Login

Forgiveness Pending

by Kiroberos

Chapter 52

Previous Chapter Next Chapter

Slowly, I watched the fading light gently drifting across the grass. Celestia's sun slowly drifted out of sight along the horizon, and soon it would be time for Luna to take over and bring forth my more favorable times of day. I guess it was in my name, but I much preferred the cooler temperatures and darker atmospheres night brought about. Plus, the moon in Equestria was gorgeous. Luna had my full compliments.

We weren't quite there yet, though. Raising an eyebrow, I looked to my left again at the straining and panting cyan pegasus, drops of sweat sliding off the oranges and reds she sported towards her bangs. Four layers of jets extended off her back, idle yet being supported with her own power entirely. The further out she got from her natural wings, the harder it became as it required more and more energy to expand the framework of the enchantment. She trained fast, but I could tell she was pushing herself.

"Ha... Ha! When you say endurance training, you mean it!" Dash squeaked out a moment later, barely able to start the sentence as her focus wavered lightly.

"You like fast, and this is the absolute fastest way to grow your energy pool. Once you rest up from this, you'll find yourself slower to tire and able to go for far longer with your jets activated," I reasoned, watching her intently while monitoring her inner fluctuations. Based off her inner energy network, she should have passed out three minutes ago. The only guess I had was that sheer stubbornness was keeping her conscious at this point.

She grinned, eyes still dancing with energy despite how much sweat dripped off her face. "That... Totally what I wanted to hear!" she groaned out, legs shaking as her ragged breathing doubled in speed. Spike, who was just wandering back up from the lake with a familiar looking tortoise sitting on his head, gave her a surprised stare as he got closer. Yeah, she didn't exactly look like she should be standing.

"She's still going?!" he questioned, eyes widening, and I gave him a hesitant nod in return. Well, if nothing else, the mare had tenacity, that was for-

Her energy flickered at the same time her eyes widened a little, and I saw a shiver go through her. Dark crimson slipped from both nostrils at the same time, draining down her muzzle and across her lower lip as she panted. "Yup, that's it!" I called, mentally disabling her enchantment remotely. She gave a startled jerk as the wings were suddenly gone and stumbled. I moved in to her left and Spike dashed forwards at the same time, both of us steadying her as she suddenly just collapsed, gasping. Damn it! She pushed herself so hard she got a cranial pressure spike. Well, I guess anypony can have that happen, regardless of phenotype.

She started coughing a moment later and spit some of the blood from her mouth before pulling her right foreleg up around mine and pushing it into her right temple. "Aaah! That... It hurts!" she gasped out, voice airy and barely there.

Damn it, Rainbow! "Here, I don't know if this is going to work, but hold still!" I barked, bumping her right side with my flank, fairly easily knocking her over onto her side. Spike yelped and cushioned her with his chest, slowing her tumble and setting her on the ground as I ducked under her forelegs.

Rainbow gave a startled squeak, eyes widening to full size as I slipped right through her forelegs and pushed my forehead solidly against hers, glowing eyes now open and staring into her own from barely a few millimeters away. Energy flowed through points in the body, like a complicated subway system. One of the main points was in the forehead, and everypony had it. I'm guessing it's where the horn would be, even if they weren't unicorns. Regardless, my body had it, too, and Twilight used it to inject her energy into me, so maybe...

"W-What are you..." she whispered, cheeks going crimson as I held her there.

"Twilight does this for me when I overuse my magic sometimes. Just hold still," I requested, feeling the mare relax gently on her side in the grass. My focus shot up again once I stopped talking, eyes scanning her internal pressure at the same time I shot my energy into my forehead.

The sensation was there. That connection that Twilight had was in Rainbow, too! Smiling to myself, I pushed into it and felt Dash gasp, eyes widening as they started to glow a faint rose color a second later. "Whoa!" Spike muttered, staring in surprise at us as Tank finally landed next to him, having been knocked free when Spike lunged to catch Rainbow. I paid no attention as I felt the connection stabilize, and then my energy flooded into her. She shivered against me, but didn't move at all, as I requested. She couldn't keep from giving a low, elongated groan, however, as I washed over her mind with my own magic. Her reserves were badly depleted, and I just copied what I'd felt Twilight do, going from node to node and stirring Rainbow's inner magic back into production, boosting her recovery speed and removing the pain. She probably felt her headache melt away, if it was like what I'd experienced.

Ten seconds passed as I felt her breathing stabilize and her eyes closed. Her shivering continued, however, as the muscles along her stomach danced against mine, my torso partially over hers so I wouldn't have to bend myself to get at her forehead. "You're copying Twilight, aren't you?" Spike suddenly noticed, smirking at us.

I snickered and nodded, watching the pressure drop inside her head, magic balancing itself again. "Yeah. She told me in the hospital that all ponies have the main forehead connection, so I took a guess that this would work for Dash, too," I relayed, tasting a bit of Rainbow's blood from her nose, but ignoring it. Still, she shouldn't have pushed herself to this! Her drive to get ahead was putting her in a lot of danger! If not for herself, for everypony else that cared about her.

"Aaah, the headache, it's... It went away. Mender..." she muttered, eyes opening again a moment later, staring into mine.

I frowned, however, keeping the energy feed up but giving her a stern stare. "You should stop before you get to this point, Rainbow. Don't push yourself this hard. You'll end up hurting yourself. Even if you don't think it's a problem, a lot of ponies care about you, so do it for them," I voiced, watching her expression falter slightly. Spike started snickering again, nodding along in agreement as well.

Her magic was stable again, but I noticed a particular stress along her back where her wing muscles were. After I was finished regulating her inner magic, I shot over to her back and focused on repairing the energy lines going into her wings. There was no outward reaction, so I assumed she probably didn't even feel it being done. Her eyes shivered lightly, as if she were fighting with something inside, I noticed.

"I-I know. Um, I probably shouldn't ask, and it'll sound, well, really uncool, but, uh, are you one of those ponies?" she asked, voice dropping to almost a whisper as she searched my expression.

Her direction came out of left field, and I suddenly had no idea why she was even asking me that. I rolled my eyes before giving her a weak smile, stringing her back energy lines back up fully and returning to check her head one last time. "I'd have thought that much would be obvious at this point. I wouldn't do this for just anypony, Rainbow. While it has medical uses, there are also intimate connotations with it, too," I warned, hoping she got the hint to not tell everypony about it. Twilight would understand and probably be fascinated that it even worked, but I didn't want random ponies starting rumors up again!

Little warning flags went off in my mind as I felt her forelegs slowly snake up under mine and hook over my back, shaking there as she locked eyes with me. I froze, surprised at her sudden movement, but managing to get out, "Uh, Rainbow?"

"Um," Spike muttered, eyes also widening as he watched, mouth dropping a little. Rainbow's mouth dropped a little, too, but for an entirely different reason. It was spontaneous, abrupt, and with little to no warning whatsoever, so it honestly kind of suited her entirely. Suddenly, she tipped her head down just a bit and fully pushed her muzzle into mine. With the most natural reaction possible, I froze as if I'd witnessed a nuclear warhead heading right at my face.

