//------------------------------// // 11. Dinner With Threats // Story: Good Things Come // by Sweet Tale //------------------------------// "A meal out with everyone. Why the hell did I suggest it?!" I panicked as I started to prepare for the evening out. I don't know what compelled me to suggest such a thing in the first place, as I'm not exactly the world number one in socializing with others, but I needed to thank Twilight and her friends for all the help that they had provided. I opened up my wardrobe and began scanning through the items of clothing. "Blue with white? No, if I wear white, I'm sure to make it dirty easily. Maybe the dark red and the black trousers." I muttered to myself, holding each item of clothing up to my body to see if it would match. "Damn it! Nothing here is suitable for going out." I said louder, catching attention of a passer-by. "You OK in there?" Spike asked from the doorway. "Oh, yeah I'm fine. It's just that I can't decide what to wear for this evening." "What are you doing this evening?" I raised my eyebrow in confusion. "Did Twilight not tell you? We're all going out for a meal this evening. Me, Twilight, Pinkie, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow and Rarity. Did you want to come?" Spike scoffed and chuckled. "No way! I already have enough of Twilight talking to me here. Imagine what she'd be like around all of her friends?" "Oh, come on. She can't be that bad." "You haven't witnessed it yet. Just don't mention anything to do with science or history and you'll be fine. Thanks for the offer though." "You're welcome." I turned to face the wardrobe again. "Come on, there must be something here..." I muttered. "Why don't you wear that suit that Rarity made you?" I stood still, stunned that I didn't think of it sooner. I clicked my fingers and nodded my head heading towards the other wardrobe and fetching the suit out of it. I turned to Spike with a huge grin on my face. "You are a genius! I completely forgot about this! Thank you sooo much." "Genius, huh?" Spike said, holding a claw to his chin. He turned a 180 and walked out of the room. "Spike the genius...Professor Spike, degree in geniusness..." I chuckled at how Spike now saw himself. I layed the suit out on the bead and observed it. It was perfect for the evening. I looked at the clock. "5:30. Too early to wear it yet." I sat back on the bed and pulled out the adventurer novel once again. I was over half way through so I was impressed that I'd made it this far before getting bored. A half hour later, I heard the door open and heard many hoofsteps coming in. 'Wow. That girl works fast.' I mused, getting up from the bed and walking towards the staircase. Looking down, I saw that everyone had arrived and were idly talking away. I managed to evade any looks and I retreated towards the bathroom, closing the door shut with an audible click. "Owen, is that you?" I heard Twilight shout. "Yeah, it's me. I'm just about to take a shower!" "OK. The girls and I are ready to leave when you are!" "I won't be long!" I turned the shower on, quickly undressed and jumped into the shower...the bloody FREEZING SHOWER! "AH! OH! COLD! BLOODY COLD!" I shouted, swiftly exiting the shower. I fiddled with the dials and the water soon turned hot. Re-entering the shower cautiously, I washed myself with some random bottle of shampoo or gel that I found. Whilst washing myself, my mind drifted back to my time at the castle. Comforting Luna, the morning after, the kiss... 'Oh, what a kiss. Took my first fucking kiss she did...and it was gooooood. It's mad, I barely know her and I'm already falling in love with her. I just really hope that what Celestia told me was true...cause I really want it to...' I finished washing myself and turned the shower off. Walking out of the shower, I quickly wrapped a towel around my waist and made my way to my room without being seen. Closing my bedroom door behind me, I dried myself off and put on some boxer shorts and socks. Catching myself in the mirror, I looked at my reflection side on and noticed something. "What the..." I reached for my belly and managed to grip a bit of loose skin. "Must cut down on the sweets, I don't wanna be a fat load again." I thought back to my previous years, how much fatter I used to be. I turned to comfort food to help with the bullying and living with Sylvia. When I got a job, I began to watch what I eat and the weight dropped off with healthy eating and exercise, mainly