//------------------------------// // Chapter 10 // Story: Crystal Cotillion // by kudzuhaiku //------------------------------// When Flurry saw her mother, she almost cried with relief because of what the nervous jitteriness was doing to her. Flurry wanted to fling herself at her mother, hoping to be held, to be comforted, but what she wanted to do and what she did were two very different things. Taking a deep breath, Flurry approached the table in a calm, dignified manner, and tried to hide how her hitching barrel made her wings quake. Maintaining her quiet calm—which really wasn’t calm at all based on how her heart was thudding against her ribs—Flurry adjusted the cushion that sat on the floor next to the low table, fluffing it out a bit, and she sat down while looking up at her mother, who looked quite frazzled. Little Flurry took note of the bags beneath her mother’s eyes and the way that the tips of her mother’s ears drooped; a sure sign of exhaustion if ever there was one. Once her mother reached this point of being spent, she could hold her ears up, but the tips betrayed her. It was something that Flurry’s father had taught her to look for when trying to figure out her mother’s moods. “How are Hennessy, Flicker, and Piper?” Flurry asked as she settled in and made herself comfortable upon her frosting-pink cushion. “You mentioned something about Hennessy earlier, but I can’t remember what it was.” With her eyes half closed, or maybe they were half open, Flurry’s mother poured the tea into the ridiculous little teacups that Flurry was embarrassed to even look at. The whole tea set was a gift from her uncle, Gosling, and the little filly felt that she was far too grown up for a teddy bear tea set. “Flicker was none too keen on attending the cotillion and refused to come. Hennessy tried everything, from cajoling Flicker to coming right out and threatening him, because threats are a language that Flicker understands. When everything failed, Hennessy petitioned your Auntie Celestia and she issued a royal decree, ordering Flicker to escort Hennessy to the cotillion. Hennessy is here not as himself, but as the official emissary of the Underwatch.” “Oh good—” “Don’t you even think about it, young lady.” “Aw, nuts.” Flurry pulled her long, fluffy tail up from the floor and tucked it into place around her legs. At least her mother was smiling, that was good. The teacup in front of her had a teddy bear with big round eyeglasses holding some balloons in his paw, and and in bright pink print he told her in no uncertain terms, ‘You’re beary special.’ It was grotesque, saccharine even, but she had a soft spot in her heart for it. It occurred to Flurry that her little sister Skyla adored this tea set and treasured it. The teapot was a teddy bear’s head, which was kind of disturbing if one thought about it, and the spout was a long smoking pipe. Her mother started to fix the tea, but Flurry stopped her, deciding it was time that she fixed her own cup of tea. This seemed to surprise her mother, and Flurry could see something on her mother’s face that was almost hurt, which made her feel terrible. Unable to look at her mother, Flurry fixed her tea how she wanted it, adding a paper-thin slice of crystallised, dehydrated lemon, and then squirting in a little honey, a radical departure indeed. No more drinking tea with a ton of sugar and cream, Flurry wanted to taste some of the bitterness that the drink had to offer. It was time to stop being a foal and take a somewhat more grownup approach, and Flurry was curious about the honey and lemon, which was how her mother usually fixed her own cup of tea. “You’re not even at your decade mark,” her mother said in a soft, tight-lipped whisper. “I thought I had more time with you, but you seem to be in a hurry to grow up.” “Mom… I don’t know about that just yet… but I do kinda want things to change. I’m still a foal, I just don’t want to be treated like I’m little and helpless, like Skyla. You treat us both like we’re the same age… and sometimes, that makes me really super angry. Like giving us the same bedtime—” “But you share the same room,” Cadance interjected in a soft voice. “If you went to bed later, you might wake her up and that wouldn’t be fair to her.” “Mom, this isn’t very fair to me…” Again, Flurry could see the hurt in her mother’s eyes, and she felt terrible for being the cause of it. “Mom, I’m sorry—” “No, don’t be sorry, you’re right. It isn’t fair to you and I’m not sure how to fix it. Keeping both you and your sister in one spot, in one room, it allows us to keep you both safe and secure. It’s so complicated, Flurry… and it isn’t very fair to you that we have enemies… that there are those who wish to do you harm.” Little Flurry was surprised to see a single glistening tear fall from the corner of her mother’s eye, and unable to watch, she stared down into her teacup, because it was just too awful to see. Her mother’s words were a harsh reminder of how things were, and there had been incidents, dangerous, scary incidents. There were rules to keep her safe, such as never, ever getting aboard a train with her uncle, Gosling, because he had bad luck when it came to trains. Superstitions stopped being silly when a statistical pattern emerged. “There are so many things I want for you, Flurry,” Cadance said and Flurry’s ears perked at the scratchiness in her mother’s voice. “Things that I wish for you. I wish that you could run around outside and play and be free.” To this, Flurry replied, “Sumac does.” “And look at what has happened!” Cadance’s voice cracked now and her eyes narrowed. “I