//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: Caring for the sisters // by the-pieman //------------------------------// It’s been three days since the accident with Celestia, and the three of us are starting to get the hang of controlling the Tumble Orb. It’s obvious that practice is necessary to using the Orb, or it becomes a potential extreme safety hazard, not to mention scary. Celestia is still a bit nervous about being too close (‘close’ meaning about two meters) to the Orb, but that’s understandable, at least she hasn’t been traumatized. Luna on the other hoof, was quick to want to play with the Orb again, and she’s gotten good at it. She can bounce it around and slow it down, but she seems to avoid making it speed up while it’s in the air, I guess she doesn’t want another close call. It’s odd, I think a warning label or SOMETHING should be put on the toy, after all, Luna almost inadvertently (not to mention literally) knocked Celestia’s block off, or at least hit her with enough force to cause possibly lethal brain damage... wow, that got dark fast, thank you imagination, that’s quite the interesting mental picture... think of something else, think of something else. I turn and look towards Celestia and see she has actually started playing with the Orb, very carefully of course, but at least she’s trying. It’s floating in the air and Celestia is making it move back and forth, then lets it drop and it bounces up and down. It really isn’t affected by drag or friction at all, it keeps hitting the ground without bouncing lower or slowing down, it’s not even bouncing at an angle. I don’t know how those unicorns did it, but for once, something works exactly as advertised. Luna is staring at the Orb, watching it go up and down, then she jumps at it. She grabs the Orb and actually supports her weight without slowing down at all, and Luna seems to be having fun bouncing. Luna then moves the Orb around while still holding on, resulting in a very cute sight involving Luna bouncing around the room on the Orb, which is almost as big as she is. Now that is adorable. She starts bouncing pretty high though, and while she may be having fun, I start imagining Luna slipping off, or gravity pulling her underneath the Orb and being pushed into the ground by the Orb. I think at this point being a killjoy will be warranted. I focus on the Orb, using my mind to stop it. Unfortunately, I’m a bit agitated by the possible danger and stop the Orb. Immediately. Which pushes Luna into the air. She’s a bit too surprised to remember she has wings. I fly up and catch her before she picks up too much speed, and place her on the ground. “That was close.” “Yeah, thank you.” “So you’re alright?” “Yup, but that was weird. How’d that happen?” Then I realized it. I saved Luna from a possible accident, that I caused. Damn. “Uh, well, you were going pretty high and I thought you might get hurt, so I uh, stopped the Orb. I just thought I should keep you safe.” “Well, you could’a just said something, I’m not a foal.” What else can I do? I facehoof at my own stupidity “Right, sorry.” “It’s okay, Cloudy. Hey Tia, you wanna play catch?” Celestia may be okay around the Orb, but she still seems hesitant to play with it, if the rather nervous look on her face is any indication. Luna must notice this, and she tries reassuring her sister. “Come on Tia, we can take it slowly at first, then go faster when you’re ready for it.” Oh jeez, don’t laugh, don’t laugh, don’t laugh, don’t laugh, don’t laugh, they’re just fillies, they don’t know what an innuendo is, don’t laugh, don’t laugh. Keep control, stay calm, you’re a guard, you’ve been trained in ‘staring blankly at nothing for hours’ 101. You can do this! “...Cloudy? Are you alright?” “Uh... yeah, sure, of course Celestia, I’m perfectly fine, why wouldn’t I be?” “Because you’re making really weird faces.” Whoops “Oh, uh, nevermind. I’m okay, just play. Give me a minute.” I leave. My mind is dirty, I need to clean my head... Oh man, now I’m doing it! Okay, calm down, focus on the job, er, task at hoof. I need to watch the princesses and stay focused. Here we go. I go back to the girls and I see them tossing the Orb back and forth, the Orb moving through the air at different speeds and occasionally making odd angles in it’s path. I think the girls are finally getting the hang of it. Good, if they just be careful, they can play and nopony will get hurt.