Rainbow Dash admired the view as she walked towards the table. It was as bright at day here yet she could clearly see the stars. And the natural look and feel of the place gave it a sort of mystic quality.
“Would you like some tea, Rainbow Dash?” Lady Seto calmly said.
Rainbow Dash immediately remembered why she was here and who was currently speaking to her. “Yes, thank you.” She said, a little uncomfortable that another world’s princess had brought her here.
“Relax Rainbow Dash.” Lady Seto said calmly. “This may be clandestine, but we’re all friends here. I know you’re already familiar with Lucca and Tali, possibly even my grand niece Tenyo. I’m certain you’ve met Liara, though she’s usually so involved with her work she only leaves her office for necessities.”
“I’m not obsessed, it just takes a lot of effort to maintain my information networks. Particularly as they now span several galaxies and even through time.” Liara said defensively.
“Of course. And I don’t know if you’ve met Airie, Tenyo’s Grandmother.” Lady Seto said with a sinister smile.
Airie twitched as she heard her introduction but stayed calm. “Please just call me Airie. A young and lovely woman such as myself doesn’t need to be mistaken for a grandmother.”
Tenyo shifted slightly as she heard the statement, well aware that Seto would needle her grandmother just for kicks.
“But you are the oldest woman at the table.” Seto said calmly, hiding her face behind a fan.
“Only because you haven’t sat down yet.” Airie said under her breath.
“What was that?” Lady Seto asked politely.
“Let’s just move on, shall we?” Tenyo quickly said, hoping to cut this off now before her grandmother got angry. “Miss Rainbow Dash, for the last while Airie and myself have been working on a plan for playing a prank on your friends.”
“Don’t count James out.” Lucca said. “He’s been right beside you for at least half of it, and is one of the main players.”
“That is true, but you can hardly say he did more than advise us as we worked.” Airie said as she took a sip of her tea.
Rainbow Dash sat and listened as a woman brought her a teacup with some kind of hot green tea. “Alright, but what does this have to do with me?” She asked.
“Well, you’re the lead. It’s up to you to sell them on the premise of the joke so when it plays out they’ll be completely off guard.” Airie said.
“What’s the joke?” Rainbow Dash asked, quite eager. If this joke took planning and a room full of people to pull off then it had to be epic.
“We were planning on you faking a romantic relationship with James.” Tali said simply.
“What?!” Rainbow Dash asked. This didn’t make sense. How was this a joke? What was supposed to be funny about it? Not that she couldn’t make it work, but she just didn’t get it.
“That’s part of why we’re all here.” Lucca said. “To be convincing this is going to have to appear to be real, so we all need to be on the same page.”
“Yeah, but how are we supposed to do this? How’s this even funny?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“What makes it funny is the confusion on their faces at the end. It’s not your typical calibre of jump scare pranks, but I think you’ll find it rewarding in it’s own way.” Lucca explained.
“And there’s the benefits.” Tali said.
“Benefits?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Once the prank starts in earnest James will treat you like he really does intend to marry you. He’ll take you to nice restaurants, spontaneously get you gifts, take you to fun places.” Liara said.
“Massages.” Lucca said with a grin, more planning for herself later than giving it as an example.
“Of course if you decide you really do want to marry him after that, there will be a whole other conversation we have to have.” Airie said, making Rainbow Dash blush.
Lucca groaned. “Airie, first; Not going to happen. Second; What makes you think you have any say in who James does or does not marry?”
“I for one would support them whole heartedly.” Lady Seto said, sounding sincere enough to send a chill down Lucca’s spine.
“He’s not the nicest looking man, but he can be surprisingly charming.” Airie said with a shrug. “Especially once he starts complimenting you or even flirting. He’s relentless.”
“Right.” Lucca said as she recalled something important. “Don’t be afraid to tell him to stop either. Just in case he does something stupid.”
“But that’s it, just act like we’re a couple for a while?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“That’s not all.” Tenyo mentioned. “We’ve managed to get help from Celestia and Luna for the end of the prank. Celestia’s role isn’t big, it’s Luna who will make the splash at the end.”
“And a couple other fun surprises along the way.” Airie added.
“So even after all of that Princess Luna gets to pull the prank?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Every part for this is important. Without you there is no prank.” Tali said as she leaned back. “We considered others but you’re the one who can make this work.”
“Why it was Celestia herself who recommended you.” Lady Seto calmly said. She had a feeling about this that she intended to nurture. At the moment it was nothing, but if it became a hunch she was going to act.
Rainbow Dash took a sip of her tea and closed her eyes absorbing the situation. She had been asked to help play a prank on her friends: She was up for that, that part sounded fun. She had to pretend to be someone’s girlfriend: Not as fun, but maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. And she was being asked by royalty, who had gotten Princesses Celestia and Luna in on the prank: She really felt as though she couldn’t say no so she might as well play along and have what fun she could. Once this was over she was going to show them some real pranks.
“Alright then.” Rainbow Dash calmly said. “When do we start?”
“Once you’re ready.” Airie said calmly. “We don’t know if you can play the part well enough.”
“I’ve been pulling off pranks for years.” Rainbow Dash said haughtily. “It’ll be no sweat.”
“Oh really?” Airie said with a grin before standing up and walking over to Rainbow Dash.
She watched as she approached, Airie’s entire body language seemed to change as she got closer, her steps were closer together, her strong posture gave way and even her arms raised to almost helplessly clutch at herself, her confident expression gave way to an admiring look.
“Really?” Airie asked, her voice unusually light and breathy. “That’s … that’s just amazing!” She never stopped advancing towards Rainbow Dash as she spoke. Now at the pony’s side she crouched down and gripped Rainbow Dash’s free hoof with both her hands and actually blushed. She almost didn’t look at Rainbow Dash as quietly spoke again. “There’s just … Something important I have to tell you.”
Rainbow Dash was beginning to blush herself as she watched the bizarre display. “O-okay.” She carefully said.
Airie’s expression suddenly changed back as she smirked at the confused pegasus. “If you think a performance like that will cut it you’re dead wrong.” Airie stood up and resumed her confident and composed posture as she walked back to her seat.
“Exactly.” Lady Seto said. “If you’re going to act like a waif you’ll never sell it. This has to feel natural and organic. Like you found something in him that you want to keep with you, not like he’s some hero that you now faun over.”
“He was my hero and I don’t even act like that.” Tali commented.
“Real couples do show each other their vulnerable side, but don’t exactly flaunt it. There’s really only one way to actually get you two to act like a couple.” Lucca calmly stated.
“You and James are going to be spending a lot of time together.” Tali commented.
“We can hang out, that’s no big deal.” Rainbow Dash said with a shrug.
“It’s not that easy, there’s still things you’ll have to get used to saying and doing.” Airie said. “Not necessarily lovey dovey things, but you will have to be able to talk like that happens. A cute nickname or two.”
“We won’t be expected to kiss will we?” Rainbow Dash asked hesitantly.
“No.” Lucca quickly said. “You won’t be kissing.”
“Well, not exactly, you’ll be acting like you are but not actually kissing.” Tali explained. “James could explain it better.
