Sometimes They Call Me Super

by KorenCZ11

Persona V: A Stolen Heart (part 1)

Applejack

---

Normally, when one has an epiphany, one finds themselves in a situation they never could’ve predicted would ever happen in their lifetime. A few days ago, Ah literally fought a giant monster. Ah did not have an epiphany there, that was more like dé ja vu. In my current situation, Ah’m at a table. In a restaurant that used ta be well above my pay grade. Ah’m wearin’ a dress that used ta be a whole paycheck. Now, all of that is strange, especially fer me, but the one thin’ Ah never thought Ah’d ever be doin’ is sittin’ here in all this… across from Goose. Do ya ever sit and think, what has my life come ta? Because that’s me right now. How did Ah get here? Well… that’s just a long story in and of itself.

---

“Hold still, damn it!”

“Aah! It hurts mommy, it hurts!”

“It won’t after I finish, now shut up and hold still!”

“Pinkie, Fluttershy, grab her legs!”

“Aaah!!!”

“Alright, you may let go now.”

Not more than a few seconds after we arrived ta the castle did Celestia warp ta here ta tend ta her daughter. Ah learned a few thin’s that day. One, Twilight has a lot more strength than she lets on. Two, hearin’ the princess curse is the weirdest thin’ Ah’ve ever heard in my life. Everypony but Rarity let go of Twilight, and her wing, which wasn’t much more than a crumpled red and purple mess before, was now back ta the shape it should be. Well, save fer it bein a weird mix of bald patches and scant feathers. Ta prevent ruinin’ Twilight’s natural regeneration, all Celestia could really do was reset the bones and put the muscles back where they belonged. That was no small feat though. Twilight needed ta be able ta feel so Celestia could trace the nerves as her brain tried ta use em. The bones were set, but reattachin’ the tendons was the hard part. Thankfully though, we were finished with that now.

“Thank you all, for helping me with this,” Celestia said with relief. “Stubborn little mare.” She glared at her daughter, then let out a breath and looked away. When she showed up and saw the wing, she was mortified. And then angry. Ah don’t believe anythin’ has ever scared me ta my very core before, and Ah don’t think anythin’ other than the face she made ever will. “If anypony else has any injury, I will happily fix it for you. That much you’ve earned at the very least.” She addressed the rest of us. Twilight had quickly limped away nursin’ her wing and Goose and Ah were treated. The adrenaline must’ve been doin’ its job because Ah walked back ta the castle with a fractured foreleg and didn’t know it until she told me what all she repaired. The bruises would stay, and so would the soreness, but my first broken bone was already good ta go. There aren’t many ponies who can afford this kinda treatment, and even less who get it fer free. When everypony was all good ta go, we sat down and had a discussion with the princess.

“So, ya came here real quick. How did ya know we were already done?” Ah asked. Celestia let out a breath.

“Of course you wouldn’t know this yet, but your battle was broadcasted,” she said wearily. The room went silent.

“What? How?” Celestia shook her head.

“I don’t know. We don’t know. Even with all my networks, we couldn’t trace the signal, nor could we stop it. Every television and computer screen across the country watched you fight that… that thing. Some of you weren’t well known before, but now all of you are. Including you, my little secret.” She put her hooves on her temples and rubbed at them. She was like that fer a while, then a look of 'really?' crossed her face and she turned ta Twilight. “Centurio Regine?” Twilight sighed.

“For that, you can blame Rarity,” Twilight shot.

“Of course it was somepony else. You’ve never been good at naming things. Why a centurion though? Why my face?” Twilight rolled her eyes.

“Is this really what you came here to discuss?” she complained.

“No, it isn’t. But I have to ask. What does that phrase mean?” Celestia asked, not to anypony specific.

“What phrase?” Pinkie responded.

“The one a few of you called out before Rarity stopped time,” She continued, focused on Pinkie this time.

“S-stop time, then something Pinkie made up. I-it’s Umanese. I have n-no idea where she learned it though. S-she never wants to watch my shows w-with me...” Fluttershy answered, albeit a bit bitterly. We all looked ta Pinkie, who shrugged and Celestia shook her head.

“At least it makes some semblance of sense. I’ve been monitoring messaging forums for the past hour. There’s already speculation about all of you, but most of it is directed at Twilight and I. Some ponies think you are me, others think you’re related to me, some think you’re Luna, and I don’t know what to do about it.

Rossfeller lost sixteen buildings, the stock exchange thankfully moved their servers last year, but a piece of history was lost today and ponies aren’t happy about it. Ten blocks were connected to that substation and they’ve all lost power until it’s repaired, thousands of ponies have been displaced and have nowhere to return to, as if Manehattan didn’t already have housing problems as it is, and to top it all off, there will be five more of these attacks if we can’t figure out how to stop the spread of whatever horrid concoction this Persona villain has created. We don’t even know who this pony is. Or if they’re even a pony in the first place.

I’ve cursed myself for my mistake back then, but none more so than today. Honestly, I came here to escape my cabinet and get some time to think. Fixing your injuries was really just an unfortunate but welcome distraction. I don’t want to make light of you, or have you feel devalued, but there’s just so much going on right now and I’m the one who has to fix it all.” Celestia was practically ramblin' at this point, endin’ it with her hooves over her eyes and her head on the table. Her mane wasn’t it’s usual ethereal, flow-y cloud of hair, but a sullen tangled mess of long blue, violet, green, and pink strands. Ah don’t think Ah’ve ever seen her disheveled before, even when Ah woke up next ta her. She’s all kinda stressed out right now, and not without good reason. Ah can only wonder if she’s been like this all week? Nah, today must be a special day. She ordered an evacuation this mornin’ and now everypony knows why, which means she must be gettin’ a lot of heat. Eventually, Twilight came over and rubbed her mother's back.

“It’ll be okay. You always fix problems like this.” Celestia pulled Twilight into a hug.

“Thanks honey. Some days, I wish we could just cuddle like we used to when you were young.” She let go of Twilight then sat up straight to address the rest of us. “But unfortunately, those days seem to be much further away than I remember. You all did what you could and I can only be thankful that this didn’t end in a worse disaster. Nopony died today, and it’s all because of you. These few moments of rest have given me the chance to collect my thoughts, and I’d like to share them with you all before anypony else.

I don’t believe we’re going to be able to deal with Persona. As well timed and calculated his attack seems, I imagine he’s been highly integrated into our systems for a very long time now, and we’ll have to play his game. An unfortunate truth is that Luna and I would be just as, or likely more destructive than his monsters in a fight like that, and we can only help as the absolute last resort. With that said, that doesn’t mean we can’t offer assistance. If you need, or can even think of any piece of equipment the military might have, then ask and you shall receive. I hate that there’s nopony else I can entrust a mission like this to, but ponies without powers here… they simply couldn’t compete. As it turns out, you six just happen to have all the right qualities to fight in the city without completely destroying it or causing more damage than you prevent.

