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Forgiveness Pending

by Kiroberos

Chapter 24

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Things had gone smoothly so far! And by smoothly, I meant I hadn't thrown up at all on the ride home. Smiling, I strolled off the train after my fillyfriend, who was a few meters ahead of me. Heck, I was so happy I hadn't gotten sick that I didn't even care that I was carrying both sets of saddle bags and hauling all three suitcases plus one new bag. The medicine Twi found in lieu of not having time to research an anti-nausea spell had worked wonderfully!

"I still can't believe that we missed the first train," Twilight groaned as she walked. I caught up with her before chuckling weakly. Glancing up, I noticed the sun was already in its final stages of the day. What a waste. This is what happens when you only have one train on the track at any given moment. No wonder they use pegasi for most of their transportation needs!

"You were the one who insisted on getting the extra quills and parchment," I reminded, gesturing behind me to the extra bag that was balanced on the three suitcases I was already hooked up to.

Twilight flattened her ears back before finally giving in and snickering. "I know, I know. Still, the prices are better in bulk, and I can never go to Quills and Sofas without him trying to sell me a sofa, too! I have enough sofas," she defended, giving me a playful smirk. I nodded and smiled back, a soft and warm sensation drifting into my chest. It felt strange to be walking so casually right next to her, but definitely in a good way.

Twilight stopped and turned back to face me after we cleared the train platform. "All right then. Are we set for the plan? You get the luggage and saddlebags back home and wait for a little bit. I'll go talk to Rarity and get her calmed down, and then both of us will wait for you. All three of us need to talk about this," she reiterated calmly.

It was indeed a good plan. I liked the part where I didn't talk to her first this time and make an idiot of myself. I nodded and smiled to her. "No problem. How long do you want me to wait?" I asked, just to be on the safe side.

Twilight pondered for a moment before shrugging and offering, "Twenty or thirty minutes should be plenty of time. If you're a little late, Rarity and I will just have tea or something." I idly considered that Rarity might not be very comfortable with that arrangement, but Twilight had been friends with her for a long time. Maybe I was underestimating that?

"All right! I'll drop these off, wait twenty minutes or so, and then wander over to join you," I agreed, once again happy that she was such a prepared and organized mare. It also only involved me having skill enough to walk short distances without dying! Thus, it was a really good plan.

Twilight smiled as well, apparently my extreme positive aura rubbing off on her. "Okay then! See you in a few!" she tacked on before turning again and heading towards the Carousel Boutique. I momentarily allowed myself the distraction of watching her flanks sway as she departed before shaking myself out of it and heading in the other direction towards the library. Yup. Still male.

Hauling the extremely large amount of luggage definitely got me a few stares. This time, however, quite a few shocked stares turned into friendly smiles and waves as I passed, letting me return them. I guess I was moving past my ‘outcast’ reputation. I caught a glimpse of Lyra and Bon Bon near the park. Golden Harvest was oddly nearby as well, looking up in the tree as if having lost a kite or something. Heck, a further examination even showed Derpy waving at me from the upper tree branches! I waved back, then winced as the motion of her gesture dislodged the mail bag that was stuck to the tree branch, causing her to wobble and then hover out of the tree again, truly free this time. Oh, Derpy.

By the time I decided she was okay and turned back around, I yet again encountered two large, blue pools of color staring back at me, surrounded by pink. Startled, I jumped a little and hopped backwards, bumping into the luggage I was hauling. Pinkie smiled pleasantly at me and waved, hoof movements as packed full of energy as per usual.

"Hiya, Mender! You're back from your trip! I missed you. How are you doing?" she asked all at once, surprising me. I was gone technically less than twenty-four hours. She missed me in that period of time?

"It was, well, eventful. I got arrested and then released by Twilight's brother, Shining Armor. Then I got drafted into being a stagehoof. Oh, then I ended up surfing across the ball room on a flying chandelier, trying not to catch fire," I summarized, bumping my right hoof along my held up left as if counting with imaginary fingers. Oddly, Pinkie seemed to somehow understand the gesture.

"Wooooow! I missed so much! That sounds like fun! And you got to meet Shining. He's really nice," she chirped, nodding enthusiastically. Well, I’m glad that’s the important thing she pulled from those statements.

I snickered and nodded as well, enjoying the mare’s outlook on things regardless. "I agree. He didn't seem to have a problem with me seeing Twilight, either," I noted, exhaling gently in long past relief. It was still nice to realize. Now I just had to make a good impression for her parents, for whenever that would happen.

Pinkie gave a little spin and sway in place, apparently venting the perpetual energy her body generated in the only way she knew how. I began to understand how she could eat so much, just considering the sheer amount of calories her body must burn through releasing whatever cosmic energy fueled her on a daily basis.

"Oh! That reminds me, before I forget to remember to mention it!" she started. For a moment, I tried to follow the path of her logic before remembering whom I was talking to. She continued, undaunted, "I still totally owe you a party for saving Equestria, and another for having such a bad time and me injuring you! I've decided to put both of them together into one super-duper awesome party of the century! Everypony shall be invited, and I mean everypony! This is going to be so awesome!" she rambled, flailing towards the end.

Snickering, I nodded once more, singularly this time. "Do you think you could invite Vinyl Scratch as well? Oh, and send an invite out to an Octavia in Canterlot?" I requested politely.

Pinkie's eyes bugged out as she stared at me intensely. For the briefest moment, I wondered if I'd offended the pink mare, and slowly lowered my ears. "Oh wow! You have requested guests?! This is so awesome! Vinyl is so cool and plays such amazing music! If you're her friend, maybe she'll even play for the party? Oh, and Octavia, as in the Royal Orchestra Cellist? You met a lot of fun ponies in Canterlot!" Pinkie finally squealed, allowing me a sigh of relief. I didn't want to think about what an angry, vengeful Pinkie Pie looked like, that was for sure!

