A Little Help From My Friends
Colour returned to the world, shapes morphed into everyday objects, and before he knew it, Daedalus was in a new place and time. The white, blinding light signified to Daedalus that he had moved ahead through the memories. Making sure he had his bearings before walking around, Daedalus stretched his muscles and rubbed his eyes. He could hear a pop in his old joints, and once he was satisfied he could move freely, he took in his new surroundings. Daedalus briefly paused when he noticed how odd it was that he felt the need to stretch inside his own head, but then he shrugged and moved forward.
He was inside the first floor of a house. He noticed two comfy-looking chairs and assumed that he was in the living room. Apart from a few pieces of furniture, and the likelihood the pony living here had the essentials, the house looked barren. No pictures of family, no mementos, no artwork or anything to liven up the place and make it feel like a home. The walls were a dull brown, but the roof was a contrasting white. Daedalus furrowed his brow and stepped into another room.
“This place needs a mare’s touch,” he muttered. Daedalus was now in the kitchen, and judging by the large table, it also acted as the dining room. There was a stove, a fridge, counters, drawers; in fact it was just your everyday kitchen. The room was white and shiny, showing that the place had been cleaned only recently. Great care had been taken, as Daedalus couldn’t see a speck of dirt anywhere on the floor.
Entering the next room, the king found what looked like an empty space. Nothing was in there at all, but the room led to a hallway with a set of stairs and the front door. Either somepony had moved in only recently, or somepony didn’t own many things. It was rather depressing and very boring to Daedalus. If there was one thing Daedalus hated, it was boring. Seeing nothing else to do, Daedalus ascended the staircase to the next floor. Along the hallway were several locked doors. At the far end he could hear a few shuffling sounds and somepony cursing under their breath. Before the king could enter, though, his eyes locked onto the door just several feet from the end of the hall. Something was different about it. The colour for one, as this door was pure black, while the others were the same dull brown.
Stepping through the door, Daedalus was greeted by a surprising mess. Perhaps a better description would be organised chaos, as despite the stacks of folders and general clutter, everything seemed to make sense. Looking closely, the folders were all related cases, and the papers seemed to be centred around a trashcan near the corner of the room. It was all still a mess that seemed completely out of place with the rest of the house, but there were enough clues in the room to give Daedalus an idea of who lived here. This was definitely the home of Question Mark.
At a guess, Daedalus assumed that Question retreated in here to work on cases, and perhaps to help focus and clear his mind. This was not unheard of with artists, but it was odd to Daedalus that Question would willingly work in these conditions, and in a very small room that could be mistaken for a broom cupboard. Question had regaled the king with many of his past cases he received from Sherclop and other clients. Most had happy endings, but a select few bothered Question greatly, and he was unable to let go of one in particular.
This was evident from the large board across the room.
It was somewhat surreal for the king to see it before him, the case that broke Question Mark. They had talked about it at length, both acknowledging the fact that the investigation’s aftermath pushed Question over the edge and led him to joining Chrysalis in her attempted takeover of Canterlot. There had been other factors of course. Losing faith in ponykind had been a steady process. Being a detective was the thing Question was born to do in Daedalus’ opinion, but everything Question had seen in his line of work had steadily affected him. This only became worse and worse until he met the Ripper.
Daedalus approached the board slowly, dreading how much was there. It was worse than he thought. Various newspaper clippings of interviews, suspects, and general reports on the victims were pinned onto the board. There were pictures of crime scenes and mutilated bodies. A normal ling would have retched at the sight, but instead, Daedalus shook his head sadly. Various pieces of multi-coloured string connected it all together. It would only make sense to Question himself.
“Why can’t you just let this go?” The king found himself asking the obvious question. Of course it was a distressing time for the young changeling, but in Daedalus’ mind, this was something that should have been put to bed by now. It would sound cold to some, but living for over a thousand years taught Daedalus that holding on to bad memories was never healthy. A part of Daedalus wanted to smash up the board, but he had to remind himself none of this was real. Besides which, this was Question’s responsibility to deal with; the king could only give a guiding hand. He made a mental note to talk to Question about this in the future, but for now, the king left the offending room and re-approached the muffled sounds.
He marched straight through the door and was greeted by another curse. Daedalus stood there, amused to find Question Mark fretting over ties. He was currently wearing a bright, flowery one that hurt the king’s eyes. It reminded him of the time he met one of the Doctor's many incarnations. A green stallion who wore the most dreadful coat ever created.
“Maybe she would like this one,” Question muttered. “I mean, she has a very colourful mane and this is certainly colourful… but her colours are beautiful. This is a damned train wreck!” Question ripped the tie from his neck and chucked it at the nearest wall. He dropped his pony disguise and was in his chitin form. He made an near inaudible clicking sound common to changelings when they were frustrated or angry.
Looking around, Daedalus realised he was in Question’s bedroom. Unlike the rest of the house, the walls were a nice red and the roof was black. The bedroom was actually quite nice, and felt very comfortable. Daedalus assumed Question spent most of his time here when he wasn’t in his case room.
