The Heart of Pleasure
By Haunter Rayne
Ch 92 – Teeth and Tricks

The sound of crickets flowed loudly through the air like the roar of a choir under the starry night sky. Birds roosted in their nests while bunnies and other critters snuggled tightly in their burrows. The only other sound was the gentle bristling of water as it crashed down from atop the animal sanctuary. However despite the peacefulness that permeated the area each animal gazed wearily of the large black paws that hung from the stone ledge atop the waterfall.

No movement came from the wide stretch of black fur other than the deep rumbling from the lungs of the beast. Four large paws rested in stillness, two of which draped over the cliff's edge while the other two lay beside the enlarged head that held a menagerie of fangs. And it was facing those fangs that four yellow hooves sat in waiting.

After some time there was a twitch from the panther’s nose followed by a flick of his ear. Fluttershy’s breath hitched in her throat as even though he had not yet opened his eyes she knew that the panther was awake. Four sets of razored claws extended from their furred covering as the feline reached out and flexed. His long tail gave a swish behind him and then two piercing blue eyes opened up to stare directly at the pegasus sitting some twenty feet away.

“Hello there Mister Panther. I know that you can understand what I’m saying to you.” Fluttershy announced with a confidence that surprised the Rayne. What he didn't know was that she had been sitting there for the better part of an hour trying to muster her courage for when he finally awoke.

For his part Rayne didn’t blink. He didn't even twitch. The panther just stared ahead as if he had become a statue. But after a moment his tail swished again once the pegasus had begun to wonder if the black cat was even still breathing.

“I uh… I hope that you had a good nap?” She squeaked out but then turned to look down to her hooves and scold herself. “No, come on! You can do this! You’ve had plenty of time to prepare while he was laying there asleep. You talk with snakes and wolves and lots of other carnivores. You can do this!” She told herself with an inspiring little hoof pump. But then she squealed as she turned back to find the panther standing motionless from only a foot away without having ever made a sound.

Rayne’s eyes observed carefully over the mare now as his large nose sniffed around her as if in search for something. But then after finding the air to be clear he gave a look of relief before taking a step back and giving a large yawn from having just woken up.

Fluttershy was shocked to see the fangs of the beast spread so closely to her face. But when the cat closed it’s jaws again she gave out a heavy breath. “Oh good, he was only yawning.” She sighed in relief until noticing that she had leaned a bit too far back away from the panther. Fluttershy gasped as one of her hooves slipped across the smooth rock before sending her into a tumble right over the waterfall's edge.

Just before her thirty foot plummet to the stone below, Fluttershy looked up to see that the panther had caught her ankle right out of mid air. “Oh thank you! Thank you so ever much!” The pegasus gushed after she was gently set back down on the ledge. “I can’t believe how fast you were just then! And- and you move so quietly for such a large creature!"

“Oh boy, here we go.” Rayne thought whimsically to himself as he began to step away from her.

Without an ounce of hesitation remaining in her Fluttershy walked right after him ranting, “Oh dear, I hope that you don't mind me referring to you as large. I certainly wasn’t making any comments to your weight or anything. You definitely seem to be in excellent shape. I mean I did run into some fairly large felines once before while out on a trip with my friends but none of them had anywhere near the muscle definition that you seem to have Mister Panther.”

Rayne turned and lay to face the cliff so to stop her from continually walking out in front of him as he attempted to avoid her. “Heh, I don’t know if getting chased around by Ahuizotl and his wild pack counts as a ‘trip’ Fluttershy.” Rayne again thought to himself.

Despite his efforts, Fluttershy suddenly floated down from overhead flapping her wings in front of him as she continued to rant on. “Oh but I wonder if Mister Panther is okay to call you. I’ve never even asked you if you have a name. I hope that you will forgive me, I usually have much better manners than-”

Fluttershy was abruptly forced silent as a large paw suddenly swooped around her. The next thing she knew she felt the cold stone on her back and was looking upwards as the feline glared down at her. “RRRRAAAWWWWWLLLLL!!!” The panther snarled viciously as animals below were frightened from their slumber.

