//------------------------------// // Keep pushing... // Story: Rise of Sunbutt the Awesome // by BobAlcove //------------------------------// The next morning… If you could say something nice about Blueblood, it was that he had a knack for choosing high quality items and that he wasn’t satisfied with half-assed efforts, a fact from which Luna now profited greatly. In the morning she had entered the large bathroom of the ship and was astonished about how well equipped it was. There was a large bathtub which easily had room for three ponies of her size and opposite from it a large shower stall with milky glass doors. She rummaged through the huge selection of oils and shampoos, but settled for a simple lavender scented soap for her bathwater. Luna took off her accessories when the bathtub was filled to the brim and turned the faucet off. Luna slid slowly into the hot water, savouring the jolt of warmth which encased her whole body. She could already feel her muscles relaxing and took a deep breath. Usually she wouldn’t take such a extravagant bath so early in the morning, but Luna decided after last night she deserved to relax. And by Tartarus, she needed it! The implications of their little improv ball and dream kiss had hit her later, once she was out of the dream and back in her room. And Luna nearly had a nervous breakdown. It was inconceivable for Luna that Tia would have any romantic feelings towards her. Yet, they had been so close to engage in tongue wrestling with each other. It didn’t matter for Luna that it was only in a dream. In that moment she would have loved to kiss her sister, throwing any morality and hesitation overboard. That notion frightened and intrigued her at the same time. Her sister was without a doubt an attractive mare, the radiant smile, her stellar figure, the brilliant white coat and the beauty of her prismatic mane. Any pony who wouldn’t be attracted to her physically should get their eyes checked. That wasn’t the main reason for Luna though. The reasons for the newfound affection for her sister ran deeper than mere physical attraction. Reasons she didn’t know herself and that was the frightening part. She closed her eyes, sinking deeper in the hot water and dozed off. Her slightly sleepy state was responsible, that she didn’t notice the water ripple when a large body joined her in the bathtub. Frank was in a pretty good mood, despite the fact he got cheated out of his make out session. After making a noticeable dent in his room floor on that evening and lying there in self-pity, Frank finally remembered a little detail about their encounter. The fact that he had a possibility to kiss her to begin with! Luna had been interested, and there was a chance for it to become more. That was all the encouragement Frank needed. Luna opened an eye when something poked her thigh under the water, and she screeched like a banshee. “Tia?! What are you doing in here?” yelled Luna, covering herself with her hooves. She took them away though once she noticed the amused look of Frank and realised the futility of her action. Luna saw the two champagne glasses and the large bottle he had brought with him. The bottle opened magically and Frank poured the sparkling liquid into the glasses. One of them levitated to her and she grabbed it with her own magic. “I thought we could spend some quality time together. There’s nothing wrong with that, is it?” said Frank and raised his glass. Frank was about to drink from it, when a blue aura appeared around it and cancelled his own. The glasses and the big bottle levitated away from him and Frank looked into Luna’s disapproving eyes. “Tia it’s eight in the morning, don’t you think that’s a bit early for drinking?” said Luna, putting a hoof on his chest, “I noticed you drink a lot lately and that worries me. I know it’s fun to let loose once in a while, but please slow it down a notch for your and my sakes” Frank got lost in her caring eyes and drowned the rest of her words out. His mind wandered to a happy place, where they both sat in comfy beach chairs on a deserted beach with cocktails in their hooves. The blank stare turned in a crooked smile once he reached the part with the sun oil and back to the blank stare when he asked himself, “How could they use sun oil with their coats?” A sudden bop to the head brought him out of his daydream. “Tia, you zoned out. How many drinks did you already have?” Frank looked at the pouting Luna and smiled. “None, and you’re right, I shouldn’t drink so much. But a little something later at the hoofball game is ok, right?” Luna returned his smile and nodded in approval. “Everything in