Chapter 1: New Beginnings

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The train from Canterlot left a cool breeze in its wake as it chugged along the countryside. The sun hung high in the sky, shining down on the colorful world of Equestria. It would seem, to most, a beautiful and ordinary day.

As far as a certain unicorn aboard the Friendship Express was concerned, however, it was just a relief to get away.

Looking away from the window, she looked down at her cutie mark. She saw a purple flame, and heard a scream...

The young mare shook her head, her two-toned mane swishing side to side. Maybe if I hadn’t bothered with the tickets. Maybe...

With a sigh, she leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. Don't think about it. Just keep facing forward. There's a lot to do today...

Steeling herself for the day ahead, she opened her sky-blue eyes once more to the grassy plains outside and saw her new home looming on the horizon.

Ponyville.

—————————

"Hm."

The young mare was now standing at attention, hardly blinking as a middle-aged stallion eyed her from across his desk. Captain Searchlight took another look down at his junior's files, scrutinizing some line of text or another. A few moments later he resumed his stern gaze with a grunt.

"Well, you look the part. You seem disciplined enough, and you're more than qualified. And as I told you, we're low on numbers. I don't see a good reason not to hire you, Wispwillow."

"Yes, sir."

Searchlight straightened out the papers on his desk with a quick flare of his horn and slipped them back into their manila folder. "Consider yourself hired, then. Come back in a few days to meet your partner and start your patrols. Until then, take some time to get familiar with the layout of town."

Wisp nodded her assent. "Yes, sir. But... patrols? Doesn't the—"

She clopped a hoof against the side of her head. "Right, right, nevermind. Forgive me, I'm just so used to living in Canterlot."

The captain grunted again. He did that a lot.. "Naturally, even if we did have Guards stationed here, we would still have our own patrols. Preexisting security would be no excuse for complacency. Besides, Search and Rescue is a different profession and can lend itself more to some skills that the Guard might not. Like that tracking spell of yours."

"That spell isn't great at tracking most ponies... But that makes sense." With that settled, Wisp turned to leave. "Is that all, sir?"

"One more thing. Your file is exemplary. You could make great use of your skills here, but don't let your little anger issues get in the way of the job. Understood?"

Her tail bristled as her mouth formed into a grim line. "Yes, sir. It won't be a problem."

"Good. You're free to go."

Wisp promptly made her exit, her aura fading from the doorknob as she shut the door behind her. With a scoff, she started on her way out of Ponyville Town Hall. I need you to tell me that... Not when you look so much like her.

As it turned out, besides that sour note, the day was off to a decent start. Wisp had heard about how friendly and close-knit Ponyville's community was, but it was another thing to experience it. G Sure, that one stallion had been in a hurry, and that pink mare had seemed... strange before running off, but it had proven easy enough to get some directions. It was, all things considered, a positive first impression.

Now then, the unicorn thought to herself as she stepped outside the building, I just need to find that property for rent and get some food, and I'm pretty much set.

She looked back at her custom-made saddlebags, which naturally contained the money and other essentials necessary to make this move. It matched her ashen blue coat in color, and the clasps were made in the shape of her cutie mark. It really was a beautiful piece of work, but she couldn't help but feel regret as she considered who had paid to have it made. Sorry, moms. I don't plan on coming back very soon...

Her parents...

Wispwillow's thoughts drifted as she left the town hall's patio and began heading north. Though her biological mother had been understanding enough, Glory Lily had adamantly tried convincing her to stay. Her step-mom had always been the stubborn one... Not to mention that she felt that she was, in part, to blame.

Sidestepping a unicorn stallion, her mind drifted further. And Tiger Lily... She sighed. This is all such a bunch of horseapples. I had to leave, but... What's she going to do without her big sister?

She stamped a hoof on the ground in an attempt to banish those painful thoughts. No, stop worrying. It'll be fine. I can go back and visit anytime. It's not like Canterlot's very far by train—

Wispwillow suddenly found her train of thought interrupted by an unidentified flying object as it crashing into her side and sending her sprawling across the ground. How rude of it. She was trying to convince herself that...

Oh, sod it.

After taking a few moments to catch her breath, she opened her eyes. To her considerable surprise, she found herself staring at a pony's rump. With understandable agitation, she yelped and pulled the pony off of her with a flash of her horn as she scrambled back onto her hooves.

"H-hey, what's the big i—"

"I'm so sorry, it was an accident! I was just in a rush and I... Um..." There was an awkward pause as the grey mare looked up at the ground. "Could you put me down, please?"

"Huh?" The unicorn blinked. "Oh. Right." With a quick twirl, the other mare was back on the ground, instead of floating upside-down.

The pegasus scratched at the back of her neck with a hoof. She wore a guilty expression—and rightly so, Wisp thought—and looked like she was about to say something when a gust of wind signaled the arrival of another pegasus.

"Not again, Derpy... Are the both of you alright?" This new pony's coat was some shade of purple, and her pale, wild mane blew in the wind as she came in for a landing.

"Me?" Wisp asked. As if she were talking to anyone else. "Yeah, I'm fine. I think." Looking over to the first pegasus, a gray one apparently called Derpy. She wondered why she was showing concern for the pony who had just plowed into her, but still she asked, "Uh... How about you?"

The blonde mare nervously rubbed her shoulder and looked around her. "Oh, I'm okay. I'm just glad none of this mail is damaged..."

Only then did Wisp notice the mess of envelopes scattered on the ground. Again, she felt like she should be more indignant, but with hardly a thought she picked everything up in her magic and slipped it back into the bag slung around Derpy's neck.

It was then, as she was making sure they all fit, that she finally noticed the mare's wall-eye. Huh. That might explain a lot.

"Oh, thanks!" the mare exclaimed. One could almost forget that she had just barreled into somepony. "But, um... Sorry to cut and run, but I should really get back to work. But I'm really sorry for running into you, miss."

"Eh, i's alright. Just... try not to make a habit of it, yes?"

"Eheh... Don't worry, I won't," Derpy replied as she took to the air and flew away.

"Make sure to fly straight, Ditzy Doo!" the other pegasus called after her. She gave an exasperated sigh when the mailmare bobbed and weaved out of sight without showing she had heard her.

Ditzy Doo? What, is that her real name?

Ruffling her mane, the purple pony turned to Wisp. "Sorry about that. Derpy can just be a bit... disaster-prone."

"No, it's alright. She seems nice enough. Though I can't say I was hoping for a pony's rear in my face when I woke up today..."

With a chuckle, the mare said, "Ah, you'll be fine," and offered a hoof. "Anyway, name's Cloudchaser."

"Wispwillow," she replied, returning the gesture and shaking hooves. "But my friends just call me Wisp."

"Alright. It's good to meet ya, then, Wisp," Cloudchaser grinned. "You're new around here, aren't you? Don't think I've seen you around before."

The unicorn nodded. "Yeah, I just arrived from Canterlot. I was just on my way to rent a place to stay, actually."

Cloudchaser smirked at that. "Ooh, fancy pony. Well, if you want a guide, I can show you around, give you a little tour or something. Especially if you need help finding your place. But, uh..." The pegasus scratched her chin. "Pinkie Pie could show up at any time. Might wanna just... keep an eye out."

Wisp raised an eyebrow at that. "Pinkie Pie?"

Cloudchaser rolled a hoof in the air as she explained. "She's Ponyville's resident party pony. She throws parties for everything: Welcome parties, birthday parties, afterparties... after-afterparties... end-of-the-fiscal-year parties... Point is, if you're a new pony in town, she'll find you and throw you a party."

Wisp was taken aback. This pony sounded a little intimidating. "I see..." Thinking back to an hour or two ago, she remembered asking a pink pony for directions. And had been left scratching her head when that pony simply gasped and ran off. "I think I may have met her..."

Cloudchaser got a laugh out of that little anecdote. "Yeah, that's definitely Pinkie. She must be planning your party already. She'll show up sooner or later, when you least expect it. Best to just let it happen."

"If you say so..." This pony sounded harmless enough, but she also sounded... eccentric. "Anyway, you said you could show me to my place. Would you mind?"

Spreading her wings and taking a bow, the pegasus proclaimed with an exaggerated Canterlot accent, "Yes, milady. The wise and illustrious Cloudchaser shall be your guide."

Wisp couldn't help but scoff and roll her eyes. It's not like she found that even a little amusing, or anything. "I can't tell which one of us you're trying to flatter, but I'll have you know I'm not a noble or anything like that."

Cloudchaser pulled herself back up into a standing position with a flap of her wings and held a hoof to her chest. "'If you say so,' Miss Wispwillow," she proclaimed with a snicker. "Anyway, you're right. Let's get going, Fireflank."

"Eh?"

Pointing in the direction of her flanks, the pegasus answered, "Well, I have to assume that's your cutie mark."

Wisp glanced at her saddlebag clasps. "Oh, right... Yeah, that makes sense. I've just never really had a nickname like that."

Cloudchaser raised an eyebrow, grinning at her. "Custom saddlebags and boring nicknames? And you say you're not fancy."

The unicorn rolled her eyes again. This was shaping up to be an interesting day.

* * * * *

Fortunately for the new mare in town, the current owner of her home-to-be had been readily available to show her through the building and broker a deal. Also fortunately, it sounded like rent in Ponyville was pretty cheap. By Canterlot standards, anyway.

But then, that didn't really matter, did it? She didn't intend to rent a place as her parents had hoped. In any case, Wispwillow was beginning to feel suspicious of all her good fortune when she saw the stallion waiting for her patiently outside the door, and it only grew when she noted the pony's greased black mane and moneybags cutie mark. His tie even had a money sign on it.

Despite his appearance, he seemed a decent enough pony, though. On the surface. But he still fit strongly into a certain profile (seriously, the tie was just silly), so she kept her guard up throughout the tour.

The two-story home was fully furnished, although the couch looked a little worn. She would probably replace that. Nothing appeared to be wrong with the plumbing, the foals' room could be used for storage or something, the bed was perfect,and the cellar was of a decent size—perfect for practicing magic.

Once they returned to the front room and the realtor showed Wisp saw the final figures, she say something. Quill hovering inches away from the dotted line, she asked, "Alright, is there some kind of catch? This seems like an awfully... fair price."

The stallion gave her a patient, knowing grin. "Fair? Of course it's fair. You don't get where I am in life, or make the money I do, if you cheat your customers. Just ask anypony in Ponyville about my business practices."

"Huh. I suppose..." The unicorn had to admit, she was impressed. "Equestria could use more salesponies like you, Mr. Rich."

The tall stallion laughed heartily, his bright blue eyes twinkling with more than just mirth. "Don't I know it. Incidentally, I have been meaning to expand..."

Wisp grinned at him, satisfied. Signing the papers with a flourish, she pulled a note from her saddlebags, scratched her name and a number onto it, and levitated it over to Filthy. Also satisfied, he primly nodded and allowed her to slip it and the quill into his own saddlebag.

"Well then, Mr. Rich, it's been a pleasure doing business with you," Wisp said as she removed her saddlebags off herself and dropped them off on her new couch. "Thanks."

"Oh, think nothing of it, young lady," he said, smiling in kind. "Just be sure to stop by Rich's Barnyard Bargains sometime. There's no better place to purchase a gift for your friends or special somepony."

Wisp's face froze. Special somepony...

Several moments passed. It didn't take Filthy long to notice the change in mood, so he cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, miss. Did I strike a nerve with my little advertisement?"

The unicorn shook her head and looked up at him with a plastic smile. "Oh, no, I'm fine. I was just... thinking it's funny you seem to always have money on the mind, that's all. Heh..."

Filthy Rich wasn't convinced, but one also didn't get where he was in life without knowing when not to press a mare. So he gave her an easy smile and said, chuckling, "Yes, well, I have money as my cutie mark for a reason." Before leaving, he added, "Anyway, I'll leave you to your new home. Places to be, money to make, and all that."

Wisp's strained smile gave way to one more genuine. "Thanks. I guess I'll see you around, Mr. Rich. Have a pleasant day." The stallion kindly nodded and went on his way, leaving her to her own devices.

As soon as the sound of hoofsteps faded, she turned and bucked a hind leg against the rickety couch. "Argh, why can't I just forget?!"

Her new house didn't feel particularly inclined to answer. In time, however, there was a knock at the door.

Right, Cloudchaser must be back with her sister...

Taking a deep breath, and trying to let her mind clear, the unicorn slowly trotted over to the door and opened it with her horn. She found herself greeted by a lot of... purple.

"Heya, Wisp. Mind if we come in?" asked Cloudchaser.

"Yeah, sure. Come on in."

Backing up to make room for them, Wisp watched as Cloudchaser was followed inside by her fellow pegasus. They were both remarkably similar in complexion, besides that the new mare's coat was a few shades lighter and her hair more well-groomed (and a light opal color rather than white and blue). A pinkish bow cemented her overall appearance as decidedly different.

Somehow, paradoxically, this pony looked a bit less prettied up than her counterpart. Maybe it was Cloudchaser's eyeliner.

Said pony looked beside her and said, "Well, this is her, sis. That fancy Canterlot mare I told you about."

"Cloudchaser, if you make me roll my eyes any more I might have to go see an optometrist," Wisp replied.

"An optomma-what?"

The new pony giggled before introducing herself. "Sorry about my sister. She'd a bit of a blockhead."

"Hey!"

"Anyway, my name's Flitter," said the pegasus. "Welcome to Ponyville!"

Wisp smiled at her. "Thank you. I can't say I mind warm welcome on my first day here." Then, looking between the two of them, she asked, "I take it you're the polite and responsible one?"

Cloudchaser swooned with faux indignance. "Polite? This one? She can be a real ice queen."

Flitter nudged her sister with a wing, despite her own grin. This seemed like a familiar routine. "You're the one who skips weather duty because you're too lazy to actually work."

"You skip with me."

"Only sometimes."

Wisp couldn't help but laugh. "Well, you two are quite the pair."

Cloudchaser puffed out her chest and held a hoof to it. "Yep, that's us. The Dynamic Duo of Doing Daring... Stuff."

"Yes, how very eloquent, sister."

"Of course. I'm the leader of the group, the Queen of Eloquence," Cloudchaser snarked, bouncing her eyebrows.

Flitter just quietly facehoofed, but fortunately the moment passed.

"Anyway," Cloudchaser said, stepping forward, "Let's get out of here and hit the town. I said I'd give you a tour."

The unicorn nodded in agreement. "Yeah, sure. I could use a snack, anyway, and I gone out for groceries yet."

And so it was decided. Following the pegasi outside, Wisp's horn lit as she stuck a small bag of bits into her tail and locked the door. It took just a moment to feel out the locking mechanism and figure out where to push.

Outside, the sun was still high in the sky, but had made some progress on its eastward journey since she last looked. Ponies were walking the streets and flying overhead, exchanging greetings with passersby as they carried on with their lives. Wisp found the sight... comforting. Only a few hours ago she had left Canterlot, abandoning her home and family with only the hope that things in her life would straighten out. Although it was a bit early to assume anything, Ponyville's friendly atmosphere did a lot to make a pony feel at home, and on top of that that she had secured both a job and a permanent home. Better yet, it seemed she had already made a friend or two in her very short time here. So far, things were looking pretty good.

These thoughts in mind, it took a while for Wisp to realize that those friends were both giving her a strange look.

Head tilted, Cloudchaser asked, "You just locked the door with magic instead of using a key like everypony else, didn't you?"

Something of an awkward smile crossed her lips. "Well, yeah... I’m pretty good at magic, and it's actually safer than carrying a key around."

"Oh?" intoned Flitter.

The unicorn nodded. "Yeah. My special talent is basically magical fire, but beyond that, learning spells comes pretty easily to me. More than for most unicorns, anyway." She blinked, "Although that wasn't much of a special spell I just used. It was just focused telekinesis."

"I see," the pegasus nodded. Then, with a sly look in her eyes, Flitter added, "Hmm... You know, if you can lock a door with your magic, you can unlock it. What's to stop you from sneaking into an unsuspecting pony's house at night?"

"If I wanted to sneak into somepony's home, I could just as easily unlock a window."

Awkward silence.

With a cough, Wisp amended, "Uh, not that I would, of course. Think of it this way: If somepony else breaks in, I can go right in and take care of them instead of wasting time looking for the entrance they used."

"Or you could just blow the door down," Cloudchaser cut in.

"Yes, or I could do that."

"I don't know about this pony, sis," Flitter teasingly lamented. "Whatever would we do if she learned where we live?"

"See, she's doing it already," Cloudchaser snickered. "Cold, I tell you. More importantly, though, I haven't made fun of you for how fan—"

The purple pegasus looked down her muzzle. There didn't seem to be anything wrong... She opened her mouth again. "How fan—"

There it was again. When the pegasus realized Wisp and Flitter were both enjoying, she noticed the glow around the former's horn. "Hey, that's cheating!"

Still laughing, the unicorn told her, "Well, you seem like you'd do the same if you could. Just stop calling me fancy and I'll leave that pretty face alone."

"Hey, you said it that time, not me." Looking to the sky, Cloudchaser added, "Anyway, let's get moving. I'm getting hungry, and we can show you a few places on the way to Sugarcube Corner."

The trip proved a fairly short one. Flitter and Cloudchaser pointed out several areas of interest along the way, such as the Golden Oaks Library—interesting magic indeed that could keep the hollowed tree from dying—a small confectionary store, and a large, extravagant cloud mansion in the distance that Cloudchaser claimed belonged to a pegasus named Rainbow Dash. Hm. That name sounds familiar...

It suddenly dawned on Wisp that she hadn't taken notice of either Flitter or Cloudchaser's cutie marks yet. It hadn't even occurred to her when her own was brought up. Acting quickly to rectify this, she looked up to Flitter a small ways ahead of her. So her mark is... dragonflies? I don't get it. I'll have to ask about that later...

When Flitter looked back and saw where she was looking, she raised an eyebrow but didn't seem to mind.

Wisp couldn't help but cough. "Sorry, I just now realized I hadn't seen your cutie marks. I was just curious."

"Is that so?" Cloudchaser started. "What do you think of mine, then?"

The darker pegasus was on Wisp's other side, and now wiggling her flank provocatively at her. Pfft... So, a shooting star. Maybe she's a skilled flier? I'm not sure, but it looks good on h—wait, what?!

The pegasi certainly hadn't expected their new friend to fall on her rump looking as if Princess Celestia had insulted her mother. Wisp was frozen in shock, pinprick eyes wavering as her thoughts went straight to... what she had run away from. "Shooting star..."

"What is it? Is there something on my flank? ...Wisp?”

Flitter sat down and embraced her with a wing. "Hey, are you alright?"

It took a few seconds, but the unicorn broke out of her daze and cleared her throat. "Yeah. I just... uh..."

Cloudchaser didn't seem to know what to do with herself, seeing her sister was already winghugging her. "You sure? You don't look so good."

Wisp tried shaking it off, but this time it did little to help. "S-sorry. I was just..." Looking pensive for a moment, she took a deep breath and allowed her features to slowly still. "Can it wait? It's complicated."

"Are you positive?" Cloudchaser asked. "I know we've just met, but you can talk to us if something's bothering you."

The unicorn looked away, setting her jaw. "Sorry. I really don't wanna talk about it."

Flitter gently retracted her wing and stepped away. "It's alright. You don't have to say anything if you don't want to, either."

Pulling herself back onto her hooves, Wisp trained her eyes on the ground, away from theirs. "...Thanks."

"Well, anyway," Cloudchaser laughed awkwardly, "we're not far too from Sugarcube now. We should get going, yeah?"

An uneasy silence fell over them as they continued their little journey. Wisp kept silent, trailing slightly behind the pegasi, and Cloudchaser didn't care much for it. This new pony could be fun, but right now she was being a stick in the mud. She didn't want to talk about it, but that didn't mean somepony couldn't cheer her up.

The pegasus exchanged a look with her sibling, wiggling her eyebrows and gesturing towards the mare behind them. A wink confirmed that she got the message. Hah. This is gonna be great. Probably.

They stealthily slowed their pace until they lined up with Wisp, slowly inching closer until they were each hardly a hoof's distance from her. The time was almost upon them.

And three... two... one.

Flitter and Cloudchaser, in perfect unison, pressed their flanks into Wisp's, effectively sandwiching her. The young mage immediately let loose a loud squeak and tripped over her front legs.

Before face could get properly acquainted with the ground rushing up to meet it, she wrapped herself in her own unicorn aura, stopping her descent only inches away from pain. At this angle, her horn would have smacked into the ground first... And the mere thought was almost enough to collapse her magical field right then. That would not have been pleasant. Not at all.

Quickly pulling back up and releasing herself, the unicorn was soon back on all fours with cheeks aflush.

"Uh, w-what was that about?"

It took her a second to notice that the mares beside her were wide-eyed and slackjawed. She didn't get it, but Cloudchaser soon spoke up and clarified. "Woah. I don't think I've ever seen a unicorn besides Twilight Sparkle levitate themselves before."

Brushing herself off, Wisp replied, "Yeah, well, like I said, I can't deny I'm pretty good with magic... It's pretty tough for most unicorns to levitate themselves, because when you cast a spell like telekinesis, you have to feel what you're affecting with the spell. Feeling your own magical focus, or horn, is pretty... awkward." The mare paused, trying to think of a decent metaphor. "It's almost like... trying to swallow your own mouth. Or lick your own tongue." She shrugged. "Having to wrap your mind around that can make a spell pretty taxing until you get used. But me, I'm blessed with a lot of 'mana' and, well... a talent for spellcasting."

By complete coincidence, both sisters blinked at the sane time. Creepy. "That... actually kind of makes sense," Flitter offered. "Though it's still pretty hard to imagine."

Her sister nodded. "Yeah. Kinda cool, too. I wish I could lick my tongue..." As Flitter rolled her eyes, she continued, "...Oh, uh, right. Sorry for pulling that on ya, Wisp. You just seemed really down, and I wanted to cheer you up."

The unicorn was surprised. That little stunt had felt a bit personal, but the two of them had done it just to cheer her up? Once she remembered herself, she said, "Oh, don't worry about it." Then a strange look passed over her face, and then she was nursing a blush and looked away in an attempt to hide it. "I appreciate it. And I... I think we could be good friends, Cloudchaser."

Wisp wasn't the only one blushing now. Scratching her mane and nervously fluttering her wings, Cloudchaser replied, "Well, uh... I-It wasn't just me. Flitter was in on it, too."

The mare in question daintily stamped her hoof and feigned an indignant face. "That's right. You should be bonding with me, too!"

This unicorn was getting to laugh an awful lot this day. "Thank you, too, Flitter. It's kinda strange to say this already, but... I feel lucky to have met you girls. I'll have to remember to thank Derpy later."

After the three of them brushed themselves off and were, again, ready to head off, they resumes their leisurely trot to to Sugarcube Corner.

They were almost able to smell it before they saw it. A warm, sweet aroma telling of many fresh-baked goods to come wafted out past its three-piece door, passively but insistently inviting ponies in to have a treat. The gingerbread house motif (or... was it actually made of some sort of gingerbread?) only made the place even more appealing.

Mm, gingerbread...

Trotting ahead of her companions, Wispwillow went ahead to open the door and was suddenly assaulted by confetti and a roomful of party.

"Surpriiiiiise!"

Right. Of course.

Pinkie Pie.

Chapter 2: Flanks

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So walking into her own welcoming party had certainly been a surprise. Wisp had thought to herself that the possibility should have occurred to her sooner, considering that Cloudchaser had at one point mentioned Pinkie Pie living at Sugarcube Corner. Of course, that didn't mean the party would necessarily take place there, but it did seem like one of the more popular venues for Pinkie's parties.

Time became a blur once the group made it inside. Pinkie Pie was a quirky pony, but she knew how to organize a party. The party games were fun, the concessions fresh, and the ponies smiling. The host kept an eye out to make sure everypony was having a good time.

Eventually, said host dragged Wisp away from the pegasus sisters to introduce her to her own friends, and as soon as the unicorn saw Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle, she remembered why the former's name had sounded familiar.

Everypony not living under a rock had heard about the Elements of Harmony. They were perhaps the greatest heroes ponykind had ever known, having returned Princess Luna to Equestria and her beloved sister and dealt Discord his second defeat. Politically, at least, Equestria had changed much in the short time since that fateful day they had come together—Celestia had taken no quarter when it came to reintroducing Luna to her subjects, despite a shaky start.

As far as Wisp was concerned, Equestria owed these six ponies more than it could ever repay, even if the government did try not to toot their collective horns. As an elder sister, herself, the mere thought of what Celestia must have gone through was unbearable. But more importantly than her personal feelings, life in Equestria felt more... complete, now. It felt to her and many others as if a great hole had been filled... Even if they had never known there was a hole to fill, with Princess of the Night having been forgotten by most for centuries.

Rainbow Dash was perhaps the most easily recognizable of the group. Most ponies had at least heard of the pegasus when she'd performed a sonic rainboom and won the Best Young Fliers' competition last year. Naturally, the young prodigy who saved the lives of several Wonderbolts had been a headliner for weeks, and as Wisp quickly found out, the pony herself didn't exactly mind getting lots of attention. She was confident, that's for sure.

As for Twilight Sparkle, Wisp had already known who she was long before Luna's return. Any unicorn attending Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns did. She was the most powerful naturally-born unicorn in recorded history, protégé of Princess Celestia and exceedingly talented spellcaster—if Rainbow Dash was an example of what a pegasus could do, Twilight was at least as strong an example for unicorns. If anypony deserved to wield the Element of Magic, it was her, without a doubt. How lucky she for her very talent to be magic...

Wisp had always been a little jealous of Twilight. She was born with the power to cast just about any spell conceivable, and the drive and skill to learn them easily. More easily than for most unicorns, at any rate. She made teleportation look like child's play, for Luna's sake, and the underlying theory for that spell was one of the most difficult to grasp. Wisp should know—she had been studying that spell for some time, but she had yet to really get a hang of it. However talented she was, she would never be able to learn as easily as Twilight could. Although, now that she was on speaking terms with the mare, maybe she could ask for some tutoring sometime. Magical spells were significantly easier to learn with another unicorn to show you just what to do.

In any case, Twilight appeared to be a very friendly and modest pony. Which was a little strange; back before Twilight had moved from Canterlot, the pony had always had a reputation for being an antisocial hermit, always studying and practicing her magic. Not unfriendly, exactly, but she had never had time for friends before. Wisp supposed that meeting these ponies must have done her a world of good, as her welcome was almost as warm as Pinkie Pie's.

As for the rest of the Elements, Fluttershy was too... shy to say much beyond her demure I tail greeting, while in contrast, Applejack seemed quite sociable. And then there was Rarity…

This unicorn was certainly a looker. Wisp wasn’t sure she had ever seen a pony who took such good care of themselves. In fact, she struggled to fight down a blush in such close proximity to such an attractive mare. The dignified, graceful manner in which she conducted herself reminded her of home, but without the pretentious snobbery. Indeed, the last thing she had expected was for Rarity to be the one complimenting her. "Very bold and gamine," she had said. "And you do have such a lovely palette. Oh, how I would love to work with your mane. Perhaps your tail could use a little attention, as well..."

Drop-dead gorgeous or not, Wisp made certain to politely steer that conversation elsewhere.

Twilight and Rainbow Dash aside, it was almost difficult believe that these were the six ponies to save Equestria from certain doom where even Princess Celestia had failed. They seemed more like your everyday ponies than great saviors. Then again, Applejack was the physical embodiment of earth pony strength and work ethic if there ever waa one, Fluttershy was a pegasus who stayed mainly on the ground tending to woodland animals, Rarity was a distinguished young business owner who seemed like she'd be more at home in Canterlot or Manehattan than humble Ponyville, and Pinkie Pie was... Pinkie Pie.

Maybe not just your everyday ponies, then. Regardless, Wisp supposed it wasn't exactly as if they were great warriors charging onto a battlefield. They were close friends entrusted with the Elements of Harmony, wielding some physical manifestation of the power of friendship to overcome those who would threaten peace in Equestria.

All things considered, Equestria could be quite an interesting place to live.

After taking leave of Pinkie and the others, she had returned to Flitter and Cloudchaser and was then introduced to some of their own friends. There was a massive bodybuilding pegasus known as Snowflake, and yet another pegasus named Thunderlane and his younger (pegasus) brother Rumble.

I sure am meeting a lot of pegasi today, aren't I?

Unfortunately, Wisp soon found herself once again reminded of things she'd prefer not to think about. She tried to just ignore it, but she was beginning to get quite fed up with all these coincidental reminders of her recent past. It wasn't his fault how he looked, but it drew her mind back to Canterlot just the same. And she did not want to think about Canterlot.

Having excused herself to cool off with some punch, the unicorn sighed to the punch bowl. She just wanted to get away and start over—was that so wrong? She was so wrapped up in her thoughts, though, that she didn't notice the pony that had appeared next to her. "Hey. What's the matter, new girl?"

Drawn out of her reverie, Wisp looked at the pegasus and thought for a moment that she was looking at Cloudchaser, but Cloudchaser's mane was assuredly not wavy or blonde, however. Her coat was a similar shade of bluish purple, but their cutie marks were nothing alike: this one bore a cloud-covered sun, not a sparkling shooting star.

"What are you talking about?"

"You didn't look very happy with Thunderlane over there. And you don't look too thrilled staring into your glass like that, either," the mare answered.

Wisp coughed. "You saw that, did you?"

"Sure did. You don't have a problem with stallions or something, do you?"

"What? No, of course not. He just... Reminds me of someone."

"Huh." The mare didn't press the issue, but turned to another. With a curious look she asked, "How do you feel about mares, then?"

Wisp blinked and took a sip of her punch. She opened her mouth, then closed it. And then opened it again. "Are you asking what I think you're asking?"

The pegasus only smirked. "I should introduce myself." Offering a hoof, she declared, "I'm Cloud Kicker."

Wisp warily reciprocated. She was getting a strange vibe from Cloud Kicker, but she knew of her family. Renowned for their military service, the Kicker Clan was the only noble family of ponies left in Equestria to still be maintaining a clanhold in Canterlot. With their no-nonsense reputation, Wisp figured she could at least give this pony the benefit of the doubt.

But then she opened her mouth.

"And yes, I am. Wanna bang?"

An all-too-familiar heat began to rise inside as Wisp narrowed her eyes. Somehow she figured it wasn't the kind Cloud Kicker was interested in. "You don't want to go there."

Unfortunately Cloud Kicker didn't get the message. She actually dared to rest a wing on her back. "Sure, I do. Everypony can do with a bit of harmless fun, Wispy. No strings attached."

To the Kicker's credit, she looked concerned when her victim jerked away, but it was too late. "Don't touch me."

Wisp was surprised to see Cloud Kicker widen her eyes and fold back her ears. For the moment, she found it a bit cathartic.

"Woah! Sorry, I didn't mean any harm. Just looking for a little fun, you know?"

"Hmph. Maybe you shouldn't throw yourself at somepony just because they might spread their legs for a mare," she growled. "Not interested."

"It works pretty well most of the time, but... Sorry, again. Heh..." Looking about as awkward as she should have felt, she continued, "I think we started off on the wrong hoof. Can I have a do-over?"

The unicorn just snorted. She made sure to take a nice, long drink of punch before actually dignifying that with a response. "Why, exactly?"

"I like to be on good terms with everypony, whether I have fun with them or not," the pegasus told her. She looked sincere enough... But it was too late. Wisp wasn't in the mood.

"Maybe later, I guess. But I'm really not in the mood right now."

"Right, right." Cloud Kicker nodded, trying not to sound too upset. "No problem. Enjoy the rest of your party."

And then Wisp was alone once more. She almost felt a little bad about snapping at her... Almost. The mare had brought it on herself—who actually just walked up to a pony and asked them to "bang"? More importantly, this unicorn had her reasons for being touchy about it. She didn't exactly feel ready for a physical relationship, with anypony.

Ugh.

She stuck around the punch table a while, trying yet again to clear her mind as she drank in the crowd. She couldn't see Cloud Kicker amongst the throng of colorful ponies, for which she was grateful. For that matter, she was grateful that ponies, and pony society, were the way they were. Every pony looked unique in their own way, but when every pony was special, nopony was special, in a manner of speaking. This made it very possible, very easy, to be just another face in the crowd—one of many, not particularly noteworthy or important. At this moment, Wispwillow found it a comforting thought. There was safety, security, in numbers, and with so many ponies in one place, one could just go on about their business and not be disturbed.

There comes a point, though, where a pony wants to be disturbed. A few minutes ago she had noticed Flitter and Cloudchaser—two ponies of similar coats were much easier to notice in a sea of color—and now that Thunderlane was finally taking his leave, she thought it was a good time to meet back up with them. Somehow, she was already feeling a little better.

Once they had all exchanged their greetings, Flitter asked her, "So... not a big fan of Cloud Kicker, are you?"

Wisp grunted. "Certainly not. She wasn't even trying. As soon as I told her I'm into mares she tried to get under my tail..."

"Yeah, she does come on pretty strong," Cloudchaser nodded sympathetically, "but she's not so bad."

"Did her touching you really bother you that much, though?" her sister asked with a note of concern.

The unicorn looked away, apprehensive. "I..."

She bit her lip as her friends waited patiently on her. So much for not being disturbed. Things had been hard enough lately trying to avoid thinking about it, but now?

She sighed, shoulders slumping as she gave in to the world. "I... had a bad breakup back in Canterlot last week."

"Oh." Cloudchaser scratched at her mane. "That might explain it."

Wisp slowly nodded. "...Yeah."

Since she had already accepted that fate wasn't content to let her forget about it, she felt like she should tell them something, explain the situation to them, but no words came. Just a quiet, insistent feeling of unease. So she just stood there for a while, saying nothing. Eventually she began to hope that they would be satisfied with what she'd already said, but of course, questions came.

"In that case, it makes sense that Cloud Kicker upset you," Flitter noted. "But what did Thunderlane do?"

Wisp sat down on the floor and rubbed a hoof into her forehead. She really wasn't proud of that. "He did nothing wrong. He just... Looks a lot like her. My boss does, too..."

"I see..."

She let them chew on that for a bit, but when it occurred to the unicorn that they may well have been thinking up even more questions, she decided to deploy a smokescreen before they could make her even more uncomfortable.

"Anyway," she said, "I'm not so much in the mood for partying anymore. How about we get back to the tour?"

The pegasi shared a look. Their newest friend was obviously trying to avoid that conversation, but at least for now they silently agreed to play a long. She must have her reasons, after all. "Yeah, sure," Cloudchaser said. "It's not like we have anything better to do right now." After a short pause later, she added, "And don't worry about Pinkie Pie. She'd understand."

"Alright, good. Let's get going, then."

Following her friends past the crowd of ponies between them and the door, Wisp was just happy for the distraction.

—————————

Hours later, the three ponies arrived on the last stop of Cloudchaser's Ponyville Grand Tour. Ponyville wasn't as large as Equestria's larger cities, of course, but it was a bigger place than many gave it credit for. Additionally the tour had been a bit more thorough than expected. It took a while for the pegasi to lead Wisp around to its various points of interest, allowing for some small breaks. Not that she could complain: it was one way to spend an afternoon.

The dark building before them gleamed under the setting sun, the words "Sun's Flank" painted in flowing calligraphy above the door. It looked almost straight out of Trottingham, and She had no problem with that. It looked elegant, comforting, almost like a shining jewel in what others might call a cultural wilderness. It seemed more to Wisp like a particularly good place to forget her troubles while settling into her new home.

"Classy," she offered as they approached the door.

"Yep," said Flitter. "Though if you want classy, a better place to go would be Clover Café. This place, though, is a great hangout for mares."

As the three ponies took their first steps inside, Wisp noted the pleasant, relaxing interior: Dark colors, dim lighting, and red, red everywhere. The cherrywood furnishings did a lot for the atmosphere. I love cherrywood...

"Just mares, huh?"

Cloudchaser smirked at her. "Yeah, it's pretty much a lesbian bar if you ever saw one. I trust you don't mind?"

Wisp rolled her eyes. "You heard me earlier. You know very well I'm into mares."

The pegasus chuckled as her sister stepped in to clarify. "It is best known for that, but it's more of an all-welcome kind of place. It's a popular hangout spot for any mare, and guys are welcome, too. You don't see very many, though." As she spoke, Flitter led the group to a relatively secluded circular booth in the corner. As the sun was just going down, things were just starting to get noisy, so they all quietly agreed it would be nice to have some relative privacy.

"Sounds like my kinda place, then," Wisp said as a waitress appeared at their table. The creamy earth pony offered them a warm smile and asked for their orders.

"Hayfries for all of us," said Cloudchaser. "I'll have a hayburger and some hard cider."

"Cider for me, too. And an alfalfa salad," Flitter chirped.

"Hm. I'll take a burger, too... And a strawberry daiquiri?"

The waitress nodded and jotted their orders down and slipped her clipboard back into its sling. "Alright, ladies, thank you for your orders. I'll be back soon with your food."

"That was quick," Wisp remarked as their server left them behind. She found herself thinking that the skirt could definitely bear to be a little longer... "This place is certainly making a good first impression. Mostly."

"Mostly?" Cloudchaser skeptically asked, sitting to her left. "What's not to like?"

The unicorn coughed into her hoof. "It's not like I mind the view, but does the uniform really have to be so... revealing?"

"Huh?" The pegasus managed to get another look before their server disappeared. "Oh, that." Shrugging and scratching her chin, she grunted, "Eh, you get used to it. And it's not like they're wearing miniskirts... Not really."

Sitting across from her sister, Flitter interjected, "Anyway, you were saying earlier that you're good with magic. Why don't you tell us more about that?"

Sure, why not?

She cleared her throat. "Well, I've always been interested in magic. As a filly, I thought it was so cool to be a unicorn and be able to do lots of cool stuff with my horn." She chuckled at a memory of the past, when she had tried to produce flowers out of a top hat and instead set it on fire. Good times...

"Thing was, until I got my cutie mark, I couldn't tell what kind of magic I was best at. I spent a lot of time trying to learn new spells, and though I didn't have the patience for many of them, I discovered that I was pretty good with lots of different kinds of magic. I ended up... experimenting a lot."

"Sounds like an eventful childhood," Cloudchaser remarked.

"Oh, it sure was." Another wistful smile graced her lips. "Like the time I tried to teleport and ended up poofing myself and some friends into the middle of the Everfree Forest. From Canterlot."

Cloudchaser counted herself lucky she hadn't been drinking a glass of water or something. Her sister, though, simply went wide-eyed instead of making a scene. "What? What happened?"

It had certainly been less than delightful at the time, but looking back, Wisp could laugh at it now. "Well, I've always thought it was so cool how some unicorns could teleport themselves from place to place. I wanted to learn that spell more than anything else. So after sneaking a high-level spellbook out of the library—of Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, that is—I got a little too excited when I managed to teleport a pencil. I decided I'd show everypony the ten-year-old who had mastered a top-tier spell."

Even Cloudchaser facehoofed. "Oh, this doesn't sound good..."

"Heheh, yeah... I kind of teleported half the class. During recess, without a teacher or supervisor around."

"...Well, how did you get back?"

"I'll tell you all about it some other time, but long story short, I managed to come up with a spell that guided us out of the forest. And I may have burned down a few timberwolves on the way..."

Now there was a pregnant pause. Flitter and Cloudchaser both looked impressed... Especially Cloudchaser.

"And you said you were what, ten? Jeez."

"I try not to brag, but... Yeah." Wisp's nostalgic smile grew ever wider. "It was that day that I realized what I wanted to do with my life: Using my aptitude for magic, I would fight to protect my fellow ponies and keep them safe." A blush creeped up her face as she realized how cheesy that sounded. "Or something. Anyway, that's how I got my cutie mark."

Soon a dark look replaced that blush. There was something else she had learned that day... And sometimes seemed to forget it, all too easily. That a powerful unicorn like her had to be careful with the magic at their disposal.

Cloudchaser whistled. "And I thought my cutie mark story was dramatic."

"Oh?" Wisp tilted her head, curious. "How did you get yours, then?"

Before the pegasus could respond to that, their waitress reappeared, almost out of nowhere. With practiced ease, the mare slid the tray containing their meals off her back and into the table, and found herself surprised when the various plates and drinks began floating off it of their own accord. Once she connected the fuchsia glow around the food to Wisp's glowing horn, she gave the unicorn a strange look.

"Eheh, sorry. Just figured I'd save you the trouble."

It really must be inconvenient to be an earth pony, she had been thinking.

With a curious smile, the mare slipped the now-empty tray back onto her... back, and left the group to enjoy their dinner. "Thanks, doll."

Wisp was preparing take a sip of her drink when a certain pegasus managed to catch her attention. "...Why are you staring at me like that?

"You're such a gentlemare," Cloudchaser snickered.

"It's easy to levitate a few dishes. It wasn't a big deal," Wisp insisted, shrugging it off.

"It was enough for her," Flitter chipped in. "She was checking you out."

"Wh-what?" Once she shook that off, yhe unicorn coughed. "I didn't notice. I don't really have mares on the mind right now."

Flitter hummed thoughtfully at that, but said nothing and instead sipped at her apple cider. Cloudchaser was enjoying some hayfries when Wisp remembered what they had been discussing a minute ago.

"So, Cloudchaser. How about that cutie mark story?"

The one that looks just like hers, a dark voice grumbled.

Now that she had a moment to register the question, the pony didn't look particularly enthused about the subject. She was about to say something about it, though, before Flitter stepped in. "It's a bit of a long story. Why don't you keep going, and we can tell you about ourselves later?"

"Well, sure," Wisp shrugged, popping a hayfry into her mouth. And as soon as she did, she grabbed another. And another. "Hey, these are good!"

After she spent a few seconds shoving fry after fry into her mouth, she noticed the look she was receiving from both her new friends. The kind that warned of future teasing and embarrassment. Composing herself, she gave an awkward cough and said, "A-anyway... What do you want to know?"

"You mentioned Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Since you're here, I take it you've graduated?"

The unicorn nodded, thinking back on her time at Equestria's most prestiged institution for the education of aspiring mages and, well, gifted unicorns. In fact, she had graduated from secondary education there only recently.

"Yeah, I've been going there since I was a foal, and I went for higher education, too. I also underwent a military cross-training program, actually."

"Huh?" Cloudchaser asked between bites of burger. "That makes sense since you mentioned 'fighting' and 'protecting,' but... What's that about?"

She shrugged. "Well, I could've gone to West Hoof Academy and trained as an officer in the Royal Guard, but... I'm really not interested in such a boring lifestyle. It's either the Long Patrol, risking my life far from home, or standing around all day. Either way, there's so much decorum and procedure... No, I want to get into the Magi Corps."

When asked to explain what the Magi Corps was, although they had both heard of it at one time or another, she naturally obliged. After enjoying some of her own hayburger.

It was delicious.

"The Magi Corps is... well, a skilled group of battle-ready unicorns. It's technically still part of the guard, but it's relatively detached from the rest, at least in terms of how it operates. I could just as well have went to West Hoof and been noticed by them, but they look just as closely at Celestia's School. All I had to do was sign up for the West Hoof cross-training program and deal with that for a couple years, and then I'd be eligible for the corps."

"And what would it mean if you did get in?" Flitter inquired.

"In theory, it could mean plenty of things," the unicorn replied. "What I'm going for, though, is a pretty sedentary career. I'd have certain responsibilities, but lots of magi spend most of their time studying and practicing magic at home and living a largely civilian life. That's the life I want."

Flitter, clever as she seemed, had apparently recognized the hidden horseshoe waiting to drop... Much to Wisp's discontent. "So, since you've graduated and all, have you heard anything?"

"...Yes."

Again, Flitter seemed like a clever pony, but in this case, her curiosity was stronger than her tact. "What was it?"

She sighed, and sat her fruity drink on the table with a clink. She really didn't want to think about this, either, but whatever.

"They said I'm promising as ever and that they'd be glad to have me, but they want want to wait until they can be sure that I can handle the responsibility."

Both pegasi winced at the sound of that. It didn't hurt that the unicorn had almost hissed the last few words. Fortunately for her, though... Flitter was clever.

"You know, sis, you could learn something from her. You don't have any ambition at all."

The other pegasus pointedly scoffed and rolled her eyes at this change of subject. "Yeah, yeah..."

After that, though, the talking faded in favor of their meal. They had all been doing plenty of talking, but not all that much eating. Now unfettered by the nuances and niceties of conversation, they all took their time to enjoy their respective dishes. Flitter was digging right into her healthy salad, having already downed most of her fries, while the others took bite after bite of their juicy hayburgers.

And it was juice, Wisp noticed. Sun's Flank apparently liked to make their burgers a bit greasy, like most good hayburgers were, but they weren't saturated with it. It tasted strong, fresh, and juicy, and allowed her to forget that it wasn't the most healthy thing she could be eating
After she washed down the last of that delightful sandwich with the fruity goodness of her daiquiri, the Canterlot pony cleared her throat and looked between the siblings on either side if her. "So, I've told you girls plenty about me," she started. "Why don't you tell me about yourselves?"

"That's a good point," Flitter agreed, having also cleaned her plate. Exchanging looks with Cloudchaser, she asked, "What would you like to know?"

"I've been wondering, actually... I can tell just by looking that you're sisters, but are you twins, too? You look really similar, besides your hair."

Cloudchaser nodded with a cheeky grin. "Yep. We were born on the same day, though unfortunately for Flitter, I came out a little sooner." Taking a swig of what was left of her cider, she added, "Sexier, too."

"Yes, and unfortunately for my 'big' sister, I got all the smarts. Who knows where she'd be without me?"

"Not where I am now, that's for sure..."

Wisp couldn't help but perk up at that. "What does that mean, Cloudchaser?"

The pegasus hesitated at first. "Well... You wanted to hear about my cutie mark? You'll find that somewhere in here." With a surprisingly solemn look, she continued, "to tell you the truth... we're orphans." Wisp did her best to keep her gasp quiet.

"We lived in an orphanage for a while, until we were split up."

Flitter spoke up to continue the story. "Cloudchaser got to stay in Manehattan, but my new family lived in Trottingham."

"I see..." Wisp cleared her throat. "Then what?"