“Oh dear. I must have upset you by talking too much. I’m terribly sorry for that.” The pegasus smiled upwards showing no signs of fear at all. Seeing the panther shift his demeanor curiously she stated, “You can growl and hiss at me all you want. But I already know that you won’t eat me.” At that the panther’s gaze narrowed. Fluttershy watched his claws extended but still she did not flinch.

“T’ch...” Rayne sucked through his teeth almost in annoyance before moving off from the pegasus and then strutting a few feet away. “Eating you wouldn’t exactly be the first thing that comes to mind for how I'd like to spend time with you.” His heavy voice sassed out.

“Oh goodness! You spoke to me! You actually spoke to me!” Fluttershy beamed as she picked herself up from the ground. “Why did you wait so long to speak up until now?”

Rayne was suddenly reminded of the very first episode where Fluttershy bombarded Spike with her curiosity. “Well to be fair, you never actually asked me a question until now.” Rayne retorted.

“I… Oh, I see. I guess that you’re right. Well, if you would be okay with it then I would have lots of questions that I would like to ask you!" She looked to him hopefully.

Plopping himself back down to the cool stone the panther stretched out while rolling his fur along it’s surface. “Ask me what you will and I will answer what I choose to.”

“Oh, well… okay. That sounds fair I suppose." She folded her wings in on herself as she contemplated. "Oh but where do I begin? First of all what do I call you? And where did you come from? What are you doing here in Ponyville? How did you grow to be SO big? What was that terrifying magic that you used in the Everfree Forest? Are you really a friend to ponies? Why would you protect us, if that really is what you’re doing? Oh and what do you mean eating me wouldn’t be the first way you’d spend time with me? Do you want to spend time with me? And how would you spend time with me if you did?”

Rayne was a little taken aback because she really did sound just like she had back when she was asking to know everything there was to know about a baby dragon. “Mister Panther is fine for now… and no background questions.” He stated simply.

At this the pegasus looked a little discouraged but nodded. “If that’s the way that it has to be.” She acknowledged shortly.

However Rayne frowned at her obvious dissatisfaction with his response. “To tell how I got here would be rather difficult to explain. So instead I will tell you why I am sticking around Ponyville."

"Oh yes, please do!" She cheered to which Rayne had to suppress an eye roll.

"The fact is... that individuals are kind to one another here.” He pointed out and was not at all surprised to see the look of shock on her face. “I come from a place where strangers aren't always particularly nice. But here in Ponyville I can experience a change of pace. One that perhaps I never knew how badly I was needing until after I arrived here.”

“I see." Fluttershy said thoughtfully. "It certainly is true that ponies in this town do usually seek out the best in others. I suppose that anybody would want to live here when you look at it like that.” Fluttershy admitted as she was happy to see one of her favorite qualities about the town not being taken for granted. “And is it true that you have been secretly protecting everypony that lives here?”

“Yes.” Rayne answered bluntly. “It is.” Finally standing and turning to face her properly the panther said, “Yours is a community that I admire. And one that I would like to see last. I would hate for it all end tragically due to something as easily stopped as a villain’s rampage or the abuse of someone’s magic. However, at the same time I wouldn’t want to interfere with it too much which is why this black cat has been keeping itself to the shadows.”

“Oh but you’ve appeared at this spot several times now. It certainly gave the other critters a fright the first few times but they’ve all told me that you avoid them whenever possible as you come and go.” Fluttershy explained.

“Well this is an animal sanctuary is it not? And large as I am, I’m still a cat aren’t I? You don’t mind Harry spending time here and he’s about my size.” Rayne said while gesturing toward the bear staring up at them from the base of the waterfall. “Or are the likes of me not welcome here?”

