Apple of My Eye- Ch. 22
Sleepover Shenanigans
AKA- It Is Late, I am Tired, and My Computer Keeps Dying.
After Luna officially opened the sleepover with a short lecture on the importance of establishing and strengthening the bonds of friendship, during which Twilight took notes like a madmare, Pinkie somehow managed to shove everypony but herself and Luna into the kitchen.
“Why are we in here again?” Aurora asked, looking through the doorway into the living room where Pinkie and Luna were huddled up.
“She said something about a game… still not sure why we aren’t getting any of the instructions though…” Dash commented, sneaking up behind Aurora and pulling her close with a wing. “So listen… about what happened back at my place… that wasn’t exactly exercise you heard…”
“Oh I know it wasn’t, Dash.” Aurora said, cutting her off and grinning mischievously, “I just thought it would be fun to tease you a bit.”
“Y-you know what I was doing?!” Rainbow exclaimed, blushing a deep crimson and resisting the urge to hide behind her wings.
“Well yeah. Anypony could have known you were preening.” She said simply, rolling her eyes, “Not sure why you’re so embarrassed by it though… also can’t figure out why you kept chanting ‘yes, yes, yes, oh Celestia that feels good…’ It hurt like crazy when Rarity helped clear out a few broken feathers from my wings last week.”
If Rainbow Dash had been red faced before, the color was now approaching a purplish hue.
“You let her do what?!” she exclaimed, her eyes growing wide with shock, before narrowing and turning to glare at a certain white coated Unicorn who was deep in conversation about something or other with Twilight.
Confused by the outburst, Aurora looked over at Applejack, who was sitting on the floor watching the awkward debacle unfold with an unreadable expression seated next to Fluttershy, who was blushing just as badly as Rainbow had been.
Applejack walked over, standing in front of Rainbow Dash and fixing her with a gaze that had been perfected after years of lookin after her little sister, and occasionally her older brother.
“Now Rainbow, let’s not start anything here… ya know Rarity wouldn’t take advantage of anypony, and Ah’m sure neither of them knows what that little ‘moment’ usually means… Well, Rarity probably knew… but Ah doubt she MEANT it like that… Let’s just ferget it fer now, and ya’ll can talk it out later. Remember, this is a sleepover fer Luna and ya’ll are friends, so play nice.”
Rainbow simply hmmph’d and sat down on the ground, leaving a very confused Aurora out in the cold. If she didn’t know better, she’d swear that Rainbow was jealous about something… but what was there to be jealous of?
“Alrighty ponies!” Pinkie said, bouncing over, “Pick your hooves up and get over here double time! We’re gonna play Dodgepillow!”
“Dodge-what now?” Applejack asked, stepping into the living room to see that the usually cozy living space had been magically redecorated… and expanded?
“The hay happened ta mah living room?!” Applejack exclaimed, stepping into the room.
“Wow… Hey Pinkie, I don’t know if it was you or Luna that did this, but can I get you guys to do this with Spike’s room in the Library?” Twilight asked, looking at the new addition to the Apple Family Home.
“I agree with Twilight… I’d love it if one of you could make my fabric room a bit larger…” Rarity said, following her fellow Unicorn into the arena like room. The walls had somehow been expanded to fit a space at least four times larger than what the living room had originally encompassed. The lack of furniture only served to make the room feel like a gymnasium. The only odd thing was a red stripe across the middle of the room and the mountain of various pillows pushed to one side.
“How the buck are the two of ya goin’ on about this like it’s normal!?” Applejack exclaimed, grabbing onto Aurora for support as she tried not to completely lose it.
“Uhhh… AJ, not to be rude… but this is Pinkie and Luna. One’s an Alicorn Princess, and the other’s Pinkie… are you really surprised?” Aurora pointed out, walking into the room and sitting near the wall halfway between the AJ and Rainbow in the Kitchen, and the rest of the group.
“Come on AJ.” Rainbow growled, pushing her orange friend forward into the room. “I heard something about Dodgepillow, and I’ve got a score to settle with a certain Unicorn...”
As everypony gathered on the red line, with Luna pacing up and down the line like a drill sergeant, an all important revelation settled on the group of friends… This would NOT be a normal slumber party…
“Now then, Pinkie Pie has informed me that there is a necessity for games and other fun things in order for a slumber party to be complete. Therefore, if I could have Twilight Sparkle stand with me…” Luna instructed, prompting the purple Unicorn to scramble over to the Moon Princess’s side. “The first item for this evening will be a rousing game of Dodge Pillow, as suggested by Pinkie Pie. This will be followed by an event of another pony’s choosing. Everyone will have a say in tonight, and noise is not a problem and any damage will be fixed before daybreak, so be at ease Applejack.”
“Dibs on the first activity!” Rainbow exclaimed, waving a hoof in the air frantically.
“The first activity is already Pinkie Pie’s…” Luna reminded her, smiling kindly, “But your enthusiasm certainly makes you an excellent choice for a team captain. Who else would like to lead a team?”
“I’ve never been a team captain…” Aurora mused out loud, stepping forward, “Can I be the other captain?” she asked,
smiling at Luna.
“Of course you can Aurora…”Luna said, nuzzling the grey Pegasus and winking conspiratorially at Rainbow, AJ,
and Rarity behind her back. All three seemed to have various looks of jealousy or embarrassment.
“Alright alright…” Rainbow said, breaking up the awkward moment between the Princess and Aurora, “Let’s get started. This is just Dodgeball with pillows right?”
“Not exactly… Pinkie Pie, will you please do the honors of explaining the game to the others?” Luna said, stepping to the side and allowing the pink Earth Pony to bounce to the center of the room.
Once she had everyone’s attention, Pinkie stood on her hind hooves and pulled a chart seemingly out of thin air, staring down the rest of the group with what can only be described as a ‘war face’… complete with riding crop at her side and a four star general’s helmet pulled from Celestia knows where…
“Alright you Fillies, listen up and listen up good!” she barked, smacking the paper with the crop on the paper diagram. “The name of the game is Dodgepillow. As some of you might have guessed, it’s like Dodgeball, but there’s one big difference… It isn’t Dodgeball!”
Around this point, everypony but Twilight was either rolling their eyes or trying not to laugh. Twilight was too busy taking notes of the chart behind General Pinkie.
“Now, there are two teams, we’ll call them team Red, and team Blue. And in case it wasn’t clear enough already, it will be Red vs. Blue. The aim of the game is to hit everypony on the other team with pillows until your team wins! Pegasus and Unicorn ponies have to be hit by a pillow three times to be out. You can use magic if you’re a Unicorn, but no shields. And Pegasus players can do aerial raids on the opposing team. Earth Ponies have to be hit five times rather than three for them to be out. Princess Luna will be the referee, and one of you may choose to sit out. Be warned, if you cross the line and you’re not a Pegasus, you have to stand still while the other team line up to gets a free shot at you. Forts are allowed, but you have to have at least one player out in the line of fire at all times. Any questions?”
