Ch. 46
The creature had an interesting look to him, specifically his eyes; they had black slits for pupils, like a serpent. His ears was more pointed and had a bit of fur at the tip. However, those were two features that made this “pony” differ from others. The other feature he had was his wings; they were like bat wings. Perhaps they were. The wings were pointed sharp as they rested at the stallion’s hip, even though there was nothing being worn on them. Speaking of sharp, two small fangs bared out of his mouth, giving the creature an even more intimidating look. Aside from those interesting visuals, he seemed quite normal. His fur was gray, but his mane had a nice silver shine, almost close to that of a crystal pony. A messy silver tail sagged behind him as he stared at the mares.
“Hello,” Coco spoke with a smile. She didn’t know how to observe to the pony… bat… thing, but did her best not to stare at his everything and be rude. Sadly, Coco’s eyes betrayed her as they looked with curiosity.
The stallion’s mouth parted a bit before closing it again, making the air very awkward. Both Coco and Stitch looked at each other, not sure what to make of the situation at hand; Stitch even more unsure. Finally, he spoke, “Do I not frighten you?” In a quick motion, he fanned out his leathery wings, causing a light gust of wind to hit the two mares. But even with his sudden act, neither pony nor changeling flinched, but only looked with even more awkward stares.
“Platinum,” a mare spoke, coming from behind the cedar tree. Her amber eyes looked hot at her brother as she rounded the trunk. The mare was just like her brother: pointed ears with some fur at the tip, and batwings at her sides. Her fur, however, was more of a darker shade of gray, and her mane and tail was a light-purple color. The mane was done in a lovely ponytail with a cute pink bow to hold the bundle of hair at the end of her hairdo. “What are you doing? Trying to scare them?” No words came from Platinum as he folded his wings back to his side. Looking back to Coco and Stitch, she apologized, “I am sorry for my brother. He can be quite the annoying fruit bat.” Her sibling blushed and looked away as he Platinum heard the quip from his sister.
“It is quite alright,” Coco finally spoke, no longer held down by the awkward air. “Sorry we were listening in on your conversation.” Stitch nodded slightly, not wanting to speak a word or bring attention to herself.
The batmare stood still, looking between Coco and Stitch, pondering about something; Coco could feel awkward gravity weigh down the air again. “My name is Violet Sky,” she finally spoke, relieving Coco that Violet is willing to break the ice.
“I am Coco Pommel.” The ponies shook hooves before Coco gestured to her friend. “And this is Stitch Snitch.” Only a nod came from the changeling; however, she didn’t feel shy at all. But that still didn’t make her want to talk to the two strangers before her. “So Platinum,” Coco asked, “what were you trying to do by showing us your wings?”
“I wanted to scare you away,” he grumbled, but with a frown at his lips.
“Why?” Stitch suddenly spoke. “You didn’t look frightening at all.” Platinum’s brows raised with sudden shock and he looked to his sister. As for Violet, she looked at her brother with a smug grin. It dawned unto Coco that she would have normally be scared of a pony who looked like a vampony. But given what she has gone through in the last two weeks, changelings have lost their fear factor. So seeing Platinum and Violet, despite never seeing any of their kin, was no shock to Coco. The two did look interesting to say the least. As for Stitch, she knows how frightening the queen can be, so it is no surprise she said what she said.
“I told you somepony would not find us all- ‘spoooooky’ as you said,” Violet mocked her brother with a playful shove.
“Could you not embarrass me in front of others Vi!” Platinum scowled, his slit pupils thinning with anger and ears pointing back with aggression.
“Please don’t,” Stitch spoke, looking at Violet with an innocent stare. Platinum’s ears perked up at the words of Stitch. “You don’t want your brother to end up hating you later on.” A hot snort came from Platinum as he smirked at his sister, glad the pony before him was standing up for him. Coco slightly felt guilty, as she did the same thing to Stitch several minutes ago. But the changeling was right afterall.
“You are no fun,” Violet sighed. But she still wanted to have the last laugh. “Just know that I am only being nice because a pretty mare is standing up for you.” Stitch’s cheeks flared with red when the batmare complimented her. Coco stood beside her friend with a smile, agreeing with Violet.
Angered with his sister flustering the earth pony, Platinum apologize, “I am really sorry- Stitch, right?” The changeling nodded slowly, still taken aback by the statement. “My freak-bat of a sister doesn’t know how to keep her fangs in her mouth.”
“What?” Violet didn’t know what she did wrong as she looked between her brother and Stitch. “I was being truthful. She really does look lovely in that dress.” But to her horror, Violet watched Stitch’s expression writhe as the pony began to sob. “Oh no! I- I am so sorry!”
Before Platinum was going to give his sister an earful, Coco interjected, “It’s fine. She is very sensitive when it comes to being overjoyed.” Or any emotion for that matter. Stitch wiped her tears before nodding a “yes.”
“Thank you for finding me pretty,” Stitch choked over her sentence. “You look very cute too.”
“Oh stop,” Velvet waved a hoof playfully at Stitch. “I’m not the one in a dress.” That was one thing that was a matter of fact: neither Platinum nor Velvet were not in outfits. Which was interesting to Coco, considering that the Grand Galloping Gala was an event where ponies come to gather in fancy attire.
“Anyways…” Platinum seemed like he wanted to get away from Coco and Stitch and began to walk away from them and his sister. “...I want to walk around and try to mingle like you want Vi. You can stay here and talk to them if you like, but I wish to be alone.” Just before the stallion went on his way, his eyes couldn’t leave Stitch. Something was trying to get him to stay, but Platinum refused to listen to it. “I like your dress.”
“And I like your teeth,” Stitch spat out, the instant she heard his compliment. In a quick motion, Platinum turned around and walked over to the ballroom door, pulling it open. A couple was standing at the entrance as the stallion went inside; they quickly fled his presence by briskly moving away.
As for Stitch, the mare stared at Platinum’s backside as he watched the ponies flee. A frown was able to be seen on his face as they left him. When he reached to close the door, the stallion noticed Stitch was staring at her. But the gaze was broken when the slits in his eyes fell upon her, and Stitch looked away, somewhere unknown. No longer wanted to be seen by them, Platinum closed the large door with a loud “kathunk.”
Now alone with Coco and Velvet, Stitch no longer wanted to be with them; she wanted to be with him. Platinum. Never in her life did she want to pursue a stallion for any reason. But she was curious with his attitude and wanted to learn about him. With a flushed face, and surprisingly having no tears in her face, Stitch said, “I wish to be alone as well.” A sudden rush of energy overtook the changeling and she made for the door, then entering the ballroom in pursuit of Platinum.
Coco and Velvet looked at each other and asked the same question in unison, “What just happened?”