//------------------------------// // Chapter 27 - You'd know if I wanted to flirt with you // Story: Shackles and Friendship // by Zaibatsu //------------------------------// Shackles and Friendship Chapter 27 - You'd know if I wanted to flirt with you Edited by tired Noxxels "Oh cheer up Rodney, it didn't hurt that much." "No it didn't," I replied irritably, "but did you really have to hit me with so many?" I lifted up my clothes to reveal my midsection which showed a great number of small red bruises around every side of my body. The sight of my polka-dot skin caused Twilight's lips to curl up involuntarily as she started to snicker in suppressed laughter. I simply shook my head at her as we continue to make our way back to town as the sun began its descent behind us. It was never both our intention to spend so much time together, certainly not the whole day, but with the nap and everything else I suppose it shouldn’t be surprised. Like elongated hands the trees cast their shadow on me as I walked on but it would never reach me thanks to the glow of the burning gem floating beside me. Its bluish hue tainted the golden afternoon light around us as it hovered vigilantly like some supernatural will-o-wisp. "Is it going to follow us like that all the way to Ponyville?" asked Twilight as nudged her nose towards the gem. "Can you turn it off? We'll definitely attract some attention with it floating around in the open." Instead of answering I simply held an open palm right under the gem, "Command-line: Terminate." With a last bit of flicker the fire that wrapped around the gem disappeared, it froze in the air for a fraction of a second before gravity took over as it fell to my palm. Like removing a covering the light of the gem intensified as it returned to its original radiance forcing me to squint and hold the gem away from my vision. "Passive's react to certain scenarios and phrases," I explained as I held the giant sapphire to Twilight, "just like you taught me." "Command line?" she asked with a cocked brow. Her horn glowed momentarily as she took the gem and stuffed it inside a small saddle bag filled with the books she brought earlier. Even with the thick fabric the gem's light was still easily visible though it now looked more like a stain, unless of course if someone got a closer look and realized its actually glowing. "Command-line interface. A user to compu-eh....never mind, it'll take far too much time and effort for me to explain properly. Just think of it as a key word that I created specifically to interact with my spells. The passive ones obviously." "That's a smart idea, prevents any accidents if you accidently mention..." The rest of Twilight's words became a blur when my headache flared up again out of nowhere. I groaned and rubbed the sides of my forehead trying desperately to somehow lessen the pain, the world around me started to fade to the back of my mind while my body started to move on auto pilot. "Rodney!" Hearing both my name and Twilight's shouting voice jolted me back into reality, the first thing I noticed was the rough dark brown bark of the giant tree standing only a step away in front of me. I shook my head hoping to clear my mind but the sudden movement only made it worse as I felt a small sense of vertigo. "Weren't you paying attention at all?" she asked worriedly as she cantered up next to me. "Is it the headache from before?" "Don't worry about it Twily, my mind just wandered a bit. It's nothing." "Are you sure? It could be serious." Twilight eyed me up and down probably expecting I was about to keel over or something. “It’s possible you’re suffering from exposure to foreign elements in Equestria. Or maybe-” "Twilight I'm fine," I assured her with a firmer tone. I turned and made my way back on the path to the town. "It's just a hangover." "You've been drinking?" she asked in a surprised tone. "Does that bother you?" "Not really, just surprised you found the bar so quickly. The Bronze Sky is one of Ponyville's little dirty secret so only a few actually know about it. Even less are regulars. I only found out about it around six months ago from Rainbow Dash." "One of?" I asked with a smile hoping to veer the subject away from my headache. "I guess Ponyville isn't all sunshine and rainbows as I thought it was. Still, is drinking really that bad?" "It depends, it's quite normal and openly accepted in cities like Los Pegasus, even Centerlot has one or two establishments that serve similar beverages. The real problem is with ponies becoming inebriated and embarrassing themselves, even cause property damage if they're not careful. There's even a law that forbids any pegasus to fly after drinking for obvious reasons. Along with the addiction everypony in general view it in harsh light, while somepony ask for a stronger law against it others even wish for prohibition." 'So just like the olden stigma from back home then.' "I'm surprised Bronze could keep his bar in business with such a short list of customers, maintaining a bar like that can't be easy. With the way it looked he must’ve invested a lot of bits." "What are you talking about?" asked Twilight in a confused tone. "Bronze Sky is one of Ponyville’s richer pony. He’s a very skilled smithpony and runs the only metal shop in town, the only other store that deals in similar merchandise is all the way in Centerlot." 'I guess that partially explains the giant shield on the wall.' 