Gray sat opposite the three fillies, doing his best not to worry about their plans. So far it was something along the lines of getting their cutie marks, and the man had shot down anything he thought was too dangerous. His concern grew as their whispering stopped and they glanced at him, then went back to their hushed conversation. Applebloom spun around in her seat as they reached an agreement, grinning at Gray. “Okay, Ah think we got it. We’re gonna be t’ pony rescuers, and yer gonna be t’ one that’s got a hold of them. Celestia can be t’ ponynapped one!”
He looked around as he heard the mare in question giggle, and she nodded her permission to the trio. “Very well, but you must give us five minutes before you come looking for me, understood?” They all nodded and she let her magic flow, teleporting herself and Gray to her room. He watched as she walked and lay on her bed, mocking distress by putting the back of her hand on her forehead. “Oh no, a wicked human has captured me, whatever shall I do?”
With a grin he sauntered over, sliding his hands up her legs, the mare giving a slight whimper as he began to firmly knead into her thighs. They both froze as they heard a commotion in the hallway, and then a mare’s voice drifted through the door, which was slightly ajar. “Good morning girls. Now what are you three doing up here?”
“We’re looking for Celestia, Gray has ponynapped her!”
“Gray… has ponynapped… Celestia?”
“Yep, and we’re the ones that are going to rescue her from his evil clutches!” Fair Heart appeared in the room, smirking when she saw the pair on the bed, still in a white robe each. At ten in the morning. The three fillies peeked in from behind her, then ran towards the bed.
“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS, PONY RESCUERS, YAY!” They charged towards the bed and leapt upon it, knocking Gray to the floor. Celestia shot up with concern, but a smile appeared on her muzzle when she heard the man burst out laughing, the fillies fervently tickling him.
They then jumped up with surprised squeals as he managed to break free, his arms shooting towards the nearest pony. Scootaloo began to giggle as his fingers ran over her ribs. Celestia went to assist the pegasus filly, but her friends had other ideas, and her own giggles joined the filly as they pinned her to the bed.
Gray stopped his onslaught, Scootaloo giving a few residual giggles, and the pair managed to stand. Celestia was doing her best to stay still as Applebloom and Sweetie Belle held her legs and tickled the soles of her feet, the mare panting for breath when Gray stopped them.
Her laughter filled the room once more as he gave her the same treatment as Scootaloo. She opened her eyes to see who it was, and then started flailing her arms to fend him off. The three fillies were instantly to his assistance, holding her arms still as his fingers danced over her sides. “I thought you were supposed to rescue the pony, not help in the torture of them?”
Gray and the fillies looked over to the smirking maid, who set a tray with a tea set on it on the table in the centre of the room, waving them over. The man remained sat on the bed as Celestia calmed down, the trio of fillies quickly sitting down and filling the cups. The giggling mare next to him managed to get up, wrapping her arms around his neck and turning his head so she could kiss him.
They pulled away smirking at the sound of ‘aww’s’ from the table, plus one instance of fake retching, even though when they looked Scootaloo was smiling as wide as her two friends. Celestia made her way over and joined them, smiling at Gray as he left the room.
An hour later he was walking towards the castle’s main entrance, dressed in the casual clothing of the Royal Guard. He would’ve preferred the jeans and t-shirt he had arrived in, but had learnt that ponies seemed to react to him much better in the uniform, and more pleasantly as well.
The three fillies were waiting for him by the large doors, with a few Guards stood waiting nearby. They snapped to attention and the man turned, smiling as he saw Celestia in her most casual outfit yet. The fillies were all giggles as she approached and slipped her hand into his, then nodded to the guards.
They opened the doors and the party walked out into the early weekend sun, Gray blinking as his eyes adjusted to the light. The guards had taken up a loose box formation around them, the man noting they were from Celestia’s Honour Guard. He gave a nod to one of the stallions as he turned to glance over the group as they left the castle grounds, the mare nodding to the ponies in the streets, all of whom bowed with respect to their princess.
Their path took them past many different places, and they only stopped when two of the three fillies began squealing. The guards stopped when they ran towards one of the stores, Scootaloo following almost reluctantly with her hands in her pockets. Gray and Celestia smiled when they saw the name of the establishment, the man holding the door open for the mare and fillies. “Oh, Mister Gray, what brings you ‘ere?”
“These four do, Miss De Lis.” The unicorn mare gave a giggle as Sweetie Belle and Applebloom darted over to a rack of dresses, searching through them. Before she could escape, Scootaloo was dragged over to the clothing, a yellow sun dress held up in front of her. From what he’d seen and heard about the filly, Gray couldn’t help but chuckle as her eyes seemed to light up, and she dashed over to a mirror whilst holding the dress against her body.
