//------------------------------// // Ch. 3- Out of Her Shell // Story: My Little Pony: The Rise of Warfang // by XFangHeartX //------------------------------// Rarity hummed as she sat Moonlight down in front of the sink with an apron wrapped around her. She had gotten an assortment of bottles filled with shampoo, a pair of scissors, a blowdryer, and a brush and comb. Nearby, Twilight and the others stood as they watched Rarity begin her work. "Now then," Rarity said as she turned the faucet on, "a bit of a soak first." She dipped Moonlight's head back, allowing her mane to be soaked down to the roots, then used her horn to open up a bottle of shampoo, which she squirted onto the filly's mane. "Now for the wash." She gently scrubbed Moonlight's scalp with her hooves, causing her to sigh pleasantly. "That feels really nice," said the little unicorn. "That just means it's working, dear," said Rarity. "This shampoo is made to wash out any dirt and grime and even works as a detangler!" After a good scrub, she ran Moonlight's mane under the faucet again, rinsing out the shampoo, then used a towel to give the filly's locks a rub-down. "Isn't it amazing, how Rarity gently dries off Moonlight's hair?" Spike asked, causing Twilight and the others to giggle a little. "A bit of a blow-dry," said Rarity as she turned on the blowdryer with her magic and dried off any remaining water off Moonlight's mane. After that, she took the scissors and trimmed off the split ends, then brushed and combed her mane, giving the ends a bit of a curl before she set the supplies down. "Am I finished?" asked Moonlight. "Not quite, darling," Rarity answered as she brought out a bucket full of warm water. "We still have to do your tail. In the bucket, please!" Moonlight backed up a bit before she placed her tail in the bucket, and Rarity soon repeated the process she did with her mane: wash, scrub, rinse, dry, trim off the end, and then give it a good combing and brushing. "And now for the final touch," Rarity said as she used her magic to put a little purple bow in Moonlight's mane, right next to her left ear. "Voila!" She then took the filly to a mirror. "What do you think, sweetie?" "...Wow...!" Moonlight whispered as she looked at her reflection, almost unable to recognize the filly on the glass. "I look so...so..." She then beamed brightly. "So pretty!" "Well, I wouldn't really call it 'pretty'," Rarity said with a bit of pride in her voice. "I'd say you look absolutely fabulous, darling!" "Thank you, Rarity," Moonlight said. "Umm...how much do I owe you?" "Oh, absolutely nothing!" Rarity answered. "This is completely gratis, my dear!" "Really?" asked Moonlight. "I don't have to pay anything?" "That's how Rarity is," said Twilight. "She's pretty much the embodiment of generosity." "Oh, Twilight," Rarity said. "You make me blush." "So," Applejack spoke up, "how do you feel?" "...I feel..." Moonlight said as she looked out the window, where she saw some chirping birds flying around in the sky among fluffy white clouds. "...I feel like maybe I wanna go outside." "That sounds like a good idea," said Starlight. "The fresh air might do you some good." "But what about the wolves?" Spike asked, and hearing that caused Moonlight to freeze. "W...wolves?" she asked. "W-what wolves?" "Oh, don't worry, Moonlight," Twilight said. "My brother, Shining Armor, is here. If any trouble happens, he and some of the Royal Guards of Canterlot are here to keep us safe." "Oh," Moonlight realized. "Well, that's good then." "Let's go!" Pinkie exclaimed as she bounced out of the room while the others followed behind her. Soon, the group was outside in the afternoon sun of Celestia, and the light caused Moonlight to quickly screw her eyes shut as she shielded them with her hoof. Once she let them adjust, she blinked as she opened them up again and saw the bright blue sky, the fluffy clouds, the birds and even the pegasi flying about. The wind gently blew across the land and the filly smiled as she felt it lightly ruffle her mane and tail. "Feels good, right?" Rainbow Dash asked. "It does," replied Moonlight. "It really does." "Well, since we're out," Applejack began, "how about we take us a nice li'l stroll 'round Ponyville?" "That sounds nice," Moonlight answered as the group began to walk. "So...what's this place called again?" "It's Ponyville," answered Fluttershy. "You've never been here before, huh?" asked Rainbow