My stay in the hospital was thankfully brief. All I needed was my forearm set and wrapped in a cast, and I was done in half an hour. Unfortunately, I had some paperwork to fill out about the encounter with the Timberwolves, which took another half hour. At least they let me finish that before I left.
On the way out, I was greeted with an unexpected surprise. In the lobby was four ponies; Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Jynx Charm, the latter's leg in a cast. That, though, wasn't the surprise. The surprise was Rainbow Dash flying up to me and throwing her hooves around me.
“Thank you, Shiro,” she said in a far more serious, somber tone than I had ever heard.
I was caught quite off guard by her sudden display of affection.
“Alright, Dee, get off him so I can thank him,” Jynx said.
“Oh, right,” Rainbow said, sheepishly, as she released me and backed up.
Jynx hobbled over with a smirk on her face. “You're just full of surprises, aren't you? Not only are you a Terran and Tigiran, but you know my little sister and her friends. What next, you dating Luna?”
“Sister?” Suddenly, Rainbow's actions made sense. “Ah didn't even know she had a sister.”
“Yeah, she doesn't like to talk about me, because she hates the fact that I’m cooler than her.”
“Oh, yeah, well I'm awesomer,” Rainbow countered.
“Wow, you really are sisters,” I said, holding back a laugh.
I looked over at the other two ponies silently watching the exchange. “So, you guys here for me or her?”
“Both,” Twilight said, trotting up. “First, I would like to thank you for saving our friend. Jynx has helped us on many occasions. Second, are you okay?”
I smiled. “It hurts a little, but nothin’ severe. Ah'm just glad it really does only take a few days for broken bones to heal. Ah was afraid that was just the show. Gotta love medical magic.”
“So you're a brony, too,” Jynx asked, her voice betraying her mischievous intent. “Who are you planning to stalk?”
I shrugged, “Well, it would’a been Rainbow but Ah can't fly, so Ah guess her sister is the next best.”
“A logical conclusion,” Jynx returned. “Just a heads up, the bushes on the north side of my house have poison ivy in them, and I sleep in the nude.”
Fluttershy and Twilight had things to do, so Rainbow, Jynx, and I went to Sugarcube Corner. Jynx insisted she repay me, so she bought me a fresh brownie with ice cream on top. Pinkie, of course, also thanked me for saving their friend with a free root beer float.
“So, Jynx,” I began. “You mentioned something about the Crystal Empire, and Tigirans?”
“Oh yeah,” She said, quickly swallowing her bite of carrot cake. “About a year ago, my team was investigating some Crystal Empire ruins when we discovered a couple tomes protected by a powerful preservation spell. One told about the downfall of the empire.
“Apparently, King Sombra, who was a priest of Kronos, actually managed to free a Tigiran from Tartarus. That Tigiran shared all kinds of secrets with Sombra that allowed the Crystal Empire to wage war on the three tribes in exchange for help in freeing his master.
“It was that tiger that taught Sombra how to rip a ponies soul from their bodies.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, he could rip souls out of people?” I asked in morbid fascination.
“Only ponies, not that he didn't try with other races,” Jynx explained. “He didn't just rip their souls out, though. He tore away the soul's ability to feel love, joy, and everything positive. The wraiths would then fly around trying to fill the void left over by sucking the positive emotions out of ponies until only negative emotions were left.
“Ponies affected by them would become violent and cruel. The most infamous case was a town so secluded no pony even knew what was happening until a group of buffalo traders came. They found ponies driven so far into madness, they were actually eating each other. For that reason, the buffalo called them wendigo; cannibal spirits.”
“Fuck.”
“No kidding,” Rainbow chimed in.
“Yeah, those same monsters, though, are what destroyed the Crystal Empire.”
“So, you said your team found this? Are you an archaeologist?”
“My big sis, here, is the youngest Professor of Ancient Magics at Canterlot U ever,” Rainbow bragged proudly, a sentiment reflected in Jynx's smirk.
I gave Jynx an impressed nod. “Oh yeah? Ah'm studyin’ magic, myself; Evocation, and demonology mostly with a little enchantin’, and alchemy on the side. It's all independent studies, but Ah’m getting pretty good at them. Ah have a full set of plates and bowls that keep mah food at the proper temperatures, Ah make a pretty good Pitila potion, have a sweet contract with a spirit smith, and pretty much mastered magnification and acceleration.”
“Not bad, but you might want to limit yourself to one or two subjects,” Jynx advised. “Demonology, and evocation are good for your Ranger work. Dabble in enchantment, if you want, seeing as it's easy for the basics, but don't focus much on it. Alchemy can get complicated very quickly, though, but there are a few potions you might find useful that are easy enough.”
“Alright,” I replied. “That sounds like a good idea. Honestly, Ah was thinkin’ about shelvin’ mah alchemy and enchantin’ studies, anyway.”
“Yeah, you should listen to her. She's an egghead but she's still awesome, so she knows how to do things without sacrificing coolness.” Rainbow Dash stated, matter-of-factly.
“Good to know,” I said.