Fluttershy raised her hoof, prompting Pinkie to nod at her.
“W-would it be okay with everypony if I just sat this game out?”
Since nopony objected, she walked over to sit by Princess Luna.
“Alrighty then, since there’s no more questions, let’s get this game a goin’ girls!” Pinkie exclaimed, tossing off her four star helmet and zipping back over to the line with the rest of the group.
“Uhhh… okay then…” Aurora said, looking at Dash and gesturing with a hoof, “I guess you pick first?”
“Applejack.” Rainbow said without hesitation.
“Pinkie Pie.” Aurora said, amazed that Dash would give up the chance for a player that defied logic and apparently physics…
“Twilight.” Dash said, glaring at Rarity, the angry look zooming right over her head.
“I guess you’re on our team then Rarity.” Aurora said kindly, looking at Pinkie once the teams had been divided up. “So how do we decide team colors then Pinkie?”
“Like this silly…” Pinkie said, winking and yanking on a chain that Aurora could have sworn wasn’t there before. As soon as the chain was pulled, each team was coated in what Aurora really hoped was water…
No such luck. As the shriek from Rarity would indicate, this was definitely not water covering her from head to hoof… But it was certainly wet…
“Pinkie…” Aurora said, trying to remain calm, but still keeping her eyes closed. “What am I gonna see if I open my eyes?”
“Well, you’d see that you, Rarity, and I are on the blue team.” Pinkie said innocently, as the others got over their shock.
Opening her eyes, Aurora saw that she and the other two were indeed on the blue team… the only reason she knew this was the fact that next to her were two pony shaped blobs of blue paint… She stretched out her wings and felt the goop spread from her sides down to the fur that her wings were covered in.
“Pinkie Pie… Why are we covered in paint?” Aurora asked calmly. She had to admit, despite the panic attacks, her run-ins with Pinkie’s Party Cannon had gotten her used to being covered in less than ideal substances…
“Well, I wanted everypony to know the team they were on and I wanted it to be a surprise… besides, this way, we can see if anypony’s hit!”
The once rather upset teams were now looking at each other perplexed and thinking the same thing.
That actually makes some sense…
“Pinkie Pie… I will forgive your…… rather over the top method for the moment, if for no other reason than the fact that I know a spell or two for quick cleanups.” Rarity said, her expression shifting instantly and somehow managing to show raw anger through the paint, “But if you ever dump paint on me so help me Luna I will bribe the Cakes to withhold any sweets from you for a month!”
Pinkie nodded her head in shock at the sugar based threat, and looked over at Luna, who had been on the sideline trying not to hit the floor laughing.
“O-Okay then my little ponies… time for the battle to commence! Each team, to your sides, construct your fort, and begin the game at the sound of the Royal Canterlot Whistle!” Luna instructed, building a wall of light between the two teams so that they couldn’t see what the other was doing in terms of preparation.
After ten minutes of pillow fort building, coordinated by Rarity, Luna pulled out a megaphone, dropping the wall and blasting everypony with what can only be described as auditory warfare.
“LET THE GAMES BEGIN!”
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( . .) Page break bunny says Hi!
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War… war is hay… you spend your days in a dug out trench, hoping that the next fly by doesn’t have a bomb with your name on it… you can’t so much as stick your head over the top without being shot at, and your partner is a real help, whining about every single thing and not even trying to fight back with you… the only real help to your side is yourself, the fly-girl for your side, and the fact that the other side can’t seem to aim worth a hill of jelly beans… Speaking of which, here comes the fly-girl now… uh oh… looks like she got winged on this last blitz…
“Ace! You alright girl?” you call, rushing to the only other competent fighter on your side.
“Commander…” the useless one whined, “What do we do? We’ll be in big trouble if we don’t have anyone out there soon…”
“Then get your pale butt out there and make yourself useful!” you bark back, shoving some ammo into their arms and kicking them out into the field of combat. She might be useless right now, but let’s see how the enemy likes it when she’s focused by anger.
“Hey Private!” you shout over the top of the bunker, “Ace said that the other teams flyer thinks that your taste in fashion is three seasons out of date!”
“What?!” she exclaims, turning her glare to the skies, the shadow of the enemy falling over the ground as the Private locks and loads.
“I’ll DESTROY HER!” Private yells, firing off a series of quick shots that, unbelievably, hits their mark!
But before there’s a chance to celebrate, the Red’s flyer manages to not only get a shot off at the Private, hitting her right between the eyes and downing her, but the idiot aims the crash landing right at our bunker!
“Crud!” you yell, grabbing Ace around the middle and bolting from out of the shelter, “Come on Ace, you’re still in this, and now they’re one flyer down. We need you to help us out here!”
“I- I can’t do it… they clipped my wings good…” she says, wincing in pain and looking over at the Private, dodging the enemies fire and screaming for help. “Leave me here and go help her out!”
It’s all I can do not to tear up at the act of valor. I settle for nodding and rushing over, opening fire on the enemy gunners.
The one in the Stetson is dangerous, but not nearly as much as the one with the book next to her. Stetson Red has a ridiculous amount of firepower, but no aim, Book Red aims true, but the shots are slow, and as long as you stay alert, you can usually avoid them. No telling what kind of damage they’ll do to us if they try working together…
“Get down Private!” I shout, shoving the whiney one’s head down to the ground just in time to dodge a shot from Stetson that would have gotten her square in the chest.
Unfortunately, the time it took me to shove Private out of the line of fire was exactly the amount of time it took Book to get a shot off at me, clipping my leg.
I go down hard, a sitting duck as Private runs back to the ruined bunker, attempting to hide behind any cover she can find. I swear, I’ll see her court-martialed for cowardice if I get out of this alive…
I catch a bit of movement out of the corner of my eye, it’s Stetson. She’s left the Red bunker and is rushing up the battlefield right at me! Crud! I’m a sitting duck, and even if she’s taken a couple shots already, she’s still dangerous!
I look back and see Ace just now starting to get up, her stillness saving her as the other side seems to not deem her a threat. Me however, they’ve seen what I can do. I kept them all hunkered down in that shelter of theirs for awhile after this whole conflict started. Plus, Stetson has it out for me after I nailed her with a couple shots early on.
Speak of the devil, Stetson is right there, a mere yard away and smiling like she’s already won… I know it’s over as she grabs some ammo up off the battlefield, leftovers from Private’s weak attempts at an assault. She levels her weapon at me and I brace for what comes next… I know I won’t last long.
