Static watched Rose with a wry smile as her elder sibling spat out dirt, yet again. Little Crystal sat and watched too, having reached the time in a young Changeling’s life when observational skills began their development, and she did that from where she was nestled between her Mama Static’s legs.
“That mud must taste good, since you keep eating it so often.” Static laughed, Crystal nuzzling into the fluff on her mama’s chest.
Rose pulled herself up out of the pit she’d put in the lawn of Fluttershy’s back yard with a humourless laugh. “Ha ha. You know you’ve had just as many problems adjusting to feathered wings as I’ve had adjusting to having wings at all.”
Static nodded, not denying it in the slightest. “Yeah, I face plant almost as much- and yet I haven’t had to spit out clods of dirt.”
“Are you arguing again?” Fluttershy emerged from the house, and Static felt her heart start doing somersaults in her chest at the sound of her sweet voice. Ever since she had emerged from her coma almost, Static had found herself consumed with a desire. A mad passion whose name she knew so well. It burned stronger every day and because of it, she’d started to do things. Little things. A few words here, a little touch there, making herself look her best every day. Even now, just sitting in the garden, Static had made the effort to put on blue-green eye shadow, the way that Rarity had showed her to. She had a scarf on for the late autumn cold, and had styled her mane with deliberate care- accentuating the wildness in just the right way…
Fluttershy noticed- Static could tell. The way she bit her lip ever so slightly as she approached, her own mane brushed to perfection, a butterfly pin next to her ear to contrast Static’s punk-rock skull pin. It gave her shivers.
“We’re siblings, of course we’re arguing.” Rose said, brushing off the clumps of dirt that clung to her wings. She had noticed her sister’s behavior, and the reciprocation from her mare-friend, and found it amusing to watch.
“As if that would put a dampener in our relationship.” Static confidently boasted. “Warm, dear?”
Fluttershy nodded, snuggling down onto a deck chair that Static had set up a few weeks prior, wrapped up nice and warm in her favourite sweater- the very sweater that Static had gotten for her during their first Hearth’s Warming Eve together. Static grinned at her, undressing her mare-friend with her eyes while she did the same.
Not that there was ever much to undress, really. The only times that one could indulge in the practice for any length of time was during a formal event, where dresses and suits were mandatory for attendance. Often, if a pony wanted to undress their significant other, they would first have to find an excuse to actually get them to wear something in the first place. It was all very silly and awfully involved.
Shy and Static did it every week.
Rarity had made them an awfully large number of clothes after all….
“Dashie said she would be coming over on Tuesday. I hope she and Discord don’t start fighting….again.” Fluttershy said. She had brought out a steaming mug of cocoa to share with Static, who moved closer to her in order to reach the lovely beverage. Being next to Shy was also a good reason to move.
“Bringing her current boy-toy with her again?” Rose quipped, smirking at Fluttershy’s giggled answer. “Who is it this time? Old Thunder-head?”
“If Rarity hears that Dash is letting him anywhere near her, poor Rainbow won’t ever hear the end of it!” Static laughed, rubbing the top of Crystal’s head affectionately as she did. “Did she tell you about the dreaded Date Derby?”
“Oh sweet Celestia! I was laughing so much, I don’t think I was able to breath for a solid minute or two when she told me about it!” Rose guffawed, giving herself one last brush down before joining her sister and her sister’s mare-friend on the deck-chairs.
“No, Thunderlane called in sick- something about a concussion.” Fluttershy’s sly smirk only made Static chuckle more. “He said he hit his head while practicing some moves.”
“I bet the bruise he has is perfectly circular- like a bottle of wine.” Rose sniped, taking a drink from the sports bottle she’d left by the chairs before she’d started practicing.
The conversation died off for a little while, the three content to merely pass the time in quiet contemplation while they sipped their drinks and enjoyed each other’s warm company.
Then a newcomer appeared.
“Well, well. Two former humans and my favourite Pegasus, out enjoying the Autumn breeze! How wonderful!”
Static glanced over her shoulder and smiled at the Spirit of Chaos who had appeared behind them. “Hello Dizzy. Wanna join us? Shy made Hot Chocolate.”
“Ooh, did she now?” Discord asked, his differently sized eyes literally lighting up with delight at the thought of a delightful chocolate beverage. “Don’t mind if I do!”
A moment later and a miniature Discord was wallowing in an equally miniature jacuzzi filled with the stuff.
“Is Discord being weird again?” Zephyr asked as he emerged from the house, the younger Pegasus shivering as he crossed the distance between the house and the deck chairs as quickly as possible, so that he could wrap himself in the snug blanket he’d brought with him. Due to a recent mane experiment-turned-disaster, he was currently without a good deal of his usual mane and tail length, and even a decent amount of his coat, making him particularly susceptible to the cold.
Fluttershy and Discord both turned to stare at him with raised eyebrows. “What do you mean, again?”
“Yeah, yeah. Ha ha. Very funny.” Zephyr bemoaned, wrapping himself up tightly in the safety of the blanket. “Oh, is that cocoa?”
Rose rolled her eyes. “I’ll go get you some.”
“You’re the best, Rosie!”
“It’s just Rose!”
“Whatever, Rosie!”
Discord hopped partially out of his chocolate-y bubbly pool, propping his arms up against the sides and looking up at Static and Fluttershy. “So, do you two have plans this evening?”
“Would you care if we did?” Static asked. “You and plans generally get along as well as Twilight and Trixie.”
