[Sunday Morning]

[Lumina’s POV]

The morning sun was brightening up the room, making me slowly opening my eyes, and feeling more relaxed than the usual mornings. I noticed something pressing against my front. I looked down, and smiled seeing Cyan still within the embrace I pulled us into last night, sleeping peacefully in my arms. I sighed in content at how much I missed this wonderful feeling.

This is like snuggling with my sister back in Trottingham. Even though we still shared a room and had separate beds, whether I was down and sad enough to not sleep, or just want to share beds, she would happily snuggle with me in one of our beds with comfort throughout the night before I fell asleep in her arms. Maybe this was what she was feeling when I came to her. I might have pulled Cyan in this out of nowhere last night, but it just felt right at the time. With how stressed we were at work last night, and how tightly Cyan hugged me when he thanked me for taking him along, this might have been good for the both of us. Actually, thinking back on that hug, it was not only tight, but it felt like he was shaking a little. Was there something he’s afraid of showing? Could what he want to talk to me in privately about this morning be related to that? I guess the best I can do right now is listen to what he says, and do what I can to support him.

I gently removed us from the embrace, and slipped the covers over Cyan. I thought that he might want to get some more shut eye before the day. I gathered a change of clothes for the day, my hair brush, tooth brush, paste, and hair tie from my bag before I went to the bathroom and quietly shut the door behind me. After some business on the toilet, I brushed my teeth before I changed from my shirt and boxer briefs from last night to a pink bra and panties, a light purple t-shirt that fitted comfortably, and blue jeans over them while I fit my tail through the holes. I gave my tail and mane a good brushing to where they got smooth and straight, my front more spread out to the sides how I usually liked it. I ready my hair tie to style my mane until…

SNAP!

“Ow!” I yelped before I shook the pain out of my hand that stung. I looked at what smacked me, and found the hair tie broken.

The elastic must have worn out enough to snap apart…

Looking at it, I realized this was what Shining Armor gave me back at the academy when he noticed how my mane moving around distracted my training. It was one of his spares, and he was happy to give it to me. It was the first and last thing he gave me before I left, and I had kept and always used it ever since.

Thinking back on it now, I know I wasn’t truthful to Cyan from how we got to the campsite, about what really made me resign from the academy in the first place. After that, and getting to know Cyan, I’ve certainly been getting more… Affectionate with him, and getting really relaxed whenever I’m around him. Enough to even snuggle with him last night. Something I haven’t done for a year, yet felt like more, and with someone who wasn’t my sister… Not to mention how I kind of liked having his erect penis poking me. Wonder how big he is down there? Is it still growing through puberty? Wait, no, I shouldn’t even be thinking like that. Not with how things are between us right now. I might have even given him some wrong ideas that I didn’t meant to bring intentionally… I should probably put it out straight for him. We’re gonna be staying and travelling together for a while, and I want to be sure he’s comfortable around me, and not so uptight like he might have been back in Canterlot. That includes him putting his trust in me while I give mine in return, and to do that, I’ll have to be honest. We’ll talk about it over breakfast today. Might as well rip the band-aid off instead of tugging on it slowly. I just hope that after I’ll tell him, his perceptions of me won’t change very much.

A knock on the door snapped me out of my thoughts. “Come in,” I answered.

Behind the door was Cyan with his mane in a cow-lick, still wearing his shirt and boxers from last night. “Are you okay?” He asked. “I heard you yelped in pain and wanted to be sure you were alright.”

Oh Cyan… I hope you never change from this. There’s not enough colts, or dare I say it, stallions in the world with the consideration you have.

“I’m fine thanks,” I waved. “My hair tie just snapped broke, and it whipped my hand,” I explained while I held up said object. “Sucks too, this was the only one I have on me. Guess I’ll be walking with my mane down for a little bit.”

Cyan then took the broken hair tie from me, and tested its elasticity a little. He seemed to have something in mind for some reason. “Do you mind if I borrowed this?” He asked.

I raised my eyebrow questioning what he would use a broken hair tie for, but shrugged to not think about it too much. “Sure, go crazy with it,” I answered.

“Thanks. And if it’s any consolation, you look great whether you have your mane tied or not,” he complimented with a smile. I couldn’t help but feel my face heat up a little, trying not to show any color in front of him.