cycling. I finished drying myself and reached for the suit. I began putting it on, slowly and carefully so I don't damage the material. Slipping my legs into the trousers, I marvelled at how comfortable the suit was. I quickly put the rest of the suit on, the shirt and the jacket. I looked at myself in the mirror, straightening the suit and making my hair didn't look unkempt. Nodding at myself, I walked out of the room. I approached the end of the hallway and took a deep sigh. Looking downstairs, everyone was looking away from the stairwell. I started to walk down the stairs slowly, not trying to catch anyone's attention, before a creaky board squeaked making everyone turn round, gasping at my attire. This did not make me feel confident in the slightest. "Evening ladies." I quietly said. "Wow Owen, you look great!" Rainbow exclaimed. "That's a mighty fine suit you got there." AJ said. "Yeah! It looks super-ific on you!" Pinkie chimed, bouncing on the spot. "It does look very pretty..." Fluttershy quietly mumbled. "Good job Rarity, it fits him perfectly!" Twilight thanked her friend. "Oh, it was nothing." Rarity turns to me. "But darling, it looks absolutely divine on you." I was quite taken aback with their words of acknowledgement. I cleared my throat and looked upon the group. "Well, thank you. I really do like it and I have Miss Rarity to thank for it." I said proudly. I then noticed an absentee. "Hey, where's Spike? I was hoping I could twist his arm into coming with us." I was met with an audible gasp from Fluttershy. "Twist his arm? What would threatening him achieve?" "No, no, no. It's an expression. It means to help someone change their mind, not literally twisting their arm." I answered with a smile. "Oh...OK then..." she said, hiding her face behind her mane. "Spike didn't want to come along. He's going to spend the night with the Crusaders at Rarity's." Twilight said. "Alright then. I'll have to treat him some other time. Are we ready to go?" Everyone nodded and we were soon out of the library, walking into Ponyville. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Celestia had just lowered the sun and was awaiting the arrival of her sister. Tapping her hoof impatiently, Luna eventually appeared behind her. "I am sorry sister, I lost track of time." Luna apologised. Her horn lit up and soon the moon was hanging in the sky, bathing the land below in it's light. Celestia turned to Luna with a look of concern on her face. "Is something troubling you Luna?" Luna looked at her sister and tried to look as neutral as possible. "No, nothing at all...why?" "You've never been late for raising the moon. I was wondering if something was wrong." "I was just...thinking." "Thinking? About what?" Luna turned away and walked back into the throne room, standing near the throne. Celestia followed suit. "Luna, please. What's wrong?" "What happened last night. What could happen in the future. Is it right?" Celestia tilted her head in confusion before nodding at what Luna had meant. "You mean between you and Owen?" Luna nodded slowly. Celestia walked closer to her sister and draped a wing around her. "What happens between you and Owen is your choice. I personally do not have a problem with it." "But what about our subjects? And the rest of Equestria? How will they react to a pony of royalty engaging in a relationship with a different species? Especially one from another world?" "It doesn't matter what they think. This is your life and you can live it how you see fit. Don't spend time worrying about what others will think. Just enjoy your newfound friendship to the fullest extent that you can." Celestia beamed, aiming to lift Luna's spirits. Luna looked at her sister with a twinkle in her eye and a smile that could bring joy to thousands. "Thank you sister. You're right, I shouldn't care what others think. This is my life!" she said with a stance. "That's the Luna I know!" Both sisters walked out of the throne room, side by side, smiling at each other, unaware of the presence of another pony in the room. It emerged from behind the throne with a look of pure anger. "So it's true. Luna has fallen in love with that disgusting creature. Well I will make sure that it will never happen!" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "So girls, where's a good place to eat around here?" I immediately got bombarded with many suggestions and names of various places. I tried to listen to each of them but the constant noise was too much. I raised my hand. "OK, OK! Stop!" The mares all stopped talking over each other. "Clearly there are many places to go, so I need a way to choose." I thought for a few seconds before an idea came to me. '5.' "Right, I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 6. I'll point at each of you and you say the number you think it is. OK?" The girls nodded and I began to point. "6!" "1!" "3!" "5!" "4!" "2!" "OK. So, wherever you choose, we will go." I said, pointing at the winning pony. "Oh...um...I was thinking of that nice little restaurant next to the town hall...if that's OK with everypony else..." "Fine by me. Lead the way, Fluttershy." We all followed the shy pegasus as we walked through the town, gaining greetings from most of the ponies that passed. Some commented on my suit which I gracefully accepted and gave praise to Rarity for. The moon was high in the sky by the time we reached the restaurant. It was a simple wooden building, with many styles of flowers and plants surrounding it. Candles flickered in cages around the door and window frames. "Wow Fluttershy, you chose a great place." Fluttershy could do nothing but mumble something incomprehensible as we walked in. The restaurant wasn't that busy and there were plenty of tables avaliable. The moment I walked into the building, it all went quiet. The ponies that were already seated stopped whatever they were doing and stared at me in silence. I thought that by now, most ponies in this town would be aware of me. I suppose some still hadn't seen me. I looked at them all and tried to lighten the mood. "Don't worry everyone, I don't bite. Please enjoy your evening." Surprisingly, they did. A small tan earth pony walked towards our group. "G-good evening S-Sir. A-are you h-here for--" "Please don't be alarmed. Owen is a kind and friendly creature and he means no harm." Twilight kindly explained. I mouthed 'thank you' silently at her. The pony seemed to relax at this. "Thank you Twilight. Sorry for being disrespectful, Sir. Now, are you here for dinner?" "Yes we are. Have you got a table for seven?" "Right this way, everypony." The pony lead us to a rather large table, seated in an alcove next to a window. We all took our seats, Pinkie kind of jumped into hers, and the waiter gave us all a menu. "Tonight's soup is roasted carrot and celery. I will be back shortly to take your orders." "Thank you, mister...?" "Smart Service." "Thank you Smart." The waiter quickly walked away before we all looked at our menus. I thought now would be the time to bring up a nice fact. "Right, girls. You can order anything you like, no matter what the price is." This brought a smile to everyone's faces. They all looked at each other in shock and then at me with a smile, thanking me for this. After a while, Smart returned to our table. "OK, everypony. What would you all like?" "I would like the mushroom and courgette risotto, please." asked Twilight. "Can I please have the squash and tomato gratin." Rarity added. "The pumpkin ravioli please!" Pinkie said excitedly. "Um...the daisy salad please" Fluttershy quietly said. "The grilled vegetable platter!" Rainbow said loudly. "I'll have the spicy bean stew, please" AJ asked. I studied the menu one quick last time. "And I'll have the lasagne, thank you." "Very good. Have you decided on drinks?" Smart asked. All of the girls shook their heads and looked at their menus again. Applejack cleared her throat to get my attention. "You sure we can get anything we want?" I nodded in confirmation. "Then I'll have a cider!" AJ happily said. "Make it two!" Rainbow added. "Red wine for myself, thank you." Rarity said. "I'll join you on that one." Twilight added. "Just an apple juice for me please..." Fluttershy meekly said. "Umm...do you have beer by any chance?" Smart nodded. "In that case, a glass or bottle of beer then please." Smart took the menus away from us and walked back into the kitchen where I could hear him reading out our order to the chefs. I turned to face the girls. One of us needed to start a conversation. Unfortunately, none of us knew where to start. Conversation eventually started when Rainbow asked about where I was from. Twilight made sure that everyone steered clear of asking about my family and my youth. I began to explain what Earth was like and how different it was to Equestria. Like how different parts of the world were ruled by different people. "So my country is ruled by Queen Elizabeth the Second. She