Virtue and Vice: Equestria

by enigmaMystere

Stealthy Shades #42

The next day, the married stallion and nymph of Stealth team start their first normal day after their mission. Of course, naturally the first thing that happens is an awakening by their two youngest foals bouncing on their bed to get them up, but they can’t complain too much. Soon after breakfast though, it becomes apparent that the parents have something planned. They lead all three of their offspring towards town, Serene riding on her father, Mystic riding on Gel, and Ruby just between the two.

The navy nymph gently nudges her daughter with her nose, directing her away from an oncoming pony. Come on, Ruby. Just a little further.

The filly whines softly, her ears twitching as if to dislodge the objects put inside them. "Why do I have to have these? I mean, I know you're taking me somewhere... the blindfold was enough to tell me that... but why earplugs?"

Rhino responds through the mental link they established, not nearly as difficult as one might imagine given that changelings can do this instinctually by nature and Ruby was half changeling. Because it’s a surprise and I know that many surprises can be ruined by the pony being able to recognize the sounds.

She frowns, turning to where she thinks her father is. "I was hoping you wouldn't have thought of that..."

The mare she is actually facing stops at this, looking up from a brochure with a confused expression. "...huh?"

Smiling apologetically at the mare, the stallion simply motions back to his oldest daughter. "Taking her to a surprise." The mare giggles and nods, heading on her way. With a small tug of magic as he hears the gentle giggle of his other daughter reading up onto his head, Rhino faces Ruby towards him and back on track. While it may have been my idea to use earplugs, I only thought of conventional ones. Your brilliant mother was the one who suggested we borrow some of Vinyl's special ones.

"Remind me to thank her." Ruby sighs quietly, shaking her head. "This is almost exactly like my first invisibility spell... unable to see a single thing..."

Chuckling, the stallion muses. Well, little prodigy or not, I don't think you could have been expected to know about the one-way inverse portion of that spell.

As he watches his dad converse mentally with Ruby, Mystic climbs partially onto Gel's head, snuggling into her mane. "Hey, Mom? How come you and Dad always talk to each other in your heads, but none of us do?"

"Who says we always talk to each other that way?" She flicks an ear, giggling softly. "We speak with each other like I'm speaking with you right now. We only use telepathy when it's necessary." ...most of the time.

"Hmm..." The colt looks over to his aqua twin, thinking to himself. "How come you don't talk to Serene, Ruby, and me like that then?"

Gel shrugs slightly, careful not to make the young pony fall off. "We use it when it's necessary, like I said. Like now, for instance, when she can't hear us otherwise."

"So... Could me and Serene do that with each other?" Sensing she was being mentioned, the twin in question looks over quizzically from her own parent transportation.

"I... honestly don't know. Your sister couldn't do it," the nymph shrugs, turning to look at her son while nonchalantly nudging Ruby from her course towards a cart of pitchforks, "but with you two being twins, there might be a chance, I suppose."

"That'd be cool..." His voice trails off as he looks in front of them, his eyes widening. "Woah..."

A town-wide carnival appears to be in full swing. Games, prizes, and all manor of fun times are spread throughout the area. However, in the middle of all this chaos is an area that fewer ponies are in, a couple of tables are present with cake, ice cream, and party hats for all. Tied down balloons strategically placed form a colorful outline of the area, marking it as special.

Serene's eyes are as wide as her twin's as she speaks. "What is this?"

"This is the fair Pinkie planned... and the party for your older sister's birthday." She winks and turns to the eldest of her kids, removing the blindfold and earplugs. "Surprise, Ruby!"

She blinks, her eyes quickly adjusting to the light and focusing on the bright, colorful buildings before her. She stands there, completely silent, long enough for her mother to start growing concerned. Just as the nymph opens her mouth to speak, the filly darts forward, squealing with an excitement and energy that would get Pinkie to do a double-take.

Rhino chuckles, going forward at the same walking pace. Looking toward his wife, he smiles happily. “Been a while since I’ve seen something that garnered that much of a reaction from her. Still adorable.”

"True... though I seem to remember you being the center of those reactions." The navy nymph smirks, playfully bumping his side. "Promise you won't be jealous, love?"

Watching Ruby run around, he smiles. "I think I've gotten better, at least a little, about that." He levitates his youngest daughter down so that he holds her in his foreleg. "Plus, I've got three of them plus you in my life to make happy now. I've got nothing to be jealous of." He nuzzles the aqua filly lovingly, looking away from his oldest a moment.

Gel smiles, leaning close and gently kissing his cheek. "That's so sweet, love..." She glances at where the pink filly was, blinking and faltering slightly. "...but I think we just lost track of Ruby..."

“Well, it’s her party, probably fine if she wanders off to mingle with her friends for a bit. I’m sure she’s fine...” He mentally hopes he will not regret saying that out loud.

Gel simply shrugs, turning to the younger ponies they are carrying. "It may be a bit before we get cake. Would you two like some corn to tide you over for a bit?"

Mystic nods, smiling and hugging his mother. “Yeah! Thanks Mom!”

Serene nods as well, not saying anything as she leans against her father while looking out at everything.

The nymph smiles warmly, leading her family over to the tent with the food. As she does, she turns one last thought to her husband. I sure hope they have cream puffs…

As do I… mainly so I can watch you react like a little filly to them. He chuckles, following.

