, and his pet demon that kept Pink Cloud away?
After a couple of hours, Trixie removed herself from the room bed. She hadn't actually slept, kept awake by her pondering. Bags had formed under her eyes and her mane was disheveled, and had she her way, she would've lied on the mattress for as long as took for her to get the sleep she was deprived, but it was morning now, and that meant she had to do her morning rounds.
She got dressed and left the hotel grounds, finding something she really wasn't expecting just outside the door.
Her wagon. Intact, cleaned up and prepared for travel. If she would've been so humble, she might've even said that it looked better then when she had first rolled into forest. But...how? Trixie was starting to dislike Trottingham. It was getting more mysterious by the minute. Who would've taken the time to trek through the forest, find her wagon, fix it and bring it all the way to the motel for just for her?
...Flim. Flim would've done it for her.
Okay. Maybe Trottingham wasn't that terribly mysterious.
Smiling to herself, she perkily swung back into the hotel to sign out.
"My, my." The register clerk clicked her tongue. "Somepony looks happy."
"Trixie is quite happy!" Trixie self-narrarated. "Somepony was nice enough to clean her wagon and bring it outside the hotel for her."
"Oh my! What a gentlecolt!" The clerk exclaimed.
"Trixie will be returning to her wagon, and as such, will be signing out of the hotel room."
"Awww, so soon? Are you sure we can't get you to stay one more night?"
Trixie became very uncomfortable with the clerk's saddened tone. She got the feeling the clerk might've been possessed by some spirit from the hotel that made sure the patrons didn't want to check out. "...Yes, Trixie is sure."
The clerk chuckled. "Well, can't blame me for trying to help the hotel make a buck, can you?" She happily held up a pen for Trixie to sign out with.
Trixie exhaled quietly in relief that she was getting into a tizzy over nothing. She took the pen and signed the papers saying she no longer was staying at the hotel. After shaking hooves with the clerk, she went to her room to pack her stuff and put where it belonged- in her wagon. That done, she got into the wagon and used her spell to make it move, rolling down the streets until she was at her destination- Flim and Flam's shop.
The yellow unicorns started in confusion at the wagon they hadn't seen before until Trixie popped herself out the door and waved.
"Ah, Trixie!" Flam exclaimed jovially. "This is your wagon, I take it?"
"Mh-hmm!"
"It's very nice."
"It is, isn't it? Your dear brother was so kind as to rescue it from the forest."
Flim stopped whatever he was doing and scratched his head. "...I was?"
Flam turned towards his twin. "Flim, were you not so kind as to fix Trixie's wagon?"
"No. I had no idea where her wagon was or that Trixie even had one!"
Trixie narrowed her eyes. "So wait, you didn't fix my wagon?"
"No..."
Trixie tucked in her cheeks in agitation. Seems Trottingham was that terribly mysterious after all. "Would...you two mind if Trixie were to set up her wagon next to your machine?"
"Not at all, dear!" Flim assured her with a tip of a hat. Flam's eye twitched. He was probably still afraid of Trixie hurting Flim, but he didn't seem confident enough to raise an actual objection.
Trixie magicked her wagon over to the side and slightly to the back of the Super Squeezy machine. Close enough to suggest she was on good terms with the Brothers, without being so invasive as to ward off potential customers. Having parked her wagon, Trixie got out of and took a seat on the Brother's set-up.
"So, how's business been?" Trixie attempted to make small talk.
"Slow, but we're still new here." Flam answered.
Trixie sat back against her seat, then spotted a brown unicorn with a orange mane walking past the store. "Hey, perhaps he could be a customer?"
Flim and Flam looked at him, then back to Trixie. "...How?"
Trixie rolled her eyebrows. "You know, for such entrepreneurial ponies, you sure don't how to run a business." Trixie started clearing the table and jumped up on it. She used her magic to make it appear like her cape was billowing in the wind, despite the lack of such, pointed at the brown colt, then started boasting her best announcer voice. "You there! Unicorn with the orange mane!"
The unicorn's eyes widened he realized Trixie was talking to him. He shakily turned his head towards her. "W-who- m-me?" He must've been shy, Trixie concluded from the way he stuttered.
"Yes, you!" Trixie answered. "You look like you could use a refresher! A pick-me-up!"
"I-I do?"
"I don't know, maybe. Just play along. Why not buy some of the Flim Flam Brothers own foal-safe type cider to make your morning as bright as the beverage?"
The brown colt's eyes shifted back and forth across the street, but he nodded. "O-okay, sure..." he nervously sat down at one of the tables. Flam and Flim zoomed over to make him comfortable.
"Mind you though, while our cider is delish, we do have some other drinks if that's more your speed." Flam informed him.
"T-that's fine." The colt stuttered out.
Flim pulled a notepad and quill. "So, what'll it be? Cider? Plain Apple juice? Milk or perhaps an orange smoothie? Just plain water?"
The colt seemed to shake in his seat, confounded by Flim's offering of decision.
Flim took the notebook away from his face. "Sir, are you all right?"
"HERE!" The colt exclaimed, throwing some bits on the table. "Just take my money and don't hurt me!" He bolted out of his seat and dashed out of the set-up.
Trixie and Flam pouted. "What was that all about?"
Flim hung his neck over the table, looking at the bits. He scooped them up and held them in the air. "Sir, don't you want your change?"
Trixie facehooved.
"Eh-hem..." A familiar voice snarled. "That nice young bartender asked you if you wanted your change."
The unicorn was corralled back into the set-up by Lemon Hearts.
"But-but..."
"But what?" Lemon Hearts growled. "I mean, it's not like they hurt somepony, is it?"
The colt raised his hoof. Lemon Hearts snorted.
"...No, ma'am." The colt turned back to face Flim. "Ah...yes, I would like my change."
Flim kinetically moved the bits from his hoof to the colt's hoof. He then left at a much slower, less panicked pace.
"I'm sorry about that." Lemon Hearst apologized after the colt left. "Orion's been going around telling everypony how he thinks you three got Pink Cloud. I don't buy it, but I can't speak for everypony."
"Insolent jerk!" Trixie snapped. "The Great and Powerful Trixie did not harm Pink Cloud! If I did, I would make sure I got credit for it!"
Lemon Hearts eyed her warily. "...Yeah, I'm sure you would. Anyways, I don't think you did it."
"That's nice of you." Flim complimented.
"Yeah, see. If you three knew we were coming for you, then why would you attack Pink Cloud, but not come after me?"
"A valid question."
Lemon Hearts reached behind herself and pulled out a book from...where ever. "I thought you three might be interested in a chance to prove your innocence, so I got this for you to read." She chunked the book on the table.
Flam flipped it open and started reading. "Ahem...foreword, by Andrew Joshua Talon, "For-'"
"Skip that." Hearts instructed. She reached her hoof over and started flipping through the book here. "Here. Read here."
Flam cleared his throat again and started reading. "'On The Headless Horse...the Headless Horse is more then it first appears to be. Despite all my intensive research, I have found nothing of him. Some say he was born by the little-known Princess Luna before her exile (See page 121, 'Mare in The Moon') and is disturbed when the bell is rung because it reminds of him of his mother's lullaby, which he knows he will not hear again. Others suggest the Headless Horse is the vengeful spirit of a criminal who was decapitated in medieval times. Still, some say he is the manifestation of the all the sins in all of the ponies of Trottingham. Plenty of theories, but so few facts...'"
Trixie and the Flim Flam Brothers looked at Lemon Hearts.
"...What is this supposed to tell us?"
"Who's Princess Luna?"
"Are you trying to tell me we're supposed to play a lullaby for the Headless Horse?"
" One, what you need to do. two, Princess Celestia's sister. Three, no." Lemon Hearts answered.
The three of them were still confused.
"Princess Celestia has a sister?"
"What is it we need to do?"
Lemon Hearts took in a deep breath and facehooved. "You three need to go up the bell tower and find out who's ringing the bell and bring them to justice!"
Flim, Flam and Trixie were all aghast at this idea. Didn't Lemon Hearts see what the mysterious bell-ringer did to Pink Cloud? What's to prevent it from doing that to them?
Lemon Hearts scuffed her hoof at the ground. "I'll leave that book with you, in case you need it again. I know you probably don't wanna face whatever did that to Pink Cloud, but somepony needs to. And don't forget; If you go catch who did this, Orion'll have to admit your innocent! Stew on that for awhile."
Lemon Hearts left on that.
The three unicorns started stewing, as Hearts had instructed. Was it worth it? Risking their life and limb to prove their innocence? Most ponies would've said 'Yes' but these particular three had a slightly greater sense of self-preservation then most ponies. Enough so that they could handle being thought of guilty if meant they could keep their body parts on their bodies.
At least that's what they thought.
For the rest of the day, no pony came into the shop to buy anything, no matter how much Trixie boasted of the cider's quality. Granted, plenty of ponies threw measly offerings of bits in hopes it would keep Trixie and the Brothers from hurting them, which Flim and Flam, seeing that they were currently unlikely to make any other way of income, but as the day faded away and was replaced by the utterly moonless night, it started feeling...wrong. Flim, Flam and Trixie weren't exactly just ponies. They didn't mind a few little lies and misconceptions if it helped them make a buck. But for some reason, they just couldn't shake that feeling of guilt. They hadn't hurt Pink Cloud, but when a pony is told a lie many times, they eventually start to believe it. At this rate, how long would it take for the three of them to think that they HAD done that to Pink Cloud? Because Pink Cloud had nearly been the one to find out their bell-ringing scheme...that wasn't even theirs!
Unable to resist whatever magic in the night was making them suddenly care about the truth, Flim and Flam scooped up all their undeserved bits from the day's haul into a sack and resolved to give them all back to the townsfolk when they had gotten this mess sorted out.
Not that they were going to the bell tower. They still wouldn't dare begin the ascent up that wretched rising structure to be met with the same shredded-up fate as Pink Cloud had met. No, they would just...confront Orion. Simple enough. There was three of them and only one of him...but he did appear to have the town on his side. It was entirely possible he could rally a mob with torches and pitchforks to run the three of them out of town...
Flim looked at the sack of bits. The sight of it reminded him why they had settled on what they were settling on.
"Well..." Flim screwed up all he had that resemble courage. "Let's go."
The three of them began marching out of the shop and were halfway across the street when it hit them.
"So...where does Orion live?" Trixie asked.
Flim and Flam looked at her.
"...We thought you knew that."
"...Trixie sees."
They had no idea where Orion lived. They couldn't very well asks anypony. That would just make them appear more suspicious to the townsfolk. If they asked somepony, that pony would probably run screaming to Orion that the three of them were out to get him, and he could do...whatever he'd do if he thought somepony was coming after him.
They paced around in circles, walking after the others' tails, trying to think of what to do. More then once, one of them would raise their hoof, thinking they had something, only to put it down and shake their heads when they realized they really had nothing. What to do, what to do...
"Hmmhmhm...feeling lost, my little ponies? I've yet to see somepony walk around in circles quite like that."
The three of them looked over the street to see the minister, regarding them with amusement. The minister, of course! He'd be willing to help them, wouldn't he? He had been so nice before...
"Minister?" Trixie squeaked. "Can you help us?"
"I can try." The minister answered jovially. "What ails you?"
"We're trying to find Orion."
"He's at Doctor Vaccine's...as usual. What do you need him for? Anything I can help with?"
The three of them all got naughty smiles on their face. To their understanding, the minister was a pony who kept Orion in check.
"Er, perhaps." Trixie said, trying to be coy. "We were told that Orion's been going around telling everypony how he thinks we hurt Pink Cloud."
The minister's jovial disposition disappeared. "Is that so? Seems I will be seeing Orion, irreverent of whether or not you come with me."
When Trixie first met the minister, she had gotten the impression he was somepony that wouldn't look very nice when crossed. Right now, he looked quite cross, and Trixie had been right; He did not look nice at the moment.
He walked over the street and rounded the three of them up like ducklings following their mother in the swimming pond. It felt less like the three of them going on a mission to confront Orion and more like the three of them being guided along to witness the minister doing so.
The minister led them through the streets and alleyways of Trottingham's streets, their hooves clipping and clopping across the cement of the sidewalks until they reached a simple, red brick house with a large wooden sign hung above the door. "Doctor Vaccine's."
The minister knocked his hoof on the door violently.
"Voo iz it?" A voice like Vaccine's asked from behind the door. It was a little more squeaky, like it was coming from a child.
"Seashells, seashells, by the sea floor, won't you see me and open the door?" the minister chanted. Trixie and the Brothers were confused by this.
The door was rather enthusiastically swung open to reveal, sure enough, a filly that looked like a tinier version of Vaccine. Almost a copy of Daring Do with the exception of her hair being cord-like, and black with yellow stripes rather then gray-scale. "Minizter!" She cried, running up to the minister and hugging him the best her tiny legs could manage.
"Hello, Vivian." The minister greeted.
Flam tapped the minister on the shoulder. "I...take this delightful little filly is the good Doctor's filly?"
"Yes. I'm often her foalsitter. Which is why I taught that special little rhyme, so that she always knows when it's me at the door." He adorably booped Vivian's nose.
"Are voo here to pla've vith me and momm've?"
The minister signed. "I'm sorry, dear, but no. I'm here to see Orion."
Vivian pouted. "Iz he in trouble again?"
The minister mimicked her accent. "Ves. Ves he iz."
Vivian moved to let the minister in, but when Trixie, Flim and Flam tried to follow, she got in their and took a fighting stance, scraping her hoof and snorting, clearly distrustful of theze ponieezz she had never zeen vefore. "Halt! Voo goes there?"
"It's all right, Vivian." The minister said from within the house. "They're with me."
"Oh. Okay." Vivian turned around and went back inside the brick house. Trixie, Flim and Flam all looked to each other, not sure if they should go ahead...They had gotten this far. Why stop now? That resolved, they entered the building.
It was simple. Humble, even. Wood walls and floors, a red sofa, a red carpet for the foals to play on. A few hallway entrances, A few pictures that hung on the wall. Trixie didn't feel like approaching them just to make out what was in them better. Vivian sat down on her hind legs just in front of the couch.
Flim reached a hoof out for her attention. "Excuse me, Vivian, but-"
Vivian, as if she could tell what pointed to the hallway entrance on the left of the room. "In there."
Flim blinked, then backed away from Vivian, slightly unnerved. "Eeeh...right! In there, my compredre's!" The three of them marched into the doorway Vivian had pointed at.
It led into a very large room with several beds set up against the walls. One of them had Pink Cloud on it, lying on her back and looking generally okay. The covers were hiding the stitches on her body, no doubt. Seems Vaccine's house doubled as the local hospital, though Trixie couldn't see any advanced equipment like the Doctor had mentioned. Maybe it was hidden?
Doctor Vaccine sat on a stool on the bed's right, while Orion sat on the same on the bed's left. The minister was sitting on the floor, he and Vaccine giving Orion quite disapproving looks.
"Ah, Flam, Trixie and Flim!" The minister put his hooves together at their arrival. "I do believe Orion has something to say, don't you, Orion?"
"Get glued." Orion growled.
The minister bared his teeth and looked he was about to wallop Orion a new one, but Vaccine intercepted before anything could happen.
"Orion, zweetie," Vaccine purred, rubbing her hoof on Orion's chin. "Zurely voo don't need zo rude to theze newkomers?"
Orion seemed to smile and flush at Vaccine's touch. Trixie recognized the look as that of a pony being touch by another they had a significant crush on. "Well, I don't know...there's still the issue of who...did that to Pink Cloud."
Vaccine began rubbing her hoof on him slower, allowing him to feel every curve of the yellow appendage. "There iz, vut that'zz no reazon to ztart zpreading such nazty lie'zz about them, iz it?"
Orion's head wobbled, clearly enjoying Vaccine's scrubbing. "...I guess not. I'm sorry about telling everypony you three were the ones that attacked Pink Cloud." He fell backwards on the bed like he was trying to put his head in Vaccine's lap, but he just ended up thumbing against the side of Pink Cloud's obscured Cutie Mark.
"Thank you, Orion." The minister spat out.
Trixie, Flim and Flam scraped their hooves, uncertain what to say.
"Err...apology accepted?" Flam questioned.
"Right then." The minister exclaimed, clapping his hooves and getting up. "That's all taken care of, so I guess we'll be off now."
"Take kare." Vaccine waved them off.
The minister walked over to Trixie and the Brothers to rejoin their group, but just as the four of them were about to leave, Vaccine raised her hoof into the air and swatted at said air, like she was trying to count the beat of a musical composition. "Vait!"
The mismatched group turned around at Vaccine's distraught cry. "Something wrong, Vaccine?"
"Er, ves, vut no." The strangely-accented doctor answered. "I vas vundering...kould vou four ztay here vith the patient vhile Orion and I go out about the town?"
Trixie and Flim exchanged confused looks. Why did Vaccine wait until now to ask that? Couldn't she asked that when they had all first came in?
Orion flung himself off the bed and onto his knees (well, hind knees) at the idea of him and Vaccine being out. "Oh, please! I'll admit to everypony I might see what I said was just speculation if you foalsit Pink Cloud and Vivian!"
Flam smirked and rubbed his hooves together. "Sounds like a good deal to me! What do you think, brother of mine? Trixie?"
Trixie shrugged her shoulders. "I...suppose Trixie can do this...bizarre request of yours."
"I'm quite certain Vivian will be happy to know I can play with her, then." The minister said.
Flim actually didn't want to do this, but seeing as he was outnumbered three-to-one, he hung his head and signed. "Huu...I guess."
Orion zoomed over and shook Trixie's hoof with a bustling amount of energy. "Oh, thank you, thank you so much!"
"...You're welcome?"
Orion bounced out of the room. Vaccine removed herself from her stool and followed him out. Trixie and her group sat down in various positions around the bed.
"Viiiiivian! Your mother's going out! Come in here so we can keep an eye on you!" The minister called.
Vivian excitedly ran into the room, swerving all the way around the bed to get to the minister. She jumped up on him like a hungry parasite and embraced him tightly. "Yaaaay! Now we can play games and tell each other stories and..." She yawned.
"Must be getting close to your bedtime."
"No... fair." Vivian protested. "You just got here..." despite her obvious want to play with the minister, her grip on him slipped and she slid down his chest and sunk into the floor like a blob. The minster chuckled, while Trixie couldn't help d'awwing at the filly's behavior. The minister scooped her in his arms and gently slid her under the covers of one of the occupied beds. She looked like a little puppy with her eyes closed and neck swiveled around the edge of the blanket.
"Aww...she's so cute when she's sleeping." Flim cooed.
"You should see her when she's awake." The minister informed him, petting Vivian's sleeping cheek. "I'd sing her lullaby, but as she's already asleep..."
The group sat there in silence, the night ticking away on Vaccine's wall-clock. Watching Vivian sleep was cute enough...for a while. Eventually though, the sound of the clock ticking became too much for Trixie to bear. Ick-ick-ick-ick-ick...
"Will somepony please talk about something!?"
"SHHhh!" The minister scolded, not wanting Vivian to be woken up.
"Sorry...but still..."
Ick-ick-ick-ick-ick.
Trixie's eye twitched. Somepony make that clock shut up!
"So!" Flam exclaimed. "What's, uh, what's up the Doc and Orion?"
"Orion's always had something of a crush on our good doctor." The minister explained. "He tries to keep it a secret, but everypony knows about it. It's one of the only ways to keep his temper in check, after all."
Ah! So that's why Vaccine started rubbing her hoof to get Orion to apologize to them. Huh.
Flam cocked his head, casting an sideways (figuratively and literally) glance at Trixie. "I must ask, minister, does Vivian...appreciate Orion's crush on him, or does she just use it to manipulate him?"
Trixie gave him a sideways glance back. There was a difference between being protective of his brother and being a jerk.
"Ehhh...I don't know how she feels about him really," the minister answered. "but she is willing to use it against him if it helps other ponies dealing with him...such as yourselves."
Flam's eyes widened as he realized he could've been giving off all the wrong signals. "Oh...oh yes! That's...nice of her...well, maybe not to Orion, but..."
DING-DONG-DING-DING.
All conversation was dropped.
Vivian muttered in her sleep, but thankfully didn't wake up.
The minister signed and shook his head. "I wish I knew why whomsoever disgracing the bell is doing this. Why? Are they trying to disrupt the Headless Horse?"
"Oh!" Trixie exclaimed. "Lemon Hearts gave us a book to read about the Headless Horse. It said some stuff about where he came from. "Lots of theories, but so few facts."
The minister put a contemplative hoof to his chin. "Hmph. Did she now? I'm sorry I can't help with that. I don't know anymore then the author of the book does about the Horse."
THIMP-THIMP-THIMP. Somepony frantically knocked on the door. "Help!"
That sounded like Orion!
Everypony rushed out of the bed-filled room and to the house's front entrance and swung it open to reveal Orion covered in soot with Vaccine more heavily scorched, unconscious, and breathing heavily on his back.
"Orion, what happened!?"
"I-I don't know! I heard the bell ring, then something got in my eyes. When I could see again, Vivian was like this!"
"Here, I'll get her into a bed..." The minister offered, using his hooves to remove Vaccine from Orion's back and onto his. The old pony ran back into the bedroom.
"I..." Orion gasped, his eyes becoming slightly watery. "I'm...going to go home...I can't help Vaccine, and...oh!" Orion turned around and faded into the streets.
Trixie, Flim and Flam were left standing there in Vaccine's house, feeling afraid and...somewhat guilty. Lemon Hearts had pressed on them to visit the bell tower to prove their innocence. They took a shortcut. A workaround, and somehow the bell being rung resulted in another pony getting hurt.
The minister came back out of the room with Vivian in his arms, er, legs. It was clear he didn't want her to wake up to see her mother scorched and barely breathing.
Why should they feel guilty? They hadn't hurt anypony. They hadn't dissected Pink Cloud or blasted Vaccine with a flamethrower. It's not like they were responsible. But they felt that way. Survivor's Guilt was a possible explanation. The three of locked their eyes in a triangle, hoping one of them would say something, but none of them did. They all knew what was on the others' mind. They didn't want do this. They really, really didn't want to do this...but they had to.
They had to go the bell tower. |
Eviler Than Thou | Of Creaks and Gryphons | By Darkryt Orbinautz
Eviler Than Thou
Chapter 5
Of Creaks and Gryphons
"I'm going to get Orion." The minister said as he came back down the stairs. "Somepony needs to make Vivian doesn't find out what happened to her mother. Who knows how she might take it?"
"Uh, minister?" Flam questioned. "I hate to trouble you again, but we're going to go up the bell tower. Would you come with us?"
The minister looked surprised. Understandable, as who would expect somepony to actually decide to go up the tower after what happened to the mares in the other room?
"Go ahead without me." The minster answered. "I'll meet you there after I bring Orion back here." The minister left the house ahead of them.
The three unicorns exited the house and blindly stumbled through the alleyways the minister had led them to. They hadn't the foggiest idea how to get to the bell tower from where they were.
"I think it's that way..."
"No, it's this way!"
"I'm telling you, Flam, it's that way!"
"This way!"
"That way!"
"Shut up, both of you!" Trixie snapped. "We're unicorns aren't we? We'll just use a spell!" A purple light formed on Trixie's horn that transformed into a sphere which floated off into the distance.
"Follow that sphere!" Trixie commanded. They galloped after it, Trixie in the lead. It managed to lead them through the alleyways until they were back out on the less dark, more navigable streets. A pony saw them following the purple sphere, yelped, and hid behind something. They ignored them, focused on the sphere.
Along the way, Trixie heard a odd noise, like a pony in armor slowly walking.
Clink...Clink... Clink...Clink...
She decided to ignore it. It's not like it had something to do with the bell tower, is it?
Eventually the sphere led them the cement stairs of the bell tower and dissipated.
Flim gulped. "...Well, here we are."
"...Yup." Trixie agreed. "Here we are."
Whatever had made Trixie effective enough to use her magic to lead them out of the alley had seemed to have left her when she needed more now then she did then.
Clink...Clink...Clink...Clink.
That sound again. Trixie decided to question it this time.
"...What's that sound?" Trixie questioned.
"What sound?" Flam asked in response. Trixie wasn't sure if he actually couldn't hear it or whether or he was pretending not to irritate her. Remember his comments at Orion's house, she presumed it was the latter. And, here, at the bell tower's entrance, she had the perfect opportunity to get back at him. The familiar green fireball came arching out of the forest and flew right over them.
"...You go first, Flam."
"Why should I go first? You go first!"
"You should go first!"
"NAH HAAAAAAAAAARRGGGH!"
Trixie froze. That sounded like the laughter she heard in the forest when she first tried to get into town. But it wasn't laughter. It was a scream of rage.
The all-too-familiar sound of a firecracker being launched assaulted her eyes. Trixie ducked to the concrete and put her front legs over her head. The green fireball seemed to aim at the bell tower, but stopped short and merely started flying around the bell tower's top, as though trying to scare whoever was in there without coming close enough to risk melting the bell within.
"The Headless Horse grows angrier. We must hurry."
Oh, thank Celestia. The minister had arrived. Just as he had when they were going to Orion's, he conducted them into a group like a mother duckling bading her kids for the swim. They followed him through the entrance, marching like the ducks on the land.
The inside of the clock tower wasn't as...violent-looking as Trixie had expected. Stone log upon stone log stacked on top of each other like a wooden blocks, forming stairs. The walls were white, but they looked just the tiniest bit grey for some reason that Trixie didn't think she wanted to know just yet. In the darkness, the lines of the interlocked bricks looked like insane scribbling.
The four of them started climbing up the stairs, their hoofsteps the only noise. Their shadows, the only movement. More then once, Trixie was startled by a sudden change in the dissonance, but it was only Flim or Flam stepping either more lightly or more heavily on the stairway.
"We're halfway to the top now." The minister informed them after they been through...how many stairs? Trixie lost count. Was she even counting the first place? Bah, she didn't care.
Clink... Clink... Clink... Clink...
She tried to ignore the sound. She probably would've come off as crazy if she kept pestering anypony about it. Although she started caring again when she stepped on something.
"EEEET!"
"AAHHHH!" Trixie backed away and fell backwards. "RAT RAT RAT!"
"EEEEEEET!" The tiny brown rodent shrieked, then it ran down the stairs, trying to get away from whatever had just crushed it's tail.
Trixie started taking deep breaths, trying to calm herself. Mercifully, the rat hadn't tried to bite her. Of course, now that she saw it, she couldn't but wonder if maybe her speculations in the hotel had some grain of truth to them.
"Trixie has a question..." The blue unicorn said as they resumed their march up the stairs.
"Ask away." The minister encouraged her, keeping his eyes on the stair.
"Does anypony else think the rat Trixie stepped on could be what hurt Pink Cloud?"
The minister and the Flim Flam Brothers snorted.
"...What?"
"First of all, that rat was too small to give the wounds Pink Cloud had. Second..." The minister turned around with an amused grin on his face. "That was a mouse."
"...The Great and Powerful Trixie knew that! You think Trixie incapable of telling the difference between a rat and mouse?"
"Oh, none of us think that, Trixie!" Flim assured her.
"We know it." Flam whispered into Flim's ear. The two snickered.
Trixie remained indignant. "What are you colts laughing about? Trixie demands to know!"
"Nothing."
"Stop!" The minister instructed, holding his leg out to keep Trixie from going any further up the stairs.
Clink... Clink... Clink... Clink...
"We are almost at the top."
"That's...good." Flim said slowly. "...Right?"
The minister pointed his hoof. "Look."
In front of them, what should have been another tedious set of stone logs was instead a collapsed wooden...hut within the tower.
"What the-!?"
"An old hut that leads into the bell's chamber." The minister explained. "The ponies that built it thought it added 'flair' when the material that the stairway was made of changed suddenly just before visitors got to the top. As you can see, it didn't work that well...Come on then, the rest of you go before me. If you fall in, I can pull you out."
Trixie and Flam looked at each other. Flim, seeing they wer about to get into another spat about who went first, volunteered to be the first across.
Flim cautiously, tensely put one hoof on the intact part of the wood. He shakily got another one, then his hind ones.
"Don't be afraid, Flim." The minister told him. "Being afraid will only serve to create a valid cause of concern."
Flim gave the minister a bewildered look at his cryptic way of reassurance. Regardless, he tippedhooved his across and made it over the way and to the door that led into the bell's chamber.
"Now Flam." The minister instructed.
Flam did the same as Flim, stepping his way over cautiously. He lost balance once, though, and got poked in the side by a broken piece of wood. "Ow!"
"Flam! You all right?" Flim called.
"I'm fine! I've had worse." He rubbed his side and gave the broken piece of wood a filthy glare. "Then again, I've also had better." In spite of the wood's ever so clear malicious intent, he made it the rest of the way across without anything breaking. (Either on the wood or him.)
"Your turn, Trixie."
Trixie lowered her head to look at the wood. She raised her head back up in a 'Humph!' gesture. "Once again, Flim Flam Brothers, you have forgotten that you are both unicorns!" Trixie took a few step backwards, scraped her hoof and came running at the broken hut. Just as she was about to take her first step on it, she jumped into the air.
Flim covered his eyes, thinking that Trixie was about to fall crashing through the floor.
Trixie wasn't a dumb pony, though. She knew what she was doing. When she began to lose altitude, she grabbed the whole of her own body in her magic and used it to hurl herself across, landing on her tushie in front of the door to the chamber.
"Very well then. I guess that means it's my turn, eh?" The minister joked. He started leisurely trotting along the wood as causally as he would if he was out on the street in broad daylight.
Flim became concerned at his seeming whimsy. "Minister, are you sure that's a good idea?"
"Don't worry, it's fine." The minister answered. "I used to walk this thing whenever there was a tourist group-WAAAOOH!" Despite his claims of having walked the path before, the minister's hind hoof hit a weak spot in the wood and the floor crumbled beneath him, sinking the entire rear half of his body into whatever pit lied beneath the wood.
"MINISTER!"
"I'm fine!" The elder dismissed their concerns. "I'll be able to dig myself out...but that'll take a while. Go stop whoever's in that room!" The minister started pedaling his left hoof under the wood while using his right one to keep himself out of the aforementioned pit.
Trixie and the Brothers turned to look at the door.
"Well..." Flam began. "Last chance for anypony to change their mind."
"I thought that was when we were waiting outside?" Flim questioned.
The three of them braced themselves, taking a deep breath and a moment to remember Pink Cloud and Doctor Vaccine.
Trixie, thought quivering, put her hoof on the doorknob and pulled it open. (So much for being a unicorn!)
They entered the room, not finding what they were expecting to find.
The gigantic bell was there, undisturbed as far could be seen from looking at it. They were a few spots of blood on the floor just in front of the door they had the misfortune to step in. (Eeuck!)
But still, aside from those spots, there wasn't really anything there. No prankster pony ringing the bell for cruel laughs, no warlock and his pet monster ringing the bell to draw out the Headless Horse. Nothing.
"Oh, would you look at that! There's nopony here. What a shame. Come on, let's go home." Flim turned around and headed for the exit, but Flam stood in his way.
"We're not leaving here until we find something." The mustachioed brother scolded.
Trixie looked around the room. There was something they were missing. The bell, the blood from Pink Cloud's unfavorable encounter, the four windows.
The windows! There was probably something in them. Trixie started scrutinizing them, judging them for anything that was there that should not have been. She got more then bargained for when she saw something move on of them.
"Flim! Flam! The window!" Trixie squeaked for their attention. She got it, and everypony stood there shivering in fear as the shadow on the window made its features visible. First, it stretched it's wings, which even blotted out by the darkness looked proud. Trixie might've thought it was a pegasus, but she would've have thought wrong. Pegasi don't have pen-sharp talons or beaks made for cracking shells.
Each unicorn exclaimed as the shape took off from it's roost and crash-stomped landed in front of them. It was more then a little terrifying-wait, wait, no, it was a she! A blood soaked creature with an eagle's wings and head, but a lion's hind legs and tail. Trixie tensed, expecting something to happen. For the hybrid to scream at them, claiming they were intruding on it's nest. For it to ask them a riddle that none of them knew the answer to.
She was not expecting it to smooth its head feathers back and greet them in a totally carefree manner.
"'Sup?"
The three unicorns all looked to each other for an answer to the creature's question.
"...Trixie does not know the meaning of this 'sup' you speak of!"
"Sup." The creature repeated. "You know, what's up? 'Sup? So, seriously, 'sup?"
Flam cleared his throat. "What is 'up' is that somepony's been ringing this bell here, and a lot of ponies are starting to get hurt because of it! Do you know who's been responsible?"
"Yeah." The creature replied. "Me."
Flam sputtered. "Y-y-you? You've been ringing the bell?"
"Yeah. Heard that nopony likes it when the bell gets rung. Thought it be a great prank."
"Prank!?" Trixie exclaimed. "Prank!? Because of your prank, Trixie nearly lost her wagon, Pink Cloud lost her blood, and Doctor Vaccine's lungs nearly went out!"
The creature gave the three of them a dubious eyebrow. "I don't if you noticed, but that little pink pegasus isn't the only one that lost her blood!" She flexed her wings out, showing horseshoe imprints on them that were consistent with having been in a fight. "That pink chick saw me ringing the bell and went nuts! I barely managed to throw her off me and out the window! You think you can just come in here and make me stop ringing the bell after that cos you asked nicely? Sorry, dweebs, but that's NOT how Gilda rolls!"
"I beseech thee, madam, please stop ringing the bell."
"I just told you dweebs I wasn't gonna stop ringing the bell!" Gilda snapped.
Trixie shifted her eyes between the two Flim Flam Brothers. "Trixie didn't say that."
"I didn't say that." Flim insisted.
"Wasn't me." Flam added.
"Rrrraaagh!" Somepony screamed. "We had hoped to avoid this direct course of action, but our patience hath runneth out!"
Everything went grey in Trixie's eyes. Everything lost its color. Not that everything had lost its color, she was just so badly afraid that it seemed that way. She was afraid...because she knew. Knowledge really was a terrible thing after all.
She knew who was speaking in that old, outdated tongue...she knew whose patience 'hath runneth' out...She knew where that awful sound was coming from...
The Headless Horse was coming.
The Headless Horse was coming.
THE HEADLESS HORSE WAS COMING!
... CLINK.
... ... CLINK.
... ... ... CLINK.
... ... ... ...CLINK.
... ... ... ... ... CLINK.
... ... ... ... ... ... CLINK.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... CLINK. |
Eviler Than Thou | Of Plans and Possessions | By Darkryt Orbinautz
Eviler Than Thou
Chapter 6
Of Possessions and Plans
He was dreadful. Just dreadful. That was the only word Trixie could think of for him. 'Awful' was too weak a word, while 'disgusting' was too strong.
A head like a pony's Jack-o-lantern floated over a severed neck-hole. Emerald fire ran all through and around it, forming his eyes, neck and mane. Black armor with red accents covered his body (assuming he even had one). A emblem was emblazoned upon over where his Cutie Mark would be. A black heart with red thorns crisscrossing through the tip, and a sort of...crown at the heart's bottom tip. The same emerald fire formed his tail, which, except for being made of fire, looked normal.
The Headless Horse pointed at Gilda. "Thou shalt payeth dearly for disgracing the name of the bell!"
Trixie's eyes were locked on him. "Uh-uht-uth, you're not a unicorn!"
The Headless Horse took a moment to glance briefly at her. "No. We are an Earth pony as far can be told, though we are of noble heritage."
"Why do you talk like that, dude?" Gilda asked.
The Headless Horse glared at her. "Thou is hardly in a place where thy should be questioning our speech." The Horse raised his hoof, and the green fireball Trixie had seen so often before formed on it. He threw it at Gilda, but she used her wings to lift off the floor, sending the fireball on a course for the windowsill. It dissipated before it could make contact.
That gave Trixie an idea. "Everypony get under the bell!" She and the Flim Flam Brothers rushed under the bell's lip, where the bell hung high enough off the ground for them to slide under it and into, large enough to house them in it's shell and probably at least two dozen more.
"Pfft! You bozos might be willing to run from this jerk, but I'll stay right up here in the air. He can't get me here." Gilda scoffed, woefully ignorant of the Headless Horse's power. The Horse created another fireball and threw into the air where it whizzed harmlessly past Gilda, but that was only due to the gryphon's reflex.
"Although...just because I can do something doesn't mean I should, right?" Gilda swooped in under the bell with the rest of them.
The Headless Horse laughed. "Nah ha ha ha ha! Fools! Thou thinketh thy can hide under the bell? Thinketh for a moment's notice..."
The Headless Horse ducked his head and entered the bell with them.
"W-wait!" Flim protested. "What about the bell? You can't hurt the bell, right?"
"No. We cannot." The Headless Horse confirmed. "But...We can hurt thou!" He grabbed Flim by the collar of his shirt and threw him out from under the bell and into a wall.
"FLIM!" Trixie screamed. She hadn't realized how much her feelings had developed for Flim, although she was nowhere near saying she returned his crush on her, seeing him thrown aside so viciously was far too distressing.
"Now, thou!" The Headless Horse shook his hoof at Gilda. "We may be tempted makeeth thy's punishment lessen, if thou shalt submit willingly."
"Forget it!" Gilda growled.
"As thou wishes." The Headless Horse started stalking towards her.
The door swung open suddenly to reveal the minister. "Everypony get of here! I'll hold him off!"
The minister ran up under the bell and pulled out some of the green powder he had used on Flim and Flam's cider. He threw it into the Headless Horse's face.
"Nah haaarrrrggh!" The Headless Horse shrieked and covered his face with his hooves, trying to rub the power out of his eyes and face.
"Grab Flim and go!" The minister ordered.
"You get him." Trixie instructed Gilda.
"Why do I have to get him?" Gilda huffed. "I don't owe him anything!"
Trixie narrowed her eyes sharply at Gilda, offended. She grabbed the gryphon by the plumage on her chest. "You listen here, you dirty lion-eagle...thing!: Because of you, the Headless Horse is loose. Because of you, I almost died AND lost my wagon! Because of you, Pink Cloud almost died, Doctor Vaccine almost died, and the Headless Horse threw this unfortunate colt into a wall! I would say you owe SOMEPONY SOMETHING."
"I don't have to-"
Trixie shook Gilda. "You go save Flim, or Trixie swears, she will shove her hat so far up your butt it will come out of your ears!"
"Birds don't have ears, dude."
"GO!" Trixie barked, throwing Gilda aside.
The Headless Horse finally cleared his eyes of the powder and was ready to attack the minister, but the dark white Earth pony threw another clump of powder at his face.
Gilda reluctantly blazed over to Flim and snatched him up in her talons, then flew out the window with him.
Flam grabbed Trixie's hoof and started pulling her out towards the door.
The Headless Horse noticed them escaping. "Thou shalt not escapeth our wrath!"
"Oh yes they shalt!" The minister shouted. He attempted to sucker-punch the Headless Horse, but missed. (Thankfully. His hoof would've, in all likeliness, caught fire had it made contact.)
"Nah Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!" The Headless Horse laughed his blood-freezing laughed and bucked the minister in the face, the metal armor of them hitting the Earth pony elder hard enough to conk him out.
Now free of distraction, The Headless Horse gave chase after Flam and Trixie. The unicorns, having been reduced from three to two, had gotten to the broken wooden hut when The Headless Horse appeared behind them.
"Nah Haaaaarrrggh!" The Headless Horse screamed.
"What do you want with us!?" Flam screeched. "We didn't ring the bell! Gilda did!"
"Bah!" The Headless Horse scoffed. "Thoust are ALL defilers to the bell's sanctity! Nah Haaaaaarrrrgh!" The Headless Horse reared up, inflaming his front hooves as he did so. He brought them down on the hut's edge, setting all the wood alight.
Trixie's eyes widened.
"Hurry!" Flam urged.
Disregarding everything the minister had taught them about being carefully on the wood, Trixie and Flam started galloping for their lives across it. Getting away from the fire was kind of...more important then being careful, though there was the slight knick in that logic that not being careful was easily likely to affect whether or not they actually managed to get away from the fire.
There was nothing better or finer to convey this point then when Trixie dropped the floor just as she was about to make it to the other end. She barely managed to grabbed the ledge of the opposing concrete with her hooves.
Trixie closed her eyes, awaiting for the end to come and snatch her to the Elysian Fields. The crackle of the flame's crisp, burning on the wood, got louder- and closer with each passing second...and closer...and closer...
"Hang on!" Flam cried, picking up Trixie's cloak in his magic. "I'll pull you up!" He then proceeded to indeed do just that, yanking on Trixie's cloak until the blue mare was completely on the concrete stairs again.
"Hoo! That was a close one." Flam exhaled.
"You're telling Trixie!?"
"Grrrrrrr!" The Headless Horse still stood on the side where the door to the bell was, seemingly frustrated at having cost himself the only way to get across. The wood, torn away by the jade fire, started collapsing into the tower levels below.
"Ha!" Trixie laughed. "What will 'thoust' do now, Headless Horse?"
The Headless Horse snorted uncaringly.
Green kindlings and embers from the fallen wood began rising up out of the pit and gathering in the air, slowly allowing a bridge of heat to be formed between the two concrete pieces. There was no way a normal pony could have crossed it. It would've been like walking on the hottest coals...but it was clear by now that the Headless Horse wasn't a normal pony.
"...Oh." Trixie said in realization. "That's what."
"RUN!" Flam screamed at her.
They resumed galloping, trying to get down the stairs and out of the bell tower. Where they would go from there was a good question. They had no set goal in mind. Except 'get away from the Horse'.
It's good to have goals.
The Headless Horse leisurely walked along the flaming bridge. It was almost like he was just having a walk in the park or stroll down to the bakery. It was like he knew that Flam and Trixie wouldn't be able to get away, no matter how far they ran.
Trixie and Flam just barely managed to make it out the bell tower's ground entrance, as they were tired and short on breath.
"Been waiting around for ya." Gilda greeted them.
"Trixie!" Flim shouted, running up to her to inspect her body. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I'm fine." Trixie assured him. "But the minister..."
"Nah Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!"
Gilda looked at the three of them. "What was that?"
The Headless Horse appeared in the door's archway, just a few steps behind
"That was US!"
"EVERYPONY RUN FOR IT!"
Trixie and Flim started galloping at the fastest pace they could muster back towards Trottinham's entrance, while Flam headed backwards for Orion's house. Gilda flew overhead and made like she was going to fly off for parts unknown.
Trixie noticed. "Oh no you don't! You did this, Gilda! Trixie will see to it that you answer for it!" Trixie grabbed her hat and threw into the air, grabbing it with her magic mid-ascent to make it fly upwards.
Flim, ignoring that he and Trixie were running for their lives from an ancient burning evil of unknown power and uncertain origin, stopped when he noticed Trixie had quit moving. "Trixie, what are you doing?"
Trixie affixed him a dubious glare. "Flim, do you think Trixie was kidding?"
Gilda was moving through the air, not caring for the ponies below, gliding more then flying, when she felt something start poking her rear.
"What?" She turned around to see a...floating hat with a star pattern, actually trying to stab her in the butt with its tip.
"Hey, stop that!" Gilda swiped at the hat with her claw. It flew out of her reach, then over and around until it was able to start poking her uncomfortably.
"I said stop that!" Gilda snarled. She swiped at it again, only for it move over and around her again. It was only now after all that turning around that Gilda noticed Trixie looking up at her dirtily.
Gilda, seeing that she wasn't getting out of this, signed and resigned herself to help. "Fine..." The gryphon spread her wings and dashed through the air to the opposite direction, where Flam was being pursued by The Headless Horse.
"DEFILER!"
The Headless Horse hurled a fireball at Flam, which just narrowly missed and dispersed into harmless sparks against the concrete.
"Hey, barber!" Gilda called from above. "Hide in the trash cans!"
Flam continued galloping while at the same looking up at Gilda in bewilderment. "What?"
"It works. When gryphons get chased by something bigger then them, they find something to cover the smell. Hide in the trash!"
Flam continued looking at her, but shook his head and signed. "I hate this city." Tossing aside his reservations for the sake of survival, Flam swerved into the next alleyway that he saw and ducked behind the trash cans, placing himself so that not only was his smell covered by the rank, tossed-out junk, but also so that his coat and hat were covered by the standing cans.
The Headless Horse, seeing that his prey had disappeared, halted and slowed from a gallop to a walk. He looked around. Looking for where Flam had somehow disappeared to, perhaps? Without question. Not immediately seeing him, he looked up to gauge if the unicorn had somehow reached the rooftop, which allowed him to catch sight of Gilda flying.
"Nah Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!" The Headless Horse prepared a fireball and hurled it upwards, but the firecracker whistle it made alerted the gryphon, so she had the time to move out of the way. The Headless Horse continued throwing fireballs at her, until she decided to get smart and duck behind a building's rooftop.
The Headless Horse sneered at having lost his prey not once, but twice. He turned back around and started walking. From behind the trash cans, Flim could hear the awful sound of his armor, rattling as he approached.
Clink...Clink...Clink...Clink...Clink...Clink.
The clinking stopped for a second. Flim risked craning his neck to see the Headless Horse had passed by yet or not. Alas, he had not.
The Headless Horse did another take of the block, then focused on the alley Flim had hidden himself in.
Oh, Celestia, he knew Flim was hiding in there! Somehow, he knew. Flim knew he knew. Perhaps being on fire and made out a pumpkin made the Headless Horse's nose harder to fool then the noses of gryphon's predators in the wild. Or maybe The Headless Horse had another way of sensing Flim. It wouldn't be the first abnormal thing about him, certainly.
Clink...Clink...Clink...Clink...
The Headless Horse had gotten close enough for the light of the fire on him to start illuminating the cans.
Clink...Clink...
Now he was so close that Flim could see the smoke of his breath, smell the sulfur of his undying breathing. The Headless Horse's head drew closer to the cans he was hiding behind, trying to see if Flim was actually there or not.
Then, just as he was about to swat the cans aside to reveal him, The Headless Horse stopped and looked upwards.
"The sun is about to rise." The Headless Horse, once so confident and seemingly without fear and with at least three magical abilities unknown to all unicorns but the greatest ones, turned around and just...left. He just...left!
Flam nervously poked his way out of his trash can camouflage. Sure enough, the sun was indeed rising, the lighting on all the buildings was changing from moonless to sunlit.
Gilda flapped her wings, descending downwards to check on Flam. "You okay, dude?"
"Y-yeah." Flam stuttered out. "The Headless Horse...he...he almost found me...then he said something about the sun rising and just...up and left!"
"Huh." Gilda admitted. "Weird."
"Flam!" Trixie and Flim swerved into the alleyway's entrance. "Are you okay!?"
"Yeah...A bit tired, now that you mention it, but I'm fine." Flam answered.
"Well, now that I've helped your little friend here..." Gilda attempted to dismiss them and take off, but Trixie levitated her hat into the gryphon's face.
"You're not leaving until Trixie decides you've suffered enough!" Trixie growled.
"..." Gilda looked miffed, but kept quiet.
"We should go back to Doctor Vaccine's." Flim suggested. "See if Orion can help the minister get out of the bell tower."
Everypony (gryphon not included in that) nodded their heads in agreement. They started navigating their way back to Doctor Vaccine's residence.
The Trottingham townsfolk started breaking out their morning rituals, getting up, stretching and yawning, getting a cup of coffee to help to increase their alertness at the cost of their heart health. All of them looked at the mismatched pair of miscreants with confusion, not understanding any conceivable reason for why they would be out so early. And the gryphon! Where did she come from?
Ignoring them all from the kindly ones who asked if they were okay to the rude ones who insulted them for fraternizing with non-ponies, the mismatched quartet stumbled their way back into Vaccine's house. Trixie, being the last one in, clicked the door closed behind them while the Brothers stood there anxiously in the living room and Gilda floated on air nonchalantly.
"Orion!" Flam called, cupping his muzzle with his hoof for more volume. "We found who's been ringing the bell, but we lost the minister!"
There was no response, not even an indignant snort or hateful remark. Even a hateful remark would be better then no response as far as the unicorns were concerned. Gilda continued to not care.
"Orion?...Orion?...Orriiiion!...ORION!"
"Vaaaah!"
Vivian came down from the stairs, rubbing her eye to clear of tiredness. "Vhat iz all the velling avout!?"
"Vivian!" Flim exclaimed. "Where's Orion?"
Vivian's body visible became alert. "I-I don't know. He zang me m'ave lullaby in bed, zo I fell azleep..."
"You fell asleep?" Gilda asked dubiously. She appeared unaware that making little ponies sleep was sort of what lullabies were designed to do. What else was Vivian supposed to have done? Get up and make Orion a cup of steaming coffee?
Vivian looked at their group, unfazed by the presence of a gryphon. Given how rough around the edges Doctor Vaccine was, it wasn't surprising her filly took a hybrid so lightly. Trixie was unawares Vivian was about to ask something to make them all very uncomfortable.
"...Vhere iz the minizter?"
The unicorns all adopted worried expressionless. How to answer that? If they told her that they had lost the minister in the bell tower...in fact, it just occurred to them with the wooden hut having been burned away, the minister had no way to get down...
Vivian scanned the area. It appeared something else was on her mind as well.
"And- momm've?"
Flam bravely stepped up to the plate. "She's, uh, out, sweetheart."
Vivian frowned. "That'z exactly vhat Orion zaid to me lazt night...momm've's never out for this long..." she looked around, hopped off the stairs and started heading for the patient room...where her momm've was lying on her back in burns!
Trixie took charge to avert the calamity, quickly intercepting the filly just in front of the door. "No, no no, Vivian, you can't go in there, sweet heart."
Vivian looked at her oddly, like a huge mushroom was growing out of Trixie's back. "Vell, vhy not?"
"Because...because..." Trixie stammered, unable to think of an excuse. Vivian was apparently a smart little girl- smart enough, at least, to make tricking with the normal kiddie bag of tricks difficult.
"Because the minister said so."
"Oh." Vivian plopped down onto her haunches. "Okay."
Trixie looked at Flam. Had he said that? Flam affirmed that he didn't with a shrug. Flam turned to Flim, who in turn turned to back to Trixie.
"AH-em."
Everypony (plus gryphon) looked to the doorway to see Orion standing there coldly and distantly with the minister on his back.
"Orion!" Trixie exclaimed. "Where did you go?"
"Somepony heard the minister crying for help at the bell tower's top." Orion turned away his head and cleared his throat proudly. Arrogantly, really. "Naturally, they came to me for help."
Trixie was not amused at Orion's self-pride. As Flim had said to his brother earlier, takes one to know one, and Trixie was definitely getting to know Orion as one.
"But..." Flam interjected. "How did you get to the top?"
"What do you mean?"
"The- wooden hut separating the stairs from the bell room was burned away by the Headless Horse! How did you manage to get up there!?"
Orion seemed to really not understand what Flam is getting all worked up over. "I really don't know what you're talking about, Flam."
Before Flam could start outlining what was wrong with Orion's scenario, the minister grunted, coming to, and trying to crawl his way off Orion's back. "Is...everypony all right?"
"Yes, minister." chorused through the room.
The minister looked around took a headcount, seeing Trixie, Flim, Flam, Orion and Vivian. "...Where is the Headless Horse?"
Flam raised his hoof to draw attention to himself. "Um, he nearly got me in alleyway...but then he said something about the sun rising and just disappeared."
The minister and Orion exchanged looks. The minister in particular seemed to have an idea starting to edge it's way into his mind.
"He said something about...the sun rising?" The minister stroked his chin.
Orion's gaze wondered about the room, eventually noticing Gilda. "DAH! WHAT'S THAT!?"
The minister raised his head to where Orion's hoof was pointing. "That is a gryphon, Orion."
"Half eagle, half lion, and allll awesome!" Gilda described herself.
The minister looked downwards, undisturbed by the presence of a lion-eagle in the room, and started pacing around in circles. "Hmmm... "
Orion stood there with his front hooves raised defensively, trembling in fear at the sight of Gilda. Gilda seemed to catch on his fear. She landed on the floor and start walking towards him very, very slooowly...
"AH! STAY AWAY!" Orion started backing towards the wall.
"Gilda, stop that!" Trixie commanded.
Gilda turned her neck and looked at her, clearly having no intention of stopping this. Trixie took her hat off with her hoof and pounded the pointy end at Gilda. She waved it at her. Gilda signed and finally relented, floating away from Orion.
Orion visibly relaxed slightly. (Very slightly.)
Trixie, reminded of Gilda's behavior, narrowed her eyes at the gryphon. She cast another look at Vivian, the poor little filly with no idea of what happened to her mother.
"Vivian, would you please stay in here while I take Gilda to the patient room?" Trixie asked Vivian sweetly.
Vivian looked displeased. She turned to the minister and Orion. Their answers would decide her course of action in regards to Trixie's request.
Orion was still shaking too much to do anything, while the minister was pacing to the point he could have been off his own little world.
"...Fiiiiine." Vivian groaned, getting up and turning around. "I'm going to go plav'e in ma've room..." the little filly bitterly made her way up the stairs.
"Now come here..." Trixie grabbed Gilda's head with her magic and forcefully dragged her into the patient room, where Pink Cloud and Doctor Vaccine were both resting.
"Ooohf..." Gilda tssked. "What got Daring Do here?"
"The Headless Horse." Trixie answered with a snap in her voice. "Thanks to you. This-" she gestured to the beds with hoof, waving it wildly. "Is your doing, Gilda. This filly's mother is on a bed, scorched beyond belief, all because you decided to play a prank. Do you understand?"
Gilda wore an uneasy expression. "Yeah, I guess..."
"This. Filly's. Mother." Trixie snarled.
"Okay, okay!" Gilda threw her claws up into the air, admitting defeat to Trixie's point. "I'll stop ringing the bell..."
"Everypony, get in here!" the minister shouted from the other room. "I have an idea!"
Trixie and Gilda exchanged confused looks, then galloped back into the living room where everypony, bar Vivian, was starting to form a circle around the minister.
"An idea?" Orion questioned, not noticing Gilda coming back into the room.
"Yes, an idea! A plan, if you will." The minister answered cheerfully. "I want everypony to pause and think about the bell. How ringing it makes the Headless Horse go nuts." The minister paused, giving everypony a moment to think about exactly that. "Who's not to say that in the future, some ignorant pony will start ringing the bell and cause this whole mess over again?"
Everypony turned to each other for an answer, which had the side effect of making Orion see Gilda. Gilda smirked as Orion broke out in a cold sweat.
"What if we could stop the Headless Horse?" The minister questioned. Everypony gave him a disbelieving, bewildered glare each.
"What!?"
"Huh?"
"Is that even possible!?"
"Maybe." The minister answered. "Flam said that the Headless Horse retreated and left him be when he sensed the sun rising. Think, my little ponies. What is the one thing in pony tales that always, always repels monsters?"
Everypony looked around, somehow even more confused then before.
"Uh, memories?"
"Spells?"
"Lullabies?"
The minister grinned nervously. "Well, um, actually, those are all very good answers...but what I meant was the sun. I think, if we can trick the Headless Horse into being out during the sunrise, we can put a stop to his reign of terror...forever!"
Trixie looked off into space. The Headless Horse, gone forever...nopony would ever have to be put through what she had. No pony would ever have to get their wagon burned down and nearly killed by a flung fireball. No pony would have to suffer like she, Pink Cloud, Flam, and Vaccine had.
"Trixie is all for it!" The unicorn announced. "What is this plan?"
"First, we will have Gilda ring the bell to draw him out!"
Trixie looked at the minister disbelievingly. She slammed her hat into the floor. All that talk to Gilda in the patient room to convince her not to ring the bell, ka-put!
Gilda raised a talon. "Uh, minister, dude? I was the dude who was ringing the bell in the first place...this whole mess is..." Gilda shirked, not being used to taking responsibility to her own actions. "Kinda my fault."
The revelation that Gilda had been the one to ring the bell set Orion off. His fear was replaced with anger, and he raised his front hooves in a manner that he suggested he was going to lunge for Gilda. The minister quietly suggested Gilda move just ever-so-slightly to the right, which caused Orion's lunge to miss and send the dark blue pony sprawled against the floor.
That taken care of, the minister resumed conversation where had left before the distraction had derailed it.
"All the more reason you should help us put an end to it, Gilda." The minister began outlying the basic plan he had. "First, Gilda will fly into the tower and start ringing the bell. When the Headless Horse comes for her, she'll fly out and lead him to the streets, where we'll be there on the Flim Flam brothers machine. We'll soak him with the cider from it, and then lead him out into the forest, eventually bringing him to a swamp. If we pull it off the right way, he'll rise out of the swamp just as the sun is rising. Who's in?"
Everypony and Gilda looked around.
"All for one-" Flam started, throwing his hat into the air.
"And one for all!" Flim finished, doing the same.
Gilda's shirking made a repeat performance. "I guess I do owe something to that filly's mother..."
Orion remained indignant, crossing his front legs. "Minister, you want me to work with not only outsiders, but also the-being responsible for this mess in the first place!? Absolutely not! Never! Forget it!"
"Very well..." The minister agreed drolly. "I suppose we need someone to make sure Vivian doesn't stumble on her poor mother anyhoo..."
Orion grumbled.
"So, are we all agreed?" The minister questioned one more time. "After this, there's no turning back, understand?"
"I thought no turning back came after we start climbing the tower?" Flim questioned again.
Hearing no objections of any sort, the minister felt confident in the success of his mad scheme. "All righty! Flim, Flam, go get your machine ready. The Headless Horse's fire is weak to water-and cider, by extension, but only temporarily. We'll all meet at the tower around 3 A.M. That way, the sun won't have much time before it rises."
Everypony, bar Orion, but including Gilda, all placed their hooves on each others in one last act to show that they truly committing. No turning tail and fleeing, no backing down.
It was time to end this, once... and for all.
The unicorns, Gilda, and the minister all left Vaccine's home to go out and get their affairs in order. Flam, in part, wanted to see if there were any quick modification that could be done to their machine before they got ready to face the Horse again. Gilda flew off towards the bell tower, promising she wouldn't ring until it was time. The minister headed for his own house, which Trixie hadn't been to yet, in order to restock on powers he lost fighting the Horse the first time.
"Um, Trixie?" Flim said nervously as the unicorn trotted towards where the machine rested. "I...I have something to say to you."
"The Great and Powerful Trixie gives you the permission to continue, Flim." Trixie told him lazily. She was too excited- and freakin' terrified- at the idea of beating the Headless Horse to pay him much mind.
"There's...been something I've been meaning to say, but I haven't had the courage..." Flim continued.
"Uh-huh." Trixie said.
"I...I like you, Trixie."
Trixie froze up like discarded steel I-beams. Everypony could tell Flim had taken a liking to Trixie, including Flam and Trixie herself, but for him to outright admit that...carried implications, the likes of which Trixie wasn't in the right mind to deal with appropriately.
"D-do you like me back?"
OH! Oh, wow...just wow. Trixie really was not in the right mindset to deal with this right now. How was she supposed to answer this without being so blunt as to break his heart, yet not negative to suggest she wasn't completely out of his league?
Trixie's mouth hung, struggling for an answer. "I..."
Trixie looked at Flim, seeing his money-green eyes quivering in anxiety for her answer.
"I...Trixie.." Trixie shook her head. What was she doing? She was the Great and Powerful Trixie! The affections of a clean stallion like Flim should be no different then the admiration of an adoring fan!
(Pssst...hey...Except it totally was in every regard. Don't tell anypony.)
Trixie cleared her throat, getting ready for to her usual boasting and swagger. "The Great and Powerful Trixie...would require more time spent with you to decide whether or not she likes you."
Flim's face showed exactly what Trixie was trying to get. Not heartbroken, yet not completely closed off to the idea of starting something with her. Flam announced they had arrived at the Super Speedy Cider Sqeezy, and they all took up posts on it.
While Flim and Flam started busting open panels and investigating a lot of technical stuff Trixie could never hope to understand, she experimented with different ways to pass the time.
Chief amongst them was levitating all the unused cider mugs and stacking them in such a way they very vaguely resembled a pony, and even just that require her to 'cheat' and used her magic on the mugs.
It worked though, as it was very plainly nighttime when Flam walked up to her and offered some special brew of cider meant to keep them all awake and energetic longer, so nopony fell fast asleep in the middle of the upcoming confrontation.
After they all had a sufficient sip of it, the Flim Flam brothers worked their magic on the machine. Its wheels made sure it didn't take long for them to arrive just outside the bell tower, where the minister was already waiting with satchels full of powder slung over his haunches and Gilda perched atop the tower's roof, waiting for the A-O.K to start ringing.
"Before we continue, do you three have your affairs in order?"
"As much as they can be..." Flim muttered.
The minister looked at Trixie and Flam, giving them each their own chance for an individual objection. Getting nothing of the sort, the minister pulled some power- black power- and threw against the ground, where a cloud of black smoke rose from it.
That must have been the signal, since Gilda spread her wings flew into the bell tower proper.
DING-DONG-DING-DONG
DING-DING-DING-DONG
DING-DONG-DING
Everypony tensed, waiting for the Headless Horse. Gilda flew out of the tower and join them in their wait. It didn't last long after that.
"NAH HAAAAARRGH! How long does it take thoust little ponies to learn thine lesson?"
Everypony immediately starting frantically searching around for where the Headless Horse was coming from. They saw him stalking towards, his armor clink clink clink clinking, in the street just in front of him.
...The street that lead into the swamp they had meaning to lead him into!
"NAH HAAARG!" The Headless Horse began preparing his fireballs once more.
"What do we do!?" Flam yelped at the minister. The Headless Horse was blocking their way out of the city!
"Stick with the plan." The minister coolly informed him, climbing up onto the Cider machine. Trixie and Flim were confused, but Flam quickly caught on. With his magic, Flam aimed the cider machine's spout at the Headless Horse and squirted out a torrent of cider, causing smoke to rise from the Headless Horse's body as his temperatures adjusted for the liquid.
"Bah! Agggh! Pfff! Ptooie! Dost thoust really thinketh that we would fall to cider so easily!?"
Flam cranked the machine's controls. "Nope, but-"
Everypony clung onto dear life as the machine began roaring down the hallway with it's light blinking.
The Headless Horse, seeing the machine was about to steamroll him over, turned and attempted to scramble out of the way, but didn't make in time. The machine knocked to him his side and roll right over him. Miraculous, his flaming hairs didn't catch the machine on fire.
As the rear wheels crunched their over the Horse, the minister dash to the rear end of the vehicle and ready some powder. Once the Horse was visible again, the minister flung the power at him, blinding for the third time in total, but only the first tonight.
As the Headless Horse lied in street, grunting, moaning, and trying to regain his composure (and dignity) Trixie yelled at Flam.
"BOOK IT!"
"I'M BOOKING IT AS FAST AS I CAN!"
"Oi!" Flim attempted to wedge his way between them and added his magic to Flam's, allowing the machine to pick up more velocity. Just in time too, as a fireball arched right over their heads and exploded in front of them. The twins were just barely able to get the machine to swerve to avoid the resulting pothole.
Just in after that, they finally made their into the forest, where, for Trixie at least, this whole horrid venue had began. Fitting it should end here as well, is it not?
"NAH HAAAAARRGH!" The Headless Horse's scream tore it's way through the forest, making Trixie panic and think the Horse was even closer then he actually was.
As Flim and Flam swerved the machine to avoid the many low-hung branching and bulging tree roots, Trixie noticed something...they were going the same way she had gone when she had first encountered the Headless Horse. She started shivering. She didn't think for a second that the swamp the minister had been referring to was the same one she had nearly drowned in!
Despite the Flim Flam Brothers best efforts, the machine smashed into a tree trunk, sending it upright, which catapulted all of them off it. Gilda did a nice save and spread her wings in mid-air to keep from falling face-first into the not so pleasant forest floor. Trixie was...not so lucky.
"NAH HAAAARRGH!" The Headless Horse screamed, climbing onto the trunk which caused the collision.
Trixie's eyes widen in panic. So this was it then...the end. The absolute end, for better or for worse.
"Hey, ugly!" Gilda taunted. "Here I am!"
"Defiler!" The Horse shouted, preparing to hurl another fireball. "DEFILER!" He threw it at her, the firecracker whistle piercing everypony's hearing. Gilda dodged the spell and continued taunting him.
"Is that all you can do? Come on, ugly! Fly up here and put 'em up!" Gilda curled her talons into fists for emphasis.
"Thou hath no idea the power thine tempts!" The Headless Horse's entire body exploded into green fire and launched upwards at Gilda in a flaming bolt. Gilda, once again, dodged out of the way, causing the flaming bolt to land into...
A swamp.
Not just a swamp, the swamp. THE swamp. The swamp where Trixie had almost drowned...
Trixie breathed a sign of relief, thinking the worst was over now.
"FOOLS!" The Headless Horse yelled, splashing his way out of the swamp. "THOU STILL THINKETH WATER CAN DEFEAT US!?"
"No..." Gilda replied. "But we do think the sun can!"
The Headless Horse got A worried look on his face. It was extremely satisfying to see to Trixie to see him so...concerned. vulnerable, after all the times he nearly set her luxurious mane on fire.
"Nooooooooo!" The Headless Horse screamed. The entire swamp burst into flame as the sun's penetrating rays swept their revealing light over the area. Not The horse's emerald flame, but regular, normal, red like bloodstone fire.
"NO! NO! NOOOOOOO-AAOooOooeeeeh!" The headless Horse's panicked wailing's could be heard, just barely, over the roar of crackling flame. The swamp's fire dissipated, and a specter, a black horse's skeleton with no hind lings, consumed in jade flames, rocketed out of the swamp and into the sky, quite possibly into outer space, even.
"HA!" Gilda cheered, pumping her fist. "We did it! We totally did it!"
Everypony let out deep breaths they didn't even know they were holding. It was over now. Completely, totally, utterly over. Where the headless Horse hellish heat was burning in the mucky lake moments ago was nothing except-
"ORION!?"
"HELP!" The dark blue earth pony screamed, hooves splashing in the water. "I CAN'T SWIM!"
Gilda came soaring to the rescue, swooping down to pick Orion up in her talons and bringing out of the water, dumping mere inches away from Trixie and the others.
"Orion?" Trixie questioned. "What-how did- huh?"
Orion took in a deep breath. "I..." he scuffed his hoof, further attempting to avoid conversation. "I have a confession to make, I guess...I am the headless Horse." Orion looked skyward where the flaming skeleton had disappeared. "Or, I guess I was..."
Trixie and the Flim Flam brothers all exchanged confused looks.
Orion signed while the minister got off the ground and attempted to offer a comforting hoof on his shoulder.
"I was the one that set Trixie's wagon on fire...I felt bad, so i went into the forest cleaned it up and dumped it in front of her hotel room." Orion looked away ashamedly, hoping Trixie and the brothers would figure out the rest for themselves so he wouldn't have to embarrass himself further.
Trixie slid her hooves across the ground so she could get up. "That's how you knew the minister was in trouble...you were the Headless Horse..."
Orion nodded. "I-I can't thank the five of you enough. I've been possessed by him for...oh, It's been so long I lost count of the years. I'm sorry I accused you of being the bell-ringers when you first came into town."
Flam adjusted his hat. "And now that we know who really did it..."
Everypony looked up, only to see Gilda had flown off.
Trixie rolled her eyes at the gryphon's cowardice. Some ponies just can't stand the thought of facing justice.
"If there's anything I can do for you three..." Orion offered. "Just ask. I am forever in your debt."
"Duly noted!" Flam exclaimed.
"Perhaps you can go around town advertising our cider." Flim joked.
"I'll get right on that!" Orion took off for town, galloping so fast he left a zip-line blur behind him.
Flim's mouth drooped. "...I was joking."
The minister laughed jovially. "Hahaha!...Apparently he doesn't know that. Orion never was one to make a joke. So, my little ponies, now that the Headless Horse is gone, what do you think you'll do?"
Flam, Flim and Trixie exchanged looks.
"Eeh, continuing selling our cider, of course!" Flim exclaimed. "What about you, Trixie?"
Trixie looked up, where the Headless Horse's spirit flown moments ago. She recalled all the close encounters, the drowning, the collapsing hut, the wagon Orion cleaned up. "The Great and Powerful Trixie...thinks she'll start traveling. She needs to get away from anything to do with the Horse for awhile."
Flim looked at the ground. Trixie caught wind of it and cupped his chin with her hoof.
"Buuut...she supposes she make a return trip to see her stallion every now and then." She winked at Flim, which made him blush. Of course, Trixie, being the over-the-top showmare she was, couldn't just stop there. She gave him a little smooch on the cheek. Flim moaned and fell onto his back, hooves in the air.
Trixie, Flam, and the minister all looked at the toppled over unicorn, then shared a good laugh at his expense.
Orion clicked the door to Vaccine's house closed behind him, as he was the last one in. He was tired after a whole day of advertising the Brothers excellent cider for to the whole town, which, after having sip himself, he couldn't genuinely bring himself to call it 'bad'. But, he wanted to see Vaccine and make sure she was okay.
He daintily made his way into the patient room, where Vaccine was up walking on crutches, giving Pink Cloud one last check-up before she could leave the doctor's house.
"Zay 'ahhh'" Vaccine instructed, putting a Popsicle stick on Pink Cloud's tongue.
"Aaaaah."
"No, no, not 'Aaaaah', 'ahhh'."
"Ahhh."
"Excellent." Vaccine removed the stick. "Voo are good to go, Pink Kloud...vut I recommend voo eat zome more grazz every now and then, oka've?"
"Whatever you say, doc!" Pink Cloud saluted. "I'm just happy to be alive!" with Vaccine's blessing, Pink Cloud flapped her wings and flew over Orion and left.
After making sure she had left, Orion approached Vaccine. "So, how you feeling, doctor?"
"Fine." Vaccine replied in normal tone of voice. "Juzt fine."
"Good!" Orion perked up at the news. The sound of Vaccine's crutch being the only noise in the room, he felt confident in starting to ask... "So, Vaccine, maybe you and I could go out to dinner-?"
There was an audible, attention-grabbing clunk from Vaccine's clipboard as she tossed onto a drawer.
"I'm not fine, Orion."
Orion's jaw dropped in horror. That his little Daring Do replica would not be fine was practically his worst nightmare. "Well, what is it? What can I do? Whatever needs to be done, Vaccine, I'll do it!"
Vaccine turned around to face him, and Orion could see, written in her face, there was nothing that could be done. "I have a dizeaze, Orion. Non-containgouz, of courze, vut ztill a dizeaze nonethelezz. In a very short time from now, I'm going to die. I need someponv'e to look after Vivian when that happens."
Orion's jaw hung down even further before he snapped it shut with a jerk of his head. "You can't die, Vivian! I-I- I love you!"
Vivian smiled. The most beautiful smile ever. Well, really, it wasn't any prettier then any average-Joe ponies' smile, but infatuations like Orion's had made colts not see worse. "Vhich iz vhv'e I know voo vill do it for me."
Orion shed a tear before biting down on his own jaw. "Yes...yes, I will."
Vaccine looked away. "I...must confezz zomething. I knew voo vere the Headlezz Horze. I took count of vhen the bell rung each night-" Vivian swung her hoof at the air like a musical composition. "I had veen hopinh voo vould've turned into the Horze and kill me, so that I wouldn't die on m've vezide zurrounded by family memverz...I kouldn't stand the idea that I vould just lie there and let them vatch me die."
"That won't happen, Vaccine." Orion told her. "I promise."
"No..." Vaccine shook her head in agreement. "No, it won't." Vaccine coughed.
"I will take good care of Vivian." Orion said. "I promise that, too."
"Thank voo, Orion..." Vaccine said sweetly. She looked at him with the unflinching gaze of an old crone who been 'round the world and seen it all. "Kome here." Vaccine beckoned Orion over with her hoof.
Orion scurried into leg's reach of Vaccine. Vaccine tossed the crutch aside, showing a callus disregard for everything she had learned as a medical professional, and swept Orion into her front legs and kissed him passionately.
"Mmm!" Orion moaned, fully enjoying the sensation. "Mmm! MMMMPH!"
After a few blissful moments of finally having his long-sought after love returned...air rushed into Orion's mouth.
"..mmhp?" He made a confused noise. Some more air rushed in. Then, without a minute break in between, something...splashed into his mouth and onto his face!
"Bleck!" Orion pulled away from Vaccine, something he would no doubt regret later, but he wanted to know what was getting all over his face. "Sorry about that, Vaccine, but something-"
A-FLECK-HECK-A-HOO.
Oh dear heavens! That was blood that gotten into his face and mouth! Vaccine's blood! Vaccine was coughing! Vaccine was coughing blood!
"VACCINE!" Orion screamed, grabbing Vaccine's shoulders. "Vaccine, what's wrong? Is- this the disease?"
Vaccine confirmed this with a nod, eyes shut in pain and muzzle dripping with hacked out blood. AHEECK-HIC-AAACCK.
"Vaccine...Vaccine..." Orion desperately muttered, praying to Celestia a miracle would happen. Vaccine's hoof gestured at him. Orion leaned in closer to see what she wanted. She wrapped her legs around his neck and resumed the kiss they had been sharing. Orion was so sad, so depressed, so broken and devastated that he didn't even care anymore about Vaccine's blood being coughed into his mouth. Vaccine's disease may not have been contagious, but there was no way he wasn't going to catch something nasty from that. The two's passionate moaning altering in a twisted mocking symphony with the coughs, their tongues wrestling with each other through the blood, with tears streaming down both their faces.
All too quickly. Far, far, far too quickly, Orion could feel Vaccine's tongue stop moving. He opened his waterstained eyes and looked at her, at the splashed blood covering both their muzzles. He delicately got mouth off Vaccine's tongue and let her drop to the floor.
Orion's tears resumed. He would give anything, anything, life and limb, body and soul, for just a minute more, just one minuter more with her- thirty seconds. Twenty, ten even! Just-just some amount of time more.
"Ah-heeen...heeeen...hee-aahhhh!" Orion cried.
"Orion?"
Orion took his hooves eyes, going against the gods themselves and wishing for something even more then he been wishing for Vaccine a moment ago. He didn't want to look...but he had to. He had to look...to see Vivian, standing in the doorway with a look of plain confusion on her face.
Vivian's head tilted confusedly.
"Vhat did voo do to mommv'e?"
Outside in the dark of the night, just on the edge of the forest and outside Trottingham, a chariot pulled up. An incredibly intimidating chariot, with black spikes on the wheels and dark shadows of beautiful, but sharp-faced ponies painted on it's walls. The chariot's sole passenger stepped down from it, their hooves wreathed in invisible magic power.
The passenger was wearing a black cloak, which would be presumed to conceal the identify of it's wearing...had said wearer not flicked the hood of it off, revealing a powerful, beautiful face with larger-then-most ponies muzzle. A blackish blue horn rested between their ears, and the stars themselves seemed integrated into her mane.
The passenger was Princess Luna.
Luna looked up, as if expecting somepony...or something.
A green flame descend down from the sky and came to rest in front of her. Inside the flame was a coal-black skeleton of a horse.
"We told thou Orion would not host thee for long." Luna said to the flame imperiously. "What hath thou learnt from 'tis venture?"
The black skeleton signed.
"Mother knows best..."
"Quite right." Luna said smugly, smirking. "Come along, our son. We have met a pony who will host thou...and we expect he will do so with much enthusiasm."
The Headless Horse seemed dubious at this prospect. "Oh? Who, pray tell, mother, would be enthusiastic about hosting us?"
"A delightful little colt." Luna answered as she climbed back into the chariot, motioning for her son to get in.
"What is this colt's name?"
"Pipsqueak. In fact, he lived here once, but he does no longer..."
THE... END? |
Trixie: school days | pre | 'Oh yeah that's right diamond dogs have a unique relationship, their pack mentality requires that the alpha, is allowed to have his many wives as possible or husbands depending on who's branded as the alpha, but they must mate with each one of them, and also their partners in unique ways. As I recall Beowulf had three wives? Although Celestia was his favorite, and considering her position she was temporarily crowned the new alpha!' Lyra's showing off her studying skills.
'That's right, and I didn't know I would be accidentally giving out visual aids. Girls okay?' In the real world, everyone just simply replied with a nod, although Trixie did give a unique smile a fiendish evil smile!
After eating.
As the gang was starting to get ready to return back to their dorms, the annoying Prince reared his ugly head with his friends, or henchmen whichever one you prefer to call them, standing next to Prince annoying was two stallions, one was golden colored, with a silver mane slightly smug personality look. The other one was glowing green coat, and blinding Eyes shattering blonde.
"Well I guess mudbloods drag together, and the more circles than one! Too bad auntie Celestia created a spell that allowed you particular types to accidentally breed." Stated the Prince throwing more insults, also throwing them at Gusty. His two cohorts just simply laughed.
Minuett gave a slight snicker and pulled out a strange device." So, you throw that insult around. Without looking carefully to what all in the bar, I hope you're prepared to, for the consequences! Oh and do you think you can win with your mystical skills think again." Stick she was holding was glowing.
As one of the bigger idiots stated "What are you going to somehow turn into one of those bullheaded idiots, or are you going to try to transfigure us into a mule! You know all Transfiguration spells are temporary, and they can't permanently change your species or gender. Or are you thinking as dumb as those stupid cats." Realizing that their voices were being magnified to be heard all throughout the bar, where several patrons were definitely out of town is currently stuck here, like a couple of cats one or two Minotaur's, including the aforementioned waitresses. And a very angry donkey!
Arriving back at the dorm.
Trixie was holding an ice pack to her head, while they did manage to escape most of the bar brawl's, Blueblood did manage to seeking a few hits. "I am so sorry I forgot that cancels out our magic as well!" Minuitt apologizing for the 16th time by the time they got to the dorms.
"Don't worry about it, Lyra do you have to make up?" Trixie replied as she was removing the ice pack that was over her right Eye, it was extremely swollen, and look a lot redder than it supposed to look.
"Honestly I think Dr. Colgate, should be treating it and you where eyepatch. Maybe you could talk like a pirate!" Lyra counter replied, it also didn't help matters that she actually didn't have makeup.
A few more days past.
Gun dong, a gorgeous busty Mare, she had violet mane, a sleek black coat, wearing something like a bathrobe, her classroom was more shaped like a dojo. This was channeling class, not spirit channeling but mystical channeling two types of channeling to be exact, this allows you to cast spells through other parts of your body instead of through your unicorn horn. While the horn is extremely more potent magic, at casting! It is completely unwieldy and terrible, when it comes to aiming and targeting your targets, most spells are almost practically instinct to cast with your hands. But they're usually the lower tiered levels, And levitation you cast with your horn but it's not really necessary to focus at target, you just have to think of what you're one to levitate, and be able to actually focus if you can actually lift it. Levitation requires the knowledge that you can actually lift someone, or lift something. If you don't have the physical strength you can't really levitate it, without putting major mystical strain on yourself. If you're not careful you can pull mystical muscle, or pull real muscle without realizing that it does actually cause your muscles to feel the pain.
"Flow of the energy, feel the energy flow up into your horn, then flow back down your arms!" Dong proceeded to channel her fist even more than usual, as she walked up to a stone block. "Today we are going to channel, the skill of casting spells with in yourself! You already learned the hard body spell, this spell is often used to cast on your friends, to withstand the hard and damaging blows! Especially if you gotten hit by a piano, an anvil, bowling ball, and a series of other hard objects it will break every bone in your body if you're not careful. Today we are going to channel this into our fists and proceed to punch objects! Like this!" As her arm was glowing and coded in her usual aura of shiny green, matching her vibrant green eyes! She punched the stone slab and it cracked into. "Nowhere near as good as the Earth pony's fist but, can come in handy if you need to do some quick road clearing. Now in front of you are targets made out of wood, proceed to do exactly what I did. Reason were going with one of the is so that we do not break your hands too badly, if you screw up."
Trixie smiled as she was wearing sunglasses, thankfully Vinyl had a couple backup pairs! She proceeded to focus the spell, and pictured the target being a certain smug white unicorn! Picturing the bull's-eye being his right eye. Channeling the energy! As she proceeded to punch the target, and it shattered into 1000 pieces, thankfully the splinters were designed not to actually fly too far away. Trixie's entire right-handed was not coded in the usual sense that the hard body spell but in reality, it was covered in shiny glimmering steel?
"You're lucky that spell is temporary, I'm not sure how come you managed to channel a Transfiguration of metal, but were doing the hard body spell. I'll get you a new target so that we may try again." As the teacher began to levitate another target for front of Trixie.
Several hours later after main classes:
location library.
Trixie was studying it for the combat exams, they were going to happen tomorrow, and she was looking over the selection of things she could test out. The creature that they were going to be fighting up, well to be exact a simulation of the creature. Your standard Timberwolf. Composed of wood and stone, given life they were a branch creature of the Treant. Difference between those two sets though are that, Treant are technically composed of living plants and trees, and will bear fruit and agreeing to pretty much living arrangements, although they're picky on who they rent from. Meanwhile Timberwolves are territorial and will most likely, attacked with fierceness! And rather unforgiving, they are not even easy to reason with like wolves, or other lower ranking beasts.
As Trixie was looking through her book, she felt something grab her head, right at the horn! And the voice saying."So the mud can read, studying up on your cousins! Oh wait you're fighting actually the feather brain creations. Although I have been to wonder still, What happens to unicorn that's born on the clouds? Does natural selection actually work than?" As he slammed her face into the book, Trixie could feel her nose cracking a little.
"Get out, nephew! Or I'll give you the scars." The voice of fancy pants was heard as he walked over, Trixie could feel Blueblood let go, and leaving the room.
Trixie stuck her head out the book and, promptly asked fancy pants a question about blueblood. "Why does he hate me? I know I lied but it doesn't deserve to be this much hate."
"I don't know the answer, this is far more than his usual hatred to those who are born from different trees, while I do not care about the forks in my blood, my brother and his son do. I think part of that comes from his wife which is backed the dead, then again I don't remember her dying so that could be one of those factors travel. But my brother is always been proud of the fact that we only have two divergent forks in our family tree, and one of them is the Princess herself. And even then he usually states, that's where the line starts you can't really call that a divergence. Although I say that's a bigger point of saying were not pure unicorn. Now I'll stay here watch you for a little bit, my darling is currently busy. Oh and to answer that question that my 'dear' nephew presented, they are born with the ability to walk on clouds. I see my beloved be on cloud nine way too often."
Defense against the dark arts combat class!
Trixie was in her gym clothes, and according to the rules she was barred from using the pendant, mainly because they had too many enchantments! But she prepared to get around this, by studying the pros and cons of polymorphic, if she could self polymorphic parts of her body to fill in for certain spells that she would have been casting multiple times technically be less draining. Thankfully they were fighting a wood and stone creature, well actually it's made of cloud but, it would be based on a wooden stone creature so, it's tactics would be based on that particular creature. As she walked up to the area where she was practicing, and began to channeling her Mana from her horn down to the rest of her body.