I will use everything in my power to make sure there is nopony in your way for the next five weeks. I have no idea what form your foes will take, but we’ll give you some of everything to make sure you’re prepared for anything. I need to return before those idiots go wake up Luna. Goddess knows that they’re like chickens with their heads cut off without me. But before I do, is there anything you all need now?”

(And this is where my current predicament started.) Goose raised his hoof.

“Yes? You’re… the Carcharodon boy, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, we don’t need to bring that up. Goose is fine. Uh, anyways, I think I’ve more than proved I’m here for the long run, so can I have the freedom to leave the castle as I please?” he asked. Twilight took a step forward, but Celestia stopped her.

“Provided you swear you won’t cause trouble, I can’t see why not. Nopony would risk their life like that if they didn’t have something they wanted to protect.” A smile started ta form on Celestia’s face that had way too much family resemblance in it. Not quite a smile Ah guess then, but a sneer that Ah’ve seen Twilight make more than a few times. “If it goes well, I’d like to hear about it. Keep in touch, all of you. Until next time, then.” Celestia took ta the top of the table and her horn began ta light up. She gave a partin’ bow, but winked at me before the orb of golden lightnin’ flashed and she disappeared. What was that about?

“Cool. I’m officially off the hook, so I’ll be around. Later!” Goose stood waived and blinked off ta who knows where before anypony could do anythin’ about it.

“Wait- damn it! Where the hell did he go? Oww…” Twilight raged, then grabbed at her wing.

“Darling, please calm down. What does it matter? He clearly has something he’s been wanting to do, so why not let him do it? He and Applejack have fought so much today already, we might as well let everypony take a rest.” Rarity said.

“He can’t just…!” she sighed. “Whatever. I wanted to talk about today, but I guess it doesn’t matter if we do it later. I’m going to take a nap. I’m sure mother will have made an announcement soon and the city will become a busy place very quickly. You all are free to do whatever, just be sure to meet back here Tuesday around six PM. If any of you see him, tell him he’s an asshole.” Twilight angrily left the table and headed down the hallway ta her room. After she slammed the door, the rest of us speculated.

“Well. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her do that. What do you think she’s so mad about?” Pinkie asked.

“I-I wouldn’t know. But if anything, I t-think she’s mad at herself right now. She probably d-didn’t feel very good about getting in the w-way earlier…” Fluttershy stuttered. Yeah… As much as Ah hate ta think we’d all have died without Rarity, Ah’m not sure Twilight really did us any good back there.

“I wouldn’t worry too much. This happened before when we started out and I’m sure it will happen again until she becomes more practiced. Well, I think I’m going to go collect my sister and maybe drive south to get dinner while the city repopulates. What do you three plan to do?” Rarity asked. What am Ah gonna do?

“We were thinking about just sitting here and watching one of those shows Fluttershy has been trying to get me to watch. I figure I might not have too long left, so I might as well,” Pinkie said with a shrug.

“I-it’s horrible that you would say that! B-but, I’m glad you’re finally willing to h-hang out with me…” Fluttershy trailed off.

“Hey, we hang out!” Pinkie argued.

“B-but we only ever do things that you l-like to do!” Fluttershy countered. Pinkie raised a hoof opened her mouth, then closed it and put it back down.

“Yeah… You know what? Why don’t we just go sit down before I put my hoof in my mouth, huh?” Pinkie offered.

“T-that’d probably be best,” Fluttershy said, and then together they walked ta her room.

“Well? What about you?” Rarity asked. What about me? What do Ah do? Do Ah ever have free time like this? Ah always went out ta train or do more hero work before…

“Ah don’t know. Ah guess Ah’ll go sleep. Ah’m pretty banged up as it is, so Ah might as well take the opportunity.” Rarity nodded and got up.

“Practical as always. Why don’t you and I walk to the garage together? I have a question I’d like to ask.” Ah nodded and walked with her. Once we made it down the dark blue crystal halls of the castle, she stopped at her car and Ah stopped at my bike. She then turned ta me, a little too close fer my comfort. “So? What is it?”

“What is what?”

“Oh come now, you know what I’m asking about.”

“No, really Ah don’t. All ya said was ‘what is it.’ Not really any context fer me ta pull meanin’ out of.” Rarity rolled her eyes and huffed.

“I mean you and Goose. Him leaving earlier was the first time I’ve seen him not within ten meters of you. You didn’t look too pleased to see him go either.” Ah furrowed my brows.

“What? Ah’m not followin’.” Rarity frowned.

“Do I have to spell it out for you? Fine then. Are you two a couple or something? Because that’s what it seems like,” she said in a much flatter tone. Ah reared back.

“Are ya crazy? No, we’re not.” Rarity narrowed her eyes, then nodded.

“Very well then. We shall see. I've played this game a few times before, and I know what the beginning looks like. Don’t be surprised if he asks for your company alone in the near future.” She climbed in her car and then started the little sporty thin’ up. The engine roared ta life and filled the crystal garage with sound. That car is more engine than it is car, Ah swear.

“Wait a minute, why would he do that?” Rarity stuck her tongue out and shifted inta first. “Rarity!” The engine roared, her hoof pulled back off the clutch, the tires squealed, and up the ramp she shot. Why would he do that?

---

Goose Fang

---

With the Princess’ word that I can do whatever, and her seeming to understand what I was after, I left immediately for my first location. I have a laundry list of things to get done before I even ask, and then I have a whole bunch of other shit to take care of in the event she says yes. It’s going to be a long couple of days for me. Down on the south western side of Manehattan is where my personal hide out is/was, whichever fits right now. I’m not too sure about it just yet, but I don’t really think I want to move out of the castle. It’s a safe place, and I haven’t slept so well in a long time. It could be that my foalhood dreams are more or less coming true these days, but the simple fact that my insomnia hasn’t been acting up is the biggest plus for me. And of course there’s her. It’s been a very long time since I went this far for a mare. Especially for this mare.

I pushed that thought out of the way and finally went to turn the lights on in my room, the one at my old place. My Dad’s house. I haven’t been here in years, and it seems like nopony else has either. Judging by the posters on the walls, the last time I was here was while I was still in highschool, before I took over the gang, before anything in my life was more complicated than watching my back. I always thought I would just run into her one day. Didn’t think it’d happen while she was in spandex though, that threw me for a loop. I cannot believe I groped her of all ponies. This playboy facade has to die.

