//------------------------------//
// Ch. 18: Tranquil 
// Story: Sin 
// by MemoryLane 
//------------------------------//

	After my talk with Covette, I followed her instructions and quickly met up with Rarity and Cashmere near the foyer with their things in tow. Apparently they had been ready to go for a long time, and was just waiting on Covette and I.

"Fluttershy!" Rarity exclaimed at the sight of me, rather dramatically. "There you are! We thought you may have gotten lost!" She uttered, making me blush slightly after realizing that she was indeed correct.

"I was for a little bit." I admitted, looking away from them. "But Covette told me where you both were..." I looked over to Cashmere, staring at him a little longer than I had hoped. Was he that heartless of a colt back then? Does he REALLY not remember Covette? One doesn't forget walking passed a starving filly everyday during their childhood. Maybe he's choosing not to remember, kind of like pushing it to the back of his mind, and making himself forget.

Cashmere looked left and right awkwardly, and after realizing how long and hard I've been staring at him, I blushed and turned away. I hope he didn't get the wrong message.

He cleared his throat and spoke up in an attempt to cut through the awkwardness I have just caused. "Anyways. We should leave immediately. If we do, then we can reach Ponyville by later this evening." He announced. Rarity was overjoyed at  the fact, and swooned.

"Ah! Finally!" She cheered. To be honest, I was quite happy as well. I know Rarity was excited to take a bath in one of Cashmere's room sized bathtubs, but it never beats home. "I can't wait! Hopefully we didn't keep everyone else waiting!" Rarity thought out loud. I'm really glad that she got over the Medallion and it's disappearance. Perhaps she finally accepted that it wasn't her fault.

Well, at least we didn't need it anymore, and our friends still have two more that we can use.

"We should probably find Covette." Cashmere added, looking around. It was odd. After Covette and I were done talking(I also still wanted to talk to her some more later) she began to walk down the hall towards the foyer a ways in front of me, and now she disappeared. Sometimes I just don't understand her.

Cashmere turned to a servant that happened to be walking by with a plate of dishes and kindly ask that he locate Covette and bring her to them, to which the servant happily accepted.

About 20 minutes later, Covette's angry grunts could be heard. "Let go off me! You stupid excuse for a butler! I will bucking sue you if you don't let me go!" She shouted. The blue maned servant was much stronger than he looked, that was for sure, because he actually brought her here single-hoofedly. He dropped her on the floor in front of Cashmere's feet.

"Morning!" He grinned.

"Shut up."

"Be nice!" Rarity mumbled. I was going to blurt out to Rarity not to say that, because after knowing what I know now it would only infuriate her. But I kept quiet. Covette noticed that I was going to say something, and shut her mouth. She didn't want me to blurt out information either. The green mare mumbled to herself.

Eventually, after everyone had gathered their things, we all left Cashmere's mansion(I think I saw a few tears in his eyes as we walked out through the front door...). I really wanted to talk to Cashmere now about Covette. He must remember her, there's no way he could have just forgotten her like that. But I can't for multiple reasons. I fear that if I talk to Cashmere that Covette might get mad and hurt me.

There wasn't much left of our journey now. We were nearing the ending, and everyone seemed to be very glad. After all, all we wanted to do was relax for once.

The whole way to Ponyville was filled with constant bickering and fighting amongst the other three ponies. I'm not sure about what, but I knew for sure that Covette was the source of it all. I tried my best to ignore the arguing, and soon enough I found myself zoning out as we walked down the woodland trail.

I was daydreaming about home. About when this was all over. I can go home and play with all my critters back at my cottage. I was more than ecstatic. They probably missed me like crazy. I was also hoping that my home wasn't completely destroyed...

I must say, the trip to Ponyville was much shorter than I thought. Either that or I was zoned out for a very long time. But the next thing I knew, all four of us were up on top of a hill overlooking our hometown.

"Finally!" Rarity whined. Like I said, I don't blame her for being excited. We all are. Cashmere smiled at Rarity politely.

"I had a feeling that you two came from a hick town..." Covette mumbled under her breathe. Luckily, I was the only one that heard, but that didn't stop my from dropping my jaw at her. That was just downright rude! But, I just ignored her. I'm trying not to start any more fights than there already are.

"So...now what?" Cashmere suddenly asked, looking at me to answer the question. I did a double take and looked over at Rarity, hoping that she would answer instead. Rarity let out a long sigh.

