CHAPTER 12

Playing with Toys and Dolls

As I stood outside of Twilight’s door with Snow Dew next to me, I noticed something very charming. The door was beautifully made. It had to have been done by a unicorn. I just couldn’t see hooves doing such detailed work.

I felt Snow Dew bump against me. “Crystal...Are you ok? Why are you crying?” This question caught me by surprise. I lifted a hoof to my face. Sure enough, there were tears. Why was I crying? I knew the reason why but I didn’t feel like owning up it yet.

“Oh. I don’t know, Snow. I must have gotten something in my eyes when we ran out.” Lying to a child. “Hey, what do you want to do? I am getting pretty hungry but I don’t really have any bits.” I plucked the crest out of the crystal armor and stared at it. “And I don’t want any free meals.”

The filly sat down and rubbed her chin with a hoof. “I have no idea. I usually get lunch at school... Why did you take me out of school?” Snow Dew looked up at me expectantly.

I froze. “Well. I didn’t want you to be there while you were sad. I thought if you stayed around me a bit, you would cheer up. Things didn’t go quite as I planned them though.” I could feel my face heat up as I stared at the ground.

“Well duh! You just made that purple unicorn very mad at you. Why did she want your badge thingy? Couldn’t she just slay that little dragon and get one herself?”

I choked on air in surprise. “W-what?”

“Oh yeah! I, like, totally have seen other unicorns melt things with magic. I know she is suppose to be some big magic pony. She could melt him into a little gooey pile of mush!” The filly bounce at the end of her sentence.

“Snow, what do you think the relationship between Twilight and Spike is?”

She waved a hoof at me. “Oh, it is so obvious... He is her slave! And, like, because he is a slave, it doesn’t matter that much if he gets melted. She could just order another one or something.”

“Snow! Spike is like Twilight’s brother or son or something. She hatched him and has been raising him since!”

Snow Dew frowned. “Oh, this changes things. She is gonna have to feel bad about melting him now.”

I couldn’t hold it in. I burst out laughing. I fell to the ground holding my stomach, the filly soon joining me.

“Oh my, am I interrupting something?”

I looked up to see Rarity and Fluttershy standing a bit away from me. “Oh! Hello Rarity!” I quickly got back up on my hooves. “Hello Fluttershy! What are you two doing here?”

Rarity flipped her mane a bit. “I could ask you the same thing, Darling. I thought you were staying at the school? You told me to trust that you would stay in one spot.” She put on a hurt look.

“Oh, I am sorry, Rarity.” I glanced down at Snow Dew before looking back up to the unicorn. “Something came up and I thought it would be best to come here to Twilight’s...but I was wrong in that decision.”

Rarity seemed to pick up on the gesture. “Oh, I see. Well, mind if we talk about it on the way to the spa? Just let me return these books.” Her horn flickered to life as she approached the door. Rarity stopped just an inch shy of slamming into the immovable object. “It’s locked. That’s not like Twilight to close the Library so early.” She raised a hoof to knock but I quickly stopped her.

“It might be best to let Twilight be alone for a bit.” I let my voice trail off as I avoided eye contact with the white unicorn.

Rarity considered me for a moment before letting out a light sigh. “Yes. Let’s get going to the spa. But first, who is your little friend here?”

Snow Dew beamed. “Heya! My name’s Snow Dew and I am the bestest best friend of Crystal! I saw her yesterday when she and Rainbow Dash slayed that big meanie dragon attacking the village! And then, this morning, I saw her at school and I thought we should talk and we did! And now bestest buddies forever!”

Rarity giggled. “Oh my, she reminds me of a certain pink...Wait, did you say she slayed a dragon?”

Snow Dew nodded frantically. “Oh yeah! She was flying through the skies and was like BAM and then the dragon fell but it wasn’t dead. She landed on it’s back and was like, HAH, and then was like riiiiiip!” Snow Dew made all the motions, finishing by running her hoof along her neck. She went limp and fell to the ground, her tongue lolling out.

There was an “Eeeep” from Fluttershy as she stiffened up and fell over. Rarity just stared at the filly with wide eyes. Me, on the other ha...hoof, just kept a nervous smile. This doesn’t look good. Have to think of something. I am not a quick thinker. Come on! Brain work, please!

