//------------------------------// // In Which Things Start to Heat Up... // Story: Apple of My Eye // by musicalreader //------------------------------// Apple of My Eye- Ch. 20 In Which Things Begin To Heat Up… AKA- Hide and Seek Is a Lot Less Fun When You Grow Up. Twilight was a good student. She stayed up late sometimes to keep studying, but aside from her insomniac ways, there wasn’t really anything bad you could say about the purple unicorn. On this particular occasion, our studious Celestial protégé was sound asleep, (having crashed after two all nighters) and was happily dreaming about what it must be like to be a Princess. She could feel the wind flowing over her wings as she glided over the whole of Equestria, showering the good little fillies and colts with books and scrolls filled with knowledge of all kinds. Beside her was Celestia herself, guiding her student and directing her towards any small foal she’d forgotten to give a book to. It was a familiar dream, and one that Twilight particularly enjoyed. Normally, they would finish up her route, go back to Celestia’s private quarters, and stay up until the wee hours reading and telling stories of ages past and battles fought against the creatures of Chaos that Discord had brought to the world. On this occasion however, Celestia pointed a hoof at a small foal that had somehow missed Princess Twilight’s gifts. Never one to leave anypony out of a good time, Twilight drifted down to the ground and landed right in front of the small filly. “And what kind of a book would you like to have little one?” Princess Twilight asked, kneeling down to the child’s level and smiling kindly. The little pony looked up at her with eyes as big as saucers, beaming up at her Princess and opening her mouth to tell the book loving Triarch what kind of literature would sate her thirst for knowledge. But instead of an angelic voice full of excitement, Twilight was blasted with what she was sure was an excellent impression of the Royal Canterlot Voice… “We want you to wake up and help us!!!” Twilight shot up in bed, her eyes snapping open and searching around manically. She even teleported to the top of her dresser with her horn leveled at the door for good measure. Let it never be said that the Librarian didn’t know how to defend herself… “Whoa there Twi!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, holding her front hooves up in a gesture of surrender, “Careful with that thing, it’s probably loaded!” “Aw hush up Dash.” Applejack said, pushing past the prismatic Pegasus and standing in front of the Unicorn currently hyperventilating on top of her dresser. “What are you all doing in my bedroom?!” Twilight asked, once she had regained her composure slightly, though still not enough to want to come down from on top of the dresser. “Aurora’s been kidnapped!” Dash responded, with much flailing and waving of limbs. “What do you mean kidnapped?” “It usually means that ya get taken somewhere without yer permission.” Applejack explained, surprised that she had to define a word for Twilight… she was practically a walking dictionary. “No, I mean, who kidnapped her? How?!” Twilight responded, rolling her eyes as she jumped down from on top of the dresser. “We don’t know who she went with, but it happened like, twenty minutes ago!” Dash answered, clearly on the verge of a panic attack… Her hair, as messy as it usually was, had begun to spring off in small bunches much like Twilight’s did when she began to talk about ‘Magic Kindergarten’. “Whoa whoa whoa… you say she left with someone? Where were you all?” “We were at the ‘fooler’ bar,” AJ answered, putting a hoof around Dash’s shoulders comfortingly, “Me and Dash started getting’ competitive over her, and while we weren’t looking, Aurora left with somepony else, and we don’t know who! Ya know how she is Twi, she don’t know if she’s giving off signals or not, and she sure as hay don’t know how ta read when somepony else is interested… And we tried gettin’ Pinkie ta find her, but her Pinkie Sense wasn’t pickin’ anything up, so she went off on her own while me and Dash came here ta get you! She could be in some real trouble right now and we need yer help ta find her fast!” “You’ve gotta help us Twi!” Dash cried, tears actually starting to streak their way down her cheeks at this point. “Okay okay… just give me a moment. I’ve got to get a scrying crystal out, and then we need a map of Ponyville. AJ, you know where the maps are downstairs, if you could go get one…” “Say no more Twi.” She responded, galloping out of the room and thundering down the steps. “And Rainbow…” Twilight started to say, before seeing the sad state her usually brash friend was in. “…There’s a box of tissues in the bathroom, go get them and try and keep yourself together. We’ll find her, and I’m sure that as oblivious as she is, nothing bad will happen…” Rainbow sniffled, nodding her head and walking to the bathroom to get the tissues Twilight mentioned. “Ah ‘ot uh ‘apsh!” Applejack said, bursting into the room with several large scrolls in her teeth. “Great, just lay them on the floor, and spread them out. Those are the most recent maps right?” Twilight directed, sifting through several drawers with her magic, trying to find a scrying crystal that hadn’t been used up yet… she had a tendency to break them pretty fast when she was trying to find a book