//------------------------------// // Chapter 20: The Beauty and the Beat // Story: The Tale Of A Lost Wolf // by Solaris Night //------------------------------// "Will you stop scratching yourself already?" Twilight complained in an annoyed tone. She and Trider were making their way through town, passing by other ponies, who were greeting them. "I told you already, I can't." the Kanisar retorted as he continued to ferociously scratch his head. "These fleas are fucking killing me." "Can you at least not scratch yourself while I'm around? I don't want you to infect me as well." she sighed and took a step away from him. "Sorry." he apologized and stopped. "It's all that bitch's fault. I swear if I ever meet her again, I'm gonna rip off her head and shit down her throat." Trider grumbled as he tried to resist the temptation of scratching. "That's a bit excessive Trider." Twilight grimaced at the thought. "And I already told you it wasn't entirely Trixies fault. She was influenced by the amulet." "Was that before or after she changed me into a dog, drove you out of town and enslaved it's citizens?" he argued, as sweat began to cascade down his face. The mare gave him a deadpanned look before rolling her eyes. "Oh c'mon, it couldn't have been that bad." Trider stopped in his tracks, making Twilight stop as well. "Beside being turned another species? Hmmm, let me think." he said as he put a hand to his chin. "Oh yeah, how about not being able to communicate with others, having to rely on Fluttershy to speak for me, having been continuousy pet by the town children and Pinkie, having been laughed at by both Rarity and Dash, getting the fleas..." he continued as he raised a finger for every point he made. "And don't even make me start on Winona. I can't even go to AJ's without her trying to jump me." "I'm sure she is just happy to see you." Twilight tried to argue. "Yeah, I'm sure she is. But I doubt she only expects bellyrubs from me." Trider said sarcastically, as he shivered at the thought. Right at that moment he felt a sharp pain in his tail, that made him yelp out. "OH NO!" he screamed out, gaining the attention of everypony nearby. "They're in my tail now!" He began to scratch and bite his tail, trying to rid himself of the unwanted pests. Twilight sighed as she approached the Kanisar and gave him a slip of paper. "Here." she said as she handed him the paper. "Your appointment at the spa is in 15 minutes. Why don't you head over there now and see if they'll accept you early." Quickly grabbing the paper, Trider booked it towards the spa. While he was making a run for it, Twilight continued her shopping, finally having some peace. Suddenly a thought occured to her. "Does he even know where the spa is?" *** "WHERE THE FUCK IS IT???" Trider yelled out as he ran across all of the town. It's been ten minutes since he left Twilight and he still couldn't find the spa. "WHERE IS IT?" His hair was a complete mess, even more than usual, and so was his tail. His pupils were the size of pinpricks and were shifting from side to side, desperately trying to locate the building. Ponies steered clear of him, fearing he might lash out at any moment. As he continued to run through the streets, he suddenly crashed into someone. "Owww." he cried out as he picked himself up. "Watch where you're going!" "Excuse me? I belive you're the one who should be apologising." the person he crashed into argued. Trider noticed they were talking in a strange accent and when he lifted his head he saw who it was. It was a grey coated earth mare with black, well groomed mane and tail. She wore a grey dress shirt and knee-length skirt. Under her shirt she had a white bouse and she had a pink bow tied around her neck. She was glaring daggers at him, with her purple eyes. "Why?" Trider asked confused, as he continued to scratch his head. The mare gave him a nasty look. "Why? Because it was you who crashed into me." she retorted. Gears turned in Kanisars head as he tried to recall if that was true, since he didn't remember the last few minutes. Eventually he gave up and sighed. "Fine, I guess. I'm sorry if I knocked you down and all that crap." He offered her his hand and the mare took it. When he lifted her up she looked at him in disdain. "Apology accepted, despite it being half-assed." Now that she was eye level, she noticed he wasn't a pony and gave him a look over. "Pardon me, but what are you exactly?" she asked in curiosity. "Ah, the good old who I am question. Never get tired of hearing it." he said mockingly. "I am a Kanisar from planet Inu, I've crashed landed here, when Twilight, the librarian of this town, accidentally teleported me here against my will and I've been stuck here ever since with no hope of ever seeing my home or friends ever again. But it's not so bad I guess, I made a few friends, have been in more fights than I have fingers on my hands, nearly died just as many times, have nearly led to the destruction of an empire. Oh and I've got flees." he quickly answered, making Pinkie proud. The mare just stared at him her mouth opening and closing like a fish. After a while she gained her bearings and smiled. "Oh really?" she said in a reserved tone. "It sounds like you led a really tough life." "You have no idea." Trider thought. The mare then began to inspect him again, as she seemed to be thinking over something. "I can't put my finger on it, but somehow I think I've seen or heard about you before." she said as she tried to remember. "Tavi!" Both