moderation, Tia.” Content with how this went down, Luna stood up from the bathtub. She wasn’t too keen on sharing a bath with her sister and decided to continue it later. That was until she was suddenly grabbed and pulled towards Frank. Now spooning in a sitting position with her back pressed on his front side and seated between his legs, Frank levitated some shampoo bottles to him. “With that out of the way, let me help you wash up; Coconut, or honey and milk?” Flabbergasted about the close contact, she answered automatically. “Uhm... coconut please...” One of the bottles opened and Frank started to rub the shampoo in Luna’s mane, moving his hooves slowly and paying attention not to accidentally get some of it in her eyes. Once finished he rinsed out her mane with clear hot water, before putting a washcloth on his right hoof. “And now your back.” Luna pushed her wet mane out of her face and turned her head to Frank. “What? Tia, no! It’s ok, I can do rest!” said Luna, but any further objections were silenced when Frank started to scrub her back in circular motion. Tense at first from his touch, she finally relaxed and closed her eyes to focus entirely on the feeling of his hoof through the washcloth. Frank was really good, pushing exactly the right spots and loosening the knots in her back. Seeing her enjoyment, he got bolder and moved further down her spine and over her right flank to touch her cutie mark. A little squeak escaped Luna’s lips, but Frank got no signal to stop his advances. “You’re sitting all wrong. Here let me fix it.” said Frank. And then he firmly grasped Luna by the flanks to position her. She never blushed so much in her life. Meekly, she turned her head to look at Frank again. His face was right beside her right ear and Luna swallowed hard. “You smell really good,” said Frank in Luna’s ear, before nibbling affectionately on it, “good enough to eat.” “Oh my god, this feels so good!” thought Luna, as she moaned and flapped her ears. This continued a good while, with Frank rubbing and massaging almost every part of her body. Neck, legs, thighs, shoulders and so on. He left nothing untouched. When he finished rubbing her belly, the only thing Frank could hear from her was a soft purr. Frank took his hoof from her belly and moved it down slowly to her nether regions. That was the moment when Luna’s eyes went wide and she bolted out of the bathtub. “On second thought, I would rather take a quick shower!” Frank watched Luna as she jumped into the shower stall and closed the milky glass door. There was no steam from the water that came from the shower head. That and the sound of chattering teeth told Frank, that Luna was taking a cold shower; a very cold one. With a small chuckle he took one of the full glasses of champagne and brought it to his mouth, but stopped suddenly before drinking. Frank looked at the full glass and then to the silhouette of Luna in the shower. Sighing heavily, he poured the content of his glass into the bathtub. Canterlot Castle Gardens… “Work at the castle, they said. You gonna have it easy, they said!” mumbled Trusty, walking through the castle gardens and searching for Blueblood. One of the guards had seen him entering the gardens. Unfortunately, this information didn’t make him easier to find, because of the sheer size of it. She entered the castle hedge maze an hour ago, and was now totally lost. Aimlessly walking through the corridors, she had time to contemplate her recent loss of control in life. Things had looked so good a week ago, when she finally got the job as royal secretary. A high-prestige and well paid job, well enough to afford a house in the nicest area in Canterlot. Until a few days ago she couldn’t have been happier. Now everything was going down the drain. Princess Celestia seemingly had lost her mind, a fact Trusty was constantly reminded of by the statues of her all over the castle grounds. As she passed a statue of Celestia doing the Can-Can, her thoughts went to the younger sister Princess Luna. She wasn’t much better. Granted, Trusty wouldn’t call her crazy, but with her constant angry outburst in the council meetings and her antiquated perspective on society was not any less difficult to deal with. And after all the hardships it took Trusty to keep a shred of order, Luna had just left Canterlot on a whim to follow her sister. That left Trusty with Blueblood. A heavy sigh escaped Trusty’s lips as she thought about the prince. Once he had heard that Luna had left, he had become happier than anytime she seen him. Trusty couldn’t make heads or tails out of this stallion and his erratic behaviour. Most of the time he