The instant her lips connected, her inner mindset blanked completely, and I felt a tidal-like surge as her own energy started to shift back up the link. Uh oh. Oh no! That was bad! Her lower body shifted slightly to the left at the same time, neatly cupping against my left flank as she held me there. To my shock, I actually felt her tongue start to slip out, trying to brush against my lips.

It snapped me out of it and I panicked, snapping the link free as I pulled away from her forehead, energy visibly dancing between us as I winced. Her inner light was indeed prismatic, dancing halfway up the link between our foreheads before I managed to pull it away and separate us. My back forelegs pushed off at the same instant, tossing me away from the mare and landing me on my back into a sideways roll before I crashed into a tree at the other side of the path leading up to the clearing we resided in, mind reeling in an almost fog. Was that what a mind link starting to form felt like?!

"Mender, Mender... Mender," whispered all around me in Rainbow's voice, snap images of her crying into a cloud, extending a hoof down through the dark and reaching towards me. What was...? A deep sadness and sense of vulnerability stagnated around the darkness, and I felt intense fear that wasn't my own. Inside, I knew Rainbow wasn't as strong as she pretended to be, but what was causing so much doubt? Was this behind, well, whatever feelings drove her to do what she just did? She suddenly felt really lonely. No, she was lonely, as well as scared of remaining that way, I realized.

My eyes snapped open again and I groaned, sliding off the base of the tree and looking over at Dash and Spike. He was staring back and forth between us with huge eyes, both claws covering his mouth as if to hold in a scream of shock. As if he could erase what he just saw if he didn't say anything. Rainbow still lay on her side, her right foreleg extended out towards me as her other was tucked back up, holding a hoof up against her muzzle. Her eyes held both surprise and wetness as she slowly started shaking her head.

"I... I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do that. It just kind of slipped out and...!" she started excusing roughly, voice shaking and barely managing to work for her as she pulled her right foreleg back in and closed her back legs together again. I had absolutely no idea what to say in the slightest, and just continued to stare at her in blank shock.

She winced and struggled to stand up again, her wings opening and flailing to try to get a running start to what was undoubtedly her escape attempt. But her energy hadn't recovered enough to even get into her wings, I noticed. A numb sensation shot back through the empathy link and she gasped, flailing limply before hitting the ground hard on her chest. Damn it!

That kicked me out of it and I got up again, limping over to where she lay, slowly pulling her legs back under her from the abrupt belly flop. That couldn't have felt good... "Rainbow, you can't fly. Don't try to-" I started to warn before she rolled over abruptly.

Her right foreleg swatted my right one out of the way before she edged backwards, shuffling to get away from me. "N-No! Stop, I don't deserve you worrying about me after what I just-" she started to spit out. I guessed it was my turn to do the interrupting, and slammed down to either side of her, locking her in place on the ground. She froze in an instant, eyes wide as she stared up at me.

"Stop it, Rainbow! Running away isn't the way to handle it. I've done it enough to know it never works, and you don't see me running, do you? I'm... I'm not angry with you, just really, really surprised and confused, okay? Don't hurt yourself, and let's just talk, okay?" I suggested, voice softening after I saw her relax and finally start to take in what I was saying. I had decided to just keep talking until she finally seemed to settle again.

Slowly, she eased back and swallowed, nodding ever so slightly as I shifted off her, into a sitting position again. My left foreleg throbbed from my sudden use of it, but I just gritted my teeth and held it up for a second, shaking out the sudden numbness that oozed through it. Some things were worth a little pain for.

"I'm sorry. Again. I, uh, had no intention of doing that before you answered like, well, the way you did. It's the l-link. I knew you meant all of it because of it and, well, I've never honestly had such a definite confirmation before that somepony really cared about me, especially a pony that, uh, means a lot to me already. Ugh. I sound so sappy," she groaned out, flattening her bangs back down in frustration as her forehooves rubbed each side of her head. She made no effort at all to so much as move, even enough to roll over again. Dirt covered her chest and stomach, and I saw a light scuff on her right foreleg that didn't look like it felt too good. Talking seemed to be making her feel better, though.

Sitting there, I managed to nod as Spike caught back up with us, carrying a concerned looking Tank in his arms. The tortoise slipped off him into a hover, and lightly landed on Rainbow's stomach as she watched him, shifting to a smile. Her forelegs wrapped around his shell and she pulled him into a hug after he landed. I couldn't help but smile a little at the sight.

"I think I understand, Rainbow. You don't have to apologize. You're worried about Applejack," I surmised, causing Spike to raise an eyebrow towards me in confusion.

Rainbow's ears flattened back an instant later, however, and she looked away rapidly. "N-No! I'm not worried about that! I'm sure I can convince her to give it a try, and then it's just a matter of showing her how awesome I am! No sweat there," she corrected. I averted my gaze, realizing I didn't have that great of a grasp on Equestrian 'dating', but that still sounded a little off to me.

"Then why don't you just fly over there tomorrow and ask her right away?" Spike questioned, tilting his head while oblivious to the fact that she had lied through her teeth, in all likelihood. Still, he had a point. Heh.

"Well, uh, I gotta show her how awesome I am first, and the easiest way to do that is by winning a big race in her name! Then she'll go crazy over me and it'll be easy," she explained.

I tilted my head, giving her an amused smirk before asking, "Didn't you already say it was going to be easy? It just seems like you're making it a lot riskier than it needs to be, is all." My expression fell and I sighed, getting an uneasy feeling about it all.

Her demeanor shifted, the link feeling a slight twinge of panic instead as her face blanked. She stared at me for a second before quietly asking, "W-What do you mean, riskier?" The question was genuine, and I decided she'd probably not considered the ramifications of her plan. Well, no, this was Rainbow I was talking to, so in all likelihood, she was flying blind. So to speak, anyway.

"It just seems way riskier. Applejack seems to be a more modest and reserved mare. The race is super important, right? Well, announcing your feelings in front of potentially hundreds of ponies and shoving her right into the spotlight with it, based on how you reacted earlier with me for liking another mare... Well, it just seems like Applejack might not take it too well, regardless of how she actually feels about you," I explained, resting my left foreleg down again. It was finally starting to feel better.

Rainbow stared blankly at me for a good five seconds as I shifted back and forth on my hooves, unsure of what more to say. Finally, her eyes dropped and she frowned, softening her expression a little as she seemed to shift into a rather intense bout of thinking. "I, well, I didn't think about that. Um, I don't know what to do, now. It felt like such an awesome plan! But I don't want to screw up. Uh, not that I'd screw up or anything, of course, I mean-" she said rapidly, tone shifting to flustered as she continued.

I cut her off with, "Dash! You don't have to try to act tough. It's okay, and totally normal to be nervous, and I'd actually think a lot higher of you if so. You're strong, but not impervious." Memories flashed back into my mind of soldiers who were exactly the same way. A unit functioned based off its members, and soldiers like that, who wanted to prove themselves, tended to not ask for assistance. We buried a lot of those kinds of soldiers. While Rainbow thankfully wasn't a soldier and didn't have those harsh risks, I didn't want to see her hurt.

