//------------------------------// // Royal Visits // Story: The Truth of Bonds and Friendship // by Gadman85 //------------------------------// Naruko gave a stretch and a yawn as she stood up from behind her desk. It wasn’t long until she got used to paperwork again and was already missing the Gala Night. She was at least finding time to actually de-stress and paid the spa a few visits, usually with Twilight happily joining her. She was kind of happy they weren’t as intense as that first one was, but that was probably because she wasn’t letting her stress levels build up so much after what happened last time. She had a feeling that was a huge part of why that other voice started popping up inside. There hadn’t been any problems from it since then and she was happy about this. She and Twilight also found more excuses to spend time with each other, even if short, since they were kind of dating now. Though their dates still felt like friends just going out together only with a bit more of an intimate atmosphere. They still hadn’t found out what they did with their horns that night. Naruko’s dreams loved coming up with plenty of theories which usually left her in a bit of pleasantly frustrated state in the mornings at times. She wished she had someone to talk to about this stuff, but she couldn’t really think of anyone to ask. She knew plenty of unicorns but this didn’t feel like a “Hey, Lyra! So, Twilight and I touched horns together and it was really amazing. What is that?” kind of deal. Much less asking any of the others she knew. Twilight had admitted she was too embarrassed talking to her parents about it and research hadn’t really led her to any answers. One thing Naruko really had enjoyed was going to the spa for a horn filing with Twilight. It felt really good and the intensity Twilight experienced was intriguing in a way. The spa ponies were just professional about it like always. Naruko imagined you witnessed and experienced a lot in such a job. She wondered if they ever had problems looking at some ponies afterwards or anything like that. There was a knock on her office door which broke her from her musings and she answered, “Come in. Door’s open.” She hadn’t expected her eyes to widen and her body salute when it was in fact Princess Luna who entered the office with a smile. “P-p-princess Luna?! What are you doing here? It is great to see you, I mean,” Naruko said stammering a little while trying to look professional. Luna gave a pleasant laugh and smiled. “There is no need to greet us in such formality, friend Naruko!” she smiled. “I have come to visit the HQ again. And to personally tell you that the motion to allow for up to two other officers in each contingent has been finalized and accepted.” “Really?!” Naruko asked far too happy for such a statement, or at least that is what ponies would think if they didn’t know the true unending horror that was paperwork. She was relieved she would be able to finally get some help with it. “Yes, indeed. I have even bought the two medals that will mark their office, even if they are not needed. Are you still convinced to just have one more at this time?” Luna asked. “Yep. We’re still small so that will be enough,” Naruko said with a smile. She then sighed as she said, “I suppose we'll always be this small, but we’ll get it to work somehow.” “I would not count on that, Naruko. The staying small part, that is. Mine sister sometimes has prophetic dreams, though she relies on them too much at times, and while they are vague on the details the jest of them is that there will be an exceptional growth to the patrol including your contingent in the future. When that will happen is where it gets vague,” the night princess said. Naruko couldn’t help but smile to that. Then her eyes widened again and she blinked a few times. “Should I?” she thought in question. She decided she should. Princess Luna was to her at times what Princess Celestia was to Twilight. Perhaps growing up an orphan is what caused it, but she always felt a strong attachment to Princess Luna. She also felt like she didn’t really have any other options. “Ummm…” Naruko asked nervously as she blushed and moved a little uncomfortably. Princess Luna kept her expression pleasant, but had to admit she thought it cute her Grand Captain was acting this way and there was even a part of her that wanted to be unprincesslike and squeal. “Can I ummm… ask you a non-work related question? It is a little personal and has been really getting to me lately,” Naruko said as she continued to blush and look away from the Princess of the Night. Princess Luna did her best to hide her excitement at such a request. She gave a nod as she smiled and said, “Of course! You may ask me anything you want.” She really liked the idea of getting to help out one of her little ponies personally. Naruko still felt a little embarrassed as she motioned for Princess Luna to get comfortable and then closed the door behind the princess as she used magic to secure it. “Well ummm… After the Gala the others and I sort of continued our night to have more fun, which was needed considering the disaster the Gala was.” “I know this. My sister pawned off her duties regarding the clean up to me… I didn’t mind too much. I just wish she would have told me first,” Princess Luna said. “Really?” Naruko asked. Luna nodded. “That really sucks…” she replied. Luna shrugged her shoulders in response. She had gotten used to that expression. “I am sorry for the interruption. Will you please continue? I am still getting used to this conversing thing with ponies not in an official capacity,” Princess Luna apologized. Naruko smiled warmly. “I don’t mind it. I like talking to you.” Luna gave her a happy smile as Naruko continued. “Well afterwards we stayed at Twilight’s house in Canterlot. I ended up sharing Twilight’s bed with