//------------------------------//
// Just Take The Bribe 
// Story: The Olden World 
// by Czar_Yoshi 
//------------------------------//

Felicity's nose scrunched in her sleep.

She stirred and shifted herself, hugging her pillows tighter. She tried to roll over, but was too heavily-tucked to budge. But something was wrong with her bed, and the disturbance grew, until she blearily cracked an eye...

"Hey, girl," Valey whispered, laying inches from her in her bed, head propped seductively on a hoof.

"Eeep!" Felicity squeaked, though Valey silenced it with a wingtip. "O-Oh my, did I sneak, I'm so sorry, I-"

"Shh," Valey whispered. "It's like one in the morning. And I figured if I was going to wake you, I'd do it in a way you'd appreciate."

She fluttered her eyelashes and shifted herself against Felicity's blanket stack. "So?"

Felicity stared, panting slightly from shock. "M-My heart is going a mile a minute, darling, please don't... One in the morning?"

Valey bit her lip. "Yeah. On a scale of ten to ten, how bad of a time is this for a real important talk, and can I make it up to you by letting you cuddle me? You looked lonely."

"Well, it's not like I'm getting back to sleep immediately now," Felicity whispered back, her face visibly red even in the darkness. "But Maple should be sleeping, and I really don't feel up to moving around."

Valey smirked. "What if I carry you, and told you I found a heat control on those magical fireplaces in the lobby? Come on..." She pressed closer. "I really mean it."

"...Very well. I shan't deny you," Felicity breathed. "Or whatever track you've gotten your mind on. But I'm warning you, I'm half asleep."

Valey winked. "I got this." With only two deft movements, she rose and pried the top off Felicity's blanket stack, exposing the mare to mere room temperature, and carefully hoisted Felicity onto her back.

"Watch the belly, darling!" Felicity hissed as Valey tried to use her rump to prop up her abdomen.

"Oh. Right. Sorry." Valey shifted her to the side, bracing her with a wing instead, and after a short walk they were met by the glow of the lobby's fires. Valey made a beeline for the nearer of the two, a few pillows and blankets dragged lopsidedly by her spare wing, and soon she had set Felicity down again on the closest couch to the fire. "There. Cozy?"

Felicity slumped into the couch and brushed herself off. "Well, I was cozier. Darling, what is the meaning of this?"

"I've got a friend who needs your help," Valey began.

Felicity raised an eyebrow, Valey standing between her and the illusory flames. "And doing so involves waking me from a very deluxe slumber? I don't see anyone else here..."

"No," Valey said, sitting down beside her. "Doing so involves us trusting each other, and that involves me apologizing because the last time we had a talk about what your future was with the crew, I didn't know what you'd been doing for the last few weeks and you were actually humble and didn't advocate for yourself. And I learned that from some others, and have been watching a while to see for myself and waiting for a good place to say it, so here it is: I'm sorry. You saved my friends, and I put you on thin ice anyway. I owe you a whole, whole lot, so at the very least, we're even now. Thank you."

Felicity blearily blinked, though much more awake than she had been before. "Darling, I might be a bit foggy and in need of a repetition, just to ensure I'm not hearing things..."

Valey leaned in and hugged her around the shoulders. "How's this, then?"

"I-I..." Felicity reddened.

"Come on," Valey insisted, still hugging. "It's the middle of the night by a cozy fire, I know you're lonely, Amber told me all about how much you like physical attention, and you even told me you liked me way back when. I needed a good short-notice apology gift, so here's what you've always wanted. Friends?"

Felicity's ears fell in shock. "I'm... I'm dreaming, aren't I...? Oh well!"

She grabbed Valey with a high-pitched happy squeal, pressing Valey's face into her chest fluff and giggling.

"Wow. Heh." Valey dragged the blankets she had brought up and around them with her free wing. "I figured it would be harder to get you past your inhibitions or self-consciousness. So, apology accepted?"

Felicity tried to silence her with more fluff, shifting the blankets around herself as well. "Quiet, darling. Don't take this from me. And in my defense I'm half asleep."

"Yeah, yeah." Valey leaned against her. "I'm not going anywhere. You've got all night. But I do want this to mean things are even between us. So could we talk? You've been going on and on about how cushy this place is, but saying nothing about personal stuff. I know you've got some ghosts that have followed you, and if I'm gonna be trusting you to help my friends, you gotta trust me to help you in return."

"How do you mean?" Felicity whispered.

"I don't wanna rub anything in your face if it isn't currently on your mind," Valey insisted. "But are you really doing perfect?"

Felicity sighed. "Why, darling? I'm very sorry, but my mind is currently in other places, including bed. If you're telling me we're even and want to sleep at my side by the fire, I'll take it and wait to question things until the morning."

"Yeah, but..." Valey protested.

A spot where Felicity's hoof was touching Valey faintly tingled, and Felicity frowned. "Ah. I see. You're the one who's worked up, and came to me for..." She glanced down at them. "I'm glad to know I'm your first pick for when you're feeling intensely about something on your mind. What's wrong, darling?"

"No, I... But..." Valey protested. "Bananas. Right. The whole reason I wanted to ask you is because you can do that." She sighed. "Yeah, I've had a really intense last few hours."

