The very next morning, Natsu was feeling a little bit better albeit still sick and her body sore… and not because of the little mishap yesterday although they both agreed it was just an accident.
They still couldn’t believe that they almost ended up hating one another because of a damn doll. Not to mention their emotions being manipulated like that. If Natsu ever found out who the culprit was, there would be hell to pay… in the form of her fists.
For now, the two were downstairs and having breakfast. Before she started eating, Natsu swallowed one pill with a glass of water. Its taste made her shiver a bit… ugh, what did the doctor prescribed her with? A horse tranquilizer?
The pink-haired girl’s spoon swirled up some of her oatmeal before putting it in her mouth to chew it. Natsu was also doing the same yet had difficulty since the taste of that pill remained. She shivered and took another sip of water.
“You okay?” Fluttershy asked.
Natsu nodded with a bitter look. “Damn pill feels so tasteless…”
“Ah… well, can’t do anything about it. Doctor’s orders… Besides, swallow them for me as well, okay?” Fluttershy requested and her friend’s answer came in the form of a gruntled nod.
Good enough, Fluttershy thought in her head while continuing to eat her oatmeal. Speaking of continuing, she couldn’t help but wonder what Natsu’s plans were today. The pinkette wanted her to step outside and get some fresh air since being cooped up inside wouldn’t do much good for both her and her body.
Maybe she could even get some practice in and throw a couple of punches without the use of her anger. Fluttershy would be her referee in order to keep an eye on her and watch out for any unsuspecting outbursts that she might-
Her thinking came to an abrupt hold as she heard a knock on the front door. A visitor at this hour? She wondered who it could be. Maybe it was Twilight or Rainbow Dash… they were her most frequent visitors after all. Oh, well… no sense in ignoring her mysterious guest.
Getting up, she walked over to the door and opened it slowly only to be surprised. “O-oh! Princess Celestia, I… I wasn’t expecting you today! If I had known that you would come to visit me, I would have-”
The princess, to her surprise, however smiled amused. “Fear not, Fluttershy. My arrival in Ponyville is due to the little mishap that Twilight had caused yesterday in regards to enchanting a doll.”
Fluttershy was surprised. So… the reason that she and Natsu were hit under the spell of the doll was because of Twilight!? Was the Princess being serious? Why would her friend even do that in the first place?
Seeing the confusion on the Element of Kindness’ face, Celestia decided to clear it up. “It was due to not writing her friendship report and sending it on time to me. An embarrassment if I’m being honest… never even gave her a time limit. I simply told her: ‘Always send me reports when you are ready and only when you have something to report’ and yet she decides to enchant a doll that makes everyone fall in love with it. If only you had seen the look on her face…” She finished while giggling.
Fluttershy couldn’t believe it… the mess that happened yesterday was due to a friendship report!? She shook her head and rubbed her eyes. That Twilight really took her studying way too seriously… Everyone was in love with a damn ugly doll and fighting over it all because Twilight didn’t finish a friendship report.
Releasing another sigh, Fluttershy just shrugged. “When in Ponyville, I guess… so, I take it that the situation has been resolved?”
“Indeed. After I had a little chat with her, we came to an understanding. In any event, there’s another reason I’m here… in regards to a young woman by the name of Natsu who saved the town of Ponyville from Discord.”
“Oh… Oh! Yes! She’s here with me. We’re having breakfast at the moment so she’s in the kitchen. Fair warning though - she’s a little sick.” Fluttershy explained.
Celestia nodded as Fluttershy invited her into her home and told her to sit on the couch. “I’ll be right back.”
The pinkette disappeared into the kitchen while Celestia just sat on the couch. In a few seconds, she would finally come face to face with the mysterious ‘Natsu’ and see for herself just what kind of girl she was. The Princess had a feeling that their meeting would end in a very positive way.
A few seconds later, Fluttershy returned alongside with the supposed ‘Natsu’ whom Celestia found to be stunning and gorgeous. Especially with her blonde hair and purple eyes… not to mention the fact that she seemed so young. From her age, she was no doubt a teenager or just entering into her 20s, probably the former.
Fluttershy moved out of the way but looked at Natsu. “Natsu, may I introduce to you the monarch of Equis, Princess Celestia. Keeper of the Sun and the former user of the Elements of Harmony.”
The princess nodded to Fluttershy. “I couldn’t have phrased it better, Fluttershy. So… this is the infamous Natsu.”
Natsu just gave a small nod. “Y-yeah, that’s me… nice to meet you or thank you for visiting? Sorry… don’t know how to deal in front of royalty… my bad.” She apologized.
To her surprise, the princess smiled. “It is quite alright. You all have our thanks for saving our world from the evil might of Discord. Based on what I’ve learnt from Twilight, you channeled your anger into a source of strength, correct?”
Natsu nodded. “Yeah… I’m still trying to learn how that’s possible. A couple of weeks back, Fluttershy and I headed to the old castle in the forest so I could practice.”
“I see… and what were the results?” Celestia questioned.