“If it were any other ponies plans- no.” Discord smirked, his snaggletooth glinting in the dim light of the evening autumn sun. “But as it’s Fluttershy and my current favourite disruptor of this Universe, yes I do.”
“Well, we had planned a few activities tonight.” Fluttershy stated, matter of factly.
“And what might those be?” Discord asked, innocently, reading a newspaper that seemed to be from later that night, if the time-stamp in the corner of the page was any indication.
“You just read it, random-boy.” Static drawled, taking a sip of Cocoa. “You tell us.”
“Your insults need work.” Discord returned with a sneer.
“You smell funny.”
“I just washed.”
Static looked over the rim of her mug as she raised an eyebrow. “As if that means anything with you?”
“True, true.”
“Now boys, play nice.” Fluttershy hummed, happily chewing on a marshmallow she’d fished from inside the mug.
“There’s only one boy here.” Static grinned, before that grin reversed itself, and she looked Discord with her head cocked to the side. “At least, I assume you’re male, Discord. Do chaos creatures have assigned genders?”
“Ask me again in twelve minutes, and I may actually have an answer for you.”
“Ah.”
“I’m back!” Rose called, trotting over to Zephyr, balancing a small tray with two mugs of Cocoa balanced on it. “I missed weirdness again, didn’t I?”
“Yep.”
“I’m sure I’ll get over it.” Rose dismissed, returning to her chair.
Crystal twisted her neck around to gaze directly up at Static, who in turn gazed down, before sticking out her tongue and using her right hoof to tap the youngster on the nose. Crystal pounced the keratin covered thing and proceeded to play predator, trying to drag it down, as if she were a lion and it was a gazelle. Static let this happen for a few minutes, before she pulled out Crystal’s favourite toy, a dark grey Changeling plushie with a long green mane and tail that Fluttershy had sewn for her. The nearly white furred Changeling Princess saw the plushie out of the corner of her eye, and her mouth immediately dropped open as she turned and pounced on top of the Queen doll, hugging it and squeezing it close.
Static watched it all with a serene smile, using her wing to pull Shy into a hug.
“So, you have some plans for later.” Discord stated, a few minutes later. “What if we went out and came back in time for those plans?”
Static and Shy exchanged a quick look before beaming back at him. “Deal.”
******************************************************************
Fluttershy and Static trotted in through the bedroom door, sweaty from the dancing they had done in a Manehatten night-club. Their manes were now decorated in streamers, Pinkie Pie having somehow joined the party half-way through, firing her trademark party cannon with a wild, joyful grin the entire time, coating the dance floor in confetti that jumped and vibrated to the beat of several dozen hooves drumming atop it.
Even Crystal had enjoyed it, soaking up the boundless energy of the party and trying to dance on her stubby legs- failing completely, but enjoying every second. They had put her to bed, the little Princess falling asleep before she’d even reached the comfort of her favourite blankie and her Chrysalis plush. But, alas, the night’s adventure had come to a close, and the family had come home.
“Well, that was fun.” Static smiled across the bed at Shy, before hopping up onto the comfy mattress and depositing her hair-clip on the bedside table with her wing. Fluttershy stayed standing on the other side, her smile holding a hint of playfulness in it’s coy depths. “What?”
Shy didn’t answer, instead disappearing into the wardrobe, emerging a minute later, wearing some more….risque garments of her choosing.
Static grinned, hopping back off of the bed, and taking a moment in the wardrobe herself, dressing herself up in lingerie of her own. “Looking good.” Shy murmured as Static re-emerged.
“Shut up and kiss me, darlin’.” Static grinned, before pressing her lips against Shy’s and wrapping her forehoove around her neck, overbalancing them both and sending them tumbling onto the bed….
*************************************************************************
“Have you seen Crystal?”
Static frowned, looking up from her book with a frown. “I thought you were giving her her bath today?”
Fluttershy nodded with a frown. “Yes, but I can’t find her. She’s not in her crib, or her room, she isn’t with Zephyr and Rose, and Discord swears he hasn’t taken her for fun. Can you help me find her?”
“Of course!” Static deftly flicked the book shut and placed it on the coffee table that stood dutifully between the couch and the armchair she had been sitting in, before flapping her wings and flying up to the second floor. “I’ll check all the bedrooms, you check the kitchen and the pantry.”
“Alright!”
Several long minutes went by before the two met back up. “Any luck?”
“No. Should we check the garden?”
“Might as well. She’s gotten quite fond of the foxes at the end of the garden. She might be pestering them, or something.”
“Oh, I hope Miss Fluffy isn’t too mad at her…”
The two left the room, calling out their daughters name as they went out into the garden. Had they gone back in, they would have seen Discord appear in a flash, and whisper to the coffee table. “The coast is clear!”
Green flames consumed it, dropping Static's book to the floor, and replacing the table with a giggling Changeling, who clopped her hooves together happily, cooed a few times, then galloped into the kitchen to steal some more cookies from the jar, smearing chocolate over her face.
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“Hey, Rosie, you almost done in there?”
“I swear to god Zephyr, you do this every morning!”
“I just wanna pee!”
“Yeah, and you always manage to need to take a piss whenever I’m in here! Your sense of timing sucks!”
“If anything, your timing sucks!”
Fluttershy sighed as she listened to the two bicker upstairs. “Do you think we should tell Zeph he can use the en suite in our room?”
Static shook her head with a slight smile. “You think he wants to stop bugging her?”
“True.”
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“Mornin’- AHHH!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY SISTER?!”
“EEEEEEEEE!!!!”
“FOR FUCK’S SAKE ZEPH! LEARN HOW TO KNOCK!!!”
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