Dammit Cyan, stop being so sweet.

“Th-thanks Cyan,” I stuttered. “The bathroom’s yours if you want. We’re still going out for breakfast right?” I asked.

“Of course. We’ll leave as soon as I get ready,” he concluded. I nodded before I left, and Cyan went inside with a change of clothes, comb, and his own hygienic tools before he shut the door behind him.

I made the bed while I waited, and just sat on the bed for a bit while I thought about what I should say to Cyan about the truth during breakfast. It wasn't long though before he came back out in a change of clothes.

“Ready to grab that breakfast?” I asked, and he nodded in response. He and I grabbed our pouches of bits from our bags before we left the room and shut the door behind us.

We said our good mornings to our neighbors and Barley while we were heading out. Orange commented on how pretty I looked with my mane down, and I just thanked her in response. RB asked if the two of us were going on a date with a sly grin, and Cyan assured him that we were just going out for breakfast. The three of them rolled their eyes at that. Barley asked us to come back same time as yesterday to get ready for our shifts tonight, and the two of us understood and nodded before we said our farewells, and left the pub.

We went to a restaurant where it was famous for their flapjacks, and we sat in a table at a corner where we wouldn’t stand out. After we gave the waitress our orders, Cyan went to the bathroom for a bit while I sat there in thought.

Okay Lumina, this is it. You’re gonna give it to him straight, tell him about your resignation at the academy, and let him know what I think is and isn’t okay for us.

I took a deep breath trying to relax myself, forgetting to breathe for a moment. “Sorry for the wait,” Cyan apologized before he got back to his seat across from me.

“Oh you’re fine. Don’t worry about it,” I assured with a wave. “Listen, I know there’s something you need to say, but I have something I need to get off my chest too if you don’t mind?”

Cyan sat up with his ears perked, and eyes wide. “No, not at all,” he answered. “You can go first if you’d like. Ladies first,” he finished with a hand gesture towards me.

I can’t tell if that’s him being polite, or if he’s buying more time for what he wants to say. Aw well. Doesn’t matter.

I took one more breath to ease my tensions before I spoke. “There are a few things I need to let you know about me since we’ll be travelling together for a while. I know we didn’t meet in good circumstances, but with this only being our second day together, I think I should tell you something that I wasn’t truthful about the first night we met. I just want to be honest so that there won’t be any secrets between us, and whatever topic comes up later about each other we haven’t told yet, we’ll be comfortable enough to disclose about that. Does that makes sense?”

“Of course,” Cyan responded with a nod.

“Okay then,” I started before I took a moment to think up my next words. “Remember how I wanted to leave the academy so bad when I got drafted there, and I told you I resigned the moment I was given the opportunity?” He nodded in response. “Well… That might have been a lie. I was actually considering whether I wanted to join the Royal Guard or not, for what may have been the wrong reasons.”

“What were they?” He asked.

“… There was a stallion, who even though I didn’t want to make contact with him, or anyone at the academy for the first few weeks, tried to make my time there as less of a hellhole as possible. He was the one who caught me when I tried running away at first, and we talked long enough that not only convinced me to stay, but I developed a crush on him,” Cyan still sat there giving me much attention as I continued. “We got to know each other more over the year, and the more I knew about him, the more I wanted to be his special somepony. When I heard he wasn’t seeing anyone, I had to take the chance to confess my feelings for him, the same day I was offered to join the guard, or resign the academy, so I would make my final decision the right choice.”

“So you wanted to join the guard to be with your crush?” He asked for clarification.

“That’s the gist of it,” I answered. “Anyway, when I saw him standing at a balcony at the castle, I had to go up there as soon as I could to confess. I had even made dinner for the two of us so he would know how serious I was.”

“How sweet… Wait, wasn’t that dinner?” Cyan asked when he thought about it.

I nodded confirming his suspicions. “Yes, that corn casserole we had was meant for him and I to share. When I had got up there, I was really scared. I felt like my life was on the line with this confession, but I tried to convince myself as much I could to confront him… Until I heard someone talking with him at the balcony.