She blushed, staring at me intently as Spike nodded along. "Totally. We're you're friends, Dash. Neither of us are gonna tell another soul, and ya know Tank's not gonna think less of you," he chipped in, giving his best warm smile. I smirked but nodded at him, realizing he was a lot better at this whole 'talking' thing than I was.

Rainbow sighed and looked down again before finally rolling weakly onto her side, wincing as she went. The overuse of her magic was probably catching up with her body now, assuming it was also tied into a pegasus' fortitude. Yeah, it was a rough day when your entire body felt like one giant bruise. Like being kicked through a window, getting your leg torn off, and then being flung through a forest at Slipstream speeds. Good times!

"Okay, don't tell anypony else! I mean it! I have a serious reputation to keep. I'm worried, yeah. I mean, what if she doesn't, uh, swing that way? I've never even seen her date before, well, not that I have since moving to Ponyville either, but... What if she's just not interested in seeing anypony like that? So, it was a little weird when you showed up out of the blue and were so, well, appealing. At first I thought it was just nerves and me looking for alternatives, but serious feelings started to develop the more I hung out with you. After what happened with the Sonic Rainboom and the weird bunny and all that, I realized how, well, loyal and dependable you were. My title says it, but loyalty is kinda big with me," she started explaining, pausing to frown and collect her thoughts. I'd pretty much known all of this, but the 'alternatives' was new. What, in case Applejack said no? Being a runner up didn't really surprise me all that much, but a little ache drifted into my chest anyway. More because I'd never be able to make her as happy as if she'd gotten her 'first' choice.

Noting I didn't say anything, and not realizing it was because of my thought processes, she continued anyway. "It didn't take me long to realize that I really did like you, and it started to make me conflicted with Applejack. I wasn't used to dividing my focus, and then I started getting vibes that you might like me, too! But you're already with Fluttershy and Twilight, and I knew they probably didn't like me like that, so I got frustrated. It seemed like both individuals I like might fall out of my reach, and I'd end up with nopony. It's stupid, I know, but I panicked, which was so not cool!" She glared at me for a moment before I realized she was staring pretty much right through me, and was angry with herself instead. Oh, the kiss.

"So, you tried to secure a backup ahead of time in case Applejack said no for whatever reason?" I asked, raising an eyebrow to her. Idly, I wondered what the plan would then be if her intended target said yes? Okay, 'now' I felt a little used, and was saddened because it felt like Applejack was being used, too. Further, this was all giving me a killer headache, and I really wished things could just go back to me being hit by apples. Things were so much simpler then.

"Well, yes, I mean, no! That, ugh. You make it sound so horrible when you say it like that!" Rainbow accused, letting out a stiff groan as she raised her forehooves to her eyes, covering her face. Spike shut up instantly, looking like he really didn't want to get involved in that particular line of questioning. Tank, now released, curled a little, resting gently up against Rainbow as she lay there, pushing his head into her chest lightly. The little guy really loved her. Suddenly, I missed Fluttershy and Twilight again. Fluttershy gave amazingly similar hugs, and seemed to really like pushing her face into my chest for some reason. The sensation she gave made it feel like she felt safe like that. That alone made me want to hold her even tighter when she did it.

Sighing, I shook my head through the sudden haze of melancholy, pushing the stiffness in my chest down away from my expression again. "Look, it just doesn't seem fair to Applejack that you're only giving her a part of your focus before you even asked her. So forget about me until after you do," I requested. No, it was more of an order. The cyan pegasus had taxed me the last couple days in the feelings department, and I was getting a little tired of it.

Her head snapped back up and she stared at me for a moment, frown softening along with her eyes as she watched me. "M-Mender, no! I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. Please don't give up on me," she asked, several light twitches going through her left foreleg. My eyes narrowed at her totally missing the point, and I shook my head. It's not like I'd seriously considered her in the first place until this camp excursion! She wasn't exactly one to make her feelings known very easily. In fact, sometimes she did the exact opposite!

"Rainbow, you're not being fair to Applejack far more than you're not being fair to me. Think about her instead, because she's been your focus for a lot longer. Until you ask her and get a definite response, I'm not even going to consider the possibility, and for her sake, you shouldn't either," I warned, not breaking eye contact with her. She froze after wincing, and finally looked away from me, throat swallowing stiffly as she lay there. I didn't need the link to tell me that she got it, that time. It wasn't my intent to hurt her, but to make sure she didn't hurt anypony else. Applejack had already been hurt quite a bit lately, and definitely didn't need this on top of it all. I admitted to myself that Rainbow really did appeal to me in many regards, but I wasn't about to hurt anypony else either, especially the two mares I was already with.

"I get it! Um, I don't want to treat either of you as second place. Really, I don't! Honestly, I'm selfish and want both of you. I admit it! Is that what you wanted to hear?" she asked sternly, shifting to a light glare up at me but not trying to move away. It didn't take me long to realize she couldn't.

My frown returned as I stared at her, then shook my head again. "What I want is for you to not hurt anypony's feelings. I'm not trying to hurt yours either!" I defended as best I could. She shivered lightly as Spike seemed to get smaller the louder we got. Tank was unfazed, as always. Either that or he'd panic sometime tomorrow afternoon.

Dash went silent and puffed up a little, looking away from me again, staring at the ground this time instead. Slowly, her back legs tucked up against her stomach, and she nodded to nopony in particular, closing her eyes again. "I know. You're nice like that. I'm selfish, and probably don't deserve either of you. I'm sorry. I just don't want to be alone," she finally whispered, voice getting a little shaky.

Even though I knew she didn't intend it, she got me right in the heart and I winced to myself, seeing her like that. Giving a little sigh, I leaned down again and gently rested my forehead against her right shoulder, feeling her give a start under me and raise her head again. "Rainbow, you're not alone and never will be, okay? You have a lot of ponies, including me, who will always be here for you and listen to anything. I'll help you however you need it, as long as you're not hurting anypony else. Applejack undoubtedly feels the same way as me," I assured, dropping a sizeable hint in there without trying to be too obvious. Sure, she could just assume I meant being there for her, but it was there if she thought about it. A moment later, I realized I'd just called myself a pony, and inwardly smiled. Big Mac, Fluttershy, Twilight, and even Tia had said as much. Maybe I was finally starting to believe them?

Rainbow lowered her head to the grass again a moment later, her back legs curling up until she wrapped around Tank and gently pushed against my left, kneeling side. "Uh, thanks. Um, can you just keep me company for a bit?" she asked quietly, tense and slightly awkward, I noticed.

I chuckled, and then glanced back at Spike, who coughed and averted his gaze, looking back towards camp. He noticed, too. "Rainbow, we're not going to leave you to just lie out here all night. I'll keep you company while walking," I suggested, nudging her right shoulder again with my nose.

