//------------------------------// // Chapter 22 // Story: Forgiveness Pending // by Kiroberos //------------------------------// Wiping my forehead with a hoof, I glanced back up at the soft moonlight flowing through the sky dome above. The silver and blue light cascaded gently across the entrance to the tent, giving the purple fabric a complimentary glow. I waited for the cue yet again before straining back against the rope and pulling the curtain open for the next mare to walk out. How had I gotten suckered into doing this again? I had thought I was supposed to be just a moving mannequin for Rarity, not a stage hoof. Oh yeah. Half of them didn't show up and the party coordinator latched onto me in a panic, recruiting me as part of the crew. What the hell was with these ponies? I hope they weren't getting paid for this still. Of course, I didn't expect myself to get paid either. Keeping my bitterness in check, I slowly lowered the rope again and swallowed, sweating profusely under the stifling curtains. The models were lucky they only had to walk through this hellish environment between the changing rooms and the stage. Thankfully, I'd been very careful to not rip the suit I was wearing, which didn't make this job particularly easy. Not that Rarity had shown up again to grace my presence in the first place. For that matter, neither had my fillyfriend. Bitterness, Mender. Shaking my head, I lowered my ears and waited for the next cue. Another model was walking up in a rather cute, if not frilly, dress. It looked good on her lanky form, although she didn't seem to have any meat on her bones whatsoever. That didn't really appeal to my senses; not that I was in the market for a fillyfriend anyway. Still, I had to give credit to Rarity. The mare was seriously skilled. Something twitched in my mind and I frowned, suddenly taking a closer look at the mare. Wait a second! White coat with a pink mane, horn elegantly slipping up through the complimenting shade. It was her! She was the one who got me arrested. Her eyes glanced over a second later and she froze, apparently recognizing me instantly, aside from the suit. Her eyes slowly widened as mine narrowed, my hoof slowly squeezing the rope. Oh, it would be delicious to 'accidentally' drop the rope as she was walking under the curtain, flattening her onto the stage and ruining her pretty presentation. The temptation was there, and I swallowed wearily. She fidgeted, and actually edged closer to me, much to my surprise. "Fleur de Lis, get ready. You're on in thirty," the manager called in a quiet whisper from behind the secondary curtains to my left. So that was her name. She shifted closer and leaned her longer neck down, whispering to me instead, "Please don't ruin this! It was an accident, so let's not be rash. I'll pay you a hundred times what was in that pouch; just please don't do anything. Fancypants has another agent watching," she actually begged, further surprising me. I didn't know what kind of agent she was talking about, but I didn't particularly like the sentiment either. "You're trying to bribe me to shut up? You had me arrested for sexual assault and theft! I got paraded through the streets after being tossed in jail!" I growled, vaguely insulted that she was attempting to pay me off. Her ears flattened back and she put a hoof to her mouth, adding, "Shh! Look, I'm sorry! Please. My career could really take off here and Fancy would be really happy. Just please don't do anything?" she pleased, eyes looking desperate. I glared for a moment, locking eyes with her in silence. "Okay, go," the coordinator spoke in a hushed tone behind me. Fleur backed up weakly and swallowed, giving me a nervous look before heading towards the curtain. Damn it. Closing my eyes, I slowly pulled back on the rope and opened the curtains up for her. She nervously looked to either side of the curtains before beginning her slow, styled walk out. My hoof twitched. The mare had embarrassed Twilight immensely, too. If anything, I should be getting justice for her. Squeezing my eyes shut, I sighed and held back. The moment dragged out and was gone in an instant as the white unicorn strode confidently out onto the catwalk. No. I was better than that. Public humiliation was exactly what she did to me, so I wouldn't be proving myself any better a pony if I turned around and did the same back to her. Plus, it would only serve to add a smudge to Rarity's showing, which I was here to prevent. Almost a full minute passed before Fleur was on her way back inside. I opened the curtain up dutifully as she came in. She relaxed, seeing as I didn't drop it on her back on the way in, flattening her and providing a perfect frame for her butt to the entire crowd. She hesitated, glancing at me after the curtains slid shut. I looked away from her, a little hurt at letting the opportunity pass but just deciding to let it go. I'd probably never see her again after this, anyway. She quickly had to move aside as another model came up, and slipped away back towards the changing room. The rest of the show passed uneventfully, if not rather boring in my opinion. The mares, and to my surprise, a few stallions, simply blurred together as they walked past. After a while, I just listened to the cues for opening the curtains. It became mechanical as my thoughts drifted, mood lowered by the surprise encounter. Well, at least this wasn't that particularly bad of a night. Now, I was happy I had resisted flattening her in front of the crowds outside. Much to my surprise, the cues stopped and I looked up just in time to see the manager himself approach the curtains. He smiled and grinned to me before slipping through the cracks, not bothering to open them up or request that I do. "Thank you, Everypony! Tonight was truly amazing and I hope all of you enjoyed the look of fashion to come! Give a warm applause for our wonderfully talented fashion designer, Rarity!" he called out, voice muffled by the curtains. My eyes widened a little and I peeked out the hairline crack on the other side of the curtain, watching the pearly unicorn mare sashay onto the stage and give a delighted, energetic bow. I smirked as I noticed she looked right at home on the stage, as if a fish in the water. I'd be a traumatized, shivering ball in the corner with that many ponies looking at me and cheering, admittedly. She seemed almost energized by it. "Oh, thank you, fine ponies of the wonderful Canterlot. You are too kind," she politely added after her introduction. "She truly is wonderful, folks! Of course, have an amazing round of applause for Mr. Fancypants himself; without him, this would not have been possible!" the coordinator added. I raised an eyebrow as I watched, then widened it as the same stallion who punched me in the head this afternoon got up on stage and took a gentle, flowing bow. What? What?! Damn it. I should have known. "Thank you, Everypony! I am purely the provider here, however. This truly wouldn't be possible without my wonderful friend, Rarity's styles," he spoke up, surprising me a little. Well, he was more