//------------------------------// // Voice of Reason III - The Bet // Story: Legacy: The End of Harmony // by Ficta_Scriptor //------------------------------// Voice of Reason III – The Bet Five months before the end of harmony “Darling, are you sure Spike hasn’t gotten the wrong idea?” Rarity drawled from her gold-rimmed picnic sofa, complete with satin cushions. “Not that it wouldn’t thrill me for her to find a stallion. I know she has it in her.” “Are you kidding?” quipped Rainbow Dash. “That egghead wouldn’t know the first thing about making a move! She’d be reading a book called ‘The guide to awkward kissing’ while they sat down for dinner!” “Now y’all are getting ahead of yourselves,” Applejack stated with a wave of her hoof. “This is just somepony sent to learn about the magic o’ friendship. We can’t go treatin’ ‘em differently ‘cause y’all wanna play match maker.” “Look, here they come!” yelled Pinkie as Twilight, Voice and Spike came into view over the hill. “Hey, girls!” Twilight chirped as she cantered to the middle of the group. “Everypony, this is Voice of Reason. Voice, these are my friends Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash.” “Um… hi…” Voice said nervously. “Pleased to meet you all. Forgive me if it takes a while to remember your names.” “Well howdy,” Applejack greeted, giving him a firm hoofshake. “Pleased to meet you an’ all. Ah do hope you enjoy yout stay in Ponyville. You can…” As the two earth ponies continued their conversation, Fluttershy stood stock still, her legs trembling. “Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash whispered, noticing her friend’s distress. “What’s the matter? Don’t be a scaredy cat! Just say hello and…” Rainbow Dash fell silent as Fluttershy’s wings involuntarily extended, the yellow mare’s face becoming even more exasperated as she realised what she’d just revealed. Even Rainbow Dash found herself blushing at the timid pony’s ‘outburst’, the like of which she’d never seen from her. Thinking quickly, the flustered pegasus leapt behind Rainbow Dash and cowered in fear, trying to fold her wings back into place. “How do I make it go away?” she mouthed, shaking like a leaf. Rainbow’s only conclusion was that this was the first time Fluttershy had ever encountered the infamous ‘wing-boner’, and felt reluctant to tell her the truth. Pinkie hopped up to Voice enthusiastically, the stallion barely keeping a footing as she shook his hoof wildly. “Hi! I’m so happy we finally get to meet you! My name’s Pinkie Pie, and yours is Voice of Reason? Does that make ‘of’ your middle name? Oh! Oh! I vote we call him by his middle name from now on! Are you feeling OK, Of? Is it nice in Canterlot, Of? You know what I think of, Of?” “I’d prefer it if you called me by my first name, if that’s OK,” the stallion replied, looking a little overwhelmed. “And I’m happy to meet you too, Pinkie. I hear you’re quite the party-goer.” “Oh you bet! Parties here, parties there, parties everywhere! In fact, I keep parties stashed all over Equestria in case of party emergency! Do you want to come to my next party? I’m thinking of holding one very, very, very, very, very, very soon!” “Pinkie, give him some space!” Twilight demanded with a frown. “I’m sorry about all this, Voice.” “Oh, there’s nothing to worry about,” Voice replied with a wide grin. “I’m honestly thrilled to meet such friendly, good-natured ponies.” “Oh! Well… I’m glad too!” Twilight beamed, her cheeks going red. Amongst the commotion, Applejack and Rarity gave each other a knowing glace, then back to Voice, then back to each other, then smiled. “I’m betting Twilight makes it with him,” Rarity chirped. “He’s got that intellectual vibe going on.” “Now hold yer horses, pony. As far as ah see it he’s much more pleased with Pinkie Pie’s presence as a matter o’ fact.” “Oh really? Care to make a bet on it? Twenty bits says Twilight ends up with him. She is living with him for the time being.” After a mere second’s pondering Applejack nodded with a sly grin. “And if ah get Pinkie to be with him ah get twenty from you?” Rarity smiled wider. “Oh, it is on!” “Hang on a second!” came Rainbow’s voice from behind them. “Applejack, you were the one having a go at us for playing mahtch may-kerr,” she mocked in a forced country accent. “Besides, Fluttershy’s the one who’s interested in him, if that wasn’t any more obvious than it is. I don’t see why you think Twilight or Pinkie would…” “Then why not make this more interesting?” Rarity propositioned. “Twenty bits from both of us if you can hitch him up with Fluttershy. Same from you two if it’s Twilight, and likewise with Pinkie.” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “Why would I make bets about which friend of mine is gonna shack up with some random guy?” “As I should have expected, you’re simply afraid of failure,” Rarity teased in a pompous tone. “It’s so sad too… to see the only stallion Fluttershy ever liked brush her aside like unwanted croutons. Of course, given how shy she is it’s obvious she’d never gain his attention, even with the help of her friend. It saddens me how life can be so cruel and…” “Oh, fine! You’re on!” Rainbow Dash conceded, spitting into her hoof and holding it out in front of her. Applejack grinned and did the same, planting her hoof squarely on Rainbow Dash’s. The two mares then gave a glance to Rarity who looked disgusted. The unicorn faked spitting onto her left hoof and daintily placed it against Applejack’s and Rainbow Dash’s. The trio were broken as Twilight neared them with Voice in tow, looking on at her friends suspiciously. “I’m guessing you must be Rainbow Dash,” Voice greeted, holding out his hoof. “Pleased to meet you.” Rainbow Dash shook it stiffly, only just realising that she’d given Voice a hoof-ful of spit. “The mane gave it away, huh? Pleased to meet you too!” She released Voice’s hoof and the stallion gave it a worried glance, discreetly wiping the saliva onto his foreleg. “I’m the top flier in all of Ponyville, maybe in all of Equestria! But believe it or not, I wasn’t always as amazing as I am now. I owe a lot of it to a special pegasus who’s been an inspiration to me. My good friend, Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash gestured behind her, beaming. Voice looked on, a little confused. “You mean… That tree with wings?” “Wait, what?” Rainbow Dash turned around to see Fluttershy hidden behind a nearby willow tree, her extended wings poking out from either side of the trunk. Rainbow Dash face-hoofed and dragged Fluttershy over to the group, creating an enormous trench in the ground. The timid mare wasn’t moving a muscle. Her face was expressionless, but she was sweating buckets. A deathly silence was cast over the other mares, even Pinkie, as they saw the state of their friend. “So… yeah, this is Fluttershy. One important lesson she taught me was about stretching my wings properly to keep them supple and strong. If you extend them out like this, it stretches the… um… plucktorial muscles and is a great way of exercising when you’re not flying. Isn’t that right, Fluttershy?” “Mm,” was the mare’s only response, her mouth not even opening. “Wow,” beamed Voice. “I didn’t realise that, though that’s probably because I’m not a pegasus. Pleased to meet you, Fluttershy.” “Mm.” Voice extended his hoof politely, to which Fluttershy did nothing but stare at it. “Sorry about this,” Twilight whispered in apology. “She gets a little nervous around newcomers. We could be waiting here for hours, all truth be told.” “Oh no, I’m OK,” Fluttershy said confidently, a smile coming to her face. In an instant, she had become her normal self, her wings dropping to her sides as she controlled her anxieties. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr Reason.” “Oh please, do call me Voice. I do hope we can become great friends,” he said sweetly, looking deep into her eyes. In that brief second, Fluttershy’s wings sprang back up, her cheeks reddened and he face was frozen in an awkward smile. “Mm,” she uttered, before leaping back behind the tree and shaking like a leaf. “Was it something I said?” Voice asked confusedly. “Oh, she’ll be fine,” assured Rarity. “Now, I didn’t quite catch your reason for being in Ponyville. How long are you planning on staying?” Voice’s smile faded momentarily as he gazed at the ground. “I’m… not entirely sure yet. As for why I’m here; I’m a writer, and a scholar, and I know Princess Celestia very well. I’ve been in a bit of a rut recently, unable to write anything worthwhile, so Princess Celestia suggested I come here for some inspiration. I don’t know very much about friendship, so she thought this would be the ideal place for me to spend my…” He cleared his throat and resurrected his friendly grin. “For me to spend some time. I’m already thankful to Twilight for letting me stay. I really don’t wish to be any trouble, so if I’m getting in your way, just let me know.” “Oh, no, no, no! You’re not getting in my way at all!” Twilight insisted. “It’s nice to have somepony like you around.” “I see you two are getting along