The halls of Canterlot Castle were far from silent at this time, and that worked out perfectly. So many people going about their everyday tasks would pay no heed to a frantic young lady running as fast as she could around every corner and down every hallway. Twilight Sparkle's heart beat so fast, she was sure that it would jump out of her chest, but even with that disturbing image in her head, she still ran on. It took her a while, but she finally made it to the Wonderbolt practice field.
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Speed, efficiency, grace, control. All these things described Ignatius in flight. His black wings pierced the blue sky at an alarming pace, but because of the serrated tips, he made no sound. He flapped his wings once more to give himself a burst of speed and curled up into a canon ball. He flew forward about twenty feet in a straight line before locking his body out in a plank with his head facing up. Ignatius, with this trick, was able to rocket himself at a complete 90 degree angle, and flew straight up at the same speed he went in at. The flying Marine was able to do this at any angle, even 180 degrees. Which is what he did. Once he got up to a sufficient altitude, Ignatius curled up again, and flipped downward, and flew straight down, he was gaining a tremendous amount of speed, until he noticed something at the entrance of the field. A tiny spec of purple running with purpose toward Spitfire's position. Ignatius turned slightly and decreased his speed to make the landing.
Twilight stopped just short from Spitfire and leaned on her knees. She was sweating all over and her breathes were labored. The pegasus came up next to the young girl and made her stand up. "Hey, hey, calm down. Breath deep." Twilight tried to steady herself, but found it hard to draw air. Ignatius flapped his wings to control his decent. The pair on his back faded into his skin as he stalked toward the duo.
"What's wrong with Twilight?" he asked. A bit of concern in his voice.
"Your (gasp) brother. (gasp)." Twilight said.
"What about him?"
"Your brother (gasp) is missing."
"WHAT?!" Ignatius' heart rate was already high, now it sky rocketed. "How did he go missing?" Ignatius nature kicked in and he was now inches from the girl's face. His eyes launching daggers into her purple hued orbs.
Twilight's breathing calmed down slightly enough, but it would remain at that rate because of her level of fright. She had never dealt with a man like Ignatius before, and to see him as angry as he is now, was rather terrifying. Though her level of fear was relevant, she managed to say, "I was going through some routine steps for a color changing spell, and the topic of teleportation came up. I told him not to, but he wouldn't listen."
"Let me guess." Ignatius said through clenched teeth. "He tried teleporting and now you have no idea where the fuck he is, right?"
Twilight squeaked in fear, and tried to hide behind her long hair and forearms.
Ignatius's hand instinctively slid over to his knife. He grabbed Twilight by the hair on the back of her head, and yanked it back. She howled in pain, but was silent with fear as she saw the Marine's wicked edge placed up against her face. "If my brother is harmed in any way, I am going to tie you up and hang you upside down as I cut off your face. Do you understand me?" The Sergeant's cold tone was enough freeze beer. Twilight's head only nodded violently as a response. "Good." he whispered softly, and withdrew his hand.
Ignatius replaced his blade and turned toward Spitfire. She herself stood rigid as a board after witnessing the event. "Fly around Canterlot and see if you can spot him from the air. He should be easy to spot. He is a tall, heavy set male wearing a blue military coat. While you're up there, we will be looking on the interior of the castle. Come find us when you're through scanning the area."
It took her a while, but Spitfire put together a mental image. She took off at full speed, and went around the spires, thinking that he would have been put in danger by such a spell. Thankfully, he was not.
She kept searching, even going as far as to check the mountain slopes that Canterlot was built on. Nothing there either. She then checked the streets of Canterlot. She spotted one man that looked like he fit the description. She flew down to him and asked, "Excuse me, Aquinas?"
The man in a blue coat gave her a look. "Who in the name of Celestia, is Aquinas?" the man huffed and took another bite of his jelly doughnut.
Spitfire gave an annoyed sigh and flew off again. It didn't take her long to find the pair that she had left behind. She saw them through the library windows. Spitfire hopped in through an open window. "Any luck?"
Ignatius flipped through a page in a spell book. "We won't need it soon." He threw the book across the room like a discus and hit his target. With it being Twilight's stomach, the girl gave an 'umph' as the tome hit her abdomen. "Page two ninety-eight." he yelled across the room.
Twilight sucked up the pain in her stomach and flipped through the pages until she found the correct one. "Got it!" she cried. The purple gem stones in her hands glowing as she concentrated. She closed her eyes and tried her hardest to finish the spell. When the spell was over, her eyes shot open, and a huge smile came across her face. "I know where he is."