"Yeah, they were both at the party. Octavia wanted to come visit, and Vinyl already said she might like to play at the party," I informed, feeling a bit more relaxed now.

Pinkie double gasped, somehow. It wasn't just a gasp twice in a row. No, she somehow compound it exponentially in a way that made my head hurt. "You got Vinyl to maybe consider playing music at my party without me even needing to ask her?! You're awesome, too! Maybe I'll need to turn you into my Party Planning Partner Pony!" she squealed happily before lunging. Oh hell.

My life flashed before my eyes as my torso was practically crushed into her puffy pink body. She spun and swayed happily with me, hugging the life out of me as we went. No! I wanted to die by Twilight and Fluttershy hugs! Preferably both at the same time.

She finally released me after an agonizing six seconds and bounced back into place with gusto, exactly where she'd been a moment before. "Excellent! Now I just have to see Mayor Mare about borrowing the main hall! This is going to be so super cool!" she gushed, thankfully not asking me anything as I reeled from her prior assault. Wait, why the main hall?

"What do you need the main hall for?" I inquired shakily once my brain felt like it had stopped vibrating.

"Any one of our houses couldn't possibly hope to contain a party of this magnitude! Just trying to might cause a funplosion. Maybe, just maybe, if I got Big Mac to push a few of our houses together, it might work. But he's a busy stallion, dodging all the googly oogly mares and what not! I mean, he is second most eligible bachelor in Ponyville, after all. Still, he'll be at the party, too, so this should be fun!" she started rambling. I blinked slowly, unsure of how my inquiry as to the location had gotten hijacked into a rant of Ponyville's bachelors.

"Wait, who's first?" I inquired curiously. I'd probably regret it in a few...

"You, of course! Silly!" she squealed, hopping into the air and flailing her hooves around under her.

Another slow blink. That didn't compute at all. "But, um, I'm not single," I refuted, extremely confused now.

"Oh, you can't date anypony, Silly! Secret agents can't date. They just have steamy romances and liaisons," Pinkie corrected, adding a low growl and a wink onto the end. I went from confused to flustered and backing up almost instantly, more than a little leery of sudden advances at the moment!

Pinkie, staying true to herself, burst into laughter and wobbled happily. Regardless of her mirth and obvious jest, several nearby mares started whispering to each other rapidly. Damn it! "What are you talking about, Pinkie?!" I rasped, glaring at the mirthful pink mare.

She gave me an exaggerated wink in return, adding, "Oh, I know. You're not a secret agent. I'll shush." Somehow, the way she said it didn't help at all, and I started hearing giggling alongside the whispers. Shifting my attention, I shot an angry expression towards whom I now identified as Lily, one of the three flower mares. She giggled even more whimsically when noticing my attention and also gave me a wink, earning an exasperated sigh. They were screwing with me. They were all doing this on purpose…

"Anyway! I'll get the invitation to you tomorrow! See you a little later!" Pinkie announced before happily bouncing away, proving entirely immune to my death stares. Dang. I'd have to practice them a bit more.

Exhaling, I stood back up and shifted my balance back into hauling position. The three suitcases weren't that heavy and had the benefit of wheels, but I still didn't want to pull anything. Or trip and garrote myself, of course.

After a few more minutes of casual walking, keeping my pace steady and actually enjoying the exercise, I made it to the town square. A bead of sweat drifted off my brow, and I gave a light flick sideways to dispel it. The sight of the tree house on the other side of the square looked appealing indeed. My trip had already been slowed considerably by the sheer weight of the things I was hauling.

"Howdy there, Mender," I suddenly heard called out to my right as I crossed the walkway and entered the marketplace common. My ears perked and rotated before my head did, and I spotted the familiar orange mare fitting the voice. Applejack was selling today? I knew that she and Big Mac took turns tending the stand and they were only here certain days of the week. All of those apples couldn't get bucked by themselves if one of those two was always here selling them, I admitted.

"Oh, hey, Applejack. Rainbow Dash. Apple Bloom," I greeted politely, eyes picking out the prior unnoticed cyan and rainbow pegasus, and much smaller filly. I had a half an hour to kill anyway, so I wasn’t particularly hurried to get back home. Home. I smiled gently as I walked up, realizing I was already starting to think of the library as my home now.

Dash gave me a smirk and nod as I approached, but Apple Bloom squeaked and spun, having been oblivious until I said something. Oddly, it looked like she was more harassing one of the customers than trying to sell the apples. Seeing me, however, she shot away from the confused brown stallion and headed right for me! Oh crap.

I braced for impact and let out a stiff wheeze as she collided with my chest, knocking me back and onto my haunches. "Mender! Ah wondered when ya were gonna show up! Are ya hurt?" she asked instantly, giving my front a curious once-over.

Hurt? Raising an eyebrow, I looked back up at her sister and Rainbow for a clue. "Rare told us what happened with tha chandelier after she got back last night. Ah thought she was gonna stay longer than that," Applejack relayed, looking a little perplexed.

Rainbow caught my frown instantly and fluttered closer, looking interested. "She had a reason for it, didn't she?" the clever cyan mare guessed, dead on as usual.

I nodded weakly, averting my gaze from her sharp, rose-colored stare. "Yeah. There were complications and she and Twilight got in a fight. She left, looking pretty upset. I probably shouldn't say more," I explained, trying to filter while I talked. I'm not the best at that, decidedly.

Rainbow's ears perked a little as her expression shifted deadpan with an audible, "Huh." I tilted my head curiously at her, but Applejack merely rolled her eyes.

"Those two have been darn feisty with each other fer days now! Ah'm one fer gettin' down ta tha middle o' this right now," she spit out, looking a little frustrated over the matter.