A nostalgic smile graced Cloudchaser's lips, as one had graced Wisp earlier. "Well, we tried to get along with our new families. They weren't so bad, but I just couldn't stand it for long. Life sucked without my twin sister... We weren't supposed to be a part, we're supposed to do everything together. So one day I just... Left. Knapsack and everything. Caught a train and almost ransacked half of Trottingham looking for her." Looking down at her flank, she continued, "And that's how I got my cutie mark. For chasing my dreams and making them reality... Or something."

Woah. And I thought my cutie mark story was dramatic...

"I liked my new family," Flitter said, taking her own turn, "But it just wasn't right without Cloudchaser. I was beginning to accept it, though... But then I saw her out there in the snow, looking for me."

Everypony, even Wisp, was beginning to get a bit misty-eyed. Ever the graceful one, Cloudchaser cleared her throat and continued the story. "I was surprised when nopony chased her outside. I figured they'd come out and try to keep Flitter from leaving, but I guess when they saw that I'd come so far just for her, they knew there was nothing they could do. So after that, we took the next train to Ponyville, and here we are."

Wisp struggled to find the right words. "That sounds like... a much tougher childhood than I ever had. You two must really be close."

"Maybe too close," Cloudchaser snarked.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Flitter solemnly retorted.

"Still, I have a sister of my own, but I'm years older than her," Wisp cut back in. "I have to admit, I'm kind of jealous."

Cloudchaser scoffed. "Just because you're not twins doesn't mean you're not close. You can't quantify love like that, girl."

"I'm just surprised you know what the word 'quantify' means." Another scoff, more exaggerated. She got the idea the pegasus was used to that kind of pass.

"Anyway, that's some pretty heavy stuff. Do you think it was right to share it with somepony you just met?"

They both shrugged. "Meh... It's all in the past. And you seem pretty cool, so who cares?"

She could accept that, she thought. Fair enough.

"Anyway," Flitter said, "We obviously don't have any family, but you mentioned a sister?"

The unicorn blinked. "Huh? Well, yeah. She's technically my half-sister, and then there's my mom and step-mom. Tiger Lily be turning 13 this year, though."

"Are you two close?"

Wisp smiled a smile even fonder than the one she'd worn during the vague telling of her cutie mark story. "Yes, very. She wants to be a tough unicorn like her big sis, so I teach her what I can. Considering her cutie mark, though, I don't think she's cut out for fighting like I am, seeing as it's a flower," she chuckled. "She's always so happy to learn a new spell, though..."

Her expression soured. "And then I left."

"Because of that breakup you mentioned?" Flitter intoned.

"...Yeah."

"Son't be too hard on yourself, now," Cloudchaser interjected. "You were just stressed out on relationship drama, yeah? Your sister sounds old enough to understand why you bucked town in the hear of the moment."

The pegasus gave a quiet "ow!" when somepony's hoof hit her in the shin. "What?"

Wisp looked away, still feeling ashamed. "I suppose you're right... But as her sister—"

"Hey, don't make me say something cheesy about sisterly love or how you don't need to be so hard on yourself or something. I don't think anypony wants that." Nodding at her unicorn friend's tentative smile, Cloudchaser smacked a hoof against the table. "Hey, barkeep! I'll have another round over here!"

—————————

Some time later, when rush hour had come and gone, the three mares were still sitting at their table. The pegasi had both downed their fair share of free cider refills... Or, Wisp thought, a but more than their fair share.

"HEY. Hey. Wisp. I've got a queshtion," Flitter mumbled.

"Flitter, you're drunk."

This did little to dissuade her, of course. "...Hey. What do you think of my sister's butt?"

If Wisp had been taking a drink, it would have been quickly and efficiently sprayed all over the table. "W-what?!"

Cloudchaser dropped a hoof on the table. "No no no, what do you think of MY sister's butt?"

"I asked her first!"

"Yeah, but I, uh... asked sexier!" The more brusque pegasus scratched her chin thoughtfully. "...Like my butt."

Wisp cleared her throat. The heat in her cheeks was most definitely not caused by a few daiquiris. "I... I don't think—"

"C'mon, Wispy," Flitter chided. Or whined. She couldn't tell which. "I saw the way you were looking at my flank earlier. You were TOTALLY checking us out today!"

"N-no, I really wasn't! Like I told you, I don't really have mares on the brain right now. I'm still hung up on—" She choked on her next words. After a short struggle, she said instead, "on Canterlot. You know?"

"I suppose. But maybe you should!" Flitter continued. "Butts are nice," she explained with a sagely nod.

"I-I'm not... I don't think I'm ready. I've hardly been single for a week..."

"Pffft," Cloudchaser scoffed, dramatically waving a hoof around. She almost smacked Wisp in the face. "Just relax. There's nothing wrong with checking out the scenery." She bounced her eyebrows mischievously. "So... Tell us whose you like better."

"Yeah, tell us. Or we'll, like... We'll have a contest!"

"Hey," called a crimson unicorn called behind the bar. "No more butt contests without Cloud Kicker! I couldn't bear to tell her she missed another one."

"You're not helping!" Wisp snapped at the barmare. Her snickering wasn't helping, either. Even so, she turned back to her... friends. "Well..."

"You know, Flits, she said she hasn't been paying attention. Maybe she needs to have a good look, first..."

"FINE, fine! I... From what I remember, they... They both looked... nice."

Flitter raised an eyebrow. "'Nice'?"

The unicorn shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Well, what else do you expect me to say? You're both... attractive mares, but like I said, I'm a bit distracted..."

Cloudchaser blinked. "...Yeah, but whose is better?"

They say the following facehoof was loud enough to reach the heavens.

Hoof still firmly on face, Wisp asked, "If I just tell you that you both have sexy plots, can we talk about something else?"

The daintiest sister's tipsy giggle offered little hope, but to her credit, she did manage to surprise. "Yeah, sorry. We just think you should loosen up a bit. How's ignoring pretty mares gonna help you get over anything?"

"...It troubles me that I can't come up with a counter to that logic. Maybe it's the drink."

Or maybe you want to agree.

She furtively looked into her empty glass. "...I don't know... I'm too distracted to be ogling anypony, I think."

"Oh, don't worry, Wisp," Cloudchaser laughed, "I think we can come up with better ways to distract you."

Wisp worried that if she kept planting her hoof against her face like this, it would leave a bruise. What have I gotten myself into...?

Chapter 3: Duties

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Darkness.

Everywhere, there was darkness.

Black as obsidian, all-encompassing. It consumed everything around it, blocking all light.

It was not a cruel darkness. Not at first. It was warm, welcoming. One could be content in its embrace, for it did not take out of greed, but because that which it took was readily offered. So long as the darkness was pleased, nothing else mattered.

Then something changed. Suddenly it was not so kind, so soothing. Now it devoured by choice, sinking its teeth into all it could, refusing to let anything escape its grasp.

The darkness was frightening. The darkness was beautiful. Even in the wake of its destruction, it was still terribly beautiful.

Then there was light. Precious light. Light of many colors, bright and pure. It warmed the barren landscape, allowing life to return.

The light was beautiful. But it did not banish the darkness...

~ ~ ~

Awakening with a groan, Wispwillow rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and allowed them to slowly open. The bright light of morning was pouring in through her bedside window, bathing the room in... well, light. The young unicorn idly noted, with some pleasure, that she was much more receptive to the light than the previous morning, when she had woken up hurling obscenities at the sun...

It was strange, she thought, waking up in a new home. Everything was so different. It made everything else seem so far away. Almost as if they didn't exist at all... Which was both a beautiful and terrifying thought. Her problems, her family... What if—

Beautiful and terrifying...

...That was some dream. A bit melodramatic, though, don't you think?

After pondering a moment, she shook that out of her head along with the cobwebs. No time to dwell on that, Wisp. You've got a big day ahead of you... Probably.

That is, if the first day of work is all it's cracked up to be.

—————————

Wisp found herself wondering why the meeting had to take place here. Searchlight's office wasn't terribly small, but it was an office. It was starting to feel crowded with just three ponies inside.

She took another glance at the pony next to her. He was an earth pony stallion, about as sturdy as one would expect and hardly taller than her. But then, Wisp herself was a taller-than-average mare.

His white coat and forest-green mane stood out well enough. His green eyes were a lighter color than his hair, but they didn't look particularly... lively. The pony seemed to carry himself seriously, but perhaps a little too much so. This was an official meeting and all, and she herself was making certain to keep a straight face and upright posture, but she found something about this stallion unsettling.

Then again, perhaps she was just letting her imagination run off without her. After all, how else might a pony to react to a grown stallion having no cutie mark?

Wisp wondered if the earth pony had ever been given trouble for his lacking flank. Equestria was a kind, tolerant place, but some ponies, Wisp knew from experience, never grew out of being close-minded children.

She had no more time to wonder, however, as the captain had finished shuffling through the paperwork on his desk and was about to begin the meeting.

"So as you both know, you're going to be doing most of your work with a partner. And, as you might imagine, your partner is standing right next to you."

Wisp looked over to the earth stallion again, but the pony hadn't even moved. He was like a statue.

Creepy...

"I won't mince words. Wispwillow, your temper has a way of getting you into trouble, so a stallion like Wintergreen should be able to keep you in check. Wintergreen, you play things a little too by the book, so the new recruit should be able to compensate for that and your lack of social skills."

So I was onto something...

Then, as Wisp took the time to be displeased at Searchlight's assessment of her, she noticed Wintergreen actually taking the time to nod to his captain. It was the first movement she'd seen from him since entering. Finally, a sign of life...

The captain eyed them both before continuing. "I trust neither of you have a problem with that arrangement?"

"No, sir," they replied in unison.

"Good." Looking at Wisp, the unicorn stallion continued, "Wispwillow, I trust that you've familiarized with Ponyville as ordered, but Wintergreen here already knows the route you'll be taking for now. You won't always be out patrolling, but follow his lead and keep an eye out for trouble." Then dividing his gaze between both ponies, he continued, "As you both knew signing up, Search and Rescue is proactive in Ponyville and doubles as an impromptu police force, should the need arise. You know what's expected of you."

The recruits nodded again in unison.

"Very well. We're done here, unless you have any questions."

Wisp took the opportunity to clear her throat. Once Searchlight acknowledged it, she asked, "Out of curiosity, sir, what about the other searchponies? That is, will there be any introductions, or..."

The senior unicorn nodded. "Everyone usually isn't in the same place outside of emergencies and the occasional meeting. It doesn't help that things aren't very organized here in Ponyville; I'm in charge, but there are so few of us to actually organize." In an unprecedented show of emotion, Searchlight actually swished his tail and let out a restrained snort. At the same time.

"The lack of a recruitment campaign of any description doesn't help, either."

That sounded curious. If the captain wasn't pleased about that, why not just go out and do something about it? He was, as he'd just said, the one in charge. She held her tongue, however, and allowed him to finish.

"Anyway, yes, you will meet them before long. Best for everypony to know each other's face."

Wisp nodded. And she would have left then, but his answer gave her something else to ask about. "Also, you mentioned 'playing it by the book.' Did you mean we're encouraged to bend the rules, or what?"

"Not precisely. But so long as you don't cause trouble to innocent ponies, I frankly don't care what you do to get the job done." When he sensed her next would-be question, he continued, "Wintergreen here, however, doesn't seem to do anything more than necessary. I'm expecting you to make up for that."

Wisp nodded, satisfied with that answer. And that sounds about right, so far...

"If that's all, you can go."

Wintergreen made for the door, and Wisp began to follow, until, again noticing the small-ish space the meeting had taken place in, she remembered something that had occurred to her earlier.

"One more thing, sir. You said we don't have many searchponies. Is that why we're meeting in this... Town Hall office?"

If the subtle undertone to his voice was any indication, Searchlight didn't seem particularly fond of the subject. "Indeed. We hardly number a dozen for the time being, so the Mayor doesn't feel spending money on constructing or repurposing a building to fit our needs is justified. And she's right. This office is all we truly need."

Wisp could swear she heard a grumbled "for now" under his breath, but then the captain was levitating his desk papers into a drawer and glancing at the clock above the door. "I think that's enough for now. Go on and get to work."

The lone mare of the group nodded. "That was all I had to ask, anyway."

And with that, she turned and left the room, shutting the door and joining Wintergreen outside. Wisp had never actually noticed him leave, but here he was. Again completely still. Just waiting.

Yeesh.

Before she could start feeling anymore awkward, she suggested, "Well, shall we get moving?"

Without a word, the stallion turned and started on his way.

Sigh.

This is gonna be one of those days, isn't it...?

Still, she did as ordered and followed him outside the building, and around some more buildings into the residential districts. Ponyville looked rather idyllic in the glow of the morning light. Going on three days living here, Wisp was already starting to almost forget why she had ever thought much of living in Canterlot. The marble city definitely had plenty to love, despite its reputation for stuffy shirts and rigid social structure, but here, life in general seemed rather more... relaxed. Less stressful. Pretty much everypony in Ponyville got along. Even wealthy ponies like Filthy Rich were warm and friendly.

The same could not be said, however, for Wintergreen. Twenty minutes or so of walking around, and the stallion hadn't so much as grunted in her general direction.

How did Wisp know it had been twenty minutes?

She'd counted.

She would have tried to strike up a conversation by now, but she was only just getting over her morbid fascination with just how unsociable he appeared to be. So far, being around Wintergreen was like hanging out with a rock. Social skills, indeed...

Flanking him as they made another turn, Wisp cleared her throat, deciding enough was enough. She had to keep her eyes on her surroundings—Ponyville seemed a safe enough place, but the point of patrolling was to help keep it that way—but she was determined to get the stoic stallion to speak up.

"So..."

Nothing. Hmph.

"Where are you from?"

Facing ever forward, Wintergreen replied, "Fillydelphia."

"Ah, I've never been there. What's it like?"

"Loud."

...Okay, so it wasn't going to be that easy.

"Well, if you're from Fillydelphia, what brings you to Ponyville?"

Wisp thought she saw his head turn toward her, ever so slightly. Or maybe it was just her imagination. "The quiet."

Oh boy, we're up to two words now. "So you came here to get away from the noise?"

Wintergreen quietly watched a pair of pegasi fly past before answering. "From a lot of things."

Wisp gave a snort. She found herself disappointed that it hadn't been Flitter and Cloudchaser passing by, because at least then she could perhaps have a moment of... Not this. Even with the teasing they'd started on a couple days ago...

And then the image of Cloudchaser's flank HAD to flit through her mind. She fought the urge to facehoof. All that damn talk about flanks...

Returning to the present, though, Wisp found herself growing more and more perturbed by this strange pony. She didn't mean to judge, but did he really have to be so difficult?

Might as well keep it up, though. I AM making progress...

"Things like what?"

"Personal things."

A mare and her foal walked by as they turned a corner.

"Okay, then, how do you like it in Ponyville?"

"It's fine. Peaceful. Usually."

"And that's all you have to say about it?"

"Yes."

Twitch.

"You're really not the talkative type, are you?"

A pause. "No. I suppose not."

Another twitch. And then her mouth twitched. Before she knew what she was saying, Wisp blurted out, "You don't have many friends, do you?"

For once Wintergreen made eye contact with her, of course answering with nothing more than a simple "no."

Wisp stopped in her tracks. That cut it, this pony was definitely getting on her nerves. "Look, can't you at least try to be friendly?"

To her surprise, he stopped as well. And oh goody, he again deigned to make eye contact. "I'm not being unfriendly."

Snort. "You're definitely not being friendly. Same difference."

The stallion tilted his head slightly. "That's why Captain Searchlight partnered us together. You're the one with social skills."

Glare. "Yeah, but that's no excuse for you to be so difficult. The least you could do is open up a little."

His head was still tilted, just barely enough to indicate that he was capable of it. It infuriated her. "What does that have to do with work?"

Growl. "If we're going to be working together, we should at least try and get along, you dolt!" A colt on the side of the street stopped to watch.

And then he lifted an eyebrow. Barely. "You're the one yelling at me."

Wisp's eyes widened. She almost wanted to scream, but she bit down and ground her teeth instead. Growling again at the befuddling earth pony, she pushed past him and carried on down the street. "Forget it. Let's just get moving."

Behind her, Wintergreen watched his partner walk away. Unseen by anypony, something behind his eyes shifted. But he promptly trotted back up to her; She needed him to lead the way, after all.

The next couple of hours, though, carried on much the same for Wisp. Even ignoring the earth pony proved aggravating—all it accomplished was rubbing in her face that he had no tact whatsoever—so she had eventually returned to her line of questioning, for if nothing else, it was less boring than the alternative.

"So, you like the peace in Ponyville. What exactly do you mean by 'peace'?"

"Less noise. Less crowding. Cleaner air."

"Fair enough. But besides comparing with Fillydelphia, is there anything in particular you like about this place?"

The stallion blinked. "No. Just the quiet."

Hrmph. This isn't going anywhere...

As they crossed a bridge over a small river, a different question occurred to her.

"So... You said you don't have many friends."

The response took a conspicuous second longer to come than usual. "...No."

The unicorn almost let her temper flare back up, but she kept it down. At least this once, she could try to give him the benefit of the doubt. At least, she didn't think he was capable of being intentionally vague or attempting to annoy her on purpose.

"No as in you don't? Because it's pretty obvious you did say that."

"Yes."

Twitch. She was starting to wonder if he really was doing it on purpose. Well, if it turned out he was, she could play that game too.

"Well, did you mean that you have few, or... none at all?"

Wisp would later regret smirking at the way Wintergreen's back stiffened, the way his right ear just barely twitched. She told herself even then that she only had a right to be amused if he'd been toying with her himself... But either way, she would've still asked the question.

"...I have no friends. Not anymore."

Oh. Well, that sounded interesting. Sensitive, but interesting...

"Oh? And what do you mean by that?"

"..."

Again, the two searchponies had stopped in the middle of the street. Wisp wasn't sure who had stopped first. For that matter, she wasn't sure when they had ended up in Ponyville's rural countryside. She could see a number of farms in the distance, one of which was full of apple trees. It seemed somewhat backwards to be patrolling such a sparsely populated area, but then, such a place would be ideal for some random hooligan, wouldn't it?

Wisp wasn't very concerned with that at the moment, though. She was more focused on just how long her "companion" was taking to answer her question.

She fully turned to face him where he had stopped. "Well?"

The earth stallion's stone mask was still in place, but his voice shook. Slightly. "I don't want to talk about it."

That was worthy of a lifted eyebrow. And made for a good opportunity for some payback. "No? You've been quick to answer my other questions," the unicorn suggested innocently.

And then Wintergreen got a glint in his eye. The corners of his mouth turned upward, and he lowered his brow—as always, only slightly. And then he opened his mouth.

"Now you're being unfriendly."

Ohhh, did he really just go there? I think he did...

"Oh, really?" Wisp snapped. "Very clever. But you haven't exactly given me a lot to work with, Wintergreen."

The stallion's smirk grew. "Same difference."

"I—wha—"

Wisp shook her head in disbelief. "That doesn't even make any sense. You... You're TRYING to piss me off, aren't you?"

"Now? Yes."

Her eyebrow began to twitch. That he was still speaking in that minimalistic way of his didn't help one bit. Seriously, what was up with this guy? And where was this even coming from?

She made sure to ask.

"Really? So now you choose to grow a personality? Why?"

Wintergreen looked her square in the eye, tilted his head, and said, "Because you make it so easy."

Some small part of her tried to tell her that this was going dark places, but Wisp didn't care. She took that part of herself, stuffed it into a box, and bucked that box into a deep, dark closet. She didn't need to hear that; this stallion was asking for it. After all, what had she even done to deserve this?

"I make it easy, do I? Look here, you little cur, this all started when I tried to make some friendly conversation, and y—"

"You aren't looking so friendly now."

"ARGH! Yes, and you bloody well know why!"

Wisp was beginning to feel a dull ache between her eyes. Why, why did the captain have to stick me with this arse? He's UNBEARABLE. Maybe I can ask him to split us up, or assign me to someone el—

"Whatever do you mean?" Wintergreen asked, with the very same faux innocence she had used just a minute or two ago.

Wisp whinnied as she reeled on him again. "Just SHUT UP, you little piece of—!"

And just like that, it happened. She had barely noticed the ache growing in her horn, but suddenly, with the scene before her, she was acutely aware that it was gone.

Wintergreen's tail was on fire. And it was a fairly short tail.

Her rising anger had already washed away. Replacing it was a deep, unbearable dread. This couldn't be happening. This wasn't happening...

But as the earth pony realized himself what was going on, eyes widening in shock and ears plastering to the side of his face, she had to accept that it most definitely was. It really was happening...

In a surprising show of emotion, the stallion began to scream. And scream, and... Well, he was screaming pretty loudly. His breath quickly grew ragged, and his pupils became pinpricks. The way he reared up and began kicking and jumping around, one might find themselves reminded of an elephant spooked by a mouse. And oh, how he screamed...

"Nononono, no, not again, not again!" Wisp whimpered, her face the picture of grief. "Please, not again..."

She simply stood, transfixed before the earth pony fruitlessly flailing around and trying to put out the fire. In his panic, it didn't occur to him that bucking his legs and shaking his tail around would only do the exact opposite of extinguishing it...

Wisp still couldn't move, rooted to the spot on that dirt road somewhere between Ponyville and its farmland. How had she gotten here again? She had thought she was being careful. She HAD been careful... right?

The dark unicorn was continuing to pity herself when that voice in her mind spoke up again. Apparently it had broken out of the box and found of its way out of the closet, because now it was shouting for her to stop sitting there feeling sorry for herself and sodding DO SOMETHING. Somepony is on fire, you idiot! Put it out!

And so Wispwillow broke out of her stupor and threw herself at the panicking stallion, tackling him to the ground. She tried to reach for his tail to stomp it out, but she couldn't do a thing with him thrashing around beneath her. She struggled with him, trying to hold down his legs down with one arm and reach over with the other, but then she winced when she got a good, hard kick to the chest.

"For Celestia's sake, just... sit... Still!"

As it turned out, using her magic to immobilize the fully grown earth pony stallion was the way to go. But, even with his limbs held still, he continued to scream. For good reason, she supposed, because now the fire had grown from the tips of his tail well toward its base. It had yet to reach his skin, but he would certainly have to be able to feel the heat by now.

Still holding the pony down, Wisp made short work of the flame with her front hooves. After stepping away from Wintergreen and releasing her magical hold on him, it occurred to her that she might have done well to hold his mouth shut, too. It would have saved her a few seconds of screaming. Then again, considering he had been in such a frenzy, that might have made it difficult for him to breathe. Right, just stick with the basics. No need to get creative and make a pony pass out...

Wintergreen pulled himself up into a sitting position, looking between her and his singed backside. Both of them were still catching their breath, and with the panic over, Wisp returned to the shivering schoolfilly she had been for moments before. She was falling into a deep, yawning pit inside herself, and it hadn't been the first time.

As her partner regained his composure, he again looked to his attacker. He blinked, but said nothing. Once again, his face was the motionless mask of a statue now that it wasn't stricken with fear. It had irritated Wisp before, but now it terrified her. What did he think of her? What was he going to do? Would he tell Searchlight? If he did tell Searchlight, how long would it take for word to get to the Magi Corps and ruin the possibility of her would-be career forever? Things were rocky enough there as it was, but this...

Moments passed by, and Wisp found herself avoiding the stallion's gaze. It wasn't a judging look he was giving her, but that was just the thing! Because it was him, it could mean anything, and she didn't KNOW whether he was judging her! Even just the thought of it drove her mad. And he still hadn't SAID anything!

She began to hyperventilate. She didn't know what was going through his head, didn't know what was going to happen, which meant anything could happen and she'd drive herself crazy not knowing and why won't he say something?!

She couldn't take it anymore. She had to move, get away. Had to escape from this... not knowing. And from the grim knowledge of what had just happened.

"I... I have to go." Already galloping past her victim, she cried, "I'm sorry."

And then she was gone.

—————————

Thump thump thump thump thump.

It was the middle of the evening when she heard somepony knocking at her door for the second time since she had returned home. She still didn't want to get up and answer it. If it was who she thought it was, she didn't feel like talking. For that matter, if it was anypony else, she didn't feel like talking. All Wisp wanted to do was continue to lie in bed, drowning in her misery and self-pity.

Thump thump thump thump!

Another knock, harder this time. Previously it had been faint, listening from her second story bedroom, but whoever it was wanted to be heard. Which made sense, she supposed. But even so... It wasn't like she had been here long, but making new friends so quickly had convinced her she'd be able to handle things better now. Somehow. Now, she was just reminded of all her... failures.

"Just go away," Wisp grumbled, rolling over and pulling a pillow over her head. Leave me alone...

Distracted from wallowing in her thoughts by the would-be intruder or intruders, she counted up to sixty as the seconds dragged by. A pony never stuck around an entire minute after knocking, right? It seemed like such a long time to stand at a door and feel ignored. Surely, whoever it was had left.

She flopped back onto her other side, caring not where the pillow went. Her eyes sealed shut as one dreadful, inescapable thought occurred to her.

What am I going to do now?

Thump thump thump thump thump!

Now the knocking was coming from her bedside window. It was a good thing she had drawn the curtains earlier, or they'd be able to see her. She could still pretend to not be home, or that she was asleep. It'd be easy...

Sigh.

Wisp pulled herself to her hooves and tried to rub some of the exhaustion out of her eyes.I'll have to talk to them sooner later, she thought. Might as well get it over with...

It took barely a flare of her horn to pull the solid white curtains aside, revealing just the purple pegasi she'd been expecting. Their eyes widened as soon as they got a good look at her. It must have had something to do with her bloodshot eyes, the bags under them, and the grim resignation scrawled on her face. Her mane, now recklessly messy instead of deliberately so, no doubt completed the picture.

Cloudchaser looked like she wanted Wisp to let her in through the window. Well, sure, why not...? But Wisp felt too tired to bother with the unconventional would-be entrance. Besides, the space would suddenly feel all crowded, not to mention how that might look. New mare in town, letting two flirty young pegasi she hardly knew straight into her bedroom? Ponyville was by no means tiny, but it was small enough that word would get around quickly. And pretty much everypony knew about their new unicorn neighbor.

But then... Wisp knew she really didn't care that much if ponies gossiped about her. Let them think what they want. She just wanted an excuse.

She could have quickly lifted the window with her magic and told them to meet her at the door, but still she just felt too tired to bother. So she nudged her head in the general direction of the door and began slowly plodding her way there.

Making it down the angled staircase and leaving her room behind, she had to pass through the living room to let her friends in. She idly looked over the furnishings as she passed by, purchased yesterday when she had done a little shopping with the rest of her "moving-to-Ponyville" budget. The old couch on the side of the room had been fine, but its faded blue color wasn't quite her style—this new one matched her dark bluish coat perfectly, and helped add a sense of elegance to the room. The end tables on either side complimented it nicely (or at least completed the picture). And then there was the circle of seating pillows surrounding the large, low-rise table in the center of the room. Wisp was no interior designer, but her powerful magic made it easy to arrange things as she saw fit, and she, for one, thought it would make a good group seating area, perhaps for want of a second couch.

Not that any of that mattered to her right now, however. She was more focused on her life crashing down around her.

She stopped a few feet from the door and pulled it open with her horn, granting the pegasi entrance. As they slowly trotted inside, Cloudchaser was the first to speak up. "It sure took you long enough. We were starting to wonder if you'd tripped down the stairs or something."

Maybe she had spent longer looking over her furniture than she'd thought.

"Sorry. I just... have a lot on my mind."

"Now that sounds famili—Oof!" Cloudchaser indignantly returned her sister's glare until her head caught up with her mouth. "Oh, er, sorry. Guess I deserved that."

"Damn right, you do," Flitter huffed. Then after shutting the door with a kick, she turned to Wisp and cut to the chase. "What's going on, Wisp? You look terrible."

The unicorn breathed a heavy sigh. "A lot. I'd probably try and avoid it, but... Running away from Canterlot didn't work. It's not like I can avoid what's coming to me."

"Come on, let's go have a seat," Flitter said as she pushed past her sibling and guided Wisp over to the couch with a wing over her back. Clearly, she was the one better suited to... whatever this was. The two of them sat opposite from each other, while Cloudchaser peeked over the middle, standing behind the decor. Or maybe she was hovering in the air, Wisp never really noticed.

The look of curiosity on the "elder" sister's face appeared strange and inappropriate to Wisp. There was still concern there, but... Horseapples, her head was a mess. Who knew what she was or wasn't seeing.

"Now," Flitter started, "Tell us what happened to get you so upset."

Another heavy sigh as Wisp let herself sink back into the couch. She was glad, at that moment, that she'd decided to spring for something a bit more comfortable than the standard fare. Well, here goes, I guess...

"I set a pony on fire."

She had definitely expected the shock on their faces, the gasps and the "whats." She hadn't expected so much for Flitter to just motion to her with a hoof and encourage her to continue afterwards.

"He was my Search and Rescue partner. Captain Searchlight paired us together because apparently he thought we would compliment each other. His calm and stability was supposed to make up for my... my hot head, while my relative personability was supposed to make up for his inability to improvise and his... his..."

She spat out her next words. "He's just so unlikable. He never speaks unless addressed, and when he does he hardly says anything. I tried to ignore it, but he's just so impossible to deal with."

Flitter watched her patiently. Or at least, she thought the mare was trying to look patient. Wisp didn't know. But it was hard to see Cloudchaser from this angle, and... Wisp didn't know.

"So I kept asking him questions to at least pass the time while we were on patrol. Then I guess... I guess I started getting too personal, because he started screwing with me. He was trying to make me angry on purpose. It escalated from there, and then it just... happened. All of a sudden his tail was on fire, and he started freaking out."

When she didn't say anything more, Flitter asked her, "Well... You helped put the fire out, right?"

She nodded. "Yeah, of course I did. I had to hold him down, but I took care of it."

After the sisters collectively sighed in relief, she finally heard Cloudchaser speak up for the first time since her little faux pas. "And then what did he do?"

The unicorn swallowed the lump in her throat. "That's just it. He didn't do anything. He just sat there... But..."

She looked at Flitter. Somehow the pegasus was looking sympathetic, and only still slightly alarmed. Wisp craned her neck to look at Cloudchaser, who wore a similar expression. So they weren't going to yell at her for it. That was good. But...

"You're both probably thinking that's all, but... This has happened before."

That caught their attention. So much for relief. "What are you saying, Wisp?" Flitter asked.

She shook her head. "Nopony got hurt that time, either. Not really. But this was... back in Canterlot."

That, too, caught them by surprise. Cloudchaser seemed to suspect as well, but it was Flitter who asked the big question. "This has to do with that breakup you mentioned, doesn't it...?"

Wisp shivered, trying to make herself as small as possible and hide what she could of herself in the embrace of her upholstery. Even if those parts she could hide in this position weren't the ones that could see the way her new friends were looking at her.

"Yes... It's why I ran away and moved to Ponyville. Why I don't plan on going back..."

Chapter 4: Shooting Star

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Flowers. Many ponies underestimated their power. Indeed, most looked to them as little more than a cheap gift or snack. Need an easy way to show your interest in somepony, or have no time to plan an elaborate date? Buy some pretty flowers. The worst part was that most ponies also had no idea about the meanings associated with the different types of flowers going into their gift.

Wispwillow, even with a florist as a stepmother, was such a pony. That is to say, she generally didn't know these things by heart and usually didn't try to. However, she liked to think that she made up for her ignorance by making sure she knew everything going into her bouquet when she had need of one.

This was her first relationship in a while that had lasted long enough for her to had real use for such a thing, but still.

As she hummed to herself, happily cantering through Canterlot's lamp-lit streets with a bounce in her step, she again went over the flowers in the bouquet she was carrying. The asters represented commitment; the yellow carnations, cheer and happiness; the vibrant pink azaleas, abundance. At the last minute she had added some amaryllis to remind the recipient just how enchanted Wisp was by her beauty.

It probably wasn't the most creative bundle of flowers, but Glory Lily had assured her stepdaughter that it would make a wonderful gift. And she would know, right?

The flowers weren't even the real surprise, though. For all her marefriend would know, it was just another ordinary day in Canterlot.

Well, with the sun dipping below the horizon, it was nighttime now. Wisp could very well have given her gift earlier, as she probably would have done if it were anything else. However, her beloved had been going on about it for quite some time (and, knowing her, chances were she had done so very deliberately). Just about a quarter of their time together thus far, actually. And, seeing just how much her pegasus had been hoping for this, Wisp felt reason to believe that Shooting Star would be exceptionally... happy with her.

She wished she could have gotten her horn on it sooner, but there was nothing anypony could have done about that. She was well off, sure, but she didn't exactly have the income of a noble, and she had refused to let her parents pitch in. And she could have given it around Hearth's Warming, but a date altogether just as special was coming up. This being the case, Wisp felt the slightest bit self-conscious traipsing through the high-class residential district. Normally she didn't care, but tonight in particular, there was a lot on her mind. The large, extravagant buildings and mansions surrounding her seemed to be looming particularly high today.

Well, none of that matters now, the unicorn thought to herself with a grin as she bounced up the steps of a significantly smaller building and rapped a few times on its tall, mahogany doors. With its elegant arches and flying buttresses and whatnot, it fit in perfectly with the larger homes in the area, but her special somepony's lineage and fledgling acting career could only afford so much.

It was a very successful fledgling career, though. With her distinguished features and expressive wings, Shooting Star was quite the rising star in the acting scene. Her name was "Shooting Star" for a reason, after all. Sometimes Wisp had to wonder how she had ended up with such a beautiful mare.

More pressing, though, was the fact that she still hadn't answered the door. Obviously she could be out for one reason or another, but around this time of night the pegasus usually preferred to sit down with a good book. That, or she was playing that very particular game they both enjoyed. It was hard to tell, sometimes, but Wisp still giggled at the thought.

Either way, Shooting Star always answered the door before the second knock, and it had been almost a minute now. She'd have to chance it.

Wisp looked to her left, then her right. Then she looked overhead in case a thestral guard happened to be flying by. She would worry more about appearing suspicious, but really, a pretty young mare with a bouquet of flowers sneaking into somepony's home? She'd look more suspicious if she weren't nervous to be seen.

Satisfied that there were no guards or anypony else around to see her, she extended a second telekinetic field into the door's lock mechanism, still holding her precious flowers beside her. Considering her familiarity with this particular lock, the deed was quickly done, and she pushed her way inside.

Gently levitating the door shut behind her, the first thing Wisp noticed was that the lights were on. She found herself a little disappointed; her love definitely wasn't waiting on her. She always turned the lights off when she was playing.

When she fully realized that Star not waiting on her meant that she wasn't home, she was even more disappointed.

Oh well... Might as well make myself at home until she gets back. I wonder if she has any more of those gingerbread treats in the fridge...

Returning to the front room a few minutes later happily munching on such a treat, Wisp's hooves clopped along the immaculate stone floor. She had always thought the place was a bit cold and hard. So many hard surfaces, so few softer things to soak up sound. She never had been crazy about the way her voice or hooves echoed throughout the place.

As that thought left her mind, Wisp looked back to the door and idly wondered if Shooting Star had even made it home to check her mail. She hadn't paid any attention to the door side mailbox on her way in...

She decided to do her mare a favor and check. A proper gentlemare wouldn't dare look through her significant other's mail, and a lady like Star definitely wouldn't stand for it. But, of course, there was nothing with bringing the mail inside, and she would make it a point not to look too closely at the contents, assuming anything was there.

She approached the door and glanced down at the trash bin sitting to the side. Star often would start opening her mail as soon as she was inside the door, and kept this bin in the corner so she could readily dispose of the resulting trash. And, at this angle, Wisp could see a glimpse of something white inside.

No. It's improper to look through a pony's mail without permission, opened or not. Star would kill me...

And yet she found herself extending a magical field toward it. She fought with herself a moment, but in the end she levitated the object out of the trash. Curse my curiosity...

Unsurprisingly, it was an envelope she was holding. She turned it over in her magic, noting the letters "SS" written across the back (twenty bits what that stood for). On the flip side, the mouth of the envelope had been cleanly opened, and inside it lay a folded piece of paper—Star really could be such a perfectionist.

A voice in the back of her head whispered that she shouldn't read it, but she was already past the point of no return. She pulled the paper out and unfolded it, beholding a scarce few words written with rather elegant penmanship.

"Little Comet,

Meet me at the waterfall. Usual spot.

-CM"

"...No."

Wisp tried to deny it, to fight down the panic growing in her breast, but she felt the floor fall beneath her anyway. She could have, would have done anything to quell the dread inside she was feeling. She would have tried to believe just about anything. But there was one thing in that letter that she couldn't deny.

Somepony was inviting her Shooting Star to one of the waterfalls, which were known as some of the most romantic places in Canterlot if you could find somewhere to sit, And chances were, she dared suspect, that it was their waterfall. Where they had first...

...Okay, technically, being a pegasus, Star could easily go to any of the other waterfalls in or around Canterlot. But Wisp didn't know if this other pony could fly or not. What she did know was that somepony was trying to take her shining Star away from her.

We'll bucking see about that.

Trying to distract herself from the dread in her gut with the anger now blossoming her chest, she picked up her flowers from where she had reverently left them on the couch and shot out the door.

—————————

Wisp galloped up the mountainside just to the east of Canterlot proper. An average unicorn would likely have tired out by now, sprinting from the heart of Canterlot out to the city gates, around the walls and up a mountain. But she was built for this. Even before her cross-training she had always made sure to keep in shape.

The adrenaline helped, too.

Of course, she internally facehoofed as she reached the top of the slope, training and adrenaline wouldn't help her ascend the rock face up here. Star always carried her up there. She looked to up where the water came cascading down the weathered rock, thinking of what could be going on up there.

Dammit, if only I could teleport...

Teleportation was known as one of the more difficult and desirable spells to master. It wasn't all that hard, but especially in this case, figuring out how to manipulate the flow of magic to properly execute the spell was difficult. The concept was pretty tricky, too. Wormholes and all that junk.

With both flying and teleportation unavailable to her, Wisp frantically looked around, trying to see if there were anything lying around she could use to get herself up there. But no, there were just trees. And some rocks.

Well... There's another slope. A much steeper one. It'd be a little tricky to climb with these hooves, but... At this angle from the nook up there, if I levitated myself...

This wouldn't be nearly as tricky as teleporting, but self-levitation was still one of the more awkward things one could do with their magic. Having to magically "touch" one's own horn like that made it rather difficult for a unicorn to get very far unless the unicorn got lots of practice, but the distance Wisp would have to jump was only about... well, ten meters, but a height advantage and momentum would take care of the rest.

Already scrambling up toward the top of the hill, Wisp cursed the uselessness of her own hooves. Being a unicorn it was irrelevant to her most of the time, but at a time she just wished ponies had some kind of appendages with which to grab onto things, like a griffin's claws. She was able to prop herself up against the trees to help herself along, but something like that would be real bloody helpful right now.

Part of her knew she didn't actually care right now, though—she liked her hooves. Anything to keep away the other thoughts, thoughts of why she was climbing a cliff in the first place.

Once she made it to the top, she turned around and braced herself. If she were to mess this up, the fall wouldn't be pretty. That big rock at the bottom would definitely have some choice words... But she wouldn't mess up. She was Wispwillow, and she was going to see her marefriend.

Just in case, though, she grabbed hold of the bouquet with her mouth. Best to focus on just levitating one thing rather than two for this.

And so she galloped a small ways back down the slope, wrapped herself in her magic, and jumped while there was still a height advantage to speak of. It was... a funny sensation, flying near-weightlessly in the air. Not even a pegasus would quite get to experience this.

She would have been fine if she'd looked down, but now that she was almost there, the thought never occurred to her. As soon as I get there, I'm gonna give this CM a whopping big piece of my mind...

She landed a little roughly as she dropped the field and landed in the large hidden nook she had been to so many times before (and silently returned the flowers to her magical grip). The roar of the waterfall running next to her was loud as ever, drowning out her more miscellaneous thoughts and focusing her on the matter at hoof.

There was little else of note here, just a bunch of cluttered trees blocking the view. Just up ahead, though...

There she was, in all her glory. Shooting Star was a regal, jet black pegasus with large, beautiful wings and alluring yellow eyes that glowed bright as the sun. Her mane and tail were two-toned, mainly an enchanting snow-white with a streak of silver, and flowed in elegant curves that beautifully accented her gorgeous physique. Her cutie mark added a small splash of color to her largely monochrome palette, a yellow star with twin blue streaks trailing behind. She was also wearing her choker, a simple white accessory with a sparkling black gemstone in the front. As Star herself liked to say, a little accessorizing could really complete a picture, and Wisp had always thought she looked stunning in it.

She felt a familiar lump form in her chest. Every time she laid eyes on Shooting Star, she was struck by how amazing she was, and how lucky she herself was to count herself in a relationship with such a mare.

The pony she finally noticed sitting beside her, though... This other pony was a thestral (colloquially known as a batpony) with a faded grey coat, the leathery membranes of her folded wings a darker grey. The mare wore her black mane and tail wavy and long, mane in a ponytail, and her slitted orange eyes reminded Wisp of urine passed after having too much junk food. And then there were the fangs. Wisp wondered just what Star might get out of those.

She certainly wasn't impressed. As if this pony had a chance with—

Wait. The way she's looking at her... What?

"CM" was looking straight down at Star's flank. And Star seemed well aware of it, the way she was... giggling...

Her gasp must have been pretty loud, because in the open grove they were sitting in, just next to the base of the waterfall, the two ponies had immediately turned to look right at her.

"...Wisp?"

She froze. She had thought she knew what she was doing, but she knew nothing. Actually seeing it with her own eyes... Cracks were forming in her swelling heart.

Star looked from Wisp to the flowers. Wisp saw the surprise register on her face, and then saw it change into something else. Was it guilt? Regret?

...Pity?

"Star..."

She couldn't breathe, and she still couldn't move, but she felt the shaking spreading from her belly to the tips of her legs and tail. This has to be a dream... Please, let me wake up now.

The batpony frowned and leaned closer to whisper something in Star's ear. Wisp was sure it was something like "That's her?" because the pegasus nodded, the look of whatever-it-was still on her face.

She swallowed the jagged rock in her throat. What was she supposed to do?

"I didn't mean for you to see this..."

Didn't mean for... Didn't mean for—!

"W-what do you mean?"

The painfully beautiful pegasus gave a prim sigh. "Tell me, what does this look like to you?"

That smooth, velvet voice had never been supposed to say such a thing. Never... It wasn't right.

"B-but... It's our anniversary tomorrow..."

Star sighed again, louder this time, and looked away. Almost like she was the one hurt by this.

The thestral didn't look too thrilled, either, but Wisp hardly cared how that tramp felt.

"I know," she said.

Wisp's denial and trepidation was slowly giving way to cold indignation. Incredible as she was, Star didn't get to act hurt when she was the one doing this to her.

"Of course you know. How long has this been going on?"

How could she have the gall to look so downtrodden? She saw it in her lover's face. The way her silvery eyebrows pressed together slightly, the way her wings sagged just so and how she looked just off to the side, away from the unicorn's pleading, judging gaze.

"Three months..."

With that, Wisp felt like she'd been hit by a train. She was breathless again, but still had to ask...

"Don't tell me... Let me guess. You were so excited about the airship cruise because you... already knew you'd be going."

A solemn nod. Wings drooping ever so slightly lower.

CM was leaning against Star now, presumably to offer support. And it infuriated her.

"And that was because... This mare... had already given you an invite."

"Yes."

The bouquet of flowers dropped to the ground.

So there it was. This thestral, this... bat from Tartarus must have been a noble like Star, from a family of even greater repute, and had wooed her with a pair of tickets or something to that effect. Or maybe it went back further than that, but it didn't matter anymore.

Her brow twitched. Her face twisted into a grimace, and for a moment she thought she might fall on her plot. She didn't, but the dizziness remained for a time.

"So that's it. You've been cheating on me."

The words hung in the air like the stink of rotting fish.

"And I bet you thought tomorrow would be a BRILLIANT time to let me down without my ever knowing."

"...Yes."

Lava was pouring through her veins. She had never thought this would happen, it wasn't fair, it wasn't right. But it was true.

"I'm sorry, Wisp."

She really did almost fall on her plot this time. She was having a jolly good laugh.

"Hahahaha... Sorry? You're sorry? Well then, I suppose everything's fine. No big deal. It's not like you've shattered my heart or anything, haha, nooo..."

At that, the pegasus finally looked back at her, with a touch of indignance. "Please don't do this. I wasn't going to tell you so I could spare your feelings."

"Spare my feelings? If you wanted to do that, you should never have done it in the first place. Or AT LEAST broken up with me to save me the trouble."

"You know what I mean. And... I tried to."

Oh. Really?

"You did?"

"Yes. But..."

"But what?"

An uneasy silence. It was almost as if Star was feeling uncomfortable.

"But what, Star? Just say it."

"...But I couldn't. You wouldn't let me. Or at least... I couldn't bring myself to."

Wisp's eyebrow found that interesting. "And why was that?"

The gorgeous mare closed her eyes, looking like she was fighting the urge to turn away. "Because I still... care for you."

Alright, plot. You win. Plot, meet ground. Ground, plot. Go nuts.

So on top of all this, she wasn't going to play the cold bitch routine? She was pretty good at that when she wanted to be, and Wisp almost thought that would have been preferable. Maybe it wouldn't have been easier on her heart, but it would have made things simpler.

"You were always just so passionate. I needed some space, but I could never get enough. Crescent and I were just friends at first, but—"

"Stop. I don't need to hear anymore. I don't care."

"Crescent Moon" reached for Star's hoof and held it in her own.

The contact before had been one thing, but now the bitch was touching her hoof.

"Get your hooves off of her."

The mare frowned, apparently not inclined to obey. "No. You'd do the same in my position."

The pony's voice sounded coarse in comparison Star's or her own, but Wisp could detect some of that high-class upbringing in there somewhere. Not that it mattered.

"Your position? And just what exactly is your position?" She shouted.

"Wisp, don't. None of this is her fault."

"If it's not hers, then whose is it?"

"Mine. And yours."

...Had she heard that right?

"You're saying this is... my fault?"

Star shook her head. "In part, yes. I made a mistake, but you get like this every time things don't go your way."

Twitch.