the mare and Trider turned towards where the voice was coming from. "Over here!" the mare called back and saw two other mares approaching them. "I've found Vinly. She was window shopping at the music shop. Who are you talking to?" one of the mares asked. When Trider looked over the mares shoulder his eyes widened at who it was. "Rose?" "Trider?" The two looked at each other for a little while before Rose hugged the Kanisar. "Oh it's so good to see you again." she said as she embraced her friend. "Likewise." said Trider as he returned the hug. The sound of someone clearing their throat drew their attention. They looked at the grey mare who was wearing a smug smirk. "Oh don't mind me." she excused herself. Letting go of each other, Rose stepped towards the mare and draped her arm over her shoulder. "You're just jealous Tavi, since you can't find a stallion that suits your exquisite tastes." she joked, making the gray mare glare at her. "Are these friends of yours?" Trider asked as he watched the two mares go at each other. "A little bit more than that actually." Rose said as she let go of the mare. "These are my sisters." Trider gave her a bewildered look. "You never told you had sisters." he exclaimed. The Rose and the grey mare giggled, while the other one simply bobbed her head. "You never asked." she retorted. Trider shrugged. "Fair enough." he said. "But still, who would have thought that Fancy Pants had three beautiful daughters like you." "Ehhh, actually, we're not blood related." The statement confused the Kanisar, so Rose decided to explain. "We all grew up in the same orphanage and we bonded with each other while we were there. So we're sisters only in name." "Wait, so you're all orphans?" Trider asked, wanting to confirm he heard right. Rose and the mare nodded. "We could actually make a club. You, your sisters, me and Dyna. We could call ourselves the Renegades." "As tempting as that sounds, I'll have to decline your offer." the gray mare refused. "Anyway. Let me introduce you guys." Rose interjected. "Trider, this is my elder sister Octavia Philharmonia. Tavi this is Trider Lykosgrothia, y'know the alien I told you about." "Sup'." Trider said nonchalantly while offering his hand. "A pleasure." Octavia greeted back and shook his hand. "I knew you seemed familiar and now I know why. Rose told me so much about you and the troubles you've caused." "To be fair, I'm only solely responsible for about two thirds of them. The others are freak accidents." Trider defended himself. "Sure." Octavia replied with a roll of her eyes. They then turned their attention to the other mare who was still bobbing her head to the sound of the music that was coming out of her headphones. Unlike Rose and Octavia, who had a more sophisticated look, this mare looked like she is heading to a wild party. Her messy blue and electric blue mane stood out against her white coat. She wore a pair of purple shades that covered her eyes, a white short sleeved jacket, a short white skirt, purple leggings and purple fingerless gloves. When the mare realised all eyes were on her she stopped her bobbing and removed her headphones, giving the group her undivided attention. "And this is my other elder sister, Vinyl Scratch or as other ponies know her as DJ-PON3. Vinyl this is Trider, you know, the dog I had to watch over." Vinyl smiled and nodded. Then she raised her hands and did some gestures with them. Trider just looked at her confused. "Is she trying to be a mime? Cuz if she is, then she's failing at it." Trider remarked, earning a scowl from the mare. "No, no. She's using sign language to communicate. You see, she was born mute and can't talk." Rose explained. "I'm guessing you don't know it right?" "Nope." the Kanisar affirmed. "But I'm proficient in feet language." he said and did a small jig, ending it with jazz hands. The mares face palmed at his joke. Vinyl then lit her horn and pulled a small apparatus out of her pocket. She disconnected her headphones from the device and it too was then enveloped in magic. "Hello. It's a pleasure. To meet you." the greeting came out of the device, sounding like someone took clips of different songs and pasted them together. "Wicked." was Triders only reply. "So what exactly are you doing here? Are you on some kind of mission or...?" he asked Rose. She shook her head. "No, nothing of the sorts. You see, my sisters have been thinking of moving away from Canterlot, but didn't know where exactly. So I suggested Ponyville. I'm here to show them around and see if it fits them." the mare explained. "Ahhh, I see. Well let me tell you it's a great place and I certainly hope you decide to live here." he then leaned closer as he whispered. "But don't listen to anything other ponies tell you about me. It's all lies." Just at that moment Trider was reminded of the urgent matter he had to tend to. "Aughh, not fucking again." he wallowed as he began to scratch himself. The mares looked at him in concern and Rose approached him. "Trider what's wrong?" she asked. "THE FLEAS ARE EATING ME ALIVE!!!" he screamed. "I'm sorry, what?" Rose said in utter confusion. "I've been infected by fleas, when I was turned into a dog." Trider explained. "GET THEM THE FUCK OFF ME!" "I thought you were joking when you said you had fleas." Octavia said as she took a step backwards. "Does it fucking look like I was joking?" he exclaimed. "I need to get to the spa. It's the only way." "Then lets go. It just so happens we also were heading