Question flopped onto his bed and grumbled, tired of being so worried. He had spent all night in glee, overjoyed that Rainbow Dash had agreed to a date. Sadly, worry soon followed. What should he wear? How should he treat Dash? What if he messed up? These questions spun around in his head constantly, no answer in sight. Question had swapped one group of problems for another, and he didn’t know what was worse. The fact that he was falling for a pony? Or blowing his chances to be with her?
A loud knock came from the front door that caught both changelings’ attention. Instinctively, Question changed back into his pony form. He grabbed his hat and straightened it in a nearby mirror.
Tell me that isn’t Dash, he begged in his own head. Why would she be here now? It’s still morning for crying out loud. He hurried out of the bedroom with Daedalus following behind, but Question paused half way down the stairs. Wait a minute. I was supposed to meet her at the restaurant.
Another knock reminded Question what he was meant to do. Without another thought he opened the door to find two friendly faces. Cloudchaser and Flitter were two of the first ponies to meet Question Mark when he came to Ponyville. As part of an act made by Mayor Mare one year ago, all pegasi who lived in Ponyville were given the offer of being part-time members of the weather team for a small allowance. Of course, one had to be trained to handle lightning, snow, and other extreme conditions, so it only required part-time members to help move large shipments of clouds.
Question Mark had agreed, seeing it as a step forward in his path for atonement. He was called up and paired with Cloudchaser and Flitter, two full-time members of the weather team, to assist in moving a subsection of clouds while the rest of the team focused on another. The three of them had become interesting friends, and at Cloudchaser’s insistence, Question found himself telling more and more about his life to the pair—that is, what he was able to tell without revealing too much about who he really was.
“There you are,” chirped Cloudchaser happily. She had a large smile on her face, but she was breathing heavily.
“Oh, hello, you two. You both seem out of breath,” Question commented, looking both mares over and then noticing beads of sweat form on their heads.
“I was—I mean WE were worried about you. You were meant to meet us at the park, remember?”
Question looked at them blankly, before his eyes opened wide in realisation. “Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry. We were supposed to meet up for brunch today, weren’t we?”
They both nodded. “’Fraid we already ate,” cut in Flitter. “You’re never late, so we were just a little concerned. You look like crap if I’m honest.”
Daedalus took a good look at Question and noticed the stallion had bags under his eyes. His mane was a mess, and he looked like he was going to freak out any second. “I’m sorry. I’m just a little stressed.”
“Can I help!?” Cloudchaser shouted excitedly. She shoved a hoof into her mouth as her cheeks went a tiny shade of red. “I mean, would you like to talk about it? It might make you feel better.”
“Sure, you two could actually help me. Take a seat on the couch, would you like anything to drink?”
“I’d like some coffee, black,” answered Flitter. “Make sure you get some for yourself, you look like you need it.”
Question chuckled lightly as he headed for the kitchen. Daedalus stayed with the sisters as they sat on the couch. He couldn’t help but grin wildly to see that his friend had been successful in making friends of his own. Some pretty cute friends for that matter… bah, get that out of your head. Focus, Daedalus, focus! the king scolded himself. He already knew who they were as Question brought the pair of them up between talks, especially when it came to life in Ponyville.
“Sweet Celestia, just ask him out already.”
The king nearly did a three-sixty when he heard those words. He found Flitter whispering to her sister. Her eyebrows were arched in annoyance as she looked at Cloudchaser. The other mare refused to meet her gaze and looked away.
“I-I-I know, alright. I was going to wait a little longer, okay?” Flitter rolled her eyes and resisted facehoofing.
“We both know he’s as dense as a rock when it comes to flirting, and don’t get me started on your technique.”
“I thought stallions like it when a mare brushes her tail on their face.”
“Yeah, their face, not their eye.”
“It was an accident. I said I was sorry.”
“I know, but at this point you’ve got to be direct with him.”
Daedalus looked on in sheer disbelief. The fact he was hearing this made him question his sanity. Question Mark wasn’t a bad-looking stallion, but every time they had talked, Question would tell Daedalus that mares had never really taken an interest in him. Looking back, Daedalus realised how obvious it was just from the conversation at the doorway that this Cloudchaser had a thing for the detective. He stroked his beard, wondering whether Question had really just never realised this, and if Cloudchaser was the first mare to show an interest in Question Mark.
“Question has some game. Too bad he has no intuition to play,” muttered Daedalus.
“I-I-I was going to invite him to a picnic tomorrow,” blurted out Cloudchaser. Her sister raised an eyebrow and smiled.
“Oh yeah? Fastest way to a stallion’s heart is through their stomach as Mom would say. Sounds like a good chance to confess one's feelings?” Flitter teased. Before Cloudchaser could respond, Question Mark returned with two cups of coffee.
“Here you go, Flitter. Black, as you requested,” said the changeling as he handed her the coffee.
Flitter took a sip of the dark liquid and said, “Mhm, black, just the way I like my mares.”
Question paused upon that comment. Does she like changelings, then? What in Tartarus does that even mean? Realising applying logic would be pointless, and since Cloudchaser didn’t seem perturbed, he seated himself between the two sisters and took a swig of his coffee. He could feel the rejuvenating effects of the liquid course through him, and despite its powerful taste, a tiny, relaxed smile reached Question’s lips.