Although this became a bit trickier than normal, the channeling technique wasn't often used in combat beyond certain spells, and polymorph is a much more complicated spell! the teachers were confused that she managed to cast polymorph in-word when it's a spell that's really impossible to do that with! Jumping back and forth a little bit trying to avoid the sharp icicle Claws, mimicking the sharp stone and wood that the Timberwolves have. Based on the dull blades though, it would be not as sharp as the actual things, although it would be still capable of cutting straight until it hit bone! But after dodging about five or six good swipes, Trixie finally managed to complete the spell poly-morphing a brilliant Dragon, and also a male Dragon, she only caused the transformation in two key spots, her unicorn head had the minor transformation of giving her scaly face, Dragon eyes, Dragon's teeth, and etc. not really changing her topper happen her torso and arms though, but the lower half where her stomach and entire waste, also began to change as the 'tales' began to rip straight through her girl leotard, revealing the long scaly 'tales!' Trixie was slightly down on all fours when she unleashed the full fire breath, at least that's what she thought she was going to do and then she found out that while she did calculate the transformation giving her the fire breath ability she forgot she didn't actually have methane buildup that actually gave dragons their fire breath! For she didn't eat things that would cause methane production which was meat, or the alcoholic fermented liquid's because she was underage! As she was struck by the first claw strike to her face, merely gouging out her left Eye!
Several of the other students were watching with bated breath, a lot of them were confused and that they realize, that apparently polymorph does give you the abilities but you still lack the fuel can't really use the actual equipment. Although the mares wondered if she was actually equipped downstairs, even Prince blueblood was now even more fuming than usual, although there was no clue why he was fuming beyond possible male Envy. Although according to most of the group they wouldn't believe why because he's already a big gigantic dick!
Deciding to use the blunt attack of the dragon's tail(the real one not her penis), to slam hard and at least get him away, jumping back a little bit she wasn't used to walking with the larger waste, nor the two swinging a large 'tales' and the complex things that were attached to one set of tales. Going to regret not forming the entire torso now, although from the examples there was a 50% chance She might not actually got the wings. Quickly channeling for a different spell, this time she was still going for polymorphic idea but going for her right arm, this time channeling a elemental and making a mental note to do this the next time if she was going to try it again! Although elementals were even more complicated of creatures, unlike most living creatures as they were composed of the natural elements within the universe, wind elemental had organs compose of wind & the air, and etc. she was going for at least something that was known as a combination of two elementals, wind and water, known as a cloud elemental! They had a vast more variety of abilities, as one of the only two elementals that exist to shoot lightning! Using the Dragon tail is a shield while she was building up the energy, although one tail can hurt more then she realized that she was using as a shield.
Trixie jumped backwards after, a particularly hard swipe the cloud beast was about to go in for the kill, but Trixie's arm was now made out of puffy clouds, and unleashing a powerful static electric charge! The allowed thunderous the clap that came from her right arm, that would normally vaporize the creature but instead just send it sprawling back to the ground into the shape of cloud. After that Trixie proceeded to do a little victory dance and start forming her arm back to its normal status, her arm had a bit more of a priority actually because it was composed of air molecules moisture molecules etc. after all when your scales that's no big deal, but if your arm blows away that still counts as your arm being blown away! It really didn't help matters when she did have pelvic thrust.
Girls dormitory:
"Well, you're not expelled. Relax Trixie it's perfectly reasonable for you to make that mistake, it probably doesn't help matters that most of the books carrying male designs. Although you were deftly make me consider you as a option. You were almost like a changeling only without the whole limited to certain types of creatures with that's shape and size rate!" Trying to give out compliments was of course the ever loving monster lover, Lyra heartstrings! Which during her class she actually tried taming the beast first and got a decent scratch on her arm early on in the actual course, forcing her to be the nurse's office during the 'display' but she did get to see the awesomeness that was Dragon Trixie's big fat dick!
Trixie was hiding underneath the covers completely embarrassed! By then her transformation had completely dissipated but still, it was embarrassing! And not knowing what her punishments going to be is going to be even really bad, she just hope it's just something simple like paying for the uniform at, five or six weeks of detention! But streaking was often considered a pretty big offense especially when you have one that 'big!' If it wasn't for the fact that she had eight understandable teacher in this particular situation Lyra was right she could've been expelled.
Vinyl scratch came into the room mentally tethering to Trixie, and answered with a rousing reply' Congratulations! you only have two weeks of detention, no need to thank me or dad because we didn't actually pull off the stunts here. Maquahuitl managed to bring it all down that way.
"Thank you for the info! Although that still doesn't help with the embarrassment." Replied Trixie, still can't bring herself underneath the covers.
Minuette came into the room with a series of books, and placed them on the bed. Opened up a couple of the books and start reading, but one book particularly caught Trixie's eyes, it was titled PlayCult, but it had a gorgeous Mare on it, double D's, wearing a string type bikini. As Trixie carefully stole that particular book.
The next day lunch time.
Trixie was filling up her tray with food, but all of a sudden her entire tray turned into a collection of bees! It was surrounded for a short period of time, by the familiar mystical aura of one blueblood! Trixie had to quickly cast up a shielding spell, to protect yourself from the deadly bee attack! Sure a small amount of bee venom won't kill her but 400 yeah that's kind considers legal!
Moon Dancer took care of it with a single insect spray, and replace the food that was instantly destroyed when turned into bees, that was also filled with insecticide. "Thanks dancer, care to spend time at the table with us?"
Moon dancers smiled and replied. "Well considering that Twilight also at the table yes!" Moon dancer was more considerably on cloud nine than usual, it no better she thought she would be a Pegasus child. With the fact that dancer was pretty much all floaty. But church meetings kind of totally told a different story.
"What's got you on cloud nine?" Trixie asked with a bit of a quick blunt, and moon dancer quickly replied.
"Twilight kissed me, right on the lips!" Trixie's jaw dropped a little bit! Not a big gaping hole because she didn't well leave any opening for Blueblood for a extra attack, a fact that Blueblood was now willing to use magic to inflict pain. Was assigned now that Blueblood had some serious vendetta against her.
Once the group got to the table, Trixie went into the pounds! "So Twilight, I heard you kiss Dancer?"
"Yes, it provided some interesting results." Replied Twilight, and then she went back to eating her incredibly large amount of food.
"Like what I kissed every girl." Minuette being a little steamy about that. Which caused moon dancer to give a bit of a look, lemon heart also gave a comment.
"She kissed you too? About you Twinkle Shine?" Referring to the pink pony next to them, who gave a simple nod!
"Well I had to gather enough conclusive information to make the correct assumption, it seems I am classified as bisexual. With four out four girls and three out of four guys." After a minor quick interrogation, namely on which ties Trixie wasn't really paying attention except for when she mentioned that she kissed Blueblood, but Blueblood also counted as the one guy that she could find attractive! At least spell casters radar was good at that front.
' Minuette, cooldown. Your overheating.' Mentally replied Vinyl, one the advantages of being forced to become a telepath, you can talk when your mouth is full with out any repercussions! As she was eating a good size meal as well.
After school: detention:
Detention was more like community service, with either a student or teacher of a higher rank allowed to oversee your punishment! Trixie's punishment was relatively nice and kind, especially considering she wasn't that skilled at using her spellcasting without draining her. So her punishment being cleaning all the bathrooms on the first, and second floor! Without magic, what exactly as harsh as most ponies would think. It also help matters that her watcher was Gusty. Lifting a rather large water bucket filled with soap, and a nice big sponge. Normally this would be way too heavy for some, one who rarely dealt with physical labor. But Trixie was easily lifting both of these, as she proceeded to scrub the toilets, the bathroom sinks and so forth. With the exception of one bathroom stall, on the mare side, next to the cafeteria. Nothing was emotionally scarring. Until she got to the second floor.
Trixie was humming a little musical tune, Gusty was sitting outside the door. When the bathroom stall opened, Blueblood was standing there his horn glowing and Trixie began to scream but her voice could not be heard! Blueblood didn't say a single thing but pointed to his horn, Trixie quickly figured it out he was casting and sound silencing spell! This was really bad news because as accordance to the rules she was given a small bracelet to cancel out the ability to cast magic. As Blueblood pick up Trixie by her horn, and proceeded to lift her and promptly began spinning her around! Trixie had to maneuver her legs just enough so that we she would hit the bathrooms stalls or the sink with her legs, she might be sturdier than most ponies but still porcelain and solid steel could break her legs, and she didn't have the nice advantage of having the hardening spell. Then he maneuvered himself to slam her straight into the mirror, the cracks the shards of glass in her face. Then he proceeded to pick her up and give her a nice swirly, in each of the seven stalls. Then finally he teleported away.
Gusty could hear the moans of Trixie after the spell were off, and quickly ran inside using her magic to remove the shards of glass help fix of the bathroom. "It (whistle) was (whistle) Blueblood." Trixie said with her front teeth completely broken, there was a large gap now with air coming through it.
After returning to the dorm.
Trixie was covered in bandages around her face, the bandages were specially coated to make it harder for her to actually develop permanent scars, with two tiny little mystical enchantments so she can actually see through the bandages, and given also a book to read by Gusty. She even come through that Cultplay magazine, featuring some very busty Mares, and some with some nice plots as well.
End of chapter. |
Trixie: school days | Chapter 7: Blood and prophecy! | Trixie managed to complete her detention time with, minimum results only one beating! Thankfully, but her friends were now giving more concern. Especially the Time Lord(in training) Minuett, still researching several medical spells, and coming up with a crazy suggestion.
"Vinyl? Are you willing to take a chance and look into the head of our mortal enemy?" She said to a friend to has to use to help happiness just to communicate.
'If it's to help Trixie, I'll take the chances. Although you do realize he's a third-year which means he's also been taught mental blocking. Not to mention I'm pretty sure he got that message taught to him early on, but I'll give it a shot.' Mental blocking was a unique construct magic, to create mental barriers that only a few species could be trained to unlock. One being unicorns, the other are several dangerous monsters. Speaking up with this up a great strategy plan.
It's been over 3 months since Trixie started school.
Trixie have been looking over several spells that were slightly above her age range, but was quite curious, there was to be a school break coming up soon just in time for everybody to mentally prepare for the grand classing tournament! A special tournament that was held for every years, the grand prize was some minor things like, the first years free lunch, for the rest of the school year! For the second years same as the first year and also class credit, for defeating, defeating a teacher on the roster list. And finally third-year's got a massive boost, not only free lunch, for the rest of the year, free credit For three classes that you were failing in! And finally the biggest bonus, three free out of detention cards! Even if you were a non-troublemaker student that was a great bargain! What was strange was though that the group wasn't mentally talking today, and vinyl was definitely keeping her shade on tight. Lyra was looking positively giggled but also exhausted, like she cast the spell, that she wasn't used to practicing and was high-level.
After a little bit, Blueblood got up from his seat, turned to the group and said. "Nice try losers. Even using some mystical enhancements are going to get past my defenses! I am training on the level secret keeper, so mind spells don't work. Next time I won't give you such a warning." Trixie then turned to see her friend vinyl, cradling her head, her glasses removed! And her eyes and puffed in blood red. Minuett was already trying to treat her friend, using the time manipulation magic to fix the injuries.
After lunch:
"Vinyl, it's a good thing you, were clever enough to use a polymorph on your eyes, and a good thing that demonic watcher are high ranking creatures! Or else you would been blinded." Trixie scolded, her friends in the kinder matter, she appreciate their attempts. But she didn't really want to lose any of her friends, although this did give some more information Prince douche bag was going for the long-term! Secret keeper was like a spy no wonder he was mastering teleport, and spells it made more stealthy. 'Still not really sure why he's focusing his actions on Me. ' She was thinking.
'Something to do with a prophecy, when I can see I'll try to draw out the diagram, his mental defenses aren't that great!' Blind and mute Vinyl scratch, thankfully the blindness was temporary! At least until the polymorph spell wear off.
After all the classes at the girls dorm:
Vinyl was starting to get her vision back, as her eyes referring to return back to their original format. Trixie was smiling as she is glad to see her friend was getting her vision back! Still looking through one of her books and, setting up some things that would help her out profits, she was going to have a good set of magic shows coming up soon.
Lyra gave a good giggle. "Do you have any plans during vacation?" Asked the very curious monster lover.
"Actually yes, sure it's gonna be sad that I have to work my birthday but, I can't just lie on a hunch that winning that tournament. Especially with the apprentice of the Princess in the tournament." Trixie replied as she was getting out studying stuff.
Once Vinyl got provision completely back to start drawing.
Drawing a short comic, a picture of a strange a dark gray Gypsy unicorn Mare, based on the drawing her cup size was around B or possibly a C. Her Mane was bright pink. Also a very large dialog bloom was written above her! 'The Blood of Morgan, will work with Doom, mastered the skills of those of lands long past. By Victor, she will end a Bloody Lord. Using her silver mane to bring forth the lining of destiny! Bringing the new Princess much levity.'
"Okay, So Blueblood believes that, because I the unicorn of the family tree, I am the one who will bring him, he is End. I'm fine with that, not sure about the whole Princess stuff. But I'm finding thing his life." Replied Trixie as she looked over the comic.
'Well, if he believes. He needs to crush you in order to stop you from doing this! I'm going to stop him from doing that, do you mind if I also bring the music for your works?' Stated the DJ!
"Sure if you're a fan of having rock!" Commented Trixie, as the DJ brought out a small boombox!
'Behold the power of my Bass Canon!' As her boombox went off, and cause a loud boom!
First job.
As the group was setting up the stage, Vinyl's big half-sister Octavia, they start out with a simple small crowd, it was technically the 50s to be exact the late 50s. Which was a good thing because well a lot more things were going on. Vinyl and Octavia were doing their usual hand signs to have their conversations, again Trixie was wishing she had studied the language in question. Not that she hadn't tried it, it was just extremely complicated multiple signs with different meanings. In a strange way hand signs were as much complicated as the average language with, a very very heavy accent. Although it was quite strange to realize that Octavia was more of a unique study or of the finer languages.
Trixie was finally able to show off to the group, the costume that she was working on you due to some litigating factors, she was able to get her hands on some fabric to make a similar design of her grandfathers outfit. To be honest if she was going to wear her grandfathers Cape right now would probably completely overshadow her. Also wearing a nice leotard to excess rate most of her body, although she kinda looks sad that she said she had nothing at top. Well at the moment, the cuff design style was not going to really help matters.
"Okay are we ready to drastically change the fabric of music, without really changing the fiber music because the moment that they tried calling out to relatives to change the fabric of music it won't actually happen, because the phones are still affected by this whole time differential change too." Judging from the reaction that she was still the only one nervous, this was nothing like the normal birthday crowds and even then, most birthday crowds were full of little six-year-old's. This was going to be her first big party! 10 a very important number for, for most kids! An extremely important for her, she was dealing with students closer to her age to have to deal with pleasing.
Octavia smiled and said. "Relax, everything will be fine. After all, we're not down with the craziness, that technically society dealing with!" Which was technically true, integration was starting to become a little bit of a thing. There were still some schools that specialize in certain areas so they could really have the need for integrating certain species. No there wasn't any thing much of that except for the fact that fear of a carnivore versus herbivorous. With the cropping mostly compose the ponies, Trixie believed this was the concept of basically Octavia saying you shouldn't have a worry about the crowd actually eating you alive.
Although this did not help with Trixie's anxiety, but if she was going to live up to the reputation and have her own she has to build it up herself. With a smiling grin Trixie stepped out on stage, the music was starting to blare, loud rock 'n roll music accompanied her usual fiery light show! Having enchanted spotlights that can give out some rainbow was a great way of planning forethought. Her hairpin was filling in for all the bonuses that her grandfathers Cape would normally give her. The audience was mostly composed of young ponies, with at least five or six adults, only one was strangely dressed out of place, maybe another traveling magician the wizard and profession didn't really die out until the 70s! Ironically that was also the same time as the hippies began to start.
Of course Trixie start off with the easy stuff, after all building up the crowd is easy. Pulling a rabbit out of a hat, the washing, etc. then came the big escape trick!
"I THE great and powerful Trixie! Will now dazzle all of you! With a contributing of my dear friend Vinyl Scratch, who has created this fantastic device known as a Bass Cannon, modified from her original mental vocal communicator. This can in charge up and amplify a sonic wavelengths!" As a unusual subwoofer designed like a cannon, was brought up close to Trixie! Octavia blushing as she was actually wearing the assistance outfit, and she actually did have a figure to pull off! Carefully placed handcuffs around Trixie latching her onto a small pole!
Octavia whispered. "Sure about this? I mean Sis's does make pretty powerful sonic blasts." Now she was being a little nervous.
"I will attempt to escape, or I should say the great and powerful Trixie will succeed in escaping the files of death! From this powerful cannon aimed directly at me with out any usual methods thanks to this anti-teleportation inhibitor! Onto the back of this poll." With a devious smiling grin! As the inhibitor was turned on giving a small blinking light and a small stream of techno colored pink/red energy.
The cannon began the charge swirling blue energy was building up, and then finally a gigantic laserbeam was fired the beam of sound was vibrating, and Trixie's entire body look like it was exploded into 1000 bits of smoke! Octavia gave a violent scream@
Trixie was standing right behind her and grabbing Octavia's rump. "That's nice!" Changing to a small whisper. "You're right I too need to practice to trick more, to stay in position I'm currently nude."
As the crowd gave a round of applause the mysterious cloaked with her that was watching through over his green cloak revealing a heavily armored dark gray with a small green tint of a cloth on top of his metallic gray armor, and with a smile he replied. "Nice job, also your trick would probably drive my good Foe, mad. Then again he hates it when someone is actually smarter than him. Although I still recommend you practice it a bit." He said as he walked around, he looks like to be a earth pony?
Octavia quickly grabbed the cloak and wrapped it around Trixie as fast as she could, thankfully nobody saw anything! "Thank you everyone!" Everyone gave smiles and tribulations.
After Trixie put on some new clothes!
They started packing up the wagon that Trixie had been working on in order to create her magnificent display stage. It was simple with minor pocket technology, to conceal the expansive how big this stage would be containing. Octavia offered the pull since she was the stronger of the three, one of the perks of being a earth pony was naturally being strong enough to pull most objects!
'I see you like the cloak, are you going to use that in your next show or just keep it for standby purposes?' Vinyl replied while Trixie was still wearing the dark green cloak.
"The great and powerful Trixie will still wear her the blue and purple stars, but the green will be good for a backup. Besides it was a gift from one of Trixie's many fans, and a fan gift is always cherished."
If Vinyl's eyes were covered by her sunglasses, Trixie is sure that she is just rolling them.
"By the way Trixie how did you do that trick? I know you couldn't teleport even with the field not exactly being the best? So how did you manage to escape the sonic cannon?" Octavia asked while pulling the cart.
"A great magician never reveals her secrets!" Trixie replied with a magnificent bow.
As they arrive at the girls dorm.
Trixie was opening up the school dormitory room, it was completely dark and Trixie turned a simple light spell, light up through! When everybody shouted! "Surprise!"
"What?" Replied a slightly confused Trixie, as Neon Lights brought over a slice of cake, with two candles shaped like number once!
"Well we figured with the old-fashioned candle system it would be a bit of a fire hazard, besides you're not the age where you want to hide how many candles have." Replied Neon Lights.
"Well celebrate their birthday! No matter what time goes Willie wonky Hueneme Miami!" Replied the Junior Time Lord!
"Thanks Colgate!" Replied Trixie, with a big smile.
Minuette rolled her eyes and grabbed Lyra. "Actually with more her idea really starting to dislike that term, I'm almost tempted to take the suggestion that title known as the Dentists, although I haven't even fixed a single cavity!" Causing everyone to giggle!
Selective classes:
Some classes were deemed, to continue because they were selective, extra classes that some students would take for choices. These are classes that often required extra funding, and even if they were on the main school board curricular, it doesn't hurt that they're actually extra ones as well. Also defense against the dark arts qualifies in order to make sure it actually sticks on the actual school curriculum.
"Considering all of you considered, taking the defense against the dark arts teach, dangerous types of dark arts! Dark artifacts! There are three different types of dark artifacts, I explained the first ester that there are things like the Alcorn amulet that you will have to deal with, but the Alcorn amulet is a power stone dark artifacts. I will first of explained those are more likely you will encounter." Maquahuitl replied with a unique drawing behind him, but stopped when he saw that Trixie had her hand up.
"Yes, Miss. Lulamoon?" He replied noticing just of handedly the hand.
"What are power stones?" Trixie replied, several other students were slightly curious as well. But the teacher knew how to turn a question about that into also teaching the same thing he was focusing on, besides knowing the difference between the power stone and a crafted dark artifacts, or a natural dark artifact is important.
"Okay minor question, how many know the tale of Nightmare Moon?" Pretty much everybody raised their hands with a slight Oh'brother expressions on their faces except for Trixie and Lyra, there's were positively giddy. "Well those are the elements of harmony, mystical stones someone from the heavens themselves, growing from trees of untold power. Those are power stone's! Reading in the emotional elemental forces that exist to ignite magic, when those subjects are around. Dark artifact power stone like the Alcorn amulets, only dark elemental energy that they store, amulet is believed to carry rage and anger! Fueling the urge and enacting it further, we all have a small tangent of our anger and what causes it to come out. The amulet heightens that particular part of your emotional spectrum. Breathing in the rage and hatred that have by also fueling your mind, very thoughts that caused your rage and hatred in the first place. If your rage and hatred is paranoia is driven it will cause your paranoia to make you believe everyone is your enemy, etc. etc." as everyone seems to give a nod, they understood the example.
"Now to explain about those that are crafted dark artifacts, long ago there was an evil wizard by the name of Mumm-Ra, to be exact was a fallen Sphinx, resurrected by his own dark magic. Yes Miss. Heartstrings." Spotting Lyra's hand going up.
" Sphinx are one of the long lost races, well known for living in the desert oasis of many rivers, and come from the land known Zebrica, they were this race that gave the zebras some of their most valuable magics. They went into hiding the moment that the "politely stumbling on the word. "Power stone, arriving. Reactivated during the great alliance between diamond dogs and ponies. I believe it was early 20s." Commented Lyra really eager to investigate species that were lost.
"Yes, but if you're trying to go for your great points now. Wait until the games actually start. Also that was not a challenge. Now as I was explaining, crafted dark artifacts are artifacts that can only be crafted. That artifact for example is the MOONSTAR! A attempt to forge his own power stone, without understanding the actual aspects of a power stone. But this is a really good example because it was dark artifacts were ever crafted." As he wrote on the board several ingredients. But also pointing out which ones were placed on the watch list so that we they are likely be able to make their own, as well several key ingredients that were listed as impossible to obtain at this point!
"Now unlike, power stone where they feed off the emotions of the wielder. A dark artifact only be invaded by the wielder emotions, not fueled by it! But it does give out a unique adrenaline high, More time use a dark artifact of this caliber more likely you'll become addicted to it. MOONSTAR is quite small and look like a pendant, it's capable and abilities is to steal the magic around others, and force it into the chanting and enhancing the magic of the wielder! Basically slowly fueling the magic by giving them a slight euphoria effect of overwhelming mystical energy! Giving them a Power-mad complex. This is what the effects of dark artifacts are, adrenaline rush improvements. Instead of what a talent is supposed to be, which is practiced hard work and dedication. Dark artifacts are the quickstep actions. Those who wish to believe that they need to take actions faster, and slightly cheap to rely on other power. Then there are natural dark artifacts. These are caused by those beings who exist unusual powers. Like for example Discord, or Queen Chrysalis. They are considered natural living organic dark artifacts, for their origins are shrouded in mystery."
Sometime after school:
Trixie was currently at a large dance studio, actually was a training studio but it was nice enough to actually be useful for her actions. Plus if she accidentally went streaking wasn't going to cause her any problems! She can't afford another week of detention, literally! As she was practicing her polymorphic spell! "Okay Trixie, need to polymorphic the outfit your wearing as well as yourself? Let's see, how can Trixie get around this problem?" Muttering to herself in the third person to help boost or her own confidence. As she begins to try generating a field spell, as her horn began to glow with its prominent blue aura, the small shield bubble shield was popping around her body! "Okay this work... I can't move." And she was so focused on trying to do one thing that she forgot what she was going for a transformation, and turned into a metal statue. "Well at least I'm not naked."
As she was waiting for the spell to wear off, next 'renter' showed up Blueblood! The annoying Prince Blueblood, was looking at the statue with a evil grin.
"You know if it wasn't for, being part of the unique plan, I could kill you with this very moment. Get away with it just like Dear Ole. But if I wish to see my destiny I have to fall the plan of the prophecy. Till you become in line with doom, I can't really take you down. Doesn't mean I can't beat the crap out of you! Turn evil faster so that way I can clean this world of your filth annoying little rat! Because I am tired of waiting for my ascension!" Blueblood said as he was generating a welding, just as Trixie finally up her transformation!
Trixie bounced off and replied. "What are you talking about?" As she generated a force field to protect yourself, really thankful that she didn't show up naked because there were still barriers required lots of energy, and her hairpin was nicely to be efficient!
"How strange, I could've sworn I let your friend actually see that when she was trying to look in my mind. I guess I'll have to spell it out for you, or maybe you're all just too dumb to figure out the prophecy. Again what do I expect from Mud!" With a slight cough he said "The Blood of Morgan, that means you! Will work with Doom, mastered the skills of those of lands long past. Again you turning evil! And making lands long past, obviously since were in a time bubble that means a land long past are existing here. By Victor, she will end a Bloody Lord. In other words by victory she will meet her End at the hands of a blood of the Lord, and I course of the only blood Lord around. Using her silver mane to bring forth the lining of destiny! Again this silver mane that you, will line my success, elevating this handsome prince, to the living station of an Alicorn!" He stated with a smug look on his face.
"Or maybe the prophecy is saying that you the at my Hooves! I'll be sure to walk in some mud when I walk all over your corpse!" The comeback was well worth the punch.
Girls dorm.
"Don't start calling me Dr. Colgate, the doctor is an another pony, thinking unicorn right now, or earth pony, possibly a Pegasus I mean we have four different time zones here it's entirely possible there's four different doctors! All my gosh that would be bad." Replied Minuett, when Trixie came inside with a really bloodied face and a smug smile, well if you can call missing five teeth smile! But still so worth the massive Beating.
Minuett horn was glowing with a bright glimmering light, it was shiny gold just like the hourglass on her rump, with a blinking red light shining in between it, glowing energy. "Okay Doc." Trixie slightly doing this on purpose, rushing on the adrenaline high of making Blueblood to beat the crap out of her, allowed her to have a bit of smug superiority that she kept cool when he broke. "And you probably already know who did the job here, but we now know how he perceives the prophecy! Is waiting and see He can make the school turn against me. But that's not going to happen anytime soon with my friends like you and Lyra, and definitely Vinyl."
Lyra and vinyl were watching, with a big grin as they came over and hugged Trixie!
"WOOOOOWOWOWWOWOWOWOW! Rips, he cracked a couple of them too! And I was Dragon at the time! Note just because dragons are fireproof does not mean laser proof! I love you girls too but you're Killing me!!" Commented Trixie as she was an absolute excruciating pain! |
Trixie: school days | Chapter 8: grandfather's Cape. | ' Dear Mom & Dad.
Ever since the time bubble, things have been a little more crazy, I do have good friends. But I do have my enemies as well, And according to my enemy I might not be friends with the royal. My destiny might be taking Gr-aunt's path. If that's true, if that time comes, Dad show me the power of the true Paladin of Luna! I've already seen the powers of Celestia's Paladins. Although not all of his power.
Anyhow I've done a couple of shows now, proving my acting skills. I figured out some of the tricks with polymorph, And I've finally figured out a way how to act to use dragons powers without having to be a sloth. I'm going to do something crazy, and when you read this letter you'll probably be really confused, a lot of us were afraid to go visit our original homesteads. Because of the time bubble, we might arrive in place where we haven't existed yet! And I know that's technically true for a couple of places I've been having my stages that! Though I don't know what's going to happen, I don't know if I arrived before even Sises are even born? I wonder if one of the stories about grandfathers Cape is true, if it is then when I do today will not be changing history. Grandpa was weird like that.
Anyhow, love and signed either future dark Lord! OR Princesses Teacher? Whatever destiny brings forth. I hope this Princess is nicer than the Prince I'm working with.
PS: I also hope she's really cute. '
Trixie is finished writing her letter, while sitting in the girls dormitory. Lyra was also getting dressed for combat, along with vinyl both of them have been doing double-time with magic work, and the musical experts. They were just waiting for their final member of their party! And the most important one the healer!
"Vinyl isn't that a little skimpy for a Bard?" Lyra commented as she was looking at vinyl's outfit, it was a punk rocker design with the top torn and covered slashing and tears, wasn't for the fact that she technically didn't have any bust this would be extremely revealing! She was also wearing a punk rock miniskirt with tear jeans.
'Well it works well for my warrior style, see this awesome AX I am wielding!' As she summoned with her magic a large guitar with two steel blades at the end for its body, and a small shotgun barrel design for the neck of the guitar!
"I hate it when ponies tried doing triple classy, one classes stats are always canceling out somebody else's." Lyra replied who was also be a little hypocritical, her outfit was also a bit more of a blending of the two classes, to be exact Hunter along with her standard Bard outfit, Her mystical Lyra that was on her back had a couple of extra ridges to work as a makeshift bow, and she was wearing a camouflage green shirt, and her miniskirt was brown fur, and maybe she had a mix of fighter in her! That's the only reason why she had harpy legs on her body right?
'You're one to talk!' Countered vinyl.
"It's not yet time for you girls to do that contest, wait until they come in before you can actually do the measuring! It's not like We, boys you always can measure it. Also I'm not going to waste a regeneration cycle if I can actually do that, just to humor you girls on that subject." Minuett came into the room, she was wearing a brown medical jacket, a extremely long scarf, that could double as a whip! And pinstripe pants and a purple vest.
'Five points of damage to fashion!' Mentally joked DJ Pon-3.
"What the heck are you supposed to be, correction what in the world of Tartarus are you supposed to be?" Commented Lyra's trying to figure out what the heck the outfit is there were like patches of unusual concepts, on the jacket a piece of varnish celery, just that would be good for a meal in case of emergencies, opening up the lab coat to reveal underneath the vest was a T-shirt covered in question marks, tiny multiple question marks.
"Well you guys kept making uncle Dr. joke so I figure I might as well try to look the part, I was I didn't know which outfit to go with, I mean do I go with his fourth incarnation third incarnation fifth incarnation six incarnation seven incarnation 10 Incarnation, I don't have the fuzzy eyebrows to go with the 12, which that will exist until later too. Not to mention he wears so many hats, all of them with variance tiles so I can decide which one to wear." The three just merely shook their heads.
As the girls had out.
As the girls were sticking out towards a castle, the main castle district was surrounded in a much more complicated bubble, the one the main reasons why the Princess has a been showing up lately to board meetings! Is unknown what happens in the center bubble, but it seems to not be related to the process of her raising the sun or the moon, but all the extra stuff is still been kind of problematic. Trixie was wearing the green cloak in order to blend in a bit better, it was less likely to be noticed versus her mimic cloak of her grandfathers, besides if the plan worked she was going to grab that cloak and leave a copy of it, sort of one of the theories was that it her grandfathers cloak had a unusual ability where the cloak could exist in multiple timelines, if you remove it from one timeline it still exists in that timeline, making the cloak impossible to destroy unless you go all the way back before existed. At least in theory that's how it was supposed to work. But I will soon find out if that's true or not.
As they got closer to the bubble. Lyra pulled out a suction cup arrow with a small string turned her lyra into its bow like shape, loaded the arrow and fired!
Meanwhile on the other side is the Royal guards were still investigating the bubbles themselves, they were too afraid to actually go jump in the outside, well not exactly they were told by the Princess not to do that, and they were allowed to shoot any object that they could just pull and retrieve because well they might accidentally stab someone without realizing it. As the guards helmet had a small suction cup all of a sudden land on it! "What is this?" As his helmet was yanked off his head revealing his goofy golden locks, as he had a shiny golden Afro! "By my nose hairs!"
Back with our main party:
"Okay we can bring stuff back as well as we can go in, let's do it!" Said Lyra as the girls giggled, as they ran straight into the bubble, but unusual energies were flowing around this bubble was different than the others! Causing unique energy signatures they could feel their bodies changing a little, their close getting tighter!
As they ran into the royal guard that was investigating the bubble/guarding the area. "A group of bandits from the portals, and I have no clue what time-period you are from? If I had to guess the one who's having a lot more exposed cleavage is from the 80s possibly 90s, and see the one in the green cloak is early 30s, and I have no clue what you're from, as well as the strange one?"
The girls were quite confused but decided to roll it off with the guard being confused already! And said well to be exact Trixie said with her voice slightly in a different tone. "We are here to investigate certain quarters, and drop off letters as best as we can! We were brave enough warriors to take on this challenge." Figured she could make us look as a young stallion, not realizing what has happened to her yet.
"Right okay I guess you know which letters go to Who, but I'm still going to escort you around by the way did you guys managed to remove my helmet?" As Lyra return the guards helmet as his mustache was twitching he was pretty much like all the other Royal guards with only a slight brown shade covering up his eyes white coat, the golden Afro which magically disappeared underneath his helmet, and of course his golden tail wearing the standard royal guard armor, he was of the day guard which brought things even more confusing it was daylight here! But they know that they entered through nighttime? Did it take them a full day to go through the portal? No time to focus on that, Trixie was carrying the bag, she commenced a couple of other ponies in the dorms to write some letters to make it a bit more convincing than just her own. Even Twilight Snorkel wrote her a letter.
As the group walked into the castle, thankfully the royal guard that was showing them around was powerful enough to at least get the other Royal guards selected through, one or two lunar guards were also standing by! One very familiar lunar guard was walking by as well. 'Dad, but he looks older?'
"Hello? You girls are from the bubble? I wish one of the princesses were here." Said Trixie's father.
Lyra was slightly confused "One of the princesses? You mean besides Princess cadence?"
The royal guard looked a little nervous but figured that they were old enough that they could change too much of the history, the one with the mustache that was lead them's explained. "Well after the return of the elements of harmony, Princess Luna came back I don't know all the details about one. I see two of your smiling so worshipers!"
Trixie still having her face hidden behind the cloak sure what was going on but she figured it would be best not to be acknowledged, but gave a nod as well and repeated in the very raspy voice. "3 of our worshipers of the night! One that is fashion disaster is not, but she also does not worship the sun. For she believes things are timeless." Turning to where Minuett was Stannnnnnddddddiiiiiiinggggggg!?! Her friend was glowing bright golden, she looked like a princess of her own right but slightly different, like her horn was fading in and out as well as her wings.
Trixie's dad replied. "Yeah I kinda figured one of you was a time Lord, my daughter's friends with one actually. So is was the new Princess." Trixie was starting to put things together, one of the things that they were really figuring out was what would happen if they aged up? The girls had walked into the future but this does make sense there should be the process of walking into the future? Does cloning doesn't work that way, unless? Unless the time bubble works differently?
Trixie still disguising of her voice not knowing what her future was detailing and really not going to risk any extra details, but trying to also tactically asked questions about herself. "So we have moved farther than we expected. I believe some of these letters are useless. Especially this one here."
Giving her father a letter that she had wrote, a mere four hours ago, now Luna knows only how many years.
Her father's eyes were leaking tears. "So this is what was going on when she was at school, I see that she tried to give me the letter, thank you noble lady. Minor question are you by any chance related that new wonder bolts, in training her name is Rainbow Dash?" Find the place that voice.
"No. But we do need some of the housing records of those here, that way we can check off some of the letters in question. We can already suggest that we cannot deliver one letter, if by any chance Mr.'s Dragon is here?" Her father shook his head. But the royal guard that was leading them did leave them to a room filled with books on was living in the castle at the time. Like she was going to be able to test out the theory if the Cape is obviously with her after the fact.
After they were left in the room and the door was closed the girls turned to look at each other.
"Damn Trixie you are stacked! And now your outfit is really way too revealing vinyl! Although I think it's perfect for you to get that nipple piercing." That Lyra replied.
Trixie looking over her friends and said "You're not kidding Miss I am mount bags!" Pointing out to Lyra that she had ridiculously huge ones, what were they I, I, I?!?!
Lyra looked down at her amount the flesh and was squeezing them, no wonder her shirt felt really tight. "This is unnatural? Unless I had a bit of a changeling colony?" With a slight giggle.
Minuette who was talking and like ridiculously multiple voices. "It's entirely possible, that some of us are affected that the timestream beyond formal factors. Maybe I shouldn't of come along. Because either I've not actually regenerated in this timeline yet, or the fact that be going through the thing is for out my alternate times generations. Right now I am simultaneously all 12 of my forms, at the same time not." He said as her body was fluctuating between busty not busty, male-female, the good thing that her fashion disaster was allowing her to cheat.
'Yeah I highly doubt, monster lover hasn't found her perfect monster mate just yet. I just hope we sort of age back down, we return back or else were going to have to do some major explaining! Although I do like the idea of getting piercing!' Trying to stop her thoughts later.
"Yeah and I'm not going to risk regeneration energy, by trying my normal healing magic it might be dangerous. But I'll see if I can fix us later if things don't go well. It's a good thing I did make my own sonic screwdriver." Replied the multiple shifting time Lord at the moment.
"Well let's get back to doing what we were pretending to do, although I highly doubt I could get my Cape here." Replied Trixie as she looked over the listings.
After looking over some things.
"Of course that big fat jerk is still here, but it doesn't say he ascended yet! Maybe it's because that new Princess took his place! I'll have to check out her artwork later." With a slight snicker said Trixie, spotting Blueblood's name is was living in the area.
DJ Pon-3 was doing all the deliveries, after each checklist. When they had the last letter that they could technically deliver, they would be ready to go. But requesting for a full-length mirror, receiving a bag of holding. As the girls looked over their bodies one last time, Trixie gave her body this double D's a squeeze, Lyra was flexing her muscles & lifting her 'dumbbells' and vinyl did a quick flash and the girls just be on the safe side! 'Too bad Minuett can't stay in one form too long or else was we could actually see what she did to get.' With a bit of a rocking smile.
Afterwards the girls proceeded to get ready to, return back to their time. But Lyra did ask a question actually for the royal guard that was taken back to the entrance where they came in. "By the way what's your name?"
The royal guard said "Pump Pump Bomb. But you can call me PP bomb For short."
'Thanks double P.' As he was startled when vinyl did that. As the girls walked through the portal.
Upon arriving on the other side of the portal.
The first one to pop out was Trixie. "And there goes the fun bags, although I guess that answers the first question." Looking at her now deflated just, are of her was sad part of it was happy. At least she was happy to know that she was going to have really nice once. Then came popping out was Minuett!
"Yes no more regeneration shifting! Okay I don't think I'm actually in middle regenerations in that time. It's just I actually get my own TARDIS probably, or something similar to that! But considering that judging from it one or more of my incarnations is either a Pegasus or earth pony! I can probably rule out a time travel spell." Stated looking so happy that she was stopped shifting all over the place, even triple check and see if everything was still her! Then vinyl flew out and tackled Trixie right on the face!
'I know, I had some pretty nice ones but, right now let's just stay friends. Although I would might actually owe crap I'm thinking wonder!' As DJ Pon-3 quickly cut off the connection to Trixie's.
Lyra was just laughing as she was back to normal as well, even lost her cool harpy legs.
As both Trixie and Vinyl were separate real quickly and blushing.
On the walk back:
"So the prophecy hasn't happened yet but there's a princess, maybe it has happened but he wasn't the actual blood Lord but I'm still alive so I'm not evil so, am I still! Not evil or but my evil is given?" Mumbling in confusion.
"Well it's entirely possible that the prophecy is kind of confusing itself. Working with doom you might be working with evil but, you doing like the whole secret double agent thing." Commented the time Lord was just getting comfortable with the fact that she will regenerate one day, just not anytime soon she hopes.
"OOOOH Ooh OOOH maybe, during this whole time travel thing you get sucked to the crystal Empire back into the past, trained really really hard while he stuck in the crystal Empire then when crystal Empire returns you take it down King Sombra, because he's resurrected himself in order to bring back crystal Empire and then you say the entire crystal Empire and that makes Princess Cadence the Princess that you're helping bring levity!" Lyra suggested.
"That would be awesome, and obviously I would have to learn his dark magic in order to stand a chance." Replied Trixie thinking that would be awesome as she imagined they the huge epic battle with King Sombra!
While they were running they bumped into someone very familiar once again. It was the same dark gray pony, or maybe he was different colored it's hard to tell when you're wearing a suit of armor that covers your entire face.
"Going first stroll or a quick run. Either way have a good day." He said if his armor could move it would look like it would be a smile! In fact she could've sworn it actually did turn into a grin? As the girls got up.
Once they reach the girls dormitory.
They open the door and there was Sunset shimmer. "So you for were out again? Doing another show?" As they notice everybody was up.
"What's going on?" Asked the Lyra, figuring if she just played along like they were out doing a show that they might not get in trouble.
Neon lights replied. "Someone attack the regular school dormitories girls side, at the same time someone attempted to teleport here thinking they got there signals crossed when they tried to teleport in the area. Doubling layers really does make a difference! IH five for the old-style apprentice!" As neon and sunset did a big huge hand clap, which let out a gleaming of light.
"COOL!" Everybody was turned into shock this, as they noticed who said the words Vinyl could speak again! For about five seconds and then she began to cough again.
Minuett returned to casting this healing spell and said. "We are not going to go through session like that again. But we now know that that could actually help you later, just need to wait until I'm absolutely sure I can cover a regeneration."
The girls use this to go straight to their room, slightly confused to hear that someone tried to attack the girls dormitory, and the course using teleport meant that they had the unicorn of high skill. But Trixie found something also in the room? A small box as she opened it it revealed her grandfather's Cape?
"Dear Trixie, when you're reading this, might be wondering how did this get here if things went wacky and strange, well that parts not spoiler everything else is! Sign your friend Minuett, also I know you're probably dying to know. Enclosed is a small picture, that was really embarrassing by the way. Also feel free to show me because I know you show me. Time travel is weird that way."
The girls were shocked, and then Trixie quickly pulled out the picture. "Old me was right it is embarrassing, or present me, I'll am supposed to be at time Lord if everything is so confusing!" As there was a nude photo of herself, showing some nice curvy hips, a decent C cup technically on the border towards D.
The next day at breakfast.
"Okay now since we've had a good rest, and hi Sunset, could someone please explain what was with the whole aging up thing? And why it doesn't work when you're walking around in the bubble?" Asked Trixie still trying to figure out what was going on, and why certain ponies were not aging up when they were walking around, especially considering fancy pants and his partner, got younger.
"I think were not time bubble! IN a temporal hurricane, and the castle is the eye of the storm, that's why we did the whole aging experience, and why we safely managed to pass through it is because I am a Time Lord, in-training." Commented Minuett, putting her hands, to her chin stroking what possibly be a future incarnation would possibly have a beard.
'This is a little crazy please explain.'
"Okay girls you might want to explain all a lot." Commented Sunset.
"And that's why we couldn't actually deliver your letter Twilight, technically you two were not living at the castle anymore." As Lyra was coming over to the breakfast table, with Twilight Snorkel.
"Okay before anyone joins it to the conversation explain, imagine if you will bubble is not a bubble but actually a storm, what causes a tornado?" Minuet replied with a bit of a teacher expressed.
Both Trixie and Twilight were raising their hands fighting for competition!
"Trixie."
"When Pegasuses or a single Pegasus, have generated enough wing power, in a circular dynamic for position, can generate storm, either a tornado or hurricane depending on the location of when they're using the circular rotation."
"Right, well imagine if all of us were that circular rotation! Every pony has magic, not just unicorns. As such that the maximum mystical energy ratios, we were parts of the storm. Namely we are the 'Pegasus' that are cast the spell, bidding our mystical energy as the 'wing' power to the 'tornado'. Now considering this is a temporal for now this is the reason why certain people aged with different ratio, either this was the point where they were practicing in casting time magic, or when they were at their strongest when they were casting magic. Asked why certain subjects like fancy pants & professor inkwell, DE-age. But there are two spaces that are existed whenever you create storm, and the usual terms of rotations a storm usually will move because of the Pegasus that are moving at, namely some fly out of formation to start moving into either bigger rotation cycles, and their quick changes just in order to make it a smaller storm."
"So that's why certain ponies are coming back, they're not coming back because, that there needed for events. But because they're contributing to the storm being stable, and since this is a temporal storm it doesn't move like normal storms, because we are on a track, and how the storm works is as we are moving around we're still creating the current." Explain Trixie, beating Twilight to the punch again.
'What about my sister, she live in the same district as me & pop, yet she didn't show up. Until I contacted her on my mental wavelength.' Vinyl stated while pointing out her headphones.
"That's because each race has their own style of making the current in the situation, Earth pony's is magics are tied to the earth, thus they could probably technically flow through time a bit more differently. Focusing on the person that they wish to talk with instead of focusing at the location, I was sent to move through the tiny bubbles freely and return to the original time-period. Now I'm not sure how it works for Pegasus yet so don't quote me on all the details." Explained Minuett.
"And this is the reason why I'm in my second year instead of my third year incrimination, because I'm casting time magic spells right now, and studying its effects. The storm probably rippled into each time-period, Thus causing certain subjects in the central time areas to exist with others. Namely the reason why you guys are here but I'm here are two different current factors." Explain Sunset shimmer.
Both Lyra and Vinyl just completely confused, but vinyl did give a sigh of relief, slightly more mentally design, that she accidentally give her sister, the exact same situation she's in. Although that's just because she's a earth pony and her design allows her magic to change the factors.
"Though if we leave the storm through the other door will be okay, us doing the whole aging up thing again?" Asked Lyra.
"NO, two things will be different on that level! One being, mystical destiny factors. We don't know 'destiny' not even the princesses know how this factor works. The best I can explain it is fixed moments in time, no matter what we tried to do we can't change those moments! And certain ponies are linked to these fixed moments. Based on the whole cause-and-effect. The second we're assuming that the storm does not moves, but what if it does move just not in the normal sense, the center exists in the present/future, but the outer rim of the storm could exist in the past/present. Namely we might not DE age or age at all we exit the tornado, but we would be stuck because risking going back in might cause us to make that effect. Or We would not entering into the tornado at all because it no longer is at that point of time." Explained the time traveler(in training).
Bloody and beaten up Prince Blueblood came into the room, his snout looked like it was broken in two places, is right Eye was horribly cut, and his unicorn horn might be a little bit cracked, not to mention he was missing a couple teeth in that crooked smile that was now more crooked. His right arm was covered in a sling, as he walked over to Trixie and immediately slammed her face into her meal. "That, is for what happened last night. Now who set up the teleportation barrier around the girls dormitory?"
Sunset stood up and said "That would be me and Neon lights, if you wish to break into the girls dorms you deserve whatever punishment you got. And then some I'm tempted to tell your daddy what you did, or better yet I'll tell your mom. I'm sure her being a back from the dead means he has so much more things to come up and 'fix'! Maybe will Not be calling you Prince Blueblood but Princess Blueblood!"
Normally this is the time where the other ponies would be correcting due to the information that they recently collected but, the only one with the option to correct Her, would be Twilight and she has no information to use for corrections.
After one quick trips to the nurses office.
"Stupid Blueblood, stupid prophecy. But at least he did get karma. He got his own dark side of the moon!" Comment that Trixie, as she was heading towards her extracurricular classes, with at least two of her friends with her Lyra and Vinyl. Due to this being extracurricular activities Twilight did pick up several other classes back again, which meant she was still doing the time spell which meant there was multiples of her which meant that even if she was one of those who disappeared she would probably be those who brought back, technically it's entirely possible she could support the entire spell by herself if that wasn't the cases, at best she could only generate three duplicates so it's most likely not plausible.
School practice field.
Trixie was humming a special little musical tune as she was flying around! Wearing the Cape, there was a particularly strong levitation charm on the Cape, allowing for some ponies to even fly with the Cape on, and even some of the cloud and stand on it for a little bit! It also had the same effect of her hair clip on, Mana efficiency. (For gamer knowledge one MP cost)
'I see you enjoying the sky, I wonder how far the storm is up there?' Mentally asked the vinyl, smiling at the fact that Trixie was playing around with the whole being a superpowered person, not to mention she was enjoying the fact that Trixie was humming the theme. []
"You Bet! I love testing out with this Cape can do, by the way do you want some cookies?" As Trixie as she waved her cape on top of the cloud she was on causing it to rain cookies! "For I can never go hungry with this Cape! Although cloud cookies taste awfully like marshmallows? That are little bland wondering if it requires what they made out of?" Munching on a cloud cookie.
'Possibly, so are you planning for another show?' Slightly already knowing that it feels much better and polite to ask, even though she already knows the answer is yes. Side effect of being stuck as a mind reader.
"You're already looking into my head you know the answer, I feel sorry for the poor girl that dates you. It would be impossible to plan a surprise!" Replied Trixie with a slight giggle.
'Sis manages to pull surprises all the time, and I can actually read earth pony minds in communicating with them that's tricky. So I'm not exactly sure what's the effects. And your plan to invite Lyra on this one, so what's the plan exactly. Can't read all your details.' Leaving Trixie wondering if she was going to print on my part or not.
As Trixie popped up behind vinyl, within a few seconds. Giving a slight startling effect.
'But how did you?'
"If you're thinking I could teleport with the Cape no. Well possibly of the energy cost factors of teleportation, but that still requires relocation spells and I didn't have the flash requirements. But the Cape has a invisibility enchantment! If I was so interestedly inclined and probably speaking to the boys locker room, but to be honest mares have nicer things." She said as she was trying to grab her bosom which, started to inflate back onto her body, She was also starting to look like she was aging up again!
"What's going on, this shouldn't be happening!" Then she went back down after her wardrobe flashed for a little bit. She quickly starts taking the Cape and a few things keep popping out, first off Lyra! "OW! How did I get here?" Lyra said that she was then, a few of the objects bumped her on the head, including a crystal ball.
Popping on the screen was a young handsome pony.
"Good morning, odds are this is probably the descendent that has discovered the powers of the Cape, or I've forgotten things again I had to grab my own Pensieve crystal, it's a bit more friendly and less mental consuming, I put so many spells on this Cape I can't even remember them all myself! And now if it's me use it pretty much remember what you put in this thing, but I'm just assume it's just somebody else because that's what I do. By the Luna don't look in my Cape again! And don't let my magazines they're not dirty, and you should even know what they are because they're from another timeline, and also another dimension depending on which ones I have. Again you're not allowed to mess with, them. Speaking of you should not tell cookie. I don't want her getting jealous. Now where was I?"
As the orb was slowly rotating the head, looking around and then it began speaking once again. "Okay it's the descendent, because it was me I would've done fast forward. By now you're probably wondering what are all the abilities of my Cape, well from the reaction obviously discovered the box of holding, it allows you to store things inside the little box that exists in another dimension! Like for example this crystal ball that contains part of my brain, part of my brain! Where was I? Oh yes I was explaining all the nice stuff about my Cape! That if you ever gone to a party and realize you're not properly dressed theirs is also a feature I like to call the costume change, it can even temporarily change your body to fit for the actual outfit. So that way you don't accidentally get stuck in one of those embarrassing situations where the close don't fit just right. Or you accidentally pick up on everything in the table, and you need to loosen your belt without singing your belt because you wear a belt! Although technically a belt is really useful! Also be careful when using the summoning portal next to the box of holding. Last time I recall we accidentally summoned a ancient evil of untold darkness had to banish. Extremely useful. It's like a mass teleportation spell for those who can't teleport! Perfect for a portable laboratory without making a portable! Also I have a spell that transforms things into bowls and the spells are transferred things into cookies! The that way I can always have a bowl of cookies whenever I Need a bowl of cookies!"
Three ponies completely unfounded as he continued to speak, rambling crazily.
"Oh yeah, there's also a couple of other abilities like you can fly! And of course there is the efficiency spell because it is expensive. But making everything cost 1Mp, the coin the phrase from those strange time traveling ponies. What docs doing! Will I hope he has a nice eyebrows now. And Missy all my I hope she's not around anytime soon. Bad enough with sis around the times. Speaking of which Morgan if you're listening to this do not steal cookie she's mine! Why don't you go date that succubus you murdered last week. I'm sure you know resurrection I've seen you done stranger. Then there is Shadow walk, this spell allows you to walk within the shadows of anyone you know, anyone invisibility can become a bit of a pain, oh yes you can become invisible too! Also wardrobe change does come in handy if you accidentally polymorph to something that's way too big for normal clothing."
Before it continued Trixie quickly turned it off, he figured this was too big open area, to have everybody here that all the secrets, and she quickly stuffed it into the cloak itself.
"I think that was the young star swirled, he looks strange without a beard. Now I can think why Gramps grew a beard. Let's continue this in the girls dorm our room because! I don't want anyone else to know I have Gramps Cape." As her friends nodded and they proceed to run quickly into the actual area.
After returning to the room.
"Want a cookie?" Commented Lyra suggesting to now showing up minuett, who just simply shook her head. "Your loss." As Trixie sit down the orb and turned it back on fast forwarding pass most of the stuff and back to the spot she was originally at, thankfully she figured out how to do that!
"Oh speaking of the cookie ability I almost forgot to mention this whatever you do do not make cookies out of certain things unless you're also wearing the Cape because, it also gives you the ability to eat anything without any major side effects. I learned this when I accidentally served lava cookies and a dinner party, luckily they were all Dragon so they only had massive heartburn. And cause a little war another story. I think the commander was turned into a Egg?" Just then Lyra was acting like he was electrocuted.
"Woow these cookies are spicy, also I can't do my right arm." Luckily she was right next to Minuett who started treating her.
"You're lucky that you were only minorly electrocuted, also really good thing that any one of those cookies because I have two hearts, it's a Time Lord thing." She commented that she was treating her friend.
"By the way each spell is attached to think through its patches so you might redo the patches, apartment all the stars and also Crescent, one. The other moon attachments, are the following, rainbow barrier, basically emergency in case things get a little hairy spell, and you don't have enough time to actually devour the cookies is that you probably used to turn the fireballs that your enemies throw at you or they quickly switch to lightning just as you've got used to eating fireballs, all elemental recoverability. Essentially if it was considered lethal it would instantly create a barrier where you would heal from it. Speaking of that there's also the ability I like to call Sanctuary, because you are immune from pretty much everything. Blindness, the mute spell note this does not remove actually people who been used by nature. I found out a while back, on a Griffin doesn't work even when you exclude speciesism. Etc. etc. etc. also I found out while wearing the Cape cannot get sick. That's kind of a bummer when you're trying to get out of a party and you're not really able to because that whole well it's much more nicer thing to do in the yada yada yada. But yet that's a really helpful ability." Trixie then quickly turn off the thing just because there's going to be a long talk as she looked over the Cape and saw how many patches the magic Cape actually has! Considering star swirled was legendary for his ability to ramble, she didn't want to accidentally be late for one of her shows! She just have to figure out some of the other abilities later.
The next show:
Trixie was now looking a bit more like the part, it probably didn't help matters that this time there stage was a different piece of style! Performing a roller skate ring, even with the time bubble it was still stuck in the 70s, ironically 70s+70s. This was the main reason why Lyra was picked though she could actually skate!
The mechanical voice. "Are you ready to rock and roll! Let's pump this place up with the sick beats!" Vinyl scratch, was using her machine that she was helping with some minor tweaks, to do the work, still did not bring up the right color, for her to become comfortable with it. As she dropped a few records and within a good 8-track.
Rolling into the skating ring, was gigantic on the size pony magic eight-ball, popping out where the number was The great and powerful Trixie, the crowd gave a nice cheer as they were watching from the stands! As Trixie jumped out of the magic eight-ball, just in the nick of time for her to start shrinking back down to its original size. "I've heard about being behind the eight ball but this is ridiculous you're in it! But I'm guessing that I'm be yes for this one! For, I am the great and powerful Trixie! And that eight-ball was definitely magic! Now let's see the entrance of my magical assistant!"
Lyra was wearing a fetching outfit(think Elvis Presley) with glimmering sequence! As she skated onto the field, levitating 3 black boxes! Each one had wheels on a different location! "NOW for my first magic trick I'm going to rearrange my assistance!" Trixie announced as Lyra was climbing into the box! Then Trixie pulled out from her Cape, a gigantic gleaming's golden sword! "And to avoid blood, and serious injuries! Let's give this blade a bit more shine to it!" As the blade burst into flames!
"Wait what do you mean by blood or serious injury? What's going on! Why didn't you cut eyeholes in the box? So I wouldn't see what you're going to do! Is it because I took that chocolate cake?" Screamed Lyra as she was sitting in the box wondering what the heck was going on! Trixie did three quick slashes, cutting the box into three separate small boxes! Then she kicked the top box down to the skating ring, spin kick the middle box, allowing it to land perfectly onto its wheels, just like how she knocked the top box down, the land on its wheels! Everyone can see Lyra's severed head, was slightly panicking! As her head was toppled around a little bit it inside the box!
"Where's my body? What's going on here? How am I still talking with my head detached from my neck with my lungs completely, on the other end of my body?" Commented Lyra as she noticed her body was skating along board as well.
"Great she can use her real voice and have no vocal cords attached and I still have to use this damn machine!" Commented DJ Pon-3, using her vocal synthesizer!
Trixie was using her magic to rotate levitate the boxes, having them skate around the wood ring covered in TBS amounts of floor polish! The arms finally opened up the box revealing trying to find out, the crowd reacted in the obvious reactions some in horror, and a couple them just screaming "OuOuOuOoOuoOuO?" (Trying to go for a sound effect)
The boxes were all lined up on the floor, Trixie quickly using her arms to push the arms back down! So the legs and lined up with the her neck, and her torso could line up with her neck as well!
"This is so weird?" Commented Lyra as she was helped out of the box, still standing on her legs but now her arms were outside down, and her head was sitting right where her crotch would normally be!
"Now to return my assistant back to normal, right before your eyes!" Trixie generated a cloud and then, placed it over assistant, & proceed to remove it and Lyra was back to normal? Although now she was in a different outfit! A shiny pink sequence dress.
"You didn't mention that you were going to change my clothes as well? Although I do like it? It makes me look like one of those sailor girls?" Lyra said with a big smiling grin!
As Trixie rolled her eyes, and then said. "Now my beautiful assistant will go fetch several things, on the display table." Gesturing to a table composed of sharp knives, forks, and a Sperling chainsaw! "And the great and powerful Trixie will show the might of her digestive tract, For she will eat each one of these objects, without testing a Transfiguration spell." Lyra gave a strange look but figured it might be something to deal with the Cape.
End of chapter. |
Trixie: school days | CH9:Grand Classing tournament begins! | School was back in action, well sort of.
Assembly Hall:
Mr. Moneybags, who is now sporting a massive black eye." Students, the grand class tournament is now about to begin. Now for newcomers here's the rules. One you're not allowed to take on any one a year above or below you, those first years cannot challenge second year and vice a versa. All challenges are based on factors One: a teacher must be involved in the challenge itself, determining what subject are challenging in! Teacher he or she will determine, what type of challenge! From a simple tower defense challenge, to a much more tactical fighting style. Or you'll be given a test! All depends on's teacher's goals. Each student will receive stars determining their rankings, the one who stays at Rank one at the end of the year in their class, will receive the prizes. That said you all have 10 stars on your dueling bracelets. Depending on your rankings determines how many times you can use the star, will only drop in rank after you reach a certain level. Each rank will cost more star to actually climb up."
"It is against the rules to cast spells on your fellow students, with out their request. All spellcasting on school grounds will be monitored. You're bracelets double as anti-spellcasting barriers, preventing you from casting certain spells, especially on campus. All combat spells will be disabled, unless a teacher is nearby to qualify things. End of simile." Replied Mr. Moneybags, was now walking with a cane and his right leg look like it was slightly limping.
History
Clover Bloom, was quite beautiful, with her purple coat, straight pink hair, that was nice along, as she was wearing a very dark uniform. She wasn't wearing anything revealing but at the same time the outfit left very little to the imagination. "Good morning class, considering the nightmare night ball is coming up, I feel it be wonderful for us to over view the actual events, that created nightmare night!" As she began listing off a massive speech about how Luna, was defeated by Nightmare Moon, and in turn Princess Celestia defeated Nightmare Moon, banishing her to the moon, but with the price. Her sweet sister was also stuck there as well, and while nightmare moon was on the moon she develop a unique ability to cast nightmares. But one night a terrifying nightmare grasp the land, one far horrifying than ever before! Prevent this event repeating itself. "Instructing many stone statues, mystical charged energy. Several stones were coated with the energies of the night. As such the stones were capable of getting the offerings of food, to feed the prisoner that is nightmare moon, and Princess Luna. As for the reasons for why we dressed in costume, is to scare off those who wish to steal the food that we use to prevent our nightmares."
The hallway:
"So what costumes are you girls in the wearing? I'm trying to figure out still which incarnations where, maybe I should try out the other on the family tree?" Commented the time Lord in training, as they were exiting class again top marks in history because well you technically should be training on being a time Lord you should know some history.
"Well I'm going is star swirled bearded!" Replied Miss sparkle.
"That's what I'm going as!" Replied Trixie.
Then the two got into the usual arguments of though I'm going NO I'm going. Into one of those annoying little arguments for you just know they're just a repeat the same phrase minor adjustments, swing the argument to their side.
"Okay enough you two! Trixie you going As Morgan, after all she wore similar magic Cape to her brother! Twilight you're going as clever Clover, the assistant of Star Swirled! Neither of you are going is star swirled this solves the problem!" Lyra explained, breaking up the two before they got into an actual challenge! As the next class would've probably been a bloody the action.
Around lunchtime.
During Classes they finally stopped arguing, only because Twilight is no longer with them in the classes, Trixie didn't really mind the costume change, she had to make her great aunt was quite pretty! Not to mention when the new powers of the tape she can still fill out the outfit with mimicking the effects with her magic hairpin. The group split up to their separate tables, mainly Vinyl & Trixie were sitting at a table together, and a nether pony came along to join the two, her facial structure was similar to twilight's but not by much, mane was tied up in a nice bun, with a unique coloring style all of the orange highlights were bundled up into the bun section, leaving her pink and violet stripes swirled up into a sweet cinnamon bun on the bottom, her tail was the straight-line color to see patient that made it look like how on earth she managed to pull off the hairstyle, then again she was a unicorn so magic was obvious. With her bright pink coat, she said. "May I join you girls?"
Trixie replied. "Sure." As the girls sat down next to them and proceeded to make out her meal, and then promptly began to introduce yourself.
"Hi I'm Beach Berry. I saw your show at the skating rink, especially when you ate that chainsaw! How was that on your stomach?" She said with a bit of curiosity.
Trixie was blushing, giving praise for trick is always amazing. "Well to be honest I was using enchantments, but it wasn't all that bad. Although I still have the be careful when I go use the little mares room. Not so much for the blades but more the chain." Beach Barry was given a big grin.
'Hi I was there too.' Vinyl scratch replied, causing Beach Barry this slightly jump in her hair totally unravel and stand up straight, the streaks mimicking the lightning shape pattern on the bride of Frankenstein!
"Please don't challenge me and use your mind-reading tricks! I've not trained in fire brain, or that other stuff?" She replied freaking out.
"Don't worry about it, vinyl is not that crazy about using the mind-reading tricks. There's a reason why don't try that in my shows. Way too easy. So are you going to go as the bride of Frankenshy? For nightmare night?" Making a jokey remark replied Trixie has BB was starting to redo her hair back into with hair bun.
"Possibly, anyhow are you also doing a show at the ball or not?" Being slightly nervous.
"No they are a got their own act. But at least Vinyl's big sis is going to be in their." As they smiled and talk, a couple more BB's friend showed up, a yellow cult with blue mane, by the name of Comet tail, wearing dark green glasses, covering up his eyes preventing them to figure out what size colors were, but judging from his magic either it's going to be as blue as his comment cutie Mark or not.
Comet tail giving smile and adjusted his glasses. "Hello cuties, by chance do any of you have a date, Ball?" Trying to flirt.
"Sorry but you're not Trixie type, plus you would look extremely out of place with my costume! Unless you are not afraid to cross-dress far beyond normal concepts?" Making Comet tail a bit nervous, as he began to hear the others comments.
"Sorry comet they're out of your league, also the other ones a mind reader." Replied BB, but he did sit down and join them, having a bit of a conversation, and explaining how they are friends.
Defense against the dark arts
"Now to continue our subject craft dark artifacts. Many of them are forged with unique methods and processes, with unique abilities pertaining to their processes! For example the MoonStar is capable of amplifying the subjects power, while draining the magic of others, also the object does have a unique factor of bonding, all dark artifacts have the object of bonding, this turns them from no longer dark positives well some. More applies to the power stone's! For example the elements of harmony once bonded to our Princesses, now that bond is broken if she wished she them she will be corrupted by power and abilities! Sometimes even the polar opposite of their emotional spectrum. Now a dark artifacts..." He turned to two students were bickering over a minor subject, and then they issued the challenge. As he was the teacher present he must enforce the rules of the challenge.
"Fine let's do a tower defense. This way I can still teach you kid something while watching your students try to take the other went down." As he took the two students that were arguing line their desks up together, with the levitation magic and having them faced each other! Then he created a small map on their desks, spanning both areas with them both being represented as the towers, that they would be defending. Then he linked up to the magic a aerial view on to the chalkboard. "Okay to craft her defense towers, pick a dark artifact from this list! You're only allowed to choose 4, and once one is picked that when his list is bonded to the subject! So no duplications."
warlords spear: LV1: 8, LV2: 16, LV3: 32 LV4: 64 special effect: first target becomes a trail of fire behind it. Causing further damage to all subjects behind it(3 tiles Per upgrade)
Helmet of death: LV1: 4, LV2: 16, LV3: 64 LV4: 256 special effect: a random chance that one of the enemy minions, will turn invisible and attack & the row that is currently walking on.
MoonStar: LV1: 6, LV2:36 , LV3:60, LV4:126 .special effect: damaged area field!
Talons of Crimson: LV1: 2, LV2:26 , LV3:40, LV4:100 .special effect: splash damage poison!
HeArt of cruelty: LV1: 20, LV2:30 , LV3:60, LV4:400 .special effect: damaged area field all those that died become zombie warriors that will slow down the aggressors.
Demonic chest: special effect: generates a demon, does on average 80-100 damage. Each level numbers how many demons that generates.
Lyons gauntlet: LV1:5 , LV2:10 , LV3:20, LV4:30 .special effect: poison, slow, burn, and confusion all at once.
Sword of Omens: LV1:8 , LV2:30 , LV3:80, LV4:100 .special effect: latching onto a soldier of your command, and giving him a force field when it is your turn to send in waves, allowing him be immune to all status affects.
That the students saw on the board. This also gave a rough description of the powers and capabilities of the actual artifacts question.
After class after battle:
"The sword is a really amazing weapon, and if it wasn't for its ability to be immune to the special effects I would, I think it's abilities would backfire horribly, up against the helmet of death." Commented Lyra as she was coming out of the classroom.
Trixie gave a small giggle, as she noted which weapons were actually on the same side during wars history, and some were not. Like for example the helmet of death was actually on their military side instead of the enemies, well after the first war diamonds.
Night class:
It was the rain the fall, where the seasons were slightly different than usual during summer and spring Celestia was rain was dominant, the days were much longer, and brighter. But during the winter and autumn, was the time of the night. As such the classes start open up, one that could be worked in a bit better with the school schedule when darker, like for example Astronomy. Astronomy was taught by Cmdr. Stargazer, he was the older stallion, a former commander of the lunar guard, and his battle scar showed it! As his prosthetics matched his golden coat, his right arm was completely replaced with a golden prosthetic, it was actually gold but it also not really that great at moving, thankfully he was a unicorn or else he would have rely on this learning how to use his other hand. The left side of his face was scarred, and his left eye was completely replaced with a right glimmering red ruby! Due to his type of injuries his head was completely bald. But the silver tail left some clues to what his mane would've been. Walking on a cane shaped like the crescent moon itself, with his right leg also being really stiff, here the subtle creaking of the loud old gears, turning make the prosthetic knee move.
"I wish that, I got lucky, although I'm kinda glad that inkwell looks as good as she does, although I assured her I was flirting with her back when she was a bit. She just didn't remember. Welcome class, wonders of the natural map! For you see if you ever are lost, always rely on Luna! For her stars will lead you home." By the commander, he took a seat, and placed a strange device is Ruby eye. Adjusting it that is unicorn horn began to project, a shimmering star field showing up the night sky. He begin to continue to explain. "This is a mental projection spell, this allows you to record your memories of thoughts like those new video cameras. With the ability to project those memories, and generate a physical screen. Although it does help to have an enchanted jewel." Tapping to is Ruby Eye.
Day nightmare night:
Due to the holiday question they were allowed to have the full school day, go out and buy supplies for their costumes. Due to Trixie trying you just look like her and it was too hard for her to cheat with her cost designs. Although their capes were very similar there were some minor differences though, as such she did have to wear a different fabric for her mystical Cape. A slightly different color purple, Trixie also analyzed the magic spell that was surrounding her grandfather's Cape that the costume ability, and carefully examined it while itching up the outfitting question for the Bush DA.
Lyra came in with BB(Beach Berry). "Trixie, I need a little help with Beach costume? A little Transfiguration." Trixie rolled her eyes a little bit and took a look at the drawing sketch, it seems that the two finally decided on a costume design of the ogre, a large heavy brute creature well known for its muscular stature, not pay attention you can almost mistake it from behind the one of the elephant tribes, or a Rino depending on your angle of focus.
"Barry are you sure you were willing to break the weight record?" Trixie commented that she knew full well how the polymorph spell work, some things might not be able to transition off though so easily. Physical muscle mass and muscle memory can be trickled off to the things that would be listed as removed by the wear off time of most spells, but this was going to have to be strong enough to last at least a full day which could have some unique repercussions, after all while some injuries are removed when polymorph, the bigger ones still tend to linger.
"Yes." She replied. Trixie began casting the spell, The pink coat of fur, slowly began to turn darker for began to shrink down and roll into a more hardened bound leather design, with a series of wrinkles! The body was slowly inflating, as her leathery belly started to show. Barry quickly positioned her arms to cover her newly developing the large bosoms. Her facial structures began to change as well, first off her unicorn horn was covered in, a series of extra layers of stone and mud, and her horn was adjusted a little bit farther back on her head, make it look like she had a bit of a point. Her lower jaw began to grow large sharp pointy tusks. Maine was split down the middle, it was her usual colored. Her ear slowly began to turn to the pink little tubes that often resembled rhino ears. Her vibrant green eyes started to shifting glimmer, with her pupils looking a lot bigger, and the Gassier. Like the eyes of a baby alligator. As she quickly turned after finishing her transformation, go into the back room and on some actual clothing, to cover her new-found physique.
"HOT DAMN!" Exclaimed Lyra lightly wiping off of drool from the transformation sequence.
"By the way Lyra what are you going?" Trixie replied worried that she would have to cast another complicated Transfiguration spell, thankfully she was wearing her hairpin one of the few things that could blend in with her aunts outfits, or else she would be completely wiped from casting that spell earlier.
"Oh yes,Sphinx, the mummy version to be exact." This line just made Trixie boggles, sure she was playing as her aunt this evening but, her best friend just suggested to her to type it came almost as close to being resurrected by a necromancer.
"I'll transfigure you into a Sphinx, but we're going to have to do the makeup for the whole looking undead, I'm nowhere up to that level." Trixie replied as she was priming her horn.
BB reply from behind the curtain. "Not to worry a good friend of mine, Compact, is going to help out with makeup."
Cut to the party.
The ball was host with many ponies, located in the school of Observatory, but most of the chairs removed now for plenty of dancing spaces. Allowing the students to have their party. Faculty and students were all dressed in costumes, delicious food was prepared! The auditorium stage was set up, with a lively Earth pony band. As the music played throughout the stage. Thanks to Trixie's magic tricks she did look a little bit older, although vinyl didn't complain. Moon dancer was dressed like a little Red witch standing next to Twilight, who was wearing the outfit of clever clover. Prince Blueblood was dressed in military garb, and see military garb to be exact uniforms that were worn during parties not during battlefields.
After a few dances with their expected party members, Lyra in her Sphinx mummy outfit, and her date Beach Berry, was currently still ogre, talking at the tables with several of the other groups. Twilight was doing her darnedest to find a simple spot to read a book, there was a good spot near the telescopes, also hiding behind where the band was playing. The band was currently taking a slight break, allowing vinyl to have a actual conversation with her sister. Due to the fact that this was a masquerade ball, several ponies have the options of wearing masks when their costumes didn't really conceal their identity, not that really help matters but some masks to be given unique charms. Trixie began to walk over torch Twilight, though that was mere coincidence considering that was near where vinyl and Octavia were, when out from the curtains she felt something grab her!
"Nice job with the aging spell, although I think you overdid it on your Tits." Pulling out the hairpin out of her hair, was Prince Blueblood, and he was dragging her away. Even with the spells enhancements of make her look physically stronger, she was not strong enough to out muscle a full-grown stallion! There was no way she can cast enough magical defense spells even wasn't for the, bracelet that prohibited her from attacking, without her hairpin. She could see her hairpin left on the ground. Hearing the phrase form Blueblood "SLEEP!"
"What are you doing?" A slightly familiar but for noble voice...
"Back away! Thy Knight, you are no match for a Paladin." Replied blueblood's voice, as her eyes open slowly to see blueblood, bare chested the evil grin!
"I don't know what deity you been planning, but it's no Princess of ours!" As a Blast shot straight at his brow, barely deflected by a energy shield spell. Blueblood stood up his belt unbuckled but his pants were still zipped! Using this advantage Trixie scrambled away, spotting Twilight in her clever clover outfit. She was next to a royal guard? He looked slightly familiar but couldn't really place the face. The guard channeled mystical daggers, blades pointed downward! Ran for a charge at Blueblood. The 1st attack look like to cut a small bridge of the muzzle splattering blood the second blade was blocked by a mystical chanted blackened blade.
Trixie turned to see that Twilight was channeling some healing magic, around her chest, the warm light was intriguing but at the same time. A little troubling. Next thing she heard was a scream!
A chocolate brown guard, standing with a lantern light, Earth pony. The unicorn guard was knocked down, wasn't for his armor he would be probably dead. As there was a large tent around his chest. His helmet laying on the ground! It was revealed to be Rod Lane, was Trixie Savior? Royal guard pony was formerly of the lunar guard, his star-shaped bat ears, eyes gold like the shiniest of golden brick. His main concealed from his royal helmet but could be attentive sideburns.
Two hours later:
Trixie and Twilight were in the room the nearby hospital. The doctor replied. "You're lucky young lady, no signs of serious injuries. It's a good thing your friend is skilled in healing magic, a few inches closer and that cut might have been a lot more dangerous, no signs of any form materials or objects. Your friend is so good that it almost looks like you weren't even slashed all. It only takes a trained medical Eye, to see the injuries." Said the stallion with dark gray main and orange coat tapping his right side of his temple, just behind his right Eye.
"I found this Trixie, I believe it belongs to you." Replied a very guilty looking Twilight, returning Trixie's hairpin to her, after taking it out of her own hair. At the time Trixie didn't realize how much of that guilt was for something else instead of using the hairpin, but soon she realized that was a guilt that was going to plague all of them. |
Trixie: school days | Chapter 10: Black locks and the keys of friendship. | Several days later, Trixie was furious She knew he was powerful but this! "But he tried to touch Trixie, in a way that not right! What do you mean judge, won't bring up case!!" Trixie was struggling to say, right Eye was twitching, the veins on her face are pulsating, and her eyes were bulging! Her face was red with anger. Even though Trixie didn't technically set up to file charges, after all she could afford an actual lawyer, even without all the hullabaloo going along. But the court systems on well things that she does not wish to speak of, held this is a very serious crime.
Beach Berry was standing at the bed next to her trying to be mare friend Lyra, although Beach wasn't exactly skinny anymore, and a couple curves but she was more knowledgeable when it came to the legal system. "Well Blueblood is technically registered as 16 and your 11, and since it was a tempted, and Rod Lane is currently being charged with attempted murder, the court is not going to oversee your case's. But on the bright side it will come up no matter what when Rod Lane gets tried for attempted murder, unless they are going to sweep that case under the rug too! Although I highly doubt that they would actually sweep a case of attempted Princeicide! Be thankful that the Prince did get his own night in the hospital after his night in the hoosegow." Trying to cheer up Trixie and doing badly.
Lyra placed her hand behind Trixie's head and said. "Trixie revenge comes sweeter the longer you wait. Becomes much better tasting, when delivered by a love!" Trying to give a slightly friendly tone of a code, after all she's not as strong as the vinyl when it comes to mental connection spells!
"In other words you're suggesting to Trixie wait until he gets his own karmic punishment! Trixie will wait patiently, although based on Trixie's knowledge of future events Trixie may have to wait long time."
The fact that her friend was referring to herself in a third person for a while was slightly bit worrisome, but maybe this was the case of Trixie trying to be braver than usual. After all she often referred herself on stage in the third person. Maybe this was just to help coping with the situation at hand. Although she does, hope that this doesn't last too long. Or Lyra will start referring to Lyra in third person!
Dr. that was overlooking Trixie was walking into the room, his name tag was glowing from the lights, Gray Scope. "Well miss Lulamoon, your clear for discharge, you're doing amazingly fast from the fact that only you minor in that qualified for medical stay. Ho and that test you requested for your, you are good to go! Although even if you're in will I highly doubt ones such as yourself would be able to... Miss heartstrings, miss Barry would you like to please leave the room. This is a private conversation the patient and doctor." Lyra and Beach, carefully walked out of the room.
"Good, now even though you are technically genetically capable of doing this, all tests and data have proven that you are not fertilized. Per your request. That said you may be able to have folds in the future. I highly doubt he would've actually succeeded till he got his pants off. "He replied with a extremely cold attitude, and a hint of a British tone. "Now if you give me I have to deal with the actual patient, although this whole temporal things I'm still trying to explain to to him that we don't use leeches! Although that may actually be important for this plan." Trixie had a hard time trying to figure out if he was trying to cheer her up or be insulting.
Back at school!
Trixie was walking to the cafeteria, when she spotted the evil that was Blueblood, he instantly grabbed her horn and said. "You better get started! I took some massive punishment For you. You lower beast." Trixie was getting to use a arcane blast, as her horn was glowing red hot. But thankfully he did put her down before she was going to decide the fire. Sunset was there fuming with anger.
"You already got enough punishment, and everyone knows what you did! I don't think you're going to win your war today." Blueblood put down Trixie just before she was starting the prime spell for firing.
"Trixie thanks you for your interference." As she gave sunset from her a big hug. Blueblood was skulking off into a different direction with several of the ponies looking at them. Normally what he just performed would be well school suicide, but being a prince you actually can avoid having everyone in the school hate you, for doing things evil.
"Don't worry Trixie, as long as I'm here you don't have to worry about Blueblood!" Giving Trixie a bit of a tight squeeze, then when Sunset finally got a loose grip from Trixie. She gave her a little pat on the head.
Lunch time
Trixie did manage to get some of her old friends to sit with her, as well as Twilight's group for a little bit. Beach Berry, was sitting at a slightly different table but still close by enough. "So Lyra, are you still playing sand castles or not?" Replied Twinkle Shine, channeling her inner comedy bit.
"It's about 20% I have told her she doesn't have to bulk up for me though. But I just don't see this being a serious relationship. It's nowhere near the levels of those two." Giving a slight nudge to the book twins known as Twilight Sparkle and Moon Dancer.
"Trixie believes that Sparkle, doesn't even realize that Moon dancer has crush on her." Commenting that show pony in question. Twilight didn't even react, nor did moon dancer.
'Maybe it's because guilt is suppressing love. Twilight still feels guilty that she can't pull her weight against Blueblood. She doesn't have the same tools as she used too.' Replies Vinyl in Trixie's head.
Girls dormitory.
Minuette was playing around with her mystic screwdriver(gorgeous gemstone encrusted wand, with gears and diodes and blinking lights because everything must have blinking lights)/working on her schoolwork. "No Lyra, I am not going to let you borrow my monster manual. I'm just glad that we don't give out stains as much is stallions. Also Trixie don't teacher that spell!" She said writing out some notes on the mystical theory, and unique mathematical equations. Like casting range through mathematics.
"But Miss inkwell signed up the report and she starting to act a little bit more grouchy!" Replied Lyra really meeting the monster manual not for her usual business.
"You may borrow Trixie's monster manual, and Trixie purpose is not to teach Lyra spell. In until she gets married at least." Trixie was heading over the monster manual.
"Well it's not all that surprising she might be sinking up with her past self and any minute. If I'm right." Replied the time Lord in training.
The rest of the group look slightly confused, forcing the time Lord to explain. "Well even though we are in a temporal storm eventually, certain currents will disappear and be replaced with others, for those currents that disappear it will be like if time continue like it originally does. For those in the storm it will look like that they disappeared."
Before Trixie could start panicking, Lyra asked the question that Trixie was going to ask. "What about us? Are we going to disappear?"
"Not likely, we all have the same year of entry as well probably going the same year of exit. Unless we leave alternate different circumstances, in those cases we will probably be able to say goodbye. It's not like will be vanishing anytime soon."
'Relax Trixie, we're not going anywhere.' Vinyl mentally replied.
"Trixie is pleased with the information, but Trixie also has another question. DDDiiiiddd Blueblood, want to touch MMMMMe? Because Trixie had big knockers or something else." The gang gave her quick group hug.
'Trixie, I don't care what's going through that stallion's mind, and I've been in there! But I assure you is reasons for trying to touch you that way, aren't feelings of love. But hatred and rage.'
"Yay listen to miss Dj-Pon3, and don't worry about that guy. When I date a ferocious monster, I'll be sure to tell that one to go see can have a nice tasty prince meal!" Replied Lyra trying to cheer everybody up.
"Trixie suggest you don't do that, it might end your relationship if that monster dies from sudden food poisoning!" Causing the entire group to laugh, well with the exception Vinyl she had to mentally laugh just because of the whole bleeding!
Next day slight POV change:
now following Dj-Pon3/ Vinyl scratch.
The colors in the cafeteria were quite beautiful today, the gorgeous Reds, the violent blues, the colors presented their own painting of beauty. Each one of my friends was definitely a beautiful voice, from Trixie's gorgeous starry lights, almost with every word for like fireworks popping up with different colors! Lyra's colors were pretty basic, mostly bright gold's. But nothing too burning to the eyes so it wasn't really gaudy, then there was Minuett, knowing that she was a time Lord probably made now all the colors make sense, considering every three seconds the color spectrum changed. She worked better than metronome!