“They sounded close, so relaxed with one another, a part of me wanted to believe that they were just close friends seeing each other that night… Until I heard them professing their love for each other,” Cyan sat up wide-eyed at the development. “I looked from an angle they wouldn’t see me, and saw the two of them kissing like they’ve been doing it for ages with such romance and passion. At that instant, I just ran out of the castle as fast as I could,” I looked at the table with my ears folded, not caring for the food that was now in front of me.

“I had cried my eyes out in the gardens,” I continued. “Asking myself what I saw was real, and what I was even doing there. That sadness turned to anger soon after though. I had felt betrayed and lied to. He had said he wasn’t seeing anyone, but now I know why. What I didn’t know though was why he was so friendly with me, convincing me to stay at the academy when he wasn’t even thinking about being with me. I felt so stupid that I fell for him, and that I had almost chose to enroll in the Royal Guard for someone like him. It felt like high school all over again, only more severe than before. In a rush, I signed the resignation form when I grabbed the nearest quill, packed my things, and turned in my form before I left the academy and Canterlot in anger. It wasn’t until I was in the clearing where you found me that I cried what sadness I had left before I started to try to move on,” I sniffled as I finished. Cyan passed me a napkin from across the table, and I dabbed what tears were welling up in my eyes, and blew my nose before I calmed down. “Thank you.”

“No problem, but can I say something before you say anything else?” Cyan asked, and I nodded in response. “I don’t think you’re stupid for falling in love with someone. Love may make us do some crazy things, but that doesn’t show how intelligent we are. It sounded you liked him for the right reasons before you were in that moment, and I think it’s understandable to rethink what kind of pony he was after seeing something like that. But no matter what, I think all of us would turn stupid once we’ve fallen for someone so hard like that. It’s like calling RB and Orange stupid for loving each other, despite how… Unique it is,” he cringed after that. I couldn’t help but giggle at the reaction.

“Thank you Cyan, that means a lot,” I thanked.

Cyan smiled and nodded before he took his first bite of his food, and spoke without his mouthful. “Was there something else you needed to say?” He asked.

“There was,” I answered. “Due to my heartbreak, I guess I was kind of emotionally unstable then, questioning about whether I should start looking for a serious relationship after that. I’m still wondering about it now, but we’ll get to that part later. I’ll admit, I was pretty pent up when I heard you outside of that clearing, and I do apologize for scaring you with that gun.” Cyan waved his hand out front in response, gesturing he brushed that off, and it was under the bridge. “I was surprised that someone so young was out there that late at night. I wanted to get you comfortable to open up, not feeling like I was pressing you for information like I was taught in the guard. You didn’t need that for someone so young. I didn’t know what to do until I heard our stomachs growling that I came up with offering you food then and there.

“When we talked and got to know each other, the first time you made me laugh? I couldn’t remember the last time I had something that good. Like what happened before that just got swept under the rug and I didn’t really think about it then. When I listened to your side of the story… I couldn’t believe how hurt I was inside that your parents would do something like that. My case of finding my Light Magic was similar to yours, but it didn’t go NEARLY as bad afterwards for me as what you told me. I had to hug you right there when I saw how sad you were becoming, and I couldn’t help but cried myself,” Cyan looked to the side with ears folded recalling that moment while he ate his breakfast.

“When I saw your Shadow Magic though, I was surprised. To be honest, the old hag mentioned some scary things about ponies possessing that type of magic while she taught me how to use my Light Magic back then. I had to question why though, as though your magic is just as unique as the other five that exist. And when I saw you, you looked anything BUT dangerous. In fact I felt comfortable around you, like I could let myself go and be myself more with you. It’s part of why I was teasing so much with you. But if I ever get into anything that you’re not comfortable with, don’t hesitate to stop and say no. I won’t hold anything against you. I just want you to know that I’m starting to like you Cyan, but not in a way that’s anything serious. I need some time to think about what I want in such a relationship, and how I want to be treated in such. In the meantime though, I still want to be with you and get to know you more as we travel. You’re a great guy, and I want to be someone you can trust and talk about anything with because I like and trust you enough to relax around you. It’s part of why I didn’t mind sleeping with you the way I did last night, why I gave you those kisses, and why I didn’t mind you touching me on those places,” I finished.

