LOVE'S BEEN A LITTLE BIT HARD ON ME

Chapter 8: Little Lies

Twilight backpedaled away from the arcaneficarum as if she had just been burned and brought a hoof to her lips. “What the h- er, what was that for?” she asked, nervously glancing towards her mentor to see if she caught the slip in her language.

Hiding a blush behind a nervous cough, Nyx replied, “Sorry about that. She's always been friendly, especially towards those who touch her... uh, magically.”

A furious blush colored Twilight's entire head, and a small trickle of blood worked it's way from her nose. “Um,” she ventured in a very Fluttershy-like voice, “Can we keep this between us? I don't think the others would understa-”

Her request was cut short by the arcaneficarum sweeping her up in her arms in an almost uncomfortably tight hug. “Mistress!” the construct said in a dulcet tone that sounded nothing like Nyx.

“W- W- W- WHAT?” Twilight shouted. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Nyx walked up and placed a hand on the smaller construct's shoulder. “No, Kat. She only looks like Mistress,” she explained with a sad shake of her head.

Still holding the unicorn in her embrace, she pointed to her saying, “But... Mistress...”

Nyx shook her head again. “No.”

Kat gently set Twilight down, and floated back a few paces, clearly disappointed. Hoping to salvage the situation, Twilight put out her hoof. “Hello, I'm Twilight Sparkle,” she said with a smile.

Smiling back nervously, Kat floated over and shook her hoof in both her hands. It took Nyx's prompting for Kat to finally let go of the hoof.

Salanshandaraen's mind reached out to Onyx's and gave it a small nudge, asking for permission to ease past his mental barriers. He acceded, and once through, she asked him, “What was that all about?”

“An arcaneficarum is created from a soul, which cannot lie, and always carries the emotions of the person from which it came,” the smaller dragon replied. “Since the soul of this one was sheared from Nyx...”

“Then Nyx and... were...” The golden dragons eyes went wide at the implications.

Onyx smirked at no one in particular. “For some time, I had suspected as much, but now I have incontrovertible proof. I suspect that in a few decades or so, I'll finally be able to use this deliciously convenient ammunition.”

Twilight looked up at Nyx curiously. “I meant to ask you this earlier, Nyx, but who crafted Kat for you?”

“What makes you think that I didn't make her myself?” Nyx asked with a smirk.

“I suppose that the first clue was that you didn't know how to repair- er, heal her,” Twilight quickly corrected her choice of words, so as to not hurt her feelings. “The second was that you needed me to direct the power flow. Had you made her yourself, you would have known instinctively just where to point it.”

Spike walked over and butted in to the conversation, feeling a little left out. “Then how did you know how to do it, Twi?”

The others in the room looked nervously at each other as Twilight answered, “Simple, Spike. I have made it my life's work to study magic in all it's forms. I know the theory behind repairing damage to magical constructs, both living and otherwise. Besides,” she added, “in this case, having a sapient magical construct like Kat over here,” she indicated towards said construct with a nod, who smiled back at her, “she actually helped me to direct the flow as well. She knew which parts were in most dire need of repair first.

“However,” she said, turning her attention back to Nyx, “the final clue was her voice. Arcaneficarae take on one or more aspects of their creators, melding them with the features of the soul used. Kat's voice is very different from yours.”

“A gold star for the astute pupil,” Nyx said with a smile. “Kat was made for me by a very old friend. One I miss very much...” Her eyes took on a thousand yard stare, and her smile wistful.

Celestia gave a polite, attention-getting cough. “Sorry to interrupt, but I really need to get back to the palace. I left Luna in charge, and some of the nobles are still getting used to her... mannerisms.”

“I suppose we should go as well,” Twilight said. “It'll be well past dinnertime by the time we get back, and most of us still have work to do.”

Salanshandaraen walked over and asked, “So have you decided, Spike?”