has been on the throne for just over 60 years." I explained. "There are about 200 other countries in the world aside from mine, each with their own leader. Some have a King or Queen but some have presidents who are elected by the public into power." Twilight seemed to be most entranced by my explanations of politics. That conversation eventually died down and another one started, this time about nature and wildlife. Fluttershy was very interested into the animal part of it. "There are hundreds, if not thousands of different species of animal on Earth." "What like?" Fluttershy asked, getting a bit more vocal. "Well, you own a lot of animals. Most of the ones you take care of exist in my world. I really couldn't name them all as there are so many." Smart soon returned with a tray of drinks in his mouth. He placed two glasses of red wine with Rarity and Twilight, two mugs of cider with Rainbow and AJ, an apple juice with Fluttershy and a bottle of beer to me. I thanked him and he returned to the kitchen. I raised my bottle as did the other girls with their drinks. "To new friends!" I proposed. "To new friends!" they all replied in unison, all of us sipping our drinks. "So, I want to know more about you girls. How did you all meet?" The tale of how the six friends met was an enjoyable one. Turns out that Twilight moved to Ponyville a short while ago and made friends with everyone else. The rest of the gang made aquaintances with each other over the past 4 or 5 years. Rainbow decided to tell me about the Wonderbolts - an acrobatic flying team of ponies. "...and they're so awesome! That's my dream - to join them one day!" Rainbow stated proudly. "Well I hope you get accepted. I suppose I have my own version of the Wonderbolts on Earth - The Red Arrows. They're a team of people who fly aeroplanes..." The girls looked at me in confusion over the word. "...it's a flying machine. Anyway, they fly at shows in formation, performing all kinds of acrobatic tricks. It's very impressive. If the Wonderbolts are as great as you say they are, I'll have to try and see them perform." Our food arrived shortly after. It all looked very appealing. The aromas rising from the plates were beautiful - each dish giving off it's own amazing smell. Once the plates had been set down, we all began to eat. Trying to engage in conversation proved fruitless as most of the girls were more interested in their high-class dinners. 'Meh, fair enough. I'm just glad they're enjoying it.' Seven empty plates adorned the table with every scrap of food gone from them. "So, I can take from the lack of food here that everyone enjoyed that?" I said with a smirk. A group of 'uh-huh's and 'mmm's was all I got in response. I chuckled softly at that. Before long, Smart returned and retrieved the plates. "Was that good for all of you?" he asked. "Absolutely. Judging by the happy faces over there, I can assume it was!" Smart and I shared a laugh as he collected the plates and walked to the washing area. He walked back shortly after. "Is there anything else I can get you?" "Girls? Do you want dessert or another drink?" "No dessert for me, I'm full. Another drink would be nice." Twilight chimed. The rest of the girls agreed in response. "Another round of drinks then please. Same as last time." The clock on the wall hit 9:30. We were the only customers left in the restaurant. The conversation between us had gone to AJ as she was explaining the Zap Apple season to me. Smart walked over to the table with a small piece of paper in his mouth. I gently pulled it out. "Thank you Smart. Worst part of the meal - paying for it." I said, emitting a few chuckles from the girls. "179 bits...is that good?" "That's actually quite reasonable." Rarity responded. "Ahh, good, good. Now, let me...let me...huh?" I felt around my pockets, looking for the bag of bits. I checked every pocket I had, looking for the elusive bag. I stopped looking when it dawned on me, slapping my head in frustration. "Oh no. I left it in the drawers in my room. Twilight, give me the key to the library. I'll run back and get it." "Are you sure? Do you know the way back?" "I'm pretty sure. I won't be long." I said, Twilight giving me the key. I walked out of the restaurant and back towards the library. At least I thought it was the right way. I reached Carousel Boutique and then Sugarcube Corner. Looking around, I realised I was lost. Nobody was around so I had to rely on my own sense of direction. 