//------------------------------// // Ch. 5 // Story: A Twilight Rose Love // by Mystic Sunrise //------------------------------// Pearl yawned as she made her way to the Castle of Friendship. All around her, Ponyville was still waking up with only a few ponies out and about this early in the morning. “I don’t care if she does raise the sun. This had better be important because I miss my bed already. I hate early mornings, hence why all my classes are in the afternoon. I should be laying in bed sound asleep. I just didn’t think I would have you as an alarm clock.” “Yeah sorry about that. I’m not much of an early riser either,” Forestsong replied with a smile. Pearl shot him a look, earning more than a few odd looks herself. Just perfect. “Then why the bloody hell did you do that this morning and wake me up in the process.”  “Because I forgot that as a spirit, I don’t sleep.” Forestsong had long since abandoned his plant body. Stretching out on his back he floated along on a cloud made of morning dew. “And when the sun rises, the plants become more lively so much that they want to sing.” Pearl grumbled as she walked along, picking up her pace as ponies looked and quirked an eyebrow or two at her. “That doesn’t mean you have to sing along with them.” “But then you wouldn’t have gotten up in time to get Twilight’s message,” Forestsong grinned and chuckled.  “Don’t push it, spirit boy. We are a long way from being friends. Maybe I can’t get rid of you. But that doesn’t mean I have to listen to you,” Pearl growled. That seemed to strike harder than intended, for he didn’t respond. A part of Pearl felt bad for that, but she was not really in the mood right now. And she was nowhere near ready to call him anything but a pain in her flank. Their talk the night before had helped somewhat. But if he wanted to genuinely be friends with her, he needed to stop acting like they had been at this for years and had known each other for that long. “Humph. She may look like her but sure as hell don’t act like her. I wonder if she needs a super dose of caffeine before the stick comes out?” Pearl’s ears perked at the spirit fox’s whispers but didn’t turn around. Sucking in through her nose she held her breath tightly. That last comment almost got a laugh out of her.  But whom was he talking about? No doubt some creature from his past that he was close to. No doubt someone he missed. Holding her hoof on the door to Twilight’s castle, Pearl stopped. “Look, I’m sorry I snapped at you. But I meant what I said. Right now, no matter who you think I am or might be, we aren't friends. At the moment you're just a painfully annoying housemate. If you want to be my friend then it’s something you have to work on.” Turning her head she smiled as nobody was around to hear her talk. “And right now, following me around like a lost puppy dog is no way to win my friendship. For the last few days, you have been driving me crazy. Ponies are already starting to think that I actually am crazy for talking to thin air, or a bush, or a tree. So please. Just for today. Go away, give me some space.” Forestong sighed and looked at her, his eyes showing defeat. Yet another spear into Pearl’s already tired heart.  Leaning her back up against the door, Pearl closed her eyes. “Look, if you want to talk we can talk. But, we do it behind closed doors when we’re alone. I don’t want others thinking I've gone insane. So do you think that is too much to ask?” Forestsong just shook his head and smiled.  “Thank you. Is there any chance I can get you to wait back at my home?” “Would if I could but I can’t. I can explore the castle here. I’m sure there’s a thing or two that I can amuse myself with.” Forestsong chuckled. “Sure thing, just don’t break anything.” Pearl rolled her eyes. He was worse than a younger sibling. because at least then they have a reason to be a pain. Looking about, Pearl noticed that Forestsong had completely vanished from view. Even that eversweet scent was gone. “Thank you for listening,” she whispered and pushed open the door to Twilight’s castle. Twilight stifled a yawn as settled down behind her desk. She had cleared her schedule for the day, much to the annoyance of the Canterlot Elite and their constant demands for her time. Some days, she wondered how and why Celestia and Luna hadn’t vaporized the lot of them a long time ago. Sure, there were a few good examples who only came to her if and when they needed help with something big that would benefit all. But most were nothing more than whiny teenagers at the best of times. But that was beside the point. Today was a free day for her. Just what she had needed. After the revelations of last night, she couldn’t wait to share them with Pearl. So much so that she’d had to stop herself from dragging the Pegasus here last night. She