//------------------------------// // But(t) wait! There's more... // Story: Rise of Sunbutt the Awesome // by BobAlcove //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash couldn’t believe her luck as she hopped almost like Pinkie on the the premise of Wonderbolt Headquarters. She had come this morning to deliver the scroll from Princess Celestia and found Spitfire’s office empty. The reason for that was the monthly Wonderbolt general assembly in the main stadium, where Rainbow Dash was headed right now. To make things even better, Rainbow Dash had found out that this one was the last of their business year. That meant that many members of the Wonderbolts would be present to discuss future plans and review the past year. Rainbow’s first day as Wonderbolt couldn’t have started any better than this in her eyes and she was right on time to join the last group of laggards entering the stadium. Rainbow Dash had never before seen so many pegasi in one place. Every Wonderbolt branch of Equestria must have been here right now. The sea of bodies dragged her down the aisle and right to the empty front row. She reluctantly sat down, not sure if she was allowed to take one of the front seats. The ponies in the second row didn’t seem to mind though, ignoring her sheepish looks. She caught the attention of a certain pony though. “Lightning Dust? Hey, are you listening?” The turquoise pegasus ignored the question as she focused only on the prismatic newcomer who was taking a seat all the way down in the first row. She barely remembered the name of the red pegasus beside her, most likely something with Cloud though if her cutie mark was any indication. After some time, she had settled for calling her Cloudy, and the dumb mare thought it was a cute nickname. Lightning Dust forgot most of the ponies she met and simply felt that they weren’t worth her time, but the name of this particular rainbow maned pegasus was eternalised into her mind like a burning mark. Rainbow Dash. The mare who almost cost Lightning Dust her place in the Wonderbolts. A pony who had been keeping up with her, even with a hurt wing as she found out later. Someone who since then appeared regularly in her dreams at night. In good and bad ways. And she wasn’t wearing a uniform or any kind of identification on her. How could Rainbow Dash not be part of the Wonderbolts already? Lightning Dust had to start lower on the career ladder than she wanted, but she got drafted weeks ago nonetheless . Her train of thought was interrupted by movement on the big stage. The attention of the whole stadium soon turned to it, when Spitfire came forth through the curtain with an irritated look on her face. “Order… I request order… Sit the buck down!” She skimmed through some documents and sighed. “Ok, I’ll go straight to the most important parts so that you can all stop pretending to be interested as soon as possible.” Some ponies in the crowd feigned to be insulted, but Spitfire would have none of it. “Yeah, sure whatever. First, I would like to discuss our flight choreography for this year’s show in Manehattan,” said Spitfire as she noticed the first ponies already zoning out, “As you know, we incorporated a certain maneuver in the second act that… yes?” That last part put the crowd out of their stupor. What was going on? There wasn’t a Q and A section at this part of the meeting, everyone knew that. Nevertheless, there was a rainbow maned mare in the first row, where nobody in their right mind would sit, with a raised hoof and making noises like a filly in elementary school. “I’ve got some ideas for the choreography I’d like to share with everyone.” “You do?” said Spitfire, too stunned to say anything else. Rainbow took the silence as an invitation to talk and stood up. She started speaking with lots of enthusiasm and ponies who listened, like Lightning Dust or Spitfire could tell that this mare knew what she was talking about. Rainbow Dash had found the flaws in a flight show that she seen just once as a spectator and in addition had a solution for most of them without disrupting the flow of the show as a whole. Her terminology was quite poor, almost laughably so, but she had grasped the essential concept of the subject matter and had broken it down to it’s bare bones. That required some serious talent on her part. Not everyone recognized it though. “Who is this clown?” said a grey pegasus stallion in the second row to his neighbour before addressing Rainbow Dash directly, “Where’s your employee batch lady?” Rainbow Dash went rigid from being interrupted. “I don’t have one…” The stallion did an exaggerated sigh and turned to the crowd. “We really should think about tightening the security in this place,” he said, loud enough for everybody to hear it. “You know the rules guys! Who let the groupie in?” Nobody said a word, looking around for someone to take the blame. Of course, nobody did, and the stallion’s tone got preachy. “Very mature guys. We all now this profession comes with certain ‘benefits’, and she definitely is a looker, but keep your ‘fun time’ off the clock!” The eyes of Cloudy