Than there is the new members, Beach Berry, almost like a grain of sand one or two slightly different colors. But the streams of sand did swirled beautifully, her friend COMET TAIL, was a series of icy blues, complex and pretty. And finally Compaq, much like her yellow coat and her shimmering orange hair balanced out each other it was pretty clear that her voice did the same, when she rarely speak. She was kind of like me she took the same classes, but she didn't have the same voice problems. Not sure why she took mentalists analyzation. But yet her special talent was focused on makeup styles. Although I could see the steaming fuming colors is when she was swearing up a storm when she was told she wasn't doing a monster makeup scheme! Just putting on some bandages and making the character look a little dead's.
Mental analyzation class:
"Good morning class, today we will be taking look at mental studies known as psy-locks. A mental lock system that is created that can only be broken, or to be exact unlocked with the right key known as physical evidence showing the person is keeping a secret. This could because by his correct phrasing of the sequence of words, or to a actual physical object. Sometimes the lie isn't something that they are themselves conscious of keeping. Other times they are. If you wish to take a career in legal dynamics, this is going to be extremely useful for you. Either on the prosecution or on the defense." Stated our usual mental master Dr. Mine Bender, he was a quite a handsome stallions, of course when I get older dad will let me have piercings. But it still doesn't help My jealous. The good doctor had his mane braided with his piercings into his skull, with a series of rings to make his mane look like a series of cables, dying each one of his many strands to look like a variety of different cables and so it was hard to tell which one was his main color, it was almost like a rainbow effect only without the actual coherent design of a rainbow, and the actual colors. Tattooed onto his shoulders, were spending razors serrated disk blades, they were naturally dulled but still watching his shoulders actually rotate and spin were kind of cool! The bear rocking chest with the silver piercings along his purple coat, chains dangling from his front to his back. Holding on his massive cloak with the piercings onto his nipples. And that evil goatee is just awesome, that was violet green/bolded orange!
Twilight was raising her hand, and was instantly called. "Why would do we even need to bother with the psychic locks? Can't we just navigate them like every other locked door?"
"The mind is a very strong and dangerous place navigate, and when you dive into someone's mind it's often a two-way street! If you could read someone's mind they can read yours, that's why my reading is all about being stealthy in someone's mind. And psychic locks are not, all that simple. There are, Not like the combination locks on doors that protect basic secrets. There's something more, and like I said these locks can be created as a defense mechanism. That means these locks don't normally have a key that even the owners of the locks know exist, until it's too late."
As he went to the marker board and start drawing several colors. Making a series of different types of locks. "Each types of the locks based on different colors, mainly off the color spectrum. Some of us have more ties the color spectrum, then others." As he was giving a little wink to me. "The rainbow spectrum is quite sequential, and colors are quite unique. Of course there are two other types of locks that exist beyond the rainbow spectrum. The whitelock & the Blacklock, just like the rainbow white is a collection of all types, and black is the absence of light."
Several classes later:
'So how was class Vinyl?' Trixie still communicating through the mental pathways just for practice.
'Doing well, you know what this meant that you're pretty close to just getting ready to do the whole number scanned thing.'
'Like for example your favorite card is the ace of hearts.' Smirked Trixie as she was putting her hand to her head, as if she was skimming the deck.
"Speaking of hearts, I believe time is coming soon for other favorite holiday. Heart's warming Eve. Any suggestions for how we should sell set holiday way from our normal family and tradition's?" Replied Minuett, currently in the blue, but slowly metronome into the green.
Upon that statement Trixie's eyes began to light up, and string the fireworks began to expel from her mouth, colors of light up the words to spread. "Oh that is a fantastic holiday, Mum would bring out the traditional supplies, of fabrics. That way we can sew our traditional Pony dolls of the family and the loved ones. Then dad would take us to guard duty, shopping. One present for each of us and one for each Princess, of course on nightmare night drop off that one present for the Princess of the night. Sadly I couldn't do it this year but it's maybe I could do it next year." During the entire thing she wasn't bolstering the confidence, that there were locks that were popping and disappearing, the locks weren't there long enough to see the colors, but the locks were there enough to see.
End of the POV:
of Vinyl Scratch.
social studies,Moonbeam came into the classroom, with her usual dark black mane, and one silvery gray streak, her pale turquoise coat, and silvery Eyes, staring through the cold frames of her classes, she could see her students study. Also reading books in class that they weren't supposed be reading but she let that slide. After all she encouraged her students to grade the actual books that were published, she was pleased whenever an award-winning author entire book was covered in check-marks from one of her students. She was smiling and pleased when Sunbeam was vanished. She was not sure how the old teacher showed up, especially when it was her grandmother, she always hated her work being graded by someone who believes that the word was fluent and studying of art style, believing that termite on the jump was acceptable in grammar. Please words are only mean by their definition.
Trixie was getting out, a book that was written by her father a little nursery rhyme to remind her of the sequence of events. Which she began to hum a little bit. 'On the first day of to heartwarming, the unicorns were nagging, on the second day to heart's warming Eve, the Pegasuses were fighting, on the third day, the earth pony's were starving, on the fourth day they all left their separate paths. During the fifth day the sun and the moon didn't move an inch. On the sixth day the three tribes united! Seven day three tribes became friends, on the eighth day they found Two folds! One vibrant pink, and Mane glittered like the morning sun, the other was midnight blue, with the mane of starry sky. On the ninth day Star swirl and his sister, came to play, and gave the princesses their names. The two sisters were the sign that the three tribes were meant to be together, for each of the two sisters had all three tribes traits, power the unicorn which allow them to move the sun and the moon giving them the marks. The speed and slight of the Pegasuses, and finally the strength and determination of the earth.' The teacher promptly grabbed it and covered it with 400 red marks, not caring for the meaning behind it. If it wasn't for the rules Trixie would've promptly blasted her to bits.
After school.
Trixie and the gang went out shopping, for heart's warming presents. Looking around inside one of the more modern toy stores. "Sweet Bat-Mare!" Lyra exclaimed when she was holding an action figure of the fabled superhero!
"Or Mane-Iac!" Commented minuett, holding of said action figure as well.
'Fili-Second is cool and fast, not to mention those sexy curves!' The residential psychic pony, couldn't help but recess levitating the amazing Earth pony speedster.
But Trixie proceeded to pick up a nightmare moon dolly! She proceeded to whisper a small mystical spell. Then placing the dolly near her ear. "Trixie knew, probably choose that!" Walking over past some of the action figures, and picked up an earth pony dolly, a mare to be exact! then a stuffed bat, and then proceed to walk towards the arts and crafts section. "Trixie wish that they would start making dollies of Luna's guards! Trixie would have to spend so much to make nightmares favorite present." Thankfully Trixie friends did overheard this and proceed to help out's.
After making the following purchases, the gang left. They also purchased the doll that Trixie had cast a spell on it. "So Trixie? What spell it to cast on that doll?" Minuette asked her friend. Being very curious, the spell in question, before she decides to leave the group. get presents for the other members of her friends.
"It's a quite simple totem, enchantment spell. It was a quite useful spell back, during the times of war. It allowed general's high-caliber, and the princesses to communicate with their troops. It is quite simple but Trixie access said spell. For even though Trixie has memorized said spell. Trixie's father as a book on the spell. Even If he cannot cast said spell." Trixie explained the unusual action of referring to herself in the third person.
Time Lord gave a little nod, as she trotted off into the misty fog of the era.
Lyra heartstrings was smiling and looking at her good friend vinyl scratch and said "any clue what we're going to get for our hearts warming?"
'I never look at the minds of that part, it would spoil the fun and surprise. Not to mention I don't like looking to other ponies mind as much if you think. I'm only taking the classes to speak, I'm not trying to be a spy.'
Later at the girls dorm.
The gang was working on each one of their hearts warming Eve presents. "Wow Trixie I didn't know you could sew so well?" Lyra stated, as she was writing some music.
"The great and powerful Trixie is a mare of many talents." Replied Trixie and her usual boasting matter.
"Just try not to get too big of a head. Also could you please hand the hel-Root." Minuette questioned as she was mixing up something on the kitchen stove. Trixie proceeded to levitate set Roots colored pale white as bone.
"Interesting mixture you're making, Trixie not exactly sure the what the hel-root? Also known as the skeleton Treant?" Trixie Being slightly curious, as she was watching tentatively, Minuette using her magic to cut A Sankaku which was a orange triangle.
"It has many properties, but the properties that I'm using it right now are secret." She replied.
Vinyl was also working on some music lyrics, while listening onto her headphones a musical piece, judging from her body motions she wished she could actually sing lyrics.
A couple days later.
Point of view change Minuette.
During breakfast Trixie and Twilight were having their Nerd fight, but their usual backup coaches. Twilight having Moon dancer(which Twilight completely oblivious that dancer has major crush on her.) And Trixie have a gorgeous, soon to be busty, intelligent DJ.
"Level Spells are terrible! The great and powerful Trixie, would never resort to something terribly designed." With vinyl giving her usual nod backup. Although I can see to the fact that she is correct, even with the variable of having these scanned ability, which only certain training. Spells can be easily blocked or ignored. So long as you have the proper equations, to determine your own skill levels and ...
"I firmly disagree Trixie. Why else the high demonic creatures, on the spells so heavily. Because they are extremely effective. For example level V red light. Shining a red light on to all subjects, with a health Max, multiple number of five." Not to mention the method of these that particular status is based on targeting a stat.
"And not to mention they are completely Un-blockable, And a zero failure rate!" Even if the cancer was technically correct that subject. The failure rate is quite excuse, not taking in account for immune spells. Equipment attachments. And not to mention the fact that if you cast the spell on a that is not of the number scheme, technically that counts as a failure. But it's not because that's exactly what the spell was supposed to do. Which proceeds with Trixie actually bringing up the main problem.
"And why is it that nobody actually ever excess rates the level Dead spells, and don't say it's because there are forbidden! The great and powerful Trixie does this! The main reason is the variable that covers, the spells. That are currently calculated By a mathematical arbitrator in math system, that's based on statistics. Even a non-magically Earth pony can resist, a level Dead spell, that is around strength, by removing either a few sheets of armor or putting on more sheets armor. Thanks to their race abilities. " Again Trixie brought up the factors of the average earth pony. And back before we are using machinery to do the mathematical equations, it was originally done in our heads. With a mathematical spell to help boost, the calculate processing power that every pony has. Actually see the time stream.
"No offending girls. I love mathematics as much is the next mare. My brain is basically fill with math! But let enjoy breakfast!" I replied, trying not to sound too crazy.
Botany potions
Apple Polis was holding up a gnarled arm and a strange creature. "Class this is called Venusgardelta. Well to be exact just the arm of it." Revealing a picture of the creature behind her, using levitation spell to levitate the picture. The beast was purely green, it had form of a mare. Large pods shaped like the breasts, even though it looked like it had the same torso design, till you got past the lower part of the body. Like everything of the creatures/monsters species known and studied as Treants. Their bodies look like they could be stationary but reality thinks their magical roots, there are able to crawl across the ground with great ease like spiders and several multil-legs creatures. Though the hand that she was, quite similar to the plant known as Venus fly's traps. Also known as Dionaea muscipula.
"Of course this is one of the few creatures that not be covered in your mystical creature studies, as despite it being one of those classes it's not going to attack out right unless attacked first. Although I've heard tales of stallion's, some parts to one or two." She said with a slight giggle. "As such the beast, is carnivorous. But mostly lives of the insects & smaller animals around the area, the more slightly intelligent breed of Treants. Living in locations much like the ever free forest. But once a while they do produce an unique tree sap." Levitating a pointer at the same time, and striking the stick at the picture, at the large pods. "To give it a more feminine appearance, the sap is stored into these areas. As such all plant creatures are asexual. As such there sap can be used for many herbal remedies. Also they make a great syrup for pancakes." She said with a slight drooling expression, Not same drooling expression that Twilight has when reading, a particularly good book. But more like the drooling expression when it comes to lunch time for everypony. " Yes Minuette?"
"Roughly how long does it take for it to be affected by The Taint?" This is a chemical also known as the demon blood, or monster blood. A corrosive chemical that causes on mutations, and only a select a few myself included. Are taught spells to purify said chemical. Depending on how much we just determines if you become a beast of Doom. Although some plant life can infiltrate the chemical at the cost as their actual existence, and create alternate formulas with similar properties but without the negative side effect. Some drugs are created through this particular method. Recreational or otherwise.
"Well depending on the delivery system, if it's in a gaseous form also noted as Miasma, 200 minutes, with exposure to said gas, the mutated to its deadly form. As it has really got a demonic form, is only given the name Tainted Venus. Been infected with said chemical in its liquid form. I reckon it's about half the time." She replied.
"Does polymorphing from a similar creature allow it sap still work? And is it possible to polymorphic into its tainted form if you just have its original form?" Knowing this might lead me to having some more questions later in private. But Miss polished does tend to believe that it's okay to give some information to the rest of the class, you asked for a particular information.
"It's okay, I still wouldn't recommend it. And if you still want the sap I recommend you don't fight fire, I guess a good ice Mage would come in handy, or someone in a similar specialization field. Time magic is quite limited though. Considering technically plants have their own unique lifespans and etc. but y'all don't think about it okay." Using her usual southern drawl.
After the private meeting.
In cafeteria:
"What do you mean they called Off the trials, but the charges are still established?" Trixie trying to keep her volume down, after told some news from Twilight.
"It's a system where they sit at a lower level punishment, for the same crime with out having to have a trial process. Although it is quite intriguing that the plea agreement was taken, and given this such low level. Banished from city. Then again considering this full-time situation, barely possible this is classified as a execution without method of execution." Twilight being slightly cold, logical. Reminds me of a point ear race that my uncle out? he encountered species on one of his many jury.
"He was probably pressured into this, even with one of the lower branches of the royal family. They still don't want to believe that a unicorn can be brought through mud, especially of Royals. This is a insult to Trixie! Trixie will be out. Trixie will Fargo meal today." As Trixie proceeded to walk towards the training fields, Vinyl
Scratch gave her usual looks. Then proceeded to go after her. Sometimes making me wish I desire to learn the minds. But considering I can't always guarantee that I will be a unicorn in every incarnation. It is a best to learn every field that I will be more accustomed too.
Witching a P.O.V.
back to the main star.(Actually reader/narrator's P.O.V.)
"Stupid!" Firing a fireball directly at a target, the right arm being a fire elemental. 'You're not and to the left.' As the target wasn't burst into flames, but the tree right next to it. Then polymorphic her left arm into some type of cloud, probably a Cirrus elemental. Also known as a cloud elemental and proceeded to shoot a ice javelins into the tree question, one way to put out a fire.
"Don't read it, sometimes having a mind reader is not the best thing." Trixie replied as she proceeded to, continue her barrage against the target. Picturing the target as Prince Blueblood! Using the rage and fury to fire, and missing horribly. Although it was best to now use ice javelins. The right arm change once again back to original. Then placing her right hand the horn, with a vibrant surge of energy!
'Just calm down, you haven't really perfected the whole Crystal mirror laserbeam reflection trick yet, not to mention also. Those are ice javelins!' As Vinyl proceeded to cast her own mystical shield, it was a dark crimson red with pink highlights, sometimes looking very violet depending on the lighting. Much like the casters eyecolor.
"I know what I'm doing! I am going to get my revenge! Trixie, is the granddaughter of star swirled bearded! Trixie is the niece of Morgan Moonscar, one of the foremost sorceress of her time! Trixie can handle a simple laser spell!" As she fired the beam.
Nurse's office.
Midnight Call finished dressing the injury on the left arm. "It's a good thing that Cirrus elementals injuries are not permanent, or you would be learning how to write your left hand. The far more careful. Okay." She said that she was bandaging up Trixie's left arm, it was a straight across from Mark. Wasn't for the fact that her arm was a cloud she would have lost her entire arm, from below the shoulder joint.
"Yes Trixie will be careful. Trixie needs to learn her arrogance. Trixie is weak." With vinyl sticking to her like Glue. As they were leaving the nurse's office.
Towards the end of a class.
'Lyra, have the next several classes with Trixie? Right?' As Ms. heartstrings jumped out of her chair, and shouted. "Yes, oh I don't think it actually, here what I'm saying? Right now because you're not in the room but, I don't see the strings attached to my Horn?! Though I need to figure out I don't understand." As she covered her mouth and sat back down and try to continue the conversation in her head. 'You Know that Mint has the same classes, aren't you speaking into her mind?'
Vinyl mental message' Because you'll be less suspicious than the dentists.'
This left the teacher with a strange look but decided against.
After school.
"Trixie knows why you're are following Trixie. She Promises not to do anything to reckless don't need to follow her." Trixie told Lyra as she was follow her off school grounds.
"We're just so happen to going to the same place, the library correct." Replied trying to come up with a convincing lie, but despite her name she's not that great at lying. Now being gullible yes.
At the library.
Trixie was looking up some particular books, still noticing Lyra was still following her. Although still enough to keep up with her monster studies. " Xill one of the few creatures I don't find sexy." Muttered Lyra to herself, picking up a book on species of the dark ones. Monsters that existed long ago before the time of time. The more powerful were trapped and sealed inside a separate mention. It was stated that when the ancient warriors, that perform this action was Counsel of power.
Trixie look at the ancient warriors. A gargoyle known as Hunt, a strange spiderlike creature, known as Anansi. Even the Lord of chaos the Discord was there! "Even before Trixie's great great ancestor was born, this is the only time was before star swirled was involved." Also picking up some books on the existence of the Taint! Which she was studying up in the dark arts. Order to battle the dark arts must know where it comes from. It always comes from the monsters of insanity. Not even the god of chaos likes the madness they bring.
Sitting down at the table to read the books, every so often Lyra did take a quick peek at Trixie's book. "Hunt does look sexy, I could squeeze that muscle belly all over. Look at those arms! But what's with that floating helmet? It looks like it's armor design for pony but I don't see the pony in the armor?"
"I'm guessing that's the queen or king it's hard to tell what the species is actually impossible to those who do not see death, and even if we did! I'd doubt the paper would actually show based on that clause. Of the Thestrals." Replied Trixie.
"I guess you're feeling comfortable right now." Lyra replied giving Trixie a hug.
"Well the great and powerful Trixie, is just studying those that are stronger. So what are you getting for hearts warming? For our friends?" With a slight tentative curiosity.
"Well Twilight for her baby. After all I think she carefully misses him, even if she doesn't show it. I've been working on a summoning spell. But it's so tricky, maybe the great and powerful Trixie can help me out?" Trying to give out much flattery.
"Well the great and powerful Trixie understands, although she missed her child that she is going to have? Trixie is confused by your statement but Trixie understands. Although Trixie does not understand why not asking the Time Lord for help?" Leaving Lyra to giggle at Trixie's explanation. Lyra didn't go into detail but she did explain a couple of things.
After checking out books and buying ingredients.
"Okay, she has a pet mystical lizard? Unusual but Trixie can understand. I do sometimes have things for my mystically enchanted plushy, And Trixie did once the care of a goldfish." Granted she would never tell Lyra that the goldfish did die. As well as the two cactus, and a kryp.(A plantlike dog, created out of ocean kelp)
Several days later:
"Trixie, have a fabulous trick. For your next show, and all I need is for your little assistance. Oh and not polymorph yourself, the trick actually requires you to polymorph a plants to another plant." Replied Minuett trying to sweettalk Trixie to help her out with a ingredients.
"Well Trixie does have a show, and Trixie is currently out of new tricks. Explain the details of trick and maybe Trixie will consider." She replied, meanwhile in the background Vinyl was giving this look of what are you thinking the princesses name, & all of Tartarus! To Minuett.
" Well I got my hands on some poison joke, and went to the polymorphic into a Venusgardelta. Still with the tainted status, that the poison joke naturally has at its functions." Then she turned and looked at the others and proceeded to whisper into Trixie's ear.
"Oh, oh, oh? Aha Un. Really, you want Trixie to do what? Is that a little bit more Lyra speed? Don't get me wrong, Trixie likes are Mares's booming but this is ridiculous." During this Lyra's eyes is just getting more more curious and vinyl was just getting bigger and bigger eyeballs, normally her shades cover her eyes but this was the complete opposite that her eyes were actually peering over her shades!
Defense against the dark arts
"Okay class you down gotten probably strong enough, to cast one of the most important spells to ever exist. Well at least if you're in this field, or your plane to become a member of the royal guard. Detecting evil. I also see your practice of the Princess here to learn this particular spell good call."Maquahuitl said was slowly clapping, using the magic from his horn to levitate a piece of chalk, and started writing down mathematical equations. "Now technically you are not detecting the evil intent of a creature. The tech evil is a natural focus point on detecting the energy signature that is the taint. As you all probably recalled and noticed, everyone's magic has a unique energy Magic aura!"
Pointing out his own mystical aura which is of course bright red, and a little bit magma looking.
"This is caused by our own unique radiation fields, everything has magic everything has radiation. So how do we determine what is taints radiation, is what were really searching for! The chemical concoction has its own energy signature that we can pick up and analyze with a simple spell, problem is that you do not cast the spell correctly will see everyone's energy field with their not casting including Earth pony's and Pegasuses. Pick up the energy range means of a particular chemical that's not exactly a good thing." As he proceeds to levitate a small jar containing a glowing green liquid!
The container containing the green liquid was set down, as he quickly began to explain. "Now some pony's, naturally glowing green energy, So distinguishing those ponies green energy this one is extremely crucial. But this is an actually it's energy, you are singing it in its pure form." Then he proceeded to bring out a potted land of a dark purple flower. "This flower is called poison joke, for those who taken the botany class you should already know about this, And probably know what the effects of poison joke will do to you! While this is a tainted flower, not armful or deadly. All though you might want to be careful depending on your side effects, I once dated a girl who was exposed to it and was about 3 inches tall, that was one really awkward night out on the town. Thankfully there is a brew mixture that is easily created to remove the side effects." As he demonstrate casting the spell, and his eyes started to turn particularly demonic, with glowing red aura purple mist coming from his eyes and a small tint of green. Then he turned it off. "Now despite the looks I am not casting dark magic, back during the olden times, the spell was often cast in the presence of the course dark entities. To improve your chances of survival and make them think your aligned with them, it makes you look like you're actually casting a dark spell. But casting dark magic does have its nasty side effects. But that will be explained another time." As the rest of the class began casting the spell.
Lunch time:
"There, I have gotten everybody's present. Well sort of." Lyra said muttering to herself, while looking on her checklist. Trixie's was checked off, lemon heart was checked off, Twilight sparkle was in a circle, Moon dancer had also a check, everybody have a check.
"Yeah me too, I'm almost there I just need one more ingredient." Said Minuett as she was doctoring a small scar on her left eye.
"Trixie is curious how did you receive injuries?" Replied Trixie trying to bolster herself when she was range of Blueblood, he was no longer absent. It was strange that he was missing longer than expected. Especially after his mother's disappearance, she return back to the ether of the well Dead!
"Just a ingredient deal gone bad. Although you should see the other guy." She replied being slightly secretive.
This caused everypony to raise an eyebrow! But they continued eating their meals keeping the conversation low key. Which also happened to be when the rest of the group showed up, Twilight and her friends.
Just after the lunch bell rang, Trixie gave out a series of fryers detailing the time and event for her show, as Prince Blueblood grabbed it and said "I didn't know Mud actually perform. Although I heard that there are some good Earth pony singers, although I doubt it. After all everything is better with a Horn. Especially when you have a real one." As he tried to grab Trixie's horn, but Trixie actually teleported away with out resort any normal tricks! And she wasn't feeling exhaustion from teleportation!
Show time:
"The great and powerful Trixie, will transform this tainted flower into a tainted Venusgardelta! For the first part of her fabulous tricks!" She said focusing her magic into her horn. As the magic surrounded the purple joke, it's body began to form the longer more feminine shape, the flower petals transform the two large biting hands, changing its colors from, purple pedals and green torso, to purple torso, and bright golden pedals around the neck and torso. "Now the great and powerful Trixie will be revealed scan, that way the audience knows exactly what the great and powerful Trixie is up against!"
HP: 11D8+10=67
Ac:17
ATT: Tentacle Bite: St+7 Dam:St+D4 [toxic]
SATT: temptation Ray (charm+wis+mag) Dam:D6
St:14
Dex:10
Con:16
Int:2
Wis:11
Cha:9
magic:4
"Now The great and powerful Trixie, will subdue the beast, and collect its uniquely sap!" As the monster began to lash out at her, swinging its tentacles, which easily grabbed her hat, and nearly took her head off! "Chains of ice, forged in the freezing cold! And in prison opponent!" Really wasn't that much of it necessary to be dramatic but this is a show after all, as she was using the Frozen craft spell. After long flowing mane, vibrated in the wind as she generates several Chains of pure ice, catching on with their crystal old ivory. The crowd that was watching was intrigued, although several mothers and fathers cover their children's eyes. Not for the usual reasons of like was guts, but for the fact that the binding was a little provocative.
"It's a good thing I brought my camera!" Commented Lyra as she was taking some much-needed pictures, as Trixie pulled out from her magic Cape! Two Gigantic spigots, and materialize a bucket of ice. As she jabbed the first spout into the melon of the beast! Lyra took a close-up picture of it!
"The great and powerful Trixie knows that her assistant is currently drooling at her actions, demonstrate how skilled inbound my opponent is, I will have my assistant collect the next's round of sap." Trixie replied as the red liquid was pouring out, normally the sap would be a golden color, and also be a lot more consistently chunky. But in its corrupted state the formula is more blood like, although doesn't have the same capabilities of corrupting someone.
As Lyra was handed a spigot, and was getting ready to charge next Boob. Trixie noticed that the creature was starting to get loose from its bonds and ham-up the play. "Planks of wood become the steel become the steel in the iron of pain, Vines of green, change to the iron that will bind thy!" As she polymorph the blanks would next to the tree into the shackles of iron and steel, latching onto the shackles that were created from the transformed pieces of the vines that were getting ready to lash. Then Lyra proceeded to stab in the spigot just at the right spot, and begins massaging monster large watermelons, being careful to let each and every single drop land inside the ice bucket.
Only Trixie noticed that the Prince Blueblood was watching, with a scowl on his face with rage. Trixie knew that he was probably upset and angry that the beast was clawing out tearing off her arms and legs, or he was probably upset about the fact that she was taking care of this so easily. He was hoping for the humiliation, that was the real reason what he did that night. It wasn't because she was beautiful, it wasn't because he was going frisky. It was because he hated her, and wanted to make herself! That's what his plan that night. Whatever injuries he suffered, he chose to take those injuries for what ever larger plan he had to be cool and heartless. Trixie quickly mentally chanted the spell that she learned today, also summoning the sunglasses just to make it look not cast the spell. Looking out throughout the crowd, she was hoping that there would be signs of corruption around Blueblood. Not for the usual reasons, hoping that there was still good or something stupid like that. No she was hoping He had been tampering with dark magic, and was sloppy. His own tainted exterior, or that his corruption was so was thoroughly soaked into his body, that he was creating his taint radiation. But sadly the answer was also No he did show a black energy field around him but that always wasn't the answer had to have all three, The dark black, purple and green.
"Okay, now since we collected it's nice ingredients." She replied generating a ice cap to cover the bucket, and ceiling it shut while placing it inside her mystical Cape. The crowd smiled. But instead of Trixie cast the usual spells that Minuette was suspecting, Trixie was being slightly clever as she was using a smoke screen of her own powerful polymorph spell to turn herself into a cloud, well just turn tail and a small thunderstorm! The lightning struck the beast and made it look like she vaporized it with the power of her storms! It was a fantastic show but in reality, we collected the seedpods form the creature, and teleported them into her bag. Was hoping her grandfather's Cape already had the purify spell.
Next day: D.A.D.A
"Okay class, now since I have given you the spell detect evil, it is time for you to learn the next to alignment spells, to also detect. Sense chaos, and harmony sight. You might be thinking why on earth would we create spells to detect, the harmony in someone, well don't forget the first part of harmony is harm. Sometimes the best intentions can leave the most painful of scars. Evil has often been late with the best intentions, especially when we know that there such a thing as corrupted elements!" Going on to the chalkboard the elements of harmony, the usual shaped diamonds or like sapphires depending on your viewpoints "And these elements are not corrupted either of darkness that exists, no they are corrupted by power and their users. The liquid known as taint, is created by greed, rage, and Envy! And when you are consumed by it you are gluttonous! The desire to devour everything, for desire is food for ever eat, if your desire is riches will forever try to collect more money, if your desire is blood, will kill into you are kill. The cycle will never stop. This is the reason why changelings have been classified as evil, not just because they were created by the tainted self! Born deep inside the tree of the Everfree forest, many many, many, millenniums ago." Maquahuitl stated showing off to other objects that have been assigned with the purity of statements. A unusual rabbit with long antlers, white coat and red beady eyes. Inside a small cage! Teeth were clamoring, two long sharp pointy teeth! The secondary object was a small pendant adorned with shiny gemstones. The gemstones were shaped like dogs! "After I teach you the site I want to write down which object needs to actually is harmonious and which one is chaotic. This will be on the test." |
Trixie: school days | Ch 11: A song in your heart that warms the soul! | Minuette and Trixie, were sitting inside a small laboratory. Trixie was watching and studying everything that Minuette did. Unlike Twilight she didn't have the time to sink in a time manipulation spell. Not to mention the connections! So studying her friend's action it's on subjects like to study but can't deal with the time, quite useful. "Thank you for freezing the Sap, and it's a good thing it didn't purify. I was slightly worried when you putting your Cape." Taking out a glass jar, to mix the chemicals.
"A rejuvenation jar? I wonder why you're using that mixture chemicals? Most of your ingredients don't have expiration dates?" Trixie commented, was still in safe in this laboratory. Thinking about she is definitely going to ask her friend about the spells and enchantments on the box that contains the laboratory.
"Oh this is just to make it where it's reusable, although was quite tricky to actually get a fresh jar without any problems." Replied rubbing her head, as she was pouring in Succoeter wax(or commonly known as the spider eater) and proceed to continue mixing up the chemicals.
"By the way Trixie is wondering do you have such a fabulous laboratory? Stored inside such a small container?" Being a little sneaky.
After a series of long explanations.
"The great and powerful Trixie! Is saying that it would've been easier if you just said bag of holding spell, with multiple twists." She said after not being completely confused after the explanation.
"But that is boring! Explaining the algorithm and mathematics of the actual cost trying the mystical forces of is so much interesting!" In her usual happy-go-lucky personality.
"That's it we're switched you to decaf." Replied Trixie.
Minuette takes out a small tape recorder and presses the play button, as the tape recorder goes on a long sequence of single words.
Morning breakfasts. (The beginning of heartwarming eve)
"Thank you Lyra, and thank you Trixie." Replied Twilight as she got the informational spell, as Lyra was giving out her present early. Well one present to be exact, after all it was the one that actually required slight study.
"And Twilight this for you and Spike!" Trixie still not putting 2+2 together, although she is thinking that it is a weird name for a pet lizard, it might have horns. Minuette said, while giving a box of pacifiers, that were flame retardant. Maybe a magma Salamander with horns?
Dancer even gave Twilight her present. "Thank you dancer, a book on Positron theorem!" Sparkle said as she was trying not to drool on the spell she was receiving earlier.
"Twilight you should stop drooling your starting to look like Lyra when she's looking at monster manual." Replied Lemon heart.
"But it's perfectly normal to love books." Replied Twilight, as she was wiping the drooling off of her face.
After the usual history class.
Covering the usual thing every year around this time, the founding of equestria.
"Well it's bad enough that I have to do this in the play, but why do we have to learn the history every year! Well at least I get to be platinum this year." Replied Twinkle shines.
"Also watch where you're tossing your mane!" Replied Trixie, after all twinkle shine was known to be a method actress, which meant she even magically in change her Mane to look exactly like the character she's acting. Which is really bad considering that platinum was known to have her mane merging with her tail! As she would only let it be cut by the finest of enchanted gemstones.
"Well just be thankful that I only do my character acting on stage. Sadly were doing the extent edition which means more scenes, of me being whole hallway why do I have to walk my own Hooves. Clover would you be so kind as to carry your beautiful Princess." Twinkle shine replied that she fell in to Twilight's arms, which caused Moon Dancer to start fuming.
"Well then the great and powerful Trixie, will make you light enough to walk on air." She replied as she cast the poly-morph spell on the Hooves, changing them into little clouds. "Unless you believe that these clouds are too low lead for you, and make you feel like a paranoid Pegasus. You see Trixie can be overdramatic as well."
"I really can't understand why they passed you, to not play Morgan Moonscar! You would be perfect for it! I mean you need to get the looks! Instead they gave it to the second year Sunset shimmer. All well." Replied Twinkle shine, then carefully turned around and whispered. "How long will this spell last?"
"Don't worry the great and powerful Trixie, assures that her poly-morph spells have a time limit, will be back to your normal playing boring Hooves, in time for the show. And I don't envy you I've already kissed Blueblood once and I hated every second of it." Making sure that at least several of the school knew exactly what Blueblood did even if he was back covering up a little.
Play rehearsals.
It was strange that Blueblood pulled strings, to have Trixie onset. But Trixie figured it he was just doing it for the sake of improving his image, after all Trixie was in charge of special effects. The school version of the play versus the actual town play was very different, for example usually be town play had all the adult playing all the roles. Not mention all the stage equipment was premade. Help test out the skills of the students, almost all of them were assigned unique roles. Although they did have to partner up with some other schools that were in the area, namely some of the earth pony schools and the military Pegasus school that was in the area.
Blueblood was playing King Titanium, father of Princess Platinum. Considering this was the extended edition of the play, there are a lot more scenes that need to be rehearsed. The town play was scheduled to be at least 30 minutes long, not counting intermissions and set setups. The school play was much much longer For 3 hour play. Thankfully they did get a 30 minute breaks every hour which the play up to technically 4.
As Trixie was looking over the cast list. Twilight Sparkle as Clever Clover, Twinkle Shine as Princess Platinum, Sunset Shimmer as Morgan Moonscar, Minuette as Star Swirled Bearded. Skipping lists of background characters. Playing the role of Smart Cookie is Octavia, playing Chancellor Putting is Lucky Clover(a Okay looking stallion, dark gray and black mane, with black eyes only unique color is's Mark.) Representing the Pegasus, Night Glider playing the role of Commander Hurricane. Avid Pansy was being played by Golden Rain(really they gave her a male role? I mean yeah she does cover the golden code but still, can you really believe it, with her mane being such a beautiful shade of orange!) Trixie was looking over the pony who actually wrote the information on the checklist, Grim heart[a slick backed royal blue Mane, powder blue coat extremely pale. Gothic eyeliner around her yellow Eyes, And finally a pin on her chest representing her cutie Mark, that was kept concealed thanks to her long black skirt. A Purple Heart surrounded by black energy waves washing toward it.]
'Really, I was think the black stallion be more her style! And I think her sisters rubbing off on her again.' Trixie was thinking, as she was looking over the list. They were rehearsing the part of the scene that was very unique that was rarely covered the actual Town play.
"Why I do commend you my dear Princess, continuing your duties as your father instructed! But we do need our rest we can set the sun later. Thy Sun also keeps us warm and allows us to see thy day." Twilight replied wearing her clever Clover outfit.
Both Lyra and vinyl were carrying twinkle shine on a bed using their levitation magic because obviously they're not going to actually use their real muscle strength! When twinkle shine replied with her line in her outfit. "I have not commanded my subjects to do said spell! Though I do wish to honor father. It is important, that we are seeing where we are going! I thought you were casting said spell, being the student of broken dial. I am not sure how this is happening? Subjects stop testing all of spells!" As both Lyra and vinyl did exactly what they were supposed to do in the scene, which was promptly dropped the gigantic bed on top of Princess platinum!
A small lightbulb, charged with electrical magical energy was being levitated the same direction towards a bunch of tree sets. Representing the strange event that for four days and four nights, the sun and the moon moved on their own. Summoning the ponies to the land. Of course being levitated by Trixie. Due to the challenging process of this job it was required for her to have a large amount of mystical energy, thankfully thanks to her hairpin she didn't really have to actually spend that much!
Lunch time:
"I'm wondering if he's planning on reporting them or joining them?" Lyra said as she was spotting Blueblood with the gamblers. A group of the unicorns that love games of chance, in their own unique style. Rough Diamond she has Gray Mane(like Minuette), powder blue coat, eyes light purple. Next to her was her boyfriend, Die Roller, a crossbreed unicorn/Minotaur, well guess you could call him unicorn, with having two actually Bull's Horns. He was checker coded, including his beautiful mane. Then there was poker chip, a bright red stallion, with a black/Red mane, split right down the middle, his hairstyle that is two poker chips, last one was hard wheel. Chocolate coated skin, a vibrant green mane, she had three unique hairpins in her mane, one cherry, a seven, and a pot of gold. Styling her mane look like a slot machine.
"Trixie doesn't care." Turning around and sitting, due to the holiday they were given no classes, after lunch that is. Which gave Trixie enough time to pull out some of her presents!
"Trixie, knows this is early but considering the long late night, some of us might sleep in later." She replied with a smile as she gave out the presents. Minuette received an unusual pocket watch, but inside it numbers but a single picture, Her face with a dial point to it. "Trixie calls it a region watch, after doing some research I hear that time boards have 12 lifetimes, and I feel this would be a great way of keeping track of it." A little bit of a morbid gift in some cases but it's a clever Gift. Vinyl Scratch received a strange desk, it was shiny and silvery. "I know you scratching perfectly good records at times, so I made a vinyl scratcher! Scratch up this record as many times as you like, ever feel guilty. And if you just want a different song on it just play so top of the different vinyl record." Both mares lit up with a smile. Lyra looked at her present, and it had a simple piece of paper written on top of it and it was wrapped. Do not open around company! Realizing this was a very special gift, and placed it into her backpack.
Minuette placed the watched inside her bag while taking out a small jar. "Sorry Trixie, you are not ready yet, but Vinyl is! A special instant candle. When you inhale fumes, it should repair your vocal cord. Minor side effects, are heightened senses temporary eye color change."
Behind Vinyl sunglasses was a blinding light, as she show the fantastic little grin, not only will she be able to finally hear her own voice! But she'll get to see the colors of her soul.
"Let me guess, Same here?" Commented Lyra is noticing that she was also getting her early.
"Yeah, it's going to take me a while to get yours ready too. Because some-pony had to hide my special blend of coffee." As she was giving some special eyebrow looks to Trixie.
" Minuette! Trixie knows you are way too hyper, the only thing that could ever be more hyper than you, the pony that would be on permanent sugar rush." Replied the trickster pony.
"Seen her it's not that bad." Replied the time Lord as she was remembering retrieving the ingredients.
Flashback:
" Succoeter Hive, located there, now where's my 40 bits?" Replied a very tall Griffin, he was a combination of a lion with bald Eagle. Which gave him a very fuzzy looking neck.
"Sure here you go, now would you kindly help me get the actual wax!" Replied the Time Lord, looking at the hive that was currently going the very angry if she tried anything special, and sadly due to the nature of the creatures they were mystically resistant to lots and lots of different types of magical spells.
"You got more bits?" He replied, and Minuette it's something a little sneaky and dark side decisions style.
"Sure I got more bits, bits of pain." Taking out a copy of vinyl sunglasses and putting it on her face, as she blasted him with an arcane shot from her horn, it was didn't do too much damage to him, but that was the point it was supposed to knock him into the nest and it did, but it also kind of made him really angry while he was being stung went for a good scratch! Making a small cut over the eye.
"Thank you for the ingredient! I hope you have a buzzing business!" As she teleported away.
Back to the present:
girls dormitory:
Everybody was getting dressed for the big play using the private shower Vinyl placed Minuette's gift onto a mystically charged plate. Then began to take a shower to leave time for the candle to start melting. Soon the fumes began to build up, as she greatly inhale them her beautiful lilac eyes turn striking crimson red, her bright white coat became slightly brighter! She even began to hear the conversations in the other rooms, giving the room a swirling coloring effect!
"This is a disaster, this is the worst thing! WE are absolutely DOOM!" With slightly dull colors very masculine voice.
"Well, let's be honest, we should realize this when we did cast when that could disappear! That's why we get Understudy! Trixie should know that part." Commented a bright colors very feminine.
"But she scheduled to do the special effects! How about that lemon heart?" Replied the slightly dull colors.
"I guess we'll have to do it that way. But don't worry about it, where not doOM!" Replied the extremely super voice.
The play: act one!
A tall handsome silver stallion, dressed up as a Bard, began to narrate the play. "Princess platinum was standing in front of her father, King titanium and his two loyal visors star swirled bearded. "Placing his hand underneath his mouth, but still having the loud tones like he's trying to pretend to be talking underneath his breath, but not really. "Because star swirled the goateed sound right, especially when he's not a goat." Pausing for dramatic effect and allowing the crowd to laugh.
"And his gorgeous but every pony has no chance unless you're in the class, his sister, Morgan Moonscar." Stated the stallion, revealing him to disappear behind the curtain, revealing the scene in place.
"Oh, but father, why must thou go on a perilous journey and leave me your sweet daughter alone during this frozen time!" Twinkle shine replied doing the overdramatic hand to her head, just barely low enough to avoid slamming her hand into her horn.
Prince Blueblood, wearing a king's outfit, adorned royal armor gemstones aplenty began his speech. "My visor Morgan has told me of the danger that requires my attention. The source of this winter is far into the frozen mountains, and only I had my two visors can dare take signs to this battle! And my sweet daughter I dared not to let you see the horrors of blood, for all those stains are murder of all your silk dress! I dared not stain your soul!" Waving his arms dramatically and grasping his chest at the end.
"I know things and things are range, for once my sister is right! Not with rain, but with snow. But do not worry, find you, even if you leave for greener pastures." Minuette replied while wearing a wizard hat with the bells but no stars, but the mystical magic Cape did had the stars. And she was stroking her fake goatee.
"Oh my sweet gemstone, be sure not to forget the place of the servants, and our order! Oh we raise the sun and the moon, and the duty is always important." Replied the King, moving closer upon his daughter.
"Oh yes sweet father, I will be sure to give 40 lashes to those who do not help in raising the sun and the moon, as long as they have strength to do so." Replied Princess platinum.
"We will show compassion in these darkest hours, as soon as a Pegasus removed the clouds that block our rays!" Replied twilight dresses clever clover.
Lemon heart filling in for sunset shimmer who vanished mysteriously, wearing the outfit and having her mane, shaped into the right style, beginning to speak her lines. "The sun and the moon will follow your path, and your path will be followed by the sun and the moon. While on our journey will be on yours. Follow your path, as we follow ours. Both souls will be staining, but with stains of different, one with blood and one with Heart. As you feel the Burns of cold, they warm of soul shall bring forth a new dawn, as signs will be revealed."
As the curtain drop down upon them, a mysterious blue light was projected onto the curtain! As Chancellor putting, and smart cookie began to speak!
A few scenes later.
"We have no choice, but to leave these terrible lands, and search for the greener pastures that star swirled suggested! My Princess." Commented clever clover after the terrible meeting that Princess platinum had with the leaders.
"I suppose you're right, after all, I can't stand to work with those creatures! Us unicorns are proud and noble races. I'm sure that father would gladly be able to discover our new home when all set is done. Now let's have the service pack are supplies!"
As the curtain drop down once again, with the same light blue tent projecting scenes from the other plays. For each of the 3 schools, were demonstrating the three tribes, having each parts of the story hold only from the three tribes point of view once in a while. This was one of the four jobs of the stage manager. Listed under the special effects!
Another few scenes later.
(Past stage rehearsal sequence)
AK: the best scene!
Bedsheets covering over clouds, which on the bed sheets were drawings of Wendigo flying around. Surrounding the three travelers, King Titanium was wielding a mystical sword[forged by Nerf] star swirled bearded was using, his mystical skills to create the icicle in the shape of a quarter staff, as his sister pulled out of a nearby tree, a magnificent blade of her own! [All weapons are supplied by Nerf] as the Styrofoam blades were swatting at the bed sheets, including the fake quarter staff of ice, which was made out blue Styrofoam, parts of the shape of the icicle with minor fancy designs.
"What are these fouls spirits?" Question the king as he was swinging his silver blade coded in bright purple gems[Nerf & clear plastic color purple.]
"Wendigo, the creatures who feed off of negative emotions! Freezing cold to the touch, and when consumed by negativity, a pony will be frozen and then turn into a fellow Wendigo. Thankfully, the process of turning into one takes a while. Also, before you say it sister, I know my weapon is useless, but it looks so cool! Behold the awesomeness that is true awesomeness." Replied Minuette trying to do her best impersonation of the craziness that is star swirled. By shootings fireballs out of ice![In reality, Trixie is using a teleportation spell, to teleport small little Nerf balls covered in red flames!]
Meanwhile, backstage Trixie was struggling to keep up with friends. For her friend was shooting them, at the rate of bolt action crossbow, with three loading speed of 1.5 seconds. It wasn't for Trixie's hairpin she would be completely wiped out and exhausted by the first few minutes! Thankfully she didn't have to work the state by herself. There were several other unicorns, starlight glimmer, desk dawn(a stallion colors of twilight sparkle) orange moon(orange color of twilight sparkle)...
Back on stage: Morgan proceeded to cut and strike down several more of the foul creatures! All the while carefully moving closer towards the king, and carefully planning the action of untold evil, or untold good depending on the decisions that would be coming in the future. Pretending to accidentally stab the King, the Styrofoam blade pierced underneath Blueblood's right arm, as Blueblood pretend to do his famous death scene! "MOOrgAAAAAAAAHHKK!" Was the final words of the King, as he fell face down into the ice.
"Sister!" Cried Star Swirled! As the curtain fell down.
After mystical explosion of heart.
After the snow had melted away, the group split up and start looking for locations built their homes, To encourage workmanship, on the stage Princess Platinum, and Cmdr. hurricane were surveying the land's, navigating a very dark and dangerous forest, as a plastic Styrofoam tree shining and purple with gemstones instead of leaves the fruit, and nestled its branches were to baby folds! They were sleeping. Dolls of the princesses of course in reality. Twinkle shine, using her magic just like it tales picked up the baby folds and did her explanations! "By the sun and the moon, they have the forms of all three tribes! The wings of your Pegasi, the beauty of my horn, and they are as heavy as Chancellor Puttinghead! When he was a fold! This must be the sign and proof, that are three tribes must work together!"
Night Glider took off her helmet, in the sequence and grab several clouds have to get into a small baby carriage, which promptly teleported and replaced with a real baby carriage for the dolls did actually float on clouds. "And let's take these home and shows the group! And later on were going to have to figure out some names for these little fillies." She replied with a smile and a slight flirting week.
As the curtain fell down once again, and are narrating bard came out on stage! Giving time for the next scene be set up, he began telling the tale of how the two wizards came forth, catching up with our heroes. Finding the trails and following through with the Misty Mountains, dark forests, and the ghastly swamps!
The curtain raised up to reveal star swirled bearded and Morgan Moonscar, now star swirled was sporting his signature beard, and his hat and Cape had bells on them. "How cute and adorable, although I didn't think that we were gone long enough for you to have a fold or Two, your Majesty." And giving a slight nudge to private pansy, which really looked awkward to a very busty mare playing the role of the stallion, of a scary stallion. Is a faint word coming from Golden rain.
"Ow stop elbowing me in the boobs." She whispered to Minuette.
Meanwhile, lemon Heart was doing her best impression of being depressed, especially considering she's technically playing against her own type style, She prefers the stallions, and yet she's playing a character refers Mares. "Really Princess, I'm hurt I thought we had something special!" Pretending to wipe away her fake tears.
"No, we found these young folds in front of the tree and we haven't figured out a single name for them." Reply Princess platinum and quickly trying to give a comforting hug.
Chancellor putting replied "Not to mention their really strong little fillies, they got some earthy strength! And they love cookies!" Giving the light blue some cookies.
Cmdr. hurricane came over and said "yeah, we think there a gift from above. Showing proof that we are tribes that must work together!"
"Then I know just the name for this little pink one over here! That's the celestial skies gave it to us, we shall call her Celestia!" Replied star swirled.
With Morgan saying "loony as ever. Dear brother!" With the light blue one giggling at the name.
"Then your name shall be Luna! Excellent choice my dear sister! Now, do you have a flag for your new Kingdom?" Replied star swirled bearded, stroking his now very long beard!
Smart cookie came up with a gorgeous walking stats, carrying a flag of the two fabled ponies that were just named, and the sun and moon rotating!
End of play.
After party.
"Nice job Trixie." Complimented Octavia as she walked up, changed out of her original outfit of smart cookie and into the outfit elegant pony, a long black dress that promptly demonstrated that she does have a little bit of those feminine curves.
"Thanks, although I'm glad that I had my hairpin today because even the great and powerful Trixie can handle the speed of throwing a mile a minute. At a time Lord can actually perform, I don't think grandfather fire that fast!" Feeling a lot better since this was being held at the girls dormitory stallions were not being allowed to actually be in the dormitory this time.
the Pegasus night glider, came over and said "yeah, even our stage manager has a challenge at her hands. Granted, we don't have a rousing tale of armor King traveling off to far lands and getting killed! an Oct is and that your sister getting up on stage with the karaoke machine? I thought she was mute?" Being slightly confused and setting off a worried chain as Octavia was running as fast as she could.
Vinyl took off her sunglasses, revealing the beautiful red eyes grabbed the microphone and said "thanks to some friends I can speak again, I don't know for how long. Right now, so I figure I might as well find the right song for the occasion. Also, apparently a Moroccan blue who knew!" As she brought up a unique song.
After musical number.
Octavia ran up to her sister and gave her a big crushing hug! Which caused vinyl to cough, thankfully, this time it wasn't from sore throat. It was for being suffocated and having her lungs crushed! "Octavia loosened grip before she's as blue as me." Giggled Minuette. Which Octavia did losing her grip a little bit, then she noticed the red eyes, that had a striking set of small purple dots. "Now vinyl, will still have to take the candle regular dosage wise. Two times a day if you wish to talk For 24 hours straight." Vinyl gave a simple nod, all she did love the color of her voice, she just wants to savor it.
"Good call Sis, now if you excuse me, I wish to talk with your friend here." Octavia replied as she grabbed Minuette by the ear, which Earth pony strength was painful! As Minuette did spout some unique curse words that cannot be translated.
"I hope my don't see how well my watch works soon!" Commented Trixie at her fine workmanship, but really eager to see her friend do her first regeneration, after all, she still doesn't know everything about how time Lord's work. So it's entirely possible her friend regenerate back to original based and retriever Cape at the same time!
"Yeah, we're all weird and crazy! By the way, thank you for the gift." Lyra said that she gave Trixie a big hug.
End of chapter. |
Trixie: school days | Ch12: The finals of the grand tournament! | Breakfasts(three days after heartwarming)
The gamblers walked over to Trixie's table, Die Roller was the one who began to speak. "Look, the game is barely over with, and you barely played it. This is kind of a problem with our gambling situations. To change this up. We're challenging you, as any great magician you should have your standard playing cards that right?" Making motions that the Minotaur were kind of scary.
"The great and powerful Trixie, always has her cards up her sleeve." Flipping out the joker.
Rough diamond began to explain. "Good, this is how the game goes, will give you time to prepare that is, there are four suits. Hearts, Horns,Shoes, and wings. One of the represents the playing card textile. Basically heart writers you, magical spells little tricks you perform, etc. drawing one of the race cards, summons a warrior of your design of the corresponding species, basically you draw a earth, you get The earth pony. Then comes the value system, you draw the card it determines the value. Magic you cost to play on the field, Draining our mystical energy. Also, the gesture is naturally a zero. If you decide which ones the zero spell or a zero warriors! You have one week to prepare."
Hard wheel leaned over generating a small shield on her arm and smiled, giving a slight threatening expression knowing Trixie can't turn down the actual challenge. Although Trixie was graciously going to accept the challenge. No matter what, this was a great way of testing out two things Her mystical skills, and the power of her teammates. Well, sort of.
Poker chip gave her a little black book promptly said. "Make sure you're not breaking the rules and making soup on the fly, this will carry your deck, sort of speak. Write the suit, name and, the stats. Bonus affects you fill in also. Have fun!"
Trixie opened up the book to see that there was a bit more details on the rules, like explaining how the whole magic casting system work.
Two days later.
Trixie was walking around town, just finish writing up all of her unicorn choices, and of course spells that she was going to use the actual game. This is a slightly unique style of training, but now came the challenging part earth pony's, and Pegasus. After all she can just resolve the legendary historical characters. Especially considering it's entirely possible that they might have simpler Cards, and she doesn't know what would happen if they pull out a similar card, but with different stats! They transformed her stats, or maybe there's an either way it could be better or worse? As she bumped into a stallion with a green cloak, metal armor once again? "I'm so sorry, we really need to stop bumping into each other?"
The armor stallion picked her up and said "No worries, this reminds me of my homeland. At the most part, barely any crime. Peace and harmony. I miss my home, wonder how it's doing without my leadership. If transformed into the rest of the horrifying world that I came from? Or is it still peaceful." Trixie looks slightly confused, but intrigued! And proceeded to ask questions!
"Don't mind it if this seems rude but what pony are you?" Motioning that the cloak made it hard to distinguish as well is the armor.
"Despite my skills, although apparently his world has placed me as a earth pony. Although it does show the proof of my armor." He replied, moving the hood and showing off his metal face, the rivets went down his long muzzle, and his eyes were vibrant green!
"Interesting, and what your name Mr.?" Trixie asked curiously while charting him down. Sounded like someone that will be a force to be reckoned, and it's highly doubtful the gamblers would have duplicates of him!
"Victor Von Doom!" Even with the iron mask his face strangely contorted, revealing a smile! Must be mystical armor. Normal armor Can't Move like your face.
Girls dorm:
Trixie was smiling as she walked back into the girls dormitories, examining some of her notes that she wrote it down. Also, she noted that most of the time the game does detailed the idea that you might not be able to walk a lot of things. Especially considering the gamblers will most likely cheat, but then again she's a magician having a few cards up your sleeve is natural. As she was looking over for the rules once again. "The game is over when you have the 'winning hand' and playing it on the board!" Trixie smiled on this rule, she understood that the payment cost meant that you probably how much you gamble, four of 13, would totally break your energy levels and probably wipe you out exhaustively but would win! Which meant you would have to be strategizing very carefully, but you can also accidentally give your opponent victory by killing off just the right minions and having the winning hand on the board!
Twilight was walking in with a small baby bottle, attracting Trixie's attention. A little bit, but not that much, causing twilight look over the rules of the book. "Your game plan really hinders are you trying to have the right cards in your hand, and with limited drawl capabilities you're really relying on one or two cards are late game to draw you good cards, too bad you just can't copy everything off the field." Which Trixie was in the middle working on some of the Pegasus at the moment and this gave her a fiendish and evil idea.
Game day Celesday!(Sunday)
"I hope you have your deck ready and for our audience, I'll will explain the rules!" Rough Diamond, began to explain. She tossed her beautiful mane back. "You're only allowed to have cards in your hand, during the End of your round. Place cards on the field have to ante up your mystical energy. Choosing to have the card in its 'warrior form'(performing air marks with her hands) or placing all your cards in their normal stats, of course, that would be very bad because then it could be destroyed a lot easier. You are at a maximum of 52 Hp during this game. There are only a few methods of victory, one your opponent is HP is zero. Two you draw the winning hand, place it on the field. Or three your opponent can't afford to put up any more of your energy, as out and forfeit that way. Then of course I WIN because you're out cold! Understand?" With the crowd giving a rousing applause, the challenge was during physical fitness. When the few classes that were held on Celesday!
Hardluck's twin brother, Toughluck was in charge of the actual event! "Okay, I think everybody understands! And to prove that you're still physically skilled, you'll be running across the track and field while casting your spells." As the two step onto the opposing sides of the track, which was naturally a gigantic circle.
Toughluck take a small silver bit out from his pocket, and says to the girls "heads or tails?"
"Trixie, always prefers heads." Replied Trixie, with a smile as she got to position, drawing a small table to hold the cards in place, and using a satchel to carry the deck of cards.
Rough diamond using a Fanny pack to hold the cards, and a strange bracelet on her wrist to hold them when she was playing them, as it began to fold out several panels. "I guess that makes me tails, funny, I always believed that you prefer 'plot' in stories." Making the crowd laugh.
"Tails!" Tough luck replied as he shouted when he grabbed his coin from the air!
Rough diamond pulls out her cards and takes a quick look with a smile on her face, and then proceeds to say. "I put down on my energy pot." As she mystically creates several small casino chips. " 8 . This allows me to play two particular cards! The first one is a spell of mine call fine cut! Where I take out my deck, and cut it in half and then flip it back forward, and look at the card that I have on top! If it's not a magic card. I keep it, if it is I shuffle my entire deck again." Performing the action and smiling with a evil grin as she placed the card into her hand. "The next to the summoning of a Pegasus, QuickDraw!" As a grizzly only Pegasus with two rifles showed up, look to be a stallion but with the drawings design it was hard to tell of that was supposed to be a beard or butt chops? As two cards magically levitated up into the air, one for each person's deck. "The battle cry is simple, high card win, it draws out the first card of our decks, if your card is higher than mine, he's instantly destroyed on the field, and the card that I received goes right into my hand to replace him, if I win he stays on the board and you receive 10 points of damage! Let's see if this is higher!"
As the cards were turned to reveal. 12 V 2. As Trixie was running she was flown backwards, this was a little bit more painful then she realized! She figured it was good be one of those mild electrical shocks, but she felt like she got hit by a truck. An Auto-truck to be exact. The professional boxer, Victor of 13/1 is only lost during his starting career was against a fighter named little Mac. But rough looked strangely depressed, like she forward to his loss? As the queen of unicorns Princess platinum was sent back to the deck, not sure what it was actual physical form would be?
As Trixie's friends were about to go up and help her out, they were stopped by mystical barrier created by the teacher "sorry girls but you know the rules only one on one!" As Trixie got up to her hooves, and summoned the cards back into her hands. Then materialize the exact same mystical chip as she placed on her cards " I first off of my free action, unleashing my fireworks!" Spraying from her hands were a series of multiple color missiles of energy, Zipping around in every direction, a few hit QuickDraw, and three of them actually hit the other target that was in the field, as rough diamond had a few minor injuries and scorch marks, but seemed unfazed! Well, besides the anger look on her face knowing that QuickDraw was killed by the simple act of the damage, from a joker card! "And now to cast the spell Bolganone! Which naturally costs me 4!" As she summoned a gigantic lava elemental!
"That's still not enough pot for you to stay in the game, remember the game of poker, that means you got to chip in your chips or higher to what I have!" Rough diamond replied with a evil smile, she knows the rules inside and out of this game and she's going to abuse them, she didn't really care in unicorn bled! But honestly, she preferred the battle to End this quickly as possible!
"Okay, Trixie prefers not to show off too much all-purpose tricks, but Trixie has no choice but to unleash the full power!" Generating a few more chips. "For Trixie called the four!" As she drops on one card flaming Pegasus pops out, and draws a symbol of the number four, falling from the sky was what look like to be a rock monster shaped like a stallion, with gemstone eyes and spiky the rocks! The eyes were shiny blue Sapphire's though glimmering sowed juicy rough diamond instantly covered herself, so much more thankful that she wasn't a stallion or else she would be the pitching a tent right now. Then popping out of nowhere was a unicorn, but his neck was stretched out like a giraffe, and his arms were stretched out two! All of a sudden the two that were standing right next to a blank spot were covered in a golden shield! Protecting the stretchy unicorn and the big huge rocks Earth pony stallion! "And just to raise the ante just a little bit more, another spell!" Placing one more chip on the pile, as a small green circle appeared over Trixie's head, with a small question mark Inside!
Now Rough diamond was looking really worried, looking carefully at the board. Trixie was thinking she doesn't have enough to make a counterbalance? Rough diamond might be good at playing the game, but she's terrible at hiding her face. As she gets to draw one card, and then places of expensive cards for tips "I summoned Dragon dealer, silver dollar, and Nickel Joe." Playing a cost of 15, adding that to the pile was a little bit striking! Trixie was really glad that she was wearing her hairpin today, and obviously rough diamond is also kind of wiped from just doing that real quickly, but she can also see rough diamond is recovering her interview little fast too! She's a slow and steady fighter. Then she is a quick fighter, playing large stamina play moves is draining on her cheaper for small moves, but she figured since she was playing it someone very similar to her style. She has to go the opposite, but the thing is they hairpin makes it able for the great and powerful Trixie to play fast and strong!
Vinyl couldn't actually help but she could cheat a little bit for Trixie by carefully reading a little bit of rough diamonds mind. Scanning rough diamonds mind 'okay her secret isn't reverting her entire field back to playing cards, that's good to know to die always has that one secret that breaks me every time, although his is actually a three? Putting that on the Ace would be terrifying. How, I just need to figure out what her secret is, really hate having to spend that much but three of a kind on the board is a dangerous combination, at least for hands went up to up that mine is better.' As rough diamond ended her turn and the Dragon dealer's special ability was going to get ready to activate next turn.
Trixie's unicorn got bigger and stronger, as he stretched out even more, now the stallions hands were becoming gigantic mallets, and the ponytail was a huge spike ball! "Well considering that you just played 15 the great and powerful Trixie has to equal it or exceed. But first off, let's clean the your board a little bit. Mr. fantastic be fantastic!" As the unicorns Spike Mallet power slammed down onto nickel Joe, leaving a small indentation on the battlefield, and completely flattening the holographic pony into a card position! "Johnny, let's burn down that silver dollar!" Johnny didn't have the added bonus of having divine shield, but when the two class. Both Johnny and silver dollar to damage, but neither one of them was actually destroyed, although Johnny did come close. "Now let's show her what the ever loving blue Eye Thing can do!" Slamming into the dealer, but the dealer was also a hefty big body! "Now the great and powerful Trixie, will take the stage as well as the founder of all great spells." Placing down Trixie, and she smiled from the card to draw "and finally my tail makes 16!" As her tail turned into a shimmering of four different colors, fiery red's, the aquamarine blues, was sparking yellow of lightning, earthly green of the earth. "I almost forgot, magma elemental, that show the heat!" Feeling very confident as she burned up the dealer, and then using her tail to strike damage directly at rough diamond! But diamond still smiled knowing exactly what happened, the shocking pain. The stinging cuts were nothing to her! As the two other minions gave her coins strange silver coins.
And then her elemental burst into flames and disappeared, causing rough diamond to raise an eyebrow as that everybody else.
Rough diamonds turn came up she said "Did you exceed the limit at the end of the turn? I guess your hand was a little too big. " With a sly smile, and then dropping in the two coins. "Thankfully, those two had a death rattle effect of filling in for aunties, basically each coin represents ten! So now I have to do is just plain six card and I don't have to overextend!" Realizing that Trixie plays the game differently than what She was expecting Trixie to be playing. "Though I drop royal jelly!" Matching the bit and another card flip reveal now she received the fabled queen of Horns.
Vinyl looked into the mind once again, looking for something she could cheat with that can help if Trixie needs it. This time she was looking through her opponent eyes, this was a trickier and more dangerous method of noticed power actions will be quick to figure out. Looking to see Ace of horns, the aforementioned queen of horns, and nine of shoes, and two hearts cards that were also not really that great. But the strange thing was there still there normal status, maybe that's how she could hide her poker face better, or sent she knows that Trixie is friends with a mind reader that she has a plan against that.
Trixie look carefully, card had a unique ability, at the start of the turn. It will flip a card if it's a face card place into your hand and create a Breezie token. And while her grandfather's effect is recycling, that only means the card goes back into her deck instead of disappearing. Now she still has the 16 that she set up, and now she knows that her card will disappear if she were extensive board! Looking over the card she has in her hand, most of them were minions, she needs to keep her emblem card of herself on the board. "Okay girls, it's, and stallions, okay the climax. Oh that's right , it's hammering time!" In the crowd there was a loud clicking noise like metal smacking against metal.
As the group all charged and attacked rough diamond! The invisible woman was revealed and smashed with a mystical shield, the power of things punched out several teeth, blaming Burns were disputed, barge crashing blows! And the stretching horn was slashing marks! Trixie herself smashed in, using her tail is a deadly whip! While her card representation and her grand, both firing small laser beams. Now rough diamond look like she was really roughed up, if it wasn't for the rules of the tournament she would be dead, if it was underneath normal circumstances, but according to the game. She was playing she was still alive, although being knocked down to 17 in one turn was pretty darn dangerous. "Now let's freeze up. That jelly of yours shall we with a master of the whip!" As a golden lasso here and around the royal jelly, jumping onto the field was Mistress Mare-Velous! Who replaced the ever loving thing, then came down Minuette, which startled the time Lord into seeing herself.
"I'm not supposed across my own, that's a picture I gave her, as in it?" Looking at the slightly revealing format, at least, thankfully Trixie was kind enough to draw on clothing over for the naked photo, although some of the stallions were drooling. The final card Trixie put down was Moonscar replacing Mr. fantastic. Now the rearrangement forced Trixie to be underneath the dome.
As it came up to rough diamonds turn. "Well, I would say could Good move, but that would be giving a complement to the loser. Now let's see what card I get." Another flip and out came King titanium, another token was generated on the field. "Now behold the power, I play my ace of hearts, and transform it into time of corruption! Now my breezy's have been out for three years in the mortal world! Changelings are created in two ways, one may come from Queen as one of her many drones. The other is known as a free changeling, they are exist when breezy's are left in the mortal world for too long. And I have Two!" She said as the battlefield revealed two changelings standing in front of them. "Now it's time for me to take the pot, I commend my changelings to turn into the jack of horns, and the 10 of horns! Why placed down King titanium, Princess platinum, and my ace of horns! Behold, a royal flush of unicorns!" As the blistering beams blasted Trixie down, Trixie got up as tough luck replied!
"Game over, winner Rough Diamond!"
Diamond walked over being slightly good sport picks up Trixie. "Sorry for being so hard, But I can't afford to lose. Although you were pretty rough to beat." She said with a smile as Trixie was okay with fact that she lost, at least rough diamond wasn't rubbing it in. She was sort of a female diamond dog, at least as greedy as one! As the others walked over to her.
Vinyl gave Trixie a big hug, and whispered something in Trixie's ear. "I'm sorry, I would've seen that coming, but I was thinking the same way you were." Trixie only replied with a simple squeeze on the rump.
"Really Trixie, have all the methods of doing it. You had to pick the picture of me being well a flattering design. At first glance I crossed my own time-line again! And that's against the rules! Granted, a relative of mine constantly breaks that rule but that's beside the point!" Replied minuet not keeping it to a top-secret that she a time Lord but, She does want to keep it a secret that she showed a naked photo herself just to be fair!
"I'm jealous, also that's an interesting tidbit rough diamond? That not covered in our books, how do you know about that?" Replied Lyra are trying to figure out some interesting info.
"Well diamonds are made out of pressure, and the right jewel can only be discovered through the methods. But let's just say not all Breezy's are afraid of becoming changelings." Diamond replied as she was limping off towards the nurses, her injuries clearly visible and her blood clearly bright red. When the few things that tells you of a changeling is a changeling is a changeling bleed Green!
Battle one over!
Trixie looked over her deck, and realize the horror that she had, and tired deck was built around basically annihilating her enemies. After having a bit of a conversation about what happened with rough diamond, there was a few things she smiled about, namely that technically she had one little cheat. Minuette ability since technically the mystic tools didn't count as building up your energy. But in reality she could bet the gemstones instead, each one of them worth of actually 20! With 60 always going to be in the bank for her to go out for later situations that would mean that she really wants Minuette to take a little bit of damage, and then be still for the rest of the game. But at the same time she can't rely on that, thankfully she had created the last two elementals for her plans, be technically created the fire elemental, which was lava one, which its special ability was basically burning out HP, whenever it hits the target directly. It starts feeling a burn affect next turn. It takes damage. The cloud elemental, which she also had covered, was basically a electrical being can also be quantified as wind. That left her with Earth and water. Considering this gemstone factor she came up with a good idea! Her earth elemental would be considered gemstones! As she went down into the history section of the library right after lunch. Deep into the forbidden section, using some magic for some stealthy techniques.
As Trixie was investigating the library looking up, the history of the crystal Empire? The artifact known as the crystal heart was completely shrouded in mystery. Like what was it used for! It was actually a defense system for entire kingdom, and Trixie did remember her beast formation so she compiled something that would work with both. While looking up through the history, she turned and noticed all still in her invisible stealth method Prince douche bag(no offense to actual douche bag) talking with Rough diamond! And her boyfriend!
"Okay, I'm beside myself here. Part of me wants her to win all the matches, the other part of me prefers her being crushed, the fact that you didn't do both enrages me! I should turn you in right now miss Diamond! Just on the principles of the Paladin! Crook, a thief, the dastardly Rogue! But, considering I have no evidence of your criminal actions, they would question my proof." Clenching his fist as he was standing over rough diamond. Although a Minotaur was much taller and larger than even the full third year pony, especially a stallion halfbreed up against the pure-blood It was a slight contrast!
"Look, the contract deal wants. I quote: you may battle Trixie and the way you can, just make her unleash the power she building. end the quote. Though it doesn't matter if we win or lose, it doesn't matter how we beat her, it doesn't matter how we lose! Mr. blood, but if you threaten my girl again. I'll show you my savagery, that you keep harping about my Mum blood-side" Die roller said standing in front of his girl, flexing his Minotaur muscles, and polishing his two horns with his mystical aura!
"Of course, if it wasn't for the rules, I would gladly strike down beast of your caliber! For the glory of dear auntie." He replied turning away and walking, showing no fear. Trixie slips back to the background shaking from the encounter. But she continues to still listen, after all could be blackmailed by Blueblood.
Rough turned and smiled to her boyfriend. "I really hate that guy, but I don't know what he has it in for that Trixie mare. It's his own damn fault for screwing up his reputation, And even then he covered it up. But I don't want you getting hurt, just to protect me and the others." Giving the big guy a hug.
"He has dirt on all of us not just you, and chip, and also hard. Like is that he has dirt on all of us. Although you think he would take massive what's the term alignment damage from stating that he the Paladin all the time, when he's doing things are clearly not literally holy, or even good. I studying blood magic and that's considered evil." He grumbled a little bit trying to figure out how does that guy still not suffer damage, sure it's spiritual mystical damage, but it's still some type of damage right?
Battling history. Moonday (Monday)
"Really in history, fine! I will allow it, that said, if any of your characters are real. Please bring up historical information, on the character or if they are not, please bring up the formation that brought you to this character. That way at least the class will have some history." Clever bloom replied, revealing her bright pink mane.
Die Roller picked up the desk and placed in front of Trixie's, using the full strength of the Minotaur instead of actually using magic. Meanwhile, Trixie did turn her just enough so that way everybody in the class could see. This time it was a game of rock paper scissors to see would go first, naturally, the great and powerful Trixie was victorious with a pair of scissors! "The great and powerful Trixie goes first!" Unknown to Trixie! Roller actually wanted to go second, for a lot of his secrets depended on playing with your board.
'Rough diamond notes that he has a secret At least three that could change the game! From your encounter with her, that's what was her reaction when she saw you put them in secret.' Vinyl scratch mentally sent to Trixie just to give her some heads up.
'Thanks, just keep the information for the next match. Don't get information for this match.' Replied Trixie, understanding what she needs to do is basically stay calm's. "The great and powerful Trixie calls upon Minuette, a Gallifreyon , but native to equestrian. Currently on her first regeneration cycle? Or is it zero. I'm not sure." Trying to interject some historical aspects, while she does refer to herself still in the third person at times, she's not going to go crazy with the grammar problems. "And powerful Trixie also plays recruit, the standard grant of a average loyal soldier! And here is it in the regular armor known as, the standard loyal solar armor. With its glimmering golden texture is really just the fact that it's enchanted, to recharge and heal soldiers when they are in the sunlight. Worn by your average Earth pony." Sure it was a low cost of two but this was important, she was starting off strong with now two aces! 4 Of kind was going to be of fierce weapon!
"I counter your action with my first off, random summoning! A unique spell that summons a random situation will weapon of choice for someone randomly you know of the depending on your actions of teleportation, I actually called this summon dice , but it's actually based on that spell." As a large green dice showed up on to the field, and began to roll as it landed on a three! "Good that we both summoned a three of any of our suits, but technically shouldn't be a spell card because it's not actually be on the board!" Popping up on to the field was a leather wing bat pony for him. Trixie had to look carefully at the cards that she was given to choose from, popping up in front of her, but nobody could see was the three other one choice cards!
"Well, she's a maniac on the board!" As it summoned the mystical Earth pony comic book villain known as Mane-iac! Her wild hair forming into shields, and blades! Trixie knew that either version with set up her for the kind the completely destroyed, but it's, this is a taunt, which means she can control the actions later.
"Now for my next play Ryuji Otogi, a well-known gambler in the history of unicorns, in the field of sword Dueling. And you think placing him before I cast the spell would not have to be in fact, but in reality it does. Known for his bouncing back comebacks I gave him the ability of Magic-bounce! Which allows, and the spell we play while he's on the board during the turn, bounces back into our deck! Sadly, but does include your spell. Who cares. Not Me!" As he matched the bet, but then he summoned a dice into his hand. "But that's not all, right now, my power, zero, so I don't really pay the penalties! But doing this. I start off by at one next time I use it, behold the power of Dice Bomb!"
As the explosive dice landed on to the recruit, but thankfully it's magic ability kicked in the moment Trixie ended its turn, which was summoning two other recruits take, giving her for the kind, and also a third straight, destroying one of the random recruits was acceptable. As a small three popped up in the mushroom cloud shape even over the recruit, that was destroyed.
"So right now we're match. Are you waiting your turn?" Trixie replied to the Minotaur as he gave a simple nod, forcing Trixie to dodge the horn since they were sitting next to each other. Basically! "Good for my turn, my dear friend on the board will attack first, for what's the name of your little guy over there?"
"SYRUS , a famous inventor who created several unique devices, including the world-famous airships that we used today, and only some minor adjustments over historical purposes. Like for changing the hydrogen, and a helium combination to a more intentionally magically charged of cloud." He replied with a sneaky smile.
"But he was actually a earth pony, sure, he joined the lunar guard at age 6, which was against the rules of time, but he proceeded to do so during the Squire system was in place, which is no longer required. In our modern times. Although it is a quite unique system. The fact that you learn from a veteran Knight, slowly improving your skills learning how to carry heavy loads that you are forced to require to reload your commander in teacher. It's much like the apprentice program of the wizards and also the Princess." As the teacher can resist giving out a small history lesson.
"Why do you think I have him in his bat pony form, after all the suit is called Wings not Pegasus!"" He replied to the teacher.
The small Minuette on the field, charging right into SYRUS both of them took damage and three little gems popped up right behind Trixie. Then she for the rules how he explained the spellbound system, it can carefully which spells to use. "Then I have one of my soldiers to attack your swordsman." The recruit died, but that was for the point, every recruit is summoned by another recruits, and remembering the rules of last game she doesn't want to many minions on the board. "Then I to use my hero power." As she tossed the smoke bomb, it was covered in small smoke and then both the time Lord Minuette disappeared and the last recruit. But obviously their spacings was the their. "And let's show the beauty of Trixie's tail!" Placing on the card elemental tail, making her tail look like the vibrant elements behind her. All she was sitting in the chair. Then Trixie maneuvered her ponytail to strike SYRUS, feeling a slight searching pain, but the card was knocked down to two hp.
"And just to sweeten the pot, Trixie throws in two crystals!" Making the pot 's 49 MB.
As his jaw dropped, thankfully he only has to match the 45 that she technically played, but still that's a lot of mystical energy to throw around! Trixie ended her turn, this pot was extremely high as it was "I play Die dungeon. The sacrifices two of my player minions, from my deck into the dungeon of no return, while replacing them with mystical energy crystals!" He said. At least he was sweating bullets, hoping that she doesn't recoup the cost of her to gems that she tossed in, as he saw two cards of disappear! " & Bastion bridge, a well-known blood mage." As a diamond dog appeared on the field. "And of course I have to check my two crystals that I just made in order to balance out the pot! And I have Syrus attack your taunt." As mane-iac shield, shaped hair became spikes stabbing the warrior as it slammed into it! Normally he would play the sacrificing play a part, but if he needs to be in a game he needs that card state in his deck. Just to be on the safe side, but he tries playing his ability. "And let's throw in a dice roll just for good measure!" Since the explosive was random, the two extra damage types landed on directly onto Minuette, creating three more gems popping up behind Trixie! Watching the class was Hard wheel
and she was just drooling all over the cash. While Die roller was just freaking out at least mentally, he was sweating bullets. Trying to look cool. The pot was just gigantic, it was like fighting against hard wheel all over again, or even chip, depending on the strategies that they would probably once a while.
Die slowly moving his hand when a mysterious golden aura, putting his hands back. Just as his turn end. Now with Trixie's turn "well, the great Trixie will show how much energy she's willing to waste!" First off, she threw in all six gems, she generated! "See, that's 20 for each gem 120 + 12! For the spell, poly-morph elemental Army! This spell allows me to transform for a my fantastic minions into elementals! Let's turn these recruits, the cloud elemental and lava elemental, and then the earth elemental from the crystal Empire, known as the color crystal elemental! The great and powerful Trixie looks great in blue." As all three recruits transformed, removing the invisibility cloaking of the smoke and transforming the blue one, making all cards cost more, also clover bloom was now shocked! "And finally, Trixie will transform mane-iac, into a frost elemental!" Pot Is NOW 209MB. chip ran out, of The room! "And just to keep my friends safe, on to be the safe side." Trixie attacked the card once again with her tail. Feeling the slight sparks as she destroyed the monster with a flaming shock! "Now Trixie says it's your turn!"
Die was forcefully trying to move his hand. He wanted to forfeit now, there was no way to cover the amount of cash, but then he noticed what the thing did all those cards cost more! Okay, he might be vertically wiped after this battle, but maybe he could recover, and once this is done, he would not have to worry about magic for possibly the rest of his life. No probably still would. As whispering thoughts came into his head, keep on playing! As he looked onto the field. He received the Tech stone, as he smiled he could do upgrade! "The power of technology I upgrade, Bastion bridge! Focusing my upgrade to a new special ability, now instead of generating one blood crystal token! Generate one every point of damage! And your elemental frost counts has four!" Smacking his minion into the frost! Sure it did minimal damage, but that wasn't the plan! The plan was to make sure he can have enough cash to continue the game." But that's not all." As he trawled his next card he smiled, even with its golden glint unusual. It never glows gold before. "Dayakattai allows me to automatically match the bets the next three turns! And thanks to your little card it cost a lot more. When play!" Almost as if the heart of the card with within him. "Now I play roulette spider!" A gigantic spider pop down from the ceiling, spinning around the board around and around and around and around, and took the one card he wished not get sent to the another dimension! The card he just upgraded. "NOOOOOO!" He shouted as he had to in his turn.
Trixie still have six gems behind her, and either way he would've gained enough to stay in the game so, well, the one where casting spells would! So he matched her pot automatically, no matter how much he added extra costs! Actually, she threw in her gems "my elemental, will take out your mage!" Destroying the card that gives the ability to bounce the card back deck. "And replaced with legendary sorcerer master wizard and high mage, star swirled the bearded! Then the great and powerful Trixie will show the power of a dragon!!" Claiming the next eight spell class card Dragon rain, which poly-morph headed dragon's head as she proceeded to breathe fire completely on the side of her opponent's board, vaporizing the blood crystals! "Then a meteor judgment! And I choose your face! Rest is all out attack force! Then I summoned the Lord of Latverian a country far away from here! And I can do that weapon thing too!" As she placed down the card, creating a small effigy of Dr. doom! Grabbing her tail when she was using mechanical gauntlet that was given to her, slap die in the face, but she was still short. Naturally, after sacrificing course the cloud elemental! "And the great and powerful Trixie has many secrets up her sleeve!" As she put down the level III secret, which was rescue which will give minion the stealth ability when they are targeted!
Die was to keep himself in proper exposure, although everybody else could see his face. He was just totally and absolutely screwed! Even if he did play up this turn to be destroyed by Trixie, now his hand was free to actually forfeit, his hand was terrible as it was the pulley victory with the cards in his hand. As he placed his hand is Deck and then picked it up and put it over. "I forfeit." Trixie smiled and then almost all the energy around her poured into her body, it was exhilarating was amazing. It was Trixie was regretting that she cast the spell earlier today that made her able to pitch a tent!
After class.
"You did good, and don't feel bad about it. You're not the only one who's pitched a tent after charging, although you are the first mare to do it in the group." Replied Die trying to cheer her up Trixie after losing. It was strange to see the winner being depressed for actually being victorious! But it was certainly a challenge.
"Thank you. That was slightly embarrassing, but now Trixie can see why you play this game, Trixie feel stronger than ever before! Trixie feels the rush of mystical overload even more than usual! Trixie feels like a Filly again! Trixie can't wait for her next victory! Now if you excuse Trixie! Trixie needs to take care of her magic wand." As she hightailed it straight towards the mare's bathroom!
After the bathroom
Trixie met up with her friends. "Wow, you met someone who is the ruler of a distant land?" Commented Lyra, and try and remember part of the prophecy.
"Yup, and if great and powerful Trixie, calling upon the fantastic four. Beginning to explain the idiotic stallion known as Reed Richards, suffers from an inferiority complex from Doom. His massive ego trying to trying to prove doom wrong causes him to cause the world to be in the internal danger, making Doom have to fix all of his messes." Replied Trixie trying to even more or less ring up for history.
Minuette replied "I see you did make him any sexier, or are you only interested in mares and that's why you made my version sexy." Normally, she will be focused on trying to solve the mysteries of Dr. doom, but she is to focus on the fact that she is being pictured by every stallion the school by now! It really doesn't help that odds are that she's the only card that's going to keep Trixie in these games!
'Relax ladies. Especially you Minuette! Besides, I'm sure you'll be sexy, in any incarnation. Especially after hearing rumors about your uncle, I heard a rumor that his fourth incarnation was ruggedly handsome!' Vinyl Scratch replied sticking to her usual habit of using mental communications.
Poker chip came over to the girls and place his hands over them, basically having Minuette & Vinyl look like they're caring him. "Excellent work Trixie, I'm jealous that you got get so much magic so soon. But thanks to you, I'm having to adjust my entire deck if I want to make it even more glorious. Though our match is going to have to be postponed! Who knows maybe wheel will also have a hard time prepping up for your match. That said, don't change your deck! After all , I would like to see us win the with a pot of over 1 million! All that magic, would make me feel like a very handsome Prince."
Both mares instantly flipped him over, as Trixie replied to him "Thanks for the heads up, and if you do become Prince, be better than a Blueblood" Giving him some friendly advice.