her which isn’t all that unusual, but we did something. We don’t really know what it was but we both really liked how it made us feel and it was amazing! We sort of… touched… our horns… together.” Naruko was surprised how much she was blushing and how warm her cheeks felt from said blush. Princess Luna was a little shocked to hear that. “Were the two of you channeling magic at the time?” she asked. “I don’t really recall that… But when we did… It ummm… felt like our essences were mixing together or something. We both really liked it. There was this magical pleasure coursing through us. It was really kind of intense and felt really good. It even physically affected us in certain ways." Naruko then blushed and tried to use her hooves to hide her face. When she peeked, Naruko was surprised Princess Luna seemed excited. “Tis a joyous occasion! To think one would experience that so young! It takes a lot of love and trust for unicorns to do such a thing and you did so without too much thought.” “Is that… a good thing?” Naruko asked a little confused. “It can be. For you two to have experienced that, it shows you are both very accustomed to each other’s presence and trust each other on a deeper level! Unless things have changed that much, which I doubt from what I have gathered, it is a good sign. It shows you two doth love each other! The intensity you described shows it is not just as mere friends or even that of sisters,” Princess Luna said while smiling brightly. “Is is is… it like… ummmm… s-s-sex?” Naruko asked. Princess Luna blushed at the word a little. She cleared her throat. “Some would say it was, but it is also something much deeper and purer than that, even if you were both addled by alcohol a little at the moment.” Princess Luna then blushed again as she came to realize something about her Grand Captain. She asked to clarify it. “Did my sister ever teach you anything regarding certain explicit activities as a pony? Or did she just assume you had enough of an idea from when you were a human to figure out the basics?” Naruko shook her head. “We never covered that kind of stuff really… Twilight didn’t really know more than me either.” Princess Luna sighed and blushed. “I guess it is mine duty then… Though things have probably progressed while I was in exile… I had wanted this to be just a social visit, but it seems it must be much more.” Naruko’s face was beat red, but she was ready to listen and learn. She was eager to learn, especially if it would help things out between her and Twilight. She just knew this would be a very awkward day and she was sure her dreams that night were going to be truly wild as a result. “There are many things unicorns can do when it comes to intimate relations. Especially with other unicorns… or… ummm… in the rare case an Alicorn… Don’t give us that look! We are the Princess of the Night and Dreams! We hath lived a long time… You have to find some way to keep things interesting,” Princess Luna said blushing when Naruko looked to her in shock. “Anyways…” she said before getting back to the point at hoof. Luna also magicked in some tea for them to sip on while they talked. There was a part of her that was excited to get to be the one to have such a conversation with Naruko and to teach her. She also knew it would be awkward and hoped there wouldn’t be any distancing from one another as a result. {-} {-} {-} Twilight was humming to herself as she relaxed a little. She had just finished up a few assignments for Princess Celestia including a friendship report on when to keep secrets and when to share them with your friends. Pinkie had a good point, but she accidentally muddled the issue in this case. Fortunately, Twilight chose to confide in Naruko and Naruko talked to her about how secrets can sometimes be very harmful if they aren’t revealed or not revealed in a proper way. Twilight loved Pinkie as a friend and understood where she was coming from, but Naruko knew first-hand how secrets being kept from someone, even if for their ‘safety’, could literally destroy a person/pony. Twilight wisely chose to take Naruko’s advice over Pinkie’s here. Pinkie confronted Naruko about this later, but when she left after talking to Naruko the pink pony actually apologized in tears to Fluttershy, Rarity, and Twilight when it came to her advice about secrets on this matter. She claimed she didn’t fully understand what was really at stake and vowed to do better. What happened was after the Gala Hoity Toity brought a pony called Photo Finish to help get Rarity’s name out there even more. He was impressed with how she was able to make Naruko’s dress handle the stresses on fabric from dancing the night away while still being a top-notch dress that was easily one of the best at the Gala. He had meant to do this sooner, but Photo Finish was a very busy and popular photography pony. Rarity thought it would be her big chance in the fashion world, but it was Fluttershy’s career as a model that took off seemingly instead. Rarity also thought Fluttershy enjoyed the attention she was getting and didn’t want to ruin things for Fluttershy. Fluttershy on the other hoof thought Rarity really wanted her to model given how the fashion unicorn was behaving. She didn’t want to upset Rarity by admitting she didn’t really like modelling and was only doing so for her sake. Both ponies further complicated things by making Twilight promise not to tell the other what they were thinking. Pinkie Pie didn’t help either with her insistence of not sharing secrets ever no matter what. Thanks to taking Naruko’s advice, Twilight was able to nip this problem in the bud and it worked out for the best for all of the ponies involved. Naruko even modeled a little with Fluttershy some while wearing more of Rarity’s fashions. Photo Finish didn’t dare get on Naruko’s bad side considering Hoity’s