"You get angry, you throw a fit. You start yelling and you make rash decisions. How is anypony supposed to deal with you when you're like this?"

How did ponies deal with her?

They... They left her. Abandoned her. Nopony wanted to be around the unicorn filly who started shouting just because she lost a game of checkers.

"Sh-shut up..."

"This is why I couldn't break up with you, Wisp. You make it impossible to—"

"I said SHUT UP!"

Why had Star back pedaled away when she stood up and shouted that? Why had Crescent Moon put herself between them like some kind of shield?

"W... Why are you looking at me like that?"

The other ponies said nothing. Crescent Moon, this tramp of a thestral, and Shooting Star, who she had given her heart and body and everything else.

That's right. This is where we made love the first time. She... She's sitting right there! And before I got here, they were going to...

Previous question forgotten, Wisp asked, "...What were you doing when I got here?"

That caught Star by surprise, but Crescent was more focused on staring her down. "Wisp, I don't think—"

"What were you doing?!"

"What do you THINK we were doing?!"

As soon as she said it, Star's eyes widened with regret. When looked around and realized just where she was sitting, her ears fell back, too.

It didn't matter. Finally, now, the tears had come. Wisp was crying, sniffling, and sobbing as she accepted that it was all over. All too quickly she found herself nursing a headache. They had been ready to do it right there, the special spot they had shared so many times. She had wasted all that money, and more importantly, all that time and effort on a mare who no longer loved her. She cared, she had said, but that didn't mean they could ever be together again...

Through her tears, she saw the batpony's stance shift. She, who had caused all this.

Maybe Star was right. Maybe she had been too clingy. Maybe she had some anger issues.

Maybe she was destined to be alone...

But if it weren't for this bitch, maybe they could have worked it out. In her own blind ignorance, maybe it would have been difficult for Star to get the point across, but at least there'd have been a chance for things to work out if THIS pony hadn't fucked it all up.

The bat from Tartarus said something. Not cruel, but stern.

"I think you should go."

"Lulu, don't—"

...Lulu.

Lulu.

A pet name. Like the one Star had used for her.

Wispy...

"Lulu? You call her Lulu?!"

Her darling "Lulu" backed up a step as her own face froze up.

The bitch spoke again. "We don't want any trouble, Wispwillow. Just go."

"IF IT WEREN'T FOR YOU, I WOULDN'T HAVE TO GO!" she screamed.

She wasn't sure what happened next. The thief had made a sudden movement, or something. All Wisp knew was that suddenly the mare's face was in flames.

Time froze. Her brain stopped. She could see everything in perfect detail; Crescent Moon's face from her neck to the left side of her muzzle was on fire. Her cat-like eyes had already dilated and widened in shock, as had Star's, who somehow looked even more horrified.

Time increased to a crawl. The mare began to rear up on her hind legs and flap her wings like a madmare, which unfortunately only fanned the flames.

The very purple flames... which matched Wisp's cutie mark all too perfectly.

Star was frozen in shock, but to her credit, she was quick to jump to her... marefriend's aid and began patting the flames down with her own feathered wings.

Those beautiful, beautiful wings...

As her perception of time returned to normal, Wisp knew she couldn't be here. She couldn't stay here. She had to run, to get away. She had done something terrible, and there was no way either of them would ever be able to forgive her.

She wasn't sure she'd ever be able to run far enough. But she ran.

At least, that was the plan, but with a flash of fuchsia light, she found herself suddenly standing somewhere in the city streets.

What...?

Her moment of surprise didn't last. It didn't matter. She still had to run.

And she couldn't show her face at home right now. There was no way she could bear to be with her family right now. She could go HOME home, but Wisp feared what she might do if left to stew alone in her apartment. Which left only one other option.

Her best friend's place.

—————————

Twinkleshine thought of herself as a relatively simple, down-to-earth unicorn. She didn't put on airs, she had an honest work ethic, and she liked her water with a slice of lemon.

Even so, she had a guilty pleasure: romance novels, written in varying amounts of "detail." Again, Twinkleshine liked to think she was pretty down-to-earth and levelheaded, but when it came to romance, she had to admit that she was... well, a romantic. Especially in her reading time, she liked to sometimes fantasize about some gallant stallion or another sweeping her off her hooves.

She sighed wistfully as she turned a page of the book in front if her, idly thinking that whatever pony to do that would hopefully compliment her light coat and curly pink mane nicely.

Her fantasizing was interrupted by a hard, fervent knock at her door. She didn't even bother with the cliche of wondering "Now who could that be?" and set the book aside. Her moment was ruined, and whoever it was really wanted her attention. She just hoped they had a good reason for being so loud.

She announced to the visitor that she would be right there as she was pulling herself off of her couch. She could almost have felt a second knock coming beforehoof.

Twinkleshine trotted up to the door and, naturally, pulled it open with a light blue flash of her horn. She wasn't nearly the magical powerhouse as some ponies she knew, but she at least could easily manipulate things with her magic.

Speaking of which, it turned out that now she was looking up at just such a pony. "Wisp? Weren't you going to see Shooting Star? And... Woah, what's wrong?*

Wispwillow was a mess. Her white and pink mane was even messier than usual, and even looked a little... singed, in places? Her eyes were bloodshot to Tartarus, either side of her muzzle was soaked with tears, and her entire face wore an unsettling mask of panic and despair.

"T-Twinkleshine, I—I can't..."

"Hush, just come inside. We can talk about it."

Wisp did as she was told, and little else. She just stood there, sobbing, so her friend closed the door behind her and guided her over to the white faux-leather couch in front of the fireplace. Her tears probably wouldn't be very good for the upholstery, but what were friends for?

Now that she was in a safe place, Wisp seemed lost, with no will of her own. Twinkleshine sat next to her on the couch and held her close, letting her cry it out.

Something about this rubbed the smaller unicorn the wrong way. Wisp often got angry, sometimes sad, but it wasn't exactly often that she showed up sobbing her heart out. Obviously, something must have happened with her marefriend, something bad. But was that it?

She had to wait a while before she could hope to get her question answered. It took a good ten minutes rubbing the stricken mare's back and just holding her for the wailing to really die down, and another ten before she could breathe something resembling normally. The more time passed, the more concerned Twinkleshine became.

Holding Wisp's shoulders in her hooves, she gently pulled away and looked her in the eyes. Or, at least, she tried to. The other mare seemed unable or unwilling to meet her gaze. "Alright, Wisp. Tell me what's wrong. What could get you this shaken up?"

To Twinkleshine's surprise, her tear-soaked face suddenly looked unbearably guilty. The mare looked away and, seeing an opportunity, asked a question of her own.
"Heh... Reading another one of those trashy romance novels, Twink? You know that's not how relationships really work."

The lighter mare frowned. "They're not all trashy, and you're not going to change the subject before we even start talking. Now, tell me what happened."

Wisp sighed, shuffling around in her seat. "Fine. I..." She stopped a moment as she swallowed a hard lump in her throat. "So I went to see Star. She wasn't home, so I waited around a minute. There was this letter in the trash, and... It said to go to the waterfall. It was THE waterfall, Twink. I climbed up there, jumped over, and..." The dark mare choked on fresh tears, and tried to shake them off. It didn't work.

"She was cheating on me, Twink. For three months, maybe more."

Twinkleshine's eyes widened, though she had been suspecting as much ever since she had come inside.

"And she was there, Twink. The mare was there. They were about to DO it right where we always did..."

Okay, that definitely made things worse. Seeing such undeniable proof right in front of her might help explain the mess. She knew she would be less than pleased in that situation...

"We fought. I yelled at her. She said these things... That I was part of the problem, that I always get that way when I don't get what I want. But that's not it, Twink! I... Luna's moon, I..." She finally looked Twinkleshine in the face.

"I set her on fire, Twinkleshine! I set that slut of a batpony on fire! During the fight I got this ache in my horn, and then when I screamed at her... Suddenly her face was on fire! I didn't mean to, it just happened, and I..."

Now Wisp was hugging herself, desperate for consolation. "If the Corps hears about this... If they learn I fucked up that bad... It's over. I'll never get in. Ever." She clenched her eyes shut against the downpour. "I set a pony on fire..."

Twinkleshine pulled her gaping mouth shut. Wisp was known for her temper. It even wore on her sometimes—especially her—but this... This was on a whole new level.

What could she say? Wisp was right. If the Magi Corps got wind of this, she would never have a chance of getting accepted. If they'd been leery of her hot head before...

"What am I gonna do, Twink? I don't know what to do..."

She pulled her closest friend into another hug. Really, what else could she do?

"I'm sorry. I don't know..."

A few minutes more passed, and again the room was relatively quiet. Wisp was no less happy, but at least she had calmed down.

Which meant little old Twinkleshine had an opportunity to ask some questions. "So, when Star said you were part of the problem, what did she mean?"

Wisp sniffed. "She said that we both had something to do with it. Basically that she was weak, and I was too... clingy..." She shook her head. "And she said that even if she had tried to break up with me when she started losing interest or whatever, I'd have gotten mad and wouldn't have let her."

She had a good scoff at that. "Good on her for not putting all the blame on you, but if she wanted out, she could have gotten out. Even if you didn't take it well, she could just leave and stop talking to you."

If the criticism helped at all, it didn't show, but that was no surprise. Twinkleshine was wise enough to know that speaking ill of someone you cared about, even an ex, didn't really help or change anything. Then again, this was Wisp she was talking about.

Not to mention she knew Wisp wouldn't have made it that easy to get away.

"So, this batpony... Who was she?"

Wisp drew back a little at that question. Understandably uncomfortable, one might say. "I don't know anything about her. Just that she was rich enough to buy the aircruise tickets before I could even think about getting them. Or maybe she'd already been invited and only had to get one. I don't know."

"I see. And..." Twinkleshine paused for a rather awkward few moments, trying to figure out the best way to put this.

"And the fire was put out... Right?"

The larger unicorn nodded. Then her eyebrows furrowed as she prepared to append the implicit yes. "I didn't see it put out, really. Star was putting it out with her wings when I teleported away."

Well, that was a relief... She had been afraid to consider that somepony might have died. Not the most pleasant of thoughts.

"...Wait, what? You teleported?"

Her friend was quick to clarify. "I still haven't figured that one out. I guess in the heat of the moment, when I needed to just get away... I guess the stress made up the difference. You know how it is."

She did know how it was. Foals often had wild outbursts of magic in which they performed fears they normally would be unable to, and the principle was similar for a grown unicorn who became particularly emotional. Still, teleportation... Wisp had always wanted to learn that spell. At any other time, Twinkleshine may have joked that she could say she's actually done it now, but this was obviously not the time. She didn't have anything else she could say, so she just nodded and took a minute to think about everything else for a minute, nuzzling her friend all the while. Wisp didn't seem like she was going to be making any conversation herself.

Eventually, though, she did think of something. But she knew Wisp wouldn't like it.

"She... Well, you know, she was right, Wisp."

And just like that, the room seemed to go colder. Which was saying something, because there was still a fire going only a few meters away.

"What do you mean?"

"I just mean she had a point. I did try telling you a while back that seeing her so often might have been a bit much, and you... you really don't take it well when things don't work out how you'd like them to."

She didn't have to wonder when Wisp's back had gone stiff like that. She expected as much, but even in her sensitive state she hadn't gone and exploded yet. Maybe she would listen to reason this time...

"So you're saying that I could have prevented this? That I might still be with her if I weren't such an idiot?"

"Wisp, no, I didn't mean it like that. I'm just saying that you have a—That maybe there are some things about yourself you can work on. You know, for the future. You should at least try to see this as a learning experience."

Her downtrodden friend was wearing a decidedly sour look right now. "That won't bring Star back."

And then she was getting up off the couch and walking over to the door. "Thanks for being there for me, but maybe I shouldn't have come."

"Wh—Huh?"

She was already standing halfway outside.

"Wisp, don't."

"Sorry, Twink... I really am an idiot."

She tried to stop her, to reach out and keep her from leaving, but even if she had made it off the couch in time, there was nothing she could do to stop Wisp when she set her mind on something. Wisp was stronger than her in every way, and stubborn as a mule. Sometimes Twinkleshine hated herself for her impotence.

"You're right," she said to the back of her door. "You really are an idiot."

—————————

Wisp was standing over her bed, making sure everything was in order. She had packed little more than a few books (mostly spellbooks), some personal effects, and a sandwich, but it would do. No need to take all her things with her. It'd make the house lonelier for them if she emptied her room, plus she'd have this safe place to come back to if anything else happened. She had always taken more care of this room than her apartment, anyway.

Wisp told herself that, and she reasoned that it was true. But she couldn't convincingly deny that she felt too afraid to come back, at least for a while.

"You're sure?"

She sighed. "Yes, mom. I'm sorry. If I come across Star or that thestral, I don't think I could handle it. And I'm sure they told the Guard, so things are probably working up the vine already. I just... don't feel safe here."

Snowbreeze's melancholy smile told her she understood. She always did.

Wisp looked over at her mother. Her blue-tinted, frost-white coat and feathers and her snowy hair gave her the look of an angel, Wisp had always thought. She liked to think it was where she got the white of her own mane.

She did know, however, that it was was where she had gotten her own ice-blue eyes. Or gladly pretended to. Pony genetics could be funny that way.

"Sorry, mom... I don't want to leave, but I can't stay, either."

"I understand. Once you set yourself on something, a raging manticore couldn't change your mind."

Wisp smiled. "Shut up."

She knew it wasn't just a joke, but she liked to think it was.

"Now, enough moping. Come say goodbye to your mother and sister."

With that, her mother left her to join the rest of the family and get ready to send her off.

Wisp sighed.

And then she did as she was told.

Snowbreeze was standing with her wife and other daughter near the door. Oh, how it hurt to see them all sending her off like this. She belonged here.

Glory Lily, with her lime green complexion and red, accented-yellow mane, looked something like she had swallowed a lemon wedge. She knew very well that her horn-picked flowers had nothing to do with what happened, but being intimately involved with the heartfelt would-be gift hit her a little harder. Knowing the facts didn't help her feel any better.

Tiger Lily, though... She was putting on a brave face, but it was all too apparent that the last thing she wanted was to see her big sister leave, let alone with no idea when she'd return. The strain showed easily through her blue-white coat, and her one eye not hidden by the fringe of her brilliant, two-toned orange mane was practically begging her not to go.

But her biological mother... The way Snowbreeze stood there with her kind, understanding smile... That was almost worse. She understood how she was feeling, knew that she was running away, but just smiled and let her go, even though it may have hurt her the most.

Her mother deserved better than that. They all did.

But it had been almost a week, and she couldn't take it anymore. At this moment she wanted nothing more than to erase this ugly picture, to put them all at ease. But she had to go.

She had to start over.

Chapter 5: Friends

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Her story finished, Wisp took a deep, shaky breath. And then several more. Between all the talking, crying, and just sitting there feeling sorry for herself, it had taken hours to get it all out. At some point Cloudchaser had left her spot behind the couch to turn on the lights, the moon had rising high into the sky to look forlornly down upon its subjects. Though the pegasus had spent most of the evening sitting on the floor next to her sister, she was now sitting opposite from her on the couch; they had both felt that Wisp needed a little space with all the stress she was letting out, but there had come a point where Flitter demanded she scoot closer into winghug range.

Now that she'd had a few minutes to recover, the unicorn was looking between the two of them with a strange look. Then she looked down at the floor, ashamed.

"I don't know what I was expecting, but... If you two want to go..."

During such a sensitive time, a pony such as Flitter would never dream of whacking a pony not named Cloudchaser over the back of the head with her wing. Cloudchaser, however, was not Flitter.

Flitter herself glared poisoned daggers at the cloud-brained idiot.

"Don't talk like that, Wisp," Cloudchaser said with fervor. There was no room for argument. "I get that you feel bad for hurting ponies and leaving your family, but we're your friends. We're not going anywhere."

If there weren't an emotionally spent unicorn in the way, the more socially aware sister would have headbutted her less-than-tactful counterpart. Even so, a small, tentative smile formed on Wisp's lips.

Okay, the headbutt could wait. Flitter squeezed Wisp's barrel with her wing, which hadn't left the unicorn for a good while.

"My sister's an idiot, but she's right. If you're expecting us to leave just because of a few accidents and not being perfect, then we're happy to disappoint."

The darker pony sniffed and pulled herself into a more upright position, looking at her skeptically. "But you hardly know me."

Cloudchaser poked Wisp in the side and smirked at her. "Yeah, but does that make us any less friends? So what if you have a few anger issues and make some bad decisions?"

"Oh, sister, dear, I would very much appreciate it if you would SHUT UP around our emotionally vulnerable friend, here."

Wisp shook her head. "No, she's right. It's definitely true. And I think there's value in blunt honesty, even if she's not clever enough to use it on purpose."

The darker pegasus nodded appreciatively at the compli—"Hey!"

The others were now having a good laugh at her expense, especially Wisp. Flitter was just happy to see a smile on the tall mare's lips. Celestia knew she needed it, and it was such a shame to see that pretty face marred with such negativity. The more tactful sister thought she deserved better.

Drama aside, that night turned out to not be so bad, after all.

—————————

Wisp awoke to the sound of painfully loud snoring.

What the heck? Star never snores. Maybe she has a cold or something...

She rolled over and half-heartedly pawed at the other mare's face. "C'mon, Star, quiet down. I don't know what the deal is, but right now I just want to..."

As she opened her eyes, she was confused by the lack of black in her field of vision. All she saw was lots of purple and white. Almost like—

"AH!" she shrieked, pulling her hoof away from the Ponyville pegasus' lips, and the sudden noise caused Cloudchaser to stir. Her eyelids fluttered as she opened her mouth wide with a great, big yawn, blissfully smacking her lips as she returned from the depths of sleep. When she finally noticed Wisp in front of her, she smiled.

"Hey, new girl. How'd you sleep?"

What was Cloudchaser doing in her bed? Why was she looking at her like that? Just what had happened light night? In her moment of weakness, did she...? No!

A much more quiet, dainty yawn came from somewhere behind her, and then a foreleg wrapped itself around her barrel. "Be quiet, you two. Just five more minutes..."

When Wisp's head snapped around and saw Flitter snuggling into her back, she nearly jumped out of the bed. WHAT?

She thought she was about to hyperventilate. Looking between them, she stammered, "W-w-what the heck are you two doing in my bed?!"

Cloudchaser propped herself up with an elbow and rubbed the sleep out of an eye with her spare hoof. "Huh? We decided to stay the night last night, and when we heard you rolling around in your sleep we came up to give you some company. Remember?"

"C... Company?"

The pegasus snorted. "Nothing untoward happened last night, Wisp, if that's what you're thinking."

"Yeah," Flitter mumbled into her neck. "So shut up and be a good pillow..."

The ashen mare's blush could have been seen a mile away, even through her dark coat. She scrambled away from Flitter, which only brought her into Cloudchaser's hooves. The tomboy gave her a look so sly and conniving that the panicked pony thought the pegasus was secretly a snake in disguise. And that was before rested her free hoof on the poor unicorn's rump. "If that's what you want, though, we are still in bed..."

This time she really did jump out of bed, and bolted into the adjoining bathroom. She cried "I-I have to go!" before slamming the door shut.

Pause.

"Shut UP, Cloudchaser!"

Outside, the mare could be heard laughing both her flanks off. Wisp also thought she could hear Flitter quietly chuckling with her.

Oh goddess, I'm never going to hear the end of this...

—————————

Eventually, the pegasi had gotten out of her bed and made their way downstairs, allowing Wisp to clear her head. The cold water from the faucet definitely helped her cool off, oh yes... Cold, refreshing water...

It eventually occurred to her how much better she was feeling. Sure, she still felt terrible about everything that had happened, but... She didn't feel it all hanging over her head anymore. Talking to her new friends about it instead of bottling it up and trying to ignore it had proven incredibly cathartic, if exhausting.

My friends...

Her thoughts turned to the sibling pegasi. Somehow she had made two good friends as soon as she arrived in Ponyville. With her track record, she still felt a little worried, but these two knew full well the extent of her... problems. They hadn't run away, hadn't tried to avoid dealing with her. She actually had real, honest-to-goodness friends to speak of besides Twinkleshine. How had she been so lucky as to meet them?

...She reminded herself that she would have to profusely thank Derpy for crashing into her.

On that happy note, she left her restroom and cantered her way downstairs. Turning left into the kitchen, she found that her friends were at work making breakfast.

Well, Flitter was the one at the stove cooking some pancakes; Cloudchaser was just relaxing at the table. As soon as Wisp bounced in, however, she got that look in her eye again.

"Well, somepony looks real happy with herself."

Wisp stomped indignantly in her direction. "Shut up, it's not like that! I was just..."

Cloudchaser exaggeratedly rolled a hoof. "You were juuuuuust..."

She blushed. "Just... Thinking about how lucky I am to be friends with you two."

Well, that hadn't gone the way Cloudchaser was expecting. "O-oh."

Wisp took her own seat at the simple dining table. Unlike the old couch, she hadn't felt a need to replace this; it didn't look very modern by any means, but there was nothing wrong with it. It fit right in with Ponyville's quaint atmosphere, and it almost felt wrong to mess too much with that.

She hadn't had enough money left over to spare on a table, anyway.

"I, uh... I've never really had many friends. I tend to, well... scare them off. The only one to stick with me over the years has been Twinkleshine."

Flitter cut off whatever Cloudchaser had been about to say (likely to keep her from saying something stupid again). "Well, we don't plan on going anywhere," she called over the sizzling of the batter and vegetable oil. "Ready for some flapjacks?"

Wisp grunted her assent. "Yeah, but you didn't have to go to the trouble," she called, pointing toward her horn when Flitter turned to her. "This thing could have made it a lot easier on you."

The persian-blue pegasus scoffed, her bow shaking shaking along with her head. "Nonsense. I cook flapjacks all the time, and I thought you could use a little treat. Besides, a little skill with these wings helps just as much as your little horn would."

"Oh, really?" Wisp reached her magic over to one of the two skillets Flitter was watching over and floated the pancakes over to herself with a flourish, meeting them halfway with one of the plates waiting on the counter. She even grabbed the bottle of maple syrup from Flitter's side and gave her breakfast a liberal dose of it before placing it on the table in front of her.

She eyed her meal longingly. It smelled delicious. Ignoring the pointed glare she could feel boring into her skull (she hadn't the slightest idea where it was coming from), she took a fork from the silverware drawer, used it to briskly cut off a piece of the fluffy goodness and took a bite. "Mmmm," she drawled. "Soooo good."

"...Well, if your magic is so great, why don't you take care of the rest of this? I swear, you're acting like my sister."

"Nah, I'm good," Wisp grunted. Swallowing another bite, she chuckled, "Sorry, I'm just messing. Though, just so you know, I do prefer pancakes."

Cloudchaser got a laugh out of that. "That's what I keep telling her, but she won't come off it. I guess it's something she picked up in Trottingham."

Her sister hid a melancholy look that neither of them could see. "Yeah, it's what my family always used to call them. I guess I just got used to it."

"You miss them sometimes, don't you?" Cloudchaser asked. Her tone wasn't accusatory, just... a little concerned.

Flitter nodded. "More than you know," she muttered under her breath.

"Anyway," Cloudchaser started, cheering up as her sister brought over her plate, "So, you're feeling a lot better after last night, are ya?"

"Yes, definitely," Wisp replied. "I just kept getting worse, trying to hold it all in and pretending nothing had happened. It feels... good, to just let it out and acknowledge it."

"Good, cuz," the pegasus continued, even as she was chewing on her own pancakes, "Now that you're over that stuff, you're gonna have to apologize to Cloud Kicker."

"Thunderlane, too," Flitter added.

Wisp coughed. "Yeah, you're... you're right. Though I still don't think I care for how she was coming onto me..."

"She is, well... one of a kind," Flitter admitted as she finally joined the others at the table, "But she's pretty fun once you get to know her. Really good in bed, too."

Wisp nearly spat out her sip of milk that Flitter had considerately sat out ahead of time. "You've done it with her?!"

"At the same time," Cloudchaser added. Her smile was so wide, one might think she were posing for a picture in some glamour magazine.

If that had been so, the syrup and chunks of pancake wouldn't have worked in her favor.

Wisp almost tried to protest further, but they seemed serious. This made the scene back upstairs much more... awkward...

Cloudchaser was quick to capitalize on the sudden heat the unicorn was feeling in her cheeks. "What, are you... jealous?"

Wisp vehemently shook her head. "N-no! I'm just... surprised. How did that even happen?"

Cloudchaser shrugged noncommittally, while between bites Flitter told her, "Cloud has her ways. She's had her way with lots of ponies, actually."

"She's kinda like... the Pinkie Pie of sex," Cloudchaser contributed.

Wisp couldn't keep a straight face for long after that. "Hahaha, that sounds so absurd!"

"But it's true!" the pegasus laughed back. "She's all about having a good time, 'sharing love with ponies,' no strings attached. She's made lots of ponies really 'happy.' Nothing equivalent to a Pinkie Pie party, though."

She then thought better on that statement. "...That I know of."

"Well, that's kind of interesting, I guess. Kind of explains how she was acting... But I'm just surprised you have the word 'equivalent' in your dictionary, Cloudchaser."

"Hey, I know some fancy words... I'm just too cool for most of them."

"Careful, sis," Flitter said, looking up from her plate. "You're starting to sound like Rainbow Dash."

The ponies all had a good laugh at that. Even Wisp understood the jab—all it took was one meeting with the brash pegasus to notice her inflated ego.

The table became mostly silent after that, though, and Wisp found that an odd, uncomfortable feeling was growing in the pit of her stomach. She tried to ignore it, as had always served her so well, but it continued to slowly grow in intensity until, by the time everypony was finished with their pancakes (or flapjacks), she felt sick. Once she set down her fork (and levitated all the dishes to the sink and left them to soak), she realized what the problem was.

With breakfast over, within a couple hours she'd have to go back to work. Perhaps for the last time.

Flitter, ever the observant one, picked up on her anxiety. "Are you feeling alright, Wisp?"

She licked her lips. When had they gotten so dry? "I... I really do feel a lot better about last night, guys. But... I have every reason to expect that Shooting Star and that batpony told the Guard what happened. My dream, for all I know, is already crushed."

The pegasi looked at her with faces full of sympathy, and regret for their impotence. Even though they were such new friends.

"But that's not it. I can be depressed about that later. But now... I think I'd really love to live here in Ponyville, with you girls, and whatever other friends I can make. But if Wintergreen tells the captain what happened... I'm pretty sure I won't be able to find a job in Ponyville ever again."

Silence reigned for a few moments. "Well..." Cloudchaser started. "You could probably still... find work as a bouncer?"

"Cloudchaser!"

The pegasus placatingly waved her hooves in her sister's direction. "I know, but it's true! A bar would probably be happy to use that reputation to prevent trouble. I know Sun's Flank would be glad to wield the Stick of Wisp against idiots like Sticks and Stones."

"Stick of... Wisp?" the eponymous mare muttered.

"I guess you have a point," Flitter conceded. "But seriously, you can be so insensitive."

Cloudchaser's only response to that was a shrug, but Wisp promptly got the conversation back on track.

"Well... If it comes to that, I'll look into it. But right now... I'm just really dreading having to face this."

"Well, then, we can come with you."

Huh?

Wisp blinked and repeated her thought aloud as Flitter did the same. "...Huh?"

"We're not scheduled for weather duty today," Cloudchaser clarified, "And we don't have to go babysit Rumble for a few hours. We can follow you to work and see what happens. If stuff goes south, we can barge in and make a case for you. We could try to make you look a bit better, at least. And if nothing happens, well, no harm no foul."

It wasn't a particularly complicated idea. Even so, Flitter complimented her for it. "You know, 'Chase, you can be stupidly brilliant sometimes. It probably wouldn't change much, but it's better than nothing."

So, then... Wisp thought to herself as Cloudchaser jokingly reveled in the praise, wiping a tear from her eye. These really are my friends.

"Alright, then," she said, steeling herself. "We'll all go to the Search and Rescue Office, and... see what happens."

—————————

Alone in the office with Searchlight, Wisp was quickly beginning to feel hot under the proverbial collar. She had been anxious the entire way over here, but the company of her friends had helped a lot. Now, though, even if they were just a short distance away, they were out of sight. She couldn't see them, so there was little to keep her fears at bay besides the knowledge that they would be there for her.

Searchlight was sitting beside his desk, almost still as a statue. Stoic as ever, Wisp thought. He was apparently electing to not say anything until Wintergreen arrived, which Wisp hoped meant the other stallion hadn't immediately reported her. Even with that bit of hope, though, being alone with the silent Searchlight was unsettling. It reminded her too much of Wintergreen. But at least this pony COULD talk...

For that matter, her mind drifted to the other pony he resembled. All the captain's colors, save the silver streak in her hair and the more brilliant lemon-yellow of her eyes, matched Shooting Star all too well, but Wisp found that it no longer really bothered her. She had always had to suppress the thought around her captain and stay professional, but... Now she wouldn't have to do even that.

Her train of thought was broken when the office door opened, and in trotted her partner. She caught a glimpse of Cloudchaser's face before the door shut. Heh, you goof...

Turning her attention to the stallion settling next to her, the first thing Wisp noticed was the shorter tail. It appeared he had trimmed about a foot off of it, leaving no trace of the destruction she had caused. Searchlight noticed the change, but didn't act on it. Wintergreen looked pretty much the same as ever, just with half the tail length.

Besides that, he... well, he looked exactly the same. Wisp would never have been able to tell he'd been a victim of arson if she hadn't been there.

Searchlight cleared his throat, eyeing both of them. "So I trust that nothing out of the ordinary happened yesterday, seeing as neither of you reported in after your patrol?"

Her elation at learning for certain she was safe for the moment was almost enough to keep her from jumping in surprise. That's right, I didn't report! Even if Wintergreen doesn't tell him, what will he think? That I'm irresponsible? Am I screwed either way? I—

Oh. Hold the phone.

"Er... I'm sorry, sir, but while you've been otherwise thorough in your instructions, I don't believe you ever said anything about reporting in. We didn't come across anything unusual, so we just figured it wouldn't be necessary. Eheh..."

Searchlight considered that. "You misunderstand. You're not expected to report if nothing happens. I may be strict, but I'm not fond of exercises in futility. There would be no point."

Wisp nervously rubbed the back of her neck. "Right, right, of course..."

"Indeed. I suppose that takes care of that." Sizing up Wintergreen, the elder stallion inquired, "But what happened to your tail, Wintergreen? You've always groomed yourself to the same standard."

Wisp froze up. Well, this is it... Moment of truth... Will he or won't he?

Somewhere outside, two pegasi tensed up as well.

"Nothing, sir. I simply felt it time for a change of pace."

All the tension immediately flowed out of her, but the mare felt like she should be more relieved. He's... not going to say anything? After the way he flipped out?

It was almost as if... He didn't hold it against her? Or maybe he intended to blackmail her?

She told her brain to shut up and wait before jumping to conclusions.

"Fair enough." Dividing his gaze again between them, Searchlight continued, "In that case, you both can head out and continue your patrol."

Wisp almost galloped out the door just then, but thinking back to yesterday, she realized there was something she wanted to ask, first.

"Before we go, may I ask you a question, sir?"

"Of course."

"Well... You didn't sound very pleased about some things yesterday. You made it sound like things in Ponyville aren't quite the way you'd like them to be. What did you mean by that?"

The larger pony grunted. "Caught that, did you? I try not to speak ill of the Mayor, but although she's a competent, generally reasonable mare, I can't agree with her sentiments when it comes to security."

Raised eyebrows all around. Well... both of Wisp's were raised, anyways.

"She agrees that security is important, but thinks that what we have is enough. She's not against more ponies joining up with us, but she is decidedly against allowing us to go looking for recruits. She thinks it would make ponies uncomfortable, make them question whether Ponyville is as safe as it seems."

Wisp thought she could almost see a vein beginning to throb in the captain's forehead. At the least, his posture was definitely even stiffer than usual.

"But Ponyville isn't as safe as it seems. Day to day, things are fine, but just a couple months ago, that Twilight Sparkle's baby dragon became a full-grown dragon and went on a rampage. The very same Twilight Sparkle drove half the town insane with some doll enchantment the month before. Last year, parasprites from the Everfree were eating all our food, until, again, Twilight Sparkle cast a spell that made them eat not our food, but the town itself."

Woah. Wisp knew very well that powerful unicorns could cause lots of trouble if they weren't careful, and Twilight was the most powerful unicorn of her time, as far as anypony knew, but... She could definitely see why the captain would have a problem with her.

"But Ms. Sparkle is the Princess' protégé, so she's untouchable. The point is that things can go wrong here more easily than ponies like to think. Even Derpy causes a little trouble here and there. Not to mention that the Everfree Forest is just outside the limits, and there's a pegasus pony who lives right next to the blasted place." He sighed.

"I'll be the first to admit that there's... not really anything we could do against a dragon or a swarm of parasprites. But a magical charm could be easily dealt with, and there are any number of other things that could happen. Even just doubling our roster would go a long way toward a fast, coordinated response to anything that happens. But no, the Mayor insists that we keep the ponies calm... Ugh."

Well, that made plenty of sense. Wisp could see both points of view. She had to admit, though, that she found herself wondering how the Mayor could make such an uninformed decision, but that may have just been the captain's influence talking.

"Anyway," Searchlight continued in his rumbling voice, "That answers your question." He snorted with what sounded like amusement. "You have a habit of getting me to monologue. That's enough for today; go on out there and do your job. Lest something happens, I'll see you again tomorrow."

And with that, it was over. Wisp somewhat regretted getting the captain on that diatribe—it had been nothing she couldn't have eventually figured out for herself or perhaps asked Wintergreen about, but the only thing special it really did was prolong her wait to just... take a breath.

For some reason, Wintergreen was choosing not to get her in trouble. Big trouble. He had every right to, but... he didn't. Now instead of fearing for her new life, she was curious, and she was going to get to the bottom of it.

First, though, she smiled in quiet rejoice at her pegasus friends. It wouldn't do to get too noisy just outside the office, and inside Town Hall, no less, but a smile she could allow herself. Her friends, of course, beamed back at her. A sigh and a "whew" later, and they both joined her side opposite Wintergreen on the way out of the building.

The stallion paid them no mind. Wisp found this as perturbing as ever, but more because in this case it amounted to ignoring her friends. She was feeling the slightest bit protective. This was not the time for that, though, let alone with the incident so fresh. She had... a lot to apologize for.

Once they had made it a ways from Town Hall and were weaving through the streets of Ponyville, Cloudchaser let loose and did a couple backflips in the air, taking to instead flying above the group once she was finished. "Woohoo, I told you everything'd be fine!"

The grounded sister rolled her eyes. "No, you didn't."

"Details." She hovered closer to Wintergreen and prodded him with a forehoof. "So this is him, huh?"

"Leave him alone, Cloudchaser," Flitter groaned.

"What? He's the one who got Wisp all upset. What's wrong with a little poke?"

Poke, poke.

"She's right, Cloudchaser," Wisp agreed. "It was my own fault I got so worked up, you know that." Turning to the stallion beside her, she added. "He didn't do anything wrong. Not really."

He surprisingly nodded in response. Whether simply acknowledging he was being spoken to or agreeing with her was anypony's guess.

"And, well, speaking of which, Wintergreen..." Wisp paused.

"Yes?"

"Why... Why didn't you tell him what I did?"

He calmly turned his head and looked her in the eye. "Because it wasn't your fault. I egged you on at the end, for which I apologize." He returned his gaze forward. "You also remind me of someone."

"And who is that?"

"I'd rather not say."

Right. Well. Wisp knew better than to bark up that tree, so she let it drop. Her thoughts moving back to the matter at hoof, though, she was rather surprised.

He just... apologized to me? That was the last thing I expected when I got up this morning...

She took a deep breath, and released with it the leftover tension from... everything.

"Thank you, Wintergreen. And either way, I'm sorry, too. I was being irritable, and... well, that was my own fault, too. Flitter and Cloudchaser here helped me with that, though, so uh..."

Stopping in the middle of the road, she offered a hoof. "Anyway. No hard feelings?"

He too stopped in his tracks, and looked down at her hoof. Looking back up at her, he stepped closer and took it. She was the only one really putting effort into the hoofshake, but she'd take what she could get. "Indeed."

"Well, then, if Wisp's cool with him," Cloudchaser muttered from overhead, "I can try to get along, too. Got a hoofshake for me, too, Wintergreen?"

The earth pony ignored her offer and simply continued the way they had been walking. "No," he replied.

"What? Why not?!"

"We've only just met," the stallion explained. "And you're loud." The two other mares burst into laughter.

Cloudchaser flushed a little and looked threateningly down her nose. "Of course, you understand, this means war..."

The next hour on patrol passed with little incident, with Cloudchaser quietly contemplating ways to get back at Wintergreen. Eventually, though, the twins bid him and Wisp goodbye as they left to tend to their babysitting duties. Of course, this left something of an uncomfortable silence, Wisp finally being alone with the stallion she had wronged.

"Thanks again. For not telling."

"There's no need to thank me," he said. "I made the logical choice."

"If you say so..."

Wading through her thoughts a moment, Wisp realized that they still hadn't been down the path they had been down before, to the outskirts of Ponyville. She thought that seemed odd.

"I notice we haven't gone quite the same way as yesterday," she began. "And you said you'd started intentionally provoking me. Did leading me outside of Ponyville have to do with that?"

And then it dawned on her. "You... You led me out of town, away from ponies who might see us. Did you... want me to burn you?"

Wintergreen, solemn and silent as ever, said nothing at first. By the time he did, it came as a surprise. "You were beginning to get quite upset with me. I thought it best for things to play out somewhere it wouldn't affect your reputation."

"Even though we'd only just met?" This time, silence was her only answer. "You're a strange stallion, you know."

The rest of their trip around Ponyville passed with little incident, and hardly a word between them. That is, until they made back to the town square at the end of their patrol, sun still high in the sky at about 2 'o clock in the afternoon. Wisp coughed to make sure she had the other pony's attention, and not at all because what she was about to say made her feel awkward.

"I guess that's it for today, right?" He nodded. "Then, well... I still feel bad about before. Care for a drink, on me?"

"You owe me nothing." The stallion looked somewhat awkward himself, though only, as always, it was barely noticeable. This guy's body language is going to take some getting used to...

"And I... usually don't go out. Or drink."

Wisp hesitated. "Well, if you're sure..."

The senior searchpony turned away, told her "...Maybe next time," and went on his way.

Wisp wasn't sure what to think. She got the feeling that—well, she knew he had no friends. She didn't see the earth pony having a good enough reason to lie. So was he just going home to... be alone? That couldn't be healthy.

With nothing else to do until Flitter and Cloudchaser got back, she turned on her heel and headed toward nearby Town Hall. She was going to find out what, if anything, the captain knew about Wintergreen.

—————————

"Come in."

The office door squeaked open, and in walked Wisp.

"Wispwillow. If you have anything to report, Wintergreen should still be with you."

"There's nothing to report, sir. I'm just... curious about my partner."

"I'm not surprised. He is a rather odd one."

The younger pony nodded. "Exactly. As of today, at least, I'm getting along with him better, but... He's hard to read. Two days on the job and I don't know anything about him. I was hoping you'd be able to fill me in...?"

Searchlight scooted aside the papers on his desk—always with the paperwork—and leaned onto it against his foreleg. "Honestly, I know little more than you. He's been in Ponyville a while, apparently arrived alone on the train. He worked out his living arrangements, signed up here, and... That's it. Nopony ever sees him around except when venturing out for the necessities. No family, no friends... He just does his job and goes home. The most I've ever gotten out of him is that he came from Fillydelphia."

"I see..."

Searchlight was right, this told her nothing new. Wintergreen was as much a mystery as ever.

Well, so much for that.

"Is that all you want to ask me?"

Wisp scratched her chin. "Well, I guess, since I'm always asking you questions... How do you feel about searchponies taking up part-time jobs?"

The dark stallion snorted. "So long as you do your job here, it makes no difference to me. Despite my everything I say about Ponyville not being completely safe, the truth is that hardly anything goes wrong here." He huffed. "Frankly, you're only on regular patrol because you're new, and because Wintergreen could use a partner; Unless there's something going on that warrants heightened security, you'll usually have lots of time on your hooves."

"I see," the young mare nodded. "Well, that's good to hear. I think." Then, for the first time, Wisp made to leave without being dismissed.

That is, until Searchlight stopped her.

"By the way, Wispwillow," he said, "In case you haven't heard, there's somepony in town looking for you."

Wisp's ears perked up. "What? Who?"

"I didn't catch her name," he answered, "But it seemed she was rather cross with you." He actually chuckled and allowed himself a little smile.

"She's probably still speaking with the Mayor, if you want to find her."

"Oh. Uh... Thanks, sir."

Continuing on her way out, she called "see you tomorrow" over her shoulder and cantered through the building to where the Mayor's office should be, if she remembered correctly.

Who the heck could it be? I don't think I've done anything to upset anypony that I haven't spoken to today... I don't get it.

Passing a few ponies on the way, she stopped when she heard a muffled conversation behind the door. One of the voices was definitely the Mayor, so she knew she had the right place, but the other voice was just quiet enough that she couldn't quite tell who it was. Not that she'd have recognized the voice of anypony in Ponyville, but...

By the sounds of it, she was catching the tail end of things. That must have been the Mayor thanking her and welcoming her to Ponyville, the other pony thanking her in kind, then hoofsteps approaching the door...

And then the door opened with a light blue glow, and the mystery pony called "Have a good day, Miss Mayor!" as she trotted out into the... lobby, or whatever it was Wisp was standing in. The mare closed the door behind her, and when she faced forward, she froze as her face twisted into that cute little expression she always made when she was angry.

"Wisp?!"

"Twinkleshine?!"

The mares stared at each other in surprise. Twinkleshine, of course, also being rather peeved.

"'What am I doing here?' What are you doing here? I don't hear from you for a week after you walk out my door, and then your parents tell me you moved to Ponyville! What the HAY is wrong with you?"

Wisp had no defense. She'd been caught unprepared, but more than that, Twinkleshine had a point.

"Wait... They said I moved? They told me to use the money to rent a place..."

Twinkleshine scoffed. "Yeah, I'm sure they did, but they also knew better than to think you would. They knew very well that they were lending you enough to get a permanent place, and that you'd be stupid enough to do it."

Wisp's ears folded back as she realized the truth in what her friend was saying. Of course they had known... They always saw right through her.

"But then, in this case, I'm just as bad as you, because I'm moving into Ponyville, too."

The darker mare did a double take. "W... what? Why? What about your other friends?"

Twinkleshine's expression softened. "Wisp, they're my friends, but you're my best friend. I'll follow you wherever you go. Even if you are an idiot." Then she rolled her eyes. "Besides, it's not like Canterlot is all that far by train. I'll just be spending most of my time here for a while."

Wisp chuckled, wiping a tear from her eye. Sure, the little unicorn was unhappy with her, but something about having her dearest, and only—

Well, Twinkleshine wasn't her only friend anymore, was she? She had Flitter and Cloudchaser, and... well, who knew what might happen with Wintergreen. Maybe having almost burned his tail off would prove a bonding experience.

"By the way, Twink. I've actually... made some new friends while I've been here. And they seem like keepers."

Deciding that they'd been spending enough time right outside the Mayor's office, Twinkleshine brushed past her and motioned for her to follow. "Oh? What are they like?"

Trotting side-by-side with her, Wisp wasn't sure where to start. "Well, they're twin sisters. And pegasi. Cloudchaser really likes to—"

"Oh boy, pegasi? Which one are you crushing on, then?"

Wisp sputtered in disbelief. "W-what?! What's that supposed to mean? I'm not crushing on either of them!" She mumbled, mostly to herself, "Besides, I'm not ready to date again just yet..."

"If you say so," Twinkleshine snarked. "In case you haven't noticed, you date lots of pegasi. And you were always going on about how 'warm' and 'wonderful' Star's wings were."

Her friend winced suddenly as she realized who she'd just brought up, but Wisp didn't notice. She was more focused on the fact that, again, Twinkleshine had a point.

I... never noticed before. I mean, I've dated other kinds of ponies, but... She's right. Huh...

"Um, Wisp? Are you alright?"

The mare in question perked up, startled out of her reverie. "Huh? Yeah, why?"

The ivory mare was giving her an odd, worried look. "I just mentioned Star, and you're... not upset?"

"Oh. Yeah, I... I guess not. Not really."

"Who are you and what have you done with my friend?"

Wisp snorted and turned up her nose. "What's the big deal? So I'm not freaking out. Doesn't mean I'm happy about it."

Twinkleshine's voice grew more and more ripe with disbelief. "The Wisp I know would still be trying not to think about it and flip out at the drop of a hat."

"Yeah, well, I was doing that for a few days. But then I set a pony on fire—"

"WISP!"

"I-I know, I know! But it's alright, he said it was his fault anyway—"

"What?!"

Wisp sat down on the dirt road they were walking down and rubbed her eyes. Funny how quickly time seemed to pass with a friend around. Even if she spent half the time yelling at her.

"Look, I know it wasn't his fault. I think. He said he was to blame for provoking me, but it was my fault for bottling everything up and getting so irritable in the first place. But the point is, after that I told Flitter and Cloudchaser all about it, and everything that happened in Canterlot. So I really just... feel a lot better about everything. I don't feel it hanging over my head anymore, at least."

"...I think you should tell me the whole story."

—————————

By the time Wisp could finish her tale, they'd made it back to her new home and settled into the couch. Nearly an hour had passed, and she had just finished telling Twinkleshine about the previous night.

"So then, when I woke up, I found both of them in my bed—"

"What the hay, Wisp?!"

"N-no, it's not what you think! I was having some trouble sleeping, so they came up to give me company—"

...

"...Okay, I know that sounds bad, too. But nothing happened, I swear. The only thing that did was Cloudchaser grabbing my flank when I started freaking out—"

"Wisp..."

"What? I told you she's the flirty one. She's always messing around with me, and Flitter is just as bad when she gets drunk."

"I don't know. It sounds like they're after something, to me."

At that, Wisp finally stopped a moment to breathe and look her friend in the eye. "Look, I know it sounds odd, but they really are my friends. They can tease me all they want, but I'm... really glad I met them."