humble than I pegged him for. Rarity gave a show of waving her hoof gently towards him, acting abashed. "Oh, you surely jest, Fancy," she chided, looking clearly delighted at the same time. This was getting to be a bit much in my opinion, but I suppose this was the whole reason Rarity came. "Further, I'd like to say how proud I am of my wonderful mare, Fleur de Lis!" he added a moment later, causing my eye to twitch of its own accord. The mare in question came up on stage from the audience at the same time, still wearing Rarity's beautiful dress. She bowed alongside Fancypants, smiling for the crowd. A model, huh? Shaking my head, I released the rope and winced, feeling as if the skin had been worn off my hooves. That was a brutal forty-five minutes or so spent tugging on the same rope. I glanced about, but most of the stagehooves were either talking to themselves or finding a dark part of the curtains to peek out of at the proceedings. Sensing the opportunity for food, I slipped towards the back of the tent and exited through the curtain I knew was angled between the back of the wall and wooden frame, having put it up myself. My stomach growled once again, and I slipped my way through the crowd, heading towards the table I knew the food was kept at. Rarity was still up on stage, shining in the lights while Fancypants droned on and on. I didn't even pick up on what he was saying. Shifting away from the brightness of the stage lights, it wasn't that hard to pick out Twilight, either. She was sitting in the elevated stands set up for the show, surrounded by both guards and extremely posh looking ponies, amongst other things. One looked to be some sort of part lion, part eagle. I thought I spotted what looked like a donkey type individual too. She was here as a representative of Celestia, however, so perhaps they were dignitaries who caught up with her during her excursion with Rarity? Accepting it at face value, I continued on until I managed to locate the food in the dim lighting. It looked heavily picked through at this point, but I wasn't about to be picky. I decided to go 'heavy' for the occasion and made myself a rather hearty sandwich scrounged from various sources at the table. I wasn't expecting having to almost use my wilderness survival training to find food here! A quiet chuckle entered into my ears after I took my first, massive bite. It interrupted my savoring of the taste of food after so long, but didn't quite disrupt due to its melodious tone and softness. My right ear twitched lightly, and I turned my head in that direction. She was an unassuming, gray-coated mare with a softly flowing, black mane that was considerably longer than what I was used to. Further, she was dressed up in a simple, yet elegant black suit coat and had her mane tied back with a clip. My eyes trailed down, taking small note of the mark on her flank. I didn't know a lot about music in general, but the treble clef was a popular enough symbol. Hers appeared to be purple in hue. Not lingering, I shifted my gaze back up to meet hers. She looked amused, so I assumed she was the source of the chuckle. "Truly. No dainty bites or posh posture. You must be one of the ponies working here," she guessed, giving her glass on the table a swirl with her hoof but not breaking eye contact. I slowly swallowed, earning another giggle before giving her a questioning stare, unsure of what she was getting at. My guard was admittedly up ever since running into Fleur earlier. "Oh, no offense meant, of course," she excused, nodding once before smiling softer instead, continuing, "I'm actually a worker here too." With that mentioned, she gestured back behind her at the small group of ponies gathered on stage. They were chatting and seemingly taking a break while attention was focused on the show. "Oh, it's fine. What do you play?" I inquired politely, honestly the only question I could think of before shoving another large bite of sandwich in my mouth. My stomach wasn't out for hostages at the moment, that was for sure. She grinned at my enthusiasm before answering, "Cello. I'm first chair for the royal orchestra. We were asked to play tonight." That sounded important. I idly wondered what a mare of her stature was doing talking to me. I inquired as to just that as politely as I could between my second and third inhalations of sandwich. She surprised me by chuckling softly and shaking her head, oddly reserved. "I'm not that special. My name is Octavia, by the way. I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage yet," she finally introduced, taking another idle sip of the dark scarlet liquid in her glass while waiting for my reply. "Oh, sorry. I'm not used to these types of parties and, well, I'm a little hungry," I excused, coughing lightly and feeling my cheeks heat up. Here I was supposed to be making a pleasant image for Rarity, and this is what happened. "Regardless, I'm Moon Mender. It's a pleasure to meet you, Octavia," I introduced myself, bowing lightly. I maintained a firm grip on my food, however. I'd be damned if my bad luck quota stole my hard fought prize from me! Octavia momentarily smiled, nodding to me mid-sip before suddenly starting and trying really hard not to choke on her drink. My eyes widened and I gently leaned forward, patting her on the back as she coughed a couple times. "Wait, you're not 'the' Moon Mender, are you?" she questioned skeptically, staring at me in surprise. Oh hell. Was she there this afternoon to see me hauled through the streets? My ears flattened back and I glared. She shook her head rapidly, swaying a hoof in front of her. "No, I'm sorry if I mistook you for somepony else! It's just rumored that Miss Twilight Sparkle's mate is here at the party, and I thought that was his name. I didn't mean to insinuate," she excused rapidly, causing my glare to shift to embarrassment even faster. "Please don't let her hear you say that. She is totally not comfortable with 'mate', I should warn," I groaned, cringing at the prospect of her hearing that. Exhaling weakly, I shoved the last bite of sandwich in my mouth before rapidly chewing. I will digest you before anything can possibly take you away from me, my precious! Octavia tilted her head gently, giving me an inquiring expression. I honestly didn't know what to say. Twilight had said she might not mind spreading it around a bit, and I could always say that I hadn't said anything. She could have easily heard it from somewhere else, of course, but if she'd heard it in the first place, it must be getting a bit more widespread than I realized. "There's only one way you could know that," the black-maned mare pointed out a moment later. I nodded gently and smiled towards her. "I'm just me. Twilight is my fillyfriend, yes, but there's nothing specifically special about me," I explained, trying to form the correct impression. Her eyes widened even further, causing her to look almost like a statue. "Oh my gosh! You're so, well, normal! I figured you'd at least be like one of those guys she's sitting with over there," she reasoned, glancing past me and