She sticks out her tongue at him in mock annoyance. Don’t make me withhold our nightly rendezvous from you.

---

Ruby wanders through the stalls, eyes wide in foal-like wonder. She giggles as she sees a clown entertaining young fillies and colts, juggling, painting faces, and making jokes, among other things. She even saw a booth where ponies dipped their hooves in wax and got it colored. She winces slightly, wondering whether or not that could hurt someone.

Her attention gets caught by a pony on stilts, sidestepping to avoid getting smacked in the face. She cranes her neck so she can see who is upon the unusual hoofwear, wondering if Pinkie had loaned them to someone she knew.

Unfortunately, her thought process is interrupted as she plows into somepony. A masculine grunt comes the pony in question. The silver nymph next to him giggles, turning and rubbing the filly’s head. “You know, you could’ve just called out to us, Pinchy.”

The filly flinches slightly at the name. “Ruby’s fine, Dior.” She squeaks as the tall changeling frowns at her. “Um… I-I mean nana.”

Dior smiles warmly. “Was that so hard?”

The red earth stallion brushes the fur on his chest straight as he chuckles. “You two and your names, I’m fine with just being called Hydro by everyone… even those who run into me and don’t say they’re sorry.”

Ruby sheepishly grins at him. “Sorry… I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going…” She turns to look at the stilt-walking pony. “I was too busy watching… who is that, exactly?”

“No idea… a pony with good balance apparently.” Hydro shrugs, reaching over and mussing Ruby’s mane a little. “And apology accepted. I knew you were sorry, but it’s good to make sure you say it out loud.”

The filly pouts, looking up at her friend. “That’s not very nice…” Her expression slowly turns into a smile as a thought occurs. “...grandpa.”

He shivers. “Ugh… I’m way too young to be a grandpa… but if I did say, marry your grandmother and become your grandpa that way, it would be my duty to make sure you were a polite filly to everypony. Coincidentally, that’s what I, as Uncle Hydro, did.”

“Okay, paw paw.” She giggles, standing on the tip of her hooves to peek over their shoulders. “So… where are Evergreen and Sparky?”

“Well, seeing as it’s their friend’s party, we let them wander around a bit.” The stallion chuckles. “Not sure where Sparky will be at around here, but I’ll bet Evergreen is right beside her… unless he found the twins. If that happened, then all three of them are off somewhere giving everyone within a 5 yard radius heart attacks.”

“No, Serene and Mystic are still with mom. No danger of d’aww induced heart attacks today.” Ruby laughs quietly, gesturing to them. “So, what were you two up to?”

“We just returned from the, uh…” Dior pauses, unsure. “Well… somehow, Pinkie installed a temporary Tunnel of Love… and I still can’t figure out how she’s planning on getting it packed back up. But that’s where we just came from.”

Hydro shakes his head. “I’m still not sure about the part meant to make couples hold each other… especially that ‘based on a real cave experience’ sign at the end of it.”

The filly stares at them for a moment before quirking an eyebrow. “Let me guess. You jumped into nana’s embrace?”

“No!” he denies. “The jumping and embracing was mutual.”

She holds up a hoof. “Then why are you the only one shaking at the mention of it?”

“Because you’re seeing things in your little party induced happiness.” His tone is completely serious.

She pats his shoulder, chuckling playfully. “Keep telling yourself that. I’m going to see what else there is around here.” She rushes off, excited to see who and what else she might find.

They watch her go before the nymph turns to her husband, bemused. “I thought for sure she’d believe you…” She glances around before lowering her voice, nervous. “Thank you for covering for me, though… I didn’t think it’d be that scary…”

“She had a giant three-eyed bat,” he whispers back, “I think anypony is allowed to be scared by that.” He leans over, nuzzling her and kissing her cheek. “And you’re welcome, my queen.”

“Thank you…” She giggles, kissing him back. “...though I don’t understand why you weren’t that scared…”

He chuckles, but rubs the back of his head sheepishly. “Well, you probably know what I was actually looking at for most of the ride. I actually missed the scary part until you screamed and jumped on me, and by that point I had other things to worry about.”

Dior smirks, walking to one side. “You flatter me.” She wraps her tail around one of his hooves, gently tugging him to follow her. “Maybe I should… reward you for your kind words?”

He smiles, following. “You know I’ve never been one to turn down a reward from you, especially with how creative you are with them.” She winks slyly, leading him behind a booth, away from prying eyes.

---

Ruby glances around, hoping to see another familiar face among the crowd. After ten minutes, however, her hopes are starting to dwindle. With a sigh, she moves to a food cart, asking the pony inside for some cotton candy. “May as well eat something…”

Soon enough, the stallion inside the cart gives the treat to her. She happily takes a bite of the pink, fluffy confection, humming happily to herself. A voice interrupts her after a moment. “Really? All this stuff set up for your party, and you sit there eating cotton candy?”

The filly nearly chokes on her mouthful, coughing forcefully before turning to the golden pegasus next to her, pouting softly. “Goldie! I thought you knew better than to sneak up on ponies like that!”

“I thought I did well… I didn’t hug you yet.” Her purple eyes twinkle to show that she could easily remedy that.