My old room was a little box with walls covered in posters, a bed, a desk, a TV, a few dressers, some old game consoles, and what I came here for, a book shelf. I had my dad buy every single year book since I entered elementary school onward. In the beginning, it was just so I had pictures of my friends (cell phones weren’t such a huge thing just yet back then). After she just up and disappeared though, it was to search. I thought that maybe she did keep going to school and I just never ran into her. I was wrong. My fourth grade year is when she disappeared, the same year as that memory, the same year all my friends in that apartment complex died. She was the only one left from before everything went so wrong and she disappeared just like everypony else.

I never gave up hope though. She was the only one who I didn’t see die, so maybe she didn’t. It was when school ended that I did give up hope. I had my own group of ponies, my gang before it was really that, looking for her the whole time but we never turned up anything. After months of it and the decision to go to college or not coming close, I just stopped and tried to do something with my life. She probably died that day too, I would think and try to keep moving. It was shortly after I got my associate’s that my dad was killed and I had to step up. Everything has been so crazy since then, I’d just about forgotten her completely.

And then she showed up, finally, after twelve years. Of course, I didn’t know it then. I didn’t really realize who she was until the next morning. At first it was like the memory was chipping at the edge of my brain. Even the ‘fight’ we had the first time was familiar, almost like the way we used to dance when we were kids. She still moved like she used to, she still spoke like she used to. What was her name? I thought that day. Nah, there’s now way, followed shortly after. When they woke me up the next morning, all I could do was stare at her. You look just like… just like that filly I used to know… I thought. And then they said it. With her name came back all the memories, everything I’d done to look for her and here she was, right in front of me. And to her, I looked like a bad guy.

This was the mare I made a promise to all those years ago as a kid. This was the mare I’d been searching for the past twelve years, and I look like the bad guy. I couldn’t tell her, and she couldn’t figure out who I am. Not until she remembered on her own, or I’d done something to prove I wasn’t the bad guy, at least in her eyes.

“Ah ha, there it is. Jaquline Apple, born May 26th, 2010. I guess that makes her three years and a month younger than I am? Damn, that means I met her when she was five. I wonder if she’ll remember my old nickname before I tell her? Nah, if she hasn’t figured it out by now, I doubt she will. I already told her my full name once. Not really a name a five year old could pronounce, much less remember since she immediately made one for me.” I started piling my things on top of my bookshelf and got ready to warp back to the castle. No place on the planet is safer than there, probably, so if anywhere, that’s where I should keep my memorabilia. If she’s having visions and they come at least part way true, then maybe that dream… I sighed and it echoed through the empty house.

“Focus Lamni. Now’s not the time. We have a goal here. Get. It. To-gether,” I said, slapping my cheeks. I finished looting the house and piling all of that shit in my little ‘prison box’ as I so affectionately call it and headed to the next chore on my list: make sure the guys are okay. I was about to warp away when Fluttershy walked in.

“Oh. S-so you did come back. T-Twilight’s kinda pissed,” she said, taking note of my pile of things. And it really was just that. Half of it consisted of pictures, my dad’s big-old expensive camera, one of the few pictures of my mother and father that still exists, some games from back in the day.

“Is she? Man, who’d have thought I would cause such a disruption in her precious little heart. I supposed I’ll have to go soothe the ache soon♥” I really didn't want anypony interrupting me right now, so anything to get her to go away. An unfortunate part of my perceived character is that I’m also the harem master. If even half the things I said were true, then maybe it would have been easier to get them to trust me. I’ve only had one real relationship before, and even then it never went as far as I want ponies to believe. And all of that was only in the last five years. The lies are just so natural at this point that they’re easier to tell. She raised her snout and nodded slowly.

“Mmhmm. I-I wasn’t going to say anything, b-but I think the ‘gang leader’ t-thing is a little old now, isn’t it?” I just about froze in place. Damn it, it’s always the quiet ones!

“What do you mean? That’s kinda who I was not too long ago.” Not the greatest way to get her out of my mane, but I’m kinda screwed if she knows.

“Y-you know what I mean. A-also, did you know that your r-right ear twitches when you lie? Y-you used to do it a lot, b-but it’s less common now. I-it’s really subtle. I-I don’t think anypony else would've p-picked up on it yet.” That emotionless face of hers. She’s impossible to read. She’s an assassin alright, Persona got that one dead on.

“What do you want.” There was no point in keeping the appearance up, she already beat the game. I’m on a schedule and she’s cutting into it. I’ve spoken to her alone like three times. She’s harder to deal with than dad was, and I spent years with the guy!

“M-me? Nothing. I-I just want to know w-what you’re up to. Unless you’re as oblivious as T-Twilight and Applejack, anypony would know w-what you want.” Cold. As. Ice. It’s like talking to a wall.

“I’m just making dinner plans.” The truth. Not all of it, but the truth.

“Mmhmm. And how about the whole story?” I rolled my eyes.

“Weren’t you watching a show with Pinkie?” I countered.

“S-she’s so absorbed with that that she wouldn’t notice if the castle w-walls fell around her. T-the others might not be i-innocent, but you and I? W-we’ve killed for sport. W-what do you plan to d-do with my friend?” I honestly cannot believe that I’m being threatened by a mare with a stutter.

“Look, I’ve done some bad shit in my life, but I’ve never-” She moved closer.

“L-lies are dangerous. T-they can get you killed,” she said quietly, locking with my eyes. It was like staring at a wolf. Oh wait.

“Fine. I’ve done some really bad shit before. But at the moment, I’m trying to accomplish a life goal, so if you’ll kindly just-” She pushed me against the wall. I could feel points on her hooves digging into my chest.

“L-let me make myself v-very clear. If you hang my f-friend and leave her out to dry, I-I will put a hole between your ears. U-unlike the others, I-I have different little voice in my head, one t-that tells me to do bad things. S-she’s very persuasive, very e-easy on the ears.” She spoke like a carnivore. However, she was acting like she knew me, and that was pissing me off. I pushed back.

“Don’t you think for even a second that I would ever betray the mare I’ve been searching for most of my life. You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to do this, and you don’t know who I am! Make threats to somepony who cares. I have things to do.” Then she immediately perked up and smiled, revealing teeth that were more pointed than they should be, possibly more so than mine.

“I-I guess sharks do h-have spines. Y-you will tell me your plans later. I-if anypony needs somepony in their life r-right now, it’s her. I-I just wanted to make sure y-you were the right stallion for the job. C-carry on.” And then she skipped out and down the hall, humming a tune. I had to blink.

“What just happened?”