Fluttershy stepped forward. “I was assigned to be her caretaker so I’ll explain this one: apparently, when she channels her anger, she becomes very powerful and capable of delivering devastating punches. But if she remains calm, her attacks will be very weak. One of the reasons we were able to fully turn Discord back into stone was due to Natsu letting him in such a weakened state thanks to her punches and gauntlets.”
“Hmmm… interesting. And what about these gauntlets that you mentioned?” Celestia questioned.
“Apparently they came with me when I arrived here… I have a huge wave of amnesia washing over me and can’t remember much of my former life sadly.” Natsu explained.
“Ah… I understand. In any event, Natsu… I am grateful to you for protecting our land from the wrath of Discord and helping the Elements of Harmony in sealing him away.”
Natsu blushed in embarrassment. “N-no trouble at all, Princess… couldn’t stand by and let that freak of nature run rampant.”
Freak of nature…? Celestia had to hold back her laugh since in a way Natsu was correct. Discord was a random mishmash of very different animal parts. He did look like a freak of nature… not that she would admit it to the two in front of her.
Well, one thing could be concluded from this little meeting between herself and Miss Natsu… the blonde didn’t seem to be a danger. Still, the way that she becomes a powerhouse when channeling her anger would definitely need to be worked on.
It was at that moment that Celestia came up with an idea. A training section or center for Natsu to practice freely without anyone getting hurt… the Princess would definitely like to watch over her performance and grade it. She gave a nod to herself before clearing her throat. “Well then… It's high time I make my exit and return to Canterlot. I still have my duties to perform as a princess after all.”
Fluttershy and Natsu both nodded in understanding as the former went to open the door for the monarch to leave. Before departing, Celestia turned to Natsu and bowed. “I do hope we get to hear more of your heroism in the near future, dear Natsu.”
Natsu shrugged. “Depends if there’s a bad guy or anything related to a doomsday happening. Hope it doesn’t happen though… this place looks pretty peaceful if I’m being honest.”
Celestia gave a simple nod while hiding her face of displeasure. Very peaceful indeed… what she wouldn’t give for another villain to appear and ‘threaten’ to plunge their home into eternal darkness so that Natsu and the Elements could take care of the problem.
Closing the door behind them, Celestia dropped her façade and snapped her fingers. “Damn it… not at all what I was expecting. I was at least hoping to take advantage and find a way to spice things up… Ugh, back to my boring duties as a monarch, I guess.”
(Later…)
Following breakfast, per Fluttershy’s request, Natsu was walking about outside and taking in the fresh air. Such a beautiful day today… The sun was up and shining, birds were flapping their wings and flying and the wind was blowing calmly. It was the perfect day for walking and taking in some air.
Besides that, she didn’t know what else to do… either just wander aimlessly for a while and return to the house by lunch or maybe get some practice in learning another means of powering up without the use of her anger. Speaking of the former, the castle wasn’t an option to visit since there wasn’t much furniture to practice her punches on.
Perhaps with a bit of hiking and some luck, there would be another abandoned castle awaiting for her in the forest. One that had all types of furniture that were unusable for her to practice on. Another means of spending her day.
Or she could- “NATSU, DODGE TO THE LEFT!” A voice yelled at the distance as Natsu looked to see none other than Rainbow Dash running towards her location. The blonde dodged out of the way as the rainbow-haired girl continued to run towards an unknown location.
Natsu couldn’t help but wonder what the hell that was all about. Was she trying to break the sound barrier with all that running or was she up to something big? Either way, it wasn’t Natsu’s place to get involved in. She had a full day ahead of her and some furious planning to do as well.
Continuing on ahead, she just headed off to where her legs took her…
(Somewhere in Equestria - The Frozen North…)
Snow was continuing to fall from the gray clouded skies and the wind blew heavily as the frozen landscape remained covered in a blanket of a white. All was calm and peaceful in this mysterious land of Equis…
Until this peace came to an end by the opening of a mysterious gate high in the air as someone exited from the other side and began to fall very fast before the body connected with the snow itself.
The person in question was a young woman around 17 or very closely approaching 18 years old with her neck-length styled black-coloured hair that featured red tips at its ends was shaped in a spiked-up and choppier style.
A black red lined lace-up corset with four buckles hanging loose over a mesh sleeveless top over a white low cut long-sleeved blouse served as her upper attire as well as a black choker around her neck. There was also a red pleated skirt that was split at the side with a small brown belted strap across the gap and bright red shorts under it that dabbled as her lower attire.
On her arms, two sections of black bracers with large brown buckled straps were featured around the wrist as well as black fingerless gloves that were adorning her hands. Around her waist, a brown belt with several bullets with a buckle of a silver rose emblem on it alongside a pouch on the right side with a dog-like based emblem attached. Lastly, a pair of black, thigh-high steel-toe boots with red soles and heels adorned her feet. They featured a single buckled strap followed by a rear seam and a large brown buckled strap with attached pouches near the top, over a pair of brown mesh tights. Her red-coloured cape was in pristine condition and it came with a hood.
Next to her was a mysterious object that was currently inactive and colored in rose red along with black trims… an object that was of great importance to the young girl.
They both laid in the snowy landscape… unmoving for a long time as the cold wind began to pick up.