in the direction of the raised seats. I idly shook my head before pouring myself a glass of punch. It was labeled as raspberry punch, anyway. Seeing as it was practically untouched, I guessed that it was lacking alcohol. "I'm just me. Twilight isn't that kind of pony, either. I think you'd find her really normal as well, at least compared to your expectations," I reasoned, taking a sip and being pleasantly surprised in the truthful label. Octavia smiled pleasantly, looking actually happy for the first time since the conversation started. "That's actually rather refreshing. Seeing as Twilight is busy, I extend the offer to come listen to us until she gets done, if you want. Looks like our break is almost over," she offered, glancing over at the ponies starting to disperse from the stage. Given the amount of cheering, I'd say that Rarity's show was a success. The dignitary booth didn't look any closer to clearing out, however, so I figured Octavia's guess was accurate. Feeling a little more full as well, I shrugged before nodding. "Sure, if you don't mind me hanging around by the stage. I don't exactly have anyplace else to go," I muttered, again trying to hold back the bitterness. She seemed to pick up on it anyway, but apparently realized it wasn't for her and smirked, nodding. "No problem at all, of course. It would be a pleasure, honestly. My friends aren't ones to put on airs, ironic as that sounds for a party such as this," she assured, standing up fully and taking her glass back to the stage with her, lightly carrying it in her mouth. Unwilling to part with my punch, I refilled it back to full before attaching it, barrier and all, to the side of my shoulder, following after the grayish mare. Her friends up on stage greeted her as she approached, then shot a questioning glance past her at me as I wandered up. Being utterly exhausted, I flopped onto my haunches unceremoniously next to the stage. They seemed to almost exhale while watching me. Huh? "See? He's normal. This is 'the' Moon Mender, by the way," she introduced, causing more surprised reactions. They didn't tense up again, however. I glanced across them, noticing a good dozen or so ponies of varying colors, all equipped with classical orchestra instruments. Octavia's was the only cello, however, I noticed. I watched her hop up on stage, resuming a relaxed position behind her larger instrument before nodding down at me, smile still playing at her expression. I squinted my eyes at the change of light in this corner, momentarily glaring up at the rather impressive looking crystal chandelier hanging above the entire stage, radiating its light down upon the entire band. Ugh. It was still too bright, considering I was practically blundering through the dark looking for food a moment ago. Octavia watched the dispersing ponies carefully before giving a gentle nod and wave of her hoof in the air. The instruments came to life instantly, producing a gentle, harmonious sound that wafted over the speakers and across the entire room. I smiled, relaxing a little at the tones. This was definitely a pleasant sort of music, I must admit. The only thing I vaguely remembered from my old world was the stuff that blared out in the barracks all the time. A bunch of new, trendy sounds from our allies' ever pervasive culture. Now that I considered it, their influence was actually a more dangerous weapon than their vastly superior weapon technology had been. Pushing the unpleasant memories away, I relaxed gently against the stage, watching the crowds ebb and flow. * * * * * It was easy to zone in and out when nopony was really paying attention to me. It was even easier after I discovered Octavia's book stash in her cello case. She looked more amused than angry when I peeked inside. She had brought three books with her for the 'before and after' party, she explained. One was a rather, well, vivid romance novel that brought uncomfortable stirrings to myself after the fifth page. Subtle wasn't exactly my thing, so I decided to try another book before I ended up arrested again. The second didn't really interest me in the slightest, being about, oddly enough, vampire ponies. Sure, they were actually likely to exist given the massive level of supernatural and magical occurring in Equestria, but I didn't see the draw in romanticizing getting my blood drained from my body. I kind of needed that! So out of options, I had distracted myself by reading the third book for a good hour or so while listening to the gentle, lulling music. It didn't entirely fit the adventure genre, but it was pleasant enough. "Daring Do" was a fascinating character, admittedly. I wondered idly if Twilight ever read fiction. She seemed too analytical for that kind of thing. I could almost hear her ask, "Why write about something that's fake?!" I chuckled to myself before flipping another page, being treated to Daring haphazardly swinging over a pit of vicious, flesh eating beetles to get at the golden chalice in the center of the temple! "Ha! I heard you'd be here, Tavi!" was suddenly announced from practically right next to me. I let out a startled yelp before falling over sideways, barely managing to catch the book before it spilled to the floor. "Oh! Whoops! Sorry, I didn't see ya there!" the mare's voice apologized suddenly upon me regaining my composure. First glance showed me she had a rather gentle white coat; not pure white but a very bright gray. Her mane surprised me, however, by being a vibrant cyan and dark blue color, worn in a spiky, relaxed manner. I couldn't see her eyes at all through the dark rimmed, purple shades she wore shortly under her horn. Well, she was certainly different. I couldn't place the style, though. "Vinyl? What are you doing here?" Octavia inquired properly, taking a sip of water after. I looked between the two, realizing that they must be acquainted, obviously. Octavia didn't seem truly displeased to see the other mare, so maybe they were friends? Vinyl smirked and nodded to herself before returning, "I heard a certain gray cello player was going to be here and snuck in, of course." What?! I looked up and down at her, noticing she was oddly in a pressed vest and white coat. For sneaking in, she was dressed fairly formally. Of course, if she wanted to blend in, that was really the only way to go. Octavia smirked back and shook her head. "I'm sure you did. Why, I bet the bouncer even blushed and squealed like a little filly before he let the mighty 'Dj Pon-3' in," she reasoned, tone mirthful and amused. Dj? Oh! Disk Jockey! Now I knew what her style reminded me of! 