Spike looked down to the floor and traced one of the runes with a toe claw. “I'd like to take you up on your offer... Mom?” He glanced up at her from the corner of his eye nervously.

Smiling as she shed a tear, Salanshandaraen nuzzled the small dragon with her cheek. “See you in a week, then?” receiving a nod, she straightened up and nodded to the rest of the room. “If you'll excuse me, I have much to do as well. There have been reports of a swarm of shadow fiends pestering a small village of minotaurs that I need to look into.”

With that, the dragon left, leaving Twilight and Spike to look at Celestia as if seeking confirmation of what they heard.

(\ /)
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*(“)(“)

Plain Sight took a deep breath to calm her jangled nerves and stepped through the door. Right away, she noticed that the room had divided itself into two sides, with a no-pony's land separating them. On one half, a unicorn mare and two earth ponies, a mare, and stallion, sat watching the other three occupants carefully. Plain Sight couldn't really blame them. It wasn't everyday you see two griffons and a minotaur serving Equestria.

It took some effort to suppress the sigh from escaping, but she managed it. Walking to the front of the small briefing room, she slammed a hoof down, surprising all but one of the griffons and slapped down a thin pile of files. “Listen up!” Right away, she had everyone's attention. “This assignment that you've all been pulled for is very likely to be the most important thing you will ever do with your miserable excuses for lives, and if you let something as petty and small as what a being is interfere with it, you will crash and burn spectacularly.

“Allow me to make a few things perfectly clear at the outset, so that there are no ambiguities or misunderstandings. First! Your duty is to protect your charge, to the death if necessary. Her life is of far more importance than your insignificant existence, and make no mistake; if something happens to her, you better hope you go down with her, because you will[ pay for it. Second, if I or my adjutant give an order, I expect it to be obeyed, post haste. Third, there will be no grumbling or complaining about your assignments; none.

“Now I will hoof out your assignments. When I call your name, step forward to receive your dossier. Lackadaisy!” The cream colored unicorn with a red mane stepped forward and saluted. Plain Sight hoofed over a file. “You'll be living in the house next to theirs. Your cover is that you're a musician in a band, looking for peace and quiet to get your creative juices flowing. The pony you'll be watching is Trixie.” Lackadaisy took the file and returned to her seat.

“Toola Roola!” The light pink earth pony mare with a polychromatic mane and tail to rival Rainbow Dash stepped forward and saluted. “You'll be living in the same house as Lackadaisy. You're an artist looking for inspiration, so bring your paints. Your charge is Cheerilee.” Toola Roola followed suit and returned to her seat with the file in her teeth.

“High Class!” The final pony, a violet-coated earth pony with a red-violet mane came forth and saluted. “You're their roommate from college working under Vintage Fields as a sommelier for her vineyard. Get used to keeping an eye on her as well while on her clock, as she's Cheerilee's mother. Your charge is also Cheerilee.”

When he had sat down, she looked towards the three odd ones left and sighed. “To be honest, I'm very iffy on using you three, but the Princess hoof-picked you for this assignment. Since two of you are criminals serving out your terms, know that failure will not result in termination of your services like the rest of us, but with reassignment to other, most likely less desirable duties. We are not above making you clean out latrines if that is all you make yourselves useful for. Believe me, that is not a smell you get used to.

“Great Fortitude!” The minotaur stood up as his name was called. “You're assigned to me directly. You'll be living in the spare room of my house, and doing odd jobs around the town as the Mayor directs, mostly litter pick-up. Your uniform is still being made and will be given to you later. Your cover story is that you're doing community service to minimize the chance of messing up. However, let slip what you're really doing to anyone not on the team or approved by me or my adjutant, and there will be consequences, underage or not. Your charge is Twilight Sparkle.”

The young minotaur gulped and sat back down. “Silva!” The younger of the two griffons stood up straight and saluted as well. “Your cover assignment is to be an adversarial training aid for the Wonderbolts. You'll be making a daily commute from Ponyville to Cloudsdale, so I hope you're in great shape. The pony you'll be watching is Spitfire.