“It’s over…” she says, “And you’ve had this comin’ fer awhile now…”
“Just make it quick…” I shoot back weakly, “I know we’re gonna lose, but at least make it quick for us… Ace doesn’t deserve to suffer anymore, and Private’s just useless… better to put her out of her misery soon…”
“Who are you calling useless?” a voice asks from behind me, an all too familiar whiney voice sounding out from behind a small shield, protecting her from the stray shot by Book Red. Private winks at me, firing off two quick rounds that slam into Stetson… I could almost hug Private at this point… but unfortunately, in the time it takes her two shots to hit the enemy, they’ve already launched a volley back that puts Private down for good. I close my eyes as I hear her last cries ring out before she hits the ground and Stetson levels her gaze at me.
“I’ll give ya this much… ya’ll don’t know when ta quit…” she says, “Now, I was sayin’ I gotta score ta settle with ya…”
“Yeah… But at least we got one of yours.” I say, grinning as she fires off two quick shots, each one slamming into me as I fall into blackness…
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“Pinkie Pie! That is three hits, please leave the court now!” Luna cried out, the instructions prompting a metal helmet wearing pink head to pop out of a pile of pillows.
“Awww… I was just getting to the good part!” she whined, walking off the court where Aurora was left hiding behind a clump of pillows and rubbing her bruised wing. One of Applejack’s shots had somehow managed to get air born, and had clipped the sensitive appendage at almost full apple bucking force.
“Ya alright over there Aurora?” Applejack asked, her and Twilights assault stopping while they checked on the one
remaining Blue Team member.
“Yeah… I’m fine girls… just give me a moment…” Aurora replied, laughing slightly, “And Twi, sorry about hitting you in the horn earlier. I was aiming for your face!”
“Ha ha, very funny Aurora, Now poke your head over those pillows so I can get a clear shot at you.” Twilight responded sarcastically, readying a veritable barrage of pillows behind her, ready to launch at a moment’s notice.
“Hey Luna, what’s the score so far?” Pinkie asked, “I know me, Rarity, and Rainbow are out, but how many hits for those two?”
“Twilight Sparkle has two more hits before she is out, as does Aurora. Applejack however, is on her last point. Rarity’s little barrage and whatever it was you did that flooded the Red team with pillows at the beginning really did some damage.” Luna replied calmly. “As it stands now, Red team has the advantage, but if Aurora can get off a quick shot at Applejack, she can tie the game up.”
“Ya hear that Aurora!” Pinkie hollered, “Nail Applejack and you could still win this for us!”
“Do what now?!” Applejack replied, blushing and stamping over near the sidelines, “Now look here, Ah ain’t gonna do nothin’ with nopony unless we’re rightly courtin’! And Ah don’t care what kinda gossip yer hearin’ but Ah-”
Her tirade was cut off however, by a pillow slamming into her flank, causing her to jump.
“Sorry AJ!” Aurora called out, looking sincerely apologetic, “But your back was turned, and I could actually take that shot without Twilight unleashing that pillow tsunami on me.”
“Don’t worry about it sugarcube!” Applejack replied, blushing and leaving the court embarrassed, “Just have fun out there and look out fer Twi’s sneak attacks!”
“Sneak what now’s?” Aurora asked, poking her head over the cushion mound in confusion, only to have no less than ten pillows bury her as Twilight released her grip on them from their position hanging overhead.
“….That.” Applejack said, laughing and trying to cover her blush with her hat as Twilight started cheering that she’d won.
“So did everypony have fun?” Luna asked, smiling at the group as Rarity cleaned the paint off of everyone.
There was a chorus of Yes’s, and one No from Rainbow Dash.
“What’s wrong Rainbow?” Aurora asked, looking at her friend worriedly.
“I wanted to nail Rarity at least once, and she took me down midflight! How is that okay?”
“Oh please Rainbow. I don’t know why you were gunning for me in the first place, and it was a game after all. You can’t win them all you know.”
“She’s right Dash, an’ Ah don’t think it was real sports mare like of ya ta go aimin’ fer their fort when ya crash landed just cuz ya got hit midair.” Applejack admonished.
Rainbow continued to pout, eventually mumbling something along the lines of “Still totally not cool…”
“Well, except for miss Grumpy Goat here, I think that went great Princess Luna!” Pinkie exclaimed, pulling the entire group, Alicorn and all, into a hug, “So what are we gonna do now?”
“Truth or Dare!” Rainbow shouted out, breaking away from the hug and hovering a couple feet off the ground, “And I dare Rarity to go roll around in a mud puddle outside!”
“Simmer down now girl…” Applejack said, yanking Rainbow back down to the ground. “We ain’t doin’ Truth or Dare again. And will ya just talk yer issues with Rarity out already?”
“Yes darling, I’d love to know what I’ve done to upset you so much…” Rarity said, stepping forward.
Dash thought about it for a minute or two with everyone watching her, finally nodding in consent and walking into the kitchen, holding the door open and gesturing for Rarity to follow.
Once they were alone, Dash rounded on Rarity like a cop interrogating a serial killer.
“Alright, you know what you did.” She hissed, trying to keep her voice down, in case anypony was eavesdropping. “So drop the innocent act already and let’s settle this like mares.”
“Darling, I assure you, if I knew what I’d done, I’d be apologizing for it profusely. Please… just tell me what happened…” she replied, looking shocked and more than a little worried.
“You bucking preened Aurora!” she growled, her glare now set from ‘Stun’ to ‘Kill’ “You know what that means for a Pegasus, and you bucking did it to her anyway! You know how I feel about her, and you took advantage of her like she’s nothing more than just some gem for you to collect!”
“Rainbow!” Rarity exclaimed, cutting her off mid tirade, “I assure you, I don’t know what preening means for a Pegasus other than removing some old and broken feathers. If it means something more, I’m sorry. I’m a Unicorn dear; most of us don’t really know what kinds of meanings go along with Pegasus or even some Earth Pony actions mean. Why is it such a bad thing for me to help Aurora stay safe? If she’d tried flying with those feathers, they would have not only thrown off her flight path, they might have scratched up her wing and seriously hurt her…”
Rainbow took this new information in stride, retreating a little bit from her anger, though still nursing a bit of jealousy and resentment.
“Did you at least keep the feathers for her?” she asked simply.
“Well, no… they were rather mangled, and she never asked for them.”
“Did you help her stretch her wings out beforehand?”
“No…”
“Did you have any cool rags on hand for after the feathers were removed?”
“…No…”
“Then did you do ANYTHING that might have helped lessen the pain for her?
“I… I suppose not… But Rainbow, it’s not like I knew what I was doing beyond the basics…” Rarity said, looking dejectedly at her cerulean friend.