"Hey ladies don't do that, I don't have anything to grab on right now! I know die is more interested in the personality then, the ladies design. Although minute give me a call in the future, or in the past. I don't understand how your species works? Not trying to be specious though. And if you happen to regenerate into a feline be ppppppperfect for me okay!" Chip replied as he walked off towards the next class.
"That pun was so painful that it's going make me regenerate." Replied Minuette, as Lyra grabbed minutes heartwarming present. And chuckled.
"Well, according to this. You're still in your current state." With a good laugh and mocking tone, she knew it was a metaphor. But she couldn't resist making the joke.
Luluday(Wednesday)
Trixie was enjoying her breakfast as usual, when her opponent Hard Wheel was coming up to speak with her. "Look, your name rhymes with today, and I needed yesterday to compare today I finish my spells and I'm ready to rhyme a pair to dine on battle tonight!" Trixie look carefully at hard wheel, the chocolate skin coat, her box shaped mane with the ponytailed picking out like a lever, her hair clip just's set up just right to look like she had three stars spun on the slot machine, that was positioned onto her head, basically from her hairstyle. With her unicorn horn covered underneath several golden rings.
"Please don't rhyme you're hurting my friends face." Replied Trixie as she looked carefully at vinyl, she was covering her ears. Usually she would be covering her eyes if she didn't like the color but in this case, it kind of make clear that it wasn't a voice that was hurting vinyl. It was actually the tone of grammar, like someone was murdering a song!
"Fine, you, me , home economics! Oh, and don't bring your roast nuts! I haven't had a worthy duel with another mare in a long time and I wanted this to be truly worthy!" She replied, when all of a sudden minuet pulled her mane "OW!" All this in her hair pins towards the slot really thing changing many shapes and colors, it landed all of a sudden to become three cherries as gold coins are popping out of her mouth!
"How strangely peculiar also jackpot! I hope these coins are not chocolate!" Minuette replied carefully picking up the coins, as hard wheel just started running off covering her mouth as she was heading toward someplace!
"That was weird, so Trixie did you the last night or not?" Replied Lyra trying to figure out how did that happen? Was this another TimeLord thing or was it hard wheel herself?
Home economics:
Ms. gingersnap was getting out the resources while putting her long gorgeous brown mane into a very tight hair Net. Then she noticed that hard wheel was pulling out a mystical version of these unusual bracelet that her group plays cards on. The shake of her head "I get the whole Card game mechanic, but this is class. This is not a dueling Academy, were not wearing some type of uniform representing some mystical cards! And this is a cooking class/shop class/a lot of other classes that are around your household! Mystical card games of dueling! ARE! NOT! REQUIRED! I will referee your match after school! Outside, put your deck away! And pay attention to class! Or I will shove my next fireball up your ASS!" She replied with Ms. Scratch giving her a big clap.
"Yes ma'am." Exclaimed hard wheel! As her hairpin turns into a series of the Jolly Roger, feeling the danger of Gingersnap, especially after remembering that it took Two high class Mages to actually take her down just a mental breakdown! And one of them was a lunar guard that was so Hi level that he practically look like a Prince!
After school!
Gambling the wheels.
"High number goes first!" Hard wheel stated, tossing over dice. Trixie rolled and it landed right on 4! "I guess that means I go second, well at least you start the pot." This time only a few groups actually came to watch the match. Trixie's core friends, Lyra, vinyl scratch, Minuette, And of course the gambler showed up. Trixie looked at her opening hand.
"Let's start off the show with a bag that we!" As Trixie first off, cast off fireworks, actually all six shots hit directly at hard wheel! "Then of course Trixie has to call For a time to Lord over!" Placing down Minuette, at least this time it wasn't that much of the showing! "And every showed needs a good DJ!" As she placed down vinyl scratch card. It wasn't the age defying version that Minuette had at that had its own charms. "And what's without a bit of a smoke bomb!" Dropping the smoke bomb! Which made vinyl disappear. "Your move."
"Starting with only six, I guess the pot has to start small. Before it gets massively huge! Slot Machine, will naturally exceed your amount already." As she summoned the mechanical steed the unicorn's horn was polished and rounded, upon its chest with three large reels! And it was all covered in gold. " And I guess I should also start my hero power now too!" With a snap of her fingers a gigantic roulette popped the from the battlefield, but it was strange. It had four colors instead of three, there was the usual ones like Red, Black & green, then there was Orange? "Black is the winner. But there's no Pegasus on the board so it doesn't really help." She replied with a bit of a disappointment, but she knew she had to wait she got the right parts. "Your move."
Trixie first off, gave the signal to the Minuette card to attack, the slot machine and both did their actions! The three crystals popped up behind Trixie, but slot machines wheels first one stopped revealing a cherry! "Oh I guess I should mention with the ability of my Slot Machine has! When suffering damage, one of its many reels will stop on a symbol. If the three symbols match two things will happen, first one I will see a the ability from it, for example 3 cherries means I recover all damages that I have received from the start of his existence! One depends on does the final damage, if they're all the same. The hero receives a payout depending on what is determines how much of a payout, but it's usually two or three times larger than the original pot. Right now the original pot would be 13. Now if the wheels come out to be a dud, all damage done to the slot machine is completely reversed. Enjoy."
Trixie gave a simple nod and activate the next card "We'll bring out the lasers!" As she played the spell card that she got from inspiring. Which costs the same as vinyl! As the lasers did strike the slot machine on several times. H.W. felt the red and green lasers strike her body, and her slot machine! When all the lasers were done, striking her machine was landing on three lovely cherries! Giving out a small payout, of a Max heal for her owner! And Trixie cash flow to 52, but that wasn't all next three random hits were completely random and made machine recover, and the last two landed on the same Reel a crescent moon. "Well, you have to have good luck after this one! You might be back to Max and so can your weapon, but I'm already starting out with 112! In the bank, and increase already with a good five. And let's check in 60 for good measure." Feeling very confident that she's already victorious!
"The old deck would fear that number for at such an early start at the beginning of the game, but I have a better hand!" She replied that she drawled out her card! "Shooting Quasar. This gorgeous mare is going to give me some recycling power!" As a gorgeous golden mare with double D TIT holding two revolvers, levitated to her head. "Also have you ever heard of the game Russian roulette, rather unique game of chance, now this card doesn't actually do Russian roulette. No, that's how it does damage. This is the standby face for it, so no worries. Now I activate my spell card, pot of greed! Makes all cards, this time on word! Three times its normal value! And they place on three secrets, nine= 27, 10 equals 30, and finally 11 equals 33! Now to start up the next part, slot machine, why don't we just whack that gorgeous mare in front of you!" Grabbing its unicorn horn and pulling out a long blade, the quick strike giving Trixie some more gemstones. But also giving the final notch on the wheel, as the three crescent moon popped up! "And looks like I got now dark eclipse shield!" Popping up next to her was a magic shield shaped like the moon! As she also received four times the payout of the original pot which was 78 . Now she had a huge keeping stack behind her of 312. "I think I'm right now to not use my power just yet! Enjoy."
Pot:175, Trixie remembered that she had a good cash flow. Even with the factors that she might have to throw in more than she already lost, thankfully Minuette regenerates the ones that she created first time around, and then generates extra when she's damage again. As she drawled a card "Saddle Reger, & Long-Face , and Trixie will copy the abilities of Quasar!" As the mime long face, without a series of potions while flying over for generating a small cloud, and trickling it over his body giving him the copied abilities and stats! " Then she took out a magic card that she had in her hand! "Rexlight!" Generating a blinding light. " 42 + the 60 that I have generated equals 102! And just to encourage my things. Let's make it 103." Activating her hero power and the smoke landed just on the one she wanted long face! "Your move!"
"Hero power." As it rolled it landed on Orange, she shrugged and smiled "no big winner today, except if spells heal or do damage they do the opposite." An idea was together, she then pick out her next card. "Dark Law give my slot machine, the Agro ability." Giving it Taunt. "And here's a little storm for you! Star storm that is!" a series of stars started raining down randomly onto the Trixie side of the field incident doing damage to them. It was healing! Which Minuette lost her in rage ability! Causing the six extra crystals behind Trixie to disappear! " And I will course attack with my slot machine to your Minuette, so that way both their abilities are activated! But now you're back down to just having three the bank deposits." As the wheel began to stop revealing B inside a purple ball!
Trixie had the field, and she knew that all of her damaging spells would be reversed, that's not really good. "The great and powerful Trixie will place a level III secret." Not sure what she would be triggering, if she did anything too fancy, it's highly doubtful that revealed card would be one of those secrets! After all, just for the board. Her board is a lot higher! "And then use the rest of her cash to match!" As she ended her turn.
"Every good queen deserves the scepter!" She replied as she placed down a strange looking zebra covered in jewelry to make them have a golden horn. "Cosmos Solemn, which its battle cry gives me a nice shiny weapon!" As a golden rod appeared into her hand, and her uniform began to change! Now there were three little slot images on her body, one over her belly two where it would be over her rack if she had one! "And just to make sure your secret doesn't activate on revealing the field, at least in your favor! Say goodbye to Saddle Reger." As she moved her want to smash the Saddle Reger but she instantly disappeared and stayed on the board, as stealth minions cannot be targeted! And the little circle over Trixie's head disappeared. "I see, you were trying to bluff me. Well hopefully that deserves a reward." Activating her hero power. It landed on Red, all of a sudden all the unicorns began to have their horns began to glow! And the secret activated both Trixie and Hard wheel received 50's shiny gems! "Well I guess I have to get that secret back later, and you can see this is my hero power does when it lands on minions. All their stats go up by one! Sadly, it goes for both sides of the field. But I have more unicorns than you do so, it does matter! And now I think it's time for me to unleash a direct attack!" As her shooting quasar made its move to Trixie, placing the two revolvers near her head and then point the trigger! The shots were stinging, then she felt herself filling a stab in the stomach, and finally a sharp stinging shock from dark law! "And now for another payment, Bamboo Ivy!" Another large Tits Mare this time an earth pony wearing a skimpy outfit, as tiny leaves for covering her ample bosom, and her lower regions!
Gingersnaps shouted"Were you trying to get me in trouble! It's a good thing. I didn't let you have the match in my classroom!" Looking over the exotic cards! Which did distract them from realizing that the wheels on hard was actually have been one wheel actually stopped, the one that would be covering her right breast, is a glimmering star.
"Well hopefully next year I'll cause even more trouble!" She replied with a snicker. As she equaled the remaining amount, her leftover cash in the bank.
Giving the turn back to Trixie, looking at the cards on the field and then looking in her hand and proceeded to ask. "Spells reset it? Back to their normal stats or are they still healing?" Wheel replied with a small snicker.
"Yes, whenever my power does this it does reset on the spells only! Thankfully, our soldiers keep the bonus! Minor question Trixie, how does it feel to have a rod in between your legs?" With a tint of curiosity.
"It's hard to describe. You'll just have to feel for yourself, if you want though I can give you one later!" Trixie replies with a snicker, despite the slight painful blows. This was kind of fun. She knows now that bluebloods blackmailing them, but, that doesn't mean that just because they're working for him means that there are evil! Although this did put a on her thought processes on the henchstallions in question. In her superhero comics.
"I see. I guess we'll have to make this quick. Although I still have to wait for your turn." She replied with a bit of curiosity.
"Yes, well, this might hurt a little!" As her head morphed into a gigantic dragons head, and unleash a blazing fire! Both slot machine stopped on the time, and both have matching symbols! "Then Trixie placed on a secret, that's going to be even hotter than before!" And matching again. Thanks to the extra bits.
[Pot:484.] "This is certainly interesting, and it's my turn I guess so, it's time for me to get things started!" Wheel started by charging in that triggered the secret! As a huge wall of flames popped up! Leaving little burn marks, but not damaging the clothes! With a slight moan coming out of part wheels, when she was hit, pouring out of her mouth was a series of bits! And a card popping back up into her hand! This also triggered the slot machine, which also delivered a big payout! And then it's affect appeared. A series of bombs dropped all over Trixie side of the field!
" Oh, that was good. And I match your explosion with my explosion!! And look I can at least replace the secret!" Placing the car that she also received back into her hand from the previous incident.
"And now to replace some of the cards I lost! Croft Light which let's see if I need to activate her ability!" And the very busty top wearing dual pistols Pegasus flew onto the battlefield, wearing tight mini shorts, permitting was styled in a ponytail and she was dark brown all over. As she activated her hero power. Again, both of them received 50 gems keeping Trixie at least somewhat in the bank but nowhere near the profit margin that hard wheel had. "And now to repay the secret." As she tossed in three gemstones into the pot. "And since I'm about to lose this card, options I might as well play it!" As she placed on a magic card and the stallion torn towards her, grabbing the Golden Horn and pulling it like the lever on a slot machine. As he turned around to reveal a jackpot, giving her even more energy! There was no way Trixie was going all out cost her! But Trixie does have a plan of victory!
"And to make sure this in quickly, I'm going all in!" Knowing full well that Trixie cannot possibly be the amount she has, how can she top a whopping, 3305 added to the pot! "Your turn."
"Well, the great and powerful Trixie gladly takes all that energy! As Trixie calls upon the 4!" As she drops down Johnny, which summons the thing and the rest of the crew! "And now! I replaced my dear friend minuet with! Triplicate Duo!" Three Pegasus flew into the battlefield, and then merged into one! The beautiful mare standing after fusing from her three, sisters had three's lots of colors green, blue, and red! Her uniform was also the same three stripes sequence break down the middle! "And now I activate her spell card to smashing time!" As another loud clunk could be heard! As she copied all the cards on the field, on her side and then revealed her hand "can you beat 4 the kind of 4?" Which cause hard Wheel to drop her mouth! She lost as she revealed her hand to be a pretty bad comparably. As Trixie felt the surge of magical energy rushing to her body!
"Well, that was a good match. Although it would be nice to have that much power surging through my body." Replied Wheel, as she gave her a shake.
"That was amazing, well so the friends list you have a card?" Lyra asked curiosity, trying to figure what she would look like!
Trixie pulled out the other friend cards just to be friendly! Lyra smiled at her card, not as provocative as Minuette despite having a larger rack! Trixie was drawing based on memory, the card of Octavia was much more different. It was just basically Octavia playing on her cello. And of course the others were just more or less picture by picture. As all the ladies of the gangs started heading towards the girls dormitory. Which left the two stallions completely bewildered.
"Strange question, but I need to bring this up. What is the legal drinking age in this world?" Asked the armor clad Earth pony.
girls dormitory.
"What is the blood that Blueblood has on and the guy's?" Asked Lyra, feeling that even though Trixie knows it, on at least partially, what Blueblood trying to do. Never really think about asking a henchstallion, the reasoning for working. Come to think of it most, heroes don't ask.
"Well, if you promise not tell! And I mean all of you, that includes you mind reader!" Pointing to vinyl.
"Ok, Ms. wealthy voice. Though I don't know if I'm actually see your voice formal or do special movements?" vinyl replied, raising her sunglasses, revealing her bright red eyes.
"OK? Well on diamond, she was kind of caught red handed stealing some test scores. Not for herself, but more or less to sell to the students were lower. Die has been caught doing blood magic on several occasions, not using his blood, and apparently is not of the 'intelligent' beings. Still be charged with trouble. Has for myself just offer the pay my debts, which he has to comply even if I lose. Which I did, but still I'm debt-free. I don't know what he has on-chip, but considering that your is built similar to his it's no big deal." Replied trying to wrap now the mysterious coins that she is spewing from her voice, Not understand the whole concept of what the red eyes mean.
"Similar? Explain!" Replied Minuette with her curiosity, peak!
"Well poker chip has is deck built around using opponent's skills as well is a couple key choice spells. Be careful of His aces. Also beware the eights. And his signature abilities on his cards though are AuraBreak. Just explain that ability, let's just say he can reveal his cards at any time, as one on the board instead of the usual tricks. Or he can reveal your cards and just take them out!" Not giving out all the clues but giving out some of them. As they walked into Trixie's and the gangs room.
Meanwhile at the bad apple.(A bar across town)
"I've been exploring this world, walking back and forth through that gate, every time though I seem to arrive in a strange situation. I've yet to meet this Princess Celestia. But it's strange. She's and should do something with freewill. I can't do! This kingdom seems to be much like home, when I'm in charge. It's very strange." Ironclad pony replied to the young stallions, who were enjoying their apple cider.
"Well, while there are some bad apple, every so often. I think the trick that is how to make those bad apples become good apples. Although there is a chance that the bad apples make more bad apples. But then again, maybe the princesses just like us. Taking a gamble, and just knowing the right cards! But then again, there were more than just one God of lies. If one is on the throne at all times." Replied Chip.
girls dormitory.
"Really? I guess it just doesn't have the right mystique yet." H.W. said that she was looking in the mirror, studying her nude form with her 'Rod'. "Maybe it would help if I had my wheels." Prepping the area where her breasts will appear when she gets a bit older.
"Probably." Replied Trixie as she was getting out some spare clothes. "Any more tips on how to take down Chip? Or how is deck works, or maybe his power."
Hard smiled and replied "well he's a weapons user. You see, he plays around with his top classes in his favorite shows. History, Mystical creatures, and his Super Sentai. Along with defense against the dark arts, And mystical weapons studies." As she got dress again.
The next day:
Breakfast
"I see Blueblood talking to the gamblers. Again!" Lyra commented that she spotted across the tables.
"Blueblood has his mental shields, I like that we notice that I am enjoying having the speaking voice again! And Minuette level as the side effects of having overdose curiosity?" Vinyl replied flashing her red eyes underneath her usual purple shades.
"Nothing too, possibly dangerous, temporary Vampirism, increasing levels of possible metal poisoning. Granted, you would actually have to be constantly stabbed still by a silver coated blade to still have the same poisoning side effects of being a werewolf or vampire and odds are you would die from blood loss, but that's beside the point. And possible animal transformations I haven't classified all the side effects, mainly because I would know how to guarantee all the exposure side effects. After all, animals are different than ponies. That meant there also the ethical views and etc." explained Minuette a slight curious look.
To be continued!
Next episode, A wonderful duel! |
Trixie: school days | 13: A wonderful duel! | Trixie was looking over some of Die's notes, explaining the newest keyword that she was going to be exactly. Two new keywords. The first one which was most dangerous AuraBreak! It was very simple on paper, namely put you would have to sacrifice a spell in your hand or sacrifice a weapon, and revert the card back to its original state of your choosing. Considering his hero power sacrificing a weapon would be no big deal. Thus the reason why it's called AuraBreak. The second was bubble, this ability was basically sending a minion back into the person's hand, it can give you great leeway great failure though no really, it wasn't a threat. But Trixie really need to pay attention on some of these abilities. Obviously, with his the situation power set, he probably had something to fill in recovering this spell lost. Probably one or two minions had the recyclability. As she was heading straight into the dark arts class.
Was this the class that Chip was going to challenge her in? She was waiting for, but she didn't also ignore the lessons that were being taught.
"Now class. Let's talk about the most dangerous concepts of spells to exist, branch of magic that are dangerous and deadly. Necromancy,Sanguinemancys, & Soulmancy. First off, the ones that are guilty in what they are the details. Necromancy is the controlling of the dead, and all those that exist in its domain. This is extremely dangerous as if you are not carefully controlling of the spells are zombies will eat you and tear you to shreds. Now a cleric has skills against them. Naturally the mystical ability known as Exorcism, this gives their physical attacks the ability to cast remedy into any situation. Status of undead: zombie and a series of undead creatures are all classified as a disease section. While there are very few cures for the actual thing remedy qualifies as a auto cure. Sadly, depending on the affection of being classified as zombie are still dead. If you're infected. If you are just infected with a basic disease that is supposed to kill you, then preemptively taking care of the disease still stopped dying and becoming an active zombie. Then we come to the cousin of this reasoning of explained reasons why went into this devotion of necromancy first." Doing a few symbols of zombies being taken down by an armor clad paladin of Princess Luna.
"Sanguinemancys or its simpler name bloodmancy. It's not exactly the same as the outlawed version of blood magic. Blood magic is using your mystical energy stored in your blood to cast spells cheaper, at the cost of your own life force or the cost of someone elses! Bloodmancy is controlling blood, using it to manipulate the living and contorting them through their blood, training the blood of their very bodies by pulling it their orifices. Preceding the production of blood so fast that causes the person to explode, were slowing down the production so quickly that they are barely alive they bleed to death without actually bleeding to death! It is very close to Hydromancy and Taramancy but their own elemental dynamics makes it much more complicated. But they are also capable of controlling the undead For anything that has blood flowing through its body living or dead is under their control. The only difference is when you attack a zombie. That's up to the control of blood that means a remedy does not work! For physically there is nothing that qualifies them as moving." He stated as he placed down a small diagram of a small wizard, little lines showing puppet strings over the bodies.
"As such you go for the controller, and applies for soulmancy, which is the term of focusing on light of the soul, not to be confused with the cousin of it, which if you just remove the you in soul! You're just manipulating the light around you. This spell allows you to do something very brutal and dark. Ripping the spirit and life of a person is dark and evil, no pony nor Griffin nor Minotaur, or any species can withstand having their spirit ripped out of their bodies and devoured by another! And why it is forbidden to make a golems! For the process involves ripping out the spirit of a living person and putting it inside a mannequin, stone, or, armor or variety of other things! All magics of these caliber are branded illegal. For reasons, and while each one of them have their own separate differences, they can do horribly dangerous things! Changelings may feed off your love, but they would not devour your soul! A changeling will only drain out the love that exists for a short period of time. Passion is fleeting! But life force is eternal and draining that is dangerous!"
After class:
Chip was getting up from his seat earlier than expected, obviously this was the time! She pull out her deck of cards was getting ready! "Mr. Maquahuitl." Realizing odds are she might have waited until after class, but may be who knows what would be chips plan.
"Yes, poker chip?" The teacher replied with a curious tone.
"Why did you explain cleric instead of a paladin even though you showed that in your drawing?" Trying to figure out the real deal without being extremely obvious. Trixie took this time to also study and listen.
"Well that's because a paladin is a prestige class. It is a level of study! I can go into further explanations after school. If you wish to have more details come to my classroom after school." Maybe this would explain how Blueblood still acts like he does and still not suffer any backlash. Maybe that's what Chip was looking for! Who knows maybe after seeing all of his friends lose, he doesn't want to get into a match himself and find a loophole around it.
After school: same class.
Trixie sat down next to Chip, eagerly wanting to understand the dynamics well. "A paladin is a prestige class. A prestige class that is similar to duel classic, but not exactly the same. Us first off master one class of either magic or physical combat. Recommended choice for magic is cleric, and recommended choice of combat class Ranger. But you can go with different variety paths. Afterwards, you must choose a Deity. To be aligned with! For example, a paladin of Princess Luna must take classes following the rules of Princess Luna. Must be nocturnal for at least three years or more. And show the pride of loyalty. There are more dynamics but that requires some major studies. Essentially, a paladin must represent everything that is good and bad about their deity. As the downside of a paladin positives and negatives of your God. Worship of God of death. You are going to have some alignment to be in favor of murdering, death and dying. Power to heal, be considered against the rules. Worship of power of a God of life and the rules of life are around you but there are even more complications. Bringing your sword might become a penalty. For every battle you must understand that you will have to take a life. And not all gods see logic. Unlike our fear princesses! Both of them. So the logic in both forms. Even though our species is mainly vegetarian, both paladins of Luna and Celestia are required to go hunting once a year! Of course we pick species that multiply so fast that murdering them would be impossible out of existence."
Trixie raised her hand! "Yes, Miss Lulamoon?"
"Does it take in account for made up deities or future deities?" She asked with a possibility of looking for what was Blueblood's loophole.
"Making up ones are not possible, now undiscovered deities might be a clue to like all you just happen to discover the name of one and all of its actions. But that would require amazing dumb luck, and I do mean amazing would have to be like completely defying all the laws of probability. As for future ones. Well you were really good at predicting the future. Yes could technically become a paladin of a future deity. But there comes a downside to that most of your spells would be nonexistent. A paladin gains mystical power from their deity. Reason why most paladin spells are cheap is because technically it's their faith that pays for the spell not there mystical energy. The loyalty, the honor that comes from it! The rituals that come from it. It is a complex situation. So praying to a deity that does not exist yet it knowing it does comes into a price of well you're paying in advance for something that will never come. " He replied, with a bit of a curious tone. But wishing to have it all play out.
This time both of them raise their hands. " Lulamoon first then Mr. Chip!"
"What if you believe yourself to become what would that caused some strange problems?" Trixie replied.
"What if you go from a different angle of the title, after all our princesses have their own extra titles. Like for example the diamond dogs used to call Princess Celestia the Princess of lies?" Chip replied. Trixie, believing that the reasoning behind this was the more obvious thing from his information.
"Well self worship is possible, it's not really well played out after all you would have to have faith in yourself. Yes, but that still requires using more of your magical power. You gain the holy bonuses. But none of the extras! And even then you would have to develop a very strict code rules and regulations for yourself so strict in fact they would be contradictory at times or anyone but yourself, thus limiting your actual process of gaining followers. A few procedures help to become a god in the future." Answering Trixie's question, and then turning chip.
"And there is the concept of worshiping from another angle, that one requires research, but is very doable. To be honest, I think this would be much easier to talk with Dr. Yearling. Although she is currently having her house moved to deep in the mountains. So I highly doubt it. Maybe talking with her uncle Gallant True. I believe he still working as a professor at the earth pony school. Is that all? "
"Yes! Thank you sir." Chip replied as he was heading off, but before you head off Trixie came by.
"Curiosity, what does Blueblood have on you?" She asked Chip figured that was going to come this way. But what did he have to lose, but tell the truth.
"Let's just say not all of us got in with good marks. And had to pull some different strings." Chip replied, walking off into a different direction.
Trixie headed off towards library for more research as test were coming up for the wrap up midterms.
Next Day:
Everyone was studying for the tests, everyone except for Miss. Twilight Sparkle who had her own different test! She was getting her bonus lessons through mail, strangely delivered by a unique Pegasus. I guess he the only one that could travel The storm! Weird wobbly eyes. This was given us to us as a free day, the study and recover if necessary. The wrap up midterms work just before setting up for winter wrap up. Each of Interns were focused on the classes that the students were taking.
Lyra was banging her head! "Why did I have to take this class! Vinyl why does your father have to be such a strict pony?"
'One you need to keep it down in the library, and to we have to know every single musical note, and musical incantations are complicated. Be thankful your classes aren't giving you nightmares!' Vinyl replied mentally.
"I don't know how Ms. sparkle pants is doing it! We nearly have the same number of classes, I have a test against dark arts, I have Music,Mystic mechanics,Science,Home economics,Mystical creatures,History, M.E. ,Word magic,Astrology,social studies,Charms,Divination,Warp dynamics, and finally elemental studies. And I'm only taking basic science! So Minuette. Are you regenerating from this?" Making a slight joke. Considering that Minuette is also taking similar numbers of classes only she's taken even more, Mystic medicine, bio studies, early sex education, quantum theory, church magics(basic version), dental studies & Botany potions.
"No, although I think this might be close to murder. Thou must choose a path of princesses three, although soon there'll be a fourth crown on the throne." Minuette eyes began to glow. And instantly cover her mouth and face.
Vinyl was looking carefully, she gazed into her friend's mind. On multiple occasions, but this is the first time that things became weird. Very, very weird, extremely weird!
Lunch time:
"You Two okay? Or did vinyl actually read your 'dirty laundry'?" Lyra replied doing massive air quotes, as she brought over lunch to the group.
"No, I just had my first temporal vision. Vinyl are you okay? Glancing at the rivers of time is kind of a bad thing for most ponies, especially when I have the vague problems." Minuette replied slightly worried that she picked up the muffin, it was strange. The muffin felt necessary it. She could not help but check to see if there were worms and if was made out of dirt and soda chips? It was always strange when she dealt with strange feelings like time was telling her something that would come up in the future that she'll have to remember but probably forget and pay for it later.
"Yeah. I'm fine! Also I got my own lunch." Opening up a box and a thermos. As the DJ pony drank from a thermos a little strangely and it devious smile. "Piercings are bad? And do I get piercings?" Being slightly confused on the possibilities.
"Well, time travel is extremely strange, with the exception of fixed moments in time. Time can shift into various directions, and even though we did see our future selves. We didn't see our future selves in the perfect sets. We traveled through the stream. As we were wearing, so even if your future self did have piercings the version you saw would not because you didn't have piercings portal. That's why I was kind of in all my incarnations yet not. Because technically I haven't died and odds are I haven't performed my regeneration cycles yet. Or I have and yet not. It's one of the weird things about being a time Lord. In training!" She commented.
Trixie was eating a lily sandwich with peanut butter listening intently to the conversation. All of them knew of the fourth Princess. But they did not know who it would be, probably that's what the time string thing just did bring forth a extra memory to remind Minuette about that part.
Poker chip came by with a strange star shaped his chest, very similar to Trixie's hairpin to be exact. "Okay, I know when our matches, right after astrology test final exam that is. Upon the starry skies, and Trixie. Don't worry, I've made my peace." He said with a smile he knows something that he's not telling it. As he walked off.
"Wow, this reminds me of divination class for some reason, again, why do I take that class too!" Lyra remarked as she slapped herself in the face, splattering her perfect jelly sandwich all over her muzzle as well!
"Try and find your true love, that was going to fail. No matter what because you know the rules of divination. Same rules as all time. Can't see your own future coming." Minuette replied with a sneaky grin.
After a few tests:
elemental studies
Trixie was looking down at the sheet of paper. There was a resistance a list, weakness list, and what spells were categorized under what elemental studies was underneath the skill of Erk Thunder. Slightly matted purple Mane(much like the colors of twilight sparkle) bright red coat with hazel brown eyes. His horn had small orchard marks on it. And always wore heavy leather gloves and a bright blue tunic.
'Basic elements are:Venom,Spirit,Electric,Psychic,Shadow,Rock,Fire,Water, Nature,& Wind.' Mentally reading the question, and writing in the answers. It was important to know the answers right away. Some people tend mix up the fact that some spells can be branching paths combining the two other factions. Like for example Spirit & Nature magic when combined can equal time magic. Rock plus fire equals metal, iron, steel. She continue going for the test. Technically she was becoming a bit more to come a bit more complicated. But the spellcasting classes of old were complicated in their own right. Just horribly limited. Normally, a mage would be able to come branching with their own skill set until they've mastered one of their basic elemental toys. Now you can branch on your own path really early.
Next class:
Warp dynamics
Pent Prism: Ram, nestled in between his two horns shaped like crescent's was a silver mullet Mane, though, was long combined with rope, the golden rope strings were barely visible rounded by the gray of his mane. His coat was bright and very pale violet. Wearing a light blue tunic(also very pale and faded) resting on his left shoulder, though, was a small armor plate, with ancient ruins. Was one of the few non-pony teachers. Rams came from a faraway area about rarely came to visit. It was often noted that their empire used to butting heads with the Yaks. The exam was very simple, in theory! Fill out a mystical scroll and teleported to the teacher's desk, from your room. Sure sounds easy but the thing was the scroll was mystically enchanted to prevent you from adding some cheating measures! Basically you were delivering a letter without the ability to use the normal methods of mystical delivery letters. This was the starting exam you're supposed to spend at least four years of trying to do these exams before you're given a teleportation license. Which technically, the great and powerful Trixie was not legally licensed to teleport herself but a stage magician should have freedom of not being license! Besides a license was only so that we you point out that you agreed to the fact that nobody else is held responsible for your death if you by chance teleport into a solid objects, or the damage of public property. If you by chance destroyed through a teleportation spell. Besides, if your giant floating cloud, how deadly can it to teleported to wall?
"Know, sir, it does feel little creepy when you're right behind the time." Replied Trixie to the shadowy image that was standing behind her. It could tell what the faint rooms glowing on his arm slip was now telling her, it was a simple Astro spell. Be exact. One of the spirit elemental chains and now she's being really all nerd like on the subject of studying the magic, but this is a test on how to teleport something! Ever since someone managed to figure out one cheating method to get past the thing he was forced to do this method of sneaking in and looking at everyone room. Technically, there were better methods of sending out information! But the idea was to test and see how skilled you were with teleportation, after all it's too dangerous to send over living object without possibility of killing it.
"I agreed, but you know I wouldn't have to do this if you fillies and colts weren't cheaters. Sorry if I'm feeling generally stick, but I am casting to all of you. Over the days when it was just a wizard, and his apprentice! Granted, I am old enough to actually remember that. Gracious I miss stars. That stallion was actually fun to be around! We need more ponies with sense of humor, and that can break the laws of physics and have no sense of overacting." The ancient old Ram replied taking off his glasses and wiping them with a piece of cloth, they were old wireframe classes with silver tent on the frame and the class was just tiny circles.
"Well, then I might have a solution for that! If you answer what I sent?" Trixie replied. Figuring out exactly now what to write on to these mystical scroll.
A couple classes later.
Charms
Now charms was a different type of class than normal ponies with expect, Charms was studying the effects of mystical magic cast on to certain objects. Or to be exact, which ones were charmed or which ones were just objects that had their own natural energies. Also one of the many terms was that curses were just charms that were too complicated for their task at hand, or the charm had a backfire effect. Like for example the curse object known as the devils ax. Which was important to understand, the devils Ax, is actually just charmed with a extremely overpowered muscle spell. The reason why it's called Devil's axis side effect curse is that, used to having strength times 5000 and your aim is terrible. You might accidentally kill yourself, by slamming the war Ax or any other type Ax, right through your body and possibly next build. Or variety of other Charms spell incorrectly applied. These Spells can only be attached to objects they are going to be deep either as weapons or material objects that are armor. As such, there were only two types of charms defense and offense. The return charm is classified as offensive because you're returning your tools that you will throw. Not as good as the recycle skill that Rangers game, but, it does double the lifespan of certain weapons.
Ewan Saleh, was a sea of red only thing breaking up was a little bit of blue. A blue cloak! Red short mane, dark crimson eyes, and shiny rooming Roush color coat. And finally his front hands were lightly pink like the hair was paler than others. But he wore thick iron boots though was hard to tell if is followed hooves could match. "Okay class, for your test. We're going to have you are going to pick the following objects from your fellow classmates, as the beginning of the year your home economics class give you a challenge to cast spells and create enchanted items. Now for those didn't make enchanted items that were like armor! I've supplied these others. Now I know all of you know what enchantments are on these but could you list the enchantments that could turn these into curse objects. Or which enchantments could become curse in future situations. After all, you can't spell and chant without altering the charms within it." He said with a flare smile, his horn was styled differently, wearing red gemstones within golden rings! It was never clearly stated which type of rings were what exactly it was rumored that he had mostly combat rings, but it could be defensive ones? Naturally vinyl picked Trixie's hairpin for her choice.
As vinyl looked carefully at it, a strange blast, strike vinyl! As she was trying to investigate, the blast came from someplace else, not from the object in question! Trixie instantly picked up her object and was excused as she picked up her friend, both of them would be given the option to take a makeup test later. But Lyra could go along, no matter how much she wanted too! And instead of forgoing a chance of getting a good grade, she decided to use investigation skills, while studying the object she was told to study. She also studied the areas where the spell could come from.
Astrology test:
Cmdr. Stargazer was looking about over The ponies that he gave simple tests, to see if you can match up, which starts charts were off, which was were right. With a slight adjustment to make it a bit challenging: No telescopes. Simple and straightforward. Rubbing his prosthetic arm, and bring the days of old. It was strange. This was only the second time he's ever rubbed his old injuries from his selling days. Trixie seemed distracted, as he could tell something on her mind. Not what was coming up next, he knew full well about the duel that was coming. It was strange though. Why the Prince Blueblood was here?
Lyra was also distracted, as she kept on looking not at the stars, but at the pony's eyes and their body. Mumbling to herself. "I wish I could figure out how to tell their mystical aura is who's?"
Time to duel!
Stargazer raised his prosthetic arm into the air, his horn blowing bright. "On your mark, get set! Brandish your horns, and Duel!" Firing strange beam of light from his prosthetic arm.
"I call upon Wonder-Armour, and proceed to activate my ability." Places down a card Chip replied as he flipped a coin out from his change purse, and slipped it into his belt. And then proceed to shout "Henshin-a-go-go, baby!" As his belt began to glow, then he was surrounded by dark black flame, black helmet appeared on his head, completely smooth, with only a small notch for his horn! A black visor, also dark black with a red crescent moon. Pulling out from his tail on red rose whip! "As Knightmare black is on the field!" Three shields popped up next to him. "And thanks to the special ability of my wonder Armour, I gained three armor every time I use my abilities. And now end my turn!"
"Trixie can open up my best cards!" First placing down Minuette! "Out for earthly Princess of light, the beautiful Princess Celestia! And her ability makes all those who were not unicorns bounced instantly back into your hand!" Then the wonder Armour back into the hand! "And I use my power too!" Giving Minuette stealth.
"I see, Time for my counter plan! First off, let's draw some blood! Sorry for the actions." He replied with a dark tone, as his flowery rose extended into a series of large thorny whips! Bringing out blood crystals, shaped like little teardrops from Trixie! Two to be exact! "Perfect, I have 50! That's a good start, my friend does study blood magic, but doesn't really follow its mechanics in The games that often. Arabus, I call upon first!" As he placed the card on the field. A large swirling storm cloud appeared toxic and purple, with tiny black spikes. It was the corrupted cloud elemental, a toxic cloud that was going to ravage the land! Defeated long ago & locked in the bowels of Tartarus! "Next to one of the other guardians of the able Tartarus! Cerberus does guard Tartarus his earlier levels, the more dangerous creatures are guarded by Madama Styx!" A gigantic sea Dragon popped up from the ground, whirling scales! Bright red, with long black strands! Body armor of all skulls, a variety of creatures, of course covering her cleavage Two large gigantic dragon skulls! "And now to ante up and changed my power again! Flipping out another coin! "By brightest day by golden, No evil shall escape my sites, by Green Lantern slight! It hold the mystic Knight!" As he does another wardrobe change, is a mystical enter pop into his hand shine with green energy shining Green Lantern, bathing his body split second. Trixie could see him one fast moment, then wearing a green uniform, with a golden Cape covering his face with dark, a shadowy silver hoodie! Activating the ability of these two cards! A large smoke crowd appeared surrounding the elemental. A ghastly token popped up on the other side Trixie's field. And then Princess Celestia was hit with a strange curse. "Now on your field is a small toxic cloud, if you place anything in that cloud. It dies in the cloud disappears. The cloud has no actual attack value, but now you can't risk sacrificing, and that spot is still taken. Oh and for every turn, the Princess is still on your field you will take damage based on the princesses Hp. Have fun, oh it starts on your turn!"
As he ended the turn, as Trixie could feel the pain of five points of damage at the start of her turn! "Princess show that Dragon what you're made of!" Princess Celestia generated two golden circles, upon her arms and slammed them directly into Madama Styx, who did some minor damage as well! "Minor question, does the air elemental have his own toxic status? Or is it justice clouds?" She asked before getting to send out her next fight.
"No, I felt that would be too powerful for this particular situation. Besides already have one card with toxic touching ability and he's the higher value." Chip replied.
"Good that let's show time is stronger than the wind!" Minuette pulled out a strange device to look like a magic wand! Shiny and golden & Covered in buttons! As the two butt heads! Generate Trixie's crystals! "And I placed on a secret and offer up a gem!" Placing level III secret. "And of course using my hero power." Once again. Luckily covering up Minuette. Matching the 14, as she ended her turn. She received another bulk of damage this time. Three from the cloud.
"Oh I guess I should point out what the cloud does, aside from preventing you from placing a new card on top of it. At the end of your turn, you receive damage equal to its health!" He replied, looking through his cards. "Now let's play some wonderful generators!" As two large drills popped up right behind them! " And a little discord!" As he tossed discord onto the field switching the attack & hp of every minion except for himself. As the mismatch creature stand for, admiring Princess being in front of him as card began to speak!
"My dear, even though we are just card representations of ourselves, I need to say this! Isn't Luna supposed to be the one with the moons?!" Making a joke about the princesses hindquarters!
"That's weird, it's never happened before, anyhow Green Lantern slight! Blast!" Throwing the lantern and exploding a blinding green light, as the flames blew off Trixie's slightly badly singed body, again another strange occurrence. It wasn't supposed to be this brutal! But knows he has to finish this battle as quickly as possible, and ended with a proper finish! "Now I send my other two to attack you directly! And I go for another costume change!" As he flipped a coin into his belt. Just as the other two strike for their attack! As a mystical golden ribbon the surrounded, poker chip as he goes "F$#4!" As shiny glimmering fairy wings popped up out of his back, the gorgeous white dress popped onto his body and Tits that would put a line of mares to shame, that were covered only by a small piece of cloth, as a golden Harp appeared in the newly female looking poker chip, that Angel looking tiara covering up her unicorn horn! "Purse my love for awesome falconry B&^!S !"
Cmdr. stargazer shouted. "Two penalty points, For cursing! Cards are allowed to cast magical spells, of that matter. But you're not allowed to use curse words! And I don't see any diamond dogs here so that word has been censored." Picking out a small piece of paper and writing down some notes.
At the end of the turn! Trixie received another big huge jolt of damage this time. Seven! Thankfully her next plan required her to completely negate this, She had the perfect cards in her hand ready to go! Meanwhile, the discord card was laughing uncontrollably!
"I know people say you should get in touch with your feminine side but I don't think this is what they meant! And are you trying to look hotter than the Princess here! Although it's not really that hard. She gets the layoff the cake! Come on Princess I know you want to get me!" Discord said as he was chanting! Again, this was strange! His cards weren't known for doing this!
But what was even stranger was the comeback. "Oh please Discord, you're a bigger bag of hot air than the one standing next to you! And he's the air elemental!" Even the toxic cloud began to laugh, at the princesses come back!
"Well, time for my move! And it's going to be a big one!" Trixie replied with a little bit of a cough. "Fortify WIND!" As a swirling green wind surrounded them! As Trixie's injuries disappeared and shields the next well, black. She one gigantic shield with the number 19 on it! But she'll pop up on her appointed site as well. Powering the three in becoming 22! Pretty much eradicating all the damage he had done! "Next let's take care the comedy acts! Behold the dragons rain!" As Trixie's head transformed into a blazing Dragon, and breathe fire vaporizing nearly everything is set for discord was just down to one Hp.
"And I thought I had bad breath in the morning! Well at least the bag of hot air and the Gothic check is gone. Though I think she was wearing her brothers or sisters can never tell!" Replied discord with a bit of a joke about Trixie's fiery breath. " And finally polymorph elemental Army! Changing all four tokens here!" As Princess Celestia transformed into a shiny gem covered the earth elemental, the cloud, that was Minuette transformed into a elemental compose of liquid hot magma! Then the last two transformed into their corresponding choices, a cloud elemental! And the frost elemental! " And I think the elements will earth looks great in red!" As it shiny red crystals were shimmering! " move girly" Trixie replied that she ended up her turn.
"Well, my first action is to get rid of this outfit. Normally I use this to play with my things but I want to end this battle quickly! And, consider you just recovered a lot of health I going to have to do a lot more thing!" Smiling She flipped a coin, the shiny anime girl outfit slowly disappeared and as he reverted back to his Male stature. Then with a snap of his fingers as he should look like he shrunk down, dumping into a gigantic Earth pony Mech, the reality was the exact same size to gigantic cannons instead of arms! As his voice sounded like it was coming out of a microphone! "Behold, SSSSShiIIIIniIIIIIngGGGG Magma!"
"From Sailor Moon to G Gundam, oh I guess Neo Sweden did have Sailor Moon!" Discord replied as he dressed up as the Gundam fight announcer, eyepatch, and all!
Vinyl scratch came running out, her mouth covered in blood. She was running furiously, she knew the teacher was going to be upset with her later but this was no time for stuff she has to wonder now! Running as quickly as possible. Just as she arrived poker chip put down several cards!
"Wonder-Pink! Is on the field! Along with wonder-space pirate!" Pink jumpsuit, Mare with along iron chain weapon, the gorgeous Bright yellow legs! While wearing a tiny miniskirt. And the next to her was a slightly more pirate looking version of Cmdr. stargazer actually, placing his prosthetic hand with a golden hook, and an mechanical eyepatch over the missing Eye, and of course the standard peg leg!
"Trixie!" The girls not realizing that vinyl's mouth was cover for blood for different reason, instantly covered vinyl's mouth with Minutte instantly getting ready the take care of her friend!
'Trixie, your not wearing your hairpin! You're wearing something else!' Vinyl mentally shouting, loud enough for all three friends to hear!
"Rao's Wrath!" Poker chip Replied as a gigantic Griffin! With the body of a lion, Red with a shimmering golden mane popping up torches Phoenix head, his arms Of the Phoenix, channeling fire throwing it Sky shooting strings from his Phoenix wings, the feathers of death! As the land late scorched the ice elemental was melted, all except for the crystal elemental were severely injured as well!
"WHAT!" All three girls replied trying to comprehend what vinyl had said mentally!
"Next the two cards from Blueblood, as he altered our deal. I must play them! Hopefully I pray this does not alter it, any further." As he placed down two mares, and a strange things began to happen! As a gigantic huge bubble surrounded Trixie, as she began to scream! a gigantic beam of light shot from the bubble! And the two mares standing next to Trixie now, Pegasus wearing armor. It was extremely unique, not of the two princesses.
"This is bad!" Replied several of the students. Meanwhile, other students were getting ready for battle! Twilight raced off to go get another teacher! Jumping on the bubble were some Trixie's cards, in true glory! Including the four!
The ever loving thing responded with his true signature catchphrase. "It's clobbering time!" As Prince Blueblood got out his equipment to battle the enemy!
"No need to worry, I Prince Blueblood will vanquish these creatures and stop this event!" He said, brandishing his golden shield in his golden blade, crafted out of his mystical aura, which was exactly the same as what Blastid vinyl scratch!
"Normally I would let ponies clean up their own messes, but considering how you're going to clean up your mess. The answer is no! Minutte to get everyone else out here! Cmdr. Stargazer. I think it's best for you to escort the students. Poker chip you're with me! Also go back to the sailor scout costume because, we need to show her the power of music! Or you could give me the harp! Although I do prefer a smaller Lyra." Lyra heartstrings replied that she got into about position.
"Sure thing. Just remember, the harp is actually a healing tool! It does no physical damage!" To reply. The cockpit opened to reveal him, tossing, a small gold coin that grew to the size of your average gold coin(about the size of a silver dollar) long with a small bracelet, with a perfect size notch for the actual coin! As Lyra caught it.
Minutte and Stargazer were getting ready to fight, but also did exactly as were suggested evacuating while vinyl scratch was priming herself. "You overdosed last night, just be careful on who you drink!"
'Not to worry. All I did was still some blood packs, I hope nobody's AB negative.' A mystical message replied.
Meanwhile, across town:
Victor Von doom spotted the giant pillar and said "This looks like a job FOR DOOM!" Disappearing in a teleporting smoke of green energy! Frightening several ponies as they never seemed a earth pony teleport in mystical energy!
To be continued! IN: DOOM 4 ALL! |
Trixie: school days | DOOM 4 ALL! | Blueblood's shiny golden shield reflected the fiery blasts of Johnny storm, icy cold energy blasts of Mask Matter horn, and finally deflecting the molten junk that were being melted down by Johnny's blast, from Polestar! Thankfully Trixie had a collection of both heroes and villains, thus allowing some of the superhero cards to be distracted by other cards that will rival sections.
Lyra was battling herself, and quite enjoying using the concept of flying with wings.Trying to dodge an invisible opponent was tricky, why did she have to get both Sue storm and the Virus Pulse! She was thankful that even though discord was really low on health. He was actually helping out! Of course it could be the fact that he still doing what he normally does, which is battling the princesses, there was Battle Royale! With Princess Celestia, Nightmare Moon, discord, Morgan,Grogar the RAM of evil, a king with Crystal Horn, a beautiful tantalizing queen Chrysalis, the legendary centaur Tirek, and finally The Mummy Sphinx, stallion who calls himself Mummra the ever living! Thankfully, the cloud monster was destroyed earlier or else this would be the bigger!
Vinyl scratch, easily dispatched herself, which was probably the only thing that was easy to do, Card version of her sister was a slight different moral dilemma, it really didn't help matters that she was still fighting up against chips most deadliest card!
"My drones will destroy you all you did, you pathetic wonderful 101, For you are no match against the dark hive!" Announced the gigantic queen bee with insects. It really didn't help matters at the wonderful 101 did not see vinyl's allies! Wonder armor was kind of a pain! Thankfully commander, stargazer was helping out final, which gave wonder Space Pirate it was betraying the group. So it was complicated!
"Hadouken!" Shouted wonder gamer, as he was tapping the buttons on his arm to do the actual command, right next to him was wonder-lantern, shining a beam of light directly upon his enemies as he wore a gigantic Lantern body armor suit! Shooting laser beams from his chest! Vinyl was dodging a variety of energy shots, while still with the moral decision of having to fight her sister! It didn't really help matters that wonder sniper was really hard to avoid, wasn't for the fact that she had super enhance hearing she probably of your any of his methods of aiming and firing! And it really didn't help matters that the guy actually knew not the camp, it meant he was always in a different location after firing his shots!
Meanwhile, Chip was having his own troubles, his allied cards were fighting against him and his mechanical robot, sadly, thanks to how his system worked. It wasn't a giant robot! So it was like he was fighting a giant monster battle without the awesome models them! Against Pegasues, the henchman characters from a certain book series. About a witch fighting a war against Angels. And of course a lot of the other cards were battling the chatter thankfully.
As the real Dr. doom popped up on to the field, facing off against himself. "There can be only one Doom, you should all fall!" Shooting from his hand was a blazing red fireball, then dark, shiny, lightning, of electric blue. While his opponent duplicate with shooting out beams of ice and glorious rays of solar energy! Both of them were chanting incantations and bizarre languages, laser beams, of untold or a with collateral damage. Taking out several wonderful 101s like wonderful zombie, wonderful Samurai, wonder Rex(which was actually just a girl dressed up as a T Rex) and wonder Rockstar was struck by lightning on his guitar!
"It's really hard to tell which Doom I want to clobber! But at least this evil Mine a good thing to take waste." Said the ever lovable thing as he was fighting off some of the villains from the power ponies, getting some much-needed assistance, also from some of the other cards, like the card version of Trixie's own father covered in his royal armor, the cards were even acting as their moral compasses. It wasn't for the fact that some of them were villains teaming up against their rival heroes, it would be not that much of a problem. Watching the entire battle unfold was star swirled bearded having cookies with smart cookie.
"Emerge and then divide!" Reply triplicate duo, as they tackled Lyra heartstrings, and then divided into two separate Pegasi but instead of ripping Lyra heartstrings into, there were now to Lyra heartstrings both three if you count the third one that she was battling against still! One of the Pegasus, instantly flew up into the storms cloud area, dragging the heartstrings that she grabbed straight up into the sky. Lyra was trying to use her magical spells, channeling instant mystical blades, using the feathers on her mystical wings to fight and taking control of some of the Angel minions. The enchanments were really useful, Actually. Despite being shaped like eggs! As she had to throw off one of them! Her other half was completely gone off the scene, there was no way telling what would happen in from that battle.
Chips solved the moral dilemma, for vinyl as he blasted the Octavia card and of course the magma Canon does its job! "No need to thank me, and it just took me a while but I think I made another wonder wiser." Popping out of the back of his Mech, was a small necklace, with the coin already placed in! When the necklace landed on to vinyl it gave her a slight dominatrix look, especially with the fact that she had a whip with several spiky thorns attached to it all green and beautiful.
"I'm still going to kick your ass later, but this is awesome!" Using some spinning tricks with the whip, and splattering beautiful gems of blood all over the place!
Meanwhile, the battle of Dooms were still going on, with collateral casualties constantly blooming up! It was getting harder and harder and trickier and trickier to avoid hitting certain subjects, a lot of the wonderfuls were taken out and a lot of the Angel cards, as well as several of the Pegasi and elemental creatures. The only things that doom was not encountering was still the bowel Royale, which really showed off that the Princess of the sun was mastering her own polymorph spells! The whole reason why she managed to transform back, from the earlier part of the dual. Giving some relief for some of the others but blueblood was still in battle with several heroes! Now the ever lovable thing was battling blueblood, who was being also tagteam buy Saddle Reger!
"Saddle smash! Saddle cry! Saddle break!" As the gigantic hulking Pegasus was smashing on Blueblood shield, Blueblood's magic was also pouncing off beams against the ever lovable blue-eyed thing as one of his energy swords was sticking out of Johnny storm.
"This one is for John!" Is a thing charged and getting ready to deliver a deadly punched, but Blueblood concentrated a large, powerful spell from his horn and blasted off the entire right arm of the lovable thing! Then generate a mystical blade from his right hand stabbing it into the Rocky creature ripping out the organs in the that were in Rocky style and strange blood was leaking out of the thing!
The while Lyra was still battling the multiple heroes in the sky, then a brilliant thought came to her mind, remembering her charms classes. "Every good charm can become a bad curse! It just takes the right actions!" As her horn began to glow when casting the spells onto the crossbow weapons that she was wielding. Firing a series of arrows into her opponent! Their arms and legs were pulsating we getting bigger and bigger ripping out their skin and torso, and then explosions! (The gory kind, not the very nice pretty colors/flames!) She finally dispatched with the Pegasus twins, virus was actually good against her choice of spells! Considering virus was all about shrinking and growing, Sue had already switch from her opponent from Lyra to avenging her brother which was such a good thing because fighting invisible ponies was a pain in the ass!
Meanwhile, the Battle Royale was starting to take certain sides! The two princesses put aside their differences to fight off against the centaur of magic draining! Discord was dispatched early on because of his one health, the shadow pony and queen chrysalis were taking on the Ram, and his army of the undead, which was composed of pretty much all the wonderful 101 and several of the zombie Angels, and the changelings chrysalis was producing, that have also died in battle much everything that was dead is now moving! And of course the mummy was watching, picking out which targets to attack!
Also watching in the background were two other legendary warrior's, the famous ram known as Aries, a major general. Once was in charge of the ram that was controlling the dead, until he was betrayed and stabbed in the back! Then the legendary Griffin black sorcerer, half panther half falcon. Vulcan! Taking their seats to watch the battles and waiting for their situations to favor them. Meanwhile, Chip was fighting off the bees as you do!
Stargazer was now fighting the replica of one of his fellow teachers Maquahuitl, was wearing a fantastic royal armor, actually of the guard and his wings were floating! But stargazer was clever! "Yo, I served the Princess of the day you serve the Princess of the night. Let's help them take out the giant horsey! Before rag here comes into the fray." Pointing out the mummy. Thankfully the card agreed that was a reasonable decision of action. As he left off to battle Tirek!
Finally running in was the Time Lord Minuette, equipped with her sonic screwdriver, and carefully manipulating herself closer and closer to the bubble that was encasing Trixie! But the two angels that Blueblood made for Chip, Pegasus, deep lavender purple and covered in the Bright glimmering golden armor, and then a redheaded mare pink coat. Also, wearing the golden armor step four! Spotting the pony and getting ready to strike! "MAGMA BOMB!" Poker chip through over towards where Trixie was standing. Firing that blast did do severe damage to his suit! But the fiery blaze also scared off the bees!
"Purple Heart, Rose dust, I recommend you keep that explosive away from my prize." Shouting was blueblood, as he was removing his blade from Sue storm! But now the fantastic four was slowly becoming the fearsome four, only one member of left and he was battling the dooms!
"Reed you arrogant fool! Our mere copy of him, and you're still not believing in the factors of the magics, your grasp of science is completely incorrect and you believed herself superior to me! I AM DOOM!" Shouted both dooms! One doom was firing in brimstone in flames, the other one was shooting ice!
"Your chemicals of liquid nitrogen and pure flaming concoctions are no match, and this is just some form of radiation I have not studied yet. And a series of technologies, but I haven't had a chance to study." That the stretchy unicorn is it strike its arms stretched out like a blade cut through several parts.
"Your arrogance is your doom, your blindness has prevented you to see everything your comrades, ARE dead! And yet they are moving on their own accord be controlled by that evil and yet you still wish to fight me! Even knowing that you are horribly outmatched, but let it not be said that Doom is not a valiant stallion, as they say in these lands." As the real Dr. doom popped up behind Reed, his hands coursing with the usual green energy, dark purple flames forming around his body! "Behold the spell that I don't usually cast, I've learned that my times walking in here! And with a slight alteration I have made it special! After all, I don't want to see you again Reed, as a undead corpse, preaching words, the religion that contradictory in every sense. And rots to the very soul!" As he tossed the spell, Reeds his entire body began to age as well is the fake doom that he was fighting, and extremely accelerated rate, into the both bodies turned to ash the armor was bright glimmering dust as it blowing in wind!
"Chip, throw your lantern to the surviving Doom, do I need you to cast a mystical energy wavelength level of 45.21 gigawatts of harmonic energy." Shouted Minuette's sonic screwdriver finished the calculations!
"I only have the coin I don't have transformation device ready! And I don't have enough equipment to make one right now! Or the free time!" Blasting the bees, not realizing that Blueblood started putting things together and quickly start running towards chip!
"Doom does not need a transformation device! For his armor is all-powerful! Just toss it over here!" He shouted with a command the royal king, marching his way into the battle the undead casting the spell He used on Reed Richards to eliminate the zombie army. Chip fired, blueblood's horn was glowing!
"Lyra to get to the ground, this spell goes off everything that is created by Trixie's magic will be disabled including things that have been charging up chips magic! Within a 4,000 mile range!" Minuette explained! Just as doom caught the coin, opened up a panel of his chest plate and placed it in their! Terrorizing out the right hand of Doom, the shiny Green Lantern, which went off like a bomb!
Two days later:
Trixie awoke in the hospital bed, stargazer was completely baffled as he in single thing. The only ones that remembered the fabled explosion that day was Dr. doom, and Minuette. And since neither were counted as reliable sources act at hand, death of Chip carefully blamed on to Trixie, but thanks to the strains Trixie was also just sentenced out the dome banished from the city, till the Princess gives her a royal Pardon.
"Banished and expelled! Trixie is useless!" Trixie said. Climbing out of bed, and began packing with her friends standing next to her.
"NO, you just need the right teacher. And until Doom can find a way back to his lands, the great and powerful Trixie shall be Doom's apprentice!" Dr. doom said with his helmet, resting on the table, was easier to see his beautiful brown eyes and now this coat was visible of bright blue! And the mane of tough brown, almost pitch black. As Trixie gave doom a hug, a unusual feeling was blowing him.
As Trixie's friends smiled, several days later. Trixie left with Dr. doom leaving her friends behind, studied the world outside the bubble time. She didn't know where she was going to end up or wind but she had a teacher now. And she was going to become great and powerful! Just like her teacher , a man who you claim to be God! Victor Von Doom! |
About Last Month | pre | "Speaking of work, I think we better get to it," Twilight said. "We need to look over those trade deals with the buffalo." She turned to Applejack. "Are you going to be fine for a few hours?"
"Relax, Twi, I can keep myself occupied."
Applejack glanced at the clock. It had only been an hour.
She sighed, putting aside her copy of Daring Do. She had tried getting into the series to have something to share with Twilight, but they just weren't grabbing her. She was still managing a chapter a day, mainly to have something to do.
She sighed. No farm work at home, next to nothing to do here.
Mainly for something to do, she went down to the library. She browsed the shelves, looking for something interesting. Nothing popped.
She went back to Twilight's chambers. On a whim, she cracked open one of Twilight's books, but didn't understand half the words in them.
She went for a walk. She found herself in the garden again. She could at least enjoy some nature.
She looked around for Mr. Greenhooves, hoping she could at least strike up a conversation. No such luck; whatever he was doing, he wasn't tending the ground at the moment. The animals were giving her a wide berth, as usual. So she was alone.
She passed by the hedge maze and felt a shiver. Even now, that maze brought up unpleasant memories. She felt uncomfortable knowing that Discord was free, even if he seemed to be behaving himself at the moment.
She didn't know how long she had wandered before she was interrupted. "Hello there."
Applejack turned and found herself facing an Earth Pony that she didn't know, but recognized by appearance. She had seen her in passing, at the Gala and at Fancypants's party.
"Um, hello," Applejack said.
"You are Princess Twilight's consort, aren't you?"
She didn't like that term, but still answered. "Yes, Applejack, of Apple Family Farms. Who are you?"
"I'm High Society," the mare said.
"Yes, I can tell, but what's your name?"
The pony sighed, apparently used to this. "No... that's my name," she said.
"Oh, uh... sorry."
"Happens all the time," the mare waved it off. "I was hoping to speak to you."
Applejack was hesitant. She knew that there was only a 50-50 chance that this conversation would be a pleasant one. ""What did you want to talk about?"
"Have you ever heard of Fancypants?"
It was an absolutely ridiculous question. Everypony had heard of him. He was a business pony that had the political clout of a prince and the generosity of an Alicorn.
"Yeah... I've met him before." She decided to keep quiet on how that disastrous party went.
"I've been placed in charge of organizing his latest party," she explained. "We'll be raising bits to support Helping Hooves."
Applejack had heard of the charity before, but only had a vague idea of what they did. Really hoping to avoid revealing her ignorance, she settled on the most neutral response she could think of: "Uh-huh."
"Do you think you could convince the Princess to attend? She's well liked among the populace, so we're hoping to get her to support our work."
"Well... gee, I dunno Twi's schedule. I could ask her."
"Could you? I would very much appreciate it."
"Sure. How can she reach ya if she decides to attend?"
At this, High Society reached into the saddlebag she was carrying and took a business card between her teeth. Applejack took the card, and with practiced dexterity flipped it up until it was resting in the brim of her hat.
"I'll pass it along to her, but I can't make any promises for her."
"I understand, I very much appreciate it. And of course, you will come along as her plus one, won't you? We're ever so eager to get to know you."
"Uh, yeah, of course," she said. "I'm going everywhere with Twilight lately. I'll show up."
"That's good. You are the head of the Apple Family in Ponyville, aren't you?"
"Uh, well, no. My brother Big Macintosh runs most of the business side of things. He's the one that has a head for numbers. I mainly do grunt work."
"Does he now? He sounds like a smart pony."
"Oh, he is. Soft spoken, but very intelligent."
She always talked about her big brother with pride, but as she did so, she looked at High Society's face. There was something about it that was... off to her. Like she wasn't connecting with it.
"Well, you can tell us all about it at the party. I really must be going, but I hope to see you there."
The two traded goodbyes and High Society walked off. Applejack analyzed her actions, wondering if she did everything correctly.
Applejack wondered if she was already becoming somepony she wouldn't like. Prior to coming here, she had never cared what others thought of her. She had always prided herself on not caring what anypony thought of her, especially not spoiled brats.
Yet she had spent all day turning over her chat with High Society.
The only thing that pushed that thought out of her mind was the unpleasant task before her and Twilight. The fact that Spike needed to be sat down and talked to.
They had tried rehearsing what to say. Applejack had warned her that she couldn't plan for everything that Spike could possibly be worried about. Twilight had responded by levitating up several notecards that detailed several different possibilities. She had insisted on a three-hour review session, but Applejack thankfully talked her out of it.
Spike was in his quarters, reading a comic book. He casually picked a gem out of his bowl once in a while to pop into his mouth. All in all, he looked like he was enjoying a peaceful night with a comic book.
It seemed a shame to ruin it, but it looked like they had to. This had been put off long enough.
"Spike?"
Spike looked up. He immediately grimaced. He knew what was coming.
"Yes?" There was a lot of dread in that one syllable.
"Spike, we wanted to have a talk with you."
There was a lot of tension in the air. Applejack felt like she was a filly again, standing in front of Granny Smith as she lectured her on bad behavior. Even though now she was on the other end of the discussion, it wasn't any easier.
In fact, it was even harder. She was racking her brain, making sure every action was firm, yet comforting. It had been like this every single time that she had to give Apple Bloom a lecture, but in those cases Big Mac had taken on the bulk of that. True, Twilight was Spike's sole legal parent, but she was so deeply a part of this that she just couldn't sit back and leave the heavy lifting to her.
Spike took a seat at the table. Applejack and Twilight took a seat on the other side.
"Spike... we know that the last few months have brought on a lot of changes. Applejack and I have started dating, I've become a princess, and you've started to enjoy your freedom a little bit more."
Spike just nodded. His fingers drummed the table, little claws making a soft series of ticks against the surface. He was clearly waiting until Twilight was finished talking. For a split second, Applejack felt jealous. Apple Bloom was largely obedient, but she never sat this still during the difficult moments.
"We've noticed that all these changes have been hard on you," Twilight kept going. "We know that it can be difficult to experience, especially at your age. So we wanted to help you make this change."
Twilight had rehearsed that, but Applejack could hardly tell. She was good at speaking, a necessary skill for a politician.
"What's bothering you? Go ahead, whatever you want to say, go ahead and say it."
Spike was silent for a moment. He looked at the table, looking like he was trying to see shapes in it. When he looked up, he answered.
"I don't know."
Applejack wasn't sure what answer she was expecting, but that wasn't it.
"Do you think that I'm taking time away from your time with Twi?" Applejack said, speaking for the first time.
"Not anymore," Spike said. For the first time, he didn't wait to keep going. "I was worried about that. I know that's selfish, so I never mentioned it. But now that Twilight's an Alicorn, she'll be around for centuries. I'll have a lot more time to spend with her."
That sentence wasn't spoken with denial. That wasn't what was bothering him.
"Then why..."
"I don't know!"
It was amazing how much frustration came out in simple words.
"I... I don't know why it bothers me. I know it shouldn't..."
Spike just trailed off. He didn't know what to say. He ended up just repeating his previous words. "I don't know."
A long moment of silence hung in the air. For Twilight, this was because her mind was in overdrive, desperately reaching for a solution to a problem she wasn't prepared for. For Spike, it was shame that he had feelings that he felt were selfish and he couldn't articulate.
For Applejack, it was because she was trying to pick her next words carefully.
"You don't want things to change."
Both Twilight and Spike looked at her. She went on.
"Spike... I understand. Your life with Twilight has been a happy one, hasn't it? It seemed perfect. I remember you looking for things to do for her when she had nothing. And yeah, I remember that whole mess after I saved your life. You defined yourself entirely by being around Twi. And now things are changing. You're making friends, and Twi and I are dating. And it's just a confusing mess for you, isn't it?"
Spike looked ashamed all over again, but he nodded.
"Spike... you got nothing to be ashamed of. Change is hard, even when it's for the best. It can be uncomfortable, leaving behind things you know. Even though you logically know that you have time with Twi, not having her undivided attention still upsets you, because you're not sure what's going to happen next."
Spike was looking around, trying to avoid eye contact. But he eventually looked at Applejack. "Yeah... I think you're right."
"Well... there's nothing more I can say, Spike. Change happens, and trust me, you'll learn to love it."
Twilight smiled. "You always did have trouble. I remember your first day of daycare..."
Spike blushed. "Twilight... come on..."
As Twilight pulled her little dragon in a hug, Applejack felt a weight slide off her. This problem wasn't over, but at least it was on track to get better. She just hoped that problem would hold for a while. |
Sharktavia 7: Shark's Well That Ends Well | pre | She found herself in another short hallway, this one with two plain wooden doors on either side, just in time to see the door across from her close. For a moment she wondered if it had just been a trick of her light playing across the wall, but then the loud click of a deadbolt resounded loudly in the small space and proved that someone was indeed trying to get away from her.
And Twilight wanted to know why.
"Hey, who is that?" she shouted, trotting up to the door and knocking. Nobody answered. "If that's you, Octavia, then please just tell me what's wrong." Still no answer.
An irritated sigh slipped past her lips. Normally she would just teleport to the other side, but she had no idea what might be sitting over there. Celestia had told her a few stories about unicorns who ended up teleporting literally into a chair, or, in one grisly case, becoming trapped inside a thick stone wall. But the only other option was to force the door open. A close inspection told her nothing about the wood's state; it might be weak from age, or it might be as strong as the day it was carved. She sighed again.
"Sorry," she muttered to the house as she turned around.
Her hind legs lashed out in a powerful kick that slammed into the door and sent a deafening crash echoing through the wing. The door blew open, and Twilight wasted no time in running through. She tried to ignore the expected surge of guilt she felt from damaging such an old door, a task made easier at the sight of the shadowy figure who darted out of the perimeter of her light.
"Who are you?" Twilight shouted breathlessly as she galloped into the room, which might have served as a kitchen back in the mansion's glory days. She couldn't spare a moment to appreciate it, though, as her quarry had already slipped through yet another door.
She followed, then skidded and jumped backwards into the kitchen just in time to avoid a large cabinet that came crashing down in front of her. Porcelain and glass shattered, filling the air with a brittle tinkling sound.
"Please," someone said from the darkness ahead. Twilight squinted; she could just barely see a pony's silhouette on the other side of the cabinet, but her spell didn't carry far enough to give any other details. The strangled, choked voice didn't sound like anyone she knew. She couldn't even tell if it belonged to a mare or stallion, assuming they were even a pony. "Get away!"
Twilight hopped over the fallen cabinet into yet another hallway. The fleeing pony, still not close enough for her spell to clearly illuminate, galloped away. She bounded off in pursuit.
"Octavia, is that you?" she managed to shout. The distance between them shrunk, and she saw that the fleeing figure wore a cloak. Its body was bulky and misshapen, and its posture was stilted and lurching, almost like it wasn't used to running.
"You have to stay away," the figure yelled back, and Twilight recognized it as a mare's voice. "Please, Twilight, just--just go!"
Before she could say anything else, the mare dashed sideways into another room. The door closed behind her, and Twilight heard another deadbolt slide into place. She skidded to a halt and pounded her hoof against the smooth wood.
"Open up! I don't care what happened--this is ridiculous!" She hit the door a few more times. "Just tell me the problem and we'll fix it, I promise."
An agonized moan seeped out from the room. "You don't understand," Octavia said. "I'm--something's wrong. I'm changing!" She cried again, a noise that sounded like a cross between a shriek and a snarl. "Get away from me so I don't--"
One final cry rang out, then silence.
"Octavia?" Twilight put her ear against the door. "Hey, say something." When nobody answered, she turned around to kick the door open just like she had before. She leaned forward onto her forelegs--
--right as the door exploded outwards underneath the weight of something massive. Twilight fell forehead-first into a closed door across the hallway. Her horn crashed against the door handle in an impact that made every nerve in her face scream out in agony, and for a moment she lost her concentration along with the illumination spell. She staggered to her hooves and even managed to take a few steps back down the hallway before she collapsed against the wall, breathing heavily. The entire world spun around her in the near-complete darkness. A shaking leg came up to feel her forehead, only for her to snatch her hoof away when it touched a particularly sensitive spot on her horn. A tiny piece of the keratin had been chipped away.
As Twilight groaned and fought to regain her senses, a loud snuffling noise came from the darkness. She could hear wood splintering and cracking beneath someone's hooves, but without her spell, she couldn't see exactly what had barreled out of the room.
Again, the voice of her survival instincts spoke up. Something huge had nearly crushed her flat, and now it sniffed around, maybe for prey. The voice told her to run, to run and never look back until she stood someplace far, far away.
The repeated sniffs grew louder, as though whatever creature shambled about in the darkness wanted to pick out a particular scent but was having trouble. Briefly Twilight considered going back the way she had come and regrouping, but this idea was brushed away as soon as it came. Octavia needed her, and Twilight couldn't just run away from that. Taking a deep breath and gulping loudly, she tried to reproduce her light spell. Although her horn sputtered in protest and started to throb, after a moment the bead of light once more coalesced at the tip and cast a flickering light upon her immediate surroundings. The creature cried out, and she finally got a good look at the thing that had almost flattened her.
She immediately wished she had run away while she had the chance.
I told you so, the voice whispered much more smugly than it had a right to.
Like a pony it stood on four legs, but the obvious similarities ended there. A stubby fin flapped about errantly partway along its barrel-like body, with another probably on the other side out of view. Its tail, sweeping back into a point, whipped back and forth almost as though it was trying to propel its owner through the water, and a dorsal fin on the creature's back had a wicked curve of its own.
However, Twilight's attention was focused entirely on the monster's triangular head jutting forward, the beady eye blinking in the light of her spell, and the cavernous mouth filled with rows and rows of jagged yellow teeth, each more than capable of shredding a pony's flesh. Her gaze traced a line from the tip of its lower lip, back towards the corner of its mouth, and then up to a white cloth band that circled the thing's neck.
A white band holding a very familiar pink bowtie in place.
Maybe her fatigue had finally started to play tricks on her, or maybe she hadn't fully recovered from hitting her head, but for some reason that would forever elude her, Twilight's first coherent thought was to wonder if bowties were in that season, and to speculate at whether or not Rarity would like one for her birthday. Her next thought was that the tie matched quite well with the beast's silken black mane that flowed down its back, rippling mesmerically in the light with every jerking movement.
Then everything snapped into place in a moment of gut-wrenching clarity. The bowtie, the black mane, Octavia's fainting spells and subsequent flight--the puzzle snapped together. Twilight's eyes widened as she realized just what this monster was--or rather, who it was. All of a sudden, her warm, soft bed back home began to look a lot more appealing.
Octavia?" she whimpered, ears lying down flat against her head. The fish-beast rounded on her upon hearing the name and snarled. "Octavia, is that you?"
The monster took a step towards her; every instinct told her to run, but her legs were frozen. It took another step, and then a second, and within seconds it loomed over her. Its breath reeked of rotten meat, whipping her mane around with every exhalation. Up close she could see that the bow-tie was nearly torn in some places from having stretched so far, and the thing's mane was slick with something--water, she hoped.
The Octavia-thing--this was technically Octavia, Twilight's racing mind decided--took a whiff of the terrified mare in front of it. Its nostrils flared, then it turned to get a closer look. Maybe it was just the numbing terror, but Twilight imagined that she could see some sort of intelligence in the thing's pupil-less eyes.
"Octavia," she breathed. At the sound, the shark twitched. It pivoted to look at her from the other side of its triangular head. "Can you understand me? Do you remember me?"
It didn't say anything or make any indication that the words meant anything to it, but it did take a step away so that it didn't tower over her quite so much.
"You're still in there, aren't--"
The shark's flaring nostrils were Twilight's only warning before it sneezed, showering her with warm mucus. She let slip a high-pitched squeak that would have left Fluttershy green with timid envy, and in response, the monster belted out a deafening roar that would have left Fluttershy dead from sheer terror.
Instead of taking that option, Twilight chose to spin around and dart back the way she had come. Her heartbeat had begun to pound in her ears, just barely slower than the tempo of her hoofsteps. The obsessive-compulsive part of her mind considered slowing the pace so both would fall into perfect rhythm when another roar brought her crashing right back to reality. She shook her head, then darted around a door that she thought would lead back the way she had come and slammed it shut behind her.
The room was long and narrow, with a row of moldy coats and rotting coat-hangers hanging on either side. An archway on the other end gaped wide open. It took her beset mind a few seconds to realize that she had gone through the wrong door.
"Bad, bad, bad," she mumbled, thoughts whirling.
Then her face lit up, and she nearly laughed. All she had to do was teleport to safety, then find Rainbow and Vinyl and regroup. She took a wide-legged stance and drew the magic like she always had, but before she even had a chance to shape it into any sort of meaningful spell, a searing stripe of agony lanced across her skull, emanating from the horn's base.
When she opened her eyes, she was lying on the ground--she hadn't even realized that she had fallen--and her illumination spell had once more been lost.
"Small spells," Twilight mumbled with a groan, pushing herself back up. She collected the magic to again light up the room, careful this time to make sure her injured horn could handle the strain. With that accomplished, she turned her mind towards escape.
Would it be worth it to go out into the hallway and try again to find her way back to a familiar path? Was the monster still out there? Maybe it was worth a peek. She had just turned around and reached for the door handle when a distant rumbling made her pause. From beyond the door, loud thumps approached, the sound of heavy hoofsteps making the floorboards creak and shaking the walls. The noises came to a sudden stop right outside the door, and she heard something grunt loudly.
Backing away, Twilight gulped. The idea of going back no longer enticed her, not with a massive, hungry, fish-looking Octavia ready to burst into the room. Briefly,she considered hiding in behind the coats. Maybe the reek of decaying cloth would throw off the thing's sense of smell, and if she released the light spell, it wouldn't be able to see her. Then, she could wait for it to wander off before backtracking to find Rainbow and Vinyl. But what if the thing could smell her amidst the mold? The thought of trapping herself and then relying on assumptions left a sour taste in her mouth.
Something sniffled against the crack underneath the door. Whatever Twilight did, she had to make up her mind--the longer she waited, the longer the monster had to break in. As though responding to that thought, the door shook beneath a massive blow, making her leap back. Her heart, which had begun to slow a bit, once more resumed its relentless pounding. The door shook again, and Twilight made up her mind.
She spun and galloped towards the archway.
Just as she passed through, a loud crash from behind told her that she had chosen just in time. She glanced back to see the shark-Octavia shaking splinters out of its mane before letting loose another chilling scream and charging forward.
Twilight barely had time to register the room's contents--a small lounge with a few dusty bottles of liquor adorning the shelves--before she shot towards another door. The monster barreled into the room behind her right as she slammed the door shut and galloped across this new room, which, judging by the four dusty, round tables, probably used to be a dining area. Another crunching noise made her wince, and she realized that this time the door hadn't even slowed the beast. She put her head down and pushed herself to run faster.
Through a sitting room, down a short hallway, into a bedroom, through a shared bathroom--she wasn't even stopping to think anymore about the rooms that she passed through. All that mattered to her was the thing that had once been Octavia, always close behind, flattening any obstacle Twilight threw in its way. Closed doors, flipped tables, and even at one point an old set of glass marbles--it barreled through everything unfortunate enough to get in its way, all the while gaining on its quarry inch by horrifying inch.
As the chase went on, Twilight found herself tiring more quickly than she cared to admit. Her breathing came faster and more labored, and her hooves began to feel like she was wearing lead horse-shoes. The light spell that she had maintained for so long without so much as a flicker started to waver and fade along with her energy. Unfortunately, shark-Octavia didn't seem to have the same problem; it kept up its relentless pace without faltering. The distance between them closed at an ever increasing rate. When she glanced back over her shoulder, she could see its gaping mouth chomping at the air in anticipation for the upcoming meal.
A sudden realization hit Twilight as she rounded a corner and forced her quickly tiring legs to carry her down yet another hallway. If things carried on like they were, she would end up ripped to pieces when the monster finally caught up to her. She needed to do something to throw it off, and she needed to do it soon. Then an idea hit her. All she needed was another room to appear.
Within seconds she saw a pair of double doors thrown wide open on her left; she hurried through without a second thought. Then, before shark-Octavia had a chance to come roaring in after her, she spread her wings and, with a few powerful strokes, lifted herself right above the entrance. Hovering was still difficult for her, but at least the muscles she used to fly were still fresh after the madcap dash through the mansion. She released the magic that fueled the light on the end of her horn; absolute darkness descended over her as her eyes struggled to adjust to the change, but she had no other real choice. The thought of trying to sneak behind the monster only to be foiled by her own magic almost made Twilight chuckle. Almost.
Pounding hoofsteps beneath her heralded the monster's entry as it blew into the room and skidded to a stop. She could almost see its confusion in the near-darkness. However, that confusion would only last for a moment until it smelled around and found her. Before that could happen, Twilight descended on silent wings, then drifted back out into the hallway. She thanked whoever had built this place for making these double doors wide enough for her to pass through without clipping her wings on the frame.
Having lost its attention, Twilight half-flew and half-glided down the hallway, back the way she had come. Staying airborne in such tight quarters wasn't easy and quickly burned through what little energy she had left, but she couldn't land and risk the monster hearing her hoofsteps. Hopefully it would just stay put in the room back there until long after she hunted down Rainbow and Vinyl; maybe, if they all put their heads together, they could figure out just what was going on.
Then her head smashed into something hanging from the ceiling and sent a loud, metallic clattering ringing through the air. While the darkness meant the monster couldn't see her, it also meant that she couldn't see the chandelier that she had blundered into. Her horn screamed in protest from the unintentional impact, and her flapping wings faltered. She landed on shaky hooves as a loud roar from behind told her that her cover was blown. Reigniting the blazing light on the end of her horn, she spotted an open door and slipped in, hopefully before shark-Octavia could see anything. The door shut with a soft click behind her a second later.
No need for sneaking now, Twilight thought, glancing over her shoulder.
A dim, flickering flare burst forth from her horn, and she glanced around--not that there was much to glance at. Her forehooves had fallen inches short of sending her tumbling down the dusty, wooden stairwell before her. The walls pressed in on either side as she stared into the gaping maw that awaited her below. She hesitated; pursued by a hungry pony-turned-monster, the last thing she wanted was to get lost, or--even worse--trapped beneath the ground.
Heavy hoofsteps and familiar grunting from right outside the door sent shivers skittering down her spine, reminding her that she didn't have much in the way of alternatives. Again she tried to focus her magic enough to teleport herself to safety, and again her forehead cried out in agony. She collapsed against the wall and rubbed the base of her horn; it felt as though her skull had been stabbed, cracked, split open to expose its steaming contents to the still, dry air. Twilight shuddered at the imagery.
"Great," she muttered as the once-Octavia monster bumped up against the door. Heaving a weary sigh, she put her best hoof forward and began her descent into the dark unknown.
If an average, everyday pony found herself wandering aimlessly through a supposedly haunted manor with no idea where she was or where she should be going, she would likely come to the conclusion that she was lost. Armed with that knowledge, she could then either try to backtrack to a more familiar location or stay put until someone found her, amongst a number of other solutions. An average, everyday pony would probably not press forward with the assumption that everything would turn out alright in the end.
Rainbow Dash was not an average, everyday pony. Besides, she wasn't even lost--only losers got lost, and she was certainly no loser. She just didn't quite know where she was. Or where she was going. Or how to get back to her friends.
She gave her head a hard shake--definitely not lost.
The door creaked open before her, and she crept into what she felt must have been the hundredth hallway. Shaking eyes, just barely able to see in the near-darkness, darted down one side of the hall, then the other in search of anything waiting for her in the shadows.
She yelped and jumped when the walls shook; over the past few minutes, the wind had picked up to the point where she could hear it anywhere in the house, not just in a room with windows. Her heart felt like it wanted to burst out of her chest from how hard it was pounding. Suddenly, she smacked herself across the face.
"What do you think you're doing?" she said to the empty hall. "It should take more than darkness and a bit of wind to scare Rainbow Dash!"
The only answer was the howling wind, keening its mournful song.
"And a dumb haunted house," she added begrudgingly.
Suddenly a loud thump from behind brought her spinning around. It had sounded like something falling onto a wooden floor.