“Ohh nooo! I didn’t mean to convey that to you at all! I am happy to have you visit here as often as you like. You might be big but as far as I’ve seen you’ve been a perfectly polite guest in not disturbing the others.” The pegasus assured him even going as far as to dare placing a hoof on his arm comfortingly. “What would make you think that? Is it because you can use magic? Or because you can talk like ponies can?”

Rayne thought for a moment but then decided to ignore the question entirely. “No, it's for a different reason..." Rayne whispered before turning to peel his eyes away from the side of her flank. "But, I should probably leave." Rayne said suddenly as he turned away from her to face the water's edge. "You shouldn't be alone with me like this."

"Wait no, hold on please!" Fluttershy urged as she raced around to his side. "But I'm enjoying talking to you! And you aren't doing anything to hurt me." She pleaded knowing full well that if the panther were to run that there'd be no way she'd be able to keep up to follow him.

But Rayne's agitation grew as he gave a toothy grumble while avoiding eye contact with her. "Maybe I've already hurt you... And maybe I'm afraid of doing it again."

The mare's ears were lowered now as she empathized with the panther's tone. Fluttershy knew enough about felines to recognize it was a sign of frustration that he was now pacing back and forth in front of her.

"But... you never hurt me. When did you-" Fluttershy struggled for a moment but eventually recalled the memory that she had already put behind her. "Oh... you mean the first time I found you here... when I tried helping you and you roared at me." Fluttershy summarized to uncanny simplicity.

"I was groggy when I woke... and you startled me." Rayne replied as if he were in a trance, his eyes replaying the event. "I couldn't even see that it was a pegasus I was looking at when I pounced on you."

“Then why didn’t you just say something?” Fluttershy asked. “I was so terrified. I think I fainted for a bit when you left and when I woke up I had NO idea what had happened.”

"I am sorry for that Fluttershy. I never meant for any of that to happen. But I wasn't roaring at you... I was choking." Rayne explained to her.

All of a sudden Fluttershy's butt hit the ground and her eyes stared open wide. "Ch-choking?"

"Yes... you can laugh if you want. The big scary panther was choking." He remarked bitterly. "My throat was so dry that it actually hurt when I tried talking to you. I wasn't growling or snarling at you, I was hissing in pain."

"You mean the whole time I was only imagining that you were going to harm me?" She whispered while bringing her hooves to her lips looking embarrassed of herself.

"Yes." Rayne responded seeming happy that she understood. Alternatively, Fluttershy was becoming emotional in the opposite kind of sense.

"But wait, you assaulted me..." She finally whimpered out what she had avoided putting into words until now. "You- you took your tongue and you... Then after you were going to, you tried to, moun-" But the panther was quick to place his paw over her muzzle when Fluttershy looked like she was going to cry.

"Don't say it... And no, I never intended to do that." He reassured her. "To be fair, it was more like I responded to you than assaulted you." The large cat declared.

"Responded?! But I didn't want you to-"

"You were the first one to reach out with your hoof to stroke ME, remember?" The panther interjected and then Fluttershy squeaked in shame as she realized he was right. "I hadn't laid a paw on you. Then from out of nowhere you were all over me and I had no idea why. Also, what was the big idea with lifting your flank to my face? Do you have any idea how sensitive my sense of smell can be?!" His voice was starting to rise as his claws dug in against the stone beneath him. "Do you have any idea... how alluring... your scent was?!" But Rayne was becoming distracted as his frustration continued to grow.

It startled him though as he felt a soft touch on his arm and heard a gentle voice speak steadily to him. "Yes actually, I do understand. It seems that I owe you an apology. I am very sorry." She told him sincerely. "It is very ill mannered in pony-kind for a mare to expose her scent to a stallion without his permission. Now to be fair, I was desperate. I'm not the kind of mare who has ever done anything like that before, but I thought that I was begging for my life. Still, it was unfair for me to have done that to you."

The panther scowled while lifting his head away from her. "Answer me something... Something biological that I don't know the answer to about ponies."

"Um, okay?" The confused pegasus replied.