almost bulged out her head. “Is he implying what I think he’s implying?” “Yep,” said Lightning Dust, with a large grin on her face, but restraining her laughter. The rest of the assembled crowd didn’t. It echoed through the stadium, loud, obnoxious, and at a deafening volume to Rainbow’s ears. She hated the sound of mean spirited laughter. Most ponies couldn’t even tell the difference without looking in the face of the one who’s laughing, but hear it for the biggest part of your younger life and it becomes as obvious as night and day. Spitfire didn’t laugh, looking like she had bit into a lemon. “No hard feelings sugarbun!” said the stallion between huffs, “If your client isn’t brave enough, maybe I can show you a good time?” It was times like these that Rainbow Dash took a deep breath, and remembered what her grandfather used to say: “Dashie, my sweet little princess, when someone tries to rile you up and belittle you, stay calm and be the bigger mare...” She decked the grey stallion in the face with the brunt of an oncoming train. “...unless he calls you a hooker. If he calls you a hooker, punt the bucker into next tuesday.” Good old grandpa Dash. Celestia rest his soul. The “bucker” was now lying on the ground and writhing in agony. “My face! Who the hell are you?” “Screw you! That’s who I am!” said Rainbow Dash, mere inches away from his bloody nose and showering the stallion with angry spittle before suddenly pointing behind him, “Stop stuffing your goddamn face, Soarin! Seriously, learn some restraint you fricking pig!” The whole audience turned to the stallion in question, and Soarin stopped midbite, longingly gazing at his slice of pie before putting it down with an offended huff. She silently walked up the stage and stopped beside Spitfire to hand her the scroll from Frank. The captain eyed the royal seal with a frown and unfurled the paper to read it. Rainbow wasn’t waiting for her to finish it and turned to the crowd to address them. “You want to know who I am? Ok, here goes.” “Oh, this is gonna be good…” thought Lightning Dust, leaning back in her seat as Rainbow Dash started her speech. “I’m the mare who trained every waking moment to be a Wonderbolt since she was three years old, who pulled off a Sonic Rainboom at the age of five, and who could do it as naturally as breathing by sixteen. I’m the one who jumped through every arbitrary hoop and roadblock you plotholes threw at me, breaking pretty much every flight record known to ponykind.” The crowd looked at Spitfire for confirmation of Rainbow’s claims, who shortly looked up from the scroll and nodded curtly. “I helped save Equestria from certain doom as an Element of Harmony more than three times already, and I’m not even in my twenties. Some would call me boastful or cocky for my attitude, but with all due respect I can say that you won’t find a mare who is more justified in doing so.” She scanned the crowd for familiar faces and continued. “Not many of the assembled flyers here would even be a challenge for me, and I’m far from peaking.” Lightning Dust didn’t miss that Rainbow Dash made eye contact with her at the words “Not many”. “So you ask me who I am? I’m Rainbow ‘Danger’ Dash, the best flyer under Celestia’s sun, and I’m sick and tired of my abilities being second guessed by you wannabe dodos.” A lot of ponies stood up at that part with angry looks on their faces, but Rainbow Dash wasn’t impressed. “The letter your captain is reading right now empowers me to become any position in the Wonderbolts I choose,” said Rainbow Dash, overemphasizing her next words while stroking her chin, “and you know what? I suddenly feel like being boss. Spitfire, be a dear and write that in the empty space.” Spitfire rubbed her eyes in disbelief. “Celestia help us… this is legit!” “Effective immediately, I’m running this show and anyone who has problem with that can either challenge me for my position or get the hell out of my face!” There was hectic murmur throughout the stadium, but nobody said or did anything, too shocked from the sudden turn of events. Feeling smug and without a care in the world, Rainbow Dash jumped off the stage and strutted to the exit with her head held high. At the door she stopped for a moment before exiting. “Oh, and I advise you to enjoy this day, because for many of you, it will be the last good one.” And just like that, she was gone and left a stunned crowd. A stunned crowd, and one very happy pegasus mare. “Can you believe this Rainbow gal, Lightning?” said Cloudy, ”Acting like she owns the place!” Lightning Dust licked her lips. “A mare to my liking. This is going to be fun…” Canterlot Castle “Maybe, giving him space wasn’t my brightest idea.” Trusty stood in the chambers of Prince Blueblood, searching for the young stallion. He should be here according to the castle staff, but she couldn’t see anyone in the pompous suite. Looking around, she found a newfound perspective on luxury though. Rich ponies weren’t much different from normal ones. They did and used the same things, but only an upscaled version of it. Blueblood’s bed was the best example for