Spitfire scratched her head. "What was that?"
"A locator spell." Twilight beamed. "I used it to find out where Aquinas had been placed."
"Well, let's not waist any more time." Ignatius shot. "Let's get moving and find my brother."
"Should we tell Twilight's teacher?" Spitfire asked. She thought that that would be the best course of action.
Twilight was about to protest, but was cut off by Ignatius. "No." he snapped. "I don't want her in on this. We find him on our own." The purple haired student blew a silent sigh of relief.
The trio made their way out of the library and went towards the where the teleportation spell had place Aquinas. The lower sections of the castle.
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The lower corridors of the castle were just as beautiful as the upper chambers. However, instead of having adorned stain glass windows with the rays of the sun shining through, the closed corridors where lit with aquamarine crystals for a ceiling. The stalactites that hung down looked like they twisted in on each other to form amazing patterns of stone. Spitfire had never seen the lower corridors of the castle before, but she had heard rumors about such wonders that graced the underbelly of the majestic fortress home. She was quite taken aback by such sights. Twilight had gotten to experience these wonders before, but with every visit, more excitement always found its way into her heart. Ignatius on the other hand, cared little for this. Although it was rather pleasing to the eyes, his main focus was on finding his brother. It had only been three weeks and Aquinas had already found some way to fuck something up. His rage boiled his blood, but the feeling in his heart was what was getting the most attention. Though his brother was capable, and now had training in the use of arcane powers, this whole castle was teaming with danger. If those were just the guards that Celestia knew about, what other underhanded dealings happened within the white walls of the castle. His brother's safety was Ignatius' main concern. He didn't want his brother hurt . . . or worse.
The trio made their way down a few more corridors. Twilight made her crystal adorned hands glow and made a purple path appear before the eyes of the band. "It isn't much further." she said. "Just about two more turns and we should be in the general area."
"Good." Ignatius said as he eyed the hallways. They became longer, and more narrow. Though they still had a wide path, it still became apparent that they were traveling deeper into the heart of the castle. The first of the two turns came up, but before the party made their way around, Ignatius put a hand up. The two female stopped dead in their tracks, and let the Marine whip himself around the corner. He came back with a woman's throat clasped in his hand.
Alvi shook as hard as she could to get the man's hand off her esophagus. She even tried changing her foot patterns to see if he could keep up with her quick movements, but with her rapidly depleting oxygen level, she moved slower and slower until the Sergeant just dropped her on the seat of her dress, and left her coughing while massaging her throat. Alvi enjoyed the next few breaths of fresh air, but then hated the next moments of life as Ignatius loomed over her. His shadow was something that only the truly cynical would call 'a proper stand over one's inferiors'. She gave a weak smile, and said, "Ignatius. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I heard another pair of footsteps stop stepping at the corner, and I became curious as to what would deter you from rounding it." Ignatius' tone was so cold it could make the Frozen North feel like it was Dodge City.
Alvi's smile became weaker. "I, I, was just walking round down here, and I heard footsteps and voices. I recognized yours and I just thought I might have a little fun and give you all a good scare, but that now seems like that would not have been a good idea." Alvi gave a slight chuckle. "Hindsight, and all that."
Ignatius gave a snort, and gave her a hand up off the ground. "We are trying to find my brother, and he seems to have a trail that leads down here. Have you seen him?"
Alvi rubbed her chin. "I think that I had heard some sort of voice from another corridor, but I don't remember where." She rubbed the sides of her head and blew a sigh. "And I don't remember which one."
"Don't worry about it." Ignatius said. "Twilight has the trail, so we will find him."
"Do you mind if I tag along?" asked the steward.
The leather clad man snorted and said, "Fine. Just don't get in the way."
With that, the now party of four went along the hallways.
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After the excitement with Alvi, Ignatius thought that he could get some more quiet. However, when Twilight Sparkle is in the room, you can expect the opposite. "Soooo, Ignatius?"
"What?" the Marine groaned.
"Ignatius, I was wondering. I was just curious, but does Aquinas have a girlfriend."
"No." Ignatius said flatly. He figured the least amount of words he used, the quicker that she would get the message that he didn't want to talk.
"Oh, so, he is single then?"
"Yeah."
"Do you think . . .I don't know . . . that maybe he likes me?" no one saw it, but Twilight's face flashed red.
Ignatius was about to answer with the sharpest part of his tongue, but something clicked in his head. A wide devious grin came over his face. He quickly changed it to that which would fit a character like his, and said "I think he does."
