“Careful Vapes,” Autumn gently chided, watching her friend slurp away at her noodles over lunch. “You wouldn’t want to ruin that carefully guarded Wonderbolts figure would you?”
“Relax, I know what I’m doing,” Vapor chuckled her hooves propped up on a table. “Maybe it’ll all go to my butt, I hear certain stallions are into that sort of thing anyways.”
“Look, I’m just sayin’,” Autumn replied, holding her hands up defensively. “If you stop fitting into that suit of yours, it’s your own fault.”
“Like I said, To. The. Butt.” Vapor replied simply.
“...hmmm,” Autumn muttered to herself. “...I wonder, does your figure show up in spandex? Like, will we see a bit of pudge once we’re in our suits? Or does it magically all just vanish? Because I gotta wonder!”
“I just know Sunset has a secret,” Vapor replied, pointing her chopsticks at Autumn. “Like, there is no way she keeps her figure that good without some sort of secret. Some… some magical trick. I’m kinda envious, actually!”
She patted her belly and adjusted in her chair showing she did have a bit of pudge to her now.
“Like, she is a model. She has a model’s figure, does she not?” Vapor went on, her friend answering with a small nod. She then gave a little despaired sigh. “And me, I’m just average, maybe putting on a few pounds.”
“What’d I say,” Autumn shrugged, with what was probably a smug look. “All of those noodles are ruining your figure!”
“Hey, don’t insult the Godly Ramen! It’s heaven-sent,” Vapor retorted before doing a little burp. “‘Sides, not all of us can have a figure gifted from Faust anyways!”
“Ladies,” Shining nodded curtly as the two argued, his armor still reflecting that new shine. It had been changed since his marriage to Cadence, to reflect who he was guarding.
“Wooooooooooooow, you are whipped,” Vapor observed with a little laugh. “Cadence has stamped herself all over your armor, hasn’t she? She might as well have branded you with a cattle prod saying: “You belong to me!” Has she given you a tattoo saying ‘property of Cadence’ yet?”
Autumn, in spite of herself, couldn't resist a snort.
“Well, I…” Shining stuttered. “...she, uh…”
Vapor descended into giggles. “Well, I guess that answers that question doesn’t it?”
“Yeah, Robert and a few of my other trusted men are being reassigned as well,” Shining elaborated. “So we all get fancy smancy new duds. Flash’s words, not mine. Mares love a stallion in uniform. Also his words.”
“Well, if Princess Cadence is any indication…” Vapor trailed off with a slight smirk.
“Hey, uh, anyone get the feeling we’re being watched?” Autumn asked, looking into the crowds of passing ponies. While she watched, she was unconsciously rubbing the spot on her arm where her morpher normally was. Like she was ready to summon it at a moment’s notice.
“Oh no…” Vapor groaned out spotting a familiar face in the crowd. “Not him…”
“Not him?” Shining asked curiously as a stallion emerged from the crowd, not exactly a leader in hygiene with a scruffy face.
“H-Hey, Lady Vapor,” the stallion stammered out nervously, adjusting his glasses.
“Lady Vapor?” Autumn teased, with a grin. “Now you didn’t tell us that you were royalty!”
“I’m not,” Vapor returned in a flat, unamused tone shifting nervously in her seat. “Now what do you want, Quick Study? Make it quick please.”
In the background, Autumn snorted at the pun before gaining a concerned look. Vapor liked everyone as far as she could tell. So what was up with this dude?
“I...I just wanted to ask if you wanted to see the newest additions to my collection, that’s all? If you like,” the stallion asked, shifting his hooves nervously. “I think you’d like them.”
“Alright, I’ll bite,” Shining said, noticing the expression on his fellow Ranger’s face and shifting in front of her slightly. He placed himself between her and Quick protectively. “What kind of collection, action figures? I know some ponies collect bottle caps. Rare human realm stuff?”
“Noodle cups!” Quick Study elaborated, his tone a cheery chirp.