Rainbow gulped. "Hello?" she said. Her voice cracked on the second syllable--she was thirsty, of course--and she cleared her throat. "Vinyl? Twilight?"
When no answer came forth, she shuffled in the direction the sound had come from. Her hooves slid silently over the thick carpet, and she fought to bring her breathing under control. She wasn't afraid. She wasn't afraid at all.
A dark doorway that she could barely see loomed to her right. She could vaguely make out some dark shapes inside--furniture, probably--but still nothing specific. Curiosity warred with not-fear as she stood there, knees quaking.
"Twilight?" she whispered. "Rabbit?"
Suddenly, everything was enveloped in pure-white light; through a now-visible window, she saw a forked bolt of lightning arc through the sky. In that instant, she could make out a large bedroom before her, with a bed against the far wall and a wardrobe to the right. Then the light winked out and she was once more left in the darkness, sparks dancing in her eyes.
She grunted, then screamed when thunder cracked the sky apart, shaking the house more fiercely than the wind ever had. By the time the rumbling died down, Rainbow found herself huddled against the wall.
Blood pounded in her ears, seemingly in contest with her heart-beats to see which one could pulse more loudly only to find themselves easily outdone by her chattering teeth.
"Should've gone with Twilight," she mumbled.
Another flare of lightning filled the house, and this time she made out more details--the torn curtains haphazardly flung across the windows but failing to cover much at all; the mattress which lay half-on the bed, with the other half hanging over the edge; the foal's crib with railings only on one side.
And the round goblet lying in the middle of the floor, still rolling back and forth from when it had fallen. The lightning vanished, but the image remained branded on her eyes.
Rainbow's heart stopped beating entirely for a full second before it resumed its race towards the end of her life. Had the goblet truly been moving? If so, who had knocked it over? She and her friends were the only ones in the manor, and if it had been one of them, they would have answered her call earlier.
"Which means nopony knocked anything over and that dumb cup's been sitting there forever since the beginning of time not moving forever," she concluded. After saying the words out loud, she felt relief blossom in her chest, only for it to immediately wither as a thunderclap crashed down over her.
A third bolt of lightning flashed, and Rainbow gasped. The goblet was right in front of her. Her hooves had carried her over to it without her even realizing. Up close, she could make out the ornate jewels set into the rim. She reached out to take it.
Something fell on her shoulder. "Hey, kid, what are you--"
She didn't hear a word of it. With a wordless shriek, she bucked out with her hind legs. Her hoof connected with something solid, but instead of waiting to see what, she tore out of the room and down the hallway.
Not that she was scared or anything; she just wanted to be not-scared somewhere else..
The cool, damp air made Twilight shiver as she made her way down the stairs. The walls had been smooth and wooden when she began her descent, but along the way they had transitioned into roughly hewn rounded stone right about the same time the tunnel had started twisting and turning instead of continuing in a straight line. As the staircase led further into the depths, the air had grown damper and damper until finally condensation began to form a slick sheen on every surface. More than once Twilight's hoof had slipped, almost sending her skidding the rest of the way down on her chin.
She came to another bend in the tunnel and glanced behind her. The pale, flickering light from her horn glared so harshly on the slimy walls that she had to squint in order to see. How many stairs she walked down so far? At least a hundred, but probably more. She wished she had been counting the whole time, but she hadn't thought this would lead to anything other than a simple basement. Instead, she found herself on the stairway to the center of Equestria itself.
Her ears swiveled around as discordant, snarling echoes crashed down around her from back up the stairs, and she wasted no time in resuming her descent, wings spread just enough to help her balance.
"I should've just gone home," she muttered, pulse quickening. "But nooo, Rainbow Dash had to eep!" The yelp came from her forehoof slipping to the side as she put her weight on it. Only frantic scrabbling with her other legs kept her from falling forward.
Ahead, the tunnel twisted left and she turned with it, only to come to an immediate halt. Her eyes grew as wide as saucers. She had finally reached the bottom of the stairway, where the tunnel leveled out.
Too bad it was also flooded.
Turgid brown water lapped at Twilight's hooves; it felt disturbingly warm, considering the air temperature. At least she finally knew why the air was so moist.
Although the walls on the way down were rounded--likely because of the effort required to make them perfectly flat, Twilight postulated--they had been more meticulously hewn down here at the bottom, such that the tunnel almost looked like a proper hallway. The ceiling was still fairly rough and uneven, but at least it didn't look ready to collapse on her. Bottle racks lined the walls on either side, and Twilight could see in the quavering light that at least half of the spaces were still occupied.
"A wine cellar," she said to herself, grinning as she took the sight in. "It has to be deep to keep the temperature low."
The tunnel continued forward for a few dozen yards before twisting to the right and out of sight. She wondered how far it actually went.
A thunderous roar from behind made her jump, reminding her that she didn't have the luxury of indulging her inner scholar. The monster probably still had a long way to go before it caught up, but that last bellow had sounded clearer than the ones before. It was gaining ground.
Twilight eyed the water; it probably wasn't so deep that she couldn't wade through it. A full four or five feet separated the water's surface from the ceiling, which meant it would likely come up to her belly at the most. The small lake had a vivid brown color in her spell's illumination, one that would have given even Applejack pause before hopping in. Twilight noticed a few bits of debris drifting around lazily. In particular, a large board knocked up against the bottle rack on the tunnel's right side. She would have to be careful not to run into any hidden obstacles or step on something sharp underneath the water where she couldn't see it. It wasn't a sure thing that an open wound would get infected, but considering how dirty the water was, she didn't want to chance it.
Once more her head twisted around to stare back up the stairs, only to snap forward as a splashing noise echoed in the tight space. Ripples fanned out from a point right by the tunnel's bend, and the wooden board now rocked as though something had just bumped into it.
"Hello?" she called in an undertone, hoping that Rainbow or Vinyl would poke their head around the corner. "Is somepony there?"
Nobody answered.
She glanced up at the ceiling; it looked like parts of it had crumbled in the time since it had been hewn however many years ago. Maybe the splash had just been a bit of stone dropping into the water while her attention was focused in a different direction. Or maybe it was an animal that had somehow made its home down here.
After a moment's thought, Twilight frowned. The mansion was in a normal stretch of woods, which should have normal woodland critters as opposed to the far more intimidating specimens found in the Everfree. The most dangerous creatures Twilight had to worry about were wolves, bears, and maybe even a mountain lion, none of which would hide underwater in an attempt to ambush her.
Then again, never in her wildest dreams would she have predicted she would be on the run from a pony-turned-shark, so her conclusion had to be swallowed with a very large grain of salt.
Yet another snarling roar came down, and Twilight realized she was out of time for deliberation. She could push on into the cloudy water and take her chances with whatever might live in its murky depths, or she could wait for the monster to catch up and kill her for certain. Without a second thought, she leapt forward, wincing as she sank almost up to her neck before finally touching the floor. It was deeper than she had imagined, but there was no going back. She could hear snuffling, which meant that her pursuer was close. The spell lighting the hallway winked out with a sputter, and she waded on. Her wings spread out to touch the walls and keep her from running into anything when the tunnel turned.
After the first bend right, the path hooked right again almost immediately, then continued straight. Every step she took stretched her nerves to their limits; she couldn't afford to take the time needed to test the ground before moving forward and constantly expected to crash into something blocking her way.
A sharp cough came from behind, followed by loud splashing. The shark had moved into the water, a fact that made Twilight want to hurry.
Then she froze solid as something slimy brushed up against her left leg.
She strained her senses in an effort to hear or see something, but it did her no good. All was silent aside from her raspy breathing and the splashing, which clearly was coming closer. She gulped. Maybe it had just been a bit of debris. Maybe she could just keep going and nothing would attack her. She took a hesitant step forward.
That same something slid alongside her right flank as it passed by. She wasn't alone.
Unfortunately, she also had very few choices to act upon. With her horn injured, she couldn't do anything more than light everything up and maybe lift light objects, so magic was out. That left the same two options as before--move forward and probably get attacked and eaten, or stay still and definitely get attacked and eaten. She gulped indecisively.
A moment later, the choice was taken out of her hooves when something long and supple wrapped around her foreleg.
"What--"
Whatever she had been about to say turned into a yelp; she found herself hurtling down into the water, which barely had time to crash over her head before the thing holding her leg pulled her down the hallway at an alarming speed. It whipped her left around a corner, then right along a bend, and then left again; after the tenth turn, Twilight lost track of what direction she was going in and instead focused on getting free. Her free legs reached out to grab hold of something--anything, really--but whenever they found anything even remotely promising, they were yanked free by her abductor.
She punched at the thing holding her; its spongy flesh gave under her hoof, so she struck again and again. There was no indication whether or not she had hurt it at all, but at least it felt like she was doing something useful. She lashed out over and over until her leg began to ache, and then smacked the soft limb a few more times for good measure. Suddenly it stopped dragging her and slithered around both her forelegs, pinning them together before resuming the madcap race through the flooded tunnels.
Twilight's lungs began to sear; she needed air, and whatever this thing was, it wasn't giving her a chance to breathe. Her thoughts grew fuzzy as she desperately fought to breach the water's surface, hind legs flailing frantically in all directions. At that point she had no idea which was up or down.
Then, just as she began to realize she was about to die, the tentacle's grip disappeared and her momentum slowed. Her scrabbling hooves found the ground, and she pushed up as hard as she could. Her head burst out of the water into the chill air, which she gulped at hungrily. None of the fancy meals she had eaten during her tenure as a princess even came close to how delicious the briny-smelling air tasted in that moment. Her lungs burned with every breathe, telling her that she hadn't died.
A full minute passed before her fuzzy thoughts returned to reality, and she realized what, exactly had just happened. She couldn't hear anything other than the sound of water lapping up against the walls. No snarls, no growls, no roars--nothing. With a gulp, she dared reignite the light spell, wincing when her horn throbbed in protest. Cold light filled the space.
Instead of a tunnel, she now stood in a large, square room, with a pillar in each corner. Gigantic kegs rose out of the water and stretched almost to the ceiling. Those kegs, however, didn't do nearly as good a job of catching her attention as the staircase set into the wall behind her. Without thinking twice, Twilight swiped a swathe of soaked mane out of her face and scrambled up the steps.
On the way up she slowly regained her composure; the harsh breathing diminished and finally returned to normal, although her lungs still reminded her that they ached every few seconds. Similarly, her heartbeats slowed to the point where she couldn't hear them pounding in her ears. Her thoughts raced between Octavia's transformation, whatever that thing in the water had been, and her role in all of it.
Rough stone walls soon transitioned to brick as she moved further and further away from the wine cellar, and the stairs went from being carved into the rock to proper wooden steps. Before she knew it, she found herself coming up beneath a sturdy looking trapdoor. She gingerly pushed against it with both hooves, and a grin split her muzzle as the rough wooden door lifted up. She slipped through before dropping it back down, careful not to make any loud noises.
The stairs had led her into a small room with a single door, aside from the trapdoor Twilight had emerged from in the corner. Short stacks of rotting wood teetered against each other. The brick walls were mostly intact, with only few spots where the mortar had begun to crumble away.
Focusing on a pile of logs, she stepped up to it for a closer look. "Firewood?" A rusty axe leaned up against the wall, and she nodded. "Probably firewood, yeah."
It hadn't occurred to her on her way back up, but now Twilight inspected the walls with a more critical eye. Where the parts of the mansion she had walked through earlier had been made of wood and stone, this room and the top part of the stairwell used brick instead.
"A more recent addition, maybe?" A hoof reached up to rub her chin.
Any further musings were cut off when a sharp slapping noise rang out. A second later she heard the noise again, then again. She slowly swiveled towards the room's only doorway, which looked ominously in her flickering hot light.
Twilight, well-read pony that she was, had read at least a dozen horror novels that she could remember. In these stories, the characters always split up, as she had told Vinyl earlier. They also investigated noises and sights that they clearly shouldn't. Looking back at what she had gone through over the past hour, Twilight recognized this sound as one she shouldn't even think about going towards.
She was only mildly surprised to find herself tiptoeing through the doorway, where the noise had come from.
Thunder cracked overhead, but Twilight didn't even flinch, so set was she on whatever evil monster waited for her in the next room. She heard it make that slapping sound again and again, each one coming at even intervals. As she emerged into the next room--a boiler room, it looked like--her eyes darted back and forth.
Serpentine pipes crawled along the ceiling and the walls. The room was cluttered with a few rusted gears, at least a dozen scattered tools, and a pile of metal parts left in the corner. Distantly, she wondered what all of this had been for, and which of the mansion's former inhabitants used this as their workshop. An old furnace stood in the room's center, looming over everything else but not presenting anything of interest to Twilight; her gaze slid right past it, only to snap back a moment later when that noise came again. Whatever made it was right on the furnace's other side.
Last chance to run, she thought, even as she craned her head around to take a peek. A second later, all of the uncertainty sloughed from her face, replaced by a hard expression. Her horn began to glow purple as she cast a simple spell. The expected stab of pain didn't even slow her down.
"Bad!" she shouted, whipping her magically conjured newspaper at Angel Bunny, who sat hunched forward on the furnace's far side. The makeshift club cracked down on the poor little would-be horror's head right between the ears. "Bad bunny! I told you to knock that off!" Even though her horn stung from the use of magic, the gratification she felt was more than worth a little bit of pain.
After failing to shield himself from the third smack, Angel tried to dart away; he didn't even get close to the doorway before Twilight caught him up in her magic. She floated him over to dangle right in front of her face, upside down and most certainly unhappy if the daggers shooting out of his eyes were any indication.
"Don't you give me that look," she said, matching his glare. "After what I went through, I'm in no mood for your horse hockey, buster."
He narrowed his eyes.
"Oh you have no idea. I got chased through a mansion by Octavia, who by the way turned into a giant shark with legs! With less luck, she'd be picking me out of her teeth right now. Then some weird creepy tentacle monster I never even got a good look at dragged me through a flooded basement! Did I mention that there's a flooded basement? Because there's a flooded basement. I almost drowned!" She paused to take a breath.
Angel simply snorted.
"Hold on," Twilight said, putting her nose an inch away from his. "You don't believe me, do you?"
Nod.
She shook him from side to side. "Have you ever even met me? You think I'm the type of pony to make up stories about shark monsters and underwater tentacle things?"
He began to nod again, then paused. With a sigh, he begrudgingly shook his head.
"I didn't think so." She gave him a smug grin. "Now let's go." Her magic lowered him to the ground before letting go. "We need to go find Rainbow Dash and Vinyl Scratch before shark-Octavia does."
Angel dusted himself off and hopped over to her leg, ostensibly to climb up onto her back. He squeaked when she shoved him back.
"Nice try," Twilight said. "No way are you touching me with those paws ever again. I know what you were doing back there."
Fluttershy tapped her on the shoulder. "What was Angel doing?"
"I caught him doing that--" Twilight shrieked and leapt away, cracking her head on a low pipe. The searing agony that stabbed through her brain left her crouching on the floor. She heard Fluttershy's scream a split second after hers.
"Sorry!" Fluttershy said with a hoof over her mouth. "I didn't mean to frighten you!"
Twilight took a few hissing breaths, then straightened up. "It's--fine." Her horn, which had only seconds ago stopped aching, began to throb again in nauseating waves. "It's--Fluttershy, what are you doing? When did you get here? Why did you get here? I just--I have no idea what's happening."
Fluttershy's gaze drifted to the floor. "Well, um, I was just thinking that Angel is only a baby bunny, and he's so little and vulnerable, and I just couldn't bear to let him wander this place all by himself, so..."
"You know we're looking after him, right?"
"Oh, of course I do!" Fluttershy said. "It's just, with Rainbow Dash here and all, I was worried that, um..."
Twilight snorted. "I get it."
"Please don't tell her."
"I won't." Twilight rubbed her head a bit more, hoping she could touch it without her horn throbbing. She was wrong. "It's weird, though--I thought you'd be terrified of this place, but you seem totally fine."
Fluttershy gave a sweet smile as Angel Bunny scurried up onto her back. "Oh, no, I've never been so terrified in my entire life. I've just come full-circle after getting thrown through a window, followed by a bunch of creepy noises, and ambushed by an icky clown doll. Oh, and don't forget the ghost pirate. He had a peg leg and everything!"
"I doubt you actually ran into a ghost," Twilight said.
"It was more running from him than into him."
Twilight rolled her eyes. "Of course. Still, I'm proud of you for making it this far by yourself."
Still smiling, Fluttershy pointed behind her. "A few minutes ago, I threw up in some cute little washroom back there! That's just ridiculous of me, don't you think so?"
"Insanity made manifest," Twilight agreed, grimacing in tandem with Angel. She sighed; at least she could kind of ignore her headache if she didn't think about it too hard. As though on cue, her horn twinged, making her wince.
"Are you alright?" Fluttershy tilted her head. "Did something--" Her eyes widened as a dramatic gasp slipped past her lips. "Twilight, your horn! Oh my gosh, what happened? Does it hurt? Are you hurt? What are you going to--"
Twilight shushed her yammering friend. "Relax. It's just a chipped horn. It'll heal." She squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. "But forget about that--we need to go. If you start feeling like you need to rest, just let me know and I'll do what I can."
"Thank you, Twilight, but that won't be necessary," Fluttershy said with a proud smile. "Just so long as I don't let myself stop and think about all the horrifying things I've experienced, everything should be perfectly fine." After a few moments, her grin melted away. "Oh, poo."
"Yep," Twilight muttered. "That seems about right." Of the two doors, one only led back towards the wine cellar. The other, pipes crawling around the cusps, ostensibly led back into the mansion proper, so she chose that one to walk towards.
"Um." Fluttershy cleared her throat. "Twilight?"
Twilight paused in the doorframe. "Yes?"
"I my nana--" Fluttershy cut herself off with a high-pitched titter, then tried again. "I might need just an eensy, weensy, teensy bit of help. Um, please."
"What is it?" Twilight fought the urge to scowl. "We don't have time to waste."
"I cana--I cahana--" For a moment she couldn't force the words out until Angel gave her a supporting pat on the shoulder. "I c-can't, um, move."
Twilight sighed. "Can't because you're scared, or can't because you just literally cannot?"
"Um." Fluttershy shrunk in place. "Yes."
"I see," Twilight said, taking a step forward. "Fluttershy, I know this is absolutely awful for you, but it's alright--no matter what happens, I'll keep you sa--"
A hoof slid out of the gloom and grabbed her shoulder. "You think you can answer me a few questions, gorgeous?" came a stallion's voice.
At the contact, Twilight screamed again and jumped away. Fortunately, she managed to twist out of this unknown stallion's grasp. Unfortunately, her skull cracked against another pipe in exactly the same spot as before. She collapsed in a blubbering heap.
"Was it somethin' I said?" The stranger stepped forward into the light of her spell, which she had miraculously maintained even through all the blunt trauma. She couldn't see his face due to both his wide-brimmed hat and the high collar on the trench coat he wore. She couldn't even tell what kind of pony he was. "You okay, doll?"
"Haven't you ponies ever heard of calling out?" Twilight sobbed, rocking back and forth. "Is that so hard to do?"
The stallion crouched down. "Babycakes, where I come from, you don't go callin' for trouble. Trouble goes callin' for you."
"That makes no sense!" The last word turned into a wail as Twilight's horn sputtered and sent a particularly unpleasant pulse through her skull. "Start making sense!"
"You want sense? Dollface, sense is a luxury ponies like me don't get. My world is a rough one. Dark. Dirty." He paused to readjust his hat. "Dangerous. Like an Apploosan outhouse right after the rodeo. In my line of work, a stallion can't walk down an alley without getting mugged three times and murdered twice, and that's on a good day. The ponies want a hero, but they'll settle for the next best thing. That's where I come in." From the depths of his coat, a hoof whipped out to present a small white card. "The name's Noir. Pinot Noir, private eye."
Twilight took the card with a sniffle. "Thank you?"
"Thank me later. For now, something smells fishy, and I don't mean the tomato over there with the shaking legs."
"Sorry," Fluttershy whimpered.
He waved a hoof in her direction, then returned his attention to Twilight. "Now, Duchess, tell me everything you know about sharks."
"Sharks?" Twilight clambered to her feet.
"Sharks," Pinot said. "And I ain't talking about the card-playing variety."
She had her mouth open to answer when she got a glimpse of his face. His white, creamy coat was stained blue by wicked-looking bruise around his left eye. "Did somepony hit you?"
"You mean this shiner?" He lifted the hat, letting the light fall over his face. "Some crazy broad upstairs slugged me good. Trust me, dollface, it ain't the first time. Now, the sharks. Sing for me."
"What do you want to know about sharks for?" Twilight said.
"Some bird wants me to ice a four-legged one." Pinot's eyes shifted back and forth as though the shark were in the room with them and would reveal itself if only he looked hard enough.
"Ah." Twilight glanced at Fluttershy and Angel, both of whom shrugged. "Sorry, but I haven't seen any sharks around here."
His gaze stopped dancing around and focused on hers. "Don't be taking me for a bum, doll. Nobody--and I mean nobody--plays me for a sucker and gets away with it."
"If we run into any sharks, you'll be the third pony to know." Twilight wiped at her eyes, then rose onto wobbly legs.
"Um." Fluttershy gave a delicate cough. "Shark?"
"You're sure you ain't seen no sharks lurking around?" Pinot said. At Twilight's nod, he added, "Absolutely, positively, one-hundred percent sure?"
"Nope, not in this mansion!" Twilight said with a laugh. Before she could say anything further, a faint cry warbled through the air. Her ears swiveled around. "Fluttershy, did you hear that?"
Fluttershy stood stock-still, wide-eyed and staring at her hooves. Twilight trotted over and tapped her on the shoulder.
"Fluttershy."
"Eeeek!" Fluttershy recoiled so quickly that Angel tumbled to the floor. He glared up at her.
"Fluttershy," Twilight said again. "Did you hear that?"
Fluttershy's chest heaved with every breath. "Twilight! Hello! Um, what a--what nice night we're having this weather! We--"
"Fluttershy." Twilight held her groan in check. "Stay with me."
"I'm here!" Fluttershy stammered. "With you! I mean, here with you! Right here, in the basement, here with you, in the haunted spooky giant creepy haunted basement creepy thingy I'm here I'm with--"
Twilight sighed and turned back to Pinot. "At least tell me that you heard--"
She found herself talking to empty air; Pinot had disappeared.
"Seriously?" she said, spinning on Fluttershy. "Would you believe that's the second time this has happened to me tonight?"
"Right here, with you," Fluttershy mumbled as she cowered in place.
"I think I heard somepony cry out." Twilight closed her eyes and listened as hard as she could, but other than the sound of her breathing and Fluttershy's muttering, nothing presented itself. "We need to go find Rainbow Dash and Vinyl as soon as we can
This time Twilight didn't even try to keep the exasperated groan in. "Fine. Fine, if that's how it's going to be, then that's how it's going to be."
She glanced at Angel Bunny, who had resumed his place on Fluttershy's back. Before he could finish making himself comfortable, though, a magical aura snared him up into the air, only to drop him back down on a grimacing Twilight.
"This is a one-time thing only," she hissed at the glaring Angel. If looks could kill, she would have been vaporized on the spot. "I can't run and maintain two spells at once, so just this once, you get a ride." She coughed in Fluttershy's direction. "Alright, Fluttershy, Angel and I are going, now!"
Fluttershy gave her a blank look. "Pardon?"
"Angel and I are going, I said."
"Going?" Fluttershy shook her head, expression still glazed over. "Going where?"
"Oh, you know," Twilight said with a shrug. "Taking a walk, watching the stars, feeding Angel to the evil hungry shark monster--average, everyday things." She trotted towards the doorway.
"I see. Have fun, then." A few seconds passed before Fluttershy's eyes shot open. "Wait, what?"
Angel tried to jump off, but Twilight pinned him down under a wing. "Just giving Mr. Shark a nice, fuzzy snack."
Through the door she found a set of dusty stairs to the next floor and began to make her way up. She wondered if Pinot Noir had come this way or if he had somehow snuck back in the direction Twilight had come from. He was in for a nasty surprise if he did the latter, but she didn't have time to worry about him. First on her list was to get Fluttershy moving, and after that she had to make finding Rainbow and Vinyl her top priority. Despite the throbbing in her head, she allowed herself a small smile when she heard light hoofsteps on the stairs behind her.
"You--you weren't really going to feed Angel to a shark monster," Fluttershy said softly. "Were you?"
Twilight glanced back, allowing her friend to catch up. Angel hopped off of Twilight and scrambled up his mother's leg. "Only if he behaves himself and doesn't do things he's not supposed to."
"Like what?"
"He was--" Twilight broke off when, from Fluttershy's back, Angel dropped to his knees and made a pleading gesture. Her mouth snapped shut.
Fluttershy blinked. "He was what?"
Angel continued to beg silently, fear etched onto his face. Twilight gave a loud sigh. "He knows what he did, and he knows not to do it again." Angel collapsed forward.
"I hope it wasn't that, um, that thing we talked about before," Fluttershy said. "Nopony likes to take their pet to get fixed, but sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and do it!" Her chest swelled as she let a confident smile spread.
Twilight stared at her for a moment longer before slowly resuming her pace up the stairs. She felt a sudden wave of sympathy for poor Angel. "You're absolutely right, Fluttershy."
A few moments later, they came to an open door at the top of the stairs, Twilight saw everything light up for an instant, followed seconds later by a crack of thunder that shook the walls and made Fluttershy shriek. Little bits of debris from the ceiling came free and showered the two mares.
"Has it been storming this whole time?" Twilight wondered out loud.
"Ever since I--" Fluttershy yelped again as more thunder rumbled through the house. "E-ever since I got here, y-yes."
Twilight paused to scratch her chin. "I don't remember any storms in the forecast, though."
They trotted through the door and found themselves at the end of a long hallway with doors up and down either side. The light from Twilight's spell only reached part of the way to the hall's other end. Now that they had left the basement, she could faintly hear the sound of rain pounding on the mansion's roof and wind whistling past the outer walls.
She glanced back at Fluttershy, who had deathly pale, but before she could speak, a long creak came from outside of her spell's range. Someone had opened a door. Twilight strode ahead and spread her wings.
"Fluttershy, stay behind me." Her eyes strained to see anything in the darkness, but the light ruined her night vision. "And be ready to start running."
"Alright," Fluttershy squeaked.
Another squeak resounded in the tight hallway, and then Twilight heard a hoofstep, followed by another. They were coming closer.
"Who is it?" she called, fighting to keep her knees from shaking at the thought of another chase through the mansion.
Just when she was certain that the approaching steps belonged to yet another monster, a voice called out. "Twilight? That you?" Out from the shadows, a dirty Vinyl Scratch stumbled into the light. What looked like black soot covered her coat, and her mane was even more disheveled than before. "Oh geez, thank Celestia. I actually found somepony."
"Are you alright?" Twilight galloped up for a closer inspection. "What happened?"
"Well, ah--" Vinyl cleared her throat. "It's a little embarrassing, so, uh, you think you could keep this a secret from Dash?"
Twilight glanced back at Fluttershy, who shrugged. "Sure?"
"So I'm wandering around looking for the loot, see, and I find one of those old-timey fireplaces, right? And I think to myself, maybe there's something hiding up the chimney, so I stick my head in, and, uh--" She gave a nervous laugh.
"And you got stuck," Twilight offered.
"Yeah." Vinyl scratched the back of her head. "Yeah, I got stuck, but I got out. So, where is everypony? I left Dash behind in some random dining room, so we can go pick her up next. Where's Tavi?"
Twilight winced. "Vinyl, I have some terrible news for you."
"About Tavi?" Vinyl took a step forward, concern dripping from her voice. "What happened? Did she sprain a leg or something? Where is she?"
"It's..." The light from Twilight's spell glanced from the other mare's glasses, making it nearly impossible to look her in the face. "I... We were just looking around, and she... I don't honestly know how to put this."
Vinyl moved right into Twilight's face. "Just tell me. What happened to my fiance?"
"She turned into a shark!" Twilight yelled, falling back. Her words hung in the air for the long moment of silence that followed.
"She turned into a shark?" Vinyl said at last.
Twilight couldn't look into the other mare's face, so she glued her eyes to the floor. "I'm sorry, I couldn't--" A sudden peal of laughter cut her off.
"She turned into a shark?" Vinyl said in between chuckles.
"No, really!" Twilight yanked her gaze back up, then remembered that she couldn't even see Vinyl's eyes behind those shades anyway. "She really did! She turned into some kind of-of pony shark and tried to murder me!"
"Stop it!" Vinyl said, leaning against the wall so she could clutch her ribs with both forelegs. Her laughter echoed off the walls. "You're gonna make me pee myself!"
Twilight felt a twinge of irritation, but before she could act on it, Fluttershy tapped her on the shoulder. The timid pegasus wrung her forehooves together. "Um, didn't you tell that stallion downstairs there were no sharks here?"
"Well, yes," Twilight said, "but that's because the shark is Octavia and he wanted to kill her. Of course I told him there were no sharks here."
"Oh."
Roaring with laughter, Vinyl pounded the wall. Tears rolled down her cheeks and cut furrows in the ash-coated fur. "Okay, Tavi." She pushed herself up onto trembling legs. "Come on out, now, the joke's over!"
"Vinyl--" Twilight began.
"Where is she?" Vinyl craned her head to peek around the other mares. "Is she hiding behind you?" Another round of chuckles slipped past her lips. "You really got me. Tavi a shark--ha!"
As Twilight's eyelid twitched, a pulse of agony ran through her skull. She took a deep breath. "Vinyl. This isn't a joke."
"Knock it off," Vinyl said as she straightened up, still grinning. "It was funny, but we got stuff to do. Where is she?"
"I told you, she turned into a sha--"
"I said to knock it off!" Vinyl snapped. Her smile vanished in an instant. "I know you're lying. This is just the type of thing she'd do, making up some story about turning into a monster or whatever so I look stupid when I believe it."
"I'm telling the truth!" Twilight said, ears lying down flat. "The thing that chased me through half of this stupid mansion was not somepony trying to prank you."
Vinyl stomped a few steps away, then spun back. "You really think I'll fall for this, won't you?" Her lips curled into a sneer. "I wouldn't believe you if you said she turned into a nicer pony, so no way will you ever sell the story that my fiance transformed into a big, dumb shark."
Twilight had a retort ready to go, but before she could fire it off, the wall beside Vinyl exploded. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the monster that had once been Octavia fell over her fiance and shoved the poor mare head-first into her cavernous mouth. With Vinyl's hind legs still kicking in the air, the beast crashed through the opposite wall and kept on going.
In the aftermath of the shark-Octavia's appearance, all that could be heard were her pounding hoofsteps, growing quieter as she galloped away, and the sound of splinters still falling from the broken walls. A cloud of dust had been kicked up and now drifted lazily through the air.
A state of numb clarity draped itself over Twilight. The responsible part of her demanded that she charge after the escaping beast, but her hooves were glued to the hardwood floor. She turned her dumb gaze back at the shaken Fluttershy and uttered the only three words that seemed to make sense at that particular point in time.
"Told you so." |
Lightening Fluttershy's Dark Sky | pre | "That was a weird movie..." Fluttershy reviewed it once it was over. "There were no scenes in the movie, it was all dialogue on a screen. And someone kept talking throughout the whole thing..."
"Heh heh, you don't say..." Celestia hid a megaphone behind her back sheepishly.
"So now what?" Fluttershy didn't see where all this was going.
"...We go to my secret underground factory and unlock the portals to the other worlds." Celestia said like Cookie Monster getting constipated while trying to read Sherlock Holmes. "You're going to travel to them and collect what we need to incriminate Chrysalis' murderer. That's right, as of today, you are an official detective working for the IDPD, my most elite police department..."
"Factory...police..." Fluttershy thought. Memories of Luna showing up to her house dressed as a police officer and being in a factory flashed through her mind.
"So, great movie, huh?" Discord said sarcastically as he came back eating popcorn he made from corn he blew up with a stick of dynamite. "Want some soda, anyone?"
"Um, sure." Fluttershy responded.
Discord made a huge needle appear with magic and used it to extract the soda pop from the popcorn. He then squeezed some of it into a soda cup.
"Do you want to take it through an injection or orally?" Discord asked like a sweetheart.
".....Orally?" Fluttershy replied with a nervous grin.
"Certainly!" Discord squeezed out what was left in the needle directly onto Fluttershy's tongue. Startled, Fluttershy ran out of the theater coughing as Discord and Celestia laughed. She collapsed in the middle of Celestia's throne room and coughed up some of the soda on the floor.
"Talk about sickly sweet..." Fluttershy felt lightheaded as her head fell into the small soda puddle on the carpet gently. "I feel woozy..."
Fluttershy fell asleep yet again, as a shadowy figure walked up behind her. It picked her up and carried her, as Fluttershy began to have a vision in her sleep...
"So...how does it feel to be trapped with nowhere to run?" the voice of a manifestation of Rarity tossing a hypnotist's watch in the air and catching it could be heard in Fluttershy's mind. "The roles have been reversed...this time I'll-"
All of a sudden, Rarity's words were cut off as Fluttershy slowly opened her eyes. She was in a room that looked like a laboratory of some kind, lying on the seat you sat on during your last check-up at the doctor's office that wasn't a chair. Looking ahead of her, she could make out five figures surrounding a giant metallic device wired to two metal doors talking.
"Are you sure we can trust her?" a figure that resembled Rarity wearing a blue uniform with an IDPD symbol on it said. "It seems too good to be true that she's alive."
"I've proven to you that only the Fluttershys from the other worlds are dead." a figure that resembled a teenaged Luna dressed in the same uniform as Rarity flashed what looked like a black notebook. "What more do you want?"
"From what we know, "Fluttershy" should be no more!" replied the Rarity figure. "Did everyone just forget about Sombra altogether?"
""Everyone" didn't "just" forget." a figure that looked like Discord made a fourth wall joke. "He didn't really say or do much besides set traps. It's been seventeen months, he could be dead perhaps."
All the other figures appeared to turn to Discord in confusion. One of them appeared so confused that he walked away trying to grasp the situation.
"Wait..." a figure that looked like Celestia with a glass of wine said. "Are you talking about Sombra or Sombra?"
"Neither," the Discord figure chuckled as he read a comic book while looking at himself in a mirror. "I meant Sombra."
"Oh yeah, that's right..." the Celestia figure replied bemusedly. "Thanks to our worlds, there's three of him too..."
"Hey, are you sleeping with your eyes open or looking at the real world in a dream?" a figure who was clearly a human named Sky dressed in the same uniform as Rarity and Luna stared into Fluttershy's eyes. "Can you answer my questions while you're doing things like that?"
"Sky!" Celestia shouted as everyone came over to where Fluttershy laid. "What have I told you about talking to ponies who aren't strangers to me? It's funnier when you confuse those I don't know!"
"Boss..." Discord grinned as he donned his co-creator outfit from before. "I think our little friend is awake."
"How do you know that?" Fluttershy asked a...peculiar question. "Are you a psychic, because that's really weird."
"Beautiful..." Celestia smiled as she knew the reason for this kind of ...peculiar. "I'm terribly sorry Detective Fluttershy, but thanks to you passing out, I wasn't able to introduce you to the ones who will join you on this mission. Say hello to your fellow officers from the Inter-Dimensional Police Department, Rarity, Sky, and Luna."
"Hello to Rarity, Sky, and Luna." Fluttershy said, facing Discord. Discord tried to contain his laughter and turned her around to face the eponymous trio.
"Why is she acting really weird?" Sky asked Rarity and Luna. "That's really weird."
"Look at the pot calling the black kettle black..." Rarity said what she said. "Do you mind, Luna?"
"It appears I have no choice but not to mind..." Luna prepared to do what she learned in school. "I'll tell you the reason why we're here Fluttershy. You can't solve this case without our help. That's why we need to help you. We're here because we need to come with you to the World of Creation and the World of Evolution and collect six orbs. They will show us the way to bring Chrysalis' killer to justice."
"You explained that to me so fast I hardly understand," Fluttershy replied. "That's an interesting skill, who taught it to you?"
"HIS NAME MUST NOT BE SPOKEN." Luna proclaimed demonically with fire in her eyes that died after she finished her sentence. "...Anyways, I think a visual demonstration will provide a better in-depth explanation than spoken dialogue..."
Luna walked over to the metallic device connected to the doors with magic glowing in her horn and fired a blast at it. As a result, a portal materialized in each of the two doorways. The portal on the left doorway appeared in the form of a portrait of Fluttershy kneeling down at a grave, and the portal on the right doorway appeared in the form of a portrait of Fluttershy in a fetal position, surrounded by pure darkness and transforming into a human boy with blue, white-streaked hair.
"What could it possibly mean?" Celestia winked to the audience as she spilled some wine on the floor.
"Like, I don't know." the audience, which turned out to be a bunch of Discords seated in a stadium said. "A sign of the Illuminati?"
"Ha ha ha..." Celestia gave the laugh we all know now as Discord made the Discords and stadium disappear together by encasing them in a pyramid of paper that vanished. "What would I do without you Discord?"
"Try to carry out your plans and fail?" Discord playfully taunted.
"Keep pushing your luck you schmuck... " Celestia continued chuckling. "It amuses me."
"I could wrap that comment in a blanket and hand it right back to you..." Discord replied as he wrapped something in a black cloth and tied it around a wooden stick. "But unfortunately, I have to get going..."
Discord walked up to the middle of the doorways and made a portal that was in the form of a portrait of Fluttershy sitting on a cloud above a land, staring at the sky with glowing white eyes as pitch-black darkness enshrouded the land below her and radiant light brightened the sky above her.
"See you around Rarity..." Discord said his farewell to the group. As he entered the portal, something fell out of the cloth he was carrying...a ring with a stygian-colored gemstone encased in it. Rarity noticed this, quickly went over to the ring and picked it up.
"Wait, you forgot..." Rarity stopped in mid-sentence, seeing that Discord was too far gone to get his jewelry back. Upon examining the ring, she got a smirk as she slipped it into a pocket in her fur.
"So was that the visual demonstration?" Fluttershy pondered. "All I saw was a bunch of talking."
"Oh, sorry for being so rude and not interrupting a conversation my superiors were having..." Luna replied in a frustrated tone. "Now then..."
"She's got you there kid." Celestia commented as her wine glass magically refilled itself. "I'm the only one who gets to interrupt the conversations of others, and I'm gladly going to interrupt yours by explaining what Luna was going to tell you myself."
"This never ends..." Luna sighed.
"I think you can already see," said Celestia as she turned around to face the portals, "where you need to go. I think you can already figure out what you're going to do. But do you know what to do with the orbs after you've done what you've done?"
"Oh, I didn't think about needing to think about that." Sky responded.
"The orbs," continued Celestia as she ignored Sky, "need to be brought back here and given to me so I can gather them together. When all of them are together, they'll combine and form a light that will guide us to our hearts' desires. When Discord and I created the worlds, we had hopes that one would find the orbs, but of course, that never happened..."
"Uh huh," Luna could barely hide her feelings on what a drag this was. "Anyways, I have a map of both worlds that will help us find..."
"Just one more question, Celestia." Fluttershy interrupted a now fuming Luna. "Why am I dressed like this?"
Fluttershy pointed out that she was wearing a frumpy white shirt, black pants and socks, and had her hair groomed back to look like Phoenix Wright's, only with some of the hair in her eyes.
"It's a special detective's outfit I felt would suit you..." Celestia smirked as she spilled some more wine on the floor. "Now then, which world do you all want to venture to first? The World of Creation, or the World of Evolution?"
"The World of Evolution, please." Fluttershy decided unusually quickly. "The portrait on its portal is a little weirder, and that interests me."
"Go on ahead then..." Celestia bowed, strangely ignoring what input the other strangely silent police officers may have had to offer. Fluttershy approached the portal, but when she tried to go through it, she only ended up butting against it.
"Huh?" Fluttershy responded in confusion at being denied entrance. "Is this portrait portal a fake? If it is, it's not a very transparent one since I can't pass through it and see what's beyond it..."
"How odd..." Celestia stuck her front left leg arm holding a now full wine glass through the portal just fine. "It isn't broken, but I'll try to fix whatever's wrong with it. Is the World of Creation portal okay?"
Fluttershy went over to the other portal and was able to put her front right hoof through it just alright.
"I guess I know where we're going first then..." Fluttershy turned and faced the others. "Do you guys want me to go first?"
"Do we care?!" Luna retorted a rhetorical question. "I just want to do something other than standing around and listening to all this!"
"Wait, do you want to know if I care?" Fluttershy mistook herself as part of Luna's "we".
"YYYYYAAAAAHHHHH!" Luna yelled as she charged at Fluttershy, causing both of them to go through the portal. Rarity smiled as she and Sky walked over to the portal.
"Looks like we're going to have some intriguing comic relief on our journey this time, my dear friend." Rarity remarked as she gave Sky a pat on the back.
"Comic relief? Do comics get tired of people grabbing them and looking at them?" Sky wondered. "If so, that's really queer."
Rarity just sighed and kept smiling, having already said what she wanted. As she and Sky entered the portal, Celestia finished all of the wine in her glass with her typical smile and sealed off the portal behind them with her magic.
"This is just too easy..." Celestia proceeded to teleport herself to outside her bedroom door with a simple spell, where familiar singing voices and music could be heard. "Even if they don't trust me, I can still make them do whatever I want them too..."
When Celestia entered the bedroom, the voices were clear to be those of the Dark Sky band. Dumb-bell, Hoops, Score, Ghost Rainbow Dash, and Derpy were finishing up their rehearsal of their latest song, Boring Stuff You Don't Understand, with Derpy singing in place of Fluttershy's absence. It had gone something like this...
Boring Stuff You Don't Understand
Boring stuff...you don't understand
Things you truly...can't stand
Makes you truly...want to get up and stand...
Sitting with a droning lampstand...
The dullest things...you don't understand
Duller than knowing squat in a...headstand!
Headbands won't save us...FROM THE BLOW...
...OF A HOT DOG STAND!
So let's stand...hand and hand and comprehand...
...How to make a stand...
"Greetings, my bodacious bards," Celestia tried to be cool with the kids and the times.
"Oh, hi Celestia." Dumb-bell remarked.
"Did you like the song?" Hoops asked. "I wrote the lyrics."
"I came up with the awesome tune!" Rainbow strummed her air guitar.
"..." Score elaborated on all the things he did silently.
"I yelled in the microphone and made a lot of noise!" Derpy exclaimed.
"It was good..." Celestia twirled a strand of her hair with her magic. "But I doubt it will be as good as the next song you're going to compose. I have something really interesting to tell all of you. And I think it will inspire you to make a song that will blow everypony's mind..."
Celestia proceeded to tell the Dark Sky everything that happened the way she liked best. When she had finished talking, the Dark Sky members all had looks of horror engraved on their faces.
"No way..." Dumb-bell said with a gulp.
"She didn't..." Hoops said as he broke out in a cold sweat.
"She did..." Celestia replied as she teleported them to the laboratory-like room and pointed to the portal. "Now might be your only chance..."
"....!" Score swore silently.
"You better believe shit!" Derpy swore with a proclamation. "We have to follow her!"
"Sorry, but we won't let this happen Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash declared. "We're coming for you!"
The Dark Sky members passed through the portal to the World of Evolution. As Celestia sealed the portal behind them, she said one more thing...
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
A Few Enigmatic Words From The Cloud Dragon of the Mist
Now both Fluttershy and her Dark Sky are in another world...which world will you choose to explore when the time comes, hero? |
Lightening Fluttershy's Dark Sky | Maud God | You will tell the orb.
Upon passing through the portal, Fluttershy, Luna, Rarity, and Sky arrived in a strange small town resembling Ponyville. It was deserted, with wind blowing through the air inside deserted buildings. No one was around...
"Wow, this place is a ghost town." Fluttershy commented as she examined the area. "It's so desolate I doubt even ghosts would live here..."
"Heh." Luna gave a small hint that she knew something. "This is only what Ponyville used to be like some time in the past. ...Rarity?"
"Already on it..." Rarity said as she changed into a familiar black ninja outfit and pulled out a scroll and pocket watch from her fur. "Downgrade Fusion Hidden Art No. 12: Future Bend!"
With incomprehensible movements, the scroll and pocket watch inexplicably contorted into vibrant, pulsating waves that transformed the beautifully depraved hovel-like town of Ponyville into an extraordinary metropolis that looked cool and nice.
"THIS is the Ponyville we want to explore," said Luna as she was viewing the beautiful statues of a certain earth pony's head being built by people who didn't like their jobs. "We must seek the ruler of this town, they should know where the orb is. Once we have one of the orbs, it will guide us to the others by pinpointing their exact locations on our map."
"Wait, how do we know that the ruler of this town is going to help us?" Fluttershy asked quietly, making herself sound smart. "Should we ask his or her subordinates to tell us whether he slash she is bad with or without good?"
"Who said we couldn't use force if necessary?" Rarity donned a cocky grin with that line, leading the way into town as a slightly annoyed Luna followed.
"I wonder if that's not a good idea," replied a hapless Sky as he walked with them. "You can actually break a ruler if you put too much force on it."
"That kid..." Fluttershy thought, getting a strange feeling as she followed the group as well. "Why is it that what he says reminds me so much of what I think? Does he just really admire my brain, or..."
After the group walked for five minutes, Rarity suddenly stopped and pulled a beeping wristwatch out of her fur pocket.
"Time out guys," said Rarity as she pulled out the watch and turned the alarm off. "It's time I realized that I have no idea where we're going."
"Celestia damn it to God, Rarity!" Luna shouted. "This is why I was the one leading the way! Thanks to you, we're now in...THAT part of town."
"But the map says you're in THIS part of town..." Fluttershy said as she pointed to a pony stick figure on Luna's map that had the words "YOU'RE THIS GUY" inscribed below it.
"What does it matter?" Luna retorted. "I don't wanna be the guy!"
"Hey, you unknown folk." two figures dressed in gray robes with hoods that covered their faces said in a less-than-dull tone, approaching the group. "What is your purpose for being in the parking lot of our church?"
"Um...none." Sky tried to talk everyone's way out of this. "But we mean you no harm in having no meaning to be here, trust everyone here."
"I'm afraid we can not do that..." the figure replied as they pulled off their hoods. "We haven't reached that level yet, for we can not even trust ourselves."
"Hey, you guys are..." Rarity responded upon seeing their faces. "Maud Pie!"
"You are about 80% correct..." they tried to give their statement some color with statistics. "We weren't born Maud Pie. We are but two of the many humans brought to the pony world by Chrysalis to be experimented on for BMS summoning tests."
"...!" Fluttershy had an exclamatory thought. "Why does this feel...like it should be familiar?"
"Chrysalis took the bodies and minds of two hundred humans and transformed them into the bodies and minds of Maud Pie." they continued. "Before she completed the experiment by transforming our souls too, Chrysalis died, and we were only left with about three places to go. And out of those three places, Celestia forced us and all of the other incomplete Mauds to come here, the World of Creation."
"You guys sure are talkative for ponies who don't trust us." Rarity snickered as she flashed her IDPD badge. "You do realize we're cops, right? We came to this world to investigate the case of Chrysalis' murder, and anything you say here regarding Chrysalis can be considered testimony for said case. We could have you brought to court as witnesses on a day where you really don't want to come if we wanted, so I hope you don't have any ideas that you have power over us..."
"Rarity, please..." Luna pleaded. "That went on for even longer than what they just said...To put it bluntly, "Maud Pies", we're not here for trouble. We're here to look for something vital to our investigation, this town's orb."
"So you want to find the one who did it..." the Maud Pies replied with smiles on their faces. "That interests us. Whoever killed Chrysalis was clearly more powerful than her. If they knew, and if it were to benefit them, they would show us how to complete our transformation. ...Alright, we'll take you to a pony who knows where the orb is. Ironically*, that pony is our leader."
*They don't know what the word means, they're just trying to be colorful.
"Wait, where are we going?" Fluttershy asked as everyone followed the Maud Pies to the front of a church building.
"To church." they answered as they opened the doors of the church. The inside of it was filled with benches made of stone, a gray and purple carpet leading to a stone stage and a stone statue of Maud Pie at the end of the room, and a jewel chandelier above the stage that housed candles made of wax mixed with a few materials found in rocks. The stone benches also contained 197 Maud Pies who were in the middle of a church service singing a song...
Thy Pie, God Maud
God Maud, you are our god
Pie, you are the word after her name
At the end of our trod, our bodies are sod
But forever and ever, our souls will proclaim
The praises we give you, they never will cease
Only with you, shall we find our peace
THY PIE! .....The name that we know.
GOD MAUD! .....The one who will show.
"Our leader makes a fabulous appearance at the end of every service," explained the robed Maud Pies, "following Pastor Pinkie Pie's sermon. Until then, you'll have to wait."
While the Maud Pies were singing, the group found themselves a seat on one of the benches. The Maud Pies sitting adjacent to them noticed that Rarity, Sky, Luna, and Fluttershy looked nothing like them. They gave them a quick glance and then turned their heads straight back out of apparent embarrassment for their concern...
"It's as if they find our appearance strange," said Sky with a weird expression on his face, "but they don't want to look strange themselves by doing something that's considered strange in their world. Isn't that uncanny?"
"We already figured that out, shit-for-brains Sherlock." Rarity demeaned like an illegible dictionary that didn't know what was on the shelf next to it.
"Why do I feel like...I just got insulted too?" Fluttershy asked herself in her mind as Sky slumped in the bench and gave himself a head knock with his fist in confusion.
Once the singing part of the service ended with a mildly resounding "Amen.", Pastor Pinkie Pie finally appeared from behind the Maud Pie statue and walked up on stage dressed in a red devil costume.
"Great job on the singing everyone!" she complimented them as she clapped her hooves together. "A bit dynamic on some keys, but pretty flat for the most part, so it's all good! And moving on, what do you all have to say about me today?"
"That you are evil incarnate and the sight of your face makes us want to puke." the Maud Pies answered in unison.
"Ooh, your remarks of disdain for me are getting less colorful and less imaginative." Pinkie continued her laud. "I can still remember the first time I had you guys insult me. Oh boy, that was so bad you had me crying for days!"
"Am I the only one who finds this out of place?" Luna whispered to Rarity. "Why is she trying to get them to hate her when the real Maud Pie is supposed to love Pinkie Pie?"
"Excuse me!" Pinkie exclaimed as she pointed to the police officers, creating a scene before Sky or Fluttershy could. "What are you whispering about? And what are you doing here in the first place?! We're in the middle of a Pies-only church service! Visitors are prohibited! Come back when we're in the middle of a bake sale!"
"Hold on for a quick minute!" the robed Mauds from earlier called out. "These officers are with us! They're investigating the case our leader has been trying to solve since the founding of this cult, the case of Queen Chrysalis' murder!"
"Gasp." responded all the Maud Pies in the service as they tried to create dull silence.
"Our god's prayers have been answered..." the devil Pinkie said with her eyes lighting up. "Come now everypony! It's time to take communion! That goes for you guys too!"
With those words, the group and all the Maud Pies in the church lined up facing the stage. The two robed Mauds came to the stage holding a silver platter of a myriad of tiny rocks and one single purple goblet containing rainbow juice. Each Maud Pie in line came forward to the platter, took one of the rocks and swallowed it, took a sip of the juice, and walked to the back of the line. When it was the group's turn, Luna picked up the rock and goblet and glanced over at her teammates with a look of discomfort.
"Remember..." she told them. "It's for the good of everyone."
"Huh, that's what my mom said when she drank." Sky said, thinking of Celestia.
After the communion was over, the group's suffering was not yet over, as all the Maud Pies in the church began to chant something incomprehensible. During the chanting, Pinkie Pie pulled out a scroll, a small rock, and a vial of rainbow juice. She ingested the rock and juice and sort of squished the scroll between her hooves.
"Upgrade Fusion: Hidden Art No. 21: BMS Summoning!" she shouted as a gray aura surrounded the scroll and a purple aura illuminated from inside her belly. "Body: Maud Pie, Mind: Maud Pie, Soul: Maud Pie, ASSEMBLE!"
With a blinding flash of light...a wooden door appeared on the Maud Pie statue and an odd looking figure walked out of it. Dressed in a bright pink leather jacket, dark pink boots, white sunglasses with yellow shades, a black choker around her neck that looked like a guitar strap, and with three tattoos on her body of Maud Pie's face (one was on each of her arms with words below it saying "FREE RIDES" and one was on her crotch with words below it saying "Heavy Lifter"), God Maud Pie had entered the holy house.
"What is up." God Maud stated. "Why have I been summoned. Pinkie Pie, isn't it time for your stories."
"Those...aren't important right now." Pinkie replied with a bit of sweat trickling down from her face, having once had plans to make up stories for the sermon about laughing at funerals, having parties that literally burned down the house, and showing concern for roadkill insects. "What's important is that we have some very important visitors who can help us with a crucial case! They're police officers trying to figure out who murdered the one we have to thank for everything we've been through, including the good stuff! Queen Chrysalis!"
"So they're finally here." God Maud thought as an apathetically evil grin formed on her face. "I'm finally going to get to prove to Celestia that I'm more than just a puppet with no personality."
"That news is very good, Pinkie Pie." God Maud exclaimed. "Send them up here so I can talk to them."
"Loki in an oak tree with Doki!" Pinkie Pie agreed to get them as God Maud grabbed a joint and lighter from inside her jacket. As Pinkie Pie guided the group onto the stage, she and the others stopped in surprise as they saw God Maud smoking weed.
"Leader, are you...getting high?" Pinkie Pie asked in confusion.
"Pinkie, I'M DRUNK." Maud Pie replied, raising her voice dully. "I'm stoned one-hundred percent of the time in that statue anyways, so like, I don't care about nothing, man."
"But...these cops just showed up to help us." Pinkie Pie said with concern. "How can you provide them with accurate information if you're like this?"
"Like this." God Maud responded, and took off her jacket. She threw it across the stage to where the group was as vials spilled out of it. When the police officers investigated the inside of the coat, they couldn't believe their eyes. The coat had contained a collection of every single illegal drug known to Equestrians, including LSD.
"This can't be real..." Luna remarked with a horrified look on her face. "At least in the World of Origin, the possession of this many drugs would get you something worse than the death penalty! ...Which in retrospect, isn't very difficult to get, but never have I seen a criminal get it for illegal drug possession!"
"Sorry God Maud," said Sky as he got out his handcuffs and walked over to God Maud, "you may be God here, but we have to arrest you."
"NO!!!" Rarity yelled out, but it was too late. God Maud grabbed the back of Sky's police shirt, and shoved her joint up his right nostril, putting it out and burning a hole through the nostril. The pain was so bad that even the typically detached Sky was hollering in agony.
"Aw yeah, you like that." Maud mocked in a monotone. "Oh yeah, and in your words, not mine, get down on the ground."
God Maud then thrust Sky into the stone floor, sending him flying across it to where the drugs were, scattering the vials everywhere and causing many of them to break, forming a weird substance on the floor.
"SKY!" Luna and Fluttershy cried as they went over to the wounded officer.
"Wait, NO!" Rarity yelled, being too late again as she noticed a pink gas cloud forming from the substance.
"What is our leader doing?" the other Maud Pies in the church asked. "This is not like her!"
"Oh please," said God Maud with dull sarcastic wit, "I've always been like this. The only reason I started this cult is because I wanted to see Pinkie Pie embarrass herself in front of a bunch of me. I was also just pretending to care about the Queen Chrysalis case and created all those drugs with my powers just so I could make a scene like this. I hate Pinkie. I hate the police. I hate everything. I'll kill you all. BURN EVERYTHING TO THE GROUND.."
"No...you're not Maud!" Pinkie shouted. "You're no god, you're...a fraud!"
Pinkie and the Maud Pies in the church succumbed to the fumes, as the gas cloud enveloped the entire church, getting everypony high.
"This ought to be good." God Maud gave a drab chuckle, getting ready to watch the fruit of her evil. However, before as soon as she sat down...
*SHINK* A shuriken was thrust through God Maud's right cheek. As she turned to her right to face her attacker...
"You mean it WILL be good..." the attacker, revealed to be Rarity said. "...after you're DEAD."
God Maud quickly got her head off of Rarity's sword and jumped back. Looking around, she saw that everypony except her and Rarity was in a perfectly still position.
"You froze time..." God Maud looked back to the past. "And you weren't affected by the gas cloud either. So you're a god too. If you weren't trying to kill me, I'd ask you to join me."
"Shove it." Rarity was having none of it. "You lied to everyone, hurt my friend, and got everyone stoned. There's no way I'll ever be allies with a horrible god like you, let alone let you live."
"And if you weren't so dense..." God Maud gave another reason.
"I SAID NO!" Rarity screamed, swinging her shuriken sharply as God Maud dodged dully. Rarity tried to pierce her shuriken through God Maud's head again, but God Maud spat a small boulder out of her mouth. It hit Rarity's shuriken and knocked it away from her. Rarity then tried to throw her ninja blade at God Maud, but God Maud responded by spitting out a larger-than-Rarity sized pebble to shield her.
"Enough fooling around," said God Maud as she picked up the rock that the sword had hardly penetrated and lifted it over her head, "it's time to give up. You of all ponies should know."
As God Maud walked over with the rock in her hooves, the time god Rarity could only put a hoof in her fur and catch her breath...
"Hyah." God Maud had never given a more energetic cry in her life as she crushed Rarity with the rock. "GAME OVER."
God Maud smiled victoriously as she saw time starting to flow again. Everypony was tripping as they slipped back into the present.
"I just don't get how our leader saw us as tools..." a Maud Pie remarked. "I mean, we're so dull. Like, aren't tools better when they're sharp, man?"
"Hey, can I be the cake at your party next week?" Pinkie asked as she laid on the floor crying about what Maud said. "I think that's how ponies would like me...just saying nothing as I'm fading away, fading away as the party goes on..."
"I'm not five years old anymore Celestia!" Luna shouted. "Why do you keep forgetting when you're the one who made me that way!"
"Wah ha ha ha ha." God Maud had a mundane laugh of triumph. "I guess..."
All of a sudden, an explosion blew up the pebble and sent God Maud flying back against the wall behind her. And from the explosion emerged none other than...Robot Alicorn Rarity! When she reached in her fur earlier, she was grabbing a scroll that allowed her to cast a reality-bending spell (Upgrade Fusion: Hidden Art No. 14: Reality Swap) on herself, turning her into her robot alicorn self from the World of Evolution! If you recall, that self of hers can transform into weapons, so she became a bomb just in time!
"You guessed wrong..." Rarity replied as she transformed her robotic right arm into a shuriken edge. "But you can have this as a prize!"
Rarity thrust the edge into God Maud's head, finally destroying her target, a familiar chip in God Maud's brain. As the chip shattered, God Maud imploded into a white orb that rolled across the floor to Rarity's robot hooves that acted as her feet. From the white orb, the soul of the real Maud Pie emerged.
"Thank you for saving me." the soul of the real Maud Pie said with apathetic gratitude. "You even knew that the source of my evil was the immorality chip Chrysalis had implanted into my brain back when I was one of her test subjects. How."
"This version of me once had an immorality chip implanted in her as well." Rarity recalled. "It was the only explanation I could think of for a pony like you being so irrationally evil."
"Aw, you believed in me." Real Maud replied in a tone as sweet as stale candy. "But I'm afraid you won't win the fight against your next great foe with the power of trust. That foe is truly evil and will try to kill you and your friends in the form of a foe you've already killed."
"Thanks for the hint, but it was more like a dead giveaway..." Rarity remarked, already knowing who it was.
"Don't worry, there's another clue that this orb should tell you." Real Maud explained. "Now that you've found this one, there's only two left. One in the Crystal Empire region, and one in the Canterlot region. And something tells me you're going to end up going to the Crystal Empire first..."
"I figured..." Rarity said, giving a grin and a glance over to Fluttershy and Sky, who were staring in space with the stoned Luna.
"I guess there's only one thing left for me to do now." Real Maud gave a content and unenthusiastic sigh of relief. "I'll uphold my promise to these humans the best I can by giving them each a piece of my soul. That should help them become as close to me as they can get. Also, tell Pinkie Pie that she was right. That Maud she saw was just a fake. The real Maud Pie will always be at her side..."
And with that, the real Maud's soul divided itself into 199 small spirits that swam through the air in the church.
"Wow, this book has good graphics." a Maud Pie had one more drug-deluded line before one of the spirits entered her (him?) and the rest of the Mauds.
"Beautiful..." a miraculously healed Sky commented on the sight.
"So appealing to the eyes..." Fluttershy followed up.
"Stop acting like you're in kindergarten!" Luna hollered, still high. "I'm the one who's supposed to be there, damn it!"
"Peculiar..." Rarity gave her opinion as she walked over to the group with the orb in hooves. "How come the wound in your nostril is gone Sky? And how are you and Fluttershy not stoned anymore while Luna is?"
"We were stoned..." said Fluttershy truthfully as Rarity did a reality-bending spell on Luna (Upgrade Fusion: Hidden Art No. 1: Reality Restoration) to cure her highness. "But...this shadow suddenly appeared to us and told us he would...cleanse our bodies and minds."
"Interesting how you say we..." Rarity gave them a suspicious look before looking at the orb and realizing that it was glowing and making a message appear in the air...
Search the numbers, the pattern reveals the truth.
Oh yeah, and...
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED |
Lightening Fluttershy's Dark Sky | The Princess Police | Klaus bartz aho!
"Well, I guess now that that's accomplished," said Rarity, picking up from where we last left off, "we can continue with our mission!"
"Wait, what will the Mauds do now that their leader is gone?" Fluttershy reminded Rarity, pointing to the Maud Pies in the church who were now grinning bored and weird smiles in light of their new identities. "Don't they need help?"
"We all need help." the Mauds replied as philosophically as a stone mason who grew a huge beard after an accident with pottery. "But I think it's time we said goodbye. We only cared about solving Chrysalis' murder because we thought our leader did. But now, we'll each find our own purpose by ourselves. Thanks for giving us all the therapy we need for now, we'll remember you."
"Then without further ado..." Rarity said as she walked over to Pinkie Pie, did the same spell she did on Luna earlier, and left a strange scrap of paper in her suit. "Yeah, we've waited long enough. Farewell."
The group left the church and prepared to continue their quest.
"AH!" Luna interrupted the gang's continuation. "Before we go anywhere, let me establish that I am the highest-ranking member of the IDPD and your leader as such!"
The group stopped and turned to Luna.
"Good," continued Luna, "now that I have your attention, I would like to inform that I am your superior and I will lead this mission! Everyone, get behind me!"
The group shrugged their shoulders, deciding to let Luna get her way as they walked behind her and prepared to follow the way she would lead. As Luna began to walk north and yonder, so did the group. They started walking and walking and trodding and toiling and leaving footprints in the ground, and walking and occasionally flying over stuff Rarity didn't want to dirty her hooves on, and walking into a car Rarity turned herself into with her robot alicorn god powers because she was bored, and driving in said car, and Sky going...
"Hey!" Sky went as he looked at the map Luna was holding (he and Fluttershy were in the backseat, Luna was in the passenger's seat, and a mini minivan-version of Rarity was driving in the driver's seat). "Something's not right with that map..."
"What do you mean?" Luna asked. "How is it not right? Is X not marking the spot or something?"
"I'm afraid there's a much bigger problem than that..." Sky replied, not picking up on Luna's sarcasm. "That map shows us where the orb is in the Crystal Empire region, but not where the orb is in the Canterlot region! Is there a reason for that, or am I just being me again?"
Luna played with her hair upon noticing that Sky was right. A dark blue dot on the map indicated where the orb was in the Crystal Empire region, but no dot showed up in the Canterlot region. It seemed that some unknown force wanted the group to venture to the Crystal Empire before Canterlot...but for what reason?
"Like you would say..." Luna said in a mysterious-like tone. "Why is not doing the same on both? That's really queer."
"Uh...I'm feeling so bored..." Rarity groaned robotically, being her own kind of Maud. "Sorry guys, but I think this car is just about to crash."
"Crash?" Fluttershy intervened. "But if you fall asleep at the wheel, doesn't that mean the car will..."
"Arrive uninvited?" a mysterious new voice chimed in as the car window to Rarity's left shattered, letting in a bunch of wind. Everyone in the car's attention immediately turned to the culprit, two back hooves belonging to...Shining Armor! "As princess of this town, I humbly request you to stop this vehic..."
With that, the car swerved and smashed into a metal pole as it let itself into the big city area of the Crystal Empire. The group wasn't in a parking lot this time though, despite having a car now. They were in a meter zone where cars parked on slopes. Since the car had abruptly docked itself on the slope, it rolled down and smashed into the front of the car that was now behind it. On the plus side however, Shining Armor fell off the left side of the car in the midst of the chaos and was now rolling down the slope in the street like a top that had a baller performance in an arena of rocks.
"Uh...I'm feeling so dizzy..." Rarity said as she transformed back into her robot alicorn pony self, causing everyone in the car to fall in the street on their butts hard.
"Never mind me and the others..." Luna selflessly ignored her pain before she ignored everyone else's. "Anyways, we have to pursue that ne'er-do-well. He called himself a princess, the highest authority in any Equestrian reality! If he doesn't have the orb, who else could possibly have it?"
"His mother, I'd bet." Rarity joked, cocking her right arm into a sword while Luna began readying two enigmatic dark-blue guns.
"So we're going to follow him?" Sky said, thinking he couldn't go wrong by stating what had already been made clear.
"Ha ha, no." Rarity proved him wrong. "WE'RE as in LUNA AND I'RE going to follow him. We may like you kids, but you only deserve points for heart, not experience. After what happened last time, I'd rather have you two shy guys sit this one out. Trust me, I'm the god of time, and if there's anything I can't stand, it's a repeat of something I can't stand."
"Please stay put until we return," pleaded Luna. "If you see anything suspicious though, notify us and we'll report back to you straight away."
"Alright..." Sky replied in disappointment. "I guess we'll be alright with that..."
Luna and Rarity went down the slope as Sky went over to Fluttershy and sat down, feeling down.
"That was worse than the sound of a well-functioning vacuum..." Fluttershy gave a critical analysis. "Does being around them make you feel like you suck too?"
"Celestia told me I did that at the bank she robbed for the training exercise I had to pass to be an officer..." Sky responded gracefully. "But I stayed away from the lollipops she was taking, so I don't know what she was talking about. It was really weird."
"Yeah, I don't understand it either." Fluttershy continued reviewing their situation. "Why do we think and act so...differently from others? Is it because we try too hard to be like them? Is it a paradox? Or is it because...we're a paradox?"
Suddenly, Fluttershy and Sky's eyes lit up as something dawned on them...
"I think I know what you're onto..." Sky said as he felt a familiar presence from before. "And I also think what you're onto...is onto us."
Sky's suspicions were confirmed when a shadow exuded from his body and came onto both him and Fluttershy...
Meanwhile, with Rarity and Luna...
"Ugh...where in the world of Discord's hell is he?" Rarity complained. "We've been searching for ten minutes now and I'm getting tired."
"Oh shut up Rarity," whined Luna, "this should be nothing compared to the kind of waiting you had to do during your test to become a police officer."
"Oh, you mean the one where I had to sit in a waiting room in a children's hospital while Celestia robbed the place of its free suckers?" Rarity recalled. "Yeah, I cheated on that test. I stopped time for everyone but her and I and then went out there and beat her up before she came by the room to taunt me for being such a sweet little tool."
"Wait a minute, you beat up Celestia?!" a surprised Luna exclaimed. "You were just supposed to get her at gunpoint and "arrest her"! Not only should you have immediately failed for that, Celestia can't be that weak..."
"At least you didn't say I can't be that strong," replied Rarity. "But yeah, she begged me for mercy as soon as she saw my shuriken and blade. Then after spouting some crap about how she would have beaten me if she had her wine with her, she let me pass the test."
"That...doesn't make any sense, yet..." Luna began to ponder. "I think it might tie in with something that does make sense."
Once those words were said, Luna was promptly hit in the face with a pair of blue, white-laced panties. Luna gave a bemused look as they fell to the ground.
"And would that thing happen to be..." a voice belonging to Shining Armor cackled. "A beautiful prince?"
A figure stepped out from behind one of the cars on the slope, revealing himself to look almost exactly like Prince Cadance. The only real difference in appearance was that she was wearing a police officer uniform and a badge with the initials "D.M.C.P.D." (Dimensions May Collapse Police Department) engraved on it.
"Wait, weren't you a princess and Shining Armor just a bit earlier?" Rarity asked in confusion. "Be consistent with the times, man!"
"Man?" Prince Cadance replied with a laugh. "What man? I'm a woman, a cross between a woman and a man. And yeah, I don't care that it's confusing. Womaman and manwo just don't sound that good."
"Enough surfer slang!" Rarity bellowed. "I don't care who you are or what you did to make yourself who you are, so long as I make you what you should be!"
"Ooh, a control freak." Cadance said, knowing this was the god of time. "Your kind are always fun to watch getting out of control. Especially if it's HIS control you're trying to get out of..."
"You know the One Who Knew All the Frames of Life?" Rarity replied obliviously as the panties that had been thrown away had magically (hint hint) crawled over to her and found their way onto her robotic virile freeman. "Oh..."
Rarity looked down at the panties constricting her and had a bad feeling of what was to come.
"Let's see how you like being just a few forms of a man..." Cadance giggled to herself. "TRANSFORM!"
Rarity tried to reach into her fur for a scroll with a reality-bending or time-bending spell on it, but it was too late. Bound against her will, she morphed into a variety of manly robot things, including a train, a plane, a submarine torpedo, a rocket, and a pretty pink pony princess...with a moustache. Rarity whimpered in embarrassment. Watching with interest, Luna snickered to herself, feeling Rarity did deserve this a little.
"Alright, enough cocking around," said Cadance, tired of the many roles she had given Rarity, "it's time to see how you bang!"
Cadance promptly turned Rarity into a pair of white-blue handguns and grabbed them. She then aimed them at a smiling Luna's head and fired. Luna immediately ducked and jumped in the air like she was on the moon.
"Now I can finally take these babies out for a spin..." Luna made a catty remark as she rotated her dark-blue guns from earlier in circles like they were the moon. She began firing them while spinning them relentlessly as the recoil sent her spinning and landing a short distance behind Cadance, who had tried to shoot her again while she was in the air. Turning to face Luna, the two princes pointed their guns at each other.
"So it all comes down to a stand-off..." Cadance surmised.
"Yes..." Luna replied. "A stand-off you've already lost."
Suddenly, Cadance lost her stance and began to wobble all around as holes formed all over her body. She collapsed on the ground, becoming nothing more than a pile of bullet caps. In the middle of the pile, all that remained were the Rarity handguns, the panties, and another orb. No longer under Cadance's magic, the Rarity handguns turned back into Rarity and the panties became a Maud Pie-gray color. From the orb, Shining Armor's spirit appeared, with Cadance's spirit right beside him, giving the appearance that they had almost been fused together.
"You saved me," said Shining Armor and Cadance at the same time, "thank you. Allow me to introduce myself properly this time. I'm ShiCadinganceArmor. I was with the DMCPD before I was used in one of Chrysalis' BMS experiments and implanted with an immorality chip. While I'm glad to be free, there's a few things I don't understand. First of all, how did that work?"
"I think you already know it's obvious that these aren't ordinary handguns." Luna looked up to her audience. "They're my special Magic Eater guns, enhanced by dark magic that allows me to convert whomever they target into ammunition. So when I'm going trigger happy and wasting ammo, I'm not hurting myself, but my adversary."
"What a terrifying weapon..." Shining Armor and Cadance replied simultaneously. "You're definitely from the IDPD...but what I don't understand is why members from the IDPD are here. You two weren't even surprised when you saw me, a fellow officer, trying to kill you."
"It's simple really," said Luna with a sneer. "Rarity here and I already know everything from the immorality chips to what Celestia's really trying to do..."
"What Celestia's...really trying to do?" Shining Armor and Cadance individually asked in confusion, as they never knew what Celestia was really trying to do...
"We're well aware that Celestia doesn't give petrified crap about finding out who the murderer is..." Rarity explained. "Her real reason for wanting us to collect the orbs is so the power that they've lost can be restored...and once that happens, she'll..."
Just then, Rarity was interrupted by a strange voice...uttering poetry!
King Sombra Proudly Returns
Hello everypony, I am back
I'm not here for revenge
I'm not here to attack
Why am I here? It's a mystery, like Stonehenge
No I lied, I'm going to strike back
Because I know Rarity stole my ring
Get ready for some flack
Why are you gone now? I've taken you under my wing...
And with a flash of shadow, Rarity and the orb were gone.
"What the..." Luna said as she looked all around. "Where did they go?"
When she ran back up the slope to investigate further, she was treated to a peculiar sight in the distance. Rarity was in the form of a robot truck with a shadowy aura exuding from her, and King Sombra was inside her truck form starting her engine. As he drove away in the Rarity car, Luna could also see Fluttershy in the rear windshield, tied up and trying to say something that was muffled by a piece of duck tape on her mouth.
"Ssshhhiiiiittt." Luna uttered. "I never thought he would go this far..."
Meanwhile, inside the car, the orb was rolling around the floor trying to spell out a message...
Kill...er...s have ....a cod.....e
MISSION.....ACCOM....PLISHE.....D.....? |
Lightening Fluttershy's Dark Sky | The Light of Two Shadows | So...You are reading this.
From where we last left off, the second orb was taken, Rarity was stolen and possessed by King Sombra as a car, Fluttershy was kidnapped, and Luna was pottymouthed. Damn, what a mess.
"Crud, what a shitty mess." Luna watched a bit of her language. "I'm so ticked off that I want to take a piss in King Sombra's apple juice! I have to find some way to stop him or Rarity and Fluttershy are damned to be doomed! But how?"
Luna looked around the meter zone and was hit with an idea by all the cars...
Meanwhile, King Sombra was driving the Rarity truck too fast, speeding at 225 miles per hour in a 45 mile per hour zone, running every red light and stop sign, destroying public property, causing accidents, causing the police cars and helicopters that tried to chase him down to have accidents, and occasionally picking up hitchhikers (who were all either Cadance or Shining Armor clones made from human beings)...whom he made regret getting in the car with him...
"Yeah, I'm sorry," said a Shining Armor hitchhiker, getting off the truck with all the other hitchhikers at a pit stop. "This isn't our kind of ride. It's bumpy, noisy, disturbing the peace, and that childmolester* you have tied up in the back creeps us out."
*Author's Note= Yeah...Fluttershy is still in her "detective outfit"
"You mean Fluttershy?" Sombra gave a wink to her. "Don't worry, I know what to do with her. I'm going to Princess Shining Armor's castle to turn her in, good sir."
"Well golly almighty," said one of the oblivious Cadance hitchhikers, "that is completely stupid. Shining Armor's not a cop, Cadance is! ...Or the other way 'round, I can't really tell."
"Whatever, I do what I want!" Sombra sassed. "I hope I never again see your front!"
As Sombra sped away in the truck, he hit a pothole in the road, causing the truck to swerve out of control. After that quirky anecdote, he regained control of the vehicle and kept driving until he saw a strangely upright and intact Monster energy drink can in the middle of the road. He cautiously tried to turn more to the right to avoid it, but in his recklessness, accidentally flipped the truck over and sent it spinning upside-down into a nearby ditch. Fluttershy was banged all over the place as she was flung all around, and the orb shattered the rear windshield, flying out into the field unscathed. Sombra, being slightly scourged by a piece of glass that flew from the broken windshield and cut his right cheek, was infuriated.
"That stupid Monster destroyed my truck!" Sombra shouted demonically as he got out of the damaged vehicle and slammed the door behind him. "I'll dig that can a grave filled with muck!"
Sombra used his magic to grab the can and dig a small hole in the dirt below him at the same time. He unzipped his shadow body pants, held the can up to his freeman, and promptly filled it with lemonade that he drank yesterday. He also took off his shadow footwear and squeezed a shadow sock like a lemon to get fresh water into the can. Last of all, he poured his blood and tears into his attempt to get the can a glass of his special somepony's favorite brand of warm milk. He shook the can up, getting a bit of the contents inside on his face in the process, and looked like he was about to drink from it before he abruptly dropped it in the hole he dug.
"Oops, I dropped it in nature's toilet." Sombra humored. "It's a good thing that the soil will COIL IT!"
With that, Sombra put his hoof down into the hole and crushed the can. He buried it along with the muck, and cleaned up the mess on his face by licking it with triumph.
"Ha ha," he laughed. "That was just too eas-"
"FREEZE!" someone shouted from behind, putting a gun to Sombra's head. "DON'T MOVE!"
"How did you...?" Sombra asked, knowing it was the end of the line.
"Heh heh..." Luna began her line with a chuckle. "You fell right into my trap. I made myself a Monster motorcycle from downgrade fusing car parts and Monster energy drinks (my favorite!) I got from a convenience store. I got here long before you did and decided to set a trap by making one of the cans I didn't use a force field that would react to Rarity's essence. And for the coup de grace, I waited for you to get distracted so I could grab the orb and rescue Fluttershy."
Fluttershy was standing next to Luna with the duck tape still on her mouth (Luna left it on for everyone's sake). She appeared to be trying to tell Luna something that was muffled as she desperately tried taking the duck tape off...
"So you put one of your friends in jeopardy to save the other." Sombra said gleefully. "Ha ha, that is..."
"Oh brother," Luna replied, "shut up. To tell you the truth, Rarity specifically told me that if I ever had to decide to either save her or save Fluttershy to save Fluttershy. I'm just doing what I've been told to do."
"Your voice and rebellious attitude remind me of someone..." Sombra's memory was slightly triggered by the tone of the one who had him at gunpoint. "That's it, you're...Lu...lu...you...uh..."
"Luna..." Luna told him in frustration. "I'm the one who got you into that jar and helped you fully become Fluttershy's body, mind, and soul, remember? Why did you betray me? Why are you taking over Sky and kidnapping the fake Fluttershy?"
"Betrayal? Kidnapping?" Sombra sneered. "Quit your yapping. I'm just here to accomplish my mission and get back the ring. Also, I didn't even fully become any of those things."
"What...are you...talking about?" Luna asked as her confidence began turning into confusion.
"Before Fluttershy completed her transformation..." Sombra replied. "She and I were attacked by a mysterious ninja who didn't approve of our reformation..."
"Ninja...no, it can't be..." Luna gulped. "How could she..."
"Now you're speaking my language." Sombra felt the rhythm, enjoying this conversation more now. "I'm also going to tell you that this is far from the end of your anguish. Though Fluttershy's body and mind are now mine as well, she has yet to become my soul. Where her soul has gone, I don't know the story in full."
"So the soul in your body is your own..." Luna immediately went to the conclusion. "And you kidnapped the fake Fluttershy in hopes that she had Fluttershy's spirit..."
"Right and wrong," responded Sombra, "you understand the lyrics, but not the beat of the song. I am myself, mostly acting on my own accord. However, I am to kidnap Fluttershy and Sky under the order of my lord, Discord. They are to be brought to Canterlot castle for a duel.
"And what's the point of this duel?" Luna questioned further. "To see who would win in a fight, a humanized Fluttershy, or a Fluttershyzed human?"
"I believe YOU'VE told me enough..." Sombra worded some of that correctly. "Or to be more specific, you've told HER enough..."
And with that, Sombra changed back into Fluttershy! Also, since Sombra and Fluttershy are one in the same, Fluttershy overheard the entire conversation Sombra and Luna had!
"Luna..." Fluttershy said with her eyes watering. "Is all that...TRUE? My dream was...REAL? You tried to turn me into....SOMBRA?!"
"Well yeah, sorry about that," apologized Luna sincerely. "What's concerning me right now though is that if you're the real Fluttershy, and this is the fake Fluttershy, then where's..."
The fake Fluttershy finally tore the duck tape off the other Fluttershy's mouth, and he said some dialogue revealing him to be...Sky!
"Yeah, I was trying to tell you that he turned me back into part of my true form, Fluttershy*." Sky explained the reveal.
*See the ending of Transcending Fluttershy's Dark Sky for details
"...Okay, now even I'm having a hard time understanding-GAK!" Luna tried to express her opinion, but was punched in the stomach by the crying real Fluttershy. After a dramatic pause, Luna clutched her stomach in pain as Fluttershy turned back into Sombra.
"Understanding pain?" Sombra laughed as he seized the dark-blue orb that Luna hid in her uniform. "I don't care if I gain some flack from your fans for that, it's all in vain!"
"This self-aware dialogue is confusing..." Sky commented as he put his hoof-thumb up to his lips. "Why is it not becoming less confusing even though I'm aware?"
Sky was given plenty of time to think that one over as Sombra engulfed him in shadow and disappeared.
"Shoot..." Luna gave the appropriate curse in reaction to her shortcomings. "He must have teleported to that castle he was talking about. I had a feeling he was only playing Big Rigs with Rarity to get back at her for stealing the ring...which means..."
Just as Luna suspected, the shadow that once surrounded Rarity disappeared, and she turned back into a normal robot alicorn.
"Having god powers, she's probably already recovered from that crash she had as a truck and should regain consciousness soon." Luna thought to herself. "Should I stay here and interrogate her about what the heck she's been doing behind my back with Fluttershy, or should I go to Discord's castle and ask him what the hell this duel is about?"
Meanwhile, at Canterlot castle...
Two guards who were identical in appearance to Discord were standing watch outside a door to the throne room. Inside the throne room, there was Fluttershy-esque decor galore. Pink and yellow-painted walls, windows depicting Fluttershy's deeds, a pink, yellow, and of course red carpet, and a butterfly-shaped throne decorated with pink topaz and an insignia of a wingless butterfly piercing a heart sown onto the throne's seat with Fluttershy-brand string. We couldn't see that last part though because Discord's butt was in the way.
"Gah, I can't get this taste of soda off my tongue..." Discord bemoaned, sitting on his throne and gagging on a lollipop he wasn't enjoying very much. "I hope Sombra gets back here soon..."
Soon, Sombra, with the Fluttershy form of Sky on his shoulders, materialized before him on the carpet.
"I have returned, Lord Master," Sombra greeted as he bowed his head. "I have brought what you have requested of me to bring, and only wish I could've made it back here faster."
"That's fine, but would you please stop speaking in rhyme?" Discord requested as his head slanted to the right a bit. "You don't have to treat everything you say like a rime. Also, you know you need to be Fluttershy for the upcoming fight, you can not be Sombra at this time."
"Alright then," said Sombra as he transformed into Fluttershy. "I know when-"
Sombra was interrupted when he allowed Fluttershy's mind to take control.
"So what's going on here?" Fluttershy asked. "Am I going to have to...fight Sky?"
"Yes," replied Discord, "in a battle of wits...in a gamble."