“So, what’s bothering you, then?” asked Cloudchaser. Question had almost forgotten she was here.
“Huh? Oh, sorry. Well, I could give the generic answer of ‘life.’ Knowing you two, though, you mares wouldn’t be satisfied with that answer. Basically, I guess you could say I’m nervous about something.”
The sisters exchanged an annoyed look before turning back to Question. “You’re being very vague there, Question. Give it to us straight,” said Fitter.
“Fine. Last night… I asked Rainbow Dash out on a date.”
The only sound that could be heard was the ticking of a clock mounted on a nearby wall.
Everypony had gone silent upon Question’s admission. It was as if somepony had suddenly died, but nopony wanted to acknowledge it. Question found himself gazing into the depths of his coffee, waiting for one of the sisters to respond. Flitter was casting a cautious glance towards her sister, but Cloudchaser didn’t look back. She was looking straight forward, with a few noticeable twitches to her left eye. Cloudchaser opened her mouth, trying to find the right words to say, and then it suddenly struck her.
“Wait, Dash is gay.” Both Question and Flitter looked over to Cloudchaser who had a relieved smile on her face. “Since she’s gay, that means she said no, right? I’m so sor—” Before she could continue her mock condolences, Flitter interrupted her sister.
“She isn’t gay, Cloud.”
A look of terror crossed Cloudchaser’s face. “Wh-what do you mean? I thought she was. How do you know she isn’t?”
“’Cause I asked her out a while back and she turned me down.” Question gave Flitter a sceptical look. “What? It’s true. We work with her all the time and she’s pretty hot, so I thought I’d try my luck. She let me down gently and told me she only liked stallions, gave me the whole story too.”
“So what did she say?” asked Cloudchaser desperately. Question was confused as to Cloudchaser’s change of demeanour, but he opted to just answer.
“Well… she said yes.”
Instead of being greeted with happy smiles, Question was only facing worried faces. One sister looked worried for the other, while Cloudchaser had great difficulty trying to hide her sadness at the news. Question was very confused by the reaction. He assumed they would be happy, if not a little surprised. It was evidently a slow morning for the detective as he was unable to put two and two together.
“Is something the matter? I thought you’d be happy for me.”
“Uh… well, you see—” Flitter wasn’t able to finish her sentence because a hoof covered her mouth.
“Oh! We are happy!” assured Cloudchaser. Her grin was wide and borderline psychotic. Question scootched up the couch away from her. “We were just thinking, you see. You and Dash will be… great together.”
“You really think so?”
“Oh, I know so.” For a moment the smile broke, but Cloudchaser forced it back in position. Flitter looked on, dreading what was happening inside her sister’s head. “Hey, I’ve got somewhere to be. Is it alright if I head off, Question?”
“Sure, I’ll see you later.”
The pegasus picked herself off the couch and trotted out of the room. When Question and Flitter heard the front door close, the detective turned to the other sister. “Well that was odd. Is she alright, or…? What the heck is that!?”
A loud thumping sound began to resonate from the left wall. Question nearly spit his coffee from sudden noise, while Flitter stood up and headed for the door.
“I’ll be back in a sec,” she called.
While this was all going on, Daedalus stood up and walked straight through the wall to find the source of the sound. He found Cloudchaser banging her head against the outside wall. The king sighed at the display. He put a clawed hand over his face, massaging his eyeballs in the process. He couldn’t do anything to stop her in his position, so he settled for not looking. Cloudchaser didn’t hold back on her self-punishment either, repeatedly smacking her skull against wood. Luckily for everypony, Flitter rounded the corner and grabbed her sister.
“What the heck are you doing?” she asked, visibly upset. Upon hearing Flitter’s arrival, Daedalus removed his hand. The passion in Flitter’s voice was out of sisterly concern; something Daedalus had never experienced himself. Being an only child was odd for a changeling, but all the other eggs produced by his mother were destroyed in a flooding accident. Only his survived. Some called it destiny, Daedalus said it was sheer dumb luck. He had never known what it was like to have a sibling, though he would like to think he would be a good brother.
“What does it look like? I’m punishing myself for being a stupid coward,” Cloudchaser explained, not meeting her sister’s gaze.
“Well first off, if you’re going to do that, try not doing it while the stallion you’re nuts for is on the other side of the wall.” When Cloudchaser didn’t respond, Flitter rolled her eyes and continued. “And second, stop! You’re better than this and I’m not gonna stand here while you hurt yourself like that.”
Again, Cloudchaser didn’t respond, apart from a few sniffles. Flitter sighed and brought her sister into a hug. “What am I going to do with you?”
Daedalus looked on in fascination as the pair had their forelegs wrapped around each other. He stroked his long beard, trying to picture what it was like. When you’re siblings, does a hug feel even better? Bah, my thoughts are running away from me again.
“He’s gonna want your advice,” Cloudchaser said in her sister's legs.
“What do you mean?” Flitter replied.
“I don’t think he knows what to do with a date, that’s why he said we could help. You should get back there,” said the other sister, rubbing at her eyes.
