“So where are we going first?” Nightshine asked, looking up at Lily with an excited grin.
“Well, on our way into the town, I spotted a cute little shop meant for just us girls. If I remember correctly...” They walked around a corner, the shop falling into sight a few buildings down on the left side of the road. “Aha! There it is!”
“Prissy Products?” Nightshine giggled. “That’s a funny name for a store!”
“Hehe, I agree, but they have a lot of good stuff! There’s one up in Canterlot that I go to at least once a week to replenish my supplies, and it’s a very nice place with lots of smart salesponies.” Lily trotted up to the door and opened it for Nightshine. “So whatcha waiting for? Let’s buy you some product!”
“Okay!” Nightshine walked inside the store, her nose immediately assaulted by several strong perfumes. Her nose crinkled up as she paused. “Smells kinda funny in here...” she muttered.
“It always does, but that’s to keep the boys out!”
Nightshine giggled as they walked into the store. “But what if the boys wanna buy us some nice stuff from here?” she asked, nudging the side of Lily’s leg with her shoulder.
“Then... huh.” Lily paused and rubbed her chin with a hoof as her eyebrows furrowed. “Good point. So, uh... wanna start with mane products first?” She gabbed a basket with a hoof.
“Sure!” Nightshine chirped. She glanced around, seeing nothing but shelves of various perfumes.
“They’re in the back, sweetie,” Lily said, trotting deeper into the store with Nightshine following right behind her. “Ah, here we are!” Her eyes ran over the assortment of bottles before her. “Here we go!” She pulled a big, dark green bottle off the shelf and showed it to Nightshine. “Smell this one; it’s my go-to shampoo, and the cool thing is that I can also use it on my coat!” She screwed off the cap, then let Nightshine smell it.
Nightshine looked at the label before she smelled it. “Woah... tea tree shampoo? I don’t smell any tea, but I do smell mints! They’re one of my favorite candies.” She looked at the price tag, her eyes going wide as her shoulders drooped. “But it’s fourteen bits... That’s too expensive for me!” Nightshine looked at the bottles on the shelves for several seconds, then pointed at the cheapest one. “What about this one? It’s only six bits.” She lifted a hoof to grab it, but Lily’s wing blocked her from touching it.
“Hey now, no cheap stuff for you!” Lily screwed the cap back on the nice bottle of shampoo, then tossed it in her basket.
“Heh, thanks,” Nightshine said with a sheepish smile. “So... what next?” she asked, her voice full of unbridled excitement.
“Well, since we got a mane and coat shampoo... next is some conditioner!” Lily turned and trotted further down the aisle, then stopped as she peered at the bottles in front of her. “There it is! Same brand, same scent... perfect!” She grabbed a bottle, this one slightly larger than the last, and tossed it into her basket. Lily sat down and cocked her head to the side. “Hm... there anything else a young mare like you needs to look pretty?”
Nightshine shook her head, a happy grin nearly splitting her face in half.
Lily smirked. “Come on now, don’t be so humble! What about... a mane brushing kit? Do you have one of those by any chance?”
Nightshine chuckled. “Yeah, a brush would be a nice thing to have! The orphanage only had like, maybe five brushes? The colts never used them, so us girls got to use them a lot, but... they were super old by the time I left.” Nightshine’s tail swished back and forth. “Having my own would be so cool!”
Orphanage? Oh, right... “Glad to hear it, little one.” She lifted a wing and pointed down the aisle. “I think I saw the brushes near the entrance.”
“Okay!” This time, Nightshine took the lead, finding a ton of brushes in all shapes and sizes. “What would you pick, Ms. Lily?”
“Please, Lily is just fine, but you can call me Ms. Lily when I’m on duty.” She picked up a couple of different kits, comparing the contents in each one. “Hm... any preference? The brands are about the same in quality, so it really just depends on what you want.”
“Uh... which would you pick?”