“Oh yeah... A dragon came into town and tried to roast me and Dashie. It was like the changeling. It wasn’t going to back down. I can’t help but feel that maybe these incidents are linked to me and this crystal.” I knew these incidents were linked to me but that doesn’t mean they have to know.

I noticed that all of my crystal was lumped on my back from when I was fending off Twilight. I pulled it back in it’s original armor position, fitting the crest squarely in the middle.

“What is that?” Rarity asked slowly as she stepped closer to me. “Is that...a crest of a Lunar Knight? How in Equestria did you get your hooves on that?”

“Um...I got it from Luna hers-”

“Princess Luna, dear.” We began to walk over to Fluttershy. I had grabbed Snow’s tail and began to drag her along with me. The only betrayal to her being dead act was a slight smile painted across her face as she was dragged.

“...Princess Luna herself. She...She knighted me earlier today. It was at the schoolhouse, which now that I think about it, it’s kind of a strange place to be knighted.”

“Not really. It was just so we could get the paperwork rolling. Luny told you there was going to be a big ceremony later.” Both Rarity and I swung around to find Daemon leaning against Twilight’s door.  “Don’t worry, Glimmerbutt. You will be invited. Every Element Bearer will be there.”

It took a second for Rarity to realize Daemon was referring to her. “Excuse me?! How dare you call me such a vulgar thing? My name is Rarity, you cretin!”

Daemon just laughed. “Oh Rarity. Your performance was satisfying. Now, the real reason I am here is because of Crystal.” Daemon was between Rarity and I in literally a blink of an eye. My body stiffened as she wrapped a hoof around my shoulders. “I have a scroll here with your schedule. It also has some notes and the addresses you need to got through. As for why I personally delivered it. Sunday, you are to ignore Luny’s training spot and come to the edge of the Everfree forest. You will be training with me only that day. I have a few things I want you to try and it would get... messy if we did it in town.”

A scroll popped up in front of me, much like Luna’s scroll from earlier, and fell to the ground. “Now then. I have to be off. Preparations and all that for your training.” Daemon looked down at Snow Dew, who was laying on the ground looking up at the unicorn. “Nice to see you actually awake. Now bye, everypony.” Daemon smiled at Snow Dew. “And bye to you, Little Princess.” Then she was gone.

The three of us stared at the scroll on the ground, Fluttershy not counted for the fact she was unconscious. “Oh, what the hell!” I picked up the scroll and opened it. I flinched when I saw the Equestrian writing, the numbers being the only thing I could understand. What is up with that? The numbers are the same but the writing is all different. I feel like it’s just like that to piss me off.

“Oh, I understand the reaction. It looks like they will be having you do some very serious training. Hoof to hoof combat, swordplay, archery, war strategy, geography of Equestria and the surrounding areas... Daemon time? Who is Daemon?” Rarity backed away from me, giving me a hard look. “Crystal, I know it’s not proper to pry but... why are you being trained like this? What is happening?”

I sighed. “Rarity...Maybe we can talk about this some other time. I don’t think I want to tell the whole story on my own.”

She nodded. “Alright, dear. I guess we should go then. Would you like to join me and Fluttershy for lunch?” She turned to the pink maned Pegasus. “After she wakes up, this is.”

“Ooo!” Snow Dew jumped up. “I know exactly what to do!” Rarity and I watched questioningly as the filly hopped over to the prone pony. “It’s as easy as one—” She raised her hoof. “—two—” She stuck the hoof in her mouth. Rarity grimaced as she watched Snow dew pull the saliva covered hoof from her mouth. “—three!” I realized a half second too late what she was doing. Snow Dew plunged her hoof into Fluttershy’s ear while yelling, “Wake up!!!”

I watched as the butter coloured mare’s eyes shot open, her whole body stiffening. Snow was slow to pull her hoof away from Fluttershy’s ear, lines of spit stretching before breaking apart. After that, Fluttershy curled into a ball and trembled.

“Snow Dew, That wasn’t very nice.” The little filly looked my way. “That is mean. You shouldn’t wake ponies up like that. It was a bad thing to do.”

“Not to mention revolting, dear.”

Rarity’s comment went unnoticed by me as my heart nearly shattered. Snow Dew’s feature fell into a droopy sad state, her big watery eyes staring at me apologetically. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. My brother used to wake me up like that all the time. I thought it was normal...”