Cyan sat there wide-eyed at the end of my explanation while shuddering in place. “Y-you like and t-trust me THAT much?” He stuttered.

“Pretty much,” I answered with a smile. “I’ve just seen you as a great pony for the past few days, and I feel kind of lucky to have a friend as kind, honest, and considerate as you are.”

Cyan then looked down on his food while running his fingers through his mane while he still shuddered in place. “Goddessdammit,” he quivered.

“W-what’s the matter? Do you not like me?” I asked with concern.

“No, I DO like you, probably a little more than you know, I’m still not sure, which is what’s making this so much harder,” Cyan admitted while still looking down and shuddering.

Goodness, this must be big if Cyan’s this scared about revealing it. Did my confession brought THAT more pressure on him? More importantly, he said he liked me more than I may know, even though he’s still not so sure about it himself yet… Weird how a part of me thinks that’s flattering, but I shouldn’t think like that right now. I should try to calm him down a little.

I reached over to hold his shoulder to provide support. “Cyan? I’m sorry if what I said made this even harder for you,” I said. “I just want you to know that everything I’ve said was true, and I’ll listen to whatever it is you need to say before I think and ask questions. Let’s just eat for a little bit, try to calm down, and you can tell me when you’re ready. Okay?” Cyan looked up with tears rolling down, and nodded while he sniffled. I took a few napkins and passed them over to help wipe what was on him, and clear everything up before I ate my own food. I didn’t realize how long I was talking as I noticed the food got lukewarm, to almost cold. He finished his before me as he got a head start, and asked the waitress if he could get another glass of his drink. While I waited for him to relax, I went to my own thoughts.

Okay, despite the reaction afterwards, I’m feeling pretty good. It looks like he feels somewhat the same way about me judging by how afraid of what he’s going to confess could affect us. Other than that though, I feel a little lighter on the shoulders. I’m glad I was able to get it out there, and if what he says isn’t as big of a deal as he thinks, then things might work out for us after all.

Cyan got another glass of his drink the waitress brought, and thanked her before he chugged it halfway like he was dying of thirst for water. After he finished, he wiped his mouth with a clean napkin that wasn’t used to dry his tears and clean his nose. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and sighed, trying to let go of the fear inside him with his hands together in front of him, as if praying that things would work out some way while he thought of what to say.

He opened his eyes, looking into my mine directly after I finished my cold breakfast. “What I want to confess Lumina,” he started. “Was like you, I too was not being truthful about myself when we first met,” I felt a little shocked from that, but tried to keep my face looking more attentive. “When I first ran into you, I had some idea of where you came from, and because of the position I was in, I was scared, and feared what would happen if I told the truth. Bear in mind, I was being honest about me running away because of my parents fearing my magic, and wanting to send me some place secluded where I wouldn’t hurt anyone.” I nodded as I remembered. “I held back something important though, fearing what would happen if you knew, and because of that, I had to lie something about me because if I did told the truth, you’d connect the dots to see where I came from. Seeing how beautiful, smart, and strong you are, I know for certain you can figure this out once I tell you.” He took another deep breath with his eyes closed to recollect himself before took a pause, and opened his eyes back to me before he continued. “I… am not Cyan Shadow… My real name… is Cyan Dusknight.”

A long, dead silent pause filled between us, disregarding the activity of the rest of the restaurant. The moment I heard that last name, my heart felt like it skipped twice, and dropped to the pits of my stomach. “D-d-d-Dusknight?” I stuttered, and he nodded in response. “Dusknight as in… Commander Marine Dusknight from the Royal Guard?” I quavered.

He sighed in defeat. “Yep, that’s him… He’s my dad…” He stated. Everything suddenly got cold around me as I was trembling uncontrollably from this new, earth shattering information Cyan just told me. I was at a loss for words, speechless for what to say next before he continued. “While we’re on this, my mom, Olive Cross, she works with the Royal Guard as a nurse. I’m not sure if you know her, but you can probably guess where and how my parents met before they had me,” he folded his ears and looked to the side. “Knowing what they do for a living, it still shocks me that my own dad, the strongest stallion I knew, serving in the Royal Guard as Commander of Squad 13, had a look of fear for his own son, me, for just showing him and Mom what Shadina had taught me the first time we met. And when I overheard my parents talking about me being a threat to everyone around me, and wanting to send me away to an unknown area, knowing what they do for a living, it made sense why I felt so afraid, so lost, so… abandoned, as if they saw me as some kind of threat that could disrupt the peace in Canterlot, or dare I say it, Equestria itself.