there as well." Rose said as she approached her sisters and they began to walk off. "Just follow us." she said to the Kanisar and he did as he was told. *** Octavia and Vinyl were relaxing in the small pool, as the hot herbal water was washing away any stress they had. "Isn't this nice Vinyl?" Vinyl made a few gestures, but didn't raise her head from the edge of the pool. "I agree. It is heavenly here." Their peaceful bath was interrupted when they heard someone running towards them. "CANNONBALL!" the person screamed. Before the mares had time to react they were swallowed by the torrent of water. Once the water settled the grey mare glared at the culprit. "Trider! Why in the name of Celestia did you do that?" Octavia almost screamed at him. "The better question is, why not?" he retorted. Vinyl nodded as she signed her remark. "Don't you side with him Vinyl. What he did was childish and dangerous." the mare fumed. Vinyl simply gave Trider a thumb up and grinned. Octavia face-palmed and sighed. "Ahh, but I gotta say, this feels nice." Trider said as he sank deeper into the water. Octavia looked at him and smiled. "True, me and Vinyl were just... talking... about..." she trailed off as she stared at Trider. Her face then flushed red and she covered her eyes. "T-Trider?" "Hmmm?" he responded. "Where are your swimming trunks?" she asked as she took a small peek through her fingers. When both genders were using the pool, the spa gave out a set of swimwear to their customers so they could cover themselves up. Both Octavia and Vinyl were wearing their bland white two piece swimsuit. Trider on the other hand... "I left them in the changing room. Why do you ask?" he answered. Vinyl then looked at Trider as well and gave a loud whistle, while waggling her eyebrows. "Don't encourage him Vinyl!" Octavia scolded. "Didn't they tell you, you had to wear them when entering the bath with those of the other sex?" "Actually what they said was that if I wanted to. They never said it was mandatory." Trider argued back. "Even so, you shouldn't just-" "OK, let me stop you right there." he interjected. "This is a bath, so isn't it normal to enter it naked?" Octavia wanted to retort, but he didn't let her. "And if you don't like what you see, you can just look away, you pervert." "Wha-? Did you just call me a pervert?" Trider nodded and Vinyl made a gesture that made Octavia even angrier. "Not you too Vinyl!" Giving up she sank into the water, hoping she could calm down. "I hope Rose gets here soon." she mumbled. "You called?" They all looked towards, where the voice came from. Rose was slowly making her way towards the bath. "It seems you guys are enjoying it quite a lot." she said in glee. "I wish." Octavia grunted, while Vinyl and Trider nodded. Trider then looked at Rose questioningly. "Where did you get that swimsuit Rose?" he asked. The mare raised her eyebrow, before she realised what he meant. Unlike with Octavia and Vinyl, her swimsuit was black and a one piece, completely covering her body. "I bought it in Canterlot a while back. Do you like it?" she asked. "It's nice, but why exactly are you wearing it here? Don't the staff give you one of their own?" The question although innocent made Rose stop, as a sad expression fell over her face. "It's just that I haven't wore it in a while and I wanted to see, if it still fits me." she explained, while Octavia and Vinyl looked at her with worry. Trider however didn't catch their grim expressions and simply shrugged. Sighing in relief Rose joined them in the bath. After a while Octavia looked at the scarlet maned mare. "Please. Can you tell him to put his trunks on?" she pleaded. "I'm sorry, but even i can't convince him." she apologised, as her eyes fell over Triders form, stopping at one spot in particular. "Besides you can just look away. No one's forcing you to look at his junk." "She can't help it. She's a pervert." Vinyl signed, making Octavia glare at her and making Rose laugh. "My Octavia, I didn't think you were that kind of mare." she said, as everyone beside Octavia bursted out in laughter. "Celestia, spare me from my misery." Octavia sighed as she sank up to her nostrils in water. *** When they were done with their bath, they then continued on with different kind of massages, sauna and even mudbaths, during which they got to know each other. Trider learned that both Octavia and Vinyl were in the music business, Octavia being part of a well renowned orchestra and Vinyl being a famous DJ. He also learned that Octavia may or may not have been adopted into a criminal family. He didn't dare to snoop any further, since he knew that he could get into real trouble and that wouldn't sit well with Twilight. Vinyl on the other hand was never adopted and was living by herself up until now. Right now Trider was standing outside the spa with the two mares, waiting for Rose. He tapped his foot against the cobble ground as he became more and more impatient. "Where the hell is she?" he asked in annoyance. "Be patient Trider. A girl has to make sure she looks wonderful when she goes around." Octavia defended her sister. Trider however didn't buy it. "I'm gonna get her." he said as he charged back inside. "Trider wait!" Octavia called out, as she tried to stop him, but wasn't fast enough. The Kanisar stomped his way through the building until he reached the changing rooms. He looked for the one Rose was in and without knocing entered. "Rose, what the hell is taking you so long?" he exclaimed when he