Twinkleshine brought a hoof to her mouth, contemplating. "Well, it's true that if not for them, you'd most definitely still be an absolute mess. I guess they sound nice enough..."

"Right," Wisp nodded, pleased. "I think you'll like them. Though, I'm not sure they can handle you..."

The subsequent shove to her shoulder only made her smile grow. "Besides, who knows? If they are after something, maybe you could live out some of your romance stories..."

That one was more like a punch, but that just made her laugh. Twinkleshine really wasn't the physically strongest of ponies, even for a unicorn, so it hardly even hurt. Once the other mare gave up, she begrudged her a smile despite herself.

"So anyway, where was I... Oh yeah, there was the conversation over breakfast..."

Wisp scratched her chin thinking over the details of that little talk. "I really should apologize to Cloud Kicker, I guess..."

"Who?"

"Oh, just this other pegasus mare." Ignoring Twinkleshine's smirk, she continued, "She tried putting the moves on me at my Pinkie Pie Welcome Party. Very... bluntly." The unicorn frowned. "It pissed me off. She didn't even try being subtle, it was just, 'Wanna bang?' There was nothing alluring about it at all."

Sighing internally at her actions, she continued, "I shouldn't have reacted so harshly, though. It... felt kinda good at the time to see her feeling bad about it. She asked to start over but I just told her 'maybe later.'"

Suddenly Twinkleshine was all up in her face. "You're darn right, you should apologize! Right now! Even if she did deserve it a little."

And then Wisp found herself being pushed off the couch and toward the door, but that didn't last long. "Twink, I have no idea where she lives or even where to find her."

"Oh." A moment of silence. "Well, you should find out."

"You're right, I will. I can ask Flitter and Cloudchaser once they show up. But, as I was saying..."

Wisp trotted back up to the couch and nonchalantly picked up Twinkleshine in her magic and floated her back to where she'd been on the couch. Entirely unnecessary, of course, but Twink always got that same look on her face when she did something like that, and that alone was worth it.

The one-sided tension could have been cut with a knife, but it faded soon enough as Wisp picked up where she left off. "Actually, there's really not much more to say," Wisp admitted. "They came with me in case Wintergreen decided to tell the captain about what happened, and he didn't. The girls followed us on our patrol for a bit, and that's about it, besides going back to the office and hearing you were looking for me. So I... guess my life here in Ponyville is safe." Looking down at her hooves, the air suddenly grew heavy. "Can't say the same for Canterlot and the Corps, though..."

"What do you mean?"

She looked up. "Well, I'm sure Star and Crescent Moon told the Royal Guard what happened. Why wouldn't they? So my dream of being a magus is ruined..."

"Uh, Wisp..." Twinkleshine started. "They didn't tell the Guard. I don't think they told anypony."

Cue double-take. "Wh... what? Why not?"

Twinkleshine shrugged. "I don't know. I just know I haven't heard anything, and, well... She sent me a letter."

"You mean... Star did? What did it say?"

"It said to tell you your career is safe. And... that she was sorry."

Wisp turned around and planted her face into the arm of the couch. She was dumbfounded. After all that happened, Shooting Star wasn't going to tell anyone what she'd done? And for that matter, her new marefriend wasn't, either? Sure, if there had been any scars after the fire was so promptly put out, modern medical magic and science could heal it, but... It didn't make sense.

And on top of that, she was apologizing again?

Wisp dimly realized there was something leaking from her eyes. "Dammit, Star..."

"That's not all. She included something with the letter."

She pulled herself up and faced her friend again. "Yeah? What was it?"

Twinkleshine pulled something out of her saddlebags behind the couch and levitated it towards them.

The aircruise tickets.

Stars damn you, Shooting Star...

She took the tickets and stuffed them somewhere she could forget them. Who knows, maybe I'll end up with somepony I can take with me. The cruise isn't for a while, anyway...

Wisp's home was quiet for a while after that. With Twinkleshine leaning against her, she soon felt mostly better, but they continued to sit in relative silence.

It eventually occurred to Wisp just how glad she was to have Twinkleshine around. She hadn't realized it before, but now she felt as if she'd been lost without her, or would have soon have come to feel that way. They had been friends since they were fillies, never staying apart for long. She was one of the few constants in Wisp's life, pony-wise. The only pony she could always rely on besides her family.

Why in the bloody hay had she chosen to leave that behind?

On that note... Where is she even gonna stay? Doesn't she have to go finalize the sale like I did?

"Hey, Twink..."

"Hm?" the smaller mare inquired from her place against her shoulder.

"What are you gonna do for lodging? I heard the Mayor welcoming you to Ponyville and all, but..."

"Oh, I asked her where you were living and I picked a place just next door. I'm all set, I just have to send for some of my things."

Oh. Well. That'd have been nice.

"That is, depending how long you plan on staying here."

...Oh. That.

"Well..." Wisp started uncomfortably. "It's a bit early to make a final decision, but... I'm starting to think I'd like to stay here in Ponyville. I can go visit my family anytime, and it's just... It's great here, Twink. No nobles, no stuffy guards... I still love Canterlot, but things are so much more simple here. It's really... cozy."

And, opting to make a small joke at her own expense, she added, "Besides... There are more pegasi here."

Twinkleshine gave her a look, then shifted around a bit to make herself more comfortable. "In that case, if you do stay, then I'm staying too."

Wisp felt her jaw drop. "Twink, you don't have to—"

"I don't have to, but I will. I wouldn't mind a change of scenery, myself. Besides... You'd be lost without me."

Wisp closed her eyes, grinning to herself. "Yeah... And so would you."

"Pfft."

They remained like that for a while, simply enjoying each other's company. Things were as they should be, and for once it felt like things would be just fine. It seemed all too soon, though, that a knock came at the door.

"Oh, I wonder who that could be," Wisp grunted, reluctantly pulling away from Twinkleshine to answer the door. Sure, she could have just opened it from the couch, but if it turned out she had assumed wrong, that would be incredibly rude. And even still, it was just customary to personally greet your guests.

Even if one of those guests was a real blockhead.

Opening the door, she was greeted by a rather unexpected surprise. One she had to admit she liked, but that made it no less startling.

Instead of a purple pony's face at her doorstep, she was greeted by a near-faceful of flank.

"Ah! C-C... Cloudchaser!"

The offender rolled onto her back and began kicking at the air as the laughing fit started. She was quickly joined in her mirth by Flitter, who had been hovering above the doorway, out of sight.

"Bahahaha, you should see the look on your face! Priceless!"

Wisp dragged a hoof over her face, the obfuscation of her blush a pleasant bonus. "Haven't you anything better to do than tease me, Cloudchaser?"

The pegasus eventually got most of it of her system and rolled back onto her hooves. "Nope. It is my only goal in life, m'lady, to make thine cheeks burn red."

Wisp scoffed as Flitter laughed and said, "It's true. It's not like she's doing anything else with her life."

That put an end to her sister's giggling. "Yeah, I get it already..."

But then she noticed the light-colored pony over on the couch—not difficult, since the couch was so dark—and raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" she said, letting herself in. "Who's this?"

Wisp waved her off. "Oh, don't mind her. It's just Twinkleshine, my dearest friend. No big deal."

The mare in question rolled her eyes. "Oh," Cloudchaser said. "Awesome. She sounded pretty cool when you mentioned her. Especially the part about the... romance novels."

Well, if the pegasus' intention had been to set the little unicorn off, she succeeded. "Wisp!"

With Cloudchaser offering background noise with her unbridled amusement, Wisp found it hard not to join in. "What? All I did was mention it's a hobby of yours." After a moment, she just found herself unable to resist a snicker. "Besides, w... what was that one I caught you reading that one time? 'Daring Do and the Mysterious Goo'?"

Joining Wisp, Cloudchaser was on the floor again, rolling around and clutching her sides, while Flitter was trying and failing to quiet her own laughing with her hoof.

Twinkleshine's cheeks and ears were burning red as the setting sun. And, unfortunately for her, she had a very light coat. "I-I told you, I was just curious! I'm not normally into that kind of stuff..."

When her excuse didn't stop them, her lips twisted into a wicked grin. Oh yes, she knew how to turn things around. Twinkleshine was, if nothing else, a clever pony.

"By the way, Wisp," she said in a honey-sweet voice, batting her eyelashes, "What was that we were discussing earlier? You know, about you having a thing for pegasus ponies?"

The room went dead silent. As Twinkleshine had predicted, all eyes went directly to her dear friend as Wisp found herself the center of attention.

"Yes, Wisp, do tell," Cloudchaser purred, brushing up against the unicorn and wrapping a wing around her. Whispering into her ear, she asked, "What is this... thing you have for pegasi like us?"

"SO, uh, I'll begin the introductions!" Wisp tactfully exclaimed, quickly wriggling away. "Flitter and Cloudchaser, meet Twinkleshine. Twinkleshine, meet... them."

Cloudchaser took to the air and flew right over to her senior in friend...dom and offered her hoof. "Nice to meet ya, Twinkleshine. And, if I may say so, that was a lovely comeback."

Twinkleshine returned the hoofshake and smiled in kind. "Thank you. Wisp forgets sometimes what it's like to have a taste of her own medicine."

As they shared a laugh at that, Wisp grumbled that she hadn't touched anypony.

"Wisp didn't say a whole lot about you," Flitter said, "But she did speak fondly of you. You sound like great friends."

"Well, I should hope so," Twinkleshine laughed. "We've known each other since magic kindergarten."

Wisp smiled at the memory, but then she remembered something. "Oh, uh... Girls? Do you have any idea where we could find Cloud Kicker about now?"

"Ready to talk to her, huh?" Flitter asked rhetorically. "Well, right now she'll be on weather duty, but that should be over soon. After that, she usually hangs out with Blossomforth, but sometimes she just goes 'out on the town.'"

Wisp facehoofed. It was the weakest facehoof of all of the facehoofs of the last few days, but still it was a facehoof. "I'm getting tired just talking about her. And I imagine if we just tried catching her at home tonight..."

"Yep."

"Blegh. I guess I'll just apologize whenever I see her. Tracking a pony down is so tiresome... Right now, I just know I'm hungry."

The way Cloudchaser's face lit up, Wisp already knew where they were going.

"Well, we've got another new mare in town, so Sun's Flank is the only option."

Twinkleshine seemed wary. "Sun's... Flank?"

"Oh, don't worry about the name, Twink," Wisp said. "You'll love it. It's mostly a place for mares, but the food and service are great."

The other unicorn blushed. "I wasn't worried about that. More like... what it refers to..."

"What are you talking about? It—"

Oh.

Oh.

She turned to the pegasi, heat rising in her own cheeks as well. "Just how risqué is this place?"

Cloudchaser shrugged. "You might see some PDA, but that's usually about it. Unless Cloud Kicker is there. Or somepony drinks too much. Or you stick around too late."

"Of course..."

—————————

"You know, if you're so worried about it being risqué, then why are we here?"

"I'm not that worried about it. I liked what I saw last time, after all." Looking across the table at her pegasus friends, she added, "Besides, I'm gonna ask about that bouncing job."

Cloudchaser coughed. "Well, if they're actually looking for a bouncer, I haven't heard about it. They'd probably be happy to have you, though. Every so often somepony gets too drunk and needs escorted out," she explained. Then, bouncing her eyebrows, she concluded with satisfaction, "Might as well hire somepony who can just throw them out with her horn."

The unicorn blushed a little at that, but the unicorn next to her had something of an objection. "Wait a minute. Why are you looking for a job here when you have work as a searchpony?"

Wisp shrugged. "Well, as Captain Searchlight says, Ponyville seems really quiet and safe most of the time. Not much happens that would even call for a rescue pony. We're pretty much just here to be ready for when those emergencies do come up, and take care of any smaller problems if we come across them. Searchlight told me that I'm really only on patrol because I'm new, so I might as well make myself useful here."

"I suppose that makes sense," Twinkleshine admitted. "Doesn't that bug you, though?"

"Not really. I take it as a good sign that ponies are safe. Besides, this way I get to hang out more with my favorite ponies," she said, causing her Canterlot friend to roll her eyes.

"By the way, Wisp," Flitter spoke up, for the first time since they'd entered the bustling building. With how rambunctious her sibling could be, it seemed almost as if she could fade into the background sometimes. "Why did you sign up there, anyway?"

Scratching her head, Wisp answered, "Well, if I'm going to get into the Magi Corps, I'm expected to do something besides just study. I want to help ponies, and it's not the Royal Guard, so it was a no-brainer."

"Huh."

The quiet left by the sudden lull in conversation was quickly filled with the din of ponies talking and laughing, plates and glasses clinking against their tables, and door opening and closing as ponies came and went. It seemed busier than Wisp remembered... Maybe it had something to do with her Pinkie Party? Just how long did those things go on for, anyway?

She was about to bring up Pinkie Pie to Twinkleshine—her friend hadn't asked about the welcome party when she mentioned it before—when the door opened again and she caught a flash of yellow and purple in the corner of her eye. More of a proper purple, too, less flirtatiously subtle than the shade of "persian blue" that Flitter called her own... Though still dangerously close to Cloudchaser's palette.

Wisp turned to make sure it was who she thought it was, but it was hard to make out the pony behind the veritable crowd. She caught a glimpse, here and there, of the wings... The cutie mark... Yep, it was definitely her. And it looked like she was being followed by a freckled pegasus with a watermelon mane (the shades of green and pink in her hair looked exactly like those of a watermelon).

It occurred to Wisp that she was seeing a LOT of pegasi lately... But this one looked like she was a bit uncomfortable. If the blush on her face was any indication, Cloud Kicker had taken to teasing her. That, or she was as concerned about the nature of the place as Cloudchaser had thought Wisp was.

Once the pair came into plain view, Wisp called out to them. "Hey, Cloud Kicker! Can I have a moment?"

Cloud Kicker muttered something to her friend as they approached the table of mares, acknowledging Flitter and Cloudchaser with a wave. "Hey again, new girl. Who's your friend?"

Wisp cleared her throat, protectively putting herself between her and Twinkleshine. "Yeah, see, that's the thing. I've been meaning to apologize for snapping at you, but I don't think hitting on my best friend while we're at it is in your best interests."

"Oh, let me guess," the blonde pegasus' friend—presumably Blossomforth, going by the cutie mark—grumbled. "She got too close for comfort and just wouldn't give it a rest?"

The new unicorns in town might have thought Blossomforth's anger was directed at Wisp if not for the way the mare was glaring at her friend. Cloud Kicker, for her part, seemed used to this. "Pretty much," Wisp confirmed. "Though it was more that she kicked it off with 'wanna bang?'"

Blossomforth facehoofed. Hard. "Seriously, Cloud? Seriously?"

"Hey," Cloud Kicker said in her defense, "I admit it wasn't my most creative pickup line..."

Blossomforth just rolled her eyes and sighed. A few moments later, though, something dawned on her. "O-oh, I'm sorry," she apologized, mostly to Wisp. "I didn't mean to be rude. She just doesn't know when to quit..."

After Blossomforth was assured it was alright, Cloud Kicker gave a dry laugh. "And you were the one about to apologize to me..." Looking oddly serious for a moment, she added, "Well, I really am sorry. I'll try and keep it down around you and your friend. So... We're cool?"

Wisp eyed her warily. "Make that a 'definitely,' then yeah, sure."

"Great," Cloud Kicker concluded with a smile. "But now then, if you'll excuse me, I have a date with Blossom in the corner over there..."

Her freckled friend cried "W-we're not dating!" as she was dragged away.

"So, uh..."

"Yep," Cloudchaser affirmed.

"Remind me to be thankful it was you ponies I met instead of her."

"What," Flitter jested, "Because Cloudchaser is so much better?"

Wisp was about to have some fun with that, but it just so happened that their food had arrived. Perhaps the waitress had been waiting on them for that little exchange to end, but fortunately, this time the waitress was a unicorn. Wisp made a note to be more aware in the future, just in case.

The ponies enjoyed their respective meals over the course of the next half hour or so. Twinkleshine, as Wisp had, found herself impressed by the hayfries, and indeed, everything else. And as the food gave way to conversation, Flitter found that she had some common ground with the little unicorn. Between being the more levelheaded of herself and her more excitable counterpart, and often having to pick up said counterpart's mess, the two had plenty to talk about. Wisp and her friends, old and new, enjoyed each other's company and got to know each other just a little bit better.

And it was enough.

Chapter 6: Complications

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"So, what do you say, hm?"

The past two weeks had proven fairly interesting for Wisp. She was becoming known as something of a dogooder around town, helping ponies with small, miscellaneous problems while out on patrol. She was no longer required to go out on her rounds, as some of the other searchponies were on rotation now, but even if she hadn't been encouraged to patrol on her own time, she would still be doing it. It was surprising just how many ponies had something you could help them with, if only you just asked. She even dragged Wintergreen out of his house to join her sometimes; nopony should be cooped up alone THAT much.

She had even made a visit to Canterlot the other day. Family Appreciation Day, specifically. Wisp had never felt completely at ease while she was there, but how could she say no to her little sister? It had been good to see her. Very good...

And then there was how Derpy had somehow caved in the roof of Town Hall, and Applejack had left for some rodeo competition to hopefully win some money for the repairs. Wisp had noticed the farmpony giving her a wary look now and then, and had no idea why, but she still admired the earth pony mare a bit. Anypony who made such quality apple products, let alone being largely in charge of the operation, had her respect. Although, she never did bring home that prize money...

Wisp's favorite, though, had to be this. Bouncing for Sun's Flank was great: As she had been promised, things tended to be quiet and uneventful, and the most she generally had to do was gently help out someone failing to hold their liquor. Still, she felt helpful, important; like a sort of guardian protector for the good mares (and occasional courageous stallion) who came here.

But no, it wasn't the work she found so amusing. It was the simple fact that this mare was trying to seduce her.

"So," Wisp chuckled despite herself, "let me get this straight. You want me to kick out that good stallion over there, who isn't doing a thing to bother anypony, just because he's a stallion. And you'd like me to make a scene of it, because... he's a stallion. And then you'd like to come visit me at my house later to reward me for such a gallant show of chivalry. Is that about right?"

The mare had the good sense to look abashed. "W-well, when you put it like that..."

Wisp smiled at her, hoping her expression wasn't too full of pity. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't discriminate, and you should be well aware stallions are allowed here. And maybe I would've agreed to a little illicit meeting if you weren't trying to manipulate me."

Hopefully that look of shame is genuine, she thought to herself as the pony slowly trotted away. Maintaining her vigil near the door, Wisp played the scenario over again in her mind. Something about it was nagging at her...

She was a pretty attractive mare... A bit misguided, maybe, but if I'd really wanted to... It hit her.

I really wasn't interested. At all.

It had been three weeks now, nearly a month, since her falling out with Shooting Star. Three weeks to get over it, to move on. Sure, after a year together, she couldn't expect to be completely over it that quickly, but her life felt stable again. She felt largely content with the way things were now. And she'd gotten over other mares much quicker—even that one time...

Wisp supposed she was in a place that she really just didn't feel a need for a partner. After all, there was much more to life than romance. One must be happy with themselves before they can be happy with another, etc. But if that really was how she felt, why did the mare-shaped hole in her life, and the thought that it could be filled, hurt like it did?

Why hadn't she even considered trying to fill that void?

She shook her head, refocusing on the task at hoof. Thinking to herself while on duty was one thing, but it wouldn't do to get lost in thought and miss something important. She was charged with keeping these ponies safe, after all, or at least comfortable. She maintained a watchful eye on the place until the time finally came for her to step away from her duty and return home; that is to say, until about an hour after midnight, when most besides the all-nighters had left and there was little left to protect.

Wisp brushed some imaginary dust off her shoulders and went up to the bar. As usual, there was a small martini glass waiting for her, filled with her personal favorite drink: strawberry daiquiri. She never really tried much else in this place. She was no alcohol connoisseur—she liked something tasty and fruity, with little enough alcohol to be enjoyable, but not so much that it was overwhelming. All that talk about "acquired taste" meant little to her. Sometimes she tried the heavier stuff, but this was not one of those days.

Grasping the glass with her horn and bringing it to her lips, she tipped the bottom up and sucked it dry, nice and slow. She savored the rich, fruity taste, as always... And then sat the emptied glass back on the bar with a solid clink. "Ahhh... Thanks, Ginny," she said to the mare behind the bar. "Couldn't ask for a better way to end the shift."

Her fellow unicorn, as bartenders were wont to do, was rubbing down the surface of the bar, cleaning it of miscellaneous spills and spatters that had accumulated through the night. Gin Rummy, with her luscious red coat, blended in nicely with the cherrywood furnishings of Sun's Flank. Her brown mane didn't make things any easier, either. And her martini cutie mark... Well, it was a martini. What else would you expect?

The disparity between name and cutie mark, though, still somewhat baffled Wisp. Wasn't gin rummy supposed to be some kind of card game?

Ginny grinned at her as she continued wiping down the counterspace. "But of course," she said, "You deserve a little treat for the work you do."

Wisp rolled her eyes. "It's not like I actually do much. Just stand in the corner and look tough."

"Yeah, you're right. It's not like you've kindly 'escorted' any problem ponies out in the last few days with just a flick of your head."

"But that's what you pay me to do. It's nothing."

"If you say so," the bartender having a roll of her own olive eyes. "But it's mighty impressive what you can do with that horn of yours. I know I can't lift much more than these drinks. And more importantly, you're the one who came to us, offering to work. It's more like we're paying you for your kindness."

Wisp couldn't resist a blush at the praise. A good part of her newfound contentment in Ponyville had to do with ponies being so appreciative of what she did. She'd never really had much chance to earn such praise back in Canterlot, when she was more focused on schooling and where there were guards everywhere. "Okay, so maybe you have a point. But still, I appreciate the free drinks."

"It's nothing," Ginny said, mirroring Wisp's own words. "Besides, you make things feel safer here. Nopony in their right mind is gonna mess with you."

A few moments later, she took the conversation somewhere else. "By the way, I saw that disappointed mare earlier. Did you let her down gently?"

Wisp was glad her drink was gone, because otherwise she might have spit some out. "Gah. It wasn't—okay, she did offer to drop by my house, but only if I'd throw out that blue stallion that was in here earlier. I don't think she had quite the right idea about this place."

"Ah, I see." Nevertheless, a grin creeped up the barmare's face. "You could probably have gotten her to do it anyway, you know. There are so many mares, after all, pining for the beautiful and powerful Wispwillow, staunch protector of the Sun's Flank."

Okay, setting aside how the wording made it sound like she was one of Celestia's personal guards, maybe there was more to Wisp's earlier train of thought than just turning down a single mare. In truth, Wisp had found herself turning down potential dates just about every other night. Flitter had suggested that something about standing guard over a mostly-mares establishment had a way of impressing said mares in the right ways.

She wasn't sure how to feel about it. Again, in Canterlot, there was the Royal Guard keeping everypony safe, so she had never been made to feel... special. Not like this. That, and having multiple ponies asking after her, felt foreign; not undesirable, but... foreign.

She could do without Berry Punch's advances, though. She was pretty sure the earth pony kept hitting on her only because she was drunk.

Still, she found herself thinking back to that first night with Flitter and Cloudchaser, when Flitter had advised her to just relax and enjoy the scenery. Sure, the scenery was great, and she let her eyes linger sometimes, but... Nopony really seemed to strike her fancy outside of looks.

Either way, thinking of her friends reminded her just who a newer friend of hers sounded like just now.

"Pfft, Ginny," she scoffed, "You remind me of Cloudchaser when you exaggerate like that."

A strange look flashed over her friend's face, but as quickly as it has appeared it was replaced with a teasing smirk. "You're just modest. There are plenty of good reasons for ponies to be interested in you."

"If you say so, Ginny," Wisp waved off with a smile. "Anyway, that's it for me tonight. I need to get back home."

Ginny's smile turned into a look of concern. "Everything's fine, I hope?"

The darker mare nodded. "Yeah, everything's good. You can hardly tell the burns were ever there. I'm just ready to get back and study a bit before sleep."

"Alright, Wisp," her barmare nodded. "Take care. I'll see you tomorrow."

Nodding in return, Wisp got up from the barstool and went on her way, past the few remaining patrons and out the door. Her mind was calm on the way home, almost blank. Her thoughts didn't go in any particular direction, besides the occasional inkling of concern. Like she had said, everything was fine, but she still worried sometimes.

The most amusing part of these past two weeks had been a random mare's failed attempt at seduction. The least amusing part had been the house fire.

* * *

Wisp awoke to the faint smell of... smoke? No, that couldn't be right...

She groggily crawled out of bed and looked around. She didn't see any smoke, so she figured it may have just been her imagination. The lingering remains of some odd dream. Since she was already awake, though, she decided she might as well have a midnight snack.

But then she saw the red glow coming from outside her window. Pulling the curtains apart with a yawn, she gasped when she saw the fire. Surely there couldn't be a house fire, certainly not in Ponyville... But there it was.

She was already heading for the staircase. There was no time to waste: ponies were in danger. But then, just as she reached the ground floor, she realized whose house she'd just been looking at.

Before she knew it, Wisp was out the door, in front of the burning building, and tearing the door off its hinges.

She quickly cast a flame ward spell. If she'd had more time, she may have cast something more potent, something that would allow her to waltz through the building without a care. But if part of the outside was on fire, it had been burning too long as it was. There was no telling how long its occupant had left in there. There was no time.

Be that as it may, Wisp had to cast one more spell before going in. Her signature spell—the one that had earned her her cutie mark. It took only a moment to conjure the floating ball of purple flame, which grew to about the size of a filly's head, and only a moment more to guide it with a single thought.

Twinkleshine.

* * *

Wisp approached her door and lifted a hoof, but stopped herself. It would be more polite, sure, but who actually knocked before entering their own home? Nodding in agreement with herself that that would be silly, she magicked the door open and continued inside to find Twinkleshine snoozing on the couch.

She rolled her eyes. What did I tell her about sleeping down here? She should be in bed.

She quietly trotted over and nudged her awake with a hoof. "C'mon, Twink, wake up. Let's get you to bed."

The ivory mare's eyes slowly fluttered open, and she yawned. "Wisp? I... didn't mean to fall asleep. I was just waiting for you to get home."

And another eyeroll. Maybe she meant it, but it would be just like Twinkleshine to insist she didn't need to be specially accommodated. "Even if that's true, you're coming up to bed with me. Don't make me carry you there."

Her friend yawned again. "Fine..."

The unicorn was slow to get up, but the trek up the stairs was less so. Wisp supposed that the call of a proper bed was enough to motivate her legs, stubborn or not. Even so, she noticed the way she stopped in her tracks once they were off the stairs and her sanctuary was in sight.

Wisp, being the good friend she was, interrupted Twinkleshine before she could even start to object. "How many times do we have to go over this? Get in," she said as she herself climbed under the covers. Her companion lowered her head in defeat and did the same.

As she grabbed a spellbook from under the bed, she heard Twinkleshine mumble something in her sleep. Well, that was quick...

Quietly opening up her curtains, Wisp opened up her book and began flipping through the pages, intending to read by moonlight in favor of disturbing Twinkleshine with the bedside lamp. Before getting started, though, Wisp found herself looking over at the unconscious mare beside her, and thought back to what had happened. What the burns had looked like.

She frowned. The young mage knew that actual, high-level healing magic would be out of her grasp for quite some time. She was skilled, but only few unicorns managed to actually master healing spells as powerful as what she had in mind.

No, she would focus on learning simple first-aid magic. If something like this were to happen again, it could mean the difference between life and death...

* * *

The wisp flew into the building, its dark fuchsia glow contrasting starkly with the brilliant tongues of red and yellow spreading throughout Twinkleshine's home. It made it very easy to keep track of visually, but even if not for that, there was something about it that Wisp would have been able to follow with her eyes closed.

It was created from part of her soul, after all.

Its creator followed it inside, quickly taking in the scene before her. The place wasn't bathing in flames, but the blaze was everywhere. Without her ward, Wisp wasn't sure if she'd otherwise have been able to make it up the stairs. That wouldn't matter, though, if Twinkleshine wasn't up there.

"C'mon, already. Take me to her!"

The ball of ethereal flame darted around, as if uncertain, but then headed past the stairs and around the corner.

Quickly as she could, the unicorn rushed around the corner and chased her wisp down a hallway, through the sea of red. And it really was becoming a sea of red... She had to squint to be able to see properly.

Wisp came to a stop in front of a closed door, where her creation was bobbing up and down just in from of it. A door that was very much in flames. Oh no. Oh, no no no, let her be fine. Just let her be fine...

Before she could bust the door down, she noticed the faint sound of coughing from the other side, just noticeable over the roar of the inferno around her. It was too quiet. A pony just beginning to inhale smoke sounded much louder than this.

"Twinkleshine?! If you're next to the door, get back!"

Of course, Twinkleshine would probably have moved away from the door already to avoid the smoke and the bloody fire, but she had to make sure. If only this door opened outwards...

With a thought, and some restraint, she briskly swung the door open and dashed in. Twinkleshine, fortunately for herself, had been in the bathroom when she got stuck inside, and had curled up inside the bathtub, which was the safest place she could possibly be. But she had apparently been in here long enough to pass out, and the fire had made more progress to the bath-side wall than Wisp could be comfortable with. Not to mention the smoke covering the ceiling.

With barely another thought, Twinkleshine was out of the tub and on her back, and she was sprinting her way back out of the house. Her silent wisp guided the way, but she had no need for it now. She didn't have to go far.

On her way out, though, she began to hear loud cracks and snaps, and in a fright looked back at Twinkleshine. Nothing had changed, however; she was fine, relatively speaking. The fire had likely already burned long enough to damage the foundations, and with the front door wide open, it had access to a lot more oxygen with which to fuel itself...

Wisp ran so fast she almost slammed into the couch, and bolted out the door into the street. She wasn't sure she'd ever been so grateful for fresh air, but she ignored that thought and pulled Twinkleshine off her back, gasping when she saw the burns. The faint breathing did her pounding heart no favors, either.

Just as quickly as she'd made it outside, Wisp was galloping off to the Ponyville Hospital. Twinkleshine needed attention. Now.

* * *

This morning, Wisp awoke to the smell of eggs. The aroma was powerful, her sleep-addled mind noticed, and after several moments she realized that with the kitchen being downstairs, the smell probably shouldn't be THAT strong. Unless...

"Are you awake, Wisp? I made you breakfast."

Wisp cracked an eye open and looked down her bed at Twinkleshine. Sure enough, the unicorn was carrying next to her a plate, a glass of milk, and... a folding tray? Neither of them owned one of those.

"...Twink, did you go out and buy that just to serve me breakfast in bed?"

"Well, yes..." she said, rubbing her shoulder anxiously.

Wisp sighed. She should have expected as much. Having to depend on her for a home at the moment, it was unlikely her friend would be content to just sit around doing nothing. She'd see herself as a burden, and would go around looking for ways to make up for it. Thus, the breakfast—the tray was just taking it a step further.

Of course, this wasn't a bad thing in itself, but... Having known her for years, Wisp found it unnecessary and frustrating. She understood why Twinkleshine was this way, but they were friends, and she was doing what any true friend would. She didn't need compensation for it.

"Alright, well... I'm hungry, so I'll let it slide this time."

Just like that, Twinkleshine's face was as bright as her name as she set down the tray, and the meal on top of it. Wisp leaned over and took another whiff of her food: Fried eggs, sunny side up, just how she liked them; buttered toast with apple jelly; and a tall glass of chocolate milk. It all looked so good. Indeed, she could let it go, just this once...

Before digging in, though, Wisp had to ask one more question.

"...Did you make any for yourself?"

"Er..."

She facehoofed. She'd have to get up and return the favor once she was done eating. Silly pony...

* * *

"So what's the damage, Nurse? Will she be okay?"

Nurse Redheart gave her a slightly skeptical look, suggesting she thought a pony with fire as a cutie mark should have at least some idea just by looking and by virtue of having even there.

But that was the thing. Of course she understood: the burnt flesh wasn't pretty, but that alone didn't look life-threatening. The bigger problem was the smoke and how long she had been breathing it.

"A little healing magic and cosmetic surgery should take care of most of the burns. She was in there long enough that there's some permanent scarring, but nothing her coat won't cover up."

Okay, and...

"...But she inhaled a lot of smoke. She was barely breathing as it was when you arrived; we've got her on a respirator until she recovers."

"And she will recover... right?"

To her relief, the earth pony nodded and offered her a wan smile. "Yes, she should be able to leave in a couple of days. She wasn't looking good, but you got her here just in time... The both of you are lucky you got to her when you did."

If I hadn't woken up...

Wisp almost started shaking at that terrible thought. Just how close had she come to losing Twinkleshine?

"Although, considering her condition... We're not aware of any complications, but the fire couldn't have been good for her bones. We're going to have to insist she up her calcium intake for a while."

Wisp froze cold at that one. Of course...

"You look like you could use some rest, dear. You should go home and sleep."

She resolutely shook her head. "No. I wouldn't be able to sleep now if I tried. Could I... keep her company?"

Nurse Redheart's sympathetic face told her she'd seen this reaction more than once. Which was no surprise, really. Many ponies would have difficulty sleeping after this.

As she was lead to the room where she would spend the next day watching her closest friend's heart rate and assisted breathing, a single thought resounded through her mind.

Never again.

* * *

"You know, I've been hearing that cider season starts today."

"What, down at Sweet Apple Acres? Haven't we already had their cider?"

"I think so, but everypony's been making a big deal out of it. Something about it being better fresh, I think."

"Maybe. But this is when everypony goes and lines up outside the farm for hours, right? No way I'm wasting my time with that."

And yet, here she was. Wispwillow, "staunch protector of the Sun's Flank," was wasting time standing around in the largest queue of ponies she had ever seen. As she had told Twinkleshine, she had no interest in this, but with how incredible Cloudchaser made it sound, how could she turn away?

At least, she was trying to tell herself that's what had changed her mind. She still didn't fully understand why she was here.

She looked again down the immense line of equines. She and her friends had only arrived about half an hour ago, around two in the afternoon, hours after cider had began being served. The line was constantly moving forward, the Apples proving to be nothing if not efficient, but there were still dozens and dozens of ponies between utter boredom and freedom. Also cider.

She sighed. Seriously, just what was she doing here? She could be helping an old lady's cat out of a tree... or something.

"How ya holding up back there?"

"I'm bored out of my mind. Remind me why I'm doing this?"

"Because you love your buddy Cloudchaser and trust her when she says fresh Apple cider is amazing. Besides, the line's not that long."

A voice piped up behind her, sensing an opportunity. "I'm just surprised you're so vocal about it. I don't think I've seen you drink non-alcoholic cider since I got here."

Cloudchaser held a hoof to her heart, feigning offense. "Oh, Twinkleshine, you hurt me so... Even the little one makes fun of me."

The group shared a little chuckle, but afterwards Wisp heard her unicorn friend mumbling something about not being that short.

That distraction quickly past, Wisp found herself looking to Flitter as her last possible means of solace. "Is it really that good, though?"

Standing ahead of her sister, Flitter nodded back at her. "It IS just cider, but it's Apple family cider. It really does taste different fresh. The wait helps, too."

That didn't offer the searchpony much comfort, but as usual, it was more convincing than anything Cloudchaser had said. And to be sure, the Apple-brand cider she had tried over at Sun's Flank was impressive, to say the least.

Even so, Wisp hung her head in defeat, resolving to at least get to the end of the line so she could see—or rather, taste—for herself. She definitely wasn't about to go through this again, that was for sure.

Time dragged slowly forward. A little conversation with her friends helped here and there, but by and large, standing in a line was incredibly boring. Looking down toward the end—or rather, beginning—of the queue was little better, because then Wisp found herself envious of the ponies walking off with drink in hoof, free again to do whatever they wanted with their day. Cloudchaser had been right, though: there were only about six dozen ponies in front of them now. At least most of their wait was over.

Eventually Wisp found herself taking in Cloudchaser's visage, letting her thoughts drift to the mare in front of her. The mare to blame for her current distress.

As ever, the pegasus was... a pegasus. Yes, brilliant observation, Wisp. With her spiky hair, and her confident, carefree attitude. Those powerful wings. That cutie mark...

She thought back to the last mare she knew with such a cutie mark, and how her heart had stopped when she first saw the mark's resemblance. Shooting Star was otherwise nothing like Cloudchaser; She always spoke clearly and tactfully, always had an air of dignity about her, always put the utmost care into her appearance, and always took her work seriously. Her dream was to become a famous actress, and she was well on her way to achieving it.

For that matter, Wisp still missed the regal black pegasus... but those days were behind her.

Cloudchaser, on the other hoof, was most often blunt and to the point—if she wasn't, she was likely being suggestive. She was anything but tactful, always blurting out whatever she was thinking before considering the consequences. Her idea of personal hygiene was a bit of hair spray and a dry toothbrush. She had a dream, she was told, to become a Wonderbolt, but no goals to help her achieve that; she and Flitter worked weather duty, but often enough, Cloudchaser skipped to hang out with friends or babysit Thunderlane's little brother. Which was a shame, as Flitter told her that Cloudchaser could be really good at weather work and even athletic flying if she'd just put her mind to it.

All things considered, Cloudchaser was probably less than an ideal candidate for a romantic partner. She was rash, she didn't think things through...

...And why was she thinking about this? Wisp remembered her musings from the previous night, about how she seemed to want a partner yet didn't seem interested in anyone. If she was going to idly ponder the options before her, why not Flitter? For all her chiding, she didn't seem to be working toward anything either, but she seemed satisfied with weather work. Even then, she sometimes skipped along with her sister, but she still had a much more level head on her shoulders. She knew when and what to say, and how to say it... And, Wisp had to admit, she was a very pretty mare. Much more... Elegant. Not to mention that the bow looked cute on her.

The line moved forward another couple steps.

Uuugh...

"Hey, Flitter."

"Mhm?" the pegasus replied.

"I don't know why I've never asked, but what's with the bow?"

"Oh, this?" Flitter patted the accessory affectionately. "'Chase gave it to me when we were little, to celebrate our reunion. Well, she got me this one as a replacement once I outgrew that one, but you get the idea."

"Huh."

Looking again to the mare just in front of her, Wisp prodded, "I'd have never guessed you had a sentimental side, Cloudchaser."

The tomboy scoffed. Wisp leaned over and caught a glimpse of the rare blush she was trying to hide. "What? I can be sensitive and stuff just like anypony else."

"Yeah," Wisp said, "But you should show it more often. It's pretty cute."

The unicorn figured the wild-haired mare wasn't accustomed to being described as "cute," because she didn't even try fighting back or turning it around on her. She could have pressed further, poked fun at her for getting all embarrassed, somehow that didn't seem right. Maybe next time.

Mind returning again to the matter at hoof, though, Wisp was beginning to come to terms with the simple fact that she was going to have to deal with this boredom for a while. She wasn't ready to call it quits just yet, though. Maybe she could—

Wisp heard Twinkleshine eep out an "ow!" as the stallion behind her shoved in front of her. His coat and hair were rather... yellow, and bore a slice of cheese on each flank. Maybe his name was particularly cheesy. Maybe this pony was dealing with his boredom worse than Wisp was, but she didn't care.

He had hurt Twinkleshine.

She gave the offending pegasus a deathly cold glare. "Excuse me."

The stallion grunted in her general direction. "Yeah?"

"I think you should apologize to my friend, there."

"Look, lady, I just want my cid—"

Funny how being forcibly levitated upside-down got a pony to reconsider their position. He didn't seen particularly comfortable as she faced him toward her friend for his own convenience. "Er, uh... s-sorry."

"Good," Wisp grunted in kind as she swung her head and flung him as far as she could toward the back of the line. Which, as it happened, was a good twenty meters or so.

To her confusion, Twinkleshine didn't appear all too pleased. "What was that for, Wisp?"

Wisp turned her nose up at the mere thought of the jerk. "For one, he was rude enough to cut in line. More importantly, he hurt you."

Rubbing her chest, Twink agreed, "Yeah, but I could have handled it. Need I remind you that I can take care of myself?"

It was times like this that Wisp noted with some amusement that Twinkleshine came from an earth pony family. "Sure, you could have, but does it matter? He got what he deserved, and everypony behind us will be glad to have their cider that much sooner."

"Actually," Flitter cut in hesitantly, "I'm not so sure about that."

Attention drawn away from the potential squabble, the unicorns looked at each other, then to Flitter. "What do you mean?" Wisp asked.

"It looks like they ran out already," Cloudchaser groaned.

"What?"

They looked down at the cider stand, about fifty ponies away. Sure enough, there were no more cider barrels in sight, and discontent was quickly spreading through the ranks. By the sound of the crowd's unhappy grunting and shouting, this was nothing new.

Cloudchaser rubbed a hoof against her face. "I knew we should've gotten here earlier..."

Wisp's ear twitched. In exasperated disbelief, she shook her head and moaned, incredulous, "You mean you knew this might happen?"

The pegasus anxiously ruffled her wings. She seemed no less pleased to have wasted Wisp's time. "Yeah, there never really is enough for everypony that shows. Flits and I were thinking of camping out last night like some ponies did, but..."

"But?"

"Well, we couldn't just go without knowing whether you two wanted to come with. And we both forgot to bring it up sooner, so..."

Wisp took her own turn to rub her face. She couldn't be too mad with Cloudchaser, not after what she'd just said. But when she had felt this was a waste of time to begin with...

"It's fine... Let's just get out of here. I'm ready to do something productive with my day."

With that, the four friends broke from the cider queue. Neither Twinkleshine nor Flitter seemed quite as disappointed as their counterparts, but nopony was pleased. As for the other ponies there, many seemed content to stay and shoot complaints at the Apples, but some agreed it was best to just leave and followed suit. There was nothing left for them here.

—————————

"I said I was sorry, Wisp."

"And I said I'm not mad at you."

"Then why does it sound like you are?"

The Ponyville immigrant sighed. This wasn't helping her mood. "I'm just a bit frustrated, is all. I'm not happy that it happened, but I don't blame you, either." Not really.

"Well, let me make it up to you."

That was another thing about Cloudchaser. She could be... stubborn. As this looked to be one of those times, Wisp simply gave in outright. Whatever she had in mind might actually help, anyway.

"What do you have in mind, then?"

"Uh..."

Flitter and Twinkleshine were lagging behind on the way back into Ponyville, quietly watching the scene unfold. They apparently thought it best not to interfere.

As for Wisp, she found herself vaguely amused. Cloudchaser could really act responsible when she wanted to, but she was still Cloudchaser. The way her face scrunched up as she tried thinking up ideas was fun to watch, too.

"Well, I could... take you to the movies?"

Wisp shrugged. "Maybe, I guess. But I don't know what's playing."

"Great. Then we'll go watch Exploding Penguins 3!"

"..."

"Or... not?"

"Cloudchaser, that movie sounds ridiculous."

"Well, I don't know what else is playing. We could go check."

Wisp shrugged again, waving off the idea. "Nevermind, I don't think I'm really in the mood for a movie."

It was at that moment she heard Twinkleshine mumble something. It was hard to tell from this far away, but it sounded an awful lot like she was disappointed about something...

Without even looking back, Wisp indignantly chided, "Twinkleshine, if you're hoping for us to play out some romantic fantasy of yours..."

The ensuing silence told her all she needed to know. The other unicorn would make sure she knew if she missed her mark, and sound all offended while she was at it. Flitter, for her part, just giggled, no doubt at the blush that must have been spreading across Twinkleshine's face.

"And Cloudchaser, I swear, if you hit on me just because I brought up romance..."

"Aw. I had a good one, too..."

Wisp was surprised the pegasus gave up that easily. She couldn't complain, but she didn't know what to make of her current pensive expression. Or the way she was looking at her horn. And then to her own wings.

"Hm. Twinkie over there said before that you have a thing for pegasi, right?"

Ignoring Twinkleshine's cry not to call her Twinkie, Wisp gave the purple mare a warning look. "Cloudchaser..."

"I'm just thinking... Maybe part of that is because you'd like to be able to fly. Unconsciously."

"Subconsciously."

"Gesundheit. So, what if I flew you around on my back for a while? Give you a taste of what it's like."

That... actually sounded interesting. Wisp had never really had a pegasus carry her around before, not for the sake of it. She had wanted Star to when they were together, but that was one thing the prim pegasus wasn't willing to do, except when carrying her to their special spot.

...Moving on, Wisp thought back to her previous relationships with pegasi. None of them had really lasted long enough to reach the point of romantic flights. Indeed, it seemed that the closest she had ever came to experiencing flight was levitating herself.

But speaking of relationships... Wisp could already hear the gears turning in Twinkleshine's head. As soon as Cloudchaser had suggested it, she must've been blushing at how romantic it sounded.

She sighed inwardly. Her friend had always been so hopelessly infatuated with romance, she could be a real nuisance sometimes. More importantly, though, this would make things awkward should she accept. For some reason, the small pony seemed to have recently latched onto the idea of her and Cloudchaser hooking up, and she had no idea where it had come from... Though, when Wisp thought about it, it really was nothing new. She'd get it out of her system soon enough, then probably matchmake her with the Mayor, or Berry, or... something.

Then again, it was thanks to Twinkleshine's encouragement that she had ended up in her previous relationship to begin with...

Regardless, a little flight would definitely be a new experience. Why not?

"...Alright. That sounds fun, actually."

"Cool," Cloudchaser responded with a toothy grin. "Hop on, then."

Wisp did a double-take. "W-what, right now?"

"Well, yeah. No time like the present." The pegasus unfolded her wings, bending down parallel to her and waiting patiently.

When Wisp hesitated, she said, "Come on, already."

Okay, maybe not that patient.

Looking around, Wisp saw that there were no other ponies around, but... "What if someone sees us?"

"Who cares what ponies think. Besides, would you rather have ponies gossiping, or me teasing you?"

"You're going to tease me either way."

"True, but if you keep me waiting much longer I'm gonna accuse you of standing me up."

"Fine, fine..."

Making sure not to look back at the other half of the group, Wisp acquiesced and crawled onto Cloudchaser's back, wrapping her forelegs around her neck and being mindful of the wings. Once she was situated, her ride stood back up and prepared for takeoff.

"Have fun, you two," Flitter called. "Make sure you're back by bedtime!"