“You’ll also be around us more.” Tenyo said as she looked to the Pony who was now realizing she had just agreed to something much bigger than she expected. “In addition to spending time with James you’ll be with Lucca Tali Sara and Amber. You’re basically going to become a member of the family. And that has it’s perks too.”
“What about my life? I’ve got Wonder Bolts and hanging out with my friends, and other important stuff.” Rainbow Dash argued.
“You’re free to do that on your own if you like. But don’t discount James entirely, you might enjoy having him around.” Tenyo added. “I was surprised myself.”
Rainbow Dash looked around the group hesitantly. “Well, we can’t let my parents know about this. They’ll assume we’re already married or something.”
Lucca and Tenyo chuckled at the comment as Airie, fixed Rainbow Dash with a cold hard stare.
“What?” Rainbow Dash asked as she noticed. Even the look in this woman's eyes was enough to put her on her heels.
“Your parents probably only want to see you happy and if you’ve not even considered getting married they might just be worried that you’re denying yourself something truly wonderful.” Airie calmly said.
Tenyo leaned over and whispered to Rainbow Dash. “She’s still trying to get my aunt married.”
“And what about you Tenyo?” Airie asked as she stood behind the woman.
Tenyo recoiled slightly as she waved away the notion. “I am married. Remember? We were just talking about him.”
“Yes, but you certainly don’t act like it.” Airie countered. “I mean, it’s been more than a decade and you’re not even considering having a child.”
“I’m happy where I’m at right now, Airie.” Tenyo said dryly.
“Besides, it took James and I over a century before we had Sara.” Lucca added.
“Yes, but even Tali hints at wanting a child.” Airie said as Seto sipped her tea.
“James and I are genetically incompatible. It’s literally impossible for us to have a child.” Tali commented.
The only reason Rainbow Dash wasn’t zoning out over the talks of marriage and babies was the sheer oddity of the situation she was in.
“You agree, right Rainbow Dash?” Airie asked suddenly. “Ten years after marriage is too long to wait to have a child.”
“I don’t know. I mean if you want foals maybe …” She awkwardly said, trying to understand how she was relevant to this.
Airie shook her head and looked around the group. “Youth these days have no family interests, right Lucca?”
Lucca cocked her eyebrow at the comment. “Again, I was married for more than a century before having Sara. And it’s perfectly fine with me if Tenyo never wants to have any children with James.”
“Ah, Liara.” Airie turned on the Asari who had remained mostly silent. “Don’t you want to have kids some day?”
Liara cleared her throat as she was cornered. “Perhaps, but comparatively speaking I’m younger than Rainbow Dash. I have centuries before I hit my matron phase … Not that my father hasn’t asked about me giving her grandchildren either.”
“I believe we’ve strayed off topic long enough.” Lady Seto said, stopping Airie from turning on Tenyo again. “Rainbow Dash, are you interested in the plan?”
“I can’t even remember what the plan is.” Rainbow Dash said as all she could remember now was talk about marriage and babies.
Lady Seto chuckled and smiled at the confused pegasus. “The joke we intend to play on your friends.”
“Oh, right. Yeah, when do we start?” Rainbow Dash said, more than ready to move on from this conversation.
“We can start getting ready right away.” Lucca said realizing that the pony being ready simply meant getting started soon. “I’m pretty sure I know where James is.”
“I believe we’re done here than.” Lady Seto said calmly. “It was a pleasure meeting you Rainbow Dash.” She said with a grin that looked almost sinister.
“Uhm, thanks. It was nice meeting you too.” Rainbow Dash said before standing to join Lucca and Tali as they went towards the teleportation hub. There was another flash of light and the three of them stood in a corridor with many doors on either side. Rainbow Dash had no idea where this was and wouldn’t even try to guess as she hadn’t even been all around Truce.
“You coming with Tali?” Lucca asked as the approached one of the doors.
“No thanks, I’m going back the the Einherriar for now. I’m in the middle of trying to shunt the dilithium resin into my reconstitution chamber. If I can get it to crystallize interlaced with Eezo I should be able to combine the Eezo and warp engine into a more powerful system.”
“Have fun.” Lucca said as she led Rainbow Dash to a door near the end of the hall. “NG-Com. Connect one suite to the current game, observer mode.”
The door slid open and Lucca waved Rainbow Dash in before walking in herself. They stood at the foot of a mountain surrounded by a forest. Lucca looked around for a moment before pointing towards a small building obscured by the trees. “He’ll be in there.” She said as she led them off.
“So where is this?” Rainbow Dash asked as she flew next to Lucca.
“Nowhere actually. This is all illusion for the game James is playing.” Lucca said as she opened the door.
“This is part of a game?” Rainbow Dash asked amazed.
“Yeah, I’m sure you’ll learn more about it later. It’s not terribly exciting.” Lucca casually said.
Rainbow Dash found that the building served only to cover the staircase leading down into the ground. The first basement level was split off into sections with uncut stone acting as walls. One side had a bed, table, and what looked almost like an oven while the other side opened into a garden of carrots, potatoes, reeds by the water and a large patch of sand with several cacti.
Lucca didn’t stop to look around as she continued down to the next level with one large room filled with chests and another that held what looked to be a library. From there the path continued unchanging until they got to the bottom.
Rainbow Dash could only imagine just how deep they were as she stepped onto the grass covered floor. She could clearly see the ceiling above them yet in front of her stretched a massive underground forest. It was a strange, yet exhilarating sight.
“So, about these benefits.” Lucca said with a smile. “Once you’re comfortable enough definitely ask James for a massage. And when the prank really gets going you can make him do embarrassing things. It’s always fun to embarrass him a bit or make him blush.” Lucca said as they walked into the forest.
Rainbow Dash half listened to what Lucca was saying as she looked around the cavern. Off to the side she noticed a small alcove with a pool of lava and further into the forest there was a log cabin and another small garden. She counted a total of four waterfalls each with ponds and streams. Were it not for the ceiling that she continued seeing when she would occasionally look up and the walls on either side of the forest she would swear that they were really above ground. The forest began to thin a minute later and they both saw James working in a trench up to his stomach.
“You know, you could have just asked me yourself.” Rainbow Dash said as she got close.
“Yeah, but I thought they could explain it better.” James answered as he leaned back in the hole he currently stood in. “So what do you think about it?”
“I like it.” She said with a smile.
James nodded as he smiled himself. “So for now how about I come and get you once a week. And be sure to let me know about any plans you have and that come up. I don't want you to miss anything because of this.”
“By the way, James and I are getting a late dinner. You’re welcome to join us if you want.” Lucca offered casually.
“Sure, what’re we having?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I’m thinking Broccoli Salad. That sound good?” James asked.
Lucca nodded as Rainbow Dash smiled wide and eagerly nodded.
“What are we waiting for then? Let’s go get some food!” Rainbow Dash happily said.
Back at the castle the three of them ate in the kitchen as it was late enough that Amber and Sara were both sleeping.
“Sorry it’s just replicated.” James said. “I’m not good at making it, Alicia works too hard for me to bother her this late with something, and the restaurant that makes the kind I really like is closed.”
Rainbow Dash didn’t seem to notice what James said as she was busy stuffing her mouth with her meal and certainly enjoying it.