"Well." Felicity genuinely smiled. "I can tell you're serious about trusting me, then. Does that mean I've... really done enough?"

"Girl?" Valey stared at the fire. "You were a doctor on call when all my friends were dying of injuries from Crystal, even though you're not really in shape to be working yourself. Maybe kept all of them alive, definitely kept them healthier, absolutely didn't have to, probably put them in a better place to bring me back too... Yes. You've done just as much for them as me or Shinespark or Starlight or the other members of our team, and you did it when no you owed no one anything."

"Even Howe and Neon Nova helped," Felicity gently pointed out.

"And if they had apologized and felt sincerely about it instead of running off, I might have listened if they asked for a second chance too," Valey insisted. "Although guarding the pantry and rationing food when you're perfectly fit and able is way less impressive than tending injuries and even going scouting when you can barely fly."

Felicity closed her eyes and sighed. "I won't lie, that may have been the last time I'll fly until my passenger finishes their little stay."

Valey's eyes shifted toward Felicity's stomach. "How's that going? I remember it was a bit of a sore spot."

Felicity lifted an edge of the blanket, showing a noticeable rounding of her fur. "A month past the point where I could still pretend to have my old figure. It's... inconvenient. For many reasons."

"Yeah, I'll bet." Valey leaned against her. "But if we can make it easier, we'll take care of you back. I told you over and over, you and me are good now."

Felicity sniffled slightly. "You do seem fond of repeating it."

"I want it to sink in." Valey shrugged.

"Then you'll tell me what was on your mind enough to drive you to start this talk?" Felicity asked hopefully.

"Starlight," Valey replied. "What did you think."

Felicity sighed. "I suppose that's logical. What do I have to do with it?"

"She's feeling messed up," Valey continued. "Freaked out earlier and doesn't even get why. Hard enough that she apparently fainted on a road and couldn't move. I just spent the last few hours talking with her, and she's scared of herself and a whole bunch of other bad stuff. Wouldn't be surprised if she's missing her parents, too."

"Right..." Felicity nodded. "And what are you hoping I'd do?"

Valey shrugged again. "I dunno. You're good at this, right? Emotional problems? You've got your cutie mark, your monk arts..."

Felicity bit her lip. "Usually what I'm good at is putting on a charade or getting what I want by making creatures feel worse about themselves, darling. Often with consequences." She glanced again at her belly. "But I can at least try. If she's feeling something she doesn't recognize and I do, I could tell, if that would help?"

"Maybe?" Valey tilted her head in thought. "I dunno what I'm looking for. Just an expert, I guess." She blinked. "Oh, and Starlight also says Gazelle did some weird emotion magic on her."

Felicity's breathing quieted. "Well, that's a lot more serious, then. And perhaps up my alley."

"You think you need to check her for anything tonight?" Valey raised a worried eyebrow.

"Oh, no, I doubt it." Felicity snuggled back into Valey's shoulder. "Not and waste an opportunity like this. But really, the whole point of this type of trickery is to get others to do what you want, so she'll be perfectly fine throughout the night."

"Heh..." Valey chuckled, a wing around Felicity's back. "I knew this would be the right apology gift."

"I'm saddened to hear you say it's transient, but I don't know what else to expect," Felicity replied. "But I also know better than to look a gift horse in the mouth. As long as you're offering... I'm going to make the most of the time we have!"

She almost pushed Valey over, snuggling harder. "Oh, really?" Valey asked, letting it happen and raising an interested eyebrow.

Felicity crawled halfway on top of her, using Valey as a pillow. "Not like I'm going to get many other opportunities, with my figure in the shape that it is. Until you say otherwise, yes, I am."

"Huh. I could use this..." Valey grinned. "Next time I need to annoy Sparky, kill this entire house with jealousy, and butter you up for a personal question, all I need is to offer to hug you?"

Felicity pursed her lips in warning. "If you want to have a real talk about personal things, I'm afraid you're going to have to add not accosting me in the middle of the night to that list. My head is still cloudy, I'm... I'm afraid..." She yawned, showing her teeth.

"Alright. I get it." Valey lay back contentedly beneath the weight of Felicity and the blankets. "You're real easy to please, you know that?"

"It's not like I don't go out of my way to make the method obvious..."

"Heh," Valey chuckled. "Well, I'm glad we're friends now. Let's worry about Starlight in the morning, and say I owe you another talk and another cuddle later. At a better time. Deal?"

Felicity rolled her eyes. "Owe me one? Darling, I'm still going to feel indebted to you for quite a while. I'm just not above taking gifts when I'm offered them."

"No, not for anything in the past," Valey insisted. "Because if we're gonna be friends, then I need to get to know you just like everyone else. And it sounds like this is the best way to get you to open up."

"I told you, darling, I..." Felicity yawned harder. "The more important thing is timing; I've never hidden anything from... from you..."

"I feel like you're sabotaging yourself, here." Valey grinned and poked her. "Come on, I'm offering you stuff you want!"

"Oh, shut up and be a better pillow..."





Hours later, Starlight's eyes flew open. She was in a bed, and Maple was nearby. She knew that breathing anywhere. She had talked to Valey, remembered dregs of her earlier ordeal. That was over, right? So why did she have a creeping sensation that something was urgently wrong?