"We're meeting our other friends, and hopefully the other attributes, at the Library." She said, looking down the hill. You could literally see the large tree that the library resides in from here. 

Not too much longer.

Little did I know the ending was just the beginning.

***

About three hours later, the party finally began to draw to a halt. When all the party guests had left, the library was completely TRASHED. Most of the walls had punch on it, and the floor was littered with trash and snacks. I sighed at the huge mess that had accumulated, and at the fact that I was going to have to help pick this up. Normally, Spike would be more than happy to do it, but I'd feel pretty bad. It'll take him all day on his own.

I found Aphrodite passed out on the floor. Which was strange because I could've swore that this party had no alcoholic beverages. At least I didn't see any. I simply shook my head and poked her.

"Aphro?" I asked her. She opened an eye and waved me away, turning her head away from me.

"Go away..." She slurred slightly. Well, I was right, she was a little drunk. Somehow.

I walked over to my bookshelf(Which I made extra sure wasn't touched during the party) and took out one of my spell books. I'm pretty sure I have one that can cure a hangover. It only took me a few moments to find it. I levitated the book over to Aphrodite and set it down. I focused my magic on the mare, and a pink aura surrounded her. It let the magic simmer on her until she finally started to sit up, rubbing her head. When it seemed like the was doing alright, I brought down the magical aura.

"Whoa. You're going to have to teach me how to do that." She spoke, no longer slurring. I grinned. Like THAT was going to happen.

Not to my surprise, Pinkie and Warble were snacking in the kitchen. He still doesn't think he represents Gluttony. But the facts(and his eating habits) prove otherwise. Aphrodite and I quickly met them in the kitchen, both of them with pink frosted cupcakes in their mouth.

Warble stopped dead in his tracks, as if he was just caught in headlights. 

"Mmph...hi thwihlit" He said, the cupcake still in his mouth. I smiled and waved at him. And Pinkie couldn't stop laughing at the situation.

Aphrodite took this as a invitation to grab a pink cupcake and take a small bite out of it, and moaned with delight. Quite awkwardly, actually. I took a step away from her.

"Anyone want to help me clean up?" I asked.

"Ehh.."

"No."

"Ihm ghoohd."

I let out a small grunt of frustration and physically pushed everyone out of the kitchen. I was not doing this alone, and neither was Spike. Immediately, everyone got started on cleaning up. Pinkie got started on cleaing up the decorations, Warble took care of the walls, and Spike and I helped to organize the room. Aphrodite had a good time mopping the floor. She happened to bring some sort of maid outfit(That was VERY revealing, might I add.) along with her, and took it upon herself to deem this as a good time to use it.

Eventually, while we were cleaning, there was a knock on the door.

"PARTY'S OVER!" I shouted, a little on edge. To my dismay they walked through the door anyways, only to see two ponies walk in. A mare and a stallion. And behind them was...Rarity and Fluttershy!?

"Should we just come back later?" Rarity smiled, I ran up to her and Fluttershy and gave them a big hug.

"You're back!" I cheered, stating the obvious. I looked over at the mare. She was very...rude. She didn't do anything, but she gave off a very unhappy vibe. Pinkie Pie walked up to her.

"Hi! I'm Pinkie!" She shouted, catching the mare off guard. The scowl on the mare's face only seemed to expand. She obviously had some sort of problem with Pinkie already. That's a record.

"I know. Leave me alone." She growled. Wow. What really confused me was that Rarity and Fluttershy had to retrieve her, and they're both some of the nicest mares in Ponyville. I wonder how they managed to recruit her.

I walked over to the mare and the stallion. The mare stared at me disgustedly, while the chartreuse stallion stared at me kindly. "Hello, I'm Twilight Sparkle." I introduced.

"I'm Cashmere. I'm told I represent Greed..." He stated. Weird, he didn't look very greedy to me. The only thing that might have tipped me off was the fact that his cutie mark was a bag of cash. I looked over at the mare expectedly. She just looked at the ground angrily.

"...And you are?" I asked, the mare continued to say nothing. I looked over at Rarity.

"That's Covette...she's....Envy." She said slowly. Covette slowly raised her head. I had a feeling that she wasn't very happy to be here.

"Well, nice to meet you both!" I said politely, smiling at both of them. Cashmere nodded.

"Likewise." 

