It's Complicated
Chapter 50: Chapter L
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The sun no longer poked over the horizon as it once did, instead the moon has climbed high into the sky. And much like a teacher walking into it's classroom, the stars have begun to respond to the roll. Gradually each small speck appeared in the darkness above, one by one until the entire canopy was littered with them. Each one of them shone their own light, facing the grounds below as one individual screamed back upwards.
"STOP LAUGHING AT ME!"
Spike couldn't help that he felt like the stars were all sharing the amusement at his expense. Instead, the only thing he could do was quickly scamper off into the castle. As he walked inside, he saw a slew of ponies all cleaning and maintaining order within the halls. Upon entry, he saw Cadance talking with another guard at the top of the stairs. Not wanting to even be bothered by her, he plastered a false smile on his face and quietly hummed to himself while walking past. When a few of the guards acknowledged him, he threw up his claws to wave, quickly speaking to each one as he passed.
"Hey there, how's it going? Yeah, nice stars out. Luna really outdid herself."
But when a few asked if he was at the ceremony, he quickly lied while playing it off as something minuscule.
"Are you kidding? Why would I wanna go to that junk? It's just him getting a medal, no need in getting the Wonderbolts involved. Meh, I heard it was pretty boring though."
After clearing the halls with much of the ponies running about, Spike took a deep breath and took another step forward towards the hall leading up to the room where the parliament meetings took place. Upon walking inside, he found that the massive room was just as empty as he felt. Traversing through the darkness, he sat in one of the chairs and folded his arms over his head while thinking of Rarity.
"...What if she really did kiss him?"
More thoughts of Rarity filled his mind, followed by the things that Melanie had told him. Ultimately, it got to him. He didn't know just how much those words of hers did so much damage to his confidence. Throughout the train ride, he couldn't help but think of the words that were injected into his brain. Worthless, selfish, entitled, creep, pathetic, just like him. Each one of those words hit him like a freight train, launching combos of body blows, slowly wearing him down to his knees. And hearing how similar he and Nondis supposedly was ended up being the haymaker to the nose. He didn't want to admit it, but that onslaught of vulgar vocabulary and stark insults took him for one corybantic mental ride.
And he wanted off.
Suddenly, the sound of the door squeaking behind him sent the small dragon to a bit of a panic, causing him to jump from the seat to underneath one of the desks. As he hid, he noticed that there was a sky-blue light filling the room as four hooves softly clopped against the carpet. The figure passed by him, bearing four pink legs as it moved down the aisle to the speaking floor below. When the marching stopped, Spike looked through the cracks of the chairs and tables ahead to see a familiar princess standing before him. He bore his teeth in anger as he secretly cursed Cadance for following him here.
"...I know you're in here, Spike."
He refused to speak, knowing that acknowledging her presence would lead to a conversation he'd much rather avoid. So he pretended as if he never heard her.
"Spike, you can't keep running from the truth. It would only hurt you in the future to do something like that."
Again, he remained silent.
"I don't care if you're hiding. But I know that you were at the ceremony earlier."
His lips remained sealed.
"And Nondis sends his thanks. He felt like you weren't going to come around because of personal issues developing between the two of you, but now that he knows that you were there, he feels like there's some sort of admiration you have for him."
His will to remain silent was quickly breaking.
"Also, Rarity even took pride in knowing you showed up. Twilight was rather pleased to know about it. And the others were starting to question if you wanted to join with them tomorrow for some quality time."
Yet he remained as quiet as ever.
"They say that Nondis won't be there. But also, Rarity would be unable to attend. But Twilight and Shining Armor will be there, I'll probably go along with to accompany him before we leave out to the Crystal Empire later that afternoon. You can come along with us, if you're up for it."
Not a word was said as he stared back to the pink alicorn below.
"Just imagine it. You, Shining and Flash, the three of you going around the empire, doing things that colts do. And you're already a hero there so you'll get all the preferential treatment you'd like. Plus there's a bunch of ponies there who would be interested in seeing you. You wouldn't have to do much, you can just stick around if you'd like. It'll be a fresh start, you'd have a chance to do everything you wanted to do. You'd be just like Nondis there."
Spike refused to remain silent any longer. "I'M NOT LIKE HIM!" He screamed while still hiding underneath the desk.
"Spike, I'm only offering this because you need the opportunity to become your own self. I know you're not like Nondis. I just said that to get some sort of response from you."
"I don't need you! I don't need Shining, I don't need Flash, I don't need anypony telling me what my options are! I don't need you to tell me what I'm doing wrong! I don't need any of that! I'm doing fine here on my own! I didn't get your help to stay here, so leave me alone."
"Spike..." A third voice whispered from behind him. "Please listen to her."
He looked behind him to see a pair of white hooves, clad in golden slippers, standing just a few inches from where he hid. He quickly tried to scamper from there to another place, but was stopped before his claws could touch the ground. Instead, he was pulled from underneath and quickly drawn to face Celestia.
"We are offering this to you so that you would give yourself a chance to grow, to mature as an individual." She said in a calm, maternal tone.
"I don't need it. Just let me be alone. I don't wanna see any of you! SO JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"
"Spike, we can't leave you alone until we know that you're willing to go about and make a change."
"WHY ARE YOU EVEN TELLING ME THESE THINGS!? I DON'T WANNA LEAVE!"
"Spike, please just─"
"Well you heard him, princess." A fourth voice boomed from the open doors above. "If a dragon seeks to pursue his happiness here in Canterlot, then you cannot deny him that. Doing so would be a violation of his Equestrian civil rights."
Spike smiled with relief as he dangled in Celestia's magic. "Senator Count, boy am I glad to see you."
"I see you've been getting yourself around trouble, Spike. Not a very becoming look for you." The stallion said as he continued to hold the door open.
"Senator, we're trying to have a heart-to-heart with a dear friend. Please, don't disturb us." Cadance argued.
"And last I checked, a heart-to-heart doesn't require you to have him chained up in your magic, devoid of free will and restricted from movement." He rebutted. "If you wanted to negotiate a deal with him, you would allow him the option to freely walk away."
"Thank you!" Spike shouted as he wriggled in Celestia's magical grasp.
Celestia closed her eyes as she spoke to the dragon she continued to hold. "Spike, I do not think you should stay here, for fear of your safety as well as your future."
"Spike, you could be so much more than this. You have a future outside of these walls. Come with me and Shining, you'll be much better off. We're trying to help you, to get you the help you need! We want what's best for you!" Cadance added as she walked towards him.
"Then why is it that Rarity isn't apart of this, huh!? Where is she in all of this? If I go to the Crystal Empire, then who's to say that I'll ever see her again?" Spike questioned.
"Spike, she has a life of her own. If she does something in her work that would lead her there, then it would be possible for you to see her, albeit for a very short while."
"But Rarity's work, her dream is to come to Canterlot to work! I can't just leave on her!"
"This isn't about you! You want to stay in Canterlot for the possibility of seeing her again. She can't see you if you're not willing to look towards the future of your own self. In fact, she wouldn't want to see you if you don't make that change. We're offering the off-chance of you and her possibly working things out between yourselves, and it starts with your development of self. Spike, Rarity will never love you like you want her to, but it is possible for you to have a friendship with her."
