[Sunday Evening]

[Teala’s POV]

After Roxxie and I finished our brushing session, we went to Nil in his room, who was apparently napping at the time, to wake him up and discuss our plans for the gala. He took the plans that he had drawn before we went to the mansion’s study to discuss. With questions and concerns included in the conversation, we were in there for about a few hours before Sigmund signaled us that it was time for our supper.

Once we had our fill, we bid Nil and Sigmund goodnight before Roxxie and I went to my room. We cleaned ourselves up, locked the door, and closed the curtains before the two of us settled in my bed.

“I gotta admit. For a pervert, Nil can be pretty thorough with his plans,” Roxxie commented.

“Indeed. It looked so thawed out, with each step listed with times to proceed from one to the next in such detail, it’s unusually impressive,” I added in.

“What do you think his deal is?” She asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Well from what we know of him so far, he’s an ex-cadet from the E.U.P. Academy—with the title of genius no less—a Thunder Wielder, an inventor of sorts, and is currently searching for answers to our Element Magic… That’s all we got.”

“Well when you list it that way, it sounds like there’s not much we know about him just yet,” I commented.

“From what I’ve noticed,” Roxxie said. “He tends to be pretty lax throughout the day, unless there was something that catches his curiosity. Like how he reacted when Blaze ate that gem.”

“I’m still cringing just thinking back on that. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a pony who could eat gems without breaking their teeth. I wonder how he came to eat gems in the first place?”

“I don’t know, but let’s get back to Nil here,” she suggested. “Anyway, he’s shown to be lax, knowledgeable, very observant and aware of what’s around him besides how he met the two of us.”

“I pray to Celestia that won’t happen again anytime soon. At least until I get old enough, and the three of us are together romantically.”

“Yeah, it was a crazy day for all of us. Anyway, besides the traits I’ve seen, there’s not much else we can go by on who Nil Thunder is. Like what would he do once he gets the answers to our magic he wanted? What happens next?”

“Good question,” I agreed. “They do say knowledge is power, and for what we’re trying to look for, there are numerous outcomes for what could happen.”

“Both good and bad,” Roxxie pointed out. “I mean his magic is uncontrollable right now. What would happen once he DOES master it? Electricity can do some cool things with toys and appliances, sure, but it can be very dangerous as well. Just one bolt with enough voltage could kill a pony instantly.”

“Though I can agree with you there, Nil doesn’t seem like the kind of pony who would use his magic like that,” I argued.

“How so?”

“Well if he was more heartless than what we had thought of him to be when we first met, he’d zap me down before I screamed for help. Same goes for you when you found that book of his if there was something important in the contents.”

“He’s smart though. He may have reasons for not doing what would seem the most logical course of action then and there. Like how there was just enough morning light to see, and we were in public as well. He may not want to draw too much attention to himself, and play the waiting game before he gets a chance to get us at our most vulnerable.”

“I’m not so sure. I mean so far, me, you, Blaze, his acquaintance Lumina, and possibly Cyan are the only ones he knows that possess a different Element Magic. I think he’d rather record whatever he finds from our powers more than just killing us off with a rare chance of meeting another Wielder like us.”

“I guess I can see your point,” she replied.

“One thing I have noticed is that he can be pretty skeptical, and perhaps secretive.”

“Wow, way to point out the last one,” Roxxie commented while clapping slowly with sarcasm, to which I rolled my eyes.

“Anyway, what brought me to the last one was how he was so defensive on hiding that info on that book you found when we first ran into him. Which is strange because if he was looking for other ponies with our magic for research, he’d probably be more open about it, considering what he found so far was only a legend of sorts. If most ponies think it was a myth, he’d have no problem telling it to them, but he was so bent on keeping that info to himself.”

“Good point… Call me crazy, but I wonder if he was trying to keep it to himself until he gained some curiosity to a pony? Like he would observe whatever’s around him until something catches his eye, and follows through? He only told us how he knew Lumina, who’s as much involved in finding the answers to our magic as we are. Other than that, besides mentioning his family living in Baltimare where we’ll meet in a few months, he hasn’t opened up much else about himself.”

“… Do you think he doesn’t trust us?” I asked.

“I don’t see why he wouldn’t. I mean he already explained to us about what he had found in his research, AND his plans on getting into the archives tomorrow night.”

“Well you did threatened to beat him up if he didn’t tell us anything about his research when we first met him, AND I pretty much added into it with me blackmailing him, even if what happened that morning was an accident...”

The two of us sat there thinking about what we’ve done with him so far, and both of our ears folded when we recalled the bad times with him.