that was overdue, or just plain lost. “Yes Ma’am! Even made sure not to wake Spike up while Ah was down there… poor little fella fell asleep with his head in the fireplace again.” AJ answered. “Oh for Celestia’s sake!” Twilight exclaimed, glaring at the dragon in question through the floor, “I keep telling him not to do that… I swear, one of these days I’m going to get a door with a lock for that thing…” Both Applejack and Twilight were snapped out of their short discussion about Spike’s sleeping habits by a loud honking sound coming from the bathroom. “Uhhh… Twi? Are ya trying ta hide an elephant in yer bathroom… again?” AJ asked, glancing at the closed door. “Ya know what the vet told ya about teleportin’ exotic animals fer yer studying…” “It’s not an elephant, it’s Rainbow Dash. She’s a wreck all of a sudden and she just looked like she needed a moment to herself and a box of tissues…” Twilight explained before turning her attention back to examining the contents of one of the drawers, “AH HA! I found it! Rainbow, get out here!” “You found her?!” Dash asked, poking her head out of the bathroom hopefully. “Not yet, but I found the crystal. Now all I have to do is hone in on her aura… this would be easier if she were a Unicorn… but hopefully that spell from Luna will be giving off some pretty large bio-magical waves…” Twilight dictated as her horn flared to life and channeled raw magi into the scrying crystal. The gem hummed to life, hovering over the spot on the map marked ‘Library’. “Alright, now that the crystal is zeroed in on us, I can expand the field to scan for her…” Twilight pumped another jolt of magic into the crystal, causing it to lift off the map and start circling the parchment. It started spinning around faster, picking up speed, until it came to a stop without warning in the middle of the road leading to… the Library? “What’s that mean Twi?” Dash asked, leaning into the map so that her nose was about an inch from the still moving crystal. “It… it means that she’s walking up the road right now… Assuming I did this right, that crystal now represents her on the map, and wherever she moves, she is… At the rate the crystal is moving, and assuming her course doesn’t change, she should actually be at the front door right about-“ Twi rambled, her explanation interrupted by a series of loud knocks…shortly followed by a muffled string of swears as the sleeping dragon in the fireplace undoubtedly hit his head after being startled awake. The three mares sitting on Twilight’s floor were too stunned to move as they listened to Spike open the door, invite whoever it was inside, and direct them up the steps… Rainbow in particular held her breath as they heard the visitors hoof steps resounding against the stairs, their guest reaching the top of the steps, walking towards the door, and opening it to reveal… “Pinkie Pie?!” Twilight and Applejack exclaimed at the same time, Dash having passed out immediately after her friend poked her poofy pink head in. “Hey girls! Guess what!” Pinkie said happily, still only peeking around the door. “Pinkamena Diane Pie, this ain’t no time ta be playin’ jokes. We’re tryin’ ta find Aurora, and ya’ll done got the crystal all screwed up to where it followed you and not her!” Applejack reprimanded, turning to glare at the map rather than her friend… she wasn’t really mad at Pinkie, but she was seriously getting worried about Aurora… “What about finding me?” Aurora asked, poking her head in the door and causing Applejack to twist her head back around to look and almost getting whiplash in the process. “Awww… you ruined the surprise Rory!” Pinkie whined, finally walking into the room and sitting down to a very stunned Twilight and Applejack, and very unconscious Rainbow Dash. “No seriously, what about trying to find me? Was I lost or something?” Aurora asked, walking in and sitting down next to Rainbow Dash, poking her snoozing friend with a hoof. “And what happened to her?” “You… we… Ah thought we’d lost ya fer a while there Aurora…” Applejack stammered out, her eyes still wide with surprise, but quickly filling up with relief and happiness. “Silly filly.” Pinkie Pie chided, “She wasn’t lost. She went back to Daisy’s place, and I ran into her as she was leaving!” “What?! Daisy?!!” Rainbow Dash shrieked, sitting bolt upright, instantly alert, she looked around at the others in the room before her eyes saw Aurora. “Oh my Goddesses you’re safe!” Dash cried out, wrapping Aurora in a bone crushing hug, even wrapping her wings firmly around them to make sure that she didn’t break out. “Don’t you ever run off on us like that again!” “Dash… air…” Aurora gasped out, tapping a hoof on her friend’s back. When Rainbow finally released her, and she managed to catch her breath, Aurora explained what happened after she left the club… V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V “So, why was a nice mare like you at a club like that anyway?” Daisy asked, sidling up to Aurora as they walked through the darkened streets of the town. “Well, it started out with one of my friends asking for me to come with her tonight because it was couples night, and I guess she wanted to get in with the discount… Aurora explained, staring up at the stars that covered the dark fabric of the night sky. “And you bought that? Sweetheart, there’s no such thing as couples night unless it’s Hearts