“I still don’t know why my magic’s still a threat, maybe there’s truth to what your bitch of a teacher told you about ponies like me possessing Shadow Magic. But one thing I do know is that I would never harm anyone, no matter how bad they treated me unless my life was on the line. And if there’s something I don’t understand about this magic that could end up hurting anyone, even with one or both of my best friends, I couldn’t help but decide me running away was the best option. So I packed what I could in my back pack, wrote the letters to my friends, and dropped them off before I left Canterlot.

“From what my dad had told me about Magic Guns, I knew immediately the first time I saw you that you were well trained in the academy or guard. I didn’t know if you knew my dad in some way until you mentioned that interview, as my mom told me that morning he had left early for something similar. He doesn’t talk about his work much, so there was no way I could know you were training with him, and because of that, I had to lie about my identity because I feared you might take me back to Canterlot by force, or possibly something worse if you knew who I was.”

… I guess I can see his reasoning, and I have seen some bad cadets that might do just what he feared if any of them were in my position.

He chuckled a little in a sad tone, still looking down at the table like he was guilty of a crime he committed. “It’s funny really, when I saw the lights of your Magic Gun, I thought you were someone who was burly, intimidating, and fierce, despite the feminine tone in your demands. But when I saw you under that moonlight in the clearing, I couldn’t believe how beautiful you looked that night. I’d probably have my face in awestruck to your beauty if I was shot then and there.

“I don’t know why I was afraid of dying that time though. I mean if I was a threat to anything, the first reasonable reaction would be to put me down and kill me then and there. I don’t know why they wanted to send me to someplace unknown, but for something so secluded with no one around, I’d probably die of starvation if I was taken there. I didn’t know what I was planning when I left Canterlot either. I guess if anything, I wanted to live my presumably last moments of my life before I collapse and die of starvation as well. Probably in someplace no one would find me too. And I’m sure now that you know who my parents are, and how big of a deal it is if a commander of the Royal Guard considered me a threat, despite what you just confessed to me earlier, you’d probably want to leave me for your own safety too. I don’t blame ya for thinking like that. I guess in the end, I’ll die as a monster, one way or another. It would probably be for the best for everyone, as there’s no place for me to...” He croaked before I stopped him with a tight hug from his side as I got there without him noticing.

“I’ve heard enough of this bullcrap,” I broke in.

“W-wha?” He quavered while still unprepared for the hug.

“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again,” I said. “You are no monster, Cyan Dusknight, and if anyone says otherwise, I’ll pulverize them to make my point. I don’t care if Marine’s a commander, heck, I wouldn’t give a shit if he was captain of the Royal Guard. If he thinks killing his own fucking son will bring peace to Equestria, than he’s more of a monster than he claimed you to be,” I pulled him back with my hands on his shoulders, and gazed in his crimson eyes that expressed shock and confusion with looks of determination of my own. “You are a wonderful young stallion, and your magic doesn’t define who you are as a pony. You may not know much about your magic now, but I’m sure that we’ll find clues to what your magic is all about, and why it brings fear to even your father, a commander of the Royal Guard. Not only that, we’ll find what we can do with your magic that could help ponies instead of scaring them, and we’ll show them how wrong they can be. Until then, if anyone even DARES to take you away because of your magic, I’ll prove them wrong, or I’ll fight to my last breath if I have to.”

Cyan sat there in shock for what he had just heard. “Y-you’re serious? Are you at least mad that I held something like this from you?” He quavered.