'The real question is: why he even has one? Or why is it so worn out with use? Looked like it went through hell and back.' "Odd, he never mentioned anything about that. Then what about his bar? His mark is a flying beer mug isn’t it? Isn’t a mark some calling for you ponies?" "I'm not quite sure, but I think it's just a hobby or a side business he likes to have. Not everypony can make a living with what they love. What I do know is that he's an exceptional smithpony and does amazing work in just about anything to do with metalworking. In the day he tends to his shop and takes in orders from almost everypony, even custom ones. I suppose that's one reason why the town tolerates his bar." With a smile Twilight looked up at me and asked, "Care to guess what his shop is called?" "Is it the Bronze Sky?" I answered humorously. "Close, it's actually the Sky Bronze. He even uses it as a brand name for his merchandise." "That pony doesn't have a lot of naming sense huh?" "Nope." "Imagine if he had to name his children, heck I even feel sorry for his pet." As if on cue, both Twilight and I looked at each other before bursting out in giggles and laughter just as we made the last turn on the road towards town. Soon the dirt road abruptly became stone pavements indicating we’ve entered the town’s perimeter. Twilight and I continued on traveling into town together for the first few blocks before we said our goodbyes, with Twilight making me promise a second time to visit her should my headache worsen. I thought about asking her for a dose of magic but seeing as Twilight’s magic was stored up in the gem there’s really no point in asking her. So with 'Sense' alone I carefully drained the gem inside her saddle bag to my full before we went our separate ways, Twilight down another street to her tree house, or house tree, and I down another. I had gone a few meters when my stomach suddenly reminded me of how little I ate, other than breakfast I haven't eaten anything at all. With hunger driving my legs forward it didn't take much time for me to reach the boutique, I had practically jogged the whole way. "I'm back!" I hollered over the ringing bell as I pushed the front door open. "Over here Rodney." I followed Rarity's voice and headed over to the kitchen and almost drooled as I breathed in the many different aromas. Rarity as usual showed great control with her magic as she so easily managed several pots and pans all at once with hardly any effort. Sweetie Belle on the other hand was zipping back and forth trying to set up the table carrying plates and cup around one by one with curled lips. "Rodney did you spent the entire day with Twilight?" asked Rarity as she turned around to see me. No matter how many times I’ve seen it, being able to control a spell without line of sight still impresses the hell out of me, as if to show off she even whisked one of the dishes in the air like a pro. "I did. One thing led to another, Twilight spent all her magic and we ended up taking a nap." I moved towards the dining table and helped Sweetie Belle set things up seeing as she was got tired of picking one plate at a time and tried lifting several at once. Knowing her unusually prone she was to complete and total destruction. "Twilight ran out of magic?" Rarity asked in a surprised tone. "My goodness Rodney, Twilight is one of the most powerful unicorns in Equestria." "I'm aware, and don't worry we didn't do anything dangerous." 'We just charged a sapphire with enough firepower to blow up half the town then gave it to a pony who's gonna poke around with it.' 'Details.' "I'll take your word for it. Why don't you clean yourself up, dinner ought be ready by then." "I suppose." Making sure there’d be a kitchen to return to I took most of the largest and heaviest plates to the table leaving Sweetie Belle to deal with the easier tasks before leaving the kitchen. [Sometime later....] Dinner went by as usual with Sweetie Belle leading the conversation, much like any child she greatly exaggerated her crusading adventures at the farm with Applebloom and Scootaloo. More than once I had to suppress the urge to laugh when the story got so out of hand it became hilarious to listen. Even though I’ve only spent a single day with all three, some of the stuff they tried to do around the farm sound almost plausible. I’m starting to question the wisdom of letting these three get together all the time. For myself dinner went by rather quickly, especially considering how hungry I was and how fast I ate. Though Sweetie Belle certainly enjoyed the sight of me stuffing my face with gusto, Rarity however kept looking at me disapprovingly though she couldn’t really do anything about it. Contrary to popular belief it is quite possible to eat like a pig yet remain civil, you just have to do everything quicker. "I must say Rarity," I began while cleaning the last plate over by the sink, "you are a mare of many skills. The very idea of going vegetarian for the rest of my life will most likely kill me outright, but at least it’ll be your cooking." I looked back to see the ivory unicorn sip her tea behind by the kitchen table. "I might actually miss it if I ever go back home." "Had I not known you better I could have sworn that was your attempt at flattery." I smiled mischievously at her. "Believe me, you'd know if I wanted to flirt with you. But seeing as Sweetie Belle might still be awake upstairs I rather not risk mentally scaring her." "Oh dear, it almost sounds as if you're suggesting something indecent," she replied teasingly. "Don’t worry, I'll have to be seriously hammered to even consider that." "Hammered?" "Drunk. Like royally drunk." Though I never meant anything by that, Rarity seemed peeved by that remark. "Are you insinuating that somepony must be intoxicated to even consider courting me?" "Hardly, anypony would consider you beautiful, even I