The streets of Ponyville were quiet this late at night. Spiracle trotted to keep a decent pace, trying not to arouse too much attention. She crossed the street away from the train station and headed into town, not with any particular goal in mind. As she took a corner around a house, she looked to her side. The mare with the bow-tie was definitely following her.
The delivery for that crystal pony was never going to happen. Spiracle continued her pace, ducking between buildings and through alleys whenever possible. A garbage bin behind a house surreptitiously became the resting place of the crystal honey delivery. As Spiracle continued, tossing glances behind her, she panicked more and more. At each new rubbish bin, she threw away more evidence. She tossed her agent reports into another bin, and her instructions for the remaining three agents into the next one. With a bit of anxiety, she even tossed the Nectar supplies. The ponies couldn't afford to know of it, no matter what it meant for their agents. Condemning a few of them to starvation was probably better than the alternative.
Spiracle started looping back towards the station. As she passed in front of a large red-bricked house, she took note of the fact that every light in the street was out. The houses were dark, only the moon lit her.
The mare who had been following her drew in closer, increasing her pace. Spiracle hurried on, but found the alley in front of her blocked by a fence. She turned around.
"Got you at last," the mare said. Only the edge of her face was illuminated, Spiracle could not see her eyes.
"What do you want? I didn't do anything."
"I think you did. What's your relationship to Mr. Hist?"
"I'll never talk."
"Why are you sneaking into town at this hour? Where is he? What did you say to him?"
"Get lost, narc," Spiracle growled, punctuated by spitting at the mare's hooves.
"I thought we were going to do this the easy way. Guess I was wrong..." Octavia said. She narrowed her eyes, and Spiracle narrowed hers.
"Gonna have to catch me first!" Spiracle shouted. She spun and leaped as high as she could, catching the fence on her rear leg and falling head-first into the ground below. Octavia charged forward and vaulted the fence as well, climbing deftly over it in a smooth motion. Spiracle took off at a dead run, Octavia only a moment behind.
The alley stretching in front of her left few opportunities to turn. Spiracle could only run forward at full speed. Another fence loomed, and she leaped it better than the first. She caught the top with her forelegs and threw her body over. The ground cracked under her landing, the sound of the mare behind her on the fence propelled her forwards.
At full speed, she could only keep her distance, not gain it. Spiracle had been chased before, and though pegasi had the advantage of flight, earth ponies were always the fastest and most agile. This pony was no slouch, matching every hoofstep she made. As Spiracle ran, she chanced to kick over a trash can, scattering its contents in the pony's way. A loud stomping sound behind her told Spiracle that the pony had not lost a beat leaping it.
A clothesline gave the next opportunity. Spiracle dashed through an opening and tugged on the line slightly before running again. The satisfying sound of a pony colliding with a shirt gave her a brief smile, but the pace did not let up. The shirt was thrown off in no time.
The alley gave way to the street, and now Spiracle could finally see where she was going. She spun and took a hard right towards the train station. Far ahead, in the night, echoed the whistle of the train. Two minutes to departure. Spiracle sped up.
As Spiracle tore down the streets, the cobblestone became dangerously slick. Somepony had spilled something. She turned and slid around the corner, her pursuer doing the same. A pony shouted at them from inside the candy-themed house they were passing. Spiracle ignored it and kept running.
"Look out! Look out!" the pony was shouting, but not at them. Spiracle didn't see the two ponies carrying the plate glass until it was too late.
Spiracle's head went through first, shattering the glass in every direction. Cuts formed all across her body, but her eyes were mercifully saved, and she blared through. Ahead of her, two more ponies bearing fruit baskets blocked the way. Spiracle stopped suddenly and darted to the side. Octavia, unable to react in time, careened into the fruit and crashed into it, sending it flying in every direction. Oranges and strawberries hit Spiracle's coat and repainted her in an instant.
Seeing her chance, Spiracle took off again at full speed, Octavia in hot pursuit. A pony with a stop sign waved it vainly at her, and another was waving her forehooves. "Stop! Stop!" they were shouting. Spiracle grinned. The ponies scrambled out of the way as she gave no hint of slowing down.
Going at full speed, she hit the ramp they were guarding and leaped as far as her legs would let her. Broken glass glinted in the moonlight beneath her as she sailed over it. She chanced a look over her shoulder to see Octavia behind her, a determined glint in her eyes. Spiracle focused too hard on Octavia for a moment, and botched her landing. The stumbling lasted only a minute, but Octavia was right on her tail. The sound of a train preparing for departure two blocks away spurred her onwards.
Pulling into the station, Spiracle vaulted the short wooden fence and tore down the platform. The train had already begun to depart, she ran as fast as she could bear. There were no openings in the train, and cars were passing her faster and faster. She could hear the panting of Octavia directly behind her. The caboose appeared to her left, and Spiracle threw herself towards it.
She caught one of the bars on the rear of the car, and quickly pulled herself onto the metal platform of the caboose's tail. An exhausted Octavia collapsed on the train platform as she pulled away, safe at last. Spiracle allowed herself to breathe. Her days as Sasha Gio had been left behind in Ponyville, along with a frustrated pursuer. She could worry about that later. For now, all she had to do was breathe.