“You know… I’ve never really gotten to apologize to Nil for threatening him like that,” Roxxie commented.

“Same here,” I replied. “I have a feeling the six of us will be working together on this for a while, so it would be best that we try to get along and get to know each other as we go. Maybe even become friends.”

“Yeah… Blaze won’t be so hard, seeing how happy-go-lucky he is,” Roxxie commented. “Lumina we’ll be finding out later on, but Nil will be a challenge considering how we treated him so far.”

“If we get more acquainted with him, I’m sure he’ll be more open with us in whatever pace he decides to go with it. He probably kept some personal things to himself with a lot of other ponies he had met for a reason. If there’s anything GOOD we found about him so far, he can be pretty honest when he needs to, AND confident sometimes.”

“Yeah, I noticed that too. Maybe we should start things off tomorrow with an apology, and see if we could start over with a clean slate before we get to the gala.”

“That sounds good. We’ll do it first thing tomorrow over breakfast. I know we won’t have much time to get acquainted after the gala’s done since he’ll be leaving the next day, but there will be other chances to do so later on.”

“Right.” Roxxie yawned while she stretched before rubbing her eyes. “Think we should get to bed now. We got a big day tomorrow,” she said before she got up, and went to hit the lights.

I yawned as well, like it was contagious before I replied. “We certainly do. I can’t wait to see what our dresses will look like tomorrow.”

“As strange for me to say this, but I feel the same way,” she said as she got back in bed, and we pulled the covers over us.

“I’m gonna miss having you spend the night here. It’s nice having a good friend like you keeping me company,” I admitted.

“We are going to your cottage to practice our magic this summer right? We’ll have plenty of time to spend together, and then some,” Roxxie pointed out.

“Yeah, that’s true... Remember the one time we were there with Cyan and our families? Well, me with my grandparents at least,” I commented.

“Yeah, that was a blast. The three of us even slept in our own tent while we camped near the lake for a few nights. It was nice sleeping with him at the time, even if we were in our own sleeping bags.”

“I feel the same way. We’ll have to do that again sometime when we aren’t finding answers to our magic. Maybe with just the three of us.”

“That ought to be fun,” she said before we shared a nice, warming kiss. We broke off a few moments later, and snuggled under the covers.

“I feel like if we kept kissing like this, our first one with Cyan will be all the more amazing with experience under our belts,” I commented with a giggle.

“I’m dying to see his face when… Hold on,” Roxxie said.

“What is it?”

“How do we tell Cyan about the three of us forming a herd?”

… Horseapples, I didn’t even THINK about that.

“I… Haven’t thought that far ahead,” I admitted.

“Would Cyan even be interested in forming a herd?” Roxxie asked. “What if it turns out he loves and wants to be with one of us, and to stay friends with the other? I mean he cares for both of us greatly from how he wrote our letters, but when you think about it, having two marefriends, maybe three if Lumina wants to join, can be a lot for one pony to handle.”

“I didn’t even think about that… I was more worried about keeping the both of us happy, but I didn’t consider Cyan’s feelings in what he wants… Dammit, this is the second time I haven’t thought about what Cyan’s going through,” my ears folded while looking down with shame.

“Hey hey, don’t be so hard on yourself, I didn’t think about it either,” Roxxie said before she held my head, and had me look into her gaze. “How about we do this? When the three of us meet, we’ll go on separate dates, one-on-one, have a good time with him, and by the end we’ll express our feelings for him. When the both of us, maybe Lumina if she feels the same way and we agree to have her join our herd, have our dates with him, we’ll give him some time to come up with a final decision, and if it turns out he can’t choose between us because he cherishes us THAT much, then we’ll bring up the idea of forming a herd.”

I looked to the side as I visualized what would happen, and nodded. “I think that could work. This way we can express our feelings personally, and we can confirm whether he feels the same way for us,” I said.

“Alright, that’s that then. If it turns out he DOES choose only one of us in the end… Though I’ll feel down about it for a while, I won’t hold anything against you if you were his choice,” she said.

“Same to you my dear friend,” I added in before we shared one more kiss, and snuggled comfortably. “Good night Roxxie.”

“Good night Teala,” she replied before we closed our eyes, and drifted to sleep.

[Nil’s POV]

I had a hard time falling asleep because I was having the pre-heist jitters like I usually did back when I was stealing for a living. So in my pajamas and metal braces on my arms and legs, I walked to the kitchen to get a glass of water, and went to the bathroom to piss my nerves out.

