//------------------------------// // 193 I Would Do Anything For Love // Story: Tales from a Con // by Admiral Biscuit //------------------------------// I Would Do Anything For Love You lift your eyebrow as a familiar spring green pegasus flops down into the seat across from you. He pulls off his helmet and sets it on the table, nudges it with his hoof until it’s sitting just right, and then lets out a sigh. “Long day?” “Yeah. Training.” “I thought you were trained.” Thunder Flap has been one of the Queen’s guards for as long as you’ve known him. “This isn’t because of the Queen’s crown, is it?” “How do you know about that?” He lowers his voice and leans forward, looking around to make sure nopony’s listening. “Ponies talk,” you say. “The palace walls whisper secrets.” “They’re not supposed to,” he mutters, and then slides his helmet over as the waitress approaches. In the past, she’d have walked to your table; now she flitters down from overhead and lands at the end of the table. “You ordering, hon?” Thunder nods. “Fish and chips, and a glass of barley water.” She jots it down with a pen, and then he adds, “Can I get a mineral block as well?” “Yeah.” She turns to you. “Wanna wait on your food until your friend gets his?” “Sure.” The two of you watch as she flies off, swerving to avoid another patron who’s discovered the joys of indoor flying. “Flight training,” he says. “Now that we can fly, we’ve got to practice flying in formation and aerial defenses and stuff, and it’s extra hard because we’re figuring it out as we go. Zipp found some old books from back before we lost our magic, which have at least some instructions but they’re not really clear and so we’ve got to experiment. Sometimes I regret getting flight—it was so much simpler when nopony could fly.” “Except the Royals,” you say. That’s a reflexive reply which has stuck with you. Thunder rolls his eyes. Being able to fly was cool. It took some getting used to and you weren’t very good at it. Your first flight had been a short mix of panic and enthusiasm, and you weren’t alone in that. Some ponies your age and older weren’t even trying, or would do little more than short hops here and there, while the younger ponies were taking full advantage of their wings. “Extra PT, extra training, extra considerations around the palace—windows on upper levels didn’t used to need to be secured but now they do.” “You’re a big, strong stallion,” you tell him. “You can do it.” Some of the weariness falls away, and he gets a strange look in his eyes. “Of course I can. It’s kind of cool to practice sparring in the air with Zoom. She’s really taken this change to heart. I hadn’t really appreciated her . . . dedication before.” You furrow your brow as you suddenly realize what that look means.  “I’ve been thinking—” You hold up a hoof, your mind whirling. You already know what he’s going to say, you can complete that thought for him, but he hasn’t said it yet. The truth was, you were interested in Thunder, but you hadn’t yet worked up the courage to ask him out. For now, just hanging out with him when you were off-duty was a decent substitute. It was sort of like dating. He gives you a quizzical look while you’re still trying to get your thoughts in order. You’re saved by the waitress—she’s figured out how to fly and keep a tray of food balanced on her back, which is quite the skill. The first and only time you’d tried to fly with a book on your back, it had promptly hit you in the back of the head and then hit a wing, only to be yeeted against the wall a moment later. You watch as Thunder tears into his food. He normally has better table manners; he must be starving. In contrast, you’ve always been a more delicate eater and today’s no exception. Especially since you’ve lost your appetite. Zoom! Thunder’s complained more than once about her seriousness and overconfidence, and you’d never considered that he’d think of her as a potential romantic partner. You did know he was into strong, confident ponies, that he had a crush on Zipp—putting him at odds with the bulk of pegasi. He was smart enough to know that he had no chance with the princess, though. Thunder trusts you, and you’re confident that you can squash this new interest before it’s too late, but should you? He looks at you, at the salad you’re slowly picking your way through, and then looks back down at his plate. “Hey, you want some of my chips? I wasn’t gonna eat all of them.” Your heart flutters—he always offers you some of his chips. “Maybe not today,” you say. “You sure?” He narrows his eyes. “You look—hmm? Did something happen at work today? Or do you have a stomach ache?” “I’m fine,” you say. “Just not all that hungry.” This was true. “One of the girls brought in cookies, and I ate too many.” This was not. “Oh, okay.” He grabs a chip and chews on it. “Oh, as I was saying earlier, I’ve been thinking of asking Zoom out, what do you think?” [CHOICE] >You haven’t asked him, don’t know if he’s interested, and want him to be happy (hero) >Sabotage the budding relationship quick. If you can’t have him, nopony can (villain) [CHOICE A: Hero] You feel like you’re talking outside of yourself, like your emotions and your voice have completely disconnected. “That sounds great.” “I don’t know if she’d be interested,” he admits. “She doesn’t always have the best opinion of me.” “You’ve got nothing to lose by trying,” you assure him. You’ve reached a decision—if nothing else, you want Thunder to be happy, and you’re still his friend, so you’re going to help him. “I think if you show up to all the training and work your hardest, she’ll see that and appreciate that. And maybe bring her something nice—does she like flowers?” “To eat or to look at and sniff?” “Both, I guess.” “Hmm, she likes yellow flowers.” “Yellow flowers.” “Yeah, you know, the yellow ones with petals?” “Oh, those. Dude, that’s like literally every flower.” He sighs. “I know . . . I’ll know them when I see them, I just don’t know what they’re called.” “Get her flowers,” you say, “and see where that goes.” [CHOICE B: Villain] Now’s your chance to nip this in the bud. “I don’t want to rain on your parade, but it’s a terrible idea. Workplace romances never work out—she’s your supervisor, after all.” His ears droop. “Yeah.” “I know it seems like a good idea,” you tell him. “But you know better. Just like when you were pining for Pipp, all she was going to do was give you heartache in the end.” “Well, she’s a princess. Zoom’s a guard, like me.” “That’s another thing, you don’t want to date someone who has the same job as you. Literally the same job, there could be all sorts of complications at work. If you were really serious, you’d probably have to quit your job.” “I don’t want to do that,” Thunder says. “I like my job.” You nod. “There’s no way it would work out, and it would end with your heart broken and maybe Zoom being mean to you, making you work harder—you’ve complained about that a lot, you know.” “I know.” He lowers his head and pokes at one of his remaining chips. It’s soggy now. “I hate being ‘that pony,’ you tell him, “but trust me, you need to know before you do something you can’t take back.” You lean over the table. “I’ll tell you what, I’ll buy you an ice cream sundae, that’ll help get her off your mind, won’t it?” His ears perk up and then droop again. You hate to see him sad, but it’s for his own good.