The unicorn felt her ears flush with heat. "Let's just go," she quietly implored.

Wisp counted herself fortunate that, for once, Cloudchaser didn't feel like making her as uncomfortable as possible. At her request, she promptly took off, hooves outstretched, and made for the clouds, actually busting through one on the way. Wisp noted that the cloud had actually popped, evaporating into vapor instead of simply allowing solid matter to phase through as the laws of physics would normally demand.

Pegasus magic was weird.

It was taking the newly airborne unicorn a while to look anywhere but straight ahead. She was more focused on making sure her grip was reliable and the increasingly apparent fact that if it wasn't, she would make a pretty smear somewhere on the streets below.

Well, in truth, she might be able to save herself with magic. Probably. The same could not be said for most other unicorns... She forgot that, sometimes. Naturally, though, this did little to calm her fear of falling to her death.

Clenching her eyes shut, Wisp felt Cloudchaser change trajectory, taking a wide, slow turn before eventually leveling off and flying straight again. This allowed her passenger to slowly become more comfortable with the all-too-strange sensation of flight, but the prolonged silence was enough to worry her. Over the wind whipping at their faces, she asked, "Hey, everything alright back there? You're awful quiet."

Squeezing her friend's neck a little tighter, Wisp replied, "Y-yeah, it just takes a little getting used to."

"If you're scared, don't worry. We're pretty high up, so if you fall I'll have plenty of time to catch you." The pegasus turned her head as the other pony's grip started becoming uncomfortable, but laughed when she saw her face. "Hey now, just relax a bit. You don't need to choke me. And open your eyes, already. You're missing the view."

View? Ah, yes, of course. Eyes are for seeing. Right...

Maybe it was cheesy, but as she complied, she gasped at the sight before her—partly in fear, but mostly in awe. They must have been half a mile above Ponyville, because she could see it from one end to the other. It looked so small from up here... Not insignificant, but small enough that it made her think about how small the scope of her life really was. It was... humbling.

Letting that thought pass, she focused simply on what she was seeing. From this height, both Ponyvilke and the surrounding landscape really were...

"Beautiful," she thought aloud.

Her companion chuckled. "Think so? Imagine being able to see this all the time."

Wisp shook her head. "It'd be a bit more mundane, but still beautiful."

Her head nestled between Cloudchaser's neck and shoulder as it was, and still feeling a bit afraid to move, Wisp could only just make out her friend's smile. "Yeah, you're right." Glancing at back at her, she added, "I thought you'd like it. You groundbound ponies get so used to seeing everything up close."

The very much used-to-walking unicorn nodded. "Yeah. It definitely... puts my life into perspective."

Her friend must have detected something in her voice, because she lightly nuzzled her and spoke in a serious tone. "Hey, you're not talking about all that drama before you came here, are you?"

She lowered her gaze—well, lower than it already had been—and supposed that maybe she was. "Not entirely. This is just..." What was the word that had occurred to her a bit ago...?

"Humbling."

A scoff, and another quick nuzzle. "I think I get it, but you're supposed to be enjoying this. Kick back a little. Enjoy the wind in your mane!"

"I can't exactly kick back when you're the only thing between me and the ground!"

"Yeah, but you can still chill out a bit. Just trust me. If anything happens, I've got you."

She didn't chill out, expecting the pegasus to come up with some snark about her "fancy unicorn magic." When nothing came, though, she did make an effort to relax. She could be certain of her hold at this point, so she did as she was asked and slowly, patiently allowed the tension throughout her body to fade. Soon, there was nothing but her, Cloudchaser, and the sky. And the land below, of course.

She was right. The wind in her mane did feel good.

"Heh, yeah, that's more like it. Just enjoy the ride."

It then occurred to Wisp that Cloudchaser had yet to do anything very... Cloudchaser. No crazy stunts just to get a rise out of her. No dirty jokes. Just... flying. It wasn't to say that Cloudchaser fooled around all the time, but it could be easy to forget that there was more to her than that.

"You know..."

"Uh-huh?" the pegasus replied, dipping again into a slow turn, and staying that way for a while. They didn't want to get too far from Ponyville, after all.

"This is nice. You're so... serious. You're not joking around or anything. You're just being you." Pulling her eyes from the gorgeous canvas before her, she allowed her head to simply rest against Cloudchaser's. "It's nice."

The other mare didn't have anything to say to that. They just continued to fly in silence for a time, enjoying the wind and the freedom and the company.

That is, until a vibrant, multicolored blur shot up from Ponyville and stopped just in front of them. Wisp would have been impressed at the considerable feat of speed... But with her eyes still closed, the first she knew of their sudden visitor was the yelling. It was so unexpected that she almost fell off—although the abrupt shift from horizontal to vertical positioning as they came to a stop didn't exactly help, either.

"Don't even try giving me another excuse, Cloudchaser! Here you are, just flying around, when you could—"

Wisp opened her eyes and saw the bright, distinctive colors of Rainbow Dash. By the surprised look on the prodigious pegasus' face, she had only just realized she was there. She just hovered there, in place, until a blush eventually graces her cheeks.

"O-oh, uh, right. I guess that's cool."

Wisp tilted her head, uncomprehending. What was there to be embarrassed about?

A moment later, their visitor coughed and worked some of her attitude back up. "But seriously, this is getting ridiculous. Get back to your date, but honestly, can't you just take your job seriously like everypony else?"

What? Date?

"Sorry, boss. I made some new friends recently, and, well..."

"Right, I get it. Friends are awesome. But everypony else makes time for work, and so should you. It's not even like shifts are very long! Just... Try and work on it, okay? For real?"

"Sure. Sorry again, Dash."

The other pegasus didn't seem very convinced, but she shook her head and dashed away just as fast as she had come. Wisp watched the blur of colors left behind by her incredible speed and prismatic tail for a moment, but her mind quickly jerked her back to the matter now at hoof.

"Cloudchaser..."

"Yeah?"

"What was that about a date?"

The persian pegasus coughed. "Oh, that? That's pretty much just Dash being Dash. Carrying a non-pegasus around on a private flight is pretty common in relationships, but not exclusive to them. I'd have tried explaining it to her, but..." She chuckled. "She's more stubborn than you are."

Wisp's she didn't bother rising to the bait. At least, not really. "What, don't you mean yourself?"

Cloudchaser laughed. "Well, yeah, that too. But anyway," the pegasus said, flapping her wings harder to punctuate the statement, "Shall we continue?"

"Actually... Let's do that for a minute, then stop on a cloud for a while. You could probably use a rest, right?"

Cloudchaser blew a raspberry. "This is easier than it looks. And we haven't been flying all that long, you know. Also, uh..." Not in a position to demonstrate her point any other way, she settled for an eyeroll. "Did you forget the part where you're not a pegasus?"

"No, I simply remembered the part where I'm a high-level unicorn who knows a cloudwalking spell."

"Oh. That'll work."

"Mm-hmm."

With that, Cloudchaser shrugged before taking a little dive to regain their lost momentum, and continued circling around Ponyville, giving Wisp time to think. She didn't even know why she was thinking about it, but she'd been having weird thoughts all day.

She had been putting down Cloudchaser in her mind, earlier, contrasting her negatives with Shooting Star's positives. But really, was that any way to judge a pony's 'worth'? Every pony is different and has their own unique traits that make them special snowflakes and all that. And, in Cloudchaser's favor, her blunt honesty was as much a plus as it was a negative.

Past that, Wisp... really didn't feel like going over it all in her head just now. She was familiar enough with Cloudchaser that she didn't need to point out what she liked about her. She'd rather focus on enjoying the flight... But instead, she thought back to what Rainbow Dash had said. "Get back to your date."

"Our date..."

She thought back on the flight so far. It hadn't occurred to her before, but Cloudchaser was being rather chivalrous while they were up here, it seemed. And as she had pointed out before, it was really nice to see the pegasus being relatively serious for once, without a wall of laughs and jokes distracting her from the mare underneath it all. Not to mention that this Cloudchaser was making her feel remarkably... Safe. Even though she was hundreds, thousands of feet above the ground.

And those little nuzzles... All of a sudden, Wisp was highly aware of just how close she was to the other mare. This position, and how close their faces were... Eep. She pulled back a bit, raising her head up and behind her friend's, but then she couldn't help but notice the smell of the pegasus' mane. It certainly fit her: hardly any hint of artificial hair products. Just a natural, heady scent that...

...Wait just a minute. Am I sniffing her hair? And liking it?

Something dawned on Wisp as she noticed the heat in her cheeks and the beating of her heart.

Am I... crushing on Cloudchaser?

Chapter 7: Feelings

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Suddenly Wisp felt considerably less at peace than before. The word that came to mind now was "antsy."

She could try to deny what was going on, what she was feeling, but she knew these sensations well. Of course, it could just be a spur of the moment thing, feelings and thoughts encouraged by chance, but... No. No, it felt like more than that. The preceding sequence of events had helped, but Wisp got the feeling that this wasn't all that new.

The question was when. She had never really noticed herself thinking about Cloudchaser in that way, besides today's idle musings, but... Twinkleshine. She must have noticed something, considering the way she'd been acting lately. The smaller unicorn always had been more observant than she.

Which led to another question: Just what had she noticed? What specifically didn't actually matter, but from whom. Had it just been signs she herself had given off without knowing, or had the little mare noticed something from Cloudchaser as well?

If Cloudchaser had made any such tells, what might they have been? Shouldn't she have noticed? Maybe it was all the teasing, but... Flitter told her that her sister was that way with everypony, and Wisp had seen it herself, especially with Twinkleshine. Then again, the rowdy pegasus seemed to pick more on her than anypony else. But was that just how their relationship was, or was it an indication that she wanted more?

One thing was for sure. Well... Two. First, the day had taken a decisive turn for the awkward. Second... Cloudchaser probably didn't have the capacity to hide such feelings on purpose if she did have them.

Probably. She was no Rarity, but the persian blue pegasus wasn't as clueless a pony as someone like Rainbow Dash.

Dammit, why am I freaking out so much about this, anyway? It's not like—

"Well, it's been a little while. You got that spell ready?"

And just like that, her train of thought was destroyed. How long has it been? Does she suspect? Why am I so blushy?

Clearing her throat and licking her dried lips, and trying her best to keep her voice level, Wisp responded, "Y-yeah, sure, just give me a sec. Go ahead and pick a cloud."

She was glad for the distraction of casting the spell on herself—a little mental flex and a moment's concentration—but it was all too temporary. She took to testing how many houses she could count before they could reach the rather large, fluffy nimbus of a cloud they were heading towards.

The answer, as it turned out, was twelve.

Cloudchaser quietly touched down on the cloud's surface, having already slowed down to a more casual speed. Of course, it was a cloud, so the landing would have been quiet either way, but... Wisp was failing to distract herself efficiently.

Regardless, Cloudchaser made sure that the cloud was solid under her passenger's hooves, as well, before allowing her to fully disembark. Satisfied that the spell was working, she trotted a few feet away on the white, pillowy surface before plopping down on her stomach. Wisp noted with some interest that she sank a small ways into the cloud as she did so.

"Ahhh... That feels great." Pulling up onto her forelegs after a few moments like that and sitting properly, Cloudchaser admitted, "Okay, so maybe I could use a little break. Not really used to flying for two."

Somehow, Wisp's mind had quieted down a bit, at least for now. Deciding that she was content just sitting on her haunches, she found herself slipping into a familiar rhythm: "Yes, or maybe you could just use more exercise."

Her pegasus friend quietly snickered. "Maybe you're right, or... Maybe you're just too heavy."

The unicorn scoffed. "You're lucky I'm not just some dainty, sensitive flower, or I'd throw you off the cloud for that."

"You'd throw me off anyway, since I can just fly back up."

"Don't tempt me, now."

The usual shared laugh, soon replaced by fond smiles. The familiar lull in conversation as they recovered and took the time to think of something more productive to say. It was a scenario she had grown quickly accustomed to, and with her little realization not long ago... Wisp wasn't sure what to make of it. Of what she wanted to make of it. She was questioning a number of things right about now.

Cloudchaser was the first one to speak up again. "So... What do you think? Of flying."

Wisp rolled her eyes as her face twisted up with a giddy laugh, and she opted to finally lay down as well. "Are you kidding? That was amazing. The view was great and all, but it was so... exciting, and liberating. You could go anywhere you want, at any time." Softly poking at her horn, she added, "I'd almost be willing to give this up for a pair of wings."

The pony across from her raised an eyebrow in exaggerates suspicion. "Exciting? You didn't seem all that excited to me."

"Well, I was more focused on what I could see most of the time. Because that part was just as great. Most of my excitement came and went when I was still worried about falling off."

After a pause, she added, "But what, aren't you gonna say anything about trading my horn away? No smug-but-not-really jokes?"

"Well... I do suppose I can't blame you. Being a pegasus is pretty great and all."

The way her lips curled up into that lopsided smirk, the way her eyes twinkled... Wisp was—

Hold up. Was she really going to get all dopey and start dwelling on every little thing Cloudchaser did, now that she realized the way she made her feel? And for that matter, what exactly was she feeling? She hadn't had any time to process this; she still wasn't sure if it was a passing interest or something else.

Whatever it was, should she act on it? Sure, she wanted to, but... Taking interest in a friend made things complicated.

She did know one thing, at least. Clouds were cold.

She had only been laying down a couple minutes, and the chill was getting to her. Closer to the ground it probably would have been better, since the heat radiating off the ground would do more to warm the tufts of vapor, but way up here, in the middle of spring, it was pretty chilly.

Her discomfort must have shown, because Cloudchaser was looking sympathetic. "Oh, right. I sometimes forget most ponies can't keep themselves quite as warm as a pegasus can." Extending her left wing and patting the patch of cloud beside her with it, she beckoned Wisp to join her. "C'mere. I can keep you warm."

It had never occurred to her before then just how mature Cloudchaser's voice sounded. It wasn't particularly feminine, of course, but it did sound very... womanly to her. Low and confident, not high and airy like her sister's. Wisp wasn't sure which was making her blush more: the sudden attraction to her voice, or the offer to cozy up together.

Under her wing...

Blinking herself out of her trance (shaking her head would have been too conspicuous), Wisp coughed. "Are you sure?"

"Uh, yeah, I'm sure. I can't just let you start shivering over there."

She gulped. "Alright, then..."

She picked herself up off the "ground" and slowly trotted to her friend's side. Perhaps a little too slowly, but she made it over just the same, and quietly settled beside her as she laid back down. Her anxiety jumped when Cloudchaser's wing wrapped around her, but was soon enough forgotten as the cold melted away.

Of course, the cloud itself was still cool, but two ponies' body heat did more to warm their particular seat in the sky, and the warmth emanating from Cloudchaser let her easily forget there had been a problem in the first place. Not to mention how warm and fuzzy the simple contact made her feel... If there had been any doubt before that pegasi enticed her, it was gone now.

Still, with everything that was going on in her head, Wisp couldn't manage to shake off her blush. In an effort to hide it—even knowing full well it would simultaneously make it worse—she leaned her head against Cloudchaser's and nuzzled into her. After all, good friends did stuff like this all the time. She did as much with Twinkleshine, and it never meant anything. This was exactly the same... Yes. Exactly the same.

A word or two from her newfound crush pulled her out of her muddled thoughts. "You comfy?"

Not entirely trusting her mouth at the moment, Wisp simply replied, "Mhm."

"Good. This is what wings are really for, if you ask me."

She suspected she knew exactly what the mare was saying, but pressed her to continue anyway. "What do you mean?"

Squeezing Wisp a little closer, Cloudchaser explained, "Obviously wings are meant for flying, but I think they're even better for, you know, intimate stuff like this. There's nothing quite like a winghug, yeah? Plus I can keep my favorite ponies warm."

She's right. There really is nothing quite like... winghugs...

Wisp took a moment to simply bask in her friend's embrace. She felt a little guilty for enjoying it more than the pegasus knew, but it's not like she was about to shout "you wanna go out?" in the middle of... this.

Before long, though, her mind latched onto something as she turned her eyes over to Cloudchaser. She could only see the mare's muzzle when she asked, "Favorite ponies?"

Judging by how her mouth hung open a bit and how she licked her lips, it seemed that she hadn't quite meant to use that choice of words.

"Well... Yeah. You're the best friend I've had since Thunderlane."

Wisp could feel the pegasus' heart rate rise as she fed her that little morsel. It was cute, she thought. She couldn't go making any wild guesses, now, that maybe they were both going through the same thing, but it would be very much like Cloudchaser to simply be embarrassed at expressing her feelings so openly.

Of course, such a pony would soon need something with which to distract her companion, as well as herself.

"Oh, and, you know... Twinkleshine is alright, too."

Even if it had just been to benefit her flightful friend, she would still have laughed. Just as she would still have said what she did next.

"And you're the best friend I've had since Twinkleshine. I..." She looked in some direction away from Cloudchaser in her shame. "I've never had many friends. I always scare them off. Twink is the only one who's stuck with me through it all, and even then I fear I've almost driven her away before. Honestly, I..."

Why am I saying all this? All it ever does is make me...

Already her eyes were becoming wet. There was no coming storm, no passionate waterworks, as she had cried those tears many times already. Only a single raindrop made its way out and slid down her face.

"Sometimes I'm afraid I'll scare you girls off, too."

Cloudchaser promptly tugged Wisp closer, and was now the one nuzzling her yet again. The way she was doing it, she would have been able to see the unicorn's earlier blush, but that didn't matter now.

"We're not gonna leave you, Wisp. I get that you really fly off the handle sometimes, and it'll be tough. But it's been pretty good so far, right? And even if it'll be hard... Well, I think you're worth it."

Wisp pulled away to look her in the eyes. "Cloudchaser..."

The pegasus only grinned, tilting her head affectionately as she continued. "You're a great mare, Wisp. Anypony should be proud to know you."

There was no way she could hide her blush now, but this time she didn't mind. Maintaining eye contact too long at a time like this, though, would just delude her with romantic fantasies...

So she laughed out a "Since when are you so serious and charming?" as she returned to leaning against her increasingly dear friend.

Cloudchaser barked out a laugh of her own. "Well, it's 'cuz you've got me alone. When I'm around my sis, I guess I'm usually in a more jokey mood, you know? Something about being in a group setting."

Wisp blushed at what she was about to say. She almost couldn't believe she was actually going to say it.

"I'd like to get—"

Okay, putting it that way is just asking for trouble.

She cleared her throat. "I'd like to see this side of you more often. It kind of feels like I'm only just now getting to really know you."

"Heh, sorry about that." Pulling up her foreleg to ruffle her unicorn friend's mane, Cloudchaser said, "Just stick around, little pony. You'll get to see plenty."

She could have blushed at how suggestive that might sound. At how submissive she felt in this position. Bounced around the walls in her mind like a schoolfilly, wondering if Cloudchaser had meant what she'd hope she meant. But no, that wouldn't have done her any justice. It wouldn't have done justice to either of them. Wisp understood her words for what they were: a heartfelt promise that she had a true friend by her side, and that she would never leave her.

Maybe there could be something more, there, but now wasn't the time to go looking for that. To go into whatever song and dance to try and ascertain the mare's possible feelings, or the opposite. To just... blurt it out. Neither felt appropriate, not right now.

Instead, she just nuzzled her friend again, heart still swelling, and shifted around into a more comfortable position. They both laid like that for a while, finally remembering that there was a sky full of color and clouds to behold. They simply basked in nature's beauty for a time, neither saying a word. It was kind of cheesy, Wisp thought, but cheesy could be very good. If it meant getting to feel the way she did right now, she didn't care how cheesy things got.

That was her final thought before drifting off to sleep.

—————————

Cloudchaser was slowly drawn from her slumber by a certain grumbling unicorn. By the sounds of it, she had just woken up as well and was arguing with herself about something. Unfortunately, it was nothing intelligible.

Either way, they were both up now. The pegasus let her presence be known with a long, gaping yawn as she pulled her head up off the heavenly pillow otherwise known as a "cloud," and decided to complete it with a couple smacks of the lips. For dramatic effect, you understand.

True to what she had once heard, the yawn proved infectious, and Wisp now found herself experiencing one of her own.

"Ahhh... Dammit, Cloudchaser, why'd you have to go and do that?"

The pony in question chuckled. "What, you got something against yawning?"

Wisp's face got all serious as she tried to explain, "No, not really, but... Shut up."

Heh. Well, if she was gonna be that way...

"You know, I don't see what the big deal is. You're pretty cute when you yawn."

As usual, the unicorn's cheeks flushed red under her dark coat. She even stammered a little, too. She often reacted similarly to such compliments, but she had been acting a little strange today, a bit more vulnerable to such things ever since they took off. So, as she had expected, she reacted more strongly than usual. Something about the hour or so of close contact must have messed with her head—Cloudchaser was one hot piece of tail, after all.

Once her friend quieted back down, she decided it was a good time to strike again. Wisp had seemed pretty impressed with her not-so-frivolous demeanor, but they were both freshly out of their sleep. What kind of friend would she be if she didn't help her to really wake up?

Besides, she had meant what she said. Wisp could be really cute sometimes. That included yawning, as well as generally just being embarrassed.

"Hmm. You know, I wonder... Do you remember that one time you woke up and freaked out about having two sexy pegasi in your bed?"

The poor mare locked up as the memory played back in her mind. Cloudchaser had personally very much enjoyed that morning; she hadn't had that good a laugh waking up in a long time.

And then the unicorn facehoofed. "I knew I'd never hear the end of that..." Blush still refreshed and burning bright, she glowered at her recent sleeping partner. "Where'd the sexy, serious Cloudchaser go? I want her back."

"Oh, she's still here, don't worry. I just couldn't resist. Besides, would I really still be me if I didn't tease you at all?"

With a face displaying both fondness and exasperation, Wisp sighed, "No... No, I guess not."

Not long after that, Cloudchaser's company gave a shiver. They must have been asleep for a couple hours, because the sun was hanging low in the sky, painting everything shades of brilliant yellow and orange, which meant the clouds were receiving less heat. And less heat, naturally, meant more cold. She herself, as a pegasus, was built to resist cold weather, and with the wings on top of that, she felt just fine despite being well aware of the chill. Wisp, though, even with all her lean muscle and athleticism, was still a unicorn and lacked the constitution of either other pony race.

"Why did you have to bring us up so high, anyway?" She asked. "It's so cold..."

"Oh, that." Pulling her wing away to fluff out her feathers, she renewed the winghug and tried to explain. "Well... I could've stayed lower, but you didn't seem to want ponies seeing us and getting any funny ideas. Only way anypony would notice us up here is if they were already flying around anyway, which is how Dash found us. So..."

The darker mare shook her head. "You can be really thoughtful when you want to, you know."

Baring her teeth in a trademark goofy smile, Cloudchaser joked, "What, are you saying I usually don't think?"

"Sometimes I wonder..." she heard in reply.

She stifled a giggle at Wisp's wry grin. If you couldn't laugh at yourself, after all, what right did you have to laugh at anyone?

Right about then, Wisp seemed to finally notice just how much time had passed. Cloudchaser didn't understand why she suddenly got all tense, but decided to just wait for her to say something. She'd probably explain it on her own.

"Just... how long have we been up here?"

The pegasus gave a shrug she couldn't see. "I dunno. Going by the sun's position when we took off, it was around three-'o-clock. We did fly around for a while, then had our little talk and tell asleep. It's probably been about... Four or five hours." When Wisp buried her face in both hooves, she started to get a little concerned. "Why, is there a problem?"

Her friend didn't look up. "No, not really, it's just that... You heard what Flitter said, and you know how Twinkleshine is. If we come back this late, they'll totally think it was a date."

"Would that be so bad?"

Wisp gave her a look. A look that said such a grave loss of her dignity would indeed be very bad.

"Okay, okay, just hear me out. If we just blow it off as a simple 'date' between friends, which it was, then what can they really say?"

"Oh, I'm sure they could come up with something. They're almost worse as a pair than you and Flitter are."

"Heheh, you got me there... But still, it's worth a try. And we don't really have any other options, do we?"

"I suppose not."

Wisp then took a look down at the cloud between her hooves and mouthed something. If Cloudchaser didn't know better, it looked something like "just friends," but she didn't have time to dwell on it.

"Can I, uh... Just ask one thing?"

"'Course."

"Could we, er... That is..."

Cloudchaser graciously allowed her a moment to gather herself.

"All, um... This. The nuzzling and the cuddling and the sleeping..." Again with the blushing. "Can we keep it a secret? Again, you know they'd blow it out of proportion..."

"Of course. All this up here is just between you and me. I won't tell a soul."

Wisp gave her another look. One she couldn't quite discern the meaning of. She had been getting plenty of those in the last few hours, she'd noticed.

"Thank you, Cloudchaser."

"Psh, it's nothing. Anyway, you're still feeling cold, right? Let's go ahead and get back home."

The searchpony-turned-bouncer got another funny look, like she didn't want to leave. Cloudchaser empathized. They hadn't spent all that much time alone since they'd met, just the two of them, and she had greatly enjoyed finally getting to. ut with the cold and the conspirators, it seemed like that time was up... For now. Besides...

"Oh yeah, don't you have work soon?"

"Oh, hayseed!"

—————————

Wisp made it into Sun's Flank with minutes to spare. Or at least, that's what it felt like. She didn't actually have to work until nine, but she liked to arrive an hour early to have some dinner, or at least a drink, and just hang around before technically getting to work.

Cloudchaser had gotten her there fast as a speeding... pegasus. The trip from the cloud had only taken a minute or two, and she'd actually only just hopped off Cloudchaser's back. She could still feel the cold of the wind and the warmth of the pony beneath her... And speaking of warmth, now that she had a moment to separate herself from the... date, her stomach was exploding into butterflies.

We said it was just a friend date, but... That was such a date! Since when can Cloudchaser be so romantic? Everything was so...

Perfect? Not quite, but it came close. All it had been missing was a...

Kiss? Holy horseapples, am I thinking about kissing her now?

If the image suddenly permeating her mind was any indication, yes. Yes, she was.

She shook it off, trying to grab ahold of herself. At the least, she couldn't just walk into her place of work drooling all over the floor. Alright, just calm down. So I like Cloudchaser... I think. But this is all so sudden. I don't even really know what I want. I don't know what *she* would want. Would she even want a relationship? Or would she just...

...No. That was going a little too far. Cloudchaser was her friend. She couldn't start thinking that way just because she was feeling a little blushy today.

...But then, hadn't it been Cloudchaser and her sister who had told her she should relax and "enjoy the scenery"? Granted, they'd been drunk, but...

I need a drink.

Cantering past the booths and tables of ponies, Wisp took a seat at the bar and banged on the counter with a hoof. "Cider, please."

As ever, Ginny was busy polishing something. Right now, it was an empty glass. Wisp could never tell if she was actually cleaning out glasses, or rubbing down the same one over and over as an excuse to keep her eyes on the place. Bartenders could be funny that way.

Her eyes lit up as she realized who had joined her, setting her glass and cloth to the side. "Hey, Wisp. Sure you don't want your usual? We have some fresh strawberries in today, straight from the orchard."

The darker unicorn shook her head. "No thanks, I'm in the mood for cider tonight. The good stuff. Sweet Apple Acres, if you have it."

"Like we'd carry any other brand," the other mare said with a bemused roll of the eyes. "Hard cider, coming right up. But why? Something happen?"

Not for the first time that day, Wisp's ears started feeling warm. Should she say anything? She was a little afraid of what she might say, but... If she could trust anyone to lend an ear and keep a secret, it was Ginny.

"Well, I... I have a lot on my mind. Today was kind of... weird."

"One of those days, huh? Tell me about it." As the barmare levitated over her customer and coworker's mug of cold, fresh apple cider and went back to polishing. The fresh stuff, too. Wisp couldn't really understand why ponies would get so upset at the Apples for running out when they could just have a cold one later...

"Seriously, tell me about it. If I remember right, you've learned not to bottle things up too much."

Well... She was asking for it.

After taking a good, long sip of her drink, Wisp said, "Well, uh... I think I have a crush on Cloudchaser."

A shadow passed over Ginny's face, but it was quickly replaced with her nonchalance. It had come and gone so quickly that Wisp almost wondered if she had seen it at all. Either way, in the short time she'd known her, she had found that getting anything out of this particular unicorn when she didn't want you to could be difficult, to say the least. Maybe that was why she was named after a card game... Either way, she let it fade from her mind.

"Oh. Is that all? The way you're talking, I figured you'd had a run-in with Hugh Jelly or something."

"...Who?"

"You don't wanna know." Taking a moment to spit in the glass—yeah, probably just an excuse—she continued, "So... Cloudchaser."

Wisp gulped, looking down into the depths of her drink. "Yeah... Cloudchaser..." Looking up at her, she finally relented. "Lately I've been feeling weird, Ginny. Like I want to be with somepony, but yet I've turned away everyone who shows any interest in me. After today, I'm wondering... Maybe it's because I've been wanting her all this time."

The olive-eyed barmare looked inside her precious glass, likely sorting through thoughts of her own. "And what makes you think that, exactly?"

"Well, for starters, it didn't take much for me to get all embarrassed earlier. I told you how Twinkleshine's been acting lately, so there's that, and then all Flitter had to say was something about coming home before bedtime to get me all flustered."

Before she could even register the uncomprehending look on her friend's face, it occurred to her that she hadn't even mentioned the date yet, or the context of it. She quickly explained away the details so she could get back to the point.

"So we were just flying around, and everything was fine, but then Rainbow Dash showed up and thought we were dating. After that, I just... Haven't been able to get it out of my head. She was just being so sweet today, Ginny, and so serious. It was like a whole 'nother side of her. No matter what I do, I just can't get rid of these butterflies... But I don't know if—"

Her bartender held up a hoof. "Wisp, look at me. You're telling me you can't stop thinking about her, and that she's making it hard for you to think straight. Right?"

"Y-yeah..."

Ginny nodded. "Then no buts. You may not have realized it before, but you definitely like her. That's all there is to it. Don't get so caught up trying to define it."

She's right... I like her. I think I really like her, even if it took me a while to notice it. It feels good to just accept that. But...

"But should I act on it?"

"Are you really asking me that?"

Wisp gave her a confused look. "What do you mean?"

Setting the eternally-polished drinking glass aside again, Ginny looked right at her. "I get that you can be a complicated mare, but why are you being so hesitant? The Wisp I know is a mare of action."

"That's true, but it's different when it comes to stuff like this. Especially when..."

"Especially when you're still torn up a bit about your last relationship? Wondering if you did something wrong, brought it on yourself?"

Wisp had no response for that. She did, however, manage a little nod.

"Well, I wasn't there. Maybe you did mess something up with that other pegasus. But even if you did, you're a good pony, Wisp. Just like I said before. You're aware that you're not perfect, and that's enough. You don't need to hold back because you're afraid of messing up again."

Again, the Canterlot native didn't know what to say.

"You're sure?"

"Well..." Wisp wasn't sure she liked that tone. What could be the problem now?

"I'm not sure if Cloudchaser would be the best choice for a partner. No offense."

"Why do you say that?"

"Don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against her, and I'm not saying you should forget about her. It's just that most of the relationships she gets into... don't really work out."

At her bouncer's inquisitive look, she admitted, "Well, I don't really know any details, just that they tend not to last long. I figure her sister would be able to tell you more about it than I could."

Wisp chewed on that for a while, and dug back into her cider. Maybe not the best food for thought, an alcoholic drink, but it wasn't that hard, and she couldn't just let it go to waste.

So Cloudchaser's relationships didn't last very long. That didn't mean it would be the same this time, assuming anything were to happen between them, but it was something to keep in mind. Maybe they shared a similar problem with unstable relationships; when it came to dating, Wisp seemed to have a way of scaring ponies off before too long, and not just because of her usual issues. Again, maybe Shooting Star had been right and she simply got too clingy. Although, Cloudchaser didn't seem like the type to get too attached too quickly... Hm.

She pondered it a bit longer, but really, did it matter? As Ginny would tell her, she already knew what she was going to do. If Cloudchaser had any little quirks or issues when it came to relationships, she would cross that bridge when she came to it.

She liked Cloudchaser, and she was going to do something about it.

"...Thanks, Ginny."

The eponymous mare's eyes twinkled as she heard the familiar fire in her friend's voice. "What, have you decided what you're gonna do?"

Bearing a confident grin, Wisp declared, "Well, you know me. I already know what I'm going to do. All that's left is to do it."

"Heh." Gin Rummy picked back up her rubbing glass with an olive flash of her horn and returned to... whatever she was actually doing with it. "That's what I like to hear."

It was stupid, and unnecessary, but looking down at her drink, feeling her heart swell in her chest, she downed what remained of her cider in one swig. Right now, at this moment, she felt like she could take on the world. Even if she knew part of that was the cider talking and the rest was being high on... like.

Thumping her empty mug against the bar, Wisp smiled at her bartender. And, as she'd been very aware for a while now, her friend. "Thanks, Ginny. I was all over the place before you straightened me out."

"Eh," the crimson unicorn waved off, "I hardly even did anything.

"Maybe, but I needed a friend, and you fit the bill. Twinkleshine may have set me straight, if I actually told her about it, but... I'm glad it was you."

Fortunately for Ginny, her red coat made it much more difficult for ponies to see her blushing. "Pfft. Really, it's nothing. You'd do the same for me."

Wisp thought on that for a second. "You know... You're right." Looking around as she continue along whatever line of thought this was, she said, "I haven't really thought about it before, but I never really see you outside of this place. I think that's a shame. What kind of friends only see each other at work?"

Ginny grinned at the pony across from her. "What are you getting at, silly mare?"

"I'm saying I think we should hang out sometime. I might be a little busy with relationship stuff here soon," she said, barely restraining a giggle at the thought. "But I still think we could do to start seeing each other more often. I could always use a little more Gin in my diet, after all."

Gin Rummy laughed at her friend, told her she agreed, that she thought that it was a great idea. She felt lucky that Wisp herself felt this way, as she herself had wondered if they'd really become anything more than coworkers and passing acquaintances.

Soon Wisp headed off, saying she was in the mood to start her shift early, and walked over to her usual spot by the door. The fiery unicorn had been told she didn't have to actually sit in that corner all the time, but the bartender supposed it was an effective way of reminding everypony she was there.

She never did notice the sad eyes following her to her station.

And she probably would never have noticed, anyway, as she was soon quite distracted by her friend Twinkleshine traipsing over to join her. In humorous contrast with her earlier attitude, Wisp's eyes bugged out and she almost recoiled from the sight of the pink-haired, bright-eyed mare.

"T... Twink?"

She knew the way Twinkleshine was looking at her. It was THAT look.

"Yeeees~?"

Wisp thrust her face into her hooves. Unfortunately, hooves being the cruel things they were, they only offered her a moment's respite.

This was not going to be fun.

Chapter 8: Suggestions

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Twinkleshine squealed with girlish delight. "Are you serious?!"

Wisp simply tried to keep her eyes on the clientele and do her job as her friend gushed over what she'd just been told. A convenient excuse not to look the mare in the eye, especially when she was so... excited. This was exactly why she hadn't wanted her to know, but the amount of time she'd been gone had apparently told her enough that she'd never come off it.

"Y-yeah..."

"Oh, I just knew there had to be something between you two. The situation is just too perfect."

"What do you mean?"

"Well," Twinkleshine said matter-of-factly, "The dignified Canterlot mare, heartbroken by a beautiful pegasus, and the humble small-town pony, who just happens to be a pegasus?"

The "dignified Canterlot mare" didn't even bother dignifying that with eye contact. "You're generalizing way too much. You really need to put down those books sometime and get outside."

The smaller mare huffed at her. "Say what you will, but I've seen the way you look at her."

That much finally caught her interest. "And just how do I look at her?"

"Well..." she began, "No longing stares or anything like that. You just look... content when you're around her."

Wisp raised an eyebrow. "I'm content around her, so you assumed I like her?"

"I was right, wasn't I?"

It still seemed like a jump to Wisp, but she couldn't deny that she had been right... Mostly. "I didn't start getting all head over hooves or anything 'till today, though..."

Twinkleshine bumped shoulders with her. "What difference does it make? Just because you didn't realize your own feelings doesn't mean they weren't there."

She definitely couldn't argue with that, seeing as she had already theorized as much herself. It would've been nice if I had noticed sooner, though, she thought. Today would've been the perfect time to ask her out...

"By the way, though, your conversation with Ginny got corny, even for me."

She snorted. "Twink, there's no such thing as 'too corny' when it comes to you."

"..."

"Alright, alright... So what do you mean?"

"I mean, all that stuff about 'you already know what you're going to do, all that's left is to do it'?"

"...Yeah?"

"What is it that you're going to do, exactly?"

...Oh. Maybe she had a point. The answer was obviously "ask Cloudchaser out," but... she had absolutely no idea how she was going to do it. She hadn't thought that far ahead. Heck, if she could've gone to Cloudchaser just as she'd been asked that, she probably would've just come right out with it... But the moment had passed. She still knew what she was going to do, but how to go about it?

"Uh..."

Twinkleshine giggled, THAT look returning as she wrapped a foreleg around her newly-smitten friend. "Don't you worry. Your old pal Twinkleshine's got it all—"

"No offense, Twink," she interrupted, training her eye on a mare in the opposite corner who looked a little too drunk. "I always appreciate your advice, but that's all I want it to be. This is something I need to do myself."

"Well, duh," was her response. "I know how you are. I'm just gonna offer some... suggestions."

"Of course you are."

They sat in silence for a few minutes after that, Wisp balancing her thoughts with her work. Thinking back to an earlier point in the conversation, she eventually coughed and tried to ignore her blush. She had a feeling she was going to be doing a lot of that in the future, but she couldn't just ignore the question now nagging at her.

"You said you've seen the way I look at her. Does she... look at me?"

For whatever reason, Twinkleshine seemed a little surprised. "Oh, well... Not really. You're not the only one she teases, and I haven't noticed anything else."

Wisp released a breath she didn't know she was holding, disappointed. She had been hoping that the backseat-matchmaking had a solid basis on both sides of the equation. It would make things a lot easier—and perhaps more fun—if she knew for a fact that the object of her newfound affection returned that affection. But of course, life often wasn't that simple, was it?

"Although..."

Her ears perked up as the mare beside her considered something. She knew she shouldn't, but she dared to hope that maybe...

"What?"

Twinkleshine donned a blush of her own. "She does, um... check you out sometimes."

Oh.

She tried not to make too much of that. After all, Cloudchaser was probably just "enjoying the scenery." At least, she had no good reason to think it was anything more than that. But part of her—and not an altogether small part—was naturally quite pleased that the pegasus found her attractive. A smaller part, though, insisted that maybe it was a sign. Maybe it was indicative of her own fledgling feelings. Maybe...

Maybe nothing. Don't get your hopes up. That doesn't necessarily mean anything...

She looked to her friend, wearing a frustrated expression. "Twinkleshine?"

"Yes?"

"Why does my brain turn to mush as soon as I take an interest in somepony?"

The other unicorn just giggled. This definitely wasn't the first time that had happened.

But it was the first time it had happened with an existing friend, besides that one time. It certainly hadn't helped with her hesitation earlier, but maybe it bode well, assuming Cloudchaser said yes. Wisp had heard, after all, that relationships were more stable with a solid foundation. And why wouldn't they be? That made sense, right?

She was pulled from her thoughts, though, by the drunken mare across the room passing out on the floor. Wisp shook her head at the poor fool. With a sigh, she muttered to herself, "Some ponies. No self-control..."

Getting up out of her seat, she said, "Well, I should probably focus on work now. You should get home and rest."

Twinkleshine gave her a funny look. "Sure, I'll leave you alone, but it's been over a week, Wisp. I'm fine."

Wisp returned the look with one of concern. "But with your condition—"

"Look, I'm not going over this again. I'm going to stay a bit longer and have a good time. That's the end of it. Just... focus on what you're going to do about Cloudchaser, alright?"

With that, her curly-maned friend left her to her work. She could force the issue if she really wanted to, but then that'd cause a scene, and Twinkleshine would get all mad... So, resigning herself to her worries and mushy brain, she made her way over to lift the excessively inebriated mare off the floor.

I swear, she can be so stubborn...

—————————

By the next day, Wisp had decided that she would just wait for the right moment to confess. Many of Twinkleshine's suggestions had a way of making her head hurt, so she simply went with the path of least resistance. Not to say that she was going to be too picky—Cloudchaser was certainly no classy noble to be wooed. All she needed was a little courage. She just hoped she wouldn't run out at the wrong time—the thought of approaching the subject made her anxious enough.

Stupid, sexy Cloudchaser. Usually I'm not this shy...

She reasoned to herself, though, that things would still work out even if she did chicken out. It likely wouldn't take Flitter long to catch on, and Cloudchaser would have to notice eventually that something was going on, right? If Twinkleshine had noticed signs before, it couldn't stay a secret for long now, could it?

Plodding once more along the streets of Ponyville with her coworker, Wisp resolved to simply get it done as soon as possible, if for no other reason than that she was quickly becoming tired of all this anxiety and second-guessing. Whatever Cloudchaser's answer might be, at least she could regain her peace of mind. As she looked to her stallion companion, though, it occurred to her that maybe she had bored him with this long enough.

"Sorry," she apologized. "You probably don't want to hear about my would-be love life."

Wintergreen responded in his usual taciturn manner. "You know it doesn't bother me. Discuss what you will." He turned his face enough to look at her with one green eye. "Though I must say I'm curious what draws you to her. These feelings seem rather sudden."

"I'm well aware this pretty much came out of nowhere, but I've been interested in her for a while now, I think. I just didn't know it. But to answer your other 'question'..."

Wisp had to think on it for a moment. The pegasus' behavior yesterday had helped, but she knew there was more to it than that.

"It's kinda hard to explain... She's been a good friend to me. Flitter has, too, but... Well, Flitter doesn't usually mess around with me like Cloudchaser does. All that teasing probably didn't hurt. And yesterday was something else..." She tilted her head and sighed at herself. "But I'm not really saying anything about her, am I? Just what she's done."

As ever, Wintergreen's answer was silence. She was familiar enough now, though, with this relatively conversational silence. This one was patiently allowing her to continue.

"Well... She's confident. She exaggerates it a lot, but she doesn't second-guess herself. She sets her mind to something and she does it." A small smile graced her face. "And I have to admit, she can be pretty funny. She's loyal. She doesn't mince her words, and cuts right to the heart of things." A familiar warmth touched upon the sides of her muzzle. "Plus there are the wings..."

She coughed and shook her head clear again, but that had been the full breadth of her answer. As the pair carried on alongside the edge of Ponyville's expansive local park, Wintergreen said something unexpected.

"Don't get me wrong, but I do not think you should pursue a relationship with her."

It felt small, but nevertheless a pocket of fear and uncertainty punched her in the gut. Did this have to do with what Ginny had told her? "...What do you mean?"

Matter-of-factly the stallion replied, "I simply believe it would be a hasty decision. You know her better than when you moved to Ponyville, but you still have known her for only a few weeks. This sudden crush is likely little more than hormones talking."

Wisp's incredulity grew, even as he was finishing. "I would suggest waiting until you're sure you truly desire a relationship."

Her eyebrow the highest it had been in weeks, she asked, "And just how long do you suggest I wait?"

Without a hint of humor, he looked again to her and answered, "A year."

It was the completely and utterly serious way in which he said it. It was just so absurd. Comical, even. Did he remember who he was talking to?

Not five seconds later she was sputtering, trying to hold it back, but another five and she fell to the ground, beating the... well, beaten path with her hoof and guffawing to her heart's content. A couple ponies turned to look, but Wisp didn't really care. She was still a bit high on her conversation with Ginny—there was no way Wispwillow of Canterlot was going to be so uncompromisingly... patient. Not now.

Wintergreen had stopped, waiting for her to recover. Of course there was still no hint, no little grin or smirk, indicating he had been joking. As she had known, he really had meant it, but that was precisely why it was so funny.

Eventually pulling herself up, dusting herself off, and wiping a tear from her eye, Wisp breathed, "You don't really expect me to do that, do you?"

The question was met only with silence. After a few seconds she almost expected him to say something, but she supposed he already was answering her question. His silence and quiet stars were telling her, more or less, "Maybe not, but you should." She shook her head and had another little laugh. Sure, caution was a virtue, and despite herself she now found a tiny voice in the back of her mind wondering if she should be more patient, that maybe he was right... But no. If it were just lust, she'd have jumped Cloudchaser a long time ago.

She was still going to reveal her feelings. She would lose her mind if she waited too long, let alone a year. Patience was all well and good, but there was also something to be said for spontaneity.

"Sorry, Greeny, but that's just not going to happen. There's no way in a thousand years I could sit on it for that long."

His expression still didn't change. She figured he had to be at least a little displeased, and he probably was, but it would be nice if he would actually express himself once in a while. "Mm. I suppose not."

He started again on their officially-unofficial patrol around Ponyville, and Wisp followed.

"What, are you really gonna drop it that easily?"

He didn't turn to make eye contact, but that was par for the course. The earth pony often preferred to keep his eyes forward while on duty, official or not. "Yes. I think acting so rashly is a mistake, but I won't force the matter."

"Rash? What's so rash about acting on my feelings?"

"They are what you feel now, in the moment. Not what you feel in the long run." His ear twisted around a little, the way it often did when an afterthought occurred to him. "'Stability' seems an appropriate word."

Wisp just blew an errant lock of hair out of her face, feeling dismissive in no small measure. "I know you're an earth pony and all, but relying that much on 'stability' is just silly. Lots of relationships start way before a pair of ponies have known each other that long."

"But do they last?"

For once, Wisp got to be the one looking at somepony as if they were blatantly and horribly wrong. She made sure throw in a dash of indignance and condescension. "My mom and step-mom have been together for fourteen years, and they started dating almost as soon as they met... How's that for stability?"

"Mm. Fair enough."

It wasn't the first time she was expressly disappointed by his lack of emotion. By all rights, that should have been a satisfying little turnaround, a little victory she could laugh and pump her hoof at—much like Cloudchaser would—but Wintergreen's stoicism had a way of sucking the fun out of almost anything. It was annoying, but she supposed at least that if nothing else, the stallion was "stable" and reliable. Even if much of the time that meant he was a stable, reliable buzzkill.