She squeaked at the sensation and gave me a surprised look before frowning at me. "Uh, I kinda can't get up. 'sides, I'm not allowed back at camp while in heat. This has already been a bad day. I kinda don't want to add getting arrested to it," she reminded.

"I'm sure an exception can be made because you're hurt and it's far closer. Besides, I never said you were walking. If you disagree, feel free to stop me if you can," I 'reasoned', smirking at her as my tentacles extended again, shifting into their rope disguise.

She let out a groan followed by, "So not fair." I noticed that wasn't exactly a complaint about the prospect, and snickered lightly as I hoisted her up onto my back. Well, Twilight was right about me getting my exercise during this excursion! It was kind of sad how it was starting to feel normal to have somepony or some dragon on my back while I walked. If Sweetie was feeling better, maybe I could convince her to be my cape for a while, as I was starting to feel naked if nopony was there. Oh, wait...

Smiling at my stupid joke as I stood up fully, I nodded to Spike, who had gathered up all our things. He gave a surprised yelp as I pulled all of them into subspace for easier carrying a second later. Tank remained unfazed and hovered into the air, following after me as I headed back towards the camp. Or maybe he was following his mistress, who happened to be on my back? I decided it was a moot point.

"Comfortable back there, Dashie?" I asked a moment later, peeking back over my shoulder at her playful scowl.

"Jerk," she muttered back, rolling her eyes but smiling at me as she rested her chin against my shoulder. Heh, this was definitely weird. Normally I was the one riding her. Wait, that came out wrong. Blushing lightly, I decided to just stop thinking for a while. Spike started snickering as he caught up, probably quite amused by our antics. My leg gave a light throb of protest, and suddenly, I had no doubt I was going to sleep really well tonight, too...

* * * * *

"Would you believe me if I said I happened to stumble upon her, injured, in the forest?" I offered after a few minutes of hesitation while Redheart checked Rainbow over.

"If you let me wear a secret agent outfit, I'll believe anything you ever say again, Boss," Nurse Redheart offered, winking back at me as she smirked, testing Rainbow's range of motion in her wings. Rainbow would probably be laughing if she weren’t so busy wincing with every movement, looking incredibly uncomfortable.

Chuckling, I assured, "I'll ask Tia if it's in the dress code for us." Little did she realize, given her snickering afterwards, that I probably would, just to surprise the white mare with it.

"I still don't, ah, get what exactly Mender's position is," Rainbow muttered, wincing between shifts again, then cringing as the nurse stretched her wing a bit more inwards, checking its folding capacity.

"He's Chief of Dimensional Regulation, or DReg for short. Apparently, it's a new branch of government Princess Celestia has instated in order to provide research and defense against any and all dimensional intrusions, through diplomacy by design, and force if necessary," Redheart recited, frowning as she rubbed along the tendon of Rainbow's inner right wing. The cyan mare gasped and squished her eyes closed, a pained look on her face during the whole process.

She backed off finally and let Rainbow rest a moment later, pushing a pillow up gently under the mare's head while she lay on the cot. "You seriously swelled up your wing muscles. The next time Mender tells you to not overdo it, listen to him," she warned sternly, shaking her head as she dug into a drawer and started pulling out multiple medicine bottles.

Color me impressed, as I hadn't actually told her what had happened. Rainbow looked equally surprised, but Redheart just rolled her eyes. "I've seen enough unicorn injuries to know what magic strain looks like, with your reddened inner nose, tinted eyes, and tendon tension along your wings. Given that you're not a unicorn, and that the damage is along your wings instead, I took a guess that Mender was training you with some sort of magic to give you an edge in the upcoming race," she deduced, amazingly accurately. Damn! She wasn't just picked as my nurse due to proximity, I had a feeling.

"That's really impressive! I'm glad you're in the agency. You even memorized the mission statement already," I complimented, smiling at her.

She blushed faintly at me, but fluttered her eyelashes in amusement. "Oh come now. You knew I was more than just a pretty face and amazing body, Mender," she cooed teasingly. I started to roll my eyes as Rainbow made a gagging motion with her hoof, when all three of us jumped as the door slammed open behind me. Redheart shifted to a skeptically incredulous expression as she looked past me, and I sighed. Spike wouldn't slam the door like that, so I had a sneaking suspicion that was...

"You made it back, Mender!" Sweetie Belle managed to squeak out, her voice a little raspy from the hundreds of changes she'd gone through over the course of the day. Turning, I noticed she was a little smaller than before, apparently starting to shrink again as the magic wore off. She was still enough to drag both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo along with her, however, despite them trying to stop her. Spike just shook his head and followed a few paces after the three of them, this apparently being the results of him going to let Big Mac know where I was.

"Of course I did. What, did you think I'd fall off a cliff or someth-" I stopped and averted my eyes for a second before shaking my head and continuing with, "No, don't answer that. Anyway, weren't you supposed to be 'resting' at the cabin?" I doubted it almost as much as Nurse Redheart looked like she did when first telling me the news five minutes ago.

None of what I said halted the part filly, part mare, and she smashed into my chest a moment later, hugging me tight. I was kind of glad I was sitting down, as she was still a bit on the big side. "I just, um, wanted to apologize more. And show you that I'm getting back to normal now. Oh, and thank you properly for saving my life finally. I don't think I, um, said that," she whispered, keeping her head down and refusing to look up at me.

I sighed weakly and wrapped my left foreleg around her, careful of my leg brace on her back still. That was what changed everything, I had a sneaking suspicion. I, well, he saw quite a few individuals change after a near-death experience. Intense gratitude had a way of warping perspective on things, and I wondered if that pushed her to the extremes earlier.

"Wait, you weren't joking about what happened with Sweetie?" Rainbow suddenly asked, blunt dumbfounded tone of voice causing me to wince. She had no tact whatsoever...

The white mare and filly mix sighed and shook her head, sitting down right next to me, as close as she could get without burrowing into my chest cavity. "No, I was stupid. I thought that if I ate Heart's Desire and aged myself up a few years, Mender would accept me now rather than having to wait," she admitted, her ears flattening back. Not that the entire point of the Crusaders wasn't to rush to try to get what they want as soon as physically possible, I guessed. Maybe I should have expected this?

"You need to wait, Sweetie. I can't let myself be interested in you until you're at least two years older, okay? It's only fair, and far safer for you if you don't keep trying unusual magic, obviously. I'd feel awful if you gave up your foalhood just to be with me," I pointed out, lightly rubbing the top of her head with my left foreleg, frowning as I suddenly remembered I was still wearing my brace and got a bit of her mane stuck in the wire. Uh, oops. She raised an eyebrow up to me, and then started giggling as I lifted the other hoof, trying to get the hair loose from the frame.

Rainbow just gave us a smirk while slowly shaking her head, but Apple Bloom exhaled softly and slumped against Sweetie. "Please, Sweetie, just promise yer gonna think things through? Talk ta us before doin' anything crazy like this," she requested, sounding tired. It was late for them, and she had done a lot today trying to fix Sweetie's mess, I realized.