can tell that much. But as a human, that's exactly what I'm saying." With the last plate cleaned and dried I joined Rarity in the table and took my own cup of tea she prepared earlier. I could tell Rarity was about to push the topic further but I really wasn't looking forward conversing about human to pony relationships. "Since I'm currently on the spotlight," I quickly continued before she could, "Twilight told me she explained a bit about my abilities after that incident with the fire ruby." "She did when I continued to press her for an explanation, I was after all also a victim. But if you worry that I would divulge-" "I'm not, Twilight told me you like to gossip about but she also had faith you wouldn't discuss something so sensitive. Otherwise she wouldn’t have told you in the first place." I took a sip of the tea which to my pleasant surprise had a touch of mint in it. "Not that I needed to be told that, after everything you've done for me I realize myself you're someone with integrity." Rarity raised a brow and eyed me somewhat suspiciously. "It isn't like you to discuss something like this." "You're right, I'm not. But my parents rai....raised me to repay kindness where it's due." I was caught off guard when the very mention of my parents brought my emotions to a turmoil of loss, sadness, worry and even guilt. From there my thoughts quickly spread to my home, friends and even my job. I began to wonder if they were still searching for me or conduct a funeral with an empty casket once they’ve given up. I quickly finished my tea by tilting the cup all the way back hoping to hide my expression. I nearly jumped away from the table towards the sink as I began to wash the cup as an excuse for time to compose myself. I wasn’t sure if she noticed anything but if she did, she was thoughtful enough to remain quiet and waited for me to continue when I'm ready. 'I warned you.' Ignoring that comment I splashed some cold water on my face and desperately tried to quell the hurricane of emotion I was in. After what could easily have been minutes I turned around with a long sigh and returned to the table acting like nothing happened. "After everything you've done for me, I'd just like to set things straight is all." "If you wish to." "I do. You've more than earned that much. Now I'm not sure how much Twilight told you so I'll just explain everything." [Roughly twelve minutes later.....] "....the chains keep my powers in check, and myself included. Apparently either Celestia or Luna could pretty much sever my link to magic with it." I shook one hand in the air causing the chains to jingle. "But pretty much anything magical I come into contact with still get's drained. Anything non living to be more accurate, which is what happen with your fire ruby." Rarity tapped a hoof on her chin in thought, "But what happened after? You were thrashing about on the floor screaming in so much pain. It was horrible." "From what Twilight told me my body and mind simply wasn't ready to hold that much magic yet considering I came from a world devoid of magic. Creates sorta of a backlash effect or something. I assume that I needed to train and slowly get used to wielding more magic." Again Rarity fell silent as she stared at her empty tea cup in thought. "That...doesn't sound right." "Meaning?" "Well, I'm not as knowledgeable as Twilight with magic, and everything else in existence," she added jokingly, "but any unicorn knows the bases for magic. One's container for magic grows with use that much is true, but anypony could and able to hold as much magic as their container allows. And I've certainly never heard of anypony afflicted with anything like what you suffered through." "Well...I'm not a pony, so I suppose that makes me a special case." I recalled one of my earlier session with Twilight back in the castle. "From the way Twilight explained it she was almost certain of it." 'Something's off.' 'About?' 'How is it that everybody here has little to no knowledge of our physiology, especially when considering the hospital requires samples to learn about us, yet Twilight seems to have a clear understanding how our magic works.' 'She doesn't. She said it herself today that our magic was a complete.......mystery.' 'There you see my point? How is it that she seem so sure of one aspect of our magic yet knows just as much as we do with everything else.' 'It could just be a guess from her, one of her theories.' 'Don't you think she would have mentioned it? I'm telling you, it just doesn't fit.' "Well, whatever the case I should probably be best if I label everything in house that's magical. Or store them somewhere safe." "Hmm? Oh no need, I can tell what to avoid. Wait, so you're not bothered by me at all then?" "I would be lying if I said it doesn't disturb me a little, magic after all is a part of everypony. But I did not become the designer I am today be focusing on flaws and imperfection, plus I've come to know you better. And you Rodney are not without your merits and virtue." She suddenly gave a light laugh, "Turning you into a proper gentlecolt is still in my agenda." I groaned, "Don't remind me, I swear this one mare comes by the store just to see me. I think her name's Lyrka or something, keeps wanting me to scratch her head." "Oh my, is somepony interested in you already?" she asked teasingly. "We're not having this discussion," I said irritably before standing up and walking away. "Oh come now Rodney," pleaded Rarity with big puppy eyes. "It's such a juicy gossip!" I chuckled at the sight before making my way towards the stairs. "Goodnight Rarity," I replied in a flat tone before heading up for bed.