//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 - Strengthening the Bond // Story: Bloodline // by Haseo //------------------------------// Bloodline Chapter 4 - Strengthening the Bond The fierce battle between two opposing forces raged inside the little library of Ponyville. The moment Twilight left them to get some food and various little things, they started the fight that should seal the fate of countless countries. The pure white pegasus used all of his skills to decide the battle. He took the dice of fate into his hooves and led Spike to his absolute destruction. The little dragon couldn't believe what horrible kind of act occurred in front of his eyes. Canterlot was completely surrounded by Light Chaser’s army. There was no way out of this wicked situation. “You can't be serious! This is the third match of Risk you played in your entire life and you're already crushing me like Twilight usually does! How is that even possible. You can't even read properly yet.” Light Chaser flashed him a huge grin and brushed some imaginary dust from his strong shoulder to provoke him even more. “Seems like I'm just the smarter one of us, little lizard.” Spike wiped the board clean of every pony figure. He stashed them back into the place they belonged and hid the game inside the games section of the library. Light Chaser followed his path and watched him return. Spike lifted his claw to give him a little friendly nudge on the shoulder. Carelessly the little dragon closed his eyes and leashed out. Unfortunately, the weak swing didn't met Light Chaser's shoulder but swung aimlessly through the air since Light Chaser easily dodged. He swirled around his own axis and finally fell to the ground with a dumb thud. With disgust, the pegasus watched him stand up again. Spike scratched his scaled head and tried to cover the awkwardness of the situation. “You still don't like to be touched, right?” Light Chaser shook silently his head, the disapproving gaze reminded Spike who was sitting in front of him. Slowly he retreated in the general direction of the entrance door of the tree. “Well, I'm really really sorry. I won't ever tr-” The door slammed open and pinned Spike between the door itself and the wall next to it. Twilight happily walked inside her home, followed by three floating bags. “Good morning, Light. What have you been doing since I've left?” Light Chaser's tail began to wipe over the wooden floor and a little smile grew on his lips. “Good morning, Twilight. I was playing Risk with Spike, I've totally crushed him.” Twilight couldn't resist the urge to giggle. Spike wasn't exactly the best Risk player, but the fact that a pony who’d slept for a thousand years had beaten him was hilarious. “And where is our defeated soldier now?” He raised his left hoof and pointed to the door, where the dragon was slowly struggling into freedom from behind it. Twilight quickly grabbed the door with her magic and closed it firmly. “I'm sorry, Spike, I didn't know you were standing there.” With her bags of groceries, Twilight made her way to the kitchen. With a small giggle she passed Light Chaser and extended one of her wings to stroke him gently. He even raised up a tiny bit to feel the full measure of the soft wing. Spike watched the pegasus looking to get stroked by his best friend. “You got to be kidding me...” He wiped the last remains of dust from his scales and followed Twilight into the kitchen. The little dragon began to sort the different kinds of groceries into the cupboards around the kitchen. “What do you want to do now?” Twilight turned around and puzzled her little assistant with a questioning expression. “What are you talking about, Spike?” Spike placed the box of cereal next to the jars of marmalade and closed the cupboard gently. “I mean, we can't keep him inside our home all the time. That would be like another prison at some point.” She scratched her chin with one of her hooves while she folded the paper bags in a well-organized manner and stashed them on top of the paper bag pile. “You may be right, Spike. He needs to be around other ponies, and I think I know exactly the right pony for that.” His eyes grew wide. He leaned on top of the pager bag pile and took Twilight into his focus. “Are you sure you want to do this to him so early?” Twilight waved her hoof and rolled with her eyes. “Sure, it’s not even a problem to touch him anymore. I'm sure he will be very welcoming.” Spike bit on his lips and raised his tiny claw. “It’s only you Twilight...” The lavender alicorn already swirled around inside the world of her imagination. “Oh my Celestia. This will be the best party ever! On top of that, it will be his first party ever! Spike! Go to Sugar Cube Corner now and tell Pinkie Pie everything. She should prepare a party for tomorrow. I will get Light Chaser out of the library so she can prepare everything. Make sure that the ponies will arrive one by one so that he can get used to them.” Twilight clapped her hooves