“What you did is you hurt her!” Dash exclaimed, her anger back, “You meant well Rarity, I get that, but you hurt her! When we preen, those feathers are still attached to nerves usually. If you don’t properly prepare for them getting removed, then you can do more harm than good by taking them out. And you threw them away! Do you know what a Pegasus does with their feathers when they’re plucked? We keep them! They’re special to us. They’re the one piece of us that stays around forever…”
“Dash… I-I’m sorry… I didn’t know…” Rarity said, tears welling up in her eyes. “I’m so sorry…”
“You don’t need to apologize to me Rarity…” Rainbow said, her anger slipping away at seeing the regret in her friend’s eyes. “You hurt her. I can’t just let that go… not right now… we’re still friends, and I don’t think she realizes what you did… it’s funny, but I get the feeling that she’s not like other Pegasi. Even if she came from another land, there should be some things she would know that she doesn’t…… She’s vulnerable… and I want to help protect her…”
“Rainbow… that sounds like a beautiful sentiment… I thought you were pursuing her simply because of her popularity… but you genuinely care about her, don’t you?” Rarity said softly, pulling her friend into a hug. “I have to admit, between the three of us, you and Applejack have the purest of intentions. And I simply cannot allow myself to be a hindrance to either of you. I am sad that I’m giving up my shot at a future with her, but I am happy to see that one of the ponies who might make her life brighter cares so deeply for her…”
“I don’t need your approval…” Rainbow said, trying not to tear up herself, “I’d have beaten you anyway…”
“Oh hush now, we’re having a moment…” Rarity chided, chuckling and wiping away a tear as the two friends came to a silent understanding.
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“What do you think they’re talking about in there?” Pinkie Pie asked, being careful not to move as Twilight worked a brush through her wildly curly mane.
“There’s no telling really…” Aurora noted, struggling to find ANY knots in Fluttershy’s mane that she could brush out, and instead settling for going through the motions and hoping it felt relaxing.
“A better question is this…” Applejack said, frowning slightly, “Who suggested a brushing circle, and how the hay did I agree to it?”
“It is a feature of slumber parties that I read about in one Twilight Sparkle’s books.” Luna explained working on Applejack’s mane, “And since such things were not ‘Proper’ before my banishment, I thought it might be fun.”
“I’m still worried about those two…” Twilight noted, glancing at the kitchen door from her seat on the newly restored living room, “I heard some yelling in there a few minutes ago, then things got quiet…”
“I think that I heard them mention wings a couple times…” Fluttershy added, still trying to figure out how to use the brush on Luna’s constantly shifting mane.
Their questions were soon answered, however, when the kitchen door opened to reveal the two ponies in question laughing about something or other as they walked into the room.
“Hey Dash.” Aurora greeted, “Everything alright?”
“Huh? Yeah, of course it is.” Rainbow answered, blushing slightly and trying to look away nonchalantly, “Just, you know, stuff coming up, and I wanted to talk to Rarity about it…”
“Yes, there was a thing… and I offered my advice…” Rarity supplied, avoiding eye contact.
“Well if it weren’t nothin’ big, why don’t ya share with the group?” Applejack suggested, suspicious of the two mares and eager for an excuse to get out of the brushing circle.
“Mmmm… Nah! I’ll let you girls figure it out when the time comes…” Rainbow replied, winking at them and joining in the
brushing circle, landing between Pinkie and Aurora, with Rarity sitting between Fluttershy and Luna.
They all sat in silence for awhile, each one lost in their own thoughts, before the silence was broken by Aurora gasping in a way that would have made a surprised Pinkie Pie proud.
“Ijusthadthebestideaever!” she exclaimed, jumping up and running upstairs, zipping back down moments later holding something in one hoof.
“What was that little outburst about?” Luna asked, standing up and walking over to see what Aurora had brought back down with her, smiling when she recognized what was in her friend’s grip. “I was beginning to wonder if you liked that crystal.”
“Oh yeah Luna, I love this little guy. Never needs a recharge, always knows what I want to listen to… I found out the other day that if you hook it up to a speaker or something, it will read the mood of the room and play a song for everyone to enjoy.”
“Odd… I don’t recall asking Cadence for that feature when I got you that gift…” Luna mused out loud, “Oh well, one of the suggestions in the book was music and games, so why not play something for us all to enjoy, and let us figure out a new game to play.”
“You got it Lulu.” Aurora said, smiling before realizing something very important. “Uhhh…. Can you magic up some speakers? Nothing too big, but, you know, something bigger than my headphones…”
“Of course!” Luna replied, grinning from the thought of music yet to come, and also from the pet name Aurora used for her.
In no time at all, a small pair of speakers had appeared on the floor in the center of the group, and Aurora had hooked up the crystal.
“Alright girls… if this works like it did before, it’ll read the mood of everypony, and we’re gonna have a song for everyone to enjoy.”
After a few moments of silence, the speakers started blaring an all too familiar SONG.
“………Well I mean, it’s nice and all… but what kind of mood is it reading from everyone that it’s playing a song like that?” Twilight asked, looking around. Everypony except for Pinkie Pie and Herself was too busy blushing or looking mortified to respond, and she was pretty sure that Pinkie didn’t hear her because she was too busy dancing.
“Who cares Twilight?” Pinkie exclaimed, spinning on one hoof, “It’s catchy!”
“I’m sorry you guys had to hear that…” Aurora said, hastily unplugging the crystal, “That’s actually a really annoying joke where I come from… It’s a good song, but I can’t hear that without freaking out a little… I’ll go hide this away now…”
After Aurora left the room with the crystal, most of the awkward feelings seemed to dissipate and the girls seemed to return to their normal selves.
“Well… that was certainly… interesting…” Rarity noted, forcing a smile. “What does everypony think about another famous sleepover game?”
“What game do you mean?” Luna asked, her interest visibly piqued.
“I’m talking about a little game I used to play with my old schoolmates… all we need an empty bottle of some kind. Applejack, I believe you have a stash of them in the basement, do you not?”
“Ah do… but what’re ya gonna do with it?” she replied.
“You’ll see. Can you please go get one of the long skinny ones?”
“Ah suppose Ah could…” Applejack answered, getting up from her spot in the circle and walking over to the basement door in the kitchen.
“Alright, and where is Aurora? I mean really, how long does it take for a mare to put a silly little music crystal away and come back? Princess Luna, Rainbow, could you please go get our missing friend and bring her back?” Rarity continued, smiling kindly at the Lunar Princess and the weather manager. The two of them nodding slowly before going up the steps to Aurora’s room.
“Rarity… what’s going on?” Twilight asked, “I don’t think it takes two ponies to go get one from her room right upstairs…”
“I know darling, but this way, those three are out of the room, and I can talk to you three in private.” Rarity answered quickly, her voice dropping to a low hiss as she leaned in conspiratorially. “Now, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, I believe you both know this, but Aurora has managed to attract the attentions of not only Rainbow Dash and Applejack, but I suspect Princess Luna as well… Twilight dear, I am not saying this as a slight on you, but I do know that you are not always the keenest on picking up relationship signals.”