“Well, uh, what do you want me to tell him? Like, maybe give him bad advice so—”
“NO!” Flitter jumped back at her sister’s outburst. “Look, he’s an idiot, but a nice idiot. He deserves to be happy, alright. Make sure his date goes well by trying to help. Please, for me?”
“… For you. But are you going to be okay?” Flitter asked, wrapping a foreleg over her sister and pulling her in again for a mini hug.
“I don’t know yet,” Cloudchaser said honestly. “I feel kind of down right now.”
“Really? I couldn’t tell. I thought self-harming was something you did all the time.” Both sisters let out a small chuckle. Despite the slightly morbid joke, the king found himself smiling at the display. “Tell you what. You go home, run a nice hot bath, and when I get back we’ll have a mares’ night in. I’ll get some of the others and we’ll eat ice cream and complain about stupid mares and stallions all night. Sound good?”
“Yeah, sounds like fun.” A small, genuine smile, found its way to Cloudchaser’s lips. “You’d better get back in now. I’ll see you later.” Flitter reluctantly let go of her sister.
“Alright, but you keep your head away from all walls apart from the cloud ones, you hear?” Cloudchaser nodded and Flitter headed back inside. The pegasus stood outside for a moment, allowing the smile to drop. She was unsure of what to do now, but knew she should head back home upon her sister’s advice. She spread her wings and picked herself up off the ground, flying to the porcelain sanctuary known as the tub.
Daedalus kept his eyes on her until she was out of sight, disappearing behind the clouds. He pondered what Cloudchaser would have done without her sister by her side. He had survived a thousand years without a brother or sister, but maybe it all would have been easier with one, ready to help pick him up when he fell. Again, he pushed the thoughts from his mind as mere distractions, but distractions were worth getting lost into, eh? Before he could head inside to rejoin Question, the scenery began to disappear again, and the king found himself being taken to a new place.
The first thing Daedalus saw when he reappeared was a rainbow. He was looking straight down at the multi-coloured mane of Rainbow Dash. That is until she walked straight through the king. Daedalus looked around to see if he could spot Question Mark anywhere, but he was nowhere in sight. It was still daytime as well, so Daedalus assumed he was now following Rainbow Dash instead. Looking up, the sun was at its highest point, signifying that only half the day had gone by.
Rainbow Dash held her head up high as she approached the shop of her friend, Rarity. Although she appeared calm on the outside, she was a wreck on the inside. At first it had all been so wonderful for the pegasus. She was so excited for what her date would entail that she had trouble getting to sleep, but then doubt struck. Familiar taunting began to ring in her ears, failed dates and pathetic pranks kept turning up in her dreams. All these things caused doubt to appear in the young mare’s mind.
Did Question really like her?
It would seem silly to anypony else, but Rainbow Dash was far more insecure than most ever realised. When her confidence was smashed, her other side was laid bare for all to see, and Rainbow refused to allow that to happen this time; she would not allow a repeat of the Best Young Flier’s competition. After spending most of the morning unable to concentrate on performing simple tricks, Dash decided to seek help from one of her few friends who might know enough about love to help her understand if the detective was being serious, Rarity.
The fashionista had never hidden the fact that she was looking for her Prince Charming. This usually induced many eye rolls from her friends when she went on a tirade on how to find Mr Right. Despite the less than stellar results, Rarity may be Rainbow’s only hope for finding some much needed confidence. Rainbow entertained the idea of going to Fluttershy, but she dismissed the idea when she remembered how shy Fluttershy was. Seeking confidence from somepony who had to pump themselves up just so they could leave the house didn’t seem very practical.
Rainbow was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t notice she was right outside Rarity’s boutique until she collided snoutfirst with the door. Daedalus stifled a chuckle while strolling through the town. Being closer to the centre of town, Daedalus watched as the ponies went about their busy lives. The market seemed like the busiest place with the exchanges of food and other essentials for tiny gold pieces. There was no need for this in the hive. Everyling was given a decent amount of love to fuel their magic and keep them alive at the beginning of each week, while food was more of a leisure item. Most changelings could go without love for two whole months, but the consequence was that their magic would become weaker and weaker the longer they went without it.
Noticing that Dash had stopped cursing and massaging her sore muzzle, the king followed her as she entered the shop. Inside, Daedalus thought he had entered a meeting with his fellow kings and queens, his least favourite place to be. Everything was far too fancy and frilly for his liking. The colours blended nicely together, but there was a sort of uptight attitude that hung in the air like a bad smell. Daedalus then noticed the odd pieces of scaffolding inside which contrasted with the overall vibe of the shop. It appeared it was in its beginning stages of some sort of renovation.
“Who is it?” chimed a beautiful voice from upstairs. Dash had been pacing the floor at the time, unsure of how to discuss the matter with Rarity. She didn’t want to tell her about the date, she simply wanted to know a few things. If this was a disaster, telling the town gossip she was dating would only lead to questions that Dash simply didn’t want to answer. She would have to be subtle, something Dash wasn’t very good at.
“It’s me, Rare,” Dash called back.
“Just a moment darling, I’ll be with you momentarily.” Rainbow found herself staring at her hooves, suddenly noticing how dirty they were.