“...Noodle cups?” Shining asked, slowly in confusion. Vapor groaned in the background.
“Y-Yeah, see?” Quick Study asked fishing a few apparently rare cups out of his shoulder bag and placing them on the table. He pointed to one. “Like this one here, it was only released in Salt Lick City for about a few months, see? This one, it comes from a place called AusTAILia.”
“Oh for Celestia’s sake,” Vapor sighed using her hooves to knock the cups off the table into the dirt. “I told you, I love noodles but not that much! I just end up throwing the cups away most of the time.”
Quick Study looked horror-struck, whether at this new knowledge or what happened to his precious cups. Honestly, Vapor didn’t care either way.
“But… But…” he stammered as he recovered his cups, cleaning them with a soft cloth. “These cups are rare! And you love noodles, so why don’t you love them with me?”
“You have an obsession,” Vapor commented. “Look, I’m sorry, but I’m just not that interested.”
Then Quick grabbed onto her arm, not roughly but still against her will. “Please, come with me. I promise you’ll be interested. Look, I’ll clean myself up, look my best. Will that make you happy?”
“Dude, not even you smelling of Godly Ramen would make me come with you.” Vapor said, looking about ready to kick him in the shin.
“Hey, buddy, why don’t you clear off?” Autumn said, cracking her neck in warning. “Vapes doesn’t want you here, so how about you go on and scat? Before I make you? I’m pretty sure tossing you into the Lost Temple of Tlatelolco is lookin’ pretty tempting right about now.”
“Move,” Shining added, his spear unfurling in his hands extending to its full length. He was wearing his most fearsome glare. One that promised pain if he was ignored. “Or you will be moved.”
Quick apparently got the message, and released Vapor before nervously scampering off into the crowd with a: “M-Maybe next time, huh?”
“What an asshole,” Autumn breathed. “No, more like what a serious creep.”
“Agreed. Guys like him…” Shining rubbed his temples. “They’re usually on some sort of watchlist.”
“How long has this been going on Vapes?” Autumn interrogated, slamming a hand on the table. “Guy acts like he knows you!”
“He’s… yeah, he’s shown up a few times,” Vapor admitted, pressing her fingers together nervously. “N-Not at where I work or anything, but he’s tried to talk to me while I’ve been out on runs or when I’m collecting the mail.”
“Okay, see, watchlist,” Shining replied. “That’s literally the definition of a stalker Vapor.”
“He’s… harmless, right?” Vapor stammered nervously, not sounding entirely sure of her own words. “Like, all he wants is to show me his noodle cup collection.”
“No, he wants to claim you for himself,” Shining gently instructed. “He just won’t stop at showing you his noodle cups. He’s already stalking you.”
Then, he sighed.
“Listen, if you want, I can spare a few guards,” the Blue Ranger explained. “They’ll be out of sight, you won’t even see them. But if that creep tries anything, they’ll be there.”
“I’ll still know they’re there though,” Vapor muttered. “It’s like I won’t have any privacy.”
“Better that than having to worry about that guy,” Autumn pointed out. “Look, Shining’s got a point here. Just… think on it okay?”
“I…” Vapor started before seeing her friends’ pleading faces. “Sure.”
Quick Study’s mind swirled with venomous violent thoughts. Again and again she rejected him. What was it? Was he not worthy enough? All he wanted was to show her what he could do!
“I just want to make noodles with her, the best noodles!” he thought.
It was a noble goal right? To share in their love of delicious quick cooked spicy goodness. They could attend speed-eating competitions together, now there was an idea! They would get down to the last noodle, slurp it together and their mouths would connect in a kiss!
But no, she didn’t want him! Why? What was it he didn’t have to offer? Was he too scruffy? He could clean up a bit, shave some. Did he not smell like ramen enough? Was he simply not the mastermind behind Godly Ramen?