"So anyway... Is that really all there is to it, Greeny? You called me 'rash.' You hardly ever have such a strong opinion about something..."

Following on the tail of this question was yet another silence familiar to Wisp, and a welcome one at that. The oh-so-tasty sound of "I don't want to talk about it," which always came anytime she inquired into his past or personal life. After how heated things had gotten when they'd first met, Wisp was wary of pushing things too far, but that didn't mean she couldn't poke around for information. And so, as she often did... She pushed. Just a little.

"What, do you have something against Cloudchaser? Something about being so loud? No? Hmm, then what—"

She gasped. It was crazy, but maybe crazy enough to be true.

"Are you feeling... protective of me?"

The way his back stiffened, and how he made the subtle switch from ignoring her gaze to avoiding it, Wisp knew immediately that she had struck gold.

"Aha, It seems my little Wintergreen is growing up. How sweet..."

His tail flicked, either in anxiety or annoyance. Wisp chose to believe it was the former (or, more likely, both). As she opened her mouth to tease the daylights out of him, however, she considered just what she was about to say and who she was talking to. This was Wintergreen, the pony with no past and no friends. The one who had turned manipulative when she had pressured him.

"Not anymore," he had said. Wisp hadn't thought about it much up to now, but maybe part of his strange behavior that first day—which hadn't been seen since—was her own fault. She had poked fun at him for having no friends, for being alone, just because he was getting on her nerves. Now that she thought about it, this fact greatly disturbed her. How could she, in good conscience, have made light of another's living her fear of solitude?

She took a moment to remind herself that she could really be an ass. No offense to donkeys.

Wisp opened her mouth again, speaking soberly. "Is it because I'm your first friend? Since coming to Ponyville, I mean."

He slowly nodded as they walked along, the park long past, and closed his eyes. "Yes."

Well, this is as good a time as any to try again.

Coming a little closer, and trying to look supportive, she asked him, "Is there anything you can tell me about your old friends? Anything about your life before Ponyville? It's hard to be your friend if you won't tell me anything about yourself."

As he always did when Wisp broached this topic, Wintergreen looked uncomfortable. Rigid gait, twitchy ears, lack of eye contact... He really did'nt care for this subject. But for once, to her surprise, he gave in.

"...Dawn."

Wisp tilted her head. "Hm?"

"Dawnbreaker. That was her name."

"One of your friends? The one you mentioned before?"

He only nodded.

"Could you... tell me something about her?"

She figured the moment had passed when he looked away, but he spoke again a minute later. "She had eyes like yours."

"Had?"

"..."

It appeared that that would be all the information she would be given that day, for he would say nothing more when asked for clarification. It was very little information, certainly, but Wisp figured that progress was progress. Best not to push it, she told herself. Who knows why he's so sensitive about it.

"Well..." She said, wrapping an arm around the stallion. "Thanks, Wintergreen. For saying something."

His silence continued, but she felt him relax before continuing. "You know, as a gesture in kind, how would you like to just hang out sometime? I shouldn't have to drag you out of your house just to see you."

Wait, this seems really famil—Oh.

Pulling away from him, she amended, "But, er, you know... Not today. I kinda have... plans."

The unicorn hadn't quite told her companion that she intended to "pop the question" today, and at this point she wasn't going to. She didn't much care for his opinion on the matter. Might as well wait until after it was done, and maybe rub his nose in it if things ended up going well... Just a little. But either way, she thought it appropriate to extend a proverbial olive branch; with how little Wintergreen gave of himself, just this little, insignificant offering on his part made it feel more like they were actually friends instead of mere coworkers. After all, however much a "mare of action" she was, she felt a pony like him required some caution and patience. However much she could muster, at any rate.

As the two ponies passed Sugarcube Corner for the umpteenth time in the past couple weeks, Wintergreen finally replied, "I'd like that." he added, "But I should be going."

Looking around her, reminding herself where they were and how far along their usual route it was, Wisp responded, "Uh... I guess we are about done, anyway. If you're sure, then I guess I'll see you la—"

When she turned back around, he was gone.

"Well, I guess that settles that."

You know, I'm surprised that actually worked. Maybe there is a pony in there, after all...

Wisp wondered not for the first time why she was trying to be friends with a strange pony so drastically different from herself, but she pushed it from her mind. With that part of her day over, she just had to kill some time until her friends got back from the second day of cider season. Oh yes, maybe she could have gone with, but she'd learned her lesson before. There was no way she was going to waste her time like that again.

In any case, she was feeling a little peckish...

The unicorn decided that being alone and unoccupied meant it was a good time to have a little treat, and she had a very particular treat in mind. Cantering just a few ponylengths back to her favorite sweets shop, she spared one last thought for her coworker—or, rather, something he'd said.

'Dawnbreaker.' If the name is anything to go by, she sounds impressive. I wonder what she's like...

As she pushed through the swinging doors, though she let that too pass from her mind. It wasn't like she could would ever meet the pony, seeing as Wintergreen apparently wasn't on good terms with her or any other old friends. Only time would tell. In the meantime, she had some money to spend.

The Corner's interior, as always, was warm and cozy. As was befitting a bakery, or a home that doubled mostly as a bakery, the air was filled with the sweet scents and smells of countless pastries and confections, all tempting and alluring in their own ways. Oh, how she enjoyed beginning her days with Cake donuts... It was no wonder the Cakes made such a profit: they were the best bakers she had ever met, and they knew exactly how to entice their customers. They were certainly savvy businessponies in their own right, or so Wisp thought.

It wasn't Mr. or Mrs. Cake she saw upon her entrance, however. Her hooves clacking along the wooden floor as she wandered in, it was Pinkie Pie she saw behind the counter, conversing animatedly with Applejack and presently unburdened by customers. It was no surprise, of course, that the Cakes' live-in assistant baker was manning the register, and Wisp certainly didn't mind the friendly face. Applejack however, look less than pleased, and as usual, her own presence didn't seem to help. Not to say that the farmpony came off as hostile, but she never seemed thrilled to see her, either—it always felt like she'd somehow offended the earth pony, and Wisp certainly didn't care for not knowing what it was.

"Hey, don't mind me," she called to them. "I'm in no rush."

"Nonsense!" Pinkie exclaimed. "The customer always comes first. What can I getcha?"

As she trotted past rows of mouthwatering cakes and pies and assorted pastries to the pair of earth ponies, she nodded politely to Applejack, and was pleased to at least have the gesture returned. Then looking to Pinkie she replied, "Oh, I'll take my usual gingerbread milkshake, if you don't mind."

"'Course not! I know how much you love your favorite treat. That'll be four bits!"

As the unicorn produced a bag of bits from her tail, Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Gingerbread 'shake? I've never heard o' you makin' those before."

"That's 'cuz we usually don't, but we already make gingerbread cookies and houses and have stuff left over, so it's super convenient. Everypony wins!"

"Huh."

Wisp levitated the requested coins into Pinkie's hoof, trying not to look confused when the cheery mare counted each one by hoof. There's only four...

"Thanks!" Pinkie said, slipping the money into the register. "I'll be right back with your drink." As she left for the kitchen, she called out behind her in a sing-song voice, "Play nice, Applejack!"

The eponymous mare scuffed a hoof against the floor, nonplussed. Wisp was no mastermind, but it she had to guess what that was about... Well, there was hardly anything else to guess, was there? But for the sake of social grace, she didn't pry. While at it, she'd have liked to just take a seat somewhere and let Applejack have her space, but with nopony else around, but if Applejack really did have an issue with her, she didn't want to risk seeming rude. Really, though, how was this place completely empty of customers at two in the afternoon?

But the fact remained that the room was otherwise empty besides the two of them, so Wisp simply took a couple steps back and sat on the floor as she waited. Applejack, for her part, stayed on her hooves and took an interest in the clock on the wall behind the counter. "Gee," she must have been thinking, "The laws of space-time are a fickle mistress."

Wisp fought down a chuckle. No, if she had learned anything about Applejack, it was that she was a bad liar. She didn't look very enthused by the clock; In fact, she was looking a bit uncomfortable. This, in turn, made Wisp uncomfortable. It really would have been nice if the place were more busy right now, if even just one pony would walk in through the door... Or if Pinkie would return with her drink. It usually only took a few minutes to make, as far as she could remember.

But Pinkie did not return, and the awkward silence continued. Sounds of various machines and cooking utensils came from the kitchen, but the front room still felt dead. As "a few minutes" stretched into several more, Wisp finally decided to make an attempt at conversation.

"So..."

"So."

Well, this is off to a great start.

"So, how's it going? Like, with life, or your far—Wait, shouldn't you be at Sweet Apple Acres?"

Applejack scoffed. "Fuh. Yeah, I'm not gonna be here long. I've gotta get back and help make extra cider fer tomorrow, what with them crooks threatenin' to run us outta business. But you don't really care about that, do ya?"

"Woah woah, I don't even know what you're talking about. What crooks?"

Applejack was taken aback for a moment, then tipped her Stetson and sighed. "Sorry, that was unfair o' me. I guess you haven't even been there t' see 'em."

Wisp looked away. "I did come for cider yesterday, but I left as soon as you ran out..." She coughed when she realized that Applejack must be here because they had already ran out again. For Pete's sake...

Another sigh from the earth pony. "Right... Sorry 'bout that. We try hard to make more cider every year, but it's tough. Maybe when Apple Bloom gets a lil' older..." The mare shook her head, electing to get back on track. She briefly told Wisp of the smooth-talking Flim Flam Brothers, their cider machine, and how they were starting to horn in on the Apples' business. They certainly didn't sound like the most outstanding of characters.

"And nopony seems to care where the cider's comin' from so long as they get some... So I'm a mite worked up about this whole mess. Sorry if I seem short."

The unicorn shrugged it off. "Hey, I understand. It must be tough running a business, even without competition. Although, well... You've never seemed very fond of me to begin with."

Applejack sighed yet again and turned to her. "Right... I reckon I should get that off my chest."

They both glanced toward the kitchen, still able to hear but not see Pinkie Pie. Seriously, what was she taking her so long?

Allowing the other pony to gather her thoughts, Wisp braced herself for the worst. If nothing else, it would be nice to finally know what all the dirty looks were for, but the conversation so far was a pleasant surprise. She'd like to get along with Applejack if she could, but she hadn't had a good opportunity before now to really speak with her.

"Look, I don't mean to judge. It's just that when I see you gettin' all buddy-buddy with Flitter 'n Cloudchaser... real close-like..."

The darker mare gasped in shock. "Applejack, you're not... prejudiced, are you?"

"What?" The other mare sounded as shocked as she was. "No! I jus' mean... Ya haven't known 'em very long. Or been around long enough to hear any of the rumors, fer that matter."

"Let me just stop you for a second there, Applejack, and point out that it's Cloudchaser who teases me around. As far as that goes, Flitter is usually just... there. And I've, uh... recently realized that I have a crush on Cloudchaser. So..."

The farmpony considered that a moment. "Fair enough, I suppose... But I hope you don't mind my sayin' that that one seems to hit on a lot of ponies."

She dismissed the idea with a hoof. "I don't. That's just her humor."

"I don' know if it's just humor, hun. From what I've heard, she's slept around, too."

Wisp's tail flicked to her other side. "We are talking about Cloudchaser, not Cloud Kicker... Right...?"

Applejack bristled. "Cloud Kicker? Oh, I know what she's like." With a derisive snort, she left that apparently-unpleasant thought behind. "No, I do mean Cloudchaser, and her sister, too. I'm not much fer gossip, but it sounds like they get around. With each other, if ya know what I mean."

It was at this point that Wisp had to stand up in defense of her friends, literally as well as figuratively. "Look, I appreciate you telling me this... I think? But whatever you're getting at, I don't take much stock in rumors. I'll start believing it once I see for myself."

Not to mention that she was getting fed up with all the negativity directed toward the object of her affection. She hadn't heard a thing before last night. What was the big deal all of a sudden?

Applejack looked something like she had bitten into a sour grape. Wisp worried for a moment that she'd been more forceful than she intended, but the earth mare carried on without offense.

"I guess yer right, but..." Again, she shook her head. "Nevermind. But let me say I'm sorry for bein' a bit cold before ever even talkin' to ya. I guess I assumed you were just some floozy or somethin', ya seem like a good sort to me."

Wisp didn't know whether or not she should be offended, both on her own account and her friends'. But it was nothing personal, apparently...

"Well... Thanks. And it's alright, water under the bridge and whatnot. But assuming makes an ass of us all, Applejack."

Just as she was darting her eyes around the room in case a mule or donkey had come in when she wasn't paying attention, Pinkie exclaimed from what seemed a scant few inches away, "SHAKE'S DONE!", knocking the startled unicorn back onto her haunches. Wincing and rubbing her ear, she looked plaintively up at the offender. "Was that really necessary, Pinkie Pie...?"

A few feet away, Applejack was apparently feeling the same way. "What took you so long, anyway?" she grunted.

"Oh, I was just baking up some cupcakes while I decided how much cinnamon to put in Wispy's milkshake."

"Cinnamon?"

"Yeah! She likes to have a little bit on top, and I had to get the amount juuust right."

"Uh-huh..."

"Anyway, here you go!" said Pinkie, gesturing to the glass she had apparently sat down in front of her. It was crystal clear and filled with a reddish brown liquid, topped with a darker brown powder. Wisp floated it up to her nose, and she was only able to bear the aroma for so long before she had to dive in.

A moment after wrapping her lips around the straw, the world imploded into a symphony of flavor, washing away the small, insignificant room she was standing in. There was no Ponyville, there was no Equestria, there were no ponies. There was no self. There was only an incredible supernova of sweetness, unparalleled by anything else she had ever experienced. Distant stars blinked out of existence, galaxies faded to nothing in shame and inadequacy. Nothing could hope to compare to this... nirvana.

Yet, all too soon, the world slowly blurred back into focus. The mindblowing sensation was already diminishing into a shadow of its former self, yet it continued to linger. A lasting ghost of a taste of heaven. Even as Wisp became aware how grey and dull her colorful world now appeared, a tear rolled down her cheek as she took solace in one beautiful, immutable truth.

She still had an entire glass of the stuff.

Applejack, however, was not feeling so comfortable. The unicorn's oblivious, blissful whimpers, for some reason, only seemed to put her on edge. "Is she... alright?"

"Oh yeah, she's fine," Pinkie assured her. "Happens every time."

Wisp coughed and allowed the divine elixir to rest on the countertop, her sense of hearing having just returned. "I, um... really like gingerbread."

She spent the next several moments feeling the next in line of many blushes warm her face. It wasn't so strange that she enjoyed one of her favorite desserts, was it? It wasn't weird at all... They were weird.

Either way, she wasn't sure which was more disconcerting: Applejack's look of concern, or Pinkie Pie's accepting smile.

Before she could think of how to break the tension, she was fortunate enough for Pinkie to speak up. "So," she said, turning toward her earth pony friend, eyes twinkling. "How'd it go?"

"Fine... I guess..."

"So now you see that Wispy isn't just 'some floozy' and is actually super cool and nice?"

Suddenly Applejack's cheeks were reminiscent of her elder brother's much darker palette. "Well, uh... yeah?"

"So you've told your friends what you think of me, huh, Applejack?" Wisp asked with a wry grin.

"Nah," Pinkie clarified, "Applejack doesn't talk bad about ponies. I could just tell."

The farmpony just pulled her hat over her face. By the sounds of it, she had never even mentioned those particular thoughts to anypony, and Wisp couldn't remember seeing these earth ponies in the same place since her welcome party. In which case, Pinkie must have gleaned that information from Applejack's demeanor just minutes ago, when she had entered Sugarcube Corner?

Let it never be said that Pinkie Pie isn't perceptive...

"Heh. Well, no hard feelings, Applejack."

"Likewise."

With that settled, there really wasn't anything left to say. Wisp excused herself and retreated to a booth on the other side of the room to enjoy her drink and allow the earth ponies to continue their earlier conversation. By the time Applejack left for the farm, any potential for conversation with Pinkie had died down—even before other customers finally started showing up. And as far as that went, Wisp still had no idea where they had been; maybe ponies were still on their way back from the cider line. But if that were so, how had Applejack arrived ahead of them?

Ponyville was confusing sometimes.

Regardless, she was able to savor her drink in peace. And what a drink it was... As Wisp had told Applejack, she really liked gingerbread. Ever since her first bite into a gingerbread cookie as a filly, she had been fascinated with the stuff; it seemed so underappreciated to her, but it tasted so good. Without coming to a pastry shop or the like, most ponies only thought of it around the holidays. But heck, Sugarcube Corner even looked like a gingerbread house. Mm...

Suddenly, a very particular foalhood memory popped into Wisp's mind. One she was very fond of.

Heheh, Mom got so mad... But how was I to know it would explode like that?

Gingerbread houses weren't her favorite treat, however (were you really supposed to eat those, anyway?). She had always been fiercely passionate about gingerbread loaf cake—or parkin, as it was called in Trottingham—but now she had to wonder. Before coming to Ponyville she had never had a gingerbread milkshake, but Pinkie Pie and the Cakes had been generous enough to start making them just for her, and they were nothing short of mindblowing. She'd only had a few so far, but mm.

Then again, it had been a while since she'd had a bite of her beloved gingerbread cake. If it were made properly, and served without icing,
or perhaps just the right kind of icing... Delectable.

As Wisp's tastebuds again took her to a higher state of being, she sighed in contentment. She usually had the restraint to not whimper and moan after the first sip. Usually. But still her eyebrows furrowed as she felt unrivaled pleasure throughout her palette... Even if the effect was diminished after the first taste, it was still unlike most any other food she had had the good fortune of encountering. Still, if only she could again reach that initial, glorious high...

...I'm gonna have to start ordering some water with this.

The unicorn began to contemplate grabbing a glass when the world went dark. She was confused for a moment: she was between sips, and her eyes were still wide open. But once she noticed the pressure against the front of her face and heard a garbled voice ask, "Guess who?" she knew what was happening.

"Remind me, Cloudchaser," she asked with exaggerated annoyance, "Just how old are you?"

"Older than you," the mare snorted in her normal voice. Wisp was strongly tempted to say something about ponies acting half their age, but it really wasn't something to take that seriously. That was Cloudchaser: always playing the fool, entertaining others as well as herself. But was there more to it? Was it just a facade to hide the more sensitive mare beneath, to protect her from harm?

No, she was thinking too much into it. For all she knew, maybe there was truth in that line of thought, but right now it was neither here nor there. Besides, if a pony was so focused on protecting themselves, why would they stop, even for a moment? Wisp decided that she was just being pitiful and trying to explain why she didn't get to see her that way more often.

At least she wasn't waxing romantic about it.

Once Cloudchaser returned her sight, Wisp turned to face her and was met also with the faces of Flitter and Twinkleshine. Which was no surprise, of course. As of late, when any of them would be gone for work, be it Wisp's (un)official patrol or the sisters' weather work, the group would often meet up at Sugarcube Corner in the early afternoon. Sun's Flank may have been more or less preferable, but seeing as that was way over in the east side of town and Sugarcube was smack dab in the center, the choice was obvious.

Twinkleshine was giving her a look. Yes, yes, I know. Flitter had a twinkle in her eye, as well. So you told her, did you? Jolly good. And Cloudchaser... was oblivious. Also good. Wisp didn't know why she wouldn't be, considering the wise and mysterious ways in which ponies like Twinkleshine worked, but it was good to be sure.

When both the matchmakers and Cloudchaser said nothing, she bid them sit down. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

Of course, just because they met at Sugarcube Corner didn't mean they had to stay at Sugarcube Corner, but this time Wisp had a drink to finish. Cloudchaser slipped into the seat across from her, and the others took their usual places at their sides. And just like that, Wisp felt... home, for lack of a better word. It was much better to be in good company than to be alone.

It all started with the drink.

"Is that what I think it is?" Twinkleshine asked, pointing her hoof at the half-empty glass.

"Think it's what?" Cloudchaser leaned way over the table—always such a gentlemare—and took a good whiff. "Oh yeah, that's definitely it."

Wisp groaned. "Yes, of course it is. What's wrong with my gingerbread shake?"

"We've just wanted to see you actually drink it. You make them sound so amazing," Flitter laughed.

"Yeah, Twink says you get all weird when you have gingerbread stuff."

She presses her hooves together. "I don't get weird..."

"Wisp," Twinkleshine said, nudging her with an elbow, "Most ponies don't cry when they eat."

It didn't take the twins two seconds to start laughing. They just didn't understand... But more importantly, they didn't understand! Twinkleshine was taking that out of context!

"That was just one time. One time. I hadn't tasted gingerbread in months, and that cake was so soft and moist...!" she whined in defiance.

"No, that was the only time you cried tears. I can only imagine what you're like with this new treat of yours."

She thought back to her little... episode with the milkshake. And those that came before. Not to mention the very first, when she had... cried a little. And insisted on paying double.

Her ensuing blush naturally made the laughing worse, and soon Wisp was staring into the dulcet brown swirls of her drink. Sure, it was part of the 'problem,' but... Was it so wrong to want a little escape? Alas, she soon regretted her decision; it had been several minutes before her friends had arrived that she had taken her last sip. Long enough that the taste was enough to elicit a certain... sound.

Flitter burst into a fresh bout of giggles, Twinkleshine just gave her a snide "I told you so" look, and Cloudchaser had both hooves shoved in her mouth.

What did I do to deserve this?

As if reading her thoughts, her unicorn friend purred, "Okay, now I think we're even for Daring Do and the Mysterious Goo."

For all her bright colors, Twinkleshine could be evil.

Despondently sipping her drink and waiting for them all to get over it, Wisp felt a nudge on her flank. Glancing up at the evil pony beside her, it seemed as if she was trying to tell her something. She was looking at the milkshake and gesturing towards... Cloudchaser?

She offered her best Um, what? look, and the ivory pony rolled her eyes. It looked like she was going to try something else when Cloudchaser interrupted their implicit conversation. "Is it really that good? I wanna taste."

If the pleased look on Twinkleshine's face as Wisp absently nudged the glass toward the pegasus meant anything, that must have been what she wanted. What? What did that have to do with—

Oh. Right.

The aspiring mage inwardly shook her head. Of course she would latch onto an idea so trivial as sharing a drink. Twinkleshine had a certain habit of getting wrapped up in the insignificant details of budding relationships, if this could even be called that. How did this have anything to do with romance? Why not aim for something that mattered?

However, as she watched Cloudchaser's lips wrap around the straw...

...Stupid Twinkleshine.

She made it a point not to act too quickly once Cloudchaser returned her milkshake. Or at least, she would have, if she weren't torn between the embarrassment of choosing to... share, and the torment of abandoning the rest of that incredible concoction just to avoid the embarrassment. Sure, she could just drink straight from the glass, but that might seem rude. Or maybe...

...Twinkleshine had a way of making things more complicated than necessary. She had almost forgotten about her freshly discovered feelings, but now that that mare had gotten her fixated on—

"Hm," Cloudchaser murmured, licking her lips. Those gorgeous, supple lips...

Wisp fought very hard not to slap herself across the face. If was even more difficult not to do the same to Twinkleshine.

"That's pretty good," she commented. "I might get one sometime."

For a moment, despite the ongoing storm in her head, a unicorn's heart swelled with pride.

"But I'd rather have a root beer float or something."

And so her hopes were promptly dashed. So much for spreading the Word of Gingerbread...

It was about then that Twinkleshine nudged her flank again. She could have tried to puzzle out what those gestures were supposed to mean, but Wisp was already too exasperated to care. Even if the thought of sharing a straw with Cloudchaser was so oddly tantalizing, what would change? What would be different after an indirect kiss? Any of the little unicorn's further plots would likely be just as inane and inconsequential.

Better to just take things at my own pace. I'll say it when I'm ready...

But of course, certain ponies had other things in mind. As Twinkleshine huffed her annoyance, Flitter took it upon herself to make a little announcement.

"Actually, I think I'd like to try one for myself. How about you, Twinkleshine?"

"Oh yes, absolutely."

Wisp gave them both the eye as they excused themselves from the table. They would both have a hard time deciding just what to have go into their drinks, no doubt. And whether or not to get some food with it, or even whether to get anything at all... It was all too obvious what they were doing.

Well, what if I don't say anything? How would you like me then, hm?

...

But then... I don't really want to wait, do I? I said I'd get it over with as soon as possible. Even if I did tell Twink not to get involved...

Letting the interlopers fade from her mind, Wisp focused on the mare before her. Cloudchaser was oblivious for the moment, eye still on the... interlopers. Her persian blue—basically lavender—fur almost seemed to glow in Sugarcube Corner's artificial lighting today. Nothing dramatic, but there was a certain sheen to her coat; maybe she was trying out a new body conditioner or something. There was nothing in particular to say about her mane, however: it was as intentionally-wild as ever, still a snowy white that faded into a faint, greyish blue. Her makeup, too, was no different—just the usual thick eyeliner that did so much to prevent her from looking like just another rough-and-tumble tomboy. It was the little things that counted.

In short, she looked beautiful. Wisp had always thought she was an attractive pony, but only recently had she begun to notice the real beauty there. She...

She was about to wax romantic. Whatever. Maybe it was frivolous, maybe she wasn't thinking entirely with her head, but Cloudchaser was by all accounts a good pony, and Wisp wanted her. All she needed to do now was—

"They sure are weird sometimes, huh?"

"Bwuh?"

Cloudchaser barked a laugh at the eloquent response. "Your bestie and my sister. Think they're still playing matchmaker?"

Wisp tried to play nonchalant, but her nervous laugh was all too forced. She knew what it sounded like. That's how ponies always laughed when they were trying to hide something. Especially in romance movies. Not to mention Twinkleshine's novels, besides the lack of, well, sound... But regardless, what was there she could do about it?

"Oh, uh, I don't know. Probably..."

The other mare looked thoughtful as she sneaked a glance at the pair. After turning away a moment later, she leaned across the table towards Wisp, laying low on both arms, and bemusedly asked, "What, do they think we'll start kissing if they leave us alone long enough?"

Much differently from the day before, Wisp was at this moment quite happy to have a horn instead of wings. She was also very glad that she hadn't started pining for this pony earlier, for any number of reasons.

"Haha, yeah... Like that'd happen."

...Uh-oh. Maybe she shouldn't have said that.

Cloudchaser's eyebrow lifted, her mouth curled into her trademark smirk... And she brought out the fake bedroom eyes. "And why not?"

Before she could bemoan how good a day it was to be a unicorn, Wisp choked out, "Er, well... About that."

The pegasus respectfully retreated back into her seat, sitting upright. "What, is something wrong?"

Has she always been able to switch gears that quickly?

Wisp swallowed the lump in her throat and tried to focus her thoughts. This was it. She was about to confess to a pony she'd only just fallen for. In public. Where anypony might overhear. With two ponies likely watching her right, even. The unicorn suddenly felt remarkably small.

But then she took stock of herself. What was she doing? Wispwillow wasn't afraid of confessing publicly, didn't much care if anypony saw. She'd prefer privacy, sure, but she was confident. Unwavering. She could do this. She'd done it before.

She looked her crush in the eye. That goofy, charming jokester of a pegasus was looking back at her with a combination of curiosity and tentative concern. Even now, she looked lovely. It was so close she could taste it... All she had to so was say something to her.

Anything.

...Anything at all?

"Uhhh..."

"Wisp? Are you alright?"

Come on, just say SOMETHING, you idiot. If you pass it up now, who knows how much more you'll have to suffer. And how long will take to actually work up the courage? Do it now!

Wisp opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She still hadn't the slightest idea what to say. She was beginning to feel just a little awkward. Something about this confounded mare turned her brain to... mush.

She thought back to her previous marefriends, previous crushes. With all of them, her thoughts became a jumbled mess at first. Well, most of them... But every time, she managed to overcome herself and do something about it. Feathers, the last time she had actually played it all cool and smooth, successfully wooing the mare of her dreams—at the time—with her poise and confidence, and it had felt so natural. And while she hadn't always been so confident before then, and sometimes she had needed a push from Twinkleshine, the result was always the same.

...The result?

The end result was always a broken heart. No matter how great the beginning, something always went wrong, given time. She'd make some sort of misstep, get too angry or too clingy or too possessive... Or her lover would simply lose interest. Maybe even cheat on her before working up the guts to break it off. In any case, every relationship Wisp had been in up to this point had ended badly. Maybe it would be best to just stay friends, to forget about how she felt... They would both be happy that way, right? It would definitely save her the heartache. And did she really even deserve the chance at happiness, anyways?

But if she did do that, if she built a fortress of walls around her heart and refused to let anypony in, ignored every pony she took a fancy to... Then what would be the end result?

She saw an elderly pony, hair frayed and gray, lying on her deathbed. Nopony to visit her besides some family and a single friend... Or, maybe, not even that.

She made her choice.

"So, uh... Hearts and Hooves Day is coming up..."

Author's Notes:

Sorry for the cliffhanger. It almost ended a line sooner, though, so... Lol.

Anyway, for those of you who don't follow me (which naturally would be most), I'll say here that I may be taking a little break or hiatus now. More likely, I'll just be taking things a bit slower, but for a bit there with this chapter (particularly before coming up with the Wintergreen scene, and before and after the Applejack scene), progress was really slow, and motivation seemed to dip, too. I think it just fluctuates depending on how interesting the scene I'm writing, but it reminded me of how I felt back when I was struggling with chapter 2.

And let's just say I don't want to risk burning myself out again, like I believe I did then and definitely did with the original draft last year. So I may just take it easy for a bit, for all our benefit in the long run. Le <3.

Chapter 9: Hearts

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"Yeah?"

Okay, so I guess it can't even be that easy.

Since Cloudchaser was still sitting at attention, Wisp could only assume she was at that stage where the implications were there, yet hadn't fully registered in her mind. That, or maybe it had to do with what had been said on the cloud yesterday. They'd both implicitly agreed that there had been nothing going on; just a special moment between friends. Of course, those had just been words, but Cloudchaser had been the one to say it was "simply a 'date' between friends."

As with many things, "both" seemed the most likely answer. Either way, Wisp still had to carry on the conversation. But the butterflies in her stomach were agitated and uncomfortable, and it felt difficult to breathe. At least she had already managed to take the first step... She couldn't really back down now.

Just one step at a time. One hoof in front of the other.

She swallowed.

"Yeah. Totally. And I was just thinking..."

Now she had the mare's attention. She just had to do something with it.

"I just... Erm..."

As her mind wandered just a little, Wisp suddenly felt Twinkleshine's eyes boring into her skull. That was a bit unnerving, but not what really mattered; the butterflies were growing angry, as was she. There was no need for it to be this difficult. Why couldn't she just say it? She was standing on the precipice and hesitating, even though she knew there was a mountain of pillows down below... Probably.

And then she thought of what it would mean, should the other pony say yes. A simple image flitted through her mind's eye.

Cloudchaser's hoof in her own.

And what would it mean if she said no? A few tears, maybe. Disappointment. But she had only been aware of her feelings for a day—she'd get over it. She'd done it before. She'd probably forget all about it in a week or two, and still she would have Cloudchaser as a friend. Just the chance to hold that hoof was worth a little disappointment, right?

She jumped.

"Alright, so after yesterday, I just... I-I realized how much I like you. So I was thinking, maybe we could... Go out, or something. On Hearts and Hooves Day. Or something."

You said "or something" twice.

I know. Shut up.

Realizing she had looked away, Wisp rectified the situation and found herself unsure what to think. Cloudchaser's purple cheeks were tinged a color she had become quite familiar with lately, but that didn't mean anything—even Twinkleshine blushed when a mare hit on her. She still wore a look of faint surprise, but that didn't tell her anything, either. Of course she'd be a little surprised.

But then she opened her mouth.

"'How much you like me,' huh? Sounds like that's a lot."

Her tone was hard to read, but at least she wasn't turning her down yet. 51/49 chance, maybe? Hopefully.

Looking once more into her drink, she simply nodded. The butterflies weren't so upset now, but they were still fluttering about enough to cause a little pain. The next few moments were probably going to be as much of a roller-coaster as the last several had been, but all she could do now was wait.

"Hm. Why don't you tell me just how much?"

Wisp almost choked on a butterfly that had rocketed up into her throat. These things were getting annoying. "Uhhh..."

Cloudchaser just looked at her. Despite how attractive she was, Wisp felt a sudden urge to punch her for having such a good poker face. This was not a good time for that.

She coughed. "I've hardly been able to keep you off my mind. You're beautiful, and you're funny, and... well, you're a good friend. I'd love to get to know you better."

The pegasus pony seemed more impressed by that. Once she thought to close her mouth, she propped her elbows up on the table and rested her head upon her forehooves, eyes closed and gently smiling. Thoughtfully rolling her head side to side, she said, "You think so, huh?"

This didn't sound like a mare about to deliver a rejection. Or did it? "Well, thanks but no thanks" wouldn't sound too out of place. Or maybe "I think you are too, but I don't think it'd work." Or...

She still had to answer the question, didn't she?

"Yes. Definitely."

After a few moments more, Cloudchaser stopped rocking her head and opened her eyes. Those warm, rose-colored eyes. "Alright, sure. I think you're pretty cool, too. And you'd be a lot cooler with me."

The insufferable insects in her gut sure were elated to hear that. Maybe now they'd calm the hell down. But despite her relief, something about that didn't sit quite right with her...

Feeling more like herself than she had in... a day, Wisp cracked a grin. "You know, after what I just said, that doesn't sound very romantic."

She got a similar face in response. "Hey, you're the one embarrassing yourself and getting all sappy. Who says I have to do that to myself, too?"

Deciding to mimic her friend(?)'s position, Wisp tilted her head, looking to all the world as a mare who was completely in control, and totally not stressed out of her wits by a simple question. Funny how quickly things could change.

"Well, if I'm going to be going out with some strange mare, I think I should know how she feels, too."

Cloudchaser snuck a glance to the side. Naturally, a certain other unicorn and pegasus pony were minding their business, and only their business. Nopony could ever prove that the white one had just been looking over her shoulder, or that she was now sharing a giggle with the purple one (persian blue). There was no evidence, there was no case, you can't prove anything!

She turned back to Wisp and shrugged. "Well, let's see: You're hot." She smirked. "Literally."

Eyeroll.

"You're one of the most upstanding ponies I know. If I had a problem, you're the first I'd go to. And like I said, you're the best friend I've had since Thunderlane. I think we mesh well. And besides..." She wiggled her eyebrows. "You're really cute when you blush."

And there it went. Just like that, she was a blushing schoolfilly again. Maybe if she looked away and hid her cheeks in her hooves, that would help. Okay, maybe not.

"Oh yeah, this is gonna be fun."

Shaking herself off, Wisp tried to ignore the hear in her face. She wasn't just being stubborn, she had an important question to ask. Honest.

"Well, I'm glad to hear you feel that way. But..."

"Butts?"

NO!

"NOnotbuttshaveyoueverthoughtofmethatwaybefore!"

"Have I ever thought of you that way before?"

"Yes!"

"Hey, slow down. It's my question."

Wisp got the distinct feeling this would be happening more in the future. Already she was plotting her revenge.

"To be honest... Not really. I mean, the thought's occurred to me, but it's not like I've had a crush on you or anything. Most of the time it's been more... sexual."

Wisp didn't know whether to feel disappointed, embarrassed or intrigued. "Sexual?"

Cloudchaser gave one of her bigger shrugs. "Well, yeah. You're hot, like I said, and I know you well enough to say you're pretty cool. If you showed some interest, I'd be down for a quick roll in the hay anytime, but I can say the same for lots of ponies. Like Thunderlane, or Little Miss Twinkie Pie over there. If she were into that."

Alright, so it sounded like there was at least some basis to what Applejack had been saying. Wisp had been readily aware Cloudchaser was a flirty pony, but she didn't know it went that far. What she did know was that she might have to get a better read on the pegasus'... habits.

"Buuuut, now that you're asking me out," Cloudchaser murred with a wicked grin, "You're gonna have to work for it, little filly."

Wisp blew some hair out of her face. It wasn't actually in the way, but she wanted to blow some hair out of her face, okay?

"Is that so...?"

"Eeyup."

"Then I can say the same to you. Two can play at that game, Cloudchaser, and I'm the one from Canterlot."

The mare playfully winced. "Touché, touché..."

With that, the conversation died down, and Wisp was pleased with just how well it had went. She'd gone for it, and now she had a date! Or... something. It'd be a Hearts and Hooves Date, but that was a few days away. What about the meantime? Not much had happened, but it didn't sound like they were just friends now.

That's the thing though, isn't it? Things felt so natural just now... And that's good, right?

If only more ponies out there were like Cloudchaser.

...Then again, that thought was just as terrifying as it was comforting. One was enough.

Suddenly there was a pressure in the seat next to her, and the sound of shuffling as Twinkleshine and Flitter settled back into their seats... Empty-hooved, of course. Regardless of that, they had apparently deemed it a good time to make their return, and they both seemed quite interested in what their counterparts had been discussing. They simply had no clue, you see.

After a little banter, Flitter was the first to speak out. "So, Wisp," she teased, "What had you so red a few minutes ago? You looked like a teenager reading her first love letter."

And once again, the group shared a laugh at her expense. She groaned and huddled against her milkshake, quietly sipping on it for comfort.

Somehow, it tasted a little sweeter than she remembered.

—————————

Wisp had been quite happy, and relieved, to see Cloudchaser say "yes."

She didn't know how to feel about somepony else being so happy about it.

"Feel free to stop looking at us like that, Twinkleshine."

The other unicorn's eyes might as well have had hearts instead of pupils. This was one of those times...

"Oh no, I'm fine," she murmured. And then she wistfully sighed. "Young love..."

Annoyed as she was, Wisp couldn't help but blush at the insinuation. She had hardly asked her crush out ten minutes ago, but in spite of that... or maybe because of it, she felt the butterflies again.

As Cloudchaser reached over to poke and prod at her friend, though, Wisp was reminded of the all-too-innocent curiosity a foal might have when faced with a dead body. The similarity was not lost on her.

"Don't touch her. You might catch something."

"That's right. You should touch her."

"Twinkleshine!"

Back on her side of the table, Cloudchaser would have fallen on her side if it weren't for her sister blocking the way. Instead, she was beating the table, drawing unwanted attention. "Bahahahaha, I wasn't ready for that! I'm crying...!"

As Flitter joined in the mirth, Wisp fixed her dear friend with a glare, as she had done many times before. "How many times do I have to remind you that you're not gay?"

"Who says I have to like mares to support them being with each other? Any romance is beautiful."

"Yes, that is a lovely sentiment," Wisp agreed, "But that doesn't mean that you have to be so suggestive. We only just started dating!"

Her cheeks flared up yet again as she considered what she'd just said. Looking to Cloudchaser, who was still recovering from her laughing fit, she asked very quietly, "Um... We are dating now, aren't we?"

Wiping a tear from her eye, the pegasus replied, "Duh. I'm gonna give it a shot if you are."

Twinkleshine's eyes glowed with unholy light as she began to madly cackle and wring her hooves. "Eeeeexcellent..."

Seriously, her eyes really were glowing. Fitting with her name, well... she had a spell for that. It just wasn't unholy.

Dramatic breakups and life-shaking mistakes aside, Wisp's only regret in life was that her own penchant was for fire magic. If only things were a little different, she could just fashion some water out of the air and soak Twinkleshine's head. But alas, she had yet to grow proficient enough with water magic to do anything practical with it. Fire and water were just a little different from each other.

Oddly enough, ice magic was a little easier for her to work with, but it wasn't like she could just freeze the numbskull's head. That would kind of kill her. But oh well, shutting her up wouldn't be worth the exertion that would call for, anyway.

So for now, she settled for a bonk on the head.

"Hey!"

"If you're going to act like this, it's my responsibility to wake you up. As usual. Be glad I don't have a bucket of water."

The little unicorn harrumphed and mumbled to herself. "Love is beautiful..."

"I'm all for romance, but does she always get like this?" Cloudchaser asked, sounding a little concerned even through her ever-present grin.

Wisp sighed. "She calms down eventually, but every time I get a new marefriend... yes. Every time."

"I think it's cute," Flitter chirped.

"Cute is well and good, but it just doesn't seem healthy. Who gets off on other ponies' relationships this much?"

"You don't have to talk about me like I'm some kind of invalid, you know," the mare in question grumbled beside her.

"Oh, Twinkleshine, how nice of you to join us. How was your trip to the asylum?"

Wisp was cackling at her own joke, even after Twinkleshine punched her in the shoulder. "You know I can't help it," she said. "It's just so sweet. Yesterday you were saying all this stuff about her, and now you're already together."

The taller unicorn tried waving that off, but the little one had piqued Cloudchaser's curiosity. "What was she saying, exactly? Did she say anything embarrassing?"

Wisp deadpanned. "Don't you even."

Her and that cheeky grin. It was so cute, yet so unsettling...

"What, did you say something about wanting to see my plot? I can show you, if you want."

Wisp should have said something more like "No, of course I didn't," or "I've already seen it, blockhead." But unfortunately for some ponies, the words that left her mouth were "Maybe later, Cloudchaser."

To which said pegasus replied, with no small amount of satisfaction, "Alright. It's a date."

The table went silent. Flitter and Twinkleshine looked back and forth between themselves, silently mouthing "Ooh..."

Cloudchaser wore a great smirk, what she considered the spoils of her victory... Until she saw the look on Wisp's face.

Her mouth was twisting all about her into an evil, ruthless grimace. The pegasus before her wondered, feeling a chill in her bones, if she had ever seen a pony look more cruel.

"Alright then, Cloudchaser... But if you're so interested in a date, you'll have to do it properly."

"Uhhh..."

Before her victim had a chance to say anything, she primly turned up her nose and declared, "If this is going to happen, I expect a proper meal. No bars; you'll have to take me someplace sophisticated and classy. I have expensive tastes, so I hope you can afford it. Oh, and of course..." Then, with a flutter of her eyelashes and a seductive catch in her voice, she added, "I am sure you look oh so lovely in a dress, Cloudchaser."

Cloudchaser's mouth fell to the floor, dumbstruck. Twinkleshine looked on in awe, and Flitter giggled uncontrollably, managing to say between bouts of laughing, "Wow, she got you good!"

Cloudchaser still seemed to have no words.

"What's the matter, dear?" Wisp asked in that sultry, chocolate voice. She hadn't grown up in Canterlot for nothing, after all.

Nopony would ever know she had gotten it from her mothers.

Managing to catch her breath, Flitter continued, "Just wow... That's too good. You're on your own, 'Chase."

That finally broke her out of her trance. "What?" Looking between the other ponies, she groaned, "You're evil. All of you."

Wisp's smug grin lessened. Slightly. "You brought it on yourself. But, I suppose, if you're not up to the task of wooing me..."

Cloudchaser grunted in defiance. "You're saying I don't have to? No, I accept your challenge. 'Date.' I'm curious how you look in a dress, too, O Wispwillow of Canterlot."

Well, this was sure to be interesting.

—————————

Despite their tough words, the two ponies had to deal with the fact that Hearts and Hooves Day was several days away. Naturally neither of them wanted to have their little date before then, and it would be silly to go someplace fancy now, then someplace cheaper later. Best just to wait. Besides, it gave them something to look forward to.

Cloudchaser especially didn't mind waiting. She was going to have to dress up, and would probably be forced to speak in fancy. Although wearing a dress wouldn't be all that bad—some part of her had to admit that she liked looking nice sometimes—she had no experience with fancy talk besides a little joke here and there. There was no way she'd be able to match the sophistication Wisp would be expecting. She was out of her depth. But maybe...

"Hey, um... Rarity?"

"If you mean to ask again if I can just fit you for a suit," the unicorn tutted as she held the measuring tape against her leg, "The answer is no. I have no doubt you would look positively dashing, but you said yourself that your date is expecting a dress."

"Huh? Oh, it's not that. It's just... Uh..."

"Yes?"

Cloudchaser gulped. "I was just wondering if maybe you could teach me to... talk like you."

Rarity turned away from her work and gracefully slipped into view, her face the feminine picture of surprise. As her lip began to curl, the pegasus thought that Rarity must have longed for a chance like this, to bestow even just a little more culture upon humble Ponyville. Unfortunately (or fortunately) for her, though, the elegant unicorn seemed to be better than her petty desires.

"Oh, I would be delighted to, but why do you ask? Wisp doesn't seem like the type of pony to care how you speak."

Glad for the brief respite, she enjoyed the freedom to scratch at the back of her neck. "Well, it's just that when she turned my little joke around on me, she was saying I'd have to treat her to a proper dinner and stuff. Like, at a fancy restaurant. Fanciness seems like the entire point, and I want to get it right."

Something twinkled in Rarity's eyes as she walked away and got back to measuring. "Oh, I wouldn't say so. This is one in the same as the date you agreed to when you said yes to her, is it not? The point, then, should simply be to enjoy yourselves."

Cloudchaser's skin began to feel itchy. She'd been standing in one place for too long. "I don't know... That sounds right, but I don't want to mess it up."

The other mare chuckled as she tightened the tape around her client's barrel. "And why is that?"

Wait, why was that? It's not like this date was a big deal, right? Sure, it would be their first, and on Hearts and Hooves Day, but...

"She's just... a really cool pony. I want her to get her money's worth, you know?"

Should could hear Rarity grinning behind her. "You are impressed by her, then?"

She scoffed. "Hay, yeah. Have you seen her? She's as hot as her cutie mark, and she's almost as good at magic as your friend Twilight."

"Oh," she quietly laughed, "I don't think she's quite as skilled as Twilight... But yes, I have met her, and I have heard." Then the mare went quiet. Not for long, but long enough to make her feel tense.

"But is that really all you see in her? A... 'hot' mare who could lift you up into the air as easily as say hello?"

Cloudchaser frowned. "No..."

Rarity stepped back into view, apparently finished. "What, then?"

Knitting her brow, Cloudchaser took a moment to think about it. "I see... a mare with passion. Direction. She's made some mistakes, but she keeps working toward her goals. She doesn't half-ass anything, and she's still trying to do something with her life."

Looking into the mirror before her, she finished, "...Unlike me."

"You respect her, then."

She nodded. "A lot."