Ruby huffs, playfully rolling her eyes and pulling her best friend close. “C’mere, you silly filly.” She happily hugs her, a hoof poking at one of her wings. “So how’ve you been? It’s been, what, a month since I’ve seen you?”

“A week.” Goldie corrects. “But it felt like a month when you weren’t there when the rest of us stayed at my place!” She hugs her tightly with wings and hooves. “That means you get both ‘birthday’ hugs and ‘I missed you’ hugs.”

“A week is too long for one of your hugs.” The pink pony giggles, smiling warmly at the pegasus. “So, how’s your flying going? Did you make it above the rooftops, this time?”

Rolling her eyes and nuzzling her friend, the golden mare responds in both a sarcastic and sweet voice. “Yep! Been flying over to your place and peeking into your second story window every day to see if you snuck back!”

Ruby’s smile falters slightly, and her expression slowly turns solemn. “I couldn’t sneak back. Taking this job is like giving my word…” She bites her lip, embarrassed. “Sorry… I know you’ve heard me say my little spiel a number of times. Probably tired of it by now.”

Goldie gives her a little nip on the ear to knock out any bad feelings. “Hey, I’m just teasing you. You aren’t allowed to be sad on your birthday!”

At that point, Ruby surprises the other mare by flipping her onto her back and pinning her with a hoof. “I know. I had to get your guard down somehow, though!” She blinks, quickly turning to the food cart stallion with a fierce blush. “Not like that, perv!”

Trying to lift her friend’s hoof off her, Goldie smiles nonetheless. “Looks like you’re right on form today. Why do I have to be pinned, though? If you leave me like this for no reason, you know I’m going to get you later.”

“Why? You do it to me all the time.” She sticks her tongue out at her. “I just decided to make the first move, this time.” She laughs quietly, bringing her cotton candy close to the pegasus. “Want some?”

“... I suppose cotton candy is worth being pinned for.” Leaning up, she takes a big bite of the fluff, ripping it away so that the mass of pink covers half her face as she starts to work her way through it. After a moment, her voice comes from behind the sugary mass. “Mom would have a fit if she saw this.”

“Why? It’s just two friends having fun.” Her ear twitches at the chuckle from the cart, but she chooses to ignore it this time. “If you promise to come with me as my guest to the Heroes’ Ball, I may let you up.”

Eating the rest of her cotton candy in silence, a quick task given its melts in one’s mouth, the pegasus swallows and looks at her friend seriously. “Are you asking me to be your date to a dance?”

“In a sense, I suppose. I prefer to think of it as friends hanging out, though.” She smiles, holding out the hoof not holding her friend down. “What do you say, Goldie?”

“An excuse to dress up as formal and fancy as possible while still maintaining the comfort of beings with my friends…” Her hoof claps into her friend’s. “You bet your birthday flank I’m in.”

“Yay!” She squeals, raising both hooves to her cheeks. “Oh, this is so great! I’ll get to spend more time with my best friend - that’ll make the party less boring!” She pauses, considering something a moment. “...maybe I should let my parents know I decided who my plus one is?”

Getting up and dusting herself off, Goldie giggles. “No rush on that. You’ve got the biggest party ever to still enjoy, right? Should we see if we can find any of the others?”

“Sure! Think we could go do some games at the same time?” Ruby grins, excited at the thought of playing something.

“Yes!” The pegasus thrusts a hoof into the air dramatically. “We shall win all the plushie prizes!”

“Then let’s go!” Her stomach rumbles, causing her to blush. “...after I get something more to eat?”

“Hmm…” Goldie thinks for a moment. “To the blooming onion stall!”

“Agreed! Just one question.” She turns as they walk away, frowning in confusion. “What’s a blooming onion?”

---

Ruby walks along next to her friend, her head close to the ground. “...I didn’t think it’d have to do with actual onions… at least they had fried pickles...”

“What’s wrong with onions?” Goldie asks, still tasting the treat in her mouth and knowing it will be hanging around for a while. “The whole thing was pretty much onions rings… but sticks instead of rings.”

“I don’t know. The texture just strikes me the wrong way.” She shakes her head. “Let’s forget about that for now. Which game do you want to try first?”

“How about…” The pegasus points to a nearby stand. “The ring toss to start? They have a green bear plushie that I have my eye on.”

The unicorn stops, raising an eyebrow at this. “Don’t you have a closet full of them? And I thought you prefered foxes?”

“Sometimes you just need a plushie bigger than you that you can hug or curl up against.” She nudges her friend with her hip. “If you find a stall with bear-sized foxes, let me know.”

“You mean like the ones at the strength tester?” She gestures off in the distance. “I think I saw some on the way in…”

Goldie’s ears immediately stick straight up as she yank her head in the direction of the indicated stall. As she lifts her hoof though, she stops and takes a breath. “No… it’s your day. We get the prize you want first, then we get my new snuggle buddy.”

“Well… how about we go play a game on the way over?” She shrugs. “I don’t have a specific prize in mind, anyways.”

“Not even at that one that has hats?” She points to a ball throwing stall with racks of headwear on the back wall.

She blinks, turning to glance at the stall. “...fedoras are cool…” She nods, walking over and pulling her friend after her. “Hi! I want that cute black fedora. What do I have to do to get it?”

