//------------------------------// // Humans in Equestria II // Story: Integration // by Darth Link 22 //------------------------------// Little Twi slept peacefully, waking up with her faithful pet by her side. That peace was short lived, as there was a knock on her door mere moments later. She sat up quickly, with Spike leaping in surprise. A voice soon came through the solid wood. “Miss Sparkle, are you awake?” It was Flash... no, Captain Flash. “I just woke up.” “Princess Luna has summoned you. Please prepare yourself.” Little Twi felt her heart quicken. Princess Luna? As in, the counterpart to her vice-principal? The vice-principal that was plenty terrifying on her own? “O-of course. Let me make myself presentable,” she said, jumping out of bed. She raced into her bathroom, getting to the sink. She reached for the sink, momentarily searching for a brush. With some difficulty, she got her hoof through it. Looking in the mirror, she brushed her mane straight. Satisfied, she started to trot out. Fortunately, her mind was racing trying to figure out what Princess Luna wanted to talk to her about. It distracted her from any worry, having to think about how much trouble she was in. As she got closer to the room she was to meet Princess Luna in, she found herself getting more and more nervous. The rational part of her brain told her that there was nothing to worry about, that she had done nothing wrong, but anxiety had a way of getting the better of her. She could only imagine what this monarch who had never met her wanted with her. She was led to the same room where she had met Dr. Heart on her first visit to Equestria. She was led inside, where she got her first look at the second princess of Equestria. “Ah. Twilight Sparkle of Terra. It is good to meet you.” It was almost as surreal as meeting Princess Celestia. Princess Luna, even in the body of an alicorn, had features she recognized from her vice-principal. She also seemed just as other-wordly beautiful as her sister. There was a certain steel to her look, like she was more a warrior than Celestia, but it made her no less beautiful. “It’s nice to meet you,” Twilight said. She started to bow, made awkward by the fact that she still wasn’t used to her new quadrupedal body. “You have my permission to drop formalities, Twilight Sparkle,” Princess Luna said. “There is no need to bow in my presence. I have come here to speak with you on a matter of your health.” That surprised Little Twi. “What do you mean?” Luna signaled her guards to leave. They did so, Captain Flash looking the most reluctant. After they had left, the doors closed thanks to Luna’s magic. The door glowed, which alarmed Little Twi. “What was that?” she asked. “A simple soundproofing spell, little one,” she assured. “Everything we are about to speak of will not leave this room.” Luna came closer to her. “Have Princess Twilight or Sunset Shimmer told you anything about me?”  “Well, yes. You’re the Princess of the Night, you handle any threats that come up at night, and... well, according to the others, you can walk in dreams.” “That is true. And it’s what I want to talk to you about.” Little Twi took a deep breath. She knew that she shouldn’t be saying dreamwalking was impossible. After becoming an evil magic witch, seeing an alternate version of herself walk out of stone, and witnessing immortal winged horses, skepticism should be non-existent.  But there had to be a limit. There had to be some things that just weren’t possible. Dreams were simply a function of the mind. But she smiled at Princess Luna and asked, “What is it you wanted to talk to me about?” “Last night, I traveled through the dream realm of Equestria. I wanted to introduce myself to all of you on your first night in Equestria. However, I hit something of a snag when I reached your realm. It was sealed off to me.” Little Twi searched her brain, trying to pick the right words for her point. “Well, maybe you simply can’t enter a human’s mind. Remember, right now we’re all just in pony bodies, we aren’t actually ponies.” Luna shook her head. “No, it’s not that,” Luna said. “I had no trouble finding the minds of your friends. I walked in and saw what your friends were dreaming about. And before you ask, no, I will not tell you what any of them were dreaming about. I do not share such information.” Little Twi had thought about asking, but Luna’s explanation made her remember how some people may consider their dream’s a private sanctuary.  “And besides, I found the door to your dreams in the realm, but it was blocked.” That got Little Twi’s attention. “What do you mean?” “I don’t know how much anypony has told you about my work, so allow me to educate you a little bit. In my realm, I can walk through the dreams of every creature on Gaia. Pony, dragon, griffon, zebra... no creature can hide their dreams from me. From the Diamond Dogs to the centaurs, even a being like Discord has a mind that I can explore. You... you’re something unprecedented.” Twilight had about a million questions after that little speech, starting with asking who Discord was and ending at a point she couldn’t yet conceive, but she felt derailing the conversation would be unwise. So instead she stayed silent and waited for her to continue. “No mind has been so impenetrable to me. I could even see King Sombra’s dreams, for a time. You were exposed to a lot of corrupted magic, and unlike every sentient race on Gaia, humans have no natural magic... or they didn’t have, prior to Sunset Shimmer activating the Element of Magic on Terra. Perhaps that has something to do with this.” “You think there’s still dark magic inside me?” Twilight asked. Then she stopped. “Wait... but the magic my device took... it came from the others... from the portal to Equestria. Are you saying that all that was dark magic?” “Magic is rarely naturally dark. There are a few cases of magic that were old when Gaia was young. King Sombra, the Nightmare, and other foes that I dare not speak of. But naturally, it comes to the person who wields it.” Twilight felt her heart stop, and her stomach sink. So it was true. She was horrible... Seeing her expression, Luna realized her mistake and said the next words quickly. “That does not mean that you are evil, Twilight, or that you are undeserving of forgiveness. But the moment you opened that device, you were filled with negative feelings you had been nursing for years.” Luna took a deep breath. “I was told your story, Twilight Sparkle. Not the full story, perhaps, but enough to understand. Understand that you had a lot of anger, a lot of sadness, a lot of negative feelings that you haven’t been properly dealing with. All of that can turn your inner feelings dark.” Twilight felt uncomfortable. Luna leaned down to her level. “Have you been told my story, Twilight Sparkle?” Twilight looked at Princess Luna, feeling a little awkward. Hearing the story, it sounded so much like a fantasy novel backstory it was hard to grip the real emotions that must have been involved, but recounting it to the one who lived through it was strange. “Well... you were the Princess of the Night. You ruled over the night time and... you got jealous that ponies would play all day then sleep through the night. So you...” Twilight found she couldn’t finish. “So I opened my heart to darkness. I allowed the Nightmare to corrupt me and turn me into NightMare Moon. Nightmare’s magic melded into my own. But even before we merged, my magic was already turning dark. All my anger and hatred festered over time. I idolized my older sister far too much to argue with her, far too much to voice my complaints. I let all these negative feelings get bottled up inside me. Nightmare may have finished the job, but I would have gone mad, with or without it.” Little Twi looked at Princess Luna, unable to say anything. She didn’t know how she felt. “It is imperative that you not allow your negative feelings to control you.” Luna looked at her. She actually looked awkward, a strange look on such a regal pony. “Have you met Doctor Heart?” Twilight was stunned for a moment, but answered. “Yes. Princess Celestia arranged for me to see him while I’m here.” Luna grinned. “Excellent. You have the finest doctor in Equestria, then. I don’t think I need to do much else.” “You know Doctor Heart?” Luna gave a tired smile. “Twilight, a thousand years of loneliness is not ideal for one’s mental health. My sister had arranged for him to treat me when I came back... among other arrangements.”  The last words were said in a tone Little Twi couldn’t pin down. They certainly weren’t enthusiastic, but they didn’t sound angry either. “Forgive me if I’ve overstepped my bounds, Twilight Sparkle,” Princess Luna said. “I understand that this must be very difficult to discuss. But I have been dreamwalking for a long time. Any part of this that is unprecedented is... unnerving to me, to say the least.” “I understand. To be honest, up until a few weeks ago, I was having... nightmares.” “Of your ordeal?” Little Twi nodded. She looked at the ground, wondering what to say next. “Twilight... anything you say shall not leave this room, I assure you. Like Dr. Heart, your dreams are in complete confidence with me.” “Well... I dreamt of Midnight Sparkle... that’s what other humans called me when I was transformed. I dream of her. She’s... calling to me, telling me that she can make me strong. She... she hurts people that have hurt me. I see her hurting them.” Luna lifted a wing, intending to wrap it around Little Twi, but stopped. She lowered the wing, wondering if contact that wasn’t invited was appropriate. “Do you think that has anything to do with it?” Luna shook her head. “I doubt so. I dreamed of NightMare Moon for a year after I was cleansed. Even without... well, that’s a discussion for another time. But guilt is hardly anything unusual, even if they do manifest in dreams.” “Even with all the dark energy I was exposed to?” Luna reconsidered. “Well... I’ll admit, I never walked into a human’s dreams. It might be a side effect. But I don’t think so. According to the reports I’ve read, there was plenty of negative magic that has been flung around, and no other human has had any strange side effects... that we know of.” Luna suddenly gave a groan of frustration. Little Twi jumped in surprise, but quickly laughed at it. She sounded more like an annoyed child rather than a regal princess in that one moment.  “There are far too many variables here. I dislike not knowing something of the craft I’ve spent a millenia perfecting.” Little Twi understood the frustration. With magic, there was far too little she understood. Even as it scared her, she wanted to know more. “Fear not, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said, regaining her composure. “I’m sure that we will find the solution soon enough.” Luna smiled. Twilight looked at her. It was a good smile. But her eyes betrayed just the slightest bit of worry. “Well, well,” a new voice said. Luna was suddenly in a battle ready stance, the movement from casual to tense going so fast it surprised Little Twi more than the new voice. But Luna almost immediately softened, and Little Twi soon saw why. Dr. Heart stood at the door, looking in on them with a smile. “I was hoping to get the two of you to meet for a group session, and here you are.” “How’d you get in here?” Luna asked, though not out of anger. “I wasn’t aware anything was keeping me out,” Dr. Heart said. “There wasn’t a guard when I came up here.” Luna blinked. “There wasn’t?” The princess was looking worried all over again. She walked past Dr. Heart and looked into the hallway. “..Where is Captain Flash?” Little Twi suddenly realized what was wrong. She started to move toward the door. As Luna moved into the hallway, she poked her head out as well. “He would never abandon his post. What could have happened?” Little Twi looked around. She peaked down the hallway. She opened her mouth to say something. Then her brain went into shock. Even after everything she had seen so far, some things were too surreal even for her. “Twilight Sparkle, what... are... you...” Luna saw it too. It looked like a piece of bread. A piece of bread that had been folded down the middle, each of its halves being used like a pair of wings. It flapped itself, flying slowly toward Little Twi. As it got closer, she could make out that this piece of bread had a body. It looked insect-like, having six legs and antennae. It fluttered over to the trio of ponies. Little Twi, on instinct, reached out her hoof. It landed on the hoof, spreading his wings in a grand display. Now that it was close, Twilight could see the strange substance on its wings. It was opaque and yellow, spread across the wingspan. The word entered her head, and Little Twi hated herself as she spoke it out loud. “A bread-and-butterfly?” There was a moment of silence. Then Princess Luna raised her voice to the heavens and shouted, in the loudest voice Little Twi had ever heard. “Discord!” The main dining hall was in chaos. The plates and trays had all grown legs and were walking around, tossing pancakes and waffles at the guests. The syrup pitchers had flown up and started pouring their contents all over the floor, causing everypony to step in the sticky substance. Of course, the syrup felt more like tar than anything else. Not hot tar, thankfully, but it still kept them trapped to the floor.  The Pegasi who had figured out how to fly were in the air. The guards chased the plates around, while Little Dash tried to pull Little Shy up. There was a lot of yelling all around until one voice carried over them. “Alright, everypony, stop!” At Princess Twilight’s words, a wave of purple magic exploded from her horn, covering the room and stopping everything still, from the guards, to the humans, to the magic tableware. Everyone was still, but eventually all turned their heads to face her. “Discord!” she yelled. Suddenly a large bubble appeared in the syrup. It grew bigger and bigger, until it towered over everypony else there. Then it popped, sending syrup everywhere. And from the bubble came a figure familiar to the ponies and utterly mind boggling to the humans. “Ta-da!” Discord announced. Princess Twilight had been expecting screams of terror, but they were all too stunned. “Discord, I told you to stay away until everyone had gotten settled in!” “Aw, but I just wanted to celebrate the arrival of our guests.” Discord snapped the talons on his one upper limb. In an instant, several ponies were poofed into existence, all dressed in mariachi gear and playing instruments. “Discord!” “What? Haven’t you heard of a welcoming party?” With another snap of his talons, little party hats appeared on everyone present. “Discord! Clean this mess up! Now!” “Oh... very well,” he said, snapping his fingers. In an instant, all the syrup had vanished, everything now non sticky. Everypony was now free, though the humans were still looking quite frightened. Every piece of tableware was returned to the table, all the food looking untouched. And yet the mariachis still played. “Everything, Discord!”  “Fine,” he snapped his talon again. The mariachis disappeared in a flash. There was a moment of silence. Finally Shining Armor stepped forward. “What. The heck. Are you?” “I’m Discord!” he exclaimed, as a large amount of letters spelling out his name appeared above him, all looking like they’d belong on a sign for a Las Pegasus casino. One of them ended up flickering out. Discord, annoyed, balled his lion’s paw and smacked it. It flickered back to life, and Discord resumed his stance. “...What?” “Draconequus. Last of my kind, or maybe I’m not, former bad guy but I’m all good now.” As he said so, his sign disappeared, and suddenly he was in full angel attire, complete with wings, halo, and a harp. On instinct, Shining Armor felt his horn light up. “I’m warning you, if you hurt anyone here...” Suddenly he had a splitting headache, and that was because Discord casually flicked his horn with his claw. As he shook his head in pain, Discord laughed. “Oh, you little ponies... er, little humans. You're scared of your own shadow.” At that point, Shining felt something tap his back. After turning, he nearly jumped out of his skin as a shadowy pony yelled “Boo!” After Shining jumped, the shadow laughed and collapsed on the ground. Shining was tense for a moment before he suddenly realized that the shadow was his own. “Discord!” Princess Twilight said sternly. “You promised to behave. And you promised you’d give the humans a chance to settle in first.” “I did.” He pulled out a pocket watch that looked way too big for him. Where he pulled if from, no one could say. Instead of numbers, the face was decorated with various symbols, including a banana, a pair of chattering teeth, and a baseball. “I gave them... eh, time has no meaning in my realm.” He tossed the watch on the floor. Instantly it vaporized into a collection of bubbles, which popped with farting noises. Princess Twilight covered her face with a foreleg. Whether it was out of frustration or embarrassment, no one could say. “Well, as long as you’re here, you might as well do me a favor.” Before Discord could reply, Princess Luna’s loud cry echoed in the dining room. Moments later, the Princess of the Moon burst through the doors, glaring at her former enemy. “What have you done to Captain Flash?” That got Princess Twilight’s attention. “What? Discord, you didn’t...” “Oh, relax. I simply sent him on a little errand that will, hopefully, sharpen his senses.” “Discord,” Princess Twilight said. There was a lot in that single word. “Fine,” he said, snapping his fingers.  Captain Flash appeared in the center of the room, covered in what appeared to be peanut butter and jelly. He had his face in a look of pure concentration, muttering something to himself. “Captain Flash?” Said Captain jumped, looking around the room and realizing he wasn’t where he had been where he had been a few moments ago. “Princess Twilight! I’m... how...” he saw Discord. “You foul beast! Is this another of your illusions?” “No, I brought you back,” he said. He looked around, still apprehensive. “Then did I solve your riddle?” “No, your princess made me bring you back before you could.” Discord looked over at Princess Twilight. Noticing her look of disapproval, he snapped his talons again. All the peanut butter and jelly flew off of him, leaving him clean. “Well, since you’ve completely ruined my schedule and my attempt to ease everyone into everything, can you at least do me a favor?” “Sure, sure, what?” “Let’s discuss it in my chambers.” She turned to the humans, who still looked a little shell-shocked. “I’m sorry. He’s really harmless... mostly.” It was Igneous Pie who spoke up next. “Are you telling me that we’re going to let our children stay somewhere with creatures like him running around?” “Hey now,” Discord said. “There’s no other creature like me... I think,” he gave a laugh. “But in all seriousness, I’m actually here to protect your children.” That got some eyes widened. “You?” It was Hondo Flanks who had spoken that time. “Discord is powerful, and despite any mischief he gets up to, he is loyal,” Princess Twilight assured. “He is going to be keeping an eye on Ponyville while your children are here, and making sure the general public don’t find out about Terra.” “Hang on,” Little Dash said, flying forward. “If this guy’s so powerful, why don’t we just send him to Terra and have him mop the floor with the Changeling Mafia?” “Hey, yeah!” Little AJ said, brightening up. There was a chorus of excited murmurs as the prospect of such a simple solution dawned on everyone present. “As fun as that sounds, I can’t,” Discord said. “My powers all dry up the moment I enter that dreary place.” “Wait... how would you know that?” Princess Twilight asked, suddenly looking very annoyed. “Oh, I might have taken a peek