Chapter 8
One Rainy Tuesday
The Night Princess was a patient mare. At least, she liked to think so. However, there were some things that tried even her patience, the nobility being one of them. Presiding over the Night Court, she usually didn't have to deal with their particular brand of stubbornness that often, seeing as most either were in bed or attending "social functions" (read: standing around looking important at somepony's home). The ones who did call on her during Court usually had legitimate grievances that needed to be addressed or business that needed handled.
However, when her sister decides to discretely pop over to Ponyville to deal with a delicate situation (read: potentially panicking student) in the middle of her shift, Princess Luna is the one who has to pick up the slack. She didn't mind, most nights her Court was rather empty and she welcomed the change of pace. That is, until her first petitioner.
Good heavens these nobles were idiots. How her sister ever made it through each day without banishing half a dozen to the moon, she'd never know. Still, the Night Princess managed to put on a brave face and suffered the fools to live. Finally, at dinner time she could call an end to it all. She had decided to cancel her Night Court, seeing as Luna had taken over for Celestia mid shift.
With dinner done, Luna retired to her room for a bath and, after scrubbing her day's worries away, to enjoy one of the greatest, most amazing things ever to grace the world of Equis. The Internet.
Unlike many of the Canterlot Elite, the Royal Sisters fully embraced the new technology that came along after first contact with Earth. Celestia had gotten hooked on various BBC programming (especially Doctor Who and Sherlock), while Luna spent most of her free time surfing the web, even taking to using a laptop during the more boring Court sessions. So much so that it had begun affecting her language. Luna had spent countless hours since her first Nightmare Night learning to change her old speaking habits, but they were mostly wasted. A few weeks on an Internet forum, however, cleared that problem up. Sure, a few thees and thous crept through every now and then, especially when speaking to an insufferable noble.
Princess Luna was updating her blog, which had a modest (but dedicated) following, when she heard a knock on her door.
"Sister, are you busy?" she heard Celestia calling through the door. Smiling, Luna quickly unlocked and opened her door, letting her elder sister in. Celestia couldn't help but chuckle as she saw Luna still typing away at her desk.
"So, how is your student?" asked Luna. "Is she taking the changes well?"
"I believe so." replied Celestia. "Rainbow Dash already taught her to fly, and she seems to be handling everything else just fine, although the gravity of the situation might not have fully dawned on her."
"She can take it. She's a strong mare." stated Luna matter-of-factly as she hit the submit button. "Besides, after your talk with her, I'm sure Twilight Sparkle will be just fine." Luna turned around to face her sister, and saw the worried look on her face. "Something wrong, 'Tia?"
"Yes." replied Celestia. "I wasn't able to speak with my student about the transformation. Something far more pressing came up." Seeing the look of confusion on Luna's face, Celestia couldn't help but grin mischievously. She was about to tell her sister something that would simply blow her mind.
The next morning, Twilight Sparkle was jarred awake by the booming sound of thunder shaking her Library. The rainstorm Rainbow Dash warned about the previous night had hit and was causing a great rucus (fracas) throughout Ponyville. She tried to turn over and go back to sleep, but to no avail, the weather wasn't cooperating as another thunderclap shook the tree. Grumbling, Twilight sat up in bed and looked to her night stand at a little calendar and noticed that it was Tuesday.
Tuesday was the day that weird stuff just seemed to happen for Twilight, such as the "Time Travel Incident" and the now infamous "Smarty Pants Incident" (which, for the record, she would never live down no matter how long she lived). Twilight couldn't suppress the smirk when she realized that, what with her and John's transformations yesterday, they were ahead of schedule. Neat!
"Spike!" she called out. When she received no answer, she raised her voice. "SPIKE!" Still no answer. She looked at his bed and noticed that it was empty. Usually she would be the one to wake her number one assistant up, but it seems he got the jump on her for once. She then noticed the wonderful aroma of frying potatoes wafting into her room. "He must be cooking breakfast." she said, salivating at the delicious smells emanating from downstairs.
She hopped out of bed, and noticed how ruffled the feathers on her wing were. As she started preening, Twilight couldn't help but remark how her body seemed to just know how to take care of the new appendages. Wing maintenance finished, she headed for her bathroom to take care of business and to perform her usual routine of maintaining her appearance. Mane brushed and face cleaned, she started to head downstairs, but hesitated by the door.
She was determined to tell John everything about how she felt towards him today, but the thought of doing so terrified her to no end. She had no idea how he would react. Taking a deep, calming breath, Twilight pushed her bedroom door open. She still dreaded confessing her feelings to the Stallion, but breakfast smelled too good to stay cooped up in her room.