After swallowing Rainbow Dash looked up. “Who’s Alicia?” She asked.
James nodded as Lucca started talking. “Alicia works for us full time as a kind of maid. She does a lot more than that though, often unasked.” Lucca said calmly. “Also, if you’re here on a Saturday or Sunday and she’s working, tell us. She’s supposed to take those days off.”
There was a reason for this though. Alicia had been born and raised a slave to the point that she didn’t know how to function as anything but. In reality they both felt responsible for her. They wanted her to be able to live in her own world but when they tried to teach her to be independent she was mugged and had only survived through their continued intervention culminating in bringing her to New Guardia.
Once realizing she needed someone to make decisions for her they brought her in with a hefty salary and had to instruct her to take time for herself, eventually hiring another full time servant to take some of her self imposed responsibilities.
They still tried to get her to go and do things for herself as New Guardia was much safer, but her one experience trying to live for herself had frightened her away from ever trying again.
“I don’t think I’ve seen her.” Rainbow Dash said.
“Trust me, you’ll meet her.” James said. “She’s a nice girl, very polite. And she works too hard.”
As James finished his serving and went to clean his place at the table Lucca stopped him. “You’d better be getting more James.”
“I’m alright.” James said.
“I don’t know, I could go for more.” Rainbow Dash said, missing the point.
“Sure thing.” James commented as he recycled his plate and utensils into the replicator.
“And you need more.” Lucca called back. “James hates that he’s as fat as he is, but exercise and diet never seem to work for long so eventually he starts starving himself.” She added, deliberately loud enough for James to hear.
“I don’t know, he ate more than both of us.” Rainbow Dash said. “I mean, if he’s not hungry why should he keep eating?”
“Because he’s still hungry.” Lucca dryly said. “One thing too many people learn the hard way is that if you crash diet like he always is you’ll never be able to keep off the weight. In addition to a whole host of other more serious health problems.”
James walked up and placed a plate with more broccoli salad in front of Rainbow Dash and sat down with a plate for himself. He was clearly annoyed as he looked to Lucca. “I’m not having this fight right now.” He quietly said before he began eating.
Lucca looked at him from where she sat at the table. “We’ll have it every time I catch you starving yourself.”
“Hey James, it’s not so bad. It’s great that you’re trying, but maybe it’s time to try something different.” Rainbow Dash suggested.
James sighed as he shook his head. He knew that if he said anything about it there would be another fight and he just didn’t want to deal with that.
***
Rainbow Dash, Tenyo and James were all talking out in the garden having adjusted their plans with Starlight’s discovery of the door between the two worlds inside Twilight’s castle. They couldn’t exactly be covert any more, but there was a ready made excuse for them to be overt about spending time with each other.
The discussion as to James’s weight finished, Tenyo decided to move on to other aspects Rainbow Dash in particular would need to work on. “It’s not all about him either Rainbow Dash.” Tenyo calmly said. “Just like in real relationships there’s give and take. Just like the acting we've been doing you’ll have to get used to being close with James, and not just close to him. Why don’t you give him a hug.” She suggested.
“Sure.” Rainbow Dash said as she walked over and wrapped her forelegs around James’s waist.
“That’s friendly, but not relationship stuff. James crouch down. Rainbow Dash, put your arms … forelegs on his shoulders.”
As instructed James knelt down and Rainbow Dash awkwardly put her forelegs around James’s neck.
“That’s what I mean, I can see how uncomfortable you are.” Tenyo said as she watched. “You’re supposed to look like this is something you want to do. Try to imagine he’s someone you’ve not seen for a long time and you want to show him how much you’ve missed him.”
Rainbow Dash couldn’t even think about what that would look like and just tried hugging him harder as Tenyo shook her head.
“Alright James, maybe give her a taste of how you’d do it.” Tenyo instructed.
James nodded briefly and his large arms wrapped Rainbow Dash up as he put his head next to hers making an interested noise as he held on to her. Rainbow Dash was too uncomfortable to do more than awkwardly pat his back.
“What’s so interesting?” Tenyo asked.
“Like a velvet wrapped brick.” James commented.
“What?” Rainbow Dash asked uncomfortably.
“You.” James said as he continued to hold Rainbow Dash. “Soft and strong, you’re in great shape.”
Between the compliment and her position Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but blush. “Uhm … Thanks.” She said uncomfortably.
“You’d better get used to that too.” Tenyo teased. “James’s a flirt with a name to live up to.”
“There’s a few things I’m going to have to get used to.” Rainbow Dash admitted.
“Would it help if I changed my form?” James asked as he let her go and backed off.
“Not really.” Rainbow Dash admitted. “The whole thing’s kind of completely insane.”
“I thought that was the point.” James said. “The strangeness of us being a couple is supposed to confuse them.”
“Also, you need to work on stage kissing.” Tenyo said.
“I thought we wouldn’t be kissing!” Rainbow Dash said, suddenly panicked.
“Stage kissing. Here let me show you with Tenyo.” James offered as he walked over to her. Tenyo grinned as she brought her hand up to his cheek guiding him closer to her. Rainbow Dash clearly heard kissing before the two separated and Tenyo removed her hand.
“That just looked like a kiss.” Rainbow Dash said, she was really hoping that they weren’t expecting her to actually do that.
“It would have looked different if my hand weren’t there.” Tenyo calmly said. “My hand was blocking your view so your mind filled in the blanks when in reality James was only kissing my cheek.”
“That’s still a lot like a real kiss.” Rainbow Dash mumbled uncomfortably.
“James.” Tenyo said with a grin, pointing to Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash immediately backed up. “Woah, not yet. It’s just … not yet.”
“How about a game of chicken?” Tenyo suggested.
“How’s a game of chicken going to help?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Well you take turns coming in for a stage kiss and see who flinches soonest. Loser has to do something embarrassing that I will choose later. Just telling you now … It won’t be James.” Tenyo said with a grin.
This got Rainbow Dash’s attention, she wasn’t about to back down from a challenge. “You’re on.” She said with a grin.
“Very well.” Tenyo said. “Rainbow Dash, you first.”
Rainbow Dash nodded and took a breath, psyching herself up for this. James knelt down to give her easier access. Hesitantly she walked forward, put her hoof on James’s cheek and came closer, only realizing that she was coming towards the side with her hoof and that she would have to change her approach immediately. She did and kissed James’s free cheek.
“You flinched pretty quickly.” Tenyo said. “And you went too far onto his cheek.” She added as she shook her head. “James take your shot.”
James used a curled finger beneath Rainbow Dash’s muzzle to adjust her head before moving his hand to hide her mouth as he came close. Rainbow Dash stood completely still as he approached, her eyes wide as James got closer and closer. She swallowed as it looked like he really was coming in to kiss her. She bit her lip as he advanced until his head just barely missed and his lips contacted her cheek. Rainbow Dash blushed again as he kissed her cheek and eventually backed off and brought his hand down.
Tenyo just shook her head. “Rainbow Dash, you even flinched when he came in. We’re going to have to desensitize you to this. But you do now have to do something embarrassing after I decide what that will be.”
“Hey, I can get it. Just give me another shot. Double or nothing.” Rainbow Dash argued.
