//------------------------------// // Rap Battle #21: Results and Aftermath // Story: Epic Rap Battles of MLP // by enigmaMystere //------------------------------// A white filly dashed into the library annex, closing the door as quickly and quietly as possible. Peeking out the crack in the doorway, she saw that nopony noticed her. She sighed, glad she had decided to use that one bush that was mobile. She paused, momentarily wondering why it was like that. “Sweetie, is that you?” Her thoughts were thrown out the window at the sound of his voice. That wonderful voice that made her heart beat faster and her legs turn to jelly. Thankfully, thoughts of her beloved kept away any recollection of that one stallion with his jars of the edible spread. “Y-yes, it’s me, Spike!” The young dragon stepped out from behind the doorframe, a playful smile on his face. “I’m glad you came, Swe...” He stopped right in front of her, noticing the small frown on her face. “...Sweetie, is something wrong?” He sat down on a nearby cushion, patting the soft fabric next to him. “You know can tell me anything.” She slowly walked up to him, laying down next to him and resting her head on his chest. “...I hate this...this sneaking around...” The little filly rubbed her neck, groaning softly. “...I’m getting knots all over from stress...” Spike thought for a few moments, his claws gently stroking her back. He looked down at her in confusion as the action brought forth a stream of pleased sighs. Solution in mind, he carefully stood up, letting her fully lay down on the comforter. “I think I can help with that.” He moved to her side, gently rubbing her back and sides. Sweetie sighed, feeling the knots and the tension melting away under the attention of her coltfriend. She squealed as his claws danced lightly over her ticklish spots. Eventually, the tickling stopped and he resumed the massage, causing tiny moans of relief to escape her lips. Smiling, the young drake moved behind her, gently massaging along her spine. Unbeknownst to them, a certain lavender unicorn heard one of the squeals as she was passing by. Curious, she peeked in and saw the scene in the middle of one of the young filly’s moans. She stared, her jaw agape, as her number one assistant stood behind her friend’s younger sister. The door flew open, startling the young couple. The librarian swiftly ran inside, nervousness clear in her voice. “O-okay, Spike, time to go!” She turned to the white filly, a sheepish smile on her face. “Sorry, Sweetie, but we’ve got a lot to do.” The drake held up a hand, trying to interject. “But Twilight, we al-” “Bye!” Twilight ran off, leaving the younger unicorn confused and a little upset. “...what was that all about?” She stood up, sighing in relief as she felt the lack of knots in her back. “...thank you, Spike...” She walked back to Rarity’s house, idly daydreaming of the perfect wedding, a large blush on her face. “Is it the look in your eyes, or is it this dancing juice? Who cares, baby...” Enigma shot out from behind the obstacle, his feathered wings tensing so he could fire pellet after pellet at the opposing team. He ducked behind a different one, joining his favorite disk jockey in its shelter. “This really isn’t really that fair, huh? Fifteen of them against three of us?” The white unicorn chuckled, nudging his side. “Maybe. They should’ve brought more ponies!” She popped up over the barricade, using her magic-operated paintball gun to peg three more ponies. “After all, we’ve got a princess on our side!” She nodded to their other teammate, who had positioned herself on the highest point of the arena. A voice crackled over their headsets. “We agree with thy statement, Vinyl Scratch.” A paintball pegged a pony in the back of the head as he tried to sneak up on the two below. “Also, we apologize for intruding on such a...personal dream last night.” Vinyl blushed, hiding her face from the red pegasus. “...i-it’s alright, Princess.” She glanced at the stallion, hoping he wouldn’t ask what it was about. ...thank goodness, he seems to be distracted... ...she really does love Neon...even dreaming of doing...that...with him... He sighed, trying to bring his focus back to the game. “We meet again, servant!” Enigma blinked, turning around to face the source of the voice - a tall blonde unicorn clad in grass-green paintball gear. He frowned, immediately recognizing him, backing up in horror. “...what do you want, Blueblood?” He chuckled, twirling his weapon as he circled the red pegasus. “Nothing but sweet, sweet revenge.” The unicorn ripped the smaller stallion’s face, pointing his paintball gun directly between