---

After being grilled by what I can only assume was the real Fluttershy, I went to see if my gang was alright. As it turned out, they had stuck around Crystal and opened a Carcha there. Well, not a real one, but something similar. I wandered around the vicinity of the empty safe house when I spotted somepony familiar working in a coffee shop.

“Excuse me miss, do you know any lovely mares around here who can make a good cup of coffee?” I said to the unsuspecting Dark Pulse. Pulse, was one of my long time friends that I made shortly after the mirror incident. As my cutie mark has it, ponies take a liking to me rather quickly, but she was one of the rare few it didn’t work on, so I made her my challenge. After finally breaking through, we became great friends and have been so ever since. Her eyes lit up and she just about dropped her jaw in a smile. I put a hoof over her lips just as she was about to speak. “Shhh. I’m not here to cause a scene. Real name. How is everypony doing?” I asked as I put my hoof back down. She gave me a hug.

“Oh my goddess, I can’t believe you’re here! Lamni, where have you been? I heard from Soapy that you fought a monster!” She leaned in closer to whisper. “It wasn’t another one of those… things was it?” I nodded again. “Oh, goddess… what about that thing that happened in Manehattan today? Were you one of those ponies?” I nodded for a third time.

“Look, I’m only here to reestablish contact with you today. I can’t fill you in completely because of some legal stuff, but I’m finally ‘free’ so to speak and I’m just here to see what’s up. I don’t have a whole lot of time, but you remember that mare I was looking for back in highschool?” She put her hooves to her cheeks.

“You found her!?” She just about yelled. I quickly covered her mouth and checked around. It didn’t look like anypony from the gang was in the shop, just a few crystal natives who gave us a weird look.

“Not so loud! And yes, I did. Where is everypony?” I asked, quietly. She pushed my hooves away and straightened her apron.

“Eh-hem, In school, mostly. It’s only two PM after all. When you left, I told everypony what your last orders were, and nopony argued. Well, after Whirlpool decided to tighten the screws anyways. The six of us have managed most everything and um… we buried Synchro and what we could find of everypony else.” I watched her ears droop and I felt mine do the same. Synchro loved me. So much that she would die for me. And I couldn’t love her back, not the way she did for me. We were silent for a few moments until I finally took a deep breath and relieved the tension in my forelegs.

“Thanks. I… that must’ve been hard. Did you buy this place with what I left for you? Where do you guys live? The safe house looks like it’s barely been touched,” I asked, trying to get my mind off it. Every night, I think about it. What should I have done, back then? Was I wrong in trying to stop Argent myself? Could I have hidden the mirrors in a different place and prevented all this? Should I have destroyed them? Should I have ever taken over the gang in the first place? Should I have rejected Synchro? Or would that have made it worse?

“Lamni, snap out of it.” I shook my head.

“Oh, sorry. I uh…” She put a hoof on my mouth.

“It’s okay, I know how you are. Yes, the girls and I figured we might as well do something honest like you wanted. It was hard getting all the paperwork since most of us don’t have a history, but after a week of getting it all together, we finally have something to show for it. Soapy was a real big help getting us started. She took a few days off to show us how everything worked. I wanted to make this place a real Carcha, but you weren’t around and I can’t just do that without getting a building built, so we did what we could. We bought a plot of land just at the edge of the city since it’s real cheap and we’re gonna have something big built back there once we can afford the down payment. We’re kinda crashing in tents right now until we can get a place built.” I scratched at my head.

“You bought a shop and land. With a million bits. Did you spend all of it?” I was trying very hard to keep the irritation out of my voice, and i was failing. She made a noise and waved my question away.

“Pfft, Are you kidding? We didn’t even spend a quarter of it. The girls and I decided that we should try to make our own money,” she said with a laugh. I rubbed at my eyes.

“Pulse. Listen to me. Use that money to buy a house. I don’t want you guys sleeping in fucking tents in the northernmost city in Equestria. You do realize that winter is like, two and a half months away right? You will freeze to death. If that’s how you feel about it, then just use the money now and pay me back later.” She sighed.

“I know you’re right, and that’s what I wanted to do, but you’ll have to convince the rest of the girls first. We had a majority vote and they’re being stubborn about it. On top of running the Cafe, Volt Switch has gone back to bounty hunting, Petal Dance picked up a job at a florist, Heat Wave works for a spa, Aurora Veil went back working at that place we found her, and it’s just as creepy as it was, and Whirl Pool has like, two fast food jobs. I don’t know how she does it. We get enough to feed every pony and resupply the cafe, but it’s not anywhere near a level where we would have enough to build a house in two months. We’re lucky they let the kids back into school, we don’t even have enough to pay taxes when those come at the end of the month. I don’t know how they expect to pull this off.” Pulse rambled off as she slowly sank onto the counter. I shook my head.

“Silly fillies.” I checked the watched I grabbed from the house and nearly cursed. “Bah! Look, I have to go, but give me a coffee. I will come back tomorrow and we’ll get this all straightened out. You guys can do it on your own after you get set up, okay? I still have plenty more cash stored away, you know the kinda stallion my dad was, so don’t get worked up about it. When you get the chance, take this and go find a contractor today. Give everypony a room of their own and make it something you can take care of. You remember the plan from all those years ago? Time to make it real.” I gave her my dad’s gold card. She looked at it, then looked at me, and finally, she shook her head.

“You always make me do the hard part.” She slid the card in her uniform pocket and rang up my coffee.

“I know you can do it.”She filled a cup, sprayed whip cream over the top and put a lid on it. She came back to the counter and set it down.

“I swear, you’re some kinda guy. I’m gonna be mad if you don’t make this thing with your girl real, you hear me?” I smiled and nodded.

“I’ll do my best. She’s about as stubborn as they come though.” I threw bits on the counter and she raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, yeah, as if that's ever stopped you before. Get out before one of the girls shows up and you’re stuck here.” I saluted with a

“Yes Ma’am!” and warped away.

---

Manehattan had become a busy place in the last couple hours of me doing stuff. With Celestia calling the shots directly, the city was being put back together much quicker than I expected. The stock exchange was cleaned of what remained and already had a wire frame going up. The other buildings didn’t have as much progress, but power was back on in this block, and the streets were already being repoured.