Twilight's eyes sparkled. "Really? Has he talked about me to you at all?"
Ignatius thought for a moment. "Well," he began. "Last Wednesday when I saw him, he was saying that when you have your eyes set on something, they seem to twinkle and shine. He also stated that you were very smart, and knew way too much about magic for you to be considered a student." Ignatius could feel the smile that was on Twilight's face. This is when he made his kill shot. "He also commented on how beautiful you where. Aquinas mentioned that you had a more than perfect physique and that when you where wearing that purple sweater vest, he nearly melted away." Ignatius had to control the amount of laughter that was building up in his gut. If he let just one chuckle out, it could ruin his plans.
Twilight propped herself up against the wall. Her breathing was just as labored as it was two hours ago when she was running. "Hey, you guys, I need a break." He eyes started to tear up from the amount of joy and happiness that was swelling inside of her.
The rest of the group stopped a few feet from the purple haired girl. Ignatius let out a couple of incredibly silent chuckles, but his laughter was cut short by a pair of angry yellow and orange eyes. The Marine looked at Spitfire quizzically. "What?"
"I know what you are doing!" The Wonderbolt shot. She hushed her tone to keep Twilight from hearing.
"I know what you're doing too." Alvi chimed in. "And I like it." He devious smile matched Ignatius'.
Fire erupted behind Spitfire's eyes. "How can you be so insensitive?" she silently barked. "Are you trying to hurt this poor girl?" She was deeply concerned about her. Though she had only just met the girl, she still felt a connection between each other. She felt for her.
"No." Ignatius replied. "I'm not trying to hurt Twilight. I'm just trying to embarrass the living shit out of my brother. I heard how she was talking and you see how she is after hearing my words." They trio turned to the studious girl and saw how she breathed deeply and had the largest smile on her face. Spitfire's throat had developed a lump. She had known that look all too well. She knew how happy Twilight must be feeling, and that is what made her so sad. If Ignatius' plan fell through, he may emotionally damage her. "See?"
"Oh, I see." Spitfire sneered. "I see a man who is so heartless and cruel that he would try and ruin a small girl's psyche for no better reason than because you think it a funny joke to play on your brother." The Wonderbolt stormed off to the other end of the hallway and leaned her back up against the wall. She turned her head away from the rest of the group with a huff.
"Alright, everyone." a voice came from behind the pair. Ignatius and Alvi turned to see Twilight standing right behind them. Her face looked like it had been kissed by Celestia's sun, and then some. She absolutely glowed. The magic student looked past them to see Spitfire. "What's wrong with her?" Her voice expressing her concern.
"Oh, don't worry about her." Alvi chimed. "Ignatius and I were having fun, and Spitfire didn't like it." Twilight's shoulders drooped in sadness. "Oh don't feel bad. She's just on her time of the month is all." This brought a chuckle from the girl. She knew how that felt.
Twilight took the lead to find Aquinas. She had a new spring in her step that didn't seem like it would give out easily. The rest followed suit, up until Spitfire joined the group. Her scowl and her silence echoed her distain for the leather clad Marine.
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"Fuck." Ignatius said as his shoulders drooped in defeat. The others in the group shared the feeling. The corridor that was supposed to be Aquinas' position was not what anyone expected. Every part of the hallway was covered in doors. "What the fuck is this?"
Alvi came up to speak. "These are Numinex doors. They are doors that lead can lead to anywhere. If Aquinas stepped through one of these, he could be on the other side of the world, and because this is a one way trip, there is no turning back once he closed the door. I'm sorry to say, but your brother could be anywhere. Really, anywhere."
Ignatius took in a breath and let it out slow. "Okay, here's what we'll do. Spitfire and me will take top side, and work our way down. Twilight, you and Alvi take the doors on the opposite side and work your way towards the middle. Everyone should meet in the center. Go."
Spitfire, with vigor, took off in the opposite direction as Ignatius, as Alvi did the same with Twilight. Door after door was opened, but not one blue coated man was found. Except for Spitfire, who opened another door to find the same man from the streets of Canterlot stare back at her as he put his feet up on his ottoman as he sat in his chair next to a fireplace. She quickly closed the door and continued to search. Twilight used her magic to open two doors at once to speed up the process. Each person went back and forth across the hall to get at each door a quickly as they could. Everyone met in the middle after an unsuccessful search. Each one was out of breath and the heaviness of guilt and failure weighed heavily on them. Until Twilight noticed something.