"Unrequited love, THAT'S YOUR BEST OFFER FOR MY FUTURE!? I TOLD YOU WHAT I WANT IN MY FUTURE! AND IF I WANT TO WORK TOWARDS THAT IN MY OWN WAY, THEN I HAVE A RIGHT TO DO JUST THAT! YOU DON'T NEED TO TELL ME WHAT I NEED TO DO WITH MY LIFE! I AM THE ONE WHO CONTROLS MY OWN FATE, AND MY DESTINY SAYS THAT─"
Celestia quickly interrupted him. "Your destiny is not something that is taken without consent! It is something that is to be offered to you. Not everypony gets to fulfill their destiny due to a variety of reasons. Death, murder, prison, opportunities left to expire, I have seen all of it. And you are letting your personal feelings decide that for you. You are walking a road where very little will be offered to you. That is your choice."
She placed the dragon on the ground as Cadance walked beside her. Spike looked back to the senator standing in the doorway as he spoke.
"My destiny is that I am to be with Rarity. I believe in that, and I will work towards getting that."
Celestia, placed a hoof on Spike's shoulder as she offered her final argument. "Even if you chose to jeopardize the lives of others around you?"
Spike pushed her hoof off of his shoulder as he quickly ran over to the politician standing in the open doorway. As he looked back, he could see the two other ponies looking at him with pity. He then turned his attention to the smiling stallion beside him.
"See there, he has made his decision." Count said as he rubbed the young drake on the head. "He's not as helpless as you think. He's quite intelligent actually, I would be looking forward to showing him how to properly apply his talents to that of actual matters. He'll receive actual respect, true instruction, not false promises of friendship and a very real broken heart. Let's go, Spike, we have a lot of work to do."
The doors closed behind them, leaving only Celestia and Cadance to stand in the empty room. The white alicorn princess dropped her head as she sighed defeatedly.
"So... what now?" Cadance questioned to the elder royal.
"...If what Melanie told us is true, then a mere squabble would be the least of our worries. Sending him to the Crystal Empire for rehabilitation was our best option for him, a means of saving face. But now... He will control his own destiny, even if it means that he is only offered the worst."
"But what if he causes too much trouble?"
"Then I'll deal with him myself." Celestia answered, raising her head with an unusually cold glare. "I won't let Nondis get involved with that matter, it would only provoke them both into anger. And as far as human weaponry is concerned, I fear the day that Spike would find out first-hoof of their true strength. And even on the other side of things, I can't bring myself to watch Spike lose control of himself... Then it would be very little that Nondis could do to defend himself."
Cadance and Celestia turned their attention to the desk that the young dragon hid underneath. "He knew this was coming."
"We all did."
The Next Morning in Ponyville...
***Point of Perspective: NONDIS***
I was slow to wake due to my body's desire to remain in bed, even waking up seemed too much of a chore to accomplish. I'd often find myself trying to get my eyes to open, only for them to promptly close after. My head felt heavy and my body really seemed unresponsive, VERY unresponsive. I don't even think my fingers are moving, and I'm giving out the signals to move them. Instead, it was like I was just stuck in my bed, my eyes partially cracked open as I see the shadow hovering throughout my room.
Somebody else is in here.
I started to frantically send signals throughout my body, urging that my limbs answer my request. Yet the only thing I could get out of them was a return signal, not much movement. I tried to open my eyes a little more, but they refused to budge. My vision grew really hazy as my brain proceeded to send out signals of distress. The shadow that wandered around my room suddenly whispered whispered into my ear.
"Mmmmmn... you're mine, you little shit..."
Now my body wanted to respond. Finally, I regained the activity of my limbs and quickly forced myself to sit up. With my eyes wide open, I scanned the room and saw that the shadow was nowhere to be found. But what I did find was the sight of the blue pegasus pony laying in the bed next to me...
Wait what?
"Nnngh... I'm gonna... run you into the ground..."
...Okay, I don't remember her being in my bed last night. If anything she was in a cot I ordered for the room. As for the reason why she was in here... yeah, there's an explanation for that.
To paraphrase, Melanie decided to go back home for fear of being out of touch with her lawyer. Rickey proceeded to take her home while Cliff was quietly gawking at something on his phone. Don't know what it was, but obviously it had his attention for quite some time. After Mel and Rick left, Cliff proceeded to unhinge himself and let loose the party monster within by challenging some of the ponies to a drinking contest. The contestants were Applejack, Shining Armor, Cliff, Spitfire, a pony named Berry Punch, and Rainbow Dash.
...You know exactly where I'm going with this.
As for the results, Berry Punch was already drunk, so her first two shots put her under the table. Applejack decided to bow out before she really let herself get too far gone. Spitfire fell out of her seat after seven, lightweight. And Rainbow Dash couldn't even grab the glass after her twelfth go, so she stumbled away from the table and ran into a wall. Shining and Cliff were going for a while before Shining gave his younger sister a run for her bits in Porcelain Prayers to the God of Exile. Promptly after winning however, Cliff took one more before he walked off and joined Shining at the alter.
I know Cliff is going to be saying a totally different prayer to a totally different god this morning.
But back to the story, Rainbow Dash was far too slammed to fly around, her words began to runtogether andslurrr rintah onenothe. Withun necessary pauses alongwithrapidrun-ons. Now stick your finger on your tongue, press down, and repeat everything that I just told you. Now try to comprehend what the hell she was saying.
It was a little... complex in getting her home. By law, pegasi are to remain earthbound if they drink past a certain amount. Now add that bit into the fact that her house is suspended in mid-air just east of town, and you'd realize as a non-flying creature how hard that would be for her. Twilight was too busy trying to get her brother out of the public scene so that his photo wouldn't be all over the tabloids for the week. Pinkie decided to take in Cliff, giggling along the way as he continued to scream about how he was 'nothing to fuck with', perpetually stating that 'he was the best'. So it was safe to say that he was going to be in town for the night.
Later, Rainbow tried to fight me over her loss, she went into hysterics about how much she didn't want to lose, and promptly let her defeat run all down her chest... eww. By the time she finished, we were a block away from where I stayed and I offered her my shower. I ordered a cot while she finished up, she came back out trying to fly to her house and I had to keep her locked in my room until she stopped screaming at me to let her go. So one half-hour later, she passes out, I place her on the cot, I clean my bathroom and hit the bed. Pretty long night.
So yeah, that explains why she was in my room, but not why she was in my bed. And being that I was mostly sober for the night, I can confirm that there was no funny business involved. But there was one thing that I really didn't like about my current circumstances, I was too tired and lazy to take a shower myself after I had gotten through cleaning it out.
So I gathered my stuff and proceeded to the bathroom to do just that. After following through with the daily exorcism, I proceeded to undress myself until I was wearing nothing. As I ran the water, I waited for a bit to run through the frigid water that settled in the pipes so that the hot stuff came running through. Once I felt the steam rising, I knew it was about that time.
*BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG*
"Well shit, okay!"
Don't know what was so urgent for Rainbow to nearly batter my door in, but I quickly covered myself with my dirty clothes to crack the door open. But before I could ask anything she bashed her way in, smacking me in the face with the door and causing me to drop my clothes. She moaned and let out what was left over from last night. And after she was done with a quick round, she turned to me with a worn expression. "Morning."
"Top of the morning to you." I replied awkwardly.
"Wood." She quickly responded before having a light chuckle.
Looking down, it dawned upon me that I was just as pitched as ever. So in a mad scramble, I placed my shirt over myself, causing her to laugh even more.