“I was surprised as fuck, yes, but I’m not mad,” I answered while I shook my head. “Your parents also don’t define you as a pony, and you had your reasons for keeping it from me as I was in the academy before I got to the clearing, especially with the Magic Gun thing as you did what you could to defend yourself. And if it was anyone else besides me that was there, especially if it was one of the more cold-hearted cadets I’ve seen, I can’t even begin to imagine how different things would be for you then. I want you to promise me something though,” I requested. Cyan just sat there trying to take everything in. “Don’t ever think that there’s no place for you in this world, and don’t even THINK about how everyone’s better off without you if you aren’t around. I can’t even BEGIN to imagine how different things would be for me if I hadn’t met you two nights ago. You aren’t a special unicorn because of your magic. You’re special because of what’s in here,” I said as I pointed to his chest. “You have much potential for what’s ahead of you, and you’ve got many years coming to see where things will take you. So don’t ever count yourself out that you don’t mean anything to anyone. Not only would Roxxie and Teala might say otherwise, you mean something to me if it’s any consolation. Do I make myself clear?” I finished.

Cyan’s eyes watered, his lips quivered, and his ears folded before he hugged me tightly, and sobbed quietly on my shoulder. I gladly returned his hug, and shed a few tears myself, glad that I made my point out there, and hopefully had him feeling better about himself. We sat there quietly for a while before Cyan finally pulled himself back, and used napkins to wipe his face and nose. “Sorry about that,” he croaked with a sheepish smile.

I shook my head while smiling. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it,” I said.

“So you’re okay with me being your commander’s son?” He asked.

“Like I said, I don’t care what your parents do as long as they did whatever they could to make you happy, which they somehow failed to do looking at the outcome now. Quite frankly, I never had a good feeling for your dad when I first met him, despite how he acted in the interview we had. But you can definitely be sure that I’ll always have your back, no matter what happens,” I assured.

“So we’re all good then? All secrets out in the open now?” He asked.

“For the most part, yes, but I do have one thing to ask though,” I requested.

“What’s that?”

“That first night we had spent together? How did you know about bra cup sizes when you asked if I was a D?” I asked.

He blushed at the question, and looked to the side in shame with a sheepish smile. “To be honest? I accidentally ran into my dad’s ‘secret stash’ of porn at one point, got curious, and things kind of escalated from there. I only got some general idea on how breasts differ in cup sizes from some of those, but there are still some things I don’t get to this day,” he finished.

“Huh. So you’ve gotten into porn before?” I asked, and he nodded while blushing and in shame. “And yet you still treat mares the way you do now?”

“I saw them in another light, yes, but I’d never… treat or objectify them like that, especially with my friends. If Roxxie knew, I probably wouldn’t even be here right now,” he chuckled at the remark, and I laughed with him. When we calmed down, Cyan looked at me in content with a smile on his face. “Thank you for accepting me though. I don’t know what I’d do if I WAS left by myself.”

“Leave an awesome stallion like you in the streets? Fuck no. You’re not gonna get rid of me that easily. That’s a fact,” I claimed before I gave him a good noogie on his mane, and he chuckled at that before I pulled back.

Cyan sat there for a bit in thought, before he looked like something came to him. “Can we find someplace more private? There’s something I want to try and show you,” he requested.

I sat there in thought, trying to think of some places I heard that aren’t usually open in Manehattan until I thought of something. “I think I know someplace in mind. Shall we get going then?” Cyan nodded with a small smile before we got up, and paid for our food up front, which he did for both of our meals, plus tip. I tried interjecting that I could pay for my own, but he was too stubborn to listen before he finished the payment, and we left the restaurant.

I led us to the main theatre in Manehattan, where even though there aren’t any musicals or plays were currently featured, the place was still open for those who want to browse through and check out the history of the many performances that took place there. We were lucky it wasn’t busy, especially the auditorium which was where Cyan and I sat on stage.

“Alright, so what was it you want to show me?” I asked.

“Could you give me a moment please?” He asked, and I nodded with a smile. He reached into his pocket, and took out the broken hair tie I gave him earlier. He gave it a few stretches while he looked up in thought, and nodded at something. “Hold this please,” he requested while holding out the hair tie, and I took it with one of my brows raised in question.

He turned to me still sitting cross-legged, held up his hand, closed his eyes, and focused. His horn and hand had their black auras around them, signifying his Shadow Magic was put to work. He looked like he was putting more effort into making something, but not so much he was straining himself. He looked more… content as he was focusing what he was creating. I looked at his hand, saw a strange, circular object floating above it. It didn’t look circular, it was a more crumpled looking ring the size of his palm, as if he was making…

…Wait, no, he can’t be.