in when you weren’t looking,” Discord said. The halo that appeared over his head did little to make the action seem innocent. “And what if you’d been seen?” Princess Twilight said. “And what if Sombra managed to cure blindness? You just don’t think about those things.” Princess Twilight looked ready to buck something, but she managed to keep her composure. “At any rate, may I have a word with you in my office?” “Of course. Time to get to work.” He poofed up a fancy business suit and suitcase, along with some horn-rimmed glasses on his eyes. Thankfully, for once the bit ended there. Discord disappeared in a flash, no doubt going into Twilight’s office to wait. The Princess took a deep breath, trying to regain some semblance of control over the situation.  “I apologize for all this. I assure you, now that Discord has made his entrance, he should keep everything more tame... probably. Eat your breakfast, and I’ll meet with you soon to discuss our itinerary for today.”  With that, Princess Twilight took her leave, with a now composed Captain Flash following right behind her. The humans turned ponies were silent for a bit. The castle staff, having grown more accustomed to Discord’s tricks, had begun returning to work, allowing some noise to enter the hall. Princess Luna, clearly feeling that this was the wrong time to introduce herself, quietly left the room, with Doctor Heart and Little Twi following her. The parents were all looking at each other, clearly having second thoughts about letting their children stay here. The children, however... “That was freaky,” Little Pinkie said. “How could he do all that stuff?” As she said that, she pulled a handkerchief out of her mane and used it to wipe a bit of syrup off her face that Discord had neglected to clean. “I don’t know about this guy,” Little AJ said. “He seems a bit too... off.” “I must say, he is rather uncouth,” Little Rare said. “But I suppose if Princess Twilight trusts him...” “Well, he... uh, Flutters?” Little Dash trailed off from whatever thought was in her head when she saw that Little Shy was simply looking in the direction that Princess Twilight had left in. She looked at her. “What?” “Is something wrong?” “I don’t know. I just have the feeling that... that I’ve seen Discord before.” “...What?” Rainbow Dash said. “I find it hard to believe that you’d forget about meeting someone like that.” “Maybe ya’ll caught a glimpse of him when he went to Terra,” AJ suggested. “Just a peek?” “Maybe..” Fluttershy said. “Hey guys,” Sunset said, walking up to them. She had a very noticeable case of bed mane, and still looked half asleep. “Did I miss anything?” “That’s it?” Discord said, sounding offended. “You want me to poof over Equestria and take pictures of pony flanks?” “No... I want you to poof over Equestria and take pictures of cutie marks,” Twilight said. “I need it for my research.” “All my talents, and that’s what you’re having me do?” “Well, you’re the one who invited yourself in before I was ready for you,” Princess Twilight said. She thought about adding that he still had to do a lot to pay back his karmic debt to Equestria, but she held her tongue. As tempting as it was, it was better when Discord did good things because he wanted to help ponies, not when he felt obligated to. “Well, I suppose I could,” Discord muttered. “But whatever you have in store for me better be a lot more fun.” With that, he snapped his talons and teleported away, leaving Twilight without a chance to even say goodbye. After confirming that he took the list with him, she let out an annoyed sigh. He was coming along, but he was still a frustrating being to deal with. He no doubt went to visit Fluttershy’s family first. What order he would visit the others in was a mystery. But hopefully it kept him busy for a while. He looked over at Captain Flash. For the first time, she truly felt herself admiring him. With how stoic and calm he looked, he’d have never guessed he had just been the victim of a Discord prank. “He didn’t do anything too bad, did he?” she asked. “No, your Highness,” Flash said. “He just sent me to a strange realm with a lot of brain teasers. There was nothing dangerous involved.” “That’s a relief.” Princess Twilight said. However, the words brain teasers, coupled with what he had said outside, had piqued her curiosity. “You said Discord had a riddle for you? What is it?” An hour later, Princess Celestia had ventured downstairs. She had taken a rare opportunity to sleep in, since Luna was handling the sun during this time. She was surprised to find her sister there, and even more surprised to find Discord had been there and she had slept right through it. Still, now that she had arrived, it was time to give the humans a brief overview of what their time in Equestria would entail. She had a screen just behind her that Spike was running the projector for. “I intend that you all will have the most comfortable and rewarding experience possible,” she said. The