'I'm screwed.' It must have been 30 minutes since I left the restaurant and I didn't know if I was going the right way or the wrong way. I recognised a building in the distance. "Is that...it is! Sugarcube Corner! I've passed this already so where the hell am I?" I walked in a different direction of the bakery this time and made my way towards the south of the town. After another 10 minutes of walking, I saw a large tree in the distance. "Yes!" I ran for the tree and sure enough, it was the library. I pulled the key out of my pocket, opened the door and shut it behind me. The light was dim in the library and I made my way towards the staircase before something caught my eye. Looking towards Twilight's desk, there was a unicorn standing there...staring at me. "Uhh...hi. Can I help--" I was cut off by the unicorn's horn glowing and my vision going black. I raised my arms to my head and felt a thin material, like a bag. Trying to pull it off proved useless as it was stuck there. I stopped flailing my arms and stood still. "Alright! What the hell is going--" *WHACK* I was cut off by a punch to the stomach, causing me to fall to the floor. I held my stomach in agony as I struggled to breathe. *WHACK* Another hit to my mid-section caused me to scream out in pain. I managed to stand up slightly and raised my head, still unable to see. "ARGH! What do you--" *WHACK* Whoever this unicorn was hit me again, straight in my left eye, causing me to fall down on my back, hitting the floor hard. I covered my face to protect it from being hit again before the bag was yanked off my head, revealing the attacker. As the light was dim, I couldn't see his face, only a black shape. I couldn't hold back tears of pain and fear and let them flow freely, sobbing quietly. The unicorn began to speak, it was male. "You listen to me. I don't care who you are or where you came from. But you will stay away from Princess Luna. Never speak to her again. DO YOU HEAR ME?!" The unicorn walked over my sobbing body and stopped just above my head. He chuckled slightly. *STOMP* His back hoof slammed onto my face yet again. It hit my hands but was strong enough to push down onto my nose with immense force. The door opened and slammed shut as he walked out. The pain I was feeling right now was immense - it was horrible. I hauled myself off the floor and stumbled to my feet. I hobbled up the stairs towards the bathroom and shut the door behind me. Still sobbing slightly, I turned on the light and looked at the mirror. I gasped and cringed at the state of me. My nose was heavily bleeding and my left eye had a large red mark around it. My eye was also bloodshot. Looking down at my stomach, there were two distinct hoof-shaped marks across my stomach. I touched the affected area, causing waves of pain to emit from it. I wiped my nose with a tissue, shocked at how much blood there was. I looked down at my suit and noticed the blood stained on it. I picked up a wash cloth from the sink and dampened it with cold water. I undressed my top half and dabbed the stricken areas with the wash cloth, wiping the blood away. I looked at the mirror once again to see the state of myself and the memories of school returned to me. The bullying, the beatings, the names, all of it. I shed a few tears thinking about it and slumped into the corner of the bathroom, tending to my wounds. "Owen? Are you here? You're so slow!" a voice sounded from downstairs. It sounded like Rainbow Dash. I tried to stifle my sobs as the pain increased around my stomach area. I heard Rainbow walking around and gasping at something. "Owen?! There's blood down here!" She sounded scared. I would be too if I walked into a house and found blood everywhere. I heard hoof-steps walking up the stairs and approaching the bathroom. They stopped just outside the door. I curled myself up into a ball to hide my injuries. The door creaked open slightly as Rainbow stepped in. "Owen...what's going on? There's blood leading into the bathroom..." she said nervously. "I...I was..." I managed to splutter out before releasing a sigh mixed with a sob. A hoof was laid on my shoulder. "Did something happen here? Look at me..." Rainbow said. I slowly lifted my head up to meet her gaze where she gasped heavily holding a hoof over her mouth. "What in Celestia's name happened?!" she shouted at me. "I...I was attacked." I whispered. "Attacked? By who?!" I shook my head before burying my head in my hands again. "Owen. Who did this?" she