//------------------------------// // Feelings Laid Bare // Story: Ponies and Grey Wardens: The Equestrian Age // by Icecane //------------------------------// Anders awoke to a painful stiffness in his back. Groaning in both pain and exertion, the mage brought himself to a sitting position and forced his clamped eyelids open. Even with the dim light around him, the shine of it immediately made him regret opening his eyes as the pain stabbed into his head, causing him to swear under his breath as he rubbed his eyes thoroughly. With a twist of his waist, loud, cracking pops erupted from his bones. It was strangely satisfying as he began to look at his surroundings, seeing the expansive corridors of one of the many grand hallways of Canterlot castle. The empty bottles that were nearby gave him a good indicator as to what happened, a small puddle of drool on the floor cementing it quickly. He wasn't sure what was worse, the fact he had drank so much, or the fact that no one deemed it necessary to keep him from sleeping on the stone floor. As though only held back by his own ignorance, Anders suddenly felt the repercussions of his actions, nearly screaming out in agony as his skull felt three sizes too small. It was a constant, throbbing ache that made his eyes cross and his vision blur. Erratic breaths left him as he clutched at the sides of his head, body shuddering like land during an earthquake. Rubbing his fingers against his temples, the mage did his best to muster enough focus to concentrate through the pain. Within moments, his fingers were consumed with a faded glow as he continued to rub them against his head. “There... Yeah... just like that,” he murmured to himself. “Just heal those bad consequences away...” After a moment, the glow around his hands ceased and the pain coursing through his senses ebbed away. “Heh, bet those dwarves wish they could do that.” Standing fully upright, Anders looked around the area more. Looking out the massive windows that were placed in the walls, the pale-silver form of the moon could be seen steadily rising into the sky. It's height wasn't much at the moment, having the mage realize that it wasn't too late just yet. A yawn emanating from his throat was quick to clue him in on how drowsy he was, figuring out that sleeping in the middle of a hard floor provided little in a comfortable rest. Stretching his stiffened joints once again, Anders picked a direction at random and headed down the hallway, trying to find out where exactly he was in order to make it back to his room. The castle itself was noticeably different at night, the once bright hallways of white looking dreary and dark, it didn't give much direction for the mage to follow. Only turning into different paths of the branching halls with no rhyme or reason behind it, having no idea where he was going. The soft echoes of his own footsteps were the only sound he could hear, finding none of the castle staff out now or any paroling guards for that matter. Just as it felt like Anders would be lost in the castle for the entire night, he heard the faint sound of a voice ahead of him. It was easily recognizable as the melodious tune of Princess Celestia. Though the mage couldn't make out what she was saying, it was a good enough thing to know that she had yet to retire and could offer a helping hoof in pointing the way back to the guest rooms. Following the muffled sound of the princess' speaking voice, Anders entered a large chamber, the corners coated in shadows from the dull lighting. In the center, Celestia could be seen, sitting down with a pleasant smile on her face. Standing before her, there was a yellow-coated, pink-maned pegasus timidly speaking respectfully to her. “Fluttershy!” Anders exclaimed, rushing toward the mare. Fluttershy's own face lit up upon seeing the approaching human, following suit as she galloped forward. As they were about to crash into one another, the yellow pegasus jumped upward, her wings lifting her into the air and bringing her to the mage's height. Extending his arms out, Anders caught the pony and wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug, feeling the same amount of pressure around his own body as the equine forelegs were locked around him. “I can't believe you're here,” he said happily. “I didn't think I'd get a chance to see you again.” They were soon snapped back to where they were as Celestia politely cleared her throat, making the two friends release one another and look away abashedly. “So, uh... what are you doing here, Fluttershy?” The pegasus mare quickly redeveloped a cheerful smile as she looked to the mage and said, “Well, Ponyville's really hectic right now. Everypony's still scared over what happened and the others are trying to repair the damages. I came here to see what was going on.” In a split-second, her smile shrank into a frown. “How's Twilight? A lot of ponies said that something happened to her, and Princess Celestia said that-” Anders knelt down to Fluttersy, lips spread in a large smile. “She's doing fine,” he said reassuringly. “Thanks to the others, what happened to her is over. Now, we're just staying here for a little longer before we have to go back home.” “You have to leave so soon?” Fluttershy asked, not knowing the real reasons behind their plans. As he nodded, the mage's own smile lessened as he sighed wearily. “Yeah, but... it's getting late,” he replied. “How about we both turn in for the night and I'll explain everything in the morning?” “You are more than welcome to stay in the guest rooms, Fluttershy,” Celestia said, eying the two closely. “Oh... okay,” the pegasus replied. “That'll be fine.” “Great! Let's go get some sleep.” Anders said, standing