Slowly, Twilight walked down the stairs into the main foyer of the Library before pausing at the bottom step. There was no turning back now. She casually began walking to the kitchen. Step by step she walked, seemingly taking an eternity to cross the foyer. However, the short trip only lasted a few seconds as she stepped into the open kitchen and spotted John standing in front of the stove, smiling, with a frying pan sizzling on the burner and a spatula hovering at his side.
"Smells good." said Twilight, breaking the ice. "What are you making?"
"Hash browns." he replied, giving the contents of the pan a quick stir with the spatula. He then levitated two cups, one with chopped onions and the other with chopped bell peppers, and added them to the pan while giving it a toss. "Grandma Kelley's old recipe. I've got pancakes staying warm in the oven as well. Could you get them out for me, please?"
"Sure." she replied, opening the oven and sliding the tray stacked high with pancakes. "By the way, have you seen Spike? I usually have to get him up every morning."
"Huh? Oh, he left for Rarity's about, oh say, ten minutes ago." said John, giving the pan a flick. "I think he wanted to try and beat the weather." he said, giving a sidelong glace at the rain-spattered window. "Don't think he made it."
Twilight giggled in spite of herself at the young Dragon's plight as she set the tray of pancakes on the counter. It was good that he had left already. She didn't want him around while she poured her heart out to the Stallion. His presence would definitely make things much more awkward.
"You got anything planned for today, Twi?" asked the Stallion, giving the pan one more shake before turning the fire off.
"Actually, I don't." she said, earning a startled look from the Autobot Alicorn. "I've been trying to be more flexible in how I handle my life. That way I don't always go crazy when something unexpected happens."
"Makes sense" John replied as he pulled a couple plates out of the cabinet and served up breakfast. Each plate received three pancakes as well as a heaping helping of hash browns. Twilight eyed the remaining dozen pancakes on the tray.
"Did you have to make so many?" she asked.
"Hey, at least we have enough." he replied. "If we don't finish them all, I'll turn the rest into an actual cake!"
"... A cake... made from pancakes?" she asked, eye twitching and ear flopping in time. "Did Pinkie Pie give you that idea?"
"Nope, Alton Brown." replied the stallion with a smirk as he set the plates on the table. "That man can come up with some ingenious food ideas."
That being said, the two Alicorns took their places at the table, sitting across from one another. As Twilight began eating, however, her earlier trepidation began to resurface. She had sworn to tell John this morning, but she just couldn't find the words. Because of her nervousness, she could only pick at her food. She looked up at the stallion across from her and saw that he too was lost in thought as he barely touched his plate. Her heart wrenched at the sight, believing herself to be the cause. Finally, she set her fork down on her plate with a resounding clink that seemed to echo for an eternity. Twilight looked up to see that John had set his fork down as well. Taking a deep breath, she began to speak.
"We need to talk" they both said nearly simultaneously, causing Twilight to recoil. John, handling the situation much more calmly, waved a hoof at Twilight.
"Ladies first." he said.
She opened her mouth, trying to find the words, but they wouldn't come. She took one more deep, calming breath. "J-John... I..." she couldn't say it. Try as hard as she could, Twilight couldn't find the courage to tell him. She looked across the table and saw the expression on John's face. It was one she had seen Princess Celestia use on her back in the day. It told of near-infinite patience. It's what drove her over the edge. "I think I've fallen in love with you." she blurted out, before turning her head away, waiting for his response.
It didn't come. For several, agonizing seconds, he didn't respond. Finally, she heard John stand up and begin to slowly walk towards her side of the table. She dared not look up as she heard the stallion stop right next to where she was seated.
"God damnit, Twi..." she heard him say, cringing as those words washed over her. This is it. He was going to reject her. He was going to- "That was supposed to be my line!"
Startled, her eyes shot open wide as she faced the stallion next to her. Tears glistened in his half-lidded eyes as he smiled sweetly at her. "Y-you mean... you-" she stammered, but was silenced by a swift kiss from the stallion. As he pulled away, her breath caught in her throat, her heart skipped a beat, and her eyelids fluttered as she blushed a birght shade of crimson. Hungry for more, Twilight tackled the smoke-grey Alicorn, forcing him on his back, and planted a deep, passionate kiss on the stallion's lips. Surprised by her sudden move, John closed his eyes and responded in kind. After a few moments, their lips separated, and the two Alicorns smiled at each other.
"Twi, could you please get off me?" requested John. "You're crushing my lungs."
"You don't need to breathe." shot back Twilight seductively, nuzzling the stallion.
"It's the principle of the matter." he retorted. After one more affectionate nuzzle, Twilight acquiesced and climbed off, allowing John to roll over onto his belly. "So... how long have you felt this way?"
"Since you told me your real name." said Twilight. "You?"
"Around then. Maybe a little earlier." he replied. "I've been lying to myself since then, though. The whole 'interspecies relationship' deal was a little 'ick' for me at the time."
"You humans are such prudes." she teased.