Dash. "Uh-uh," Moonlight shook her head. "I mean...my family and I have been to lots of places before: Saddle Arabia, Somnambula, Neighagra Falls...they've even gone to Canterlot before I was born! But...I never been to a place like this." "My goodness!" Rarity exclaimed. "It sounds to me your family love to travel!" "Yeah, we do," Moonlight answered. "It's not so bad, really...although your hooves get tired after all that walking." "You walked everywhere?" Rainbow Dash asked in disbelief. "Yup," Moonlight asked. "That's what happens when you don't exactly have a home." Hearing that caused the group to gasp. "You don't have a home?!" Pinkie questioned. "Not really," Moonlight answered. "I mean...I was born in a wagon, so I don't really know where I really came from." She then looked up at the sky. "But...I bet a home actually does sound nice...not having to walk around from one place to another...just...settle down, you know?" "...It does sound nice, doesn't it?" asked Starlight with a tender smile, and the rest of the ponies soon followed this gesture. "...So, um..." Moonlight said, "what exactly is it that ponies in Ponyville do here?" Hearing that caused the older mares and the little dragon to look at each other, and they all had these knowing smiles on their faces. "Well, you really wanna know?" asked Twilight, causing Moonlight to nod her head. "Well, how 'bout it, y'all?" inquired Applejack. "Wanna show Moonlight how we do things 'round here?" "Does Discord like to turn rain into chocolate milk?" Pinkie asked. "You know it!" "...Who's Discord?" asked Moonlight. "We'll tell you later," Fluttershy answered. And so, the gang went off to do some of their daily activities. However, as they walked, Fluttershy stopped to look back at the bushes with her ears perked. The yellow-coated pegasi blinked for a second, but then she noticed her friends were getting farther away, so she turned and went to follow after them. However, if she stayed a bit longer, she would've spotted a pair of golden yellow eyes, peering through the shrubs. "Well, Swiftclaw?" asked Stormhowl as he stood behind his brother with several other wolves. "Do you see the stone?" "I can't tell," Swiftclaw whispered. "They're getting too far away." "Then let's follow them," whispered one of the wolves. "But...it looks like they're heading straight for a town," Swiftclaw answered. "It was hard enough to sneak passed that patrol around the border, it'll be harder to stay out of sight if we follow them all the way into town." "Dammit," cursed Stormhowl. "He's right. We'll risk getting discovered if we follow after them." "Then what do we do?" asked Swiftclaw. "We can't just wait here. What if those guards show up and see us?" "Those guards will be no match for us," answered Stormhowl. "After all, their magic can't do anything to harm us. Remember? Our armor is forged from special metal that absorbs theirs. Take their magic away, and they're just regular helpless ponies, just like you saw last night." Hearing that caused the other wolves to snicker while Swiftclaw glanced down at the ground in a bit of a solemn manner, which his brother noticed. "What's wrong with you?" asked Stormhowl. "...I can't stop thinking about what happened that night," said Swiftclaw. "When we...killed all those unicorns." Hearing that caused Stormhowl's eyes to go wide while the other wolves blinked in confusion. "What are you talking about, Prince Swiftclaw?" asked a wolf with grayish-green fur and silver-colored armor. "...Don't any of you feel...even the tiniest bit of guilt?" asked the younger wolf prince. A beat passed...until the other wolves guffawed, only for Stormhowl to glare at them before he growled. "Silence!" he ordered, and the wolves soon shut their jaws. "How many times do I have to tell you not to laugh at my brother?!" "Y-yes, Prince Stormhowl," replied a wolf with grayish-purple fur. "We're sorry." "Look, Swiftclaw," Stormhowl said. "We are in the middle of changing our pack's future for the better...and Father says that if we have to shed blood here and there in order to gain that future, then so be it." "But I thought we were just after the Stone of Wishes," said Swiftclaw. "Since when did our goal go from that to slaughtering ponies?" "I don't really know, myself," Stormhowl said, "but that's what Father taught us and we shouldn't question his teachings." "...Right," Swiftclaw murmured. 