“Limnear!” The elder griffon stood and saluted. “You're my new adjutant for as long as you can stand the job. You're also assigned to the same cover job as your sister, so I hope you kept up your junior flight school training regimen. You'll also be watching over Spitfire with your sister. We've procured you two a cloud home as a residence while in Ponyville. Any questions? Good. The train to Ponyville leaves in an hour, so get moving.”

As her new subordinates gathered their belongings and filed out, Plain Sight caught Limnear's eye and signaled her to stay behind. When they were finally alone and the door closed, she walked up to her and leaned against the edge of the desk. “What in the Hay were you thinking? Do you really think that either of us is going to be able to do our jobs given our past?”

“I like to think that we're both professional enough to manage that much at least,” the griffoness replied.

Plain Sight looked her in the eye and sighed. “I really hope so, Lim.”

(\ /)
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*(“)(“)

“I dunno about this, Newsie. The last time we were here, things went to Tartarus in a handbasket pretty quickly.” Buried Lead fidgeted in his harness as his sometimes partner walked free next to him. The green pegasus had been moaning about how this was a bad idea since before they left the Canterlot city gates.

The unicorn mare next to him rolled her eyes again for what felt like the millionth time. “Bury, now Ah done tol' yah to stop bein' such a Negative Nelly! The pictures we brung back last time made front page, an' set us up for an award nomination! 'Magine what we can do now that we know what to expect!” She gestured to the wagon behind them filled to the brim with extra cameras, as well as enough film and developing fluid to take a picture of every pony in Equestria, twice.

“Oh, Celestia,” he muttered. “I never should have given you that camera for your twelfth birthday. It was the beginning of the end of me.”

News Flash snuggled against him and batted her eyes with all the conniving of a wheedling filly. “Oh, c'mon Bury. You know you wouldn't have it any other way. Besides, I have a good feeling about this.”

Buried Lead grumbled as he pulled the wagon, mentally calculating when it would be her turn to pull. “I just wish those 'good feelings' of yours would come with warnings when bad stuff was about to happen to us.”

Waving off his concern with a raspberry, News Flash replied, “C'mon, yah ol' worrywart. Ah'll spell yah for a while, so's yah can rest a bit.” As they switched over the harness, she added, “Y'all'll see. Once we get to commencin' our photographin', our luck'll turn around faster'n Rainbow Dash hittin' a revolvin' door.”

Buried Lead had to try very hard not to facehoof at her jinx. At least she didn't say “what's the worst that could happen”... Roadapples!

(\ /)
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*(“)(“)

Rainbow Dash lounged on her cloud, whiling away the waning hours of the day. Since she was laying on her belly so that she could see when Pinkie-Pie left Sugarcube Corner, she was unable to cloudgaze, her favorite lazy pastime. Well, her third favorite, anyway. However, it did allow her to notice when Twilight walked back into town with her mares.

Even though it had been several weeks since the librarian had collected her harem, Dash couldn't help but drool at the sight of Spitfire. “Oh, Celestia, look at those wings! Powerful, long-lasting, and oh-so downy soft. I bet she gives terrific wingjobs.”

Without even bothering to look around, the pegasus slipped a hoof under her belly and flicked at her nipples. “Oh, baby! Work that flank. Unf! Ooo, you naughty filly, winking at me with your pussy...” Dash's hoof went further down, rubbing at her labia, mixing her own moisture with that of the cloud's. “You tease. How dare you hug Twilight with that wing and not me with the other?”

Her running commentary was interrupted by a familiar shout from the ground. “Daaashie-poooo! Wherrre aaare yooouuu?”