Yeah, that was it! She loved only one man, the man who had created Godly Ramen! Well! If he could create a new craze of noodles, one to surpass Godly Ramen then maybe she would love him!
Now there was an idea! He just needed some marketing, some promoting! He knew how to cook noodles, he could come up with his own recipe! Nothing could stop noodles! Then they’d be stirring the pot together, making the best of broth.
“Forget Godly Ramen!” the incel stallion thought. “I will create Ramen from the Titans themselves! Okay, yeah no, that’s a lame ass name. It needs work, I’ll workshop it.”
Punching the air in his own genius, he wasn’t really looking where he was going. Down a dark alleyway his path took him, and into dangerous territory. ...not that I think any of us would care if he got shanked right?
But from out of the shadows came thuggish ponies.
“Oh… okay, I don’t want any trouble,” Quick Study said, adjusting his glasses. “Look, I don’t have any money. So maybe if you just let me go we can all forget about this, huh?”
“Too late, you’re on our turf now,” one of the gang members said, kicking him in the stomach. Several of Quick’s ‘rare gems’ flew from his pack. “You got trouble!”
“No no no no no no no…” Quick tried to salvage his cups, now dirty with muck and mud. “Don’t you see what you’ve done, you ruined them!”
“They’re just empty noodle cups, you dingbat,” the second of the two thugs laughed. “You can just get more, you really should have thrown these away! Ramen noodle cups, who collects these anyways? What a joke!”
“I… I…” Quick Study said before he was shoved up against a wall, a razor blade pointed to his throat. “Oh please no! Don’t kill me! I’m too young to die, I haven’t explored every type of ramen there is! I’m still a virgin!”
“And you’ll die a virgin, shyguy,” said the first thug, the one pointing a blade to his throat. “Honestly, who collects ramen noodle cups anyways? What a joke!”
Then, from out of the shadows boomed a voice as two glowing red eyes peered out of the darkness.
“Everyone has their life goals,” said the voice as of all things ramen noodles wrapped themselves around the thugs and began choking them to death. “Please respect them. Itadakimasu.”
“Eh…?” asked Quick as a walking, living ramen cup stepped out of the shadows. “Who… who are you?”
“I am The God of Ramen, creator of a certain batch of noodles,” greeted the creature with a respectful bow. “And I have heard your pleas.”
“The God of Ramen?” Quick gaped. “My… my pleas?”
“It’s a noodle goal, to impress a girl,” said the creature, noodles pouring out of his head like strands of hair. They were hot, steamy and dripping with fresh broth. “Let me help you achieve it, young sir! I shall give you the gift of broth! All of my knowledge, it will be passed down to you.”
“All… all of your knowledge?” Quick asked, in a stammer still unable to believe what had just happened. “Really? But… but why? What’d I do to deserve this honor?”
“You want to impress my greatest customer,” the God of Ramen said. If common sense was in play, Quick would have realized he was anything but. He would have spotted the dimensional bug hidden within the strands. “It’s only fair I help you do that. Now what say you?”
Quick grinned taking the outstretched hand. “Let’s get cooking, Sensei!”
For her part, Vapor rarely thought about the stallion. She’d honestly tried to put him out of her mind. He was a creep sure, but not really something for her to worry about. She could kick his ass if he tried anything.
‘Sides, she had more important things to worry about. Like maneuvers and actual real-life monsters. Ponies in jumpsuits rocketed overhead through cloudless skies, going into complex series of tricks as they tucked in their wings and let their spirits soar.
“Mhmmm…” Vapor muttered to herself as she looked herself in the mirror, turning slightly. She’d found it a bit harder to fit into her suit this morning. “...maybe Autumn’s right? Maybe all of these noodles are going to my stomach. I’m not… flabby right?”
“I mean, you’re still not a bad-looking mare,” said another one of the members of her flight squadron, this bubbly but slightly ditzy mare called Angel Wings. “Pleasantly plump at worst.”