Cyan then dropped his focus in an instant, his horn and hand not having the black aura around it, and the black ring-like object dropped to his palm. He opened his eyes, looked at it, and felt the texture before he gave it a few test stretches. A big grin was shown across his face as he marveled at what he had just created before he laughed like some sort of idiot. “Yes! I knew I could do it!” He exclaimed.

“Cyan…” I started. “Is… Is that a scrunchy?” I asked.

“You’re damn right it is! And the very first of many other things I can create with my Shadow Magic with practice,” he said before he looked at me, took my hand not holding the broken hair tie, and placed the black scrunchy on my palm before he closed my fingers.

“And as a thank you for helping me, letting me tag along, and being and awesome friend, I want you to keep this as my token of gratitude. It should last longer than your hair tie, but let me know if you want me to fix it right up, or make a new one even,” he finished with a smile before he sat back, leaving me wide-eyed in amazement.

I looked down at my new scrunchy. It looked cute, had a nice velvety texture, and it stretches like any hair tie and scrunchy I’ve seen, probably better than most as this was something Cyan himself created with his own magic. I looked back at him who still had that same smile in his face. “Cyan…” I said. “I… I don’t know what to say…”

“Why don’t ya try it on, and see if it works?” He asked. I nodded, and did as he suggested. After I got a good length of my mane in a bundle behind me, I took the scrunchy I held in my mouth, and tied my strands around into my signature pony tail. I adjusted it enough to where the scrunchy was lower and closer to my nape, tying my mane to match my tail.

“How do I look?” I asked while holding up my styled mane.

“Amazing,” he answered. I couldn’t help but giggled and blushed at the compliment before I smiled back at him.

I might be crazy for what’s about to come next, but fuck it, I’m going for it.

“Hey Cyan?” I asked.

“Yeah?” He asked.

“I think I might have my own way of expressing my gratitude for you being my friend.”

“Really? What is it?”

“Close your eyes,” I requested, and he complied while smiling. I crawled on all fours towards him after I checked the auditorium to see if anyone else was around. I got my hands on his shoulders, pulled myself closer, and locked my lips with his with my eyes closed. I felt Cyan was surprised at first, but melted into the sweet feeling as he kissed back while he wrapped his arms around my waist.

We kissed for what felt like two minutes before I pulled back and our eyes locked onto each other. I could see his face flushing red while he looked at me with shock in his crimson eyes.

“…Wow…” Was all he could say after that as he blushed. I giggled at his reaction while my face heated up as well.

“Yeah… You like it?” I asked.

“Definitely,” he answered. “This doesn’t change anything between us does it?”

“Nope,” I replied.

“Still gonna tease me like usual after this?”

“Of course.”

“Good. It would feel weird if you didn’t,” I giggled at that remark. “You do realize I may try to get back at you at some point right?”

“Hmm… Actually, I’d welcome that challenge. I dare you to give me your best shot.”

“Careful what you wish for. But seriously though, I promise I’ll try to be a good friend to you.”

“And I promise to do the same. Just be aware that I may need some help with that since I haven’t made any good friends for a while.”

“I’ll try to do what I can,” he answered. We sat there in a pause before he asked. “You wanna share some more ‘tokens of gratitude’ with each other?”

“Fuck yeah I do,” I responded before I pulled myself against him once more, locked lips, and gently pushed him to the ground while he wrapped his arms around me. We kissed right there on stage, not caring if anyone was there watching us as if we were the last two ponies on earth, as I was on top of him with my breasts pressing against his chest, taking in the sweet, passionate, and joyful feelings welling up inside me that I’m sure Cyan was feeling the same at the time.

Well, this certainly came out of nowhere. Two days after my heartbreak with Shining, and I’m on Manehattan’s famous stage already sucking mouths with another pony. One who’s much younger than me at that, but definitely has the maturity of a stallion, probably more so than some. We’ll have to discuss more on where we stand after this, but Goddess does it feel good doing this with him. This may be crazy for the both of us, but at this point? What ISN’T crazy in this world? I think I’m looking forward to see where this goes.

Next Chapter: Side Chapter 9: Getting Fitted, and Discussing Concerns Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 48 Minutes