Tenyo smirked. “Sure, you can entertain me twice.”
Rainbow Dash put on her game face and stared James down as she once again brought her hoof up to James’s cheek and came in for a kiss. Fortunately this time she had the right cheek and didn’t hesitate.
“Too bad, you were still too far away and I clearly saw that you were only kissing his cheek. You have to get closer if you want to win one.” Tenyo said as she looked to the scowling Pony.
“I didn’t flinch.” Rainbow Dash argued.
“It’s a flinch if you don’t go through with it, you were too far away.” Tenyo said.
“Fine, double or nothing again.” Rainbow Dash insisted, just because it wasn't mentioned didn't mean she was backing down.
“You want to be embarrassed four times?” Tenyo asked with a laugh.
“That’s alright.” James calmly said. “We can work on this later.”
“No.” Rainbow Dash insisted as she glared at James, now an obstacle to be overcome. “I’m not giving up until I can do this.”
“Alright.” Tenyo said dismissively. “But now you’re only practising … or you enjoy it. Either way I’ve already won.”
“Third time’s the charm.” Rainbow Dash said to herself. “I’ve got this.” Once again she put her hoof on James’s cheek and came in to kiss the other one. She was certain she had it this time as she actually felt some of James’s beard brush her lips.
“Not bad.” Tenyo commented. “Now you need to look like you enjoyed it. Good thing I didn't take the bet.” She added with a smirk.
“Oh come on!” Rainbow Dash nearly shouted.
“What? You did good. Now that you know how close to get you can work on the rest when you’re more comfortable around him.” Tenyo was honestly telling her she was improving but clearly the challenge had gotten to her.
James looked in Rainbow Dash’s eyes and calmly spoke. “It’s alright, you’re doing something you’re uncomfortable with and it’s going to take time. We’ll try this again when you’re ready.”
Rainbow Dash snorted briefly before nodding. “Yeah. I guess we’ll try again later.”
“Alright, enough fooling around.” Tenyo said. “You two should go out and have some fun together, that should help ease your discomfort. I’ll go send a message to Washu.”
“Well, anything sound fun to you?” James asked as Tenyo walked away.
“It’s the middle of the night. What is there to do?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Pretty much anything you want. We’re a multi-world melting pot of different species and cultures, there’s always something to do.” James said as he stood and began to walk towards the path leading them towards Truce.
“Don’t you have important royal work to do?” She asked as she flew beside James.
James shrugged. “It's the middle of the night and I can always come back to do it later.” He calmly said.
It wasn’t long after getting Down town that the music of a night club lured Rainbow Dash in with James in tow. “This party is awesome.” She said, flying inside ahead of him.
James nodded to the bouncer as he approached and took a seat as Rainbow Dash flew out to the dance floor and started enjoying herself. Even before he sat down there was a large mug of cold tea sitting on the table waiting for him.
Rainbow Dash was too lost in the atmosphere with the fog changing lights and loud music to really notice that she was effectively on her own on the dance floor and continued enjoying herself unaware that James once again was excluding himself.
She’d been dancing for nearly half an hour when she finally saw him sitting at a table looking out and smiling. Immediately she thought back to him watching everyone in Ponyville enjoying themselves in the snow as she flew over and sat next to him.
“What’s wrong?” She asked, not understanding why he wouldn’t be out there having fun even in his own world.
James grinned at her. “Nothing’s wrong. I’m just enjoying watching everyone.”
“Come on, it’s much more fun to dance than watch.” She urged.
He shook his head. “I can only do so many dances, this stuff … I’m just no good.”
“Doesn’t stop Twilight.” She said with a grin.
He chuckled at the comment, having only seen Twilight dance a couple times. “I’m fine here.” He calmly said.
Rainbow Dash wasn’t having that though, this was too much fun to just sit and watch. “Nope, you’ve gotta at least try.” She said as she got up and started pushing James, finding him surprisingly hard to move.
James swallowed the last of his tea and allowed her to move him as he finally got up. “You’re going to regret this.”
She could tell by his tone that he found it amusing, but even if he was bad if he was having fun what did it matter? “Just move to the beat. It’s easy.” She urged as she pushed him forward.
James felt very awkward as he attempted to dance, even with Rainbow Dash encouraging him this felt wrong. Eventually he stopped and began to walk away.
“Come on James.” Rainbow Dash said as she tried to drag him back.
“Nah, it’s alright.” He said.
“We’re here to have fun. How can you have fun at an awesome party if you’re not joining the party?” She insisted, still pulling at his arm.
James stopped for a moment, this was supposed to be fun and he was ruining it for her. “I’m sorry.” He calmly said. “But there is one way I can get into this.”
“Then let’s give it a try.” Rainbow Dash said with a smile.
James brought out his omni tool and had it build a data chip with several songs from his personal collection. Chip in hand he walked over to the DJ who leaned over to him.
“You know, I don’t usually do requests.” The Lamia said as she brushed her short frosted black hair. “But for the King … How can I say no.” She added, tossing James a wink.
James shook his head as he looked up to her. “I’d hope easily, but if you want there’s a couple songs I happen to like. You don’t have to play more than one if you don’t want.” He said handing over the chip.
The lamia nodded and took the chip as she put it in her system. Once the current song finished she made an announcement. “Alright everyone, we’ve got a rare situation here. You may have noticed the king’s joined us tonight and it seems he’s got a request. Now I don’t know how Tali will feel about him here with another lady, but let’s give the two some room.”
James and Rainbow Dash both smacked their foreheads at the comment as the floor cleared. Once the song started James stepped forward, leaving a copy of himself behind who walked to another woman in the club leaving yet another clone to dance with another woman. Three versions of himself seemed enough for this as the beat picked up. James helped Rainbow Dash balance on her hind legs as he took her hoof. “Just follow my lead.”
Hours later the club closed and James and Rainbow Dash were once again out walking around the town. They could hear other clubs still partying, there were a few celebrations in other areas but for the moment the two were comfortable with what quiet they had.
“Told ya it was more fun to dance.” Rainbow Dash said with a grin as she looked up to James.
“I never said it wasn’t.” James answered with his own grin, looking out towards the nebulae beyond the dome of the park. This was one of the sights he loved best on the station. “Thanks.” He added after a moment.
“I completely forgot how late it is here.” Rainbow Dash eventually said. “I bet you’re getting pretty tired.”
James shook his head. “Nah, I’m alright. … In fact, I’ve got a game I think you’d like to play.”
Rainbow Dash smiled as she looked to James. “What’s the game?”
“It’s called Hyrule Warriors, every level you have to fight your way through hundreds of enemies just to get to the enemies commander. You’ve got an army at your back, but you’re the hero leading the charge. Of course we can both play and really wipe the floor with them. And it’s in the holosuite you and Lucca found me in earlier.”
“That. Sounds. Amazing!” Rainbow Dash said excitedly as she pranced along beside him. James didn’t even have time to react before she flew up beside him. “Just one question.”
“Shoot.” James said smiling down at the excited girl.
“What’s a holosuite?” Rainbow Dash seriously asked.
James laughed before leading her off to a transport hub.