Twilight looked less than pleased with the unintentional slight, but she couldn’t fault the logic behind it…
“So what do you need to talk to us about?” she asked, “And I know I’m not the best at noticing things like that, but I thought you had a thing for Aurora as well…”
“Well I do, but I’ve decided that I simply cannot compete with those three. I mean, if you knew the reasons for Rainbow Dash alone, you’d think it were a story right out of the Romance section of your home Twilight. As for Luna, Aurora is the first truly close friend I believe she’s had in a millennia, and Applejack rarely gets this protective of anypony, and given her work ethic, I find it unlikely that she’ll find another pony she feels this way about anytime soon…”
Pinkie pie and Fluttershy nodded, as if understanding the situation perfectly. Twilight still looked a little unsure, but nodded for Rarity to continue as well.
“Now, what I am proposing is a game of Spin the Bottle. I’m sure you all know that I am a bit of a romantic when it comes to the idea of fate, and I’d like to see which one of our three suitors the Universe sees fit to pair Aurora with. What I need you girls to help with, is to make sure that Aurora doesn’t try and run away.” Rarity explained seriously, “I’m sure we’ve all seen or heard about how skittish she can be when she’s not being oblivious. Especially as of late, she’s been running away from anything having to do with physical contact. So I need you three to help me hold her in place when she’s spun. And to promise that if any of us spins her, we’ll take the non kissing option.”
The other three members of the secret meeting all nodded their agreement, though Twilight and Fluttershy looked a little hesitant.
“Are you sure this is a good idea though Rarity? I mean, what if we hurt Aurora’s feelings by doing this?” Twilight asked.
“Twilight, I promise you this, if I thought there was even the slightest chance that this would hurt Aurora, I would never have suggested it. For starters, the game is set up so that whomever is spun can be either kissed or asked a question. The spinner chooses, so it will ultimately be up to those three to muster up the courage and go for the kiss. As for Aurora, if she manages to spin the one that she likes, it will be quite obvious, and no harm will be done.”
“Well… alright… I just hope this works out as well as you think…” Twilight finally conceded, her voice a little more sure this time as she agreed to help. After all, that was what friends did for each other, right? They gave each other the push they sometimes needed to be happy…
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Applejack couldn’t be sure… but she was fairly certain that something was up when she came back upstairs with the empty bottle between her teeth. For one thing, Dash, Aurora, and Luna were all out of the room, and Rarity was whispering something to the other three hastily, stopping abruptly when she walked back into the room.
“Oh good! Applejack’s here!” Rarity exclaimed, pretending nothing was out of the ordinary, “Now if only those other two would hurry up in collecting Aurora, we could start playing.”
“Uh huh… Care ta share what ya’ll were talkin’ about before I showed up?” She asked calmly, always one to give others a chance to do the right thing.
“Whatever do you mean darling? We were just discussing the rules for the game… you know, to save time once everypony is seated…” Rarity said, clearly hiding something.
Oh well, she’d drop it for now… after all, she knew where Rarity was sleeping tonight… and there was no way the Unicorn was going to leave without spilling the beans… for now, she’d be patient.
Applejack’s silent appraisal of her friend’s ability to hide secrets away was interrupted by a loud thud coming from upstairs. Concerned, Applejack ran up the steps to see Luna and Rainbow Dash sprawled on the ground in a two pony pileup outside the bathroom door. It would be funny if it weren’t so worrying… weren’t they supposed to be getting Aurora?
“What are you two doin’ out here?” she asked bluntly, “And where’s Aurora?”
“Wazzat?” Dash asked, shaking her head, “Sorry, that mare’s got a hay of a strong kick when you catch her off guard…”
“Indeed… We may have accidentally barged in on Aurora, and were rather forcibly expelled as a result…” Luna admitted blushing. “I should take the blame for it though… I heard her crying in the lavatory and tried to comfort her as best I knew how.”
“Yeah, next time you want to try that Princess, I don’t suggest throwing the door open and scaring the poor mare half to death. What I’d love to know is why I’M the one that got bucked….”
“Didja try an’ get in between the two of em ta stop Luna?” AJ guessed, her ears picking up small hiccups from inside the Restroom, as if someone had just finished having a good cry.
“Yeah…” Dash responded, her ears perking up at the hiccupping sound as well.
“Then I would venture a guess that the blow was meant for whoever was in the way, not specifically any one pony Rainbow Dash.” Luna said bashfully. “On the other hoof, you were bowled into me, so I believe we both came out a little less than spectacular on that front…”
“Well, why don’t ya both just go on downstairs, Ah know how ta handle a cryin’ pony…” Applejack said, gesturing back to the staircase with a hoof and walking closer to the bathroom door. “Aurora? Sugarcube? Ya alright in there? It’s me, AJ, is it alright if Ah come in?”
“Go away… please… I’ll be down in a while… just leave me alone for right now…” Aurora said through the door.
“Sugarcube, if this is about that song, it’s alright… nopony had a problem with it, really. Or is it somethin’ else eatin’ at ya?”
“It… it’s just… never mind…” Aurora said, opening the door, her short hair somehow managing to obscure her eyes, and making it that much more difficult for Applejack to tell what was on her mind. “We should get back to the group…” she said, walking down the steps, leaving Applejack standing glued in place…
She hated seeing Aurora like this… the poor mare didn’t deserve whatever was making her feel upset, and it just didn’t sit right with AJ that she couldn’t do anything to help… Even if she tried getting closer to her, Aurora had a certain sense of pride that kept her from asking for help… It was a trait that Applejack knew well. But it made her want to help her that much more… She wanted to be there for Aurora, to make her smile… And she wanted to protect her too… not like she wanted to protect Applebloom, or even how she would come to the defense of her friends… this was an emotion she hadn’t felt before… she didn’t rightly know what to even call the dang thing… she just knew that seeing Aurora hurting like this just burned her up inside, and she knew that she’d do anything to see her happy again…
Unfortunately, her moment of silent reflection was interrupted by a certain weather pony practically materializing right in front of AJ’s muzzle.
“GAH! Dangit Rainbow!” Applejack exclaimed, scrabbling backwards at the surprise appearance.
“What’d you say to Aurora? She’s downstairs acting all weird.” Rainbow asked bluntly, “Did you do something to her?”
“What?! No!” AJ replied, frowning, “Look, she wouldn’t tell me anything either. She just came out a the bathroom, lookin’ pathetic an tryin’ ta hide it, an she went downstairs before Ah could really try and figure anything out. Ah think she just needs some space fer now Rainbow, so let’s back off a little alright?”
“Fine… but I’m still worried about her… I mean, what if it’s something serious?”