this claim. A normal pony would be content with a nice bed which was big enough for themself and maybe one partner. Blueblood, on the other end, went off the rails and slept in a bed which was big enough for twenty stallions of his size. Or ten Celestias and two and a half Lunas, according to her quick calculations. She touched the blanket and shuddered from the softness. Trusty couldn’t recall a time where she had laid down on a bed this comfortable to relax. It looked really inviting… She closed the doors and locked them before doing a running jump onto the king sized bed, landing with a heavy thud, and immediately sinking into the fluffy sheets. Trusty heard a muffled grunt from under the bed and her eyes went wide. “You gotta be kidding me…” “Your Highness?” she said on her back, staring at the ceiling in silent hope that she had just imagined it. The bed did a sudden shake, confirming Trusty’s hunch of the whereabouts of Prince Blueblood. She hastily untangled herself out of the sheets and landed on her hooves. “Prince Blueblood, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to…” Her babbling was cut short by a strained whisper. “Don’t bother me peasant… your prince needs… he requires…uhh… the words won’t come!” She blinked a few times before her face softened and she inched closer to the bed. “...Shh, it’s ok. Focus and take your time.” The heavy breathing from under the bed got calmer. Trusty thought, now that she found him, they finally could get some work done, so she pulled out the sweetest girly voice she could muster. It never failed. “You wanna come out now?” “...No, not really.” Except this time. Her patience ran dangerously thin at this point. She had sympathy for the stallion, but Blueblood would have to do his duties eventually. “Why?” she asked with her regular more scratchy voice. “I feel safe here.” That statement was adorable and sad to her at the same time. She lowered herself on the ground to look under the bed, only to get a full view of his flank. Blushing slightly, Trusty hastily got up and repeated the same motion on the other side. There he was, looking with big eyes like a puppy and melting the last bit of seriousness from her face. Blueblood bit the inside of his cheeks and avoided eye contact. Nobody was supposed to see him like this, but this mare seemed nice enough and aunty trusted her. Seeing his discomfort, Trusty tried a different approach. “Really? I like feeling safe. Can I join you?” “Ok…” Without further stalling, Trusty crawled under the large bed. Right then she noticed how well equipped Blueblood’s little sanctuary was down here. He had a large blanket with a jar of cookies and a lot of bottled drinks. There was also a stack of comics and thin books, paired with a small lamp which was currently turned off. All of those items were neatly arranged with not a single speck of dust around. “It’s pretty nice and comfy, your Highness.” “I spend a lot of time here,” said Blueblood with a small smile, “mostly when…” He stopped talking with an absentminded look on his face and rubbed his temple. Shaking his head, Blueblood focused his eyes at Trusty again and continued. “... things happen. Hey, you must be pretty smart to figure out my hiding place. Only aunty ever found me here. Why don’t you ask her to make you a princess?” Trusty chuckled. “I’m afraid that’s not how it works.” “Why not? Twilight Sparkle is smart and she is a princess now,” said Blueblood and pointed at her face, “You’re pretty enough to be a princess.” That caught her off guard. She wasn’t really confident in her looks, thinking of herself as a rather dull mare with her brown coat and strawy mane. Would this have come from one of the stallions she knew, Trusty would have waved it off as cheesy one liner. The way he said it though, sounded as innocent as it can get. He really just seemed genuinely curious. Before she could thank him, Blueblood frowned and continued. “But when I think about it, you’re right. I’m not as smart as Twilight Sparkle and they call me a prince regardless.” This time, Trusty noticed something that she missed earlier due to his unintentional compliment. The way he said the name of Princess Sparkle sounded off. “What do you think of her?” “Who? Twilight Sparkle?” said Blueblood, before some scenes from his past flashed in his memory. As a young colt outside Canterlot Gardens with his first, last, and former friend: “Cady, cady! Look what I got!...Why can’t we play anymore?... What’s foalsitting?” His first time, meeting her: “Aunty, I did it! I finally finished my first... who’s this? Lessons? ….Can I join? ...Not for me? Oh… ok…” After the Summer Sun Celebration last year: “There you are aunty!... I’m so glad that you’re ok and made it day again… You have a sister? Is she nice?...” The Grand Galloping Gala: “Why does aunty spend all her time with this mare? And why doesn’t this posh lady leave me alone?” He got angrier every second until he almost frothed at the mouth from being upset. A circumstance that she wanted to remedy a fast as possible. “Uhmm...how about a nice cup of ice cream?” “Huh?” Trusty