his eyes, grinning madly. “This is for kicking me in the face all those years ago!” Enigma covered his mouth, trying hard not to laugh. “Y-you just remembered t-that?” He growled, smacking the pegasus over the head with the weapon. “Shut up and take your just desserts like the mare you are!” The dubstep disk jockey nearby facehoofed, sighing deeply. “...he just bucked up.” The red stallion’s playful smile immediately shifted into a harsh glare. He tensed his legs, readying his weapon. “I.” He dashed forward, now mere inches from the unicorn’s face. “Am not.” He pointed the gun at the unicorn’s chest, rapidly pulling the trigger with his feathers, each shot most likely bruising the prince. “A MARE!” He stood over the blonde pony, growling in anger as his opponent held his hooves to his chest. “Don’t you forget it!” The prince had nothing to say in response, as he was having difficulty breathing. Vinyl stared, carefully taking Enigma’s gun and opening the ammo compartment. “...dude...you unloaded the entire thing into his chest...” The red stallion rubbed his neck, embarrassed. “...sorry, I kinda got carried away...” He moved closer to Vinyl, a slightly goofy smile on his face. “Well, he kinda deserves it, considering what happened all those years ago, right?” She frowned at him, shaking her head. “Regardless, that’s no reason to-” She stopped mid-sentence, a squeak escaping her lips as she was pulled into an embrace by the pegasus. She just stood there for a while, letting him wrap his forelegs and wings around her body, her mind spinning. “...um...E...d-did you take your medicine today?” With that, he abruptly broke away from her, blushing brightly. “...I’ll just...go take of something...back at the apartment...see ya!” With that, he spread his wings, about to take off. Vinyl panicked, holding a hoof out to the fleeing stallion. “E, wait!” He stopped, turning back to the white mare, a small smile on his face. “Yes, Vi?” She looked at him, her magenta eyes watering slightly. “...this was fun...we should do it again, sometime...” He nodded, giving her one last, lingering hug. “I’d like that.” He turned away, spreading his wings once more, quickly taking off. She watched him leave, a single tear rolling down her cheek. “...I love you...” The princess of the night landed next to the upset unicorn. She looked down at the smaller mare, unsure of what to say. “...he...he’ll return your feelings, eventually...” Vinyl sighed, looking up at the alicorn. “...I can only pray...” She pulled her phone out of her protective gear, scrolling through the pages. The darker mare watched in confusion. “...Vinyl Scratch, what are you doing?” The white unicorn looked up at her, an eyebrow raised. Then she realized that the princess hadn’t seen her use it like that before. “...oh, I’m just counting the votes.” She returned her attention to the small screen, a small smile beginning to show on her lips. “Well, that’s simple enough.” She put it back in her gear, smiling up at the princess. “Congrats!” Luna stared at her, stunned. “...we...I won?” Vinyl nodded, smiling brightly. “Yep! By a landslide, too!” “As was expected.” The two ponies turned to the third voice, surprised to see the other princess standing there. Vinyl readjusted her goggles, tilting her head slightly. “Pardon me, Princess Celestia, but doesn’t one do a rap battle with the intention to win?” The white alicorn chuckled, shaking her head. “Maybe, but I knew Lulu had some lingering negative emotions.” She glanced over at her younger sister, who stared back in wide-eyed shock. “I figured I’d give her the chance to get them out of her system, so to speak. That’s why I held back and gave her easy hits.” She winked at the darker mare, who stared blankly back in response. Vinyl could only watch as the taller white mare flew off, leaving the two of them standing by themselves. Eventually, though, the disk jockey decided it’d be best for her to head back home before it got too dark. “See you later, Princess!” The mare of the night finally broke out of her daze, smiling brightly at the other pony. “Have a nice night, Vinyl Scratch. And please, call me Luna.” In a nondescript house in the middle of Ponyville, a lanky colt slept peacefully in his bed. Visions of sugarplums danced in his head, which was rather odd, considering the fact that it was almost the beginning of summer. As he snored away, a dark cloud seeped in through the crack of the window pane. Glancing around, it saw its target, quickly, quietly gliding across the room where it lay. It enveloped its prize, a toothy grin forming on its face as it left for its next destination...