was snooty, arrogant and rude, but Trusty saw on more than one occasion a change in attitude. These moments also seemed to appear totally at random. A sentence in his speeches which sounded weird and out of context, long pauses between and during said sentences where he just stared blankly ahead before he recovered, and most of all what Blueblood said was often simply wrong. Combining that with his constant disregard of punctuality and repeated absence from meetings and audiences, and Trusty wasn’t far off to just snap. She snapped out of her thoughts when she saw the prince in question ahead. Trusty called out to him, but he was too far away to hear her and he vanished into a little a passage in the hedge wall. Grunting in annoyance, she picked up the pace to catch up with him. When Trusty arrived at the little passage, she could see that it was barely big enough for one pony to squeeze through. Until she reached the end of it, there were scratches and cuts all over her. Ready to give him a piece of her mind regardless of the consequences to her career, she stuck her head out into a clearance. And paused at the display before her eyes. It was a small field with a tree in the middle and surrounded by large hedges. But the eye-catcher was the large statue of a unicorn mare, made out of white marble on a pedestal. The mare was simply beautiful, with her long flowing mane and pleasant facial features. It reminded Trusty of a smaller version of Princess Celestia with minor variations, and she was curious who that statue was supposed to be. The next words out of Blueblood’s mouth answered her question. “Hello mommy, It’s been a while since I came here, I’m sorry.” Blueblood sat on his haunches, staring up at the statue of the mare. For a long time, he didn’t say anything, but Trusty didn’t have the heart to interrupt this moment. He stared at his legs and wiggled with them. “I hope you like the new statue of you. It took hundreds of tries until they got it to look like you, I mean the way aunty described me how you looked at least. Aunty said that there are sadly no pictures of you.” Standing up, he touched the stone pedestal of the statue. Trusty could hear stifled sniffles and she really didn’t want to be here, eavesdropping like that. “You don’t have to worry about me, I’m doing just fine. I brush my teeth and mane every day, get dressed without help, and eat healthy three times a day. Aunty is also really nice to me, even more than usual. She even got rid of Luna for me, because I said she was mean to me.” He pulled out a small flat book with a smiling sun on it. “Yesterday, I read a whole book and I didn’t have to look for what any of the words mean. You’d have been proud of me, I know I am.” Blueblood leaned the small book against the pedestal. “It’s really good and it made me laugh a dozen times. The story is about a really funny pony trying to find a present for his mother and at the end… ups, I almost spoiled the ending. I leave it here for you, maybe you like it.” He stood there like he was expecting an answer, but eventually cleared his throat and continued. “I know I say it every time I’m here, but although we never met I miss you. If there’s anything you need, I won’t be far away.” Blueblood laid down on the grass, right under the statue and closed his eyes for a nap. Trusty chose this moment to slowly sneak backwards through the passage. This time she didn’t even notice the scratches and cuts. In silence she walked through the maze and found the exit relatively fast. She approached the guard who gave her the information about Blueblood’s whereabouts earlier and he saluted. “The council requires the attendance of the prince. Have you found him?” Trust glanced back at the gardens and paused for a moment, thinking about what she just witnessed. “They can wait,” said Trusty, passing the puzzled guard. Hoofball field in the afternoon… The game wouldn’t start for another hour. Yet there had already gathered a sizeable crowd, filling the seats around the playing field. One of those seats was occupied by a sullen looking Frank. His little stunt in the bathroom had the effect, that Luna avoided him the rest of the day. When he went out for the game, Frank couldn’t even find her. The whole situation infuriated him to no end and he really was hoping that Luna hadn’t gone back to Canterlot. Flapping his giant foam finger on his hoof and deeply in thought, he didn’t notice Twilight taking a seat beside him. She sat there in silence, waiting for him to notice her. Several minutes later she cleared her throat and Frank glanced at her. “Oh, it’s you. Hello Twilight,” said Frank in