“This one for sure!” Lily tossed the kit in her left hoof back on the shelf. “It has curlers, a blow dryer, a brush for your coat, and a brush for your mane and tail. The other one has the same stuff, but the bristles are kinda rough on the brushes, and we can’t have your pretty little mane looking like somepony dragged nails through it.” She tossed the kit into her basket, then fished out her bag of bits. “Looks like we have the basics, right?”
Nightshine nodded, a wide grin on her face.
“Sweet. Let’s check out the perfumes real quick; I wanna get something for myself while we’re here.” She stood up to walk over to the perfumes, but then she heard a small grumble from behind her. “Was that you?” she asked with a light smile, watching as Nightshine’s ears flicked back. “Heh, wanna go get lunch after this? I’m getting a little hungry myself.”
Nightshine’s ears perked up at that. “Sure! There a bakery nearby or something? I feel like snacking on something sweet!”
If I know Princess Luna, and I do... She’d be at that shop that Pinkie Pie works at... We’d be lucky if there was anything left! “Yeah, there’s one so awesome that even Princess Luna and Princess Celestia know about it, and it’s right here in Ponyville! Somewhere...” She paid for the stuff and led Nightshine outside. Making sure the strap on her saddlebag was tight, she opened her wings and shot a glance at Nightshine. “Let’s see how fast you are!” she said, an excited grin on her face.
“I... I don’t want to,” Nightshine said, unable to look Lily in the eyes as she sat down, rubbing her left foreleg with a hoof.
Lily pursed her lips, folding her wings back in. “How come? Your wings are big enough, at least, mine were about that size when I was your age.”
“It’s because, well...” Nightshine beckoned her in with a hoof and waited until she lowered her head. “The pony running the orphanage never let pegasi or me fly because she was afraid that we would hurt ourselves or fly away, and she would send us to bed without dinner if she ever caught us trying to fly,” she whispered into Lily’s ear.
“Hehe, she didn’t catch you, right?” Lily asked with a smirk.
“No, because I didn’t want to break her rules. We never really got enough food as it was.” Nightshine looked up at her as Lily sat down, then glanced around to make sure that nopony was within earshot. “When Jason adopted me about a week ago, our first stop was at a bakery on the way to the train station,” she said, her voice gaining a little bit of its usual confidence back. “He bought us a ton of sweets.”
“Aww, that was really sweet of him,” Lily said with an obnoxious wink, making Nightshine giggle at her cheap joke. “So only about a week, huh? How do you like living with him?”
“He’s really nice, and he’s done more for me than I could have ever dreamed!”
“Oh? Like what?”
“Well... when he first came to the orphanage to see if he could find somepony to adopt and I saw him, I felt all these butterflies appear in my stomach. He was different, and I was different.” She stood up and started walking down the street. “When he left without picking anypony, I was... I...” Nightshine stopped to quickly wipe her eyes with a hoof. “I thought that he was gonna pick somepony else...” Her ears flicked back as she cleared her throat. “When he came back the next day, I was hanging out in a tree. He wasn’t looking at anypony else but me. Believe it or not, but it felt like my heart stopped for a few seconds then! I didn’t want to hope that he was there to adopt me and take me away from the orphanage because then I’d feel let down again.”
“How’d you feel when he said he wanted to take you home?” Lily asked softly, wondering if Nightshine needed a hug.
“I, well...” Nightshine stopped walking and sat down. “I cried. All of those bad memories of me getting ignored or passed over just disappeared, and I couldn’t believe that he wanted to adopt me. I almost thought it was a dream...”
“Aww... Well like you said, you were both different, so it was only natural for him to pick you, and I’m sure your pretty looks just sealed the deal!” Lily said. “So you don’t know how to fly, huh?” Nightshine shook her head. “Has Jason done anything to help you in that regard?”
“Sorta! He started teaching me how to fly by helping me climb a tree, and I’d just glide down into his arms. That was a lot of fun, but... I want to fly.”
“We’ll just have to fix that, won’t we?” Lily shot her a comforting smile.
“You’ll teach me how to fly? Really?” Nightshine asked with wide eyes.