Whoa, these things are chipped and everything. Don’t even know how I got mud there. Maybe I should get them cleaned at the spa— Dash suddenly snapped out of her temporary insanity. What the heck am I talking about? Stupid brain. I wanna get laid, but I don’t wanna get all girly to do it.
Daedalus was watching Dash examine her hooves with a cocked eyebrow. Huh, she should really clean those things or something. I don’t even know how she got mud there. Daedalus suddenly felt the need to check his claws. Before he could though, Rarity began to descend the staircase.
“Darling you could not have appeared at a better time. This shop has been an absolute nightmare.” Rarity put a hoof to her forehead and swung her head dramatically. Resisting the urge to facehoof, Rainbow assumed Rarity was referring to the scaffolding.
“Didn’t you already refurbish the shop a little while ago? That was when the Doc was in town.”
“You are correct, dear. Sadly the last job I had was rather shoddy. Most of the workers moved onto making the cyber tower during the invasion. The poor dears were so shaken I couldn’t possibly ask them to continue, so I allowed them to return home. The downside of course was that it was all a patch job at best.” Rarity reached the bottom and let out a tired sigh. “But you haven’t come here to listen to me complain. How have you been dear? You very rarely pay me a visit at the boutique.”
“Yeah, sorry about that,” Dash said while rubbing a hoof along the back of her head. She made a mental note to try to visit Rarity more often. “I’m good and all, but I need your advice.”
“Advice? On what darling?”
“Just… stuff in general.” Rainbow put on her most convincing smile, the irony being that it only succeeded in making her look guilty of something. Rarity placed a hoof on her chin as she squinted at the pegasus. That’s when a devious smile reached Rarity’s lips.
“I would love to help you, Rainbow, but I have a tiny problem. My stands were destroyed by some falling debris, you see, and the replacements I ordered haven’t arrived yet. If only there were somepony about with a natural athletic, slim body that could model these dresses while I work on them.”
“Generous, yet clever and dangerous. My kind of mare,” chuckled Daedalus. Dash tilted her head downwards and sighed loudly.
“Alright, you win.”
Rarity clapped her hooves together and dragged Rainbow upstairs to her inspiration room.
“If Gilda could see me now, I’d never hear the end of it—HEY! Watch it!”
Rarity quickly retracted the needle. “Well if you would stop moving around then you wouldn’t end up as a pin cushion, as you so crudely put it. Honestly, darling, is it so hard to simply stand still for a moment or two?”
The dress Rainbow was wearing was a bright purple that clashed heavily with the mare wearing it. Rarity had to remind herself that this was a custom order, and certainly not made for Rainbow Dash. Rainbow grunted but said nothing else on the matter. Meanwhile, King Daedalus was in hysterics. The sight was something truly glorious to behold. The great and mighty Element of Loyalty was reduced to modelling, all because a changeling asked her out. Daedalus also found it amusing that two ponies who were so different could be such good friends. Despite the annoyance they both shared, he could tell it wasn’t mean-spirited.
At the same time, Daedalus couldn’t help but notice some surprising similarities between the two ponies. When the elements had been assigned to actual ponies many years ago, he had done his best to gather information on them, a sort of know-your-enemy motive, but Daedalus was also simply curious about who they could be. Both mares were clearly passionate about what they did. Dash aimed to be recognised as the greatest flier in all of Equestria, while Rarity wanted to be seen as the greatest fashion designer in the world. Which brought up another similarity between the two: they both constantly sought the recognition of others. They wanted everypony to know how great they were. They had great skills in their respective crafts, large amounts of confidence that was hard to shake, large amounts of stamina, and when they were doing what they did best, their happiness shot up all the way to eleven. Neither of them probably even realised how alike they were.
During Daedalus’ observations, Rarity was regaling Rainbow Dash with a story about her trip to meet up with Fleur, the wife of Fancy Pants.
“… I mean she seemed quite unsure if she could adopt a filly so unlike her, let alone an entirely different species. But she has really warmed up to that little bat pony. Oh wait, what’s the PC term for their kind? Oh, that’s right, thestrals. They have such a fascinating culture, some ponies when they join Luna’s guard actually decide to become one, I mean can you imagine? Their colours are so dark yet so rich, it’s like…”
Rainbow was only half listening to her friend. Not that what Rarity was saying wasn’t interesting. Dash had to confess she was a little curious herself about the thestrals, but she was still trying to figure out how to approach her predicament to Rarity. Part of her just wanted to tell her about the date, but then she knew what that would lead too. There was no way Rarity would be able to keep her mouth closed on the matter, and once her other friends found out, then she’d never hear the end of it. She would rather know if she had something concrete with Question before telling anypony that they were dating.
Dash looked at the dresses on the rack and realised they had already been through four of them, and she still hadn’t even attempted to ask Rarity for her advice. She sucked in some air, nearly causing Rarity to prick her again, and just decided to wing it.
“Hey, Rarity. Can we talk about why I came here?”
“Of course, dear. You seem very quiet, actually, is everything alright?”
Well, I made it this far, might as well go all the way with it, Dash thought. “You see Rare, I’ve got to ask you a question.”