warnings about what road that would lead you down. In the end, Fluttershy got to model a little in a way she was much more comfortable and happy about. Naruko enjoyed the break from paperwork, as always. Rarity’s brand name was able to reach more ponies. Lastly but not least, Photo Finish made a breakthrough in photography and modeling that really caused her passion for the field to reignite and burn even brighter. She was extremely gratefully to them all because of this. The purple unicorn had expected a rather relaxing rest of the day after everything and a wonderful dinner with her favorite pony, Naruko. Twilight was glad she was able to find a bit of a balance between her friends and her “marefriend!” Twilight squealed before giggling in joy. She was also really happy Naruko was finding ways to avoid getting so stressed with everything going on now. What Twilight hadn’t expected was for Spike to speak to her suddenly. “Ummm… Twilight…” the baby dragon started. “Yeah? What is it, Spike?” she asked. “You… have a visitor,” he finished lamely. Twilight raised an eyebrow at him in question. “What I think Spike means... Is I have come to visit you specifically, Twilight,” An elegant and royal voice spoke causing Twilight’s eyes to widen in surprise. “P-p-princess Celestia?!” she asked unable to hide her shock. The beautiful and regal alicorn princess of the daytime stepped forward with a bright smile. “Yes. It is I,” she replied. “What are you doing here?!” Twilight almost shouted. “I figured given my sister is visiting Naruko I would do the same for you. I may have also wanted to sneak out of the palace for a bit. I am really happy to see you. I feel I owe this to you after the Gala. We didn’t really get to talk much with each other,” Princess Celestia said with a radiant smile. “I need to tell the town! I need to organize a proper reception! Pinkie should plan a party!” Twilight started muttering things she should do for the princess’ arrival. An elegant gold shoed hoof stopped her ramblings. “I came here for you. And you alone, Twilight. You had to share your time with me at the Gala with so many other ponies. I don’t want that happening again here,” Princess Celestia said. Twilight grinned brightly and squeaked in happiness as she hugged Celestia tightly. “I am so happy to hear that, Princess Celestia! I really didn’t like the Gala all that much. I couldn’t do much with you and I felt I wasted all the chances I could have had to enjoy Naruko’s company there even if we did talk a little before Rarity and Fluttershy interrupted…” Twilight then looked down as she smiled, even if it shrunk a little. “Is something the matter, my little pony?” Celestia asked. “It’s just there is so much I want to tell you, but I can’t even think where to start,” Twilight admitted. Princess Celestia chuckled in a love filled divine manner to those words. “Then how about you tell me what happened that night after the Gala? You lot had some big plans. Surely there is something you feel you can share.” Twilight blushed and shifted a little as she smiled but remained silent. “Now that kind of expression tells me there is much for you to say,” Princess Celestia said with giggle. “Well I mean… I guess… Something really amazing did happen between me and Naruko. We all spent the night at my parents’ house in Canterlot after we visited a few places. Naruko and I shared my bed like we used to do a lot back at the castle, but it was different this time. We ummm… well we kind of did something amazing,” Twilight paused as she placed her forehooves on her red burning cheeks. Princess Celestia chuckled again. She found this interesting. “What happened?I can tell it was something good. What happened?” she said in a sing song voice. She just loved her cute little students. She was betting it was something super sweet and innocent that Twilight overthought on like maybe a peck on the cheek or at most an actual quick kiss. “Well… I guess I can tell you. We were wondering what it was anyways..." Twilight seemed so happy as she shifted back and forth still holding her cheeks. That admittance actually intrigued Princess Celestia a little. She didn't think there would be much Naruko wondered about as well. Perhaps Naruko was more innocent than she originally thought. "Naruko and I touched our horns together! There was so much magic in it and it felt so good. I felt as if we had achieved a different plane of existence almost. I could feel our essences mixing together. It was amazing! We were both breathless afterwards and felt warm all over and so much pleasure. That was even after we did all of that kissing before and caressing each other!” The purple unicorn said. She couldn't believe she admitted that but it felt kind of good to do so really. There was a part of her that felt vindicated from all of those times others teased her for not having experienced much. Twilight blushed as she looked to the table. It was still a little embarrassing despite such feelings. “Sorry. I got a little carried away there. We were both wondering what it was that happened when he touched our horns together and all of that. We couldn’t figure it out…Princess Celestia?” Twilight asked as she noticed the princess was being very quiet. Princess Celestia was frozen in place wide eyed with her tea cup half way to her lips. She had not expected that kind of an answer at all. She turned to the side and noticed Twilight looked to her worriedly. Celestia regained her composure. She could tell any longer and Twilight’s worry would become guilt. “Sorry. I was just surprised to hear that is all. Worry not, Twilight. What you two did wasn’t anything wrong,” she said was a motherly smile. Twilight seemed to let out a shaky breath in relief. “You really had me worried there. I thought we had done something like s-s-sex….” She blushed furiously