“On, no, no, no! Zis is not the right colour for you! Quickly, come zis way!” Fleur pulled Scootaloo towards the work room, groans of annoyance echoing from there soon afterwards. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were then joined by Celestia in perusing the store’s wares, whilst Gray just took to one of the plush chairs near the checkout counter. The two fillies and alicorn mare slipped off to the changing booths at the side.
Gray watched as the unicorn filly went first, exchanging her shorts and t-shirt for a light purple, knee length summer dress. The earth pony followed, her coveralls changed for her own version of Sweetie Belle’s outfit, but hers was a shade of orange. The curtain separating the work area slid open, Fleur walking out with a smile.
Gray smirked as she was followed by the pegasus filly, whose usually unkempt mane had been brushed straight, now reaching past her shoulders. There was nervous smile on her muzzle as she stepped out in a flowing, dark navy blue summer dress, slightly longer than the other twos’. “Now zen, how about you, your majesty?”
“Oh, no thank you, Miss De Lis. How much for the clothes?”
“Well, a filly’s dress is twenty five bits, standard, so that’s fifty. Custom for a pegasus is forty, so… a total of ninety bits please, your majesty.”
“I got this.” The five females stared at Gray as he stood and removed the coin pouch from his pants, starting to take coins out. It didn’t take him long, and soon he had laid the correct amount, smirking at Celestia as the three fillies hugged his waist. After saying their goodbyes and walking through the streets once more, they stopped at one of the cafés.
Gray was pleased with this, as he was now carrying multiple bags of shopping, most of which belonged to the fillies, and the rest to the alicorn mare. He could hear the guards chuckling as he sat down at one of the outside tables with a grateful sigh, glad to be off his feet for awhile.
Celestia came back with a tray of drinks floating in her magic, putting three of them one a separate table, where the three fillies were waiting with a smile. With a nod from their ruler, the guards all visibly relaxed and disappeared. “Don’t worry, they will remain nearby.” She sat down next to him and slid a glass over, taking the straw in hers between her lips.
Gray’s smirk didn’t diminish as she swirled her tongue around the plastic, all the while keep her eyes locked with his. He grabbed his drink with a shake of his head, liking the fruity taste of his soda. He looked to the side as the three fillies giggled loudly, and something crossed his mind, so he turned back to the mare opposite him. “Hey Tia, how old are they?”
“I believe they are all... let me see now, Twilight went to Ponyville between three to four years ago, and they were eight when she met them, so eleven to twelve now.” Movement at the edge of the tables caught his eyes, where a group of colts had started to gather. He followed their gazes to the three fillies, all of whom were oblivious to the attention. Until Scootaloo turned around, her smile instantly being exchanged for a frown.
“Hey, what are you staring at, huh?” The majority of the colts fled then, a few standing their ground as the pegasus filly walked right up to them. “Well? Are we some sort of sideshow for you?” All but one took an involuntary step back, and Scootaloo’s gaze settled on the one brave colt. Gray watched as the colt turned his head, following his gaze to a smiling unicorn stallion. From the filly’s reaction, the man guessed she secretly relished their attention. The idea was solidified when the colt nodded to the stallion, turned back to Scootaloo, took her hand… and kissed it
The filly pulled away and stared at the colt for a moment, before turning around and running back to her friends. Gray couldn’t help but chuckle as he noticed her cheeks blushing brightly, and turned back to the confused looking colt staring after her. The unicorn stallion walked over to him. Gray thought he’d best make it look like he was going to support the filly, so got up and approached them. “Excuse me, sir.”
“Yes? Oh, you’re one of those humans! I heard you saved our princesses, one of whom I notice is with you. Thank you for that, who knows what would happen without them.”
“No need to thank me, we just did what was right.” He crouched down in front of the colt, who used the stallion’s leg to partially hide. “And who is this little fella, your son?”
“Yes. I’m sorry about that, it’s just I’ve been teaching him to treat the fillies properly. He’s been a bit of a… hassle to them in school. Is… she with you and Princess Celestia?”
“Yeah.” Gray leaned to the side so that he could see the colt properly, smiling softly at him. “Hey there, little guy. Listen, don’t worry about her being upset. That’s just a sign that she liked it, okay?” The colt nodded in reply, and the man stood back up with a chuckle, looking to the stallion again. “Well, enjoy the rest of your day.”
“And you too.” Gray turned and walked back to his table, listening to the conversation among the fillies as he passed them.
“So Scootaloo, did you get his post address?
“When are ya’ll goin’ on a date?”
“I bet Rarity could make you a nice wedding dress.”
“An’ Ah’m sure ya could use t’ farm to get married.”
