//------------------------------// // Chapter 17 // Story: Rune Cascade // by Valtyra //------------------------------// “Twilight, are you up?” Frederick asked knocking on her door, “Rarity is here, we have an appointment in the,” he paused. “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Frederick thought. “Spa,” he finished. Looking rather annoyed at Rarity. “I’m sorry dear, it’s where I normally go to relax,” she explained. “If you wanted to do something else you could have told me before hoof.” She then got up and stood in front of the door, “Twilight darling, let’s hurry up!” The sound of hoof-steps on wood sounded through the door and the lock unlatched. Twilight opened the door, but couldn’t bring herself to look at Frederick. Instead she moved towards Rarity and hugged her, “It’s nice of you to let me join.” “Nonsense dear, you are family,” Rarity beamed as she made her way downstairs with Twilight next to her. Frederick slowly followed, slightly feeling left out and hurt. He knew Twilight wasn’t angry because he stayed, it was because it was too early in the relationship for that sort of stuff. Frederick only had a rough reservation about the species barrier, but that soon came crashing down when he understood they were as intelligent, sometimes even more so, as Humans. Eventually the group made it to the entrance of the spa and walked in. The outside looked like any other building on the street. But the inside was a completely different universe. The walls were painted hot pink, tropical plants were placed around the area, giving the room an exotic feel. Even the chairs looked surprisingly modern. “Ah, welcome Miss Rarity, I see you have brought guests,” Aloe said, smiling and nodding to Twilight and Frederick. “Indeed, can I use my loyalty card for them?” Rarity asked, levitating said card out and passing it to Aloe. “You may, just step on through and we can begin.” “Come on, let’s relax,” Rarity said, rushing for the divider that lead into the spa. Frederick followed behind, with Twilight. They walked into the other room in silence. Frederick looked down and opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when he couldn’t make any sound come out. Twilight’s mind frantically searched for something to say, anything that would distract from the growing awkwardness. It wasn’t like it was her fault last night, she wasn’t thinking straight; it was obvious that it was too early for that, right? A stylish pair of towels caught her eyes and she blurted out, “White towels,” without thinking. Face hoofing, she shook her head, “Stupid Twilight, that’s not helping,” she chastised herself. Frederick looked down in confusion, “Are you okay?” He asked, hoping she wouldn’t shout at him. ““-yes,” Twilight replied, quite embarrassed. Frederick stopped and looked about once they had entered the room. It had the same paint as before, but it was a lot larger. Inside were various massage tables, some already holding ponies, there was a large hot tub in the middle of the room, easily able to hold more than ten ponies and what Frederick guessed was a hooficure table. Rarity waved her hoof and shouted, “Over here!” The pair walked over and saw her standing next to a pony that looked like the exact opposite of aloe. “What are we doing first?” Frederick asked, taking a glance at some steam that was flowing from under a nearby door. “I suggest the Steam Room first, it’s great for your pores,” Rarity grinned, excited about sharing her time with friends, “Oh Twilight, how about you get a hornicure first, then join us.” “I don’t mind getting one later,” Twilight said, unsure why Rarity would suggest that. “Don’t argue dear, now go.” Rarity shooed Twilight away and turned to Frederick, “come on darling, we have things to discuss.” Frowning, Frederick followed Rarity over to the steam room door, “Take your clothes off in there,” she pointed to an adjacent door, “and then meet me inside.” She pushed the door open and walked into the room, the sound of boiling water could be heard. Frederick pushed the door open, locking it afterwards and proceeded to take his clothes off. He placed them inside a small hole in the wall and took the towel out, wrapping it around his waist; fortunately it was slightly longer than most towels and reached to just below his knees. Unlocking the door, he turned and went inside the steam room. He scanned the area and found Rarity sitting against the back wall, slightly obscured by the mist. Other than Rarity, the room was deserted; something that Frederick was thankful for. Sitting down beside