cheerfully together and bounced out of the kitchen. Spike followed his winged friend with his eyes and sighed deeply. “I hope this won't end in a disaster.” Spike strolled through the living room and passed Light Chaser. The crystal pegasus watched the little dragon mumbling something unintelligible and leaving the library through the door. It firmly clicked into its lock and kept unwanted visitors outside. Light Chaser turned his head around when he heard the sound of the incoming alicorn while her hooves tapped gently against the wooden floor. She smiled at the pegasus and stopped in front of him. “So you had a lot of fun with Spike?” He nodded violently, his wings expanded. Twilight’s view drifted from Light Chaser's face over to his wings. This happened over and over again, no matter how hard she tried to focus. “Today, I will teach you a few more basic things. But first you have to shower.” Light Chaser tilted his head and raised his eyebrow in concern. “What do you mean by 'have to shower'?” Twilight couldn't resist and giggled like a little filly. “Don't worry about that, I will help you. It is really relaxing and liberating, I promise! I’m like your sister there is nothingyou have to be afraid of. I’m like a bigger sister to you.” She pointed him the way upstairs with her hoof. There was a sympathetic smile on her lips. He followed her lead in good faith and found himself inside the bathroom. He looked around the sink and bathtub, trying to figure out the meaning behind the different kinds of flasks and potions. The door clicked behind him magically into its lock. Light Chaser turned around and saw Twilight standing inside the bathroom. A brush hovered maliciously next to her head, enveloped by the alicorn's magic. His eyes shrank and he searched for a safe spot to hide. But the merciless expression in Twilight's eyes told him that there was no way out. “Twilight? What meaning has the brush next to you? You won't harm me with that, don't you?” Twilight's grin grew wider when she approached step for step the nervous pegasus. Before he could react, he felt the magical grip around his body. Without the chance to escape, he faced the inside of the bathtub. Light Chaser's hooves firmly touched the ceramic surface. His frown faded and a weak smile formed on his lips. “Maybe this isn't so bad. What happens next?” He noticed a weird looking silvery thing that was attached to the wall next to the bathtub. Multiple small holes were on the bottom. Carefully, he raised on his rear legs and faced the strange object directly. Only a few inches parted him from it. If he thought a second time about his previous words, he would certainly regret them. Beneath him, a squeaky sound became audible. He should have paid more attention to it. But some ponies learn only the hard way. A hot stream of water splashed into his face and caused him to fall backwards back into the bathtub. The adrenaline kicked in and activated the escape reflex that was coded inside a pony's subconscious since the ancient times. But he didn't even stand a chance against the force of Twilight's grip. The flow of water streamed between the joints of his wings and massaged this spot. The good feeling didn't last for long. He could feel the brush rubbing over his coat. The brush buried itself deep into his coat to remove every single piece of dirt. Between the different new feelings he could swear that the officious alicorn even poured some of the potions over him. The touch of the brush and Twilight's hooves that ruffled through his mane in addition to the seemingly never ending flow of water made him feel uncomfortable. His wings began to flap wildly around and so he tossed even more flask inside. The mix of different scents and the hot steam came into his nostrils. Gasping for air, he tried to stick his head out of the bathtub. Twilight bopped against his nose and let him fall back into the bathtub. He was forced to dive deep into the dammed water, the different potions burned in his eyes. With the whole extent of his power he extended his wings and began to flap one single powerful time. The pressure lifted him into the air, leaving the astonished alicorn behind. He landed with a loud thud on the floor behind Twilight. Light Chaser broke down and rubbed his eyes violently with his hooves. “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?” Twilight tried to calm the pegasus in uproar. She grabbed his hooves and kept him from rubbing his eyes. Twilight levitated a ball of clean water over and washed the different potions out of his eyes. “Please calm down! Only the soap is burning in your eyes, everything is fine. I promise you! Please trust me, everything will be just fine!” She laid her wings around him and tried to suppress his movements. He could feel the warmth of Twilight's chest against his back. The movements became weaker and their number decreased until he stopped. Carefully, Light Chaser opened his eyes and looked into the big mirror over the