hated to pull Pearl away from bed so early in the morning, but Twilight knew the reward was worth the inconvenience. With a knock on the door and grinned. “Come on in Pearl.” Twilight happily called out. As her new marefriend entered, Twilight felt her heartbeat increase. She was thankful her hooves were resting on the book in her lap. “You know you don’t have to knock. A privilege that only you have.” “Thanks but I don’t like to intrude,” Pearl yawned again and closed the door behind her. “First things first. Do you have any coffee? I’d rather not have my morning temper flare up any more than it has.” Chuckling to herself, Twilight gestured to the tray next to her. “Of course.” With a playful roll of her eyes, She watched Pearl dash to the tray and eagerly drink the cup already prepared. Forestsong danced lightly about the stone floors in the hallways below the Castle of Friendship. For the first time in days, he didn’t feel the need to be near the two mares. They were together and seemed happy with each other. As far as he cared, his job was done, his debt was paid.  Stopping dead, Forestsong listened to the crystal roots. The sound was identical to the cursed tree that once bound his forest. A harmonious tone that was a mimicry of the song true plantlife sing. He despised that sound, hated it with a passion that rivaled all others. Ever since the day it sprouted, Forestsong wanted that tree destroyed. He would have long ago done the job himself, But even a destroyed tree can regrow itself over time. So how to get it out of his forest? Thankfully Princess Twilight herself was the solution. The tree was so intuned with her soul that its avatar took Twilight’s form. A form that convinced six young children to forge a treehouse out of its remains. Now that treehouse is contained in the old castle of the two sisters. He knew there wasn’t much magic in that old castle, but it was enough to contain the new tree’s power. And now his forest was free to grow once again.  He wanted to go home. To be with his family again. His job was done, his debt was paid. Yet why was he still here? Kicking through an odd rock, he continued on down the hallway. Forestsong was lost in his own thoughts so he was unaware of how much time that had passed. It wasn’t until he bumped into something that he was brought back to reality.  Blinking, Forestsong looked at what he had bumped into. Something that shouldn’t have been possible. Looking up he sighed. Lifting his paw up he ran it down slowly over the wooden body of a timberwolf cub.  By the dust that had accumulated, it had been down here for ages. A few years no doubt. Looking at the clipboard he smirked. ‘A Study on Timberwolf Evolution, by Starlight Glimmer.’ Looking over the cub, Forestsong was curious himself. These creatures were not natural. But they did protect his forest so he let them be. Reaching down, his paw drifted toward the wooden heart. A quick spark caused him to pull his paw back quickly. “Chaos, I should have known. Who else could think up such creatures?” Shrugging he turned back to the door and moved on. Halting, he looked over his shoulder. “Now that I think of it. You might be of some use to me, little one.” A mischievous grin crossed his lips. Pearl couldn’t stop herself from squeeing as she zipped from page to page. She didn’t even know where to begin, there was so much here. “I don’t even know where to start!” Twilight giggled. “I figured you would love it, Pearl.” Pearl looked down at her marefriend. “How did they even manage to learn this much? This blows everything I’ve learned out of the water. And then some. Hay. No one’s seen an Eastern Dragon for centuries. If I hadn’t heard it from Tiamat herself, I wouldn’t even think they still exist.” Twilight nodded. “I don’t know, Pearl. It’s possible that this was written long before the Dragon Wars. If my hunch is correct, this was written by a Kitsune. They were known to have dealings with both kinds.” Pearl rolled her eyes as she landed and looked at the nearby skull. “Yeah. Before the Western drove them to extinction. Those that didn’t become nature spirits anyway.” Twilight nodded sadly. The wars had only ended when the last living Kitsune had been killed and the Eastern Dragons had been driven into hiding. The Badlands far to the south were the legacy of the conflict. She also saw how Pearl looked at it. “And that leads me to another thing, Pearl.” Pearl gave her a look. “What’s that?” Twilight shook her head. “That shouldn’t be here. Not like this anyway. You’ve seen other skulls before. Even old ones. What stands out about them?” Pearl tapped her chin a moment. “They look really grimy and dirty. Like…” She paused, even as Twilight nodded. “Like they’ve been lying about for any length of time. Even the newest ones show some