"We're going to gamble...with our intelligence?" Fluttershy said in puzzlement. "Are we going to become stupid if we lose?"
"What a terrible fate that would be." Sky lamented. "I hope we're not going to be forced to play the lottery. All those losing tickets..."
"Not that kind of gambling..." Discord put his claw and paw on his face. "I mean a gamble that would require you to make a smart, educated guess in an exchange of sake cups."
Discord did his magic and made a tray with two Fluttershy-sized sake cups on it appear on the floor. Both of them looked like Fluttershy in sake cup form and were filled with apple juice.
"Now time to explain the rules..." Discord prepared to elaborate. "One of these sake cups is filled with ordinary apple juice. The other is filled with apple juice mixed with a large amount of cough syrup and taurine. If you take it, I think you already know what will happen... Choose wisely, for only the winner shall take over my place as the ruler of Canterlot castle. Now then, who wants to be the one to choose?"
"I don't," said Sky, "terrible things tend to happen when I make decisions on what I should drink."
"Then I guess I'll make the call..." Fluttershy announced as she walked up to the Fluttershy cup on the left. "I choose this one..."
"Thanks," said Sky, feeling very relieved as he went up to the right Fluttershy cup. "I have nothing to fear now..."
"Of course you have nothing to fear..." Discord thought. "You're too stupid to realize that the outcome of this game is predetermined. I already told Fluttershy which one would be the correct one in my own way while she was still Sombra. There's no way I can lose..."
The two dipped their jaws inside the oversized cups and drank from them. When they were done drinking, Sky was fine, but Fluttershy clutched her throat and began to gag.
"Woah Fluttershy," said Sky with concern as he walked over to Fluttershy. "Are you okay?"
"Bleh!" Fluttershy yelled. "It tastes like urine!"
"Ha ha ha ha!" Discord laughed. "Fluttershy guessed right! Congrats Fluttershy, you're the win-"
But in mid-sentence, he was paused by Sky beginning to gag as well. His entire body got all shadow-like as he started transforming into King Sombra. And wouldn't you know, the same thing started happening to Fluttershy as well!
"Wait...HUH?!" Discord let his ham out like a spearman shaking his treasure carelessly. "Why are you becoming Sombra? I put a drug in the right drink that would vitalize your body and mind, keeping Sombra suppressed! And that kid didn't even consume the drug! I can not have Sombra lead this castle! If he can not be likened to my image, he must DIE!"
Just then, a smoke bomb was thrown in front of Discord's throne, surrounding him with gas that was bad for his eyes. He couldn't even see Rarity teleport in front of him, dressed as a ninja again. She took a scroll for reality bending spells out of her black ninja suit.
"Sorry, my fair fake Fluttershy," said Rarity as she prepared her spell, "but I can't have you going and making either of my two favorite idiots smart. I need the real Fluttershy to be Sombra for a large while longer. Reality Swap!"
With that, the fake Discord turned back into the fake Fluttershy from the real beginning of this story!
"Rarity, you fool..." the fraudulent Fluttershy haughtily derided the purple-haired ninja and her prose as she vanished along with the smoke. "I'm sure you know that I'm not just any fake Fluttershy...I AM..."
Robot Alicorn Fluttershy. That's how her sentence was finished as she transformed into her robot alicorn self, fully equipped with warm and toasty robot armor, lasers, and living Fluttershy plushies on the robot armor.
"Brace yourselves..." Robot Alicorn Fluttershy said as she flew up to the air, embracing her chest. "The Tale of Two Sombras is OVER!!!"
R.A. Fluttershy opened her chest, and all the Fluttershy plushies went down to the two Sombras like guided missiles and exploded. The two Sombras avoided the explosion by teleporting behind R.A.F., and began chanting a poem...
The Tale of Two Sombras
The Tale of Two Sombras, we like that name
The Tale of Two Fluttershys, we're no longer the same
The Tale of Two Mauds, she's a bit too bland
The Tale of Two Discords, his room is Fluttershy-brand
The identity of Sombra, we shall not give up
The identity of Fluttershy, we shall surrender
The identity of Discord, you failed to live up
The identity of Maud, we will no longer offend her
While the poem was going on, R.A.F. was trying to shoot the Sombras with her Fluttershy Thompson gun and her alicorn lasers, but the Sombras had turned themselves into shadow and were not affected. And after their poem was finished, they merged together to form...a shadow paladin in shining armor mounting a celestial horse and holding a shadow spear and shield from the heavens.
"BY THE WAY, THE REASON WE ALWAYS RHYME AS SOMBRA..." the Sombra knight announced as he leaped in the air and began spinning. "...HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ZECORA!"
With that, the Sombra knight came down onto R.A.F., destroying her completely by causing her to explode into Fluttershy shaped crystals. The crystals fell onto the ground and broke into shards as the shadow paladin descended to the floor and turned back into Sky and Fluttershy.
"We did it..." Fluttershy said as she glanced at the scene. "We do have great power within us after all, just like Rarity and Luna..."
"I guess I suppose so..." Sky added as he glanced at Fluttershy. "Hey, you're no longer in Sombra form."
"Hey, you're right." Fluttershy replied as she looked at herself and Sky. "And you're not in Sombra or Fluttershy form anymore. Did those drinks only have a temporary effect? Speaking of which, I'm not really sure how that worked...again."
"Speaking of another which," Sky changed the subject, "where did Rarity go? We couldn't have gotten out of that mess if she hadn't done whatever she did. We need to thank her."
Before Fluttershy could agree to that, the Discord guards from earlier came in.
"Congratulations on your victory..." they sickly said sweetly.
"Hold on, who are you guys?" Fluttershy politely set the guards up for a proper greeting.
"We're magic clones of the Lord of Masters, Discord," they introduced, "sent to this world to spy on the fake Fluttershy Discord snuffed out. Discord learned that he wasn't the real Fluttershy after she didn't remember him, yet remembered Chrysalis and what Fluttershy had seen after her murder. BMS clones either remember all of the experiences of the original, or none of them."
"But if Discord knew that that Fluttershy was a fraud, why did he give him control of this castle?" Fluttershy asked.
"He pretended to give the fake Fluttershy control of this castle and authority over his most trusted subordinate," they replied, "Sombra, under the guise of making him the guardian of this region's orb. The fake Fluttershy became suspicious that he was just being used though, and devised a plan to escape being hunted down by the IDPD and remove Discord's best lackey at the same time. We figured out his scheme to suppress Fluttershy's Sombra powers ahead of time however, and took immediate countermeasures."
"We're magic clones of the Lord of Masters, Discord," they introduced, "sent to this world to spy on the fake Fluttershy Discord snuffed out. You see, Discord pretended to give the fake Fluttershy control of this castle and authority over his most trusted subordinate, Sombra, under the guise of making him the guardian of this region's orb. The fake Fluttershy became suspicious that he was just being used though, and devised a plan to escape being hunted down by the IDPD and remove Discord's best lackey at the same time. We figured out his scheme to suppress Fluttershy's Sombra powers ahead of time however, and took immediate countermeasures."
"So Sombra was being deceived the entire time by that stupid offer..." Fluttershy realized, knowing Sombra's thoughts and feeling foolish. "And I actually drank that Rockstar knock-off thinking it would make me powerful like Rarity and Luna..."
"So you switched the apple juices out for Sombra energy drinks," Sky assumed correctly. "Thank you, that was really nice. But why did Discord send the impersonator here? If he realized he was a spy, why didn't he just take care of him right then and there? Why go through all this trouble of making him an orb-carrier?"
"Heh heh..." the Discord guards replied. "We're not going to tell you everything. What would be the fun in that? Besides, don't you have other matters to attend to? Don't you feel something is missing? Don't you feel that as heroes, you deserve...a reward for your efforts?"
"Oh, that's right, the orb." Sky recalled. "Where is it? It wasn't showing up on Luna's map earlier either, did that fake Fluttershy do something to it?"
"Close..." the Discord guards said with a chuckle. "Master Discord did something to it. Why don't you see for yourselves?"
The Discord guards levitated the only Fluttershy crystal shard that didn't break and returned it to its original form...a glowing blue and yellow sphere encased in a tightly sealed jar.
"That's right," said the Discord guards as they held the jar, "I'm afraid you're not going to get a clue from this orb just yet. Our Master Discord put a lock on this orb just in case it fell into the wrong hands or hooves. Specifically, Celestia's. You'll have to ask him to unlock it."
"Wait...Celestia's?" Sky asked. "Aren't we gathering the orbs for Celestia so that we find out who murdered Chrysalis?"
"You truly are as oblivious as they come..." the Discord guards delivered. "Did it ever once cross your mind that Celestia has an ulterior motive? Or is even who she claims to be? Surely Fluttershy can help you see the truth..."
Sky turned to Fluttershy and noticed that she had a grim look on her face.
"Sky..." Fluttershy said as she lowered her head. "Now that I know that that dream I had was real...I'm starting to put two and two together. I think I know now the real reason we were sent here. And I also think I know now...who killed Chrysalis..."
Sky gulped in response, and hoped she didn't...
"Well, here you go," said the Discord guards casually as they handed over the jarred orb to Fluttershy and Sky. "As clones of the Master, our knowledge is linked. He should arrive here shortly...farewell."
The Discord guards then vanished with a puff of smoke, and sure enough, Discord showed up in the castle walking tall.
"Oh my," Discord swore by himself in such excitement, "you actually did it. You guys actually collected all of the orbs from this world!"
"All of them?" Fluttershy pondered. "But even counting the one I swiped from Luna, we should only have two."
"Oh, don't be so self-centered," Discord gawked as he circled around Fluttershy. "I met Rarity and Luna in the portal room on my way here. They teleported back to return the orb they got from Maud Pie. There's no more need for us to linger here. HI-HO!"
With a flick of his fingers, Discord teleported himself and the duo back to the portal room, where Rarity and a peculiar-looking Luna were waiting.
"Now then..." Discord said as Sky and Fluttershy gave him the jar-encased orb. "Since I don't need this lock anymore, why don't we end this part of our journey on a mysterious note?"
Discord held the jar with his paw, and shaping his claw into something that resembled a key, shattered the jar with a magic locksmith technique that almost looked like a punch. After that, Robot Alicorn Fluttershy's spirit emerged from the orb.
"Thank you, Sky and Fluttershy," said R.A.F. in a tranquil tone. "You saved-"
"I said a mysterious note!" Discord yelled as he pushed R.A.F.'s spirit back into the orb. "Not a satisfying note!"
Sorry...here's the clue...
Yearning to reverse your fortune, you find a false hint.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
Enigmatic Words From the Cloud Dragon of the Mist
Congrats reader, you know now what happened to Fluttershy on her adventure in the World of Creation. But what fate befell the Dark Sky members on their journey to the World of Evolution? Do you already know? If not, you may wish to know, for who knows what lies beyond those stygian clouds... |
Lightening Fluttershy's Dark Sky | The Bat and the Rat | The tale of Fluttershy shall end with One, the tale of the Dark Sky shall end with CrE...
Dumb-bell, Hoops, Score, Ghost Rainbow Dash, and Derpy Hooves arrived in the World of Evolution. The first thing they noticed in this strange old world as they looked around was that everything was dark.
"Damn it, why is it so dark in here now?" Dumb-bell swore at being surrounded by black. "We need a light."
"But I thought we didn't smoke." Derpy responded obliviously.
"Derpy..." Ghost Rainbow Dash said with a sigh. "I smoke. I know cigarettes make me look stupid, but the feel of puffing something toxic is just too cool to resist!"
"Wha-what?!" Dumb-bell exclaimed. "What made you guys think I was talking about cigarettes? Can't you see that we have a problem here?"
"No," replied Hoops, "it's too dark."
"..." Score said sarcastically with silence.
"Couldn't have said it better myself," said Dumb-bell. "Yeah Hoops, very funny, ha ha."
Just then, the sound of one throwing a flash grenade could be heard as footsteps and clinging became audible in tandem.
"LIGHTS IN!" a voice called out as an explosion went off and everything suddenly became bright. Now when the Dark Sky members looked around, they could see everything.
"Dang," they said as they analyzed everything and came to a result of what they thought. "This is...strange. This place looks so different from when we visited it with Rarity."
What surrounded them was a damp, dirty road under their hooves, muddiness, and several buildings in the distance that were dark and not part of what became bright. Most importantly, on the road, there were hoofsteps on a path that led off the road and to a mysterious metal and purple building with a metal door on the front and flashy letters above the door enigmatically titling the building "B.A...T. Tiffany's".
"B.A...T........Tiffany's?" Dumb-bell asked with a dumbstruck look on his face.
"No Dumb, it's B.A...T. Tiffany's." Derpy corrected him intellectually. "You know, like that song we used to cover all the time about a guy spiraling into insanity."
"Wasn't that American Pie?" Hoops interjected.
"Tiffany, Pie, who cares?" G.R.D. said. "We have no idea where the heck or hell else to go, why don't we see if that guy who threw that grenade at us is still here? We couldn't have gotten this far without his help, maybe he knows why this old world is even weirder now and can give us directions."
"It might be just you, but eh, you just might be right." Dumb-bell made a case for both sides. "Up ahead looks too dark and I don't want to get lost."
"Neither do I," said Hoops, "getting lost makes me feel soul-searchy and weird."
"I'm always lost in my train of thought..." Derpy revealed a personal secret. "It's really big and gives me motion sickness."
"..." Score told them to just go in the building already silently.
"Now that's the kind of attitude I like," complimented G. Rainbow Dash, "you guys could learn a few things from Score. Now then, we're going in!"
G.R.D. opened the metal door and the group stepped inside...to find themselves outside of a restaurant with the exact same appearance and decor as the building they had just entered, except this restaurant was a pink metal building, had windows and glass doors and a sign on the window that said "Opening Day!".
"So B.A...T. Tiffany's is a restaurant...in a building?" Dumb-bell said, confused once more.
"It could be like one of those hotels that have places that serve meals inside of them." Hoops educated us. "Let's look inside."
The group went up to the glass doors and examined the interior of this hotel-like place. Judging from the brown tile floors and booth-like seats, it appeared to be a normal fast food restaurant. However, there were also bat ponies inside dressed in white, wing-holed uniforms. One was walking under fluorescent lights as he or she delivered food in a cardboard box on a tray to a bat pony customer sitting at a table.
"Bat ponies..." Ghost R.D. grumbled to herself under her ghoulish breath. "It had to be bat ponies...This world just can't accept the fact that I'm more of a snake guy. Maybe I should just use my ghost powers to slip through the walls undetected and find the dude we're looking for-"
"Oh no, vampires!" Derpy shouted, alerting every employee in the restaurant to where every member of the Dark Sky was.
Like regular bats, the bat ponies knew where the Dark Sky members were because of the sound, and began staring at them through the glass doors.
"What do we do now guys?" Derpy whispered softly, learning from her mistake as her team members glared at her in frustration.
The bat ponies just sighed with screeches...
"Can we help you ponies from another planet with something?" one of the bat ponies asked.
"Uh, yes." Dumb-bell said, deciding to be the spokesman. "We're here to see somepony who threw a grenade at us. We think he or she might-DO'H!"
Dumb-bell was interrupted by Hoops giving him a hard knock on the head.
"Sorry, sorry," apologized Hoops, "what he meant to say was that we're lost and we want to ask for directions..."
"We are sorry too, sir," retorted a bat pony employee, "but we only give directions to paying customers."
"Oh, okay." Derpy interjected. "Do we have to put quarters in your toilet?"
The bat ponies just had blank expressions on their faces.
"Do you live in a cave?" one of them asked. "We have no toilets here! We're bat ponies, we go to the bathroom on the ceiling! Just look above you!"
Curiously, the group glanced up and saw two doors on the ceiling that apparently led to bathrooms. The one on the left had one symbol of a purple alicorn standing while holding a squirt gun, and the one on the right had three symbols, being from left to right, a pink alicorn crouching while holding a butter knife, an arrow pointing to the right, and a pink building.
"You have bathrooms, but no toilets?" Hoops said as he scratched his head. "Are they just...dirt floors on the inside, or...?"
"How do you tell which one is the men or women's?" Derpy asked. "The bro on the left looks like a woman and the broski on the right looks like a crossdresser."
"Isn't that...inconvenient for ponies who can't fly?" G. Rainbow Dash pointed out. "What do you expect the earth ponies and unicorns to do, float up there? Not all of them have the kind of skill to do something that cool, just saying."
"Are you just going to stand there asking stupid questions and getting no answers," said one of the bat ponies, "or are you going to order something? Because you can order something to eat when we come to the table you're sitting at."
"Oh, so that's how you do it." Derpy figured out from the tutorial. "So in a nutshell, all we need to do to go to the bathroom is sit down and order food."
"...Exactly." the bat pony said, wearying of this conversation. "There should be an open table right over there..."
The bat pony pointed to the table that the bat pony customer the Dark Sky members saw from the glass door was sitting at. But he or she was gone, leaving only an opened cardboard box filled with untouched apple slices on the table. Upon listening closely, the laugh of a pink machine could be heard...
"Just like in that story..." a slightly unnerved Dumb-bell muttered.
"That is funny..." one of the bat ponies giggled at the weirdness. "If he didn't want to try the food, he should've just not ordered it. I hope you five will be more...courteous."
"You mean four," Ghost R.D. corrected. "I'm incapable of eating food that I don't want to try, obviously. The only thing I can do to be courteous is pay for the meal."
"Yeah, yeah," a bat pony replied impatiently, "just take a seat, take a seat right over there."
The group obeyed with caution as they got into the booth with the apple slices. As the bat ponies put five menus on the table and walked away, the group began to converse and conspire about what was really going on here, with the exception of Derpy, who was too focused on her menu.
"I'm telling you, it's just like that story." Dumb-bell told G. Rainbow Dash. "And not the one with you in it."
"I was in a story?!" Ghost. R.D. exclaimed excitedly. "Oh wait, it wasn't an awful parody story that made fun of me was it?"
"What, n-no. I meant the Rainbow Dash from that stor-" Dumb-bell paused as he thought this over. "What the..."
"What's wrong, Dumb-bell?" Hoops asked.
"N-nothing, never mind." Dumb-bell replied. "It's just...fudge, this multi-alternate reality verse stuff Rarity told us about warped my mind. I feel so confused..."
"I can relate," Derpy chimed in. "I'm really confused right now about this menu. I don't know how to read all these illegible scribbles. Also, I never knew that "BLAH BLAH BLAH" was a food."
"...What." the others responded collectively.
Everyone picked up their menus and skimmed through them. In doing so, all they found was the same thing, scribbles and "BLAH BLAH BLAH". Even the prices for the food were listed as "??? (depends on how much we get from them)".
"What kind of cram is this?!" G.R.D. exclaimed. "These menus are bullshit!"
"How can I play the game on the back if I can't read the menu?" Derpy complained as she showed the group her menu's back, which depicted a drawing of a purple robot alicorn talking a speech bubble that said "Let the game begin..."
"Hey, she was on the bathroom door." Hoops recalled. "What does she mean by that? What game?"
"HEY EVERYONE!" declared a loud voice from the table as it turned pink and robot-like. "DO YOU WANT TO HEAR A JOKE?!"
"Who are you?!" the Dark Sky members shouted.
"Ha ha, "who"." the table guffawed. "Don't worry, it's not a knock-knock joke. It goes like this. Why did 5 and 3 get into a fight at the restaurant?"
"Why..." G.R.D. replied, not wanting to play along. "...are you doing this?"
"Because 5 didn't order a 2-for-1!" the table shouted.
The group was silent until Score began to chuckle.
"..." he explained the joke silently.
"Yeah, math is hilarious!" the table said like a calculus student handing in his homework late. "They say laughter is the best medicine to knock someone out with, but I prefer chloroform!"
And with that, part of the table became a spray nozzle that filled the restaurant with sleeping gas. Ghost R.D. was unaffected because of her ghost powers, but the rest inhaled the gas and fell asleep. Noticing the bat ponies coming back to the table with gasmasks on and a purple robot alicorn with them, she hid in a wall. She knew that for now, there was nothing she could do as her fellow band members were dragged away...
Two hours later, the sleeping Dark Sky members slowly regained consciousness, and found themselves in a dimly lit underground basement. All four of them were strapped to purple metal beds strapped to the wall. As they looked around and realized that fact, Dumb-bell sighed.
"I should've known..." he groaned. "It's going to be THAT story. It's times like this where I'm glad we have mist powers..."
The Dark Sky members turned to mist and slipped out of the straps. They were about to teleport out of the basement, but stopped when the cries of the bat pony customer from earlier could be heard from a supply room on the other side of the basement...
"ANSWER ME!" screamed a familiar robotic voice from a purple cyborg. "WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE FOR COMING TO MY RESTAURANT?!"
"I told you, I just wanted to eat-GLORK!" the customer was interrupted by a kick to the face from the cyborg.
The Dark Sky members quietly went up to the barely visible purple door of the room and peered into the purple keyhole. Inside they saw that the purple cyborg was...Robot Alicorn Twilight.
"YES, LIE TO ME!" Robot Alicorn Twilight cried joyfully. "I WANT TO PROLONG THIS TORTURE AS LONG AS POSSIBLE! I KNOW DISCORD SENT YOU! HE WANTS YOU TO SHUT DOWN MY RESTAURANT! HE KNOWS IT'S PART OF MY PLAN TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD OF ORIGIN!"
"I don't know what you're-" the customer paused. "Wait, you went through my-AGH!"
"KEEP TELLING ME THAT..." R.A.T. said upon stomping on the customer's legs. "I ALREADY KNOW WHY DISCORD AND RARITY RE-CREATED THE WORLD OF EVOLUTION WHEN THEY MADE THE WORLD OF ORIGIN. IT'S ALL PART OF THE L.O.W., THE LIGHTLY ORDERED WORLD PROJECT. THEY'RE GOING TO MAKE FLUTTERSHY GOD OF THE UNIVERSE NOW THAT CrE IS DEAD! BUT I WILL HAVE NONE OF THAT! I'M GOING TO USE THIS RESTAURANT TO RAISE ENOUGH MONEY FOR MY OWN PROJECT TO MAKE MYSELF GOD!"
"...Reall-UNH!" the customer was interrupted by being stomped on the arms.
"Yes..." R.A.T. replied. "I think I'm going to calm down now and take this a little slower since there's no need to rush...Discord and Rarity wrote me into this world as the guardian of the first orb. Though they stripped me of my ability to perform fusion arts, I eventually learned a magic spell to turn living beings into money. But with spies like you always watching, there's no way I could do that to the new citizens of this world in broad daylight. So I established this restaurant to do it in secret and got some bat ponies to work for me by bribing them with access to Robot Alicorn Applejack's orchard. I'm going to turn every customer that comes to my restaurant into money until I reach my $700 billion goal, and no one will ever find out!"
"You just told me..." the customer pointed out as he coughed up blood. "I'm not even one of Discord's spies, I'm a health inspector who used to be a guy from the human world named Freddy..."
"Exactly..." R.A.T. gave an evil grin with that line. "I knew all along. I was just doing this for fun. And now that you know what you do, you can not be allowed to live..."
"But weren't you going to kill me anyways-NGH!" the customer said his final words as the cyborg transformed him into nonliving money.
"Who said evil had to make sense?" R.A.T. made a point as she put the money in her wallet. "Now then, I have other matters to attend to..."
Upon overhearing the entire conversation, the Dark Sky members were horrified.
"That poor guy..." Hoops whispered. "There's nothing we could have done...those robot alicorns are far more powerful than we could hope to be..."
"I know..." Dumb-bell acknowledged. "Our only hope is to get out of here now!"
The Dark Sky members turned to mist to teleport outside of the restaurant.
"Come on," said Dumb-bell, "let's find G.R.D. and get out of..."
Dumb-bell paused as the group, including G.R.D., who came out of one of the building's walls, looked towards them and saw a shadow paladin in shining armor on a celestial horse in front of the door. Before the group could even ask who he or she was, the paladin began to utter poetry...
One Born of the Sky
One born of the sky
Infused with the shy
Brings a promise to a ruined land
A promise that all will comprehand
In the chaos of time and reality
I shall create a new mentality
One that all shall comprehend
In the land that I will mend
In response, the Dark Sky members stood still and blinked. They looked behind through the glass doors of the restaurant and saw bat pony employees standing around motionless as if time had stopped. Curious, they walked up to the paladin.
"Nice poem," Derpy complimented. "By the way, who the hell are you?"
"An envoy of the future..." the shadow paladin replied from under the radiant helm covering their face. "A servant of the god known as Fluttershy."
"!" the group was slightly surprised as they remembered what R.A.T. said. "So it's true...Fluttershy is going to be the god of the universe...if you're from the future, the L.O.W. project is destined to succeed. That must've been what Rarity tried to explain to us before..."
"Precisely..." the shadow paladin confirmed. "Even if you do find Fluttershy and stop her from collecting the orbs, you can not change that outcome."
"..." all of the Dark Sky members said silently and despondently.
"Please Dark Sky members," the shadow paladin pleaded. "I beg you...stop fighting against Fluttershy and instead fight for her. Just as Fluttershy is destined to become CrE, you were also destined to come to this world and prove yourselves worthy of being her most faithful servants. And for that to happen, you must defeat all of the robot alicorns in this world! Fight against these heathens who dare to oppose her!"
"But how?" the group asked. "We'd love to help Fluttershy, but we don't have that kind of strength..."
"True..." the shadow paladin replied as shadow exuded from his body. "But I can create that kind of strength within you..."
The shadow exuding from the paladin began to spread and divide itself, entering into each of the Dark Sky members. As a result, each of them felt overwhelmingly more powerful than before.
"Wow!" G. Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "With this power, I can make my plan to take down those machines work even better! Thanks for the..."
Before the Dark Sky members could thank the shadow paladin, he turned to flashing light and disappeared, leaving the Dark Sky members somewhat mystified.
"I guess that leaves us with just one mystery..." Derpy said in puzzlement of a certain someone's identity. "Who did throw that flash grenade?"
As the Dark Sky members sighed, they looked back through the glass doors of the restaurant and saw the bat ponies slowly starting to move again.
"Shoot, time's resuming!" G.R.D. alerted her comrades. "Everyone, hide! I've got an idea!"
Soon after the Dark Sky members had hidden, Robot Alicorn Twilight and the bat ponies stormed out of the restaurant.
"Where the heavenly Tartarus did those bastards go?!" R.A.T. yelled. "Scout this area right now and find them!"
The bat ponies obeyed the order and began searching. However, the pink restaurant remained stationary.
"That goes for you too, Pinkie!" R.A.T. exclaimed as she transformed the responseless R.A.P. as a building into R.A.P. as a squirt gun...revealing that the Dark Sky members, save G.R.D., were hiding behind the restaurant.
"!" R.A.T. made something that appeared to be an exclamation point appear over her head with magic to express her surprise. "THERE YOU ARE! PREPARE FOR YOUR DEATHS!"
Just as R.A.T. pulled the trigger on the R.A.P. squirt gun though, it turned to face her, causing herself to get blasted with a tidal wave. Hearing the wave coming, the bat ponies flew up to evade it, but R.A.T. took the wave strong enough to penetrate her waterproof armor full blast.
"AAAAAHHHHH!" R.A.T. screamed as she began to short circuit with electricity emanating from all around her body. "MY EYES!!! HOW DID-WHY-"
"NOW!" the Dark Sky members called their attack as they rushed toward R.A.T. with the shadow aura exuding from them. Protected from the electricity, they all leaped in the air and came down on R.A.T. with a drop punch, decimating her and her immorality chip to pieces. The bat ponies noticed the Dark Sky members' destructive behavior and were so terrified that they ran and flew away at the same time.
"Victory!" the Dark Sky members, including G.R.D. who came out of the R.A.P. squirt gun, cheered. "Your plan was brilliant, G. Rainbow Dash!"
"Heh heh," replied G.R.D., who had been part of that group cheer. "It was nothing really. I figured out that I could take possession of the pink robot alicorn when I went inside her wall while she was a restaurant. Since I couldn't possess R.A.T. (tried it, didn't work), I decided that the best strategy would be waiting until the pink one was needed. If I had turned her into a weapon while everyone was still in the restaurant..."
With those words, the R.A.P. squished herself into a smaller form and expanded into the pony form of herself.
"Woo-hoo, I'm free!" she shouted happily. "Thanks guys! You saved my master Twilight from a life of evil!"
"Wh-what?!" the Dark Sky members replied, almost having heart attacks as they put their defenses up. "What are you talking about?"
"Come on sillies," R.A.P. playfully taunted, "did you really think the robot alicorns were purely evil? The only reason Twilight was evil was because she was programmed that way with an immorality chip!"
"Immorality chips?" they responded. "Rarity told us a mouthful about you guys and how you're from a different reality or some shit, but never explained to us what that was..."
"Then allow me to elaborate..." R.A.P. prepared to explain. "Even after Celestia turned us into robot alicorns, our strong sense of justice lingered. None of us would have gone along with Celestia's evilly insane plans, so she had to use a bit of force. She either programmed us to be evil by implanting immorality chips into our brains, in the case of Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and eventually Fluttershy...or she turned us into tools under the control of her two favorite robot alicorns Twilight and Rainbow Dash, in the case of me and Rarity. I guess the ghost dude being able to possess me and not Twilight is proof of the latter."
"About the former then..." the Dark Sky members said. "Rarity told us that a robot alicorn can not be reasoned with and must be destroyed. How can that be true if they're not really evil? Can't we just take out their chips?"
"No," R.A.P. replied, "the chips are rooted deeply into the vital areas of their robot brains. If those chips are removed, they'll eventually cease to function and die. Just look at R.A.T.'s body..."
Upon investigating the spot of R.A.T.'s demise, not only did the Dark Sky members discover a squashed robot brain near sizable pieces of a chip that looked like it didn't play by any rules whatsoever, they also found a ghostly blue orb with a strange lock on it...
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED |
Lightening Fluttershy's Dark Sky | Banana Sandwich, Apple Bomb | The shadow paladin has tread the paths of good, evil, and neutrality...
Once the mission was accomplished last time, the Dark Sky members decided to examine the ghostly blue orb.
"So these are the orbs Celestia was talking about..." Hoops reminisced. "If what the shadow paladin said was true, collecting these and keeping these from Fluttershy should be a pointless pursuit. Yet I can't help but feel it's worth a try..."
"There's something about this orb that seems really familiar," said Ghost Rainbow Dash, "yet I can't put my invisible fingers on it."
"Do you think it's the fact that it's the same color as you?" Dumb-bell hinted.
"No, can't be." G.R.D. replied. "I put my fingers on myself all the time, regardless of color."
Everyone gave G.R.D. a weird look...
"I...didn't hear that." Dumb-bell sternly refused the proposal his ears gave to his brain.
"Oh you guys and your idealogically sensitive humor," Robot Alicorn Pinkie raced ahead to give a response like a chicken crying over sleeping through the sunrise the day he had to run a marathon. "The reason the orb is the same color as the ghost is because she was the main reason you were able to defeat Robot Alicorn Twilight with her diversion, simple as that. In exchange for saving her from hurting any more innocents, I'm sure R.A.T. will be more than happy to provide Ghostie here with vital information about what we need to do if we can get that lock removed."
Now R.A.P. was the one getting weird looks...
"You're...pretty informed for someone who's not the wittiest tool in the lightbulb closet." Hoops remarked. "How do you know all this?"
"I was given my resources..." R.A.P. explained with a smile. "Discord was more than happy to tell me the whole story after he and Rarity gave both the World of Creation and the World of Evolution new life...or should I call them by their original names, the World of Dark Sky and the World of the Transcending Dark Sky?"
"Oh?" said the Dark Sky members, slightly stunned by this revelation they already kind of knew about.
"I can feel your shock..." R.A.P. replied. "Even as a machine, the truth was hard for me to accept. The truth that we're all just pawns to be used in Discord and Rarity's project."
"Pawns?" Dumb-bell asked. "But we came here of our own accord..."
"Exactly..." R.A.P said. "You came here of your own accord...because that's what Discord and Rarity wanted to happen in this reality. They re-created this world and revived the Robot Alicorns as orb-carriers to test you guys and see..."
"..." Score interjected silently.
"Yeah, didn't Rarity already tell us something like this?" Dumb-bell pointed out. "Do we really need to hear the same explanation again only with Discord?"
"N-no," R.A.P. replied, "this is a different explanation. You guys may have been told some things, but you don't the whole truth about..."
"I don't know much about this Discord guy other than that he came over to Fluttershy's house and Celestia's castle a few times to get his tax forms filled out or something like that." Derpy interrupted as she informed. "But what else do you want us to know about Rarity? She's our trusted boss, a ninja, a bender of time and reality, and a friend of the Spirit of Chaos. I think that's all we need to know."
"You...wouldn't make a very good cyborg." R.A.P. demeaned. "You don't understand that..."
"Hey!" Derpy took offense. "That's not really nice, I'd make a great machine! I'll have you know that I run really well! It's a skill that helps my fellow agents with all of their operations!"
"We're not those kind of agents Derpy, we're deliverers of music..." Hoops intervened. "Just because we're employed by royalty doesn't mean that we're spies on a secret mission for the government or something."
"So am I still explaining something important to you guys, or...?" R.A.P. opened up possibilities like a soup chef camping out under a bell tower.
"I think it's the latter." G.R.D. decided.
R.A.P. just stood there in silence thinking to herself.
"Now I know why I chose these guys for the plan..." she said in her mind. "They make better tools than machines!"
"Well thanks for telling us what we wanted to hear," said Hoops with gratitude as he put the orb in his fur pouch, "but we have a mission to accomplish. Celestia told us to get her the orbs if we could find them, but that's only a side quest."
"Yeah." Derpy followed up as the gang started walking away. "We still need to find Fluttershy! Even if we can't stop one outcome, we'll find another way to stop another outcome!"
"Wait!" R.A.P. yelled out to the group as she ran and flew up ahead of them.
"What is it?" the Dark Sky members asked calmly as they stopped and put their hooves down in the dirt trail.
"Can I please...join you guys?" R.A.P. pleaded. "Now that I'm good, I really want to stop the other evil robot alicorns of this world! They're in the city right now harassing and killing innocent civilians!"
"Wh-what?!" they shouted in surprise. "Are all of them there?"
"Robot Alicorn Fluttershy was sent to the World of Creation," explained R.A.P., "and I don't know where Robot Alicorn Rarity is. But I know for certain that Twilight and I arrived to this world with Robot Alicorns Applejack and Rainbow Dash. If you let me come along, I can brighten the dark path on the way to the city and even guide you to their hideouts...what do you say?"
Dumb-bell, Hoops, Score, and Derpy slightly knocked their heads in thought before turning to G.R.D.
"What do you say, Rainbow?" they asked. "You are the leader now that Fluttershy isn't here..."
"I guess," G.R.D. assumed like she assumed her position. "Just make sure to stay out of my way. I'm not afraid to go through you if I have to..."
"I guess that would...feel somewhat uncomfortable..." R.A.P. gave the ghost's remark some weight. "Anyways, time to lighten things up!"
R.A.P. pulled a grenade launcher out from her metal innerworkings and fired a flash grenade into the dark city. As the grenade exploded and lightened up the place, the sound of screaming, cars crashing, and bat ponies complaining about eye pain could be heard in the distance.
"HEY! HEY!" some bat ponies started yelling. "DO YOU MORONS HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT TIME IT IS?! IT'S NINE O' CLOCK IN THE MORNING! WE'RE TRYING TO SLEEP IN HERE! WHO THE HELL DID THAT?!"
"Oh crap..." R.A.P. muttered as bat ponies started flying out of the city and heading towards to where they were to investigate. "Everyone, stay low, and keep qui-"
"Hey wait a minute," said Derpy, "I remember now! You must have been the one who threw the grenade when we first came here!"
"What was that?!" one of the scouting bat ponies responded as he faintly heard some of the conversation from the distance. "Is there somebody there?"
"Freaking damnation!" R.A.P. cursed. "We have to go banana-sandwich!"
"What does that mean?" the Dark Sky members asked.
"!" the scout bat pony who overheard them reacted when he came closer and saw them. "IT'S THOSE GUYS! The ones Applejack wanted! Everyo-!"
The scout was interrupted by a laser blast from R.A.P.'s horn that sent him flying.
"It means we force our way through by any and all means, duh!" R.A.P. sassed as she put her grenade launcher back inside of her. "What do you think I meant, to go banana-split?!"
The group ran down the now visible and well-lit trail and into the city, with bat ponies following right behind.
"For as long (actually not too long) as we can remember, we've kept this world nice and dark..." the bat ponies hissed as R.A.P. tried to fire lasers of light back at them with little avail. "You shall not make our work more difficult!"
"Guys, forward and ahead!" G.R.D. announced to the group as she pointed straight to a bar with a sign up on it that read "Applejack's Open Time". "I think that's R.A. Applejack's hideout!"
"Ha ha mwa!" the pursuing bat ponies guffawed. "What are you going to do, ask our leader to help you hide from us?!"
"Wait, wasn't R.A. Twilight your leader?" Derpy asked an intelligent question.
"Not by a long shot!" they continued their gloating. "We've always been working for R.A. Applejack! The waiters from the restaurant were just spies! Gwa ha ma!"
"So you were just using her from the start!" Dumb-bell scolded.
"Why so austere?" the bat ponies kept laughing. "Don't tell me you've never betrayed the trust of an evil creature."
"The betrayal of evil does not create justice!" Hoops shouted.
"Heh heh, I think we're about done here." the bat ponies said as they stopped chasing the group. "We've gotten our entertainment out of you. We'll let our leader handle the rest..."
R.A.P. and the Dark Sky members soon arrived at the front door of Applejack's Open Time as the chase concluded.
"And for the record," R.A.P. established as she panted from the running, "I did not throw that grenade! Twilight did! I was the restaurant in the building the entire time, R.A.T. just stole my weapon!"
"Wow, what a turn!" Derpy remarked at the sudden twist of old events. "We solved the mystery! ACCOMPLISHED MISSION, gang!"
"Hold the celebration Derpy," said Hoops, "we're still only on part two of this thing."
"So part two of our current mission is defeating Robot Alicorn Applejack?" Derpy surmised.
"You could...say it like that." Hoops replied with a smirk.
"What are we just doing standing here?" Dumb-bell interjected. "Shouldn't we be in the bar?"
"Technically no." Derpy said. "The drinking age is 21, and everyone in our group except Rainbow and R.A.P. is 22. We're overage."
"Derpy..." R.A.P. responded as she facehoofed. "What you said was wrong, and no one cares about it. Besides, I have a strategy to deal with this mechanical monstrosity that involves just me going in the bar."
"Oh?" the Dark Sky members said. "Do tell."
"You guys will wait out here," elaborated R.A.P.., "while I go inside the bar and engage R.A.A. alone. Once I've weakened her, I'll lure her out here. Those bat ponies who saw us together haven't made it over here, so they shouldn't be expecting you guys if it's just me. And even without a surprise attack, I'm sure you can handle her when she's weak with your power. Are you okay with that plan?"
"Rainbow..." the Dark Sky members said to their leader, awaiting her say.
"I suppose." Rainbow Dash decided. "If it saves me the trouble of coming up with a plan, I'm all for it."
"Good." R.A.P. replied. "Now get back..."
The Dark Sky members went over to the right side of the building as R.A.P. began to open the door. It was a wooden door with a knob, and the knob's other side was a bar that was styled to look like something straight out of a Western science fiction movie. Everywhere, there were metal tables, metal chairs, metal ropes hanging from metal support beams on the ceiling, a huge stack of metal barrels of apple whiskey and beer mixed together behind the bartender's counter, and wooden windows. The employees in this place were businessmen wearing white shirts with ties, black pants, and cowboy hats, who delivered drinks in strange wooden mugs and bottles to the normal pony customers.
The manager of this place was right out in the open doing her managing work at a desk next to a uniformed bartender with her backside facing the front door. She was Robot Alicorn Applejack, and she wore white panties around her rear, as well as a white bra around her robot breasts.
"Well howdy Pinkie." R.A.A. greeted with her rear facing R.A.P. as she walked in and shut the door behind her. "How's Twilight been?"
"Your sense of humor's worse than mine..." R.A.P. responded, shutting her eyes and shaking her head. "I know the spies from the restaurant already told you what happened."
"Your smart mouth is worse than mine..." R.A.A. complimented the intellect of R.A.P.'s piehole. "I know all about this little "project" of Rarity and Discord's...do you see me trying to brag about it to outsiders?"
"!" R.A.P. had that emotion. "So R.A.T.'s not the only robot alicorn who knows..."
"Yes..." R.A.A. replied as she put her managing work where R.A.P. could clearly see it. "And I'm not going to die by the hooves of those fatheaded numbskulls outside on purpose just because it's my destiny. I'm going to go out with a blaze of glory..."
"Blaze of...glory?" R.A.P. reiterated as she read what R.A.A. had put in front of her...
Opening Time
..W-day is approaching, today is our last chance.
We can't call for help, just alcohol.
Troubles are a-poaching, like a bad romance.
Don't even yelp, just fall...
Fall, fall out winter boy.
Finish, I don't care about the type of booze.
Fly, just know that the eagles are not coy.
Fail, a loss we didn't choose
Goodbye
R.A.P. then looked up at R.A.A. as she realized what this poem meant...
"Yeah, the tools outside have a destiny, but not you..." R.A.A. said as her horn began to light up. "I know who I want to take home...TO HELL!"
With those words, R.A.A. turned to the stack of metal barrels of apple alcohol and charged up her laser beam. R.A.P. ran as fast as she could to a wooden window on the right and jumped out of it. Before the Dark Sky members could ask what was going on, she transformed into a giant pink train coated in heatproof armor.
"GET INSIDE!" the Pinkie train as she opened her door. "THE BAR'S GOING TO BLOW UP!"
All of the Dark Sky members rushed inside the train except for Derpy, who was confused.
"Wait, don't we need tickets?" she asked.
But it was too late to ask questions. The bar exploded and blew away both the Pinkie train and Derpy into the air. Though shielded from the explosion from being behind the Pinkie train, Derpy was crushed by the train when both of them landed. The train rolled over her before it stopped motionless in the dirt, leaving Derpy flat on the ground. Applejack's Open Time was nothing more than a pile of debris and a logo. On top of the debris pile was a poster of a businessman smiling and lying down with an open briefcase and the words "Got the Files?" written on it, and below the poster, a burnt and mortally wounded R.A.A. crawled out with the poster on her face. Taking the poster off her face with a blank expression, she walked languidly over to the flattened Derpy.
"I knew it..." R.A.A. said as she looked down at Derpy and coughed. "Even if it defies everything logical..."
Derpy had been flattened classic cartoon character style. R.A.A. just breathed a sigh of depression as she pulled an uzi-like shotgun out of herself.
"I know you can't die, but I'll fight to the end..." R.A.A. said, knowing those would be her final words.
Before R.A.A. could pull the trigger, she was run over by the Pinkie train, being operated by the Dark Sky members. She got dragged under the wheels and died being crushed to pieces as she realized that she had even failed to kill the only one she thought she could kill. After the train had finished going over her, all that remained of her was the pieces of her and her immorality chip, and a dullish gray orb with another strange lock on it...
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED |
Lightening Fluttershy's Dark Sky | The Truth of the Orbs | There is only one true dark sky, but the one true Fluttershy is three in one...
The Dark Sky members immediately got out of the train and ran over to Derpy.
"DERPY!" they collectively yelled with concern as they looked down at her. "Are you okay?!"
"I feel funny..." Derpy replied. "And by that, I mean I have a strange feeling this is someone's unusual idea of a joke..."
"That's the smartest thing I've ever heard you say." Robot Alicorn Pinkie complimented as she turned back into a pony. "Discord is laughing his ass off as we speak..."
R.A.P. went over to Derpy, picked her up, and began breathing into her mouth, inflating her back to normal. Afterwards, the group began to mingle.
"So we can't even die unless they want us too..." Ghost Rainbow Dash said with a groan. "Now I don't feel so special..."
"There was something off about the way all of that happened..." Dumb-bell theorized.
"...Huh?" a confused R.A.P. said.
"No kidding," Hoops added to the theory, "we didn't even get to actually fight that robot alicorn. It's almost like she gave up before the battle even began..."
"Well to be fair," Derpy chimed in, "we did kill the machine alicorn from the restaurant pretty quickly."
"That was different though." G.R.D. countered. "I helped out majorly in that fight. Fights should always be going pretty quickly if I'm helping out!"
"Wait a second..." R.A.P. interjected. "Why are you guys squabbling about what just happened like you don't the reason why it happened? I thought you already knew the reason!"
"Hmm, what?" Dumb-bell asked.
"You already know that Rarity and Discord control everything in this reality!" R.A.P. exclaimed. "That's why all these abnormal things that can't happen very often are happening for the sake of your progress! They want you to succeed in collecting all of the orbs so that they can get the L.O.W. project going!"
"Yeah, we know that..." Hoops responded. "We're just wondering why Rarity set it all up that way."
"Yeah, Rarity could've made that last part more interesting!" G.R.D. asserted like a fourteen-year old boy forgetting to spell his name right for a joke on an internet forum for kids. "Like, instead of making Derpy that stretch guy from the Fantastic Four and having Robot Alicorn Applejack being all EMO (frickin' poetry, seriously?), why not have me possess R.A.P. and fuse with everyone to form a huge Vulcan bot? Then when Applejack sees me, she starts begging for mercy (but she's really not, because she's a totally evil dickdouche!), and I'm like "HA HA, DIE! BOOM!" I fire my laser cannon at her and she's dead! And then all the guys she had tied up naked in the basement will be all like "Oh, Ghost Rainbow Dash, you saved us! We love you and we wish you had a hot body so we could touch it! Oh God, please come inside of us and jerk us off!""
There was a long moment of silence as everyone looked at G.R.D. with a blank expression on their face.
"I...guess at the very least that could've been more intriguing..." Hoops remarked.
"..." Score silently analyzed and gave his review of what G. Rainbow Dash said.
"Excellent critique!" Derpy lauded. "I wish that I had those opinions!"
"A Vulcan bot is a bit trite though," Dumb-bell threw in his two cents. "I'd prefer us to merge together to form a Vegito bot from Dragon Ball Z!"
"Ew...I don't like Dragon Ball Z because it's anime...>.>" G.R.D. gave a sincere opinion with a smiley. "And I don't like anime because it's so cheesy, stupid, and unkawaii."
As Dumb-bell lashed back at her angrily and immaturely with a respectful counterargument, R.A.P. began to fume as she walked away from the group quietly.
"Hey, where is she going?" Derpy asked. "She's going to miss Brony Fighting Time!"
"You mean Otaku Fighting Time," Hoops corrected, "Brony Fighting Time comes on Tuesdays and Thursdays."
"I'll go talk to her and see what's up." Derpy said as she walked a few steps over to R.A.P. and touched her right shoulder with her hoof. "Hey Rap, is something the mat-"
"STEP OFF!" R.A.P. shouted as she shoved Derpy's hoof away angrily. This moment of drama was enough to disrupt the epic battle of the animeniacs, as all the Dark Sky members glared at R.A.P. in surprise.
"IF YOU GUYS DON'T LIKE ME AND DON'T APPRECIATE WHAT I DO FOR YOU, THEN DON'T HANG OUT WITH ME!" she declared with rage in her voice.
With that, she took flight and began to fly away towards a mysterious metal blue castle.
"DAYUMAMN, what is her problem?" G.R.D. asked.
"We were hanging out?" Dumb-bell said as he gave himself a head knock in his puzzlement. "I thought we were providing filler while we waited for R.A.P. to take us to the next part of the story."
"YOU DON'T HAVE TO REMIND ME!" R.A.P. yelled, her voice becoming audible to the group from a distance.
R.A.P. pulled out a mysterious scroll from where she kept her garoting string and began to chant something inaudible as she held the scroll up to her. Once she had finished chanting, a part of the sky turned dark and a hole opened up in it over the Dark Sky members. One by one, it sucked each of them inside. When it finished sucking, another dark sky hole opened up in the sky above the entrance to the mysterious metal blue castle and blew them out. They fell fifty feet from the sky and landed on the ground huddled together. A bat pony guard, who had been scouting the area for intruders from atop a perch, spotted them and ran inside the castle frantically.
"Sir!" the bat pony guard exclaimed as he went over to a blue cyborg pony who was sitting on a throne and sipping grape alcohol from a glass that covered their mouth. "A dark hole just opened up in the sky, and those guys came out of it! They're right outside the front gates! What should we do sir?"
The blue cyborg pony grinned as she pulled the glass away from her mouth, revealing it to be the mouth of...Robot Alicorn Rainbow Dash.
"We do what I wish I was programmed to do..." Robot Alicorn Rainbow Dash replied with a tone of excitement. "Show them a good time, sergeant..."
"Do you want me to initiate the castle's Cannon Party mode?" the bat pony sergeant asked.
"Nah, let's go for something more subtle." R.A.R.D. replied. "How about the Mystery Machine Mansion mode?"
"...Sure thing, sir!" the bat pony sergeant gave an obedient response as he pulled a blue button switch out of his wing pockets and pressed it.
With the press of that button, the metal castle began to transform into a mechanically spooky mansion straight out of a science fiction/horror flick, right when the Dark Sky members, each exuding an aura of shadow, were recovering from the case of lazyitis they were afflicted with after the fall from the portal.
"Man, those shadow powers really allow you to take this kind of thing lying down..." Dumb-bell referred to both the lazyitis and the severe injuries they didn't have from the fifty-foot drop as he got up.
"Aw, you guys didn't even need classic cartoon character powers to survive..." G.R.D. moaned as she rose to her feet in the air. "Ghost powers don't allow me to take poor self-esteem issues lying down..."
"What are you moping about?" Derpy asked as she just laid there on her back. "I always have poor self-esteem issues, and I can take them lying face up."
Ghost R.D. gave a bemused look as she flew over to Derpy and whispered something softly in her ear...
"...Boo."
"..." Score imitated the sound of a laugh track silently.
"Okaaayyy..." Hoops said as he pulled Derpy off the ground to her feet. "That's enough joking around. I think we've provided this story with enough comic relief. We should be getting back to our mission now, I don't want us to completely forget about the plot like last time."
"You're no fun..." G.R.D. grunted with her front leg arms crossed. "I hate being the leader sometimes..."
"Oh," replied Derpy, "you mean the time when we were in "Fluttershy's" "dream"?"
"No," said Hoops, "I mean last time."
"Oh..." Derpy replied. "Man, why are these terms such a mystery to me?"
"Speaking of mysteries..." Dumb-bell intervened. "I think we have another one besides the shadow paladin now..."
"Yeah, I smell a rat about that R.A.P...." Hoops threw in his cents. "I thought at first that she was just put here by Rarity as a guide to aid us on our quest, but now..."
"I can excuse her behavior being anything but normal," said G.R.D., "but she acts nothing like Pinkie Pie would if she got turned into a robot alicorn in a different reality created by Rarity!"
"And let's not forget that she yelled a lot and had a scroll!" Derpy added.
There was a pause...and then Hoops thought over that bit of information.
"Wait..." he said as he came to a conclusion. "I think I've got it now! Derpy, you're as incredible as they say!"
"Aw, thank-wait." Derpy responded. "Who's they?! They better not be someone who thinks I'm stupid!"
"I give up..." a voice came from behind the mansion's new front door as somebody from inside opened it up. "Are you guys ever going to come inside?"
Surprised and curious, the Dark Sky members looked inside the castle and saw the shadow paladin on his horse, but not armed with his spear.
"Woah..." they said. "What are you doing here?"
"Who knows?" the shadow paladin replied as a familiar gray ball formed in his empty right hand. "Like you implied, I'm a mystery. The bigger mystery than me though is why you left this behind..."
"Oh yeah..." the Dark Sky members felt silly as they recognized the gray ball as the orb they got from R.A.A.. "We keep forgetting that those things exist. After all, the main reason we came here was to stop Fluttershy from collecting the orbs and learning the horrible truth..."
"And what is your main reason for being in this world now?" the shadow paladin asked as he began smiling, tossing the gray ball in the air and catching it for fun. "You've already rid this realm of two of its heathens, so I'm assuming that you've resolved to become warriors of Fluttershy..."
"Not quite..." the group replied. "Before we make a decision like that, we want to know more about you. Who exactly are you? You trusted us enough to give us your power and even told us your backstory, but you've still never shown us your face..."
"Precisely," the paladin replied. "But I assure you, it has nothing to do with distrust. My face is known to none who live, not even to my lord, Fluttershy."
"?!" the group went as the shadow paladin began to utter another...poem?
???!
There was a friendly, but naive king
Who wed a very nasty queen
The king was loved, but...
The queen was feared.
Then one day, while he was strolling through his court
An arrow pierced the poor king's heart
He lost his life, and...
His lady love.
"Did you..." Derpy said. "Did you just speak a song as a poem?"
"Yes." the shadow paladin replied.
"You can't do that!" Derpy exclaimed. "Not only is it not even your song, you can't speak a song, that's like trying to sing a poem!"
"Ha ha, I love you guys." the shadow paladin said as he handed the orb over to Hoops. "Take good care of the orb. I know that with your strength and the clue I've given to you, you'll have no trouble defeating Robot Alicorn Rainbow Dash. Till we meet once again..."
"Wait, what are these orbs really for?" Hoops asked, just as the shadow paladin turned to flashing light and disappeared. "And...of course, he's gone."
"No shit, Sherlock." G.R.D. taunted. "He disappeared."
"Rarity (for now) help me..." Hoops said as he put his front hooves on his face. "Alright, how do you think we should traverse this castle to get to R.A.R.D., Leader?"
"It's simple," G.R.D. replied respectfully to her subordinate. "This is a mystery mansion, right? All we have to do to is stay together as a gang and look for clues that will help us solve this mansion's mystery!"
"But what is the mystery?" Dumb-bell asked.
"It's right over there." G.R.D. explained as she pointed to a puzzle. "There's two button switches over there on that wall below an emblem painting. The emblem painting depicts a shadow dressed in the armor of a king on the left side, striking a familiar changeling queen named Chrysalis over the head with a strange jar on the right. Both the switches and the emblem painting are above a staircase decorated with a green and brown carpet-"
"Uh, Rainbow Dash..." Hoops interjected. "You do realize we can see all that with our own eyes, right? You don't have to do our jobs for us..."
"Hey, don't look at me." G.R.D. replied defensively. "It's not my fault that SOMEONE got lazy..." ...
The group went up the staircase GHOST RAINBOW DASH was talking about. Upon closer examination of the wall, they found a note that SHE forgot to mention below the painting and taped to the wall. Score tore the note off the wall and read it out loud with silence...
The Right Switch
Welcome, strangers. You've done well to make it this far, to the painting of Chrysalis
The way to the robot alicorn will open if you press the right switch
The right switch will bring you fortune, but...
The wrong switch will bring you doom.
The clue to find the right switch is in the song, find what you must sing
Turn it into a poem, find what doesn't ring
Don't lose your hope, and...
Don't lose your lives
Out of curiosity, Score looked at the back of the note and found the song the shadow paladin uttered earlier written on it...
"What kind of poem was that?" Derpy complained. "The only words in it that truly rhymed were "sing" and "ring"!"
"Derpy!" Hoops exclaimed. "Not everything has to be a po- Wait...it mentioned a poem...what doesn't ring...and that song from earlier...could it mean what didn't rhyme?"
"But that can't be, nothing in that song actually rhymed!" Dumb-bell reminded them. "What, are they trying to tell us that king rhymes with queen, or something?"
"Wait, king...queen..." Hoops muttered as he came to a realization. "The painting! It's the left switch!"
"Oh yeah!" G.R.D. exclaimed as she came to a similar realization. "Because Queen Chrysalis is dead, all that's left is the king! And the king's on the left side of the painting! Good job, Hoops! Your guess helped me figure out the solution! Score, pull the left switch!"
"Actually, the way we were supposed to know was..." Hoops was cut off by Score pushing the left switch, which activated a resounding mechanism in the castle.
Meanwhile, on the top floor...
The bat pony sergeant was standing guard while R.A.R.D. was sitting on her throne, wondering what was taking the Dark Sky members so long.
"Man, what is taking those guys so long?" she pondered. "Either they came down with slacker disease, or that puzzle that new light dark knight recruit came up with was too hard for them..."
But the floor revealed that R.A.R.D. was wrong, for in it, a large hole was created right beneath her throne!
"Woah!" R.A.R.D. yelled as she jumped and flew up, watching her throne fall to the bottom floor through the hole. "I guess I got a third of that wrong...But hey, I finally get to fight-"
R.A.R.D. was interrupted as a spear shot up from out of a small hole in the bottom floor at lightning speed, piercing her through her left robot lung and impaling the wall behind her.
"GWAH!" she cried as she fell to the floor in pain.
"SIR!" the bat pony sergeant shouted as he immediately went over to the wounded cyborg.
"How did..." R.A.R.D. muttered, clutching her wound. "How did that hurt me? No ordinary spear can pierce my robot armor! Wait a minute, that light dark knight always carried a spear...could he have..."
Back on the bottom floor, the Dark Sky members saw what had happened there, and had overheard the commotion on the top floor, so they flew up there to see what had happened.
"Woah, so that's what happened here..." they said after a quick investigation of the scene.
"YOU!" the bat pony sergeant yelled. "You injured my master before her fight with you even began! How callous and cheap can you get?!"
"Wait, she actually wanted to fight us?" they asked. "Is she like Robot Alicorn Twilight, where she tried to rebel against Rarity and Disc Horde's plan?
"Fools..." R.A.R.D. said. "That was just an act...We all know everything about what Rarity and Discord are trying to do...they're just using us as a way to use you to revive the power of the orbs..."
"Fine by us, whatever that means." the Dark Sky replied nonchalantly. "Reviving the power of the orbs sounds like a good cause."
"Oh, you guys..." R.A.R.D. laughed as she tried to get up and stand. "I'm going to enjoy seeing how Rarity and Discord have planned for you to kill me..."
"S-sir!" the bat pony sergeant grabbed R.A.R.D. as she stumbled while trying to stand. "Right now, you're in no condition to fight!"
"Then you're going to get me in condition to fight..." R.A.R.D. said with a sneer as her horn began to glow. "It's time for us to merge..."
"But I'm not a cyborg like you!" the bat pony sergeant cried. "If we do that, I'll become lifeless metal! Please...NNNOOOO!"
R.A.R.D. cast a spell on the bat pony sergeant that caused him and her to fuse together, forming...a Scott Pilgrim bot from Scott Pilgrim.
"MWA HA HA!" the Robot Alicorn Rainbow Dash Scott Pilgrim bot cackled. "WHAT DO YOU THINK OF ME NOW?!"
"I think you're a disappointment, to be honest." Dumb-bell gave his honest opinion. "I wanted something out of an anime! Or at least a manga! Hell, even something from a video game would've been fine..."
"SHUT UP!" R.A.R.D. Scott Pilgrim bot bellowed. "I feel so powerful right now, I could take on the whole world! But I think I'm going to start small with you guys! Take this!"
The Scott Pilgrim bot retracted his right hand to open up a hole in his arm, releasing a sleeping gas cloud wearing boxing gloves. The sleeping gas cloud flew over to Dumb-bell and tried to knock him out like Mr. Dream from Punch-Out!! would, but a shadowy aura exuding from Dumb-bell's body repelled him, causing him to dissipate. There were a few moments of silence as R.A.R.D. held a look of embarrassment on her face...
"Maybe I should have read Scott Pilgrim..." R.A.R.D. muttered in regret.
"You think?!" Hoops replied as he and Score had taken R.A.R.D.'s Scott Pilgrim bot back in her moments of silence, and both of them grabbed her arms. "Let's show them how it's done guys!"
Dumb-bell, Ghost Rainbow Dash, and Derpy then turned to shadow aura-exuding mist, and fused together to form...a shadow mist dragon from...Yu-Gi-Oh!, I guess (G.R.D. doesn't know that there's an anime of it)!
"For killing your own soldier, butchering the source material of a comic, and everything else..." the shadow mist dragon spoke as it charged up a fiery breath attack. "YOU SHALL BE PUNISHED WITH OUR WRATH!"
In desperation, R.A.R.D. tried to counterattack by pulling a pistol-like magnum out of herself and firing at the condensed burning shadow water, but it proved futile.
"AAAAAHHHHH!" R.A.R.D. Scott Pilgrim bot screamed as she was hit by the shadow mist breath and reduced to watery, dark pieces forming a pile of ash with an orb sitting on top of it. The orb, like the other two, had a strange lock on it, and also had black, orange, and gray colors in it.
"We did it!" shouted Hoops and Score as the other three Dark Sky members turned back to normal. "Now all that's left to accomplish our mission is to find Fluttershy!"
"Not so fast..." a voice from the shadows that just appeared in the throne room said. "Your mission is already complete..."
"Huh?" the Dark Sky members responded. "Wait a minute, that voice...Robot Alicorn Pinkie?"
"No..." the voice laughed as its bearer stepped out of the shadows. It was R.A.P.....holding a scroll and doing a reality bending spell to transform into Rarity in her ninja outfit!
"I knew it since before we stepped into this mansion..." Hoops said. "You were Rarity all along..."
"Partially correct..." Rarity replied. "I am actually an exact clone of Rarity made from a human being with Body Mind Soul summoning. Transformed into Rarity's body, mind, and soul, I share all of her physical features, thoughts, and inner feelings. When the real Rarity revived R.A.P., she fused her into my being with Body Mind Soul summoning, so that I can transform into her with a reality bending spell any time I want with this scroll."
"But why did she do that?" Derpy asked.
"Rarity became R.A.P. partly to help you, and partly to become closer to you guys..." Rarity explained. "But we all know how WELL that turned out...grr..."
"What about Fluttershy?" G.R.D. asked. "Celestia told us she came here with the Interdimensional Police Department..."
"That was a lie," said Rarity with a chuckle. "Fluttershy and the IDPD went to the World of Creation. The Rarity that is with them is also an exact copy of Rarity that was created from a human being with BMS summoning, but fused with Robot Alicorn Rarity. She's gotten herself in trouble with a crazy shadow bard though, so I was just on my way to give her some help. I'm not going to leave everything to that energy drink addict..."
"But why did Celestia lie?" Dumb-bell kept up the questioning.
"She found out what Discord and I were up to..." Rarity explained. "So she tried to use you three to steal three of the orbs for herself behind our backs. Unfortunately, Discord found out what she was up to in turn, and put locks on all of this world's orbs behind her back. Ha! Oh, if only she knew how powerful him and I really are...Speaking of Discord and I, we wish to ask you five of another favor concerning Celestia..."
"..." Score asked curiously.
"Huh?" Rarity responded. "Sorry, I couldn't quite make that out."
"I think what he meant was this..." Hoops intervened. "We'd be glad to do this favor of yours, but first, can you please tell us more about the orbs? Celestia told us that if Fluttershy and the IDPD got all six of them, they would be shown the way to their heart's desire, finding Chrysalis' killer. She promised us that if she got them, she would use the magic inside of them for her own personal reasons, preventing Fluttershy from ever learning who murdered Chrysalis and learning the horrible truth."
"Oh yeah, about the "way to the heart's desire"..." replied Rarity, "I made all that up. Everyone was in on that lie except for you guys, Fluttershy, and of course, Sky. It was exactly like the time I made up that stuff I told you guys to tell Sky back in the REAL World of Creation. But that's not important for now...what's important is that you guys know what those orbs are for. They are by far the most crucial part of the L.O.W. project's success, for they open the gateway...to the last remaining copy of...Fluttershy's soul."
"...Woah." the Dark Sky members said.
"I believe it's time we got out of this place..." Rarity said as she pulled a scroll out of her outfit. "When we come back, I'll tell you exactly what needs to be done...members of the Dark Sky."
After Rarity chanted a spell, the mission finally ended.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
Enigmatic Words from the Cloud Dragon of the Mist
Congrats reader, you know what happened to The Dark Sky at the start of their path towards being the world's hope in the World of Evolution. But what have Fluttershy and her friends been doing in the World of Creation? Do you know? If not, you may wish to know for who knows the secrets of a brightly lit sky at night... |
Lightening Fluttershy's Dark Sky | The Murderer Revealed | The two paths shall finally come together, but only one, you must decide to be the light...
Everyone in the portal room except for the odd-looking Luna gathered around to ponder the meaning of all the hints in the orbs Fluttershy and the Interdimensional Police Department found in the World of Creation.
"Search the pattern, the numbers reveal the truth, Killers have a code, Yearning to reverse your fortune, you find a false hint...What does it mean?" Rarity asked with a grin as bright and vivid as a tangerine dropping into a pot of gold.
"I'm afraid I think I know what it means..." Fluttershy replied. "The murderer is..."
"...Sky."
Sky froze in both fear and shock as everyone except Luna turned their attention to him.
"No..." Sky said. "How can it be me?"
"I'm afraid it's true Sky..." Fluttershy responded. "I figured it out when we became King Sombra together...you and I are supposed to be identical in body, mind, and soul...but when I fused with you, I noticed something very off...only most of you became King Sombra, while I became all of him."
"R-really?" Sky asked.
"Yeah, and I think I know why..." Fluttershy continued. "Didn't Sombra mention that Fluttershy's transformation into him was halted by Rarity? That's what happened at the end of the dream...Rarity killed Celestia and tore my soul out. Because of that, I thought it was impossible for the dream to be real. But now, I'm putting two and two together and realizing something..."
"And that is...?" Discord asked with a smile, knowing the response.
"The Celestia in this castle is an impostor..." Fluttershy explained. "And the Fluttershy who found the jar in the bedroom...was not me. It was you. You are not Sky. You are the real Fluttershy...and I am a clone made from a human being."
"R-Really?!" Sky shouted.
"Yes..." Fluttershy said. "Though what I don't understand is...the point."
"I believe this is where I come in." Rarity interjected. "You see, Discord and I wanted to turn you Sky, or should I say, the real Fluttershy, into King Sombra as part of a project that we, the creators of the universe are working on, the Lightly Ordered World project. Discord lied when he told you that he and Princess Celestia created this world...it was actually Discord and I. We wanted to turn Fluttershy into Sombra, but when Chrysalis was murdered, our plans were impeded and we had to revise the entire project. That's why I pulled the plug on the whole "lost in time dream" thing, under the "ultimate revenge scheme" guise, and switched to a new "collecting orbs to solve a murder mystery" thing..."
"But why was he turned into Sky?" Fluttershy asked. "What was the point of that whole setup with him being in the middle of turning Rarity into an immortal or something?"
"Oh, that was just to tie in a few things and mess with him." Discord said with a snicker. "Rarity asked me to do it for a "simple revenge scheme" because she's secretly a bit sore about that whole thing with Fluttershy "getting her killed in the Fluttershy's Dark Sky world" ordeal. The Rarity in the basement was actually just a clone created from a human with Body Mind Soul Summoning, and the Dark Sky members were the ones who "rescued" her. Everything about Rarity and Sky being together was just a massive, obese lie, and the whole thing about the Dark Sky members being time travelers delivering a prophecy was just a joke to reference what we had originally wanted to do."
"I guess that makes sense in a weird way," said Sky, "but what does not make sense in any way is how this all adds up to me being Chrysalis' killer!"
"Oh, that's actually really simple." Rarity replied. "Not only were you the prime suspect when you were Fluttershy, the three orbs we have now have given us a clue that basically says you're the culprit. ...Fluttershy?"
"Right." Fluttershy responded to her untold command, and rearranged the clues to form this...
Search the pattern, the numbers reveal the truth
Killers have a code
Yearning to reverse your fortune, you find a false hint
"Oh, they spell my name..." Sky realized as he lowered his head and accepted defeat. "I can't argue with evidence like that..."
"It pains us to do this, Sky..." Discord said as he did a dramatic pose. "But for killing Chrysalis, we have no choice but to..."
But before the hammer of justice could be swung, cries of agony were heard from upstairs.
"YYYAAAHHH!" an unfamiliar voice cried. "HELP MMMEEEEE!"
"That voice..." Discord said, recognizing it, being an expert of the unfamiliar. "It's him!"
Discord teleported himself and the group upstairs to where the crying was coming from...the Dark Sky's practice room. Opening the door, he and the others found...the Dark Sky members playing their instruments as Celestia whined into a microphone death metal style.
You Can't Comprehand
So here I am again!
Trying so hard, but I just can't win!
Everyone tells me to just refuse!
But they don't know what it's like to lose!
You can't comprehand my body!
You can't comprehand my mind!
You don't know what makes me whole!
Cause you don't have my soul!
And they'll scream "YYYAAAHHH! HELP ME!" .
Because they just can't see!
The only one that can help me...
IS ME!
After the song was over, Derpy began to clap.
"Bravado, everyone!" Derpy complimented. "And bravo to your singing voice Joe, it's as good as mine!"
"...Joe?" Fluttershy and Sky expressed confusion about the name while Discord expressed confusion about the sight.
"Hey, Fluttershy and that guy we barely know!" Dumb-bell exclaimed upon seeing the two. "Long time, no see!"
"What are you guys doing?" Discord asked. "How do you know that Celestia's real name is Joe?"
"Actually, it's Jason." Celestia chimed in, now talking like a surfer. "And don't worry Uncle Cord, the dudes from the sky are cool."
"What he said, you don't have to keep up the act around us, Discord." Ghost Rainbow Dash welcomed informalities. "That Rarity clone told us everything, and I just want you to know that we fully support what you and Rarity are doing with the Lightly Ordered World (L.O.W.) project!"
"What's she talking about...?" Fluttershy asked as she turned to Discord and Rarity, who both turned their heads away and whistled. Discord leaned in close to Rarity and whispered something in her right ear...
"They have all the orbs from the World of Evolution, correct?"
"Yes." Rarity replied in a soft voice.
"Good boy," said Discord as he gave Rarity a head-neck stroke as if she were a cat. "Now we no longer have to keep up this ridiculous act...It matters not if Fluttershy finds out now...we just have to make sure that her friends don't outlive their usefulness..."
"Hey!" Fluttershy exclaimed. "Why aren't you answering me? What am I, a hunk of meat?"
"I thought you would have learned by now..." Discord replied, giving a sigh as he snapped the fingers on his claw. Fluttershy instantly became a giant, manly sausage with eyes, but not a mouth.
"Woah Discord," said Hoops, "don't you think that's a little mean? Rarity told us that kind of thing was your sense of humor, but... you were ignoring Fluttershy when she was just asking you a question."
"If you were to call me out on everything I've done in the past that was a "little mean"," Discord responded, "we would be standing here talking until the cows came home. And trust me, their work schedule on the farm is severe..."
"This just keeps getting weirder..." Sky remarked as he curiously poked the squirming Fluttershy sausage. "And I think a lot of things are weird..."
"Oh, you just wait for the coup de grace, my dear friend..." Rarity said as she pulled out a reality-bending scroll, and proceeded to cast a spell on Sky that turned him into...a giant, ladylike marshmallow without a mouth. Everyone in the music room gave Rarity and Discord a disturbed glare.
"..." Score responded to what just happened silently.
"You said it best buddy," G.R.D. spoke the truth. "No comment. All we can do is see where this is going..."
"Don't worry," said Discord to ease the tension, "we're not going to leave them like that forever. And we're not going to do something like that to you so long as you give us the orbs you've found."
"You-you mean it?" Dumb-bell asked.
"Of course." Rarity replied. "After all, you guys did help revive the orbs, and even helped keep Celestia's human clone replacement calm after the Robot Alicorn Pinkie Rarity clone turned his mind back to normal. Just give us the orbs and we'll let you be on your way..."
"Okay..." Hoops said nervously as he walked over to Rarity and gave her the two he had. "The Rarity clone we were with has the third..."
"So I know..." Rarity told Hoops what she was already aware of. "You guys may be on your way..."
But as the Dark Sky members got ready to pack up their instruments and leave the room, they noticed the R.A.P. Rarity clone standing behind them, chanting a reality-bending spell with a scroll in her hooves.
"...TO ANOTHER WORLD!" the R.A.P. Rarity clone finished Rarity's sentence. "Reality Bending Spell No. ?! Reality Portal!"
With that, a dark sky hole opened up in the ceiling above the Dark Sky members and began to suck them in.
"Th-that's the spell from earlier!" Dumb-bell shouted, recognizing something you may or may not know about. "NOT AGGAAIIINNN!!"
The rest of the group shared his unenthusiasm as all of them were sucked into the portal, which closed behind them. The only ones close to the group left behind were a star-struck Jason Celestia and the R.A.P. Rarity clone.
"Dude...I can't do this kind of thing anymore..." Jason Celestia said as he began to feel woozy from all the insanity he had witnessed. "This is starting to feel like an LSD trip, and I'm still trying to get back into pot, man..."
Jason Celestia finally fainted, collapsing on the floor. The R.A.P. Rarity clone then walked over to Rarity and gave her the orb she had, along with a familiar wine glass that was empty. Rarity got an evil sneer on her face as she put both away in her inner pockets.
"At last, we finally have all the orbs at their full power..." Rarity said as she and Discord turned to the polymorphed Fluttershy/Sombra duo.
"You two have done such a splendid job..." Discord complimented them. "I think you deserve a reward for all of your hard efforts...how would you like to meet our true selves...and our master?"
"!!" Fluttershy and Sky went with equal surprise.
Discord walked over to the Sky marshmallow and grabbed him while Rarity grabbed the Fluttershy sausage. Both of them teleported both of them to the portal room, and set them right by where the middle of the left portal and the right portal were. Discord made a portal appear in the middle just like he had done way back, only this time, the One in the frame of the portrait on the portal didn't appear to be Fluttershy, but a familiar knight...
"Something really weird is going on here..." Sky thought as his attention was caught. "Why is that odd-looking Luna just standing there in that strange position?"
With that question, the odd-looking Luna revealed the reason why it looked so peculiar...it fell over, revealing that it was just a cardboard cutout of Luna.
"No..." Fluttershy said in her mind as she saw the sight as well. "They turned Luna into cardboard!"
"Ha ha ha..." Rarity laughed as she kicked the Luna cutout to the side. "Stupid girl got too smart for her own good...she'll never learn that I know how to handle her all too well..."
"How can they do this..." Fluttershy said in her thoughts with disbelief. "This is awful...this is just...BAD!"
Fluttershy began to struggle in her sausage form, trying to break Discord's spell on her. But even as she tried to turn into Sombra with shadow aura coming from all over her body, it was no use. Discord's magic was too powerful.
"Face it, Fluttershy..." Discord told Fluttershy as he went over to her and grabbed what would've been her face with his lion's paw. "You may be strong, but your power is nothing compared to mine, much less compared to the One's or even CrE's. So why don't you just be a good boy for daddy, and let the adults take care of what needs to be done..."
"Gggrrrrr.....!" Fluttershy grunted angrily in her mind until she realized something. "Wait a minute...what did he just say? The...One? Daddy?"
"Enough stalling, Discord!" Rarity exclaimed impatiently. "We're throwing them in! Our real selves will restore them to normal once they've explained everything! For the real Rarity's sake, the Dark Sky members will have CrE defeated by the time we're done at the pace we're going!"
"Wait, the Dark Sky members are still in this thing, even though they left?" Sky wondered in his mind. "That's really weird, how is this whole thing going to end?"
Rarity and Discord picked the two of them up and tossed them into the portal. Fluttershy and Sky landed on a white cumulonimbus cloud as the portal behind them was sealed.
"And now, it's time for us to fulfill our final purpose before we return to our true selves..." Rarity gave a grin of satisfaction as she took a look at the three orbs the Dark Sky members got for her.
"Going back from being Discord to being a part of Discord..." Discord thought about his fate. "Doesn't sound like too bad of a downgrade..."
"I've gone from being a human to being Rarity to being Rarity mixed with a robot alicorn Rarity." Rarity shared her experience. "And after all that, I get to be a part of Rarity."
"It's hard to believe now I was once the only chimera creature in Equestria..." the draconequus creature lost track of all the parts.
The two finally left Celestia's castle and went to the front gate. Discord removed the locks on Rarity's orbs (a few interesting conversations with the spirits of the orb-carriers later...), and with magic, the two of them levitated the six orbs into the six open slots on the castle wall. Once the orbs were all placed, the castle began to shake and rumble and the sky turned dark. It wasn't dark for long though when the orbs turned brighter than ever, each one firing a laser beam into the sky that turned it bright white. Two dark portals opened in the sky, one on the left of it, one on the right of it in respect of the castle's front clockwise position. While the sky was expressing itself, the denizens of the two worlds behind the portals were expressing their personal feelings as well...
"Wow, China looks weird!" Spike (from the original Fluttershy's Dark Sky universe) shouted as he poked his head out of the left portal, thinking it led underground. "Nothing like in the cartoons!"
"Are you two the ones responsible for this hole?!" Luna (from the Transcending Fluttershy's Dark Sky universe) shouted as she poked her head out from the right portal and looked at Rarity and Discord. "You do realize where my world takes place in, don't you?"
Just then, Rarity and Discord began to contort and shrink into glowing white balls as the portal of the familiar knight appeared behind them. Two gauntlet-clad hands reached out of the portal, grabbed them both, and pulled them inside, the portal sealing behind them. In response to this sight, Luna and Spike had aghast looks on their faces.
"...Maybe I have been living a secluded life too long..." TFDS Luna said as she pulled her head back in and began to reflect on her life in the world of her own womb.
"It's at times like this where I'm glad I only have short cameos in these sequels..." Spike remarked as he pulled his head back in.
A Few Enigmatic Words from the Cloud Dragon of the Mist
The end is drawing near, hero...The time has come for you to make a decision. One that will change Fluttershy's world forever...Chapters 12-13 will unveil the fate of Fluttershy, Chapter 14-15 will unveil the fate of the Dark Sky. Fluttershy will unmask the One, the Dark Sky will unmask CrE. Good luck...and enjoy the new world. You chose it, after all... |
Lightening Fluttershy's Dark Sky | Fluttershy's Ending (Part One of Two) | Fluttershy's Ending (Part One of Two): The One
One who lit the way will help Fluttershy and Sky defeat the One...
The sound of a door to a cell could be heard opening now that all the orbs had been gathered as one.
"!" a familiar soul went in surprise.
"Come Fluttershy, or Sky, whatever..." said a voice that sounded like Rarity's. "It's time for you to meet SOMBRA..."
From where we left off a bit before the end of last time...
Fluttershy and Sky were still a sausage and a marshmallow respectively after they had crossed through the portal and landed face-down on a white cumulonimbus cloud. As the two grunted in discomfort, two figures of familiarity approached them, grinning with pleasure.
"Hello Fluttershy and Sky," said Rarity and Discord, their voices revealing them as Fluttershy and Sky looked up at their faces. "Our master is expecting you...but not this..."
Rarity and Discord used their magic to transform Fluttershy and Sky back to normal. Fluttershy and Sky not only noticed Rarity and Discord's familiar faces when they got up off the cloud ground, but also their peculiar attire. Discord was dressed in a white robe decorated with emblems of shields and had a tiara embedded with a shield-shaped jewel with the shape of a cross carved into it upon his head. Rarity was dressed in her black ninja costume from before, only this time, the black garb she wore on her chest was decorated with two emblems of open gold stopwatches, and her ninja headband had her sheathed sword through it so that Rarity could see it in front of her face.
"So these are the true selves you guys were talking about..." Sky addressed the two.
"That means that the Rarity and Discord from before were clones made from magic..." Fluttershy deduced.
"Not exactly..." Rarity said with a chuckle. " While the clones of me were indeed magic, they were also once human beings."
"!" Fluttershy went.
"Yeah..." Rarity continued. "As you already know, while she was still the CEO of the Department of Human Resources, Chrysalis used her magic to summon humans to this world to be used as test subjects for Body Mind Soul summoning. But what you don't know and what Sky has probably forgotten is that humans can also be converted into magical energy. Magical energy created from humans is what our clones were made from..."
"Now before you two swear at us in your minds," Discord followed up, "I'll fill you in on the fact that Rarity and I had no choice but to have our clones created that way. Normal, nonliving magical energy can't be used to create a living being, and Celestia specifically requested that only human subjects be used for the experiments."
"Wait, Celestia had a hoof in this too?" Sky asked, having forgotten a ton of things.
"Of course not Sky, she just had a hand in it!" Rarity jeered him with sarcasm. "Seriously, do you remember nothing from when you first got turned into Sombra?!"
"Well to be fair," Sky replied, "my soul right now is-"
"Ugh!" Rarity grunted. "I guess it's time for a recap..."
"A recap?" Fluttershy asked. "I...guess that would be nice considering the circumstances..."
"Indeed, everything has gotten a tad...disjointed," said Discord, twisting his muscles as he stretched in relaxation, "one might say. I guess the only way you two will be able to comprehend everything is if I tell you the entire story in summary form, starting from...before the beginning..."
"Before the beginning...?" the Fluttershy duo pondered.
"With time, anything is possible..." Rarity remarked as the stopwatch emblems on her garb came to life and the hands on their clocks began to turn backwards. The Fluttershy duo ended up in a trance as Discord's narration began...
The Story so Far
Narrated by Discord
Long ago, in a time unknown to history, the world of Fluttershy's Dark Sky was a mess...Fluttershy and her allies learned that what they had gone through was not a dream...every pony in Equestria except Spike really was dead. Although Fluttershy and her friends overcame the terrible loss, they realized that this meant the pony race...was extinct. Being partly responsible for the tragedy, Fluttershy and her friends vowed to devote the rest of their dead lives to repopulating Equestria. Thusly, they went to the only pony they knew who might be able to do aid her in her cause for creating new life...the goddess of dea...I mean darkness, CrE.
Unamused by the recent drastic decline in the death...I mean life toll, CrE, bored and desperate for something to do with her job, agreed to help. She started helping by reminding Fluttershy that ever since she had filled out my tax forms with her free man pen, he had become pregnant. She also reminded her that with the bearers of the Elements of Harmony dead, the stoning spell had become undone, and he was free to bear Fluttershy's child, a boy named Sky.
Now free, I also expressed boredom with the town's desolate state, having no one to show his chaotic tricks to. So he too agreed to help, offering to use his chaotic power to its full potential, the power to bend time and reality, for the purpose of recreating life in Equestria. With my power, I showed CrE not only the portal to the human world, but also the power to create new worlds between the dimensions of the pony world and the human world...
Amazed by this, CrE requested that I give some of my chaotic, time-and-reality bending power to Rarity, promising that she had a plan to turn her into a god. She began abducting humans from their world and turning some of them into ponies, and all of the others into magical energy to give Rarity a new body and enough power to become a deity of time and reality. The only ones who objected to this part of the plan were you two and the members of the Dark Sky. ...