“Which is your favorite?” Jynx asked.
“As useful as evocation can be, Ah think Ah like the convenience of demonology,” I answered. “Bein’ able to summon whatever tool Ah need whenever Ah need it is great, and Ah can actually channel evocation spells through spirit tools. Besides, Bakura's pretty cool.”
Jynx nodded, understandingly, “I have a couple books you might be interested in on non-contract demons. Many of them are good in a fight. I'll ship them once I get home, so long as you promise not to try it without me. They can have unusual prices.”
“Of course, thanks,” I said. “Ah appreciate it.”
“Well, I gotta get going. I promised Twilight I'd help her with an experiment she wanted to run,” Jynx said and levitated a black marker to me. “Have fun.”
I looked down at the marker in confusion. I turned to Rainbow Dash to see if she knew what it was for when my question was answered by her light snoring.
“Just remember, there are foals still out so keep it clean,” Jynx said before heading out the door.
Rainbow grumbled as we walked down the road, still a bit miffed. I, on the other hand, was still snickering.
“You know I'm getting you back for that, right?”
“Ah look forward to it,” I replied.
“Oh, I doubt you'll be saying that when I exact my revenge,” Rainbow said as she turned to glare at me.
The effect was ruined by the flowers drawn all over her face.
“Do you know what this can do to my reputation?” she continued.
“If you hate it so much, why not just wash it off?” I asked, not-so-innocently.
Rainbow stared at me, dumbly. “What?”
“It is a washable marker, after all.”
Her dumbfounded expression had me falling over with laughter. It was too perfect.
“You son of a...” Her expression morphed into one of rage. “Why didn't you tell me?!”
“Maybe you should have tried washing your face before we left,” I answered.
She crouched low, hind legs tensing as she prepared to pounce at me, only to be be interrupted by a wash rag slapping onto her face.
“Huh...” I uttered, looking down in thought at the paw that threw the wet cloth.
Rainbow glared at me with an expression of mixed rage and curiosity as she wiped the ink from her face fur. “What, you finally figure it out?”
“Ah'm not sure,” I said. “Ah'm getting what it feels like, but Ah’m still not a hundred percent sure how to activate it. Ah did it when Ah signaled for help, but the feeling is... hard to grasp.”
“Just do it,” Rainbow said. “I'm no egghead, but even I can see that every time your magic happens, it happens when you aren't thinking about it. So, don't think, just do it.”
I chuckled, but figured I’d try it again... No. Do, or do not, there is no try.
Every other time I tried to call on my magic, I would clear my mind, thinking that would help 'let it happen'. This time, though, I didn't. I let my thoughts be as they were and thought, I want something sweet, and...
“Yes!” I cheered, spinning around with a Zagnut held over my head in triumph. “Thank you Yoda!”
“Cool...” Rainbow said, but her smile quickly vanished. “Wait, whaddya mean 'Yoda'?! Who the heck is 'Yoda? I gave you the advice!”
I quickly opened the wrapper and broke the candy bar in half, tossing one of the pieces to Rainbow. I had to walk upright to eat, as only one of my forelegs worked, but Rainbow just took to the sky, hovering at about eye level so I wasn't looking down at her.
“This isn't bad,” Rainbow said. “It's got nothing on Bon Bon's stuff, but at least you don't have to count the calories.”
We reached my home soon enough after that.
“Not a bad place, considering how long you’ve been here,” Rainbow said as she stepped inside.
I snorted at that. “It’s better than mah place back on Earth, that’s for sure.”
I Went straight for the kitchen and grabbed a pair of ciders from the fridge, tossing one to Rainbow.
“So...” Rainbow said, taking a chug of her cider, “You gonna show me around?”
I chuckled. “Not much. You see mah living room, slash dining room, and the kitchen.”
I went toward the back of my apartment. “This is mah bedroom, and in the corner is mah bathroom.”
Rainbow took a look around and hopped up on the bed.
“Not bad,” she said. “Is this cloud stuffed?”
“Yeah,” I said, “The mattress store owner insisted I upgrade, for no cost. Turns out, it was his kid Ah saved from that manticore.”
Rainbow chuckled. “Well, it comes with the territory. Anyway, you wanna break it in?” she asked with all the casualness of asking if I wanted to order a pizza.
I just blinked in confusion. “Uh... ‘Break it in’?”
Rainbow Dash’s expression twisted into one akin to a white guy realizing he accidentally dropped the ‘N’ bomb.
“Oh, crap, sorry. I forgot you’re Terran,” she said, apologetically. “Just forget I said anything, okay.”
I placed my intact paw to my chest in mock disgust. “Rainbow Dash, did you just proposition me for sex?”
She groaned, “I said I was sorry! I forgot about that whole thing with Terrans and sex.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re so adorable when you’re embarrassed.”
“Hey!” She scowled at me, realizing I was teasing her. “Don’t call me adorable, cat-face.”
I gave her a flirty smirk. “How about ‘sexy’, then?”
“Huh-” She didn’t even have a chance to complete a thought before I pounced.
The bed was, indeed, quite broken in by morning.