'Dj Pon-3' must be her stage name. "And asked for an autograph, of course! Say, who's your new 'friend' here?" the eccentric Dj asked a moment later, suddenly shifting her attention to me instead. "Only 'the' Moon Mender, mooching off my book supply," she introduced, adding the emphasis yet again onto my name. My ears lowered and I gave Octavia a skeptical glance, asking, "I'm really not that important. Do you have to introduce me to everypony like that?" She just smiled and gave me an amused wink, earning a laugh from Vinyl. I glanced over at the newcomer in time to see her give me a once over, shifting her shades down to peek up and down myself. Her eyes were a soft Crimson, surprisingly, behind the headwear. "Well, it's nice to meet ya! I'm Vinyl Scratch, just in case you haven't heard of me. Dj Pon-3 might be more familiar, of course. I'd heard Twilight Sparkle got a coltfriend, but didn't have a face to put to the name. I have seen you around town, though," she admitted, smiling more warmly before raising her glasses back up. Wait, around town? "Oh, do you live in Ponyville?" I asked, tilting my head to her and closing the book I still held. Reading with the 'sun' right above me was causing serious eyestrain anyway. What was it about crystal chandeliers that made them so bright? Refraction? "Yup! Right on main street. Admittedly, I was impressed by your walking barrel platform," she complimented, snickering lightly. I blushed, earning a surprised yet confused stare from the mare onstage. "Ha. Not my best moment, admittedly. Seriously though, how is everypony finding out that Twilight and I are dating?" I asked, curiosity finally getting the better of me. I'd probably regret it, of course. Vinyl gave a hearty chuckle before shaking her head. "Dude, Twilight Sparkle herself finally finds a stallion to sleep with; that's huge news. She's practically royalty," she explained. My cheeks exploded into heat and I stepped back, lowering my ears slightly. "W-What? Wait, how does anypony know that we, uh," I started to ask before trailing off, realizing that I might have just stepped into a trap. The Dj grinned in impish delight, confirming that I did just step on a social landmine. "Oh ho ho! I wasn't expecting that. So you two have slept together!" she confirmed, dramatic evil laughter tying it in. Octavia slapped her forehead and put her water glass back down. "Vinyl, that's not very proper. And it is sort of assumed, Mender. That is an aspect of dating somepony," the gray mare pointed out gently, in a surprisingly calm manner. I exhaled and nodded, trying to convince myself of the same. "So, how is she in bed?" the mare next to me asked an instant later, causing me to blush again and sigh, giving her a skeptical look. Why did she want to know that? How is that even relevant in the first place? "Vinyl!" Octavia protested, looking utterly shocked. As predicted, she only received an impish smirk in reply. I just shrugged, however. "I don't really think it's that big of a deal, now that Octavia says that," I assured, ears drooping still as I wished for a different topic regardless. Vinyl, for what it was worth, looked delighted. "See?! That's an awesome attitude to have about things! Live and experience, I always say. So, about that question?" she reminded, winking to me. I rolled my eyes and decided to take a stab in the dark. "Well, she's relaxing, I suppose. Oh, and very warm. Oh, and she makes this cute little squeaking noise when she falls asleep," I tried to relay. She really was adorable, even when sleeping. Well, actually she was all kinds of different adorable while sleeping. The Dj's reaction was less than satisfactory, however. Her smirk fell away, replaced by a stunned, vaguely disbelieving look. "Wait, relaxing? She falls asleep?!" she asked, sounding like the concept was completely foreign for her. Well, maybe it was if she lived that much of a night life, but I assumed she'd be dead a long while ago if she never slept at all. I tilted my head towards her, inquiring, "Isn't that a good thing?" "Uh, no! I think you're doing something wrong, Dude. What are you doing, actually, if it's not too much to ask?" she asked, still sounding unsure and looking at me like I had grown a second head. I checked just to make sure while peeking back at Octavia for help. Nope, still just the one head. The cello player looked surprised as well, but with an oddly pink tint to her cheeks as she held her hooves up to her mouth. What the hell?! "Uh, do? Well, I mostly just lay there, like she does. Um, why?" I asked cautiously, starting to wonder if I was committing another strange faux pas. I swore I saw the cyan and dark blue maned mare twitch lightly. "What is wrong with you?! Do you honestly want her to dump you? Not that she's not partially to blame, but still!" Vinyl started to complain, stomping her hooves around while flailing about in a surprisingly active anger. I flinched and shrunk back, ears lowering significantly. I knew what 'dump' meant, and it brought an icy knife wound to my chest almost instantly. Oddly, a look of dawning comprehension flashed onto Octavia's face when I glanced back up at her, trying to get a second opinion before freaking out and rushing over to Twilight to beg for forgiveness. "Oh! Oh. Uh, Vinyl, I think you two may be talking about totally different things," she pointed out, causing me to freeze. We were?! Oh thank you! Maybe that meant that Twilight wasn't hiding anything from me that she might potentially dump me for. Vinyl stopped her rage-induced stomping and glanced over at her friend, somehow projecting a questioning look without us being able to see her eyes or eyebrows. If I remembered, I'd have to ask her how she did that later. "You know, you're supposed to relax in bed, right? It helps you get to sleep?" Octavia reminded, raising her eyebrow as well. Finally, logic! This I could work with. I exhaled quietly, waiting for the verdict. Vinyl gave a deadpan stare at both of us before shrinking a little. "Oh. Oh dang. Well, yeah. Okay, that makes me feel so much better. Dang, Dude. You seriously need to stop joking around like that! I thought you were serious for a second there!" she exclaimed, wobbling about as if her blood pressure was still spiked from her rant. Technically, I was serious, but I probably shouldn't mention that. Instead I just laughed awkwardly and agreed with, "Ha! Yeah, sorry." I'll probably never know what actually went wrong there, but at least Twilight wasn't going to dump me, I decided. "Well, might I suggest you let me get back to playing before this conversation gets any further awkward?" Octavia asked, directing her unsteady expression towards the Dj. Vinyl smirked and nodded, agreeing with, "It's all good. Oh, and look me up when you get back to town, Mender! You're definitely a cool stallion." I blushed and smiled, rubbing the back of my head with my right forehoof. "Nah. I'm just me. Nothing special, like I said earlier," I protested, not taking to this public awareness thing with much grace. Twilight was really popular! The almost white unicorn gave a hearty laugh before shaking her head. "You're too modest for this whole celebrity thing. You need to come visit me more often as well, Tavi!" she declared, slamming her hoof down on the stage next to Octavia and earning a slightly annoyed stare. I listened to the boards creak under the blow and sighed. It was indeed a cheap reconstruction job. They were either stingy or rushed, I decided. "I usually do visit you when I come to Ponyville, Vinyl. It's not my fault that I need to