to the word. “Oh Twilight…” Princess Celestia thought before she started to answer. “In a way it is something like it but much deeper and as many would say, purer.”Twilight eeped and tried to hide her face to those words. Her most faithful student was such a cutie at times. “It seems there is much a need to tell you about ponies and getting intimate with each other. Unless you would rather have the discussion with your Mom or Princess Cadance,” she said calmly hoping Twilight would freak out a little less hearing these words. “My mom?!” Twilight looked wide eyed and shook her head quickly. “Oh… No no no no nooo. We go out of our way to avoid such discussions. I love her. It is just really weird. Like really weird… And Cadance…” Twilight gave a nervous laugh. “You know how she is. She’s the princess of love but she gets wayyyyy too gushy about such things and wayyyy over romanticizes them.” Twilight then blinked. “Wow… It is literally less embarrassing to talk about these things with the ruler of all Equestria who raises and lowers the sun than the older ponies I’m surrounded by… That really says something,” She couldn’t help but say out loud. Princess Celestia gave a wonderful laugh to that as she used her magic to make sure they wouldn’t be disturbed by curious baby dragons. “I honestly never thought I would be giving one of my students these lessons… You might want to get comfortable and have some tea. It is going to be a long discussion, Twilight,” she said. Twilight again blushed as she nodded and did as instructed. Princess Celestia couldn’t help but snicker a little bit. “At least I’ll get to see plenty of Twilight blushes during this lesson,” she thought with some amusement. {-} {-} {-} Naruko was in a daze as she walked back to the library slowly. Her cheeks also seemed to have a permanent pink dusting on them. It wasn’t that she was unfamiliar with the whole birds and bees’ thing. Nope, she wasn’t unfamiliar with them at all. The ninja academy took care of that, even if it was a bit of an optional class. However, it seemed the Princess of the Night was also the Princess of Nocturnal Encounters of the sexual kind as well. Princess Luna set her straight on everything… and she meant everything regarding pony carnal and magical pleasures. Naruko was pretty sure she would be one of the best ponies in that category now, if she could even look Twilight in the eyes without going off into the deep end of the pervy pond. “Hello…” she said distractedly as she entered her home. She didn’t even register Spike’s welcome as she automatically grabbed a glass of Cranberry juice in her magic and then mixed it with vodka. “Better make it two…” she said to herself still distractedly as she prepared a second one and plopped down in the living room area and sighed with a slightly dazed smile on her face as her cheeks blushed again. She took a sip and proceeded to down her drink. She went for the second one only to see it picked up in a magenta magic field. Naruko looked and saw Twilight and blushed. Twilight did the same. “Ummm… yeah… hi…” she said. Naruko blinked and then sighed. “Did Princess Celestia visit you?” she asked as she made sure to look away and used her magic to make them both a second drink. “Yep…” Twilight replied as she blushed and stole a glance at Naruko. Impure desires, no matter how normal they were according to Princess Celestia, flashed in her eyes before she shook them out and took a sip of the second drink which Naruko poured into a much large cup than the first one. “Yeah… Princess Luna talked to me… And then described to me what I am sure is the pony version of the Kamasutra,” Naruko said sipping her drink and looking away. There was no way she could keep certain feelings and wants at bay for the moment. She closed her eyes as she accidentally saw Twilight’s reflection. Since when did they have so many reflective surfaces in their home?! “Kamasutra?” Twilight couldn’t help but ask curiously. “It’s pretty much seen as a guide to sex, love, sex and more sex and so on in the world where I came from,” Naruko briefly explained. “R-r-really?” Twilight asked shifting a little as she blushed. “Yeah… Here we have Princess Luna… Princess Cadance may be the Princess of Love, but obviously Luna is Princess of Love Making… or something…” Naruko said. “We aren’t naughty ponies are we?” Twilight asked. “I mean I ummm really liked it… and ummm wanted to you know again in the future if you wanted possibly… I’m worse than Rainbow Dash, aren’t I now?” Naruko actually looked to Twilight and while she was blushing she said, “We aren’t… I don’t think so at least. I mean if you are then I am with you… I felt the same way and wanted that as well… I don’t think we’re as vulgar as Rainbow Dash at least. I haven’t really asked her how much she thinks about sex and I don’t plan on it.” Twilight looked up and blushed as well as she smiled. “I don’t mind being forever condemned as a n-n-naughty pony with you. If we are now.” She then had to look away as she could have sworn steam was pouring from her ears. “Same here…” Naruko said as she sipped more of her drink. “Want to go and get some fresh air with me? We still have our dinner plans… Unless you want to cancel them.” She frowned at that idea even if she understood why that could be the case. “No!” Twilight answered immediately with a look a panic in her eyes. “Sorry… No, I don’t want to cancel them with you,” she said as Naruko seemed to relax. “Sure, it was awkward and everything and even this is a bit as well, but I don’t want to lose out on my precious Naruko time no matter what,” she said with a smile as she still blushed. “Good. Because I’m pretty sure Rarity won’t available for a two-hour drama free time slot until early next month,” Naruko said with a giggle as she too was still blushing. Twilight giggled as well. “Let’s