"Hey, did we check that door?" on the other side of the hallway there was a lone door hidden in shadow. It had dust caked on it, and the door knob's fittings looked like they would fall off any time. Ignatius and the gang went over to the door. It looked like someone had recently disturbed the door.
"Alvi?" Twilight said in a shaky tone. "What's behind that door?"
Alvi shrugged in reply.
Ignatius drew his dagger from its sheath and he brought his leg up to bare. The Marine gave a might kick to the door, and the portal flung open. Ignatius charged in blade first to meet any opposition. Time to get his brother back.
Ignatius went in with a battle cry piercing the air. "AAAAAHHHHHHHHH . . .what the fuck?" Ignatius stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the large form of his brother covered in grey furs.
"I AM KOALA MASTER!" the naval man cried as four of the marsupials climbed on top of his as he outstretched his arms like tree branches, which the koalas had mistaken them for.
Ignatius' vain at the front of his forehead was about to burst. He had thought that his brother was in some sort of danger, but here he was, playing with Australian wildlife. "Ugh!" he face palmed. "What are you doing here?" His annoyance was rather apparent.
"Well," Aquinas began. "Twilight told me that to teleport, you have to have a destination to think of, and I want to go to the places that koalas are. So, I teleported to a door, which looked like shit, and then when I opened it, and I found a koala sitting there. I went in and the door shut behind me. I have been here ever since." A koala had made its way up from the rock that the officer was sitting on and found a perch on his head. "It hurts so much, but they're so cute. I especially like this one." Aquinas pointed with his foot. "I named him Feels."
"Why did you name him Feels?" Ignatius said quizzically.
"Because he only has one ear." Aquinas said in a sad, yet understanding tone.
Ignatius looked down to see the koala did only have one ear. It was still rather small, so it had to be a young cub. It was possibly a birth defect. "Hm." was all he had to say.
Ignatius' let out a holler when a flash of purple ran past him and into Aquinas. Twilight had her arms around him in a split second. Then that's when the real assault came. "Are you hurt? Did the koalas attacked you? Did you feel any sort of sickness when you teleported? This heat is unbearable, have you had enough to drink?"
Aquinas couldn't follow any of that, so he just made a huge smile and made one his signature noises. "Ehng."
"He's fine." Ignatius spat. "Come on. Let's get out of here."
"Aw." Aquinas whined. "I want to play with the koalas some more."
"NOW!" Ignatius' tone and expression was all he need to realize that his brother was not in the mood.
So, Aquinas let his arms droop and the koalas took that as their cue to get off. The marsupials went along their way to other trees and climbed up in them to sleep the rest of the day. With his arms free, Twilight grabbed a free hand and held it tight. Aquinas, still distracted by the overload of joy, took as just a friendly gesture. He smiled with the young girl all the way out of the door, and back onto castle grounds. Once in their rightful places, Ignatius stepped through the door. Spitfire and Alvi waited for him. Alvi's expression was that of genuine satisfaction, while the former was completely irate. The Marine only saw it for a second until his head nearly spun around. Spitfire's hand had made its mark on Ignatius face. When he had recovered from the shock, and the very real pain of the hit, he turned to find the winged woman's face up to his.
"You" she stuck her finger in his leather cuirass. "can forget about me ever teaching you anything about flying ever again." With a turn and a flap of her wings, Spitfire took off at full speed.
Ignatius rubbed his cheek. He figured that it wouldn't leave more than a red mark on his face. No big deal. He shrugged and started off in the same direction as his brother with Alvi in tow.
The steward looked at his face. Set as hard as stone. The mark on his face would stay there for at least an hour or so. Nothing to worry about, though there was one thing that troubled her mind. "Hey, Ignatius." The Marine acknowledged her. "With Spitfire no longer being your flight instructor, how will you learn how to fly?"
"Who says I don't already know how to fly?" he said in reply. "Spitfire taught me the basics and that's all that I need. Learning all the tricks and shit are unnecessary. I just needed to know enough to get off the ground."
"So, I guess you don't need her anymore, huh?" Alvi tried to read any sort of expression on his face that would hint at any sort of displeasure. She found nothing.
"That's right." Ignatius said stoically. "I have all that I need to know in order to be a successful flyer. The basics."
Alvi gave a satisfied smile. She liked the way Ignatius thought.