The unicorn smiled. "I believe it." Then she turned away from the platform Cloudchaser had been sitting on and gestured for her to follow. "Come now, let us see if I have anything you like."

As the pegasus obliged, she continued, "Trust me, darling, you don't need to change yourself to impress her. Your respect will speak for itself."

"I'm not saying I need to impress her," she objected. "It's just a little date, right?"

Rarity had another chuckle to herself. "Maybe it is, but your words betray you. Ask yourself, would you really be happy if she just walked away thinking, 'Well, that was underwhelming'?"

As she felt the weight drop in her gut, Cloudchaser followed Rarity into what looked to be the dressing room.

"...You're too perceptive for your own good, Rarity," she grumbled.

The other mare simply smiled.

—————————

"This is seriously what you do for fun? More bars?"

It had already been a day since she had asked Cloudchaser out, and not much had changed. Yet. Just more teasing and more blushing. Though Wisp held the honor of suffering the most blushing. She really hadn't needed her ear licked just then...

But she wasn't with Cloudchaser right now. The pegasus had cut and run earlier, for one reason or another. She hadn't really said why, and had already darted off before she could ask, but she had done the same thing yesterday. Maybe it has to do with our date, she had thought. Maybe she's looking for a dress or something. Wisp certainly hoped so.

But no, she didn't even have Cloudchaser on her mind at the moment. She was more focused on the fact that she had made the effort to meet up with Ginny outside of the bar... to hang out in another bar.

"What can I say?" the brunette said with an easy smile, as she took aim with her pool cue. "I'm in my element." She struck the cue ball, sending the other billiard balls scattering. Two of them rolled into pockets she had been aiming for, and she said something under her breath about playing highs. Then she stepped away for the next pony to take their turn.

"See?"

Wisp cracked a grin of her own. "Yeah, you definitely are. But isn't there something you like to do that doesn't involve the presence of alcohol?"

Smirking at the other players, she amended, "No offense, fellas."

The stallions at the table both gave a good-natured laugh, a unicorn and an earth pony. "None taken," said the unicorn, standing to Wisp and Ginny's left. "Celestia knows how I got this gut!"

The beer-bellied stallion began lining up his shot as everypony had a more hearty laugh. Fortunately for him and the other horned player, the earth stallion didn't seem to mind them using their horns. It was more a matter of convenience than anything, but many non-unicorns looked down on such a unique advantage, however small or superficial. This pony, for his part, seemed pretty confident.

"Sure," Ginny said. "But I figure, this was your idea, wanting to see more of me. Why not let you see me in my natural habitat?"

Scratching her mane, Wisp replied, "I guess so. But next time we're going to the arcade or something."

Something clicked in her mind a second later, reminding her of an earlier thought. "And speaking of seeing more of you, you look totally different without your clothes."

The barmare looked down at herself, then sideways at Wisp. "I do look pretty good in uniform, don't I?"

As the earth stallion cradled his cue in his fetlock and took aim, Wisp told her, "Yeah, You look really snappy in that waistcoat and bow tie."

A crack sounded across the table, and Ginny raised an eyebrow. "Thanks for the compliment, Miss I-Need-A-Dress-For-My-Date."

"H-hey, you know what I mean."

The other mare just chuckled as she took her next turn. "Oh, I suppose I do."

After that, Wisp was content to just watch for a time. She wasn't too familiar with the game they were playing—"Cutthroat," Ginny had called it—but the rules seemed simple enough. Since she had pocketed a low and mid ball with the break shot, Ginny was now assigned to the high-number balls, eleven through fifteen, and her goal was to be the last player remaining with one ball. Wisp found it disorienting at first, that the players were working to pocket others' balls instead of their own, but that was pool for you. There were lots of different ways to play.

As far as she could tell, Ginny was doing pretty well, but she was losing focus on the game and starting to think about something else. Not that she found the game disinteresting; the competition would have been fun, but right now she felt more like just watching. Ginny really was in her element—something about the way she moved made it clear this was where she felt most at home. Still, maybe they'd play some one-on-one if a table opened up later.

What she had on her mind now seemed... a little silly, maybe. At least, what she was about to say was silly, but she couldn't help it if she felt a little guilty.

"Hey, Ginny?"

"Yeah?" the dark red mare asked as she pocketed another of her opponents' balls.

"I want to apologize. For making plans without thinking about work."

Ginny scoffed. "What? Even if you'd made plans on any other day, I wouldn't mind so long as you told me about it. But it's a holiday, and your first date, too! You're going with my blessing."

That's not the real problem, though.

Trying to keep her voice down so the stallions wouldn't hear, she asked, "But you don't get the day off, do you?"

"No, and that doesn't bother me," she muttered back. "What are you getting at?"

Wisp tried not to look like she was pitying her, because really, she wasn't. She was just concerned. "Well, if it weren't for Cloudchaser, I'd still be going to work, too. But you, you're going to be all alone."

"Yeah, but I'm used to being alone on Hearts and Hooves. I'll be fine; The bar is my mistress."

"I guess. I just feel bad leaving you out to dry like that."

She felt a hoof on her withers. "Wisp, just calm down. You have nothing to worry about. Just go and enjoy your date for me, alright?"

"Hey, could you get your hooves off your mare and play, already?"

"Yeah, sorry," Ginny complied, returning her attention back to the table. "But she's not my mare. Just a friend."

"Oh, don't mind him, girl," Beer-Belly rasped. "He just gets cranky when he finds some decent competition. Ha!" he laughed, as only a friend could.

"Shut up, Randy."

"Love you too, Bill."

And so the game carried on. It could be easy to forget about some of the nuance involved in cue sports—the arrangement of balls on the table, a player's designated group of balls, and where the cue ball happened to rest, made things a bit more complicated than some ponies gave them credit for. Played right, there was plenty of opportunity to make things difficult for your opponent, all while maximizing your own advantage.

Wisp was more of a chess girl, though.

As the game grew more tense—there were only five balls left, two of them Ginny's—Wisp took to some lighter conversation to entertain herself.

"So how did you get a martini cutie mark, anyways?"

"Oh, that?" the mare grunted, licking her lips and eyeing the last low ball on the table. One more turn and she could get rid of it. "Eh, it's a long story. I got out, mixed some drinks, found I enjoyed it. Boom, cutie mark."

Wisp had to roll her eyes. "No cutie mark story is that simple, Ginny. At least not if it involves alcohol."

"Maybe I just didn't get mine until I was old enough to bartend, hm?"

"Yeah... or maybe you're just hiding something."

Her barmare grinned mysteriously as she lined up her cue, preparing to send Beer-Belly ("Randy") to his doom. "Get on my good side, and maybe I'll tell you sometime."

Crack. Bonk. Fwump. A grey-maned stallion covered his eyes and laughed. "Good game, young'un."

As Ginny readied for another shot, Wisp prodded, "Good side? Am I not there already, Miss Lots-Of-Reasons-To-Like-You?"

"I did say that, didn't I?" she laughed. "Well," she said as she gently tapped the cue ball, just hard enough that it came to rest between the 8-ball and a middle pocket, "I can't make things too easy for you, you know."

"Oh, you don't," Wisp responded. "But that's just the thing: you never really talk about yourself. I hardly know anything about you."

"Hm. I guess not."

The cream-colored stallion on the opposite end of the table grumbled something as he walked over and took position. Ginny smiled. She'd left him in a position where he basically had to give up a turn, and chances were she'd be able to down another of his balls afterwards.

"Well, I was born in Manehattan. Dad made horseshoes, mom drank. Didn't live in the nicest part of town."

Bill cursed as he saw just where he had sent the cue ball. There was nothing he could do.

"Mom liked having her daughter at the bar. Somehow managed to get free drinks out of it."

She lined up her shot. "Thing is, in that kind of environment I ended up with a few more noses up the skirt than I'd like." The 6-ball went into a corner pocket, leaving only the 8-ball, 11-ball and 15-ball. "So I left. And that's the story of how I came to Ponyville."

As Ginny's opponent grumbled something about unicorn mares, Wisp was frowning at the implications. "That sounds... less than pleasant. Makes sense that you wouldn't want to talk about that."

"I suppose. But that's all behind me now. I've got Sun's Flank."

Wisp scratched her chin, and came a little closer to the table when Ginny scooted the other way for her next shot. "How did you get your horn on Sun's Flank, anyway?"

"There's plenty of room for an enterprising mare to make it in this town," she heard in reply. "But I knew the last owner when she retired, and she thought I'd make a good fit."

Crack, bonk, bounce, fwump. The 8-ball had been sunk.

"So here I am."

Bill didn't seem very pleased over there, even with Randy trying to calm him down, but Wisp didn't really notice. "You really are something, Ginny," she smiled.

"Thanks."

The young mares found their not-conversation interrupted by a high, quiet voice calling to them over the din of the bar. Wisp couldn't tell what they were saying, but as she looked in the direction it was coming from, she was surprised to see Twinkleshine. She couldn't say that she minded her best friend showing up, but it wasn't like she had to be here, exactly. Maybe she'd just felt lonely back at the house.

The little mare trotted up to them and almost got out a "hi" when Bill shoved her on his way out, knocking her into the table. Wisp thought she heard a crack before Twinkleshine crumpled to the floor.

She looked up at the stallion. He was walking away, not even bothering to glance back at his handiwork. Randy said something about having a bit too much to drink, and then it sounded like he was asking the pony what his problem was, but Wisp didn't care. The room had turned red, and all she could see was the earth pony's oblivious, uncaring mug.

It would look very different by the time she was done with it.

In three strides she was upon him, putting one hoof on his shoulder. As he turned his head, he didn't have time to say "back off" before he ate a punch straight to the mouth, sending him crashing into the table beside him. She would hear later that she'd knocked out a tooth, and she would almost wish that she'd been seeing straight enough to notice.

She would also be told that she shouldn't have done that to begin with, but even if that were true, she'd have done it anyway. Wispwillow was a mare of action, after all.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?! She didn't do anything to you!"

For one reason or another, Bill—whose cutie mark, ironically, she only caught a glimpse of now (it was a pair of billiard balls)—was not in the mood for talking. As it turned out, the big, strong earth pony stallion may have felt a little humiliated, getting beaten down by a "weak" unicorn mare like herself. Wisp would never know that she had almost knocked him out.

She didn't know what she'd expected, but after pulling himself back up he lunged at her. She felt like a dunce for not being more prepared, but when his hoof struck her square in the jaw, she rolled with the hit and came back up in a fighting stance. Looking up at him, she snorted provocatively; she was ready now. The adrenaline was pumping. He wouldn't surprise her like that again.

Ginny yelled something, but she wasn't paying attention. He hurt Twinkleshine, she growled in her thoughts. He deserves it.

As he lumbered towards her, she noticed just how slow he was. He was no Big Macintosh in terms of size, but he was a bit larger than the average earth stallion, and had some muscle to throw around. But even with muscle, he had no speed to back it up.

This wouldn't even be fair.

He took another swing, but Wisp ducked under it and gave the underside of his chin some tender, loving care. His head snapped back, and as it came back down he tried to headbutt her. When his face swung through thin air, she was amused to see him lose his balance. He had swung too hard, and now he was having to deal with his own overcompensation.

You really aren't very good at this.

It wouldn't take him long to recover, but she had been expecting him to swing too hard, so it was easy to capitalize on the opportunity. So she swung a right hook at his reddened face and felt the satisfying impact of hoof against idiot jawbone. She hadn't had the time to put more weight into the swing like her first, but she counted another wound to the stallion's pride as he stumbled backwards.

He must not have cared for being made a fool, the way he growled and renewed his offensive. Now he was pressing forward, using his superior size to force her backwards. She was almost impressed when he blocked some of the jabs she threw at him—it seemed he did have a brain, after all—but it didn't do him much good. He was still slow, and it wasn't hard to fit in a good hit to the face here and there. However, he was still managing to push her back; he may have been slow, and she may have been tough, but Wisp didn't care to take any hits from a fully-grown earth stallion.

She realized she was backing toward the pool table where, for all she knew, Twinkleshine was still collapsed on the ground. She made sure to direct herself towards the other side of the playing area—the last thing she would allow to happen was causing Twinkleshine anymore harm. Or Ginny, for that matter.

Still, her mind was clear enoug now to realize that if she bumped into anypony, it could mean an all-out barfight, and the other last thing she could allow to happen was getting reported for starting one. Sure, she was probably already going to get in trouble, but... It would be in her best interests to get this over with quickly. It was a shame, too: she would really like to toy around with him, really humiliate him... but her friends were more important. Twinkleshine was more important.

I'll just taunt him until he charges me, and then I'll use his size to my—Ahhh!

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a blinding light, turning everything to white and forcing her eyes shut. It was pretty inconvenient. How could she beat the crap out of somepony she couldn't see?

Shielding her eyes with an arm, she peeked a glance at the floor and saw that already the light was beginning to fade. It had only been a few seconds... Either whoever had cast it wasn't in top shape, or they had already gotten what they wanted.

Suddenly she noticed that the room had gone silent. She supposed that being blinded had a way of catching ponies' attention, but then she heard a quiet voice speak out over the... quiet.

"I said... stop... already..."

Pulling her arm away, Wisp turned around to look at Twinkleshine, who was being held up by Ginny. As she had thought, she was in pretty much the same spot she'd last seen her, and she didn't look good. If the way she was wincing was any indication, she was in a lot of pain.

"Don't... fight..."

As Wisp opened her mouth to object, Ginny silenced her with a sharp look. "She's right, Wisp. Some angry stallion isn't worth getting yourself in trouble over. Just let it go.

"And you," she said, turning her attention to the frazzled earth pony, "Does losing a game really mean that much to you?"

With every eye in the room trained on him, Bill had nothing to say to that.

Ginny sighed. "Anyway, we should get out of here. Your friend looks like she needs to go to the hospital."

"For the second time," Wisp solemnly muttered under her breath.

As she trotted over and looked Twinkleshine over, she cursed at her own weakness. She had gone through the trouble of looking deeper into first-aid magic, but there was no use for that here. There was no open wound to take care of, and even if there were something wrong that she were aware of on the inside, Wisp was no healer or surgeon. Even if she tried, she could mess something up bad. Taking her to ponies that could help was all she could do. But before she could float Twinkleshine onto her back, she heard a quick struggle behind her. When she turned around to look, she was shocked to see just who had decided to show up.

"...Wintergreen?"

The snow-white stallion, appearing out of nowhere, had apparently subdued dear old Bill and was now sitting on top of him, pressing his face into the floor. It didn't look very comfortable... The poor pony.

"He was going to hit you."

Wisp smiled. If it weren't for her coworker's timely appearance, she might have had a heck of a headache on her hooves. Or worse. "Thanks. Just... Take care of him, will you? I've gotta go."

Wintergreen nodded. He had it under control.

With that, she lifted Twinkleshine onto her back. The little unicorn's gasp of pain told her, however, that she would have to go with the other option.

Guess I'll just carry her, then...

Levitating her friend beside her, she looked apologetically to Ginny as they started on their way. Even despite the situation, she cracked a grin and asked, "Shall we?" and despite herself, Ginny grinned in return and rolled her eyes. That was all the time she had for that, though; As soon as they made it out of the bar, Wisp focused her attention where it belonged.

"Are you alright up there, Twinkleshine? How bad does it hurt?"

"A lot," she breathed. "Might have fractured... a rib..."

Great. Just great... I hope they're as good at healing bones as healing burns.

"Don't worry. We'll get you right to the hospital... again."

As they took off at a gallop, Wisp had to mentally smack herself for thinking she'd carry the pony on her back. When would she ever do that? In an emergency, considering her capabilities, the only acceptable option was to float an injured pony along so that she could run without fear of causing further discomfort.

She smacked herself again, and it would have been for real this time if she weren't busy sprinting through the streets. She had something to apologize for.

"I'm sorry, Ginny."

"What? What for?"

"For ruining our little get-together. I—"

"Save it," Ginny called out to her. "Even if you hadn't started kicking that pony's ass, I'd still be coming with you. Besides," she laughed, "That was fun to watch. See why I enjoy bars so much?"

Wisp felt bad for letting herself smile again while Twinkleshine was hurt, but she couldn't help it. And they said ponies laugh as a way of dealing with hardship, right? It certainly did help her feel a little better. Just a little. And if she knew anything about Ginny, that may have been the intention.

But, turning her mind back towards more pressing matters, she wondered why this had to be happening now. Couldn't she just be allowed to focus on her impending date?

~ ~ ~

Ring ring!

The doorbell rang out as Wisp tentatively stepped hoof into Carousel Boutique. With the things she had heard since moving into Ponyville, she knew this was where she wanted to go if she needed a dress. She did already have one or two back in Canterlot, and could easily make a quick trip to pick them up, but... she was ready for something new. That icy blue one she had, in tribute to her mother, would no doubt blow Cloudchaser away; But beyond just wanting something new, she didn't want to rely on things from her "old" life. Besides, she had seen some of the proprietor's work. She had no doubt she would be satisfied with her purchase.

However, as she slowly walked into the main room, Rarity was nowhere to be—

"Just a minute~", a muffled voice called from upstairs.

Maybe she's busy with something else. Maybe I should come back later?

Perhaps she would, but Rarity already knew she was here, so she couldn't just leave now. Wisp idly tapped a hoof against the floor as she waited, but fortunately it only took about half a minute before she was seen to.

"Why hello, Wispwillow, darling," Rarity called as she came down the stairs. "I haven't seen you since Pinkie Pie's party. How do you do?"

The much darker unicorn fought the urge to politely bow in respect. She's not a noble, she reminded herself. She just sounds like one.

"Hi, Rarity," she smiled, "I just have a date coming up, and was wondering if you could hook me up with a dress. But if you're busy..."

Rarity's eyes lit up as soon as she heard the word date. "Nonsense, dear. I was just working on something for a friend, but I have all the time in the world for that. Come, let us get started... I would be honored to contribute something to a budding romance."

Before going anywhere, Wisp raised an eyebrow. "Budding romance? How do you know it's anything new?"

"Well, you certainly were single when you first came here. Any date you're going on now must be with somepony new."

"Fair enough," she conceded. "And it is pretty new... We just got together today, in fact."

"Oh my, it really is. Who, might I ask, is the lucky mare?"

Wisp had to catch herself. She had almost missed it that time.

"Who says it's a mare?"

Rarity looked her in the eyes, her own empty of accusation or shame. There was only a quiet understanding. "I saw the way you were looking at me when we met. It's not hard to miss when a pony finds you attractive."

Wisp almost gagged on... air. If she tried hard enough, she could pass off her blush as being due to lack of oxygen or something, right? "I, uh... Ahem... Didn't mean to stare."

"Oh, think nothing of it," was her reply, always the professional. "I don't mind. It is little surprise when one puts the utmost of effort into their appearance as I do."

Clearing her throat, the mare continued, "Anyway, who is it?"

After anxiously clearing her own throat, Wisp told her the answer.

"Cloudchaser? Ah, yes, you've been good friends with her the past couple weeks, haven't you? Oh, I'm sure you will look positively lovely together."

"Heh, thanks... I hope so."

Suddenly Rarity's face lit up again. "Oh, you must be meaning to have your date on Hearts and Hooves Day. I may have just the thing... But first, come, let me take your measurements over here."

Wisp was guided over to the platform near the center of the room, facing a mirror. Oh, how familiar this was... And uncomfortable. If she was lucky, though, having to stand around having measurements taken would be the worst she would have to suffer; She could handle this just fine, but it was when she started getting poked with pins and needles that she would really have a problem.

Rarity had already procured some measuring tape and was flitting from one measurement to the next. One of the benefits of unicorn magic, if one were dextrous enough. As she watched the fashionista's mane bouncing around behind her in the mirror, Wisp heard her say, "If I may ask, what is it about her that strikes your fancy, specifically?"

It hadn't been very long, but Wisp smiled as she remembered being asked virtually the same question quite recently.

"I'm not entirely sure. I think I've had these feelings for a while, but I only first noticed them yesterday. She flew me around for a while, to make up for wasting my time with the cider line, and especially once we rested up on this cloud, something just... hit me. She was acting so serious then, and I couldn't stop thinking how romantic it all was. I guess it kind of just... exemplified whatever I like about her."

Rarity was wearing a smile of her own. "I don't know her very well, but she does seem quite chivalrous."

Chivalry... Was that it? Beneath all the joking and everything else, had Cloudchaser not always been earnest with her? Sure, she didn't hold back when she felt like teasing, not one bit. But ever since they had met, Cloudchaser had always been considerate and understanding. It wasn't quite right to simplify Cloudchaser down into just one trait, but... Maybe that part of her had something to do with it.

Pausing in her work for just a moment, Rarity scratched her chin. "Perhaps 'gallant' is a better word." She smiled at her client's reflection and added, "Much like you are."

Wisp snorted. "'Gallant?' Me?"

"Don't play dumb, now. You should be just as aware as I am the kind of things you do for Ponyville."

"Yeah, I kick ponies out of bars and lift cats out of trees."

Rarity blushed. "Speaking of which, thank you again..." But one prim cough later she was back to business. "But come now, you're being too modest. You patrol the streets and help ponies with various odds and ends..."

"Patrolling is my job, and odd jobs don't amount to much."

"But everypony knows there isn't much for you searchponies to do. You patrol because you want to, not because you have to," Rarity said as she squeezed in some final measurements. "And it is the little things that can mean the most. You make ponies feel safer and happier, and you choose to do it. I'm sure your parents are proud."

Safe? she thought, seeing two ponies lit aflame. Proud? she thought, remembering the looks on her parents' faces as she left. Her sister's.

Her skepticism must have shown, because Rarity was clicking her tongue. "You really don't see your own worth, do you?"

She shrugged and looked away. "I've just had a lot going on in my life recently," she said. "And I've made many more mistakes besides."

"It is not our mistakes that make us who we are," Rarity cited, "but how we deal with them."

Wisp didn't know what to say to that. Fortunately, she didn't need to, as Rarity was already walking away and beckoning her to follow. "Anyway, nevermind all that. We have a dress to find."

As Wisp trotted after her into the dressing room, Rarity hummed thoughtfully as she sifted through the racks of dresses sitting around.

"Incidentally, what do you think of a mare in a suit?"

—————————

The door was shoved open as two unicorn mares finally returned home for the night. One looked tired, the other angry. The latter had been like this the whole way home, and the former was as tired of that as being awake.

"For the last time, Wisp, I'm not going to start avoiding bars just because you want me to."

The other mare snorted and gave the couch a dirty look. "You don't belong in a bar, Twinkleshine. You're too—"

"Weak?"

She forgot about the couch and glared back at her friend. "I was going to say 'innocent.' If somepony decided to take advantage of you—"

"This is Ponyville," Twinkleshine groaned, "I doubt that's going to happen anytime soon. And even if it does, I have magic, too, in case you've forgotten. I kind of used some today? If anypony tries to mess with me, I can just blind them and run away."

"But what if you don't get the chance? What if running away isn't an option? What if—"

"What if you stop saying what if and learn to have a little faith in me? I can take care of myself..."

"Could you have gotten yourself to the hospital if I weren't there?" Wisp asked quietly. Twinkleshine didn't like when Wisp got quiet.

"Well, no... But—"

"But you would have been out of luck. If I hadn't been there and you actually HAD broken something, you would have been rolling around in pain until you passed out or something. And then who knows what could have happened?"

Twinkleshine rested her hindquarters on the cool wooden floor and rubbed the bridge of her muzzle. "Somepony could have helped me. This is Equestria, remember? Ginny isn't the only nice pony to spend time in a bar."

"Yes," Wisp grumbled, "But that's still relying on chance. The only way to be sure you don't get hurt—"

"Just stop, Wisp. If I played things as 'safe' as you want me to, I'd never even get to go outside. I'm my own pony and I'm going to live my life how I want. How many times do we need to go over this?"

Wisp joined her friend on the floor and leaned back against the couch, sighing and closing her eyes. "I don't want to dictate your life, Twink, but I worry about you. You're lucky you didn't lose a rib and puncture a lung or something."

Twinkleshine's brow furrowed. It always came down to this, didn't it?

"Just because I have brittle bones doesn't mean I should just stay inside where the big bad world can't hurt me. You know what I used to go through with my family." Her frown deepening, she whispered, "But at least they learned their lesson..."

Wisp had nothing to say to that. Of course she didn't... She never did.

"Just... Try and be a bit more careful. Please?"

Rubbing at her tired eyes, Twinkleshine sighed. It was never fun arguing with a dear friend. "Yes, in the future I'll try to be more aware of drunk stallions throwing hissy fits."

Wisp scoffed. "That guy was an ass..."

That much was something they could agree on. And it was nice to be in agreement—it meant the fighting was over, at least for now. Twinkleshine clopped over and joined Wisp against the back of the couch, trying to enjoy the peace for a few minutes. Just a few... Because she was afraid that she was about to reignite the flame all over again.

But she had to say it.

"Wisp?"

"Yeah?"

Nuzzling a little into her shoulder, she said, "While you were out looking for a dress yesterday, I looked into getting a new house. I'm moving in tomorrow."

As expected, Wisp tensed up, but she didn't say anything.

"It's not right next-door, but it is just across the street. I won't be far."

The lean mare next to her relaxed. A little.

"Fine. But as soon as you get settled in, I'm enchanting the whole place."

Twinkleshine lifted her head up to look up at her, but Wisp kept her face forward. "Enchanting? What for?"

Now she did make eye contact. "You still don't know what caused the fire, do you?"

"Well... No. I'm sure I didn't leave anything on when I went to bed..."

"And the only reason you're still alive is because I just happened to wake up. I'm going to cast a spell that'll alert me if anything does catch on fire, so that I can be absolutely sure you stay safe. I'm not going to take any chances." Then, turning her head to fully face her, she said, "And you should invest in a fire alarm."

She blinked. "Well, okay... There's no good reason not to, I suppose."

"Exactly." Wisp turned her face forward again and heaved a deep sigh. "I can't lose you, Twinkleshine. I'd be lost without you."

Nuzzling back into her friend's side—her oldest friend, and whether she liked it or not, her protector—Twinkleshine closed her eyes.

"I know."

Chapter 10: Hooves

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Wisp rolled around beneath her covers. She was all too aware of the vacancy in her bed and her house on this, the morning of Hearts and Hooves Day. True to her word, Twinkleshine had moved out yesterday, so now she was all alone. There would be no more no more breakfast in bed for her...

It was silly. Childish. She lived just next door again; it wasn't like companionship was far away. But still the house felt empty, and Wisp felt lonely. She could remember a time when she began many of her days in a black pegasus' warm embrace...

Her blanket flew off the bed, soon joined on the floor by her hooves. Lonely or not, that was no way to think. Those days were over.

A small smile graced her lips on the way to the washroom. That's right, I have somepony else now. And maybe, after today...

Pushing past the washroom door, Wisp stared at her reflection. Hey, what are you getting so sappy for? It's just a first date.

As she fiddled with the shower's water faucet from across the room, she tried tasting those words on her lips. "First date..."

Alright, she admitted, It's a first date. Of course I'm excited.

Yes, she thought as she tested the water, but it's still only been three days. I don't need to make such a big deal of it.

Is it so wrong to look forward to it, though?

She stepped into the shower with a grunt. Whatever. What happens, happens.

After closing the shower door, and in turn her eyes, allowing the warm, steamy water wash over her, she said to herself...

"It should be fun, at least."

—————————

The next couple of hours passed by with little incident. Wisp had felt tempted to just sleep the day away and get straight to the good part, but no. Ponyville wouldn't patrol itself, and she wouldn't let herself live it down if she just sat on her plot all day, anyway. Better to pass the time with something productive.

Speaking of productivity, it had been a while since Wisp had read anything besides a spellbook. She really wasn't into most of the things that Twinkleshine liked to read... But maybe she could use a decent romance story about now. She was feeling a bit sentimental.

Or maybe some sort of adventure novel would do her good. Though she had never been particularly interested in Daring Do... As she grew closer to the Golden Oaks Library and the books within, however, her thoughts turned elsewhere. Her progress on teleportation was still terribly slow; After graduating from the School for Gifted Unicorns not long ago, Wisp had finally returned to studying the spell only to let it fall by the wayside. She could teleport things now, sure, but teleporting things where she wanted to go? She hadn't managed that as a child, and she couldn't manage it now. Yet.

All things considered, the spell was challenging and progress was much slower than she would like. If she had somepony to help show her the ropes, so to speak, that would certainly prove a great help. Magic was always easier to learn with personal observation. And she did have a reason to pop into the library, anyway...

Her hooves didn't need any more convincing. It only took her a few more strides to reach the library door and knock.

"Yes, come in!"

As she entered, she was amused to note that, true to her reputation, Twilight had her nose in a book on a round reading table in the middle of the room.

"Oh, hello there," Twilight offered as Wisp closed the door behind her. "Are you here for a book?"

"Actually, I'm more interested in talking to you. If you're free."

"Sure, I'm not busy! Just reading up on some Hearts and Hooves Day history. Did you know that the holiday got its start from a love potion?"

"That old story about the prince and princess, right?" Wisp said as she walked across the room to Twilight's side of the table. "And after taking it, the kingdom falls because of their hypnotized negligence?"

"Yes, the very one. A fascinating insight into the fragility of governmental constructs, don't you think?"

"I guess," Wisp shrugged. "I'm more concerned with how foolish the prince was."

"Oh?" Twilight intoned, quietly shutting the book and curiously looking up at her. She looked pleased to be curious, too. Ever the scholar.

"Well, for starters, he was a royal. I'd hope he would have the education to know there's no such thing as a love potion. What mixtures can be made could only be called poison."

With a nod, she was invited to continue.

"More importantly, I think he was weak. He should have been strong enough to confess and let the princess decide for herself, but he chose what would have been a meaningless love. His entire kingdom suffered because of his weakness."

Twilight nodded again, with a wider smile. "Wouldn't it be interesting, though, if one could induce love with a simple concoction?"

"Interesting, sure. Healthy? I think not."

"I think your opinion says a lot about you," Twilight giggled.

"How do you mean?"

"I mean, it fits everything I hear about you. Upstanding, headstrong... and well-read, I presume. Most ponies don't seem very well-informed about holiday history."

"Eh," Wisp shrugged, "You know what it's like. I've had to spend lots of time studying. Might as well read some actual literature now and then."

"Oh, yes," Twilight agreed, "In fact, I've been hoping for a visit so that we could discuss just that. I've met some talented unicorns in Ponyville, but I'm afraid I've yet to meet a another fellow mage. I could just really do with a peer, sometimes, you know?"

"Actually, that's why I'm here," she said. "I've wanted to learn to teleport ever since I was a filly..."

"...And you would like me to teach you?"

She nodded. "Whenever you have the time, I could use the guidance. After what happened back in magic kindergarten, I'm playing things as safe as I can. If I just had somepony to—"

"I'm sorry, wait... Magic kindergarten?"

Wisp coughed and finally took a seat in front of Twilight. "Yeah, I kind of teleported half my class into the middle of the Everfree Forest..."

The other unicorn had looked like she might laugh until the word "Everfree," but Wisp was quick to assure her that everything had turned out fine. The only casualties that day were a few highly-flammable timberwolves.

"That's good... But still, you learned to teleport as a child? That's rather impressive."

"Well, all I'd managed to teleport before then was a pencil," Wisp insisted. "And then I got a little... carried away. Either way, you're Celestia's student—I'm sure you would have done it better at my age."

"I suppose we'll never know. I was only allowed to begin studying it a little over a year ago..."

The conversation continued much like that for a while, just discussing magic and some of their various exploits with it. Wisp had almost forgotten what it was like to talk with a fellow mage... Twinkleshine would always be her dearest friend, but she was skilled only with light-based magic. Wisp, on the other hoof, knew fire magic and some other offensive spells, light magic, sound magic, the cloudwalking spell, rudimentary healing magic, and more. There simply wasn't a whole lot to discuss with her friend when it came to spellcasting. Talking at length with Twilight on was quite refreshing, indeed.

"You know, I don't think I've ever heard of a spell quite like that," Twilight said. "You say the casting involves the use of your own soul? That sounds awfully dangerous."

"It would be, but as Celestia made sure I learned, it requires only a very small 'piece,' and it's returned once the spell is cancelled. However..."

"Yes?"

"Well, being made of a soul, it can detect souls. But it can't distinguish between them unless I infuse another piece into somepony."

Twilight frowned thoughtfully. "I see... So you have to excercise moderation in marking those you care about."

"Exactly."

"I must admit, it sounds useful, but I don't think I'll be asking you to teach it to me. No offense."

"None taken," Wisp shrugged, still on the floor. "I got it with my mark, so I'm stuck with it, anyway."

"It really is fascinating, though. To think a foal would learn such a spell so young."

"You're one to talk," Wisp laughed. "I hear you turned a room of ponies into houseplants when you got your mark."

Twilight failed to hide her blush. The prodigy was was as modest as she looked. "That was just a wild burst of uncontrolled magic... I didn't properly learn transformation magic until years later."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. It's not like growing an un hatched dragon to adult size is impressive, either."

Celestia's pupil whinnied anxiously. "Are you trying to embarrass me?"

"Heh, sorry," Wisp replied. "I guess Cloudchaser must be rubbing off on me."

Twilight gave her a questioning look. "Cloudchaser?"

"My frie—I mean, my new marefriend. Teasing ponies is pretty much her thing."

"Marefriend? If you have a marefriend, shouldn't you be out spending time with her?"

Wisp shifted uncomfortably. "Well, we have a date at Clover Café tonight, and it seems like she's going to be busy until then..."

"That's unfortunate... Most couples seem to spend the whole day together."

Right, of course they do... And why can't I? Is she really too busy for me?

Maybe her worries were more well-founded than she thought.

Dismayed at her apparent faux pas, Twilight elected for a change of subject. Although, by the look on her face, there was more to it. "Wait, I'm sorry. You came here asking about teleportation, and I still haven't given you an answer."

Wisp looked over her shoulder at the clock on the wall, where Twilight had been looking a moment ago. It read quarter past one.

"Wait, have I actually been here an hour already? Time sure flies..."

"Especially when you're reading a good book," Twilight giggled. "Anyway, let me say that yes, I'd be glad to help you learn to teleport sometime. It may take a while, though. As I'm sure you're aware, it's not the easiest spell to learn."

"Well, it's not quite that I have trouble casting it. I've been practicing with small objects; it's just that I can't get them to go where I want them to."

"Ah, I see..." Twilight nodded. "Yes, I can help with that. Then afterwards we can move up to self-teleportation."

Wisp nodded in turn, and pulled herself up off the floor. Brushing herself off, she said, "Thanks. We can work out dates later, but for now I think I've taken enough of your time. I should get back on patrol, anyways."

Twilight stretched her as she, too, picked herself off the ground. "Oh, you've been no trouble. The surprise visit was well worth the stimulating conversation."

The darker mare responded with a smile as she approached the door. After opening it and stepping outside, before she could say her goodbyes, something more important came to mind.

"Oh... By the way, Twilight,I think you owe Twinkleshine an apology. You never did make it to Moondancer's party."

It was a joy to watch the bookworm's face as the memories came back to her. The way her fellow her face contorted was quite amusing to behold.

"ButI—I... Whuh... If I had gone...!"

"Haha... Don't worry, it's all good. Duty before friendship, I understand."

Twilight's newfound fascination with the ground was amusing in its own right. "So you know Twinkleshine...?"

"Sure I do. She's my best friend."

Wisp laughed her way out the door, and called back to Twilight, "Just say something if you see her around, alright?" as she started again on her rounds.

The purple pony meekly grumbled something and gave a meager wave as she disappeared behind door. Wisp found it a little funnier than it had any right to be.

—————————

A couple hours later, Wisp was really regretting scheduling the date for evening. She had already been out in the town for hours, yet she had hours more to wait, and while waiting she got to see everypony out on their dates. Couples of every color were walking through the streets and flitting through the sky, having a picnic in the park or nuzzling under a tree... What else could she feel but jealous?

At least she had Mr. Waddle.

"Alright, I think that takes care of everything," she said, levitating a jar of honey into the elderly stallion's saddlebags. "Anything else you need?"

"Actually, I think I could use some asparagus... If that's alright with you."

Wisp rolled her eyes, in the warmest way possible. "Of course it is, Mr. Waddle. I'm here to help."

One might wonder why she was helping Mr. Waddle with groceries in the first place, when the little earth pony was capable of taking care of himself. The stallion was old, but not crippled. She must have something better to do, right?

The truth was that no, she did not have anything better to do. She'd already finished her usual trip around Ponyville and found no trouble, as usual. She could go grab Wintergreen and go again, but no... No, she had found someone that actually had a use for her help—crippled or not, a little magic made things a little more convenient for a little old earth pony. Better this than walking around and feeling useless.

"Thanks again," he said as they came up to the asparagus stand. "It's good to see a youngster like you so eager to help."

"It's nothing," Wisp replied, dropping a bit for the stall owner and sending a bundle of sprigs to join the rest of Mr. Waddle's groceries. "It's just what I do."

"Well, let me tell you, Ponyville appreciates it," he told her. "You're a good kid."

"Thanks," she smiled. "I try. But anyway, how's it going with Mrs. Waddle? Anything special planned for today?"

"Oh, yes, everything is swell," he said as they left the stand behind. "We're having a candlelit dinner, same as every year."

Wisp giggled to herself. There was something about elderly couple that made then horribly cute. "Well, if there's nothing else you need help with, be sure to give her my regards, okay?"

"Oh, I will," Mr. Waddle said as he took his leave. "Thanks again!"

Thats the second time you 'thanked me again,' she thought as she waved farewell.

Once he was gone, Wisp took a look around. Without Mr. Waddle, she could use another distraction. Did the fruit stall owner need help with that crate? No, he had it taken care of... Oh, that mare looked like she was having trouble haggling with the cherry salestallion. But... No, she managed to haggle a fair price. And those teenagers over there... looked completely vapid. She could see their utter indifference to the world from here.

Yeah... No thanks.

She sighed. Besides a few others, most ponies on the streets were yet more couples. As would be expected, Ponyville was filled to the brim with them today... Which was good for them and all, but thanks to them, Wisp couldn't keep her mind off of the great gap of nothing separating her from Cloudchaser.

Sigh... Maybe I should just go home and, I dunno, take a nap or something. It I have to see another couple bumping flanks, I'm going to go crazy...

The park might be a preferable napping spot, she thought, but she had already passed by it earlier—definitely a no-go. As she resigned herself to returning home, a rainbow-colored blur shot overhead, swooshing by like a... very fast pony.

Rainbow Dash had been dashing around a lot today, and Wisp had a pretty good idea why. Hearts and Hooves Day sounded difficult for a weather captain: something about picky couples being picky about the tiniest details of their dates, and the tendency of other weatherponies to skip work either to avoid dealing with that, or to pursue their own romantic endeavors. Understandable, maybe, but it left Rainbow Dash having to do pretty much everything on her own.

Wisp figured, at least, that Flitter and Cloudchaser must be helping. Flitter had probably dragged her sister to work, by the ear if necessary, insisting that they not leave Rainbow Dash hanging. Nice and responsible, Flitter was...

In any case, once Rainbow's prismatic contrail faded from view, Wisp turned on her hoof and set off. There wasn't much to say about her journey home: It was uneventful, as things often were. There were still pairs of ponies all over the place, doing various... couple things. She noticed Twinkleshine in the town square as she passed by, though, conversing with Berry Punch. Wisp didn't often get to talk with said pony outside of the bar, but her recent, drunken marriage proposal made things just a little awkward.

Hay, for all she knew, that's what Twinkleshine was talking to her about. All the inebriated flirting. Not that Berry's advances seemed at all serious, as far as Wisp could tell—she didn't even think the earth pony was into mares—and Wiso wasn't the only one she hit in. Either way, that wasn't a conversation she wanted to risk getting involved with.

Giving the pair a wide berth as she trotted past Town Hall, something occurred to her: It had been while since she'd checked in with the captain. Just flopping onto her bed and wasting the day away did sound rather boring...

He's probably out on a date for all I know, she thought, but it couldn't hurt to check in and say hi, if he is in...

As she was trotting towards the building, she was distracted again by the sound of a pegasus dashing by. When she stopped to look up she saw nothing, but then she felt the pressure of somepony leaning against her croup. Her tail flicked with displeasure as she whirled on the offender.

"Whoever you are, I hope you have a good reason fo—"

She blinked. Of course it was Cloudchaser casually propped up against her backside on an elbow. Of course... But Wisp couldn't deny it was a pleasant surprise.

"Hey, babe," the pegasus said, bouncing her eyebrows. "How's it hangin'?"

Wisp just rolled her eyes. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be busy with the weather?"

"What? Nah, I skipped. Sent word to Dash that Flits and I are going on a double date, or something. Wanna go out?"

"Woah, woah, slow down. Double date?"

"Yeah, that's my excuse. I'm not gonna spend the day pushing clouds into just the right place when I could be hanging out with my favorite unicorn instead."

Wisp had to remind herself how absurd it was to carry a conversation with a pony leaning on her backside... But she could make the exception. However...

"You're skipping again? How do you even make any money?"

"Well, it's not like Flitter always joins me... And stuff."

"'And stuff'..." She shook her head. "Well, did she skip today?"

Cloudchaser nonchalantly polished a hoof against her back. "Yeah, she usually does. She just goes out and... Well, you don't wanna know what she does on Hearts and Hooves Day."

Wisp tilted her head. Which was a little hard, given that she was already looking behind her. "What do you mean?"

"What does it matter? She's not here." Then she... pantomimed pulling down a pair of shades from her eyes before changing the subject. "This is about you and me."

Dork.

"Sooo, like I said... Wanna go out? I'm all yours now."

"Well, since I'm stuck with you, sure. If you get off of me."

"You haven't bucked me off yet. I don't think you really mind it that much."

A pegasus fell to the ground as her marefriend slipped out from under her.

"Oh, look, now you've gotten me all dirty," Cloudchaser laughed as she picked herself back up. "How about we go over to your place and clean off?" She laughed again when her mare shoved her away.

"You can be really unbearable, you know."

"It's not my fault I've got all this animal charm."

"Right... animal..."

"Heheh... Seriously, though, I've got something specific in mind. You interested?"

That caught her attention. "Something specific?"

"Uh, yeah," the pegasus snorted, flapping up into the air and crossing her arms. "I was busy for a reason, you know. C'mon, let me show you."

"Alright, but where are we goAAAAAH!"

—————————

Spontaneity was a good quality to have. It lent itself to adaptability and excitement. Life was often more interesting around a spontaneous pony, and interesting was a good thing. Most of the time.

All things considered, she was glad Cloudchaser possessed such a quality. It was the wellspring of her wit—even if that wit could be just as annoying as it was clever—and being quick on the draw would serve her well the event of an emergency. She was just as quick on her hooves (and wings); decisive; dependable.

Wisp just wished this little trip hadn't been so spontaneous.

"So, Cloudchaser," she ventured as they drifted lazily over the Ponyville skyline.

"Yeah?"

"We've been flying around for a few minutes..."

"Uh-huh..."

"And wherever you're taking me, it's supposed to be romantic. Right?"

"You betcha."

"Then why are you still carrying me around like a sack of potatoes?"

Cloudchaser looked down at her. True, she was holding Wisp in her arms, allowing her legs to dangle haplessly in the air... But she had carried the unicorn on her back last time. Variety was the spice of life, right?

"...Variety's the spice of life, right?"

Wisp tried not to facehoof. "Variety is nice and all, but this doesn't seem all that romantic to me."

If not for the mare in her grasp, the pegasus would have shrugged. "Well, I thought you might enjoy the hug, buuut alright. Seat change, coming right up."

Wisp grew a little concerned at Cloudchaser's sudden burst of speed. She grew a little more concerned as she built up yet more speed and began angling upwards, and then officially declared herself worried once they were facing straight up and beginning to flip over backwards. Cloudchaser released her hold and flung her into a backflip, soon leaving her suspended in place before gravity began to pull at her.

As she began to plummet, Wisp felt a breathless scream leave her throat. She felt emptiness all around as she flaile and the earth below rotated into view. She flashed back to her previous flight—if she had fallen then, she would have had some time to think about it, but right now she was only a few dozen feet in the air. The ground would quickly make her acquaintance.

It would be almost comical, really. To think that the end of her life would be punctuated with a series of flips... But she had a chance. If she could just manage to slow her fall enough using telekinesis... She didn't actually know if it could work, let alone at this low height, but she had to try.

Before she could even flex her horn, or scream again, she felt a warmth beneath her. She saw purple. Immediately did the only thing she could think of and wrapped her arms tight around the mare's neck, and immediateky thereafter she felt their their trajectory quickly level back out into a nice, horizontal orientation.

For a few moments, it was all Wisp could do to catch her breath. Long, deep ones... And then, even knowing their target wouldn't see, she glared daggers.

"So... is that better?"

"I hate you."

The pegasus chortled at her. "Aw, c'mon, sweetie, don't be like that. You're so cute when you're scared."

"...Don't call me that," Wisp grunted, more forcefully than she intended.

"'Sweetie'? What's wrong with that?"

"It just doesn't feel right," she grumbled. "When you say it as a joke."

"Oh. Uh... Sorry."

A silence passed over them, and as it grew, so did Wisp's guilt. She wasn't really going to be that touchy, was she? She was just about to apologize when Cloudchaser cleared her throat. "So how's your day been? I forgot to ask."

"Oh, it was alright, I guess. The same as usual. Though I did stop by the library, finally."

"And hung out with the Princess of Nerds herself? How did that go?"

Wisp rolled her eyes. "Well, she did agree to help me with my teleportation. More than that, it was fun talking with her. She's very intelligent. But, you know," she snarked, "I study magic just about as much as she does. Does that make me a nerd, too?"

"Hey, if you're a nerd, you're a cool nerd. Twilight's on a whole other level."

Wisp gave a chuckle. "Well, I think it's kinda cute."

Cloudchaser gave an exaggerated gasp. "You think someone besides me is cute? How dare you!"

"Oh, yes, I'd check her books out any day."

"Not a bad idea, actually. Maybe I should join you."

"Anyway," Wisp laughed, "After talking with her, I helped Mr. Waddle out with some grocery shopping after finishing my rounds. I was just heading home when you showed up. How about you? Just what were you doing that had you so busy?"