her, Frederick turned and asked, “What was so important that Twilight couldn’t be here?” “What did you do?” Rarity replied, a slight tone of annoyance evident. “What do you mean?” Frederick was surprised by the rapid change in her demeanour from nice to accusing. “You two are not talking. I know Twilight well enough to know she wouldn’t go a day without apologising for something she did; which means you must have done something.” Frederick sighed, he didn’t want to explain but he couldn’t see a way out; Rarity would say something to her friends and he would be labelled wrong. “Here’s what happened,” he said, explaining the night before. Rarity’s expression changed from one of annoyance, to romance. Near the end, her expression was surprisingly neutral. “Either she’s had practise at listening to stories like this, or she can relate,” Frederick thought to himself. “Well, I have to apologise. I got the whole thing wrong, can you forgive me for being so rude?” Rarity asked with an apologetic expression. “Of course, you were only looking out for Twilight after all,” he said, smiling. “Remember, I would never intentionally hurt her.” “I know that now, I just thought,” she paused, “never mind.” Frederick shrugged, “I just don’t know what to say to make it better, and it’s so awkward now. “I know that feeling,” Rarity mumbled. She placed a hoof on his shoulder, “If I were you, I’d just apologise. Now I know it’s no pony’s fault, just natural chemistry, but trust me when I say it will clear the air and you can move past this.” “If you say so, she was acting strange yesterday; I think she isn’t sure about us, not as much as I am...” “She’s had a mixed week, some doubt is natural. I’m surprised you haven’t had any actually,” Rarity replied, tilting her head slightly. “I did, in the beginning... ponies were asking me about it, before we got together; I would deny and refuse,” Frederick chuckled, “She was so scared, in that cell, how could I not.” Rarity nodded, “As I said, just apologise.” “Alright, I’ll have to be alone with her though.” “No problem, I’ll leave you two alone when she arrives; don’t mess it up,” she warned. “I don’t plan to.” A few minutes passed by in relative silence, only the sound of water evaporating echoed inside the room. Twilight pushed the door open and looked about for Rarity and Frederick. She found them against the back wall and trotted over. Rarity saw her come in and nodded to Frederick. He nodded back and she stepped down from the wooden bench and past Twilight, giving her a loving smile. Twilight stopped and turned to see Rarity leave the room, “What did she do?” Twilight though as she trotted up to Frederick, “aren’t you following?” She asked. “Twi, we have to talk,” Frederick said, tapping the bench next to him. Twilight hesitated, but sat down. She waited for him to say something, but as the seconds ticked by, her hope was fading. Frederick coughed into his hand and nodded to himself. He turned and took Twilight’s hoof into his hand, “Twilight, about last night, I’m sorry,” he declared. Carrying on, he looked her in the eyes, “I know now that I should have left; I can’t stand this anymore.” “No, it was my fault. I lost myself to you, I promised I wouldn’t do anything; I turned into something else and it scared me...” “Twi,” he held his hand out and cupped her cheek, “can we move on?” She leaned into his hand and sighed, she loved it when he held her cheek. “I’d like that. I’ll try and not get so, excited, when you touch my horn.” Frederick glanced to her horn, it looked smoother than usual and just a bit sharper, “I must say, it does look good...” he winked. Twilight smiled, “They are good here, didn’t scratch it once.” Frederick nodded, “Shall we go? I’m sure Rarity is waiting for us outside.” “Okay.” The pair stepped off the bench and walked side by side out of the room. Twilight weaved her tail around Frederick’s leg, showing other ponies that he was hers and they were together. Rarity heard the door open and looked over. She saw Twilight’s tail and grinned, her idea worked. She honestly thought he wouldn’t be willing to swallow his pride as a male and apologise. But was, for once, pleasantly wrong. She trotted over, “I booked the hot tub,” she said, looking up at Frederick, “I hope that’s alright, I know you like your privacy.” Rarity gave a sheepish smile. “Don’t worry about it,” Frederick replied, placing a hand on Twilight’s withers, “I can control myself around you lovely ladies,” He grinned. The girls rolled their eyes and moved over to the hot tub. Frederick climbed in