a monotone voice, noticing Lyra on the opposite side of the field and waving with his foam finger at her. The sight of the teal coloured unicorn, shaking her companion Bon Bon and pointing at him made Frank chuckle. He reached under his seat and grabbed his cup to drink something. The blatant indifference to her presence Twilight felt from Frank, nurtured a fear she had since Frank’s arrival in Ponyville. “Can I ask you a question Princess Celestia?” “Sure, what is it?” asked Frank, drinking from his cup. Twilight took a deep and shaky breath before asking. “Be honest, do you hate me?” Frank spit out his drink in surprise and coughed heavily, before turning to Twilight with a look that said ‘Are you serious?’. To his horror she started to tear up. “Ever since you came to Ponyville, you either ignored me or said and done hurtful things to me. Have I lost you favour? Please, I would do anything to get on your good side again!” Frank looked at the crying Twilight. She reminded him of an abandoned puppy, with her desperate search for approval from her teacher. This was a character trait, he always hated about Twilight. So he was honest. “Twilight you’re a strong-willed and good-hearted pony, but for goodness sake stop groveling like a dog and show some dignity!” Twilight flinched like she was slapped in the face, but Fank continued regardless. “Like I said when you became a princess, I’m not your mentor anymore. As far as I’m concerned, we both are equal now and I can’t tell you to do squat. Have you ever seen me ordering Luna or Cadence around?” This made sense to Twilight. Naturally, Celestia would treat her differently when she thought of Twilight as equal and not as one of her subjects. “Besides why would feel inferior to me? Even as a normal unicorn you were better than me,” said Frank and bopped her lightly on the nose. This on the other hand made no sense at all to her. How could Celestia think that she was not as good as herself? Frank saw the outrage in Twilight’s face and cut her off before she could say anything. “And don’t tell me it’s not true! You saved Equestria several times in the past, where I wasn’t able to. Admittedly you had help, but not from me. All I did was sitting on my flank and letting you do the dirty work!” Not sure what to think anymore, Twilight looked down to her hooves and sniffled quietly. “So no, I don’t hate you. But I suggest you learn to take a joke, get a thicker coat, and stop being such a pansy,” said Frank, putting Twilight in a headlock and giving her a noogie. Frank let go of her and gave Twilight his cup. “And call me Tia from now on.” Twilight stared at Frank, who turned his attention back to the field. She wiped the tears out her eyes and smiled into the cup, taking a huge gulp. And coughed from the sudden burning in her throat. “Maybe, juice is more your thing,” said Frank, enveloping the cup in his aura and turning the hard liquor into apple juice. Still coughing and wheezing, Twilight nodded in appreciation. From the corner of her eyes she could see her friends approaching. On the front were Applejack and Rarity, followed by Fluttershy, and finally Rainbow Dash who dragged a yelling Pinkie with her. “Let me go! I don’t have time for this nonsense! I need to supervise the arrival of the balloon delivery. These morons don’t know the difference between pink and light red!” Applejack rolled with her eyes. “We talked about this Pinkie. You need to relax a little, before you die of a stress-induced heart attack.” Being dragged along the ground, Pinkie only grumbled in defiance and avoided eye contact with everyone. As they got close, they noticed the disheveled mane and puffy eyes from Twilight and eyed Frank with various degrees of wariness. A quick smile from Twilight dispersed it though. They exchanged greetings with Frank and Twilight, taking seats around them. Fluttershy sat farthest away and threw nervous glances at Frank. She had a little chat with Discord after he returned last night. He had told her everything and despite how ridiculous it sounded she knew that he wasn’t lying. Fluttershy just did. What that told her about her relationship with the draconequus was something she didn’t want to explore right now. That meant though, that Princess Celestia was in love with her own sister. Fluttershy thought about those two in a romantic embrace, like in those cheesy novels she loved to read so much. The mental picture brought a blush to her face and soon she trailed off to much riskier imagery. She jerked when Rainbow Dash shoved her shoulder roughly. “I’m so pumped for this game! The Detrot Busters are my favourite hoofball team