“Man, she must’ve hired every contractor in the city,” I said absentmindedly as I drank my coffee. Since my usual outfit was widely known, I took the time to get some old clothes from home earlier. I’m lucky enough that most of my dad’s stuff fits me now. I probably look like an old mob boss. I must say though, I look good in his blue suit. My next stop was Star Apparel. Sneaking out of the castle has been difficult, but not impossible. When Twilight sleeps, the barrier she usually has up goes down and it gives me the chance to go out. It’s pretty hard to get away when the mare sleeps like once every forty-eight hours, but I digress. I’ve had a guy watching Applejack for me, and this is where she brought her suit to get it repaired a while back… and where she got the new one I guess. It’s kinda scary how she just looks like the female version of her dad now, minus the cape. In any case, if anypony knows something about her, it’s got to be this guy. I warped over to the street the shop is on and made my way to it. Thankfully, the place was open. A lot of the places I need to visit are just closed right now because traffic is terrible and not everypony has made it back home. I walked in and was immediately greeted.

“Welcome to Star Apparel, we’ll make a star outta you. What can I do ya for, my finely dressed sir?” the stallion asked. He was probably in his thirties by my guess, slender and well groomed. White mane, pale white stubble on his light gray coat and holding a newspaper. The shop’s interior was far nicer than its exterior, and I was impressed. I never visit other clothing stores than the one I own for anything but recon, but this one has been small enough that it’s off my radar. I never did quite figure out how he kept himself running with the little sales I saw, but if he’s supplying super suits… that could explain a thing or two.

“Hi. I have quite a few things to do today, so I really need to make this quick. Would you mind closing your shop for a few minutes for me?” As I expected, he looked confused at my request.

“Uh… any particular reason sir?” He then leaned over and whispered in my ear. “You’re not here for a costume are ya?” I hadn’t thought about it, but why not? I’m currently in a position where I have to fight a monster every week until this all ends, I might as well look like I’ve always wanted to while I’m at it.

“You know what? Sure.” He pursed his lips in approval and nodded.

“Alright then. You head on up to my studio on the third floor and I’ll be there in a second.” I didn’t wait for him to lead, so I decided to look around. His place was pretty empty, save for essentials, at least until I made it to the top floor. The first thing I noticed was Red Hoof’s and a few other legacy hero suits from before the mirror incident. Geez, how long has he been at this? Those look real… I decided I’d inspect the Red Hoof suit since I was going to get one myself anyways. The cloth was strange, more like it was made of nylon fabric. Well, this feels tough. I took a small section and tested it. I pulled lightly, and it barely moved. I pulled harder, and it still didn’t move much. Finally, I got really close to using everything I had to rip this crap when it budged enough to satisfy me.

“Holy hell, what is this made out of?” I asked out loud.

“That would be a creation of yours truly. I call it meteor fabric. A special compound I had a friend come up with for me years ago. Hardened and twisted inta wire, then woven inta fabric. Not many ponies can make it stretch like that, so you must somethin’ special. Take a seat and we’ll talk.” The owner pointed me to a black leather chair at the back. Wow. Talk about fancy. I don’t even have these in all my stores. After sitting in likely the most comfortable chair I’ve ever sat in, he grabbed a small drawing desk and a sketch pad, then sat down himself. “So, what are we thinkin’ about? You’re a pretty strong dude, that much is obvious, but uh… are those… gills on ya neck?” Every time somepony does, it always makes me conscious of them and feel a sudden urge to go diving.

“Uh, yeah. But ignoring that, I didn’t actually come here to get a suit today. Well, that isn’t to say I don’t want one, but it wasn’t my original goal. You see… well, when I was little, I knew the guy who wore that suit over there.” I pointed at the Red Hoof suit. I say that, but really, I only saw her dad once or twice. I knew he was yellow and had a brown mane, and he spoke like Applejack, but that was about it. He tilted his head.

“You knew Red Hoof?” I weaved my head around.

“Sort of. See, he was an old friend of mine’s dad. Somepony I’ve recently gotten back in touch with. Uh… did you see the fight from today?” He nodded, slowly like he was wary of me.

“Well, the guy in black was me, and she’s Marevelous now. She told me about her dad, which is why I know.”

“Uh huh. So… Why come ta me?” I took a breath. Why am I nervous? I swear, it’s like I’m talking to her dad or something.

“I made a promise to her when we were kids, and I plan to follow through with it, but to do that, I need to know more about her. I work with her, but with how crazy everything has been these last couple weeks, I haven’t gotten the chance to get her alone and talk. For the record, she doesn’t remember me, so, it would be nice if I could take her out somewhere she likes to go aside from what she wanted to do when we were kids,” I spouted. He nodded slowly again. His expression was just as serious as when we started and it was creeping me out. Unfortunately, this is the only pony I know of that I can talk to right now, so if he doesn’t want to talk…

“I can fill ya in, but I want two things from ya first first.” I nodded.

“Okay?”

“One; tell me what Marevelous’ full name is. Two; what did ya promise?” He said. I tapped the tips of my hooves together.

“Jaquline Apple, or Applejack.” I stated. He nodded, quicker this time.

“Well at least I know ya really know who you’re talkin’ about. Geez. A boy coming in here asking me about her of all ponies. Most ponies are put off by her… unique personality and she’s not the most pleasant mare to be around ya know? That isn’t to say the guys don’t try, but she didn’t used ta have any friends either. I’m almost relieved that at least one stallion is still after her knowin' how she is.” He rubbed at his head with a wide eyed expression on his face, as if something impossible was happening. Fair. I did stop her from literally killing one of her friends the other day.

“So you’ll help me?” I asked.

“Yeah, but only after you answer my second question. Judgin’ by how you’re actin’, I can probably guess what ya promised, but I need ta hear ya say it.” I swallowed.

“Well uh…” My eyes fell on my hooves.

“Look me in the eye and tell me what ya promised. You’re never gonna be able ta ask her if ya can’t tell anypony your plan.” And he’s right. You can do this. You’ve been thinking about it for years, and now that she’s back in your life, you mean it.

“I promised her… that I would marry her someday.”

---

I was talking with Star Slate for so long that I lost track of time. It was kinda surreal that I was asking him for help. He told me about how he met Citrus Root, the stallion who would become Red Hoof, sixteen years ago and that my dad killed his parents. I don’t know what sick and twisted game Fate is playing, but it’s just so weird that all this is happening. I didn’t even know she was alive two weeks ago, and now I’m back at trying to fulfill my promise. I’ve never failed to do it before, which has gotten me into trouble, that being part of the reason I… did some bad shit a while ago. But this one is a promise worth keeping.

When I made it back to the castle, Twilight gave me an earful about not saying anything before I left and then Fluttershy made me tell her everything as she promised. She also got my room expanded like she promised as well, so I think she might just be on the crazy side more so than the bad side. I spent most of the night putting all my stuff everywhere I wanted it… with Fluttershy’s help because she wouldn’t leave me alone. The ‘prison room’ I used to live in/still live in still needed to be where it was, so she moved my room to the bedroom hall with all the others. But like, literally. She just shifted it through the castle. I still don’t know how this shit works. It’s like one of those 3D modeling programs I played with back from when I was in highschool. She just does whatever because she can.