sift aside a veritable mountain of garbage from your decadent lifestyle to merely find a place to sit," she shot back, tongue rather barbed. I was impressed. Vinyl grinned wider, apparently taking the jab in stride. Her mouth opened, undoubtedly to return another venomous verbal volley, when the creaking echoed and reverberated through the wood I was leaning against. My frown hit instantly and I pushed my ear to the stage. There was a straining sound and a light vibration that got more distant, shooting into the back wall the stage was connected to. My eyes widened as I watched the line of dust shoot up the wall behind the stage, disappearing into the repaired ceiling in an instant. A split? But that meant that something heavy was being anchored to the... I looked up, swallowing as I saw the massive chandelier shiver suddenly before lowering barely half an inch. Son of a bitch. All of those lovely, sharp, pointy crystals were aimed downwards at a most unfortunate angle as the entire form gave another sway, crack visibly appearing in the wall. My right forehoof slid Octavia's book towards her cello while my left flared with energy as fast as I could manage to draw it. There was no way I could move the stage out of the way before it fell, so there was only two options. I could shield them all from the falling crystal monstrosity, of course, but the surface area involved was roughly seven or eight times what I tried before. I doubted the shield would hold for any significant amount of time. Alternatively, I could move the chandelier as it fell. This time I had the advantage of only one object descending towards me at high velocity, after all. I wasn't given time to think of anything else, sadly. Less than two seconds after I noticed the first sway, there was a brutal cracking noise from above the thing and it dropped. Aww hell. Simply acting at that point, I hopped up onto the stage as it dropped. Everypony looked up at almost the same time when the noise sounded out. Octavia's eyes widened and she screamed as I kicked off the chair next to her, using a barrier to boost my jump as best I could. The chair went flying as I snagged my hoof in it, but it was far too late to worry about clumsy reactions. My hoof extended out, reaching for the center extension of the chandelier as it descended. The rest of me braced for impact just in case I missed. Of course, a second later I realized I could have simply stepped back from the stage and avoided the chandelier entirely. Ah well. Instinct is a bitch sometimes. * * * * * Okay, this plan could have done with a little more thinking through before I implemented it. I rotated yet again as I flipped through the air, drifting two-dozen meters over the ballroom while clinging to a spiky, crystal disk of misfortune and death. And now it was flipping like a coin and threatening to rob me of my hard fought sandwich, of course. I clung to the side of it as best I could, wincing as I tried to think happy, non-spinning thoughts. Okay, so what had gone wrong? I reviewed what had led up to this disaster carefully in my mind. My hoof had touched the metal of the chandelier, of course, activating my magic, which first canceled its downward momentum, then used automatically adjusting micro-thrusters to apply an antigravity effect. That had worked perfectly fine. Mistake number one was to not account for getting caught in the burst of energy. I fired it off too fast, and got hit with the cast-off effect. Losing my gravity as well, I guess I was really lucky when I managed to only get a small nick to my suit when I slipped between the fields of sharp and pointy crystals, safely getting to the significantly less pointy top of the chandelier. Mistake number two. Failing to account for what my own forward momentum would do to the now stagnant lighting arrangement. Of course, upon smacking into the center of it, I knocked it upwards at a slight angle. I was momentarily stunned upon impact and failed to correct the velocity before it smacked into the wall behind the stage. That started the bloody flipping motion. Now I was too dizzy and unsure of my own timing to try counter-thrusting to push it in any given direction. Chances are, given my skills and luck, I'd send the spiked disk of misfortune and death directly down into the gasping crowds below me. Or are they above me now? I couldn't figure it out and just clung to the hot metal as best I could. Figures they'd use actual fire to light the stupid thing. I also singed one of my sleeves trying to avoid the perpetually burning magical candle things that were on this side. What a choice. Sharp and pointy or hot and burning? No, wait. Gotta look on the bright side, Mender. I had at least another five or six minutes of life left before my magic wore out and I crashed into the floor in a giant shrapnel fireball, undoubtedly killing myself instantly along with several dozen innocent bystanders. "Help!" I yelped again after completing yet another rotation. There were dozens of unicorns down there. This thing, even including myself, wouldn't take that much at all to stop the rotation. My spell would make it virtually weightless in regards of momentum. Hell, Twilight could do it while sleeping, I had no doubt. Still, I shouldn't rely on her to save me every time I get into trouble. I finally managed to rotate myself to line up with the direction the crystal chandelier kept flipping. I waited once again for the thing to be right-side up before killing the antigravity on myself and throwing my squishy body against the side that was raising into the air as hard as I could. I winced as one of the candles exploded against my side, singing my suit lightly, but the rotation managed to completely stop and even out. Scuttling backwards, I re-balanced myself in the center of the blasted thing and left my anti-gravity off. The spell on the chandelier only accounted for its own mass, so mine added to it was causing it to slowly lower in the direction of the ground now. I was still drifting to the side, however. Looking ahead of me now, I swallowed wearily as I saw the full size bay window rapidly approaching. If I broke through that before I touched down, this thing would drift off over the cliff edge. My magic would exhaust itself before I would be able to land then, and the remainder of my brief fall would have a very painful end to it, I imagined. I hoped for a pegasi in the crowd that might be able to recover me before being pancaked into the ground. "Mender!" I heard in Rarity's voice from beneath me somewhere. I peeked down below the chandelier as I sailed. The crowds below were clearing, making a painfully obvious path of potential destruction should my impromptu flying saucer crash and burn prior to hitting the window. I saw that no effort was given to providing cushions, of course. Joy. Rarity surprisingly ran along directly under me, however. She looked up with a shocked, yet attentive expression. Oh! "My spell is making the chandelier really light! You should be able to lower me with your magic. Please watch out for the spikes on the