and pretty much their whole roster plays in this one!” They all turned their attention to the commentator booth when a familiar voice echoed out of the speakers. “Ladies and gentlecolts, I’m happy to announce our first team in this match, the Diamonds!” “Is that Spike?” asked Twilight. Frank took sip from his new cup. “I thought he wanted to do something useful, especially since he’s ignored most of the time.” “Look at the size of those stallions! They’re like a team of Big Macintoshs!” said Applejack as they watched the first team enter the field. On the front walked Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, head held high and smug looks on their faces. Rainbow Dash shook her head. “I still don’t know how the little brat got the Detrot Busters to play for her. The other team is going to be destroyed!” “I’m wouldn’t be so sure about that,” said Frank, grinning as he recognized a familiar face approaching their seats. The rest of the group looked at Frank in confusion and then at the large towering minotaur, who was wearing a fancy jacket and took a seat besides Frank. “Glad you could make it, Iron Brew. How’s the family doing?” asked Frank and poured himself a new cup of booze. Iron Brew pulled out a cigar from his jacket and put it into his mouth, before searching in his pockets for matches. Frank pressed his horn on the end of the cigar and lit it. The minotaur nodded in appreciation and blew out a smoke ring. “Pretty good, princess. They’re all enjoying the festival so far and were happy to join me.” Frank and Iron Brew got interrupted in their conversation, by the next announcement from Spike. “Before I announce the opposing team, I would like to inform the viewers of a last minute name change. The team changed their name from CMC to the Iron Crusaders.” Applejack’s head spun around from her talk with Rarity. “Wait a second! CMC? Crusaders?” Twilight looked at Frank and Iron Brew, who had both the biggest grins on their faces. They all looked intently at the field entrance to watch the arrival of the second team. They heard the team before they could see them. A cacophony of stomps and vibrations, accompanied by loud and almost deafening roars. And then, they could see them. A large group of minotaurs in red jerseys, all flexing their muscles and posing while entering the field. Applejack’s jaw dropped when she saw who were with them. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo sat on the shoulders of the biggest minotaur, mimicking the minotaurs posing and were wearing the same red jerseys. Twilight couldn’t believe it. Had the princess really just used her power, to tip a feud between two groups of fillies in the favour of the ones she liked better? “Why would you concern yourself with something so trivial and childish?” “Look at those kids Twilight,” said Frank, pointing at the two crusaders. She watched Apple Bloom and Scootaloo hop of the shoulders from the minotaur, and running alongside the viewer seats. They did jumps, backflips and cheers to heat up the crowd. “For them it’s neither trivial nor childish.” “I can’t see Sweetie Belle, where is she?” asked Fluttershy, searching the field with her eyes. Meanwhile in the basement of Carousel Boutique… “Nine hundred-ninety-nine… one-thousand!” yelled Sweetie Belle, cancelling her magic grip on the iron boiler and it dropped on the floor with a loud bang. She sunk on the floor, breathing heavily and sweating like crazy. After a few moments she shook her head and brought herself up. “This went better than the last twenty sets, but I think there’s room for more.” And Sweetie Belle’s horn lit up again. … Back at the Hoofball field “Seems like I have a good little sister, who knows how to behave,” said Rarity, and ignored the murderous glares she was getting from Applejack and Rainbow Dash. The farmpony shot up from her seat and stormed down the rows to get on the field. She didn’t get far because of the golden aura, surrounding her all of a sudden. Applejack slowly levitated back to her seat and got dropped on it, face first. “I’m afraid I can’t let you do that Applejack. We can have a talk about this once the game is over, but for now I recommend you enjoy the show.” Applejack loudly grinded her teeth together, close to just jump over Twilight and into Frank’s face. She stopped when she saw, that Frank had closed his eyes and put a hoof to his ear to hear better. “What are you doing?” asked Applejack, annoyed from Frank’s antics. Frank shushed her. “She’s almost there…” “WHERE THE HELL DID YOU BLANK FLANKS GET MINOTAURS FROM!?” Frank took the hoof from his ear and hoof bumped Iron Brew on the fist.