I shook my head rapidly, however, raising my hoof up to gesture a halt. "No, it's okay. Twilight's over there right now trying to talk to her. I'm supposed to follow after putting this stuff back in the house," I elaborated, trying to keep interference to Twilight's plan as minimal as possible. I doubted things would go well if two irked mares busted her door down.

Rainbow nodded sagely, seemingly more content now that she knew Twilight was on the case. Applejack just let out an indignant huff, however, causing Apple Bloom to shift her attention back to her sister, looking worried.

"Why are ya goin’? Kinda ah weird choice, if ya ask me," Applejack questioned, causing my ears to droop a little. Well, true. I wasn't the best at talking or defusing situations. Fluttershy was way more empathic, while Pinkie or Dash would do a better job of cheering somepony up.

"Sis! That's not very nice an' ya know it!" Apple Bloom defended, turning fully to meet her sister.

Applejack softened and shook her head after a moment of staring at the little filly. "Ah didn't mean it like that. Ah'm sorry, Mender. Ah'm just frustrated," she excused, apologizing with a gentle nod.

I shook my head, however, assuring, "No, you're right, of course. I'm not the best at the whole talking thing. I tend to do stupid things, socially. Even if this isn't directly my fault, I still feel badly over what happened. So you're right. I'm not going there to help, but because I'm involved."

"Oh, does it involve the chandelier thing? That has ‘Mender Accident’ written all over it!" Rainbow asked, suddenly smirking. I felt a distinct heat push into my cheeks as I exhaled, looking away from her again.

Applejack snorted, however. "Ah seem ta remember ya did ah real number on ah statue at tha Gala that one year," the farm mare reminded with a smirk.

Predictably, Rainbow shifted from mirthful to defensive in less than a heartbeat, turning to glare at her friend. "Hey, I was trying to save somepony, too!" she defended, looking more than a little guilty while doing so. I decided I probably shouldn't ask.

Applejack rolled her eyes but turned back to me instead. "If it's involvin' ya specifically, and is between Rare and Twi, Ah have a feelin' Ah know what happened," she reasoned before stepping considerably closer and whispering, "Rarity confessed, didn't she?"

Rainbow's eyes widened, her being close enough to hear it as well. Apple Bloom let out a sudden gasp of understanding, and asked, "Oh my! Fer true? Rarity has feelin's fer ya?"

Blushing, I sighed and nodded, not really feeling like lying to the Elements of Honesty and Loyalty; not to mention an adorably innocent little filly who implicitly trusted me for some reason.

"Whoa! I'm surprised Twilight isn't in rage mode," Rainbow admitted, looking more than a little shocked.

Applejack smiled at that and shook her head, however. "They've been friends fer ah long time. Ah think Rarity knew she overstepped her bounds an' Twilight's bein' rightly forgivin'," she pointed out, actually sounding pleased by the way things were turning out. Although, I suppose Twilight hasn't blown up Ponyville yet, so things were indeed going well.

Applejack watched me carefully for a few more seconds, and I shifted uncomfortably. Rainbow's ears twitched and she frowned before glancing over at Applejack as well. "You're making ‘me’ feel awkward. Good grief, Applejack. What's up?" she asked a moment later, pseudo-defending me. Kinda. Wait, that reminded me; wasn't there something I was supposed to be remembering? Damn it. Now I was thinking in Pinkie.

The orange country mare rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Ah was just curious as ta how Mender 'ere felt about her. Ah've not seen any hintin' that he likes her like that, is all," she explained, looking back up at me curiously.

Sighing, I looked down from her for a moment, considering her question. She knew already what my answer was going to be, in all likelihood. Did she really feel the need to actually ask? "I, well, no. Rarity is an amazing mare and a really great friend, but I honestly don't feel the same towards her as I do when I think of Twilight or Fluttershy," I explained as simply as I could. I'd not given it a lot of thought beyond the basic realization, so putting words to it was a little tricky still.

Her stare persisted for a few more moments before a light smile danced onto her expression and she nodded sagely. "Ah'm happy yer not lyin' ta yerself. Ya tell her just that and Ah'm sure she'll understand," Applejack advised, seeming pleased again. She was a strange mare. Although I could definitely see why she was the Element of Honesty.

Wait, Honesty? Being truthful, or revealing information. Oh! Glancing back towards Rainbow, I noticed she was still looking a little weirded out. Now I remembered! I had made a mental note to chase her down when I got back. Apple Bloom gave me a curious look, but I just smiled down at her before mentally whispering, "Hey Rainbow, can you hear me?"

There wasn't the level of realization I was looking for. "Huh? Yeah, I'm still paying attention," she assured, snapping out of whatever daydream she was in and looking back up at me with a faint smile.

"Er, well, that's good, Ah guess. Ya got somethin' ta say?" Applejack inquired, turning back around again from her stand. I was suddenly glad she didn't have any customers at the moment, as I was certainly distracting her enough. Similarly, Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow towards Dash as well. My right ear twitched. Hmm. The bitter memory of the cupcake prank drifted into my head and I tried not to smile openly.

Rainbow flattened her ears back and shook her head at Applejack. "Uh, not really. I mean," she muttered. Mentally grinning, I launched my daring plot.

"Oh, don't mind her. I just wanted to talk to you about the wing thing, and the finer details of how you’re going to let Applejack know you love her," I relayed in an amused mental projection.

This time it was like flicking a switch. Rainbow screeched to a halt and shifted her attention over to me instantly, jaw dropped open and eyes the size of teacups. "What are you doing?! You're not supposed to say anything about..." she started to shout, stammering the last sentence before blushing furiously and looking back at Applejack.

"Uh, what in tarnation is wrong with you, Rainbow?" she questioned, looking a mixture of surprised and concerned. Oh, oh crap. That played into it a little too good!

Rainbow shuddered as if punched, eyes softening as she looked away. "I, um, well, I don't know what he's talking about, of course. He gets these crazy ideas and," she started to excuse, backtracking rapidly while looking utterly hurt. Oops. I couldn't let this go on.