“Yes, go on darling, I’m all ears,” Rarity replied while continuing with her needle work.
“Well uh, how do… uh…”
“Darling, you can trust me. Anything you ask me will be in the strictest confidence.”
“… How do you tell if somepony likes you…? OW!”
Caught off guard, Rarity accidently stabbed Dash again. She quickly pulled the needle out but couldn’t stop the tiny pool of blood beginning to form. As a quick as a flash, Rarity jumped into action and levitated a nearby first aid kit, opened it, and placed a tiny plaster on Rainbow’s injury. The blood didn’t have a chance to trickle down Dash’s body.
“I am so sorry, Rainbow Dash. I have no idea what came over me.” Dash barely felt the pain as she was more shocked by Rarity’s swiftness in the matter.
“Why’d you have a random first aid kit lying about?”
“Injuries, darling. Sweetie is staying with our parents because bits of plaster and mortar occasionally break off and fall. I can’t leave, of course, as I need to work, so I keep these around in case of an injury.”
“But, you moved so fast?”
“Of course, dear. There’s no time to faint when one of my friends are injured. Although I must confess, that blood has left me a little woozy. I think we’re done for the day.” Rarity levitated a couch behind her and gracefully fell upon it. A tiny smile crept onto Dash’s face, and a small well of pride in Rarity formed in her stomach. “Now, what was it you asked me, darling? How do you tell if somepony likes you?”
“Uh, yeah, that.” Rainbow gulped.
“What an odd question, dear. By any chance, is there somepony that’s caught your—?”
“No.”
“Are you—”
“Yes.”
“Okay then,” Rarity said, slightly deflated by Rainbow’s bluntness. “If I may ask then, why do you wish to know? It isn’t like you to show any interest in romance.”
Daedalus would be lying if he said he wasn’t getting curious also. The conversation had taken an unexpected turn, bringing Daedalus to the edge of his seat, metaphorically speaking. I wish I could sit down. How does one get tired standing up inside their own head? The king glumly thought.
“Well, because of weirdos and stuff,” Dash tried to casually remark, but it came off as more of a mumble.
“You’ll have to be more specific.”
“Like, you go all over Equestria, right? I heard your folks used to take you travelling when you were younger.”
“Yes, they did.”
“Well, I bet you met some weird ponies, right? And when you go to fashion shows and stuff or whatever you do, how do you know when somepony hits on you they actually like you? Or they’re trying to get something from you?”
Rarity tapped a hoof to her chin as her face scrunched up in thought. She sat up, trying to decipher Rainbow’s incredibly jumbled question, then realisation struck her. “Are you asking me how I can tell if somepony likes me for me, or for less than civilised reasons?”
“Sort of, yeah.” Rainbow sighed in relief, seeing as she had Rarity on the track she wanted her to follow. “So nopony is trying to jump in the sack with you and you never see them again.”
“AH! Now I see. You never told me why you wish to know, though.”
“Well… if I become a Wonderbolt, I’ll be super famous and stuff—”
“Darling, you’re already “super famous” as you put it. We’ve saved Equestria several times.”
“Yeah, but I mean as a celebrity. Plus I’ll be travelling all over the place. Everypony will want a piece of this. I mean, who could blame them.” Rainbow’s usual cockiness had returned, much to the amusement of Rarity, who giggled. “I need to know if they actually like me for me, or just because they want my flank. Also, try and sort out who’s serious and who’s a… prankster.”
Rarity stood up from her seat and motioned for Dash to take off her dress. Despite her grumbling, as the process always felt awkward for Dash, it was quick, with Rarity floated the dress onto a stand.
“Darling, I’m afraid that there’s little help I can give you on the first matter,” Rarity replied, turning to Dash again.
“What do you mean?” Dash asked, masking her disappointment.
“When it comes to a gentlestallion’s intentions, they can be easily guessed on the date itself, especially the first one. It is hard to tell who’s serious just by them asking you out. Say if they were nervous, that is more of a telling sign. It shows that they had to dig into their reserves of courage to ask you in the first place, thus showing commitment, and thus showing how much they admire you. Whether that be for your looks, abilities, or personality; it is hard to tell.”
Dash looked back to the night before, trying to remember how Question had acted around her. The conversation had been interesting to say the least. Not the kind of subjects you would bring up around a mare you liked, but perhaps that showed how nervous Question was. She also remembered how long it took for him to actually ask her out, trying to sway the conversation to the right moment. The more Dash thought about it, the more she was certain that Question had been serious in his intentions.
“It would be harder to tell if they were confident of course, so that is why you would have to rely on the date itself. Saying yes or no depending.”
“Okay, cool. What else?”
“Secondly, there are two things I can tell you. One, do not, and I mean do NOT, sleep with him on the first date. You will have to forgive me, darling, as I sometimes—” Rarity gently cleared her throat, “forget these rules, but I know from experience that it is a bad move.”
Rainbow smiled coyly but nodded her head. “Sure, I ain't no tramp.”
“Language, dear,” Rarity scolded. Rainbow rolled her eyes.
“What, is the word tramp too hardcore for you, Miss Fabulous?”
