//------------------------------// // 3. An Accordion and Temptation (Gearcrow) // Story: Twiggled: A RariTwi Exquisite Corpse // by SigmasonicX //------------------------------// As a child, Twilight read no shortage of stories about foolish princesses doing foolish things, and she’d always felt a certain mix of casual disdain and surprised awe at the heroines of said stories. On the one hand, she’d found them careless and irresponsible, after all, a failure to perform–to be what a princess is meant to be–had ramifications on so many people beyond the princess in question. On the other hand, the freedom to be bold and to only heed the desires of the heart, with no regard for the outcome, was exciting and terribly tempting. In the end, it seemed, temptation had won out. They were sitting on a bench next to a large fountain in one of Canterlot’s nicer parks. Not that Twilight had ever been there before, of course, but she’d seen it on maps, and when the beautiful and bewildering Rarity had asked her “tour guide” to take them somewhere beautiful, this was all she could think of. Twilight wasn’t necessarily sure a park qualified, but Rarity did seem content eating ice-cream under the mottled boughs of the parks tall oak trees. More importantly, however, she’d not seen a single guard since they arrived at the park. “Sitwee,” Rarity said, nibbling on the stick of her now finished ice-cream, “this really is quite a lovely place, but every city has parks. Isn’t there something you could show me that is more unique, so to say. Something only a local like yourself would know about?” She dazzled Twilight with a wide smile as she asked, and the run-away princess had to look down to hide the fiery blush that was creeping up her face. Rarity said she’d enjoyed it, but Twilight still felt like a fool for having kissed her earlier, even if it had only been to prevent captivity and a premature return to the palace.    “Uhm,” Twilight stumbled, “I…” This would all have been a lot easier if she’d actually been out in the city before, and Rarity distracting her with her clever smiles and easy confidence wasn’t exactly helping either. In stories, all the exciting things always happened in alleyways, or bars, or secret underground meeting places, but most of those options seemed dangerous or imaginary. Maybe she’d take Rarity to a libr… She stopped herself from finishing the silly thought, and something of the despair she was feeling must have been apparent on her face, because Rarity placed her hand gently on Twilight’s shoulder, concern plain in her eyes. “Are you ok?” she asked. Twilight laughed and nodded nervously.  “It’s just,” Rarity continued, “with the guards before, and now, you seem a bit uncomfortable. You don’t have to tell me, of course, but if there’s something going on you need help with…” Rarity left the words hanging, clearly hoping “Sitwee” would divulge to her the secrets of her strange and erratic behavior. Twilight had half a mind to, but the choice was stripped from her by the arrival of a man wearing a poncho. His hair was long and curly, and he had an accordion slung across his chest. He was also tall enough that he blocked out the afternoon sunlight, casting both Rarity and Twilight into shadow. Rarity looked up at the man, clearly annoyed by the interruption.  “I’m sorry, sir, is there something we can do for you?” she said, sounding much less nervous than Twilight felt. She had no idea who this man was, but despite the accordion and the poncho, there was something intimidating about him. He ignored Rarity’s question and looked Twilight in the eyes. “Hello, Princess,” he said, voice comically low and gruff. Rarity looked confused, but Twilight, overcome by panic, moved by instinct. Unlike Rarity, who had finished her popsicle, Twilight still had plenty of her ice cream cone left, so she jammed it into the strange man’s face, grabbed Rarity by the wrist, and ran. She could hear the stranger swearing behind them, though all his expletives were childishly mild, but she didn’t bother turning around to see if he was following. For luck, Rarity was running just as fast as Twilight, though she was clearly bewildered by Twilight’s aggression. She opened her mouth to ask Twilight what on earth was going on, but before she could say anything, the sound of the accordion rang out across the park, followed by a yellow shockwave that crashed into a trashcan to their left, crushing the bin and sending garbage flying in every direction. Twilight stumbled and almost fell, and Rarity screamed, but neither of them stopped running.  “Who is that?! And why does he have a magic accordion?!” “I’m sorry!” Twilight yelled back, pulling Rarity to the ground behind a tree just in time to dodge another blast from the accordion. The park ended less than a hundred meters ahead of them, and Twilight saw an alleyway they could duck into and hopefully hide from their attacker. “Sitwee,” Rarity gasped, trying to catch her breath, “what do you mean you’re sorry? Do you know who that is?” Twilight peaked out from behind the tree, trying to spot the man, but had to duck back down to avoid another blast. “I, uh, I…” Twilight stuttered, unsure of what to say or do. If she could see the man clearly, maybe she could cast a concussive spell strong enough to knock him out, but it seemed risky. She turned and looked Rarity in the eyes. It seemed foolish to keep hiding who she was, but at the moment, they didn’t have time for a longer conversation. “I don’t know who he is, but I suspect I know why he’s after me. It’s going to have to wait though. We have to make a break for that alley over there, ok? I promise I’ll explain when we’re safe.” Rarity nodded and after counting to three, Twilight booked it for the alley, praying to the stars above that they’d get away. Rarity followed hot on her tail.   “Hey now, Princess,” the man called from behind them, his gruff affectation abandoned. “I’d really rather not have to hurt you, so why don’t you leave that pretty young lady alone and come with me.” No sooner had he finished talking than an accordion blast passed just over Twilight’s head, grazing the top of her hair. She felt Rarity stumble this time, falling to the ground and pulling Twilight down with her.  Rarity groaned, apparently having fallen rather hard, but when Twilight turned to check on her, she found that her own shoulder was in a rather large amount of pain. Worst of all, the fall had allowed their pursuer to catch up to them. Twilight looked up at him, frustrated and scared. If he’d been a guard sent to collect her, he would never had risked hurting her, nor would he have treated her with this complete lack of deference. Rarity pushed herself closer to Twilight and grabbed her arm, as if proximity would protect the two of them. Twilight lifted her hand, ready to at least attempt an offensive spell, but the man held up his accordion and tutted her.  “Hey now, Princess, you wouldn’t want your lady friend to get hurt, would you?” “Why does he keep calling you princess, Sitwee?” Twilight ignored Rarity for the moment, staring daggers up at the man. “Who sent you?” she asked, certain it hadn’t been her parents. The man laughed out loud at that, wiping a fake tear from the corner of his eye. “Never you mind that. I’m not in the business of giving away my employers. As I’m sure you can imagine, it isn’t exactly good for your health.” He pulled a thumb across his neck in an exaggerated motion. “You may call me Señor Queso, and it would be easiest for everyone if you just came with me of your own free will.” Twilight felt trapped, but something had changed in Rarity’s eyes while Señor Queso was talking, fear slowly being replaced with anger and determination. Sure enough, as soon as he was finished speaking, Rarity kicked up as hard as she could from her position on the ground, slamming her foot up between Señor Queso’s legs. The man buckled over, wheezing loudly, and Rarity jumped to her feet, pulling Twilight behind her.      “Let’s go!” she yelled at Twilight, and Twilight didn’t hesitate. Bruised and hurting, but excited to have gotten one over on their pursuer, the two of them dove into the alleyways of Canterlot. The second to last thought Twilight had before ducking out of the light of the sun was that all of this was likely Duchess Muffin’s doing. The idea caused a growl to start building low in her throat. She’d show that clown that she wasn’t just some clueless prey item. The actual last thought Twilight had before ducking out of the light of the sun was that the woman holding her hand and running in front of her was really quite beautiful. Stunningly so, in fact. Despite everything, Twilight smiled and laughed. Temptation really had won out. Maybe all those adventurous princesses had actually known what they were about.