"Er, who? Mender hasn't been talkin' in the first place. He’s tha only stallion ‘ere," Applejack asked, giving Rainbow a curious glance.

"W-What?" Rainbow asked, shifting from pained expression to confusion a moment later.

Sighing, I shook my head. "I'm sorry, Dash. That was a mean trick. I didn't intend for it to go like that," I apologized, verbally this time.

The cyan mare whipped her attention back to me, questioning stare rather apparent. Apple Bloom looked downright confused at this point, shifting her attention freely between the three of us, while her older sister shot me a skeptical glance.

I closed my eyes and focused again, mentally asking, "Can you hear this as well, Dash?" Her eyes widened, confirming the already mostly proven suspicions. Now she saw me not moving my mouth while doing it, however. That would prove to her that her secret was still safe. Hopefully.

"How are you doing that?! I thought you could only do that with Fluttershy?" Rainbow asked, more shocked than angry suddenly, apparently momentarily forgetting my rather cruel prank. Of course, system shock could do that.

Applejack snapped into realization, widening her eyes a little as well. I nodded to both of them, while the little filly at my hooves finally settled on me, apparently deciding I held the answer to her confusion.

"Twilight figured out what caused me to link with Fluttershy like that. I was going to track you down today when I got back, but I guess you saved me the time. In testing one of her theories, she also accidentally enabled the link for you as well," I explained in summary, not wanting to give out details like that on the open street.

Dash's ears lowered a little and she looked oddly dissuaded instead. "Twilight could have told me. What exactly does it mean? What caused it?" she asked rapidly. Oh. She was worried, not dissuaded. True. We didn't know a lot about the links yet.

"Ah'm interested too, Mender. Ah don't think he wants ta discuss it 'ere, though, Rainbow. It makes sense," she pointed out, snapping Rainbow back to attention. She seemed to relax before nodding to the orange mare.

"Oh, can I listen too?" Apple Bloom asked rapidly, shifting her attention back to her sister with a pleading, wide-eyed look. I winced, glad I wasn't on the receiving end of the diabetes-inducing attack. Honestly, she already knew about me being an alien, so I didn’t think there was any point in hiding this from her. Hmm. I made a mental note to tell the other two Crusaders at some point in the future.

Her sister must have resistances to the horrible cuteness attack, however, as she simply shook her head. "It's not mah call in tha first place, Sis. Ya should be askin' Mender that," she corrected. Crap.

To her credit, Apple Bloom didn't miss a beat before whirling around and blasting me with the expression instead. I wilted, lowering my ears as she shifted closer, wiggling her forelegs back and forth impatiently. "Pleeeeease? Ah won't tell anypony else. Please, Mender? You're so cool; Ah know ya trust meh!" she squeaked, eyes watering a little. I shrank further, and Applejack started to snicker in the background. Rainbow raised an eyebrow with a choice grin as well. Damn it!

I knew better than to hold her to absolutely nopony, however. "Ugh. Fine, so long as you keep it a treasured, Cutie Mark Crusader secret," I requested, earning a shocked yet eager expression from the little filly. She’d undoubtedly tell Sweetie and Scootaloo anyway, so I might as well give her permission to. Besides, they should know regardless.

"O' Course! Only Sweetie and Scootaloo'll know, an' Ah'll swear 'em ta secrecy tha same!" she assured, hopping gently up and down while promising.

I nodded softly and smiled at her, my chest heating up a little as I watched her absolutely adorable expression. "All right then. You can listen, too, when the time comes," I assured. My poor heart. Too much exposure to these fillies might make it explode, I noted.

"Yay!" she cheered, spinning in a circle before prancing back to her sister, who looked absolutely amused at this point. Oddly, I'd seen that expression on her before, if I remembered correctly.

"Ah repeat, yer dang good with foals. Ah think yer gonna be ah great Daddy one day," Applejack complimented soon after. Oh yeah, now I remember where I'd seen that expression before. Further, I now wished I hadn’t.

Blushing, I looked away from them, finally earning a straight out laugh from Rainbow. She was probably silently recovering from the rather scary prank that was accidentally a lot worse than intended. "Heck, Ah'm barely makin' any sales anyway. Let's git inside tha library ta talk," Applejack offered a moment later, smiling instead and nodding towards me absently.

"Oh, uh, okay. That's where Twilight keeps, um, them, anyway. I'll show you when we get inside," I assured after earning a strange look from Rainbow.

Applejack nodded and turned back around to her stand before shouting out, "Last chance fer apples today! Ah'm closin' up early!" Smiling, I nodded and slowly hauled my baggage up closer to the stand before sitting again and watching a small crowd of ponies rapidly approach.

“Them?” Rainbow whispered, drifting closer to me as Applejack drew all of the attention.

I smiled and nodded to her, returning her whisper with, “They’re items that made the links between us from my old world.” Her rose colored eyes widened and she momentarily looked apprehensive before her mask of self-assurance painted over it. She nodded gently and landed next to me while we both watched the country mare sell her wares.

Apple Bloom apparently decided that meant she was done for the day and hopped up behind me onto the top of the middle suitcase, smiling sweetly at me as she lay down. Smirking at her, I rubbed the top of her head, earning a soft murmur as a light burst of magic from my hoof acted like a brush along her mane.

Rainbow seemed pleased as well, watching me pay attention to the filly. She relaxed on her haunches, the tension flowing out of her again as she stretched her wings out softly. I watched with interest for a moment, seeing the muscles along her upper back flex and shift with each movement of her wings. If I was going to improve upon the wing thruster design, I’d have to get rather familiar with those muscles, I had a feeling. Wiring into them would give a lot more control over things, especially for in-atmosphere flying. But first things first…

"I'm sorry for the prank, Rainbow. I didn't mean for that to happen," I mentally whispered a moment later, trying to get my sincerity across. Rainbow obviously didn't know how to respond, but her eyes softened and she gave me a rather warm smile before shaking her head.