Octavia simply let herself lay on the dim platform for a while. Her coat was drenched with sweat, and breath was not coming easily. She lay and breathed hard as somepony stood over.
"Wow 'Tavi, what was that all about?"
Octavia did not respond, she only rolled over. Jack Alung, the sole railway attendant in Ponyville, dragged something heavy towards her.
"Here's your cello. You really shouldn't take off like that, I don't usually make deliveries this late."
"Mhm. Thanks Jack."
The cello's case had been only slightly mishandled by the railway staff, she'd likely need to tune it when she got home. After taking a nice, hot bath, perhaps. Her moistened coat had left a damp spot on the platform as she stood up. Jack had already left to close up the station, she was alone, save for a rustling bush near the outhouse.
Octavia let her curiosity lead her over. She could have sworn she had heard Mr. Hist's voice, but nopony had been there when she had investigated. She took a wide path around the outhouse and stuck her head inside the dense growth.
Hist's head was sticking out of a bramble. He was visibly struggling, and stopped as soon as he noticed her.
"Mr. Hist? What are you doing in there?"
"I'm stuck."
Octavia held his neck with her forelegs and pulled back. After some snapping, whatever had held him broke and they both tumbled backwards into another bramble.
After several minutes extricating themselves from the overgrown shrubbery, the two assembled on the darkened rail platform. Jack had turned the lights off and probably gone home for the night.
"Hist? Were you talking to somepony earlier?" Octavia asked.
Thorax paused. What to do? Lie? Lie.
"No."
"Oh? So who was that mare I saw in the bushes there? Nobody?"
Thorax paused. What to do? Lie? Lie.
"Yes."
Octavia sighed.
"Look, it's okay. I get it. I was worried that somepony from your old life would find you here, though that wasn't quite what I had expected. Are you hiding from somepony? Is there a reason you didn't ask me to go to Canterlot?"
"I wanted to go with you, I just didn't ask," Thorax said simply. The feeling in his stomach had abated, now that Octavia was here with him.
"So who was she? Are you going to tell me?"
"I don't think I'm supposed to."
Octavia's heart sank. Her physical exhaustion caught up with her emotions, and the world began to haze and spin.
"So what is this? Is this just fun for you? Are you playing with me!? I deserve a straight answer, I've been nothing but honest with you!" Octavia shouted.
"What do you mean? What are you talking about?"
"Us! I thought we had something special. I thought there was a bond between us..." Octavia said, her voice cracking. She fought the tears welling up in her eyes. Screw Vinyl and screw that stupid bet. Screw Hist and his mind games. It was too much to bear.
Thorax, meanwhile, had figured out what Octavia meant. There was a bond between them! Whenever he was around her, the feeling in his stomach stopped. She must have been feeling it too! What it meant could wait, he had more important things to deal with.
"Of course there's a bond between us. I feel it, right here," Thorax said. He thumped at his chest with a forehoof, which was a close approximation of his stomach.
Octavia sniffed. "Really?"
"Really."
"So who was that pony? Was she really nobody to you?"
"Nobody at all. I've already forgotten her name," Thorax said, with more than a little honesty.
Octavia leaned back and let the dim light hide her face. Thorax strained to see, but her expression stayed hidden.
"Is something wrong?" Thorax asked.
A gentle breezed rolled by, rustling the grass around them. Octavia's shadow loomed larger in the night.
"Miss Melody?"
"Promise me," Octavia said.
"Promise you what?"
"Promise me you'll never do that again."
"I prom - "
"No," Octavia snapped. Thorax jerked back, but there was no aggression here.
"Promise me, like this."
Octavia pressed herself forward. Thorax jerked back but was too slow, Octavia's forelegs wrapped themselves around his body and pulled him close. She pressed her lips onto his, holding them there. Thorax's eyes closed by instinct. Her body was warm, the sensation on his mouth spread goosebumps all over his body. His fur began to stand on end, and he could feel the same on Octavia's body, so close to his.
Octavia held the kiss as long as she could, happy to let the moment last forever. Hist had resisted slightly, refusing to fully commit, yet something changed as the kiss held. He slowly let the passion rise until he was giving back every ounce Octavia gave. All the world held its breath. The two were as one shape in the glow of the moon.
As the feeling waned, Thorax withdrew and Octavia relented. A new feeling had emerged in Thorax, not in his stomach but in his chest. It felt like something flowing into him, through him. Everywhere it went, his body tingled. His senses sharpened. His eyes saw better in the darkness. His ears could better hear the soft chirping of crickets in the bushes. For that moment, he felt there was nothing to fear, that there was nothing he was not ready for.
Octavia's sweat-soaked coat had left a mark on his chest, and she muttered an apology as her eyes searched for her cello case. Thorax put his hoof on her cheek and the smile came back to her face. He drew close, searching in the gloom for her mouth, and finding it, brought back that sensation in more strength than before. He wanted it, he needed it. He became addicted in that moment, longing for it more the more he tasted it. It was only by the limits of his endurance, and hers, that they would part.