"I heard of pitching a tent, but I never saw one like that!" She cracked as she pointed, before shortly losing her delight and relocating the toilet bowl for another round of upheaval.
"Just clean my toilet when you're done." I said out of a small fit of anger.
After I walked away from the bathroom, I stood at my phone and looked at the time. When I finished, I had noticed that my phone started to vibrate, indicating that a call was coming in. Looking at the screen, I could see it was Melanie who was getting in touch with me. "Morning to you."
"Morning to you, horse boy. How's it hanging?" She asked.
What a contrived choice of words. "Well, it's hanging. How did the phone call with the lawyer go?"
"Ugh, don't ask." She answered with a long groan. "I never knew there was so much to stuff like this. Paper work this, sign that, report this, say that, show up on your court date. That's to run an hour's conversation down to a sentence."
At least she had phones. "Yeah, it's kinda tedious. But if you want this guy to go away, then you gotta play by the rules."
"Well it would be nice, if it wasn't for the fact that Jasper was trying to file a counter-suit against you."
"What?" Oh, not this shit again. "What did I do that was so bad?"
"His lawyer's probably pushing him to do it so he can get paid a little extra. No point in losing a case and not getting anything in return."
"Correction, no point in losing two cases and not getting anything in return. Remember, I got stole-on first, that's self-defense."
"I know... *sigh* But you'd probably want to keep your phone on so I can keep you updated about that. The mugshot they took of him has the evidence all over his face, extra emphasis on mug."
"Yeah. But enough about that, let's talk about something else." Because I don't need to hear shit about me needing to show up for more legal bullshit.
"Well... I saw that Cliff was really surprised by Sunset last night. Rickey even said that he was starting to feel a little... aroused by the idea of her dancing on him."
"Yeah, the mares here will surprise you." Knowing from experience, of course.
"So, I just wanna ask out of morbid curiosity... Do they... you know?"
"Have sex?"
"I mean it would be kinda different for them than it is for us humans, wouldn't it? Don't they mate like in one season out of the whole year?"
Actually, this is a pretty good question to ask. And for some odd reason, Cliff and Rickey have yet to be brave enough to ask it. "Well, yes and no. There is a season where sexual activity is peaked, but as for the reasons why it occurred would be vastly different from the estrus in our world. There's the fact that it was born in the equines in our world, while over here it was kinda brought up due to unfortunate circumstances that drove the mares to fall into that. And centuries later, it's still practiced because of it."
"And the reason being?"
"There are way more mares than stallions, like five to one."
"Damn, that means only one girl's gonna get it while the other four luck out."
"No. They herd in the larger cities, and there really isn't a law forbidding polygamy. So there are stallions with multiple partners, but usually it's so much of an emotional and financial strain to woo them all. So the guys would have to be really skilled lovers with high charisma, really rich, or both."
"So where do you sit?"
"Neither. But to jump back to the top, there is a season where sex is all the craze. But just like us humans, they have grown to realize the recreation factor of it all. So very often, ponies will engage in sex whenever they so choose. Though I was told that the level of arousal outside of estrus is much more appealing due to the fact that it isn't as... tedious, for lack of a better word."
"So... no menstrual cramps, huh?"
You know, I never asked that. Theirs is a little more covert than us humans. It happens every three weeks, but still. "...IIIIIIII doooon't think so... They don't do the whole uterus-shedding thing. And then I never really got around to asking."
"We get cramps, only in estrus though." Rainbow announced from inside of the bathroom.
Okay, that'll work. "Rainbow says hi, and yes they do, but only during that special time of the year."
"Oh, tell her I said hello."
"Mel says hello!" I hollered to the bathroom.
"Great. But that estrus thing is hell for us! Twenty-one days of straight cramps, cravings, and sex."
I think it would be better to have those two talk it out. "Hold on, I'm putting you on speaker." I walked to the bathroom and placed the phone on the counter. Meanwhile Rainbow was still snickering a bit as she watched me place the phone down.
"Geez Nondis, you're still pitching tents?"
I quickly covered myself again before slamming my palm to the center of my face.
"Wait, what? Do you two room together or something?"
Rainbow snickered a little more as she walked up to the phone. "Yeah, just for last night!"
"She got drunk." I quickly answered. "Pegasi are under a no-fly restriction once they take in a little too much."
"Safe flying, I like that." Melanie responded.
"Hey, I can fly when I'm drunk. I can do a lot of things when I'm drunk. I'm not a lighty like your egghead girlfriend." Rainbow said while giving me a shove.
Obviously her hangover isn't as bad as I thought it would be. "Okay! Back to the subject. Estrus." What an odd subject to converge back into.
"Yeah, so we get a little moody as well. Hormonal imbalances can really fuck up your mood, especially when you're just in the crave for somepony to fuck the lights out of your eyes."
"Wow, it's like that?"
"How about this, have you ever had somebody punch you in the stomach while they have sex with you? It's unpleasant but that sex is what's drawing the pain away from that. Now just imagine if all the nerve endings inside of you were working on overtime, and you're just seconds away from your best orgasm. So you start to feel yourself convulse, you're soaking wet, and you're practically screaming for someone to finish you off with one good shove. The moment of entry is like the best thing, it sends you every time."
You know, I'm just standing here like I'm fully clothed when I know that's not the case. And this conversation is not really helping me hide my curiosity... let alone more outstanding issues. "You two really seem like you're invested in this stuff. So I'm just gonna sit on the bed and close my ears off until you're done."
Before I could turn around, Rainbow Dash bolted to the door and shut it behind me. The next thing I felt was a pair of hooves pushing me towards the toilet. "Oh no, you're gonna get educated today, mister. Sit your ass on down."
"Did he try to leave?"
"Yes, he's not leaving. He's about to learn what us mares go through on a yearly basis."
"Do I have to?" I groaned while pressing my hands over myself in a feeble attempt to hide myself from view.
"Nondis, sweetie, you have to learn this shit. You made the decision to get with a girl of another species, you will have to take responsibility for whatever happens during certain times where the needs are dire and the desire for company is greatest. You chose this, so now you have to educate yourself on the ordeals of the female perspective."
I was afraid this was what it was gonna come down to. "Can't I just get Twilight to teach me?"
Rainbow Dash spat as she shoved me back down on the toilet. "Seriously? I know she's a bit of an egghead, but lets be honest, she's been wearing those enchanted rings on her vag since we've met her. No way she knows what estrus REALLY is. And by the next cycle, it'll probably crash down on both her and you... Mostly you."
Did she even clean this? "Um, can I─"
"There's a towel next to you, cover up and sit tight. We're gonna have a little lesson in Estrus 101."
This is going to be a long day, isn't it?
Much later after our extended conversation about the respective reproductive cycles, my mind was full of information while they were stuffing it in through both ears. Thankfully the conversation had gotten so drawn out that I had finally calmed down and grew desensitized to the whole subject while keeping an open ear to the information I was being provided.
After about a full hour of lecture, I felt that it was past time for me to take a shower. Meanwhile, Rainbow entertained herself by ruthlessly banging her hooves on the MOTIF in the corner of the room. Often times, she would call back to me to tell me that the thing was broken. But shortly after climbing out of the shower, I walked out to see what she was talking about.
Apparently she was complaining that the keys were too small and broken apart for a normal pony to play. After a ten-second serenade, I confirmed that nothing was wrong with my board. Meanwhile, she had to make sure that what she heard was correct. And the only thing she did after that was poke me over and over, telling me to do it again. Eventually, she wore me down and I decided to play the same tune that I played for Shining Armor.