“Guys, shut up! It was just some silly colt kissing my hand! I mean, I know I’m awesome and all that, but I don’t need this getting out! Can you imagine what Rainbow Dash would say if she saw that?”
“I’d probably be asking the same questions!” The pegasus filly let out a small scream as she spun around, finding the mare in question standing just outside the café’s tables. There were several pegasi stood with her, mares and stallions alike, all wearing the same outfits. “Hey Gray, Celestia. Having fun with these three?”
“Heya Skittles! Yeah, they’re not too bad.” The rest of her group began snickering at the nickname, and the man ignored the glare being thrown his way. Choosing to ignore him, Dash walked over and sat next to Scootaloo, pulling her close.
“So, what’s the problem?”
“That… was so uncool… and you saw it!”
“I thought it was sweet. Scoots, you’re a very pretty filly, so use it. Don’t make me tell your parents instead…”
“NO! I’ll tell them!” Some of the group had followed her into the cafe, and Gray noted that one of the stallions kept his gaze on the pegasus mare. He waved him over and whispered into his ear, the stallion giving a chuckle and a nod. Dash finished her chat with the filly, gave her a small squeeze, and another glare at Gray as she left.
The group turned one of the corners, and the mare’s voice hit the man’s ears, her tone clearly angry. “NO, YOU CAN’T ‘TASTE MY RAINBOW!’ The sound of a slap echoing followed, as well as a large group of ponies laughing. Gray turned back to Celestia with a chuckle, who was staring at him with a raised eyebrow.
“Inside joke. Now then, what shall we do next with the fillies?”
“Well… we’ve gotten them some new toys and clothes… how about a new mane style, and perhaps some make up lessons at the city spa?”
“The Canterlot Crown Resort? Yes! I mean… uh, sure. Sounds fun.” All of the group turned and smirked at Scootaloo, who tried to pretend she didn’t say that. The guards, who had just returned at the right time, couldn’t help but chuckle at the pegasus filly’s statements. Gray looked at one of them and he nodded. They must have all been close enough to see how she had dealt with the crowd the trio had attracted.
”WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT? YOU CALL THAT IRONED? WHAT WITH, A BRICK? YOU ARE A DISEASE! WHAT ARE YOU?”
“A DISEASE, SERGEANT!” Gray couldn't help but chuckle at the way the earth pony stallion, much larger than Dean, seemed to cower from the man as he stood in front of him. Three days into the second week of their training meant it was time to step up their game. Flash Sentry took them on a several miles long run each morning, the Marine tagging along. He seemed to be getting faster each time as well.
“YES, A DISEASE! DO NOT TURN INTO A VIRUS AND INFECT THOSE AROUND YOU! SORT YOUR SHIT OUT!”
“YES, SERGEANT!” Dean stepped back from the recruit, shaking his head and moving to the next pony in line. They had a week to perfect their uniforms before this inspection, which dictated whether or not they would be going on leave for the weekend. So far, none of them were, but that was to be expected. Gray had already done the line of recruits in the Lunar Armour, Dean inspecting the ones in the Solar Armour.
It made things easier, inspecting the other half. The two men had spent the past Sunday getting used to the uniform themselves, after all, it wouldn’t pay to do an inspection with their own uniforms looking like a bag of shit, so they had to get theirs perfect. This was marred by being tasked with looking after the three fillies as well.
Hence why, that Monday morning, the two men were once more sat in the back of the briefing room, this time sound asleep, right up until lunch. Dean continued down the last few recruits, jotting down small items in his notebook. Once at the end he turned back and walked up to Blueblood, who was stood next to Flash and Gray, to deliver his report. “Not too bad, but a few of them need more practice. They could all do with it really, maybe a day's worth.”
The unicorn stallion nodded, Gray's report being quite similar, and with that he stepped forward. “Most of you are at an acceptable level, which is a good thing.” A small murmur ran down the line, stopping as Dean stepped forward slightly, Blueblood continuing. “That said, there are some of you that need the extra push. Therefore, your leave this weekend is cancelled. Now before you start griping, it is the recommendation of the sergeants that you only require one extra day of training, so do well and you can have Sunday off.”
“Right, Lunar Guards! Fall out to the classroom!” The line of ponies turned and ran towards the doors, Dean turning and following them. Gray's half turned and began marching towards the armoury, having their weapons lesson that afternoon. The man nodded to the two ponies and walked away, heading to the range. His gun was slung over his shoulder, as all active personnel had standing orders to be armed at all times.
The only reason the recruits weren't was because they hadn't passed their weapon proficiency tests. He planned to have them passed by Friday.
Joy glanced around warily as she was escorted through the lower levels of the residential quarters belonging to the mine. She did her best to ignore the catcalls and wolf whistles, but some of the suggestions made her shiver. One of the guards slammed a truncheon against the bars of one cell as the pony inside tried to reach for the mare, so they hurried her away. She knew what these were, having never wanted to believe that such ponies could exist, even though she knew they did. Murderers, rapists... and worse, the lowest of the low.