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It was just about dinner time, and Princess Celestia was almost done with her paperwork. One more paper and she was done. The monarch dipped her quill in some ink as she reached her hand over to grab the paper. However, when her hand went over her paper, she grabbed what didn't feel like paper. Instead she felt something soft or fuzzy. It was rather small, she thought it may be a raccoon, but when she turned her head to see what she had grabbed, her face blanched. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head as she saw what was right next to her. The next thing she knew, she was screaming.
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Alvi, Aquinas, Ignatius, and Twilight ascended the stairs in a neat pack. They were on their way to collect the princess for dinner. Aquinas told his brother of how he played with the koalas and how he tried to sleep in a tree. "Yeah, it wasn't very comfortable."
"I would imagine so." Twilight said as she grabbed Aquinas' hand and held him close. "What you need is a soft bed for that strong body of yours." She stroked his shoulder and bicep. "Those muscles need to relax."
"You're so sweet, Twilight." Aquinas smiled back.
Ignatius and Alvi clenched their teeth and sucked their lips to their teeth so the sides of their mouths wouldn't curl into a smile. This was going to go better than expected. Ignatius knew that once his koala induced euphoria wore off, things would get really awkward between them. He did feel like a child for doing something this immature, but as the old saying goes, "Human males don't grow up, they get bigger." So, no matter how childish this may seem, it was still hilariously funny.
The mirth of the situation was grinded to a halt, when a scream was heard from up the stairs. This stair case only led to one place, and that was Princess Celestia's private study. The squad bounded up the stairs with purpose. The door to the study hall was slightly open, and it soon was fully open when Ignatius kicked his way in, with his blade drawn. What the Marine saw made that familiar vein bulge again. The princess was huddled into the corner of the room, and crouched on a table screaming. Below her was a small furry animal. An animal that Aquinas knew well.
"Feels, no!" Aquinas cried as he went over to the koala and picked him up. The little beast dug its claws into the Naval officer's coat to give him a hug. "Aw, I still love, Feels." Aquinas bent his head low enough to give the marsupial a nose rub on the top of its head. The koala perked its head up to do meet the large man's nose and gave the rub back. "Rehnngg!" Aquinas always made such a noise when he was happy.
"Aquinas!" What are you doing with that, that THING, in my castle?!" Celestia's tone made it evident that she was not pleased with having Feels around.
"Why are you freaking out?" Aquinas questioned. Feels when back to cuddling. "He's just a koala bear."
"They're scary!" the crowned woman cried.
"No they're not." Aquinas countered. "They're cute and cuddly and fluffy." he scratched Feels' back and the Koala closed his eyes, and flopped his one ear vigorously in pleasure.
Princess Celestia's arms came from her chest slightly, as they were pressed up against her chest before. She started to think of feeling okay with koala being there as she saw how friendly it was being with Aquinas. "Okay, now I know I'm afraid of those things, but that is just adorable." Her sourness towards the creatures quickly returned though. "Aquinas, I want that thing out of my castle, now."
Aquinas gave a saddened look, and his shoulders drooped. "Aw, come on." he begged. "Can't Feels stay?" The marsupial rubbed its head on the officer's coat in appreciation.
"Now, Aquinas!" the princess wasn't budging from this. She hated koalas and she wanted this one out of her study, and the rest of her life if possible. Aquinas gave a defeated whimper, but he complied. He made his way out of the study along with everyone else, and closed the door behind him.
Ignatius and Alvi couldn't hold it in any longer. They started to bend at their knees, and burst out laughing. "I, I," Ignatius gasped. "I can't believe she's afraid of koala bears!" A magic beam of gold burst through the door and nearly clipped the Marine as it hit the adjacent wall. "O, Oh, shit!" Ignatius stood back up and sprinted away from the door, with Alvi in tow. Both of them keeping pace with the other, all while laughing like hyenas the whole time.
Aquinas and Twilight gave each other defeated shrugs and moved on towards the halls below. It would take a while to get there, so Twilight started up on a lecture she had memorized thoroughly on the importance of Star Swirl the Bearded's theory on occult paradigm shifts. Aquinas blew a silent sigh, and whispered to the Feels, "I think this girl might actually talk my ear off." The koala covered his ear with his paw, even he knew that this was going to be a long trip.
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"I could have sworn you did."
"I thought Ignatius did."
"I was the first to leave."
"Well then, it must have been Ignatius or Alvi."
Twilight and Aquinas went back and forth on this matter, though it got them nowhere. The fact of the matter was still apparent. The door to Down Under was wide open, and all the koalas that were on the trees, were gone.
"Okay, maybe the koalas went to find better trees." Twilight commented hopefully.
Aquinas shook his head. "This is prime koala territory. There is no way that they would leave this oasis."