***
“Rainbow Dash!” Amber happily shouted as she saw the bright pony once more walking through the halls of the castle. As she did every time the pegasus came to visit she ran over to hug her and Rainbow Dash smiled as she did.
“Heyya Amber. How are you?” She asked smiling at the excitable child.
“I’m great!” Amber said as she skipped alongside Rainbow Dash. “At school I got to play baseball and then we painted.”
Amber was excited as always but over the last couple months Rainbow Dash had come to expect it. “Did you win?” She asked as she smiled at the child.
“Yeah, I haven’t struck out once yet. I think Dad called me a Pitch hitter.” Amber continued.
“That you certainly are.” Came a voice from further down the hall. As Rainbow Dash and Amber looked forward they could See Lady Seto calmly approaching them.
“Lady Seto!” Amber happily said.
“Come over here and give me a hug.” Lady Seto said as she knelt down. Amber walked over and happily hugged the woman before turning back to Rainbow Dash.
“Lady Seto.” Amber said as formally as she could given her excitement. “This is Rainbow Dash.” She finished as she gestured to the pegasus.
“Yes dear. We’ve met before. In fact I came here to talk with her.” Lady Seto explained.
“You did?” Amber asked excitedly.
Lady Seto nodded. “Run along and play now.”
“Okay.” Amber said sounding slightly glum before perking right back up. “I’ll talk to you later Rainbow Dash.”
Lady Seto smiled as Amber ran off, she was confident the girl would grow up to be much like her daughter Misaki. But for now she had other things to think about.
“I thought you would be back in Jurai.” Rainbow Dash said calmly, not really knowing anything about the political landscape she was referencing.
“Oh, I was. I’ve come back to help our little joke and watch as it unfolds. From a distance of course.” Lady Seto calmly answered. “After all, what’s the fun of causing a little chaos if you don’t get to enjoy it?”
Rainbow Dash shrugged, she agreed that setting up a prank and not witnessing it wasn’t any fun. “Well James and I are still a long way off from beginning the actual prank.” Rainbow Dash calmly explained.
“Yes, I know. That’s part of why I’m here.” She said. “Tenyo’s told me about how uncomfortable you get when trying to show more than friendly affection.”
“It just seems weird.” Rainbow Dash said. “I mean, he’s a nice guy and he’s done some awesome stuff …”
“But he’s not very attractive.” Lady Seto finished.
Rainbow Dash blushed slightly. “It’s not that either.” She carefully said.
Lady Seto had a mischievous grin as she looked down to the pony and spoke before she could clarify. “If that’s not the problem maybe you would be interested in really going for it.”
Rainbow Dash was quick to respond as she flew up. “No! I mean, I know he’s trying to get in shape, I’ve even helped him exercise. I’m sure he’ll look great when he finally does. It’s just a little weird to practice even fake kissing somepony I’m not interested in. Especially when it comes so easily to him.”
“You could try really kissing him.” Lady Seto suggested. “Then kissing his cheek should come much more easily.”
“No!” Rainbow Dash insisted.
“I believe your discomfort comes from inexperience.” Lady Seto said as she looked to Rainbow Dash. “You made it clear that you’ve never been in a relationship so now you don’t know how to act in one.” She surmised.
Rainbow Dash was a little uncomfortable as she looked to Lady Seto. “ … Yeah. I mean I see ponies in relationships all the time but it’s always so … mushy.”
Lady Seto nodded. “Is that how you see James and Lucca? James and Tali?”
“Well, not really.” Rainbow Dash admitted.
“Precisely. Relationships can be happy without being on public display, but some level of public affection isn’t uncalled for. Just a small thing here and there, a hug, a kiss, a nickname just between the two of you. Even a little teasing can be affectionate if it’s well natured.” Lady Seto explained.
“So it’s like just beings friends, just a little more personal.” Rainbow Dash said as she thought about it.
“Not an unreasonable analogy. I prefer to think of it as a little more intense. At least the good ones are.” Lady Seto explained. “Tenyo’s been helping you with the motions, but you need to be invested if you’re going to make this work.” The two of them were now walking through the courtyard towards the road that led to Truce.
“Get to know James better, find things out about him that you care about. Make some of it real to you.” Lady Seto said as they continued to walk towards the forest. “It does mean making yourself vulnerable at least to a degree, but I can think of no one you could better trust with that.”
“It sounds like you’re really trying to get us together.” Rainbow Dash commented.
“I’m only suggesting things that could make the transition to your role easier.” Lady Seto said. “It’s your choice about what you do with my advice.”
“So where are we going?” Rainbow Dash asked as they entered the forest.
“We’re going to check on James’s training.” Lady Seto said calmly. “What James is attempting would normally take years to show genuine results but thanks to Washu’s brilliance we were able to recreate a training tool that should cut that down to only a few days.”
“Really? Awesome! What is it? Some kind of machine that works all your muscles at once? A super hard obstacle course that the only way out is to finish? A suit that makes you really heavy so you have to get stronger just to move?” Rainbow Dash was struggling to come up with ideas that could accomplish what Lady Seto had suggested. The possibilities were endless from what she had seen in the last few months in New Guardia.
“It’s a mostly empty room.” Lady Seto said with a grin as she led Rainbow Dash off the road towards the small clearing where James had asked Washu to set up the door.
“Uhm … How does that help?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“James described to us a room from another universe that compresses time and increases gravity the closer to the center you get.” Lady Seto said as she found the two trees the door was set between. “Of course the only way to do that required more than a little creative engineering.” As she opened the door they could both hear two voices shouting.
Rainbow Dash hesitantly stuck her head inside the doorway and looked at the “room” before she moved to look around the side to find that there was nothing but more forest behind. She had no idea how the room was even there.
“Is everything alright Rainbow Dash?” Lady Seto calmly asked as she looked to the door. “I would suggest you come inside as the time dilation effect Washu carefully engineered can destabilize if the door remains open too long.
“Oh … Yeah.” Rainbow Dash said as she walked in and closed the door behind her. The best she could make of this was that it was like James’s door in Twilight’s castle and that this just led to another world, though she thought it would take up more space than just a door frame.
She saw what looked to be a fireball shoot across the sky towards what she now recognized as being Piccolo, the guy James had got to help get him back into fighting shape.
Piccolo held his arm out and stopped the fireball cold but now that it wasn’t moving Rainbow Dash could squint and see that there was someone inside that fireball. Her jaw dropped as she could only imagine it as being James.
Piccolo held James in place momentarily before he began to spin. James tried to resist but Piccolo was stronger, before long James flew away from Piccolo fast and slammed into the ground.
“Shit.” James groaned as Rainbow Dash hurried over to him. He’d forgotten when the last day that he hadn’t been fighting Piccolo even was. In theory he should get some rest so he could actually heal and get stronger but each day Piccolo pushed him to keep going.
Honestly it was the motivation he needed, someone who was more concerned with results than they were about his health.
“Are you alright?” Rainbow Dash asked as she offered to help James up.
James looked at Rainbow Dash confused for a moment. “What … What day is it?” He asked, still laying on the ground where he had hit.