“Still…” Vapor murmured to herself. “Maybe I need to move up a size?”
“You worry too much!” Angel said sweetly as they walked out of the locker rooms. “You don’t have to conform to any one body type, you don’t have to be a model really. Honestly, I don’t think looking paper-thin is too healthy anyways…”
“‘Sides,” another of her squadron, Lightning Dust grinned lavisciously. “It’s gone down all to your butt anyways. Guys love that!”
“Ewwwwww,” Angel blushed. “Really, Dust?”
“Just speakin’ my mind!” Lightning shrugged before spotting someone spying on them. “Okay, I’ll bite, who’s that guy?”
Vapor followed her gaze and groaned. “Oh no…”
“H-Hey Vapor,” said the pegasus, his wings tucked into his side shyly. “I just wanted to ask you, I’m starting my own business. I need a bit of hired help, if… if you don’t mind?”
“No means no, Quick Study,” Vapor replied firmly, putting her hoof down. “For someone with a name like yours, you sure don’t learn fast!”
“But I’ve got a great new recipe!” Quick stammered out. “It’s going to be big, huge, you really should get in on this!”
“And what would the fine print be?” Vapor remarked, crossing her arms. “That I’d have to date you to get paid?”
“Who is this guy?” Lightning whispered.
“Nobody important,” Vapor whispered back before looking back at Quick. “I’m sorry, but you really shouldn’t be here anyways. This is our practice space, it’s dangerous for civilians. Any number of things could happen to you here!”
“A-Are you threatening me?” Quick Study stammered out nervously.
“No, just giving you a warning,” Vapor said kindly, if not still firmly. “Like, there could be someone crashing and I don’t want to see two ponies in the hospital if they land on you. So please, leave. Remove yourself from the base or you will be removed.”
“Do I need to go get the Captain?” Lightning Dust asked. “I mean, I’m sure she’d loooovve to deal with some creep. Put him in a full-body wing and hoof cast drinking through a straw!”
“I… Okay, yeah I get the message,” Quick said dejectedly, giving Lightning a dirty look. “I’ll leave.”
“Incel…” Lightning uttered in disgust as she watched him fly off.
“Lightning!” Angel gasped. “Be nice!”
“What, I’m sorry, but he is!” Lightning crossed her arms and ‘harrumphed’. “Just speakin’ my mind, free country and all that.”
Vapor just giggled.
Honestly, she really did try to put him out of her mind. She really did try, I swear! But in the back of her mind, Quick Study’s words nagged at her. Like, what did he mean by starting up his own business?
...what, was he starting a publishing company for books by pick-up artists?
Perish the thought!
“Alright dear, something’s been bothering you. I know how to read a pony, and you dearie are stressed,” Rarity sighed over lunch, the mare sipping her green tea. The two mares met up every so often, not something Vapor would have ever expected but it had come to pass.
Maybe it was due to the fact that they shared a few common multi-colored friends.
“Do you need a trip to the Ponyville Day Spa?” Rarity inquired, after another sip. “Like, you’re fidgeting in your seat even now. You are not a calm mare.”
Okay, oh… uh… so she was. She’d been caught apparently.
“I… yeah, this week’s been weird for me. Wild lately,” Vapor admitted, rubbing her temples. “Okay, so you caught me. Busted! Was I really that obvious?”
“Darling, the only time I’ve seen a mare more fidgety was Fluttershy before a photoshoot, back during her brief stint as a model,” Rarity deadpanned, lowering her sunglasses to look Vapor in the eye. “Alright, is it your training regiment? Has Spitfire been running you a bit too ragged? Or did you get landed with a squad that just wasn’t the right fit for you?”
“Oh, if it were only that,” Vapor sighed. “If it were my squad, I’d go to the Captain. Not sure this is something she can handle though, even if she works as a threat to boot a certain creep off base.”
“Aaaaaaaah, I see,” Rarity realized, with a little nod of the head. “Autumn mentioned this, something about a… stalker? I didn’t catch the name. Poor girl’s worried sick over you though.”