first, quickly sliding into the warm water and dropping the towel nearby. Twilight and Rarity slid in. Twilight close to Frederick, her face blushing slightly from the physical contact. Rarity sat opposite and relaxed, closing her eyes and dipping under the water. She resurfaced, her hair sticking to her slender frame. Sighing, she opened her eyes and looked at Frederick. “Somepony was looking for you a couple of days ago. Some mare called Smart Glass.” “Oh, yeah. I saw her yesterday. She was worried we weren’t going to research anymore...” “Oh good, what are you researching? Is it like Twilight’s research?” “Uh not really.” Frederick held his hand up, “this, is what I’m doing.” Rarity grimaced at the flecks of crystal embedded in his hand, “does it hurt?” She asked. “Not anymore, not since...” he paused, “not anymore, in fact, my ability for magic has gone up.” “That’s great!” Rarity smiled. “Indeed, now Twilight can help me learn some spells.” “Well, I don’t know if I can teach you... I doubt I’d be a good teacher,” Twilight said. “Of course you will, I know it,” Frederick assured her, “in fact, you can help me with a spell I’m learning now.” “You started already?” Twilight asked. “Yeah, yesterday,” he replied with a grin. Frederick remembered the formula for the shield, then cast it in front of him. Twilight’s eyes widened with glee, “you did this in one day?” She asked, excited. “Well, a couple of hours. Before cooking you dinner.” “It’s beautiful,” Rarity complimented, smiling at the two ponies opposite. “I knew they are meant to be,” she thought. “This is only one, once I’ve practiced, I can make multiple.” Frederick explained as he de-cast the shield. “I can’t wait to teach you now,” Twilight whispered, leaning in for a kiss. Pulling back, Frederick smiled. “I hope you will be a fair teacher, Miss Sparkle.” “Say it again,” Twilight purred, moving closer. “Miss, Sparkle,” Frederick whispered, his voice deep. “Ahem,” Rarity coughed, knowing where this would go if not stopped. The pair pulled away from each other, embarrassment showing. “Sorry Rare,” Twilight apologised, “I got carried away.” “Yeah, sorry.” Frederick agreed. “That’s ok, I can relate; in fact I kind of miss losing myself in some ponies eyes,” Rarity sighed with a faraway look. “Rarity?” Frederick asked, “You ok there?” She shook her head, “huh, oh yes.” She sighed, “I think it’s time for our massages now.” She stood up and left the hot tub, tying up her hair with a spare mane band. Twilight and Frederick looked at each other, not needing to really say anything. Twilight kissed him and left the hot tub, allowing Frederick to cover up. They dried themselves and walked over to the massage tables. There was a red coated, blue mane pony sitting next to the tables. She looked over and stood up. “Three for massages?” She asked, hopeful. “Yes please, the full works,” Rarity replied, climbing onto the nearest table and laying on her stomach. Twilight and Frederick did the same. Two other ponies walked over, holding bottles of oil. They walked up to the tables and opened the bottles, spraying the oil onto the group’s backs. They put the bottles down and rubbed their hooves together. Stepping into a special harness, designed to keep them in place, they reached up and started pushing against their backs. Frederick didn’t know what to think of this. He thought it would be uncomfortable with their hooves being hard, but this wasn’t; their hooves were as soft as cotton. They pressed down and he heard a small crack as his back suddenly felt amazing. “Wow, how are you walking with this much stress?” The masseuse asked, kneading his back muscles. She was having a surprisingly hard time, with him being a larger build than a pony. Frederick laughed, “I got used to it.” He grunted, as the masseuse pushed him back down. “I suggest you find some way to relax during the week, this much tension isn’t good for you.” “Noted.” Twilight looked like she was enjoying herself as her masseuse kneaded her back. She had her eyes closed, with a small smile on her lips. Frederick stared at her, taking in her features. She opened her eyes and smiled, catching him watching her. Rarity sighed, content; she was happy for sister, Twilight. But even though she was the element of generosity, she was still a little jealous of them. She hadn’t had a special somepony in almost two years; for her, that amount of time was unacceptable. The masseuses pulled back, moving the harness down the table and started on every pony’s legs. They felt the muscles and kneaded, loosening them