asked more assertively. "I don't know." I raised my head again. "The money is my room. In the top drawer. Take it to the restaurant." "But Owen, you need--" "Rainbow please. I can clean myself up. Just...please take the money to Twilight." Rainbow looked uneasy but she nodded with a frown. "OK. I'll be back real soon." With that, she raised to the air and out of the bathroom. I heard rummaging before a kind of boom eminated from the hallway. I felt a few drops of blood hit my hand and held up a tissue to my nose again, stopping the blood flow. I slowly got up and picked up the top half of my suit. I walked back downstairs and sat on the cushion, waiting for the girls to return. Minutes felt like hours as the library was eerily quiet. The only sounds were my wincing at the pain after applying more pressure to it. The silence was shortly broken as the sound of galloping hooves was heard approaching. Louder and louder and... *CRASH* The door swung open with immense force to reveal the girls, minus Pinkie and Fluttershy, all gasping for air. Once they caught sight of me, they all recoiled in shock but walked in and started looking me over. "Why would anypony do this?" Twilight asked. "Whoever did it is gonna have to answer to me!" Rainbow defiantly stated. A loud gasp was heard from the doorway as Fluttershy hovered with a box in her hooves. She flew over to me and landed to my side. "Oh you poor thing. Let me take a look at you." she said in a motherly tone. I held my hands down away from my face as she opened the box - a first aid box. She examined my nose, touching it slightly and looking up the nostrils. "You didn't show pain at me touching your nose so it's not broken, just cut an bruised." She reached into the box, pulling out a small swab of cotton and a bottle of liquid. She poured a minute amount of liquid onto the cotton and looked at me. "I'm going to apply some iodine solution to it. I'm sorry but...this will hurt a bit. If somepony could..." Before she could finish, Rainbow held out her hoof for me to grip onto. I held onto her hoof with my right hand as Fluttershy approached my nose with the cotton. She touched the cut with the cotton which caused me to wince a lot and squeeze Rainbow's hoof very hard. "Argh...grrr..." I groaned at the pain, squeezing a tear out. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! It's the best thing for it." Fluttershy apologised. "It's fine. Don't worry about it." Once the pain had subsided, Fluttershy observed my stomach area and poked and prodded it a few times. "You're OK here as well. Just some bruising. Nothing that some rest won't clear up." she said with a smile. "Thanks Fluttershy." She closes her box and flies out of the library, bidding farewell to her friends. I stand up and observe the blood trail on the flood which the rest of the girls have noticed. "I'll clean that up." I said. I walked into the kitchen and dampened to cloth before Twilight levitated it out of my hands. "Don't worry about that, I'll take care of it. You need to come and sit down." I nodded at her request and sat back down on the cushion. Twilight, Rarity, AJ and Rainbow sat around me. "Do you know what the attacker looked like?" Twilight asked, levitating a quill and parchment. "I...not really. All I saw of him was that he was white and he was a unicorn." "How do you that this ruffian is a male?" Rarity asked. "He spoke to me...well...threatened me. He uhh...told me to never speak or see Princess Luna ever again." I said, hoping they wouldn't ask why. Twilight noted all of this down and rolled the parchment up. "What are you doing Twilight?" I asked. "Writing down what happened. I'll send it to the Princess in the morning when Spike returns. She'll need to know about this. As for now, you need to get some rest." I nodded and stood up, looking at the concerned faces of the other girls. "I'll be fine. I just need to rest." "I do hope you'll feel better soon darling" Rarity said. "Don't you worry. We'll catch this varmit and make sure he gets punished!" AJ stated, stomping her hoof. "Thanks for the dinner. It was great." Rainbow quietly said with the other girls agreeing at this. "It was my pleasure. We should do it again some time. Good night." I made my way up the stairs as the girls, minus Twilight, exited the library. I walked into my room and lay slowly onto the bed, making sure not to cause more pain. I lay my head on the pillow and shut my eyes, hoping I would be able to sleep.