sink. The reflection of his bloodshot eyes didn't troubled him, but the sight of Twilight's well grown wings . “Twilight? I want to ask you something.” Her hooves stroked gently over his forelegs. She looked into the reflection of his eyes and nodded approving. “Ask anything you want.” Light Chaser wiped her wings gently aside from his body and extended his own wings. Twilight bit her lip. She could already predict the question that he was about to ask. She could see the determination in his eyes. It was the same gaze that she had worn so many times before. “You said before that you want to find a way to regrow my wings... Were you serious? Do you really think that there is a way to fix them?” Twilight hid her face behind his wings and pushed gently against his back. “Please lay down on your belly and extent your wings.” He did as Twilight pleased, lowering himself to the ground and stretching his wings to his sides. Twilight stepped over him and let her body rest on top of him. Her weight pinned him neatly down. Carefully she began to straighten single feathers and rip damaged ones out. She could feel the stinging pain in her back here and there, but that didn't keep him from pushing for an answer. “Please tell me.Sooner or later I would find out for myself if it is possible or not.” Light Chaser could feel Twilight's hot breath on his wings she began to tear out some feathers with her mouth. She licked over her lips and pushed more air out of her nostrils. “I looked over the blunted structure of your wings and I think that there might be hope. I'm not that skilled in healing magic but I'm sure that there is a way. The fact that your wings were cut and not shorter from your birth on may be a advantage. I guess that it is much easier to regrow something that was there in the first place.” She lowered her head again and continued to tear out surplus feathers. Light Chaser pressed his hooves with all of his strength against the wooden floor and concentrated upon Twilight’s moves. “I remember the pain when they did this to me but I never understood what exactly happened. Now that I'm smarter than before … is there any hope that I will learn to fly? Don't you think it may be too late?” The hot feeling on his back stopped and the weight shifted down his back. “I noticed your wings the first time when you were still asleep. My first thought was that you will never be able to fly. But just now you leaped out of the bathtub over to the sink. Nopony can jump that high except a winged pony. I don't want to raise your hopes, but I won't lie to you either. You may be able to fly someday. Maybe not as well as other pegasi, but you could fly.” Despite the still stinging pain on his wings, a small weak smile formed on his lips. The weight on his back was gone, so he turned his head around and looked into Twilight's face. It was heavily blushed. “Your face seems to have a red colour. Is this something we should worry about?” Twilight turned around and wiped her face with a cold towel. “There is nothing to worry about but that wing cleaning thing is something very personal. Usually only family members or really close friends do this for each other. I did it only because I wanted to show you how much you can trust me.” She covered her blush with her hoof and didn't notice that Light Chaser was approaching her silently. He put her hooves aside and grabbed her face with his hooves. They faced each other directly now. Twilight's blush got even deeper and sweat began to pour from her forehead. “Hey, what are you doing? Please stop...” Light overthrew the alicorn and forced her to lay down on her belly. For a moment he forced her hind legs apart and leaned over her. “Just calm down and relax, Twilight.” Twilight could feel his weight on her back while she drove her face onto the floor. As well as she could, she nodded and focused on the little flask that had been tossed to the ground before. “Please be gentle.” She could feel his hot breath on her body and relaxed every muscle in her body. Some ponies say that the first time always hurts. This was certainly the case here. “That hurts, please move a little to the right... Yes, this is much better.” The stinging pain roared through Twilight's nervous system, but it felt so good. “Are you sure that this is your first time? You are really good at this, maybe you should think over doing this professionally, Light Chaser.” Light Chaser spit out the most recent plucked feather and flashed the mare on the ground a happy, almost childish smile. Even though his eyes were constantly locked upon the tiny injury on Twilight's back from the bookshelf incident he managed to flash her such a bright smile. “I'm glad you're saying something that nice, I was a little bit afraid that this would end terribly. And by the way, please call me Light, just Light without the second part.” Twilight giggled and let the stallion straighten her wings more. The gentle touch of his hooves massaged the stress out of her