“Wednesday.” Rainbow Dash calmly said. “When I always show up.” Now that she could get a good look at James she could see that he had lost a great deal of weight by the way his clothes hung off of him, and his beard had grown long. Yet despite all of the fighting he was doing he didn’t look beat up, just haggard.
“What are you doing here?” Piccolo asked as he landed nearby.
“We came to check on James.” Lady Seto calmly said. “I wanted to see his results personally.”
Piccolo shook his head and huffed. “Well it’s slow going, but he’s making progress. He’s still too direct when he wants to close distances and his attacks are sluggish. But I think he’s earned a break.”
“I’m glad there’s been improvement.” Lady Seto said with a smile. “I think that deserves a party.”
Piccolo eyed Lady Seto sceptically as she spoke, not understanding her reasoning.
“Why don’t you come with me Mr. Piccolo I’d like to discuss a few things with you.” Lady Seto added as she turned to the muscular green man.
Piccolo shook his head as he looked to the bright pegasus that was now standing over James. Without another word he turned to follow Lady Seto out of the chamber. This madness was something he didn’t need to deal with.
James heard the door close and finally realized that he was still laying on the ground. He took Rainbow Dash’s offered hoof but still used his own strength to sit up, even though that took considerable effort on it’s own.
“Thanks.” James muttered as he let go of her hoof and slowly adjusted himself to stand up. “Uhm, I’m going to go get cleaned up and relax for a bit over there. We can talk, but you might not want to be in the same room.”
“What about the party Lady Seto suggested?” Rainbow Dash asked. “It’s for you after all.”
James stopped and grinned for a moment. If Piccolo had gone with Lady Seto that meant he had all the time he wanted to rest. “Time is not an issue in here. If I take an hour to relax we’ll only be about ten to fifteen seconds behind them.” He explained.
“Is this that time … thing Lady Seto mentioned?” Rainbow Dash asked as she watched James walk around a corner.
“Time dilation. And yes it is. I’ve been in here fighting Piccolo for two years now.” James said as he began filling the bath. Water was one of the only consumable resources in this chamber that had a nearly inexhaustible supply and James was glad that he even had that. Pretty much all digital technology didn’t function in here so there were no replicaotrs, the only entertainment were books a few board games and a deck of cards.
“Two years?” Rainbow Dash shouted, stopping herself just short of rushing into the room James was in now.
“Yeah.” James said as he removed his clothes and looked down at his stomach disgusted. Even though it was much less than it had been it was still there and that was a frustration. He shook his head and went to collect his toiletries to bathe as the tub filled. “While my magic testing grounds can take the abuse this training would put on it there’s the matter of just how long it would take to get any results.”
“Yeah, any exercise takes time to actually show results.” Rainbow Dash said as she sat by the door.
“Exactly, well I joked about the Hyperbolic Time Chamber and what it could do when Washu smiled and said she could build one. I didn’t really think she could given the one I was talking about is magical but here we are.” James explained.
“Yeah I’m not even going to try to say that name. So we’re in this time chamber right now and you’ve been in for two years training?” Rainbow Dash asked as she considered what it could mean.
“Precisely. I expect to need a couple more years in here training before I can really move on to maintenance though.” James said as he rinsed off before climbing into the steaming hot bath. Happily moaning as the heat soaked into his tired muscles.
“You and Piccolo must be good friends to be able to go through that. I can’t imagine being able to spend two years without anypony else to talk to.” Rainbow Dash said as she looked around the small building that served as the entrance.
“I don’t think either of us would consider the other a friend, but we do respect each other and that goes a long way.” James explained as his mind started to drift.
Rainbow Dash got up and started to look around as James went quiet. In the distance she could see what looked like an eternal eclipse, but definitely dimmer as she was actually able to see it. Beyond the confines of the building it looked like there was nothing, the ground felt solid but she had no idea what it could be and there were absolutely no plants animals or other buildings. One thing she did notice outside though was that the further from the building she walked the heavier she felt.
After what must have been an hour she got back to the building. “Hey James.” Rainbow Dash called. “We don’t want to be late.”
“Ten more seconds.” James called back as Rainbow Dash heard water sloshing. She guessed he hadn’t left the bath the entire time she was out.
With a chuckle she responded. “Are you sure? You don’t want to be late for your own party.”
“After as long as I’ve been fighting, I’m ready to show up tomorrow.” James said as he got dressed again.
“And undo all that work to get you here?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“No, but I wouldn’t mind spending some more time in here to relax.” Once dressed James walked towards the door and went to open it.
The door didn’t open.
The handle turned either way but the door itself wouldn’t budge.
“Oh no …” James breathed.
“What’s wrong?” Rainbow Dash asked as she approached.
“We’re locked inside.” James quietly said.
“What?” Rainbow Dash tried the handle herself, and even threw her weight into pulling the door a few times. After over a minute of this she stopped and turned to James. “Shouldn’t this be unlock-able from the inside?”
“It is to prevent exactly this.” James commented. “Seto mush have the door sealed in some way on the outside.”
“But why would she do that?” Rainbow Dash asked, as she got genuinely worried.
“There’s a reason she’s called the Devil Princess of Jurai.” James said. “Hopefully she only intends to keep us in here for a day.”
***
Lady Seto walked calmly out of the forest with Piccolo following her. He had decided to not get involved with trying to understand anything going on here so he didn’t ask about her attendants sealing the door. Though he decided that if they were gone more than an hour he would go and open the door himself. There was no way there was enough food in there for James to survive a full month let alone him and someone else.
“Don’t worry Mr. Piccolo.” Lady Seto calmly said. “I’m just utilizing the time chamber for a different kind of training.”
***
“Why do you keep looking at the food?” Rainbow Dash asked as she looked back to James, not for the first time that day. “We need to be figuring out a way out of here!” She was getting frustrated as James had been counting and re counting the food since they woke up that morning. There was a lot there so they should be fine unless they didn't work on getting out.
James was worried. There was enough food for him to survive for a little over a week if he didn’t ration, but if he conserved his energy and immediately began rationing he could stretch it to almost a month. But there was also the problem of Rainbow Dash, she would have to eat as well and her limited diet meant he needed to stay away from most of the food.
He was certain that she could make it a month on what was there and could stretch it longer if he started rationing her right now. But that also would show her that he’s worried and she was under enough stress at the moment. He could give her normal portions to begin with while he would eat as little as possible and subsist on jerky, that way when she calms down he can bring up rationing. Though his having the jerky meant that his food supply was already critically low and he began calculating what he could salvage from food preparation to make things a little less tight including drinking pasta water and making a broth for himself from bits of jerky.
***
“You’re welcome to stay for the party if you like, Mr. Piccolo.” Lady Seto calmly said as they reached New Guardia Castle. “You’ve been quite helpful these last few days.”
“Thank you, but no. Once they’re out of the Time Chamber I’ll be going back to my universe.” Piccolo said as he walked inside only to be stopped by Washu.
“Not so fast.” She said with a grin. “I’ve got next to no data on your species and much of it comes from second hand sources. You’re not leaving until I’ve given you a full examination.”
“Excuse me?” Piccolo asked as Washu began pushing him in the opposite direction of the transport hub. This girl was astonishingly strong for her size and build.