After helping me get unpacked and everything settled, Fluttershy offered to come with me Tuesday to help with my errands. I said I didn’t need the help and she said she was coming anyways. To be completely honest, I think I’m kind of afraid of her. She is very clearly the beast, even if I’ve never seen it, and I’m beginning to suspect she has more control over her powers than she lets on. A lot more. She tried to grab something and couldn’t get a hold on it because it was too large. Then she rolled her eyes and her hoof morphed into a claw and she picked it up. She also told me not to say anything about what she did to the others either. At the very least, I think she trusts me? Maybe? She’s so weird. It’s like, she’s terrifying, but she’s also really feminine in comparison to Applejack and Twilight. She like one of my girls, really. Crazy, crazy, intelligent, and crazy.

In any case, I wanted to get an early start Tuesday because Manehattan was as close to ‘normal’ as it could be after the events of Sunday by that point. That and I wasn’t sure who would still have reservations open for Thursday. Most restaurants should, but based on what Star said, I needed to break out the cash. She’s always wanted to make it big and raise the quality of life that her family has. That, coupled with some emotional trauma and having a nack for it, is the main reason she started being a hero in the first place. I mean, sure, a good chunk of my money is ill gotten, but at the very least I could help her out with it.

Our first stop was a restaurant called Champagne. It’s been around for a while, even surviving the mirror incident way back. Dad took me here when I graduated highschool, so I have good memories of this place. He even played the piano for me for the first time since mom died way back. It didn’t happen often, but this was one of the few times he said he was proud of me. I’ll never forget that day.

I can’t believe my son is going to college. You’ll be the first Carcharodon to get any kind of degree. If only your mother could’ve seen this.

“H-hey, are you okay?” Fluttershy asked. She’s so quiet, I’d just about forgotten I wasn’t alone. I wiped at my eyes and sniffed.

“Yeah, I just… this place gave me some of my best memories. Come on.” We walked in and it looked just like I remembered. The polished black floors, the red cushioned booths, the perfect lighting and colors for the jazz that played softly in the background. It was surprisingly full, for a restaurant that is typically way above most ponies pay grades. The ponies here didn’t really look like the kind that could afford this place either… If I get this booked, I am gonna have to find somepony to play my dad’s song.

“’Ello and welcome to Champagne. Today we are running a brunch special for all ze fan-ta-stic construction workers ‘ere repairing ze city. ‘Ow may I serve you?” the Chevalian mare said. If I remember correctly, this is the owner, Haute Société.

“Hi, Mrs. Société, I’m actually here to see if you had any reservations for Thursday night around six PM?” The pale orange mare with a shiny black mane pursed her lips and stared at me through her glasses for a moment, then she clapped her hooves.

“Ah, you are Mr. Carcharodon’s son, oui? We do have some open spots for zat day. Are you interested in booking for you and zis mare here?”Pointed her tablet pen at Fluttershy and I shook my head. I'll give her props for the tall, supermodel-like body she has, but I am nowhere near interested in somepony as crazy as this one is.

“Uh, no she’s just a friend,” I said quickly.

“A hungry friend,” she dead panned. I sighed. Yep. Exactly like one of my girls.

“Yes, I am, and I was wondering if I could book the whole restaurant for that time slot. As you know my father, money is no object. Can you do it?” She stared at me again and then slowly started to form a smile.

“Ah, I see what zis is. Of course Mr. Carcharodon. Should I ‘ave a server ready to bring an engagement ring as well?” I felt my face heat up.

“Oh, no, no, no, we’re not uh… no thank you.” Fluttershy laughed.

“Ha! W-who knew you had the c-capacity to be cute.” Société laughed with her and stepped down from her command center with her tablet, then motioned for us to follow.

“Very vell, follow me. Brunch is on ze ‘ouse. If zere is any-zing I can do to ‘elp your special night go well, let me know and I shall make ze proper arrangements.” Hmm... I wonder...

“Actually…”

---

“T-that was some of the b-best food I’ve ever had! S-she’s going to l-love it there! B-but, I have to ask, h-how much is this going to cost you?” Fluttershy asked. I sighed.

“A good sized dent in my budget. Lemme be real with you here. I could eat at Champagne for the rest of my life and never worry about money with the wealth my father gathered over his life time, and Carcha is still making money on top of everything I own. He was a five million bit stallion to the state, but he was a billionaire under his real name. I try to keep my expenses low though, because I used to provide for about eighty ponies. I still kind of do, but that doesn’t mean I need to start blowing my dad’s savings. To answer your question, closer to fifty gold.” Futtershy’s eyes widened and she froze in place.

“F-fifty gold!? B-but… b-but…” She stuttered.

“She’s worth more than that to me anyways. Way more. But the price is so high because I had to pay the opportunity costs of the potentially lost clients Mrs. Société had to tell that their reservations were moved. There were fourteen reservations for that time slot and most of those were four or more pony groups. Most ponies, especially when alcohol is involved, tend to spend closer to one or two gold alone. About one and a half gold per pony, and then you multiply that by several parties, and it begins to get crazy. Champagne is almost never full, but their profit margin is something to behold, really.” Fluttershy sighed.

“S-some day, I n-need to go back and finish highschool. I-I get what you mean, b-but I wish I didn’t h-have to figure out what “p-profit margin” meant based on context,” she said, in a more down tone than usual.

“You never finished highschool!?” She cowered away a little. How a mare so tall, yet so potentially threatening looked so small, I would never know.

“Uh… n-no? Oh, w-well, I guess you never heard the story, s-so you wouldn’t know. W-we’ve all had some pretty b-bad stuff happen, and I-I was emotionally broken after moving here a-a few years ago. I-I dropped out, ran away from home, j-joined a gang, became the Beast, a-and eventually tried to k-kill myself before Twilight found me. A-at least, that’s the gist of it.” She said it casually, I just had to stared at her.

“Oh, my goddess, Fluttershy! Finish school! See your parents! They’ve probably been looking for you all this time! Dude, what the fuck!?” Everything in my brain immediately treated her like one of the guys. If she hadn't ended up at Harmony, she probably would've ended up with me. She giggled and shook her head.

“Oh, y-you. M-maybe one day, but not n-now. W-we’ll have to s-sit down for story time again soon s-so you can learn what happened t-to get everypony here. S-some of us are w-worse than others, b-but I bet Pinkie’s story will p-piss you off more than mine~” she sang. I sat down on a nearby bench and rubbed my temples.