and Hooves Day.” “Really? Huh… well, I guess she just wanted some company then. It’s always hard to tell with her…” “You’re kidding me…” Daisy said, quirking an eyebrow at the grey mare next to her, “Did you seriously not catch the hint she was sending?” “What hint?” Aurora asked. “Nevermind… So I take it that you’re not that involved when it comes to things like dating?” “Well… I haven’t really been in a relationship per say…” she responded, trying to skirt around the question. “I mean, I’ve never really gone out with anypony.” “Awwww… I’m sorry, but I always love finding the cute innocent ones… it makes things interesting for me.” Daisy commented, “So, what kinds of things do you like then sweetie? And I don’t think I really got your name before. I’m Daisy…” “Well, my name is Aurora, and I like stargazing, reading, wandering around and exploring new places… I also LOVE music.” Aurora answered, about to say more but getting cut off my Daisy. “No no sweetie… I mean, what kinds of things do you like about other ponies? What flips your switch so to speak?” Daisy corrected, trying to get a bit closer to the Pegasus next to her. “Well… I don’t really know what I find attractive… where I’m from originally…let’s just say that there’s different standards of beauty… but I know that I’m kind of interested in getting to know who a person really is, you know? Like, looks can change, standards for ‘beauty’ evolve, but if you’re with someone that’s nice, sweet, someone you can talk to and you both support each other, then that’s something special…” “That… that’s actually really sweet… I mean, I always read about stuff like that, but I didn’t think there was anypony out there that actually believed it… you know Aurora, you’re really sweet…” Daisy commented, blinking away a small tear that had started to form in the corner of her eye. “So how have you never found a special somepony?” Aurora shrugged, looking around at the quiet road and thinking… “I guess I just never really was able to get past the fear of being rejected… Besides, even if I found somepony soon, I doubt that it could last… I’m not really feeling like myself lately, and I wouldn’t want to end up hurting anypony because something’s wrong with me…” “Aurora, look at me…” Daisy said, stopping in front of a house and wheeling around to face the grey Pegasus. “I think that anypony that views love like you do is a very special mare… and I’d count myself among the luckiest ponies in the Equestria if you were mine…” As she spoke, Daisy started to close the distance, her eyes lidded and her voice soft. When she had finished speaking, her eyes were closed and her lips were only an inch or so away from Aurora’s. Aurora smiled, blushing slightly as she closed the distance, her head tilted to the side as she pushed closer……and pulled Daisy into a hug. Her eyes shot open and Daisy began floundering for words. “W-what are… why… what?” she finally said, pressing her body in closer to Aurora’s, trying to see if this was just the shy Pegasus’ way of showing affection. “I really appreciate what you said Daisy… I was never good with others before I came here… and ever since I arrived, everypony’s gone out of their way to make me feel welcome, and wanted… and it’s just so great, you know?” Aurora said, trying to put words to her feelings. “I mean, hay, I just met you a few minutes ago, and you made me feel so happy about a lot of things I’ve been thinking about lately… thank you Daisy…” Daisy froze, realizing that she had tried to take advantage of this sweet, trusting, beautiful mare… when did she become the kind of mare that just looked for pleasure, rather than love… maybe this was a chance to turn things around? As Celestia as her witness, she’d not let this opportunity go to waste. “You know Aurora, I’m really glad that we met each other… maybe I can see more of you around town?” Daisy asked, finally pulling away from the hug and smiling at Aurora. “I’d like that Daisy… You’re a good friend, I can tell…” Aurora greed, smiling and spreading her wings to fly away into the night. “Goodnight Daisy, and don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll find your special somepony soon enough.” As Aurora began to coast off into the night sky, Daisy smiled and went into her home, closing the door behind her and muttering, “I think I’ve already found them…” V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V “And after she walked Daisy, home, I found her lying on a cloud and looking at the stars!” Pinkie finished, “And I told her that you two were looking for her, and that we should probably go tell you that everypony was okay.” “How did ya manage ta find her if she was on a cloud?” Applejack asked, “Ya don’t got any wings…” “Don’t ask her that…” Aurora said, grimacing, “I’m still not sure where she got that trampoline from…” “Oh relax Rory, it’s like I told you, I keep trampolines stashed all over town in case of trampoline emergency!” Pinkie replied, giggling as Aurora rolled her eyes, Dash still hadn’t picked her jaw up from the floor, Applejack was massaging her temples with a forehoof, and Twilight just looked on with an amused expression. “Well, now that everypony’s found, and we know that nothing bad happened, can you all please leave so I can get some sleep?” Twilight asked politely, “Seriously, I haven’t gotten a good night’s sleep in days because