'Too bad I've been doing it all my life,' he thought. "Princes!" called one of the wolves as he looked to the west. "That white unicorn stallion! He's coming this way!" "Crap!" cursed Stormhowl. "Quickly! Fall back to the Castle of the Two Sisters!" On that, the wolves turned and fled, just as Shining Armor and his patrol began to appear. "No sign of anything suspicious, Captain Shining Armor, sir," said one of the guards. "So far, so good it seems," Shining Armor noted...until he stopped at the bushes where the wolves were hiding. The moment he saw those pawprints in the dirt, he glared as he looked off in the direction the pack had run off to. It was bad enough these wolves were pushing their snouts around Ponyville...but now they were poking around near his little sister's castle? "...I think we might have to up security," he said before he walked off. XXX "Geronimo~!!" SPLASH!!! Applejack leapt into the lake with reckless abandon, spitting out water once she emerged before she turned to the others, who all laughed and cheered for her. "My turn, my turn!" Pinkie exclaimed as she backed up, then ran to the bank of the lake, jumped up, and tucked herself up into a ball. "Cannonball~!!" KERSPLOOSH!! The pink-haired mare plunged into the water, splashing Applejack in the process, which caused her to laugh before she turned to the others. "Come on in, y'all!" Applejack called. "Okay, here I go!" Starlight called as she ran to the bank and jumped into the lake as well. She didn't make a very big splash, but she still laughed heartily as she frolicked about in the water, and Applejack and Pinkie soon joined, splash-fighting and spitting water at each other as they played. "Here I come~!" Rainbow Dash called as she used a tree branch for a diving board and plunged right in, splashing Pinkie Pie as she did so. "You going in, Moonlight?" Twilight asked. "I don't know," Moonlight answered with a bit of hesitation. "I mean...Rarity just did my hair and all and I don't wanna mess it up." "Oh, sweetie," Rarity said. "I know you're being thoughtful, but you don't have to worry. I can fix your mane and tail up again, just like before. Besides..." She began to back away before she looked to the lake. "Even I can have fun, once in a while." On that, she took the plunge, as well, and soon after, Twilight giggled gleefully as she jumped in after her, while Spike, on the other hand, stayed behind on the bank. "You're not going in, Spike?" asked Moonlight. "Uh...water? Fire-breathing dragon?" Spike reminded. "We, uh...don't mix." "Oh...yeah," Moonlight realized before she looked up at Fluttershy. "What about you, Fluttershy?" "No thank you," Fluttershy replied. "I'm not that good a swimmer, anyway." "Come on in, Moonlight!" Rainbow Dash called. "Yeah, the water's great!" Pinkie exclaimed before she held up a rubber ducky. "I brought Quackers~!" Quack-quack! She squeaked the rubber bath toy in her hoofs, and Moonlight blinked as she looked down at the water, then back at the older mares. The filly seemed to hesitate for a second, her ears pinned back against her head before she turned and walked away. "Hey!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "Where you going?!" "Oh, no," Twilight said worriedly. "I hope we weren't too pushy." "Moonlight?" Rarity called, also concerned. "Moonlight, it's okay!" Twilight called, as well. "You don't have to jump in, right away! Just take it slow!" A pause...but then Moonlight came dashing over the hill with a determined look in her eyes before she jumped off the bank and into the water, splashing Twilight and Rainbow Dash in the process. After a moment, the filly surfaced with a wide-eyed look...but then she burst out laughing as she splashed her hooves in the water, which caused the others to laugh, as well. "I thought you'd be a little hesitant to come swimming," Starlight said as she paddled toward Moonlight. "Are you kidding?" asked Moonlight. "Starburst and I used to go swimming all the time!" "Well, it's good to see you're enjoying yourself," Twilight said. "I thought that maybe you'd need a little more time." "Well, after seeing how nice you guys are," said Moonlight, "I figured I could trust you all. Besides, I feel like I'm really having fun, now!" Twilight smiled at the young filly, glad to see she was beginning to open up just a bit more. For somepony who never made friends, before, Moonlight sure seemed to be getting into the swing of things. Perhaps, though, she and