Who’d have thought I’d get back in the saddle to find answers for my magic? I know I said I would try and change my ways like I told Booksmart and Clarity when I left Baltimare, but I have to find out how I can control, or if possible, get rid of my Thunder Magic so I won’t risk hurting anyone anymore. I’ve made too many mistakes ever since I found this magic, and though things are better for me now than it was before… The memories of my past will forever haunt me until the day I die, and the best I can do now to repent my sins is to create whatever science can allow me that could help ponies live happier, and perhaps easier lives.

As I was on my way back to my room, I heard running water with a voice being muffled under it. With my curiosity getting the better of me, I followed the sound until I came to what looked like the locker room. When I got close enough, I heard it was a mare singing while taking a shower, which sounded quite heavenly I might add.

I didn’t think there was anyone else here at this time of night. Could it be one of princess’ staff getting ready to get home? I guess she had some things to get done that made her stay late. Well, Lumina said I should respect a mare’s privacy, so I should—

“EEEEEEEK!” A high pitched scream interrupted my thoughts, and on instinct, I ran into the girl’s locker room to check and see if the mare in question got hurt.

When I got inside, I quickly scanned the surroundings before I found a large star spider on the wall with one of the shower heads still running with water, and the mare was nowhere to be seen.

Ah, the mare must have been frightened by the spider. Guess I couldn’t blame her, but at least this intriguing species of arachnids are harmless.

I turned off the shower head before I walked up the star spider, and set my hand next to the creature. “It’s okay little guy, I’m not gonna hurt ya,” I said to it before he skittered onto my palm, and I cupped my other hand over him so he wouldn’t fall off. “Let’s see, I think there was an open window I passed by before I got here,” I said to myself before I walked out of the locker room. I retraced my steps to said window where there were a couple of trimmed bushes and plants along the outside walls. I used one of my wings to open the window enough for me to get my torso outside, and opened my palm with the spider standing once more before I moved it close to the bush in front of me. “There ya go little guy. Now try not to get inside next time alright? You could get really hurt if I didn’t found you.”

The spider looked at me, and nodded before he skittered onto the bush. He waved one of his legs at me before I waved back, and shut the window.

“U-um… Th-thank you for getting rid of that s-spider,” a mare said, which I assumed was the same one that screamed earlier before I swiveled my ear to the sound’s direction in response.

“Oh it’s no trouble at all miss…” I replied as I turned around, and went speechless at the sight before me.

There was a dripping wet, earth pony mare that had the same colored fur as Lumina’s, only with a slight hint of orange to add the cream-like look with freckles, and red tail and mane that stretched to her lower back. She also had big round glasses over her rosy pink eyes, and a towel wrapped around her torso that she held up with one hand, as if the seemingly large breasts in front of her were taking up too much space to let the towel hold up on its own. The cutie marks on her upper arms were three cookies, one different kind for each. Her ears were folded, and her cheeks were flushing red as she looked shy and embarrassed being in such a state before me.

“A-are you alright sir?” She asked, which snapped me out of my ogling trance with my jaw hanging open as I tried to respond coherently, but failed.

“S-s-sure I am. J-just d-d-dandy,” I replied, which sounded more stuttered than the mare before me.

“How were you able t-to get rid of it so c-calmly?” She asked.

“Star Spiders are a harmless species of arachnids that don’t bite and leave venom in another creature. Males have blue stars while females have red ones. Despite the cold winter seasons, male spiders make the stars on their backs shine in order to attract mates every night with a full moon. Once the female shows interest, she shines her star as well, signaling him that she would be his, and they join together to make red and blue eggs that the female carries, and I’m just rambling on like a smartass because I’m super nervous that a fascinatingly dripping wet mare with only a towel around her is standing in front of me and I don’t know how to make a decent conversation!” I finished before I panted harshly from the lack of air in my lungs.

The mare blinked in surprise from my nervous rambling before she flushed once she heard the last statement. “U-um… Thank you,” she replied.

I took a deep breath to try and calm myself down before I continued. “I’m sorry, I get a little… Out there when I see a mare similar in your condition. You’re the one who found Blaze yesterday right? The orange colt with the flaming mane and tail?”

“Y-yes, that’s right,” she answered. “And you’re the one helping Master Teala finding her friend Cyan correct?”

Right, she doesn’t know about our plans yet. Better keep it on the down low.

“Yep, that’s me alright,” I replied before I took out a hand. “I’m Nil Thunder by the way.”

“Cinnamon, but I like to be called Cinny,” she replied as she shook my hand while her other one still held up the towel. Her grip was tense and damp at first, but relaxed a little like how her stuttering stopped. “I’m a new maid that’s still getting used to working here, but if there’s anything you need, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. By the way, I couldn’t help but overhear your singing earlier. I must say the song you sang was quite lovely,” I commented with a smile.