"Do ponies here in Equestria go through a heat cycle?" Rayne was discouraged to see a confused look on the ponies face.

"I'm sorry... are you asking if ponies ever feel hot?" She asked him doubtfully.

"I'm referring to a reproductive cycle!" The panther growled. "A fertile period! A time where mares-"

But she interrupted him as she nervously asked out, "You mean an estrous?"

"Yes! That's the word! An estrous!" Rayne responded, silently feeling like a moron for having forgotten.

"Well yes... I mean of course we do." Fluttershy answered but it was clear she was painfully uncomfortable with the topic.

"Oh... Is that so?" Rayne was a bit shocked having half expected the answer to be no. "So is that... Is that what you were-"

"What?! Goodness, no!" Fluttershy gasped as her cheeks flushed a deep red. "Look, this isn't really the kind of thing that typically gets openly discussed." Fluttershy squeezed one hoof with another awkwardly but she gave a sigh when the panther continued to stare at her. "Okay well... I guess I can answer your question. You did answer most of mine."

Rayne gave a single nod otherwise not wanting to do anything to interrupt.

"Very well. Now you see sometimes mares do have an estrous period but it isn't all the time." The panther's face was almost comical with how intently he was listening to her. "During this period the mare is obviously very... excitable. But it isn't unbarably so."

"So it isn't like a rabid lust or anything?" Rayne asked and the mare shook her head.

"No we wouldn't act any differently than we normally would. A mare wouldn't lose control of herself or anything like that. At least not usually." She struggled to explain as nopony had ever asked her to describe this before. "It's more like... Imagine if you were very hungry but not so much that you couldn't ignore it if you found yourself in pleasant company."

"Oh I see... And what about stallion's? What if one of them caught whiff of a mare during this time?" Rayne inquired.

"Well it's the same I suppose. Boy ponies certainly don't go crazy and start forcing themselves on mares or anything like that. But at the same time, it would be cruel for a mare to knowingly walk by and fill a stallion with yearning without intent to... uh, facilitate." She explained while combing her mane over her face now. "So during this time mares tend to stay indoors for the most part or at least limit their time around stallion's when able." She pointed out before adding in, "Oh and it usually only happens during spring... sometimes summer."

"Hmm. Well that finally answers that question for me." Rayne thought to himself. Fluttershy looked to the expression on his face quizzically but before she could speak again there was a rustling from nearby which interrupted their conversation. Two paws black as stone and a dark snout to match suddenly emerged through the leaves of the bushes nearby. The creature never made a sound and it stared directly at the panther ignoring Fluttershy entirely.

“What is it?” Fluttershy gasped out from beside him.

“There must be a disturbance somewhere in Ponyville. They wouldn’t come here to disturb me from resting otherwise." Rayne told her but wasn't too worried as long as there weren't screams or fires coming from the town.

But he was surprised by her tone as Fluttershy nervously took a step forward asking again, “Nooo… I mean him. What, is it?” She asked while tilting her head to the side trying to get a better look at the shadowy canine under the pale moon light.

With a chuckle Rayne observed her curiously and asked, “What, you’ve never seen a wolf before?”

Fluttershy turned back to him not seeming amused by his comment at all. “Of course I have! But Mister Panther, I have to disagree with you that THIS is NOT a wolf.” Then she turned back to the edge of the rock cliff and called out loudly. “Hello?! Every creature? I’m terribly sorry for waking you. But have any of you seen Sandra tonight? Is she here?”

Rayne wasn’t surprised per say but was startled all the same as when the clicks and chirps and howls that came from the animals below all came through as actual voices to his ear. After a moment a gray she-wolf stepped out from a soft patch of soil behind some bushes and gave a loud howl that Rayne could swear he understood it to be Sandra announcing that she was there. It was astounding to him to be able to hear the animals like Fluttershy does.

“Oh hello girl. I’m sorry for waking you. Please, could you go around the side and climb up here for a moment?” Fluttershy called.

”I’m afraid…” Sandra whimpered.