"You'll see in a minute... We're almost there."

"Is that so..."

As silence fell between them once more, Wisp entertained herself by theorizing just what this surprise was going to be. They were out in the countryside now, flying low over Sweet Apple Acres. Maybe some kind of romantic picnic? That would risk ruining her appetite for dinner, but it might be worth it... But even if she was right, it wasn't like picnics took much effort to set up. Assuming she was right, it probably had something to do with the weather.

Satisfied with her guesswork, Wisp turned her thoughts to other things. Besides the warmth of the pony beneath her, the first thing to come to mind was the landscape below. She normally held little interest for farms and whatnot, but she had to admit this place was picturesque. There were vibrant and colorful apple trees everywhere, most bearing red fruit, all standing amongst a backdrop of lush grass and rolling hills. The Apples' main barn and farmhouse and barn stood against the green, somewhere in the distance.

The sprawling landscape faded from view as they dipped below the tree cover. Cloudchaser was flying a bit slower now, which made enough sense, but they had been flying low enough already. All Wisp could see now was... trees and grass.

"Hey, what gives?"

"We're almost there," Cloudchaser told her. "Can't go spoiling the surprise."

After a couple of minutes like this, the trees began to thin out, the scenery smoothly changing from a veritable forest into rolling hills with only a sparse population of trees. But even though the view was becoming far less obstructed, Cloudchaser was making a point of hugging the ground as they approached a hill that rose relatively high. As they were cresting the hill, Cloudchaser took a deep breath...

...And let it all out in a rush, much like a popped balloon. "Wh... What? What the hay is this?"

Before them now was a grassy clearing of sorts. The terrain was still fairly "bumpy," but the view stretched on for miles. Which looked nice and everything, but it probably would have looked even better with a large, colorful rainbow standing over it.

This rainbow was anything but colorful.

With its faded, neutral spectrum of "colors" and immense size, it looked unnatural, looming over the edge of Sweet Apple Acres and the plains beyond like a raincloud. Who had ever heard of a rainbow without color?

"How did... Why did...?" The pegasus facehoofed, and hard. "This is ridiculous."

"I take it it's not supposed to look like that?" Wisp asked.

"Of course not," Cloudchaser groaned. "Half an hour ago it was as rainbow-y as could be. And I spent hours on it, too..."

"Is this what you were working on? A rainbow... For me?"

Even as Cloudchaser hung limp in the air and slowly sagged to the ground, she was the one to blush for once. Just a little. "Yeah. Flitter helped, but... I thought it would make a nice little pre-date gift."

"Little? It's huge..." Wisp gave the thing another look as they landed—it looked to be a half mile long, at least. After clambered off her marefriend's back, she looked to Cloudchaser and asked, "How hard did you work on this? And why did you make it so big?"

"Rainbows aren't that hard to work with. It's more that it took a while to set up just right... And I, uh, though a bigger one would be more impressive."

"You big dork... You didn't need to go through all that trouble just for me."

Cloudchaser anxiously rubbed at her neck. "Sure, I didn't have to, but I wanted to. I mean, you're my marefriend, and it's Hearts and Hooves Day. I wanted to do something special for you, ya know?"

Wisp felt a blush growing on her cheeks as she scooted over into the pegasus' side. "And you're the one who acted all casual about this..." She nuzzled her head against Cloudchaser's. "Thank you."

Cloudchaser nuzzled back, and they remained that way for a moment, beneath the... 'graybow'? Is that it should be called? "Rainbow" certainly didn't seem appropriate.

Either way, when it came time for Wisp to reluctantly lean away, she said, "So, um... I think it actually looks kinda cool. Let's say it still had its color: What next?"

"Well," Cloudchaser said, "This is when I'd point you to a conveniently placed picnic blanket... But I decided to play it safe. Don't wanna ruin your dinner, you know."

The unicorn tilted her head. "So..."

"'Just sit and talk' was the plan. I trust you don't mind?"

The pegasus punctuated the question by pulling her into a winghug. Wisp leaned once again into her mare, noting that she was quickly becoming used to this. She was starting to feel like a bit of a glutton, really, but she didn't much care.

"Heh. I'll take that as a yes."

A new blush rose within her cheeks. I guess I don't hide that I like her hugs, do I?

"Well," Cloudchaser continued, "Looks like we're good on the sitting. Now this is the part where we talk."

"Shut up. Since you're the one who wants to talk so bad, what did you have in mind?"

"Actually," Cloudchaser said, turning her head towards her, "I was thinking we could talk about us."

Was it possible for a stomach to flop and flutter at the same time? Wisp was inclined to say yes.

"What about us...?"

"Well, we've known each other for a month, now," she said. "I'm just thinking how we can skip over a lot of the fluff."

All of a sudden, the unicorn felt even more aware of the position they were in. As she looked into Cloudchaser's eyes, her bangs flirting with them as always, didn't help. Wisp really liked her mane.

"And by fluff, you mean..."

Cloudchaser strengthened her hug. "I mean, we already know each other pretty well. It's not like we have to ask each other about what we do or where we're from."

Wisp pretended not to notice her purple muzzle drawing slowly closer.

"Or our favorite colors..."

Wisp's, for the record, was purple.

"We know each other better than that..."

She could feel the pegasus' breath on her face.

"We can just..."

Regardless of how fast her heart was beating, she leaned back and pressed a hoof to Cloudchaser's lips. "Sorry, but..." she breathed, "You're gonna have to work for it, little filly."

Cloudchaser pulled away with a smirk. "Aw, that's no fair, using my own words against me. Not even a little kiss?"

"Nope. You have to wine and dine me first."

Cloudchaser smirked at her. "Fair enough." And then she snuck a quick peck on the cheek and whispered into her ear, "There's a lot more where that came from, though."

Wisp... tried not to think about that. Instead, she turned to something from earlier in the conversation. "By the way..."

"Hm?"

"I actually don't know anything about your goals. You've never said a word."

Cloudchaser's mouth opened in reply, but no words came. Wisp could feel her deflating beside her. "Right... That."

"What? Is there a problem?"

"No," Cloudchaser said, looking over at the graybow. "I try not to think about it most of the time, but I guess it's something you should know."

Ever since the moment they'd met, Cloudchaser had never shown such vulnerability. Seeing her like this was... unusual. Worse, Wisp found herself just as glad to see her open up as she was sad to see her down. Was that selfish of her?

Whether it was or wasn't, she quietly rested her hoof on the pegasus' and allowed her to collect her thoughts.

"Well," she eventually started, "You want to get into your Magi Corps. And I'm sure you'll make it, too. Me... I've always wanted to join the Wonderbolts."

Well, that's not a big surprise. You certainly seem the type...

"Like every pegasus foal, the Wonderbolts fascinated me as a filly. And I always loved to fly, so I thought 'If I'm going to fly, why not be one of the best?' But an orphanage isn't the best kind of place to practice, if you catch my drift."

"I'd almost forgotten you were an orphan... But what do you mean? You could still fly, right?"

"It's not like it was a bad place, but in a big place like Manehattan, the ponies in charge didn't want to risk any of the pegasus kids running away and getting lost, or something. I got my exercise and not much else."

"I see..."

The pegasus fluffed her free wing before continuing. "It was just a flight of fancy back then, though. Just getting by with Flitter was all that mattered. But then I got my cutie mark..."

Wisp nodded. "After you were adopted."

"Right... Once I found Flitter and got my mark, I started thinking 'Hey, if I can do that, who says I can't get into the Wonderbolts too?'"

Cloudchaser sighed. "But I just... I don't think I'm a very driven pony, Wisp. I spend my time having fun, and I don't push myself when it comes to my job. Doesn't sound much like Wonderbolt material, does it?"

"Cloudchaser, what do you see when you look at me? No jokes."

"I see a mare who's making something of herself. Who's good at what she does. Who has a shot at her dream."

"And how do you think I got any good at what I do?"

Cloudchaser's brow furrowed. "By working at it, obviously. What's your point?"

"My point is that I'm only where I am because I put in the effort. You're already a good flier, Cloudchaser, and it's not like you have to change yourself to put in some effort. You have a real chance, too."

Her marefriend shook her head. "I know that. Or at least, I know I should, but... How am I supposed to compete with someone like Rainbow Dash?"

"Rainbow Dash?"

"Yeah, we all know she's gonna get into the 'bolts. She's probably the best flier, you know... ever. She's stupid fast, and strong, she's got technique—"

"Twilight Sparkle."

Cloudchaser's face scrunched up at the interruption... But then she got it.

"I like to think I'm good with magic, but magic is her cutie mark. I know for damn sure she's stronger than I'll ever be—I don't see myself levitating an Ursa Minor all the way to its cave anytime soon." The pegasus was avoiding her gaze now, but she didn't stop. "So what if she's better than me? It doesn't devalue what I do. It's the exact same thing for you—Raindow Dash may be 'better' than you, but that doesn't make you any less good."

Cloudchaser was silent for a minute after that. Or maybe only half of that... It was hard to tell. All Wisp knew was what she said next.

"...Do you give speeches like that often?"

"No," Wisp answered, rolling her eyes. "Do you always have to deflect with a joke?"

The pegasus deflated a little. She hadn't planned on fooling for long... honest.

"Alright, so I don't know what to say. You make a good point, but... well..." She finally reciprocated Wisp's hoof, noe holding it in her own. "You have a way of reminding me why I respect you so much."

Wisp blinked in surprise. "R-respect?"

"Yeah," Cloudchaser nodded. "I've always told you I think you're cool, and I mean it. Because... uh... stuff."

"How very eloquent."

"Maybe," Cloudchaser agreed. "But what you said was pretty cheesy."

"I'd like to see you tell me I'm wrong. Besides, it was... my duty, as your marefriend."

"Riiiight..." the pegasus smirked, even as she gave her a thankful nuzzle. "You're getting used to this pretty fast, aren't you?"

"Maybe," Wisp quipped. "Is that a problem?"

"Nah. Just wanna make sure you're aware."

"Hmph."

—————————

"You can't just 'hang out' before a date like that, Wisp. There are rules!"

"We've been through this before, Twink. You know I don't care for your rules."

"Hmph. Even so, just what were you thinking, buying a rose for somepony else?"

"I was thinking that Roseluck looked pretty down and could use some cheering up. Cloudchaser even agreed with me." Wisp opted not to remind her that the florist had afterwards tearfully refunded the money for their own roses.

"That's well and good, but couldn't you have done, I don't know... anything else?"

She snorted. Quietly. "Not that I could come up with. How would you feel if you ran a flower stand and nopony ever bought you one?"

"I... Well... I suppose you have a point."

"Thank you. Now, if you don't mind, can we get to business already?"

With a huff, Twinkleshine got to work. Whether or not she properly understood the nuances of dating, Wisp did still need to get ready, and so she finally picked up the water bottle and started spraying down her the mare's mane.

Speaking of her mane...

"You know," the love expert offered, "Sometimes I forget how much I like your hair."

"What?"

"I mean, just look at it," she said, setting down the bottle to grab something else. "White and pink go really well with that dark coat of yours."

Wisp's tail swished to her other side. "What's your point?"

"Nothing, really," Twinkleshine said as she doused her mane in mousse. "It'd just look nice if you did it up more often." Giggling as she rubbed the stuff in, she added, "Besides, I'm sure Cloudchaser would like that."

Another twitch, as expected. "Shut up..."

"Come on," she laughed, "I mean it. I'm sure she's going to be blown away when she sees you."

Wisp grumbled incoherently as Twinkleshine continued her work. She certainly hoped she was right...

—————————

"You know, seeing you like this reminds me of the Grand Galloping Gala."

"I still can't believe I ever let you drag me there."

"Come on, it wasn't that bad. We had some fun, and it's always nice to see Princess Celestia, isn't it?"

"I like to have my fun away from the snooty ones. And I saw plenty of Celestia back in school..."

"Oh, whatever," Twinkleshine tutted. "I know some part of you enjoyed the culture."

"Well," she pondered, "I did like the part where the party got crashed by garden animals..."

"...I thought we agreed to never speak of that again."

Wisp's visage twisted into some rough approximation of a particular pony's face. "You're... going to LOVE ME!"

Twinkleshine snorted as Wisp broke into laughter. "You know, that seemed really out of place for a pony like Fluttershy. She's so nice and, you know... shy."

"It is part of her name," Wisp offered. "A pony like her probably has to deal with a lot of crap, and she's too nice to do anything about it. I'm sure there's some pent up frustration there."

"'It's always the quiet ones,' huh?"

She shrugged. "There's always more to ponies than meets the eye, right?"

The other unicorn smirked. "Like how you secretly love being pampered?"

"...Shut up, Twinkleshine."

"Ha-ha. Who's laughing now?"

"Me, when I remind you of the chocolate fondue incident."

"...Anyway," she said, floating a mirror over, "What do you think?"

Wisp peered into her reflection and looked herself over. Her mane and tail were both styled to perfection, sleek and deliberate instead of relatively free and wild like usual. Her mane lay straight, covering her left eye with an alluring fringe that brought one's attention to the right. Her tail was much the same, brushed and moussed and combed straight and smooth.

Alhough, technically, her tail was quite obscured by the dress.

It was a fairly simple garment, favoring practicality over embellishment. In color it was mainly pink with some white accents, and long, flat skirt that flowed up over her back and into a modest front with a dipping neckline and no sleeves. There were no ruffles, no frills, no gems. It was very honest, Wisp thought... And affordable. For what she had paid, it didn't look too bad.

It wasn't really fancy or anything, but then, it didn't need to be, did it? Clover Café, she had learned, was more of a rural town's attempt at a classy restaurant than an actual classy restaurant. More importantly, despite their little "bet" of sorts, she and Cloudchaser both agreed they didn't need to shoot too high on their first time out. They could always go fancier later, and Wisp could always get a more flattering outfit then. What mattered was that it looked right at home on her.

"You know what? I don't think I look half bad."

—————————

Well, this is the place.

Fitting with its reputation, Clover Café's exterior was indistinguishable from its rustic surroundings. Apparently, it had been a humble barber shop before being repurposed into an eatery. This wouldn't be a problem, per se, if it didn't try to maintain a facade of sophistication, but Wisp supposed it was part of the legacy. At heart, it was a Ponyville diner, and it looked the part.

But she had spent long enough taking in the scenery. With a deep breath, she pushed past the few ponies making use of the outdoor seating and went inside.

Trotting through the door was like stepping into another world. Unlike the outside, Clover Café's interior design was a dead ringer for similar establishments in Canterlot—it almost reminded her of Sun's Flank, except with a lot less red. The place still had a dark look and calm atmosphere, but the lighter walls and swan-white table cloths helped to brighten things up .

As for the help, they looked the part... But Wisp could see from here that most of them failed to convincingly act the part. The unicorn stallion approaching her, however, was not one of them.

"Hello, ma'am," he greeted her with a distinguished accent, "Welcome to Clover Café. Might I have the honor of serving you tonight?"

Wisp felt oddly disappointed. She had rather been looking forward to having some cute klutz of a waiter, but it couldn't be helped.

"Of course," she answered, making a quick scan of the room, "But I'm supposed to be meeting with somepony. Her name is Cloudchaser. Do you know if she's here?"

"Purple coat, light mane?" She nodded. "Yes, she arrived just a few minutes ago. Allow me to show to your table."

It's almost like I'm back in Canterlot.

The stallion led her past rows and rows of ponies, past couples young and old, past large families and young waitresses trying to fake an accent. Actually, as far as Wisp could tell, she had wound up with the only believably classy waiter in the café.

She followed him past a couple empty booths to their destination near the center of the room, and immediately felt her blood pressure jump. As she should be, Cloudchaser was sitting in this booth, but she looked... Well, different, of course. It was to be expected, but Wisp hadn't been quite prepared for this.

The rose-colored headband was new. Most of her mane appeared much the same as ever—just a bit more well-kempt—but the front draped over her face like a frozen river, mostly obscuring the right side and exposing the left. Wisp had always liked the hair hanging over Cloudchaser's eyes, but seeing her like this...

Gulp.

As more of her came into view, Wisp was struck by how well her dress suited her. The V-necked bodice was a faded blue, like the shadow of a cloud (or, more aptly, the lighter streaks of Cloudchaser's cutie mark), and had a star-shaped clasp in the center of her chest. And had she been standing up, the long purple skirt, with its cloud-like lining, would have reached the floor. Going by looks, it fit her like a glove.

"Oh, hey, how nice of you to join me. C'mon, sit."

As she quietly obliged, their waiter offered to take their orders.

"Yeah, sure," Cloudchaser said, pushing her menu away. "I'd like some fried mushrooms, hold the dressing."

"Actually, don't hold it. I'd like some, too."

"Good choice," Cloudchaser said, before leaning over to take a sip of water. Wisp then realized that she had a glass, as well.

"Will that be all?"

"Yeah, we'll decide on our main course while you're gone."

"Very well. I shall return shortly."

Once the stallion was out of earshot, Cloudchaser snickered, "Did you see that guy? We must've got the only fancy one in this whole place."

"That's what I was thinking," Wisp replied. "He sure surprised me, the way you made this place sound."

"Yeah, well, I haven't been in a while. He must be new... But forget that," Cloudchaser said, raising her visible eyebrow and looking her over again. "You're looking... great."

"Heh, well... It can be nice to dress up now and then."

"Yeah, I agree... But don't tell anyone I said so. I have a reputation to maintain."

Yeah... Right.

"For real, though, you're killing me with that fringe. Although I think we both had the same idea..."

"I'm not going to complain. I think it really suits you."

"Yeah? You can thank Flitter for it. I might've gone for something different, but what else can I do that looks this good?"

Wisp rolled her eyes. "Oh, I'm sure you could come up with something."

"Anyway, you should probably take a look at the menu. Garçon shouldn't take long."

She sipped on her water as she flipped her menu open. "Hm..."

By the time the waiter returned with their mushrooms, they were both ready with their orders and sent him right back on his way. Wisp was in the mood for a large, crispy Caesar salad, while her partner was having a fettuccine alfredo dinner. The unicorn had herself been tempted to order some pasta, but this was a night for fresh, leafy goodness.

As her mind returned from its food-related fantasizing, she noticed that Cloudchaser was staring right at her.

"Seriously, I really like what you did with your mane."

Wisp wished she still had a menu to hide behind. "Yeah...?"

"Mhm. You look like you, just, you know... sexier. Like you're a pretty mare that knows she's pretty."

Wisp felt a blush coming on. "It's been a while since anyone called me that..."

"What, really? Are ponies blind?"

"I-it's not that I don't get compliments. Just... usually not that one."

"Feh. Let me be the one to tell you that kicking an earth pony's flank doesn't make you any less pretty."

"I... That wasn't anything special. All I really did was slug him for hurting Twinkleshine."

"Yeah, and when you did you almost took him out in one hit, or so I hear. That's pretty impressive for a pretty little unicorn mare."

"Pfft. 'Little unicorn'..." Wisp popped a mushroom into her mouth as she tried not to think about how flattered she felt.

"Well," she said after swallowing, "It's not like I can always rely on magic..."

"You make it sound so simple," Cloudchaser remarked with a smile. "I don't think you give yourself enough credit. But anyway..." Cloudchaser took a moment to munch on some of her own mushrooms—Wisp still didn't understand how a pony could skip on the ranch—and adopted a thoughtful expression. "From what your BFF tells me, it sounds like you're not usually this modest. What's up with that?"

Wisp decided that now was a good time for more mushrooms. She went through one, two, three of them, and was ready for more, but... It wasn't like Cloudchaser was going anywhere. She sighed.

"Well," she began, slow and tentative, "I'm still not proud of what happened in Canterlot."

Cloudchaser might have spit out her water if she'd been taking a drink. "You're not actually still on about that, are you?"

"I lost control of my emotions and my magic, Cloudchaser! I could've really hurt somepony..."

"Your heart was broken and you were stressing out, big time. It wasn't your fault."

"My lack of control was mine and mine alone. And then it happened again with Wintergreen... But it's not just that." She sighed. "It was my own fault I ended up in that situation to begin with."

She was startled by Cloudchaser slamming her hoof against the table. "You're blaming yourself for being cheated on?"

Her lips tightened. "I can't deny the truth in the things she said. I ignored the signs when I gave her too much attention..."

"No, Wisp. Just no. This is not okay."

"I've always had trouble with my temper. Just ask Twinkleshine. I've always—"

"Wisp!"

As soon as she'd cried out, Cloudchaser's hooves were on the table and her eyes trained in hers, staring into her into silence. She looked frustrated and... sad?

"Just... stop. Please."

It was all Wisp could do, just then, to comply.

With that, Cloudchaser relaxed and sighed as she rubbed her face. "Look, Wisp... I know I'm not the brightest tool in the shed, but even I know blaming yourself isn't healthy. Please, don't put yourself down like that."

She nodded again. What could she say to that?

"Clingy or not, it was no one's fault she cheated except hers. And if I ever meet her in person, I'll tell her exactly what I think about it."

Wisp blinked in astonishment. She had no idea the pegasus felt so strongly about this.

"Anyway, we've been over this before. Just cut yourself a little slack, alright?"

"...I'm sorry."

"Forget about it. Let's just enjoy our food, yeah?"

Silence reigned between them as they did so. Wisp had to admit the mushrooms still tasted great, even now. She took some time to savor each one... But as she watched Cloudchaser stuff her face into the basket, she decided she should try and make things a bit more convenient for her.

When all she got in return was a funny look, she just kept nudging it into the mare's muzzle until she finally bit into it. As she repeated the process with another, Wisp started giggling at her own immaturity, and by the time Cloudchaser joined her, the sour note on their night was all but forgotten.

Then, just as they were running out of mushrooms, the waiter returned with two plates in his magical grip, elegantly guided them to their respective places as he arrived, and asked if they would like anything else. Then, as soon as he'd come, he left to tend to other customers.

Cloudchaser was almost snorting up the fumes of her pasta dinner. "Ahhh, this is gonna be good..." Then she looked over at her unicorn's plate and scrunched up her face. "I still don't get why you didn't order some real food like me."

"What, does salad not count anymore? Did I miss something?"

"It's still food, but it's cold food. You're supposed to treat yourself to a meal, filly."

Wisp rolled her eyes. "Whatever. There's nothing wrong with...Oh, horseapples."

"What? Something wrong?"

Wisp poked around at her salad with fork in horn. To be specific, she was poking around at something hard inside it. "I forgot to order it without croutons." She plucked out one of the crunchy things and glared at it. "I hate croutons."

"Just throw them over here, I'll take 'em."

Wisp's face was the one to scrunch up now. "With your noodles? Why?"

The pegasus shrugged. "I might as well take 'em off your hooves if they bother you so much."

"Right. Well, um... Thanks."

As Wisp levitated the wretched things out of her salad and far away, Cloudchaser changed the subject. "By the way, how's it going with old Greeny? Is he still a giant stick in the mud?"

"What, him? Yeah, it's fine, I guess. But he's still about as conversational as a rock."

"Boooring," Cloudchaser scoffed as she stirred the croutons into her fettuccine, with fork in hoof. "And he still hardly goes outside?"

"As far as I can tell," Wisp answered. "But I'm not sure."

"What do you mean?"

She chewed thoughtfully on her lettuce. "Well, after Twinkleshine stopped the bar fight, he came out of nowhere and forced that idiot to the ground. Said he'd been about to hit me while I wasn't looking."

"Huh."

"It's good for me he showed up, but it was kinda weird. I've never seen him in ."

Cloudchaser gave a shrug. "What's weird about it? With you showing him the magic of friendship, he must finally be getting tired of spending his time alone."

"That's the thing, though," Wisp countered. "I'm still not sure if we even are friends. Although..."

"Yeah?"

"When I told him about my crush on you, he actually had plenty to say."

"Oh...?"

"There's not much to say. Basically he thought it was all just hormones and told me I shouldn't ask you out for a year."

"What? You're kidding..."

"Nope. He thought I should wait to be sure it wasn't just a passing interest."

"Ha... Wow. He really doesn't get how this stuff works, does he?"

Wisp gave a shrug as she swallowed another bite of salad. "I dunno. Maybe he just comes from a really conservative family or something. I have no idea, because he never tells me anything."

"Maybe that's the reason he doesn't have friends."

"Maybe..."

I could certainly believe it. He's been difficult since day one... But there must be a pony hiding under there.

"Anyway, enough of that," Cloudchaser said. "I know something much more interesting we can talk about."

When Wisp asked inquired, she told her, "Cutie marks." She flashed her trademark grin. "You still haven't told me the whole story."

"Does it really mean that much to you? It's not as exciting as it sounds."

Cloudchaser just stared.

"Okay, fine." She downed a few gulps of water first, and cast her mind back. "Well, I told you about my botched teleport, right?"

"Yeah."

"Right. So that was back in magic kindergarten, before I even got into the School for Gifted Unicorns. I kind of... snuck the spellbook out of its library, though."

Cloudchaser clicked her tongue. "Oh dear, it sounds like young Wispy was a little hooligan."

"It wasn't a habit or anything. I just... really wanted to learn that spell." She coughed. "Besides, if I hadn't done that I wouldn't have been been invited into the school to begin with.."

"Hilariously ironic. But that doesn't have anything to do with your cutie mark."

Wisp rolled her eyes. "Impatient... Jeez." Cloudchaser just laughed. "Anyway, so like I said, I tried to teleport myself on the playground. But I tried a little too hard and suddenly half my classmates and I were in the Everfree Forest. I think you can imagine how everypony reacted."

"They freaked the buck out?"

"Pretty much. Eventually they started directing it at me, but I was lucky to have brought Twinkleshine along for the ride. She managed to calm them down a little as I tried to teleport us back."

"Which worked, I'm sure."

"Oh, of course. The first one had tired me out too much to do it again, and that's probably for the best. Who knows where I might've ended up if it'd worked?" She shook that out of her head. "Anyway, we tried finding out way out, but let's just say we were hopelessly lost.

"Everypony was starting to get... well, even more worried. We had no idea how to survive in the wilderness, and we'd all heard stories about the Everfree. But then these will-o'-wisps started showing up..."

"Wisps, huh? I think I see where this is going."

"Yep. The kind that tries to lure you to your death."

Wisp ignored the eyeroll and continued her story. "Luckily some of us had heard about Wisps before and knew better than to follow them, but that didn't help that much, since when wisps don't get what they want, they start bringing things to you..."

She deemed Cloudchaser's ensuing "oh" as appropriate.

"Yeah. I tried scaring the things away, but when I hit one with fire, I felt something... weird happen. It felt almost like the air was being sucked out of my lungs, except... not. Next thing I know, the wisp has changed color. I had no idea what was going on, but I went out on a limb and asked it to lead us out."

"Did it?"

"Not at first, but it did when I asked it to take us to Ponyville. The other wisps weren't very happy about it, though... And yes, this is where the timberwolves came in."

She shrugged and looked down at her poor salad. She was beginning to feel guilty for neglecting it. "There's really not much else to say. I set the wolves on fire and eventually we made it out. The end."

"But what about your cutie mark?" Cloudchaser prodded. "When did it show up?"

"Oh. Right." That part was kind of important. "I don't know exactly when it appeared. I was a little too occupied with running to notice."

Cloudchaser decided that was satisfactory as she began hungrily eyeing her forgotten meal. "That really is a heck of a cutie mark story. Mine's got nothing on yours."

Wisp didn't quite agree. "No, mine is exciting and all, but yours is really... well, touching."

The pegasus looked back up and actually started anxiously rub her shoulder. "Heh. I guess you're right." She looked down in the direction of her flank and smiled. "Sometimes I forget how much it means to me."

Then Cloudchaser suddenly reestablished eye contact and donned a smirk. "And speaking of mushy stuff... Where did your little crush come from, anyway?"

"H-huh?"

"I'm just saying, we knew each other for a while before you popped the question. What took ya so long?"

Wisp scuffed a hind hoof against the floor. "I think it just took me a while to realize... I mean, I've had a number of ponies have show interest in me, but I always turned them down. But then Rainbow Dash..."

"Heh. You mean when she thought we were on a date? Go figure."

"Heheh, yeah..."

Cloudchaser scratched her chin for a bit, looking thoughtful. "Hm. I guess this is our second date, then."

Wisp's ears perked. "What?"

"I mean, it was pretty romantic, right? We snuggled and everything."

"...Snuggled..."

"And you know, technically we slept together."

When that earned her a hard glare, Cloudchaser laughed it up. "Sorry, I couldn't resist. But the point is that our little trip meant something." Her mirthful smirk lessened before saying, "For the record, I'm glad this happened. I like you better as a marefriend, I think," she winked.

Crunch.

Fighting a blush, Wisp tentatively extended a hoof across the table. "Well, you know how I feel, so, um... Thank you."

Cloudchaser reciprocated. "Hey, no need for that. It's your fault we're sitting here."

Wisp just smiled.

Crunch.

Cloudchaser winced. "Okay, what is that—"

Crunch.

The pegasus whirled around to face the source of the noise, and came face to face with a familiar... face. Wisp could see her tense as she stared the pony down.

"...Seriously?"

"Oh, Cloudchaser. What a surprise! Want a peanut?"

Wisp's ears perked up again. Wait. Is that... Flitter?

"No, I don't. What I want is some peace and quiet. You know, with my date."

"Oh, of course, of course..." The pegasus waved a dainty hoof at the unicorn in question. "Hi, Wisp~"

...Why is she looking at me like that?

"You know, I'm pretty lonely here, all by my lonesome. Mind if I join you girls?"

Cloudchaser uttered her refusal, but Flitter was quick to trot blissfully on over, and as she came into view, Wisp had to keep her jaw from dropping. The pegasus was wearing a slim, red one-piece dress that did quite a good job at highlighting some of her... features. With her tail protruding from the back, it was able to hang instead on her haunches, and there was a cut along one leg exposing a fair bit of her flank. She looked... Fetching, to say the least.

Which made it all the more awkward when Flitter sat right next to her, close enough to bump flanks... And forcing her to let go of her Cloudchaser's hoof.

"Flitter..."

"What? Do you want me to sit with you?"

"...Whatever."

With Cloudchaser's dismissal, Flitter leaned closer and looked Wisp over. "You're looking great tonight. Did Twinkleshine do your hair?"

Wisp blinked at her. "Yes..."

"You should let her do it more often. It really brings out your feminine side."

"Thanks. I guess..."

"You're welcome! But anyway, I hope I'm not interrupting anything. I wouldn't want to come between you two." Then she added with a mischievous giggle, "Or would I?"

Wisp couldn't muster much more than the dumbfounded expression she felt taking hold. That was quite definitely the last thing she had expected to hear.

"What, have you never done that before? Let me tell you, it's the best."

"It sounds like they get around. With each other, if ya know what I mean."

"I-I, uh... think I'll just take your word for it."

"Are you sure? We've both got plenty of... experience."

Wisp found herself blushing in all the wrong ways. "I'm, uh... sure it would be fun, but I'm not planning on anything like that just yet. I just want to enjoy our date right now, so..."

"Oh, I see. Fair enough. There's always later..."

Later? No means no.

"Alright, Flitter, you got your answer. Now you can go."

"Go? But I just got here. At least let me see how you two doing." She reached her muzzle under her wing and pulled out a plastic bag. "Anypony want a peanut?"

When no one answered, she shrugged and popped one into her mouth. "So," she said, even as she chewed, "How did Wisp like the rainbow?"

"She liked it fine," Cloudchaser grumbled. "But it was drained of color when we got there." After a moment she squinted at her sister and inquired, "You didn't have anything to do with that, did you?"

"What? No, I had no idea. Why would I when I was the one to help you make it?"

"Hmph."

Flitter looked down at Cloudchaser's plate, then Wisp's. "Hey, is something the matter with your food?"

"We kind of got distracted," Wisp told her. "I think we should get back to eating, actually..."

"Sure, go ahead."

Crunch.

Wisp sighed and picked up her fork. Well, this is just great...

As Cloudchaser followed her lead and returned to her pasta, the unicorn heaved a mental sigh. Well, my salad still tastes good. I just wish that—

Crunch.

She sighed again. "Where did you even get those?"

"Oh, these? There's a place right across the street. They have amazing fairy floss."

"Don't you mean 'cotton candy'?" Cloudchaser grunted.

"'Fairy floss' sounds a lot nicer to me." Then, fluttering her eyelashes Flitter said to Wisp, "By the way, these aren't the only kind of nuts I like."

"..."

"I also like macadamias."

Neither of the other ponies' ensuing deadpans could do that justice.

The rest of the meal was comparatively quiet, but it was not a long silence. They had already enjoyed some of their meals to begin with, and now that they were giving them their undivided attention, soon the clinks and clanks of fork against platter gave way to the quiet of silverware at rest, and settling stomachs. And still Flitter crunched away.

With no more distractions at the ready, Cloudchaser breathed deep and laid down the law. "Alright, Flitter. It's been great having you, but I'd like some alone time with my marefriend now. If you don't mind."

The ignominious interloper returned her near-emptied bag to her wing and grinned. "Sure, no problem." As she finally pulled away and began to leave, she called back, "Enjoy the rest of your night, ladies~"

Wisp sighed in relief as Flitter walked away, but then she heard, "Oh, hey, Wintergreen."

WHAT?

Wisp twisted around in her seat to look into the booth behind her, and sure enough there was a white, green-maned stallion looking back at her.

"What... What the hay are you doing here?"

"Keeping an eye on you," he said.

"And you're doing that why...?"

"I should think that would be obvious."

Wisp heaved a deep sigh. "...You know what? Hold that thought." Turning back to Cloudchaser, she said, "Well, I think the mood is thoroughly shot. Care for a walk?"

"You took the words right out of my mouth."

They both picked themselves up, dropped some bits on the table, and headed on their way, and as Wisp passed Wintergreen, she told him, "Look, I don't really care why you're here. But if I see you following us, we're going to have more than just choice words. Understand?" Once he nodded his reply, she grunted and continued forward.

But then Cloudchaser stopped to talk to him, too.

"Hey, you don't get out much, do you? Why don't you come and hang out with us sometime?"

Are you kidding me right now?

After a moment's consideration, Wintergreen replied, "I would like that very much, actually."

"Cool. See you around, then."

Wisp spent the rest of the way out trying to figure out what that is about. At least, until she saw Flitter cozying up next to some thestral stallion near the entrance. Neither pony was paying her any mind, but nevertheless, the unicorn scoffed and turned up her nose as she and Cloudchaser passed by them and out the door.

As soon as the door closed behind them and the cool night air greeted them, Wisp snorted in frustration. "Okay, so what the hay was that?"

The pegasus anxiously fluttered her wings. "I'm sorry. Flitter has... moments."

"What do you mean, 'moments'? I've never seen her like that before."

"...I'm sorry, but I'd really rather not talk about it right now."

Wisp wasn't so sure she liked that answer. No, she didn't like it at all. "Whatever 'it' is, I think I have a right to know if she's going to invite me into her bed. Into your bed."

"Is this really something you want to talk about when we're on a date?"

"Hmph. I guess not. Slight change of topic, then: What's this about threesomes?"

"That," Cloudchaser coughed, "Is that really any more appropriate?"

"I should think so," Wisp grunted, face forward as they walked aimlessly down the street. "I've heard about the two of you 'getting around.' I think that's relevant."

"Right, I guess it had to come up sometime," Cloudchaser chuckled. "So Flits and I have some casual sex sometimes. It's a lot of fun, honestly."

Before Wisp could even open her mouth, she interjected, "I know what you're gonna say, and no, it's not something I plan on doing anytime soon. I have a few friends with benefits, but I don't want to share you, so I'm not going to share myself, either."

"Well, I should hope so," Wisp declared. "But I, uh... I'm glad to hear it." She cleared her throat and added, "But still, I'm curious. It sounds like you two get around a lot."

"Hey, I don't know what you've heard, but Flitter's the one who grabs random ponies, not me. I'd rather sleep with someone I know... But I usually jump in anyway."

"Right... But I mean, why do you do it to begin with?"

"Why? Because it's fun, of course. Don't tell me you don't enjoy a little touchy-feely..."

"O-of course I do. I just don't lift my tail for just anyone..."

"Does it bother you?" Cloudchaser asked, looking right at her. "That I will?"

"I... No, not really," she replied. "I just... want to know what that makes me."

Cloudchaser stepped closer and nudged her with her wing. "You? I just told you I'm not going to go sleeping around on ya; You have exclusive rights to all this. What do you think that makes you?"

Wisp supposed there was no need to answer. She already felt a bit silly for saying that... So she just smiled and drew closer, not really caring where they they were going. Silly or not, she had heard what she needed to, and was content to just walk in silence for a while in the quiet peace that was Ponyville at night. What's more, she noted with pleasure, now she and her mare were getting to bump flanks.

As the quiet settled between them, her thoughts turned to Ponyville. It was a far cry from Canterlot, though not so much in terms of noise; The capital technically was louder, with its streets and mansions and spires of stone, but ponies' activity levels out on the streets were about the same. Around this time there would be the occasional few ponies walking along here and there, or flying by, as was the way of pegasi and batponies. The same was true in Ponyville, as it naturally would be anywhere else, but the humble village had less lighting, less clutter. The view of the sky here was clear and unobstructed... And, of course, on the most romantic night of the year, the stars looked beautiful.

The unicorn felt a sudden, terrible longing to fly amongst the stars, to claim the night sky as her own and leave the earth behind. Probably because I had so much fun flying with her the other day, she mused... But this did nothing to quell the ache in her chest.

"Cloudchaser... Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did."

"Please. I'm serious."

The mare embraced her with a wing and gave her barrel a squeeze. "Heh, sorry. What is it?"

"What's it like, having wings? Being able to go wherever you want?"

"Oh, is that all?" She tilted her head. "If I remember right, your mom's a pegasus. Shouldn't you have had this conversation before?"

"It's been a long time," Wisp huffed, "and this is different."

"Alright, I hear you." Cloudchaser looked up into the sky, at the twinkling stars and moon, and gathering her thoughts. Not that it took very long.

"I could tell you how liberating it is, like any pegasus would," she said. "How the sky is a whole other world, and how great it is to be able to go there whenever I want. But for me, it's a little different," she explained. "You know how I got my cutie mark, but you also know how I like to fly. And how I want to join the Wonderbolts." The unicorn nodded. "My cutie mark is about chasing my dreams... I guess. But it's also, I think, about the speed I strive for. The feeling of the wind in my mane. Flying isn't just about freedom for me, it's also about being good at it."

A light breeze blew by and tickled their manes. It almost hid Cloudchaser's sigh.

"And I am good at it. But with a pony like Rainbow Dash around, always reminding me how much better she is..."

"Cloudchaser..."

"Yeah, I know I shouldn't let it bother me so much, but it's different from you and Twilight. You both do magic, and maybe she's better... But you still have your specialty, right? I doubt she can play with fire like you can. With Dash, it's the exact same thing we're comparing... I mean, how can I compete with a sonic rainboom?"

A solemn sigh from the dark unicorn. "I'm sorry. I don't know what I can say, but... Even if she is faster than you, that's no reason to give up on your dream. I mean, who says you have to compete with her?"

Cloudchaser was holding Wisp close now, not just for the sake of it. "It's just... when I think about being a Wonderbolt, the first thing I see is her passing me by." She sighed and shook her head. "But there's more to it than just Dash. She just gives me an excuse..."

When she didn't continue, Wisp nuzzled her chin. "If you don't want to talk about it, we discuss something else."

"I'd like that."

They walked in silence a while longer, quietly passing by various empty stalls and darkened homes on their way to... wherever they were. Wisp wasn't paying that much attention, distracted as she was by leaning into her mare.

"Er... I've got nothing," she said after a time.

"Well, there is something easy we could default to..."

"And what's that?"

If Wisp's head weren't still resting against Cloudchaser's, she might have seen her almost-apologetic smile. "Wintergreen."

Wisp immediately pulled upright and offered a sidelong glare in the stead of her affections. "Ugh. Do you really have to bring him up? Just Flitter was bad enough."

"Hey, I'm sorry. I was low on ideas, too."

"Sigh... I don't know what to think of it. He was probably sitting there watching us the whole time. Don't you think that's creepy?"

Cloudchaser shrugged. "Kinda, but you're the first pony to hang out with him since forever, right? Maybe he's just being protective of his only friend."

Once again, Wisp turned her head to fully face her companion, this time incredulous. "How do you manage to make it sound like a good thing?"

"Eh," the pegasus shrugged again, "it's a gift."

Wisp rolled her eyes. "When I think about it, I'm more annoyed that you asked him about hanging out."

"Hey, I hear you, but why wait when he's right there? And the sooner we get him socializing, the sooner he might chill out, right? Friendship is magic, after all."

"You keep saying that," Wisp grunted, despite her light grin. However, that grin quickly faded into a frown as she continued, "I just know that Flitter ruined our night just fine on her own. Him being there was the cherry on top..."

Her partner scoffed, rather loudly, and finally turned her own gaze from the beaten path. "Girl, are you kidding me right now? We're having a good time right now, aren't we? I think this is a lot more romantic than eating at a not-actually-fancy place."

"I don't know. I mean, you're right, but..."

Cloudchaser suddenly stopped in her tracks, and with her wing forced Wisp to stop as well. "Well, if it's that important, I think I know how to make it up to you."

"Yeah? And how are—"

Wisp hadn't known what to make of it when Cloudchaser brushed aside the striped curtain of her mane and caressed her cheek. She had been uncertain what to make of it when she redoubled the strength of her winghug.

She knew exactly what to make of it when their lips pressed together.

She was stunned, if only for a moment. Before she knew it, she was holding her hoof against the other mare's chest, and letting herself become lost in the kiss.

It hadn't been long since she had experienced this, but it sure felt like it.

She was pleased to note that Cloudchaser was feeling pretty enthusiastic. It wasn't long before she was gasping for breath, and yet more quickly the pegasus took advantage of it and slipped her tongue into her mouth. It was then she realized just how skilled a kisser her new marefriend was, and she was lost in a raging river of passion.

At least, it felt like a raging river. They weren't slobbering all over each other or anything... But Celestia, did it feel good.

After what must have been minutes—or only a couple seconds, she couldn't tell—of bliss, Cloudchaser slowed down and pulled away. It seemed much too soon to stop for Wisp's liking, but the pressure of a hoof on her own soothed her disappointment somewhat. Either way, they each had to take a moment to catch their breath.

Of course, Cloudchaser was the first one to speak. "So... Feeling better?"

Still panting, Wisp swallowed and said, with but a touch of sarcasm, "What do you think?"

Cloudchaser giggled at that. "What do I think?" Her wing unfurled from the unicorn's side and trailed along her back, brushing against her flank and lingering on her cutie mark. Or, at least, where her cutie mark would be under the dress. "I think you'd like some more. How convenient that we're standing right on your doorstep..."

Wisp blinked and checked her surroundings. Sure enough, they were standing just a couple strides away from her house. "Standing on the doorstep" was a bit of an exaggeration, but...

She swallowed again. "Did you plan this?"

"Leading you here and bringing up dinner just in time for an excuse to kiss you? Yes. Going inside, well... That's up to you."

"Go inside? But... W-we've only just started dating..."

"Yeah, but so what? I know I'm not the only one who doesn't want this night to end just yet. And I know just how to keep it going..."

Right then, Wisp was pretty sure that her blush must be setting records. At this point it might achieve sentience and tap-dance off of her face. Or maybe she was just felt so giddy that she was coming up with outlandish hyperbole just to distract herself.

"I-I... Maybe..."

"While you decide, I should let you know..." Cloudchaser said, as she leaned over to whisper in her ear. "My cutie mark has a third meaning. I'll make you see stars, Wispy..."

The weatherpony deviously giggled as the words took effect. She deemed the way Wisp stiffened up and shivered sufficiently adorable.

"A-alright, fine... Fine. Just let me, ahem... check my mail, first..."

"Of course," she purred as the unicorn brushed past her. She followed close behind—with a modest dress such as that, there was no view to enjoy, you see—and watched as Wisp magicked open the letterbox hanging next to her door and pulled out a single, snow-blue envelope.

"Who's it from?" she asked, genuinely curious. Most ponies just sprung for the basic white.

"Oh, it's just a letter from my family," Wisp explained. "We've been writing back and forth ever since I settled in. I usually get a new one every few days."

"You're lucky, you know. To have a family like that."

"Heh," the unicorn smiled. A wide, pretty smile, at that. "Maybe I am..."

The back of Wisp's dress shuffled around a bit as she was unlocking the door—with magic, of course, as was her way. She had probably been trying make some gesture with her tail, but she got the point. "But what do you care? You crazy mares are only after one thing, aren't you?"

Cloudchaser laughed to herself as the door clicked shut behind her. "You're the one letting me in..."

Author's Notes:

Sorry this chapter took so much longer to put out than usual, but it was a bit tougher than the usual fare. Doesn't help that I was having a bit of a Skyrim binge earlier on in it, as well, but here it is.

More than that, though, I have to apologize for putting this story on temporary hiatus. I don't plan on it lasting very long, and may still get working on chapter 11 during said hiatus, but I'm getting really excited about and invested in my coming Fallout: Equestria story. It'll be a while before I have that one going, and I don't want to leave Fireflank in the dust (especially considering that this story will be a sequel to Fireflank, more or less in the way FoE is a "sequel" to MLP), but I am a victim of my own whims.

Coming up with a brand new story, and the plot and characters behind it, requires investment on my part, and I'm going to invest even more in this one. Once it is actually being written, I plan to put it through this one through the ringer—prereading and editing runs with the help of... well, editors. If you like Fireflank, know that for the time being, I just put it out as I go—with Fallout Equestria: Duality, it has a legacy to live up to, and I want it to be the best it can be, and I can't get it anywhere near that point without help.

So, look forward to that, if you're into FoE. Seeing as I suffer the curse of perhaps seeing too little of the quality in my product thus far, I hope to do my readers proud as well as myself. What you get should hopefully be worth the wait.

The Unicorn with Fire on Her Flank

by Noradora

Chapter 1: New Beginnings

Chapter 2: Flanks

Chapter 3: Duties

Chapter 4: Shooting Star

Chapter 5: Friends

Chapter 6: Complications

Chapter 7: Feelings

Chapter 8: Suggestions

Chapter 9: Hearts

Chapter 10: Hooves