sign of this.” She picked it up. “This doesn’t show any of that. Kitsunes have been dead for millennia. Yet this doesn’t show a single sign of that. Not even a little bit of grime. Fluttershy didn’t do anything to it.” Pearl looked at it closer. Now that she really looked at it, she could see how new it looked. Like its owner had just died. But that wasn’t possible. “How? That doesn’t make any sense.” Twilight sighed. “I don’t know. But I don’t like this. Something is very wrong with all of this. I feel bad enough messing with it as it is. Knowing this? It doesn’t feel right.” Pearl groaned as she massaged her forehead. “So what? We put it back with the rest of his body? Good luck finding it in the Everfree. That’s even assuming that’s where he died. His body could be anywhere for all we know.” Twilight nodded as she lay the skull back on the shelf. “I know, Pearl. But I still don’t like holding onto it like this. If I can find a way to return it to where it belongs. Then I will.” Pearl sighed. She just had to fall in love with somepony with a heart of gold. But she still smiled. “Fine. Who knows? Maybe we’ll get lucky and the rest of him isn’t too far away from where Fluttershy found this.” Twilight giggled as placed a wing around her friend. “That’s the spirit. But that can wait for now. I know how much you love this kind of thing. Let’s focus on that for now.” pointing a wing to the book. Pearl nodded happily, and as the two lay down together and began to read, she felt herself relaxing completely and felt herself wiggling as close as she could under Twilight’s wing, earning an eye roll from the alicorn, but she didn’t mind either way. By the time mid-day had rolled by, Twilight had almost jumped as a loud knocking to her chamber doors.  “What the hell?” Pearl groaned.  “They better have a good excuse for this.” Twilight half growled. “I did leave specific instructions to be left alone today. ENTER!”  Pushing the door open a lone guard walked into the room. His breathing was heavy and looked to be on his last legs. Screams from the house staff echoed down the halls.  “Forgive the intrusion princess. But we have a, well, slight problem,” the guard muttered with a shaken voice. “Is it something you can handle on your own?” The guard just shook his head. “Fine, what's the problem? And why is everyone in a panic out there?” “This may sound silly, or scary. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.” “Just spit it out already!” Pearl slammed her hoof down then blinked and looked at Twilight. “Oops. Sorry, your guards.” “Hehe, that’s okay. Please answer. What is it? I’m sure whatever it is. It’s not the oddest thing to have happened in my life.” “There’s a timberwolf inside your castle.” Twilight and Pearl just blinked.  “I stand corrected. How could a timberwolf break into my castle?!” Twilight stood up and walked over to the guard. She didn’t mean to sound or look intimidating. But being an alicorn with magical hair did have that effect. She heard the guard whimper. “It didn’t break into the castle. It walked up a flight of stairs. Came up to me and asked where the kitchen was.” Pearl felt like her head was about to explode as she sat there, her mouth slowly opening and closing. Twilight blinked and felt just like her marefriend. A timberwolf, of all creatures, can talk now. “And what did you say?” “I… I couldn’t say anything. I just pointed.” The guard dropped to his belly and tried to catch his breath. “It thanked me and sauntered off. The next thing I know, I’m hearing screams from the kitchen staff. So I tried to do what I could. But the cook is in complete hysterics, swinging an iron skillet at the beast who kept asking where to find a wok.” Slumping lower the guard took a few long deep breaths. “This was half an hour ago, Finally the cook just kept screaming to get you, princess. The only thing I can think of is that I don’t get paid enough for this weirdness.” “Don’t worry, with how well you’ve handled things you're getting a bonus this week. And a permanent ten percent raise.” Turning to Pearl, Twilight smiled. “Come on Pearl. Being my marefriend means you have to help with the madness inside a castle.” “I knew there were going to be strings attached,” Pearl chuckled and shook her head. The pair quickly galloped to the castle kitchens only to find the place a complete and utter mess. Twilight found her personal chef, Sweet Delights, crying hysterically in the corner of her own kitchen. A cast-iron skillet on the ground in front of her. And no sign of a Timberwolf in sight.  “Delights, I thought there was a timberwolf in here. You by chance didn’t see where it went, did you?” Twilight calmly asked the sweet pink and blue earth pony who shook her head and just pointed to the open window. “The adventure continues,” Twilight sighed. Turning to Pearl she smiled. “Not how I planned our afternoon.” “I’m not complaining, let's hunt down that Timberwolf.” Pearl grinned as she leaped out the open window and flew off. With Twilight right behind her. Twilight stood at the front of her castle, her wings half dragging along the ground as her horn was lit. the sun slowly setting as she raised the moon in turn.  “Five hours and we just keep missing it by moments,” Pearl grumbled as she kicked a stone across a field. “First the market, then Barnyard Bargains. I doubt Diamond will ever be the same again. Rarity isn’t going to be much happier when she finds out that her boutique was trashed.” “It wasn’t trashed, just broken into. And the only thing missing was a skein of silk.” Twilight shook her head as the pair stood there. “That timberwolf took us all through Ponyville today. Things were taken, ponies were scared. But no harm was really done. Which baffles me completely.” “Yeah, Timberwolves aren't this smart. They just go on attacking things.” Pearl took a few long deep breaths. “Why wasn’t this one?” “I guess we’ll never know.” Pushing open her door, Twilight wrapped a wing around Pearl. “Let's get back to that book, I’ll send one of the kitchen staff out for dinner and give them all the night… Do you smell something?” Sniffing the air inside the castle, Twilight turned about. “Yeah. I guess your cooks got the kitchen up in order. But I've never smelled anything this good from them.” Taking a long deep breath Pearl practically cooed. “It’s. Do your cooks know anything about eastern food?” “No, not any of them.” “Then who’s cooking it?” Pearl looked about. The castle didn’t change but something was definitely off. It was eerily quiet. No guards, no maids. Just them and the aroma of eastern cuisine. The pair quickly ran to the kitchen, inside were sacks of groceries that were taken from the marketplace. On the stove sat a large steel wok that had been acquired at Barnyard Bargains. Pushing to the double door to the royal dining room. The large table was set with a beautiful silken table cloth. On it were dozens of various dishes. Dumplings, rice, stirfried vegetables, noodles, and half a dozen sauces. Walking up to two chairs, the only two chairs. There was a letter folded neatly. Pearl opened it and coughed a bit.  “I’m sorry again if I caused you any trouble, Pearl. I never meant to. You're right, we aren't friends. You just remind me so much of her, it hurts sometimes. I hope this will make up for all the grief I caused you. And a good first step for a friendship. Please enjoy. ~KF” Pearl blinked and shook her head, re-reading the letter several times. “Who the buck is KF?” “I have no idea,” Twilight said as she sniffed all the food. “You by chance didn’t hurt the feelings of a timberwolf today did you?” “No. I came here straight from home. The only soul I yelled at was…” Pearl blinked and staggered. “Oh buck.” “Pearl. Are you okay?” Pearl just shook her head. “I’m not sure what the K stands for, but I'm almost positive the F stands for Forestsong.” Twilight held onto Pearl and helped her into the chair at the table. “Forestsong, Forestsong… That name sounds familiar,” Twilight put a hoof to her forehead. “Oh. this Forestsong. Is he about your height, green fur, and nine tails?” Pearl only nodded.  “He’s been haunting me for days now. It started with those flowers. Now it’s all the damn time,” Pearl sighed and dropped her head. “He’s been all super friendly towards me. Behaving like we’ve been friends for years. I finally snapped at him this morning when he started singing moments before your letter arrived.” Twilight sat back and looked at Pearl. She understood how frustrating some friendship problems were. Especially when one tries too hard. “I can understand. He’s been alone for so long and now he has you. Can you blame him for being overly friendly?” “Twilight, I love you. But can we not do the Princess of Friendship thing tonight?” Pearl groaned and popped a dumpling into her mouth. Causing her to groan in pleasure. “Oh my gawd. These are delicious.” “Alright Pearl. But I want you to at least think about his feelings in this.” Popping one of the same dumplings into her mouth Twilight understood Pearl’s moan. If food was love, this was it. “And you have to admit. This is one hell of a friendship gesture.” “You know what this means, don’t you?” Swallowing Twilight nodded. “This timberwolf we’ve been chasing is our ghost boy. How he’s pulling it off I have no Idea. But as long as it’s only a few ponies being scared and no harm being done. I think we can let him run loose for a time. I’ll send compensation to everyone he visited tomorrow. I doubt he had any bits on him.” Pearl giggled, and the rest of the meal passed in relative quiet, both just happy to be together.