Native ponies must have built up a tolerance for this level of cuteness but for me it was too much. “Oh, Snow Dew. It’s ok. You didn’t really mean no harm.” I looked around her to Fluttershy. “Are you alright, Fluttershy?” The mare nodded with a squeak but tried to keep herself as small as possible.

“I hate to interrupt but this question has just been nagging at me.” I turned to Rarity. “That filly, Snow Dew, who is she? I know she is with you but considering the time of day, she should be in school.”

I grimaced. “Yeah, there was a bit of a problem at the school and I brought her with me. I didn’t mean any harm from it and I was going to take her home after I visited Twilight. I guess I should actually do that right now.”

“Yes, you should. And Crystal, while I am not exactly questioning your methods, but maybe you should reconsider such actions as removing a filly from school. You can’t do that with every foal you come across. They need to learn how to do things for themselves just as we have learned.”

I frowned. I knew my action was a little rash but I didn’t really need a lecture like that over it. I opened my mouth to tell her that I’d meet the two of them later when a voice called from overhead. “There you are! You know you had me flying across half of ponyville looking for you? I thought we agreed that you would be at the school.”

We all look up to see Rainbow Dash hovering overhead. “Come on, Newbie. You can’t be wandering all over town like that without somepony watching you. You’re gonna make us look bad.”

Rarity interjected before I could respond. “Actually, Rainbow Dash, I don’t think that will be a problem anymore. You see, Crystal here has been knighted by Luna. She is a Lunar Knight now.”

“He.”

“I really don’t think Celestia would need us to watch over her anymore.”

“Him.”

“With the title Crystal now has, she is technically the highest ranking pony in Ponyville right now.”

“He.”

“Crystal!!!” Rarity shot me an angry glared before quickly composing herself. “I understand your wanting to keep some semblance of your masculinity, darling, but that really isn’t necessary. You should embrace what you are now. You are a beautiful mare. You should act like it.”

“I don’t want to.” The growl in the back of my throat made Rarity back off a bit. What right did she have to tell me how to act? Snow Dew popped forth from between my forelegs.

“Masculinity? Isn’t that, like, for colts and stuff? Crystal is a mare! She don’t need no masculinity! She is the coolest pony ever like she is now. Why does she need to change?”

Rainbow Dash swooped down. “Now I don’t know about the coolest pony ever, kid. I think I hold that position.” Dash put a hoof on her chest while grinning boldly. Snow Dew started laughing.

“No you don’t! How Crystal took that dragon down was just awesome! You are just like her sidekick or something.” The look on Rainbow Dash’s face...priceless.

“Come on, Snow Dew. Let’s get you home.” I picked the filly up, trying to spare Rainbow Dash from anymore embarrassment. She had other plans though.

“Whoa whoa whoa. You think I am just going to let the little brat get away with calling me a sidekick?” Dash trotted over next to me. “Let me take her home. I will show her just how awesome I am!” Dash took the filly from my hooves.

“Hey! I want Crystal to take me home!” Snow Dew frowned.

I chuckled. “Let Dash take you home, Snow. I...don’t know my way around town like she does. I would probably end up getting us lost.”

A dejected groan came from the filly. “Fine. Let’s go, sidekick...”

Dash snorted. “You’re gonna regret those words, kid.” Dash spread her wings and dashed into the sky, me having to put a hoof up to block the dust she kicked up.  The three of us watched the rainbow contrail Dash created fade away from the sky.

“Well...what now?”

Rarity nudged Fluttershy into a standing position. “Well, dear, I say we go get some lunch. Assuming the figures on that scroll of yours is correct, I don’t mind paying for your meal if you pay me back.”

I perked my ears. “It had how much I was getting paid?” I opened the scroll again, putting myself in an embarrassing position when I saw nothing but numbers and weird symbols.

“Oh yes. Right here, Crystal. You will be getting paid two hundred and fifty gold bits, but it seems fifty of that is recommended to be given to Rainbow Dash for room and board.” Rarity pointed at an area on the scroll.

“Oh,” I studied Rarity’s reaction while she was looking at the scroll. “Is that a lot of money?”

“For fifty bits, you could be paying for your own place, darling. Even my Carousel Boutique doesn’t cost me that much weekly. This pay is definitely meant for Canterlot prices. Things there are a bit more costly.”

She flipped her mane a bit. “But enough of that here. I am famished. Let’s talk over lunch.”