Her response... "Hey... do that again. I wanna see if I can do that."
With hooves, I don't think so. "Don't you have other things to do?"
"Don't you?" She rebutted with a smirk. "I mean I'm not the one with the title 'Captain of the Royal Guard'."
"And I'm not the one with access to the magical maguffins used to save the world." I argued in return. "Shouldn't you be busy with a friendship problem, or something?"
Rainbow Dash giggled as she rolled her eyes. "Yeah, if I had to answer to a friendship problem, both you and I would know it."
"Well, why are you still here?" I asked.
Rainbow took to the air as she hovered up to my eye level. "Um, doofus, I'm here to annoy you. And I'll be sticking around until I can find a way to make up for last night?"
"So you're trying to find a way to thank me?" I questioned with a puzzled expression.
"Hey, I'm not doing anything that I don't wanna do though. I just wanna do something. And try not to make it sound so... corny. Thanking you? Me saying that to you would really look bad on me?"
"To who, yourself?"
Rainbow looked back at me with a serious look. "I'm not saying it. And besides, don't actions speaks volumes in contrast to words?"
"Okay... what do you have in mind?" I'm starting to get this weird feeling like I'm going to end up in something I'm going to feel really conflicted about.
Rainbow Dash smiled as she hovered even closer to me. "You wanna know?"
"Sure."
She then hovered about a few inches away from my face. "You really wanna know? I'm not gonna tell you if you don't feel like knowing."
"Just say it."
She tapped me on the nose with her hoof as she scoffed. "Nah! You don't look eager enough."
"Well fine, I won't find out then." I said while turning around and folding my arms.
"Hey!" She shouted, sounding somewhat offended. "You're supposed to beg to know what I was going to do!"
"Nah, I don't need to know. Besides, I'm not 'eager enough' to know."
A drawn-out groan was the next thing I heard before she spoke. "Augh! Fine, you win!" She said as she flew around to meet with me face-to-face. "I'm gonna give you something."
"What is it?"
She gradually flew behind me as she spoke. "Close your eyes, and you'll find out."
I rolled my eyes as I felt her hooves come into contact with my eyes. Afterwards, she gave me a quick nudge towards the bed. At this point I had began to confirm my suspicions and grew uncertain as to how to respond to her. After she unveiled my eyes, I was completely thrown for a loop.
"Bam! Tickets to the Wonderbolts show in Cloudsdale! That little stunt show they did during the ceremony yesterday was mainly for promotion. You're gonna be going with me, this time to MY hometown.
Well that's great. But... "Um... I don't think that would work. Thing about it is that I'm not─"
"Twilight has a cloud-walking spell. And in speaking of walking, you should be walking to her to get it done... like now."
When we arrived into the throne room of the castle, we encountered two familiar faces. One was as bright as ever while the other was a little more pale. Rainbow flew up to Shining Armor and sat beside him. "Wow buddy, you look like shit." She said, earning a rather annoyed look from Twilight.
"I wish that was all I'd have to deal with." Shining groaned. "I should've ate more before going bottoms up."
Smart man. "Yeah, I forgot to tell you that Cliff is a prodigy drinker. We use him in the frat battles back on campus, between drinking and singing, I don't know what he does better."
"Well, if my brother hadn't gotten himself like this, he wouldn't be feeling this way." Twilight said as she stared back to her older brother.
"This is the second time I've been beat by a human... Why the hell can't I recruit more of these guys?"
"Cause I said so." I answered bluntly. "In speaking of guys, how's Cliff doing?"
"He and Pinkie should be here any minute." Twilight answered. "Pinkie said that he's been getting along quite well. And she's also been feeding him and giving him lots of coffee."
See, he gets coffee, why the hell am I restricted just to tea? "Well at least he'll be well on his way."
And just on cue, the doors open up to reveal both Pinkie and Cadance escorting Cliff inside of the room, most of his dreads covering his face. "Nigga, I never knew the sun could be so fucking bright."
"Morning, pukeface." Shining said in a low voice.
"Fuck you." Cliff answered with a long groan.
"See? They're already best friends." I said sarcastically.
"Yo, Nondis. I think Mel liked it."
For a moment, I was left scratching my head. "Liked what?"
"This world thing. I think she was open to it."
"Oh yeah." Now that I think about it, she's supposed to be the gauge for the reaction my brothers would have. "So, does that mean I gotta work on Alex and Stanton next?"
"Alex? Stanton? You have more friends you wanna bring over?" Cadance questioned.
"Actually, they're my brothers."
Effective immediately, Shining jumped out of his seat, hopped on the table, grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me as he screamed all of his vomit breath in my face. "YOU HAVE BROTHERS!? YOU HAVE SIBLINGS!? WHY THE HELL WAS I NOT INFORMED OF THIS!?"
"I would say that the idea of you having brothers is quite odd. I always thought of you as an only child." Cadance confessed.
"Nah, that nigga got brothers. He got an older one who's a technician, and a hunter who'd go out with his granddad on trips and shit. The younger one is a football player who plays at Texas A&M. Both of they asses taller than him." Cliff added.
This time, Cadance pulled her husband off as she causally spoke to me in a soft voice. "You motherfucker, you were holding out on us."
"Blame genetics. The tall ones on my mom's side of the family gave us this height advantage. I just lucked out and got my mom's shortness." I answered with a sigh. "But why does it surprise you?"
"Because we didn't know you had siblings." Shining answered. "I wanna see both of them, now."
"Hold on a sec. I haven't even told them about anything yet. As far as they're concerned, I washed up onshore someplace in Louisiana─"
"THEN TELL THEM, DAMMIT!" Shining shouted before being silenced by his younger sister.
"Well, I would be interested in getting to know them for myself. I heard you saying something about that, like how your older one was getting married and your younger one was graduating." Twilight said, earning an earful of decibels from her brother.
"YOU KNEW OF THIS, AND DIDN'T TELL ME!?"
"You're not recruiting them, that's a done deal." I outright suggested.
"DAMMIT, LET ME JUST BREAK ONE MORE IN!"
"Anyways, I'm not here to chew my husband out just yet. I do have some business to discuss. Shining, Twilight, Nondis, could we excuse ourselves?" Cadance said as she made her way out the room. The three of us she called out soon joined with her outside of the room and began to have our discussion. Cadance continued from where she left off. "I just came in from Canterlot this morning. Celestia and I had gotten in touch with Spike last night, and it would appear that he was there at the ceremony and the party afterwards."
We know that much. "Yeah, and?"
"...He decided not to come with us."
"Yeah, I wonder what made him go off like that." Shining inquired as he looked to Twilight. "Since the whole breakfast fiasco a while back, he's been really resentful of Nondis."
"Well, being that he and I are somewhat alike, you could say that likeness repels. Though I would've expected Spike to go for the second chance." I thought aloud.
"Honestly, I'm not too happy of how he's acting." Twilight said with a frown. "But I would like to see him come back to us. The Crystal Empire was the best place for him, especially since he has a decent following over there."
Cadance shook her head as she spoke. "We're beyond that now. Senator Count has taken him in, and you know what his agenda is."
Yeah that's bad. "So, now he's with the politicians? What do you think his plans would be?"
"I know it's going to hurt us a lot, that's for certain." Cadance affirmed.
"Ugh Celestia of Faust." Shining sighed dejectedly. "I just hope is involvement with them goes as far as paperwork is concerned."
