//------------------------------// // Ch30: RE;dedication // Story: Equestria: The Afterlife // by Timzocker201 //------------------------------// POV: Markus I never would have thought that my first ever relationship would almost break because I am way too shy about things like these. Luckily, Spike had seen our predicament and helped us resolve my little problem there. Does that mean I am finally free of my stupid angst? Hahahahaha, no. I still am unable to initiate a kiss and thus, logically, have yet to kiss Rainbow Dash. To prevent that she feels left-out, I have made an agreement with Twilight to only kiss when no one else is there, at least until I have resolved the Rainbow-problem. True to our agreement, she holds herself back whenever we are not in private, releasing the pent-up urges whenever we are at home. Poor little Spike currently has a really hard time to find a good spot for reading his comics without me and Twilight getting intimate right next to him… But I suppose it’s the price that has to be paid if I want to keep things ‘smooth’. I just hope that I can bring myself around quickly, because Twilight is already standing behind me again and demanding more… Going back to the camp after the training had ended really felt strange, but it was for a purpose. Today was the day that my first and probably also my last student would finally graduate. It was a difficult path we had taken, sure, but it had paid off. Seeing Shining Armor go from an absolute amateur, first to ‘passable’ and now to a level that even I have to recognize as ‘expertly’ truly made me proud. And who knows… it is said that a student will surpass his master eventually, so one day, he might just be able to outsmart me. Even if not, his current level of skill definitely makes up for the time I have spent to make this possible. Twilight came with me, as I went off to give Shining Armor his last trial in the Everfree Forest. The whole way there, she seemed overly happy about it all, jumping along like Pinkie Pie rather than walking normally. I suppose it’s only natural, seeing how close she and her brother are. When we reached the clearing, Twilight immediately sped off towards her brother. “Shining!” she screamed, before tackling him into a strong, sisterly hug. “Whoa, hey Twily.” He greeted back, returning the gesture. “Hey, Markus, glad you’ve made it!” He then said, smiling, although I could hear his heart pumping all the way over to where I stood. “Good day, Shining Armor. I hope you are well-rested and well prepared. Today will be the last trial before I will gladly acknowledge you as a proper general.” I said, stepping further into the clearing. “Y-Yeah, as ready as can be!” Shining Armor lied, trying to mask his uncertainty. “B-but before I forget it again: congratulations you two! Honestly, Cadance was absolutely surprised when she got the news, but I actually saw it coming.” “What news?” I asked in confusion. “You two becoming special someponies of course! Cadence told me right after she came back from the tea party, where she had been told by Twilight.” I looked over to Twilight, where she was sheepishly smiling back at me. “Well, good thing we talked about that one… Are there any others that know yet?” I asked with slight disappointment. I wasn’t really mad at her or anything, I just wished that I had learned this from her herself and not from Shining Armor. “Euh, no… as long as Rainbow hasn’t told anypony, it should just be the princesses and Shining Armor…” She answered. “Why don’t you want anypony to know, though?” Shining Armor asked. “Euh, well, there’s two reasons for that. The first one being that every known relation can be exploited and used against you by your enemies.” I answered firmly. “And the second reason?” Shining Armor pressed. I looked away, not knowing what to say. My lips were suddenly locked tight and I didn’t manage a single sound. “Yeah, well, Markus seems to be a little anxious around romance…” Twilight answered for me. Shining Armor looked back and forth between Twilight and me, before stifling a laugh behind his hoof. “Markus being anxious about something? Well, that’s certainly something I didn’t expect!” “Well yeah, I am anxious around romance, okay? You on the other hand seem to be anxious around trials. Speaking of which, shall we begin?” Shining Armor suddenly froze, before slowly closing his mouth and gulping. Slowly, he nodded, signaling me that he was ready. “Okay, so: Shining Armor, first off, you can be proud of yourself, for you are the first one to have ever made it this far.” I said, giving him a bit more confidence. Of course, I left out the fact that he was my first student over all. “This will be your final trial. If you pass, then I will gladly consider you as an equal. However, should you fail then there will be no second chances.” Shining Armor gulped hard as