The mare running the stall motions to the three tracks at different heights behind her. “When I start the game, just throw the balls at the timberwolf targets, avoid the rabbit ones, and get a high score. Three bits per round, hooves only, each round lasts one minute. For the one you want… looks like you’ll need to get at least thirty points.”

“Thirty points?” The pink filly tilts her head, curious. “So… could we play together and pool our points, afterwards?”

The stall pony shakes her head, but then stops and thinks. “Tell you what, if you both go and don’t get close to thirty,then you can try again with a combined score. I want to see if you can do it on your own skill at first.”

“That seems reasonable.” Goldie comments.

Ruby raises a hoof, much like a schoolfilly would when asking their teacher a question. “Would we be able to get something with the first try’s points?”

The mare chuckles. “Of course. You did pay for the attempt after all. You’ll probably just have to get one of the lesser prizes.”

“Deal.” She places six bits on the counter, grabbing a ball in both forehooves and her magic. “When do we start?”

“When I pull this.” The mare pulls a lever, the machine instantly whirring to life behind her as targets begin moving down the lines. The targets seem to be a random order or both timberwolves and rabbits, the middle line going the opposite direction of the top and lower ones. She taps a button on the oversized stopwatch clock on the wall, the hand starting to tick down.

Ruby springs into action, tossing balls as quickly as she could pick them up. Most of her shots go high, and a couple hit bunnies. A fair number hit the timberwolves, though her enthusiasm seems to be getting the better of her as she ends up tossing a ball where one used to be.

The stall owner just smiles as she watches, tapping one of two buttons on her counting device whenever Ruby hits a target. After the minute passes, she looks bemused at the filly. “Well, you certainly look like you had fun.”

She stops with a ball in her hoof, panting quietly. “Yeah. I did.” She giggles, tossing it to her friend. “How did I do?”

Looking down at her counter, the mare answers. “Well, considering timberwolves are worth one point are bunnies are minus one point… you got 12 points total at the end. Not bad for a first try.”

Her ears droop at this. “Oh… well, I guess I could’ve been worse…” She tilts her head, looking at the prizes before pointing at one of the tiny plush toys. “Could I have that? Or do I not have enough points?”

“Actually that’s a five point prize. You could technically get two.” The stall pony smiles.

“Could I get a squirrel and a kitty one, then?” She smiles at the mare, hopeful. “I have a couple friends who may appreciate them…”

“Well, I hope they like them then.” Grabbing a long hoof in her mouth, the mare neatly nabs the plushes from their shelf and onto the counter. “There you are, enjoy!”

“Thank you!” She moves the toys to the side, wanting to give her friend room for her attempt.

Goldie steps up for her turn next, eyes determined as she pays her bits and picks up the balls. The machine is started and the round begins. Overall, the pegasus is slower than her unicorn friend, but to her credit, she only hits a bunny once and more of her total shots hit timberwolves. Her pile of remaining ammo is significantly higher than Ruby’s was by the time the clock runs out.

“Time.” The stall mare announces, checking her score. “Well done, little miss. You got a very solid 20 points. You can get all but the highest tier prize with a score like that.”

Goldie turns to her friend. “Sorry… Guess it still wasn’t enough.” Turning back to the mare, she thinks for a moment. “Umm… can I have that white beret?”

“You sure can.” A moment later the hat lands on the counter.

The yellow mare picks it up, setting it on her head and adjusting it a little. “How do I look, Ruby?”

“You look great!” She giggles, poking at it with a hoof. “Wish I could still see your fluffy ears, though.”

Goldie adjusts the hat a little more until one of her ears pops out. “Better?”

“Yep!” The unicorn tickles it with the same forehoof, beaming brightly before nodding to the top shelf. “Think I’ll look good in that fedora?”

“Your dad seems to pull off the look very well, maybe it’s in your genes.” She giggles, flicking her ear to try and get it away from the hoof.

“Maybe…” She turns to the stall owner, smiling warmly. “How much for both of us to play at the same time, Miss?”

“Same price as before, I’ll just keep the score from one of you when the other goes.” She replies simply.

“Alrighty, then!” She puts another half-dozen bits on the counter, turning to her friend. “Would you like to go first, this time?”

“Sure!.” Goldie picks up a ball, hefting it a few times as she focuses, her purple bat wings half spreading as she does so. “Bring it.”

The round that follows is an obvious improvement. The pegasus actually manages to not hit any rabbits, and though she misses a few times, she gets off more shots overall than she did the first time. The stall pony doesn’t say the score afterward, simply resetting everything and looking at Ruby expectantly.

She nods, picking up the balls once more and tossing once the signal’s given. She is much more reserved this time, taking care to line up shots while still throwing a good number. She completely misses the rabbits, but none of her shots miss this time, her reigned-in excitement helping quite a bit.

As the targets all lay down, the mare looks down at her counter, one eyebrow raising. “Well, didn’t expect that… you girls got 45 points together. Congratulations! You could pick out a couple of great prizes with that.”

“Yay! I’d like the fedora,” she nudges her friend’s side playfully, “and Goldie can use the rest of the points as she pleases.” She tilts her head, holding up a hoof. “Actually… do you have any foxes? She likes foxes.”