Poking a rainbow covered head over the edge, Dash saw Pinkie directly below her, wearing a grin a mile wide and looking under a rock. Deciding to not let a good head of steam go to waste, she zipped off of the cloud and came up behind the pink mare. Flying underneath her marefriend, she put the giggling baker on her back and flew right up to her own house which had been parked closer to the sweets shop, all in one fluid motion.

Flying through the door and right up to her bedroom, Dash didn't even bothering to close any doors. Indeed, her only thought was to get into the most wonderful mare in her life. “Ooo, somepony's ready to go,” Pinkie said with another giggle.

Dash wasted no time with mere words, letting her actions speak for her instead. Landing next to the bed, she gave a buck, flinging Pinkie-Pie onto it, who landed on her back, then executed a perfect forward flip on top of her. Planting a kiss on her lips, she brought her wings forward so that they formed a cage around their heads, giving them the illusion that their entire world consisted of just them.

Pinkie was hardly idle, as she broke the kiss so that she could nibble on Dash's neck, gnawing at it in an almost ferocious display of affection. As always, this caused the athletic pegasus to roll over onto her back, allowing the pink mare to take control. She relished Dash's moans of pleasure, using her unusually large tongue to lap at her coat, practically giving her a tongue bath. “Down, Pinkie... Further down...” Dash begged her.

Always eager to comply with that request, Pinkie moved directly to the pegasus's nethers, skipping past all the preliminaries, only to find her dripping wet. “Mmm! Liquid Rainbow!” she said gleefully, and gave her a swipe of her tongue from the base of her tail, over the puckered rosebud, delving slightly into her folds, and ending her first lick of the evening across both nipples. Dash cried out incoherently and locked her legs over Pinkie's neck.

Pinkie knew a hint when one was thrown in her face, and dug into to her all-time favorite snack, hooves down. Her tongue burrowed into the soft, pink folds before her, lapping up the copious honey from inside her lover. She could feel her inner walls flex and heave, indicating that a climax was imminent, and put herself into overdrive. Forming her tongue into a U-shape and hooking the tip upwards, she moved it in and out, tongue-fucking her mare like a machine. The final push came in the form of a hum that came from the back of her throat and rattled her own teeth a little as the hook caught on Dash's G-spot, and the vibrations from her humming affected the tiny little clit that stood proud of her body.

Dash's vision whited out, and she arched her back up off the bed in one of the most mind-blowing orgasms to date. Her teeth gritted hard as she tried to hold it in, but just could not restrain herself any longer. “AUGH! SPITFIRE!” Exhausted and spent, she collapsed on to the bed, her tongue lolling out the side of her mouth, and eyes crossed and unfocused.

Pinkie-Pie crawled up her lover's sweaty body just enough to rest her head on her hooves across Dash's chest. “You know,” she began with a definite smirk, “a lesser mare would be intensely jealous right now. That's one mare that you just can't have anymore. She's off 'the list'.”

Weakly lifting her head, Dash managed to uncross her eyes enough to focus on her all-too understanding fillyfriend. “Aw come on, Pinks. Let a girl have her fantasies.”

“This is the sixteenth time in a row you've called her name out, Dashie. I think it's time we get our own pet mare to take your mind off of her.” Pinkie gave her a little moue of sadness, her eyes glistening a little in the fading light of the day. “It's not healthy; especially for your friendship with Twilight.”

Dash sighed in resignation. “Yeah, I guess you're right. It started out as a silly schoolfilly crush, but when she hooked up with Twi, I was hoping we could wrangle both of them into the sack. But, they got too much on their plate as it is.” She leaned forward and kissed Pinkie on the nose. “Who else did we have on our list of possibles?”

Reaching into her mane and pulling out a pad of paper, Pinkie-Pie replied, “Let's see, there's Derpy. She seems kinda fun.”

“She's also kinda married with two kids. Besides, she's a bit old for us,” Dash said. “Who else we got?”

Pinkie crossed off the name with a pencil. “Oh, yeah. I keep forgetting since he's away so much. Let's see, there's Cloudchaser and Flitter.”