"Who's to say that he hasn't already been doing that?" Twilight asked. "And Spike is smart enough to know if he wants something done, he can do whatever he wants to achieve that end."
As we continued to ponder on the situation, Cadance tapped me and pulled me to the side. As we excused ourselves, Shining and Twilight continued to discuss their views of the situation. Walking down the halls, Cadance and I shared our thoughts.
"We can't let him get too close to Rarity. He's completely obsessed with her, and also with you." She said in a low whisper.
"I'm not surprised. Hell I wouldn't even be surprised if he called a hit on me any second, or if he hadn't already. The conversation I heard between him and Melanie last night really opened my eyes to just how far he would go for her."
"I was trying to put together an intervention of sorts, one that didn't involve you or Rarity."
"I understand, remove the stimulants and provide him with the options of leaving over staying here and letting whatever get to him. Though personally, I think he just needs a good-ol Texas-style boot to the ass. Makes no sense that he'd be so obsessed."
"Melanie said you were the same way."
I closed my eyes as I took a deep breath. "I used to be, and starting over was the best thing that happened for me. My being here did turn me into something, a better product of self. Instead of feeling sorry for myself, I started working towards how I could make a good first impression. And eventually, I grew to become that first impression, I stopped being entirely selfish and moved on towards doing for others rather than myself."
"You still have your flaws, but they are nowhere as outstanding as your perks and accomplishments. You're doing just fine."
"Somehow, I feel like Spike is my responsibility. I got him to where he is now because of my closeness to Rarity."
"He doesn't have a clue how close you two really are. I just wish you weren't as close with her as you are with Twilight. I mean, I understand you're using your saving grace, but there's still a code of ethics to go by. And the both of you realize that this is essentially wrong."
"...Have you ever done something that you knew was wrong, but you felt somewhere inside that it's not as wrong as you'd think?"
"I'm married to Shining Armor. I knew that my being close to him would cause him trouble, and it did him a lifetime's worth of damage. But I don't think it to be a completely negative thing. Even though I was selfish in wanting him and did everything to point the signs my way, I still felt that guilt in realizing that he would have problems with his life, his career, and his health. But he stuck with me in spite of it, and now I have a friend who is my husband. But your situation is different."
"I know. I'm involved with a princess─"
"Whom you've engaged in sexual activities with."
"That, and I'm also in favor with one of her best friends. I never thought that I would have to deal with something like this in my relationship. I thought I was going to be decisive, direct, and just do the right thing in my first relationship with a girl. But here I am, caught up in my own mess. And it's not like where it's completely one-sided, we both want something of each other."
"So, do you feel as if this was a mistake?" Cadance finally asked.
"I can say that I wasn't sound in my decision making, but I won't say it was a mistake. Everything in life has a purpose to which these things would occur. And yet it would appear to be unfair for some, it somehow benefits for others. My involvement with Twilight while this law exists damages our relationship from the outside as much as from within. But the knowledge of this situation will drive me to remove this law from existence."
"The truth of the matter is that though it is a majority that continues to see the law in existence, there are more than a few who would rather see it die. We have powerful allies in the parliament, just more powerful enemies."
"And I take it that this Senator Count is one of those enemies?"
"In terms of ranks, he's one of the highest proponents in keeping this law alive. He's a big player, but he's only one of them."
"So... all the crows of Canterlot calls to him, now with Spike under his helm. He's probably going to make sure that Spike gets what he wants, and considering the conversation we had with Mel last night, he might want me dead."
"Melanie did some damage to him, and I mean a lot. I've never seen him so despondent, it was like the time he failed to light the torch at the Crystal Games almost two years back. Only difference was that he sort-of walked with a limp. When we told him that starting over was a better option, he just shut us out and did what he wanted to do."
"...I don't think I have it in me to tell Twilight that her surrogate child is advocating for my death."
"I don't think you'll have to."
***Point of Perspective: Twilight Sparkle***
I can't believe it. Spike sided with them, the politicians. Where do I even go from here? I can't even begin to describe how utterly defeated I feel, or describe the sense of betrayal I am currently exhibiting.
I understand you, Spike. I knew that you loved her from the day you laid eyes on her. But for you to betray me and seek her alongside the infamous Senator Count, I couldn't. One of his fellow constituents already tried to set Shining Armor up to die, and you know how much he suffered because of that. You know how he came back screaming himself out of his sleep, the long evenings where he would toss back bottle after bottle of rum. You know all of this, yet you still chose to ally with him.
Why?
I can understand your disconnect with Nondis. Sure, he's been taking a bit of my time away from you, and even the time you had with Rarity. But is it that much to where you have to continue antagonizing him? He saved your life and you repay him by trying to send him out while he was wounded, you 'apologized' to him and yet you're going to confide in the pony who could really care less of you? Nondis may not be the best, but I know that he can be a good person. Our relationship isn't perfect, nor will it ever be... to my dismay.
Are we even capable of having a relationship at this point?
"Twilight!"
My head turned, seeing the tall biped walking towards me, on his face a smile as he knelt down to me. "Yes?" I answered to him.
"Rainbow Dash said you knew how to get me to walk on clouds."
Okay, an unusual question to come from him, I wonder what for. "I would know a thing or two about it. How come?"
"Oh great. Rainbow Dash has been telling me about the upcoming Wonderbolts show, she wants to take me to Cloudsdale to see it."
...Again, you put me aside. "Sure. I just so happen to know a spell or two that would do just the trick."
"Okay, well if it's not a problem─"
"Just hold still..."
Realistically speaking, the cloud-walking spell is a great way of traversing the nimbus establishments floating throughout Equestria. But there was a list of concerns I had in seeing him up in the sky. For the first thing, he wasn't exactly air-worthy. Another thing, what if he was to fall somewhere and there was nothing to break his fall. And my most-terrifying thought, how long would the spell last before he falls through? I know we ponies are different and that the spell would last for a little less than three days, but I've never applied it to a human. I guess I could make provisions. Yes, I have to be certain that nothing falls through on his visit to Cloudsdale... no pun intended.
"What's taking you so long, egghead?" Rainbow questioned as she impatiently tapped her hoof against the ground.
I looked back to the rainbow-maned pegasus and allowed my concerns to be known. "Rainbow Dash, how do we know if the cloud-walking spell would work or not? Nondis' magical composition is completely different from ours. He practically yields a magic factor of zero, what if he was to simply absorb the magic─"
"I think if that happened, I wouldn't be walking around right now. If anything, I'd still have a broken shoulder and three ribs puncturing my lungs. Safe to say that I would be a dead ass, considering the differences in human and equine medicine." Nondis stated as he walked between me and Rainbow Dash.
He has a point. Their society is so advanced compared to ours, and it's beyond terrifying just what they're capable of when it comes to the violent side of things. Without the aid of magic, their medical knowledge would have to be top-notch for them to survive such circumstances. But still... "It's not that I don't have confidence in my abilities, it's just that I'm not sure how it would work for you."
"Well, there's the balloon we could rent from Cherry Berry." Rainbow suggested. "So if anything happens, we can kinda keep him on there until the start of the show. He'll only walk on clouds for a short while if the spell has a few things that could be worked on."
"My spells don't need working on!" Who am I kidding, I'd probably have to augment the formula just to Nondis' specifications. I guess my pride was the only thing that made me want to continue onward, knowing the risks. And besides, if he's in the balloon, then it would limit his time of exposure to the clouds, giving him more time to be able to walk around.