The compliment just made her blushed a little while she looked to the side. “O-oh, you heard that… Sorry, I thought I was the only one around, and I needed to use the shower here because I couldn’t pay the water bill in the apartment I’m staying in.”

“Ah, that’s a shame,” I said. “I hope you’ll earn enough money to pay for it soon. I’ll be heading to bed now, so if you’ll excuse me—“

“W-WAIT!” She exclaimed, which stopped me mid turn. “Um… Thank you for helping Master Teala with her problem Mr. Thunder. Her parents scare me to death, but she’s very sweet once you get to know her.”

Funny, I didn’t get that vibe when she BLACKMAILED me into working for her, but at least I found ponies I could study Water and Earth Magic from. That tomcolt scares the fuck out of me though, even as much as LUMINA on a bad day.

“I could see that she liked Cyan very much when I first saw the two of them together on accident,” she continued as she looked down, and smiled a little while recalling the past. “He was very nice to me too when we met. I was quite surprised when I heard what had happened to him, and I wanted to do what I can to help Master Teala,” she looked up to me with pleading eyes, and her ears folded. “I hope you can do what you’re able to help as well Mr. Thunder.”

I gave an assuring smile, and lightly rubbed my hand on her damp mane. “Don’t worry Cinny, we’ll find him soon enough. And please, call me Nil,” I requested.

From all that’s happening right now? I’m DEFINITELY gonna find him. I need to see what his Shadow Magic can do if he has it like I hypothesized.

Cinny blushed a little from my gesture before she nodded with a smile. “O-okay Nil,” she replied. “So I’ll see you tomorrow then?”

“Yep, I’ll be here,” I said before my habit got the better of me, and tipped my invisible hat to her. “Have a good night Cinny, and get home safely.”

She nodded before she turned, but stopped midway. “Oh wait! Nil, are you in need of some pain medication?” Cinny asked as she looked back to me.

“Pain medication?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

“For your arms? That’s why you were up this late at night right? Because the pain in them kept bothering you?” Cinny clarified.

“O-oh yeah! Pain meds. Yeah, I already took care of that. No need to worry,” I said as I held one of my bandaged arms she was referring to. It sounded like a good excuse from the way she described it, so I went along with it.

“What happened to them anyway?” She asked.

“I’d… Rather not talk about that,” I answered.

“Oh, I’m sorry if that made you uncomfortable. I probably should have known better.”

“It’s cool. You aren’t the first who asked me about this,” I commented. “Do you mind if I ask something about you though?”

“Of course.”

“That cutie mark… Is your special talent making cookies?” I asked.

“Oh yes! I love baking them, and other pastries,” she answered with a smile. “Snickerdoodles are my best recipe to make. I’m hoping to earn enough money here so I could invest into running a business in selling cookies.”

“Really now? That’s quite a goal. I would love to try one of your cookies sometime,” I commented with a smile.

“I’ll prepare some before your trip to the gala tomorrow. I’m sure Master Teala and her friend would like that too,” she commented.

“I’ll look forward to it then,” I said with a smile. “You better finish your shower or something before you catch a cold.”

“O-oh, right,” she agreed while her face reddened once more after remembering she was only in a towel. “W-well… Have a good night Nil.”

“You as well Cinny,” I responded.

She then walked back to the locker room with her wet tail twitching slightly. I felt I was hypnotized by her curvy, swaying hips, with the towel just low enough to cover what was above her upper thighs.

Goddessdammit, and I thought Lumina’s knockers were big. I didn’t think I’d ever find a mare who could compare. She must be an F Cup. 40-36-42 from the looks of it. May look a bit heavy, but for her being an earth pony, she must be pretty fit for one her size. If only I could see what was under that towel of hers… Maybe not tonight, but I think I have a new goal in life: find mares of different sizes, record their findings, and research whatever makes the female pony’s body so fantastic to admire in every little detail I could manage, and my time at Horseshoe Bay will DEFINITELY will be a good place to do some field study. This will be my little… Side project, along with what I’m trying to accomplish right now. Something fun to do that isn’t serious and doesn’t put my life at stake… Well, my life may STILL be at stake for doing this, but at least I’ll die happy if things go wrong, and I’ve been through plenty of physical pain already to build some kind of tolerance. Adding my thieving skills into getting my research done, what could possibly go—wait, no, remember Murpheigh’s law, and don’t try to jinx it. Let’s just get to bed and get ready for tomorrow. My pre-heist nerves have DEFINITELY calmed down after going through that, and left me some things to imagine what’s under Cinny’s towel.

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