//------------------------------// // 05. Bright Eyes // Story: Azure Edge // by Leaf Blade //------------------------------// It was already the dead of night when Rarity and Pinkie Pie’s train rolled into the Ponyville station—the train having been delayed several hours thanks to sheep deciding to take a snooze on the track. Rarity hadn’t realized how tired she was until she had to force her groaning body to leave the warm train and walk onto the freezing platform, though she felt worse for Pinkie Pie, who Rarity gently had to coax awake once the train stopped and the poor dear just did not want to budge from the cozy cabin. Thankfully, there weren’t a great many ponies in the station when they arrived, so Rarity was hopeful that she and Pinkie Pie could make a beeline for Sugarcube Corner and check in with her clients, then head straight for an inn to rest for the night. And perhaps they would have, had they not heard Pinkie’s name being called. Rarity stopped and turned her head to find the caller, though in the nearly empty train station it wasn’t hard to identify the tall, fat pegasus mare. Rarity mused that no matter how crowded the station might have been, she would have noticed this woman right away from the plum-colored poncho she wore that clashed with her pale gray fur, and her fetching mane of wavy, unkempt blonde hair was rather striking too. “Pinkie Pie, you old so-and-so!” she said, and ran over to Pinkie Pie to wrap her up in a tight hug that did not go unwelcomed by Pinkie. “Bubbles!” Pinkie shook herself awake and beamed at the pegasus, and if her enthusiasm was anything less than genuine, she even had Rarity fooled. “What are you doing here?” “Uh, I’m here to see you guys!” Bubbles giggled. “Obviously!” Bubbles turned her attention to Rarity as the three walked out of the station and into the sleepy town of Ponyville proper, and her demeanor seemed to change from the bubbly air of enthusiasm she held for Pinkie to a feeling of… apprehension? “So you’re the Slayer, huh?” Bubbles said, looking up and down curiously at Rarity. “I am,” Rarity said, “and you’re a friend of Pinkie Pie, I take it?” “Oh yeah,” Pinkie answered, “Bubbles and I have been pen pals for almost a year now!” Pinkie rambled about how she and Bubbles had begun their correspondence, though Rarity was only half-listening as her thoughts were focused entirely on finding Sugarcube Corner to meet with the Cakes, who had hired her to deal with the timberwolves. As Pinkie relayed her story, Bubbles nodded emphatically along, grinning ear to ear. It was endearing, mostly, but Rarity couldn’t shake the feeling that something about this woman was odd. Though she supposed it was simply because she reminded her so immediately of Pinkie Pie, who was nothing if not odd herself. Or perhaps it was the mare’s eyes, one of which was always laser focused on whatever was currently the object of Bubbles’ ever shifting attention, but the other seemed to have a life of its own, drooping and bopping in seemingly random directions. Though this didn’t make Bubbles’ eyes any less attractive, as they seemed to glitter with an ethereal glow that Rarity found quite soothing. “Wow, you’re really armed to the teeth, huh?” Bubbles jumped in front of Rarity, forcing her to abruptly stop in her tracks, and sized up Rarity’s assortment of weapons she carried. “I am,” Rarity forced a strained smile onto her face; she didn’t want to be rude to Bubbles, but the late hour was already trying her patience and Rarity wanted nothing more than to check in with her clients and then get a good night’s rest before tackling the timberwolf problem. “Now, if you’ll please excuse us,” Rarity gently, but sternly, pushed Bubbles to the side and continued walking, “Pinkie Pie and I really need to get a move on. It’s gotten quite late and we have a big day tomorrow.” “Yeah, I bet!” Bubbles chirped as she bounced alongside Rarity, apparently unable to take the hint. “Timberwolves! That must be a real pain, huh? Coming all this way just to deal with a little pest problem?” “It’s no trouble,” Rarity glanced over at Pinkie Pie and silently pleaded for some kind of help or suggestion to get Bubbles to leave her alone to focus, but Pinkie could only give a noncommittal shrug in return, “I’m happy to do it.” “You don’t think it’ll take too long, do you?” Bubbles asked. “Like, are you just gonna go in there, bonk ‘em all on the head and that’ll be that, right?” “I don’t know,” Rarity grinded her teeth together, though her tension was alleviated somewhat as she felt Pinkie’s fingers coiled around her hand. “I suppose we’ll see once I scope out the forest, tomorrow.” “Ooooooh, that sounds exciting!” Bubbles’s cooing was like an axe being grinded against Rarity’s last nerve, and she inhaled sharply to resist the urge to say some choice words to Bubbles regarding her currently bothersome nature, though feeling Pinkie’s fingers massaging her palm didn’t hurt either. “Can I come with?” “Yes, sure, you can come with us,” Rarity snapped, poking two fingers against her temples before grabbing Bubbles’s arms and saying sternly, “as long as you leave me be, right now.” A silent moment passed by and Rarity realized she was still holding onto Bubbles’s arms. She regretted every word that had just left her mouth immediately, but before she could apologize or redact her invitation, Bubbles flashed a gleaming smirk. “Okay! See ya tomorrow!” Bubbles ran off into town before Rarity could even properly take stock of what had just happened, she even needed to look around her for a moment to make sure that Bubbles had really just left and she wasn’t imagining it or something. Rarity blinked. She looked to Pinkie for confirmation, but the poor sleepy sheepy just had a droll, glazed-over look on her face. “Wh-what just happened?” Rarity asked, more thinking aloud than expecting an answer. “I think you just invited Bubbles to do Hunting stuff with you tomorrow,” Pinkie said, stifling a yawn. “Ah.” Rarity groaned slid a hand across her face. “Nothing to be done for it now, I suppose,” Rarity shrugged and threw her arms listlessly at her side. “I don’t suppose you would mind too terribly coming along as well, keep your friend out of trouble?” “Uh, heck yeah!?” Any drowsiness Pinkie had been struggling with before was instantly swept away by her excitement at Rarity’s offer and she jumped at Rarity with wide open arms, wrapping her up in a little hug which Rarity happily returned. Rarity stood there for a moment with Pinkie in her arms, resting her head atop Pinkie’s head, and sighed softly. A moment of peace. “Come on,” Rarity yawned and pat Pinkie on the shoulder, and Pinkie bounced alongside her as she resumed the trek to Sugarcube Corner, “let’s go check in with your friends so we can some shut-eye.”