bottom, though!" I called down as loud as I could over the panicked murmurs and screams below. Rarity slowed, lagging behind the chandelier for a moment before her horn flared up with a light-blue energy. My eyes widened as a billowing aura surrounded the entire chandelier. The speed of my descent increased significantly and I heard a sudden yelp. Hmm, perhaps she would have expected the mass a little better if I had said weightless rather than really light? Rarity overcompensated. Badly. The chandelier hit the ground hard with the crystals digging in. Nopony was under it as far as I could tell, thankfully. Not so thankfully, the crystals shattered and fragmented, not only flipping the entire chandelier while I was still on it, but spraying the shards at high velocity in every conceivable direction. That adrenalin rush hit again and everything slowed down. I casually flipped through the air, flung free of the top of the chandelier and tossed like a rag doll. The spell came free when my hoof lost contact with the metal, and all the energy snapped back into myself. The chandelier, returning to full weight instantly, anticlimactically flopped along the floor on its top, spinning in a lazy rotation. The energy left me in the same instant as I fired it from my hoof as hard as I could. The cone-shaped barrier momentarily formed an exceedingly unorthodox long-jump pole as it cratered into the floor of the ballroom. The rogue shards from the chandelier were encapsulated instantly, however, smashing into the inside of my makeshift cone as I trapped them all. I smiled momentarily as my shield predictably failed a second later, letting a few thousand crystal shards fall to the floor rather harmlessly. If I were fast enough, hardly any would have gotten free of my barrier, though. That was all I could do. Going limp, I let myself rotate once more in the air before descending harshly towards the floor, ironically headed right for the slowing chandelier. It would seem I couldn't be rid of the damn thing. Unfortunately for me, the spiked side was pointed up now. My descent slowed significantly as I was caught in a light-blue aura. I went rigid as to not put any undue strain on her magic as she let out a gasp and grunt, straining against the force of the spell. Twilight ran up at high speed a moment later, shoving her way through the crowd before snagging me in her own purple and crimson light. Rarity let out a pained sigh before slumping over onto her stomach, mindful of the shards of crystal everywhere. Twilight had no issue carrying me over to her at all, of course. "Mender, are you okay?! What happened?" she asked rapidly, sounding worried, as usual. I seemed to bring out the best in her. "Several failed attempts at slowing down a stupid chandelier," I groaned, feeling exceedingly tired. That hadn't taken as much energy as the shield did earlier with Rarity, however, so I managed to stand on my own four hooves when set down. Rarity frowned, slowly sitting up again. "That was horrible. This is hardly becoming behavior for a gentlecolt, Mender! What were you doing surfing a chandelier across the room in the first place, I dare ask?" she questioned, looking a little miffed at me. I lowered my ears and opened my mouth to explain when I was cut off anyway. "Hey, isn't that the same stallion that was being moved through the streets in chains earlier this afternoon?" I heard asked from an unknown voice behind me somewhere. Spinning around, I saw nopony in particular talking, but a rush of murmurs and whispering spread out through the crowd almost instantly. I deflated, ears now dropping into negative angles in regards to my head. Oh crap. That was the last thing I wanted them to remember. Twilight surprised me by hauling me against herself a second later, wrapping both of her forelegs around me. The whispers picked up, but she glared over my head at the crowd as she hid me from sight using herself. Her ears flattened back as well, giving her a more hostile look than sad, however. Was she actually defending me?! Rarity shrunk a little under the overwhelming negative attention, and seemed unsure of herself and what to do for a moment. "Wait! Stop!" was suddenly called out to my left, Twilight's right. Octavia and Vinyl managed to squeeze through the growing crowd of ponies. "He saved Vinyl and I, along with the entire orchestra when the chandelier fell from the ceiling! If he hadn't intercepted it, I'd be dead," the gray earth mare defended, swiveling about and looking at the crowd as she spun. Vinyl nodded and ran over to me at the same time, sliding to a stop in front of Twilight. "Is he okay?" Vinyl asked a moment later, raising her glasses up to get a better look at me. I smiled to her and nodded gently. "I'm fine, Vinyl. A little worked up, but I'm just glad nopony got hurt," I muttered wearily. Twilight smiled down at me and nodded. "Making friends in high places while almost killing yourself is certainly better than just almost killing yourself," she pointed out, relaxing enough to stab me with her barbed wit, I noticed. Vinyl snickered and nonchalantly shook a hoof at her. "He's definitely a cool dude! That high flying ride was totally awesome, too! Uh, minus the almost dying and squishing a bunch of random ponies, of course," she corrected a moment later, letting her shades slide back down with a nod and raised hoof to the ceiling. "You have such a way with words, Vinyl," Octavia muttered, walking up much more slowly. The crowd shrunk in on us a little further now that the imminent threat of flying crystal shards appeared to be suppressed. I managed a soft snort, sitting up fully against Twilight. "Just about like me most of the time, don't worry. It wouldn't be a complete day if I didn't insert my hoof into my mouth at least once," I sympathized, hoping the expression wouldn't be lost on them. Vinyl grinned and nodded enthusiastically while Octavia just snickered. She had a soft expression on, however, and I almost swore she was giving me an exceedingly fonder expression, if that was indeed a word. Meanwhile, Rarity was recovering nicely. "Oh my! I should have known you wouldn't go sailing around like that purely for entertainment like a certain other mare we know. Now you're a hero!" she exclaimed, quite a bit louder than I would have liked. My blush magnified and I started rapidly shaking my head. Like I really wanted to leap up into a spiked disk. Again, if anypony else could have done the same thing or better, by all means I would have let them. A hero felt like they did things like that intentionally. It felt like it was something one attempted to represent. All I did was what I had to at any given moment to minimize grief to those around me. That didn't sound very heroic to me. The crowd actively parted as a large stallion I recognized as Fancypants approached. The lithe figure of Fleur was next to him, of course. Now that I saw him up close, I realized he wasn't as huge as I mistook him for the first time we met. Of course, I was quite a bit intimidated for other reasons back then. Now that I got a proper