And we did just that. Rarity lead us to a little restaurant. I forget the name of it. We sat there and talked about the Bit system. Apparently there were three kinds of bits; gold, silver and copper. Silver bits were only worth two thirds the value of gold while copper was only worth one third of a gold bit’s value. We finished lunch without a problem. Fluttershy didn’t say much, if anything. Rarity was a rush of information, a natural gossip. She was able to tell me a lot about certain ponies in ponyville without making telling me anything personal.

It was weird but after listening to her talking about the town, I felt more...comfortable with it and its inhabitants.

“Well then, I do think we should head over to the spa. It is almost time for our appointment.” Rarity dropped a couple of silver bits unto the table.

“But what about Dash? Wouldn’t she be looking for me?”

“I think if she was, she would have found us a long time ago. Anyways, she should be back to work by this time of day. Now come on, we shouldn’t dilly-dally.”

“Dilly-dally?”

Rarity paused. “Yes. It means we shouldn’t waste any time. Have you never heard the phrase before?”

I nodded. “I have. I just don’t think I have ever heard you use it before.”

“I have to say it’s not one of my most used phrases, Crystal. Does it bother you?” She thanked a waiter before we all headed off.

“No. It’s just...I don’t know.” I looked away, blushing. Why did her saying that bother me? “Let’s get going. Believe it or not, I am actually eager to get to the spa. Luna did say I should get some relaxing in before going to Vinyl’s tonight.”

“Princess Luna, Crystal.”

It was only about a five minute walk to the spa. During the trip, Rarity took it upon herself to talk about everything we passed. I learned a lot from her snippets but I had to admit the constant stream of noise from her was a bit grating on the nerves. Fluttershy just hung behind us, trying her best not to talk or look at me.

I saw a familiar blue pony with a pink mane behind the counter. “Ah, Miss Rarity! C'est tellement agréable de vous revoir!” I flicked my ears. She definitely spoke a different language there but...how was I able to understand it? I only knew english.

“Bonjour!” Suddenly all eyes were on me. The blue pony’s smile grew. Was this Aloe or Lotus?

“Que vous parlez Fancee? Quelle merveille!” Aloe or Lotus squeed, quickly coming out from behind the counter.

“Actually I don’t but I can understand it.” This got me weird glances. “It has to be something Daemon did. Maybe she has other languages implanted in my brain. It’s weird.”

“There is that name again. Who is this Daemon?” Rarity stared at me with a small pout.

“I’ll tell you but first can we get started on the spa thing? It was Luna herself that said I should relax before tonight.”

“It’s Princess Luna, Darling.”

After that correction, Aloe, or was it Lotus, got us squared away with our treatment. I have to say I was impressed. I have never been to the spa before due to the high cost and low income back in my world. I was missing out. I am telling you guys, spas aren’t all that girly and feel wonderful.

As we went through the different treatments, I explained to Rarity what has happened over the past couple days with me. To my surprise, she stayed silent while I talk. She would just sit there and watch me as I talked, nodding every now and again.

“So that is why you had that filly with you. I must say, this Daemon sounds rather uncouth. I am not sure we would get along that well.” Rarity said as Aloe or Lotus escort the three of us to a room. Mud baths or rather, mud bath. There was a single large bath in the room, easily big enough for the three of us. “So Crystal, did you get the...information you needed?”

“Yeah, I guess.” I said as we slowly sunk into the bath. “I talked to the school nurse about it too. I have a problem though.” I rolled my shoulder as I settled in. Mud baths are quite nice.

Rarity let out a sigh of relief, closing her eyes as she settled in. “What would that problem be, Dear?” I took notice that Fluttershy was indeed trying to stay away from me, her sticking next to Rarity. I grimaced inside a little.

“Rainbow Dash.” Rarity’s eyes opened again and focused on my at the mention of her friend. “I...When I had that little episode, she didn’t back off at all. I am afraid that if I stay with her while this happens, things might...happen. I don’t want her thinking that maybe there is something like that between us. She is a good friend and I feel she may be portraying feelings onto me because of the rejection with Twilight.”

Rarity studied me a bit before relaxing again. “Is it because she is a mare too?”

“W-what? No, if anything, that is a plus.” That came out a bit wrong.

I watched as Rarity smiled. “Then what exactly is it that turns you off to having a relationship with Rainbow Dash?”