stepped in. His advance was halted when he saw her swimsuit cligning just to her waist, leaving her top completely exposed. They both stood there frozen, until Trider began to back off. "I'll just let you change." he said as he reached for the door knob. "I'll be waiting outside." He stepped out and leaned onto the door. He stood in the halway waiting for his friend to change out of her swimsuit. Soon he heard her knocking on the door, so he stepped away from them. He expected her to get out of the room, but instead he heard her tell him to get inside. He grabbed the knob and twisted it, opening the door. When he stepped inside he was met with a cold galre from the mare. "Look I'm sorry I just barged-" "Did you see it?" she stopped his apology with her question. Trider closed his eyes and nodded. "I did." He knew exactly what she was reffering to. The large scar that covered most of her right side and back. There was no fur there whatsoever, just pink flesh. "How did you get it?" he asked. She sighed as she sat down on the bench in the room. "On one of my missions." she said, as she started to explain exactly what happened. "We were chasing down a group of rouge dragons and when we caught them they put up a hell of a fight. During our battle, one of my teammates was knocked down by one of them and was about to be burnt to a crisp. But thankfully I came just in time and saved her. However not without consequences." She removed part of her turtle neck to show a small bit of the scar on her neck. "It took two months of treatment and physiotherapy, until I was once again ready to return to the Guards." she continued. "And why are you trying so hard to hide it?" Trider asked. Rose gave him a venomous glare, that made him take a step back. "Why? Can't you tell why? Because it's disgusting that's why!" she exclamied, picking up in volume as she continued. "Even my coltfriend at the time couldn't stand it, saying it was to horrific to look at, as did every stallion and mare I tried to date ever since. Even my dream of being a model, once I got out of the Guard, was destroyed." Tears began to fall down her face as her facade began to crumble. "Even when I went outside and was wearing something that didn't hide my scar, ponies would stare at me and talk behind my back." She dropped down to the floor as she was out right crying her eyes out. "I hate it. I hate it." She lifted her head to look Trider in the eyes. "Sometimes I wish I hadn't saved that rookie, just so I could have a normal life." Trider didn't know what to do. The once confident and upbeat mare he knew, was now crying on the floor in front of him, completely broken. Without thinking he kneeled down to her and hugged her. "Shhhh, it's OK." he said to calm her down. "It's not OK." she exclaimed, trying to push him away. "Don't try to console me. I know you're digusted by it too." "And if I told you I wasn't?" The statement made Rose stop her struggling, as she listened to him intently. "Sure it's not pretty, but that doesn't make you any less beautiful." He relesed her from his hug, to look her in her teary eyes. "In fact it makes you even more beautiful. I don't think I ever told this to anyone, but Applejack, but I don't much care what you look like. All I really care about is who you are as a person. And that scar is the proof of what a great person you are." he said. Rose looked at him in disbelief. She just couldn't believe what he was telling her, so she tried to see any sign of deceit, but found none. "You really mean that?" she asked in a shaky voice. "May Celestia smite me where I stand, if I am in any way lying." he said. Tears began to flow down the mares face, once more. "So if we'd be dating, hypothetically, you wouldn't be ashamed or grossed out by my apperance?" "Kind of an odd scenario." he said as he raised a brow at it. "But I wouldn't, in fact I'd be proud if I called someone like you a friend." Unable to cope with her flurry of emotions, Rose hugged Trider and burried her head into her chest and cried. "Thank you." she said with a muffled voice. "Thank you. I really needed to hear that." The two continued to hug each other, while unbeknownst to them, that two very nosy mares were listening to their conversation just outside the room. *** "Come visit soon." Trider said as he saw the mares off at the train station. "And I hope you two decide to move to Ponyville. We can then have another spa day, like today." The two mares nodded and smiled. "It would be a pleasure, although I would prefer if you'd wear something over yourself next time. At least a towel." Octavia said, while Vinyl made 'pervert' gesture. At that moment the train whistle sounded off, signaling the train departure. The mares stepped into wagon and made their way to an empty compartment. As soon as they settled in, the train began to move. They moved to the window and saw the Kanisar waving. They all waved back and once they were too far away to see each other, they sat down on their seats. "So..." Octavia said as she eyed her little sister. "He seems to be the one you were looking for." Roses eyes widened. "You two heard what we were saying?" Both mares nodded, making the scarlet maned mare blush. "You guys are awful. Didn't daddy tell you not to snoop around?" "Who cares?" Octavia said as she waved her hand. "All that matters is that he is the one. And just so you know, we both are completely supporting you." Rose looked at her sisters with joy and hugged them both. "Thank you guys."