up. Eventually, they stopped and unclipped the harnesses. “We’re done,” Frederick’s masseuse said. Frederick nodded and made sure he was covered before leaving the table. He noticed the oil had been absorbed quite quickly, leaving a bronze shine behind on his skin. The group walked out of the spa feeling relaxed and reinvigorated. Rarity turned to Frederick and Twilight, “It’s been great, but I have orders to complete.” “Alright, maybe we can meet up again soon,” Frederick replied, leaning down and hugging her. “I’ll see you soon, take care,” Twilight said, hugging her as well, “sis.” Rarity beamed, “Tata, for now.” The pair watched Rarity trot away towards her house. Once out of sight, they started towards the library. They walked through Ponyville marketplace. Ponies walking past waved and greeted them, their nervousness about Frederick having faded to nothing; some ponies though glared and actively moved away, mumbling obscenities under their breaths. “It feels so good to not have any pony stare at me,” he said, glancing at Twilight, choosing to ignore the others. “I can imagine, sometimes ponies will stare at me, usually tourists,” she replied, rubbing up against his leg. They made it to the library and Frederick unlocked the door, holding it open for Twilight. “Thank you,” she said, smiling up at him. He followed her and sat down on the sofa, sighing as he slowly stretched himself out. Twilight trotted into the kitchen and clicked the kettle. “What do you want to do, for the rest of the day?” She asked, pouring some milk. “I was thinking of learning some more magic,” he replied. Frederick turned around and saw Twilight walk slowly out of the kitchen, staring at him. “You alright?” He asked, slightly freaked out at her behaviour. “Can I teach you?” She asked, her smile growing. “Uh, well I guess so.” Frederick stood up and went to his room. Twilight watched him return with some books in his hands. “This is the book I used before,” he said, holding it out for her. “Oh, this one... there should be a new edition around her somewhere.” Twilight trotted over to the section that Frederick took the book from and started to browse the shelves. It took a few minutes but she found it, “here, this one can go back,” she said, taking the old book and placing it back on the shelf. She turned to Frederick, “Shall we get started?” “Sure, shall I re-read what I’ve memorised,” he asked, following her back out into their lounge. “I don’t think that will be necessary, sit down,” she ordered, pointing at the dining table. Blinking in confusion, Frederick sat at the table and opened the book to the page he was learning. With the book open, he looked up and waited for Twilight to start. Standing there Twilight thought about the best way to teach him. She thought about how she would teach Rarity a new spell, “I can’t so that...” she muttered, shaking her head; she’d have to show the spell happening and can’t because of her injury. Getting annoyed at not being having a teaching plan, she turned around and breathed in and out, calming herself down. Then it came to her, how about she just explain the spell and then help him cast. “Oh Twilight, you are a genius...” she mumbled, rubbing her hooves together. Frederick sat there watching Twilight talk to herself with slight amusement. He knew it wasn’t right for anyone to do that, but couldn’t criticise because he did it himself. Twilight turned around and walked over to the chair opposite to Frederick and sat down. “Show me,” she asked. Frederick brought up the formula in his mind and cast the spell, willing the magic out of his hand. The magic materialised and a small hexagonal construct appeared in the middle of the table. It floated there silently, giving off a bright purple aura. “Back at the spa, it was multi-coloured,” Twilight stated, “why is it purple now?” Because, I was thinking of you when I cast it,” Frederick replied, smiling. Twilight blushed. She coughed into a hoof and said, “Let’s carry on before I need to kiss you.” Frederick grinned and nodded, “Yes Miss Sparkle.” “Ok, well... you can change how hard or soft the construct is buy using different parts for the formulae.” Suddenly remembering she didn’t have anything to write on. She got out of her seat and rushed upstairs. She returned carrying a small blackboard and a pencil. “Really selling the teacher act I see,” Frederick joked. “I want to see you after class for a punishment,” Twilight replied with a sly grin. She wrote up the normal formula and turned to Frederick, “Now, you can use this to make the construct harder, though