“Oh my goddess. No wonder I play counselor so often. You guys are just a highschool gang under the government.” She skipped back over and sat down with me.

“Oh, I-I wouldn’t say that. A-applejack is probably the m-most ‘normal’ out of us. S-she doesn’t hate or ever w-wanted to run away from her immediate family, i-instead she does everything she can f-for them. O-on top of that, she’s s-still in school, unlike the f-five of us.” I lowered my brows at her.

“Hey, don’t lump me in with you weirdos. I’m not in school because I finished it, I even have the Associate's degree to prove it!” She giggled again.

“I-I know, I helped you p-put it up yesterday. Y-you’re not nearly as b-bad as Pinkie made you o-out to be now that I spend some t-time with you. Y-you’re… onii-chan. Y-yakuza onii-chan. Y-you’ve done some b-bad things, but you’re s-still a good guy at heart a-and take care of your own. I-I think that’s why p-ponies are attracted to you.” I looked her in those green-blues of hers.

“You think so?” She got up off the bench and stretched out her wings.

“I-I know so. Come on, w-what’s next?” She she shuffled her feathers back to her sides and looked all around. There were quite a few ponies out right now, as opposed to the norm, since a lot of construction was still going on. Manehattan was never not a busy place, but several roads and buildings were destroyed Sunday and Celestia wouldn’t have it. Once again, she was here in Manehattan for the third day in a row, making sure the construction got done and as quickly as possible and correctly. Just like the sun, she raised spirits everywhere she went, and not a cloud in the sky could obscure her radiance. I crossed my hooves and nodded. Yeah. I’m not a bad guy anymore, and she knows that. This will work.

“Well, I was actually thinking of visiting Rarity. I don’t want her to feel out of place, so I thought I’d get her a dress. I got her measurements from her tailor the other day and he recommended me her. Apparently she’s the pony to see about something like this.” Fluttershy gave a slow nod.

“W-well, I hope you plan to explain what you’re gonna do. S-she’s gonna ask and she’s n-not gonna take no f-for an answer.” I sighed.

“I figured. Well, at least she didn’t come in my room and threaten me about it,” I shot. Fluttershy raised her snout and smiled a set of slowly sharpening teeth.

“M-my parents always t-told me I was special. C-come on, I’ll show you t-there.” With that, she trotted away, humming that tune again.

---

“Ha-shi-ri-da-shi-ta! O-mo-i ga i-ma de-mo~

Ko-no mu-ne wo ta-shi-ka ni ta-ta-i-te-ru ka-ra~

Kyou no bo-ku ga so-no sa-ki ni tsu-dzu-ku~

Bo-ku-ra na-ri no a-su wo ki-zu-i-te yu-ku~

Ko-ta-e ha so-u i-tsu-mo ko-ko ni a-ru~” Fluttershy sang as we arrived at the boutique. I sighed. It took us about half an hour to get here since she doesn’t know what subway runs where, and this is on the west side, and we started in central Manehattan. She’s been singing Umanese songs the whole time, and I was finally getting annoyed by it.

“Do you even know what you’re saying?”

“I began to run! Because my feelings even now~

Are definitely beating against my heart~

The me of today will continue towards our destination~

We’ll amass our own tomorrows~

The answer, yes, is always right here~” she sang in the same cadence. Somehow. I shook my head.

“I’m honestly impressed. I thought you were making shit up this whole time. And you didn’t stutter either.” She nodded.

“ A-as for my s-stutter, it just doesn’t h-happen when I sing. A-as for the songs, m-most ponies do. I-I can’t speak it fluently, b-but I can repeat what I’ve h-heard said pretty well. T-that song always makes me feel better w-when I’m down, b-but I figure it’s appropriate f-for you today.” I tilted my head.

“Have they all been in relation to me?”

“Yes! W-when you’ve seen as much a-anime as I have, you a-amass a collection of music. I-I have several s-songs for almost e-every occasion,” she said with glee. Huh. And here I thought she was just another weirdo. Who knew she was so thoughtful?

“Well, why don’t we go in?” She nodded and I opened the door. The building was a large circular multi-tiered cake shape with violet banners and white stone making up most of the exterior.

“One moment please, I’ll be right with you!” Rarity yelled from a back room somewhere.

“Oh, j-just take your time. I-I brought Goose,” Fluttershy half yelled back.

“Fluttershy? Is that you darling? And you brought…” She started. Then we heard the sound of things dropping and she quickly ran to greet us. Covered in measuring tape, pin cushions and wearing half a roll of violet fabric, she ran straight up to me and stared at me through red glasses.

“Are you here for what I think you’re here for!? Ooh, no, you likely own many suits, and in that case… You’re going to buy Applejack a dress! Ooh, this is so exciting! I’m sure you got her measurements some how, come to my work shop, and tell me everything!” she said as she immediately went back to where she came from.

“T-told ya,” Fluttershy whispered.

---

Because I wasn’t allowed to leave until the dress was ‘perfect,’ I ended up telling Rarity most of my life story and how all of this started. She was… more than enthused.

“Well, if that doesn’t sound familiar. Now if only my promiser will keep up his end of the bargain. In any case, that’s some kind of dedication you have. I suppose I can understand why after all that you two went through together at such a young age though. Sharing hardship is certainly a good way to bond. I’m just more surprised she doesn’t remember your old nickname. It’s just so… pfft, Catchy!” Rarity laughed. I rolled my eyes.

“Please continue, that pun has only been made so many times before,” I said sarcastically. Rarity stopped and went back to stitching what she was working on. Star Slate was right, she was good at this. The dress was a bright red silky kind of fabric that had a metallic shine to it and faded through to indigo at the bottom. It was open back and open shoulder with a high thigh cut on either side. The bottom of the dress shimmered and sparkled like stars in the night sky. As unrestrictive as this looked, I honestly believe I could actually see her in it. It was almost like, if her suit was made to show off her instead of the pony she pretends to be. She placed one last pin at the top, circled the dress, nodded, and turned to me.

“Well, that about does it. Does this just scream ‘Applejack’ or what? Honestly, I wish she would use her proper name when she goes out in this. She has so much potential to be elegant and beautiful with a name and body like hers, yet she squanders it with that damnable ‘cowpony’ look she likes so much,” Rarity said, getting bitter toward the end.

“N-now, now, Rarity. E-envy isn’t very pretty,” Fluttershy giggled. Rarity rolled her eyes and huffed.

“Don’t you preach to me you little ‘assassin’ as you were called. Anyways, I was thinking of adding a veil maybe on the back, but I figure Applejack would want as little unnecessary cloth as possible. Of course, this a gift after all, and she doesn’t have the heart to refuse. I suppose it’s up to the buyer, now isn’t it?” I nodded.

