//------------------------------//
// Chapter 24: Surprise, Surprise 
// Story: Chaotic Harmony: Do Over 
// by shirotora 
//------------------------------//

The next morning, I woke up early to make sure Midnight had a good breakfast ready for him.

"Miss Charm?" came his voice from the hall.

"Guess again," I replied.

He walked into the kitchen, mildly surprised. "You can cook, too?"

"What do you think Ah do for mah day job?" I replied. "Ah don't fight monsters every day."

"So, you're a superhero and a chef? If I start calling you 'dad' will you make it official?" He asked with a shit eating grin.

I laughed. "We'll see."

"So, am I going with you to work?" he asked as he took his seat and started eating.

"Nope, you're already enrolled in the local school," I said.

"Cool. I never went to an actual school before," he said between bites. "We were homeschooled at the orphanage."

"You'll be sharing a class with your new friends," I said with a grin.

Midnight damn near choked on his eggs.





Midnight was unusually quiet on the way to school. He wasn't exactly a chatterbox, but this was different.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Huh? Oh, sorry," he said with a chuckle. "Just wondering whether the fun I'd have hanging out with those girls is worth the risk to life and limb."

I laughed. "Yeah, they're kinda nuts, but they're great. We hang out a lot, actually."

"Scootaloo told me about the Junior Rangers," Midnight said. "Of course, she made it sound like some special forces, foal soldier thing. I'm guessing she was exaggerating."

I laughed again. "Yeah, but maybe not that much. At least, not from her perspective. It is a special unit, but one that is intended to go away from danger, not toward it."

"Sounds cool. I might join." Midnight said.

"Talk to Sweetie Belle," I said. "She's the one in charge of recruitin' and orientation."

"So they're really in charge?" Midnight asked, surprised. 

"Believe it or not, those three are incredibly talented. Ah mean, just think about that rollercoaster they built. How many foals y'all's age could build that and it not fall apart?" I asked.

"So, that wasn't just you being an irresponsible adult?" Midnight snarked.

I grinned, "Well, not entirely, anyway. Ah knew it would hold together. Ah'm honestly surprised they haven't found their cutie marks, yet. What about you? Any idea what yours might be?"

Midnight flinched, eyes darting away as he said, "Uh... n-no. Not a clue."

"Oh? Well, maybe the Crusaders can help you find it," I said, playing along. If he didn't want to tell me, I wouldn't force him.

"Oh, uh, maybe?" he replied, uncertainly.

As we approached the school, we both returned a wave to the trio of our discussion.

Miss Cheerlie made her way to meet us halfway. "Hello, Mister Tora. How has guardianship been, so far?"

I smiled. "It's been great, so far."

Cheerlie chuckled. "Oh, give it time."

"Hey, I've always been a well behaved young stallion," Midnight objected.

Cheerlie and I shared a laugh.

I patted Midnight on the shoulder and said, "Ah believe you. Ah'll be back this afternoon to pick you up if you don't want to play with any new friends."

"If I do decide to hangout with the Crusaders, just make sure my funeral arrangements are in order," Midnight said. "Or a padded room."

"A handsome colt wanting to spend time with three pretty fillies? That's not at all crazy," Cheerlie teased.

Midnight gave me a flat look. "So, is everyone in Ponyville's like this, or just most?"

I grinned. "It's great, isn't it?"

Midnight chuckled and shook his head. "At least living here won't be boring."

"That's the spirit," I said. "Ah'll see you after school."

"Kay, bye," Midnight said as he ran to talk to the Crusaders.

Cheerlie grinned. "So, which of them do you think you'll find him making out with first?"





"So, how do you like Ponyville, so far?" Applebloom asked Midnight as they started their group study.

Midnight shrugged. "I've only been here two days, and one of those was spent in the hospital. So far it's pretty cool, though. Weird, but cool."

"Oh, maybe we can give you a tour of the town after school," Sweetie Belle offered.

"Actually, I was hoping to talk to you about the junior rangers," Midnight said. "It sounds kinda neat. Mister Shiro told me to talk to you about it."

"Yeah, we can do that," Sweetie said. "Shiro has copies of all the paperwork so he can fill out the permission forms whenever. We can head to the the clubhouse-"

"Central Ops," Scootaloo corrected.

Sweetie rolled her eyes. "Fine, we can head to 'Central Ops' to get you everything you need right after class and spend the rest of the day showing you the ropes."

"Cool," Midnight said. "Shiro said you three are in charge."

Scootaloo snickered. "That's right. Sweetie is the records keeper, Applebloom is the drill sergeant, and I'm the Junior Captain, right under Captain Shiro."

"Cool. So, I guess we have a plan," Midnight said.

"Does that plan include actually studying?" came Cheerlie's voice from behind them.

"Sorry, Miss Cheerlie," the four said together.





The rest of the day was pretty interesting for Midnight. It was kind of weird having roll call, and having to raise his hoof to answer questions. Still, it was a neat experience, very different from the orphanage. Having to wait until a certain time to be let out even though the lessons were over didn't make sense, though.

Still, it was fun, and he found himself actually liking it. Regardless, he was glad when the bell rang and they were let out.

Sure enough, Shiro was waiting for him.

"Hey, kiddo, how was it?" he asked.

"It was awesome! We learned about Equestrian-Griffin war!" Midnight replied. "And, I'm joining the Junior Rangers, so I'm going to be hanging out with the girls."

Shiro laughed. "Alright, then. In that case, Ah'm going to the Spa with Fluttershy and Rarity."

"The spa?" Midnight asked. "But... isn't that for mares?"

Shiro laughed. "Only if you've never been. Be home an hour before sundown."