look, I realized that Big Mac was larger yet. Ironically, the red stallion didn't intimidate me nearly as much, given his gentle and passive outlook. "I dare say, we meet again, young one!" he declared, getting a closer look at me as he approached. I shrank a little bit, causing Twilight to frown and pull me closer again. He frowned a little as well and slowed in his approach, then drew to a complete halt when the lavender unicorn's horn started glowing softly while she watched him. "Twilight, this is Fancypants himself! What are you doing?" Rarity asked, intersecting herself between Twi and the well-dressed stallion. Twilight shook her head wearily, eyes not leaving Fancypants. "You were the one who had him arrested earlier, weren't you? The guard report didn't name anypony, but you just said this wasn't the first time you met," she deduced quietly, not letting me go. I looked up at her curiously, my cheeks heating up even more. What was she doing? Rarity shook with a start, pupils seeming to almost shrink as she suddenly looked back and forth between Fancypants and myself. "W-Wait, seriously?!" she asked in apparent disbelief. Fancypants smiled, however, and sat down at his current distance before nodding. "Yes, I was. I'll be the first to say that it was also a terrible misunderstanding and that Mender is truly innocent. No, I dare say he's a true knight after that rather bold rescue! I offer my deepest apologies. Moon Mender, correct?" I turned and looked at him in surprise, not having expected him to actually admit that I was innocent. Didn't that look negatively upon himself instead, then? Regardless, I nodded gently after a moment's consideration. "Yes sir. My name's Moon Mender. I live in Ponyville with Twilight," I informed nervously, trying to be as proper as I could think of. He smiled and chuckled at my reply. "Yes, I heard the rumors, but didn't connect you to said 'Moon Mender'. You have excellent tastes, Miss Sparkle," he complimented, standing up fully again. The murmuring picked up a lot louder than before, to the point where I could hear a few exclamations of shock. Then my ears deflated again as I heard whispers of a secret agent and rendezvous with Princess Celestia. Damn it. Twilight smiled finally and hugged me tighter regardless, seemingly happy that I was unhurt. "Is anypony injured from the crash?" I heard a guard start asking towards the back of the crowds. I exhaled softly and just rested against Twi. Rarity joined the three other mares surrounding me, smiling down at me in a pleased manner. "Knight, huh? I'd say that's definitely a livable title," she admitted, giving me an exaggerated wink. Her cheeks were a faint rosy color, however. I exhaled softly, glad that my original purpose for being here hadn't been ruined. Admittedly, I had no idea how everything had worked out and felt dizzy trying to remember what just happened, but it was more than enough to have arrived at a satisfactory outcome. Rarity fanned herself, however. Her cheeks were indeed a pink shade and she exhaled softly. "I might get a spot of air, however. I'm suddenly a bit, um, distraught. Too much excitement, I think," she excused softly. Twilight lost her smile and gave Rarity an inquiring glance. "Are you all right, Rarity? You strained your magic pretty good, there," the lavender mare asked. I picked up a definite trace of worry in her voice and suddenly remembered what it was like when I burned through too much energy. "I'll be fine, Dear! Thank you for your concern, but it's nothing a bit of fresh air won't fix," she assured before turning and heading towards the balcony near the main entry to the room. Glancing up at Twilight, she shot me a worried look back. "I'm afraid she used up too much of her magic. We should go with her to make sure she doesn't collapse or anything," she warned, looking back up and watching her friend disappear out onto the balcony. "Oh, good idea! Magic headaches are worse than hangovers!" Vinyl agreed, shuddering softly as she seemed to remember her own less than fond memories. Octavia gave her a playful shove, which only resulted in a grin being returned. "What she meant to say is, with the stage destroyed, we have nowhere else to play our music and have been relieved for the remainder of the evening. Would you two mind if we tagged along?" the gray mare asked politely, that soft accent that I couldn't seem to place rearing its head again. It was too subtle for me to put a comparison on it. Twilight smiled softly at her and shook her head, assuring, "Of course I don't mind. I'm not sure what's upsetting Rarity, however, so could you hang back for a moment until I make sure it's nothing private?" Octavia nodded politely to the request while Vinyl was busy looking a little distracted. "Actually, I think I'm going to take a detour anyway. I haven't eaten supper yet, and that food over there looks rather promising!" the Dj decided, sliding to a halt and glancing over at the banquet table where I was earlier. Twilight stopped as well, oddly, and frowned. "Actually, I just realized you're right. If Rarity is having magical exhaustion issues, sustenance is high up on the priority. I'm going to get some real quick sandwiches and tea for us all. Go on ahead, Mender," she requested. I nodded gently before turning and continuing to walk towards the balcony. Octavia trailed along after me, lingering back as promised once we neared. So, how was I supposed to go about making her feel better? Or figuring out what was ailing her in the first place? Yes, priorities, Mender. Why the hell did Twilight send me of all ponies in first?! I had about as much social graces as a rotting pineapple. Considering it wasn't sentient, that really said something. "Hey, Rarity. How are you feeling?" I asked softly, figuring the best bet would be to start by announcing my presence. Preferably in a way that didn't freak her out and send her careening off the balcony. She started lightly but turned her head to the side, smiling back at me. The moonlight did a nice job of accenting her purple, curled mane. The amount of effort she put into her appearance really came through for her. "Oh, hello, Mender. You didn't have to check up on me, you know," she assured, looking pleased that I had regardless. "You're my friend, Rarity. Of course I'm going to worry about you, especially after you exerted yourself to such an extent," I reminded, slowing and finally stopping next to her and peeking out at the night sky. It was gorgeous, honestly. I loved looking up and seeing the thousands of stars in the sky. The moon hung low as well, a gentle three fourths of the way full and spreading a milky blue illumination over the castle architecture. "You are truly a Dear. A knight or prince, even. Fancypants is right," she muttered, smiling to herself and chuckling at a quiet joke I didn't know. Frowning, I glared up at the stars. Were they the same stars that I would have seen in my other life? "I'm just me, Rarity. I'm not a knight or prince. I don't even know how to properly eat using utensils. I'm not a hero, either. Saving