Rarity ignored her. “The second thing is also important. Of course your date will treat you well, at least I hope he would, but make a note of how he treats other ponies.”
“Other ponies?”
“Oh yes, dear,” Rarity said with a knowing smile. “It’s easy for somepony to treat the one they're trying to please or impress well, but everypony else is another matter. That is when their true self comes out for all to see. Say if you went to a restaurant and the waiter accidentally spills something on them, their reaction is good way of gauging their character.”
“Oh, I like you, I like you a lot. If only you were one of my spies,” Daedalus whispered, more out of instinct than anything else.
“Hey, I think I get you now. If he, like, explodes and stuff and gets pissed off for no reason, then he’s a jerk. If he’s all cool about it and just shrugs it off, then he’s awesome.”
“Yes, I suppose you have the gist of it. It’s refreshing to see you think—”
“Yeah, that’s all good, Rare, but I need to get out of here. Thanks for everything!” Dash jumped to the nearest window and pulled it open.
“But be careful not to turn the date—” Dash flew out the window into the open sky. “—into an interrogation.” Rarity slumped onto the floor while she dreaded what Dash would do with her advice. “Oh well, she said she would only need this when she becomes a Wonderbolt. No need to worry about that now.” While Rarity returned to her completed dresses with a content smile, Daedalus kept staring at the open window. Speculation was forming in his mind as to Dash’s motives here.
“She was obviously worried about the date as well, but she seemed worried as to Question’s motivations. That poor mare, what caused her to have such doubt? I swear those two are made for each other. Pair of dummies worrying over nothing.” Daedalus was cut off from his pondering for a third time by a bright white light. “Oh, this is going to get annoying quick. I swear if the next memory isn’t that date I’ll—” The white light consumed the king and the world vanished once more.
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Ah, interesting to see this from Dash's PoV. And Raity being a bit of a slut as well.
Deadalus spin off? One question... where is it?
Yay! Update!
Remind me how the king is time traveling through events he has never seen? He was going through Question mark's 's memories right? But most of the stuff described in this chapter question mark Himself never witnesses. Even in the scene at his house for example, He wouldn't hear all the dialogue between the two sisters. Also, this story feels a bit Telly at times. Not sure how to make it more showy though. I do however really like how you wrote rarity.
In sum, I feel these would do better as flashback scenes.
My only question is how is Daedalus seeing Rainbow's memories too? If it was explained I missed it.
Other than that it was great and I hope to see the next chapter soon!
Oh, and poor Cloudchaser.
In my mind, Daedalus is king Bumi from Avatar.
A spin-off? Possibly.though I can see more the outcome of Dash and Question, that would be much better first.
3990726 3990745
As stated earlier, Daedalus is using the hivemind to grasp the relationship between Rainbow and Question. The hivemind is connected to all living things and is literally showing him exactly what occurred from multiple points of view. That is how he's able to see all of these things.
Wow, thanks for the help. I'm sure going to take that seriously
Telly my ass 
3990649 Daedalus spin-off is something I really want to do.
3990728 A sequel would be a multi-chapter fic, that's a guarantee. And you know what, I can take it... maybe
3990746 He's like that with most people, they always compare him to anyone mad enough with power.
A story about Daedalus would be interesting.
Another chapter I got lost in, like, in a good way. I love this amazing story and look forward to what comes next, again haha
Deadalus spin off, all three ideas, are heavily supported by me. I'm just such a big fan of your work now
I want a spin-off of this king and Discord!
two months already passed?
well, time certainly flies.
as for your story of Daedalus - yes
and for the second question of which story exactly - yes!
I think the same, Deadalus. I REALLY hope the next chapter will be the date.
Sounds interesting. I could see him dating Rarity. He seems to like her ^^
I would love a Daedalus spin off!
im on for Daedalus story... would be fun to see DaedalusXRarity after this story
Heh, an "of Lilies and Chestnuts" reference, how kind of you.
3990807 ah, thank you for the explanation. You may want to re mention that early in this chapter to remind those like me who forgot.
Uh, are we still going through flashbacks? I'm a bit confused.
Yes. Let's have a Daedalus side fic.
3990901 Pssssst, guess what? Next chapter will be the date from hell
3991038 Love that story. I'm glad someone got the reference.
3991040 Literally explained that stuff in the previous chapter
3991048 Sorry, that might be because of the two month break. I would recommend skimming through the previous chapters.
3991166
It's a fun little story, and doesn't take itself too seriously.
Even I'll admit that the way the hive mind works is.. weird. Like, with the way it seems to be working, couldn't they figure out who this Ripper guy is by using it?
I would enjoy a King Daedalus spin off. I would like to learn a bit more of his past and would be interested to see what type of story you'd do with it.
I'm confused. Changelings don't have claws, right? Why does he have claws?
I'd definitely read a spin off story focused on King Daedalus. Also, not sure why, but, this chapter made me start slightly shipping him and Rarity... And I rarely ship, especially with OCs and Canon charaters.
A King Daedalus spin-off, that sounds like a really fun story and one that I would like to read.
By any chance is that a reference to Of Lillies and Chestnuts?
Don't care if she likes mares. She has the hots for Thunderlane.