“Of course! After all, us thestrals absolutely need to be in the sky!”
“What about Jason? He can’t fly at all!” Nightshine licked her lips. “Can you teach us both to fly?” she asked with bated breath. "It’d be awesome if he and I can fly together!”
Hold up, Jason doesn't know how to fly? And she wants me to teach them both how to fly? Oh boy, that’s gonna be a tough one... She cleared her throat, and with a confident shake of her head, she said, “I promise I’ll do my best!”
Lily is so cute, still has nothing on Nightshine though.
Lily knows exactly how to bring out the best in Nightshine. They're so adorable together.
I foresee a lot of crashing and a cringing Lily of Jason crashing to the ground face first.
I freaking needed this chapter. Hard day at work and having this to settle into at the end made it better.
Thanks dude!
Lily seems sweet, but I am holding out for Twi to take Jason's heart. It may be a lost cause, but I did support Zutara.
I have to have a defibrillator nearby whenever I read a chapter of Nightshine. The cuteness nearly kills me.
8206643 Might want to get one of those inflatable landing pads. Should help. If not that, probably should save up for some hospital bills.
8206692
Can't Thestrals also shape clouds? Just grab one for a crash pad. Although Jason really has no idea how to teach Nightshine how to fly (blind leading the blind) so getting as adult, heh, would be a huge improvement. I wonder why Jason couldn't ask around for a professional flight instructor? If I had wings I'd be flying all the time! I'd also nap a lot on clouds...
8206754 Can they? It's possible, as Thestral Magic has never really been explained to any great length. We honestly don't know what they can do with their magic, so it is entirely possible they can shape clouds just like their pegasi cousins can.
Yay. Another awesome chapter I am really enjoying this, it really cool to read!
...was Lily not informed that Jason used to be human?
8206774
She knows now.
Must.....live....through...heart......attack...... *Flumps face down, nearly dead from the cuteness.*
Sable, my thestral filly OC Eeeees and giggles, her hooves clopping together from another great adorabat champer!
great story. I know what its like to wait for someone to adopt me. I went through 14 foster homes a hospital twice and a group home. I was always hoping for the right person to come and take me in. I lost 7 years of my childhood. this story really touched my heart considering I knew what it was like. cant wait for more chapters.
really sweet chapter. only complaint is that it's to short lol. Can't wait for the next chapter.
8206774
I'm pretty sure she is aware, if not then it certainly is a failing on Luna and Twilight's part. Though if you ask me, I think Luna knew EXACTLY what she was doing when she brought Lily with her.
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Just sat here waiting for the inevitable scene of Jason flying/crashing into Lily and ending up in a compromising position. You know that one trope that somehow makes into every anime nowadays?
Lily is going to be such a huge help to Jason and Nightshine in this story.
this chapter is a super good chapter and it defiantly looks as if Lily is going to be around a wile.
8206967
What do you mean "nowadays"? It's been a common scene in anime for as long as I can remember. XD
Anyway, really enjoying this. I like Lily a lot and look forward to seeing her interact with Jason and Nightshine more. =D
This is absolutley something she really needed, another Mare to bond with and learn from.
8206924
Luna should be careful, Cadance may not like having this level of competition.
Nightshine you are to Cute!
I just want to hug you all day.
Remind me, please. How much does Lily know about him again? 'Cause the arms thing completely slipped past her and she's wondering about teaching an adult thestral. I mean sure, he looks like one but if she knew better she would know hes only kinda a thestral. Which makes me wonder if Luna remembered to inform her guard on the specifics of what is going on...
Cool chapter can't wait for more. Doing a good job.
Squeeeee!
Daaaawww!
8207181 She knows he's not really a thestral, but she doesn't know what a human looks like.
Very nice
8207203
Please don't have Lily do the cliche'd "He's hideous!" thing when she sees Jason as a human. You are setting her up to seem shallow, what with the hair care product obsession, yet I think it would be a stronger message to show a person can care about their appearance while still being genuinely nice. Besides - humans aren't all that different in form from the many other sapient biped species in the MLP-verse. No need to engineer some sort of species conflict like that.