Having seen her fair share of victims she was glad they were stuck down here away from society. Most of them would die down here, but she was with the majority of the Equestrians, believing that their punishments were justified. She shook the thoughts from her head as she and her escorts emerged into what was once a dining hall, a large area of the floor recently redecorated red. “Over there, ma'am.”
Joy looked over to where the lead guard was pointing, seeing why she had been summoned in the first place. Normally the criminals were left to suffer, but the one with his head resting on the wall, his one eye closed, was not like most of the other ponies in the mine. She walked over and set her bag down, clicking her fingers to get his attention. His eye flickered open and focused on the mare, before he gave a sigh. “I thought I said no to this?”
“I know, sir, but Warden insisted.”
“Hmph, I'll have a word with him later. Joy, you can go.”
“Go? With at least three deep cuts to your chest, two to your back, and one to your face?” Alec just raised an eyebrow at her, then shook his head. “I'm a nurse, remember? Now, hold still, this is going to sting.” The stallion winced as she placed a cotton swab doused in antiseptic liquid on his chest, rubbing it along his wounds. “What happened here?”
“A fight.” That was all he would say, so she glanced over at the guard, who nodded at her. Once cleaned, she bandaged the wounds and helped the stallion stand. He grabbed the spare shirt offered to him with a grunt. Joy followed him as he left the room, up several flights of stairs, and Alec slammed open a door to an office. The pony inside almost fell out of his chair as he gave a surprised yelp. “Why did you call for a nurse?”
“You’re injured, why wouldn’t I?”
“You don’t for the others.”
“Well, they’re criminals, and you’re…”
“Here as one of them. That means I expect the same treatment. Do you know what happens in prisons to those that receive special treatment from the guards?” The stallion behind the desk, whom Joy assumed was this ‘Warden’, shook his head, causing Alec to sigh. “I didn’t think so. Tell all of your guards this, I just want to serve my sentence.”
“Very well, sir. I just hope you know what you’re saying here…” Alec gave him a nod and left the room. Joy followed him once more, watching as he grabbed some tools and made his way to a rock with glowing green veins. He hefted a pickaxe and hit the hard surface, wincing slightly, and she was immediately by his side.
“I think you should rest fir…”
“No. Thanks, Joy, I’ll be fine now. Oh, and please don’t tell Luna about this. I don’t want her going back on my sentence.” The mare gave him a nod, then turned and walked up to the guards waiting to escort her back out. She gave one final glance over her shoulder at the stubborn stallion, shaking her head with a sigh as they began the walk to the surface.
She had to blink a few times in the evening light when she stepped outside, and a voice to her side drew her attention. “How is he?” Dean was waiting for her, leaning back against the wall. She walked over and took his hand, squeezing gently, and then tugged him to the mine’s exit. “Joy?”
She waited until they were clear of the large doors, before laying her head upon his shoulder with another sigh. “He’s fine, still as stubborn as ever. Dean, don’t say anything to Luna about this… please.” He stopped their walk and pulled the mare in front of him, wrapping his arms around her back and kissing her forehead.
“My lips are sealed.”
“So… how does it work?” Metamorphosis chuckled as the diamond dog ran her claw through the fur on his chest. It made his entrance into their mines easier in this form, and of course, he was getting some love energy from the bitch snuggled against his side. And then something else crossed his mind. “We’ve been allies for almost two weeks now… what is your name?”
“Name is Dido. And it works well. We have more ponies now. Come, look.” Metamorphosis could only grin as she stood from the bed, her clothing remaining discarded on the floor, and walked over to a large window. He followed a moment later, wrapping his arms around her chest from behind and lightly nipping at the back of her neck, causing her to give a small yelp and press back against him. “Look, down there.”
His gaze followed her outstretched arm, where a group of clean looking ponies were being dragged along by a few of the guard diamond dogs. Their wrists and ankles were shackled, and they were led to an empty area. The lead guard thrust a pickaxe at the first pony, then pushed her towards the rock wall.
At first she refused, but the dog just ht her hard, causing the mare to fall to the floor, moving to the next one. He followed instruction with a bowed head, helping the mare to her feet as he passed. Soon the group was at work, two guards left to watch over them. “They look like city ponies. Did you get them on the road or something?”
“They city ponies. We walk into pony city, and took them at night. They will provide good labour.” She turned around and pushed Metamorphosis backwards, her claws around his waist, until he fell back down into a sitting position on the bed. “Now… you need more love.” She pressed forward and connected their muzzles, pushing him onto his back with a low growl.