"Seriously? Your aura thingy has this many mares interested in you? By the time I ask AJ, you're not gonna have any, er..." Rainbow cut herself off, slowly closing her muzzle again and averting her eyes.

Nurse Redheart, who was peeking through pill bottles, shifted her gaze over to Rainbow for an amused moment before going back to searching. "Oh, you, too? Best join the club," she murmured absently. For a brief moment, I could have sworn I felt my right eye twitch a little of its own accord. "Oh, wait, you already did, I forgot. All the Element Bearers are in the agency, so I assume that gives them free access," she added after another moment's consideration, finally pulling a bottle out with her teeth afterwards. She wore a playful smirk, but I glared at her regardless. So the estrus just made her playful teasing even worse?

"W-What?!" Rainbow asked, eyes widening fully as her blush magnified several fold. Sighing, I really did twitch that time before finally getting my hoof free from Sweetie Belle's hair. She wasn't paying attention anymore, instead looking very interested in the discussion about my supposed 'club'.

"They do not, Redheart. I mean, they don't just get 'free access' to me because they're in the agency, too. Besides, a good percent of the agency are stallion guards!" I reminded, shuddering as I tried really hard not to think about what she was accidentally implying.

The nurse peeked back over her shoulder and smirked as she tossed a pill over to Rainbow, who was just staring at her in surprise. The tiny object skipped off her muzzle, and she barely managed to catch it in her mouth before it fell again. "Oh? You don't swing both ways? Pity. That would have been amazing to watch," she cooed, snickering to herself as my jaw dropped.

Rainbow made a low squeak, flush extending almost to her neck now as she almost stared through Redheart in shock. At least I wasn't alone in my surprise. Three seconds later, her cyan wings slowly started to extend as she zoned out, and I smacked my forehoof against my forehead. "Oh come on, Rainbow! You, too?! I don't like stallions!" I shouted, feeling the heat shoot into my face almost instantly. Redheart burst into a fit of giggling, and Apple Bloom and Scootaloo gave questioning looks back and forth between the two of them.

Sweetie just edged closer, ignoring Rainbow trying to shrink down and make herself invisible. "I'm glad you only like mares, Mender," she assured, blushing lightly as she smiled up at me before continuing with, "I promise that if you let me be in the herd, I'll never, ever suggest that you be with any stallions!" I gave her a suspicious stare, realizing that promise was both ridiculously easy for her to keep and heavily weighted in her favor regardless. It was kinda obvious, even for somepony as dense as me, that she had only seen an opportunity to be more appealing than the other two.

"Can I please just go to bed? It's way past my bedtime..." Spike requested weakly behind the two fillies, apparently the only one in the room who really didn't want to be here.

"Nope! Sorry, Spike, but yer our escort! Ya gotta protect us little fillies from anything bad that could get us as we walk back ta tha cabin," Apple Bloom denied, smirking back at him and fluttering her eyelashes in his direction. Talk about knowing how to work the cuteness angle! He rolled his eyes, looking away from her but sporting a tiny blush as well. Rainbow's might have gone down by now, but I couldn't tell as the only thing I could see of due to her new hiding spot amidst her blankets were the two rigid wings sticking up into the air. Actually, it probably hadn't gone down if they hadn't yet.

"Then let's go back! We can't haul Sweetie back by ourselves, and I have no point of being here, nothing needing a pair of claws and the conversation not pertaining to Rarity in even a little bit," he pointed out, looking frustrated.

Scootaloo was giving questioning glances to Rainbow's wings at this point, but Apple Bloom fully rotated around to face the little dragon. "Ya got ah one track mind, that's fer sure. Fine, ya can go back ta tha cabin an' sleep! Ah'm sure Mender 'ere will be ah proper Knight in Shinin' Armor an' escort us back," she pointed out, gesturing back to me with a slightly annoyed expression on her face.

Spike glared at her for a second as I lifted an eyebrow in her direction, not realizing how manipulative she could be. "Fine! I, um, guess you're right," he muttered, shifting to dejected a second later.

"Thinking of others is indeed important, Spike. Don't be afraid to offer your services if you can, as it's the nice thing to do, she's right," I cut in, turning to both of them. Spike frowned but nodded, and Apple Bloom puffed up momentarily before I shook my head at her next. "You shouldn't take advantage of somepony's kindness though, Apple Bloom. Spike's your friend, and you should treat him better," I warned sternly, shifting to a blank expression. The little filly shrank down a little and got a guilty expression, glancing back over at the dragon.

Spike smiled gently to her and shook his head, extending both arms up. Apple Bloom smiled and blushed lightly before hopping forwards and wrapping her forelegs over Spike's shoulders, letting him do the same with her waist. I smiled and glanced back at the others, raising my eyebrow as I apparently blundered into a debate I'd been ignoring.

"But he promised me!" Sweetie insisted, stomping her right hoof down and glaring at the now revealed Rainbow.

"Yeah, but I need two herd slots because of Applejack! There's no room!" the cyan mare pointed out. Aw hell. I suddenly wished I had continued ignoring it.

Sweetie rapidly shook her head, however, arguing, "You already will have Applejack! Don't be greedy, like he said! I don't want to be alone!" Rainbow's eyes widened, her head backing up a little as the, uh, pony unknowingly stabbed her in a sensitive spot. Idly, I wondered if there was a pronoun used for somepony in-between a filly and a mare. Or colt and stallion, for that matter.

"Oh, stop it, you two. He's with Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy," Nurse Redheart pointed out, causing me to smile towards her slowly. "Plus, he knows Princess Celestia personally. If anypony can get a legal herd extension to as many as he wants, it's obviously him," she continued a second later, smirking over at me. The smile shifted to an annoyed glare in less than a second. Never mind.

My ears drooped as I glared at all three of them. Redheart was trying to help and lighten the mood, I think, anyway, but that didn't stop the entirety of the conversation from being so many different kinds of inappropriate that it wasn't funny! Actually, it wasn't funny, now that I considered it. They were forgetting the biggest part, and I decided that finally, finally I was tired of it. I should have done this ten minutes ago.

"Actually, yeah. You know what? I'm done. Good night, all. Come on, Spike. We're out of here," I spat out, unable to stop my voice from dropping from the irritation. The tone caused all three instigators to snap to attention instantly, and I felt all eyes shift to me as I stood up and simply walked towards the door.

"Awesome!" he chirped, hopping onto my back as I ducked low while passing him, not even slowing down. At least I knew I could always count on Spike. Tank didn't move, so I assumed he was going to stay with Rainbow, which made sense. He was cool and all, but let her take care of her own responsibilities for once.

Apple Bloom looked more than a little surprised, glancing back at Scootaloo and Sweetie before shaking her head rapidly and scampering after me. "W-Wait, what?!" Sweetie asked in shock, spinning around probably to face me as I kept walking, if the sound was any indication.

"Everyone was kinda ignoring him and not giving him a say in anything, even though it's really all up to him anyway. Uh, I was kinda wondering why you were, but it was mean, don't you think?" Scootaloo pointed out in a somewhat dejected sounding way. Eh?