I said this. Of course this was a lie, but I wanted to make him give his outmost for this last one, so I had to make him believe that he had only a single chance. “As you know, an officer’s main function is to lead his troops, ensuring that as many of them as possible make it back home. However, even an officer sometimes can’t prevent having to fight himself.” I continued, holding a wooden sword out towards him, while I held another in the other hand. “That is why your final trial will be a duel… against me.” He eyed the sword warily, tentatively stepping closer and lifting it up in his magic. “I-I accept the ch-challenge.” He stammered. We both took positions a few steps away from each other. Twilight acted as a referee, placing herself off to the side. Then, it began. We both stepped in circles around each other, maintaining a distance that was just out of reach for our opponent. None of us wanted to be the one to attack first, as the one to make the first step usually is at a disadvantage. Then, after a few minutes of circling, Shining Armor was the one to move first. He made a quick stab forward, which I parried, immediately going into a slicing attack towards his head. However, he managed to pull his sword up, sending me off course and causing me to stumble sideways a bit. He immediately utilized this by coming around with a cut towards my back, which I barely blocked by quickly turning around. Using my momentum, I brought my elbow up to his muzzle, sending him stumbling back a few steps. He recovered quickly, now rearing up on his hind legs and pulling his sword backwards. However, instead of coming down with a swing, he used his front hooves like fists, punching me twice into the chest. Admittedly, I didn’t see that coming, taking the full brunt of his punches and stumbling to the ground. He didn’t waste any time, bringing his sword down towards me in a stab, which I barely blocked by holding my sword in front of my chest. Now, he stood over me, trying to press his sword down onto me, while I held against it. Then, I brought my left leg up and around his neck, while simultaneously kicking my right heel into his right knee, sending him tumbling over to his side, which I assisted by pressing my right leg onto the ground. Now, our roles were reversed, me being on top while he was tightly locked under my leg. I wasted no time, immediately re-aligning my sword and bringing it down towards his throat. “CEEEEAAASE FIGHTING! Markus has won!” Twilight screamed. I loosened my grip around his throat and helped him up. We both were panting slightly, having mobilized every bit of energy for this short fight. Shining Armor looked over to Twilight in what looked like and apologetic look. “Sorry Twi, I lost…” He said, before looking back over to me. “I… I’ll be going then…” He said, starting to slowly walk away, his head hanging low. “I don’t know what you are talking about.” I stated, immediately bringing his attention back to me. “You have lost, yes, but I never said that you need to win in order to pass.” For a moment, he just stood there and one could see the exact moment when it clicked, as, slowly, a smile started to rise on his mouth. “Shining Armor, I hereby proudly announce that you have—“ “YEEEEEEEESS!” He interrupted me with a cheer, hugging Twilight tight and swinging her around in circles. Honestly, this whole situation reminded me of one of the most famous, unfinished quotes in Germany’s history: “[…] wir sind zu Ihnen gekommen, um Ihnen mitzuteilen, dass heute Ihre Ausreise—“* [Interrupted by a thousand cheers around the yard] (translation: we have come to you, to tell you that, today, your departure—“) When Shining’s euphoric outbreak finally had subsided, we bade our farewells to each other and parted ways. Although… that would imply that both us started moving… actually, Shining Armor went home, while we waited at the clearing for a while. “Thanks, Markus. You’ve made Shining Armour really happy today.” Twilight suddenly said. She then looked up to me with half-lidded eyes. “Do you know what would make me happy?” Not waiting for an answer, she swung herself up, standing on her hind legs and putting her forelegs around my neck. She then pulled me in for a long, passionate kiss. By now, I have gotten used to the feeling of it. My angst has slowly started to subside and who knows? Maybe I will soon be the one to initiate? I FEEL SPLENDID! I feel like a new man! How this came to be, I hear you ask, Mr. Journal? Well, let me tell you: It was a normal day at first. After the daily routines were through, I had come home and continued waltzing my way through all those magic tomes Twilight had at her disposal. I must say, a few things I have read in there are truly interesting, but that’s beside the point. As the sun began to set, we heard a knocking at the door. It was Rainbow Dash, whom I