3991456
Because he was described as being kinda human. So he's more of an Anthro character then a pony.
Daedalus is awesome
I'd totally read a Daedalus spinoff, yeah!
Daedalus seems like fun, I'd be game to see more of him.
A Daedalus spinoff sounds like a lot of fun, although this chapter really makes me want to see a relationship between him and Rarity so you would have to wait on it until this story gets further along if you took that rout.
As Daedalus is perhaps my favorite character in this whole story, I'd absolutely jump at a spinoff, especially one which showed just how he became king!
3991589 yes, yes it was.
Yay, this was a very interesting chapter. Very detailed and loved Daedalus's POV of some situations.
I would thoroughly enjoy reading a story surrounding Daedalus! I wouldn't do a whole backstory on him. Maybe just a first chapter with how he became King then on present times. It would be interesting if falls for Rarity. He seem to really like her
I would love to read a story about King Daedelus! That would be wonderful! I love the characterization that you've done for him, he gives the Changelings a great leader. I love the personality, humor, and wit that he has!
This is me in a nutshell. Great work btw and I hope to see more soon. Also, PM me when you get the time.
This is pretty interesting so far, but there is one thing I would like to mention about something I thought in an earlier chapter. In the scene where the king mentions Rainbow Dash being good looking and RD's boyfriend freaking out and threatening the king and all, am I the only one who had alarm bells set off? He seriosly threatened his superior just for casually mentioning a mare being good looking, that's not cute, that's frightening. It's, like, the first sign of being over possessive and violent. I wouldn't be surprised if this guy spies on her while she works and sleeps, and takes out any guy he sees her talking to.
I wouldn't mind reading more stories staring the king, he's great.
Give me the spin-off. And, possibly ship Rarity and Daedalus.
Great chapter and I'm ready for the net chapter.
I guess the thing I'm wondering most after we clear his name and all is said and done...what then? Celestia forbids it? Twilight goes loony? There has to be some sorta plot hook. I'm eager to see how this goes.
King Daedalus is a lot like Discord in my opinion... As for a spin-off story for just him? YESH! Maybe The Adventures of Prince Daedalus and Discord
I can't wait to read it if you do write it! If you need ideas for it, I could give you a few if you want 
(Ideas fly around in my head 24/7)
Update! And a good one too!
I probably wouldn't read a Daedalus spinoff, to be honest.
Make the spin-off a Rarity/Daedalus. Cause character specialties.
3991171 I'll go into more detail in that later but it's already been implied. Basically, the hivemind can only be used by the average changeling on a casual basis. Sending messages to one another, working together and just general shit. Exploring the hivemind is another matter entirely, something that can only be done by a King or Queen. Even then, you need something specific to follow, otherwise you'd get lost in all of the information. Using Question Mark as a catalyst, the king can explore his and Dash's relationship. I never said they didn't catch the killer though.
3991436 Mhm, bacon. Everything's better with bacon.
3991589 Patiently waiting for that story to update.
3991673 Yeah, he's like the only pure black backgroung pony we've ever met. Flitter's fetish is sort of not working out for her.
3994405 Your profile pic is freaking me out dude.
3994625 You do bring up an interesting point. Question has seen some dark things in his life and this has conditioned himself to be very wary of what he has, this will be more evident later on. Abusive and violent though? No. Simply because he's made that mistake before so he wouldn't allow himself to do it again.
3994811 We'll have to wait and see, but I'm curious as to how everyone reacts.
3994813 That would be the equivalent of dividing by zero
Rarity is best spy. If only she wasn't such a gossip
Hard to say... I haven't read any of your other stories. Does he feature in those too? Because in this one, well, I dunno, he seems like an interesting character, but he seems to work better as supporting cast, even for chapters like this from his point of view.
Some remarks and corrections:
> Flitter reluctantly let go of her sister.
> “Alright, but you keep your head away from all walls apart from the cloud ones, you hear?”
These two pieces should be split off from their respective paragraphs, and put together in a new one in between. Overall, don't put unattributed dialogue of one character (meaning, without explicit "s/he said" construction) and then actions of another in the same paragraph; it makes it look as if the other one says it.
> Dash decided to seek help from one of her few friends who might know enough about love to help her understand if the detective was being serious, Rarity.
Should be either a period or a colon before "Rarity". Not a comma.
> They have such a fascinating culture, some ponies when they join Luna’s guard actually decided to become one, I mean can you imagine?
Comma splice: you should split that into three sentences, after "culture" and after "become one".
Also, commas around "when they join Luna’s guard", since it's a non-essential clause, and a comma after "I mean".
> You will have to forgive me darling as I sometimes—”
"darling" is an addressing term. Such terms always need to be separated from the rest of the sentence with commas; in this case both before and behind it. Here's an excellent reason why
> I thought the first date deserved to be it's own chapter
"its" own chapter
Did you mean one-eighty? 'Cause randomly spinning around makes little sense. :P
Pool? Aw come on, Dash is not lying on the floor bleeding to death. It was rather a droplet of blood or so. Otherwise that was probably the most lethal needle stab in the history of Equestria. ^^
very good sir very good indeed