you will use more magic,” she explained while writing up a small formula underneath. “Or you can use this to make it softer.” She wrote up another section and underlined it. “I want you to try to make it softer,” she said, returning to her seat, “Remember, you don’t add those sections, you replace.” Frederick nodded and looked at the additional formula sections. He closed his eyes and imagined the original broken up. He then removed one section and replaces it with the one to make .the construct softer. “Well done!” Twilight shouted, clopping her hooves together. She poked the construct and grinned as it stretched and bent. “You’re a fast learner I see,” she complimented raising an eyebrow. Sure, the time in the hospital may have increased his magic, but for him to learn this fast meant there should be natural talent in him. If this was the case, Twilight would be over the moon with happiness; she would be able to teach him almost everything she knew. “Alright now make it harder,” she ordered, hiding her excitement. Frederick went through the motions again. Opening his eyes, he saw the construct froze in place, not moving when Twilight touched it. “This is great, now let’s try something harder than the basics...” she said, grinning. She got out of the chair and wrote up a two pieced formula. The first part was longer than the hex one. Frederick looked at it, then Twilight. “Are you crazy, I can’t do that?” “Correction, you can’t do it in one go,” she said, nodding her head. “This is what some unicorns call, a slow cast spell.” “What does that mean?” Frederick asked, slowly reading the spell. “It means, that instead of what you are doing with the shied, this spell is cast in stages,” Twilight explained. “This spell is an example of a very basic foresight spell.” “Wait... you have spells that let you see into the future?” He asked, not knowing if he should be scared or amazed, “how come everything hasn’t screwed up?” “Well, just read the formula. Only certain ponies would even attempt to cast one, it takes that much magic.” “Have you?” “Not yet, I haven’t had the time.” Twilight said, shrugging. Frederick started laughing. “What’s so funny?” Twilight asked. “You haven’t had the time... I love how nonchalantly you said that.” He said chuckling. Twilight rolled her eyes and joined in, laughing as well. “Alright, we won’t try it today... this is your homework.” “Wait, what?” Frederick asked, as he stopped laughing, fast. “Yup, you will have a week to learn it.” Twilight gave a sly smile and moved closer. She climbed up onto Frederick’s chair and straddled him, “maybe, I’ll give a reward if you do good...” she purred into his ear, her warm breath giving him shivers. “Miss Twilight, you are trying to seduce me.” Frederick grinned and leaned forwards, wrapping his arms around her, then picked her up. “Whoa!” She laughed. As she gripped Frederick’s shoulders with her hooves. He walked over to the sofa and sat down. He released her and she slid down onto his lap. He sat there, stroking her back and looking in her eyes; he loved those eyes. “What are you thinking?” Twilight asked as she wrapped her tail around his leg. She leaned in and nuzzled his cheek, feeling more relaxed by the second. “I want to know you better,” Frederick said. He moved his hand down and held her hooves, giving her a loving look. “What would you like to know?” Twilight asked, her tail tightening around his leg; letting him know she was enjoying this. “What was your past like? You said you were born in Canterlot,” he asked. “Why are you living in Ponyville?” Twilight didn’t say anything for a few seconds, then nodded. “It was three years ago... during the one thousandth summer sun celebration. I read that Nightmare Moon was to return and sent a letter to the Princess.” “Nightmare Moon?” Frederick asked, not having heard the name before. “Oh yeah. Princess Luna was banished to the moon for a thousand years because she was jealous of her sister and make it eternal night,” Twilight explained in a sombre tone. She then smiled, “But now, she’s all better because of the Elements of Harmony.” “Anyway, I sent the letter, but the Princess didn’t seem to believe me, or she was lying... it seems possible. She sent me here to make sure the celebration went smoothly.” “I met my friends and then, during the celebration, Nightmare Moon showed up.” Frederick sat there his entire attention spent listening to his mare friend. Twilight smiled and continued, “My friends and I went into the Everfree forest, fell down a cliff, met a Manticore, a sea serpent and