That stopped me, and I glanced back to look at her as she stood up, the other three staring at her in surprise now instead. "Um, I'm sorry, but I'll see you tomorrow, Rainbow," she muttered a second later before running after me instead. I smiled to her as she caught up before turning and exiting the medical cabin, ignoring the two surprised squawks from inside. Damn it. Please, please let an apple fly out of nowhere and smack into my head? That, I could deal with!

"Ah'm sorry, Mender. Ah don't know what's gotten inta Sweetie Belle, let alone tha other two," Apple Bloom muttered, falling into position to my right. Scootaloo caught up to us and moved in next to Apple Bloom as well, shaking her head and looking deep in thought. Spike surprised me by speaking up instead.

"Rainbow has bad estrus cycles, I know that much. Nurse Redheart gave me the vibe that she was actually just having fun teasing the other two," he observed, shifting to a more comfortable position on my back now that we were out of the poisonous atmosphere.

Sighing, I nodded weakly as I walked. "Redheart was just screwing around. Rainbow and I already talked about it and I at least know where she's coming from, but her priorities are all screwed up. I think she needs time to think about what she really wants. Sweetie almost died in the lake, and that, well, changes how you think. I've almost died many times, and did die once, so I know that much first hoof. She's scared and only thinking about herself, I suspect," I relayed, giving it my best educated guess. It was difficult because I could at least sympathize with all three of them, but the whole situation was just wrong, especially how I got no input whatsoever. All I was interested in, especially now, was going back to Ponyville and being with Fluttershy and Twilight. They were all I needed and then some, I suddenly realized. I didn't think I deserved either of them, but I was going to try my hardest to change that and be something worthy of both. Screw anypony that thought otherwise.

"They still were being mean. It's up to Mender who he's with, not them! I've only heard him talk about Fluttershy and Twilight like that," Scootaloo pointed out, sounding a bit upset. Actually, a bit more upset than I thought she'd be, I suddenly realized, giving her a curious glance. She was staring hard at the ground and frowning as she walked. Apple Bloom shook her head and leaned over, gently nuzzling the little pegasus' shoulder.

"Ah know yer mad at Rainbow fer doin' that, but Ah'm sure she'll clear right up after tha season's done," she assured, suddenly making me realize why the little orange filly was so upset in the same instant.

She groaned and shook her head, her left wing gently extending out over Apple Bloom's back as they walked side by side. "Thanks, AB. It just frustrates me when she tells me not to do something like make problems for your friends, and then just did so herself!" she explained, huffing again afterwards.

I chuckled a little at that, understanding how frustrating hypocritical behavior could be, even if she didn't use the word itself. "I know the feeling. It's really hard to follow your own advice sometimes. But the most important thing is forgiveness, I think. Both in yourself, and helping somepony else with it. That's what Princess Celestia told me, anyway," I suggested, smiling over at the two fillies. Spike perked on my back, looking surprised, and both of them glanced over at me as well.

"R-Really? Princess Celestia herself told you that?" Scootaloo asked, sounding a little surprised at the aspect.

I nodded gently to her, giving a soft smile as best I could despite suddenly wanting to cry again at the memory. "Yeah. I have a lot of things in my memories that I'm not proud of, and I really don't like myself that much because of all that. But she told me that the hardest pony to forgive is yourself, so I'm still trying and taking what she said to heart. I suppose you don't live for thousands of years and not pick up good advice here and there," I muttered, keeping the bitterness choked back in my voice. How did one forgive a billion innocent lives taken away, though, let alone over double that like I actually did? Was there forgiveness for that? Maybe my horrible luck was part of the universe hating me, too, and wanting revenge for everything I destroyed.

Snapping back to reality, I glanced down at the sudden warm sensation and saw Apple Bloom and Scootaloo both brushing closer against my legs as I slowly walked. The little yellow filly smiled up at me and nodded as she noticed my attention again. "Yer always gonna be just Mender ta us. Ah Crusader, forever an' always! Ya don't have ta worry about us not likin' ya," she assured warmly.

Scootaloo snickered before adding, "A little corny, AB, but yeah. She's right. You're stuck with us." It came suddenly and without warning, and my eyes widened a little as I felt the warm streak slip down my left cheek. Wincing, I looked away from the two fillies and sat down, wiping it away with my left forehoof. I'd not realized how frustrated and tense I'd been, and how much I honestly just felt like screaming sometimes. I didn't understand why I was here or what I was supposed to do. I didn't understand mares and why some liked me while others didn't. The worst part was that I also didn't understand why somepony I never met hated me so much that they poured forth a lot of bits to cause problems for me. Then, right here when I least expected it, three young souls just said that everything was all right and that they'd help me. Maybe it was because I'd just hit the peak of frustration, but there was something so warm about the three of them.

"Just let yerself, Mender," Apple Bloom whispered, and I felt both fillies suddenly against my right side as I just couldn't stop the warm liquid from escaping, my right hoof grinding into the dirt as I felt the tension ebb against my chest. It was so easy to imagine myself just screaming at the top of my lungs and running off and away from everything. There were only five ponies I'd bring with me, and we'd all live happily without any of this bullshit. There'd be no need for any of this guilt or hatred. Applejack would be way better without the constant reminder of that night. Rarity wouldn't be misled into thinking I was 'perfect' for her while she instead wanted what I represented. Rainbow could just focus on making Applejack happy then. Pinkie, uh, actually no. Pinkie could come, too, now that I thought about it.

Leaning against the wall of our cabin, I just exhaled softly in a low whine, feeling the tightness crush my chest as the heat poured down my cheeks. There was no sobbing, just a cold, pained sensation all the way up to my throat as I shivered there. Scootaloo and Spike just sat against me while Apple Bloom gently massaged my closest, left shoulder. It all snapped at once.

"I just want to be normal. I don't want to be special or unique or a weapon or a clone. I just want to be Moon Mender, a pony. I'm so sick of all of this. I'm tired of causing problems for everypony I care about, and I just want to live in peace with you all," I whispered, shrinking down against the foundation of the cabin as my right hoof tore into the dirt, my anger and frustration pouring into it as I made a large gouge, just to feel the sensation of damaging something. I couldn't hit what I actually wanted to, so this was the next best thing.

None of them said anything as I just kept smacking the ground in frustration, letting my anger out with each impact. "I'm tired of flirty mares, too, and really only want to be with Twilight and Fluttershy! Sweetie Belle is too young for me to even consider like that, Rainbow is too confused to even know what she wants herself, and Nurse Redheart... I don't even know if she was being serious in the first place! I've never thought of her like that," I groaned, feeling my face twist into an angry grimace as I did another long gouge into the ground. I had a good half-meter long rut in the dirt now, and panted heatedly as I glared at it, feeling the even hotter liquid sensation coming down each cheek.