“Hmm…” The mare looks over her stock for a moment before smiling and bringing down a relatively simple chain necklace with a metal fox silhouette as the main attraction. “How’s this?”

“Perfect! I want that!” Goldie hops in place as the mare sets both the hat and necklace down, snatching up the accessory and putting it around her neck. “Cool…”

Ruby giggles, putting on her hat and placing the plush toys on her back. “Shall we go play that strength test game, now? Or would you prefer to continue fawning over your fox necklace?”

“I can fawn over multiple things at once, thank you.” She flicks her friend with her silky tail, walking off with the kind of strut a model would have. “Now let us go enjoy the rest of the fair before your party officially begins.”

“Yeah!” She beams, hurrying to catch up with the pegasus. She soon is right next to her, leaning close and whispering in her ear. “More so since I have no idea when that is...”

“I don’t know either,” Goldie whispers back, “but I think this is one of those when we’ll know it when it happens.”

“Let’s hope so.” She clears her throat and gestures forward, a playful smile on her lips. “On to your large fox plushie?”

“Yes, onward!” Goldie thrusts her hoof forward as they walk. “And be sure to let me know if you spot something you want to win so you have a new snuggle buddy like I will.”

Ruby laughs, bumping her friend’s side. “Don’t worry, I will.” Her ear twitches as the sound of a bell reaches her ear. “I think we’re close… that sounded like it was just around the corner.”

A familiar southern twang reaches their ears next. “Respectable effort, but let me show ya how it’s done.” They round the corner just in time to see the local orange farm mare give a mighty buck to the target at the base of a strength test machine. Both the kick and the resulting clang of the bell send a thump through the air.

“Pfft! That all you got? You barely even reached it!” A light blue pegasus with a rainbow mane, just as familiar to bystanders as the orange earth pony, gestures at the setup with a hoof, grinning confidently.

Snorting, AJ retorts. “Like ya’ll did any better, sugarcube. Ah don’t see a winner yet, so don’t go actin’ high n’ mighty.”

"Not to interrupt," the pony running the game says, "but you've been at this for a while, now." She picks up a quill, striking another line on a parchment before her. "And neither of you have paid for any of your plays, yet."

“Yeah yeah, we’ll get to that!” Rainbow waves the pony off, not breaking eye contact with her rival. “How about this, AJ? One more go, loser pays for us both?”

“Yer on!” Applejack scuffs her hoof against the ground challengingly.

Grinning, the pegasus steps up to the strength test machine once more. Turning and crouching in front of it, she curls her back legs up and slams them into the target. The bell clangs loudly, and she steps away with a smirk. “Good luck beating that!”

“Heh.” The farm mare smirks confidently. Marching up to the machine, she once again uses her years of applebucking to give it a good kick. As the bell rings once more, she looks to the audience, scanning it for a familiar face. Finally, she notices a particular unicorn stallion, who had been watching the entire event. “Who do ya think won, Win?”

'I think he's thinking the same thing as me.' The silver fox on the stallion's back shakes his head. 'Not a bloody clue... and I'm just fucking bored. No offense.'

Winter looks up at the fox with a glare, muttering to him quietly. “Just because only I can hear you doesn’t give you cursing privileges.” Mercury's only response is to yawn and drape himself over the unicorn's head.

A high pitched sound goes through the air, Ruby looking next to her only to find her golden friend gone and now next to the blue stallion. Her eyes are wide as she focuses not on the pony, but on the small silver creature on his head. She lets out another high pitched squeal as she coos happily. “Oh my gosh, he’s so cute! He looks so soft, and that color, oh! Can I touch him? Can I hold him? Please?”

Winter picks the little fox up in his magic and lowers him to the filly, smirking to himself. “Feel free. Just be careful with him. He’s a fragile little thing.”

As she gingerly, if a little shakily due to excitement, picks him up, Goldie responds. “I would never dream of harming such an adorable little creature.” Her smile is wide as she lifts him up in her forehooves, touching her nose to his. “Hello there, you handsome little vulpine…”

He blinks, looking up at her drowsily. '...oh hey... an angel...' The fox chuckles, happily nuzzling the pony's cheek, tails swishing as he peeks at his friend. 'See, Win? This filly knows how to treat a fox.' The unicorn in question just chuckles, shaking his head.

She giggles, tucking him against her chest and nuzzling him. “Aww… are you tired?” Looking down, she notices his twin tails, causing her to stop and blink. “Well… aren’t you a special one?” She only nuzzles him more, giggling happily as her tail swishes.

Smiling, Winter briefly looks away from the adorable scene back at the two mares who had been competing for the past hour. “Sorry, what was the question? I got distracted.”

"It was who you thought won and who has to foot the bill." The game pony flashes him a small, strained smile. "Please hurry. There's others who'd like to play."

“Oh, sorry. Uh...” The unicorn glances between the competitors, then at the strength test machine, then back to the two. “...Applejack won.”

Rainbow groans. “Well obviously he’s gonna say that! Can we get an unbiased opinion in here?”

“What do ya mean, ‘biased’? Win’s an honest pony!” AJ defends.

'Then why can't he be honest about his feelings?'