famously,” Rarity noted proudly, flashing a smug glance at her competition. “Though, Voice, I do wonder if you could look ever so much more dashing in a tuxedo. I run a little establishment called Carousel Boutique, and I offer only the finest wares in all of Equestria.” “I don’t know since I’m a little short on cash—” “Nonsense! You don’t have to worry about paying! You are a guest here and I insist on offering you a complimentary outfit.” “Maybe y’all should eat first,” Applejack piped up. “Ain’t no point in cuttin’ the picnic short.” The seven ponies and dragon sat down to a meal of cress sandwiches, rocket salad and apple pie. Or in Spike’s case, a claw full of jewels. Voice remained the centre of attention as they talked, telling them all about where he’d lived, his life in Canterlot, and the books that he’d written. Even Fluttershy was now part of the group, despite spending most of her time hiding behind her mane whenever Voice looked in her direction. “In all honesty, I thought I’d be pretty intimidated being in the presence of the Elements of Harmony, but you’re all so friendly and down to earth. A lot of ponies in Canterlot are stuck up and dismissive. Even Celestia agrees.” “One teeny, tiny, thing I don’t get, Of,” Pinkie began excitedly, “How come you didn’t know Twilight before? You’re both from Canterlot and you’re both friends with Princess Celestia, but you’ve never met each other before?” “Actually, I was wondering that as well,” Twilight piped up. “Weren’t you a student of hers?” “Well… not exactly. I didn’t move to Canterlot until a few years ago, and to begin with I lived mostly in solitude, just getting by. One day I was passing through Canterlot with a pile of notes when Celestia appeared with her royal guards. I panicked and tripped over, basically giving her a face full of scrolls. I kept saying ‘sorry’ as she looked at some of my work which happened to be documentation of the reproductive method of rare plant species that grew in Whitetail Wood. She liked what she saw, and gave me an opportunity to use the Canterlot archives and various resources for my research, giving me a real purpose, which I am eternally grateful for. As for why Twilight and I have never met… Canterlot is a pretty big place and Celestia’s school of magic is in a different domain to where I’d been staying. Being an earth pony, knowledge of magic just wasn’t an interest to me. No offense, of course.” “None taken!” Twilight exclaimed, more than happy with his answer. “However, I did know about you before. Celestia’s mentioned you on quite a few occasions. From what I hear, she’s really proud of you, and she said I should be sent here specifically because of you and your friends.” While everypony was enthralled by Voice’s tales, Spike had his arms crossed and was glaring straight at him. “Yeah, quite the charmer,” he muttered under his breath. “But you aren’t fooling anypony. Seducing my friends with your wily ways…” “So… if Princess Celestia sent you here to learn about friendship, where would you like to start?” Twilight asked. “If it’s not too much trouble for you all, I’d like to spend some time with each of you, getting to know each of the different elements individually as well as the entire group. I want to know more about honesty, kindness, generosity, loyalty, laughter and magic. I’m no expert on any of them, and I think I’d find inspiration for my work if I knew a little more.” “Oh! Oh!” Pinkie cried as she put up a forearm like a school-foal trying to catch a teacher’s attention. “We could bake some cupcakes together! I could show you all my precious, patented, Pinkie Pie recipes, and it’ll be so much fun!” “Actually, that sounds like a great idea,” Voice agreed. “And the same goes for the rest of you. If I could just spend a day doing the kinds of things you do, maybe I could really understand this ‘harmony’ thing. At least, if it’s not too much to ask.” “Sure thing, sugarcube!” “It would be my pleasure, darling.” “Yippee! All aboard the SS Fun-boat!” “Eh… I’ll see if I’ve got some free time on my schedule.” “Mm…” Twilight smiled uneasily. “You’re… getting on with your studies so quickly?” Rainbow Dash snorted mirthfully. “Oh, come on, Twilight! Out of everypony here, you’re the one who should go easy on the studying!” Twilight simply shot the pegasus a disgruntled look. “Then it’s settled?” Voice questioned the group of mares. “Ideally, it would work out perfectly if I could spend a day with each of you in turn this week. Assuming that I won’t be getting in your way, of