“Obviously I’m giving you a full biomedical work up. I want to know a-a-a-ll about you.” Washu explained.
“But …” Piccolo tried to protest.
“Come come now. It’ll only be an hour.” Washu said, not bothering to listen to anything he was saying.
***
Rainbow Dash had been hearing James getting up at “night” for the last couple days and she had to know what he was doing. Once he was out of the room she flew just over the ground so she didn’t make any noise as she sneaked behind him.
James had just gotten to the kitchen area and opened the cupboard where the dried and dehydrated fruits and vegetables were. They had agreed on sectioning off who got what so it would be fair and they each had a side.
She knew James needed to eat a lot and they were both already rationing as it had been just over a week without any sign of the door opening when they would try. She just figured he was getting a snack as he reached over to his side.
That is until she saw his hand reach over to her side before moving back to his. She was furious! They had agreed and he was on her side of the storage. “Hey!” She shouted. “I saw that!”
James immediately pulled his hand from the cupboard and turned to face her. “I promise I didn’t take any of your food.” He quickly said.
“I just caught you with your hand on my side.” She accused as she walked over.
“Feel free to look, I was only getting something from my side.” He calmly said.
She squinted at him as she flew up and investigated. Much to her surprise he was right, the only food missing was from his side. Even more surprising was that she could now see where it had gone. For the last couple days he had been moving his food over to her side.
Whenever she checked before she had assumed that it would be roughly equal as they had split it and hadn’t looked at his side, but now that she did she could see he had less than half what she did and she knew that he was already eating less than she was, just calling his broth soup. “You shouldn’t be doing this.” She said as she stared into the cupboard.
He shook his head. “It’s the only decent thing I can do. You need it more than I do, especially the fruits and vegetables. I’ve got enough jerky for now.” He calmly lied, he had been dividing his jerky more and had only a couple days of it left.
Rainbow Dash could barely believe that even when they had agreed to split things evenly he was giving her everything he had behind her back. She slowly moved everything to the middle of the shelves. “There, that’s better.” She said, there was no point keeping things separate when he was just going to rearrange it all anyway.
“But what about …” He started to say before Rainbow Dash interrupted.
“It doesn’t matter.” She said. “We’re in this together, so let’s act like it.” She flew back towards the bedroom to get a little more sleep before the day actually started.
***
“Lady Seto.” Amber said as she ran up to her. “Do you know where Rainbow Dash went? I wanted to show her what I painted in school today, but she never came back.”
“That’s because she’s spending some quality time with your father right now.” Lady Seto calmly said. “But I’d love to see your painting and hear about your day while we get ready for the party.”
“There’s going to be a party?!” Amber happily asked as her eyes went wide.
“Yes, I’m getting a party together right now. It just feels like today is a good day to celebrate.” Lady Seto calmly said.
***
“Come on.” Rainbow Dash growled as she tried once more to force food into James’s mouth. “You haven’t eaten at all in two days.”
James used his hand to block his mouth as he spoke. “I can survive at least a week and a half without eating.”
“But there’s food!” She shouted. “We can still get another few days with what we have!”
“And you need it.” James quietly said.
“What, and you don’t?” She asked, frustrated at his refusal to let her help him.
“I’m not as important.” James answered.
“Stop saying that!” She was ready to start shouting again.
“I need to make sure I’m not a drain on our resources to ensure that you get out.” He said.
She growled and paced as she tried to think of some way to get him to have even a bite of food. This was the first time he’d gone more than a day without eating at least something. “Fine, if that’s how you want to do this. If you’re not eating, I’m not eating!” She sat next to him and looked out towards the vast empty space of the time chamber.
“It’s okay if I die …” James started to say before once again being interrupted.
“How is that okay?!” Rainbow Dash demanded.
“ … because I have before.” James finished.
She was shocked silent as she heard the proclamation. He must be delusional from hunger to say something like that.
“I’ve died before and my body was repaired. I have safeguards in place to ensure I come back to life should the worst happen.” He explained. “Please don’t worry about me, take care of yourself.”
She shook her head as she listened to this new madness. “You think you’re the only stubborn guy I’ve had to deal with? You may be the most successful yet, but far from the only one.” The two sat in silence again, neither backing down from their position.
“I don’t care if you’re fat.” She eventually said. “You’re my friend and it's more important to me that you don't hurt yourself.” She kissed his cheek and laid her head on his arm as they continued to sit in silence. She knew it as well as he did, there was truly no way to ignore it. If they didn’t get out or get some supplies by the end of the week it was over. They were on the last of their food and even if James sacrificed himself that wouldn’t change how much was available.
Rainbow Dash closed her eyes as she lay against James and allowed herself to drift off to sleep. James looked down at her as she began snoring and adjusted his arm so his hand rested on her foreleg and her head moved onto his chest.
He gently rubbed her foreleg as he whispered. “You'll get out of here safe. I promise.”
“It seems my plan worked quite nicely.” Lady Seto calmly said as she and Washu walked into the Time chamber where they saw Rainbow Dash sleeping on James.
“I’m still surprised you locked them in here for as long as you did.” Washu said. “Alright, up and at ‘em.” She called as she walked over to the two.
Rainbow Dash was the first to stir as she looked to their visitors. “Haha! Yes! We can leave!” She laughed, so overcome with joy that she completely forgot for the moment who it was who kept them locked up in the first place.
“Why of course you can.” Lady Seto calmly said. “How else would you attend our party?”
Rainbow Dash turned to the woman and glared daggers at her. “You locked us in here!” She accused.
Lady Seto smiled down at the furious pony. “Nothing like shared adversity to strengthen bonds. You should realize this with the adventures you share with your friends.”
Rainbow Dash couldn’t even begin to comprehend the woman, she knew what James had told her about the Devil Princess but even this seemed extreme. “You planned for us to starve?” She asked as her frustration mounted. “He hasn’t eaten in days!” She pointed her hoof at James who sat still and silent, unheeding or unaware of their freedom.
It was now that she realized that James hadn’t moved since she woke up and even now she knew he couldn’t be sleeping as he wasn’t snoring at all. Panic gripped her as she rushed over and began shaking him. “Come on James, open your eyes.” She couldn’t even tell if he was breathing at the moment.
Slowly James began to stir, first his shoulders began to move before his fingers flexed. Slowly, but stiffly he began to move his body and head.
Rainbow Dash sighed as he showed signs of life and tried to help him stand, but neither of them were particularly strong as they had been without food for the last couple days. She laughed as her head dropped onto his arm. She had been so overjoyed to find that they were free and that brought with it surprising energy, but with that energy fading quickly she found herself barely able to stand and imagined James would be as poorly off.
James gently held her head where she rested it and began laughing along with her. “I told you. She’s the Devil Princess of Jurai, and I swear it's not about her fighting as she would have you believe.” The two laughed and sobbed in relief a while longer. He forced himself to eventually calm down and turn to face the monarch who was as often his tormentor as his friend. Usually at the same time.
“You knew just what I was going to do, didn’t you?” He calmly asked.
“Of course. You’re much better than you give yourself credit for, even if you choose to ignore other’s concern for you.” Lady Seto calmly replied.