"I'm just glad it wasn't what I thought," she whispered, surprisingly mellow for Rainbow Dash. I would have expected a good solid kick to the skull after that incident. Either the prank had truly shocked her, which made me feel really, really badly, or she was waiting for a more opportune time where she could beat the crap out of me without raising public suspicion. Oddly, I don't think the latter would hurt as much. Honestly, I just wanted Dash to trust me still.

"Hmm?" Apple Bloom asked shortly after, glancing over at Rainbow as well.

"Oh, nothin'" she assured, giving a nonchalant wave of her hoof. I snickered and resumed waiting for whenever Applejack was finished. Hmm. Sorry, Twilight, but I might be just a little bit late.

* * * * *

Applejack stared curiously at the disks I'd spread out on the table. Rainbow had picked hers up almost immediately and was flipping it around in her hooves. "This is so weird! This is totally my Cutie Mark!" she exclaimed, looking fascinated. As I predicted, it didn't do a thing when she picked it up. She was already recorded on it, so I didn't think there was anything for it to do in the first place.

"These thingies came out o' tha rocks, right? When you poked 'em?" Applejack asked again from her spot on the sofa. Once I told her they operated via touch, she refused to get too close to them, which was probably a good thing.

I nodded gently. "Yeah. Fluttershy's disk was in the second rock, while Rainbow's was in the third. Rainbow's was deactivated until I touched it, however," I summarized what I had already told them.

Rainbow rolled her eyes and sighed. "You mean when Twilight made you touch it, right?" she corrected, sounding a little miffed.

I coughed lightly but looked away. Apple Bloom snickered, looking up from where she was rolling one along the table. She'd grabbed one before I could warn her about the touch thing, and absolutely nothing happened. It honestly didn't surprise me that much, but I pretended that I already knew it only worked on the Elements of Harmony. I didn't exactly want Applejack to beat the tar out of me for risking her sister like that. Still, it was a discovery I could tell Twilight!

"What happens if I touch a blank one?" Rainbow asked a moment later, shifting her attention to one of the gray ones still lying on the coffee table.

"I honestly have no idea." No sense in lying to either of them about it.

Rainbow smirked at me before reaching down and resting her hoof across one of the gray disks. My ears drooped and I sighed, realizing I should have guessed she'd do it almost instantly. "Ya really need to work on that forethought thing, Dash," Applejack muttered a moment later, rolling her eyes.

The cyan pegasus let out a squeak and hopped backwards as the disk lit up. Hers landed on the table after she dropped it, rolling about in a distracting manner. Regardless, my eyes widened as I watched the gray ones instead, but then I relaxed as only a message popped up over the disk. "Subject 02 Already Recorded" was displayed in the floating holographic lettering.

"Whoa! That's neat," Apple Bloom muttered, sliding her hoof through the message a couple of times. It flickered with each passing, but remained floating in the air for a few seconds before fading away.

"I guess the disks are linked together and know you're already on one, Dash," I reasoned, shrugging.

Applejack frowned and leaned forwards a little now that the light show was done before verifying, "So if Ah were ta touch ah gray one, mah Cutie Mark would appear on it, and Ah'd be 'registered'; whatever that means?" She paused, looking back up at me, so I nodded gently to her. "Then, if ya touched it after, we'd link up just like Fluttershy and Rainbow?" she finished, tilting her head curiously while looking down at the disks.

Absently, I nodded. "That's what's happened so far. Apparently, it works if you touch the containers as well. It registered Fluttershy when she poked the rock, after all," I reasoned.

"I'm still confused. Why didn't it form the link with me instead of just recording me, then?" Rainbow asked, frowning.

That was probably my fault. I hadn't explained it very well. "Ah, Fluttershy touched it, and then I touched it when it was still connected to the rock. You touched it after Twilight chopped it free of the main container. Apparently, it doesn't need a connection to register you, but it does need a connection to hook me up to the disk?" I offered.

Rainbow exhaled weakly, blowing her bangs up into the air a little before nodding. "So, kinda because by the time I touched the rock thingies, it was already cut free by Twilight?"

Well, that was a far easier way of saying it. I blushed but nodded, a little embarrassed over my own awkwardness. Note to self, still not so great at the talking thing.

Apple Bloom hopped away from the table and onto the couch a second later. Glancing her way, I saw one of the glowing disks in her mouth instead. Wait, what? My eyes widened as I looked back at the table, only to find Dash's discarded disk missing! Apple Bloom smiled at me before tossing in a wink and letting the disk drop against her sister's foreleg!

"Apple Bloom?" the orange farm mare asked, looking down at her sister again. A heartbeat passed as I stared in horror. Applejack caught my stare and gave me a funny look before glancing down at what I was looking at. A long second drifted by as all four of us now stared at the glowing disks resting against her foreleg, Rainbow's attention having been drawn by Applejack's voice.

Applejack practically exploded after the moment passed, diving off the side of the couch to get away from the seemingly inert disk. Well, I guess that means nothing happens if we try to dual-register ponies either!

Her sister looked more amused than upset, however. What the hell was she trying to do?! "Don't worry, Sis! It was Rainbow Dash's disk. Ah don't think it woulda hurt ya," she assured, snickering in amusement.

"Hey! Give that back!" Rainbow exclaimed, giving the filly a glare before grabbing her disk back. She didn't notice it was her own disk before now?

Applejack's head popped up over the armrest again, glaring at Apple Bloom as well. "Ya didn't know that, AB! That was right dangerous!" she warned sternly. The little filly's ears drooped, and she nodded solemnly.