Dash looked at her with a cocked eyebrow. “Aren't they sisters?”

“Yeah, pretty hot, huh?” Pinkie asked with a predatory grin and a wiggle of her eyebrows.

“Pinks, do you know how much I love you right now?”

Pinkie-Pie looked thoughtful and replied, “No, but if you hum a few bars, I can fake it.”

(\ /)
( . .)
*(“)(“)

Locking up the Golden Oaks Library again, Twilight turned to her fillyfriends again. “Sorry about this, girls. I just wanted a few books to cross-reference the ones I borrowed from Nyx.”

“Could we hurry this along? Trixie is famished,” the showmare in front of her complained.

Feeling far too upbeat after a visit to a library, Twilight didn't let it get her down. “Alright. I suppose we could go to a restaurant instead of cooking at home. It would be more efficient.”

“Not to mention that the only cooking utensils we have unpacked are a frying pan and a large soup pot,” Cheerilee added. “How about The Prancing Pony?”

“With how long they take?” Spitfire rebutted with a shake of her head. “What about McClover's?”

This time it was Twilight's turn to shoot the idea down. “Not really in the mood for fast food.”

“Just choose something!” Trixie shouted. “My big guts are eating my little guts!” Indeed, her stomach took that opportunity to make itself known with a loud rumble.

Spike chimed in with, “Okay, first: ew.” He made a face of disgust at Trixie who just rolled her eyes. “Second: why don't we go to Applejack's stand? She finally put in that hot plate last week, and she's been trying out some pretty good new recipes.”

“Yes! Fine! Whatever! Let's just go!” Trixie huffed and walked towards the marketplace.

They arrived just as Applejack was pulling down the sign for the night. “Well, howdy, y'all. Out for an evenin' stroll?”

“Actually, we were hoping that you were still open,” Twilight replied.

Trixie ran up to her and skidded to a stop in front of her, forehooves clasped together in supplication. “Please feed Trixie! It feels like days since she last ate!”

Smiling down at the haughty mare, the farmer tilted her stetson back. “Well, shoot. How can Ah refuse when yah put it so nice-like. Have a seat. Ah'll fix y'all up some apple stir fry.”

They were a little skeptical at first, but once the aroma reached their noses, all doubts were pushed aside. In the ten minutes it took Applejack to cook the dish, all five of her customers were salivating and their stomachs set to growling. She served them and her grin widened even further at their moans of pleasure. “Glad y'all like it. Got that there recipe from cousin Fuji Apple. She makes the best dag blamed Apple Ginger Slaw you ever put in your mouth.”

The only reply from her friends was the metallic tinkle of silverware hitting an empty plate. Trixie let loose an enormous burp, followed by a demure “Pardon.”

“That was amazing, Applejack,” Cheerilee said.

“Yeah,” Spike added. “Only way it could have been better is of you had sprinkled in some diamond dust.”

Applejack smiled at him and tipped her hat in acknowledgment. “Why, thank yah kindly, Spike. Ah'm afraid that diamonds just aren't in the budget, though.”

Twilight patted her full belly and asked, “How much do I owe you, Applejack?” Before her friend could reply, she added, “And don't say it's on the house. An apple pastry here and there is one thing, but five meals is too much to just give away.”

“Aw, Twi. That jus' would'a gone to the compost heap if'n y'all hadn't come by,” Applejack said. “But, seein' as how yah ain't lettin' it go, it'll be five bits a'piece if yah please.”

Pulling out the appropriate money, Twilight said, “Glad you finally see it my way, Applejack.”

As she put the dirty dishes into the cart's storage rack, the farmer replied, “Well, you four have fun on your date. Ah'll see y'all later.”

The four mares looked to each other, then looked down at Spike. Not one to miss a hint that obvious, he grumbled and picked up Twilight's saddlebags. “Yeah, yeah, I'm going.”

“So, how about a moonlit walk through the park?” Twilight suggested.