With a sensitive voice the yellow pegasus called down to her. “Oh girl, don’t you worry about Mister Panther here. He won’t hurt you. Can’t you see that I’ve been standing here talking to him and I’m okay? You will be okay too so please come stand next to me.”

It took a little awhile but eventually a slow crawling wolf stepped over the edge with her ears lowered and tail tucked between her legs. Sandra looked calmer though after being stroked by Fluttershy a few times. “Alright, so… This as you can see from the beautiful girl here is a wolf. She has fur and a wet nose and just the sweetest expressions with her eyes, yes she does.” The pegasus expressed. “But that there is unlike any creature I have ever se-”

Fluttershy did not get to finish her sentence as both she and Rayne jumped when Sandra shrieked out in terror. “TIMBERWOLF! IT’S A TIMBERWOLF!”

“Whoa, whoa! Easy girl! It’s okay!” Fluttershy called while rushing to Sandra’s side. “It’s not a Timberwolf, it couldn’t be. Look at it girl, it isn’t made of wood and it certainly doesn’t have that foul smell. But…” Now she paused for a moment as Rayne gave a look to the hound and the creature of stone and shadow stepped forward into view. “I supposed that it does kind of-” But then Sandra could withstand the presence of it no longer before wriggling out of Fluttershy’s grip and taking off into the cover of the trees.

“You wanted to know more about that terrible magic that I used against the deer?” Rayne asked somewhat sinisterly. “Come have a look for yourself. Don’t worry, I assure you it's perfectly safe.”

Fluttershy was practically crawling on her hooves and knees looking over every inch of the hound. She marveled at how it had most of the skeletal structure for a canine but instead of bone it looked to be made of dark stone. Otherwise most of it consisted of smoke or some shadowy mass that drifted through the air where the more meaty parts of the wolf would normally be. She gasped as the panther's claw suddenly raked down rending the canine in half. But then it quickly rematerialized and stood calmly seeming to not even mind that it had just been attacked.

“Mister Panther...” Fluttershy began. “You may not know this about me but I pride myself on knowing about almost every creature that lives in Equestria. And I can honestly say that I have never seen or even heard of anything like this existing before.” The pegasus said with awe. “Is it… is it alive?”

“Of course it’s alive.” The feline explained. “It thinks for itself, it feels, it has emotion.” He told her, even as Fluttershy looked up at him disbelievingly after watching the hound standing perfectly idle. Ignoring her stare Rayne continued on, “This is the reason why the deer king of the Everfree Forest was angry with me. Sandra was correct, this was once a Timberwolf… but never again." It wasn't until Rayne reached out to stroke the creature affectionately that it showed any form of independent action as it leaned into his touch. "You see Timberwolves are created when excess magic builds up amongst the trees within the Everfree Forest. It’s the same magic that makes the trees grow without pony aid.” Rayne bluffed when really he still had no idea how Timberwolves came into being.

“Oh is that so? And… these?” Fluttershy asked without an even a hint of doubt in her voice towards the panther’s words.

Rayne paused now as he tried to think of a way to make his powers sound different than Tirek's. “I have the ability to separate a Timberwolf from it’s connection to the forest by binding it to me instead. It was an ability that I discovered by accident, but once I’d done it once I repeated it again a great many times. This is the result of me using that magic. Contrarily, when I use the same ability on something that isn’t a Timberwolf it gives my obsidian hounds here the ability to shape change into that creature.” With a wave of his paw Fluttershy watched the panther change the canine from a wolf, to a Flash Bee, to a Manticore and back again.

“Oh my. And it doesn’t hurt the wolf to change like that?” She was relieved to see the panther shake his head. “But… if you keep taking Timberwolves from the forest what happens to the ecosystem that relies on predators to keep the balance of nature?”