of the write up I’m working on for Celestia.” “Is this your theory of multiple universes?” Aurora guessed, taking a small bit of pleasure at managing to surprise everypony in the room for a second time that night. “How did you know about that?” Twilight asked, frowning. “I keep in touch with Luna… she sends me a letter about every three or four days…” Aurora explained, shrugging, “Though I still don’t get why she feels the need to keep spraying her perfume on the paper… it makes me sneeze every time I open one of her letters and a wave of ‘New Moon’ smacks me in the nose…” Applejack was fighting the urge to laugh, and losing, at Aurora’s continued oblivious state when it came to anything to do with ponies flirting with her. On the other hoof, it means less danger of somepony getting hold of her before you do… her brain reminded her, You just have to figure out how to make her see what your intentions are, and she’ll be all yours… I mean, come on, nice honest strong mare like you, who could resist? “Why are you smiling all goofy like Applejack?” Pinkie asked, her face suddenly only inches away from the orange Earth Pony’s. “Uhhh… no reason… just thinkin’ ta myself…” AJ fibbed, her face scrunching up like she’d just eaten a lemon… or a pear… “Aurora…” Dash said, finally speaking, “I want you to promise me something…” “What is it Dash?” Aurora responded, leaning closer to the rainbow maned mare who was still staring at the floor hard enough to make it burst into flame. Instead of answering though, Rainbow looked up, her face an odd mix of relief, anger, worry, and jealousy. She sprang up from her seat on the floor and tackled Aurora onto her back, pinning her down and getting right in her face before speaking. “Don’t you ever do something like that again! You had me worried sick! I was crying Rory, do you know how big a deal that is?!” “I’m sorry Rainbow… really, I didn’t know it would upset you that badly if I went off on my own…” Aurora apologized, trying not to laugh at the funny look on her friends face. “Alrighty then Dash, now let the poor mare up… Ah think we all need ta just go home, get some rest, and calm down… we can all talk about this more tomorrow.” Applejack said, trying to keep the cyan Pegasus from doing anything stupid. “Hmph…” Dash pouted, getting off from on top of Aurora and starting for the door, “Fine. But Aurora, you owe me one. And the next time I ask you out, don’t go wandering off with some other mare you just met.” Having said her piece, Rainbow stormed out of the room, slamming the door to the library on her way out as she disappeared into the night. “……Is she going to be alright?” Aurora asked, looking around at the other three mares in the room. “Ah think she just needs some space fer now sugarcube… She was pretty upset when ya disappeared, she was cryin’ and everything… and fer a mare like Rainbow, cryin’s a big deal… She’ll be alright after some sleep, just, be careful around her alright? She cares about ya more than ya know…” Applejack said, pulling the grey Pegasus into a comforting hug. It wasn’t right to blame Aurora for any of this really… she didn’t seem to know just how much Rainbow really cared about her. “Well, if we’re all through being moody, I think Twilight wants to get back to sleep.” Pinkie said, jerking her head to indicate the now grumbling Unicorn heading for her bed. “That might be a good idea… Night Twilight.” Aurora said, fanning a wing at the Element of Magic and heading out the door, followed closely by Pinkie Pie and Applejack after they said their good nights as well. V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V Aurora lounged on a cloud floating over the farmhouse of Sweet Apple Acres. Her wings were spread out and enjoying the minute breezes that would kick up every now and then, each one ruffling her feathers in such a way that it almost felt like she was being caressed by the night… As she laid there under the night sky, Aurora wondered, not for the first time, if she’d made the right decision in agreeing to come to Equestria… Sure, it was a lot safer, friendlier, and cleaner here… but she still felt like an alien. She didn’t belong here like everypony else. The fact that she was still a blank flank only seemed to drive that point home whenever she saw herself in the mirror…And ever since she came here, she only seemed to screw things up. Tonight’s fiasco with Rainbow Dash and Applejack was just the latest in a string of things that she felt responsible for… But as she thought back on all the things that seemed to just pile on guilt, Aurora remembered all the good things that had happened… there were the friends she had made. The sense of purpose that seemed to fill her every morning… She thought back on the laughs she had shared with her friends over the simplest things. The joy Luna seemed to show when there was someone to appreciate her nights… She finally came to the conclusion that, alien or not in this world, despite any screw ups she might make, Equestria… no, Ponyville… was her home. Aurora opened her eyes, feeling a weight lift from her chest as she stood atop the cloud, gazed across the sprawling land below, the stars twinkling above, and the moon shining softly in a cool embrace, and smiled. “I’m home…” she said, her smile growing as she felt a tear streak down her face. “I’m really, finally somewhere I can call home…”