“I mean, I can handle myself!” Vapor replied. “I’m not some poor defenseless mare who needs to be saved by a knight in shining armor. Give me a break!”
“But I would note you carry a taser in your handbag, not to mention a canister of pepper spray,” Rarity replied. “You’re rattled.”
“Well, wouldn’t you be?” Vapor replied, pointedly.
“Well, I dunno, I got a big strong man with superpowers at my beck and call,” Rarity trailed off, possibly indulging in some personal fantasy by the way her eyes glazed over. She quickly shook herself back to sense. “But I digress. You’re quite right, I would be worried even if I did have superpowers.”
“Shining thinks I need a personal guard,” Vapor replied, somewhat worriedly. “Do you think he’s right?”
“Well, it can’t hurt,” Rarity admitted with a shrug. “Buuuuuuuuuut, I can imagine having guys watching your every move can be a bit… disconcerting. No privacy!”
“That’s what I said!” Vapor agreed with a little nod.
“But Shining’s probably right, this guy sounds dangerous,” Rarity replied. “Even if you do have you know what on your side, it wouldn’t hurt to have some backup just in case.”
“Ah, but that’s the thing,” Vapor scoffed. “Shining is being a worrywart. I do have you know what on my side, a whole team of you know whats. I don’t need guards watching my every move!”
Then before they could say anything else, the sounds of commotion reached their ears. On a nearby viewing globe was a commercial.
“Heeeellllloo Equestria, are you tired of having nothing to eat on short notice?” a voice said, as a tired office drone looked to be trudging into the lunchroom. His tummy rumbled, and he searched through his bag to find natta. “Are you needing a quick ready to eat meal, and on the cheap? But are you wanting something actually fulfilling unlike other brands?”
In the commercial, there was a series of ponies nodding.
“Then I present to you Vapor Ramen!” in popped Quick Study, in a lab coat along with a dancing noodle cup creature smiling happily. Vapor and Rarity looked at the image, then at each other, and then back at the image even as a stallion ‘ate’ the noodles and was sent to Cloud Nine apparently. Complete with little angels. “It’s heavenly.”
Vapor’s fist was shaking, her voice a low growl as she uttered: “I am seriously going to kill him.”
“More to the point…” Rarity observed the ramen cup creature. “Isn’t that a…?”
“A dimensional beast,” Vapor nodded in a faint horror before amending her previous statement. “I’m going to kill them both. Slowly, painfully.”
Thankfully, this time the monster wasn’t hard to find given he seemed to have taken over the Godly Ramen headquarters. Actually, come to think of it, Vapor recognized the Beast. He looked so sickeningly like the company’s mascot she should have seen it before.
“A monster making ramen,” Sunset deadpanned as the group teleported outside the headquarters in Manehatten. “How novel. What will they do next, wash and dry our clothes?”
“Teach our kids?” Shining deadpanned in equal suggestion. “Mow our lawns? There’s big business there. I should say, the outside of Cadence’s chateau looks horrible right now. The lawn does need cutting. Maybe I should think about hiring.”
“Sure, they start mowing your lawns and cutting your grass, but what next?” Sunset returned her voice still dry as a bone. “They’ll be cutting you down before you know it!”
“All jokes aside, I can’t believe any of us didn’t notice,” Shining uttered as they marched into the lobby with all eyes on them. “A dimensional beast right under our very noses!”
“Yes, well, stranger things have happened I imagine…” Vapor mused. “I’ll give him credit, he played us good. But that’s not what makes me so mad. No, what pisses me off is he just had to ally with that creep Quick Study and make money off my image! I mean, he could have at least given me a cut of the profits!”
“Apparently Quick Study is not a fast learner,” Sunset mused. “All evidence seems to point to that, really.”
“As we’ve noticed,” Shining acknowledged. “Not sure the Wonderbolts would like having one of their members on especially fattening foods. Just saying.”