course.” “Oh! Oh! Pick me first!” Pinkie yelled, bouncing up and down excitedly. “Please be me! Please be me!” “Um… OK, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, Pinkie,” he said with a smirk, pulling out a sheet of paper and making a note. The rest of the plans were made, with Pinkie being followed by Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and lastly, Twilight. “It’ll be an interesting week, that’s for sure!” Voice beamed, filing away his notes. “Oh! Oh!” Pinkie piped up with again. “You know what would be even more betterer? A party! Like… an ‘end of week of studying’ party!” “That would be amazing, actually,” Voice grinned with a hint of melancholy. “I’ve not exactly… been to a party before. I’ve seen other ponies going to them with smiles on their faces and I’ve always kind of wondered what they were like.” Pinkie leapt into the air in exasperation, landing practically on top of Voice as she squeezed him tightly in a hug. “Oh no! You poor thing! I couldn’t even imagine a life without parties! Sometimes I get excited just thinking about parties! I can’t believe you’ve never been to a party and I’m gonna make sure this party is going to be the greatest party ever!” “That… sounds… great…” Voice gasped, barely able to breathe under Pinkie’s iron grip. “I’ll… look… forward… to it…” While Rainbow Dash and Applejack attempted to crowbar Pinkie’s forelegs from Voice’s neck, Rarity had noticed a certain purple dragon sulking away from the rest of the group. She trotted over out of curiosity, nudging him gently on the shoulder. “Spike, what’s wrong? Are you upset about something?” “Me? Oh, I’m just fine,” he retorted, a plume of hot smoke coming from his nostrils. “Now, come on. Something’s bothering you my little Spikey Wikey! Are you sure you won’t tell me what it is?” “Just look at him!” Spike exclaimed, gesturing towards Voice. Rainbow Dash had successfully pulled Pinkie away from him, only for the excitable mare to jump back over Rainbow and wrap her forelegs around his midsection, blabbering about how amazing her party was going to be. Voice appeared flustered and confused, and Applejack shot Rainbow Dash a smug look, much to the pegasus’ annoyance. “There’s something off about him, but I just can’t quite put my finger on it.” He looked up at the purple-maned unicorn with wide eyes and a quivering lip. “You… don’t like him, do you?” “Spike, are you jealous of Voice?” “No! That’s not it! Now answer the question!” Surprised by the dragon’s arrogant tone Rarity frowned with disappointment. “A lady like myself does not wish to be spoken to in such a way, Spike!” Spike’s spines drooped in shame. “I’m sorry, Rarity, but you’re all giving him all this attention and something about it feels wrong. Twilight’s acting all cagey around him, I’ve never seen Fluttershy this scared and… it’s like all of your eyes are on him. These things just don’t happen!” “Spike, Voice hasn’t done anything wrong, so you can’t exactly be angry with him, right?” The young dragon shrugged half-heartedly in response. “He’s a newcomer to the group so it’s only natural that we’re extra nice to him. What exactly is it that you’re afraid of?” Spike shrugged again. “I dunno… It just feels weird with him around. I don’t want to lose you, or any of my friends. I like things the way they are!” His heartfelt words were unintentionally accompanied by a lone tear that formed in the corner of his left eye. “Oh Spike… come here,” Rarity whispered, extending a hoof. Spike leapt into her forelegs, holding tightly around her neck, his breathing rough and heavy. “I know you might be scared about us moving away as it were, but you know very well that things can’t stay the same way forever.” “I know… but…” “But who’s to say that’ll happen any time soon?” “I guess… no-one?” Rarity wiped away his tear and kissed his forehead. “Don’t let something like this worry you, Spike. And be nice to Voice. I don’t think any of us want to see a repeat of the Owlowiscious incident.” “No, I guess you’re right,” said Spike, blushing. “Then I guess that’s settled then.” “Just one thing, Rarity,” Spike began uneasily, shifting his gaze away from her. “I know about everything you just said, but I’d feel better if I got to see you on the day Voice comes to visit you. I’d… I’d just feel better about everything.” “Spike, what did I say about not wor—” Rarity stopped in her tracks, an enormous smile appearing on her face as an idea popped into her head. “OK, Spike. I’ll allow you to pay me a visit, if you agree to help me with something.”