silently cursed at herself. She had panicked and said the first thing that came to her mind. “Yeah… ice cream! When I feel down, nothing helps me more than a big tub of chocolate ice cream. Should we get some?” The way he looked at her made Trusty feel really stupid and half tempted to apologize on the spot for her suggestion, but his mood brightened instantly with a large grin. “Let’s get some money!” He bolted from under the bed and ran out of the room, only to reappear seconds later, pulling the poor mare along by her tail with his magic. Trusty learned two things that day: The floors in Canterlot Castle were pristine, and they used apple scented soap to do it. Both things she found out after being dragged along on her back for four floors and three staircases while screaming at the top of her lungs for Blueblood to stop. Sadly for her, he was too excited to notice until she already felt pretty banged up and they had reached their destination. The treasury. The lonely guard in front of the door raised an eyebrow at the scene before him. Prince Blueblood with the biggest grin he’d ever seen on the stallion, stood there with a disheveled looking unicorn mare lying by his hooves. The poor thing toppled over three time before she managed to get shakily off the ground. Blueblood tiptoed closer to the guard and showed him a slip of paper. He had been here a lot of times in the last few days, but still insisted on showing the letter from Princess Celestia that allowed him entrance every goddamn time. The guard rolled with his eyes and waved the two of them through. Still a bit woozy from the physical abuse, Trusty looked around the large room and blinked to get her eyes to focus again. “Wow, look how lucky we are! There is still enough for at least two premium ice cream bowls!“ Trusty didn’t know what he was talking about. “Where’s the rest of the money?” she said, looking at the measly pile on the floor before them. “That is all the money. We have to ask aunty where the next treasury is. Are you ok? You look pretty pale.” Trusty wasn’t ok. She wasn’t feeling even close to ok right now. There wasn’t a second treasury room. There wasn’t even something like a treasure closet to her knowledge. Every single bit of Equestria’s national wealth should be here in this empty space. Empty space! “What topping do you want on your ice cream? I’m a gummy worm pony myself.” “Might as well be rat poison if the public gets wind of this! Ok, Trusty calm down… you can do this. The most important part is damage control now!” This time, it was her who dragged the prince along. Not as violently though. She shuddered at the thought of what Celestia would do to her if Blueblood got so much as a scratch on him. “Soldier, attention!” Trusty bellowed, causing the conditioned guard to go rigid and salute, “By royal decree of her highness, nobody is allowed to enter this room until further notice.” “Which one?” “The one you like best.” “Why would someone go in anyway?” said Blueblood, tinkling with the bag of bits he had filled, “There’s nothing left in the—” The rest of the sentence was interrupted by a brown hoof in his mouth. “Do you know where you can get the best ice cream, your Highness?” “Where?” asked Blueblood with a twinkle in his eyes. “Ponyville. Pack your things, we’re visiting your aunty.” Airspace over Ponyville “This is the first time I wouldn’t mind that she gets so much attention.” said Luna to herself, flying over the houses and streets of Ponyville. One hour had already passed since they started searching, and up to this point she had come up empty. Tia’s figure would have stood out in the crowd like a sore thumb, and Luna couldn’t see a trace of her anywhere or unusual behaviour of the masses below. What Luna did notice though, was the great amount of attention she was getting from the festival guests. But Luna had neither the time nor the desire to mingle with her subjects right now. Her mind was totally focused on finding one pony in particular. Her sister, who was obviously nowhere in the town. She ignored the excited shouts and waving from the crowd, leaving the town northward in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres. “Sister, where are you?” thought Luna, scanning the ground for any sign of Tia. Her gaze stopped on a large white dot with a prismatic mane near the town lake. Feeling new vigor, she increased her speed and bolted towards the lake. As she got closer, Luna could confirm that it really was her sister sitting near the water. Frank didn’t look at her as she landed gracefully behind him with a sour expression. He didn’t flinch when she came closer with loud stomps of her hooves to get his attention. There was still no reaction, even when she stood directly beside him. He was deep in thought with a serene look on his face, watching the sun’s reflection on the water surface. Luna looked at it herself and remembered that it was time to lower the sun. Her horn lit up and she sunk the large celestial body behind the horizon, raising the moon in it’s stead. The sudden shift in brightness put Frank out of his daydreaming and he