Shocked by what CrE was doing, you two and the Dark Sky members questioned her motives for sacrificing human lives to make Rarity and I deities. In response, she simply laughed and you that she had a destiny planned for each of you... It was then that she asked of Rarity and I to use the magical energy she got from the humans to create two alternate worlds designed to mentor you guys into the perfect servants for her. One was made for Sky, the other, Fluttershy and both you two and the Dark Sky's abilities.
The first world, the world of Transcending Fluttershy's Dark Sky, was designed for Sky, now fourteen years old thanks to Rarity's time powers. Since Sky had not been around to witness the extinction of the Equestrian population, CrE asked Rarity and I to give it the illusion that it was part of the world of Fluttershy's Dark Sky, and basically give Sky a simulation of the death, decay, and chaos Fluttershy had to witness. Other than that, Rarity and I had complete creative control...ha ha ha.
The second world, this world, the world of Light-I mean the World of Origin, was designed for Fluttershy and the Dark Sky members. Because CrE saw too much good in them, she asked me to create a world in which you would have to accept evil into yourselves in order to survive. Again, I was asked to give it the illusion that it was part of the world of Fluttershy's Dark Sky, thus why we came up with the whole thing about Fluttershy finding the jar and turning into Sombra. Chrysalis' murder, however, was unrelated to us, and the whole traveling to the other Dark Sky worlds (actually just worlds we created) thing was something we came up with later when we had to revise the L.O.W. project. And so here we all are. ...
I think that's about it...
Rarity ended the trance, causing Fluttershy and Sky to snap back to this reality, with everything that Discord had said embedded into their minds.
"So just to clarify..." Sky said. "This world is just an alternate reality created by you and Rarity, as well as the Transcending world. Everything we were told about CrE and the World of Origin prior to this was a flat-out lie, you turned me into Fluttershy, Sombra, and a murderer and came up with the portal traveling mission to get the orbs all for the sake of having a way for us to become accustomed to having Sombra's power in us, and I'm actually you and Fluttershy's son."
"...Pretty much." Discord replied with a smirk on his face.
"So...you're satisfied with that?" Rarity asked with a smirk on her face too.
"I guess." Sky answered.
"So that means you've figured out all the things we didn't explain?" Rarity said with a chuckle. "You don't find it odd that we made YOU into Fluttershy and Sombra in a world meant to test Fluttershy and the Dark Sky? Or the fact that you're human even though you came from a pony and a draconequus? Or why Luna put Robot Alicorn Fluttershy in Fluttershy's bed? Or why we sent the Dark Sky members through that portal? Or why my R.A.R. clone left a scrap of paper by Pinkie Pie back at the Maud Pie church? Or what all the orb messages meant? Or why it was only at the Maud Pie church that my R.A.R. clone's bending spells were numbered? And most importantly, or why we're disclosing all this information to you two?"
"Hmm, I'm really not sure..." Sky replied. "I guess now that you said it, there are some unanswered questions. What do you say Fluttershy?"
"Huh?" Fluttershy said as she felt something of hers had gone missing. "I think something fell out of my fur pocket while I was in that trance..."
"Well Fluttershy doesn't seem to be confused..." Sky remarked on Fluttershy's daze like a filmmaker's memoir about living the dream. "I think we can figure out everything else along the way..."
"Nope," replied Discord with a grin. "HALF of everything else. The other half is going to be figured out by your dear friends..."
"You mean..." Fluttershy and Sky said with astonishment. "The Dark Sky members?"
"Exactly," Rarity confirmed. "But don't worry, you're at least going to get to learn your destinies and why we went through all this trouble the way we did. That is, if you can defeat our master, the One..."
With that said, Rarity pulled a scroll out of her ninja outfit, and she and Discord grabbed it together with their magic. Once they both had a mystical grip on it, they began to chant these words as the hands on the two stopwatches on Rarity's garb began to turn, and the shields on Discord's robe began to gleam brightly...
"Body: ??? Mind: ??? Soul: ??? The One, ASSEMBLE!"
Once those words were finished being spoken, a familiar figure appeared in the middle of Rarity and Discord...the shadow paladin Fluttershy and Sky had transformed into in order to defeat R.A.F. at the end of Fluttershy's Path. And he began to utter something lyrical that didn't rhyme...
???!?
What a thrill
With darkness and silence through the night
What a thrill
I'm searching and I'll melt into you
What a fear in my heart
But you're so supreme!
I give my life
Not for honor, but for you!
In my time, there'll be no one else
Crime, it's the way I fly to you
I'm still in a dream, Snake Eater!
"You...you were the one on the portrait of the portal to this place!" Fluttershy and Sky shouted, not even needing to remember their experience on Fluttershy's path to recognize him.
"Correct..." the shadow paladin replied. "And I am also the one who helped your Dark Sky member friends discover the power of Sombra, the one who helped them discover the importance of the L.O.W. project, and the one you two became at one point. I am...The One."
"Wait, did you say the Dark Sky members?" Fluttershy asked. "Hold on...if you're Discord and Rarity's master...does that mean that YOU'RE the one behind all this, and not...CrE? Now I'm confused...unless..."
"Unless Discord and Rarity have betrayed CrE..." the One spoke what was on Fluttershy's mind. "That's right, the Dark Sky members were sent to the realm of CrE to fight her, just like you were sent here to fight me!"
"Huh?" Fluttershy responded.
"You were brought here because I wanted to challenge you to a duel..." the One explained. "And the winner of the duel will become the god of this universe."
"How does that work?" Sky asked. "And besides, isn't this just an alternate reality?"
"Like always, you know nothing..." the One responded as he tossed his shadow spear at...Fluttershy?! |
Lightening Fluttershy's Dark Sky | Fluttershy's Ending (Part Two of Two) | Fluttershy's Ending (Part Two of Two): Fluttershy of Light and Darkness
"Oh no, Fluttershy!" Sky yelled as he realized the shadow spear was going to hit her. He jumped in front of Fluttershy to shield her, and the spear pierced his heart, while stabbing a bit of a nonvital area of Fluttershy. In response to his mortal wound, Sky fell down on his back and started dying.
"SKY!" Fluttershy shouted as she overcame the pain from her mild wound to kneel down and clutch her dying comrade with her leg arms. "You have to use your Sombra powers to heal yourself!"
"I...I can't..." Sky replied. "This spear is...making me feel less and less like Sombra...it's really weird..."
"Hold still then!" Fluttershy exclaimed as she grabbed the spear and pulled it out as Sky grunted loudly in agony. "Now try!"
"I...I..." Sky said as he tried summoning his powers, but to no avail. "I still can't do it..."
"HA HA HA!" the One laughed. "That spear is designed to suppress the dark powers of those it wounds! Even if you pull it out, its powers remain within you! Now that you two will not be able to transform, this duel is as good as mine!"
Fluttershy and Sky did not hear him, for his words were not real to them. Fluttershy just looked at Sky's face with tears welling in her eyes.
"Sky..." Fluttershy spoke softly to the boy. "I know you would never kill even someone as bad as Chrysalis out of malice...and even so, I used the power of darkness to kill my robot alicorn self...I'm no better than you. I don't blame you for me getting dragged into this...I just wish I could've learned more about you."
"Thanks Fluttershy..." Sky replied as he began to shut his eyes. "I feel really good now, even though I'm about to die...isn't that...really...weird..."
".........."
Sky has died.
"SSSKKKYYYYY!!!" Fluttershy yelled at the top of her lungs as she looked up at the sky.
Fluttershy cried over Sky's lifeless body as the look on Rarity's face became somber, and even Discord looked down at the cumulonimbus cloud floor unhappily, feeling guilty. The only one filled with jollity at the sight of this scene was, you guessed it, the One.
"BWA HA HA HA GHA!" the One guffawed. "How glorious the sight of death and sorrow is! Thank you for reminding me that I need watch an opera again some time! On a serious note however, I'd like to start our duel now that we've had a little warm-up!"
"SHOVE IT UP YOUR ASS!" Fluttershy bellowed. "There's no way I'm going to fight you!"
"W-what do you mean?!" the One yelled angrily. "We must have a duel, it is your destiny!"
"You don't deserve to have your duel," replied Fluttershy, "not after you dragged everyone into this shit and killed my friend! Just get away from me!"
"But...you...you can't..duh..." the One began to stammer. "Rarity! Discord! Say something to her!"
"You did cheat by attacking before the duel even started..." Discord pointed out. "And you killed her comrade in the process...that's pretty low, even in my eyes..."
"Not to mention her comrade happened to be my friend..." a frustrated Rarity added.
"Oh, whatever!" the One replied. "It doesn't matter! If she doesn't want to fight me, then I'll make her fight me!"
The One then used magic to teleport his shadow spear back to his right hand, and charged at Fluttershy on his galloping horse. All of a sudden, part of the cloud floor turned to shadow and stopped the galloping horse in its tracks. Part of the shadow then crept up to the shadow paladin's spear, and after getting a grip on it, turned it into shadow and absorbed it. It was then that another part of the shadow crept up to face the One as it grew eyes and a face...the face of Sombra's!
"Fools..." Sombra hissed. "You are all foolish...You never even realized that I took the place of the real Fluttershy, or has you call him, Sky's soul in her absence...I've just been lying in wait for the perfect moment to find the one being more powerful than CrE...so that I can transform you into myself and become the One! GWA HA HA!"
"Die trying..." the One said with a chuckle.
Sombra entered the One's body and attempted to possess him, but to no avail. The One simply laughed as Sombra swum around in his body.
"W-what?!" Sombra shouted. "Why are you not becoming me?"
"Why are you not rhyming?" the One replied. "I like to do it all the timing..."
"?!" Fluttershy went in surprise. "Those words...that was one of Sombra's rhymes from the "dream"...could it be..."
"GHA HA HA!" the One began laughing like King Sombra. "You guessed it...I am..."
The One began to take off his helmet. He revealed himself to be...
..........
FLUTTERSHY! DUN DUN DUMN!
.................
That is what Fluttershy (the human clone, apparently) said.
".....................You?" she asked. "I...thought it would be revealed that you were the original King Sombra, and that the one Sky and I turned into was just a clone made from a human."
"Ha ha, no silly." Fluttershy the One replied. "I'm the original, real Fluttershy from the Fluttershy's Dark Sky world. Who else would Rarity and Discord choose to become the One stronger than CrE? That's the whole point of the L.O.W. project, to turn me into the god of the universe, the next CrE! The only reason I didn't become Sombra when he possessed me is because of my strong will, and the only reason Sombra isn't rhyming right now is because this isn't the time and place for poetry. I learned how to resist evil by becoming evil."
"But...that means I was wrong about Sky being the real Fluttershy..." the other Fluttershy realized. "Could that also mean I was wrong about him being the murderer? And about me being a clone made from a human?"
"I'm afraid so," said the One. "The murderer is CrE herself, and you are my son...Soshy."
"Wait..." the other Fluttershy said. "If I'm Fluttershy...and Sombra...no way..."
"I-" Sombra interjected as he realized the truth. "I AM YOUR FATHER?!"
"Again, ha ha, no silly." the One said. "You're Soshy's mother. When your soul was brought back into a body restored from magical energy, I requested that Discord and Rarity make some...minor adjustments to the body for the pleasure of my freeman."
"For the record," Rarity chimed in, "I'm the one who used my time powers to speed up the pregnancy and make Soshy an adult."
"And I did everything else..." Discord followed up as he got a huge grin on his face and put his hands together.
"YOU..." a now enraged Sombra said. "ALL OF YOU! YOU HAVE ALL HUMILIATED ME!! PREPARE TO DIE!!!"
Unable to possess the One, Sombra decided to try and possess Soshy next.
"IT MATTERS NOT HOW STRONG YOUR WILL IS..." he declared. "SO LONG AS YOU HAVE THAT RING I HAD YOU COLLECT, YOU'RE MINE!"
But again, Sombra was expelled from Soshy's body as soon as he tried to possess her.
"WHAT THE..." he bellowed. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY RING?!"
Just then, Rarity whistled to Sombra. He looked over at her and saw something in her hooves...a glass jar sealed with a lid. The jar had the last remaining copy of Fluttershy's soul in it...and a ring! Sombra gasped.
"SO THE JAR HAS IT..." he assessed. "GIVE IT BACK!"
Sombra flew straight over to the jar, and ended up possessing it. His soul appeared in the jar alongside Fluttershy's, hovering just over the ring. Rarity and Discord pressed their right hoof and right hand down on the lid and used their magic to prevent Sombra from escaping the jar.
"DAMMIT!" he swore. "I NEED A BODY TO GRAB THE RING! LET ME OUT OF HERE!"
"Not a chance..." Discord taunted Sombra's soul and stuck his tongue out at him.
"Now that we have all our magical energy from those clones being released, it's time for the ultimate magic..." Rarity said as she got out a scroll that she had been saving for this occasion from her outfit. "The fusion of two souls that shall combine Yin and Yang, and tear both darkness and the light of deception apart..."
"WAIT, YOU'RE GOING TO COMBINE MY VERY ESSENCE WITH FLUTTERSHY'S?!" Sombra shouted as Rarity and Discord ignored his cry and began a chant. "BUT THAT MEANS I CAN NO LONGER BE MY OWN SELF! COME ON YOU GUYS!"
"It's alright, Sombra." Fluttershy's soul said warmly, giving Sombra a hug. "I secretly kind of enjoyed becoming you way back, weird as it felt. And besides, we're going to get to save the universe! Like a hero!"
"True, but this means I can no longer be a villain..." Sombra's soul replied, a tear dripping down from him as Rarity and Discord finished their chant. "I always found that kind of life to be really thrill-AAAAAHHHHH!"
The spell started and Fluttershy and Sombra's souls began to fuse together. The jar shattered and a giant flash of light spread all across the realm. Rarity and Discord teleported somewhere else as the light blinded the One and Soshy. When they regained their sight, they saw the result of the fusion...floating in front of them, was a soul containing both darkness and light.
"...That's all?" the One asked.
"No..." the soul answered. "Now that we are the spiritual form of the combination of Fluttershy and Sombra, we also require the physical form of the combination of Fluttershy and Sombra."
"Wait..." Soshy said. "Do you mean...me?"
"Yes Soshy..." the soul replied. "Please...allow us into your body. The only way a being more powerful than CrE can arise is if Yin and Yang's physical form and spiritual form unite as one. Sky lives on as the Fluttershy within us...please join us...it's the only way to stop the One and CrE from ruling over the universe with evil!"
"...Sure, come in me." Soshy agreed. "I'd love to see Sky again, and anything is better than letting either of those two have the universe."
"Thanks Soshy..." the soul said as it entered Soshy's body. "It feels really good...knowing that you want to stop them...that you want to combine darkness and light to stand up against evil...there shall be no more Soshy...there is only one three-in-one...
Fluttershy. After the soul and Soshy fused together, they became Fluttershy dressed in a shadow black sock hat, black pants that said "New" on the left leg, and "Sky" on the right leg, a bright white shirt that said "Shy Darkness" on the back and had an emblem of dark clouds in a misty sky on the front, and last of all, a dark red robe with white lace and an insignia of a shadow dragon shooting a beam of light from it's mouth on it.
"I...can feel your power..." the One said as he saw and sensed an aura of darkness and light exuding from Fluttershy. "And it's beyond anything I could ever achieve, even after I sold my soul to evil for a chance to stop CrE..."
"Sorry, my old self..." Fluttershy apologized as she put her hooves together, darkness and light aura charging up in them and brimming radiantly. "You must die to me..."
And so, the darkness and light aura finished charging, and Fluttershy shot a concentrated beam of dark energy mixed with light aurora, dark skies mixed with light stars, and dark sunlight mixed with light solar-eclipsed moonlight at the One. He disintegrated, he died. However, that was not before he said this...
"I finally get it now. The One is not me or you...our destiny is..." ...
It was over. Fluttershy looked at the scene and saw that all that remained of the One was ash that fell through the cloud floor, and the ghost of his horse. The horse tread over to Fluttershy and showed her a slip of paper in his mouth. Fluttershy took it out of there and read it. It said this...
I gave my destiny to Rarity...she must have left it where Maud lives...go there if you wish to find it...
"..." Fluttershy went as the note and the horse vanished. Soon after, Rarity and Discord teleported back from where they had gone to, along with five familiar figures, the Dark Sky members, and one that might be unfamiliar, an unidentifiable shadow.
"The One's dead, isn't he?" Rarity said, knowing so because the hands on the right stopwatch on her garb had stopped moving.
"It's sad it had to be this way..." Discord remarked. "And funny, too! Seriously, out of all the ways Rarity and I thought about going about the L.O.W. project, this was my all-time favorite!"
"Great job, Fluttershy!" Ghost Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "You are almost as awesome as me now!"
"..." Score described how glorious Fluttershy's victory was silently.
"You won!" Derpy tried giving an even more detailed description.
"Even CrE's impressed by your victory!" Dumb-bell added.
"Speaking of CrE..." Hoops said as he looked over at the shadow. "I think she has something she wants to say to you...don't you CrE?"
The shadow lowered its head in despair and remorse.
"Yes, I am CrE, and I am deeply sorry for everything I have done..." CrE apologized sadly to Fluttershy. "The Dark Sky members showed me the error of my ways in my fight with them. I completely abused my powers and forced all of you to do terrible things. I'm even to blame for Chrysalis' murder and your true self becoming evil. I can understand why Rarity and Discord betrayed the One and I. I promise to stop what I am doing with the humans, but I feel that isn't enough to show them or you that I'm truly sorry. I feel that you're the one who deserves to be the god of the universe. Even if you don't forgive me, I would like to resign and leave my position to you."
"I do forgive you..." Fluttershy replied. "But you can still have your position..."
CrE immediately shook her head.
"No..." she said. "You still do not know the level of my wrongdoing. Maybe one day, I, or even the Dark Sky members will be able to tell you...for now, farewell."
After that...
CrE vanished, never to be seen again. Soon after, everyone went back to the Fluttershy's Dark Sky world.
Rarity and Discord returned all the humans who wanted to go back to the human world back to normal and sent them home. Soon after, the portal to the human world was closed. Rarity and Discord then promised to devote a decent amount of time of their lives to making the lives of the pony humans who stayed happy as penance for their deeds.
Sky and Sombra are still one with Fluttershy, and Sombra is slowly growing to enjoy it.
Jason Celestia is now in possession of the cardboard cutout Luna. With every day, he grows more doubtful that it really is Luna transformed into cardboard...
Spike is still glad he only had a minor role in this story.
The Cadence and Shining Armor clones were brought to the Fluttershy's Dark Sky world to helping increase the birth rate in Equestria. They are enjoying their task almost too much...
The Maud Pie clones became Fluttershy's messengers, and are now preaching the word of how Fluttershy evolved to where she is today. How they manage to make the story both dull and enjoyable to so many is a mystery...
The Pinkie Pie clone stopped by Fluttershy's house one day to give her what was now a slip of paper...
The Dark Sky members became Fluttershy's right and left-hand men. They have recently asked her to sing a song with them again for old time's sake.
Fluttershy accepted their request, asking for them to sing the song that was on the slip of paper...
Destiny of Darkness and Light
I think it all started when Rarity died
To my killer's code, I couldn't abide
Soon everyone left...and I couldn't see
Was it all my fault...or just destiny?
I needed more ponies, to be here with me
So a ruler of death, I asked to be CrE
I devised a plot to become the One
And deceived everyone, even my son
I made Sky a human (and a fake me), so that he'd never know
That he had a father (referring to me), who would have to go
CrE wanted me to become a god
A path towards evil, I would have to trod
As the ruler of death, CrE called Sombra's soul back
And we bore a child, with a soul white and black
I would be the villain, he would be the hero
Even at my grave, he would not shed a tear, no... ...
Now I am a god living on in my son
Everything is at peace...now that the deed is done
Discord, Rarity, Dark Sky, me...we were all the One
I sincerely hope...that our journey was fun...
Fluttershy's Ending: The End
EPILOGUE
Everyone in Fluttershy's house was at a loss for words.
"I remember...everything now..." Fluttershy said as she got a huge grin. "My plan worked perfectly! I am now completely pure...I AM NOW GOD!"
"Fluttershy..." the Dark Sky members replied. "We don't believe it..."
"I CAN FINALLY CREATE MY WORLD OF IMMORTALITY!" she exclaimed, happier than she had ever been in her life. "AND I OWE IT ALL TO THEM AND YOU! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA GEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH GHA FWA BWA MWA LWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!"
Sitting on the moon together in the bright-night sky, Rarity, Discord, and the Goddess of Death, Prince Luna could hear the laughing, and they in turn, smiled.
"I love how jolly we've made Fluttershy..." Rarity said.
"I just love happy endings." Discord gave his intake.
"And so it finally begins..." Prince Luna looked down at the citizens of Equestria and gave an evil smile. "The new chronicles of the lightly ordered world..."
The Final Enigmatic Words of the Cloud Dragon of the Mist
Thank you so much reader for what you have done...you saw Fluttershy's story out to the end. This may be the ending of Fluttershy's story, but an ending is only the start of a new beginning.
The new beginning of Fluttershy's story is now guaranteed to be filled with magic, happiness, and many other beautiful things. For that, you are a true hero.
Now that you have brightened Fluttershy's dark sky, will you choose to learn the ending of the story of the Dark Sky? If you already do know the ending, then I hope that that knowledge made this more fun for you to read. May your night be bright... |
Lightening Fluttershy's Dark Sky | The Dark Sky's Ending (Part One of Two) | The Dark Sky's Ending (Part One of Two): The True Murderer
The murderer is disguised in the form of a shadow, bearing darkness and light...
The Dark Sky members fell from the dark portal in the sky, and ended up in the realm of CrE. When they had finished falling, they landed on a dark cumulonimbus cloud. The sky above them, on the cloud's contrary, was bright white from the beam that was erected into the air after the orbs were set. And as opposed to last time, where the Dark Sky members got huddled when they fell and got lazyitis, this time, they got muddled together and got the drive to get up straight away.
"Wow guys, we're making progress!" Derpy complimented them, feeling as impressed as a journalist getting his hand stuck in a fax machine and interrupting the printing of a resume.
"Correction," Ghost Rainbow Dash responded, "you guys are making progress. I have nothing to make progress on. I'm dead and I achieved my goal in life...becoming as awesome as myself!"
"Oh I get the joke," Derpy assumed G.R.D. was trying to humor her. "The original Rainbow Dash from the TV show's goal in life was to become a Wonderbolt!"
"TV show?" G.R.D. asked. "I was on TV? Was this in another reality, or something?"
"Speaking of realities," Dumb-bell chimed in, "we never really touched upon this whole alternate reality stuff. I wonder if CrE will tell us all about it in-depth."
"..." Score confirmed Dumb-bell's suspicions silently as he pointed at a shadowy figure walking towards the group and transforming into a familiar pony.
"Oh," said Hoops, "hi..."
LUNA.
Just like that, Luna was in front of the Dark Sky members, clad in shining, bright-white, holy armor that had been blessed by a god (Rarity). It turns out that she was CrE the whole time, wouldn't you know.
"Greetings," Luna greeted with a malicious grin on her face, "my subordinates of the night. I almost expected you to not be here."
"We entirely expected to not be here..." Dumb-bell told her the situation. "Rarity and Discord threw us in here at the last minute without even telling us. I almost feel like we don't belong here..."
"Ha ha." Luna laughed. "And why is that? Do you not feel it is your place as the heros of the dark to cast divine judgment on the villain of the light?"
"Wait..." Derpy said. "You're the bad guy now?"
"I'm not THE bad guy..." Luna replied. "Just like how you are not THE good guys. Strange, isn't it? How both of us have done things vital to the progress of both THE bad guy and THE good guy, and yet...we are in their shadow. That is our true form, shadows. We may as well be the very darkness that mimics our every move..."
"Blah, blah, blah, yawn." G.R.D. tried summing the whole thing up. "Can you just please get to the point?"
"Do you want me to touch upon stuff in-depth or not?" Luna asked. "Besides, I was just about to get to the good part...the telling of how I carried out my most devious deed..."
"Fine..." G.R.D. said with a sigh. "Just please tell us the explanation of how and why you're the one who murdered Chrysalis, and make sure to give me legitimate reasons to call "bullshit" on it! I get a lot of enjoyment out of pointing out the flaws in people's facts!"
"If you insist..." Luna replied as she prepared to tell the entire true story...
The Murderer is...Luna
That's right...I'm the murderer. Sky wasn't the one who killed Chrysalis like Fluttershy (as you may know her) thought. Fluttershy was in too much of a hurry to come to the conclusion that Sky was the killer, for a part of her was worried that the killer was actually her. If only she had looked deeper and had seen the false clues I had left behind alongside the real ones...
The first clue, "Search the numbers, the pattern reveals the truth." , meant to go back to the only place where numbers were used, at the Maud Pie church. The numbers used there, in order, were... 12 21 14 1. All of those numbers have a pattern, in that they all contain the number "1", all contain the digits "1-4", and can all be formed by adding up four ones in a variety of ways. Four ones...four who were involved in an illicit plan to change the Fluttershy's Dark Sky world (new name for the World of Creation to avoid confusion) forever. Discord, Rarity, me, and another...the One.
The second clue, "Killers have a code", meant that the numbers have a code to them. And what better code could they have than the alphabet? L is the 12th letter of the alphabet, U is the 21st letter of the alphabet, N is the 14th letter of the alphabet, and A is the 1st letter of the alphabet. You read the numbers like a word, and they spell my name!
The third clue, "Yearning to reverse your fortune, you find a false hint.", was just a safeguard to give a clue to Fluttershy that Sky was not the killer just because his name was in the clues. If you read the nonsense that was being spoken at the beginning of each chapter backwards, you would get this...
So...You are reading this.
Klaus bartz aho!
You will tell the orb.
That spells "SYKY", not "SKY". And why would I reuse the same pattern for a bogus hint for a real hint?
I think you may be wondering now...why did I do all of it? My motive was simple...Chrysalis betrayed me. In this reality, I made her and Celestia the villains behind the plot to bring humans to this world to be turned into Centauroths, to represent what was going on in Fluttershy's Dark Sky world. In the end, it was supposed to her who Fluttershy fought. But Chrysalis became greedy, and started using humans as magical energy to take into herself so she could become powerful enough to take over not just the World of Origin, but the world of Fluttershy's Dark Sky! I tried to reason with her, but in the end, there was nothing I could do to stop her...so I killed her.
After I used my CrE powers to dispose of Chrysalis, I entrusted her subordinate Celestia with the role of being the World of Origin's villain. Unfortunately, she followed in Chrysalis' footsteps by trying to create progeny with Fluttershy to create a being more powerful than I. This time, I was not fortunate enough to learn of her treachery ahead of time, so Rarity had to step in and use her time and reality bending powers to eliminate her. She also stole Fluttershy's soul and removed Sombra from it, worrying that a Fluttershy contaminated with evil would be too powerful to contain after all. While our plan for the L.O.W. project underwent great revisions, we sealed Fluttershy's soul away in a hidden cell in Celestia's castle with a lock that would only break once the orbs at the front of the castle regained their power...and so ends my tale.
"Any questions?" Luna asked, following her tales denouement.
"Yes," G.R.D. replied. "There's a lot of stuff in of your story that I don't get...like why were only the orbs in the world Fluttershy went to filled with hints? What if she had ended up in the World of Evolution, where all the orbs were locked?"
"She couldn't have gone to the WoE," Luna explained, "thanks to the help of the human clone we made to be Celestia's replacement. The wine that she always carried around in that glass was actually a liquid that could temporarily stop the time of whatever it was spilled around. The portals Discord and Rarity created are bound by the laws of time, so Celestia just spilled some around the portal to the WoE. And there are clues in the other orbs...ones meant for YOU guys that Discord and Rarity didn't want you to see. I'm sure you'll find them soon, heh heh."
"Why were you a police officer though?" G.R.D. continued her questioning. "Also, on our way back home from the WoE, Rarity's Robot Alicorn Pinkie clone said something about you putting Robot Alicorn Fluttershy in a bed."
"Oh yes..." Luna replied. "Keep in mind, we were trying to put on an act, for Fluttershy and that Jason Celestia clone. She was suspicious of us plotting to make Fluttershy a god, so we gained her trust by becoming her subordinates and getting her to believe that the only Fluttershy who was still alive was the one she transformed into R.A.F., the one from the World of Origin. Why Rarity switched R.A.F. out for Fluttershy on me and made her an orb-carrier without telling me though, I don't know. There would've been no point...R.A.F. is also a clone of Fluttershy made from a human, so she shares all her thoughts and memories. When I tried to ask her about it, she threw a smoke bomb on the ground, confiscated my Magic Eater guns and banished me here. And now that you guys are here, my suspicions are confirmed..."
"What suspicions?" Dumb-bell asked, breaking G.R.D.'s line of questioning. "Do you think we're spies?"
Luna shook her head.
"No," she said, "I just believe that Rarity and Discord have betrayed me and have sent you here to kill me."
"Oh, phew." Derpy said, wiping a bit of sweat from her face. "That's not as bad as US being the bad guys."
"Do your math, Derpy..." Hoops requested of her. "If we were sent here by Rarity and Discord, that means we WORK for the bad guys."
"So I am evil after all..." Derpy concluded. "I knew I couldn't trust myself!"
"Not that it really matters anymore..." Luna remarked. "Fighting for good or fighting for evil...it no longer matters so long as we get to fight."
"Fight?!" the Dark Sky members exclaimed. "But Luna, we can't fight you!"
"But thou must." Luna said, not quoting the Luna from the TV show as she summoned a Centauroth and a bat pony to her left and right side respectively. "I am CrE...and the Dark Sky's final mission as described in the Lightly Ordered World project is to kill CrE...that is if she does not fall before the One."
"?!" the Dark Sky members went. "Wait, he was the one you mentioned in your story...is he the one who's really behind all this...?"
"Forgive me for withholding my patience..." Luna replied, mixing up the words she spoke from the TV show as she began to polymerize herself with the Centauroth and bat pony using her magic. "But I grow weary of conversation...IT IS TIME FOR US TO DO BATTLE!"
With that, Luna completed her transformation into a bright white dragon with bat wings, the body of a horse, and some facial features of a handsome woman. She opened her mouth and began to charge up a beam of dark, shadowy, holy aurora.
"..." Score communicated battle tactics with the group silently. In response, the group transformed into mist together, so that when the beam hit them, it would be...reflected back at Luna?! |
Lightening Fluttershy's Dark Sky | The Dark Sky's Ending (Part Two of Two) | The Dark Sky's Ending (Part Two of Two): Soul of the Dark Sky
The One has chosen the paths he has tread...
From where the beginning of this ending last left off, the holy beam was reflected back at Luna.
"NNNNNOOOOO!!!" Luna bellowed as the holy beam came back at her, destroying her entirely. All that remained of her was her armor and a familiar sword that fell to the side.
"LUNNNNAAAAA!!!" the Dark Sky members cried as they changed back to normal and ran over to where her armor laid with tears welling in their eyes. Dumb-bell picked up her white helm and began to cry over it.
"Why did it have to be this way?!" he shouted. "You were like a teacher to us, you didn't have to leave us like that!"
Ghost Rainbow Dash floated over to comfort Dumb-bell as something caught Derpy's eyes. Quickly, she directed Score and Hoops' attention to the sword that fell to the side. It was no ordinary familiar sword...it was a familiar blade. And where the blade was, a shadow began to rise from the dark cloud floor in a familiar way...
"Uh, guys..." the three tried to alert Dumb-bell and G.R.D.. "I don't think Luna left-GAK!"
Derpy, Score, and Hoops fell to the ground as the shadow swooped towards them and sliced them with the blade in a circular motion. Hearing the cries of their comrades as they hollered in pain, G.R.D. and Dumb-bell turned around to see the shadow turn back into Luna. She was no longer a dragon, but she still had bat wings and a handsome human face.
"Ha ha ha!" she laughed as she twirled her blade around for fun. "Did you really think you had me? I may be CrE now, but I'm still the Goddess of Death! I wanted to be felled in battle, for it is in death that I become more powerful!"
"But I kind of already knew that..." Dumb-bell replied. "I didn't think that we had really killed you, I thought that you had just given up and left."
"Yeah, this was stupid what Rarity and Discord did." G.R.D. remarked. "How are we supposed to kill an immortal goddess?"
"Their idea of killing is obviously different than yours..." Luna said with her right hoof on her face. "JUST LIKE MINE!"
Luna then charged towards the other two and stabbed them both. Yes, even G.R.D. felt the blade enter her chest.
"That's right..." Luna said as she pointed to the other three with her blade, pointing out that they had no cuts on their bodies. "This is the spirit blade Rarity used to pull out Fluttershy's soul. She gave it to me specifically for this fight because she didn't like it very much compared to another sword she found. I think you know what's going to happen next...HAH!"
Luna thrust the blade out of both of them, causing G.R.D. to fall to the cloud floor from her injury, and Dumb-bell's soul to become detached from his body. Wounded as well, his soul fell beside G.R.D..
Luna laughed as she went back over to Derpy, Score, and Hoops, and stabbed each of them individually.
"DETACH! DETACH! DETACH!" she declared as she removed their souls from their bodies and left them lingering on the floor wounded. She then gathered up all their bodies in a pile as their souls passed out. It seemed that the murderer had triumphed...
However, hope remained somewhere far, far, away...at a church filled with Maud Pie clones made from humans. Their services had still been going on since their original god turned out to be evil and died when Fluttershy and the police officers came, and all the church members became real Maud Pies. They had decided since then that they would now worship new gods, the ones who created the world they lived in, Rarity and Discord. They were in the middle of communion (done by consuming a gem and chocolate milk now), when all of a sudden, there was a disturbance...
"I feel that something is not right." the new leader Maud Pie said. "Whatever it is, it feels wrong."
"Oh dear, I think it might be my fault..." Pinkie Pie said as she looked in her fur pocket and noticed that the scrap of paper Rarity had left her was beginning to shake and glow. A flash of intense light blinded her and the Maud Pies as two figures they knew came out of the paper, transforming it from a scrap to a slip. The figures were Rarity and Discord, and they were dressed in a different attire than normal. But that's only important depending on how you're reading the story...
"Hi guys." the leader Maud Pie responded to the abrupt appearance of the gods. "Why did you come here?"
"The Dark Sky members need your help." Rarity explained. "They've been badly wounded in a fight against CrE, a contemporary enemy of ours."
"Any enemy of you guys is an enemy of ours." the leader Maud Pie replied. "Please tell us what we need to do."
"We're going to send you to CrE's world alone right now." Discord said. "Use the powers we gave you to heal the Dark Sky members, while we and your subordinates stay here and pray for reinforcements! Oh yeah, and feel free to use THOSE if you wish..."
"Understood." the leader Maud Pie said as Discord and Rarity prepared the dark portal reality-bending spell and teleported her to CrE's realm.
"Now that it is just you, your gods, and Pinkie Pie..." Discord spoke to the crowd of Maud Pies. "It is time for us to pray."
"It's because of our powers over time and reality that we found the time to mentor all of you..." Rarity said. "DO NOT LET IT GO TO WASTE! COME! Let us call for the help of the orb-carriers!"
The Maud Pies in the church nodded their heads in agreement as they bowed them and began praying for the six spirits inside the orbs on the front of Celestia's castle to help the Dark Sky members. Knowing that Rarity and Discord were there with them, they obeyed and went to CrE's realm. When the spirits arrived there, they saw the leader Maud Pie healing the Dark Sky member's souls by praying to them. Once the Dark Sky members were fully healed, they got up off the cloud floor.
"Uh..." the Dark Sky members' souls groaned. "What happened?"
"You got stabbed and sliced in the soul." the leader Maud Pie elaborated. "You should be fine now though."
"Thanks." they said politely. "Where are our bodies though?"
"The bat-human-horse chick has them." the leader Maud Pie replied as she pointed to Luna meditating by the pile of the Dark Sky members' bodies in the distance. A holy white aura began entering Luna's body, causing her to regain her dragon features...
"The end is coming..." Luna said with a whisper.
"Damn it!" Hoops swore. "She's going to destroy our bodies! What can we do?"
"Get back into them." Maud Pie suggested. "I'll help you get over there in time."
"But how-w-WOAH!" Dumb-bell exclaimed as Maud Pie grabbed and rolled him into a ball shape. She then used her strength to throw him back into his body without alerting Luna. She did the same for Derpy, Score, and Hoops, until she was finally down to Ghost Rainbow Dash.
"I...don't see your body." Maud Pie told G.R.D. "You must really be dead then, huh? I'm sorry for your loss..."
"Don't worry about it, I..." G.R.D. paused as she saw Maud Pie gathering magic in her hands. "W-what are you doing?"
"My power has finally returned!" Luna exclaimed as she fully regained her shadow dragon chimera form. "And now, Dark Sky members, your bodies are FINISHED!"
Luna prepared and fired a holy beam breath attack more powerful than the last one, but not before Maud Pie was able to throw herself over to the group in time. With the group together, they were able to transform into mist and reflect the beam back at Luna. This time however, she moved to the left and dodged it.
"WHA-? HOW-SON OF A BITCH!" Luna shouted angrily as she tried to kick the mist, but it floated up into the sky out of her reach. Frustrated, she tried to calm down by meditating as the Dark Sky members talked to each other in the mist.
"So wait, how did that work?" Derpy asked. "I thought we could only transform into mist if we were all together."
"DON'T ASK." Maud Pie replied in G.R.D.'s voice.
"It's funny how Luna's getting so frustrated when actually, we're the ones at a disadvantage..." Hoops pointed out. "As ordinary mist, we have no offensive power, and even if we turned into a shadow mist dragon, she's stronger than us by a long shot! We'd be annihilated by that holy beam! The only way we could possibly win is by being a mist that can't be hurt by that beam and being stronger than her!"
"What do you think we're here for?" six voices in the sky asked.
"Huh?" the Dark Sky members went as they saw six spirits enter their mist body. Immediately, they found themselves feeling bigger, harder, better, faster, stronger, and smarter!
"So algebra is math?" Derpy responded to gaining new knowledge. "I always thought that it was advanced english!"
"Three of those voices..." Dumb-bell said. "Are you guys...?"
"Yeah," replied the spirits, "we're the spirits of all the orb-carriers. You may not recognize God Maud Pie, Princess Shining Armor, and Robot Alicorn Fluttershy, but that's beside the point. We've given you everything you need to defeat CrE!"
"We kind of already knew about R.A.F.," said the Dark Sky members, "but thanks!"
It was then that the Dark Sky members began to transform from mist into...a white mist dragon!
Descending from the sky, they roared at Luna, disrupting her meditation and grabbing her attention.
"FOOLS!" Luna bellowed. "I meditated long enough for one more blast! Now that you're no longer mist, you're doomed!"
Luna used the same holy breath attack again, and again, it didn't work. This time though, it didn't work because the Dark Sky members' dragon form ABSORBED it.
"You..." Luna stammered. "You have the element of holiness within you?! Have you become...gods?"
"NO LUNA..." the Dark Sky members replied. "WE ARE WHO WE ARE. FAREWELL..."
Now having even more power than ever from having absorbed Luna's breath attack, the Dark Sky members breathed a blast so powerful that it almost entirely destroyed Luna, reducing her to a dazed ghost lying on top of a pile of ashes. The Dark Sky members transformed back to normal and gathered around her.
"Now are you going to give up?" Dumb-bell asked. "You're not going to revive yourself again in some desperate attempt are you?"
"She can do that?" Maud Pie said in her own voice. "Then I don't think so..."
Maud Pie pulled out two familiar dark-blue guns from her robe and pointed them at Luna.
"So that's what Rarity did with my Magic Eaters..." Luna realized as she sighed. "Not that it matters...I give up. You guys win."
Just then, with yet another flash of light, Rarity and Discord teleported behind the group.
"So, my garb speaks the truth..." Rarity said, looking at the right hourglass on her black, hourglass-emblem decorated garb, which was not moving unlike the left hourglass. "You guys actually beat CrE...your story has concluded...Fluttershy is back to normal and ready to defeat the One...soon you will all be back home again together..."
"Fantastic work you guys, that shot was one in a million!" Discord complimented them as he mixed soda with yogurt.
"...I don't get it." Derpy said as everyone just stared at Discord.
"Hey, don't look at me like that." Discord said with a smile. "We all have our own, distinct sense of humor!"
"Why did you guys betray me?" Luna asked. "I never knew you were already so much stronger than me..."
"Not really," Rarity humbly responded to both things. "We're just a lot better at bending time and reality. The only reason we deceived you is because we wanted to see how powerful the Dark Sky members really were...and heh heh...you know."
"Hmm?" Hoops thought. "Could she mean..."
"I understand..." Luna replied with comprehension before turning to the Dark Sky members. "Dark Sky members, I am sorry for the trouble I caused all of you. The real reason I wanted to kill you is because I wanted to have your souls with me for as long as I could. I just wanted us to hang out like we used too...but that's in the past now. I am no longer your leader...you have all surpassed me, and you each have your own destiny to fulfill now...just please never forget that we were once the Dark Sky..."
The Dark Sky members paused for a moment and smiled. They walked over to Luna and gave her a group hug.
"Thanks Luna..." they said to their former master warmly. "We're glad now that Rarity and Discord brought us here. We have so many to thank for the strength we have now...but if it wasn't for you, who brought us together in the first place...we would have never learned the greatest strength of all...the power of unity. You are the soul of Dark Sky, Luna. That's why we're going to keep our team name...in remembrance of you."
With that, Luna became teary-eyed.
"I love you guys..." she told them. "You have done so well..."
"We've all done very well..." Discord said, wanting to be included in the group. "I think it's time we sent us all home, a job well done. Does anyone have something to say before we go?"
"..." Score reminded Maud Pie about something silently.
"Oh yeah, I have one more question." G.R.D. interjected as she came out of Maud Pie's body. "Something that we never covered...what were you and that ghostly white unicorn doing way back in front of Fluttershy's house?"
"Oh wow, I almost forgot..." Discord replied as he reached into the white, shield-emblem decorated robe he was wearing. "She was paying me to give you this..."
Discord gave G.R.D. a photograph that showed Fluttershy crying at a tombstone, with a familiar ghostly figure beside her...
"Woah, that is something else!" G.R.D. exclaimed in surprise.
"But wait..." Dumb-bell said. "What about all the alternate reality stuff?"
"Oh shoot, I wanted to know more about that to-" G.R.D. was too late as she got cut off by Rarity and Discord teleporting them back to the Fluttershy's Dark Sky world.
"This is weird." Maud Pie made a remark.
"I could not think of a better way to sum everything up myself..." Hoops said.
After that...
Luna resigned as CrE. She gave her position over to Fluttershy, who accepted, after she defeated the One, of course.
Rarity and Discord used their powers to create a new body for Luna as an apology for deceiving her. She looks just like her old self now, despite a few minor changes, particularly ones made to her freeman.
The clones made from humans who wanted to go back home to their world as their ordinary selves were allowed to return. The ones who didn't return are still working for Rarity and Discord as ponies...
Jason Celestia found the cardboard cutout of Luna. He also found that it really was just cardboard, nothing else.
Transcending Fluttershy's Dark Sky Luna is trying to figure out where to go if she ever gives up her life of seclusion in her womb.
Some of the bat ponies came to live in the world of Fluttershy's Dark Sky. They were quite happy to learn that the position for a pony to raise the sun is open...
The leader Maud Pie honestly does not know how to feel about her experience with Ghost Rainbow Dash coming inside her body.
Fluttershy came home to her own world, so happy to see her friends again, that it was almost...unnerving.
The Dark Sky members found something interesting about the photograph Discord gave them after they returned home to the world of Fluttershy's Dark Sky...there was a poem inscribed on the back of it...written in ectoplasm...
The Story of the Spirit
Fluttershy, my friend...
It will be okay...
Though this may seem like the end...
There is always another day.
I know there are things...
That we must do...
Our situation has gotten kooky...
But haven't we too?
Just calm yourself...
It'll be over soon...
I'll make you a sun...
And I shall be your moon.
Born of the sky!
Rising over the still land!
Your friends will be your evening stars!
And they'll understand!
YOU ARE THE LORD!
DARK AND HOLY WILL BE YOUR NAME! FLUTTERSHY!
DISCORD WILL BE YOUR SHIELD! AND I WILL BE YOUR SWORD!
THEY'LL SEE THEM WHEN THEY LOOK TO PROCLAIM! THE DARK SKY!
Dark Sky's Ending: The End
EPILOGUE
"No way..." the Dark Sky members said. "Could it be...that even back then...Rarity had this planned out...WITH FLUTTERSHY TOO?!"
Over the dark sky on that night, Rarity, Discord, and Fluttershy were talking...
"My plan worked perfectly..." Rarity complimented herself. "Fluttershy is a completely pure and all-powerful god now...and none of her subjects will ever learn of the failed experiment known as the One..."
"Ha ha ha!" Discord laughed. "A god who is both good and evil, light and dark! Oh, this is delicious! I love messing with reality!"
"So do I..." Fluttershy joined in, grinning sinisterly. "Now that I have authority over the Goddess of Death, I can finally start my quest to bring true immortality to this world. And now that my band members have the power of the revived orbs inside them, they'll be such a wonderful help to me...HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA GEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HA HA!!!"
"This has gotten so weird..." the Dark Sky members thought.
The Final Enigmatic Words of the Cloud Dragon of the Mist
Thank you very much reader for seeing out the story of the Dark Sky to the end. This may be the ending of their tale for now, but don't forget that there is always a new chapter to be told... |
The Hunter | pre | "Light, Glow get off I have to leave! Shade, your daughters are staying up late!" I shouted out at the batpony in the house as I tried to pry off one of the little batponies from my legs. Both Wynbain and Cynder just observed what was happening in front of them watching me as I struggle with the little batponies. Turns out the young batponies stayed up late to eight in the morning listening to Shade and my conversation about the book she had written of my past life how the legend of the "Hunter" came to be. Never have I ever thought that these two little mares would try something like this clinging to my legs and begging me to stay with them for one more day and not leave again, but I couldn't do that because the head was decaying in a fast pace and having a rotting head is not good to have around the foals especially when the mother knows about the head and wishes that her daughters don't see it, one that I kinda do not want to enrage or see her fury.
Shade came downstairs having messy bed hair and small bags under her eyes. I know the reasons why she has messy hair was my fault for keeping her awake from sleeping at seven in the morning. Batponies if I recall correctly had two separate types of race, one being vampire or in the ponies' case vamponies, like actual vampires they don't eat any food or drink anything except blood from other creatures, the other race, Shade's race, can be easily compare to the fruit bats having only to feast on fruits and drink water. I was glad that she wasn't a vampire but I can't say for sure about Glow as she takes her father side having longer fangs than her sister. The mare looked up at me with tired eyes, her gaze could have been misleading as uncaring but behind that was a glare that says 'I'm gonna hurt you.' Rule number one don't mess with a mother's child or else you'll have hell to pay.
"Girls," Shade's stern tone caused the little foals and I to freeze. Here comes the mother part. "I'm giving you a count of five seconds to go back to bed if you don't both you girls will be grounded from flying out at night."
Quick as a mouse the fillies around my legs bolted up the stairs leaving a trail of themselves around my leg and dust leading up the stairs. Yup don't anger a mother with kids. My gaze fell upon Shade seeing her tired self, eyeing at me, women don't wake them from their "beauty sleep" or else you have hell to pay. Her frown slowly turned to a toothy smile as she sat on her rump and turned her head to the left, tilting it slightly.
"You're not gonna leave a mare with an annoying itch are you?" Shade requested an itch with a question like some she does when this mare finds the chance to puzzle the person's mind she'll take it. I rolled my eyes at the mare's request and scratched her behind the ears where most animals enjoy being petted at. After giving the mare what she wanted I patted her head and turned around to leave.
Not many ponies would be awake at eight in the morning only the early birds would be up before the minute hand reached the sixty-minute mark for the hour, but it's best to start going at this time around and the airship I'm taking was leaving sooner than expected around nine instead of noon. I managed to know the schedule change because of someone or in this case some griffon if it were not for him notifying me of the change I would have missed it. A man such as I still need allies being alone in a world different than yours and not having allies would be a great disadvantage.
POV Cynder
'WHY!' I silently cried inside wanting to demand Cazador why we're going on this airship early in the morning that not even the ponies around this town are awake. Sleep was all I wanted now, being woken up this time in the morning was not my thing it's more like a pony thing or something that wakes up early before the sun even reaches the mountains' peak. I'm just glad that the griffons on this airship didn't dare to stare me down or else they'll be nothing more than charred bodies. At least I don't have to worry about flying over a sea to a new home.
There was something I noticed how the griffons looked at Cazador when he stepped foot, they all gave him smile when he walked by as if they felt comfortable or were glad to see him like they all had met before. Cazador just told me that he and the griffon's on this airship share some quote and quote "History" that he respects them and they respect him. I just wish he would tell him of his past instead of knowing that he's a strange creature with a fur timberwolf, friends with a batpony family, gains respect with the second greediest creature I know of, and always wearing that mask of his. Today wasn't the best day to ask about his past since we did meet a day ago with me still owing a debt to Cazador, I guess my dragon code is changed from being a dragoness wanting nothing more than a relaxing life to one who serves under a creature I don't know of.
"Captain says we'll be at Auria's Gale by past noon meaning we have time to rest," Cazador said setting the things on his back next to the wall before lying down against it. He could have used the other bed across from me and move Wynbain, but I guess there are reasons to why he never did that. My eyes were glued to him, his hat was covering his eyes completely as he just lies there. "Cynder, I can feel your eyes on me."
I flinched as a pair of silver glowing eyes stared back at me when Cazador lifted his hat a bit. What was this feeling? Am I afraid of him? No, it's those eyes that are startling behind them felt like a ravenous beast ready to burst through steel chains for its meal. Why did I think of that seeing those eyes as a monster like his pet, both which shares the same eyes?
"Cazador do you always sleep on the floor?" What kind of question was that!? Sure I was scared and needed something to cover it up, but that! That was just a dumb question.
"It's a bad habit of mine, but yes I do sleep on the floor," He answered lowering his head down before tilting his hat down. A moment of silence was between us as time began to pass, for once I didn't want to go back to sleep when it's this early in the morning what kept me from taking a nap was Cazador. A bad habit of his he says, I'm now curious about his past and the weapons he used to deal with Zook. What was he before he saved them?
My eyes fell upon a book sticking out one of the bag's pockets, among the whole camping equipment that was the only thing that stood out. I scooted out of my bed and carefully set a paw down. Carefully walking over to the bag by Cazador's side I reached out a claw and pinched it between my thumb and index finger then pulled it out. My eyes were glued to the sleeping Cazador before I managed to have the book my grasp.
'Why does this stand out?' I turned my claw back and saw the title. 'Nightmare's Hunter, Is this a story he enjoys reading? Cazador wouldn't mind if I read this?'
Without wasting any more time I tip claw back to my bed and opened the book to the first chapter.
POV Celestia
"Sister, art thou sure that we couldn't assist thee in speaking with the Griffon King? Our niece, Cadence, would be able to take care of our royal duties." Luna tried to persuade me into letting her join me on this meeting with the Griffon King but I could not allow her to come with, the griffon still sees her as Nightmare Moon being responsible for killing a whole town near the sea when she rose the moon to block out the sun causing a tsunami. I do not want them to have the wrong idea if I do bring Luna with me.
"Luna, I know you wish to speak with the Griffon King about the Hunter when the guards discovered the remains of the wanted griffon in the Everfree, but I do not believe the Hunter is under the Griffon King's command. All of his 'hunts' has been going on for six months Luna, and even if he is under the Griffon's command I highly doubt that during those six months he had harmed any innocent," I said wanting my sister to remember the past when the Hunter had first revealed themselves in Appleloosa, all those reports from the guards describing that the bandits had been torn apart as if a Forest Sentinel had been there. Luna seemed to be thinking this carefully as we strolled through the halls to the Castle's entrance where a carriage would be waiting for me.
I can't really hope that the Hunter would indeed be at the Griffon Kingdom for that bounty but if he does happen to be there during my visit then it would give me the chance on convincing him to help us against the fight at the Crystal Empire where many of Royal and Lunar guards are at defending the Empire. I'm not sure if making a deal would consider him to help us or giving him something that he sees fit for an agreement on helping us. He is a strange creature that my sister and I do not agree with his actions but few of our subjects feel safe around him.
'May our mother's blessing give me hope on gaining the Hunter's trust,' I silently prayed believing that when the time does come I would be able to convince the Hunter to help us instead of avoiding us. Luna finally collected her thoughts and began to speak again.
"We understand sister..." She turned her head a bit having both her eyes staring directly into my left. "But when thee do indeed come across the Hunter's path if he happens to be at the Griffon Kingdom can thee send our apologies for Thursday's incidents? We fear that he holds a grudge against us and would never forget the injury we had caused to him."
"I will Luna." I rested a hoof on her shoulder before we arrived at the castle's front entrance. The guards stationed at the entrance opened the doors allowing me to exit without having to use my magic to open the golden doors. My carriage was ready with two Royal Elites strapped to the carriage and six Dawnbreakers ready to follow and protect their princess. I remember the day in the past centuries when one of the Royal Guards wanted a new rank for when a war comes they would have more skilled and experienced soldiers ready to give their lives to protect the citizens of Equestria and me. Another century after that the Royal Elites wanted another rank being the Dawnbreakers, their devotion to protecting me and forget about love, family, and their entire future for their just for my safety.
One of six opened the chariot door allowing me to climb into the carriage. The guard closed the door and took his place beside the carriage. Soon the two Elites strapped to the carriage began to go into a light trot before flapping their wings. I felt the carriage begin to lift off as the scenery outside the window started to become distant.
'I hope the elements of harmony don't get involved in this situation.'
POV Twilight
"Made out of gold, damaged, containing traces of charcoal, sulfur, and potassium nitrate. No traces of magic could be found on this inanimate object meaning it was not used by a unicorn but does not help what the purpose of the object. Found by bones of a griffon, Fluttershy's animals had described the event before they found the strange gold structure that a creature like minotaur along with a fur timberwolf was there before an explosion sound scared them meaning that it may not or may have been the Hunter," I read out the small description on my notes as the rest were still being written out on a scroll. This was interesting and astonishing to know that the Hunter had used this small chunk of gold, did not use it for currency, but for some type of projectile like a bolt in a crossbow more about what had sent the gold flying at the speed to cause the metal to bend on the impact of a rock. I had run three test turning bits into the shape of the object that the gold was sharpened into each having interesting results with the speed when using telekinetic force the velocity has to be 450 m/s; meters per seconds. If the Hunter had managed to launch a small chunk of gold without using magic then that means he has something that's better than a crossbow!
My excitement began to worry the Spike as he was bringing in new quills and scrolls. I know that when my attention is on something that I mostly ignore everything around me and never hear them, but the sight of new scrolls what pulled me away and noticed his expression. I read books on how to tell one's expression and Spike's held worry making me stop before I get too carried away with something fascinating.
'Maybe I'm getting too excited over a small chunk of gold that the Hunter used,' I thought to myself as I levitated the scrolls and quills to a nearby desk Spike's worried expression soon began to vanish.
"Twilight do you believe what the Royal Guard had said that the Hunter wasn't responsible for harming them even though they chased after him in the Everfree forest, what if he was placed under a spell?" That's the Spike I know of worrying about the impossible from how the ponies around believed that the Hunter placed a spell on the guard telling Princess Luna that it wasn't him, but a magic detection spell showed that the guard was not under some spell meaning that all that he had told were true how the Hunter was not the one responsible for their conditions in the hospital. That doesn't explain the escape from last night after the town hall had burned down when in the guards' station under interrogation being found unconscious with a broken armrest from a wooden chair by the guard's unconscious body. I know that the Hunter doesn't want anypony to see him but during that night when the town hall was burning down, almost everypony saw him sadly I didn't because how nopony would come to me first before the interrogation it would be the perfect moment to ask him questions of what he is.
"Spike," I called his name placing a hoof on his shoulder making him calm down. "I believe that Luna had already cast a detection spell to see if there was indeed a spell caused on him meaning that every word he said was true and that the Hunter may be innocent that he didn't attack them, but his actions of saving pony lives don't make him fully innocent. I can say that Rainbow and Applejack are glad to know that he's not a villain."
The last part I whispered to myself but kept it loud enough for him to hear me. Spike nodded finally believing that there was no memory change spell on the guard, if the Hunter did use magic then I would be intrigued on finding out how he can use magic without a horn, enchanted crystal, elemental crystal, or an object with trap magic inside it. The Hunter is the one pon- er I mean creature that I could to study about his species, diet, height, age, culture, magic, and much more that would be a dream for me to know.
A knock on the door downstairs interrupted me from daydreaming. |
The Hunter | Chapter 7- Hunter in the Empire part 1 | Griffins, you can't trust them with your money even if it's a kid you can't trust any of them unless you know them truly. After we arrived at Auria's Gale we were given a "special" escort further down the sea banks to Griff Glade where it's mostly populated by griffons, ponies, and other species were there like the minotaurs, sheeps, deer, and hippogriffs.(Not the ones from the movie.) It was a good place to trade in nearly anything that can be shipped across the sea or hunted on this land. The mayor here gave us the proper greeting that Griffons do when they see potential, a bottle of ale in hands/claws along with a decent size table full of food. It may be true that the griffins are greedy at times, but it's the older folks you gotta look for as they had years of experience in their lives to know that being a greedy bird would be a ticket for bounty hunters to hunt them down.
Cynder was confused by the hospitality that the mayor was giving us, she knew that the griffins were a greedy bunch of featherbrains thinking nothing but gold although that's not fully true. I was expecting the dragoness to act greedy with the food and the gold around giving me the reason to deal with her, but she didn't act the way I expected her to act. The griffins around living in Griff Glade were surprised to see a dragon with us, some even went so far to slap her on the ass which they receive a backhand with claw marks on their cheeks. I can't be angry at her for hurting someone as they did assault her with a slap on the ass, so I just ignored it and called it self-defense...despite the claw marks on the griffins' cheeks.
Wyndbain gained some attention from the young ones running around when we arrived, he didn't care that the children were running around him as long as they don't violate him then everything would be fine. My old friend had no purpose of having kids since he wishes for a hunter's death, one that will not give our curse to his bloodline as an endless cycle, I too have that wish.
He may be the oldest canine that ever lives but this curse of two souls bonded together and the black blood that turns us into monsters every full moon. We did not like the fact that nearly every night it's a full moon, the blood in our veins moves like Blood Worms moving around inside your body slowly killing you from the inside. What prevented the transformation? That's easy, a silver medallion blessed by the goddess of light keeping the curse from taking over and containing the corruption from taking over, but doesn't get rid of the black blood.
This medallion is kept close never leaving from my side actually it can't be taken from me unless you ripped out of my chest. Most hunters must go through a trial before becoming one, you must endure the pain of having the medallion surgery place inside you as well show them that the pain just gives you the will to live through it and continue the hunt no matter how much pain you had suffered. A confusing method they had thought up and it's so complex that not even those who join up to do the surgery barely understands it. Each time I touch it the cold metal would remind me that I'm still human because of this.
"It is surprising to see you again Hunter," Old Crow began to speak as he pours another bottle of ale into his chalice. Crow the mayor of this town was a raven hybrid panther that favors a sword and a blunderbuss as his weapons when he was once a young hunter taking care of this town when the forest had once surrounded the griffins' civilization. That old crow yaps about his youth how he dealt with a pack of wolves, these shares the similarity of the diamond dogs, that had kidnapped villagers for their own guilty pleasure. I can go on and on from all the stories he had told me but now wasn't the time. "Usually you stay in the borders of Equestria hunting down the guilty making sure that the innocent are safe, I rarely find you here in the borders of the Griffin Empire."
"That bounty, the one Miss Quilt posted up, I came here to turn in that said bounty. And I was hoping for a place to settle away from civilization somewhere on the outskirt of your town where none of the ponies would know where their so-called 'hero' is at." The table didn't go silent, hell Cynder didn't give me a look about settling down in the Griffon Empire. I felt something poke the side of my leg before sharp talons dug into my skin as that something climbed up my legs. Leaning back in my seat slightly moving my chair back a bit to see a pair of silver eyes staring up at me.
"Ruby." The little griffon climbed up my leg using her claws to grip onto my pants and her hind legs to kick herself up, she had trouble climbing up my legs but she managed to pull herself up to my lap where she curled up like a cat. Wyndbain noticed Ruby's black granite dark red tip lion tail hanging off the side of my chair, he looked up at me then at the tail and back up at me.
'Seems like she missed her idol," Wyndbain jokes as he tried to stay silent. I rolled my eyes and looked up at the end of the table where Crow seemed to be thinking. My gaze fell back to Ruby, who was snuggled up against my chest now.
"I believe there's a house available near the outskirts of Griff Glade's forest, but you know how the wildlife is Hunter being dangerous that the caravans that pass through for trade need to be escorted by hunters. That house is free ever since the last landlord died there a decade ago making it free for whoever wishes to live there." The old crow took a swig of ale from his chalice and refilled it again; bird rarely gets drunk whenever he drinks which was kinda good for being an uncle. I took a sip out of my chalice then set it down.
"Bandits?"
"None, nothing would go near that house, not even the wildlife." Runes might be protecting the house, keeping those who dare tries to enter outside unless they know how to disarm the runes or knows the right phrase to enter; a password to be exact. I ran my hand through Ruby's smooth fur getting a purr from the little griffon as I taken another bite of what's on my plate.
'Has to be a barrier type rune to keep everything out from entering. How else would nothing go near the house, not even a bandit,' Wyndbain said believing that three or more barrier runes have been keeping the place abandon for a decade or else the place wouldn't have been suggested by Crow. A house that has been abandoned for a decade makes it sound like people avoided the building, but this one had runes to keep everything out. I know several types of runes from my past experience on using them as an arena, there was the regular barrier keeping everything in and out, the second was the same as the first except if your blood was used in the runes then you can go in and out whenever you want, and the third is what most mages in my world would use as a prison the invisible walls would shock or burn you depending on what type of element you engraved in it.
Nodding my head slightly as I brought up another spoonful of mashed potatoes up to my lips. It felt weird eating well-made food from experienced cooks, I don't mind eating tasty food that's better than mine it's just I'm not used to eating food that has been cooked by someone else.
In the corner of my eyes, I saw Cynder staring at me with a bottle of ale in her hand. When she noticed my gaze on her she snapped her head away from me, if I could fire a beam of magic through my eyes then Cynder would have two holes in the back of her head. I need to ask Cynder the reason why she follows me, the dragoness had multiple chances of leaving us but she chooses to stay with us.
After having "lunch" with the mayor of Griff Glade the three of us left the town to the forest nearby. Crow gave me a map of the forest circling the spot in ink where the house was located. It was good to see that again even if it was just an hour or two of seeing each other.
The forest around Griff Glade was a dangerous one but not as dangerous as the Everfree forest, both which has exotic creatures that the other didn't have. Wolves were not like Wyndbain because how parts of their body had bones sticking out like armor and had the ability to walk on their hind legs like a werewolf but easy to kill; no silver bullets were required to hunt the animals in the forest making it a safe hunting round, well safe-ish. My first time coming here in the Griffon lands was when Wyndbain and I were on a bounty going after a rogue assassin that attempted to kill Luna because how many of the ponies still believe her to be a demon than their princess that's when we met Crow training her nieces, the second one was a dragon half breed having parts of a griffon and dragon. He and I didn't get along when we first met has always trying to get one another with a bullet to the head or a blade in the guts. Good times, good times.
Griffins have only advanced to single shot guns the old school ones; single-use shot for one barrel unless there are two. Their path that they have chosen to follow in evolution was following up the paths of modern weapons, but they weren't the only ones. In Equestria I noticed that there have been a rare few ranged weapons similar design to the flintlock rifle and pistol except the hammer doesn't have the flint and the gun doesn't use gunpowder but a blue crystal that's the size of my thumb embedded behind the barrel where the powder goes and the hammer was flat. Around a ten or twelve of these Equestrian versions of the flintlock, I encounter the projectile they fire was an orb of magic the same size of the original ammunition for a flintlock. After being used there's some type of cool down the gun goes through leaving them open for any attacks. Time is changing indeed.
The house Crow spoke of was indeed near the outskirt of the forest and was in great conditions as there was no sign of decay, but there was indeed a barrier around it. Whoever had own this place must have wanted it to be kept from the hands of those wanting to buy it. The runes that were set up for this barrier was easy to find as they were carved in stones angled to make a triangle hidden underneath bushes near the house, but the cost of disabling the runes was destroying them.
"Cynder, there's nothing to be afraid of it's just an old house and the place where Wyndbain and I live now. You have nothing to fear." The dragoness that apparently still with us clung to me like her life depended on it. She would not budge an inch closer to the house and wouldn't let me go to investigate the house, there wasn't anything around that could have scared her like this other than the house in front of us. Dragons have fears; I know that because everything else that lives has fears even if you're all high and mighty you will always have fears.
A dragon's grip was one thing I never wanted to undergo again being squeezed almost to death like a teddy bear wasn't on my to die by wish. No matter how much strength I had and how many times I tried to pry Cynder off she wouldn't budge. She mumbled something under her breath something about someone in one of the windows. When I looked up at the many windows facing us there wasn't anything else but curtains and darkness behind the glass.
"Cynder there's nothing up there," I told her but she kept on mumbling to herself. There was no way out of the killer grip of the dragon other than one thing, and so I did what most men would be proud of doing. Raising my hand high up above my head I gave Cynder a warning with a slight tap on the back with my other hand, but that she didn't even move her arms to feel her back. With nothing to regret on the aftermath. With one great swing down my leather gloved hand smacked Cynder's butt cheek causing the dragoness to shove me down as she yelps and flies up into the air.
In my head, I heard Wyndbain laughing out of control as he rolled onto his back kicking his legs. Slapping a woman's ass was one of the many things I didn't do on my list but now I can mark that off my list. Sadly, even if I do fall for the dragoness I cannot impregnate her or else the black blood would carry on through my sons and daughters; my curse is like a plague if I ever have impregnated a woman then my offsprings would turn into monsters.
I got back up to my feet and looked at the house, this is where I'll be living for the rest of my life. My ears picked up the sound of flapping wings, but before I know it Cynder was giving out her battle cry. |
The Hunter | Chapter 8- Hunter in the Empire part 2 | "Princess, as I said before, the Griffin Empire has many bounty boards scattered around the land; I cannot control my griffins' life and choices for what they want to become it's their choice, not mine. A king cannot control his subjects as he represents his kind's leader to make safe choices for them to live under, even if those choices cost the lives of others. My crown has no meaning; it's only gold that was crafted to wear on one's head. The meaning of being a king is to have his kin know that he is one to lead his kind through many tragic events, bring hope into their lives, protect them from danger, and many so on choices and believes that he must go through to please his kin. If my kin becomes murders then let them become murders that would soon be killed by the guards, or hunted down by bounty hunters that have their own reasons whether it be honor, fame, greed, or revenge. Your Equestria's "Hunter" took it upon himself to go and claim the bounty himself; now, do not think that the Hunter came to my land and begged to take this bounty. No, it is his choice to do so! I cannot command a foreigner to take a quest that no griffin in the right mind would take, but I can offer them the choice of taking the quest for their own reasons. You're Hunter has not set paw, hoof, or foot in Griffonstone, nor has he ever demanded an audience with me. He is a being of his own, yet some would say that he's a creature that kills for the thrill of the hunt! Every being has their own opinion on what they see the Hunter as, and there other types of predators or prey sees him as a monster; however, there are some that see him as a hero in your lands!" King Roarik slams his talons on the stone round table causing the chalices on the table to tremble from the amount of force he had put into his talons. I couldn't really believe that a simple greetings with the Griffon King, Roarik; Elk Prince, Willow; Queen of the hounds, Lenora; and two directors from the Yuri Yin Tin Lands; this day was a meeting of agreement between the Griffon King and the Elk Prince, but that little meeting of agreements soon turned into conference of supply trades. Coming here on the day like this was not the best to say as now I am apart of this conference; however, instead of the supply trades we now speak of the Hunter.
"Hero? Oh please, that beast, that suddenly began to hunt down lawbreakers, is no more than a regular bounty hunter that just does it for fame and money. IT is no more than another killer that hunts down killers, rapist, thieves, bandits, and much more that dares to break the law we have under our own borders. I would prefer that we change the subject of 'IT' to something else that is in the matter of our hooves," Prince Willow said. I dislike how he put his hate into the word "It" whenever we speak about the Hunter. Reasons why he hates the Hunter so much is something I do not know about, or ever want to know.
What has the Hunter done to deserve so much hate from the Elk Prince; the beings that are guardians of woodlands and kind-hearted to all living beings on this planet. I wish to know what the Hunter must have done that the Elk Prince himself would despise of the Hunter's existence and speaks about him as an unintelligent beast than a being that thinks of the choices he makes.
"Do not speak of our kin, the Hunter has done well in what he believes! We know that Hunter does not kill for the thrill of a good hunt. A monster the Hunter is not! A merciful kind he is that acts like an Akita, protecting those he believes are good, and thinks before acting and knows what is right from wrong. We believe that Hunter deserves respect from those that look down upon him like another killer!" Lenora growl at the Elk Prince's action being disrespectful of speaking about the Hunter.
Why does the Queen of the hounds protect Hunter's name from Willow? Is there something that I do not know what he did before he began to hunt down those who had harmed the innocent? Do they know one another, or does his name give him respect from other predators? Now I want to know the Hunter than what Luna and I had thought of him.
The two directors had not spoken since the beginning of the conference about the supply trades that they had planned on making a deal for the Griffon King. Both of them were wearing cloth that covers their entire body, but they showed their faces to us. They are another dog pack from the desert in the far east. Pharaoh hounds if I remember that's what they called themselves.
"Only you predators would look up its actions; however, the herbivores do not enjoy killing and watching another life being taken from another being. No, that thing is another killer that just takes any type of jobs that would satisfy its bloodlust!" Willow pointed a hoof at Lenora. If this continues then a war would start and the years of peace we had forged from the past eight hundred years. A war between Canines and Elks would soon spread in my lands and my ponies would be forced to either join the fight or run away.
Lenora growled again, but this time she looked like she was about to pounce on the elk if it weren't for one of her personal guards to stop her. This was bad, and it obvious that the situation now could go out of hoof if one of the leaders actually attacked one another. I looked over at Roarik's direction to see how he's handling this situation. He appeared to be calm acting like a king would when it comes to being a leader, but in his eyes, I could tell that he did not enjoy Lenora's action.
I took my eyes off the king and set my gaze on the two directors. Both hounds were whispering to each other discussing something that I can't hear because how the Elk Prince continues to be disrespectful of the Hunter. Whatever they were whispering among themselves they seemed to agree on something.
"May we move on to another subject? One that might help our kingdoms instead of risking war over a single being, one that I may add that isn't a threat to us, or should we continue speaking about our opinions about the Hunter?" The table was silent after the Pharaoh hound had spoken up. Every being in this room was now discussing the supply trade than the Hunter.
I don't have any role to speak about the supply trade as I have had this conference years ago before any of them were born. I remember those days after Luna's banishment how I was overworking on my royals duties trying to keep the peace among the other kingdoms and to go through countless conferences about agreements of what should ban or allowed to trade among each kingdom. Such stressful day those have been, barely having time to sleep. Luna could have helped so much if the Nightmare Forces didn't corrupt her with her own jealousy of not gaining any attention from our subjects.
Hours upon hours of listening to the six beings discussing the supply trade of what should be banned and what should be allowed to be sold in their borders. I have not spoken a single word ever since they began to speak of their supply trades. I didn't want to interfere with their duties of being leaders to their kingdoms, and if I did speak about my opinions about the agreements they have, then the conference would have lasted longer than now.
The talk of the Hunter was forgotten after all the leaders made common agreements on the supplies their willing to trade they planned on having another talk in this room tomorrow on continuing to find a common agreement, but I noticed how King Roarik have been looking over at my direction a few times during the conference. The quick glances were a dead give away that he wishes to have a word with me.
After the end of the conference, the five other leaders went back to their own rooms that the King has provided them, but Roarik and I stayed in the room. Having time to talk with him alone was what I wanted and now I have it; however, the other leaders would be suspicious and think that the King and I would be planning something against them, and I do not want our trust and peace to be thought as a lie to plan against them.
"Celestia, I know my actions on keeping you here in the room would bring suspension to us, but they should not worry as I only wish to discuss more on how I do not control my kin's decision of what to become and how I do not control the Hunter." The King of the Griffins took a sip out of his chalice. He may claim that the other leaders should not worry about this talk, but that won't stop them from believing something wrong.
I took hold of my chalice with my magic and took a sip from it, the sweet taste tickled my taste buds as the liquid flows down my throat. Griffin's wine has been one of the top delicacies that I keep in the castle's cellars, letting it age on until the wine itself tastes better than what most tastes today. Setting my chalice down I looked up at the King to see that he has been waiting for me to speak.
"I know King Roarik," I let out a sigh and looked down at my chalice to see my red self, in the wine's reflection, staring back at me. "But after the griffon was slain by the Hunter, I had thought he was returning here in Griffonstone to claim the bounty on the wanted griffon like how most bounty hunters would. I had to come here to speak with you about the griffon and the Hunter himself."
"You have already received news about the griffon that the Hunter had killed, yet you wish to speak with the Hunter, and you thought that he would travel to Griffonstone to turn in his bounty?" Sadly that what I had thought. I nodded my head feeling a bit defeated that the Hunter has not set foot in the Griffin Empire capital to turn in the bounty. King Roarik sighed knowing what I had planned when I cross path with the Hunter. "I am sorry Celestia. You have probably wanted to meet your Kingdom's hero, yet he prefers to keep himself unknown to those he protects and wants to keep the innocent safe from the guilty; however, ever since your sister's action against the Hunter in Ponyville he must have decided to leave and abandon the role of being your ponies' hero."
I frowned at the mention of what my sister had done to the Hunter, but she did it because he burnt down Ponyville's town hall and trapped a pony inside unless...unless he was trying to save that pony! Did Luna stop him from saving that pony? No, from what I read on the guard's reports that there wasn't a body found in the remains of the building meaning that there was no pony inside the town hall after all, so that means that the Hunter must have the ability to cast illusion to trick everypony there to think they saw a trapped pony inside! Maybe that's how he was able to avoid patrols around cities he can use magic to hide!
'But how did King Roarik knows what Luna had done to the Hunter?' I asked myself, I looked up at the King to see one of his guards whispering something to him. 'When did the guard enter the room?' After the guard was done whispering into the king's ear, Raorik, looked up at me with a broad smile on his beak.
"If you weren't a goddess Celestia, I would say that the god of fortune is on your side. Word has it that the Hunter appears to be living in Griff Glade's forest. If you're luck still holds then he would still be around the forest before he leaves the area." With that Roaric winked at me, telling to go and take my chance to speak with the Hunter. Not wasting another second I jumped out of my seat and galloped through the castle to the gates.
POV Twilight Sparkle
'What happened? Why did everything go black? I can't feel my hooves, nor can I feel any parts of my body.' Panic began to take its course as my breathing quicken and my body begins to shake. I couldn't see anything -everything was black- and my eyes had already adjusted to the dark. What happened? I remember going to the door and opening it to see Rainbow Dash being excited that she had a paper in her hoof. She was waving it in front of me saying that one of the ponies that was at the event of last night had managed to see the Hunter and correctly drew what he truly looked like; however, I can't seem to remember what happened after that.
Looking around would be pointless because how everything was literally black, and I believed I'm repeating myself again on how I can't see, way to go Twilight now you're talking to yourself. I shook my head as I tried to collect myself and remember more after hearing what Rainbow had said, but nothing came to mind. My brain felt like it was about to explode from how much time I've been trying to remember, but I knew that there's no way that somepony's brain would explode from overthinking or putting too much stress into it; however, it would cause that pony a headache or something worse if they continue to strain their brain.
"BY CELESTIA'S SUN WHY CAN'T I REMEMBER!?" I screamed out to nopony as the feeling of loneliness began to sink in. I never thought I'd feel this way again after meeting the girls. How it feels to be lonely after being Celestia's student for nearly the rest of my life, too focused on my studies to approved anypony's existence outside my shell of study and research. Spike may have been there when I first became Celestia's student, but it felt like I was talking to a servant working for Celestia than a baby dragon that I raise as my child. How dumb was I to ignore everypony for my studies to believe that the greater good was to become another Star Swirl the Bearded to keep the peace in Equestria going?
"Twi...ight." My head shot up and my ears twitched in every direction trying to pinpoint the source of the pony who whispered my name. Somepony was here and I know it because I heard it.
"Tw...light...ke...p!" That was Pinkie Pie's voice! I glanced at every direction all around me trying to find Pinkie Pie, but I couldn't there was nopony around only the darkness.
"Twilight." I snapped my head to the right to see the Hunter, his red eyes staring down at me, his smile showed his razor-sharp teeth. My eyes widen as I stared at him, his smile sent a cold shiver down my spine. I tried to run, but my legs were locked in place as if somepony had wrapped rocks around my legs to keep me from running for my life.
"Save him! Help him! Cure him! Free him!" Voices whispered in my ears demanding to help...him. I felt my body shake violently when the Hunter knelt down. I watched in horror from how his body started to change the clothes that he wore began to stretch, horns grew out from the top of his head, gray fur started to cover his body, some of it poked through the tears in his clothes, as the sickening sound of bone snapping and flesh ripping caused my face to go pale. The Hunter ripped his skin from his own face, his clothes finally ripped and fell to the floor with pieces of skin attached to them, his body was now covered in gray fur, his face was now the same as the furred timberwolf's, his legs were different than before they bend back than being straight, and his teeth were no longer white instead they were red with blood dripping down his chin. The entire time he was smiling enjoying the pain that he had gone through to change into such a monstrous beast.
'How can somepony go through that much pain?' No wait, he didn't scream in pain or flinched from how his own bones in his legs bend back and his skin falling off. He still had that terrifying smile on his lips. Maybe those who believed that the Hunter is a monster are right, maybe he's nothing more than a bloodthirsty beast wanting nothing more than to hunt down anything to satisfy his bloodlust.
"Twilight, why are you afraid?" I flinched at how he knew my name and how he laughed like a mad pony. My body tensed up from his touch, his hands (minotaurs has hands so why ain't Lyra interested with their hands?) weren't the same before he changed into this monster, the fingers grew and so did his nails. His hands cupped my cheeks and pulled me closer to his face. I gagged at how awful his breath smelled as I was now faced to face with the Hunter.
"Want to see how I eat?" I quickly shook my head, but that didn't stop him. In a blink of an eye, his hands gripped my sides digging his nails into my skin causing me to scream out in pain as he lifted me up in the air. I began to kick my legs struggling to get out of his grip and scream out to somepony or anything to help me, but my struggle didn't seem to faze the monster holding me. He opened his maw showing me the rows of sharp teeth he has. Again I tried to struggle out of his grip no matter how painful it was to move because how his nails dug deeper into my skin. As he lowered me closer to his gaping mouth I let out a scream hoping that somepony would save me!
Real World
"GAAAAH!" I jolt up awake my hooves holding the blankets close to me as possible, my heart was beating like a drum anypony could probably hear it a good yard away from me. My eyes quickly scanned the room to see if this was all real, I pinched myself to make sure it was real and what a relief that it was all a nightmare.
"Twilight!?" I screamed at the top of my lungs as I jumped off the bed and crawled underneath it. Underneath the bed on the opposite side, I crawled under was a pair of pink hooves. I recognize those hooves and who it belonged to but my instinct told me to stay underneath the bed where nopony or creature would find me.
I can't stop shaking from how that nightmare felt so real and how it was all suddenly happened so quick that I don't even think Rainbow Dash wouldn't look at the Hunter the same way. This is why prey felt so helpless to predators, they couldn't do anything against a monster alone or else they get gobbled up. Prey, I felt like the Hunter's prey because how my instinct told me that a monster was coming after me, and when he does I don't think I'll be able to fight him.
The multiple sounds of hooves against the wood told me that Pinkie wasn't the only pony here in my house. Cyan, white, yellow, navy blue, orange, and brown hooves galloped around my bed surrounding me.
"Pinkie Pie what happened, we heard Twilight scream!" I heard Luna demanded, but I couldn't see her face or body only her and the girls' hooves.
"I don't know when Twilight woke up I yelled out her name in joy because she's finally awake after hitting her head against the doorframe after Rainbow Dash told her the exciting news how somepony drew what the Hunter look like from memory." I heard Pinkie say as her hooves disappeared and reappeared when she bounced. Did I really knock myself out by hitting my head on the doorframe? Embarrassed about how I knocked myself out I stayed under my bed watching the pairs of hooves.
"Pinkie," I heard Rainbow Dash' began to say. "Yelling out Twilight's name after she woke up would obviously scare her."
There was a moment of silence from the girls. I continued to stay underneath my bed until I saw Luna's snout.
"Twilight, would you please come out?" Luna asked her voice almost sound motherly like Celestia. I slowly began to crawl out from under my bed kicking my hind hooves to push myself forward and pulling myself towards Luna with my forehooves.When my head poked out from under the bed I saw my friends, the princess, and a mare all looking at me. Fluttershy had gasped and laid down beside me, my body was now halfway.
"Twilight have you been crying?" Have I been crying? I wipe my eyes with a hoof and looked at it to see that I was crying, but was I crying because I escaped that horrid nightmare or was I crying because how real it felt. I slowly nodded my head.
In a blink of an eye, Fluttershy wrapped her forehooves around me, bringing me into a hug. My body reacted on its own as I found myself hugging back crying into Fluttershy's should making her fur damp. Luna has to know what I've dreamed of or else I'll probably have the same nightmare again. |
The Hunter | Chapter 9- Calming moment | Taking a deep breath and exhaling it out through my nose I tried to calm myself like how Fluttershy had told me to do so. I am thankful that the girls didn't bother to ask questions after I stopped crying, they gave me some room as I tried to calm down from what I had gone through earlier. Luna already knew what I had experienced in my dreams, she used a spell that allowed her to see through my memories and what she saw made her worried. Fluttershy may not know what I had seen but it was best that she doesn't know.
"Save him," that what the voices had asked me to do, but how do I save somepony if I never saw them before. No, I did see him though he wasn't that furred timberwolf instead a mutated gene minotaur. How can I save him, he never let anypony see him or let anypony talk with him.
'Why would he need help? And what cure does he need?' I could think of this all day, but the more I think about it the more I want to ask and the more I want to ask I won't be able to get the correct answers. Helping somepony would be easier said than done when you know what's troubling them; besides that, this wasn't a pony but something else. I don't know a single thing about him other than what everypony knows.
Luna won't be able to help me with this. The girls might be able to help whatever it was that the voices what me to do. Saving the Hunter would be difficult if I don't know where he is and what I need to do in order to help. The voices have given me clue: save him, help him, cure him, free him. I remember the order and how they go, but what could we do to save him?