I scratched behind my ear, forgetting my  hoof was covered in mud. “Ew...Well...” I paused as I realize I didn’t have a good answer. What would be so bad about getting together with Rainbow Dash? I was trying to avoid the thought in my head because it was always so cliche when the writer had their OC pair up with one of the Mane six. This isn’t a fan fiction though, so what was I running from? “I guess...I wouldn’t want her getting into this for the wrong reasons.”

Rarity giggled. “I do appreciate your concern for Rainbow Dash, Crystal, but if I know Rainbow, she wouldn’t be getting into something like this on a whim. I know most of the time she seems so hot-headed and rushed into thing but love is one of the subjects she actually takes time to think about. Do you know how long I have watched her hoof around Twilight? The poor thing is as timid as Fluttershy when it comes to things like this. Oh, no offense, Fluttershy dear.”

“Oh, none taken, Rarity.”

I sighed. This was weird. I can’t believe I am actually thinking about engaging in a relationship with THE Rainbow Dash. It felt wrong somehow.

“You do have a point, Crystal. We can’t just have you jumping Rainbow whenever you see her. Have you thought of any way to relieve yourself during your estrus?”

My ears burned at the question. “No. I was thinking of doing what the school nurse said and take a very cold bath.” I stared at the mud in front of me, hoping this was the end of the conversation. Of course, life decided to be the ass it is.

“Well, Darling, if you want my suggestion, you might consider toys.” Rarity was so nonchalant in her tone.

“Toys?!”

“Yes. I find that they are extremely helpful getting me through that time. Of course, they couldn’t replace an actual stallion. If you want, I can direct you to my supplier. She is this nice little mare on the other side of town. She has a wide selection to choose from. She has anything for your needs, no matter how different they may be. Fluttershy could attest to that.” Fluttershy grew a beet red as she was mention.

“Now considering this is your first time, you might want to consider something a bit more discreet. Wouldn’t want you hurting yourself. Perhaps I should come with you. Do you think that would be better, Crystal? ...Crystal...Crystal!”

I didn’t know what she was worried about. I didn’t see anything. That may have been because the only part of my body showing were my ears as I tried to drown myself in the mud bath but who knows. After a few seconds, I figured I was down long enough. As I moved to push myself out of the mud, a jolt of electric pain flashed through my body.

I screamed out, letting the breath I was holding into the thick mud. I am not sure if any of you have been submerged in mud before but it isn’t a pleasant experience and is completely different from water. The mud pressing against me seemed to enhance my need for air in my lungs. I began to struggle to surface, only to find my hooves not catching any ground in their flailing. My flailing.

Just as the thought of me suffocating in this bath entered my mind, something wrapped around me and pulled me up out of the mud. I broke the surface, coughing and spitting out the mud that entered my mouth. “A-are you ok, Crystal?”

To my surprise, it was Fluttershy’s face I looked up into. “Yeah...I am alright. Thanks Fluttershy.”

“There is no need to tha.. eeep!” She squeaked as I slumped on her. What the hell was that?! That wasn’t the first time that happened, now that I think on it. I am going to ask Daemon why the Daedalus Heart is shocking the fuck out of me randomly.

“Crystal! Are you ok?” I turned my head to see Rarity outside of the bath behind me. “Oh Darling, I am so sorry. When you went under, I just panicked.”

I picked myself off of Fluttershy, waving a hoof at the unicorn. “Don’t worry about it. My fault. Now, what’s next on the list? I kind of want to get out of this mud.” We all nodded in agreement and shrugged off my near death experience.

The rest of the spa trip went off without a hitch. Rarity stayed away from certain topics and Fluttershy even started talking more. When we all went our separate ways, I made sure to get the time from Rarity. I had two hours left before I had to meet up with Vinyl.

I was actually feeling refreshed. I spread my wings, letting the breeze roll through my feathers. I close my eyes and let myself get lost in thought. Suddenly a whole new new world seemed to slowly open up as I felt the wind. It wasn’t that I could actually ‘see’ anything but rather, I knew when something moved.

I wasn’t really surprised. I knew about this from some explanations with Dash. Something to do with using your wings to read the air pressure so you don’t accidentally fly into a patch of turbulence.

I let out a deep breath and opened my eyes to find a pair of magenta ones staring straight back at me. “Aaah!” I fell backwards into some bushes. The action was quickly followed by Rainbow Dash’s laughter.