"Whatever."

Aphrodite and Warble then stepped up. To be honest, I had completely forgotten about them. I could see that this wasn't going to be good. After introducing themselves, Aphrodite (unsurprisingly) had her eyes set on Cashmere now. Much to Warble's undying happiness. He was very kind to her in return, and he was surprisingly formal. He must be from Canterlot, if I could have taken an educated guess.

Meanwhile, Covette wouldn't stop staring at Aphrodite. Her eyes were filled with hatred as she did so. This wasn't going to end well.

Warble was being very shy, and didn't talk to anyone until Fluttershy confronted him. They became friends very quickly, it seems. At least something was going right.

I couldn't help but wonder where Applejack and Rainbow Dash were. I just hoped that they would get here soon. It's been about five days. I also just realized, were is every pony going to sleep? Our sleeping arrangements for last night were already hectic. Now we have double the ponies.

It was a little later when I walked by the kitchen, which I thought was unoccupied. Only to see Aphrodite talking to the new pony, Covette.

"What is your deal?" Aphrodite groaned, a tinge of annoyance in her voice. "All you've been doing is staring at me the whole time since you've gotten here. Either you want me, or you don't like me."

"It's the bucking latter, obviously. Psh, Mrs. Lust. Unlike most ponies, I don't want you. Nor do I want anything to do with you. You disgust me." Covette growled, and Aphrodite's jaw dropped. She looked very hurt and that's when I decided to intrude.

"What's going on?" I asked them both. Covette let out a sharp "Humph" and turned away from me. Aphrodite seemed glad that I had made a sudden appearance.

"It's her! All she's done since she's been here is stare at me, and hate me! I didn't do anything." A wicked smile appeared on her face. "Well, I guess she's just a little enviou-"

"Don't. Go there." She brought the conversation to a brief halt. "I'm not jealous of you. And I never will be. Why would I be jealous of some two-timing rapist slut?" She barked. Aphrodite's and my own eyes widened at what she had just said. Aphrodite suddenly became full of rage, and she looked ready to attack the mare. Tears began to fall down her face. I wasn't sure if it was because if sadness, anger, or realization.

"Just who the Hell do you think you are? Talking to me like that!?" She asked her.

"Someone who doesn't fall for your cheap, sexual tricks." Covette stated, before deciding she's had enough. With that, she trotted out of the kitchen. Aphrodite started to follow her, but she stopped herself, and sat down on the floor. Tears began to freely flow down her face.	

I set a hoof on Aphrodite's shoulder and sat next to her on the floor. She buried her head and sobbed into my chest, and I patted her back rather awkwardly. "Are you alright?"

"No..." She sobbed, staining my chest with her tears. "She's right..."

"No, she's not!" I tried to comfort her, but she wouldn't have any of it.

"Yes she is. I'm a slut. A whore. A harlot. There's no denying it..." She spoke. I wanted to tell her that she was wrong, but she wouldn't let me. I felt that it might just be better to listen instead. "I can't help that I'm always like this. I-I don't like this. Do you know what life was like back in Las Pegasus?"

"Su-"

"It was bucking horrible. I spent every night with a new mare, or stallion. I would bring them home and we would...you know..." I tried to get the mental image out of my mind. "And every night I hoped that they wouldn't be like the rest. To just use me, and then leave. But that's how it always turned out. I wake up in my bed, and they're gone. I never hear from them again!" She smacked the ground with her hoof, her frustration rising. "No call!"SMACK "No letters!" SMACK "NOTHING!" SMACK

"It's going to be okay, Aphrodite..." I tried to reconcile her. She looked up at me, her makeup was very much smeared around her eyes from crying, and she had even managed to get some on my coat.

"You want to know something, Twilight?" She asked me as she brought her gaze to the floor. My inner curiosity showed itself once again, and I nodded. "One day, I want to have a family. I want to have a husband...or wife. I don't care. Anyone. I want foals..."

What she had said almost put a tear in my own eye. I felt so bad for her, I never could've guessed. Maybe...she wasn't as bad as I originally thought. I told her the same thing that my parents told me when I was a foal, when I was worried about Celestia's test. It was also the first thing that came to my mind.

"Ask, and you shall receive."

***

"...W-What?" I heard a low voice say behind me. Kindling and I quickly turned around. Rainbow Dash was sitting up and rubbing her head. She had removed the blanket that was on top of her. She looked horrible. Her mane was strewn about. And instead of looking like a perfect rainbow, it looked like someone splattered different colors on a canvas. "Applejack?"