"Then, where are they?" Twilight cried in frustration.
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Princess Celestia stepped out of her shoes and placed them neatly under her bed and replaced her crown and jewellery on her head stand. She took off her flowing white dress, and used her magic to fold and place it into her cloths hamper. The servants would come and take care of that in the morning. The monarch was now just in her under garments. She didn't like sleeping with anything else on. She always felt so comfortable and free in them, and slept so well these days because she was allowed free movement. Celestia moved her covers with her magic and slipped into bed. She reached over to her blindfold and put it on. There was just one thing missing right now.
She opened her blindfold to let one of her eyes scan the room to make sure she was alone. She let the eye mask fall back in its respective place, and reached under her pillows. When she felt the softness, she knew she had found peace. She pulled out a stuffed bear. She had had it ever since she was little, and it always helped her sleep. She cuddled the thing after blowing out the candles and started to drift off into a peaceful rest when she felt something strange. Her bed was being scaled and walked on. It felt like whatever was walking on it, there was a lot of it. Celestia threw off her blind fold, and used her magic to light all the candles in the room. When she did, she was confronted with a sight that had invaded her nightmares ever since she was small. When she looked to what she was clutching so tightly, she let out a terrified shriek.
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Aquinas was about to round the corner with Twilight, when a terrified woman with wavy hair, came running around and crashed into his frame. If it hadn't been for the significant weight difference, he would have been knocked over. Princess Celestia was visibly quaking in fear, and she had eyes as big as dinner plates. She was panting so loudly that a guard down the hall behind her could hear her, and she was a good hundred feet from her. Aquinas held the woman close, and stroked her hair. Twilight's eyes burned with a fire as she witnessed this. "Hey, hey. Calm down. What's happened?" The princess stammered something indecipherable to him. "What?" She stammered again. "Princess I can't understand you."
"Aquinas." Twilight said. "I am pretty sure we know what it is."
The officer nodded his head once the gears were in full turning. He held Celestia out at arms length. "Don't worry, we'll get them all this time." Aquinas looked her over with a stone hardened face of red. He quickly unbuttoned his coat and put it on over Celestia's shoulders. The monarch's face turned the same colour as her opposite when she pulled the coat over her to shield her body from anyone else's eyes.
Aquinas beckoned for his teacher to follow him to the princess' room. She didn't quite know, but Celestia could have sworn Twilight gave her a look of utter distain as she passed by. She just shook it off, though. She was tired and was probably just imagining things. Little did she know, she was spot on.
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Aquinas counted the last koala roll of the last guard's arms. "Thanks for the help, Private."
"No problem, sir." Cedar Wood said with enthusiasm. "I don't know what these things are, but darn it they're cute." Aquinas gave a nod and patted the young man on the shoulder. Twilight came up to the guard and gave him a hug.
"Thanks, Shiny." she said as she squeezed her big brother tight.
"Come on, Twily." Shining Armor protested with a blush. "Not when I'm in uniform."
The purple haired girl looked over to him and said. "Oh, you're so cute when you're trying to act all soldiery." She fluttered her eyes at him Aquinas, as she said this.
The naval man put on a stupid smile and said, "Nope." he let out a yawn. "Alright, time for bed. The sun had already set there in Down Under and the koalas were playing happily with each other. Aquinas bent down and patted his one eared friend on the head and went out the door after the siblings. He closed the door tight, and went on his way. Twilight's room and his went in the same path until a fork came up and they had to separate. The young girl held his hand the whole way there, even after his subtle protests. She didn't seem to like being far away from him. It showed in her eyes when they had to separate. She went her way, and Aquinas was about to go his when Shining Armor stepped in front of him, and had the largest grin on his face.
"My sister has a HUGE crush on you." He snickered.
Aquinas' face screwed up. "What? No she doesn't. She's just a little overly friendly. I mean, you know her better than I do. This shouldn't be anything new."
"Yeah, I do know her." Shining countered. "So, I know what I'm talking about when I say that she is totally crushing on you."
"Prove it."
The young girl's head peaked back around the fork. "Oh, Aquinas. I almost forgot." she blew him a kiss off of her hand like she was lightly letting dandelion fluff flutter in the wind. "Good night." she sang in the sweetest voice.
Aquinas gave the best fake smile he could, and caught the kiss with an outstretched hand. When Twilight had left for good, Aquinas face still held the smile, but the upper half of his face showed his worry. "He he, shit."
Shining Armor snickered in delight. This was just too rich.