Cheerilee sidled up to her and nuzzled her neck. “Mmm... sounds romantic.”

“If we hurry, we can catch the moonrise above the lake,” Spitfire said.

That was enough to send them all trotting towards the park at a brisk pace. Arriving just a few minutes after the sun set, they sat by the edge of the water facing east. It wasn't long before a silver glow topped the trees and the nocturnal orb began its ascent, shining down on all the land. As it rose higher, a twin showed up in the water of the lake, causing all four of them to sigh in contentment.

(\ /)
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*(“)(“)

Panting heavily, Cheerilee grunted and groaned as she bore down again, nearly cracking her teeth as she grit them. This latest contraction was the hardest yet, and it showed no signs of getting any easier. Twilight gripped her hoof tightly in her own and whispered encouraging words to her. “Doing great, Cheery! We're almost there! The head's crowning now!”

Indeed, Celestia could see much of the head of the white filly, only the very top and back half were still obscured. She used her magic to ease some of the pain and staunch some of the bleeding such a large foal caused for her mother. The horn was the first thing out as is usually the case with unicorn foals, so there was no chance of complications from that at least.

“Doing great Cheery! One more big push and the head will be through! Come on sweetie, you can do it! Puuush!” Twilight's encouragement got her to bear down again, and the baby's head popped free, startling Celestia. Her mane was a brilliant pastel pink, and it may have just been her imagination, but it looked like that tiny little tuft of hair was waving in the nonexistent wind.

Carried by the momentum of the last push, the rest of the filly flowed out an instant later into the alicorn's hooves, giving Celestia a double shock when the wings came into view. An alicorn? But that's not even possible! Both previous shocks paled in comparison however to the third one when she saw that this filly had a penis as well. Double checking, she saw that she did indeed have the requisite mare plumbing, but was also graced with a penis. Aside from that one glaring fact, the filly looked exactly like Celestia herself did when she was young.

“Odds bodkins, 'Tia! This is what hast thou whimpering in thy sleep like a filly?” Luna stepped from the shadows, taking the Solar Diarch by total surprise. Oddly enough, nopony else in the room reacted to her, which confused Celestia for a moment.

“Luna? Wha- this...” The room faded away to be replaced by a field of tall golden grass, the sun still low in the sky. Looking around she finally understood what was happening and breathed a sigh of relief. “Just a dream...”

“A nightmare, more belike,” Luna said. 'Why wouldst dear Twilight's foal being an alicorn trouble thou?”

Celestia shot her sister a glare that softened almost immediately. “Did you not note her appearance, Lulu? She bore more than a passing resemblance to me.”

Luna shrugged and sat down, watching the wind bend the stalks of grass in waves. “Such things are to be expected when thou shareth thy soul with another, 'Tia.”

“But to look just like me?” Celestia asked, rounding on her sister. “That goes well beyond the norm. Not to mention that poor foal's... member.”

“Remember that t'was but a dream, dear 'Tia. An ephemeral musing of the mind, with no more meaning that what thou fearest or hopeth for most. The question then becomes; was it what thou fearest, or long for?”

Celestia pondered her sister's words, hoping that they would contain the answer to soothe the turmoil in her heart. Sadly, it did not. “I don't know,” she answered quietly. “I... I fear it may have been... prophetic.”

This took the lunar diarch aback. “Th- thou still hast these...”

Celestia nodded sadly. “They're very infrequent these days, and often inaccurate. Too many unknowable variables, I think.” She smiled wryly and snorted in amusement. “Twilight wrote a paper on how the number of beings with free will make prognostication unreliable. Her report was titled 'Precognition and the effects exerted upon it by Free Will'. She got an A-plus.”

Luna sat in silent thought for a moment before asking, “Is that how thou knewest...”