“Oh don’t worry about that." Rayne was quick to remark. "Timberwolves always travel in packs and to this day I have never eliminated a whole pack entirely. I assure you that in the grand scheme of things, all I have done to nature’s balance is cause a temporary annoyance.” He said assuredly. But then he relaxed his tone as he told her, “But it doesn't matter anymore because my days of pillaging the wildlife are over. I have no need of any more wolves than I already have.”

“Aauh!” The pegasus gasped as Obsidianwolves suddenly covered her entire sanctuary for almost as far as she could see. “Goodness, you have dozens… no, this would have to be over a hundred!” She gulped feeling as if it’d be impossible to count them all.

Then in the blink of an eye every single one of them vanished back into the dark from whence they came. “Forgive me but as much as I relish the opportunity of having you alone...” He paused causing Fluttershy to blush as he stared at her with his deep blue eyes, “I really must be seeing to what is happening in town.”

The pegasus nodded in understanding but then suddenly looked up with a hopefully expression. “Oh… well, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble… and if you would permit me to ask…?” The nervous pegasus stammered out. But then with a magical blink Fluttershy suddenly found herself standing alone at the edge of town. She looked around a few times but her new feline friend was nowhere to be seen. “Thank you!” She called out aimlessly before running on ahead to where she could see a crowd gathering in the center of town.

- Ponyville, Just Outside Town Hall -

“Thank you, thank you good citizens of Ponyville! The Great and Powerful Trixie will show you her appreciation by dazzling you with tricks that are both perilous and amazing!” The traveling magician shouted out as she stood upon a fold up stage that had been unloaded from her wagon. “Please come and enjoy the show!”

The crowd Trixie had gathered was meager but even those who stood around all looked up to her skeptically. “Your tricks are great Trixie, they always are. It’s just your attitude that the ponies of this town have a problem with!” Sugar Grape called out as she stood beside her friends Strawberry Surprise and Apple Honey.

“Oh now don’t be sour.” Trixie retorted with a smirk as the white pegasus gasped in offense. “Trixie isn’t here to cause a fight. I admit that on several occasions my behavior has been less than impeccable but all I want is the chance to show off my magical talents. It might not look it but my performances do take a lot of work. All I’m looking for is a little appreciation… plus your bits of watching the show of course.”

“Yeah right Trixie! No ulterior motive this time? Are you sure about that?” Strawberry called out.

“Hey give her a chance!” A new voice called out from the crowd. After everypony turned around the three mares who had been heckling the performer now looked somewhat embarrassed as a dark stallion they knew all too well stepped up to Trixie’s aid. “Yeah I’ve heard the rumors… but so far the only ponies that I see being rude here are those in the crowd.” Rayne didn’t have to speak loudly for his point to be made and the three girls all took a step back. “Personally, I don’t think I could tell you when was the last time that I caught a good magic show.” Rayne said while smiling up to the stage.

“Oh, well how bout that? Somepony being nice to m- I mean, THANK YOU KIND SIR AND OF COURSE YOU’VE COME TO SEE MY SHOW!” Trixie called out with a cough before steadying her voice. “To show my sincerity, I the brave and devote Trixie shall put her very life in peril for all of your amusement!” The blue unicorn announced to the crowd which she was pleased to see elicited some curious whispers. “May I have a volunteer from the audience? Anypony? Please?”

As the crowd looked around the voice of a mare called out happily. “I’ll do it.” Starlight yelled as she made her way up. “Thank you for standing up for her like that.” She whispered as she passed by Rayne before making her way onto the stage.

Trixie gave a grateful smile seeing her friend take the opportunity to support her. But then regaining her showmanship Trixie called out, “Excellent! Now that I have a great and powerful volunteer I will now reveal to you all the Spike of Honesty!”

There was a loud murmuring from the audience as additional ponies started to gather round now. Starlight helped her friend wheel over something covered in a drape. Then when Trixie pulled back the cover everypony gasped seeing a short sword fixed point up from a wooden block that was built like a bench.

“Ohhh… A public impaling. This should be fun to watch.” Rayne snickered to himself.