her friends just had that kind of effect on other ponies. "Hey!" Rainbow Dash called. "Who wants to see me do a bigger splash?!" "I do, I do, I do!" Pinkie cheered as the rainbow-haired pegasus got out and shook herself dry, then flew up about 15 feet into the air. Moonlight gaped as she saw Rainbow Dash begin to plummet towards the water, and it didn't take long for the gang to scatter before she hit the surface, which created a rather big wave as she did so, and it nearly washed Moonlight onto the bank. Pinkie, on the other hoof, just laughed in her usual manner. "Again, again!" she exclaimed while the others laughed, as well. "Some fun, huh, Moonlight?" Applejack asked...but she didn't recieve an answer. "Uh...Moonlight?" The ponies looked up to see Moonlight shaking herself dry before she walked up to the tree and plopped down on her haunches next to Fluttershy and Spike, who both blinked at her in concern. The others glanced at each other before they all got out of the water, as well, shaking the droplets off themselves before they joined Moonlight's side. "Everything okay, dear?" asked Rarity. "I thought you were having fun, back there," said Rainbow Dash. "Well...don't get me wrong," Moonlight said. "I did like swimming with all of you! It was really nice! It's just..." "...Are you still thinking about your family?" asked Starlight. "...A little," Moonlight replied, distantly. "When I started swimming and having fun...I started thinking about Starburst, again...and I started missing her." Twilight and the others looked at each other in worry. "Uhh...maybe swimmin' wasn't the best thing to do, right now," Applejack said. "You're right," Twilight agreed. "We're sorry, Moonlight. We didn't mean to remind you of that." "Yeah, we were just trying to help get your mind off things," added Rainbow Dash. "Maybe we should do something else," suggested Fluttershy. "Ooh, ooh!" Pinkie hooted. "I know, I know, I know! Let's all go to Sugarcube Corner for cupcakes!" "Ooh, I could go for cupcakes!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "That doesn't sound so bad," Rarity agreed. "I am getting a little hungry," added Starlight. "What do you think, Twilight?" Spike asked. "Cupcakes sound good," Twilight replied. "What do you think, Moonlight?" "...I do like cupcakes," Moonlight smiled. "There ya go," Applejack said. "Come on." "Wait till you try MY cupcakes!" Pinkie chirped as she bounced off with her usual enthusiasm while the rest of the gang followed after her. As they did, though, Twilight glanced down at Moonlight, who looked down at the ground with slight sadness. 'She's trying to have fun with us,' she thought, 'but she keeps thinking back on her family. She can't help it.' She then sighed as she looked away. 'What am I doing?' she thought. 'I feel like I'm forcing her to hang out with us. What if it's just not time for her to make any friends? What if she actually still doesn't trust us?! What if she's thinking of running away?!' "Twilight?" Spike called, causing her to look down at her dragon friend. "You okay?" "Oh, I'm fine, Spike," Twilight answered. "It's...it's Moonlight I'm more worried about. I mean...I'm glad she decided to get out and hang out with us...but I think maybe we might be going too fast with her progress. It's like she's trying to force herself to be friends with us." "With all due respect, Twilight," Starlight spoke, "I think maybe, just maybe, you're worrying a little too much. She's trying to get over her loss, and that's what really matters, right?" "Of course that's what matters," Twilight answered. "I'm just afraid she'll try too hard..." She then shook her head. "Maybe you're right...maybe I am worrying, too much." "Hey!" Rainbow Dash called from way up in front along with the others. "How long are you slow-ponies gonna take?!" "We're coming!" called Twilight as she, Spike, and Starlight hurried to catch up. As they did, the purple alicorn glanced down at Moonlight, once more. The filly still looked a bit solemn, but then she glanced up at Fluttershy, who gave her one of her signature kind smiles, and that made the little unicorn smile back at her, and this smile didn't seem at all forced, but rather one that looked like a pony who was beginning to get her confidence back, and seeing that made Twilight smile, as well. In her worry, Twilight momentarily forget how her friends had this way of bringing somepony out of his or her shell.