then made it to the castle of the two pony sisters.” Frederick blinked and noted to ask her about all of that later. “Go on...” he said, squeezing her hooves. She nodded, “we got inside and didn’t know what to do... then Moon turned up and tried to take the stones that we thought were the Elements.” “Wait... the Elements are, what exactly?” “Us, or more specifically by me and my friends are the embodiment of them. Applejack is Honesty, Rainbow Dash is Loyalty, Pinkie Pie is Laughter, Fluttershy is Kindness, Rarity is Generosity and I’m magic.” Twilight beamed, as she waited for Frederick to respond. She hoped it didn’t come off as too egotistical. She didn’t want to freak Frederick out. He stared at her, his mind processing the new information. “Wow,” he muttered, causing Twilight to laugh. “You’re amazing,” he said, making her blush. “I’m not that special, I only did what any pony would do.” She mumbled. Her heart fluttering as he said that. “No, you did that, no one else,” he said, “that sounds pretty amazing to me.” Twilight blushed, “I guess it was...” she said, before she kissed Frederick. She pulled back and finished the story, explaining how she helped to stop Nightmare and turn her back into Princess Luna. “Why did you only get a window for essentially saving a Princess?” Frederick asked. “You saw my parent’s house...” “Your parents got that?” He said, not believing it. “Yeah, I asked the Princess to build it for them. We didn’t live in the best place... it was in the lower district.” Twilight explained, a sad look on her face. “Hey, it’s in the past, no need to dwell on it anymore.” Frederick cupped her cheek and stroked her coat with his thumb, seeing her relax. “I know.” Twilight sighed, she knew that it was the right thing to do at the time, they were her family. “Let’s talk about something else...” “Sure,” Frederick nodded. “How about we carry on with our research?” He suggested, looking over to where his tools sat, in the middle of the room, “we have kind of neglected it.” “I guess we have,” Twilight agreed. She nodded and leaned down. She laid herself on top of Frederick and relaxed. “Should we find Smart Glass and tell Princess Luna?” “I guess so, unless you think we can do it ourselves, “He shrugged, not really wanting to get up and leave the warmth of Twilight’s body. “We only need to sort out the crystals so that it’s easier to start.” “I suppose we don’t need them here... maybe we could invite them round for dinner, what do you think?” Twilight pulled back and looked at him, trying to find out his reaction. Frederick looked at her with a small smirk, “You know, I’m the one that would have to take...” he shook his head when Twilight pouted and ran her hoof over his chest, “fine... but we will need to go shopping, we don’t have any edible food now.” Twilight grinned and kissed him, “I knew you were the best.” “I know I am, it’s just nice to hear it from you.” “Yeah yeah, eat it up,” she joked, kissing him again, with more passion. ,”mmm, what time should we invite them round?” Frederick moved his hands to her thighs and squeezed, making her tighten her tail and push him back into the sofa. “I’d say about eight,” she said, panting slightly. Frederick grinned, “Alright, that gives us a couple of hours to...” he paused and leaned forwards against Twilights protests and pushing hooves. He leaned in and whispered into her ear, “Learn magic...” Twilight couldn’t stop herself and pushed her lips against his, making him fall back. He had found her weakness and exploited it, but for some reason she didn’t care. ___ A few hours later, they removed themselves from the sofa and stretched. “I’ll go and find Smart, can you tell Luna?” Frederick asked. “Sure, I just have to find Spike, I’m sure he’s here somewhere...” “Try Rarity’s, he’s probably with Sweetie,” Frederick said, a smile making its way onto his lips. “Will do, I’ll see you in a bit,” Twilight shouted, watching Frederick open the door, “missing you already!” She blurted out, blushing madly. She turned around and his her face. Frederick stood there at the door for a few seconds. He didn’t expect to hear that from her, but it made him feel warm inside; it made him feel wanted. Walking outside, he noticed less ponies about than usual for this time of day. Shaking off the feeling that something was wrong; telling himself he was being paranoid, he made his way over to the nearest inn and opened the door. Inside, he looked about. The room was lit by a large fireplace that illuminated the various ponies sat at their tables in the middle of the