don’t mean to criticise Twilight or Trixie, but look at all that has happened because they’ve wanted him to run free! Look at the hurt that has befallen him! Look what his birth mother did to him! You know what happened, Flurry, don’t act like you don’t! I know that Sumac had to tell you!” “He did.” Now, Flurry heard a raspy scratchiness in her own voice, and she didn’t like it. Hunched over, Flurry lifted her teacup and began to blow on it, because she hadn’t used any cream to cool it. “Trixie and Twilight foolishly gave Sumac his freedom due to misguided ideals about liberty, rather than doing what is best for him. Look at how he has suffered… I know you see it… I know you sense it. Surely you must see how dangerous he’s become… cynical, bitter, jaded, and the way he casually dismisses danger. These are not good traits, Flurry. These are scars, Flurry, proof of harm, of damage, evidence of injury, and with that temper of his… I worry for him, I do.” With each word that her mother had said, it felt as though Flurry’s soul was curdling like milk left in the hot summer sun. Ears drooping, she couldn’t even raise her head to look her mother in the eye. The truth in her mother’s words struck her like a painful, stinging slap to the face and she knew that she had no means to refute them, there could be no denying it. But… “It’s made him strong,” Flurry murmured to her mother. No, she could not deny it, but she could see the good in it. “I know he’s hot tempered, and takes risks, and he’s mouthy, and he swears, and yeah, he has some issues. Mom, these are the reasons why he’s such a good friend to me. If I’m ever in trouble, I know he’ll come through for me. He’s kinda dumb, like I am, and he’s not afraid to get hurt. You’ve sheltered me for so long and when I had a house fall on me in Ponyville, I realised how little I’ve been hurt. Sumac doesn’t run from pain and this is what I like… no, this is what I love about him.” “Flurry… I… you…” Her mother, gasping, began to splutter and stammer, but no discernable words came out. “You do want me to marry him, don’t you?” Flurry asked and she dared to look up just in time to see her mother’s angry pinprick pupils focusing upon her. “I think you do… and if I did, you’d build a massive, mighty castle around the both of us so you could keep us safe. I can’t blame you for thinking that, if that is what you want. It just means that you love him too, just as much as you do me. Being the Princess of Love and all, I think that’s expected.” The anger in her mother’s eyes poured out, now in a liquid form, and Flurry felt a little ashamed for making her mother cry. “We feel love differently, don’t we, Mom?” “Yes, Flurry, we do. It is our blessing and our curse. No creature will ever feel love as keenly as we do.” Damp streaks appeared upon her mother’s cheeks and Flurry looked away once more, fearing that she might start to cry herself. Looking down, she saw the bespectacled bear staring back up at her, reminding her that she was beary special. The steam was pleasant, even if it did make it just a little bit difficult to breathe, and Sumac lay belly down upon a damp wooden bench. Nearby, Silver Lining was doing much the same, only she had her beak open so she could pant. Preening in a hot, steamy sauna was quite an experience and Sumac doubted that he would forget it anytime soon. There was a click from the door and it began to open, which meant that Pebble was back from the little fillies’ room. Lifting his head, Sumac saw her silhouette in the doorway and right away he noticed that something was… off. Her smock was off, because she wasn’t wearing it. Squinting, he strained to see, not having his glasses, and there was so much he wanted to see. “You’re naked,” Sumac said, stating the obvious. “So are you,” Pebble replied, and from the monotone of her voice, she too, was stating the obvious. When the door closed behind her, the vent released a massive cloud of steam, obscuring her from view. Between his poor eyesight and the steam, Sumac could see nothing. Biting his lip, he cursed life for how unfair it was, because Pebble was stark raving naked and he couldn’t see a thing. There were things he was dying to see on Pebble, like her cutie mark. Flapping his wings, he tried to clear away the billowing steam, but to no avail. When he could almost see again, Pebble was belly down on a wooden bench and a white towel covered her hindquarters. Sumac almost cried from just how unfair life was and for a moment, he entertained the notion of snatching away her towel with his magic. He could, and Pebble would no doubt forgive him. She would forgive him and he would finally know. “Oh, so that’s what your cutie mark looks like,” Silver Lining said to Pebble. Not fair! Now, Sumac was almost certain that he was now the source of the steam in the sauna. His neck was hot, his cheeks burned like the sun, and his ears were roaring furnaces that made it difficult to hear. Somehow, Silver Lining had seen Pebble’s cutie mark before he had, and that just wasn’t fair at all. Damn the sharp eyes of the griffons, damn them! Scowling, Sumac made up his mind that he was going to have himself a closeup inspection of Pebble’s choco-licious rump: he was going to know its previously unknown secrets. Laying on her stomach, Pebble’s back had the most delightful curve to it, with her pudgy backside rising up higher than her withers. It inflamed his mind and ignited his passions. He rose from his bench, his wings half-extended and quivering, and in his urgent hurry, he banged his foreleg against the hard edge of the bench as he tried