"Wait, I don't get it. Does the spell start from the moment my feet hits the clouds or from the time of it being cast?" Nondis questioned.
"To be frank, the spell starts when I cast it. Gradually, the magic will begin to wear off in about two or three days. But that's only for ponies, I haven't tried it on anything bigger than that, much less a non-magical being."
"Twilight, what did Nondis just say about him and magic?" Rainbow asked as she flew beside me. "He'll be fine! And plus he can't get around the town without a balloon anyhow. He's not staying a night over there, we're just watching a show."
I looked back to Rainbow with a more serious look on my face. "Nothing is going to happen to him, right? He's not going unless I know he's going to be okay."
"If I can say something─" Nondis began before I cut him off.
"I've gotten plenty of word from you and how you'll come back in one piece. And up to this point, I have continued to foot the bill for your medical expenses..." At that point, I pulled him down to my hooves as I whispered back to him. "You know how I feel about you getting hurt."
"I'll be fine." He said with deadpan. "Please cast this spell on me."
This was still going against my better judgement. I didn't want this to be something that I would ultimately regret later on. But he looked at me with the assurance that I wouldn't hear of him undergoing a tragic accident. Instead, he continued to look at me with his best puppy-dog expression. And of course, I folded. "...You're despicable."
"Thank you." He whispered, finally closing his eyes and waiting for the spell to hit him.
I took in a sharp draw of breath and released slowly, clearing my mind for the magical equation I needed to complete inside of my head, my horn warmed significantly as my magic began to manifest. Bowing my head towards him, I aimed my horn for his chest, and awaited for the final variable to be set in place. At last, the equation was complete and the bit of magic that welled upon me flooded the spiral of my horn and released a concentrated flow of energy for him. Upon opening my eyes I could see my magic envelop him, transitioning from it's usual magenta glow to a bright-white shine. After the initial flash, the afterglow of the spell taking place subsided into nothingness, leaving him to appear as his usual self.
"Did it work?" He questioned.
"I'm pretty sure it did." Rainbow said with a smirk. "I'll go get a few clouds and see if he can step on them."
Nondis however, seemed a bit uncomfortable. "Oooh... I feel really bloated and gassy." He said while holding his abdominal region.
"That's just the spell kicking in. It's a minor side effect, but I can assure you that it's nothing to worry about." Now we need to get you walking on clouds. If we can confirm that you can stand on them without any signs of sinking, I'll be more at ease.
Rainbow Dash came back into the room with a few clouds shaped into stairs and sat them within a foot's reach of Nondis. After setting the stair-shaped nimbus before him, she flew behind him to give him a bit of a push. "Well, come on. You're not gonna be stuck on the ground all day, you know."
For a second he stared at the cloud, gulping back whatever was eating away at him. Slowly, he raised his foot... and brought it down on the cloud step. For a second he tried to drive his foot even further downward but he smiled as he realized that he was free to walk on the cloud. Another two steps and he was jumping up and down at the top of the stairs like he was an easily excitable foal. And after confirming that he was far from sinking in anytime soon, he looked at me with the biggest smile on his face. Rainbow nudged me in my side as she whispered in my ear.
"You two really are made for each other, Twilight. He's just as excitable as you."
...At that point I didn't know if that was a compliment or a low dig.
Later throughout the day, I was busy saying the usual goodbyes. Nondis left for Cloudsdale with Rainbow Dash, Cliff recovered and left back to his world, Pinkie returned to the bakery, Shining got an earful from Cadance and was dragged back to the Crystal Empire, while Sunset was getting ready to make her own exit. Eventually, I would be back inside of this castle, all on my own again.
It's not that I have a problem with being left alone, but I just haven't grown used to the fact that this huge place is something that was left for me. And even with Spike here, it still seemed a bit bigger than what I'm normally used to. Even the bed I sleep in doesn't feel right after so many nights of being alone. It just felt... I don't know, depressing.
Often times I would find things to do outside of the castle, or I would try to revert back to my original self by immersing myself in several books. The ones Nondis left for me have gone untouched on my nightstand since he left, the bookmark still buried towards the front pages of the first book. Really, I wanted to read these books with him so that I could discuss human literature with him, and in turn he would tell me what the differences were within the motion picture adaptation.
I guess that subject will have to wait another two weeks.
"Hey, Twilight."
Turning around to the open door leading towards the library, I saw Sunset still standing there. "Oh, I thought you had left already."
"Yeah, it turns out that I was kinda asked about a few things when I got back. Seems like the others really wanted to see you again."
It has been several months since I've last visited, the last time being the time I had to help them stop the sirens that Starswirl banished there. It would make for a good change of scenery if I were to visit them. Furthermore, I wouldn't have to feel so alone if I'm in the company of others. "Oh right, I haven't been there in a while. I know they're doing well, but they're probably just as confused as how I'm doing."
"Well... do you wanna come on over? It feels a bit empty in here when there's not much going on."
You're right about that. "Do I? I didn't know that I had to be invited?"
Sunset giggled as she summoned her phone. "Yeah, you kinda were, and in popular demand."
"Great! I guess I can come around to visit for a while. I really need the time away from here." Not just the castle, but from Ponyville as well.
"Okay then, I'll get the portal ready."
Sunset teleported off as she left me still walking through the library. As I finished, I approached the center of the room. I looked up to each shelf, acknowledging the cavernous heights that even Nondis failed to reach.
...Each time I think of him, I start to grow even more depressed. I really should put my mind on something else, and this visit would be the perfect venue to do just that. Shaking my thoughts out of my brain, I moved forward through the aisles of books and marched towards the mirror I had hidden within. Sunset looked at me with a chipper smile as she spoke.
"Everypony is going to love seeing you again."
*----*----*----*----*----*----*----*----*----*----*----*----*
Seemingly in an instant, I was once more inside of the world of Sunset Shimmer. Just before me were the steps leading up to Canterlot High, and on them were the five familiar faces of everyone I knew.
"Twilight!" They all shouted as they ran over to me.
I waved a hoof at them...
...Oh yeah, forgot about that. I opened my palms and extended my fingers as I raised my hand high into the air, waving to them as they approached. I looked to Sunset, who was still snickering a bit. "What?" I asked.
"You did the pony thing again."
"Old habits die hard, I can't help that I haven't been doing it long enough to where I can play instruments."
"I keep telling you, give it a week and you'll start to get used to it."
"I like my cute little hooves just fine, thank you." I said, balling my hands into folded-over fists. Again, still not used to the human body movements. "So, what have all of you been up to?"
Pinkie spoke first. "Weeeeellllll..." And there she goes. "We were actually in the middle of something when we had gotten the text from Sunset that she was going to visit your world on Tuesday, but when she came back she had said something about running into a pretty attractive guy that she said that she would probably go for. But after that, we heard that the guy had just gotten back from a big rescue operation with your boyfriend back on the pony end, and that several ponies were either missing or in really bad shape. Our condolences. But then we also heard that you went to another version of our world, one without magic. Can you imagine that? So after that, we heard that your boyfriend on the pony side of things was caught kissing another girl. So then on Friday, we wanted to see if we could arrange a weekend for you to come on by so that we could cheer you up. But then we heard about the huge ceremony that they had going on later on and that you were giving a tour to the new guys. And then the day after, Sunset met up with that one guy while you were with your guy, and then Sunset's guy got drunk while your guy got into a drunken fight with your Rainbow Dash. But then you guys woke up this morning and Sunset got in touch with us about how you were going to visit us. So we came here as fast as we could to greet you. And poof! Here we are."