get going then. Rarity can only avoid the drama train for so long before it hunts her down,” she added earning a giggle from Naruko. The two then finished their drinks and gave each other a hug as thoughts went through their minds and left together. Spike was glad when they both left. They were acting a little funny and he feared they would cancel their plans for the night. He really didn’t want them to do that. He made some serious comic book reading plans for the night that involved cookies and milk. {-} {-} {-} Naruko and Twilight had been mostly quiet on their date so far. It was more embarrassing than they thought it would be after the earlier discussions the princesses had with them. “So... What did you and Princess Luna talk about apart from that?” Twilight asked hoping to break up the atmosphere. “Not too much. I mean I didn’t think asking that question would lead to such a long discussion. She did however, tell me I would finally be allowed to appoint up to two more officers in the Patrol. That way I won’t have to do all of the paperwork myself. I’m just going to go with one for now, since we’re still small,” Naruko answered. She then hummed in thought and cast a quick privacy spell that wasn’t a bubble, but would keep others from listening in. “One thing she did mention is apparently Princess Celestia often has vague but prophetic dreams. I didn’t know about that,” she started. “She does?! That’s news to me,” Twilight said. “Yes, she does. It seems the patrol is supposed to get a sizable growth soon, but I don’t know why or how. It was something to hear though. So, what else did you and Princess Celestia talk about?” Naruko said as she cancelled the spell so it would be less likely to be noticed just as their waiter returned with drink refills. “Part of the reason we got into that discussion is because I didn’t know where to start when talking to her. She said she wanted to visit me since we didn’t have time at the Gala and Princess Luna was visiting you,” Twilight said before adopting a thoughtful look. “Do you think they planned this? Do you think maybe the found out what we did through our dreams or something?” she asked. Naruko hummed in thought. “Maybe they planned their visits to coincide with each other, but I don’t think they planned for that discussion. Princess Luna seemed to excited to help me with it for something planned in advance.” “I was just thinking because it seemed too convenient is all. You’re probably right about them planning their trips. It still almost gave me a heart attack when she just came over like that. I was just more or less lounging around the library and not exactly in a very lady like position if you know what I mean,” Twilight said as she blushed. Naruko blushed and smiled. She then cleared her throat and said, “It was the same here. I thought it was Trixie coming by or somepony else. I did not expect the Princess of the Night. I was so flustered my eyes widened and I scrambled to salute.” Twilight gave a giggle at that. The two then found it easier to talk about other things as they waited for their desserts. When they had their desserts finished, the two stayed a little longer enjoying their drinks. They were reasonably undisturbed here. There were only other couples in the place so they had no worries about nosy friends or pervy friends. Twilight smiled at Naruko and leaned across the table. Naruko leaned a little bit as well and the two kissed each other before smiling and giggling some. They each kissed each other one more time before they paid and left to go home for the night. {-} {-} {-} The next day there was a knock on Naruko’s office door. “Who is it?” she asked not showing her concern. She really didn’t think she could face Princess Luna again already. “Trixie!” came the reply. Naruko sighed in relief as she smiled and opened the door for her friend. “How are you doing?” “Trixie is fine. Though I have a request. I want to apologize to Rarity, but I don’t really want to do it alone… I also don’t really know where to find her,” Trixie said. She omitted the fact she didn’t really ask around too much about where to find Rarity in the first place. Naruko looked to her stack of paperwork in thought and nodded. “Okay. I’ll go with you. I could use the break anyways,” she said with a nod. Trixie gave a laugh and smiled as she said, “Trixie had a feeling you would say that. After all Trixie’s company is much more desirable than that of paperwork.” The two chuckled as they left. “Rarity can usually be found at the Carousel Boutique. She works there and lives there,” Naruko explained as they approached the building. Trixie had to admit she liked how it looked. When they got to the door about to enter Naruko was a little surprised when Trixie made a point of hiding behind her. “I guess even Trixie gets nervous,” she thought as she opened the door. “Welcome to the Carousel Boutique! Where everything is Chic, Unique, and Magnifique! Oh, hello Naruko!” Rarity said with a bright and warm smile. “What brings you here today? Oooo do you want a new dress?!” she asked as her eyes seemed to blaze to life with inspiration. She would never pass up an opportunity to use Naruko as a model for a new dress. “No. Something different this time. I’m just here by request,” Naruko said as Trixie peeked around her and tried to give an innocent smile. “Oh… you…” Rarity said with more than a little disappointment. “What is it you want?” she asked. “Trixie is… I am here to apologize… for last time. It wasn’t a permanent spell or anything, but it wasn't nice either. I also apologize for forcing your hoof when you were just trying to get everypony to quiet down,” she said her voice full of sorrow. Rarity looked her over. “I suppose I can forgive you, since you did come here to apologize. I do have to wonder why you are here with Naruko of all ponies