Scootaloo surprised me by wrapping her forelegs around my right hoof and gently moving it away from the torn up area, softly smiling up at me. "I know this'll sound stupid probably, but I get frustrated a lot, too, like this. Homework, not being able to fly, not having my Cutie Mark, getting teased in school... It all kinda adds up. I know none of that is as scary or painful as what you said, but maybe you need to just get away from it for a while? Whenever I get really upset, I just ride off on my scooter and let myself relax and rest until I feel better, no matter how long it takes," she explained softly, tilting her head towards me slowly once she was done.

I blinked, not having been expecting such a grounded approach from the little filly. "No way does that sound stupid! It's ah good idea, Ah think. All four o' us should take tha rest o' tha vacation off as an actual vacation. Scootaloo an' Ah will keep all three o' those crazy mares away from ya!" Apple Bloom offered, perking up as she nodded to my other side.

"Hey, I'll help, too!" Spike agreed, nodding twice as well. I looked between all three of them before smiling and chuckling softly.

"That, uh, actually sounds really amazing. Tomorrow, let's go out to the lake and just relax. Maybe have a real picnic this time? I'll help you with your wings more, Scoots, and I'll see what I can do about setting up an enchantment for you, too, Apple Bloom," I suggested, exhaling weakly and suddenly feeling really tired. They had done an amazing job of defusing my frustration, but there wasn't much energy left in me to actually replace it.

Scootaloo fluttered her wings out, sending sparks of energy everywhere as she grinned and rapidly nodded, and Apple Bloom just smiled softly, agreeing with, "Eeyup! Ya got yerself ah deal." I smiled at the little fillies before I felt Spike give a start against my left side. A glance towards him showed he was staring past me and across to the other side of the cabin. My proximity sensors expanded faster than my head turned, showing a shape with body heat about sixteen meters away.

A second later, my eyes locked onto her instead, and widened a little. I felt myself relax, glad it wasn't any horrible monster, and then I scolded myself for getting paranoid in the first place. Well, maybe properly so. Luna sat against the corner of our cabin, eyes gazing upwards into her rapidly rising night sky. To my surprise, her horn glowed faintly as she stared, although she held a relaxed expression and didn't appear to be focusing on anything in particular. Was she actually manipulating the heavens with that little amount of focus? I guess it made sense, given how much practice she must have gotten.

Two little gasps joined a moment later, breaking the silence and causing the Princess of the Moon to glance over our way and smile. "We didn't want to intrude in your conversation. The young ones were handling themselves well enough," she excused gently, her voice barely a whisper but somehow managing to extend all the way to where we were. I nodded to her and stood up again, slowly walking forwards with a Crusader to each side of me now. Spike wasted no time in hopping up onto my back again as I stood, peeking out around the side of my head as we approached.

"You're not intruding, Luna. What's the occasion?" I asked curiously, blinking a couple times as I walked in order to rinse my eyes a bit. That was a downside to crying.

"We need an occasion in order to relax and watch our night, or wait to converse with a good friend?" she asked back, giving me an amused smile as I looked away and twitched my nose lightly.

As nice as that simple of an answer would be, I highly doubted my luck was going to allow for that. "If that's all, then I'll be happy, but usually I'm not that lucky," I muttered, deciding I might as well sit down, as this probably wouldn't be pleasant. Spike slid off and slipped around next to Apple Bloom as I did so, frowning and looking a little concerned.

Luna smirked but shook her head, rotating to face me fully. "We are alone. I'll drop formalities, of course. I assume these two young ones you're okay with?" she inquired, gesturing towards the Crusader to each side of me. Both perked up when they suddenly realized the topic had shifted to them.

"Of course. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo are both trustworthy fellow Crusaders, and relation to the Elements. They'll be discrete," I assured, adding a nod onto the end.

"Ah, o' course! We ain't gonna tell anypony else, Princess Luna!" Apple Bloom agreed, her eyes about as big as they could get. Her friend nodded rapidly in agreement.

Luna smirked and shook her head, holding a hoof up towards the two. "Relax, young ones. I fully know who you are and what you two know already. My inquiry was merely to see if Mender was comfortable around you, which is very much apparent now. I do have a bit of news for you, and a question, Mender," she informed softly, turning back to me.

Smiling fully, I'd suspected that was her intent already, but it was pleasant to be right for a change. "I'm an open book, and will tell you anything I know, Luna. Although, I do hope you stay a while beyond just the formalities. You did look like you were enjoying the relaxation," I suggested, noticing she looked a little stressed, now that I was closer. Wait, did Alicorns get estrus cycles as well? Uh oh...

The mare looked beyond pleased and nodded towards me again, relaxing. "I'd like that, yes. It has been an exhausting week. My Rangers have taken many samples from the forest where you did battle with Nirru, and have acquired numerous energy readings for you. Twilight's last letter as of yesterday informed that you might be able to use them," she started. My mind clicked into movement again and I frowned, considering the information. Slipstream was 'blockable' if you knew the energy signature involved, which depended on where the link was traveling from. The samples would give me that signature, and if they were all the same...

"Actually, she's right, as usual. I just realized there might be a way to block future connection attempts. Having a look at those samples would be very useful, in particular where you saw her 'die' at, and where we landed after she activated her FTL ability," I muttered, still thinking to myself out loud. Both areas would carry residual signature energy from Nirru's FTL unit, which I assumed was used to move that remote body here. One canister had been missing, if I remembered right.

Luna perked up and nodded, chirping, "Ah ha! That answers one of the questions and I didn't even have to ask. Very good! Twilight's faith in you is much deserved, although I'd already known that much. My sister will be pleased with this estimate. I'll get the samples to Twilight once communication is re-established."

I raised an eyebrow to her, confused at that last part. "You lost communication with Twilight?"

Spike gasped instantly, quickly asking, "Is she okay?!"

Luna froze for a second before sighing and looking away. "Well, yes, unfortunately. She's perfectly fine, worry not. Rarity and Fluttershy both report her doing well. She's just having a bit of a, well, problem with this estrus cycle and had to cease her studies. Her letters stopped as well, which is merely what I meant," she hesitantly explained, causing me to frown. I hoped everything was okay, and considered it. Was there a complication or something with this cycle? Parts suddenly not working right didn't sound like a good thing, and I immediately regretted not forming the link with her yet. I'd be able to at least figure out what was happening then, beyond just her location.

"But she's going to be okay? She's not sick or hurt or anything, right?" I asked, frowning as I realized I'd only start jumping to conclusions if I didn't find out.

The Princess smiled softly and shook her head again. "Your concern is very touching. I'll pass on that you were worried. No, Twilight will be fine. Actually, my sister anticipated this happening, given her student's sudden, well, change in social status. This is Twilight's first Estrus cycle with a mate," she furthered, shifting to a sound smile afterwards, apparently having anticipated that to mean something to me. Her eyebrow rose at my blank stare.

"Uh, is that important or somethin'?" Apple Bloom asked, beating me to the punch.