younger ones, the ones that would be staying, were sitting in the front, eagerly taking in everything. The parents sat in the back, watching as the children they raised got excited. “I have hired the best instructors possible,” Princess Celestia said. “I will be personally teaching the Unicorns’ magic myself. For the Pegasi, I have a member of the Wonderbolts, the Pegasi branch of the Equestrian military, to teach you flying. For the Earth Ponies, you will be getting a member of our Royal Guard to teach you how to harness your powers. “We will also be taking several trips outside of Ponyville over the next couple of weeks. This includes a trip to Canterlot to see the capital, a trip to Cloudsdale so that you may witness our weather factories, and a trip to Manehatten so you may take in our culture.” As she spoke, Spike changed the image to reflect each of the places. Sunset grinned. Memories flooded into her as her trips out with Celestia entered her brain. It was fun, having these one-on-one trips with her teacher. This time, she’d be sharing that with her friends. It wasn’t ideal, but she’d have alone time with her again afterward. Well, alone with Princess Twilight, but she’d live with it. But first, there was another matter to attend to. “Tomorrow, we’re going to be having Sunset Shimmer’s coronation. This will be held in Canterlot. Now, we are currently keeping the existence of humans under wraps, so you’ll be attending this coronation in disguise.” As Celestia spoke, Discord flashed in behind her. “I have arranged for the best stylist and hairdressers in Ponyville to give you all new coat and dye colors for the event.” Discord used his talons to give Celestia bunny ears.  A few members of the audience giggled. Celestia stopped, looking at them. She turned around, just missing Discord disappearing. She turned back to her audience. Discord reappeared. “I have arranged for them to arrive here, along with some members of Ponyville Spa. Today is going to be a treat for you all, a nice, relaxing day. Think of it as my gift to all of you for graduating high school.” Discord held his lion paw out, and it transformed into an exaggerated caricature of Celestia’s head. He moved its mouth along with Celestia’s words, letting its tongue hang out and its eyes go cross. More of the audience chuckled. Celestia stopped, then looked behind her. Again, she missed Discord by moments. When she turned back to her audience, Discord reappeared. “Now, the mane and coat dying will only last a day, so after the coronation is over, you only have to wait for it to turn you back to normal.” Discord took his hands and moved them in front of the projector screen. Somehow, it made a perfect silhouette of Celestia, which jumped around and danced. Giggles again.  “Once that’s over school will be in session. You’ll all learn...” Celestia turned mid-sentence. Again, she barely missed Discord. After a moment, she lit up her horn. After it dimmed, she turned back around. Discord appeared, and suddenly yelped as he turned to stone. The audience gasped. “You’ll learn all kinds of things involving magic. Including the spell I just cast. It was developed by Princess Twilight after studying chaos magic, and it lets us capture mischievous draconequi if they cause too much trouble.” She turned to Discord with a grin. “It will be a three-hour penalty for your mischief today.” Discord managed to get two muffled words out: “...Worth... it...” She turned back to her audience. They still seemed amused. That was a good sign. “Any questions.” “I have one,” said Little Rare, raising her hoof. “Will we be allowed to pick the colors of our mane and coats?” Little AJ and Little Dash rolled their eyes. “Of course.” Celestia said. “I’m sure they’ll have something you’ll like. Princess Twilight recommended them to me, after all...” “Hey, where is the Princess?” Sunset said. Princess Celestia blinked, looking over the room. Her former student was indeed absent. “That’s odd. Where is Twilight? She was supposed to be here.” The human Flash Sentry entered his girlfriend’s chambers. Captain Flash eyed him with concern. At first he assumed that his counterpart was his usual paranoid self, but the look took on a new meaning when he entered. Twilight’s normally orderly study was covered with various bits of parchment, all of which had different scribbles and pictures. Twilight herself was in the middle, her mane looking frazzled, desperately scratching her thoughts down. “Uh, Twilight?” Twilight looked up at her coltfriend. “How is a raven like a writing desk?” Flash blinked. “Uh... what?” “How is a raven like a writing desk! That’s Discord’s riddle! What does it mean?” She turned back to her notes, looking them over.  “Uh, Twilight...”  Flash felt a claw on his back. He turned to see Spike, who only shook his head. “Best let her wear herself out. She’s in one of her moods.” Flash looked back at his marefriend. This was going to be a harder relationship than he thought.