to step over it. It was his darted foreleg, and the sudden explosive pain in his tender extremity made him lose his balance while he was half-straddled over his bench. His right hoof slipped on the wet tile floor when he tried to stop himself, and BANG! Down he went. He struck chin-first against the wood, which filled his vision with stars, and when his hind hoof slipped, he went down spread-eagled onto the bench, smashing his exposed, vulnerable groin right into the hard, unyielding edges of the wood. With a shriek that would disrupt this year’s nocturnal pegasus pony mating season, he tumbled to the floor with his eyes squeezed shut. When he opened his eyes again, there was a flock of alicorns circling overhead, a condition common to a number of Equestrians. Sumac counted them one by one, or tried to, with his eyes glazed over and a squeal lodged in his throat. There was quite a flock and they all looked down at him with some concern. “Poor dear,” Princess Celestia said and pity could be heard in her voice. “Crushed nuts are for sundaes.” “Get up,” Princess Luna cried. “Do not admit defeat! What you long for is within reach!” Prince Gosling said nothing, but flew in a wobbly circle with his hind legs clenched together while making ridiculous pained faces. “Ow, Sumac, that looks like it hurts,” Princess Flurry Heart said while she veered away, cringing. Shaking her head, Skyla winced in sympathetic pain. “When I rule, all benches will have cushioned edges! Were you about to do something naughty? I don’t think I should be here! I’m too young to be seeing this! Mom!” “Call out for your friends,” Princess Twilight advised, “and they will comfort you!” Princess Cadance proved to be the most vulgar: “Get up you fool, so you can tap that!” Sumac saw a tiny version of himself hovering just above his nose, but before he had a chance to say anything to himself, the colt shook his head in an attempt to clear it, and the flock of alicorns vanished. It wasn’t the first time he had seen them, and no doubt, it wouldn’t be the last. The flock had grown a bit, and would continue to grow larger. “Did you have to go to school to get that kind of grace?” Looking up, Sumac saw Silver Lining looking down at him, blinking, and tilting her head off to odd angles to examine him better. He groaned, tried to make a response, and failed. Silver Lining lifted him up like a sack of potatoes, and dropped him back down upon his bench with a thump. The big griffoness was kind of clumsy, even though she meant well, and when his head slammed into the wood, he thought for a moment that he might see the alicorn flock again. Holding out her talons, Silver Lining waved them in front of his eyes, and Sumac had to squint to focus on them. Tilting his head to one side, he could see Silver Lining’s glistening, tawny hide coming in and out of focus. Then, he looked into her eyes and said, “It’s just not fair… I’ve been waiting my whole life to have a look at her cutie mark.” The colt heard the rustle of hair on hair, skin on skin, and when he turned to look, Pebble was now beside him. Heart thumping, Sumac realised that this might be the big moment, the moment, the moment that he had been waiting his whole life for. Blood roared in his ears and there was a fiery, throbbing ache in his groin that made a syncopated rhythm with his heart. “Sumac, you took one for the team when you came here to help Flurry,” Pebble said in a voice that was about as warm as cooling lava. “With you being an introvert and all, I know how stressful this is for you, so you deserve a little something special.” Turning about, the chocolate brown filly presented her hip to the colt supine on the bench, and waited for his inspection. It was then that Sumac saw it and his life changed forever. It wasn’t what he expected at all, and he was at a loss for what to say, or how to respond. Pebble’s cutie mark was… well, Sumac felt stupid for all of the things he imagined it to be and now that he was looking at it, all he could do was admire its understated simplicity. “It’s a… pebble… with a blank speech bubble,” he stammered, and then he was overcome with emotion. Now, having seen what he had longed to see for so long, he didn’t know what else to do with his life. His purpose, his goal, the very thing that drove his existence, it was gone now, and he had no idea what else to do with his life. What came next? He didn’t know. In this moment, it felt as though his foalhood was truly over and he had an inkling that he had moved on to some in between stage. The driving force of his entire foalhood had been revealed to him, and now, he just felt blank… empty. Never once had he tried to imagine life beyond this point, for him, this had always been the end: see Pebble’s cutie mark and then experience his happily-ever-after. He was distracted when Pebble’s lips pressed into his, and her forelegs wrapped around his neck, leaving her half-on-top of him. A second later, her tongue was batting his uvula around like a punching bag and he felt her hard, muscular organ slithering against the roof of his mouth. This kiss was different, but Sumac could not reason how, all he could do was hang on and try to endure what was being done to him. Gasping, Pebble pulled away with a wet, slobbery pop, and he lay on the bench, his barrel heaving, his tongue out, and he panted because he was far too warm. He needed cool air and to be out of this sauna. Pebble wiped her wet lips with her foreleg and gave Sumac a sultry, heavy-lidded stare. “You do good things, Sumac Apple, and I will rock your world. Or at least rock your bed.”