Spike snickered and shook his head, sitting down again and relaxing on the grass. "Yeah. I heard Fluttershy telling Twilight specifically to find something important and time consuming to do so she wouldn't spend all her time thinking about Mender and her. I'm guessing that failed," he deduced idly, apparently relaxing now that he knew she wasn't setting the library on fire or something.

Huh. Was there something wrong about thinking about me? It must have some sort of adverse effect during the estrus period. Let's see... Chemicals and hormones would be released in time with her egg as her body got ready for a potential pregnancy, and even though they undoubtedly evolved past quite a bit of the instincts, there was probably at least some physical urges involved to actually attempt to ensure impregnation. Further, I wasn't actually there regardless of her thinking about me. Uh oh. That meant she was probably stuck with rather annoying sensations and urges, and technically it was my fault that she had no way to get rid of them. Did her body realizing she was supposed to have a mate make it worse or something?

My mind flashed back to her screaming with flames lapsing off her, wiping out the entire town square in an instant, and disintegrating everything around her to ash in her rage. Oh crap. I felt myself pale considerably, and then wondered if it might not be a good idea to move to a different city for a while. At least until she forgave me enough to not murder innocent bystanders in her rage.

"Uh oh. That's really bad. Uh, she hasn't hurt anypony yet, has she? I know how powerful she is," I asked, flattening my ears back a little.

Luna gave me a confused heat tilt, but shook out a negative a moment later and I exhaled softly. "Ah, good. So, she'll only be aiming for me, then. Hmm. Maybe I should move to Canterlot until she cools off. If she attacks me in the street when I get back, other ponies might get hurt," I muttered, trying to consider the best solution. Luna had apparently forgotten what she was capable of.

The mare blinked lightly before starting to snicker. "Well, she might attack you when you get back, yes, but moving to Canterlot will only make things worse. She definitely won't 'cool off' then, as you stated," she warned, looking deeply amused. She was teasing me! Wait, trying to give her time to cool off would make things worse?! But how was I supposed to fix things then? If she attacked me when I got back, and attacked me even harder if I tried to give her space, it seemed like the only solution was to just let her attack me and hope she didn't blow anything else up that may or may not be important.

"I don't know what to do, then! Uh, do you think either you or your sister could help? She likes both of you, too," I asked. Yes, that was it! She'd be so flustered that Celestia was visiting her, she wouldn't even look at me long enough to set me on fire!

Luna's eyes widened drastically and a light flush danced across her cheeks. "Oh! Oh my! Um, I do not think that is the best of ideas, Mender. Even though I surely could and have much, much experience in the matter, I really feel you should handle Twilight yourself," she excused, coughing lightly and looking away from me. Seriously?!

I gave her an annoyed stare for a moment before exhaling and just deciding to bite the bullet. "Fine. But if she blows me up, along with half of Ponyville, I'm personally coming back and haunting you for the rest of your life," I warned.

"Whoa, that sounds awesome!" Scootaloo muttered, totally missing the part where I was reduced to the consistency of fine ash alongside most of her town.

Luna smirked, however, apparently finding the aspect funny somehow. "You must be very confident in your abilities if you expect that impressive of a result," she cooed a moment later. What did it have anything to do with my abilities?!

"I doubt I have the fortitude to do anything about it. You didn't see what she did to all of those ponies in the town square. Twilight has a scary amount of skill," I groaned, shivering as I remembered it all again. Wait, no, actually she had seen what Twilight did to the town square, now that I remembered properly.

Spike snickered at that, of course. "Don't forget her power! I saw it afterwards, and it looked worse than after the parasprites wrecked it. A few ponies went to the hospital, too," he revealed, both making me question what a parasprite was, and why Twilight hadn't mentioned hospitalizations...

Luna's eyes were massive at this point, and I think she was finally starting to consider just how bad it could be. "I, uh, had no idea Twilight would... Oh my. Hospitalizations?!" she asked, sounding beyond shocked.

"Hey, Ah don't think she meant ta hurt anypony. She just don't know her own strength when she gets all worked up like that," Apple Bloom tried to defend, frowning at the aspect. I nodded in agreement, not wanting to get Twilight in trouble over defending me.

"You speak as if this is almost a regular occurrence?!" the Princess of the Moon asked, staring down at the little filly in shock.

Spike widened his eyes and rapidly shook his head, raising both arms up as he did so. "Oh, no! No, no. I mean, Twilight used to have, well, problems with it when she was younger, but she's gotten a lot more level-headed lately. Actually, after the thing with Pinkie, she's gotten a lot more relaxed about things," he excused. Thing with Pinkie? I didn't think I wanted to know, but I imagined Twilight could get fairly frustrated with the pink one's behavior.

"She and Pinkie...?! But..." Luna asked, losing her cool a moment later and giving the small dragon a totally flabbergasted expression. What, didn't Pinkie's reputation usually proceed her? Even I knew she was tough to deal with sometimes.

I tilted my head at Luna, asking, "Surely you know about Pinkie? She's a good mare most of the time, but she gets to everypony eventually, whether they like it or not. She's just, well, Pinkie sometimes. She has so much energy!" I groaned, shuddering at the memories.

Spike started snickering as Luna looked downright disturbed. "So agree! Pinkie is really nice and all, but she's gotten under my scales so many times I lost count. She just never knows when to stop, and it gets 'really' hard sometimes, ya know? After she used the Mirror Pond to make dozens of herself, I thought all of Ponyville was screwed! Haha!"

I started to smirk and nod when Luna gave another twitch. Huh? Before I could even turn my head to fully look at her, she exploded into a full on scream rivaling a rocket taking off! "What is wrong with you ponies?! This is rape! It's not funny in the slightest!" washed over us, physically knocking the two fillies over and sliding me backwards almost a meter.

My ears rang as I winced, looking back up in shock at the seething Moon Princess. Her shout echoed out around us and through the trees as it expanded away with the volume of a bomb going off. W-What?! "W-What are you talking about? Pinkie frustrates us with her antics sometimes! Frustrates us!" I exclaimed, unable to hear myself talk very well and having no idea how loud I was. Luna went from pissed off to surprise in barely a second as I held both sides of my head, rubbing at my ears.

"Uh, whoa. D-Dizzy. What happened?" Apple Bloom muttered, rolling over from her back and shaking her head rapidly. My small pegasus friend looked even worse for wear, being far lighter and having sensitive balance senses. She puffed up a little, both fur and feathers ruffling before rolling onto her stomach, holding at her head.

The light suddenly clicked on in the window up above me, and my eyes widened. Had that woken up Big Mac? Wait, of course it had woken him up. It might have... I turned and looked towards the other cabins, watching lights start appearing in the dark rapidly by the dozens. Aww hell. No, wait, take care of Scootaloo first, and then start damage control.

Luna was slightly pink at this point, holding both forehooves to her mouth as she stared out at all the lights coming on as ponies woke up. Finally, she managed an, "O-Oops." Scootaloo threw up all over the ground...

Next Chapter: Chapter 53 Estimated time remaining: 36 Hours, 31 Minutes
Return to Story Description

Login

Facebook
Login with
Facebook:
FiMFetch