“Hey Newbie. What are you doing?”

I extracted myself from the bushes, making sure to not mess up my freshly treated mane, coat and tail. “I was just relaxing a bit.” I brushed a leaf off of me. “What are you doing?” I watched as Rainbow Dash looked me up and down.

“Yeah...I am off work...Dang, those twin ponies really know how to make a pony look good.”

I do believe Dash was checking me out. I could feel a blush coming on. “Rainbow Dash. Are you checking me out?” I could see her start to blush now.

“S-sorry Newbie. You look really good. Didn’t mean to stare like that.” She looked away from me.

I chuckled. “I didn’t say you had to stop. I always liked it when girls checked me out.” I bumped her with a wing. “Come on Dash. I need to talk to you about some stuff.” I took to the air, away from prying ear with Dash following me. I began to recap the happenings at the school to her minus the part of me not being able to read. I ended by bringing forth the crest I had hidden in my armor.

“Wow! You’re a Knight now? That is so awesome!”  She flew in a loop around me. “So you have some training in a bit? With who?”

“Uhh...Vinyl Scratch.”

Dash seemed to completely slump in the air. “Vinyl? Ugh. That mare is so full of herself and just because her music is so good.”

“Well, it could also be because she is also leading swordsmare in Equestria.”

Dash grunted but nodded in agreement. “You said you were getting paid? How much?”

“Oh yeah.” I pulled the scroll out from the armor. This stuff was handy. I stopped in mid air, holding the parchment out. Dash flew up next to me and took it. I watched as her eyes got wide as she read the figures.

“Wow...” She looked up at me from over the paper. “Are you really gonna give me fifty bits?” I nodded.

“Yeah...is that enough?”

Dash laughed. “Enough?! That takes care of rent completely!” A small grin formed on Dash’s face. “You are really going to be raking in some major bits. What do you plan to do with them?”

“Hmm. I never really thought of that. I guess I was just gonna save them.”

Dash groaned. “That is so boring.” She shoved the scroll back to me. “You sound like Rarity or Twilight. You got to do more than just save when you're raking in that kind of gold.”

“Alright, Dash. What do you suppose I do?”

“We could go on a trip or something. You’re new to Equestria. Going to Cloudsdale would be pretty cool for you.”

I shook my head. “I could but that means I would be missing out on my training. I don’t think Luna would appreciate me just skipping out like that.”

Dash reluctantly agreed. “Yeah. But maybe sometime in the future we could go out. You said she wasn’t going to take up all your time with training.”

My ears perked. I felt myself start breathing harder. I could do this. It’s not a bad thing. Those fics were just not right. I flew in closer to Dash. “Sure Dash. I would love to go out with you.”

Dash wrinkled her nose as her face turned red. “W-what? What are you saying, Newbie?” Block-head.

“I am saying-” I grabbed her foreleg and pulled her in closer. “-that I would like for you to take me to Cloudsdale sometime. You grew up there, right? You know all the best places.” Rainbow Dash seemed a bit nervous at how close I was. “Dash.” I let my voice trail off.

“What is it, N-newbie?”

“If you were to go out with somepony right now, would it be because they would just be a replacement for Twilight or that you would actually be interested in going out with them.”

“Well, it...” She paused. That was all the answer I needed. She wasn’t over Twi. “...I don’t know. I really don’t, Newbie.”

I sighed. Damn hormones. I knew it was because of them and Rarity the feeling I was having right now.  I felt warm, like last night. I realized how close I was holding Dash to me right then. I slowly flew away from her a bit.

“Alright then, Rainbow Dash. You think you could fly me over to Vinyl’s place? I don’t know my way there.” She nodded and took off.

We flew in silence. It wasn’t an awkward kind of silence. Just one of those ‘I know you are there but I want to think to myself’ kind of silences. The trip didn’t take long and I was early but I was hoping Vinyl wouldn’t mind. From things I have seen, she seemed to be a laid back kind of mare. Of course, that was just in fanfics.

“Dash.” I stopped the cyan mare before she took off again. “I just want you to know that I like you.You are a good friend. You’ve been nice to me. And maybe this is just the hormones talking but if you ever do get over Twilight, I’ll be here. I wouldn’t mind giving us a try.”