Fluttershy managed to calm me down enough. I am still shaken up but not as worse than before. In my room, I stared at my own reflection to see my sacred self. My messy mane and tail are noticeable that I didn't have a good sleep, my eyes were bloodshot, and the fur around my eyes was drenched from how much I had cried. My appearance could easily tell those that I've been through Tartarus.
I saw Luna's and Fluttershy's reflection in the mirror behind both placed their hooves on my shoulders comforting me. I looked to my right to see Fluttershy giving me the innocent smile that she always had. I looked to my left to see Luna, she was looking down at me with a concerned look.
"Twilight Sparkle, art thou comfortable to continue meeting this Sketch Note?" I nodded my head. It's best to get this done with than doing it later, if Sketch knows what the Hunter looks like then it would make our search easier. Well, I know what he looks like, but the others don't.
With that Luna and Fluttershy set their hooves down and went downstairs with me following behind them. I took a deep breath in and exhaled it out before we arrived at the living room.
Everypony was there sitting on the couch and chairs I had. The pony, Sketch Note, who drew what the Hunter looked like, was sitting on a chair across from it was the couch that had Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie on it. It would be best if I kept the fact that I saw the Hunter in my dream of what he looked like and what he can do, but I can tell the girls when he's not around.
Stepping into the living room with Luna and Fluttershy now by my side everypony looked at me with concern. The first pony to speak was Applejack.
"Twilight, are ya feelin' any better now?" I nodded my head and muttered yes. Applejack stared at me for a few more seconds before she looked at the other girls.
"I'm glad your okay darling," Rarity said she looked over at Pinkie Pie. "Pinkie wanted to throw her an 'I hope you forget about a nightmare' party, but right now she plans on doing it later because of us telling her to wait until you're feeling better."
I mumbled a thank you and looked up at Rainbow Dash, who was staring in a sketchbook. She noticed me looking up at her. Thankfully I didn't have to keep staring up at her as Rainbow Dash glided down in front of me.
"A-are you ready to see what the Hunter look like?" Rainbow Dash asked making it obvious that she had a difficult time trying to say the right words. I nodded my head again I want to be done with this soon as possible.
Without saying another word Rainbow Dash showed me the drawing of the Hunter. Even though I had seen the Hunter in my dream it's still surprising to see how he doesn't look similar to a minotaur, no horns, no tail, not muscular, wearing clothes that make him look terrifying, and body anatomy looking completely different that shouldn't be possible to stand on two legs without either a tail or correct bone structure. Thankfully I didn't panic when she showed me it because how it's just a drawing, not the actual Hunter. The drawing itself was surprising to say because how well detailed it was about what the Hunter wore and his small digits, but I also noticed that the Hunter had a masked than what I had seen in my dreams.
"H-how did he managed to get the detail of what the Hunter wore?" I asked eying the drawing as well taking in some of the detail that Sketch had done.
"W-well, I managed to get a good look at him and memorized everything that he wore," Sketch said sounding a bit nervous, I could see him fidgeting with his hooves as he stares nervously at me. "I know that he wore white when Luna and the Lunar guards captured him, he was easy to see out in the night when the moon's glow was on him. But I managed to get a piece of his clothing..." I tore my eyes off the drawing to see Sketch pull out a white cloth out of his saddlebag. "...as you can see it's white; however, look closely and noticed that it's slowly starting to change into a dark red then changes to black."
Surprised by what he said I trotted up to him and looked down at the piece of cloth. Sketch was right if you look closely you can see it start to change colors before the process of it changing colors is noticeable. Almost half of the cloth was a blood red color I could see a small amount of magic radiating off of it, I can barely see it flowing out of the cloth its appearance was similar to a faint red fog on the red half as the other off had a faint blue fog. So the Hunter can use spells maybe that's how he managed to change into that furred timber wolf.
"A horrible piece of cloth material to changing colors into black, white, and red," Rarity said. I can't really say that the clothing the Hunter wears were bad as they must be made out of some type of cloth material to help protect him. "What tailor would ever make that, I highly doubt that the Hunter would always wear clothing like that everyday day."
"Actually it's made out of leather," Sketched retorted sounding a bit mad. Everypony in the room gasp, Rarity fainted, Fluttershy eyes widen, Applejack nearly choked on her water, Rainbow Dash fell from the sky, Pinkie Pie's mane deflated, and Luna didn't seem fazed by this.
"Why in tarnation would the Hunter wear leather, he should know that to get that he would have to..." Applejack voice went silent as she stared at the ground. She knew that the name Hunter was for a reason because how he hunts like a griffin, he eats meat and that means he'll hunt for food. Wearing a dead animal skin for protection is what some griffin hunters do.
I heard Luna's behind me, her hoof made an audible clop with each step she made. I didn't turn around because I didn't want to know how she was handling this.
"How does thou knows what the piece of clothing is made of?" Luna asked or demanded. Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see Luna's royal blue coat. I avoided eye contact with the Princess as she waited for Sketch to answer.
"My father is a hippogriff, he's a hunter. He taught us how to track down a prey, make armor out of the hide, cook it, and hunt. He mainly did that to teach my sister but I wanted to be like him despite me being an earth pony," Sketched answered. A son of a carnivore hybrid species, who is a hippogriff, is an artist that knows how to hunt, draw, and handle death.
I felt a bit sick of hearing how somepony that wasn't a carnivore could be taught how to hunt and skin a creature. The image of me in the Hunter's hand with a skinning knife, in his hand, squirming out of his grip desperately trying to get free. That image sent a cold shiver down my spine. I felt a few tears flow down my face as I imagined that.
"Save him. Help him. Cure him. Free him." The same voices whispered in my ears. Why did I hear them, did I just imagined those voices whispering again? My breath began to go out of control as I was breathing too fast that I could have a panic attack.
"Twilight Sparkle!"
"Uh?" I shook my head to see that everypony, including Rarity, was staring at me. My eyes fell upon Luna, who was looking down at me with worry in her eyes.
"Art thou sure is thou is okay?" Luna asked, she leaned down and stared straight into the eyes. I felt my heart racing as well the feeling of butterflies in my stomach.
"Yes."
Cazador POV
Cynder hissed from the unbearable pain she was experiencing after. It wasn't my fault that she managed to dislodge her wing bone from its socket or else we wouldn't be in this position with me on top of her holding her broken wing in my hands trying to pop it back in the socket. The dragoness should have known from the first day we met that she shouldn't try to fight me, but no she tried to dive bomb and got what she deserves a dislodged wing. Luckily popping back a wing is like popping back your shoulder when you have someone around to help.
Pushing the wing back into its socket resulted in a pop which caused Cynder to let out a groan. I know how it feels to dislodge a limb, mostly the arms, and popping back in place it gives off the feeling of relief while also feeling a bit uncomfortable after a few minutes. Still, Cynder did deserve a dislodge wing than a shattered bone from how she flew into that tree.
"Next time don't attack unless you have a plan or else you will have it worse than this," I told her as I wrapped a clean bandage around the base of her wing. After making sure that I didn't wrap it up too tight or too loose I got off of Cynder's back and the bed she laid on.
"Maybe you don't slap my ASS! What kind of male does that to a girl that just saw something that looks like a g-ghost!?" Cynder yelled sounding like she was about to explode with anger. Wasn't my fault that she was afraid of the house. News of ghost and haunted buildings was just paranoia to people who can't handle the guilt or afraid of something that their mind begins to play tricks with them. As a hunter, you must face you guilt knowing that you'll be forever guilty no matter how much you believe your actions are right. Fear is something I rarely have now after waking up in this world.
"Sometimes I wish most women aren't so easily scared," I muttered before speaking up clearly. "Cynder, ghosts do not exist, I know from my years of experience of supposed haunting places are usually filled with corrupted creatures waiting for fresh meat to wander in. Whatever you saw was either that or just something you imagined. And don't try to say that you did see a ghost. Paranormal is nothing but a hoax to scare children."
Picking up a wet cloth from the bowl on the nightstand I began to wipe the dirt off her scales. Cynder grumbled something under her breath as I bathed her with a cloth. The way she landed gave her cuts and bruises, but that didn't stop her from trying to take a swing at me until she felt her back in pain. Are dragons like this or do all females always want revenge?
'Cynder seems to be bonding with us quite well,' I heard Wyndbain say. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Cynder's hand, or claw, petting Wyndbain. It's rare to see an intelligent wolf get petted by a bipedal dragon, hell I bet my left that witnessed the sight that Cynder is gaining Wyndbain's trust before mine.
'At least I don't need someone to scratch my itchy spot to earn my trust,' I said. This earned a small chuckle from the wolf as he rolled onto his back letting Cynder rub his stomach. Ignoring my partner I continued cleaning Cynder's body of all the dirt and dried blood on her scales and around her cuts.
After wiping away the last cut I bandaged it up with a simple white cloth before tossing away the dirty rag in the dirty water bowl. Cynder crawled to the edge of the bed and sat there staring down at the floor. I wiped my hands dry with another rag before tossing it in a laundry basket. We didn't say a word to each other as silent took hold.
"Thanks," Cynder said her eyes stared into mine as she softly smiled showing her white teeth. I nodded my head. She didn't seem satisfied with that. "Can I ask you of your past, the book you had filled me in on what you are and what you did before you came to Equestria, you know being a Monster Hunter slaying creatures that are corrupted. However, I want to the man that saved me other than his name and what he can do. You never really opened up and I only been able to pick up the scraps during our short stay at the bat pony's house and mayor's house. From how they talk to you is that you're just a friendly person when they do something in return. Crow mentioned at the table that you two used to go on a hunt."
"We hunted each other down, he provided the feeling of hunting and being hunted." I corrected her.
"Yeah, that one, but you never gave me a chance to get to know you. All this time you could have opened up a conversation when we were walking through the forest, but you never did you only kept to yourself." There's a reason why I don't want to talk with Cynder was that I wanted her to leave me alone after we first met. She didn't have to follow me to here in the Griffin Empire, but she's just a stubborn dragoness. "To me, it feels rare just to have this conversation right now of your past. How do I earn your trust, to trust me as a friend than some dragoness following you owing her life to a male that saved her."
'It's been only two days and a half since she began to follow me, and now she wants me to trusts her just like some child's book? Trust is earned from knowing the person, respect is how they treat you, and friends are what you rely on for your problems. Cynder is not a friend, I don't trust her with my life, and she is being treated nicely.' I looked at Wyndbain to see that he was staring at the dragoness thinking to himself. This feel like some cheap romance story that's terribly trying to get two characters to become a couple. Love is something I don't want, even if I wasn't cursed I wouldn't want to have a relationship with someone that's not the same race as I am. Giving Cynder one look I nodded my head. I saw the corners of her lips curled up beneath her cheekbones, she held out her claw.
"Then could we start a new beginning? Hi, my name is Cynder Enserius the daughter of an elder dragon Lord Axio Enserius. I'm twenty-four years old and the only dragonling in the family." I eyed her hand, I was a bit uncertain of reintroducing again than sticking what we know before this. Without much of a thought or regret, I shook her hand introducing myself to her...for the first time.
"My name is Cazador, an apprentice Hunter under the training of Gehrman, the first Hunter. The wolf you petted is Wyndbain, my best friend, and most loyalist companion. I'm thirty-seven years old and Wyndbain is twenty-five years old." Yes, the age for Wyndbain was actually his age, he doesn't have dog years like all common dogs instead he has human years. Both of us live longer as if giving each other extra years to live. I glanced over Cynder's shoulder to see him smiling.
'You could also tell her that I'm intelligent,' He commented.
'I could have, but seeing as you're just a pervy wolf that loves staring at women's bodies why would I ruin that chance for you.' I could hear him snicker trying to muffle his laugh because the whole this was true. Never think of as an ordinary dog because he got an eye full of nearly any women, or those that share the same anatomy.
'I thank you for that Cazador, and I must say that I am getting an eye full of her.' I could have rolled my eyes, but that would cause Cynder to question me. After we finished shaking each other hands I pointed at Cynder's face keeping it between her eyes and causing her to go cross eye.
"A few rules I must say before I start," I began before I lowered my hand. "If you want to become friends I want you to know how to handle yourself. You may be a dragon, but that doesn't mean that every creature, both predator, and prey, would just cower away. I want you to meet up with my...skills. Meaning four things. "I held up four fingers before folding one down." One, don't disobey any orders I give unless I cannot give any. "The second finger went down. "Two, know your boundaries when I speak of my past, I do not want you to keep pushing on a subject that I don't like. "The third went down." Three, I want you in clothes instead of being naked twenty-four seven, I have enough of seeing ponies privates. "Finally the fourth finger went down." And four, I will get to that after you prove yourself to be a friend."
Cynder's gaze fell on the floor, I could tell she was thinking of the rules I had. While the dragoness was busy thinking I learned a bit to the right to see Wyndbain wagging his tail out of excitement. After checking on Wyndbain I put my attention on Cynder, who was done thinking.
"I accept them all, but..." There's the but I was waiting for not going to be surprised if it's about the clothes. "Will the clothes be super tight? If so can they be a bit lose like yours?"
I nodded my head agreeing with that. To be honest, I was expecting a rhetorical question something like this, "Do I have to?" or "Can I just wear the pants?" But she didn't ask those and I am thankful that she did. Don't really want to know what she looks like if she did wear tight clothes.
With that Cynder smiled she turned around on her heels and jumped on the bed, nearly crushing Wyndbain if he didn't jump off. The dragoness' tail swayed side to side like a snake's body as she let out probably, in my opinion, the most girlish squeal of excitement.
'I guess being in the dragon territory she must act like a stubborn bitch, but now she's acting like a child, no, a teenager to be exact.' Shaking my head I walked out of Cynder's room and went downstairs to find a ring of keys for every lock in the house. I didn't have a chance to check every room in the house, so I took this chance to do it before something stops me from doing so.
Finding the ring of keys was a simple task to achieve, I didn't have to risk my life to find it. The numbers count of keys connected to this ring was twenty-one, but the numbers of doors with locks were twenty-five. Four doors did not open meaning that four keys were either missing or broken, I didn't let the three out of the four lock doors stop me from opening them, a few shoulder rams the doors didn't last that long, but the fourth one was a challenge. I couldn't get it open because of some enchantment that it had. How I know that the door was enchanted because how it wasn't normal. When I looked at the door there were four black tendrils underneath the door itself keeping it in place.
I gave up on trying to open that one locked door on the second floor, if I can't open it then possibly no one can unless they can dispell whatever enchantment was placed on the door. Magic is something I'm skeptical about seeing as there are a rare few things that art immune to them, or sucks the magic out of the caster. Finding cloth or some kind of animal immune to magic was like hunting an ancient Wendigo alone without any help or weapons, meaning there's no chance I can find the materials to make a new set of clothes. Unicorns and other creatures that could use magic would have the advantage of picking me up in their magical grip. Luckily I don't have to fight up close because of the weapons I use.
The house so far has everything that made it feel a bit homely. It's been a while since I last called a place my home before I ended up in this world. Gehrman would probably be scolding me for calling it early to retire, but there's nothing much that can catch my interest in hunting unless they truly prove themselves to be a challenge.
I walked to the library on the main floor. In Equestria, I rarely found time to read a book, but now I have all the time in the world I could probably read the entire library in a few months. Crime may have been low in Equestria how the princesses made peace with their neighboring countries, citizens not wanting bloodshed, and magic to help catch the criminals. Therefore, I could have just ignored the bandits up in Appleloosa, but the thrill of the hunt was what made me kill them. The feel of adrenaline pumping through your veins, images of your life flashes before your eyes when you come close to death, and the will of surviving.
Inside the library, I managed to find a book that I could read. Some of the other books I picked were written in different language, probably griffin, I didn't understand what they're writing was so I just ignored them and picked out another book. In my hands was the book, its covers were different that Equestria having multiple silhouettes of strange creatures. The title of this book says, "Dark Tales Vol I The Monsters in The Land of Griffins," an intriguing title I have to say one that gave me hope.
'Monsters of the Griffin Empire be prepared.' I chuckled darkly as I took a seat near the fireplace in a comfortable chair. Before I had a chance of opening the book I heard the soft sounds of pitter patter on the wooden floor. I looked back over my chair to see Wyndbain holding a book in his mouth.
'I hope I didn't intrude on your thoughts Cazador?' I shook my head then gestured to the floor by my seat. 'Good, it's been a while since I last had a chance to read a book.'
'Same with me.' Wyndbain softly chuckled as he walked by my seat. I took off my boots and set them to the side then took off my coat, hat, mask, ammo belt, weapons, holsters, socks, and gloves. Everything was set by the side of my chair.
It felt great to relax for once, even if this was going to be forever. I let out a satisfying sigh relieved of my clothes and the weight that I carried around for days. Lifting my feet up in the just high enough for my companion to crawl under them to enjoy the warmth they had.
'You know it's been a while since you gave me a good scratch, could you maybe scratch between my shoulders with your foot just like the good old days?' I set my right foot on his shoulder and moved a bit in my chair before moving my foot back in forth letting my toes and nails to scratch him. 'Oooh, that's better. Cazador, do you think they miss us?'
'Maybe. People die all the time there's no way to prevent death from taking a life. They probably do miss us, but they have to move on what's done is done there is nothing they could have done.' I told him as I began to read my book turning a page to the first chapter. 'And even if there was a way the black blood we have given us a death sentence. We would be in coffins in the dirt, but we're not. We're alive walking among the living doing our best to do what we were trained to do.'
'But we still have the blood in us. I can still feel it moving along my skin every time I bleed out. We're the true monsters that others see as the top alpha, but we didn't have a choice to become who we are today. Those who think are monsters do not know the true meaning of them Cazador. They don't know what it feels like to be treated as one, to think as one, and to have the same blood as the monster that cursed us.'
'They may not know my friend, but they should never know. Night Shade and Stellar Dust knows what we did on our bounties, we ate whatever we could eat. I still can't shake the feeling of eating another intelligent being but survival comes first. If their daughters know of what we did then they would never look at us again. It's already bad enough that the princesses of Equestria want us behind bars, the ponies sees us more of a monster, and the elks hates us for what we did to the king.'
'But what we did was fulfill the king's last order to killing him in front of his kind, showing that the world is not always full of sunshine and rainbows. His son may hate us with all his souls, but we followed his orders just as we were always doing when he hired us. He was wise and he knew that his kind would hate us no matter what because we're predators.'
I couldn't help but agree with him. Even with Equestria's peace prey will still hate predators no matter how much you try to change it there is always that feeling of being food to something. We were lucky that the family doesn't care much about predators looks or personality unless they are a threat.
What does it take to feel like a monster? Is it just your looks and personality, or is it from your actions and perspective from what others sees you as? Our actions may be a monstrous act in their eyes, but to us, it's what the world has always been. Death, rape, corruption, guilt, and sin. That's what life always has been no matter where you are there's always a place that has that.
'You're right. No matter what predators do there will always be hate between them.' |
The Hunter | Chapter 10- The beginning of a new life. | When I first heard of the Hunter I had thought that he was nothing more than a creature pretending to be a hero, killing the guilty without any justice. A monster that hides among the ponies that hunts down the guilty without any mercy, deceiving the innocent to believe that he's a hero. I couldn't stand hearing reports of the bodies of dead criminal, reading the letters from my ponies that pleads for his existence to be put behind bars, and imagining what motives that the Hunter had. A leader I am that the ponies sees our kind as. What would father think of us if he was ever here living among us, would he be disappointed?
I remember the day when father once ruled Equestria. father had always been an inspiration for me ever since I was brought into this world, but with the country, at peace with its neighboring kingdoms, I'm starting to say that father was no more than a monster, worse than what the Hunter had done. Thinking of father as a monster is heartbreaking to say because how he brought me into this world gave me lessons on ruling a kingdom with my sister, taught me how to fight, and fought for this land to protect our subjects and us. However, those wars centuries back were mostly father's cause, he starts more than the other kingdoms had done wanting to show that ponies weren't weak. father didn't die in a battle, he didn't return from the frozen north. The soldiers that were with him said that he just disappeared in front of their eyes as if he never existed.
History was changed, books were rewritten, tales of my father was forgotten, and the only beings that knew of his existence was Luna and me. I am not sure if the Hunter knows anything about father. He may be centuries old, or a few years, but that doesn't stop me from wanting the Hunter to stop with these killings. Death is not the answer for everything, yet we are at war with an enemy that knows how to fight for centuries better than most of the soldiers that sworn to protect Equestria and its ponies.
"He'll say no princess," Crow repeated what he said, this was the fourth time I had to hear him say it. 'You know that a man like that won't join you because of gold, fame, honor, or for your ponies. He has a life as a free being, if you try to force him then you'll be facing the griffins in Griff Glade. No, you will be facing the Griffin Empire for forcing one of the Empire's citizens to fight for your battles."
"Sir Crow, I wish not to force the Hunter to fight for my battles I want his help in this war Equestria has against the wolves near the Crystal Empire's borders. Can you please tell me where he lives so I could speak with him. My subjects do not know of this war except for the Crystal Empire and those that I trust." What I said made me regret telling the Mayor. His soft stare turned into a glare, he rose from his seat and set both his claws on his desk leaning forward a bit. One of the Dawnbreakers nearly retaliate with violence at the Mayor's response, but thankfully he didn't.
"Keeping a war a secret should never be hidden they should be known to the citizens so they could help any way they could, not hide it from them and take heavy casualties on the battlefield because they didn't get enough supplies of food and weapons. Your citizens should know about this, but instead, you keep it behind their backs. What a childish mistake you made princess." The mayor leaned back and stood on all fours, his eyes were still glaring daggers of disappointment. The same Daybreaker didn't like the way the mayor spoke to me, he threatens the mayor that if he used that same tone that he would make him sorry. The mayor's response was a chuckle and a shake of his head before he looked out his window.
I gave my guard a disappointed look causing the same Daybreaker ears to flatten on the side of his head. What the mayor had to say was true but letting my subjects know that there is a war between us and the wolves in the frozen north would cause a panic. Centuries of peace is what I wanted but the fate had another way of disrupting peace.
"Mayor, I know that you do not agree with my actions on asking the Hunter to help my ponies, and it's wrong for me to hide keep the existence of war a secret to my ponies, but they would panic when they hear the news that we're in a war. My subjects haven't experienced war like how some others do, I never had any intention on causing hate and destruction I only wanted forever peace among my ponies so they don't have to worry about hearing the news that something terrible happened to their love ones." I walked around the mayor's desk and stood by his side. We were both looking outside seeing his nieces, which I thought was his daughters, playing around in the backyard. "I wish for the Hunter's help, his aid would save ponies lives. The creatures we fight tore through Luna's and mine army as if they were nothing. Those creatures know their terrains and are suited for the cold winter they call home as for my ponies they're not used to the cold they have to wear heavy winter coats just to stay warm. We're struggling to keep them away from the Crystal Empire's borders."
I waited for the mayor's response to hear what he now have to say after telling him. I know that asking the Hunter to help would cause a commotion among the guards and the soldiers fighting in the north, but it doesn't matter that he murder guilty beings he is a valuable ally to have in this war. After what felt like five minutes the mayor looked up to me, his eyes still had that disappointed look on them.
"He lives in the forest, I'll send word to have a hunter escort you to his house." I didn't let my excited look show, I kept my blank look, but this was good he finally told me where the Hunter was. "But I know he won't help you, he'll probably turn you down."
'I can convince him to help, no being can't turn away from a ruler that request aid from them the feeling of guilt would convince them.' I thanked the mayor and exited out the room, the Dawnguards followed close behind me doing what they have sworn to do. Mother's may be answering my prayers giving me the chance to speak with him to finally see what he looks like.
Walking down the stairs I felt somepony, or a little griffin bumped into my leg. When I looked down I saw the same little griffins that I saw outside. The yellow one looked terrified that her little sister had accidentally run into me without looking. I heard on of my Dawnguards moved, but I stopped them with a raised hoof.
It's been a while since I last had another species youngling run into me with guards being cautious. The feeling of being at ease was great to feel again, I can't really remember when was the last time I felt this calm after the war had started. I patted the young griffin's head, causing her to giggle, before walking past her.
Near the entrance doors stood a griffin armed with a long rifle and a flintlock pistol. He was eying one of my guards poking at them slightly trying to agitate one of them, but he didn't have much success in doing so. When he heard me approached he turned his head in my direction. The griffin had no reaction to me, he just gave me a blank stare as if he was not really surprised to see me.
"Are you ready to go princess? I'm ready to go and get this job as a babysitting done," He said sounding a bit annoyed. I nodded my head before standing beside the griffin. "Then let us not waste any more time."
The walked through the forest was something I did not use to, it was nothing like the Everfree Forest in Equestria the creatures that lurked here kept themselves away from us, watching from where they hide. I can't really shake off the feeling of being watched during the walk, it felt like something was close and it was breathing down my neck but every time I looked around nothing was there other than a few falling leaves. I wasn't sure if the forest had the same magic that the Everfree did, but I can say that both have different creatures living within.
The guide that leads us through the forest wasn't much of a talker. He stayed silent for the entire walk in the forest not minding the bushes near us moving or the branches above us shaking, he doesn't seem to care about having a word with me or the Dawnguards around. The griffin must know something about the Hunter or the forest we were walking through.
I tried to have a simple conversation with the griffin asking him about the forest before the Hunter, but he didn't respond. Gaining knowledge of what the Forest it was a lost, and what the Hunter is was also another. I had nothing to go with about the Hunter other than what my sister had described him of his appearance.
The Dawnguard thought I wasn't listening to them during our walk through the forest. I managed to hear what they were saying but it was mostly of the Hunter and the griffins how they all act the same, I would have stopped the Dawnguards from saying anymore but if I were to do that then they would never whispering to each other around me. I pray that my time here wouldn't be a waste.
When we arrived at the Hunter's house I was expecting it to be a cabin but instead, it was a small mansion. How could the Hunter be able to afford a mansion, and all else why would it be in a forest? I can't sense any magic around her as if something was blocking it out, was there some type of magic jammer?
"Here is where the Hunter lives," The griffin said as he turned back. "Now you know where he lives I highly don't you need me."
With that, the griffin left us. I know that griffins don't respect us, except for the King, because we're not their rulers nor are we a griffin but this is just rude to leave a ruler from another kingdom like that. Griffins have changed so much after they lost their kingdom idol, the golden statue was the only thing that made them nice to outsiders but after it being stolen it made them a bit anti-social with other species. I never that had happened to them or else I would have sent help to assist in the search.
"Is this really the place he lives? I expected it to be more of a woods pony only living in a cabin," One of the Dawnguards said sounding surprised. To be honest I never thought the Hunter would live in a house like this but I guess you can't judge them by their names.
"A creature like him should be living in a cave than a mansion," Another one said sounding displease on that fact that the Hunter lives in a cozy home that many would be jealous of. The others around agreed with him.
Silently I sighed to myself knowing that I had the same thought as them, but after the meeting with the griffin king, I can say that I can't hate the Hunter for who he is. I knocked on the door and stepped back. Nothing had happened after waiting for a few minutes, there was no sound on the other side of the door, none of the windows' curtains moved, and the door was locked. The whole place gives off a strange feeling that nothing was supposed to be here but the Hunter lives here, right?
I shook off the strange feeling and started looking around. There had to be something around that I haven't noticed, something that can help me know if the Hunter is here.
Cazador POV
Black blood runs through my veins like poison. No matter how many times I try to ignore the fact that I'm cursed it would always remind me of my mistake of being so careless thinking that the Wendigo wouldn't be faster than an infected cheetah. Usually, they're not that fast but I can't say anything about it. I must focus on the present and find a good tailor that'll make Cynder a good pair of clothes than forcing her to wear a blanket as a dress. Women I still can't understand them nor do I ever want to.
Those times I spent with my fellow hunters enjoying each others company as we relax by the fire and tell false stories of what we made up. I missed those days where I don't have to worry about the black blood, but I can't go back not because they'll kill me because now I'm stuck here. What would they think of me now knowing that I'm a cursed one and the medallion is what kept Wyndbain and me normal? Knowing Gehrman I would probably be dead right now lying in my own cursed blood seeing him looking down at me with pity.
"Cazador!? Hello!?" I blinked a bit as Cynder waved her claw in front of my face. She doesn't seem so happy now that we're back in the town looking for a tailor to make some clothes for her.
"Yes?" I bluntly said not caring if Cynder gives me the death stare.
"How long will we take to find a tailor?" She whined sounding like a child being bored with the same toys she plays with. I sighed and shook my head. Looking at Cynder I can tell that she's quickly growing bored of wandering the streets.
"I don't know probably longer if you don't stop whining like a spoiled child." Cynder's cheeks puffed up a bit as she looked away pouting from how I called her a spoiled child. She muttered something under her breath that I couldn't understand or couldn't hear clearly.
We walked through the town's street market hoping to find a tailor out here that would do a custom order that's within my price range. The griffins and other creatures around weren't afraid of a dragon, a cursed hunter, and a cursed wolf walking their town's street, it made it a lot easier than taking alternative paths that don't involve being seen by the ponies. I don't have to worry about guards wanting me behind bars, ponies wanting to see me, and an awkward conversation with the ones I saved. Everyone here didn't care who I was or what I am which I am glad to know that no one in the Griffon Empire doesn't see me as a hero to its citizens, they just see me as another creature living among them.
I kept myself close to Wyndbain, so that I don't lose him in the crowd of griffins and animals. Exotic creatures are actually captured by trappers and hunters, but I wasn't sure if Wyndbain's kin live in this world as an animal, not as an intelligent creature like the cows and diamond hounds. There was never a time when we ever encountered another hunter in Equestria; however, this place is one of the eight places I know on the map of the Empire that has hunters and trappers within its walls. I always kept myself armed no matter what the condition it is I would always have one firearm with me at all times.
Turning around the corner Cynder bumped into me when someone pushed. I didn't get the chance to see who did it but I did manage to catch Cynder without touching her injured wing. Cynder, who was in my arms, looked up at me her scaly cheeks turned a bright shade of pink before she began to panic flaring her arms like a child.
"Put me down! Put me down!" She yelled, well demanded actually, as she tried to use her feet, or is it paws, to pull herself out of my grasp. I shook my head thinking about how I'm supposed to train her if she keeps on acting like a child.
I slightly pushed Cynder up to her feet and looked down at Wyndbain to see him staring up at me with a raised eyebrow. He looked at over at Cynder then up at me.
'Making a move on the dragoness already Cazador, what would she think if she knew that you were hitting on her? Would she be one of those types of girls to instantly fall in love with you?' I slightly swiped my foot under Wyndbain's forelegs causing the wolf to fall face first in the dirt. The griffins that we walking by paid little attention to us as they walked by, but the little ones giggled as they followed their family.
Ignoring Wyndbain's threats of payback I looked over at Cynder's direction. The dragoness was already gone and I didn't even hear her because of the noisy crowd around us. Where could a dragoness like her have gone I know nothing about her only the fact that she acts like a child and is a dragon? I looked around the sea of griffins searching for a five-foot dragon that stands out of the crowd easily as I do.
FInding the dragoness was easier than finding a mimic hiding among a group of people. The second I looked back I spotted Cynder staring at a platter full of breadsticks. She didn't take her eyes off the plate when I called out her name or when I stood by her. The bread gave off a sweet aroma, I could say that they're some type of sweet bread made by a skilled baker.
The dragoness seemed to be in a trance of some sort, but was it caused by the bread? Sure the bread smell sweet and the prices on the breadsticks were four for two breadsticks. Prices in the Griffin Empire were doubled than the regular prices in Equestria. The reason why the prices were double was that of their mines running low or something like that.
"Hungry Cynder?" I asked, but this time I shook her shoulder to gain her attention since yelling out her name before didn't break her out of the trance she was in.
"Hmmm? What?" Cynder said confused about what I said or didn't hear what I said, it was one or the other. I repeated what I said causing the dragoness' eyes to sparkle and look down at the breadsticks, I could see a bit of drool flowing out of the corner of her mouth. Seeing how she's so interested in these treats I bought a bag of twelve and kept them close.
We continued on with the search for a tailor, but with Cynder pestering me about the breadsticks. I knew she would be wanting to ask for them during the entire search, however, I didn't buy these just to give them to her for doing nothing no I was planning on using these as a way to motivate her. It's like when a child asks for a cookie but they never touched their vegetables, so in order to get the child to eat the vegetables would be holding the cookie as a reward for eating his vegetables. This whole idea of reward may seem like I was treating her as a dog, but don't get the wrong idea I wanted her to remember that what she does good she will be rewarded.
I don't know how long time has passed during our search for a simple tailor, the streets markets were becoming less populated and the merchants around were closing shop for today. Cynder had stopped asking for me about the breadsticks a while back, and for that, I rewarded her with a breadstick. I never thought I get the chance to see a dragon or dragoness to happily nibble on her breadstick as if it were a piece of jerky. Still, don't know the reason why she follows me, but I don't really care as she made it clear that she wants to become a hunter and I was her trainer.
"What do you mean that you can't sew up a pair of pants out of cloth? I came here to get four simple requests that wouldn't take much time out of your claws and you're telling me that you can't make a pair of pants just because of the material is cloth? What can of excuse is that?" One that pretty much wanted to get you away from the shop so they could continue with their business. The griffin kept her straight face not showing a single sign of discomfort.
"Sir, like I said I can't sew you a pair of 'pants' because cloth isn't the best materials to use. It's easy to rip and to have a dragon wear one would be treating her as a slave. I'm sorry, but I can't take that order." How could someone think that a dragon wearing regular clothes made out of cloth to be seen as a slave, why would anyone think of that? We spent nearly the whole afternoon on finding a tailor only to be turned down just by the request itself for wanting cloth clothes, but no the tailor won't take in a custom order because of species thing something like that.
I can't say that I haven't anything stupider than that, but I witness stupid and this doesn't even deserve to be written on a list of stupidity I've seen. Why can't I at least have someone that's wearing clothes that covers more than the top half of their body?
"What if I gather some materials for you," I said catching the griffin's interest, "something like a wolf pelt or a dire ursa's grey fur. Then would you be able to take my request then?"
The griffin rubbed her beak, under it like rubbing your chin, and looked over at Cynder, who was petting Wyndbain. She then looked up at me with a smirk on her lips.
"If you can hunt me six wolves or four dire ursas then I'll be able to make more than one single pair of clothing.under the right price of course." I nodded my head now knowing that number of pelts I needed to get the custom order. Hunting the wolves up here would be like hunting an omega werewolf and the dire ursas would be like tiny versions of the ursa major, which silver and physical objects barely scratch its hide only magic or enchanted weapons can pierce through its hide. I never got a chance to hunt one down because how using arcane, or magic, feels like it's taking the fun out of hunting; the point of hunting is to work for it and learn from your prey, not the opposite!
Turning around I patted my side for Cynder and Wyndbain to follow then exited out the store. This entire afternoon has been one wasteful time of searching for a tailor in the street market than looking for an actual store, I wanted to find a tailor faster with no excuse but didn't get that wish. Now I had to go back to the forest and hunt, but I can see the good side on this because how I could help train Cynder at the same time gather to collect the pelts.
Back on walking through the streets, Cynder kept on asking me of what the purpose of training her as a hunter. She may only think that hunters in this world are just what you expect hunting safe-ish games, but for my world's hunter we hunted down a monster and corrupted souls of that were unfortunate to be tainted with the black blood. I gave her a safe answer of what hunters do, the "child" version. That barely did anything to tell the difference between this world hunter and mine, Cynder was still confused on what was different again. This time I gave her the most common way of saying it in my world that we kill everything that's curse even intelligent beings that have lost control of their bodies. That done the trick on telling the difference, but also scared Cynder a bit about the monsters we face. Thinking about it now just makes me wish I was still back on my world without worry of the black blood within me.
Cynder POV
We're back in the forest after the whole hour of walking through the town to here in the forest that surrounds the town. I thought I wouldn't have to do so much walking after we found a tailor to take a custom order but no the griffin had to deny Cazador to make me a pair of cloth clothing. We searched for one only to be turned down at first, but then Cazador managed to make a deal with the griffin by gathering some pelts from wolves or hides from a dire ursa. All this walking was starting to hurt my paws.
I thought at first during our walk that I should know what the hunters were and why do I have to be trained by him to become a hunter. From what I've heard from Cazador, his type of hunters were monster slayers that kill anything that is cursed by black blood, now I don't know what is the curse of this black blood but from the name of it, I can imagine the blood to actually look black. I can't really imagine killing a family just because they are cursed with the black blood. Will I be able to really kill someone that hadn't done anything just because they have black blood?
There was a question I wanted to ask Cazador about, but I was afraid that he would mad if I ever asked him about who was the first hunter and why was he known to be the true hunter. I could have asked him if I could read the book he had in his bag during our time on the airship so that ask him that. I should have asked instead of reading the book without his permission.
"Hey, Cazador, how did you get Wyndbain, and what is he?" I may not be able to ask him about the first hunter, but I was able to ask him about Wyndbain.
"Wyndbain is a wolf that Gehrman gave me when I finally learned how the animals out in the wild acts like. The old wolf wasn't this big when I got him, hell he was smaller than what he looks now than before. He was a little brat back then, I had to make sure that he didn't piss in the house while I slept and keep him near me whenever I tried to show him how to hunt." I was beginning to be interested in Wyndbain since now I know that the first hunter gave Cazador the puppy wolf. Sure Wyndbain may be an unintelligent animal that I mostly see around the volcano, but he acts like one from how well he listens and how he doesn't usually bark to get Cazador's attention as if Cazador already knew what he was thinking.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Wyndbain glaring up at Cazador as if it was personal to him and embarrassing to have it mention to someone. Does Wyndbain actually have a mind of his own knowing what Cazador was saying the entire time? And if so then does that mean Wyndbain could take care of himself and think like us?
"Oh, is this how you showed him how to hunt?" I bluntly asked not thinking an actual question to ask him of.
"Yeah, well yours is going to be different because how you are already standing on two legs, have hands, and could learn how to shoot a gun than wielding a sword. However since your wing is still healing and the predators we're hunter are different than Equestria's, Wyndbain and I are gonna be the ones hunting them down. As for you..." Cazador suddenly stopped, nearly causing me to bump into him, and looked up at the sky. "You're just gonna be hiding for most of the time. Predator would go for easy kills than doing hard work to waste more of their energy."
"So you're gonna do all the work while I hide like a pony, no I want to be a part of this Cazador." I know talking back to someone who's going to train you was a worse thing to do, but I want to prove that I am no coward and even with an injured wing I can still fight. "If I can't prove to you that even when I'm in the weak state that I can't fight. I don't want to be those little bitch ponies that just hides from danger and use their princess to fight for them. My race is the dragon race and we don't back down until we draw out last breath."
I waited for Cazador to say something, but nothing came out of his only a sigh and a shake of his head. He mumbled something that I couldn't understand. Wyndbain just looked up at Cazador before looking at me.
"Here.." Cazador tossed something me, which surprised me at first. The thing he tossed me was the same thing I saw him used against the other dragons. I barely managed to catch the thing before it could bounce out of my hand. "You need to learn how to shoot a gun than trusting your claws. A hunter must know how to use a ranged weapon, a close-range weapon won't do any good if their prey is far from them. That will be your first training."
To be honest, I was afraid of using the gun I didn't know how to fire this or how to handle it correctly, but thankfully Cazador showed me how to hold the gun properly. Even though I couldn't feel Cazador's hands without the gloves I enjoyed the time how he taught me how to fire the gun, hold it correctly, and the warning of the kick it has. If dragons were to create such devastating weapons that Cazador has then no one would be safe from the dragon race.
We started out small by tracking down the wolves, the pawprint they made were similar to an alpha diamond dog, however, they were bigger. The trail we followed led to an abandon trail weapon that seen better days before it fell apart, on the wood, there were claw marks bigger than my claws. Cazador talked me through on what to expect when seeing claw marks around certain areas it either meant that the creature marked their territory or it's a warning for other kin to be wary of the area for other predators. I can't truly understand how Cazador could easily know which tracks to belongs to which animals, he makes it all seem so.
My wing was killing me from the lack of movement in it, the damn thing was starting to stiffen up as if my wing was replaced with a metal bar. I wasn't sure how long it will take for my wing to heal. Walking around was becoming a bothersome to my paws as some of the times I would step on a sharp stick or a thorn.
I don't know what my family would think of me now since I've left home without them knowing. My father would be furious if he were to learn of the reason why I left them, he would kill Cazador. Mother would be curious like the fucking dragoness she was, I wouldn't hear the end of it from her if she ever finds me. I don't know what my sisters would think, I never cared for them when they left the family.
Being a hunter I thought was going to be easy but from what I was witnessing Cazador doing I thought wrong. The way that Cazador tracks down the wolves without a problem made me felt like I wasn't going to be able to become a hunter, to know Cazador more than just the book then that's about him. That feeling of regret was something I didn't expect myself to feel like that when training with Cazador.
'What were you thinking Cynder!? Did you honestly think that it would be that simple to just become a hunter and be trained by Cazador that wanted you to leave!? Why? Why must I be so blunt and not care about the consequences!?' I knew whining in my head won't give me any answers and doubting myself was making it worse.
"Cynder." I shook my head of the bad thoughts and looked down at Cazador. He had his arms crossed with his rifle between his chest and his arms.
"Yes?" Cazador shook his head before pointing his finger to my left. When I turned my head in that direction my eyes widen from seeing a bigger diamond dog that had dark gray fur covering its entire body with markings on its arms. I've never seen anything that looked so terrifying, like a monster in a dragonling fairy tales.
"It's time for you to take a shot." My blood froze as I heard him say that. I looked at him with wide eyes not believing that I would have to shoot the gun now than shooting it later where I could learn more how to aim, but Cazador made me take aim. My claws were shaking a bit, it's not because of the weight it has no it was because how I am afraid how the gun would recoil back and smack me in the muzzle.
Thankfully Cazador wasn't a heartless being. He set down his rifle up against a tree and walked around me. I can't really believe it at first when I felt his body pressed up against mine, his chest rubbing my scaley back as his hands hold onto my arms. This was the first time I've ever had someone that's a male press up so close to my back that I had to move my tail just so he could stand close behind me. My face felt like I had hot burning coal pressed up against my cheeks, I thought to fire the gun was what was causing me to continue to shake now, but no it was Cazador.
"Cynder, I want you to follow my instructions..." How could I follow his instruction if I am shaking like a pony, I couldn't really get a grip on myself. "Take a deep breath in, and relax your mind. Focus on the predator and see it as your prey..." I followed both of his instruction. When I breathed in through my maw I felt like a weight of something was lifted off my shoulder, and when I focused on the predator and thought of it as nothing more as a prey I felt my body stop shaking. "The hunt is all that matters, distractions must be ignored. A hunter must be the apex predator that all creatures should fear."
I never thought of myself as an apex predator being feared by everything. The dragon race may seem to most fear, but they're not the dragons are afraid of another species that can take down a guardian. To think of myself in the top food chain would be like a child's dream.
With my mind set on the prey, I squeeze the trigger. The event was fast, the wolf that was standing around went down as if it just died by poison. My ears ring from how loud the gun was like last time when Cazador fire this into a dragon's leg.
I felt Cazador's hands lift off of my arms letting them down to my sides. I couldn't say a word on how it felt to fire a gun, how it was to kill something that was new to you. If I had a book filled with a different definition of amazing then I would say every word in that book.
Looking down at the gun I lift my claw up and squeeze the handle. Now I felt like I could actually be a hunter to know more about Cazador and to be his friend than just be a dragoness that owes a creature a debt for saying her. I ran my other claw over the barrel feeling the cool metal against my scales.
Doubts are just something I have to ignore. If I continue to do this ignore my doubts and be the hunter that Cazador want then I can do it. I can be that hunter! |
The Hunter | Chapter 11- The start of lies. | "Hunter please put down your weapon," The princess of Equestria kindly said but I didn't lower down my rifle. Why was she here, I remember from what the ponies have always been whispering that she stays in Canterlot sorting out bills, making rules, and keeping the peace between her kingdom and other kingdoms, but she's here at the front step of my home being held gunpoint by me. Cynder was both confused and surprised, she didn't expect me to point a weapon at royalty. She doesn't know me. Wyndbain was concern about the fact that we have one of the princesses come here to the Griffon Empire with guards by her, he didn't like the fact that they were on our property.
We came back home after delivering the wolf pelts and Minor ursa hides to the griffin. Cynder learned how to shoot my revolver which was a good thing, I actually planned on buying a flintlock pistol before asking a favor from a dog. She proved that even when she's hurt that she can still fight, but there are some flaws that could have gotten her killed if I wasn't there by her side watching her back and bandaging her up. Still, I can say that the dragoness needs to learn how to be an actual hunter than a dragon that she is. However, the princess of Equestria was here.
First, it was the princess of the moon capturing me and having me interrogated by her batponies, but now it was the princess of the sun who has decided to take care of me rather than let her sister finish what she started. I thought she wouldn't waste her time trying to find me, however, I was wrong here she was standing right in front of me with her guards all glaring at me for aiming my rifle at her head a simple pull of the trigger and she would be dead. Though, I can't do that.
"Not until you step away from the door," I said keeping the center of the crosshairs, in the scope, dead center on her head. Normally I would just walk away from this not caring about royalty or any type of ruler, but this was our home, not hers and she doesn't belong here in the Griffon Empire.
The princess of the sun lowered her head and sighed, shaking her head a bit before looking up at me. Instead of making one of her guards do something she stepped to the side and held out her hoof to the other guards. They all looked at her as if she wasn't in the right state of mind but they didn't disobey whatever the princess had told them to do, they stepped aside away from the door making a clear path to the door for us.
Being respectful, but also cautious, I lowered my rifle. From the corner of my right eye I saw Wyndbain look up at me, he wasn't sure if this was a way to make us lower our guard or they were actually serious. Out of the corner of my other eye, Cynder was staring at the ponies, her eyes were narrowed and her teeth were showing. Cynder didn't do that when she woke up with bat foals looking at her, but I can easily guess that it wasn't for the guards it was for the princess. There was something that Cynder mustn't like about the princess something that would need to be forgotten and let go rather than still holding on.
With a cautious step, I walked towards my door. The guards around glared at me as I walked past them to the front door, they were the same as the other ponies in Equestria hating me thinking me as if I was a monster that just enjoys killing. The princess watches me as I pulled out the key to the house from one of my inner pockets before unlocking the door. Cynder stood by my side and tapped my shoulder.
"Cazador, why is the princess of the sun here?" Her voice had venom in it, I could already tell that she doesn't like the princess of the sun more than I do. Before I even have a chance to answer the dragoness' question the princess spoke.
"Cazador, so that's your name. I always knew that Hunter was what my subjects named you." I heard Cynder growl at the princess. She didn't do anything else but growl because of the guards around and that the princess was royalty, but it was good to know that Cynder stayed at my side right now.
"Cazador is Hunter in another language, but I don't you are interested with my name other than seeing me dead in your prison." I looked over my shoulder to see the princess looking down, I was still a monster in her eyes that deserves to die. "However you can't, can you? Without causing an argument between the Griffin King and yourself. Just because I hunted criminals in your land, criminals that don't deserve a second chance after what they committed. So princess of the sun, why are you here?"
The princess opened her mouth about to say something, but she didn't say anything. Could she be having problems trying to find something to say or does she have a dry mouth that prevents her from speaking? Hearing the princess speak again would just cause an argument between her and Cynder, it was best if she never spoke again.
Turning my attention back to the door I pushed it open and stepped inside. Cynder and Wyndbain rushed themselves through the door, but when Cynder was the last one to rush in she quickly closed the door behind her and locked it. I can't understand why Cynder hates the princess, why she doesn't like her. However, I didn't much care as the princess isn't worth the time to speak with because how her sister made it obvious that they would capture me themselves than rather send their ponies to do it.
This day has been a surprise of disappointment for me. First Cynder was dumb enough to try and fight me, the second was how the tailor couldn't make a simple cloth clothing instead needing animal hides to make the clothes out of, and third was the princess of the sun herself with her golden guards by her side. I wouldn't be surprised if Wyndbain's royalty crush dog would dig up a tunnel from the Undergrounds to here in our house.
Before anyone could settle in the fact that we now have a princess on the property the sound of someone knocking on the door echo out through the house like a cave. I already knew who was the creature that was knocking on the front door. I turned around and unlocked the door and opened it to a small crack that I was able to see the princess of the sun staring back at me.
"Cazador, may I have a word with you?" I shook my head and shut the door. I didn't want to talk with the princess whatever she wanted to talk about she can just leave and never return.
'Cazador is that the smartest thing to do to someone that is royalty and a being that can use magic?' Wyndbain asked unsure that my action of shutting the door in front of the princess as my answer to her question. I shrug in response not sure for myself, but I can say that it didn't turn bad because how the princess didn't use her magic to send the door flying. My friend just sighs and shakes his head as he looks up at Cynder. I looked at her as well but only to see that her markings on her body were a red than what the color they used to be.
Now I'm not sure of what the signs are to tell how a dragon is feeling, but the sign of red is something that should always be known as either hate or bloodlust. With a sigh I walked over to Cynder, who seemed to not notice me at the time, I looked over at the markings on her body. Each marking was red instead of white like they used to be.
"Cynder," I snapped my fingers as I called out her name. At first, she didn't seem to acknowledge me, but after the first few snaps, she finally looked at me which caused her red markings to lose their color and return back to white. For a few seconds, she seemed fine other than looking tired and having a bandaged wing, but fine nonetheless.
When she tried to speak all that came out was a cough and chuckle before she collapsed. Before she even hit the ground I managed to catch her. The dragoness' body felt like fire itself as if she managed to catch a fever but I don't know how she could have when she seemed fine and well when she was learning how to hunt from me. Looking over her back I couldn't see what was wrong with her other than feeling that she's burning up. Do dragons get the fever? I couldn't be fully sure because how we're different species with a different kind of illness and anatomy, but this was clearly a fever no doubt if Cynder was human, however, she was not.
Lifting her over my shoulder I made my way upstairs, but as I made it halfway up a knock came from the door. Silently I groaned out of annoyance and processed to carry up the stairs while Wyndbain pokes his through the curtains to tell me what the princess was doing. As I reached the top Wyndbain told me that the princess was talking to her guards while she stares down at him. Not much interesting other than that unless you count the way he describes how much he hates being looked like that by the princess.
I walked down the halls to Cynder's room, opening the door wasn't difficult as I only needed one hand to twist the knob while using the rest of my body to carry the dragoness, again do not attempt to carry a dragon because they weigh more than they look. I carried Cynder in her room to her bed. I was glad that I've made it here sooner than later or else Cynder would have baked me alive with her body temperature.
As I lay her down I saw how heavy she was breathing. Quickly I searched over her body to see if she was cut by something during the hunt that caused her to be having these problems. Sadly I couldn't see anything that looks like a cut or felt anything out of place meaning it was just a common sickness that she just caught.
'Is she going to be alright?' I heard Wyndbain ask. I answered him with a simple yes and made my way downstairs. The only creature that knows what's wrong with Cynder was the princess herself, she knows more about dragons than I do and she might know what's wrong with her. Thinking about asking that horse is something that I don't want to do but for the sake of Cynder's life, I have no choice but to do so before her fever worsens.
'Wyndbain, stay by my side.'
Celestia POV
"Princess why can we not barge through the door and charge in, the Hunter is here and we have a chance to bring him into justice," I listened as my guards try to talk reason to me, but I don't want to bring him to Caterlot's dungeon and lock him there. No, I needed his help. Equestria needs his help or else we'll be nothing more than prey to the Frost Wolves.
Shaking my head I looked at the window where I can see the dog or rather the fur timberwolf that most ponies would call it. It stares back at me watching me. Cazador must not have been a shapeshifter, meaning that the sightings of him in whatever form he was minutes ago and the dog looking at me. They were just making my Subjects, my sister, and I think that Cazador was a shapeshifter that could take many forms, but he's just another being that can't do that. I was wrong to believe that Cazador would just listen to me as my subjects do, he doesn't even like royalty or won't even listen to a pony.
The dragoness he has doesn't like me, but I don't know why she doesn't I can only make a guess why. It makes me wonder now how he managed to befriend a dragon is something I want to ask him about as well. Rarely dragons would become friends with any creature unless they're a relative of their kin. Was Cazador a relative of the dragoness? No, he wasn't because how he lacks the appearance of a dragon and the attitude they have.
'I failed sister, I failed to have Cazador help us. Our soldiers will not have the help from him, they would suffer more casualties than they should. The wolves in the north will push through our ponies and reach the Crystal guards. Equestria's soldiers and guards would be seen as some laughing joke.' I hung my head down knowing that my subjects will love more of their loved ones in the war than they should. As I turned around I suddenly heard the door unlocked. Stopping right there I looked back and saw the door open showing Cazador and the dog staring at me.
The guards around were all glaring at him, expecting something to happen that they would have a reason to fight him, but he did something that I didn't believe he would do.
"Princess of the sun, I would like your assistance to help my friend." I smiled, not because of helping Cazador's friend, but because now I can finally have a chance to speak with him and a way to convince him to help us. As I started to turn around he pointed at the guards around me. "But they need to stay out."
"We will not stay out because you say so, we are the Dawnbreakers that would die for the Princess an-"
"I can agree with that Cazador," I said without hesitation. The Dawnbreaker that was speaking looked up at me in shocked, the others were surprised as well but didn't have the same expression as this one. He was having trouble to think of something to say, but I didn't give him a chance.
Entering the building Cazador shut the door behind us and led me upstairs. I was surprised at how well the house looked on the inside than on the outside, everything was brush cleaned, no sign of wood decay, and everything well kept. How could Cazador clean an old house in the forest surrounding the town all by himself in a short amount of time? He may not be what my subjects and I imagine to be, however, he must have some ability that he must have than what we thought.
A being like Cazador himself is a mysterious one as I've never seen his kind before I just believed he must be a relative to the minotaur race, but looking at him closely I can say he lacks more of the appearance of a minotaur. The clothing he wears entirely covers his entire body except for his eyes, has he ever taken off all his clothing like how most beings that wear clothes do or does he wear them for life?
Cazador led me to one door that was slightly cracked open. This must be where Cazador left his friend at, but for what reason would he need my assistance to help his friend. Whatever his friend need I could help, but this was the perfect chance to have a word with Cazador and see if he's able to help us with this war against the wolves in the frozen north. Helping his friend would give me a chance to have Cazador's favor which I could use.
I watched as Cazador opens the door to reveal the dragoness in bed curled into a ball. There was obviously something was wrong with her, but I couldn't tell what was the reason why she's curled up. Entering the room I walked over to the dragoness to see what was wrong with her.
"Cazador could you tell me what do you need my assistance for?" I asked him wanting to know now why he wants my help than just doing it himself.
"I don't know anything about dragons, I only know the stories about them nothing more. When we went inside she instantly had a fever which is something I don't know if it's common to her race." That's why he wanted my help, he doesn't have a clue about what kind of illness that a dragon could have. He was clueless about what to do.
Looking over the dragoness' body I couldn't see anything that could make her sick or a cut on her. I used a simple medical spell to see what was wrong with her to see what I was dealing with. When the spell was cast I noticed something that made me concerned about Cazador's safety now, something that he should not know at the moment but should know not to be around the dragoness. I looked to my left to see him staring at me, his cold gaze that would send a shiver down a demon's spine. I know telling him of the situation would make him ask more questions than bargain for, however, the war in the north is something I need Cazador's help.
"She's having a fever that's dangerous for other beings to be around, the dragon race and a few others would lock those that have this fever in a room and only give her the proper treatments to help her with this fever. Fortune must have been watching over you Cazador as she only showing the first stage of the fever, and that I was here to help her." I looked down at the dragoness to see her slightly shivering from whatever cold breeze that blew through the house. Cazador doesn't know what is truly wrong with her which I will use as an advantage to gain his help.
"How do I treat her fever, do I treat it as an ordinary fever?" Hearing Cazador ask me that just helped me found a way to make him help us.
"No, her fever is something that would require magic and medical care. It's highly contagious and could have a chance of spreading from one creature to another if not careful." I quickly pushed Cazador to the door with me, his four-legged companion walked alongside us as we exited out of the room. This was the chance that I had to take, a chance that Cazador could help us finally than talking and negotiating over. This was the chance to finally have the Hunter help us.
"Then what do I have to do? If what you say is true, then how do I help Cynder?" This was it the chance to have Cazador's help.
"I have one pony in Equestria that knows about dragons, she even has one as her little brother. She has a way to help Cynder, but her cost of hiring her help would cost more than what you have now, and being in the Griffon Empire would double the cost meaning before you even have a chance at getting the money Cynder would already be on the final stage of her fever." I saw Cazador's fist shook, something that I wanted to see. I know this wasn't the way I wanted to ask him, but it has a better chance than what I've planned on earlier. "But I can help only if you do me a favor."
His eyes stared directly at mine, they held something that I can't understand for some reason. He looked at the door to our right before looking down at his companion. The dog itself looked up at Cazador as well, both were just staring at each other having a silent conversation among themselves. Both Cazador and the dog were done looking at each other, they both looked at me, but Cazador was the only one to talk.
"And what favor is that princess?"
"I need your help to fight a threat in the cold north, a threat that is slowly pushing its way through the Equestria's soldiers. If they manage to take over the Crystal Empire all is lost for my subjects." This favor one that no one would ever take unless they want money for, but Cazador doesn't have a choice or else he would think Cynder will die if he declines the favor.
"I'll do it..." I smiled knowing that he'll do it, but soon my smile fell as he continues to speak. "But not until you agree on five conditions." |
The Hunter | Chapter 12 - Before the meeting | We stared at the family of batponies in front of us, one mother and two daughters. Sister had given us a letter of great news she has, but also an agreement she made with the Hunter so that he can help us with the war. Five conditions that Celestia has agreed on with the Hunter, she agreed with it without me being by her side to know about these conditions. She wrote down all five that she agreed on, however, we don't agree with the two conditions she agreed upon to do for the Hunter. One of them is being with the batponies, bringing these innocent ponies that don't know where they are going other than knowing that the Hunter had given them a letter in Celestia's scroll. The mother had read this before we departed to Auria's Gale, we never had the chance to read that letter to see what the Hunter had to say to this particular batpony when I told her that there was a letter for her. She never told me what it said other than have a smile on her lips, but in a short amount of time, her smile soon turned to a frown as she folded the letter and tucked it away underneath her wing.
Twilight, the other element of Harmony, and Sketch Note were aboard the Royal Shining Star. We planned on traveling to the Griffon Empire's capital, but after receiving Celestia scroll our course has changed. Twilight hadn't been herself after the nightmare she had. No pony knows what happened in her dreams, even I do not know what her nightmare was. Whatever force was behind the cause of the nightmare we can say that it has the ability to keep us out of her dreams. She only told us that we must see the Hunter after her small panic attack. We do not know the reason why she wanted everypony in the tree house to go, but she is a smart pony and our sister's student. Nopony questioned her neither did we.
In around four hours we would reach our destination and from there in Auria's Gale we would take a wagon to Griff Glade, we couldn't understand the reasons why the Hunter decided to live near Griff Glade as it's mostly surrounded by a forest that has dangerous creatures living in them. A creature like him can never be understood by anypony. He's a hero to some of our subjects, but he's also a killer. We don't know what they see in him and how his action is justice, he's just another type of bounty hunter that hunts down his bounties and returns them for money he's not a hero at all just a creature for hire.
I looked down at the scroll again my magic. Reading the scroll again silently to myself I started to wonder why he wanted these conditions.
Dear sister,
I have wonderful news that would change the war in the north in our favor, the Hunter has agreed to help with us after I had a word with him. However, he'll only help under five conditions that sounds doesn't sound much of a demand from him. There is something I need to tell you, Lulu, the Hunter isn't alone with him is a dragoness and a canine companion. The dragoness does not like ponies from how she stares at the Dawnguards and me, her attitude towards us is disrespectful. The canine doesn't care about anything other than the Hunter, it doesn't speak like a diamond dog does or communicate in any way, however, I've have seen it staring up at the Hunter waiting for a command from him. You must be careful sister when meeting this dragoness though. The only possible way that the Hunter agreed to assist us in this war is to take care of the dragoness while he is gone. Be warned sister the dragoness is in heat I don't know when her heat started but what I do know is that the Hunter doesn't know she's in heat and believes she's terribly ill with a deadly fever. I know Lulu that it may be questionable to ask me how I managed to convince the Hunter even though the dragoness is only in heat, but I managed to do so and fortune has favored us.
The Hunter lives in Griff Glade in the forest. Go to Auria's Gale and take a chariot to Griff Glade, ask the mayor of Griff Glade to have one of his hunters to guide you through the forest. It is better to ask his help than go in the forest without a guide. And please do not make any of the griffons feel uncomfortable with your presences, meaning no large group of Lunar guards by your side. I need you to bring a maid from the castle as well, the dragoness would most likely not care for dirty dishes or cleaning up her room after her heat.
I know you've been wondering what are the five conditions are. The conditions he has are simple to achieve and not as much risk as I thought they were when he had told me he had five conditions. Sister please help me with these conditions, if he comes back to see all five are not done then we would have a problem with the Hunter himself.
One, I request for you to leave me alone after I help you with your war, I do not want any of your ponies searching for me even if I have a price on my head.
Two, there's a batpony family living in Shoe Horse Port. I want that finally to have a private escort to here where I live, I know that Cynder trusts them more than your ponies.
Three, if I bring something back that is worth valuable or seems dangerous do not try to take it away from me, what I bring back is something that belongs to me not you.
Four, I want your sister to avoid Cynder's, Wyndbain's, and my dreams. If I see her then expect to see your sister emotionally scared for the rest of her life.
Five, I want a crate full of silver bricks. Don't ask questions why.
We are still questioning why sister has written us a scroll that doesn't describe much of the dragoness and the canine companion, she normally tells more about the creatures she met and describes more of their appearance. Seeing how she hadn't written much more down than a few paragraphs we were starting to think that she didn't know much of what the Hunter looked like. She didn't write down more on what the dragoness looks like or why she dislikes our subjects, and why the Hunter thinks that a family of batpony wouldn't bother the dragoness? How do we know if they would be safe with her?
Looking over the safe railings I watched as we fly over the sea, the reflection of our moon showed us the mare on the moon that marking when we were banished to the moon when we lost control of our body. We cannot do anything to remove that mark on the moon it is a reminder of what we have done in the past that we wish we could change.
As we stared at the reflection we suddenly hear movement behind us, causing us to turn around to see who was there. At first, we didn't see nopony but when we looked down we saw a little bat filly leaning to the right. We don't know why she was leaning to the right. After a few seconds, the filly looked up at us and surprised us with a question.
"Princess Luna is your rump really that big?" Why would a filly young as her ask that? Trying to find the right words to answer that we looked around to see if the filly's mother was around, but sadly she wasn't. We looked down at the filly and tried to ask her a question to push aside hers.
"Why would you ask such a question like that?" We managed to ask her the question without stuttering or sounding embarrassed. The filly tilted her head as she stared up at me.
"Well Mama and Cazador were talking about you yesterday and he mentioned that you had a big rump, and having a big rump wouldn't let you be able to squeeze through places where other ponies with small rumps can squeeze through." Cazador? Was that the name of a pony or another creature because how the Hunter never been seen by anypony else except for the ones that were in Ponyville to see the Town Hall burned down. Whoever this creature was he must not like a big plot, but having a bigger plot than our sister's is something we want to brag about!
"Little one maybe it's best not to ever have a question about rumps until your old enough to understand." Who would have ever thought that the first conversation we have with one of the foals was about my plot being big, and the worst part was that she had heard her mother and this Cazador talking about my rump? The filly nods her head as she walks away from us, giving us some time to ourselves.
When the filly went down the stairs I turned around and began to think of what made our sister lie to the Hunter. He may be the chance to help turn the tides of this war in the north, but the question I have is how does he not know that the dragoness was in heat? Didn't he see the signs that show she's in heat? It doesn't matter now other than the fact that sister had lied to the Hunter and made him go to war to help fight in the north. Lies can hurt a pony or could even manipulate them into doing the wrong thing, we know for sure that lying will lead to disaster. If the Hunter learns soon that the dragoness was only in heat then he would abandon the war and return back to where he lives.
We sighed at the thought of hundreds of soldiers in the north dying just by a single lie that sister made. Then a thought came to mind something I should have thought before how did sister know where he lived, she was going to the Griffin Empire's capital then she sends a letter that the Hunter lives in the forest of Griff Glade. Did the King tell her where he was at, it had only been two days after we had captured the Hunter and lost him and sister departed a day ago. How did sister find the Hunter?
Deep in thought, we didn't hear anypony walk up behind us. When we felt somepony tapped our leg bringing us out of our thought.
"Princess Luna?" We looked to our side to see the mother of the foal that asked me that...questions she didn't know of.
"Yes, miss Shade?"
"Shade is fine my Princess." Shade lowers her head bowing down showing her respect to me before lifting her head up. "May I ask you of my husband, he joined the Lunar Guards years ago before both of our foals were born. However, he told me that he would be gone for a while he doesn't know how long only told me he would be fighting, but I haven't heard from him since the day after the Hunter made his name clear to Equestria."
"Oh, what is his name, Shade?"
"Stellar Dust" Our eyes went wide as we remember seeing that name in a scroll of soldiers that went to the north. We weren't sure if Shade's husband alright had we haven't heard much of a report from the north other than one outpost has fallen from a messenger. It has been weeks since we had heard any more after that report. We can't say for sure if Shade's husband is still alive, but what we can say is that there's a chance that he was still alive. Looking down at the mare we began to think up of what to say, something that wouldn't hurt her.
"Shade," We said starting out with her name, "you're husband is fine from the last report we have gotten, he is still alive and you do not have to worry."
No, she does have to worry. She has to worry about her loved one safety and hope that he may still be alive. We were lying to her, but we were not lying just to make her believe it. We lied to her so that she can hope he's still lives.
We turned away from the mare and headed to our quarters where we would spend most of the night in until we reach our destination. Sister what have you made us do to lie to a mare that was concern about her husband's life, are we really following your hoof steps?
Cynder POV
Waking up with the burning body is something I always hated when that time of year comes around. I forgot to tell Cazador that I was going in heat soon and I'll be having certain mood swings and feel like I'm burning up from the inside, but when he carried me up the stairs and to my room I couldn't speak because how I suddenly felt like cuddling with him and not saying a word. However, I didn't have the chance to do that when I fell asleep on him.
I can't really say I had the best sleep on this bed, but I can't say I had the worst either. The bed itself was comfortable to sleep on it's just that my bandaged wing makes it hard to sleep on it without crushing it and popping the bones out of place. It's not every day I get the chance to sleep on a comfy been instead of it being a flat rock.
Sitting up straight I stretched my arms out and let out a yawn, my tail swayed behind me as I tried to stretch it out much as possible. I can't remember well when I started doing this, but I can say it feels good for stretching my body. Laying down on my stomach I tried to lean my body back to get my backbones to pop. After I was done leaning back I moved my knees under me and stretched my arms out again trying to mimic what cats do when they stretch. ... ...
'Actually do I lift my ass when I do that?' I know that was a sudden and dumb question to ask myself that, but do I really lift my rear up and shake it whenever I stretch like this? Luckily Cazador wasn't around me to see me like this or else this would be embarrassing...Cazador that mysterious creature who save me from those dragons and brought me here in a mansion while training me to become a hunter like him.
My thoughts began to drift from the training to something more interesting. I have never seen him take off his clothes or saw what his body really look like other than a small portion of his face. My imagination had gone from guessing what his face looks like to what his entire body does I felt my face burn as I imagine him being naked in front of me seeing what his body looks like and what was between his legs. Shaking my head those thoughts disappeared as I tried to refocus on reality than daydreaming...wait is it night time?
Out of the corner of my eye I noticed how dark it was outside, it was indeed night time, but how long did I sleep for? I got out of bed and walked to the window. When I was close enough I pulled back the curtains to see nothing but the dark outlines of the treetops with the moon high in the sky. If I remember correctly Cazador doesn't sleep in the night, so that means he's up now either hunting or preparing me for another hunt since we arrived in the Griffin Empire around evening and we spend some hours here in this village. We actually spent a whole day here.
With a thought of training in mind I made my way over to the door, but as soon I started moving I felt my legs gave out causing me to fall snout first in the floor. The fact that the dragon's snouts are sensitive is one of the things I dislike being a dragon. Rolling to my side I held my snout with both of my claws, rubbing it a bit.
'Maybe next time I should stay close to the wall, my heat is making me feel weak and vulnerable like a newborn dragon.' After the pain in my nose numbed I managed to crawl over to a desk and climb up it, using what little strength I have to stand up with something by me to support myself. I should have known my heat would soon start making me feel weak, but I wasn't expecting it to suddenly feel it now than tomorrow. That princess of the ponies was one I didn't trust, she was here for a reason and that reason was to talk with Cazador. Thankfully he didn't speak that much with her and turned her down with whatever offers she had for him.
Walking to the door again, I took my time getting there instead of pushing myself to the door. When I reached the door I opened it, had some trouble turning the damn knob on the door, and walked out of the room. The hallway was lit up by lamps on the wall, giving me that creepy feeling. I stayed close to the wall using it to support myself as I walked down this hallway. That creepy feeling was still lingering in the back of my mind, having that feeling of being watch and uncomfortable at the same time.
When I reached the stairs I noticed how less lively this place looks now than before. I don't like the fact that how all these lambs on the walls only illuminates a small area around them it gives a chance for someone to hide in the dark, but I highly doubt that anyone would be stupid enough to try and fight a dragon or try to fight Cazador and Wyndbain seeing how they aren't females and they don't go in heat whenever it's that time of the year. Males are so lucky that they don't go in heat in a certain season and they don't have to worry about the pheromones we females have whenever we're in heat.
I managed to walk down the stairs, without falling over. The silent atmosphere in the house made me felt like I was the only one living in this house. Well, I can't really say that I was the only one in the house. Cazador does own this place from what I remembered correctly and he is my trainer to teach me how to be the hunter he is. The difference between a regular hunter and Cazador's still confuses me as they both hunt down something, but Cazador hunts down creatures that have black blood; the ones that can put a curse on someone when bitten or scratched by them, but if it was a scratch mark then the wound would need to be treated as if it's a life or death situation.
Feeling this weak right now is a big chance for someone to just attack I wouldn't be able to do anything about it other than try to defend myself, I may not be able to do that so well, but who says that blowing out black fire wouldn't scare anyone from thinking that the dragoness is corrupted by darkness? Well, I can't really breath out "black fire" but I can make it look like black fire since it's nearly black, however, it's a dark gray that nearly looks black. Don't know why dragon's fire breath can't be the regular color I normally see from campfires. Well, beggars can't be choosers even if the thing want will never happen.
As my paws touched the floor I heard talking. I didn't know who was talking as it was muffled. I went around under the stairs to the double doors where the sound of talking came from. As soon as I made it to the doors everything went silent. |
The Hunter | Chapter 13 - Boo! Didn't see that did ya!? | Opening the door I peeked my head through the crack, there was no one on the other side of the door and the lambs on the walls and ceiling were lit. The whole room was big with walls lined with bookshelves full of books. I pulled the door back a bit before squeezing through the gap, I had to be extra careful because how my legs felt weak and my wing was still healing after crashing.
"I swore I heard voices in here," I muttered to myself confused, did I actually hear voices in her because there wasn't much place to hide other than the chairs and tables, but I didn't smell anyone in here and if they did put something on themselves to mask their smell then it would be a different scent. If the ponies did have those then I would have smelled them either way because how the some dragon's sense of smell can detect different smells that's strange.
I used the walls to help make my way around the room, keeping an eye out for anything that looks out of the ordinary. The ponies that were here earlier may still be here hiding somewhere in the dark, they probably were told to spy on me from the royal ass burner herself.
As I slowly made my way around the room I suddenly felt cold as if the temperature in this room has suddenly dropped, but how could that be? A minute ago the temperature was fine and warm then suddenly it's all cold. Looking around I saw that the fire was still burning. How could it be so cold if the fire was still burning?
"Maybe because how you are in a room with a ghost who is right behind you." My whole body suddenly froze from hearing that voice, they sounded like they were everywhere but at the same time not. Slowly turning around I looked behind me to see, nothing? "Look down you idiot."
Looking down behind me I felt my heart suddenly froze and my entire body locked up as if some pony had hit me with some type of spell preventing me from moving. Behind me was something I always thought was fake and stories just to scare young dragons, but behind me was a white transparent rat wearing a...top hat and a pair of glasses with a nose and mustache attached to it?
"Hello there and welcome to hell." I suddenly laugh nervously. This isn't real, there was no way that there is a small rat right in front of me wearing a small hat and glasses with a fake nose and mustache that is transparent enough to see what's under it and through it, there's no way that this can be a ghost, right? Staring down at the rat my body was shaking like a leaf I have never been frightened by a little rat before, but this was different this rat was a ghost!
What would Cazador do? Would he just stand his ground not showing any fear to the ghost and stare it down until the ghost is afraid of him or would he just start a conversation with the ghost? How could one talk to a ghost right in front of them!?
"Hello? Anybody in that scaly lizard skull? Lizard with wings ya hear me?" It asked floating up to my face. Out of instinct, I tried jumping back away from it, but being weak and not having the strength in my body to do that instead I fell backward. Luckily there was a chair behind me...wait no there wasn't a chair behind me before.
"What?" I looked at my sides to see the armrest of a chair I look over my shoulder to see the chair's cushioning my back. When did this move or was it there before? No, it wasn't I clearly remember not being near any of the chairs and I had mentioned before there wasn't one behind me earlier. D-did this ghost move this chair from one place to another in a blink of an eye!?
"Easy there lizard head, if I hadn't move that chair you would have done more damage than shoving your own tail up your arse," I heard the rat said. Looking back at the rat he was closer than before, his fake nose was touching mine. Being this close to the ghost rat I noticed its eyes were black with white dots. "Other than being frozen in place dragon lady, what are you doing out of bed in the middle of the night? If I recall last night you and that corrupted hunter and his dog moved here, he removed the barrier that Grandmaster Zor Az had put up to keep in the spirits of this mansion and to keep out intruders. If he was able to break it without much need of alchemy. An interesting creature his is but goes for you too lizard head."
You know if anybody were to actually call me that alive then they wouldn't be alive anymore, but the rat was a ghost and I can't do anything a ghost because they're not alive. Can someone really punch a ghost? Is that even possible to punch a ghost? Actually, now that I'm thinking straight the rat doesn't exactly look like a rat but more of a...I don't know, it has a fur tail, slender body, small limbs, three different colors on it transparent fur.
When the ghost flew back, giving me some space to breathe. Was he the one I saw through the window outside after arriving here? No, the ghost was small and didn't have a long body like the one I saw.
"W-who are you?" I managed to ask despite how much I didn't want to speak. The ghost looked at me, his brow raised, as he started mumbling to himself. I could barely hear what he was saying, but even if I could hear him clearly I wouldn't understand what language he spoke as it wasn't english.
"They call me Lenny el Casiticano," The ghost said. Although I may already know the ghost's name and know that he was safe, not entirely sure though, I still can't stop myself from having that feeling of being afraid. Lenny may look strange, the hat and glasses don't count and act stranger than what I expect when seeing a ghost for the first time. However, despite the ghost being strange he seems alright, well for now at least.
When I tried to introduce myself to Lenny, he already said my name not asking any question to see if that was my name. I was gonna ask him how he knew my name was, but I remembered that he was a ghost and a ghost could just disappear right in front of your eyes and stay hidden forever unless they decide to show themselves. Deciding to ask the ghost something else I, try, to calm my nerves and steel myself before asking.
"W-what are you, and I know you're a ghost so don't say that." The smile that Lenny has sent a shiver up my spine as he flew up and took off his hat and glasses. With those off of him I could finally see what his face looked like, however, I still don't know what he is.
"I'm glad you asked Lizard head." I really want to punch him for calling me that. "My species were known as Ferrets, but you can forget about that as all of us died years ago after the griffons started hunting us for sport when they moved here in Vel La Za. Such a tragic tale of my kind, but we all were going to die sooner or later. Hey, at least now I can do this!" Lenny dived through the floor. At first, it did scare me, causing me to yelp too, but seeing how he didn't dive towards me made me feel less scared knowing he won't try and possess me.
For some time he didn't show up again, which has me worried now. Where was he? Was he going to bring another ghost here? Why am I still on this chair and haven't run away from him? Why do I think up all these dumb questions?
After what felt like minutes of waiting for Lenny to return I started to doubt that he'll ever return. When I tried to get out of the chair, I felt it suddenly move and jump underneath me. My reaction to the chair below me moving was a scream, my claws dug into the armrest and my paws were lifted up on the edge of the chair, and my tail curled up between my legs. Was this what Lenny was talking about how he can do...I don't know he never told me what he can do other than diving down through the floor.
"Hey, hey, easy lizard head. Don't scratch the chair like a pussycat." I heard Lenny's voice, but instead of sounding like he's next to my ear he sounded like he was below me.
"L-Lenny are y-you moving this c-c-chair?" I asked my voice had a hint of fear in it as the chair suddenly came to a halt next to another chair. My question was suddenly answered when Lenny flew through me, sending a cold shiver up my spine and a cold feeling in my chest, legs, and tail. "N-never do that again."
The ferret just shrugs as he landed next to me. He pulled out a book from the cushion of the chair he sat on. The book I instantly recognized, it was Cazador's book.
Lenny notice me staring at the book, he even moved it around a bit watching me as my eyes followed the book. He then tossed the book at me. I managed to catch it before it could hit my snout. I'm not gonna ask myself a question how he was able to hold a book in his small paws.
I set the book down by my side, between the chair's cushion, and then lowered my legs and tail. I have to say riding a chair that moves is something I have never thought I would do, but I can say the same thing about Cazador, seeing how he's my trainer and I'm his student learning to become a huntress. It's dumb to think that a dragoness would be saved by another creature then be trained by that creature to become what he is, a hunter. I just hope the tailor doesn't make my clothes look like it was made by ponies and look all pretty and pink.
Cazador, where has he gone? I haven't seen him around the building nor heard anything that sounded like him, even the dog that follows him I haven't seen too. Where could they be, outside maybe? Until I find Cazador, I have to let him know that I'm in heat and should be locked in my bedroom.
"Lenny, do you know where Cazador has gone?" I somehow asked without stuttering. The ferret tapped his chin as he hummed softly to himself. Does he knows where Cazador went, he's been here longer than I have and doesn't need to eat or sleep like the living does.
"If I remember correctly," Lenny said sounding a bit unsure for the moment, "after you had passed out he brought in the white horse and had a few words with her, he thought you were sick and the white horse lied to him saying that you had some sort of fever virus, something like that, that could kill a creature that goes onto a final stage. She lied to him saying that you were in the first stage of this fever and told the shady hunter that she can do something about it, so he struck up a deal with her." I didn't like where this was going, Cazador making a deal with the ponies' leader was bad news as she could be using him for her dirty deeds that she's doesn't want to bother herself with. "Surprising he wouldn't do anything for her unless she does five things he wants her to do, 'conditions' to use the word correctly. She was dumb enough to agree with that since she held the cards there; however, he was holding the cards. By the three he was even showing the cards he has right in front of her and she didn't even think of lowering these conditions."
Lenny stopped talking for a moment, he was letting me think for a moment, which I am thankful that he did. Cazador could have easy wanted more than five conditions, he could even force the horse to do what she wants, but that's the problem. Why does she want Cazador? From the few days I spent with him, he has always sounded serious, been serious, and didn't act childish. Does the princess of the ponies fear him?
"After that they both talked here in the library about a war in the Crystal Empire, or near if to be exact." A war, why would they talk about a war!? No, no, no, no! That pony false goddess bitch lied to him and tricked him into fighting a war that she cannot fight in! But why, why does she needs Cazador to fight in a war if her ponies already possess magic?
"I have to leave and stop Cazador from being a pawn for that bitch!" I yelled out loud and tried to stand up, but my body didn't have the strength to hold me. As soon as my legs gave out on me, Lenny managed to use the chair to catch me before I fell over again.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on it lizard head, you can't be going already. Not with that broken wing of yours and being in season to mate with any male. You'll put yourself in danger than he has." Lenny was really asking for a fist in the snout, but he was right. Since I'm in heat and I have a broken wing, I can't do anything other than let my wing heal and wait for until my heat goes away. I can't believe I'm just gonna do nothing about this.
As soon Lenny realized I calmed down he floated up to my face and place his hands on my forehead. He sighed and flew behind me. Suddenly the chair began to move again, but this time I wasn't afraid of it as my emotions were getting to me and my thoughts were pushing away my fear of ghosts.
Lenny carried me out of the library, the doors opened easily for him because how he can float and flick his hand to open the door as if he had strings attached to his hands. We were now in the entrance hall, everything was a bit different than I remember it to be. How different? The lambs weren't burning as the orange yellowish color of the flame instead they burn a soft blue, making everything look like I was in a dream. A dream with a ghost possessing a chair with me riding him of course.
For a ghost possessing a chair, Lenny sure knows how to climb up the stairs without having any trouble at all, even with me on it. When we reached the top of the stairs, Lenny carried me to my room, again easily opening the door. I wasn't sure how I was not scared of him anymore, he was a ghost and I have a fear of spiritual like creatures who can't be killed by physical things. I feel as if parts of my mind was just pushing that fear away, I know it can do that because how thoughts of something can cloud up that fear.
After Lenny carried me further in my room he soon stops beside my bed. The ghost ferret floats up in front of me with a smug look on his face. I guess carrying a dragoness up to her bedroom would actually have one small creature with that smug look the ferret has.
Without saying anything I crawled onto my bed and slipped my legs under the covers before the rest of my body. I needed to rest for tonight, or was it early in the morning? That just reminds me, Cazador has been nocturnal traveling in the night and sleeping in the day, both of them have risks like there's a chance he would be attacked while he's asleep in the day and the creatures that hunt in the night are dangerous. Yet, I've only been with him for maybe three or four days, and two of them mostly involves me being asleep. I haven't really spend much time with him to ask him questions and get to know him better. Should I try and be nocturnal?
"Well, of course, you should if you wanted to be his Huntress," I heard Lenny say as he floats down on the chair.
'Can he hear my thoughts!?'
"Yup."
"..." I didn't say anything instead I turned my back to Lenny and laid on my right side. I was mad at on fact that Lenny could hear my thoughts the entire, he didn't respect the privacy of the mind.
"Welp, I'm gonna go and float around endlessly while you rest." After he said that everything became quiet. Maybe I do need some sleep, after all, I woke up either early in the morning or late at night. Closing my eyes and thinking of nothing, I slowly dozed off, but before sleep took me one thought suddenly popped up.
'Cazador.' |
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