“Yeah, no I think it’s perfect as is. I’m not the most creative person in the world, but you got it exactly as I wanted. Or really, how she wanted it, I think. She always wanted a dress similar to the mare with buns in Marevel versus Comcap, but more like her mom’s wedding dress that she would often steal and play in. I always wondered how she never got caught doing that, but considering her dad was who he was, it makes sense that he wouldn’t find out. Heh. If she put spikes on her bracers, and wore those with it, she’d be damn close.” I laughed and Rarity gagged.

“Eyuck, Oh heavens no! Do not let her wear those god awful things with my dress. Just because she could fight in it does not mean she should,” Rarity said adamantly. Fluttershy and I laughed, and then I decided to check my watch. Damn, it’s already almost four. So much for finding a pianist. I let out a sound of my irritation and sighed.

“Hmm? W-what’s the matter?” Fluttershy asked. I sighed again.

“Well, I wanted to find a pianist who could play that song for me, remember?”

“Oh, t-that’s right. W-what about calling the Manehattan Orchestra? I-I mean, I know it’s supposed to b-be a hard song, b-but it’s also popular because of that movie. S-surely somepony knows it.”

“Yeah, but well enough to perform it in two days? I could barely get the first half with my dad teaching me when I was a kid, and he could breathe that piece. Mrs. Société said that she didn’t know many in the city that could do it, at least not on such short notice.”

“Well, what piece is it? I learned quite a few harder pieces when I used to play. Maybe I could do it,” Rarity chimed in. We stared at her and asked in unison,

“You can play the piano?” She nodded.

“I can. For a while there, we believed that it would be my cutiemark before I started sewing. I was pretty good back in the day.” There was a hint of pride in her voice. I stroked my small beard. Maybe she can do it...

“Give me a few seconds and I’ll go grab the music.” I blinked from my spot on the chair in Rarity’s workshop and back to the house. I went into my dad’s office and grabbed three things; the old dark red leather folder he kept the sheets in, the record player he used to listen to it on, and the record with the song. It was a special record that he had ordered so that it contained all four ballads that Sixteenth Chorus wrote. They were Dad and Mom’s favorite pieces, and if I remember correctly, how he won her heart to begin with. I held still for a few seconds and then blinked back to where I came from.

“Oh my. You brought a record player?”

“Yeah, I had planned on letting whoever was going to play it for me borrow this and the record I have it on. Uh, here’s the sheets. It should be the first fourteen pages. What do you think?” I asked as I passed her the folder. She began to smile.

“I think you’re in luck. My parents told me to try something easier to learn when I first heard this. I told them I was going to learn it anyways. I spent an entire summer on this piece alone and played it over and over until it was perfect. This was the piece I played for my last recital. Ballade number one in G minor, Opus twenty three. Come with me upstairs. Let’s see if I can’t just tear into this again like I did when I was a filly. One does not simply forget what they lived and breathed for an entire summer.

---

To my surprise, Rarity missed a few notes on pages six and fourteen that she said she always had trouble with. At tempo, on her first try. She didn’t miss anything on the second try with the record, so if anypony can do it, it’s her. How in the hell she learned this as a filly, I will never know. I had years to practice and I still never got it all, but I’m just glad she can do it. With that, everything is in place. Now all I have to do is ask. And that will likely be the hardest part. Rarity pulled into the garage, and as soon as we did, I saw that her bike was already here.

“Well, are you ready lover boy? This is it. This is your big moment,” Rarity said, turning the car off. I never looked into it, but she’s a very smart pony. Her profit margin is something similar to Champagne, and she makes a killing off of anything she sells to anypony, me included. Two gold bits for the dress and the song and all she loses is a few hours of her day practicing and some prototype fabric that she made herself. Her costs are so low and her products are so high quality that she can charge a thousand five hundred bits for a dress that cost her fifty to make. No wonder she drives something like this.

“No. I’m kind of terrified. What if she says no?” I could feel the panic settling in.

“W-well, first off, I think s-she likes you as it is, so I d-doubt she will. S-second, you can just take us. I-I will certainly not decline an i-invitation to Champagne again f-for free,” Fluttershy said. I rolled my eyes.

“Free to you maybe. I could’ve given all this money to my guys and fed them for months with it, provided they weren’t so stubborn. Did you know on Monday I had to tell all five of the girls each individually that they would not survive a winter in a tent in Crystal? And of course, their schedules are all insane with all the jobs they picked up, so I was there all day trying to sort out the mess they made with out me. Aurora Veil and Heat Wave didn’t believe me until I went into the details of what frostbite and hypothermia does to a pony. Sure, one of them controls ice, and the other controls fire, but neither of them can keep it active for 24 hours, 7 days a week, and frost bite doesn’t take long to work. That was an entire day, lost just to make sure my group of idiots would survive the winter this year. I swear, some ponies are unbelievable.” Rarity put a hoof on my shoulder and made me look her in the eyes.

“So, you’re doing that thing where you talk because you’re nervous. You already told us this. Stop that. Grow a pair already, this is the mare of your dreams we're talking about here! She’s lonely, vulnerable, and an easy target for somepony she trusts, like you. All you have to do is ask. We will get Twilight and Pinkie out of the room.” Sure, Fluttershy is the obviously dangerous kind of mare, but Rarity is the subtle dangerous kind of mare. She’s the one who you’d find tied you to a bed and ran off with your wallet right after foreplay. Crazy. They’re all crazy. Every last one of them. I don’t know that I want to hear their stories. Then Fluttershy socked me across the face.

“Ow?” I said, more in surprise than because of the rather weak punch.

“S-snap out of it, y-you’re getting distracted. A-act like a real stallion and f-find that one track mind,” She said holding my face. I took a deep breath.

“You’re right. She’s what I’m here for. Okay. Let’s do this.” We walked from the garage, up the ramp and into the living room. There she was, looking tired and stressed out, sitting in her chair. Here we go.

Comments

[Dash32]

More soon! Like SOON!

[KorenCZ11]

8186016 Oh? it will be soon, but...

[Dash32]

8186594 you evil man/woman!

[Naturefang]

“Ha-shi-ri-da-shi-ta! O-mo-i ga i-ma de-mo~

Ko-no mu-ne wo ta-shi-ka ni ta-ta-i-te-ru ka-ra~

Kyou no bo-ku ga so-no sa-ki ni tsu-dzu-ku~

Bo-ku-ra na-ri no a-su wo ki-zu-i-te yu-ku~

Ko-ta-e ha so-u i-tsu-mo ko-ko ni a-ru~”

I know this tune, but I can't remember where from!