Flustered, the unicorn covers his face with a hoof, whispering to the fox. “Not. The. Time.”

"You want an unbiased opinion?" A voice comes from above them, where a pegasus leans on a makeshift cloud balcony. "Winter was completely right. Applejack won."

“What?!” Rainbow glares up at the balcony, squinting as the sun gets in her eye. “Who’s up there?”

"You really don't know?" The pony shrugs, jumping over the ledge and landing in the middle of them. "I guess you just forgot my voice, huh?"

Rainbow blinks before her expression softens. “Oh, hey E. Yeah, that and the sun was in my eyes...” She pauses, then glares again. “Never mind that! How do you know AJ won? We both hit the bell!”

"Simply put, it was how hard the bell rang." He smirks playfully at her. "You may have been faster, but you kept stopping a bit short. She rang the bell one decibel louder." The burgundy pegasus shrugs, walking around the prismatic pony. "If you'd followed through properly, you might've won... or AJ might've stopped holding back." He levels his gaze at the mare in question. "Am I correct?"

The farmer looks back at the machine. “Well, it’s not like Ah’m tryin’ to break the thing… gotta reign it in a bit.”

"I don't know if you could break it." He gestures to the top. "That bell's reinforced by steel bracers. Top-grade stuff, too."

“Oh…” She turns to the mare who owns the piece of equipment. “Sorry fer underestimating yer machine here, then.”

"It's none of my business how you play." She glances at the blue pegasus, holding out a hoof. "That'll be fifty-four bits."

Rainbow groans, fishing around in her saddlebags for her bits. “There goes everything I brought with me...” She retrieves her pouch of money. As she turns back to the counter, she finds another bag already there.

Right next to it is the same burgundy pegasus. "Fifty-four, plus some more." He turns to the mares behind him, quirking an eyebrow. "...I can play now, right?"

“Shoot, don’t let us stop ya.” AJ laughs, motioning to the pony next to her. “Ah gotta get RD’s jaw off the floor so we can see what else is around.”

"You girls go do that." He turns and pats the other pegasus on the head. "And you're welcome, Dashie." Enigma stands there a moment longer, waiting for some reaction. When none comes, he frowns, tapping her on the nose. "Did Tank's speed rub off on you?"

Snapping out of it, the mare jolts back from his hoof, looking a little annoyed. “Can you not?” She glances to the game pony and sighs. “Thanks, though...come on, AJ. Let’s go.” Flapping her wings, she takes to hovering in the air and starts heading away from the strength test.

He shrugs, chuckling to himself. "I wish I had recorded that... Vi's never gonna believe me." He takes his place in front of the game, raising just one hindleg and touching it to the target. The ringer bounces up an inch, and he nods. "Decent responsiveness..." He pulls his hoof away, simply holding it in the air a few inches away.

The mare running the game looks at him curiously. “Working yourself up to it?”

"No... just thinking." He glances at her. "That, and waiting for a signal to start... by the way, that testing tap didn't count, did it?"

“Nah.” She waves a hoof casually. “Just go whenever you want, long as you don’t take too long.”

The pegasus nods, then takes a breath. He pulls his hoof close to his body and kicks, sending the ringer about three-fourths the way up. The burgundy pony looks at this and chuckles, thinking out loud. "Just enough for a plush toy..."

“Yep.” She motions to the rack of them she has. “Pick one you like.”

He tilts his head to one side before tucking his head beneath a wing. "Any preference?"

Cotton’s voice quietly comes out of his bag. “Can I have a bunny?”

He peeks out between his feathers before whispering his response. "Consider it done." He straightens back up, pointing to the lone bunny, up on the top shelf. "Can I get that one, Miss?"

“Unfortunately, no. That particular prize is reserved for those that ring the bell, which would have been those mares, but they seemed more interested in the competition aspect that the prize one.” She points to the bell. “So, ring that, and it’s yours.”

"...huh." He tilts his head, staring up at the top of the game. "Well... it just has to be near the edge..." He shakes his head, pointing to one of the foxes. "Can I have that for my previous try, first?"

“Sure thing. Any of them in particular?” She motions to the various colors she has.

"Pink. And put it in my saddlebag, please?" He takes them off and sets himself up, closing his eyes and focusing. "Keep control of yourself... mustn't let your nerves get the better of you..."

“Oh, for...” The hour of standing in the same spot and watching the same game finally catches up to Winter, and he snaps. “Just kick it as hard as you can! It’s not that hard!”

His concentration shattered, Enigma does what anyone does when startled. In a knee-jerk reaction, his hindleg kicks out and slams against the target, denting the edge of the metal plate. The ringer goes up faster than the eye can follow, connecting with the bell and not only fusing against it but launching it up into the air, shattering the mahogany of the strength tester's back.

The pegasus snaps his attention to the sky, eyes flashing olive before he realizes what happened. "...crap."

'He gets to curse but I don't? How's that fair?!'

“‘Crap’ is not a curse word,” Winter replies through gritted teeth. “Even if it was, he doesn’t live under my roof with my rules.”

The fox whines, resting his head on Goldie's foreleg. 'Fine...'

The golden pegasus leans down, nuzzling him softly. “Aww… what’s wrong, little one? What do you need?”