room. Off to the side, near the door was the front desk; a light blue coated earth pony sat there, looking disinterested in the magazine she was reading. “Hi there,” Frederick greeted, walking up to the desk, “I’m looking for a mare called Smart Glass, does she rent a room here?” The pony looked up and recoiled upon seeing Frederick. “What in Tartarus are you?” She said nervously. She looked him over and something clicked, “Oh... you’re that thing that’s rutting the librarian...” “The hell did you say?” Frederick asked in disbelief, not feeling the air lose its warmth. “I’m just saying, I’d never peg her for a crossbr-” The mare started choking as Frederick picked her up by her throat using his magic. “Don’t you ever say that about her?” He shouted, dropping the mare. He turned around and left the building before he did anything more dangerous. Standing outside, he looked around and focused, letting his anger flow out of himself. “It’s only one pony, not everyone is like that…” he told himself, only partially believing it. He shivered and did his jacket up. Looking about, Frederick found a couple of ponies standing about near the fountain and walked over. “Hi...”he said, hoping they wouldn’t insult him or his mare friend. “Hello,” one of the ponies greeted; a beige coated, fuchsia and cobalt mane earth pony. She turned to her friend, “Say hi, Lyra,” she said, glaring at her. “Yeah, Hi... freak,” Lyra said, scoffing at Frederick then looking away. He was starting to get confused, normally Ponyville was a friendly place, but now... he had only gone for about a week and it had changed this much. “Where’s the other inns around town?” Frederick asked, trying to be as polite as possible, he didn’t want to be arrested again, or worse thrown out of town. “Don’t answer that, Bon-Bon. It’s a trick, it wants our souls...” Lyra explained, only receiving a nod from Bon-Bon. “I see...” she said, before turning to Frederick, “I’m sorry about her, she’s been angry since yesterday and she won’t say why.” Bon-Bon looked around and pointed over to a road, “the only other inn is down there, you can’t miss it.” Frederick nodded, “Thank you for not insulting me, it makes a change.” He chuckled and turned to Lyra, “I hope you sort out whatever made you angry, it’s not worth it.” “Whatever, freak,” Lyra replied. Frederick sighed and made his way down the road towards the inn. He didn’t notice the layer of frost that coated his shoes fade away. Opening the door to the inn, he took a deep breath and walked in, really hoping they would be cooperative with him. He saw Smart sitting at a table near the corner, eating some soup. Walking over, he noticed that there were some ponies having arguments, not aggressive, but falling out over petty things. This only added further to his confusion, but he decided to note it for later. “Hi Smart,” Frederick greeted. She looked up and smiled, placing her spoon down. “Ah Frederick, how are you?” She asked. Moving the second chair out, he sat down. “I’m alright, ponies have been acting strange though.” “Tell me about it. Some pony tried to argue with me, guess why?” Smart asked, grinning. “Why?” Frederick asked, curious. “He started arguing, because I’m a unicorn, how racist is that!” “Wow, what did you do?” “I did what any self-respecting pony would do and hit him. He went out in one, the lightweight,” she chuckled. Frederick joined in and laughed. “Alright, we should get on to why I’m here,” he said. “We are having dinner in a bit and wondered if you’d like to join us?” “Me, why would you want me there?” Smart asked, genuinely confused. “Why wouldn’t we want you there?” Frederick grinned. “Princess Luna will be there, plus afterwards we can start our research, it’s perfect.” “You’re cooking for the princess?” Smart shouted, making all the ponies in the room turn towards them. Frederick glared at her, then turned to the others, “I mean my mare friend, and she’s a princess to me.” Some of the ponies rolled their eyes and turned back around, a few "aww”s could be heard as well. The rest of the ponies shook their heads, annoyed at not being able to see a Princess. “You have got to stop doing that,” Frederick said. Smart gave a sheepish smile, “Sorry...” “Never mind, so you’ll come?” He asked, hoping she would say yes. “Sure, what time?” Smart grinned and moves the soup over, “the food isn’t great here anyway.” “It starts at eight don’t be late.” Frederick got up from the chair and pushed it back in. “I’ll see you there.” “I’m looking forward to it!” She shouted, watching Frederick walk out of the building.