fully upright as he turned toward the nearest exit. Just as he and Fluttershy were about to leave, the mage stopped in his tracks and turned back to Celestia. “Uh... heh, now that I think about it, I'm actually sorta lost...” Celestia huffed lightly in amusement before nodding her head toward the left, indicating what direction to go. “Ah, that's it. Thank ya kindly, princess.” With an abrupt bow, the mage then left with Fluttershy in tow, leaving Celestia to simply smile at the two as they left. The trip to the guest rooms was a quiet one, Fluttershy continuously looked to Anders in an attempt to ask something and sate her curious thoughts, but one look at the human showed he wasn't about to begin any type of conversation just yet. He almost looked sad, making the mare worry that something was wrong. But still nothing was said, even as they made it to the corridor that connected the many guest rooms. Barely even giving a breath of a good-night, Anders and Fluttershy were prepared to go their separate ways. With Anders aiming toward his own room and Fluttershy locating one for herself, they where both stopped suddenly as they heard something. It was quiet, an extremely soft and abrupt gasp coming from one of the rooms. Despite how silent it was, given the stillness all around them, it might as well have been a clap. Anders barely even hesitated as he turned toward the source of the sound, seeing a door that was not fully shut, opened just a small crack. Though Fluttershy was at first wary of approaching the almost ominous looking door, seeing the mage approach with no trepidation was reason enough for her to do as the human did. Together, the both pressed their gazes against the wooden door, doing their best not to push against it and cause it to creak open even more. Just as their sights were able to glimpse into the room, they both immediately lurched backward. Pressing their backs against the far off wall, Anders and Fluttershy wore matching expressions as they looked at one another. Their eyes were wide and unblinking, their jaws almost disconnecting as their mouths gaped open, and their faces shined with a bright tint of red. With nothing better to do, the Warden-Commander simply lied down on his bed, holding a book over his gaze as he quietly read from it. There was little else to do within the castle. Truthfully, the commander didn't care if there were really a million things to do within the royal home, wanting to be left alone for as long as possible as they spent their last few nights in the once peaceful land. Complete and utter stillness surrounded the Warden, the only sound to be heard being that of his own thoughts as his eyes traveled from left to right across the pages, focusing on every word as they echoed in his mind. He might as well have been the only one in the entire world from the solitude placed around him. It was why it came as a shock to him as he suddenly felt something touching his free hand. Setting the book down, the commander grabbed the invader that broke into his own little world. Holding it up in front of him, the sight of the object made his eyes widen, seeing a pendent depicting two gryphons in his grasp. His head immediately jerked to the side, seeing Twilight standing in the doorway, wearing a noticeable downtrodden expression. “I... I thought I should give it back,” Twilight murmured, barely meeting the human's gaze. “I made it for you, you know.” Sitting on the edge of his bed and wrapping the chain back around his own neck, the commander found a sudden feeling of completion, like a piece of himself had been returned. “Yeah...” he replied. “I just thought you needed it more.” He swallowed the expanding lump in his throat before looking directly at the mare. “Twilight, are you... are you alright? I mean, that demon had-” “Yes, yes, I'm fine,” Twilight replied, smiling a little at the sudden concern, finally looking the commander in the eyes. Silence quickly fell over them both as the lavender-coated mare stepped further into the room, eventually climbing atop the bed herself to sit beside the human. The silence seemed to thicken even more the closer they were, both of them simply sitting there without a word, only briefly glancing toward the other. A shuddering sigh left the commander soon after, unable to bear it any longer. “Twilight,” he said, almost pleadingly, “I... I just...” He groaned sullenly as he buried his face in his hands. There was so much to be said, yet the Warden found himself unable to speak, at a complete loss for words. “Look, Twilight,” the Warden forced himself to say, “I-I'm sorry, alright?” Twilight looked at him with a mix of confusion and compounding sadness. “Sorry?” she asked. “For what?” “How I treated you,” the commander murmured, his voice heavy with regret. “For what's happened to you and Equestria. For all that we've done.” Twilight shook her head as she continued to stare at the commander. “None of that was your fault,” she said firmly. “If anyone should be sorry... it's me.” The sudden statement caused the commander to eye the unicorn with his own feeling of confusion as she began to look at herself distastefully. “When you disappeared before and I saw who was behind it... I was so scared... I thought I might never see you again, that you... that you might have...” Tears fell down her cheeks as she began to sniffle. “I was so relieved when you were safe. I couldn't even explain it... I was just so... so happy that I couldn't even stand it. Just being near you, I could feel it... it was something I've never felt around anypony else before...” Like a knife through the heart, the Warden-Commander felt a pang of guilt stab into him. “And I don't know why, but I