“Actually, Godly Ramen is well known for its nutritional value and being -relatively- low in calories,” Vapor said, making everyone give her a weird look. “...what, I know this stuff! Though it has been forever tainted for me.”
“‘Sides,” Autumn put in. “I’ve seen Soarin’ advertising certain brands of pie. That stuff is hugely fattening. Yum!”
She patted her belly.
“I can’t believe we’re arguing about nutritional value while we’re about to go fight a monster,” Vapor mused over the ridiculousness of the situation. “A very dumb, stupid-ass themed monster but still. A monster!”
“Heeeeeeeeey, has anyone else noticed that…” Shining looked around at the employees, apparently gazing at them with blank-eyed stares. “Like, this is all creepy to the rest of you right?”
“Now that you mention it…” Sunset admitted following his gaze, and waving a hand in front of one of the ponies’ faces. No reaction.
“Ah! So you’ve finally noticed my slaves!” called out the dimensional beast from an upper level. His face wasn’t so friendly anymore. “Rangers, you’ve come to die.”
“I assume by slaves you don’t mean the regular corporate drones slaving to the grind,” Vapor deadpanned.
“Oh no, my plan was sound. I was to lie in wait in the shadows,” explained the dimensional beast as he looked down at the rangers from his perch. “Sell my product. These guys, they were just a dry run. A trial. But the populace of Equestria? They ate my product up, literally!”
He burst out into a laughing fit as a slow dawning horror came over the rangers realizing just how many ponies bought Godly Ramen.
“It’s the perfect broth…” Vapor whispered. “Of evil.”
From the shadows, Cozy watched clutching a plushie tightly with an evil grin on her face. A demonic look, really. And those idiots thought that she couldn’t cut the mustard! Well, golly, who had basically all of Equestria under her control now? Gee willikers, this plan was a gas!
“I’d dare say I cooked up the perfect plan!” the Noodle Beast laughed, as in his office a certain stallion watched nervously. ...nope, Vapor wasn’t going to date him now was she?
“Get them!” the monster snapped his fingers as the noodle zombies closed in, eyes still glassy and mouths drooling. “Now rangers, you wouldn’t dare harm civilians would you?”
“Damn it, he’s right!” Shining thought frantically.
“Nooooooooooooo!” Vapor shouted, throwing her head to the sky in dramatic fashion. “Noodles, why have you betrayed me so?”
Rage overtook her, and so she flew up to the dimensional beast with gun and sword in hand ready to face him.
“Brave aren’t you?” the beast commented.
“You ruined my favorite meal,” Vapor said furiously. “You tainted it.”
She slashed furiously into his side, before flying away even as the monster drew a massive knife to use as a sword. Pulling out her pistol, she fired several shots into the creature’s hide.
The dimensional beast pulled out a fork, launching it like a trident ready to impale Vapor. She slashed at it, knocking it aside with her own blade.
The creature slashed at her again, but she rolled to the left and fired several more shots into his hide.
“Oh, I’m never buying from you again!” Vapor hissed. “I’m leaving you so many bad reviews!”
Then, her weapons were pulled from her hands as noodles lashed out like tendrils or like angry tentacles from a bad hentai anime.
They wrapped themselves around her neck, attempting to choke her.
“Don’t eat too fast,” the monster remarked as she gasped for air. “Otherwise you may just choke!”
Then Shining and Autumn leaped up to join their teammate. Shining slashed through several of the noodles with his sword, while Autumn cut through some more with a good old-fashioned karate chop!
Then came Black and Red, now all five Rangers assembled and now all five rangers primed to die as even more noodles wrapped themselves around the team. Electricity rushed through their bodies, their suits sparking as they screamed out in pain.
“Now here’s some really fried food!” the Noodle Beast laughed.