“Now my great and powerful assistant, please feel free to inspect the blade yourself!” She yelled. “Test how sharp it is!” She shouted. “Show these ponies that there is no illusion that dropping one’s self upon it would no doubt be the end of a pony!” She cried. “Psst, just don’t press down on it.” She then whispered and Starlight nodded.

“OH YES! THIS IS DEFINIT- Oww! Hey Trixie wait a minute… This thing really IS sharp.” Starlight called out as she looked to her hoof realizing she had just accidentally cut herself.

“Well you were supposed to feel it, not jab yourself with it dummy. But don’t worry, I’ll give you a bandage for that later after the show.” Trixie whispered again and the two mares nodded with a smile. “Now everpony! Behold as I- whoa, levitate myself o-over the blad-OUCH! This is hard to do upside down in mid air… Oww! Where the heck is my spine?” She mumbled while clumsily levitating herself over the sword tip.

Starlight sighed and levitated Trixie two inches to the left as a tiny disk hidden in Trixie’s fur found it’s mark. “You’re hopeless.” The hetriope mare giggled.

Ignoring that the magician now called out, “Behold! The Spike of Honesty spares nopony except for those who are the most genuine! But should my conviction waiver… should I have even the slightest inkling of being insincere in my desire to entertain you, then shall this blade run me through and that will be the end of dear Trixie...”

Then there was a gasp as the mare ceased her levitation magic and everypony in the crowd screamed seeing a pristine blade slide up from her belly. Cries from mares were heard all around and many looked away feeling horrified at believing they had just witnessed an authentic demise. Before them the blue mare lay limp with her head and arms dangling loosely.

Even Starlight froze for a moment with her ears perked until she noticed Trixie flick her tail causing her to sigh with relief. “Wait! Hold on everypony!” Starlight shouted while walking around Trixie in a circle. “Surely no one here would believe that Trixie was insincere now, would you?!” She called out excitably.

“Wh-ert arr- you der-ing…?!” Trixie growled while still pretending to be dead.

But Starlight didn’t hesitate as she called out again, “Let’s hear it folks! Who believes? Clap for Trixie if you want the Spike of Honesty to spare her! Clap if you believe in Trixie!”

Rayne could hardly keep from laughing at the lengths Starlight would go for a friend. But he and soon many others all clapped along until the entire crowd was roaring with applause. After a moment Starlight used her magic to levitate Trixie up while the blue mare used her magic to push the spring loaded blade back into the holster hidden under her flank. “TA-DA!!!” Trixie called out to which all of the ponies shouted their praise. “Thank you, thank you all!”

“Alright, I’ll admit. That was pretty good.” Rayne praised aloud causing several others to join in.

“Thank you, thank you again!” The unicorn mare said as she now pulled her magician’s hat off of her head. “Now for my next trick I will show you all the magical ‘bit duplicating hat!’” This certainly drew interest from the crowd. “Please pass this around amongst yourselves. Simply add what you feel my performance was worth! Add no more than your appreciation deems necessary!”

Trixie watched as pony after pony dropped a couple bits in each. Meanwhile Rayne had to hide his snicker as he already understood how this trick would play out. “Here you are miss Great and Powerful!” Starlight called after going to collect the hat for her friend.

“Behold!” Trixie yelled loudly as she displayed the contents within. “Not a single one of you added in more than two or three bits each. And yet as if like MAGIC the hat is now completely full to the brim! Ta-da!” She called out while making a comical rim-shot noise with her magic. Despite all the eye rolls, this still got a good laugh from the crowd as everypony was taken for a bit of a sucker but none of them really minded for the corny joke.

“Now for my final trick of the evening! If my wondrous and stupendous assistant would assist me again… I will display before you the daring, the dazzling, HOOF CANON CATCH!” Gasps of shock and surprise where heard as Trixie used a spell to roll a real life canon onto the stage.

“Trixie!” Starlight called out after giving the metal weapon a tap. “This thing is real! What are you thinking?!”