muscles. The stallion on top of her stopped for a moment but continued right away to talk. “You know... there is another thing.” The lavender alicorn moaned in delight, she had closed her eyes to improve the relaxing feeling and nodded only slightly. Curiosity had taken over Light Chaser and he was eager to find the answer to his little question. “The mark on your flank, what is it and what meaning does it have?” Twilight opened her eyes again and stared once more at the wall in front of her. “Well, they are called cutie marks. Once a pony has discovered their one special talent, their cutie mark appears on their flank so everypony can see it. Usually this happens when you are a little filly or colt, but...” She could feel the pressure on her wings increasing. Light seem to knew what she was about to say. “It is okay, Twilight. Maybe someday I will discover my special talent.” He felt that Twilight tried to stand up. Light stepped down from the deeply relaxed mare and nuzzled her. Twilight stretched her wings and folded them neatly against her well-formed body. She offered him a caring smile. “Close your eyes.” Light raised an eyebrow, but he did as Twilight pleased and closed his eyes. The gentle smooch of Twilight's lips met Light's forehead. His eyes ripped open, so he could see the mare slowly retreating. Twilight bopped her hoof against his nose and happily proceed to walk out of the bathroom. The lavender alicorn stopped in the door frame and looked back at the slightly confused pegasus. “I think we are really good friends, almost like brother and sister. If you want, you can call me Twily when no other pony is around.” He followed the giggling mare with his eyes until she left the bathroom and a prideful smile grew on his face. “Like brother and sister...” Twilight stepped down the stairs from the upper floor, when a lovely smell streamed into her nose. She looked into the kitchen and saw Spike cooking something. “Oh, Spike. Did everything go well?” The little dragon jumped down from his stool to grab some ingredients from the opposing table, then looked at Twilight. “Of course, she said that she will prepare everything, and besides… what happened to you? Your mane is awfully ruffled up and you seem to be unusually relaxed. What did you and Light Chaser do while I was gone?” The blush on Twilight's face raised up again and she quickly made her way to the bookshelves, pretending to look for a certain book. Her voice rang through the library until it reached Spike's ears. “Nothing special, we just talked and stuff, you know.” Spike rolled with his eyes and followed Twilight to the library. He took the turn into the library and ran against something soft. Spike opened his eyes and checked what hindered his way. He saw the white coat of Light Chaser in front of him and laughed weakly. “Hehe, I've touched you...” Light's gaze drilled almost into Spike's mind, sweat poured down his scaly forehead. The sound of a couple of books falling to the ground distracted them from each other and let them focus on Twilight. “Hey you two! Play nice with each other, no fighting.” Light turned away from Spike and casually watched over the headlines of the various books that were distributed over the ground. One of them was called 'The Glory of Princess Celestia of Equestria'. “Twilight? You mentioned once the Princesses. Are they the same ones who fought my father back than?” Twilight lifted the book with help of her magic and searched for a particular page. “Here! This is Princess Celestia. She is my former mentor and guided me through the path of becoming a alicorn. She and her sister Princess Luna were indeed the two that fought back your father and freed you.” Light laid his hoof upon the image of the Princess. “She is an alicorn, too?” Twilight raised her hoof and pointed into the general direction of the sky. “As far as I know, there are four alicorn Princesses. There is the Princess of the Sun, Celestia; the Princess of the Night, Luna; the Princess of Love and my sister-in-law Cadence; and the Princess of… well, there is me.” Twilight noticed his stare into the printed replica of Princess Celestia's eyes. “Are they strong?” Twilight struggled to swallow. Slowly, she began to become nervous. “Of course they are, they have ruled over Equestria since the beginning. Every alicorn is strong.” She levitated another book to them and searched through the pages until she found a newly taken picture of Princess Luna. The expression in his eyes scared Twilight. She bit her lip and waited for an reaction. Light's eyes narrowed until only two small slits remained when he looked at the picture . “How does this Luna pony look?” “Food is ready, please come around!.” Both of them turned around when they heard the voice of the little dragon. Twilight leaped past Light and vanished into the kitchen. He turned around as well and made his way out of the room, but from the corner of his eye he still stared of the images of the Princesses. “Soon...”