"Not my fault I evolved on a world without multiple sentient species." he retorted with a playful jab of his hoof. Twilight got down on the tile floor with the stallion and rubbed up against him.
"What now?" she asked.
"Now..." he began, casting a sidelong glance at the table, "we finish breakfast. Then we'll talk."
After checking once again that her rain gear was absolutely fabulous, Rarity picked out her best waterproof saddlebag and stocked it. She'd need her good measuring tape, a few bolts of cloth of varying hues, a notepad, and her lucky red glasses. She'd borrow a quill from Twilight.
After her bag was fully stocked, she turned to address Spike, her assistant for the day. "Now, I'll be back momentarily. Be a dear and mind the store for me."
"You got it!" he replied with a quick salute. Rarity blew him a kiss and walked out the door, too quickly to see the young Dragon blush.
Standing on her porch, she clicked her tongue disapprovingly at the weather before setting off for the Library. After hearing about what happened to John from Spike, she couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor dear. Captured by the Decepticons, tortured by Galvatron and turned into one of them, and now turned into a Pony by some strange artifact, the Universe seemed to have it out for him. She just had to do something for the man-er, stallion.
Seeing as his (limited) wardrobe was now all but useless, Rarity had decided to make him a nice suit. Sure, it wasn't much comfort, but there was only so much the Unicorn could do. Besides, she needed to go to the Library anyways. She had been struck by inspiration for a new dress for Twilight, but needed to check her measurements.
Before long, she had arrived at the Library. Quickly readjusting her raincoat, Rarity elegantly knocked on the door. Moments later, the door was enwrapped in a violet aura and opened.
"Oh, hello Rarity." said Twilight, ushering the wet Unicorn inside. "What brings you over?"
"Well dear, if you must know, after I went home last night, I was struck by inspiration!" she said, doffing her rain gear and hanging it by the door. "Normally, I would've waited until this dreadful rainstorm passed by, but when Spike told me of Mr. Kelley's plight, I simply had to come by." said Rarity in her usual over-dramatic fashion. "How is the poor thing handling it?"
"Surprisingly well." replied Twilight. "Although, I don't think he's had time to process the whole situation."
"I spent half the night lying awake, Twi." said the grey stallion as he entered the room from the kitchen, levitating three tea cups in front of him. "Believe me, I've already had a minor freak-out about it."
"I thought you were thinking about something else." said Twilight with a smirk.
"I can multi-task." replied John as he bent over to kiss the lavender mare on the cheek, causing her to giggle and eliciting a surprised gasp from Rarity.
"Y-you two... are... are.." she stammered, receiving a small nod from Twilight. The marshmallow-white Unicorn beamed her brightest smile as she wrapped the two Alicorns in a tight embrace. "Oh, I am so happy for the both of you!" she said, before letting the two go. "I must make a matching ensemble for the two of you!"
"Oh, really, that's not necessary, Rarity." Twilight responded dismissively.
"I will have none of that, Twilight!" stated Rarity, levitating a measuring tape out of her bags. "Now, I just need to take John's measurements and I will have something for the two of you by the end of the week."
John shared a look with Twilight and simply shrugged. He knew that, when Rarity got in one of her moods, it was best to just grin and bear it.
Queen Chrysalis gazed out at the rain-soaked forest, deep in thought. The weather reflected her mood perfectly. She had made many mistakes in the past, the greatest of which was trying to conquer Equestria. She realised that now. Her people fed off emotions, love being the most potent. She thought that she could force the Ponies of Equestria to give their love, but did not take into account that conquering them would only create fear, and while fear could nourish, only love could satisfy their hunger.
Until recently, most Changelings were content with their parasitic nature. They'd infiltrate a city, kidnap an unlucky Pony and stash them somewhere out of the way, assume their identity, and feed off the love their loved-ones gave freely. A few days later, after feeding to their satisfaction, the Changeling would return their kidnapped victim. A few memory altering spells later and nopony was the wiser. No muss, no fuss; out of sight, out of mind.
Unfortunately, a recent population boom in the Changeling hives made this impractical. Changelings were beginning to compete with each other for food sources. Her people were killing themselves over food. Chrysalis had to act. That was when she came up with the idea to conquer Equestria. It was a mistake.
A mistake she was going to repeat. Her people needed to feed on love. It was the unfortunate reality to their existence, and all sentient beings had the right to exist. Chrysalis held no true malice for the Ponies. She longed for the days of yore, before her kind was cursed with this parasitic existence. Back when her kind walked among the Ponies as equals. Above all, Chrysalis longed for peace.
She wondered if the Ponies remembered her kind before they were cursed, even if only in their myths and legends. She had not bothered to check while masquerading as Cadence. She had honestly forgotten. She would find out soon enough.
Her people needed love to feed, and with the aid of the Predacons, she had a plan to give them all they needed.