“Worry not my friend for it is all part of the show!” But then very swiftly she leaned forward and whispered out a whole tandem of information to Starlight so deftly that even Rayne couldn’t pick up what was said. “Now everypony! Please maintain your support and still your fears as my assistant fires a solid cannonball of pure iron directly into my hooves! After which, I shall catch the rocketing projectile and remain completely unharmed!”

Rayne raised an eyebrow as even he had his doubts and watched as Trixie tossed her magician’s cape over her other side with flair. Starlight passed the cannonball through the crowd so they could all feel that it was real. Then she loaded shot into the cannon before her horn sparked with magic and Starlight walked around the back aiming the cannon directly at her friend. “Ready?!”

“Ready!” Trixie called confidently. Ponies looked on with mouths open and eyes peeled.

When the cannon fired the blast shook the nearby buildings in town. Smoke from the gunpowder erupted violently and the townsfolk gasped in worry for the magician standing in the canon’s path. But when they looked up to see Trixie’s fate they found her to be safe and sound holding the heavy cannonball in her hooves while smiling. “Thank you, thank you! I’m glad you all enjoyed the show! Please, leave any additional contributions on the ground below the stage and they will be collected later! Thank you!”

Rayne shook his head with a smirk as he clapped along with the roaring crowd. He stepped by dropping a few gemstones into the pile of bits but then heard a voice calling to him from the side of the stage. “Rayne! Psst!” Starlight whispered as she waived him over.

“Hey there, quite the show you two put on. What’s up Starlight?” He asked feeling happy as ever to speak to her.

“Well it’s actually about Trixie. She is wanting to thank you in person for how you stood up for her at the start of the show. Her wagon is right around back over that way. Do you think you might have the time to stop by and say hi tonight?” She smiled to him hopefully.

Rayne just chuckled and gave her a nod. “I’ll be there. And I won’t keep her waiting, don’t worry.”

Rayne noticed a look of relief on her face but didn't think anything of it at the time. "Thank you. That really means a lot to me. Have a good night Rayne.” Starlight told him before making her way home at Twilight’s Castle.

“Have a good night Starlight. It’s no trouble at all.” Rayne waved as she left. Then the stallion turned to make his way straight to the magician’s wagon.

Author's Notes:

So the panther and Fluttershy round two, huh? I hope it wasn't too sublte in the beginning. Rayne was sniffing Fluttershy because he wanted to make sure that she didn't smell aroused like she had back in chapter 69.

Even though the interaction was rather short you do get more of a glimpse at Rayne's viewpoint here. He wasn't lying when he told Fluttershy that he just wants to embrace Ponyville's good natured lifestyle. I think that's why all grown adults fall in love with shows for younger generations. They aren't getting "the magic of friendship" in their adult lives so they get it during their time off through tv shows.

Alright so... about mares having an estrous. I always knew that this needed to come up eventually. I always found it kind of a cheap excuse for a sex scene in story where the only reason for it is 'just because' she is having an estrous. At the same time it would feel like a 'cop-out' if I avoided it all together. So I decided to finally address it here. Remember Rayne showed up in summer so he missed the season for it this year. But I might do something mild with it when the story rolls back around to spring.

The wolf Sandra is a canon animal character who is shown in season nine of the show.

So Trixie's magic tricks are all pretty simple. The Sword of Honesty would push down into the wooden bench when she laid upon it. Then she had a collapsible sword hidden on her belly. The bit duplicating hat was just a play on words. And the Hoof Cannon Catch was also just as simple. Starlight loaded the cannonball into the cannon but then teleported the cannonball to behind where Trixie tossed her cape over her shoulder. So when Starlight fired the cannon it was empty and Trixie only had to reach down and pick up the cannonball from right next to her.

Oh but what's going to happen tonight between her and Rayne, huh?

**4/14/20** Alright so a pair of new pictures are up for this chapter. I like them much more than what was originally posted and I hope that you all enjoy them as well. Artist is Stained Glass Light Heart.