"Ah'm sorry, Sis. Ah honestly thought the worst that coulda happened was that ya'd get ah link with Rainbow instead," she professed, causing me to mentally snicker. Rainbow probably wouldn't be nearly as upset about that. Although, as much basis as that guess had, I seriously doubted that would be possible.

I called it correctly when I noticed Rainbow blush. Applejack considered it for a moment before shrugging. "Ah suppose yer right. That wouldn't be so bad," she agreed. What?

Her reply hit me like an avalanche, flattening my ears back and causing my mouth to drop open a little of its own accord. If she meant what I thought she did there... Wincing, I tried to flatten out my expression as best I could. Dash had been looking at me at the time to avoid Applejack's gaze, and now raised her eyebrows, but I steadied my expression before the country mare herself looked my way.

"What's all involved in this linkin' business, speakin' of?" she asked politely a moment later. I searched her expression carefully, silently cursing my lack of social skills. The only thing I managed to get from her slightly raised eyebrow and reasonably deadpan features was that she was either mildly curious or concerned. Maybe she hadn't intended that to be as harsh as it had sounded, then?

"You okay, Mender?" Rainbow asked suspiciously, drawing both other females' attentions.

Snapping out of my thoughts, I nodded rapidly. "Oh, yeah. Sorry. The only thing we know about them right now is they share a mild empathy link at close distances, and a telepathic link when even closer," I explained casually.

"Tele-wha?" Apple Bloom questioned, snapping her attention back to me almost instantly with a large, curious stare.

"Telepathy. It means I can talk in Rainbow's head without anypony else hearing it. Empathy means she can lightly feel some of my emotions," I elaborated, smiling warmly at the little filly. As upset as I let myself get sometimes, nothing cheered me up more than a pure dose of adorable. Apple Bloom was dang good at those. Just like Sweetie Belle and Fluttershy. By being a filly, did that mean Scootaloo was also good at them? Truly, I hadn't hung out with her enough to know for sure.

Rainbow still eyed me suspiciously, but Applejack nodded and further questioned, "Ya don't know if it has any other effects then, right? Or why yer the one ta get tha links?"

Raising my head back up, I shook it weakly, adding, "No, I don't have an answer to either of those. Twilight wanted to look into them more tonight, so she might have more information for you by tomorrow." The icy stabbing sensation withdrew to a dull ache. It made sense that she didn't want a link with me and would rather it be Rainbow. That didn't necessarily mean she didn't like me, right? Hmm.

"Ya think Twi would mind if all o' us Elements came back tomorrow ta discuss this? Ah think the others should know, too," Applejack continued, looking thoughtful. She trusted me enough to speak on Twilight's behalf? I warmed a little, taking that as a positive indication to erase a few of my prior doubts.

"She's Twilight. She loves magical lectures, so why wouldn't she?" Dash pointed out in amusement, settling back onto the sofa with her coin between her hooves.

I snickered at the probably accurate estimate before nodding. "Admittedly, she's right. Twilight doesn't want to hide the information from you girls. She only found out about it the night before last, like I did," I assured, smiling to Applejack.

The orange mare seemed to relax a little and nodded to me, apparently relieved that nothing was being hidden from her. "I've also been working on blocking, or at least pushing out the connection. It only works automatically at extremely close ranges now," I added, aiming that one at Rainbow instead.

She stared at me for a moment before puffing out a bit of air from her lips, blowing her bangs up in a mild expression of what felt like apathy. "I'm not really worried, Mender. I know you can keep my secrets and you've kinda already shown that you respect my privacy," she reminded, earning herself a blank stare. Huh? When did I do that?

Applejack gave her a quizzical glance as well. Apple Bloom didn't appear to be paying attention, and was instead playing with Fluttershy's disk on the table. The cyan mare sighed a moment later before explaining, "Remember when we crashed and you helped me get untangled?"

Oh! I blushed and nodded, coughing lightly and looking away. "He kind of had me in a compromising position, but he only helped me get free rather than sneak a peek. So he's totally cool in my book," she elaborated for me, thankfully bulldozing over the conversation that had accompanied. That was the first time I realized Rainbow liked stallions, too. Although technically, that wasn't entirely accurate. She'd never said specifically that she liked mares, if I recall. She only said that she liked Applejack. Applejack-sexual then?

Applejack herself snapped me out of my contemplation with a light chuckle. "Ah figured, really. Ah guess he really does only have eyes fer Twi and Flutters," she agreed, smirking towards me in a rather uncomfortable, knowing manner.

"Hey! Looking at her like that was an accident. Admittedly, I like her like that, too, but I already told her we move at her pace," I defended, not at all comfortable with the insinuations. Now I was glad Apple Bloom wasn't paying attention after all.

It was Dash's turn to laugh. "I figured you two hadn't done anything yet. Disappointed?" she inquired, wiggling her eyebrows a moment later.

Applejack rolled her eyes at the same time I scoffed, glaring at the cyan mare. She was certainly blunt. I'd forgotten how matter-o-factly she could talk sometimes. "No. I'm managing myself well enough," I groaned, just wishing they'd shift the topic again.

"Sure you are," she continued, agreeing with an exaggerated wink. Ugh.

Applejack snickered before standing up fully and walking back around the couch. "Twilight's doin' ah lot better with things; ya don't gotta worry any. Any who, Ah gotta git tha cart an' stand back ta tha farm before it gets dark," she excused, stretching lightly along her lower back.

Glancing out the window near the door, I noticed she was indeed right. A peek at the clock told me that it had been a good twenty minutes since I left Twilight. Eh, I'd finish moving the suitcases upstairs before heading over to Rarity's.

"I'll hang out with ya until you get back to the farm, AJ," Rainbow tacked on nonchalantly. I was impressed that she managed not to blush.

Apple Bloom yawned sleepily before setting the yellow, pink, and cyan coin down on the table again. I gathered up all five of them with my magic and moved them back into the cabinet, careful to not even breath on the one I left in there.