looked up at the starry sky. “How did you find me?” “You’re hard to miss, Tia,” said Luna, pointing a hoof at his prismatic mane. Frank didn’t see where she pointed her hoof and interpreted it differently as he looked at his flank. “Yeah, my butt is pretty big.” That comment caused Luna to chuckle. Frank looked at her for the first time since they had started talking with a grin on his face. You could tell that he had a few drinks from his red cheeks and the glaze over his eyes, but Frank didn’t behave strangely otherwise. “We also found Discord,” said Luna, scanning his face for a change of expression. His grin got a bit wider, but not much else changed. Discord was the reason that only Luna had kept searching for him. The rest had stayed with the draconequus. Ponyville Park… “Oh you poor thing! Don’t worry, Fluttershy is here to make everything better. Twilight stop laughing this instant!” The yellow pegasus was in full on nurse mode with Pinkie and Rarity as her helpers. Twilight wasn’t capable of helping right now, because the young princess had been rolling on the ground laughing ever since they had found Discord under that tree. It had started slowly with erratic twitches in the corners of her mouth, but she simply lost it when Fluttershy had to scrape him off the ground like a pancake. She involuntary stopped when her body suddenly went rigid and a heavy presence filled the air. Twilight glanced briefly at the yellow pegasus and got the full brunt of “The Stare”, intensified by the fact that Fluttershy was still angry at her from earlier. Not eager to throw more oil in the fire, Twilight slowly retreated with a guilty grin to find Luna and help her searching for Celestia. A few blocks away, she couldn’t hold it any longer and erupted into bellowing laughter again. Meanwhile, Discord sat there with a huge bump on his head and Fluttershy patting his paw. Pinkie and Rarity went for Fluttershy’s house again to get the first aid kit. “Be strong. They’re going to be back in a second and then I can make you feel better.” said Fluttershy with a soothing voice. She stopped patting his paw when he mumbled something unintelligible to her. “What was that? Try to speak up, I can’t hear you sweetie.” He focused his derped eyes on Fluttershy and managed to say a single coherent sentence. “...Tia has a really nice butt...” Discord instantly wished he didn’t. “...WHAT’S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN, MISTER?!” Back at the lake… “At first, we thought that you had squashed him for good, Tia. I’ve never seen Twilight so happy!” Frank snorted at Luna’s comment. “Twilight can be pretty twisted when she wants to be.” He turned his attention back to the sky and couldn’t help but feeling awed. On earth you could call yourself lucky if you see a few stars in populated areas. Equestria was the polar opposite with a firmament so full of shining objects that it looked almost comical. “The night sky is beautiful today.” “Thank you, I do my best,” said Luna as she looked away with a slight blush, happy that her work was appreciated. Frank paused for a second, only just now making the connection between her and the night sky. Luna turned back to Frank as she heard the sound a loud smack and saw the mother of all facehoofs. He had driven that hoof with enough force to leave an imprint on his face. Deciding to ignore this strange behavior, she asked him a question. “Why didn’t you come back?” Luna saw Frank squirm around a bit before he answered. “Feeling a bit guilty about how the dinner went, I guess. Sorry for ruining it by the way.” “At least you didn’t puke on me this time.” Frank cringed. “I’m sorry regardless. I would imagine you had other things planned for today than looking for my big flank.” To provide some visual aid, he wiggled with his flank to Luna’s amusement. “No harm done. It was actually pretty funny and nobody got hurt...” Frank raised an eyebrow. “...That we care about, I mean.” He blinked a few times and Luna did her best scrunch face. “And speaking of big flank… I heard a bit about your little show in the park. Didn’t know you were part-timing as a showmare. Care to give me a private performance some time?” “I could show you more than that,” said Frank wiggling his eyebrows, “if you know what I mean?” From the dumbfounded expression on her face, it seemed that she did, and Frank gave himself a imaginary slap on the wrist. “Forget what I said, Luna. I should know by now that you don’t want me to talk like that. It won’t happen again.” Frank sighed loudly. They were back to square one again. He would construct big plans to woe Luna with the perfect atmosphere and blunder it with his pervy attitude, making her upset enough for him to lose confidence on the last possible moment. “You don’t have to stop…” He spun his head around so fast, that Luna feared it would snap her sister’s neck. “That one isn’t my fault. You made this awkward, not me,” thought Frank. Neither of them had the guts to say anything, both drowning in the deafening silence. There it was again, that feeling of total dread in Luna’s chest. A single sentence