His tails slowly wag, and he looks up at her. '...would asking for your number be too much? Win really needs a tutor on kindness towards foxes.'

“I’ve been standing here for over an hour while you got to lie on my back and yap into my ear,” the unicorn hisses at the fox. “I am slightly aggravated and I would expect you to realize this.”

'Is that why you sound like a dryer?'

“Yes.”

He stares at his friend a second. '...you should try yoga.' Mercury glances up at the sky, ears twitching. 'How high do you think that went to not be down yet?'

Winter looks up as well, squinting. “...high enough that it’s probably either stuck in a cloud, or travelling in orbit around our planet. Either way, I think E just put this vendor out of business for the day.”

'Probably.' He snuggles back into the crook of the filly's foreleg. 'Wake me up when we get to the cake...'

“Aww…” Goldie wraps her wings around herself and the fox, making sure he’s warm. “Such a cutie…”

Meanwhile, the mare who owns the strength test has a decidedly different mood. Her mouth lies open as she alternates between staring skyward and at her broken merchandise. Finally, her eyes focus on the burgundy pegasus, narrowing at him. “You’re paying for that.”

He blinks, turning his still-changing eyes to her. He takes a moment before speaking, an eyebrow raised. "If I get your bell, will I be allowed to pay less?"

“Yes…” she points at him, “but you’re still paying enough so I can get it fixed afterward! You’re lucky I’m still giving you the prizes you earned.”

Sighing, Winter finally approaches, stretching his legs out as he does so. “If it means we can go sit down quicker, I’ll help get it back. Any clue how to get that high up before some bird-” He's cut off when the other stallion picks him up.

Enigma glances at him. "Shield yourself, and don't grab it directly." With that, he winds back, carefully counting out loud. "One... two... three..."

Before throwing a basic shield up around himself, the unicorn gets out three quick words: “You’re completely insane.”

"Nope!" He throws the unicorn through the air, smirking to himself. "Just a physicist. Ruby!" He turns to the crowd. "I need your help!"

She stumbles over herself to get to his side, looking up at him with wide eyes. He simply points straight up. "I need you to Blink straight up on my count. Twelve bursts with twenty-five meters each, rapid fire, then twelve bursts to come back down." He glances up after his motormouth orders, continuing his count. "...five..." He nods, and she vanishes. "...six. He should be at zero velocity, now..."

Soon enough, the pink pony is back on the ground, clinging to the cobalt unicorn. Said unicorn has his eyes shut tight, his shield gone and the bell floating beside him in a shaky telekinetic force. He can be heard muttering under his breath, “Not how I planned to die...not how I planned to die...not how I planned to die...”

"Pray tell, how did you plan to die?" Enigma chuckles, patting him on the head. "Something fun or something silly?"

Winter cracks an eye open, breathing a sigh of relief when he sees that he’s on the ground. “If not old and with loved ones, then at least in a huge explosion.”

"We'll hope for the former." He glances at the bell, frowning slightly. "...you know, it occurs to me that Rainbow Dash might've been fast enough to chase that down..."

The unicorn just rolls his eyes. “Of course you realize this after throwing me a couple hundred feet in the air.”

"Three hundred meters, give or take one. And there's no telling whether we could've found her in time." He turns to the game pony, gesturing to her. "So, we got your bell back. How much does that knock off our debt?"

Taking the dented bell, she rubs it ruefully. “Considering this will have to be reforged, the damage to what it was attached to, and the fact that I can’t get any income from this at least until the fair is over…” She thinks for a moment, gauging everything. “Let’s say you owe me… 500 bits instead of 1000.”

“The bell alone was worth 500?” Winter asks, a little incredulously.

“Not quite, but I had to special order that thing and prices go up significantly when you do that.” She grumbles as she starts to pack up. “Getting a smith to melt this down and simply cast it into a bell again is far easier. Maybe I’ll make adjustments to the game while I’m out of business for the time being.”

"May I suggest mythril or orichalcum for the bracers and back?" Enigma reaches into his saddlebag as he continues. "They're much sturdier than steel and wood, but that second one's also a fair bit rarer. Weighs less, though."

“We’ll see. Gotta budget myself so I can get everything up and running before the next fair.” She sets the large stuffed bunny on the counter as she packs the rest of the prizes away.

"I'll help with fixing it, if you'd like." He pulls out a large bag, surprisingly larger than the saddlebag it was in. "Least I can do for breaking it, right?"

“Unless you happen to be a carpenter or smith, I think I’ll be fine. Thanks for the offer though.” She takes the bag, weighing it in her hoof a moment before looking at him strangely. “You know this is more than I asked for, right?”

"Well, I have a friend who loves plush animals. I was hoping I could buy one of each off you... and an extra large fox for the filly holding onto the kitsune, there. That, and I figured you could use some compensation for lost business. Thus, seven hundred fifty bits." He holds out a hoof. "As for the smithing thing... I know someone who could help with that. She probably wouldn't mind, if I asked her for help."

“Oh, well thank you then.” She smiles at him. “Here, let me dig out a few of these…” She sets out one of each selection she has on her counter, ending with the bear-sized fox. “Good luck getting that filly over there to trade this for the real thing. She seems mighty attached to him.”