"Rainbow!" I jumped up and hugged her tightly, leaving Kindling on the bed. She happily hugged me back.

"What happened?" She asked, as she finally noticed Kindling on the bed. "Where are we?" She then began to look around the rest of the cabin from the couch.

"Ya got hypothermia. Or somethin'. Ah can't remember. So we brought ya to Kindling here's cabin." I explained. Kindling walked over to her and smiled. Something I wouldn't really expect a "Wrath" to do.

"Hello." He spoke, and Rainbow waved at him awkwardly. 

"He's also the pony we've been lookin' fer." I added. Rainbow's eyes widened and let out a happy sigh.

"Which one is he?"

"Wrath."

Rainbow said nothing after thinking about it. She leaned over and whispered to me. "So...we're talking to a live time bomb?" I laughed, because I had just made that comparison earlier. I smiled and nodded, making Rainbow gulp. I decided not to tell her about the whole situation where he almost killed Ennui earlier.

"Don't worry. I'm a nice guy. Just don't piss me off. You didn't touch my pie did you?" Kindling asked playfully.

A loud snore erupted from Ennui on the floor.

"Anyways..." Rainbow Dash set a hoof on the floor, and I helped her get to her feet. She wobbled around for a bit before she finally got her bearings. "Now what?"

I looked over at Kindling and Ennui, and shrugged.

"Well, how many days do we have left?"

I did the math in my head, and gave her a pretty close guess-timate. "Two..." Something finally clicked in my head, and I finally realized what Rainbow was getting at. "There's no way we're going to make it in time..." I groaned, smacking my forehead. There is absolutely no way. It's impossible.

"Great..." Rainbow sighed. Ennui finally woke herself up when she decided that Kindling had finally forgotten about the pie.

"I'm awake. What did I miss?" She yawned. Like usual, her eyes remained the same, half open. When she noticed that Rainbow Dash was awake, a playful smirk appeared on her lips. The kind that entails that she's going to say something she's better off not saying.

"I see the drugs wore off..." She said. Rainbow suddenly looked very nervous.

"Drugs!?" She looked at me, and then Kindling, before realizing that Ennui was joking. Much to her delight. I couldn't help but chuckle. It's fun to see Rainbow Dash freak out sometimes. "Shut up, Ennui."

Ennui grinned.

"But seriously, what're we gonna do?" I asked. Everyone shrugged. Like clockwork, a knock appeared at the door.

"Another visitor? This is the most company I've had in years..." Kindling added. I walked over to the door and slowly opened it. At the door was a member of the royal guard. His body was lime green and his mane blended into the snow, much like Ennui's. Behind him was a royal carriage. The cart was painted beautifully, and had two royal guard member's attached to it. Pegasi, to be precise.

"Can ah help ya?" I asked. The green stallion looked down at a piece of paper in his hoof.

"Applejack and Rainbow Dash?" He asked. Rainbow Dash appeared right next to me at the sound of her name being called.

"The one and only. What do you want?" She asked, rather rudely. She was just almost killed, and she's already back to her old self. I didn't know what I was expecting, really.

"My name is Odysseus." He introduced. "The Princess said you may be in need of assistance." He said. Ennui and Kindling stared at them from behind us, not sure of what to make of this.

"So...you single?" Ennui asked. You done did it now... I saw Kindling's cheeks puff up angrily as he remembered what he did to his cheating ex-wife. He just took a deep breathe and downed some more pills. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before he ran out.

"Yeah..." He sighed.

"Okay. Just wondering." Ennui looked at him.

"Uhm, yeah?" I said. Speaking to Odysseus now. Were they here to help us get back to Ponyville? I sure hope so, because if not, we're kind of screwed. Odysseus looked back at his paper, and then back at me.

"If you would like a ride back to Ponyville, please come with us. Time is of the essence." He said, before walking over to the cart. Rainbow Dash couldn't help but laugh at his last words. 'Time is of the essence.' she mocked, comparing what he just said to something that would be in a bad movie. I elbowed her.

"Be polite. They're trying to help us." 

Rainbow and I walked inside, and grabbed our things. Ennui and Kindling picked up on the situation, and they both grabbed their things as well. "Looks like we have a ride after all."