Rainbow Dash thought about the stories James told her while they were trapped here as to why he regularly called her the Devil Princess. “Misao.” She quietly said.
“I take it James told you about my Son in Law.” Lady Seto said with a grin.
“Come on James.” Rainbow Dash said with a smile “Let’s get out and finally get something to eat.”
Lady Seto had set up for the party in the forest between Truce and the castle. Rainbow Dash wasn’t feeling particularly social at the moment, but James was taking advantage of the guest list as he talked with Tenchi and they both laughed about something she didn’t catch.
Lucca and Tali had both taken the opportunity to apologize to Rainbow Dash as they had no idea that Lady Seto would do that and had asked Washu to create an emergency exit to prevent something like that from ever happening again. And before long the whole group was enjoying the party. Tali was turning down drinks from Ryoko, Lucca sat with Sara talking about something, and James as usual was telling stories.
It was the small blond girl running over to Rainbow Dash that really caught her attention, not just because she was calling her. “Rainbow Dash, look at this!” Amber happily said as she approached with a small canvas. “Our assignment was to paint something that made us happy.”
Rainbow Dash stared in astonishment at the painting as it was really good. She couldn’t help but imagine the caramel colored pegasus Amber turned into with a painting easel cutie mark as she examined her work. The picture was of Amber and her family alongside the ponies she had gotten to know so well by Sugar Cube Corner. Rainbow Dash could even tell what side of the street they were on by the buildings in the background. Her attention to detail was astonishing.
“This is amazing.” Rainbow Dash genuinely said as she looked to the smiling girl, no small measure of pride in her voice.
“Thanks.” Amber said smiling even wider. “It was supposed to have Pinkie’s confetti cannon firing but I couldn’t get it to look right.” She admitted. “Mom said I could give it to Twilight. Do you think she’ll like it?”
“Are you kidding?” Rainbow Dash asked, easily matching Amber’s enthusiasm. “She’s going to love it!”
Amber giggled before putting the canvas against the table and sitting down. “And Sara got a B on her bridge project.” She said happily.
To Rainbow Dash, having been a regular C and D student herself, this sounded like great news. “Awesome.” She happily said as she looked to Sara.
Sara grinned slightly before looking away. “It really wasn’t that good.” She said.
“Come on, a B is great!” Rainbow Dash said, figuring that Sara was just taking Twilight’s stance on grades.
“It was over engineered.” She quietly said.
Lucca chuckled as she rubbed her daughter’s back. “Come on, you don’t know over engineered until you’ve seen your father design something. You did a great job.”
“Okay.” Sara quietly said.
Later that night when Tenyo decided to see how they were coming along for acting the part Rainbow Dash didn’t have any problems. “No comment on her method but Seto’s plan seems to have worked out nicely.”
Rainbow Dash laughed at the comment. “After the month we’ve just had, that was nothing.”
“Really?” Tenyo calmly asked. “Did anything interesting happen?” She added with a grin.
Rainbow Dash blushed. “No, just trying to survive was a lot harder than pretending we’re a couple.” She wasn’t ready to admit that in their time locked together she had found something that made this real for her, James’s stubborn determination to ensure she had what she needed made him important to her. She had found comfort in his caring, self sacrifice and devotion to helping her.
She was glad she had decided to give him another chance.
“Alright, then next let’s work on flirting.” Tenyo suggested.
Rainbow Dash stared wide eyed at her, she thought that once the stage kissing was done they were done training.
“Let’s skip that.” James said with a grin. “It's cute how she blushes when I compliment her, and it’s still quite believable.”
That statement alone made Rainbow Dash blush a bit and she cleared her throat as she looked away from him. James chuckled slightly as he saw her blush.
“What about her?” Tenyo asked, looking right to her. “Even if you don’t flirt with him if you don’t occasionally compliment him on something it’s going to appear fake or one sided.”
“He’s a great guy, he’s nice, he’s strong, he’s an awesome fighter. See, no problem giving compliments.” Rainbow Dash said with a smile, assured that this would be enough.
“What about how he looks? Do you think he’s attractive? What about when he looks like a pony?” Tenyo asked in rapid succession.
Rainbow Dash blushed again as Tenyo cornered her with the question.
“Exactly.” Tenyo said with a grin.
“I don’t think it matters how he looks. He’s a nice guy and he puts tons of effort into whatever he does.” Rainbow Dash quietly said.
Tenyo smiled at the pony who was looking pretty much anywhere else. “That’s a nice statement … James, you should go take Amber to visit Twilight. I’m going to talk to Rainbow Dash for a minute.” Before James got too far away Tenyo called out. “Be sure to shave first! You’re much more handsome with stubble.”
Rainbow Dash turned back to Tenyo who was smiling right at the pegasus. “See, from that you might think I’m attracted to James … While I think he looks much better now than he used to he’s still too big for me.” Tenyo calmly said, pausing to let her words sink in. “Admitting you think someone looks good or is attractive isn’t the same as saying they’re attractive to you. Though you should be glad Seto or Airie didn’t see your little blush earlier. Then the joke would probably become a bit too real for you.” Tenyo chuckled as she thought about what she was suggesting.
“Well … he does look good, I haven’t seen him as a pony since losing the weight though.” Rainbow Dash blushing as she admitted it.
Tenyo nodded. “See, it’s not hard. And if you want to get a little revenge if he makes you blush, turn it around on him. You probably didn’t see it but he’ll still get bashful when any woman gives him a compliment on his looks. If it weren’t so silly with a big man like him it’d be kind of cute.”
“So that’s it?” Rainbow Dash asked eventually.
“That’s it, easy as can be.” Tenyo confirmed.
“I guess I’ll be getting back to Ponyville then.” Rainbow Dash hesitantly said.
“We’ll see you next week. Don’t worry, I don’t think you really need any more coaching. Let’s just take a couple weeks to decompress so we can start the joke relaxed.” Tenyo said.
“Sounds good.” Rainbow Dash said. “I guess that means James will have that letter for Rarity to find soon.”
“Oh that’s been ready for weeks. You talk to your team?” Tenyo asked.
“Definitely. They’re not going to complain about somepony coming to make lunch for us.” As Rainbow Dash and Tenyo walked towards the door they heard Amber laughing as she came running their way.
“I thought you and your dad would take longer visiting Twilight.” Tenyo said as Amber got close.
“Mom took me.” Amber said with a smile. “And you were right Rainbow Dash! Twilight loved my picture and she’s hanging it up in the library!”
“Awesome.” Rainbow Dash happily said as she watched Amber’s enthusiastic dancing. This child was as happy as any she’s ever known.
“I’m guessing that means James is still dealing with that creature on his face.” Tenyo calmly said as Lucca caught up, still smiling.
“Must be. She’ll just have to see James’s progress later.” Lucca said with a grin. “What about you Rainbow Dash?” She added, turning her attention to the pony who had just spent a great deal of time with her husband. “James may not get back to the beefcake I married, but I have to admit I’m really liking this. Kind of a best of both worlds thing.”
“Maybe you should tell him that.” Rainbow Dash suggested with a chuckle as she thought about James blushing.
“Trust me.” Lucca said with a grin. “He’s going to know.”