“Then we trust her ta ask fer help.” Applejack answered sagely, “Ya can take a cow ta the water trough, but ya can’t make em drink Dash… Besides, even if we both care about Aurora like that, an don’t think Ah don’t care about her like you do, then we gotta also give her whatever space she might need…”
“Huh… you ever thought about writing a self help book for couples?” Dash asked, mulling over her friends words.
“If Ah ever do, Ah’ll sell it to ya fer a discount.” AJ said, smirking and heading for the stairs, “Now come on, we got a groups of friends down there, and Ah got a certain Grey Pegasus ta cheer up so Ah can try an make a move…”
“What? Like hay!” Dash retorted, flying over AJ’s head to try and beat her down the stairs. “There’s no way I’m gonna lose her to you AJ, you’d be working too much to be there for her.”
“Better than lettin’ her go out with the fastest mare in Equestria. How long ya think THAT relationship would last?” AJ shot back, causing Dash to blush at the innuendo, and distracting her long enough to fly into the wall. This allowed enough time for AJ to jump over her friend and reach the living room first, a quietly cussing prismatic mare following right behind the farmer.
“Well, now that everypony’s here, allow me to explain what we’re going to do now. The name of the game is Spin the Bottle, some of you might know how to play already, but we’ll go over the rules to be fair.” Rarity said, taking control of the group.
Aurora was flanked on either side by Rainbow Dash and Applejack, each taking turns looking at the grey mare hoping to see some kind of change. All they got for their troubles was several glimpses of an emotionless mask for a face. Whatever had been bothering her was either so bad that she just shut down and was going through the motions, or she was simply ignoring everything to maintain her composure.
“Eh hem…” Rarity said, clearing her throat and glaring at her friends, “If you two are done staring at Aurora, perhaps we can focus on the item at hand. Now, the basic rules of Spin the Bottle are simple, we take turns spinning the bottle, and whomever it lands on is the other pony involved in the turn. Now, usually one plays that whoever is spun has to be kissed by the spinner, but for our game, there is another option. The spinner can choose to kiss their partner, or ask them a question. There are no skips. If you don’t wish to answer the question that was asked, you have to supply an embarrassing story or fact about yourself.”
“That…. Sounds interesting?” Fluttershy commented. “Umm… are we really not allowed to skip any of them?”
“No.”
“Oh…. Oh dear…”
“Aw, relax Flutters!” Pinkie said, smiling and patting her friend on the head, getting an irritated scowl from the nature loving mare for her trouble. “If it comes down to it, just tell us something that you and Big Mac have done.”
“I-I-I-I d-don’t think th-that’s a g-good idea P-P-Pinkie…” she replied, blushing furiously.
“Can we begin the game already?” Luna asked, “I feel as if this is taking too long to begin such a simple game…”
“Of course Princess Luna.” Rarity answered, levitating the bottle to the center. “In fact, you may have the first spin, since you weren’t able to participate in the last game, and this is really your party.”
“Hmmm… we just spin it then?” She asked, using her magic and giving the bottle such a hard twist that it kept spinning for a full four minutes before finally giving a hint of slowing down.
“Errr…. Perhaps a little lighter touch next time Luna?” Aurora suggested, watching the bottle worriedly.
“Well nopony told me that…” She replied, pouting.
At last, the bottle stopped, pointing at Twilight. Aurora and Fluttershy both breathed a sigh of relief.
“Very well then Twilight Sparkle.” Luna said calmly, “Since I do not wish to interfere in my sister’s territory by kissing you, I wish for you to tell us all a secret.”
“Y-your sister’s territory? What the hay does that mean?” Twilight asked, looking shocked. “I mean, she’s my teacher for Your sake! What would I be doing kissing her?!”
“Oh. Forgive me if I misspoke…” Luna said bashfully, “I am used to that term meaning something different… Let us forget it, and please, tell us all a secret.”
Twilight still looked less than pleased, but she decided to let it go (despite several giggling ponies in the circle that would undoubtedly never let her hear the end of this when she was writing her next letter…)
“Okay… I guess I could tell you all this one secret… Well, you know how I’ve never really shown an interest in dating anypony in town?”
Everypony leaned into the circle… this was something that a couple of them had discusses at one point or another.
“Well… I actually have been sending letters to this one stallion… I haven’t even told Shiny yet, because he’s technically my brother’s subordinate… but yeah, I’m kinda sort of the marefriend of a Royal Guard…”
Needless to say, there was much gasping and clapping of hooves.
“I must say, that is a most excellent secret!” Luna squealed, hugging Twilight, “And we are honored that you shared it with us! Now I have something to talk with Tia about… Do you happen to know which squadron he is with?”
“I do… but he told me to keep it a secret from ‘Any snooping commanders or Princesses’.” Twilight retorted, quoting one of his more recent letters to her.
“……No matter. I have ways of finding out by my own means.” Luna said, pouting once again at being rebuffed.
“Well, be that as it may, it’s my turn now, right?” Twilight asked, gripping the bottle with her magic and giving it a solid twist, careful not to go overboard like Luna had.
This time, the bottle landed on Fluttershy, who immediately tried to run out of the circle, being grabbed by Rarity’s magic before she could get ten feet away.
“Now Fluttershy, I told you, you can’t try and skip, and in your case, you can’t try and run away either. Now, either sit still for a kiss, or tell us a secret.”
“I-I-I-I-I don’t have any secrets I can tell anypony!” she objected, her voice still somehow staying soft despite being panicked.
“Fine then, no sense trying to force her to tell us a secret.” Twilight said finally, crossing the circle and giving her yellow Pegasus friend a quick peck on the cheek. “Nopony said it had to be anything past a friendly kiss anyway Fluttershy, so relax.”
If Fluttershy’s face could have been described as red before, this was a new color in the visible spectrum.
Without saying a word, Fluttershy just walked to the center, spun the bottle with a wing and when it settled on Aurora, just waved a hoof at her, prompting her to speak.
“Umm… I don’t really have any secrets I can share…” Aurora said, mumbling and shuffling her forehooves in place. “I mean… most of the stuff that’s happened to me before I came here would probably be really shocking… I don’t want to upset anypony…”
Applejack couldn’t help be a bit concerned about this new piece of information… she’d heard Aurora talk about her old home in a less than happy manner before, but she didn’t think it was so bad that it couldn’t be talked about… Could this have something to do with why she’d been acting so odd lately?
“You do not have to tell anypony anything you are not comfortable with. “Luna said protectively, “I believe that perhaps telling them about our hijinks while you were staying with me at the castle should suffice for the moment.”
“Oh! In that case, there was this one time that me and Luna pulled a prank on one of the Solar Guard members as they were starting their shift… I forget most of it, but it involved a gravity spell, an inflatable raft filled with green gelatin…” she began, smiling for the first time in awhile, much to everyone’s relief.