Dash grinned boldly. “Yeah, Crystal. I’ll think about it.”

Before she had time to react, I rushed in and planted my lips against hers. I kissed her lightly for a second or two before backing away. I smiled and winked at her. “Hope that helps in your decision.”

A scarlet line spread across her face. “I...I should get going!” I watched as Dash turned around and took off. When she was out of sight, I shuddered. Fucking estrus. It was the same as last night. The only difference was me knowing what it was and pre-empting it.

I sighed and turned to Vinyl’s house. It was actually quite homely for being home to a Deejay and Swordsmare. I raised a hoof and knocked on the door. To my surprise, it came open with the knock. I walked in, closing the door behind me. Maybe she was expecting me? I know what you’re thinking too. Perfect horror movie scene. This is Equestria, though. When is it a horror movie scene...

I quickly pushed all the grimdark fics from my head and headed into the house. “Hello? Anypony there?” Silence was my answer. “Vinyl? My name is Crystal. I am here because Luna said you were going to be training me.” This time I heard a small noise as I passed a door. “Vinyl?” I slowly pushed the door open.

I found a large open room with a pony sitting in the corner. They were wearing a hoodie and had their back turned to me so I could see what they were doing. “Vinyl?”

Her head started bobbing up and down. “Ah good. My name is Crystal and I was sent here by Luna to train with you?” She nodded some more. “I hope it’s not a problem I am early. Are you ready for us to start?” And more nodding.

“Good.” I placed a hoof on her shoulder. “I ho-” I was suddenly thrown against the wall and a blade was placed at my throat. I was staring into two blazing orbs of crimson.

“Yo! Who are ya?” The was a glow from her horn as the hood was removed as well as a pair of headphone. “What? Ya deaf as well as stupid?” Her voice was thick with an accent that reminded me of Babs.

“N-no. Just a little s-scared of the sword at my throat.” Vinyl seemed to lighten up a bit. A flick of her horn and the blade was retracted back under the hoodie sleeve from whence it came. After that, she threw me towards the middle of the room. I stumbled before catching myself.

“Yeah. You are that Crystal mare, huh? The one Lu-lu told me ‘bout? Ya early but I can deal with that. Lesson one; Don’t be early and don’t walk in on me like that.”

“Doubly noted.” I rubbed at my neck.

Vinyl started looking me up and down. “Mmm, yeah. Lu-lu told me you were some sort of mare that wasn’t really a mare. Like, you’re a stallion or something. Ya ain’t like no stallion I’ve ever seen.” She started walking around me. “You ain’t got the frame to be. Way too petite.” She poked me in one of my wings. “Face is way too pretty.” Suddenly, my tail was lifted up and something slid up between my haunches. I yelped and jumped forward, taking to the air.

Vinyl laughed then looked at her hoof. “Ew! Why ya wet? I am here to kick your flank, not hit it.” She stared at her hoof for a moment more before wiping it on her hoodie. “We got a lot of work to do with you. You got muscle but all in the wrong spots. It’s like ya were made for show or somethin’.”

I just glared at her from my spot in the air. “What the hell?! Did you just feel me up?”

I watched a goofy grin spread across her face. “Ah come on. Don’t get your feathers up in a bunch. I was jus’ wantin’ to know what I was dealing with. Now come on down here, prissy tail. We got work to do.”

I growled but otherwise obeyed. I landed gently in front of her and kept a wary eye. “So what are we going to do first?”

“Shh.” Vinyl looked deep in thought as she started looking me over again. This time she seemed to be taking it more seriously.  She grabbed my foreleg and began bending and stretching it. “Hmm...” She let go of it and moved to one of my wings, doing the same thing. I felt a warmth growing in my lower half. Was I really getting turned on with her playing with me like this?

A shiver down my spine as she let my wing flop to my side was my answer. She moved to my rear. I promptly pressed my tail down. Half because I didn’t want her to try anything funny again and the other half because I didn’t want her to notice how turned on I was.

“Stop being a prude, hear?” Vinyl scoffed and took ahold of my leg. She did this with each limb of mine before walking out in front of me. “Ok...I got a good look at ya. Now, for the first part of ya trainin’, I want you to hit me. Come on. Jus’ a little tap on the chin from ya.”

“Oh, with pleasure.” I jumped at her and swung my hoof.

I noticed my hoof caught nothing but air before my world faded to black.