With that, he left in the opposite direction they were heading.

"Alright, come on, recruit," Scootaloo said, waving the others on. "Let's get you set up."

They led him to Sweet Apple Acres. They went down the path to the farmhouse.

"Wait here," Applebloom said as she ran into the house.

Soon after, she came back out with a basket in her mouth that smelled like apples and baked goods.

With that, they ran through the orchard to the clubhouse.

"Welcome to Junior Rangers Central Command Center," Scootaloo said as she opened the door. "Lieutenant Belle, take the recruit to the armory and get him geared up."

Sweetie rolled her eyes and smiled as she gave a mock salute. "Aye aye, ma'am. This way."

Sweetie let him to a closet with a piece of paper taped to the door with 'Armery' written on it.

She opened it and pulled out a couple boxes with her magic before starting to dig through them.

"Alright, you'll only need a sash, neckerchief, and hat for now," she said as she pulled out one of each.

The vest and hat were a dark, forest green and the neckerchief a bright yellow.

"Okay, so the uniform is very important," Sweetie began. "The yellow neckerchief is meant so ponies can see you easier. We can't really help ponies reach shelter if they can't see us.

"The vest and hat, however, are so we aren't seen. If for whatever reason, you find yourself unable to get to a shelter, take off the neckerchief and hide. If you can, try to put the neckerchief somewhere it can be seen. It won't hold your scent, so the monster can't use it to track you."

"Not to mention the scent maskin' charms on the vest," Applebloom added.

"Have any of you had to hide?" Midnight asked.

Scootaloo shrugged. "We're still new. There's only been one attack and it wasn't a big deal. We actually managed to get every one to shelter before the monster even got into town."

"Alright," Applebloom said as Midnight donned the uniform. "Not that you're ready, we can start with some basics. First, you gotta learn escape routes and shelter locations."





"Ah~," I sighed as I sank into the tub. "It's been too long."

As soon as I did, Fluttershy snuggled up beside me.

Rarity giggled. "I take it Jynx has been keeping you active today?"

"Not really," I said. "Or really at all. Last time we did anythin' was yesterday. Is that normal?"

Rarity and Fluttershy shared a surprised look before the former said, "Well, any mare can 'tough it out', as it were, though few would do so when they have someone to cool them down."

"Has she been busy today?" Fluttershy asked.

"She just said she was goin' to run some errands and that she'd pop by when she needed to... except she never did," I said as Fluttershy started peppering my neck with light kisses.

"Which begs the question, what has her so busy?" Rarity asked.

"Maybe she just hasn't felt the need to relieve her heat," I offered.

Fluttershy moved around to sit in my lap, hooves around my neck. "Shiro, honey, it doesn't work that way. When a mare's in heat, she feels it. Always. It lasts for a whole week unless she becomes pregnant, which can't happen if you haven't had a compatibility spell cast on one of you. She toughing it out, for some reason."

I smiled up at her. "And are you 'toughing it out'? You've been rather frisky today."

Fluttershy giggled. "No, my heat isn't for a few months. I'm just..."

I grinned. "Horny?"

Fluttershy nodded before peppering my lips and neck again.

"You do realize Rarity is in the tub with us, right?" I asked, teasingly.

"Would you be okay with her joining us?" Fluttershy asked.

"Uh..." I blinked dumbly. "Ah... Ah don't know."

"How about we let her watch, then?" Shy asked.

I hesitated for a moment while I considered it. "Ah suppose Ah'm okay with that."

Fluttershy smiled at that as we began to make love, complete with an audience.





We left the spa feeling like a million bits. 

I was surprised with how comfortable I was with Rarity watching and even participating a little. It was only some kissing and touching, but it was still more than I was expecting.

"I do hope I didn't overstep my boundaries," Rarity said.

I shook my head. "No, you were fine. Honestly, Ah was more okay with it than Ah thought Ah'd be."

Rarity gave me a sensual smirk. "Oh, does that mean you may be keeping your promise sooner than anticipated?"

I returned with a smirk of my own. "Ah assume it does."

"Mmm~" she purred. "I look forward to it."

"For now, though, Ah'm goin' to see if Ah can find Jynx," I said.

"I wish I could help, but I have a couple orders I need to put some finishing touches on before morning," Rarity said. "Ta ta for now, my dears."

"I still need to stop by Barnyard Bargains to pay for my last shipment of feed," Fluttershy said.

"Alright," I replied, giving her a peck on the lips. "Come by this evening for dinner?"

"I'd love to," Fluttershy replied before flying off.

I started toward the town square, hoping to pick up her trail. Before I even got there, though, a prismatic streak touched down in front of me.

"Yo, where have you been?" Rainbow asked. "I've been trying to find you for an hour."

"Ah was at the spa with Fluttershy and Rarity," I informed her.

"Oh... well, anyway, Jynx is looking for you," she said.

"Oh, well perfect," I said. "Ah'm lookin' for her, too. Where is she?"

"Your place," Rainbow said. "After looking for half an hour, she decided it would be better to just wait for you there."

"Alright, thanks," I said. "Hey, if you see Midnight can you let him know dinner will be ready soon?"

"Sure thing. Catch you later." With that, she zoomed off.

I pranced through town, still super relaxed after my spa visit. I made a quick stop by the Flower Sister's stall to get a dozen tulips. 

I danced up to my front door and into my house.

"Oh, Jynxy, Ah'm ho~ome!" I said as I stepped into the kitchen where Jynx was waiting, a half full cup of coffee in front of her.

"Flowers for the lady," I said, offering the bouquet.

She looked at me with a dumbfounded expression. 

"I'm pregnant."