the ponies on the stage happened exactly the same way as destroying that ship in the other dimension," I refuted, putting my left hoof on the railing. The symbol on it glowed lightly in the moonlight, serving as a permanent reminder of that choice. "What do you mean, same way?" she inquired softly, looking over at me with a certain air of curiosity, brilliant blue eyes almost glowing in the light. I exhaled and shook my head again, looking down at the railing. "It's wrong, what everypony said. I'm not a hero. A hero strives to match those traits that define them. I was scared. Terrified even. If anypony else could have done it, I would have gladly let them, even. I didn't want to die. But the alternative, if I didn't do what I did in each situation, was to let others pay the price instead. I only did what I had to in order to minimize the suffering," I elaborated, scraping my left hoof along the smooth stone. I didn't feel a thing, of course. The right hoof was tactile and responsive. The nerves in my left were all but destroyed. Rarity looked sad for a moment. I wished Twilight would hurry up and get back with the food. I wasn't good at talking, and was prone to long tangents that didn't really help matters, it would seem. "Even if you didn't want to be a hero, you still are one, Mender. As frustrated as it probably makes you, you could have simply walked away so many times. You didn't, though. Because of that, just today alone, a dozen ponies are still alive. Even if you'd rather it not happen in the first place, it did. Fate is, well, strange like that," she muttered, looking far off towards the end, as if talking about something else. I looked back over at her, unsure of what to say. I suppose that if it had to happen, and nopony else was capable of fixing it, me doing so was a good thing. Well, that much was obvious. But necessity didn't make me feel heroic. Then it was just my duty. "A real knight; not just some fairytale fantasy. Polite and kind, yet flawed. That's why it's so hard. I don't know what to do anymore," she groaned, pressing the bottom of her horn gently into the railing. I sensed frustration, but didn't know what to do about it. "Rarity, what's really bothering you?" I asked, suddenly getting a suspicion she wasn't fatigued after all. She looked back up at me, eyes dancing lightly again. "Can I pretend, if only for a moment, Mender? Just one, selfish moment?" she asked; no, pleaded as she turned to face me more fully. I frowned, tilting my head towards her, unsure of what she was asking, let alone of how to fulfill it. Octavia's eyes widened in the very edge of my peripheral vision. Rarity shivered and winced, seemingly fighting amidst herself as a light pink tint lit along her cheeks again. She'd done this earlier, too. Idly, I wondered at the connection. I didn't get a chance to formulate the thought further, however. Time slammed on the breaks as she leaned up spontaneously and gently pressed her lips against mine. My mind froze, unable to process the information in the slightest. Floppy disk smashed into a USB port. She wasn't urgent or needy; just content in feeling the heat between us with the gentlest of pushing motions. Her body let out a shiver and a light hum, snapping time back into motion an instant later. I gasped and stepped back away from her, breaking contact as fast as I could. Wait, what the hell?! I stared at her in shock as she kept her eyes closed, head still angled gently where she'd left off. Slowly she lowered it and made a sniffing noise, shaking her head rapidly. The sound of a tray hitting stone, followed by a series of shattering noises sounded out to my right. Octavia let out a light squeaking noise in surprise, snapping to attention as I turned to look in that direction. She was staring in horror at Twilight, who in turn was staring in utter shock at Rarity. A tray of sandwiches, broken glass, and spilled tea rested at her hooves, a giveaway on the source of the sound. Vinyl stood to her right, actually raising her eyebrows above the rims of her shades this time. "Whoa!" she muttered a moment later. Rarity snapped back to attention and looked to her left at her friend. Her expression shifted between disbelief and horror in a heartbeat. "Oh! Oh no. No, no, no... I didn't mean to, um, do that. That was just, oh Celestia, what did I just do?!" she asked, more to herself than anything. My mind whirled, hauling me along with it as I suddenly felt dizzy. What just happened?! Tears built up in Rarity's eyes. She made a sound halfway between a sob and choking before taking off at full speed, galloping past the shocked looking Twilight and heading back into the crowded, deathly silent ballroom. Twilight slowly turned, several seconds too slow, and looked back at where Rarity had shot off to moments before. The white unicorn had made a beeline for the main exit, knocking aside several other ponies and drawing effectively the entire room's attention as she went. She was already gone, out the door now. My fillyfriend slowly turned back to me instead, mouth finally closing now and being replaced by a grimace instead. My ears lowered and I started shivering instantly. Oh hell. I was dead. I was so dead. She was going to launch me off the balcony with such force that I might break orbit. Her burning stare tore into my very soul for a long, five seconds. It felt like five years when her eyes finally softened. "I knew it. I just knew it. No. No, blaming you would be foolish," she sighed a moment later, lowering her gaze and shaking her head. I let out a whimpering noise and sunk to the floor, having literally no idea what to say or do in this situation. "You were just as surprised as I was, and pulled away. Relax, Mender. Stay put; I'm going to go look for Rarity. We apparently have quite a bit we need to talk about," she requested, straightening herself and glancing back towards the entrance of the room. "Twilight," I muttered weakly, unsure of if I should be saying something or not. What the hell was I supposed to do? She sighed and shook her head again, however. In a flash of light, she reappeared in an instant right in front of me. I panicked for a moment before she reached out and gently hugged me against herself. "It's all right, Mender. Just stay at the party. A lot is going through Rarity's head, from what I could tell. I need to find and talk to her. She has some explaining to do. I'll be back in a bit, hopefully," she instructed. My heart slowed its breakneck pace slightly and I managed to nod. She smiled momentarily before disappearing in another flash of light. This time, however, she didn't reappear. Octavia exhaled weakly, looking about as tired as I suddenly felt. It dawned slowly on me as I glanced back over at the two musicians. Rarity had kissed me. Rarity liked me, and I hadn't had the slightest clue before just now. Why? That was the true question. Neither mare in front of me seemed to know, their expressions simply serving to give me more questions than answers. Damn it all to hell. Well, there goes another potential 'ordinary' night.