Just sharing my opinion on what I fear is being telegraphed to happen, especially with the whole GGG arc you are clearly developing into a love triangle. The triangle plot-device would be stronger with two genuinely likeable mares. I really liked this chapter, otherwise.
8207380 Lol I tend to stay away from the most blatant cliches. You need not worry.
After all I don't care how much money your father has.
Next time he probably don't has the money and has to buy the one for 6 bits which would some kids already make cry. I mean I know my cousins.
Nice chapter, it looks like the bonding time is going to happen over training. I don't want it to sound weird but I really like that type of comedy where she maybe would suddenly start to let both of them do some workout but only really paying attention to Jasons flank after a while.
8206924 I don't really want to think about it, I actually hate characters doing that stuff, if Cadance or anyone else thinks they kind of try to force someone together. (I just used force because I didn't had the right word but I more or less mean it.) IT reminds me of Lunas plan to sort of only breed THestrals in this story. Not sure if he changed that, I don't remember it.
Beside that it was somewhat a nice thought.
At one point I would also like some sort of alternate story with Twilight being his partner, I'm a bit annoyed that I didn't noticed the tip on who is going to get together with Jason. I like both options but even if I want Lily to get together with him, Twilight feels just right to suddenly.
8207381
A'ight, good to hear! Looking forward to more.
8207385 I'll tell you or anyone else who wants to know spoilers. Just send me a PM.
Oh this is heart achingly adorable.
D'awws. this is so full of cute and adorable. can't wait to read more.
and let the comedy begin
8207480 Yesh!!! i want MOOORRREE
Heh, lady, you have no idea what you have signed yourself up for! First is the difficulty of teaching not only a filly, but an adult to fly. Then your gonna have said filly trying to get you to be the mommy in this scenario.....then......other bits and bobs of chaos........
8207385
Wow, okay. So surprisingly, I didn't immediately jump to "Get her and Jason to bang to make lots of little thestrals". Frankly, Lily and Jason have said all of what? 20 words to each other?
Luna could have come by herself, she could have brought a male thestral guard, or just a regular pony guard. Instead, she just so happened to choose a perky, female thestral, who immediately starts coddling Nightshine. She's acting like a big sister.
*store
8208079 Thanks!
8208055 Heh, yeah, I thought that'd be an adorable thing for Nightshine to do.
8207950 Don't know why someone downvoted your comment lololol, but yeah, I'm working on the next chapter soon.
8208225
Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... 911?
8208422 I swear, that pic has been posted on this story at least 20 times haha.
8207640 Pretty much, yeah, but Luna considers Lily to be her best guard. Now, that's not to say that she's the best at her job, but that Luna knows Lily well enough to know that she'd be a perfect teacher for Jason and Nightshine.
8207385
Heh, but what if Jason likes it too? Then he'd have to keep buying it!
Lol, considering the other stuff I like to write, that wouldn't be a problem. :P
Here's what I said in a previous comment about this, and it kinda applies: Luna considers Lily to be her best guard. Now, that's not to say that she's the best at her job, but that Luna knows Lily well enough to know that she'd be a perfect teacher for Jason and Nightshine.
8206839 In the meantime, I've published another adoption story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/146025/ill-always-be-here-for-you It's a TwiDash story. I build up their relationship from nothing, helped along by their love of snuggling with each other on cold nights, plus they just want to give Scootaloo a better life.
8207067 Totally! I felt the same way.
8206774 Lily knows, yes, but she doesn't know what a human looks like.
Spoiler ahead!
She's gonna love ear scritches.
8196921 Yeah, I know what you mean. I started this off as an adorable story, but then I wanted to give it an actual, solid plotline, and that's the romance part. I had a general idea for what I wanted to do in the beginning, but after the first several chapters, I wasn't really sure what to write about. Sooooo I threw the romance tag on there, and it's gonna be good. :)