That was impressively long-winded and detailed. But that's Pinkie for you. "Oh, so all of you came to greet me?"
"Oh, pfft! Of course, darling! How could we not meet up with one of our best friends from another realm?" Rarity answered with a flick of the wrist.
"Even if she is a pony, we don't discriminate round here!" Applejack said.
"Especially Flash." Rainbow mumbled with a chuckle.
"Rainbow Dash, you know that he made us promise about that." Fluttershy chided.
"About what?" I inquired. "What promise did you guys make?"
Sunset quickly intervened before anyone else could say something. "Okay, I think we should get off that topic now. So, who's up for ice cream?"
"ME! OH ME ME ME ME ME!" Pinkie shouted jubilantly as she ran off towards the bus stop across the street.
"Well I suppose a bit of indulgence at the creamery downtown wouldn't pose too much of an issue with me." Rarity answered as she walked off to where Pinkie was.
As the others followed, I had to pull Sunset back for a bit to ask her. "Is there something going on that I should know about?"
Sunset whimpered as she tried to explain herself. "Well, lets just say that─"
"Hey, get a move on!" Rainbow hollered from across the street. "The bus is just down the street!"
Looking towards the direction Rainbow pointed towards, I could see the city bus gradually slowing down as it made a complete halt at the stop. "The buses sure do come around at convenient times." I said to Sunset.
"We probably timed it. C'mon, we can talk more once we get to Sugarcube Corner."
We finally arrived at Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie running in head-first as she rushed to the counter. Pulling some money from inside of her shirt, she held up a finger with dollars in hand.
"I want one order of the deca-scoop deluxe, divided into six parts, my portion covered in sprinkles and lots of chocolate."
"Uh... It's like that for all the sides." The person behind the counter said.
Pinkie glared at the person she suspected of being inadequate and proceeded to question him. "Hmm... you look new around here."
"I am." He answered with confidence.
"...The banana."
"Underneath, sliced longways and made specifically for you and five of your friends."
"The chocolate?"
"Warm, not chilled."
"Sprinkles?"
"Shaped into rice grains, not circles."
"...The cherry."
"Fresh and placed directly on top, the whipped cream swirled counterclockwise, the stem still attached to the cherry, small bits of wafer at the bottom, served in a size gargantuan glass bowl."
Pinkie looked to the guy with a vicious glare as she extended her hand with the money. "What's your name?"
"Cheese Sandwich." He answered with pride.
"Oh, I couldn't really tell with your name-tag upside down." Pinkie responded with a smirk.
"But you can't read upside down, can you?" He responded with an equally dominant smirk of his own.
Pinkie's smile was instantly wiped off of her face as she grabbed her change from the clerk. After she finished the transaction, she pointed towards her eyes and back to him, warning him with a fierce scowl. I couldn't help but to roll my eyes as we all sat in place at a table right by the window. Pinkie continued to back into her seat while staring a hole into the cashier. Rainbow Dash was the first to speak when we sat down.
"So outside of changeling invasions, how's everything been?"
"Well, they've been going." Probably nowhere at this point. "Things are definitely on-track. How about you guys?"
"They've been great for us. We still don't get how we transform and whatnot, but it's not like it happens every day." Rainbow answered.
"But it still leaves us to ask how it's possible after Sunset was defeated."
"I'm not sure." Nondis can't even hold spells for a day and these girls have been enchanted since the first time I came and left. "Perhaps this world has some sort of mana-content residue."
"If that's the case, then I could understand why." Rarity added. "If there's a large amount of something being poured out at once, then there's bound to be some sort of left-overs."
"You mean like radioactive superpowers?" Pinkie questioned.
Sunset and I looked at each other and thought aloud. "I never thought of that." She confessed.
"You and me both." But that's still not an acceptable answer for all of this. Even after a certain period of time, there has to be a period of regression, similar to that of mana-infected materials and half-lives. By now, the magic should've worn off, or regressed to where they could no longer transform.
"Yeeeaaa-no. That junk only works in comic books." Rainbow Dash answered, shooting down Pinkie's theory. "And even then, if it was anything like radiation, it would probably kill us."
Same answer here. A dose of highly-concentrated mana particles can result in some serious harm. If there's enough of it, it could dispel a much larger reactionary process, but just a normal pony being hit with that much magic would either render them immobile, unconscious, or vaporization if there's too much exposure. Perhaps this universe was already predestined for magic. But then if humans can use magic here, then why not humans from Nondis' dimension?
"Um..." Fluttershy began as she started to look around the table. "Forgive me if this is a bit off-topic, but I wanted to ask you since you've gotten here, where is Spike?"
"Yeah, don't the little critter usually come running by ya?" Applejack questioned.
Sunset proceeded to give them an answer. "Spike is away on business, so he couldn't come along with Twilight this time. Maybe sometime later."
"Oh, that's really quite a shame. I love the way his little leg kicks when I give him belly rubs." Rarity said while mimicking the motions she would do to Spike in his dog form.
Personally, I don't think I should tell them what's really going on. It's not really an issue that they should be concerned with, especially being that it's one that stays in our world. "Yeah, he won't be around for quite some time. He's doing big things in Canterlot." I said with a fake smile. Sunset noticed my discomfort with the subject.
"Right, so back to the counter thing." Sunset said, quickly changing the subject. "Pinkie, what was that all about?"
"New guy at the counter. He really seems like he's got some of his stuff down... some." She said while glaring back to the teen behind the counter, who returned a coy smile.
*ding-a-ling*
When I looked around to the door, Sunset was quick to call my attention. "Hey, Twi."
"Yeah?" I asked.
"Don't look that way. Just try to keep your eyes over here."
"Huh?" Now I was really confused about her request. "How come?"
Rarity rolled her eyes as she spoke. "Oh come now, Sunset. If Flash wants to speak with her, then he'll probably─"
"Hey, girls!" A familiar voice called out to our table
"Hey Flash! Twilight's here!" Pinkie stood and shouted, causing Sunset to slam her head into the table.
"Seriously?" He questioned, walking over to the table with a much quicker pace than what I was used to seeing him walk. Upon noticing me, he smiled nervously. "Hey! Wow, you're here! F-from your world!"
"Yup, I'm here." I answered shyly, blushing lightly. "How's it been?"
"Oh let me tell you, it's been a long time since we last met. I really missed you!"
"Really, well I missed you too." I answered, standing from my seat to give him a hug. Before my arms could land on him, his arms were already thrown over my shoulders and behind my back. His grip became so... demanding. When he pulled off, he quickly cleared his throat while giving me a little bit of space.
"Sorry. Just haven't seen you in a bit, you know."
"Yeah... We haven't seen each other in a while." And for a good reason. "Hey, um─"
"Oh my gosh, Twilight, I have some new to tell you."
News? This is moving a bit fast. "Really, so what is it?"
"Me and the band have gotten accepted into Canterlot University! We're going off into the big school downtown starting next year!"
Oh, just a bit of good news. I can take that. "Wow, congratulations! You must be really excited!"
"Oh, I am lit. But Sunset hasn't been telling me much about you. She'd tell me that you're doing okay, but that's it. I've started to think that you've forgotten about us."