"Thanks fer trustin' me, Mender," the little filly added warmly upon closing her mouth again. I smiled and nodded down at her, getting a warm grin back.

"You're a Crusader. Of course I trust you," I returned in a proper voice. It kind of reminded me of goofing off with Twilight.

Her grin expanded and she nodded enthusiastically, further earning smiles out of the other two mares. "O' course! Cutie Mark Crusaders are forever!" she assured, saluting me with her right forehoof. She giggled at my return salute before wobbling as Applejack picked her up and tossed her onto her back with a flick of her head.

"Come on, AB. Gotta git home and go ta bed. There's ah long day ahead o' us again tomorrow," she reminded, smiling back at her sister, who busied herself re-adjusting Applejack's Stetson.

"We'll see ya tomorrow, Mender!" Rainbow tacked on, smirking back at me as she took to the air, drifting over to the door to open it for her secret crush.

I nodded gently to her, catching Applejack's wave with a returned one before she slid the door shut. For a moment, I simply stared at the darkened wood of the door, suddenly a little bit unsure of what I was doing. I'd been so caught up in the act of actually managing a social situation by myself that I hadn't entirely realized that it was over until it was over. Now I was distinctly aware of a little bit of emptiness left behind.

After a long minute, I turned away from the door and checked the clock again. It was eighteen fifteen. That meant I had a good five or six minutes before I should leave, regardless. I had enough time to haul the luggage upstairs still. Deciding to be lazy, I smirked and warmed my left hoof up as the suitcases and saddlebags floated into the air near me, attached to tether-like barriers.

* * * * *

Twilight had decidedly over-packed. I sighed as I placed her alchemy equipment back where they were supposed to be on her shelves. The only thing she'd used them for was to get a proper measurement for my nausea medication. Of course, after what happened with Rarity, we lost quite a bit of our free time, so I hardly blamed her.

My ears perked at the sound of static upon setting down the alembic. I looked around curiously, but noticed no visual cues that might indicate a dimensional disruption. Seconds passed in absolute stillness before the static died down again. Well, that was weird. Either I was hearing things out of paranoia, or Keela was playing with the power couplings hooked up to the book. Actually, if I remembered correctly, the time lag would put her as just barely getting up at this point.

Pushing the distraction out of my head, I peeked up at the clock once more; probably for the seventh time in five minutes. Twenty after. I decided to give them the full half an hour just to be sure, of course. That only made sense. It gave Twilight extra time to try to reason with Rarity, right? I shifted back and forth on my hooves. Damn it. What would I even say to her? Now that I thought more about it, what Applejack said just felt insensitive.

Another minute ticked by as I idled. Her books were returned to the private shelves in pristine alphabetical order, and most of her instruments were put away. I didn't dare touch the clothes she brought along, of course. Maybe I was trying to be too helpful? I edged away from the suitcases on the bed uneasily, peeking around the room again. It was kind of unnerving to be by myself here.

The static sensation creeped into my skull again and I looked around rapidly. Nothing. I contemplated yanking on the link a couple of times to properly indicate to knock it off. She'd better not be trying to scan the book again. We had traded very specific words in that regard! Again, the static died down after barely thirty seconds and I sighed. Whatever.

Distracting myself, I peeked at the note on Twilight's desk again. She wouldn't technically need it now, of course. It was written in Spike's rather elegant, if not practical, handwriting, explaining that he heard Rarity came home upset and had gone over first thing this morning to see if he could do anything for her. I smiled softly at it, but kept it where it was. With her being over there right now, she probably found out before I did.

Leaning down, I gave my tired leg muscles a stretch before heading back for the stairs. I might as well make my way there, I guess. It would take a little bit to walk there, and Twilight would probably call me late anyway, even without a definite time of arrival. Ah well. The sooner I got it all off my chest, the better.

I was halfway down the stairs when a resounding impact hit the main door. Startled, I jumped a little and lowered myself to my belly, halting on the stairs. What the heck was that?! "Ah! Owww," was muttered out a second later, answering my question without requiring further investigation. In fact, the voice sounded suspiciously familiar.

Sighing, I stood up fully again and walked over to the door. A peek through the little window in it confirmed my suspicions, and I opened it for the lavender unicorn, who was gently massaging her horn now.

"Are you okay, Twi? What are you doing back here?" I inquired, a little concerned at not only her disruption of the plan, but the light bruise that was appearing towards the base of her horn. That looked painful, now that I knew horns were sensitive!

She winced and looked up at me, eyes softening in the dim light the room released. "Ow. Yeah, I'm fine. I was thinking to myself and not, um, paying as much attention as I should have," she muttered, looking down and away from me with the hinting of a blush forming on her cheeks. I smiled, but didn't rub it in any further. Besides, she was cute when embarrassed.

"Well, what are you doing back here? Was Rarity not home?" I inquired, back to the topic at hoof now that she assured me she was okay.

She exhaled weakly, and I swallowed. Uh oh. "No, she wasn't. I looked for a while, but I couldn't manage to find her," she muttered, frowning before slowly walking past me and into the library. I shivered as she walked past.

Wonderful. Did she know we had arrived back in town and was avoiding us? No, that didn't make sense. She wasn't one to avoid her problems for this long, it felt like. Maybe she was just visiting somepony for a bit of a talk? It made sense if she was upset about it. Fluttershy maybe? Twilight probably already thought of that, though.

I turned and followed her back inside after gently closing the door. Damn it. This wasn't exactly going as smoothly as we initially thought it would. "Was Spike there still or did he go with Rarity?" I asked curiously.

Twilight stopped and frowned back at me. "Spike was supposed to be there?" she asked, confirming my answer regardless. He must have gone with her, then.

"Yeah, he left a note on your desk upstairs saying he had gone to console Rarity this morning," I informed. She glanced up the stairs in question before sighing and shaking her head.