out of line, and she felt that all the previous progress in their relationship was almost shattered. She realised that what they had was so fragile and elusive that one wrong step now could ruin everything. That’s when Luna snapped. Royal Canterlot Voice Style. “UAAAAH! I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!” Frank fell over from Luna’s sudden outburst and watched in awe as she vented with the fury of a natural disaster. He dodged some ricochet magic beams as she blindly blasted the trees and boulders around her. “WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME? MAKING ME FEEL LIKE THAT?” One of the blasts made a crater in the earth, and Frank dove into it, remembering what people say about mortar strikes. They never hit the same place twice, and Frank hoped to god that held true for rage induced magic rampages as well. “I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO, AND I’M SCARED BECAUSE OF THAT! SCARED SHITLESS, TIA!” She breathed heavily and groaned from exhaustion before letting herself sink to the ground. “Why is this so hard?” she sobbed, more to herself than Frank, “I shouldn’t feel that way about my sister and I know It’s sick and wrong, but I can’t help it!” Meanwhile, Frank had climbed out of his makeshift trench and carefully inched closer. Luna looked up at the exact moment he reached her. They shared a long glance, trying to read each other and afraid of messing up. Luna spoke first, almost in a whisper. “Maybe, I’m wrong. Maybe, I misinterpreted your teasing as more than it is and ruined our fragile bond in the progress, but I can’t take the uncertainty anymore!” The more she talked, the happier Frank got as her words finally sunk in. All this time he had been brooding, agonizing over ways to make Luna like him in a romantic way and to take the goddamn sibling hurdle. To make her interested in him was the most he thought possible in this short amount of time. And Luna had made all his plans and worries obsolete with a little confession and one heck of a mental meltdown. She was now the unsure one who worried about his answer. The situation was so absurd that it made him chuckle. Not the smartest thing to do in front of a emotionally distraught mare. “What’s so damn funny? Do I amuse you? Do you enjoy messing with me?” Frank had thousands of things going through his head that he wanted to say. Things that would assure Luna of his affection for her. Things to make her stop crying, something he wanted more than anything in the world right now. Honeyed words that he had practised in front of the mirror with confidence, who now wouldn’t want to leave his mouth when it counted. “Why are you so silent? Say something! Please, tell me if this is all was just a sick joke.” Each of the bitter tears she dropped right now felt like a sledgehammer to his stomach. “That’s it, isn’t it? Ha ha, lets laugh about stupid Luna. The sick freak who is attracted to her own—” Her tirade was interrupted by a pair of lips, pressing themselves on her own. Luna’s eyes went wide and she could see that Frank had closed his in silent enjoyment. She replied to the kiss with her own pressure and closed eyes. Luna opened her mouth when she felt Frank’s tongue on her lips, allowing it to enter and explore her own. The motions were awkward and stiff at first, grounded in the insecurity of both of them. That reluctance soon melted away, making room for a feeling of total bliss, and the need to get more. All the pent up frustration from the previous days exploded as they practically pounced at each other like caged animals. Frank wanted her, and Luna wanted him. It was that simple. No doubts, no second guessing, just desire for each other. They were completely lost in the feeling of their dancing tongues and the taste on their lips. Frank leaned backwards without breaking their kiss and was soon on his back with Luna lying on top of him. Luna moaned loudly as Frank bit her lip slightly, careful not to draw blood. She retaliated by biting his tongue affectionately and producing a wet sound. They ended their little make out session after several more minutes had gone by and their tongues had started aching, creating a small string of saliva as their faces parted. Out of breath and panting, both locked gazes with glossy eyes and red cheeks. “You taste like garbage,” said Luna with a coy smile, snuggling against Frank’s chest and nuzzling his neck. Frank and Luna remained like this in comfortable silence, enjoying the closeness and warmth of each other. Despite the wonderfulness of this moment and the experience they just shared, Luna couldn’t shake off the nagging feeling in the back of her head. What would come next? What exactly are they now? What could they be? She slowly slid down from him and instantly felt cold. Frank frowned and rolled over to lay down beside her. “Where do we go from here, Tia?” Frank looked into Luna’s eyes, seeing the doubt and fear. He reassuringly unfolded his left wing to use it as a blanket for Luna and to pull her closer. She had never felt so safe and secure before. “Wherever we want, Luna.”