promptly greeted with a hug of mine. Yes, I know, scold me later, it’s getting better, I swear! Anyways: apparently, the Weatherteam wanted to properly start winter soon and she wanted to make good use of the last few warm days for flight training and had asked me to watch her. Of course I agreed and together, we made our way out into the pink tree plains, where she started flying her manoeuvres. I, meanwhile, found myself completely entranced by her. The way her mane reflected the red of the sunset, how the shadows danced on her light blue coat and how the orange-red accented her… curves. Before long, I found myself day-dreaming about her. About how her mane feels when it brushes through my fingers. The slight tickling in my nose when I hug her tight and the soft accents of her fur, when I— “WATCH OUT!” Her cry ripped me out of my dream and as my eyes adjusted to reality, I saw a cyan form slowly grow larger in my vision. It was Rainbow, who was currently heading towards me, trying to brake, but obviously failing at it. My eyes almost popped out, as I realized, where her landing spot would be. In a split-second reaction I brought my arms up before my head, bracing for impact and then… WHAM! She hit me square on, dragging me along the floor, before I finally came to a stop with her lying on top of me. “Ow.” I stated matter-of-factly. I lifted my arm from my eyes and looked into the sky above me, before looking down on the cyan cannonball that was rested on my chest. Rainbow slowly slid out of her stupor herself, scrambling to her hooves and lifting her head up. “Ugh, sorry, Markus. I don’t know what happened th—“ She suddenly stopped, as she laid eyes upon my face. “Wow…” She hushed, slowly inching closer. “Dude, your scar looks… awesome…” Honestly, I had almost forgotten about the scar that now adorns my face, but hey, it doesn’t really disturb me or anything, so there isn’t really a reason to remember it. Rainbow slowly came closer, scanning my scar with her eyes and slowly tracing it from over my eye, to my nose down to my cheek. Suddenly, her eyes went wide and she began breathing heavily. I followed her gaze and a sense of Deja-vu hit me, as I saw just how close our lips actually were. She looked up to me and then, after a few seconds, started to move closer yet again. Her eyes slowly drifted close, while mine went wide when I realized what she was actually going to do. Yet again, my angst took full control of me, pressing my head into the ground, trying to squeeze just a few more millimetres out of it, while my brain went haywire. Should I flee? But that would mean throwing her off of me and I definitely didn’t want to hurt her. My mind raced, trying to find a way out and in the end, I just… I just let go. Yes, that was it. I let go, freeing myself momentarily from my angst and accepting the situation. My eyes drifted close and soon, our lips met. Tentative at first, her soft fur brushing against my moustache, before our tongues interlocked. The world around us began to fade and soon, it was just us two, sharing this moment together. Our tongues wrestled one another, both of us savouring the taste of the other and slowly moving our lips in synch to create a feeling of absolute bliss and unity between us. I don’t know how long we stayed like this. All I know is that when we finally broke our kiss, the sun had long passed the horizon. Slowly, we untangled from each other’s embrace, unwilling to do so, yet knowing that we had to. We didn’t speak a word. We didn’t need to speak. Even now, as we were walking home together, it was just us. Rainbow was walking close to me, softly rubbing her side into mine, while I gave her gentle strokes over her head and mane, occasionally scratching behind her ears. Soon, we reached her house and, after a last kiss as a farewell, she flew up, leaving me to walk back to the library. Twilight was already waiting, asking me where I had been all this time, but before she had time to lecture me or anything, we kissed. This time, though, I was the one to initiate. Twilight gave a surprised squeal as I planted my lips on hers, but quickly relaxed and gave in to the feeling. “I take it today has been a success, then?” She asked, as she momentarily broke the kiss. I didn’t answer, instead planting my lips on hers yet again. We stood there for a few minutes, enjoying each other’s warmth. Our kiss had soon died down into a simple, tight hug. And we enjoyed it. When we finally broke our embrace, we could both feel each other’s happiness. Both of us were content in ending the day just like that and so, we went upstairs. And now, I am here, writing this entry, while Twilight is sleeping behind me. My angst has not returned yet and honestly, I hope it doesn’t show up again, all-too soon. Today was a beautiful day and I hope, the days to come will be just as good, if not better.