just... acted on it...” At that moment, she shuddered, her attempts to repress her own sadness failing miserably as a sudden sob left her. “And then... you left.” It was difficult, almost impossible, for the Warden to hear those words. All he could feel were his own insides twisting together in one big knot. “I ran because... because I was afraid,” he said. “I was afraid of what it meant, of what was happening between the two of us...” Pausing only to wipe the tears off of the unicorn's lavender coat, the commander looked her straight in the eyes. “Twilight,” he said, his tone serious but still caring, “you're a wonderful person, intelligent, funny and so very talented. I realized that quickly just by being around you, but... I didn't want to see any further than that. Me and everyone else being here was a mistake, one that needed to be fixed. I saw it as an inevitability from the start... I-I couldn't hurt you like you that...” For a single moment, his gaze drifted toward the ring he wore on his finger. “I've felt that kind of pain before... You didn't deserve that. So I thought keeping away from you was the only way, even if you hated me for it. Then... I was surprise when Anders came to me, expressing his wishes to stay in your world. What he said... it made me realize that our situation wasn't as inevitable as I had thought... That maybe, some sacrifices could have been made, if it was for one's own happiness.” Rubbing his eyes thoroughly, the Warden-Commander's face twisted into a fierce scowl. “But then...” he said through gritted teeth, his fists clenched tightly, “that demon attacked you... I saw what we were doing to Equestria, to you and your people... It was a hard slap to the face to know what once was a choice, was now something we had to do. So I had to stay away from you, to prevent any misery the inevitable would cause.” The commander was then surprise as he felt Twilight nuzzling against him. “But... I didn't care about that,” she said. “All I wanted was to be with you, to enjoy every second I had. Even though you had to leave eventually, I never thought otherwise. You've even said it yourself... how you have to cherish every second you have, especially when you know it won't last... I didn't care that it would eventually hurt, I'd at least have the memories to look back to...” Tears began to stream down her face once again, almost as though to cut the commander down, forcing him to see the pain that he was already causing her. “But... if you still think it's best we not seeing each other until you leave, I'll... understand.” Her glistening, water-filled eyes looked up at him, meeting his own eyes perfectly. “But, will you please just tell me one thing? If... if it wasn't for that... that monster, would you have stayed here?” Struck by the question, the Warden-Commander looked at Twilight almost dumbstruck. Though he opened his mouth as if to speak, no words came out. The lack of an answer was noticed quickly by the distraught unicorn, her eyes nearly flooding with moisture. But, her sadness came to a sudden, crashing halt as, without a word, the commander leaned forward and kissed her. They remained like that for several moments, their lips locked together as the commander kissed he scholar passionately. Though Twilight was shocked by the sudden affection, she was quick to returning it, her heart fluttering in her chest. When they finally broke away, they didn't separate very far. Their faces mere hairs away from each other, the commander looked the mare in the eyes and whispered, “I just don't want to hurt you.” “You never could,” Twilight replied with a loving smile, surprising the Warden as she suddenly broke the gap between them and brought her lips to his once again. It was with the same force as their first time together, but rather than want to pull away, the commander wanted nothing more than to stay that way. Things didn't end there as the commander felt a sudden push against his chest, falling backward onto the bed as Twilight lied on top of him The position was strangely reminiscent, save for the joyful, almost sultry gaze held by the mare. It was a great surprise to the human, having never expected for her to take such initiative. By the look on her face however, it seemed as though she even surprised herself. But it didn't stop them, not in the slightest. They both continued to kiss the other, things escalating more and more until their tongues began to intertwine. Twilight pressed herself against the commander as closely as she could, perhaps wasn't experienced with what they were doing, but she didn't care. All that she cared about now was the human that was with her. The commander himself made use of his hands, running his fingers through her soft mane while his other hand ran across the mare's lavender-coated body tenderly. It seemed obvious enough what things were coming to. They both broke away once again, catching their breath as they looked into the eyes of the other. The commander was almost hesitant to continue, knowing how such things were a new experience for the mare. But, as he looked up at the unicorn, he could see it in her eyes. A readiness that showed her own want in all of it, to show her true feelings for him, in the greatest way two people could. They would make their time together worth remembering. The Warden-Commander was certain that everyone he knew would probably call him crazy. It would most likely even be one of the more tame words they would have for him. But then again, he could remember when such people called him crazy simply for falling for Morrigan. Frankly, he didn't care. All he cared about was the creature with him now, feeling something he hadn't for a long time.