And so the game went on, with everypony eventually getting spun sooner or later. A few less exciting turns involved Rarity talking about the time she’d accidentally worn an out of season whatchamacallit to something or other… truthfully, she tended to drift in and out whenever Rarity started talking… Twilight told them all some interesting stories about when she lived in Canterlot and went to that School for Gifted Unicorns. Pinkie talked about a couple of her crazier parties, and Fluttershy would cop out almost every time she got spun by giving the spinner a quick peck on the cheek.
For their part, Applejack and Rainbow told stories about pranks and mishaps at Flight Camp and the farm. Luna would tell the group about weird things that used to happen at court a thousand years ago, and about the odd prank she’d pull on Celestia once she’d returned. And Aurora told the group about her moments exploring the castle or flying around at night and just watching everypony going home.
Applejack had to admit, that hearing Aurora talk about just looking up at the stars and thinking about nothing… it was a really sweet picture… the simplicity of it and the way she used her words to describe everything. And the way that she described everything, even the most mundane thing, or something that AJ saw almost every day; as an outsider, seeing all these ‘normal’ things talked about like they were this magical, extraordinary occurrence…She just had a way of making them sound like it was something else entirely. What it must be like inside her head, AJ couldn’t begin to fathom. Suffice it to say that when Aurora talked, it was pure poetry to the orange Earth Pony’s ears…
There were a few moments that Applejack got a bit worried though… the first time was when Pinkie Pie got spun and she started talking about how she knew who everypony in Ponyville had a crush on, and started listing names… before she could do anything though, Rainbow Dash had tackled her and said that it was to ‘protect the privacy of anypony not in the game with them’…
After that spin, some of the highlights were when Pinkie spun and kissed Rarity. A few turns later, Fluttershy spun Luna, who told them all about a prank she’d once pulled on Celestia with a member of her Lunar Guard. They’d trebuchet’d a pumpkin into her sister’s room and cast a growth spell, so the tower room ended up exploding in a shower of pumpkin guts and shell, and sending Celestia flying into the moat… which had been filled with pink dye… the joke for the next decade at court had been about Princess Celestia changing her name to Princess Pink.
After Luna’s story was over, she spun Rainbow Dash, who told everypony that she had a crush on one of the ponies living in town. Luckily, nopony asked for details, Aurora especially refraining because she ‘didn’t want to intrude on anypony’s privacy without their permission’… Applejack had to smile at that… something about the mare’s sense of honesty and fairness just struck a chord with her… plus, seeing Dash wriggling in her seat while she tried to work up the courage to confess was hilarious. Several turns later, the bottle landed on Applejack after Twilight spun, and Applejack told them about the first time she kissed anypony.
It had been when she’d been living in Manehattan, and been tricked into kissing one of the older colts. They’d said it was a way high class ponies greeted each other… She’d ended up giving the poor foal a black eye when she bucked him in retaliation.
“It weren’t somethin’ Ah’m rightly proud of, but Ah still say it was worth it ta wipe that stupid grin off his smug little
face…” she commented, raising a hoof in triumph.
Applejack then went on to spin Aurora. And for Applejack, this was the highlight of the game. She’d finally landed the pony she wanted…
Aurora began to talk, figuring that AJ would tell her to talk about a secret or something, but she stopped the grey Pegasus in
her tracks.
“Whoa there filly… Ah think we’re all looking forward ta hearing more about yer time in Equestria… but Ah think it’s about time fer a change of pace.” She said boldly, standing up and towering over the stunned mare. “Now, if it’s all right with you, Ah’d like a kiss from ya…”
The one thing she’d always heard the other mares talking about in town was confidence. Whether you were asking a stallion
out, or even another mare, being confident could make the difference between being shot down, and ending up a couple. AJ had confidence, and she certainly wanted Aurora badly enough… So she was prepared to risk it. and risk it she did… Now all she had to do was wait for Aurora to say yes…
Aurora didn’t say anything, mere blushing furiously and looking up at AJ with huge eyes that seemed to say, Go ahead you sexy mare, I’ve been waiting for this…
Taking her silence as a cue that it was alright to continue, Applejack leaned down, taking her hat off to be polite, and got right into Aurora’s face.
“Ah’ve wanted ta do this fer awhile now…” she whispered, closing the distance and grazing her lips against Aurora’s as the Pegasus’s eyes closed slightly, giving her a half lidded look that just screamed for more.
Almost… just a little further and you’re golden! Her mind screamed, cheering her on as she steadied herself to press the kiss a bit further.
Before she could though, Auroras’ eyes shot open, her blush tripling in intensity as she scrambled to her hooves and backed into the wall furiously, screaming for everypony to back off.
Applejack’s heart sank… Had she done something wrong? Was she NOT what Aurora wanted? Had she pressed her luck too much?
No… that’s not it… her rational mind said, Look at how she’s panicking… I think something happened to her, and she’s reacting to the memory… maybe the kiss triggered whatever’s freaking her out!
“Aurora, what’s wrong?!” Applejack asked, panicking at the thought of accidentally triggering some kind of bad memory, and stepping forward to try and comfort the poor mare. “Talk to us!”
Unfortunately, her closeness only seemed to fuel whatever was bothering her, because Aurora responded by shrieking and trying to push past Applejack and the rest of the stunned ponies in the circle, aiming for the stairs.
“Nononononono! Don’t look at me! I’m a freak!” she hollered, bolting for the first steps, only stopped by the quick spell work of a Goddess and the Element of Magic.
“Aurora! Please tell us, that ails you?!” Luna asked frantically, the calm and relaxed mood of the sleepover now shattered as everypony began to openly worry about their friend.
“No! Let me go, you’re only making it worse! It burns so much more when I can’t move!” she screamed, writhing in the magical fields of her friends. “Just let me go, I’ll fix it and be fine in about ten minutes, just nopony touch me!”
Now everypony was just confused… What was happening to their friend?!
Twilight released her grip on Aurora, placing a barrier around the exits to the room, including the staircase.
“Princess, let her go. She can’t run away, so we can still help her… but I think we’re hurting her by holding onto her…” Twilight said, going into Crisis Management Mode.
Luna nodded, dropping her own grip and allowing Aurora to run to the farthest corner of the room, hiding in the pile of pillows still left over from before. The only clue that she was even in there was a pair of large green eyes peeking out from the mountain.
“P-please… just stay over there… nopony come near me… I don’t know what it is, but being touched by anypony makes it worse…” Aurora said, sounding for all the world like Fluttershy. “I didn’t want anyone to find out… I didn’t want you all to see that I’m a freak…”
“Aurora, hun, what’s wrong?” Applejack asked, careful not to approach the pillow pile hiding her.