Vapor, through her pain, managed to muster up enough strength to pull out her laser pistol and she saw that Shining had as well. They fired, creating twin streams of energy smashing the monster through a wall, it crumpling beneath his weight.
The noodles turned to ash as they hit the floor, the rangers pulling their somewhat scorched selves out.
“And it’s not even cooked right…” Sunset uttered as she looked at the ashes.
With a roar, the Noodle Beast emerged with knife and fork in hand crying: “I’m going to make a meal out of all of you!”
The rangers dived and ducked slashes from the makeshift weapons, sometimes getting hit but not often.
Sunset and Shining held back the monster’s blade with their own swords, Autumn leaping in for a powerful right cross.
The monster slashed at her as she cartwheeled away before throwing his fork like a trident again. Robert leaped into the air, slashing the ‘weapon’ in two with his sword.
The Noodle Beast thrust out his hand, wrapping the black ranger in noodles and pumping him full of more electricity. Sunset suffered the same fate, sinking to her knees only for Shining to slash the monster with a call of: “Burning Reign!” and his sword encased in flame.
“You’re overdone,” he called. “It’s time we throw this meal out to the trash.”
All five rangers pulled out their sidearms, calling out: “Chroma Fury!” as five streams converged into one rainbow blast of light. The monster, and the dimensional bug which had given it life were incinerated.
As she holstered her gun, spinning it like an old west gunfighter might have, Sunset said: “Power Rangers… victory is ours!”
“Well, that was…” Vapor searched for the right word, unsure of exactly how to describe such an experience. She did eventually manage to settle on one word though. “Weird.”
“So your favorite fast-food company turned out to be run by a literal monster,” Autumn commented, all five of them demorphed. “...that’s not something you can say every day.”
“Yeah, there’s a lot to unpack there,” Vapor admitted. “Wild, innit?”
“So, I guess lesson learned?” Sunset commented with an awkward shrug. “Always check the fine print and make sure whoever you’re buying from isn’t a literal monster?”
“Yeeeeeeeeeep…” Vapor replied with a little nod.
“Hey Vapes, I’m sorry,” stuttered out a familiar and unwelcome voice. Vapor whirled on her hoof to see, yep you guessed it walking up to her. “I… I didn’t know it would get this far, honest! I just wanted you to see what I could do!”
Her reaction was immediate, flooring him with a punch to the jaw.
“Oh, I’ve seen,” Vapor growled to the now cowering Quick Study. Autumn gave a low, impressed whistle in the background. “Go take a hike.”
Quick Study couldn’t quite get out of there fast enough.
Meanwhile, Cozy steamed like a good broth hiding behind a lamp post.
“Well, that plan was a wash wasn’t it?” she sighed as she crept into an alleyway vanishing into shadow. “Awwww phooey. Well, gee golly, I honestly thought it would work!”
“You honestly couldn’t be faulted,” said that voice in her mind, as cold as the Winter’s bane. “The rangers were just too powerful this time.”
“Agreed, Lord Zephyrus,” Cozy admitted. “I think, for now, we sit back and wait. Let whatever Radiguet has in mind bear fruit. He’s an imbecile so whatever it is, it can’t be all that swell.”
“They don’t know, do they?” Zephyrus rumbled inside her head. “What he really is?”
“Eh?” Cozy asked, confused.
“Oh, nothing. Don’t mind me. It was just the rumblings of an old man. Musings,” he trailed off. “But yes, we should just watch and wait now. Bide our time and then we strike.”
“I’m glad I met you, My Lord,” Cozy replied. “You’re a true friend, and an even better inspiration!”
“I aim to please,” he replied. “Me and my brothers.”
“The ponies were foolish to forget about you,” Cozy grinned. “That folly will come back to bite them. You’ve faded into myth and legend, ghost stories to be told around a campfire. It’s honestly hilarious in a way. Oh well, what can we do?”
As Cozy walked, a cold chill filled the alleyway and Zephyrus chuckled inside her mind. “Yes, what indeed?”