though,” Rarity looked to Naruko with a pointed stare. Naruko was trying to figure out how best to answer that. Trixie was about to get in front and demand that Rarity not get upset with her friend and savior, Naruko. “Rarity? Who is it?” a small voice asked. “Nothing to worry about, Sweetie. You can go back to your nap,” Rarity said. Sweetie Belle still was curious and came around the corner and into the storefront area. “Oh hey! It’s you!” She then ran over and hugged Trixie's front leg as she smiled. “That show of yours was great, Trixie!” she said. “What are you talking about Sweetie?” Rarity asked. She didn’t remember Sweetie being there at the show. “Remember when everypony went to Ever-Free HQ while you and the others dealt with the parasprites?” Sweetie asked. Rarity nodded now very interested. “Well Trixie here gave everypony a great Pony puppet show! She also helped us all get our beds situated.” “Did she now?” Rarity asked looking curiously to Trixie. “Yep she did!” Sweetie said with a bright smile. “Can I go and see Apple Bloom and Scootaloo now?” she asked. Rarity gave her cute little sister a fond smile. “Yes you may. Try not to get into too much trouble,” she added warily. “We never do!” Sweetie said as she shot out the door causing Rarity to sigh and shake her head. Rarity then looked to Trixie and smiled this time. “I was going to forgive you since you came and apologized. But now I will also forget that ever happened, since you helped Sweetie Belle and everypony. My name is Rarity. It is nice to meet you,” she said giving a smile. Trixie couldn’t believe she was getting lucky here. She smiled and said, “My name is Trixie Lulamoon. I’ve heard good things about you, Rarity. It is nice to meet you.” Rarity then gave her a very slight but welcoming hug before her eyes then turned to fire with inspiration once again. “You must let me make you a new cape! I’ve never made something for a showmare before! Ideaaaaa!” she said excitedly. “Trixie insist on paying you!” Trixie said. “Nonsense! Not this time! I will make you a new and wonderful cape and you will take it free!” she argued. “But Trixie wants special modifications to her cape. She insists on paying you!” Trixie said. “Modifications…” Rarity said a little warily. “I simply wish for you to make it so I can enchant it!” Trixie said. “Oh! I can do that. That’s easy for Rarity! No worries,” she said. “It is very important,” Trixie said. “Do you apply them on the underside?” Rarity asked and Trixie nodded. “Good. That makes it easier.” And just like that Trixie was wrapped up in Rarity’s pace even if she didn't want to admit it. Naruko gave them a smile and left knowing they were already off to a great start and she knew it would work out this time. She also didn’t want to hang around for Rarity to remember she was there by Trixie’s request. Naruko was pretty sure Rarity had something in mind for her after hearing that. {-} {-} {-} Naruko was now back at HQ and decided it was time to speak with Derpy. She knocked on the door to the room were Derpy was filling out her patrol report for the day. “Come in!” she said. “Hello Derpy,” Naruko said. Derpy smiled brightly and gave her a hello hug. “Good to see you, Captain! I was a bit concerned after you spent most of yesterday talking with Princess Luna,” Derpy said as she returned to the desk and missed the deep blush on Naruko’s cheeks. “Well… I am actually here to talk to you about one thing we mentioned. The rest of her visit was a personal one,” Naruko said. “So, what is it?” Derpy asked. “Derpy. You have been the unofficial second in command here for a while now and I really appreciate all you have done for me. I was wondering if you wanted to make it official. Princess Luna told me yesterday the Royal Cabinet officially made it possible for all Contingents to have up to two extra officers. There will be a pay raise naturally and you will have more responsibilities including, but not limited to paperwork…” Naruko said trying to keep the hope out of her voice. Derpy had every right and reason to turn down the proposition. She knew how bad the paperwork got. Derpy smiled and asked, “What rank would I be?!” Naruko thought this promising. “First Lieutenant,” she answered with ease. “What all does it mean?” she asked. “Does this mean you are considering the position?” Naruko asked. “Yes. I want the details first though,” Derpy replied. Naruko made a shadow clone. “Would you like to have this discussion here or in my office?” Derpy gave a blush as she swayed a little bit. “Ohh Captain… Such an invitation… What would my hubby think?” Naruko sighed as Derpy giggled and came around the desk showing she wanted to discuss this in Naruko’s office. Naruko ordered her shadow clone to bring them some tea and snacks. There were a lot of details to discuss. {-} {-} {-} Rarity was at her sewing machine as Trixie relaxed on the dress stage. “I still don’t get why you have been here in Ponyville for so long or well close enough to it. It is impressive I haven’t bumped into you around town,” Rarity said as she made sure to get the stitching perfect. “Trixie lost her trailer that night. I’ve been working on it since then. It takes a lot of work and care to make it properly enchantable. Naruko and the others offered to let me stay at the HQ so long as I helped out a little bit and that way I wouldn’t have to continue camping in the forest,” she said. She didn’t feel like explaining how Naruko and Derpy pretty much saved her. She liked Rarity well enough now, but she wasn’t about to discuss such things with her. “That must be hard… Staying in the Patrol HQ,” Rarity said. “Not really. The place is very nice and meant to serve as a shelter and place for patrol members to stay the night if they wish. It’s come in handy after a few of our… I mean their parties. And I have no problems with helping them out. That night caused Trixie to rethink many things,” she said. “Well that is good. I am sorry to hear about you losing your trailer. How is the new one coming along?” Rarity asked. Trixie smiled to that in pride. “Better than ever! It will be much more impressive than old one was!” “That is good. I’m still really excited a Traveling Showmare will be wearing something I made. Despite how things played out, I’ve always liked Show ponies. I still can’t believe how uncouth Applejack and Rainbow were that time. So what places do you plan on visiting after this?” she asked. “I am not sure yet. I plan on spending more time in Hooffington after this. I am not sure for how long though. My father always told me when I was younger, ‘A show pony must always have a home stage.’ I took his words rather literally when I first started and treated my trailer as a home. I have since then decided he meant something different,” Trixie explained. Rarity nodded in thought to that. “My parents say something similar. Neither of them are anything quite so glamorous as a show pony, but they are always telling me never to forget my roots…. No matter how much I wish I could,” she said and muttered the last part. She then used her magic and brought the cape over to Trixie for another quick fitting. “How does it feel?” Trixie inspected it and smiled as she said, “Magical.” {-} {-} {-} “Wow… That actually is pretty good. I will become First Lieutenant Hooves! It will be nice to help you out so you won’t get as badly stressed as you were before the Gala,” Derpy said as Naruko blushed. “It is good to see you are managing your stress now though.” “I had to learn my lesson the hard way, but I did learn it well. Plus, massages are so very wonderful,” she said with a pleased expression on her face. She then spoke again, “Now then. It is getting late, but I have to ask if you want a ceremony or anything?I mean you are the first officer apart from me in the patrol and you have very well earned your position.” Derpy smiled. “I would just like another party is all. Can I leave you the date for it? I really want it to be a party I can bring my hubby to and need to set up things with my daughters to stay at home that night.” This was something special and she wanted to make sure it was celebrated properly. “Of course. Do you want us to get Pinkie involved in planning?” Naruko asked. Derpy actually shook her head. “I really like Pinkie Pie, but this is a Patrol deal! Not a Ponyville deal and sometimes… well… ummm…” Derpy looked away a little worried about saying anything. “What is it?” Naruko asked. “Please don’t tell her I said this… Please don’t. I wouldn’t want to hurt her feelings,” Derpy said with a worried frown. “I won’t tell her why beyond it being a Patrol issue. And that's only if I end up having to say something,” Naruko reassured her. “Good… But well Pinkie’s parties are fun, but they are also kind of childish… If you know what I mean,” Derpy said. Naruko was in thought for a moment. She could kind of see what Derpy was saying. Pinkie’s idea of a mature pony party was the same thing as her usual family friendly parties except she would actually intentionally spike the punch bowl. “I can see what you mean. We’ll work together and decide who to invite. I’m sure there are other ponies who would be happy to hear the pony who helped with evacuations and more was promoted.” Derpy gave her a hug and smiled happily again. “Thanks, Captain! I need to go now though. I pretty much finished my report earlier luckily.” Derpy then decided to tease Naruko again as she said, “If I stay too much longer and my hubby hears I was held up in the Captain’s office he might start wondering.” Naruko sighed before joining Derpy in a laugh. {-} {-} {-} Once Derpy left, Naruko finished up what she needed for today in her office. She was getting ready to leave when there was a knock on her door and Trixie walked inside smiling. “What do you think of Trixie’s new cape?!” she asked. It was very similar to the old one, but the colors were brighter and the design a bit better. The stars also seemed to sparkle a little in the light. “It looks really great Trixie,” Naruko said. “I know! Rarity really is a Dress Wonder Maker! I can do even more enchanting with this cape than I thought. I have so many ideas,” Trixie said with her eyes lit in excitement. She then gave Naruko a serious expression as she said, “I really want to thank you for helping me out again. I wish I had friends like you before I got out of hoof.” Trixie then came over and surprised Naruko with a heart felt hug which Naruko returned. After they broke off the hug, Trixie said, “Now Trixie is off to start her cape plans! Goodnight, Captain Uzumaki!” She then in show pony fashion threw down a small smoke bomb and left through the hallway causing Naruko to chuckle at the pony’s excitement as she vanished the smoke. Naruko then closed up for the night and made her way home. She entered the library and gave a mighty stretch. She got herself a glass of juice and settled down in the living room after quickly making some food. She floated a book over to read as she drank her juice and ate her small meal. At a fortunately boring part of the book, a purple hoof suddenly obscured her vision a little. “Guess who? Three guesses and the first two don’t count,” a familiar voice giggled. Naruko smirked as she said, “Let’s see. Twilight Sparkle. Twilight Sparkle. And my last guess is Fluttershy with a purple socked hoof.” “Humph… Don’t get smart with me, Naruko,” Twilight said as she removed her hoof and cutely stuck out her tongue. The two giggled and Twilight snuggled in with Naruko while placing a hoof around her. “How was your day, Naruko?” she asked. “Pretty good. Derpy accepted the position of First Lieutenant. I managed to finish enough of my paperwork. And