“I-if I tell you girls… you’ll just think I’m weird…”
“We most certainly will not!” Luna said firmly, “We are your friends, and we are worried about you…”
Throughout the room, heads nodded in agreement, worried looks on every face, and more than a few eyes were on the verge of tears.
“F-f-fine…. But please don’t tell anypony else…” she said, still hiding safe behind her fluffy fortress.
Once everypony had promised to never speak a word of it to anyone, and a sound barrier spell was cast over the group, Aurora told them everything she could…
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Aurora told them about the last two weeks for her. How she’d randomly be overcome by a feeling of emptiness, and feel her entire body flush with heat that she couldn’t escape. How she felt like she was burning up from the inside out, and any little sensation, any touch from another pony, anything, only intensified the experience. She’d finally taken to hiding away whenever the weird sensations would take her over.
She told them about the difficulties she’d had falling asleep as well. How just by laying in bed, and feeling the sheets running over her coat and feathers were enough to start the burning ache in her core. She’d even been having fitful dreams, about things that she couldn’t remember clearly… only that when she opened her eyes, the burning was back and worse than ever. She’d taken to taking icy cold showers in an attempt to ward it off, and while that would work from time to time, it never fully quenched the inferno blaxing inside her.
Even flying had become a hazard, as she figured out the night she’d run into the night from Rarity’s shop. The cool air on her wings seemed to add fuel to the fire, and she almost lost consciousness from the bizarre sensations running through her. Hay, even the cleaning process to get rid of the glitter had been difficult for her, as she’d felt herself burning up like a pyre from within, especially when Rarity had helped preen her… The brushing and the closeness of the fashionista had been the proverbial straw that broke the manticore’s back, and she’d fled before Rarity could discover anything that would
label Aurora as a freak…
Oddly enough, whenever her mind was occupied, the burning, full body ache was dulled and in some instances forgotten. But as soon as she thought about the calm that gripped her body, the ache returned.
“I… I just don’t know what’s happening… and I’m scared… and I don’t know if I’m sick, or what, but I hate it!” she said emotionally, tears streaming down her face as she looked at her friends, who were all staring at her and blushing, their mouths hanging open.
“………Ya gotta be kiddin’ me…” Applejack finally said, breaking the silence. “Yer a mare fer a month, and it just happens ta be THAT time fer ya?!”
“W-what do you mean?” Aurora asked, wiping her tears away, the confusion now overriding her fear for a little while.
“Am I sick? Is this some kind of disease ponies get at this age?”
“No Aurora…” Luna said, blushing more so than anypony else in the room, even Fluttershy… “I suppose I am to blame once more for your current plight… You see, it is not something that I am exactly comfortable talking about… it was not an easy topic to broach with others a thousand years ago, and it is something that has stuck with me despite my acclimation to the world the way it is now…
“So it’s some kind of side effect of an ancient spell?” Aurora wondered out loud, poking her head out of the pile slightly.
“No darling… it’s… well… it’s rather odd talking about this with you really… even if we are more used to you as a mare than a stallion, we all still know that the spell will wear off sometime this week… and it’s a rather private matter among mares… and you just sort of threw it all out in the open…” Rarity said, trying to explain and finding herself at a loss for words. “I suppose we should have taken the timing of the spell into account and talked to you as you friends at some point…”
“So what’s happening to me?!” Aurora cried, frustrated, confused, and scared.
“Aurora, you’re in estrous.” Twilight said frankly, “This is the time of year when an adult mare’s body goes into overdrive and she’s at her most fertile. What you’re feeling is commonly referred to as ‘Heat’, and it can be very overpowering and overstimulating… most mares are used to it, only losing control when they choose to pursue a mate, like Roseluck going after Big Mac… but you were kind of thrown into a new body, so you had no way of being prepared for the new sensations like Heat usually creates.”
“And you’re a Pegasus on top of it all…” Rainbow noted, looking at Fluttershy. “It’s really weird for us, because we can’t
really even fly properly because our wings are so sensitive...”
“It’s not something we talk about a lot really…” Fluttershy added, looking down, “But I wish you had come to see me sometime… I have a few things I got from Zecora that help lessen the whole experience if you don’t want it to interfere with your everyday life…”
“I just wish you’d told me so we could have an ‘Aurora is Finally a Mare’ Party…” Pinkie said, trying to inject a little humor into
the otherwise tense atmosphere of the room. It didn’t seem to work too well at first, in fact, everypony was glaring rather venomously at her…
Until they heard a small chuckle from Mt. Pillow. They all whipped their heads around to see Aurora poking her head out fully, her cheeks red, her eyes bloodshot from crying, and a smile on her face as she started laughing.
“P-Pinkie Pie… Only you… Only you would listen to me panic and think to throw a party… Don’t ever change Pinkie…” she said, gasping for air. “I mean really… this whole time I was panicking, and I was just really horny?! The buck was I thinking?!”
After seeing their friend’s relief, a wave of ease washed over the group. First Applejack, then Rainbow, then Luna… finally, everypony was joining Aurora in laughing at the ridiculous fears that had been washed away.
“Heh, I’ll tell you what Aurora, if you need any help getting those weird feelings to go away, I’ll help you out. I know a few tricks.” Dash offered, winking at her.
“Like hey ya will!” Applejack retorted, standing in between Dash and Aurora, “She’s mah guest, so Ah’ll help her out. That alright with you Aurora?”
“I have no idea what you two are talking about,” Aurora replied dumbly, but still smiling, “Just promise me that the next time something goofy happens, you’ll warn me about everything beforehand.”
“I promise not to cast any more spells on you if it will help.” Luna said, smiling kindly, “And although I do not appreciate the advances made on you by certain ponies,” she said, glaring at Applejack and Rainbow half seriously, “I do think it is important that you know how to take care of any urges that may arise until the spell wears off…”
“I think I can deal with it a bit better now that I know what it is Luna.” Aurora said, smiling at her friend and teacher, “Besides, worst comes to worst, I can probably get a stallion from town to help me scratch that itch.”
At this point in the night, it has to be noted that the noises of seven jaws hitting the floor is quite a unique sound to hear. The shocked faces on everypony was quickly followed up by Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and even Princess Luna, fainting dead away.
“……… I wonder if that joke went too far?” Aurora mused out loud, as she continued giggling with relief, and Fluttershy, Rarity, and Twilight went to check on their fallen comrades. Pinkie instead to join Aurora in cracking extremely off color jokes.
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Unseen by anypony that night, dark clouds gathered over the edge of the Everfree Forest. A rumbling of thunder rolling through the menacing creations as they advanced over the boundary of the forest, making their way towards not only Ponyville, but spreading out to also head for a certain farm not far from the tree line… the winds carrying with them an evil air… and whispers of things unseen by ponykind in ages…
This Chapter dedicated to Diamond Brook. Told ya i'd give you a chapter :)