"I'll figure it out... hopefully." He takes the plush toys and puts them in his bag, one by one. "Though, by the looks of it, I may have to convince someone else, too." He finishes with the bunny, stretching the lip of the bag around it. "Oughta be fun."

If one were to be listening, you could just make out the sounds of happy squealing from within the bag just before the mouth of it shuts once more. The stallion walks over to the filly, the large fox plush tucked under his wing. "Hey, Goldie. How are you doing?"

“Fantastic.” She says simply, still holding Merc with two sets of limbs, nuzzling him and playing with his tails.

"Good to hear." He places the toy down before her. "So I heard you like foxes..."

“Yep! They’re awesome!” She motions down to the one she holds. “They’re cute, smart, cuddly, neat, and this one’s such a sweetie…”

"There's probably a reason for that..." He clears his throat, reaching forward to pet Mercury's head. "From what I hear, he's really special."

'You know it.' Mercury puffs his chest out in pride. 'And I have an angel to fawn over me. Life is sweet!'

“Oh, he’s special alright,” Winter adds as he trots over, smirking a bit. “In more ways than one.”

Goldie giggles, hugging the fox close as her eyes sparkle. “Oh, I can’t stand it! I’m going to spoil you for a bit. I could get you some fish, maybe some cute clothes, maybe a lady fox…”

'I like everything but that last one...' He nervously chuckles. 'I'm not into other foxes, exactly.'

Chuckling, Winter looks to Goldie. “You really shouldn’t get him too used to being spoiled like that. It’ll make living with him even harder than it already is.”

“Aww…” She looks down to the silver creature. “Are you a little rascal?” She tickles his stomach with a hoof. “Are you a mischievous little furry ball of adorable?”

The unicorn looks to Enigma. “Yeah, I don’t think we’re gonna get him away from her anytime soon. She doesn’t want to let him go, and he doesn’t want her to.”

Goldie’s ears perk up. “Does that mean I can keep him for a while? I’ll take good care of him, I promise! I’ll play with him, clean him, feed him, love him…”

Winter flinches. “I...” He glances pleadingly at Enigma, mouthing ‘Help’ at him.

The pegasus sighs, stepping over next to the younger pony. "Listen, he may be cute, but he's still got to stick with his friend."

“B-but…” The younger pegasus sniffs once as her ears fold back, her eyes go wide and shimmer as she speaks quietly. “Aren’t I his friend too?”

"Yes," he leans in, whispering to her, "but I think he might consider you more than that. His body language says that he's a bit too comfortable with you... plus, he's a kitsune, not a fox. Completely different."

He snaps his gaze up at the burgundy pony. 'Don't tell her that! I'm a mamodo!'

“I’m fine with being his favorite friend… but what’s the difference between a… kitsune… and a fox?” She stops pouting for a moment, but looks ready to go back into it at a moment’s notice.

"For one thing," he holds up a hoof, "they aren't attracted to foxes. They are attracted to ponies... ro-" He jumps as the silver creature barks at him, staring at him a second. "...don't be mad because I'm right."

Winter tries to steer the topic back on track before a one-sided argument can start. “You can still visit and play with him. Just...can’t keep him. I kind of need him.”

'Yeah, you do.' He sticks his tongue out at his friend, chuckling playfully.

“...” Goldie stays quiet for a moment, looking between them and Merc for a moment before drawing him closer to her, her wings coming up slightly. “What do you mean ‘need’ him?”

The unicorn sighs. “To put it simply...he’s my friend, he keeps me sane, and not having him around would hurt. A lot.”

“Oh…” Her ears fold once more as she looks between them. She nuzzles the kitsune again as she speaks. “Do you need him right now?”

“Honestly? I feel like I always need him.” He chuckles a bit. “If he doesn’t mind, you can play with him a little longer...”

The bat-winged pegasus gasps happily, looking down at Merc with wide hopeful eyes. His response is to playfully lick her, a smile on his muzzle.

Winter sighs. “Well...have fun, you two. Just send him back home when you’re done.” He rubs the side of his head. “I need to sit down somewhere...”

'See you at home, Win.' He turns to look at him, winking playfully. 'Or should I say dad?'

The unicorn mutters his response. “If that were the case, I shudder to think of what your mother would’ve looked like to produce a kitsune with a pony.”

'Probably as beautiful as that mare you're crushing on.' He sticks his tongue out before moving around Goldie's body, grabbing the stuffed fox in his tails and sitting on her back.

Winter chuckles a bit before turning to Enigma. “I think they’ll be fine. Should we get going? I’ve been standing in basically the same spot for almost an hour and a half now.”

"Sure." He shrugs. "We don't want to miss the cake, do we?"

“I’m not really hungry. I just want a change of scenery...and maybe a chair.” He groans as he stretches his back. “I feel so old when I say that...”

"You're not that old." He shrugs. "Standing for a long time just does that to someone."

“Trust me, I know. I was in the guard.” He looks around. “Where to now?”

"How about we go sit at the party? It seems there'd be chairs there."

Winter smiles. “You had me at ‘sit’. Lead the way.”

Comments

[Atomic Vortex]

Maybe this is just me being eccentric, but the more I read the more see traits of myself. ie the love of foxes, the way Mercury seems to speak like a Brit. It's almost a bit creepy.