Trixie apologized to Rarity. The two seemed to have really hit it off,” Naruko explained. She then smiled to Twilight and asked, “How was yours?” Twilight chuckled to that. “Much easier than yesterday. I did a good bit of research into pony legends again. There apparently was an ancient Earth Pony City called Ponlantis. Yes, the Ponlantis from all of the stories and movies. It seems it really existed. Some think there might be sea ponies living there even now. I don’t know about that, but it was really impressive. There is a lot more to Earth ponies than just their amazing abilities of growing plants and food in even the toughest places along with their strength and stamina.” “Really?” Naruko asked her eyes shining with interest. “Yep. They used to be runestone masters in the past. If what I learned is to be believed. They were capable of bringing the Earth to life in a much different sense. Perhaps Earth ponies have been partially responsible for all of these stone guards you’ve met in your temple adventures. I will have to look more into this later. I requested some more books from Princess Celestia,” Twilight explained. Naruko gave Twilight a nuzzle and kissed her. “That’s my Twilight for you. Finding out such incredible things have truth to them.” Twilight blushed. “I also just brought back Spike from visiting the CMC again. He seems to really be enjoying their friendship lately. He was a little bummed he wasn’t attending pony school though. He really wanted to go on their upcoming field trip to the castle. I had to try and not snicker as I asked him. ‘Ummm… You do know you lived in Canterlot Palace, right?’ He said that wasn’t the same and he wanted to give them the full tour,” they chuckled at this. “I had to remind him on field trips you have to stay with the teacher and follow them the whole time and not doing so can have very bad consequences. He’s now decided he will just have to get them to go on a trip with him sometime in the future and maybe even show them your office there.” Naruko laughed to that. “I haven’t even seen my office there yet. I haven’t had a reason to visit it. I have decided I will use rune seals to make a teleport arrival point there though. You know whenever I first visit it. I will also make two others linked to it. I was thinking my bedroom and my Office at HQ.” “Sooo, exciting!!!! Why don’t we get started right now! I can help!” Twilight said really excitedly. “Sorry. I need to make the first one at my Canterlot office. It will have to take in the actual magic base flows of the destination or it might be iffy instead of exact like it needs to be,” Naruko said. Twilight raised an eyebrow in question before running her marefriend’s words through her head. “Ohh. You said rune seals. Sorry I got excited there. But why not just use a regular rune matrix?” she asked. Rune seals were pretty much something Naruko made up herself. The practice combined runes and what she knew of sealing from her ninja heritage. They were really impressive and not something any other pony could even begin to understand. Twilight herself had little knowledge about them apart from principles. She would have to first learn the alphabet from Naruko's old planet. There was much you could do with just regular runes, but it seemed Naruko had different plans. “I want it to be keyed so it won’t work unless I activate it,” Naruko said seriously. She then gave a mischievous smile that got Twilight’s heart beating faster as she hitched her breath. “Besides… I wouldn’t want a certain pony entering my room just so she could use the teleport as a quick way to The Royal Library,” she ended in a sing song voice as Twilight blushed. Twilight then decided to tease back. “Hey… I would have made it more than worth your while for allowing to do such things with very pleasant wake up calls…” she said while giving Naruko her version of sexy bedroom eyes. Others might think she was trying to hard, but to Naruko they were quite the sight to be hold even as the pony giggled and blushed a little. Twilight couldn’t believe how bold that statement was. “Okay… that is very… enticing… But I’ve already made my decision, Twi. Besides…” Naruko said and countered with her own ‘bedroom’ eyes. They really were super effective with Twilight. “Once I’ve made the rune seals… We can have midnight excursions to the library and even get a little naughty with each other there.” Twilight’s mouth was a gape as dreams she had experienced recently came back to her. She then gave a mighty shiver and moan. Her body was feeling very warm suddenly. She blushed and tried to hide her face behind her hooves. Naruko blushed at just how much of a reaction that got from Twilight. She then did her best to regain her composure as she said, “Since it seems Spike is in bed for the night… It is late… w-w-why don’t we ummm… try some of those lessons we recently got from the princesses and compare notes.” Naruko couldn’t believe she was saying this, but she really really wanted it so tonight would properly end off such a great day. Twilight took in a deep breath and nodded enthusiastically as her lavender cheeks turned a beautiful pink. Naruko blushed as well and led the way quickly to her bedroom. Twilight quickly used a silencing spell on the door just to be extra careful as she eagerly couldn’t wait for what was to come. {-} {-} {-} Spike gave a mighty yawn. He had been sipping on some juice as he thought on many things in his mind. He left Twilight and Naruko to do their whole, as Kyuubi called it, female bonding in peace. “Well goodnight you two!” he said mid yawn. He then blinked his dragon eyes in confusion as he looked around. “Geez… If they were really that tired they should have just said something earlier so I could wish them a goodnight’s sleep,” he said to himself with a shrug before heading to bed himself.