“Yes. It's also how I found Twilight. Without that particular vision, it would have been ten times harder to find them this time.” Celestia sighed and waved a hoof, causing a circular hole in space to appear. Through it, they could see Celestia facing down Nightmare Moon again and using the Elements of Harmony to seal her away in the moon. “Had I needed to wield the Elements again, events would not have aligned this advantageously again for ten millennia. We would have been made to endure for that long.” She waved the window away, banishing the sad vision. “We owe her that as well.”

Luna sighed and nodded. “We needst tell her the truth, 'Tia.”

“No, Luna. Not yet. Let her have this bit of happiness first. She deserves it for all she's done for us, and for Equestria. Let her have this much. Let her live a full life. Let her experience the love she deserves. Let her experience motherhood.” Celestia's eyes were pleading with her sister.

“She needs to know.”

“She's not ready to know.”

“ Thou meanest that thou is not ready. The longer thou waiteth to tell her, the harder t'will be.”

“The sooner we tell her, the greater chance of her thinking that we're just vultures waiting for her to die.”

Luna flinched, hearing her own words thrown back at her. The silence between them was deafening. Celestia came forward and embraced her tenderly. “I'm so sorry, Luna. I didn't mean-”

“Nay, 'Tia. Thou art right. She's not... she's not ready.”

Luna may have said that Twilight wasn't ready, but what they both heard was that they weren't ready.

(\ /)
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*(")(")

Coming out into the clearing, the armored minotaur cautiously examined his surroundings before leaning against a tree. He snorted and looked to the sky, nervous about being this close to pony territory. "You can hide from my eyes, but your stink gives you away, pony," he casually remarked.

A breath or two later, a cloaked pony walked out from under the shade of a tree, his coat returning to his normal dark green instead of the bark pattern it had a moment ago. "You should be kinder to the pony that's going to make you financially secure, Cunning Eye."

"You want kindness, you pay for it, just like everyone else in the world," Cunning Eye replied. He plucked a twig from a low hanging branch and began picking his teeth with it. "Until then, the best you can hope for is equal indifference. Now, what was so important that you felt the need to activate this communication drop? I can't be gone for long before my absence is noticed."

The pony nodded. "Then I'll get right to the point. My boss wants to know how soon you can start causing trouble here."

Cunning Eye raised an eyebrow at him. "How much trouble, what kind, and for how long?"

"As much trouble as you can without drawing the attention of the council, or as much as you can pay for which will be reimbursed, for as long as you can or until we say stop." The stallion shrugged. "As for the kind, use your imagination. Anything goes. I trust you have loyal troops on your side who know how to keep their mouths shut or lie?"

With a nod, Cunning Eye replied, "I do, but again, it depends on how much clink we're talking about."

The pony reached under his cloak and threw a small sack which the minotaur deftly caught before it could hit the ground. "About that much," he said.

Cunning Eye opened the drawstring and smiled at the gems inside. Closing it up again, he gave a deep bow to the pony. "Trouble your boss wants, then trouble he shall have. When next we meet, we may have to use drop point B. This area may be a little too... hot by then."

The cloaked pony nodded and melted back into the foliage, leaving the minotaur alone.

"This promises to be fun," Cunning Eye said as he walked back to his forward base, whistling a happy tune.

Author's Notes:

Man, this one was difficult. My muse just did not want me to write anything this time around. I was afraid of this since last chapter came out so easily. All this brings me to the apology for the brevity of the update. There just wasn't much more I could do with it. Also, this seemed to the advent of the OC's. Believe me, I had no intention of letting them take over, and I will do my best to limit them to one or two scenes (or at least one or two sets) in future at most. Hopefully, this is my hump for the story and everything will get easier. Cross your fingers.

The usual disclaimers go here. I own the arrangement of the words, Plain Sight, Nyx, Salanshandaraen, Onyx, Kat, Limnear, Silva, Great Fortitude, Lackadaisy, High Class, News Flash, and Buried Lead. All else belongs to Hasbro and Lauren Faust.