"Perfect. I was hoping he'd know where she was, too. Ugh, this is making me tired," she muttered, stomping her hooves in frustration before lowering her barrel a little and looking downright exhausted.

I lowered my eyes and nodded to myself. The 'jet' lag from the train ride followed by her generally high strung manner of dealing with things probably took a lot out of her. The fact that she was showing it to me said a lot, however. I blushed as I walked up and rubbed a hoof along her shoulder, massaging gently. Her muscles felt tense, confirming my suspicions.

Twilight glanced back at me and smiled softly, looking downright content with my gesture, although it was hard to tell in this light. The sun was rapidly setting, and I had lacked the foresight to turn on many lights downstairs.

"You're so kind to me. Thank you, Mender. Sometimes I worry I don't appreciate you nearly enough," she muttered before resting her cheeks against my hoof. I momentarily worried that such a stretch might be painful to her stiff neck muscles, but she didn't seem to mind all that much.

I felt my cheeks heat up again and shook my head in denial. "You're amazing, Twilight. You don't need to worry about anything," I assured quietly. Maybe the thing with Rarity had shaken her up a little more than she let on? Of course, if how she acted on the train was any indication, she had been thinking about it a lot more than she let on.

She smirked suddenly and giggled. "Still! Hmm. Actually, I think I need a little break. Wanna come along?" she inquired, her tone of voice changing dramatically. Huh? Suddenly, I noticed my heartbeat increase as I watched her walk towards the stairs. She stopped at the foot of them and smiled back at me, giving a mirthful wink. What did she mean, break?

"Come on, Mender. I want to 'experiment' a little bit to help me relax," she murmured, swishing her tail in my direction playfully. The heat magnified in my face as my heartbeat increased again followed by a painful swallow. Now? Of all times, she wanted to do that kind of stuff now?! Was she afraid that Rarity might steal me away or something?

"Twilight, is this about what she said on the train ride? I told you I'm all right with waiting," I asked hesitantly, following along after her if not to simply keep up.

She paused momentarily and sighed before giving me a soft smile backwards. "I know what you said. I have been thinking about it a lot, but I want this. It'll just be a little bit of fun, okay?" she offered. Hesitating, I frowned at her and tried to search her expression. She was bothered by what Rarity said. I should have figured as much. What was she going to do, though? Hesitantly, I took another couple steps.

She took my slow step forward as a confirmation, apparently, and continued up the stairs, a definitely noticeable sway to her flanks with each step now. What was she doing?! My mind sputtered as I couldn't move my eyes off her tail; it would sway in the opposite direction of her hips with each light movement, still covering everything but acting extremely teasing as well. Scrunching my eyes shut, I fought back the heat and promptly almost tripped on one of the steps. No, she probably just wanted to kiss a little! If she knew I was staring at her flank, I'd probably be sent back down the stairs in a rather abrupt manner!

"There you are. Get lost?" she playfully teased as I finally rounded the top of the stairs and looked over at her. My breath caught in my throat as I watched her lazily spread her long form out on her mattress, demurely looking up and down my body before gesturing for me to approach. Oh hell. Oh hell! What was she doing?!

"W-What are you doing, Twi? Um, this seems a little much for, um," I tried to ask, stumbling over my wording as I stuttered like a schoolyard boy. Ugh. My hormones were going totally crazy and I struggled to keep my body under control as it started to tingle in awkward places. She said just a 'little' fun!

"I want to show you exactly how much you're appreciated, Silly. I really do love you, you know. Oh. So. Much," she murmured, snickering at my locking up all of a meter away. Love?! I swallowed and shivered, totally taken off guard by this sudden change in approach. It was something she read. It had to be. Rarity wouldn't have suggested she act like this, would she? She saw something or other today at some point and it must have caused her to panic and think she was doing something wrong. That meant it was practically my obligation to explain things to her and assure her that she was indeed okay, right?

I shook my head, stopping my advance despite my body's complaints. "T-Twilight, relax. This is something you read about, isn't it? You don't need to do this. I'm ecstatic that you feel that strongly about it but you don't need to, um, push yourself," I tried to explain, ignoring my body's shivers.

She snickered and just looked more amused before leaning forward and pulling me closer to her. "You're such the gentlecolt," she returned before pulling my head forwards. Oh crap.

The kiss was a lot rougher and more needy than what I had been used to prior. She practically attacked my mouth, slipping her tongue inside and smiling against my lips as I shuddered. Her heat was absolutely intense as she pulled me against her chest, my back end still hanging off the side of the bed. She moaned lightly into the kiss a moment later as I hesitantly returned a push against her tongue with my own.

She broke the kiss a moment later and I frowned, wondering if I had done it wrong. Wait, why were we doing this in the first place?! A thin line of saliva connected our lips still, and she surprised me by licking along mine slowly, gathering it up with her tongue before pulling it back into her mouth. Whoa. "Mmm, good boy. I knew you'd change your mind," she muttered, looking content with her eyes half lidded. I stared at her in surprise, my brain sputtering.

She leaned back more, giving me a gentle tug and gesture to get up on the bed with her fully, lips curling into a rather heated smile. I froze and stared. Wait...

After a moment, she frowned and tilted her head at me, asking, "Why stop now? I know you don't want to." A cold sensation drifted through my body as I suddenly understood. Everything clicked into place at the same time.

My left hoof activated, subtly coating the blankets under her with my magic. She frowned for a split second before I whipped the blanket up with both hooves. She let out a startled yelp as the fabric came alive, tightly wrapping around her and hauling her into the air like a possessed cocoon. After she finished three rotations, wrapping her up tightly, I smashed her into the wall as hard as I could, glaring as her head skipped off the rough wood...

Next Chapter: Chapter 25 Estimated time remaining: 55 Hours, 59 Minutes
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