//------------------------------// // Practical Application // Story: Blyskawica // by nikolai60 //------------------------------// Silver's eye twitched as he stared at the mare in front of him. The Alicorn mare in front of him. Of course she had disguised her wings, she wouldn't have wanted to let the whole world know. A tilt of her head signaled he should at least try to act coherently. "So, uh, wow that smells great. You really didn't have to cook dinner." "Think nothing ov it. You offered me a place to stay, what else could I do but thank my generous host." Good Celestia he could listen to her talk all day, "w-well, wow. Uh, well thank you in return then." He followed her motion to sit down while she turned to prepare the plates. "Um, what is it?" "I am afraid I have forgotten the name, it is a dish I picked up when traveling through Griffin territories." With that it dawned on him that she was indeed traveling, perhaps it was just coincidence, as unlikely as an Alicorn was. "If I might ask, to where? The Griffin Kingdom isn't close, you've come quite a ways. Did you plan to move to Manehatten or...?" Bliss smiled as she turned around, placing a fully laden plate in front of Silver, and sat down herself. "Oh, yes I travel quite a bit. I do not know where I am going yet, but it is quite a journey. As for staying here, I hope I do not impose, but I had planned to stay as long as needed." He really WAS in one of those stories. Mysterious Alicorn, comes out of nowhere, unknown journey, will stay 'as long as needed', she's actually in some quest to protect something, and somehow I ran right into it. Doing his best to hide his shock (again), Silver took a bite of Bliss's cooking. While he wouldn't call it the best thing he had ever had, it was certainly very good, she knew how to cook, that was for sure. Flashing her a smile and nod of thanks, the two dug in, engaging in a little small talk, Bliss mostly asking more questions about him, while dodging the few he dared ask her for the most part. Not that he could blame her, she was probably trying to protect him. After dinner the two settled in to do the dishes, in spite of Silver trying to insist Bliss needn't help. After a bit of quiet, she turned to him. "So, what do you have planned for me for tomorrow?" Managing to keep from freezing this time, he turned, "w-what do you mean?" "Well, I had hoped you would be showing me around this city of yours. I have never been in Equestria before without being on the move, and am most interested in taking in the sites." Silvers heart dropped, how was he supposed to handle this? "Oh geeze. I'm so sorry, I was called in to work this weekend, I have to catch up before the rest of the crew can move forward." With this Bliss pouted, "Oh come now, they cannot truly expect you to work over weekend. It is not correct to ask this of you when you already work so hard." "I-I know, and I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do about it." The determined glint in his guest’s eyes didn't do anything to comfort him. "We shall be seeing about that. Well, I must retire, and you seem to need sleep as well. We shall speak of this again in the morning, and see if we cannot make things right for you." Silver found himself blushing at how quickly she had turned protective of him. However mad the situation was, he couldn't really help but be grateful for the amount of support she was showing him. Bliss used the opening to sneak in a nuzzle, doubling the brightness in his cheeks, before slipping off to the guest room, giving him one last playful swat with her tail. After watching her disappear from view, and likely staring long after, Silver gave himself a good shake to try to get thinking straight. WOW what a mare. Finally collecting himself, he quickly readied a few things for the next day, and followed her advice, slipping off to bed, hoping he wouldn't wake up to find the day had been the dream. --------- Blys waited by her door, the lights off to not give herself away, and felt the flood of emotions being directed at her. Wow she hadn't imagined that this is what it was like outside the hive, or that direct emotions were so strong, but she knew she had found a good thing and wasn't about to screw it up. She had committed to the Alicorn disguise and wasn't about to screw it up. So, after confirming her host was asleep, she quietly slipped out of the house to enact her plan. Step one of Operation Silver Weekend was fairly straightforward. It hadn't taken much extra investigation to determine that the guys who had hired him were cutting corners in their construction, and a quick trip to the library had revealed exactly where to put a little pressure. Which, interestingly enough, wasn't the building itself. Instead, she followed a few markers she had placed earlier to where the forepony, one Fast Build, was enjoying a card game with a few of his fellows. Changing into a disguise she had prepared earlier, she stormed in, not bothering to knock. "Oi, buddy, I don't know who you are, but this is a private game, get lost." "Very well, do you want to hand in your contractor licenses now or on Monday?" That got their attentions. "Who do you think-" "I THINK I'm from the inspector’s office, and I just happened to have passed that house your building earlier today." Stunned silence from the peanut gallery, now to press the issue. "Normally I'd just play my part and keep quiet, but it's not just you idiots building that place. Those other contractors also have their licenses on the line, and what happens when one of them figures it out? They report it if they wanna keep working in this city. So YOU better get things fixed, or we're ALL going to be in trouble." Blys could see the gears turning, her disguise was just a made up identity, but clearly they did actually have a deal with somepony, else they wouldn't be rapidly working up a sweat. "Ok ok, we'll get it...Tartarus blast it all I called that water layer in for the weekend, what'm I supposed to do about him!?" Blys surprised a grin, hook line and sinker, whatever that meant. "I'll take care of him till Monday, but it'll go better if he doesn't have to hear about missing the days. If he starts asking questions any fixes you make won't be worth squat." Gratitude, tainted with greed, but gratitude none-the-less, good, they were going for it. Nods around the room confirmed they were in no mood to argue. "Sure, thanks for the, uh, friendly advice. We'll pull our end if you take care of yours. C'mon boys we gotta scram." Blys stood to the side as the construction ponies bolted out, then followed suite, closing the door. Once they were out of sight she shifted to a pegasus and flew back to Silvers place. Part one had worked flawlessly, now for the trickier bit. --------- Silver yawned, waking up to the smell of breakfast already in the works. His dreams had been filled with Alicorn beauty, and the smell of breakfast told him he hadn't imagined the previous day. He had no idea how that had been real, but wow had things changed in a hurry. Quickly getting cleaned up, he was just reaching the kitchen when he realized that, amazing turn or no, there was no way he was getting out of his extra work, which rapidly deflated his mood. "Oh, good morning chere, please, have a seat, breakfast is nearly ready." "Thanks Bliss. Look, about last night, and today. I'm really sorry but-" A hoof on his lips stopped him, leaving him staring wide eyed at its owner, and the mischievous grin on her face. Silvers eyes widened as he recognized it from his comics, she was up to something, and about to drag him into it. "Now, I will take care of everythink." "Wait wait, what, how, I don't-" Before he could finish, she had stepped back, and a magical glow enveloped not just her horn, but her as well. Silver stared wide eyed as the shine intensified, before he heard the crack of a powerful spell, a near blinding light, then, even as it died in the room, a myriad of rainbow colors streaming in through the widows, and the distant rumble of thunder. "WHAT!?" Bliss was staring at him after his outburst, head tilted to the side. "What is wrong? I said I would take care of it. Now you do not have to go in to work till Monday." Silvers jaw now questioned the possibility of starting a card game with the floor, they met often enough. ------ Inwardly Blys was squeeing at Silvers reaction. And it hadn't even been that hard. A little advanced planning, combined with some illusion magic and lights, and she actually had him believing she had somehow altered reality. The flood of emotions, everything from love to awe to gratitude, was incredible. And that adorable look on his face wasn't a bad bonus.