Sunset was still buried into the table head-first as I continued to speak. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Wow... you have no idea how long we've been missing you."
"By 'we', he means him." One of the other guys said as he pointed to Flash.
"Hey!" He stammered as he grabbed the other two guys he came in with. "W-what I'm trying to say is... we're gonna be holding a little gathering to celebrate. So... we were on the way here to see if our reservation was still in the books."
"Why didn't you call up here if that was the case?" Rainbow asked as she picked up her phone.
"Well there's also a deal on double-fudge sundaes on Sunday. So me and the guys wanted to eat up before we started rehearsal this afternoon." He said as he reached in his pockets to pull out a lint-covered coupon.
"Yeah, you guys sure do look like you're bookin' up somethin' fierce." Applejack said with sarcasm.
One of the other guys stepped out as he challenged Applejack. "Well at least I'm not stuck on some raggedy four-string."
"Learn yer fingerings before you even touch a five-string, partner. Yer the only bass player Ah know that plays with a capo."
"Well, we're the ones getting paid. So, ha!"
Flash and I looked to each other as I pointed to the two arguing with one another. "Do they always do that?"
"Every time they see each other in public." He answered plainly.
"Oh, they seem to get along." I stated.
"They're rivals."
"I figured." I responded, thinking back to Shining and Nondis' interactions. Now and then they would hurl insults at one another and laugh at any shortcomings they'd reveal to each other.
The final guy with a pair of sticks in his back pocket pulled the other guy aside and pushed him towards the counter. After the small argument was diffused, Flash focused his attention back to me. "So, the reservation for our big shindig is next Saturday. If... if you're not busy... maybe you could come out and ...party with us?"
"Ooh... party." I moaned with a bit of discomfort, repeatedly pulling at my bangs "I'm kinda partied out right now. We had a big thing for Nondis last night and... yeah. Took a lot out of me."
Instantly, I could see his face change, going from gleeful and blushing to nervous and uncertain. "Oh... yeah... I-I-I didn't know... you were with someone else."
"Wait, you didn't?" I asked.
Flash quickly looked away from me, towards the girl sitting with her face in the table. "Sunset never told me you were with someone else..."
...Oh no. "Well... um... I didn't mean I was with him, like with-him with him. Although we kinda were... and still are... I mean, it's complicated."
He looked off to the side as he still carried that fragile smile. "Right. I mean, we all get into something... right? I mean I just got out of a relationship myself."
Oh, didn't know he was actually dating. Then again, he's Sunset's ex, so I guess he would be the main one who's practically out there. "Yeah. It's been kinda weird between us. But I think we'll manage."
"Yeah..." An awkward pause grew between the two of us before he spoke again. "So... you said it was... weird between the two of you?"
"Well, when you're dating a human, it can be really weird at times." ...I probably shouldn't have said that. "But it's fun. We make the best of it."
"Oh, so he's not a pony?"
I could see something akin to a gray blanket of melancholy spreading over his body as he continued to look anywhere except where I was standing. "Yeah. He's kinda... different." I'm sorry... I don't want to say that he reminded me of you... that would be really hurtful for the both of you. "At first he was kinda awkward, but then he grew on me. So yeah, I'm kinda in the middle of something."
"Well, I hope it works out between the two of you." He said while feigning a smile.
Returning the same smile, I stopped playing with my hair to look at the boy in front of me. "Yeah. Thanks." I hope that it does too.
Truthfully, I'm just tired of Nondis paying all of the attention to everypony else. I mean I can understand that we made an agreement that he and I would give each other some space to see what we wanted in our future relationships. But I can't bear to watch as my friends fall for him while I'm still trying to do what I can to keep his attention. And after all that I shared with him, I couldn't bear to think about if everything we worked so hard to obtain was suddenly thrown away at the end of this cycle.
I don't like having to take this break, I don't like having to say that my relationship is complex. And I sure don't like how he can easily go on a date with Rarity and not with me. Not once has he even asked me, or considered that I would be a suitable option for a proper outing. I acknowledge that this is petty of me, but I still would like some time to actually bond without our jobs or certain laws getting in the way. I just want to have some fun outside of the castle or some ceremony where either he or I are at the center of attention. I just want the two of us to go someplace and enjoy the venue without the extra interruption.
If Rarity can do it, then so can I.
Another pause grew between the two of us as Flash pulled out his phone and looked through something. He continued to peck away at his phone as he stood there, completely silent. Suddenly, Sunset spoke up. "So, are you going to check up on that reservation?"
"Yeah!" He said as he put down his phone. "I was just... answering a text."
...You know what, that's it! Maybe I should bring him here for our first date. If he and I come here, there's less of a chance that he and I will be followed by the press. Not only that, but here I'll have friends who will do everything they can to make sure that we go off without a hitch. And not only will I show support to Flash, but I can also introduce the girls to Nondis. Not to mention the technology here will be similar to that of his own world, so he should be pretty comfortable. "So... this thing is next Saturday?"
Flash back to me with a somewhat eager expression. "Yeah."
"What time?"
"We're gonna try and shoot for seven that evening. We'll be done by nine." He answered with a little more life in his words.
"Great... I'll see if Nondis wants to come around, that way you all can meet each other."
"That... sounds like fun." He answered, sounding unexcited about it. "I'll meet you there."
Flash walked off to the counter and met up with his friends. Both of them shook their heads and covered their faces as he shrugged back at them. Meanwhile, Sunset rose from the table and sighed with relief. "You handled that better than I could."
"I just don't see why it was so difficult to begin with." I answered back.
Rainbow spoke up once more. "You would if you knew what we knew." Her words earning a look of disapproval from the others.
"Well we can't say what he told us not to, but we can say this. He hasn't really been in any stable relations since your departure following the Sirens." Rarity added. "Though he has tried admirably to do so, it's just that a certain name comes up in every conversation."
"How do you know that?" I asked.
"...We tried to start over." Sunset quietly confessed.
"And?" I inquired.
"He felt that our past interaction left too much of an impression. Once again, my past sins come up in ways I didn't think were possible. So he left me alone after that, and held off on any interaction with girls. Guess that special thing that took his heart by storm never really came back to check in on him."
At this point, all I had to do was fill in the blank. "Because of me?"
"But hey, I didn't tell you anything." She said as she pulled out her phone. "Besides, what else can I do if I can't make up for past mistakes? I moved on months ago."
"Then why did you hide your face when he came here?"
Sunset looked over to the counter as Flash and his friends walked off with treats on hand. "Well, I can't really say that I'm proud of myself. But I kept the information of you being in a relationship a secret from him. I just felt it was a little painful for me to break the news to him, so I left it up to you. I'll admit that I was a little jealous of him fawning for you, so I just never told him anything. Big mistake, I know. I'd say that you were doing fine and tell him that you were happy, but I never went into detail of what was going on with you. He would've been... desperate, you know?"
"Desperate?" I asked with a furrowed brow.
"Sunset, do you really think this is appropriate?" Rarity questioned with a hand on her shoulder.
"...I never promised Flash anything. But since Twilight's managed to find out on her own, I might as well say it." She said before she turned back to me. "Twilight, I think this break between you and Nondis has been one-sided as hell."
I felt my heart drop into my stomach as soon as I processed the words that came out of Sunset's mouth. I already knew exactly where she was going with this conversation. I could only shake my head in response as she continued to confirm what was to be my worst fear.
"As a friend, I'm asking you to consider Flash as an option."