//------------------------------// // Chapter 68 // Story: Forgiveness Pending // by Kiroberos //------------------------------// "Uh, tell me again, what was the logic behind this? If he's that angry with me, maybe we should just give him some space," I suggested again, uncertain that this was a good idea. Twilight sighed, adjusting the simple silver tie I wore against the white dress 'shirt' Rarity gave me. This was more than a little uncomfortable, but I admitted to myself that it at least looked rather good, Twilight gesturing to my reflection in the full wall bathroom mirror. Lunch had gone a bit better than expected, at least. As in, it wasn't a complete disaster, nothing caught fire, and I hadn't been kicked out. Or was it supper? What did you call eating at three thirty in the afternoon? Regardless, it turns out he no longer held me in quite as favorable light after the media storm and press conferences. The lavender mare finished adjusting the angle carefully before explaining, "It's simple. Family game night has been an important ritual for us since I was old enough to actually play. By including everypony visiting in the festivities, yourself included, I hope to smooth over relations with my father and you. Oh, and give my mom a bit more exposure to you, so maybe she'll calm down and stop pressing the foals issue." Yeah, I grasped that much, but wasn't this a bit sudden for them? This sort of activity seemed to indicate a deeper connection that wasn't there yet. Twilight waved absently at my concerned pulse through her link and trotted back into the center of the living room, drawing everypony's eyes to her again as she moved. All of us were still here, the living room a bit crowded at this point. With the addition of Spike and Luna, that made a dozen ponies now. Spike and I had given up our seating and Twilight was standing, yet both couches were still full to bursting. Noting the room quieting down, Twilight smiled and nodded to herself before starting. "Okay then! We haven't done this for a very, very long time since Shiny and I moved out, but this used to be a weekly ritual for us. I think it would be really nice, and help celebrate two new herds in the family, if we could do a family gaming night!" she declared happily. Pinkie immediately raised her hoof from the other end of the couch, earning a pause from Twilight before the lavender mare hesitantly inquired, "Uh, yes Pinkie?" "How can it be a family game night if it's in the middle of the afternoon? Shouldn't it be family game afternoon, then?" she asked almost immediately. Huh. Well, technically true, I guessed. If one wanted to argue semantics, of course. Twilight apparently didn't, and gave the pink mare a mildly annoyed stare for a second before sighing and reasoning, "We can call it night because that's when we used to do it during our school days, and for the fact that we'll probably be here until late.” Oh? I hesitantly lifted my foreleg up a moment later, earning an ear twitch and surprised look from our lavender game organizer. She smiled, however, and nodded towards me, apparently assuming my interruption to be slightly more relevant. I hoped idly that I didn't disappoint her. "If we're staying here until late, am I to guess we'll also be eating supper here, and holding off for Miss Octavia's supper arrangements for tomorrow night?" I asked curiously. Night Light, who had looked rather bored and disinterested prior, perked up at that and looked over at me with wide eyes, of course. Twilight didn't appear to notice, and instead smiled and nodded towards me, adding, "Yeah. I figured we could wait until tomorrow to give us more time to donate to her, as she probably would feel cheated if we ate and ran. She is doing this to thank you for saving her life, after all." Ah. Yeah, that made sense, now that I considered it. We wouldn't have time to do any sort of game here and then meet with her afterwards. Part of me wondered at the strange request to dinner for all of us, and another part of me was seriously concerned about how she found out about us coming to Canterlot far enough beforehand to send a letter out to Twilight. Our arrival wasn't exactly announced or broadcasted anywhere. Twilight's father, however, wouldn't leave it at that, of course. "W-Wait, the Miss Octavia Melody invited you out to dinner tomorrow?!" he asked towards me a second later. Actually, it had a rather accusing tone to it, which confused me. Velvet slapped her forehead with a hoof, however. "Actually, she invited all of us, of course. 'Us' being the Element Bearers, Spike, and Mender, I believe," Rarity politely corrected, extending a rather disarming smile towards him as well. He hesitated, then frowned towards her, looking momentarily perplexed instead. Shining nodded, however, smirking before adding, "And then Mender invited Cadance and me! Even offered to pay for us, even though we're, uh, more than capable of buying supper, of course." Okay, now I just felt stupid. Why hadn't I remembered that they were royalty?! Wait, but then would it be rude to not offer, or rude to offer and potentially imply they couldn't afford it?! Fluttershy, sitting closest to me on the couch, started giggling at my inner turmoil through the link. Night Light looked shocked, however. "Wait, what?! Why didn't you invite us as well? We're technically going to be your parents soon," he asked, shifting his attention back to me instead. Uh, what? Uh! Twilight, and probably every mare with a link to me now, noted my sudden panic. She sighed, and then glared rather sharply at her father. "Mender didn't offer because we're eating with you two tonight. You can come if you'd like, but you'll have to pay for your own meals. We can't ask Miss Octavia to pay for ponies she didn't invite," she reasoned, wielding her logic like one might a blade on the battlefield. Her tone left no room for compromise, and her father edged back a bit in his seat, looking more surprised than anything. Twilight was definitely scary still! Thankfully her mother recovered far faster and agreed with, "Of course we can. It's only reasonable. I'd like to see Miss Octavia again as well, as she's a very charming young mare. She obviously feels quite appreciative towards Mender if she's willing to pay for so many meals." That was true, of course, even if her 'life' hadn't been guaranteed forfeit, regardless of me having caught the chandelier. Not to say it wouldn't have been indescribably painful, of course. Being stabbed by a few dozen magical crystals probably wouldn't have been the most pleasant experience, but she was an Earth Pony, and undoubtedly had a rather potent constitution. I still couldn't shake the weirdness of the situation, however. She knew we were coming, somehow. Rarity snapped me out of my internal musings with, "Oh, but of course. She's part of the Canterlot Orchestra! She simply drips with elegance and style, and surely has amazing taste in restaurants as well. Further, she understands and values what Mender did, refusing to let him go unrewarded for saving her so selflessly! She obviously has great personality as well." Uh, right. I had a sneaking suspicion Rarity might be mildly disappointed at how 'normal' Octavia seemed to be. Especially with what she told me about not liking to 'put on airs' or anything. Well, this should be interesting! "Yes, yes!" Twilight interrupted impatiently, following with, "We're set for tomorrow, then. However, we're three minutes late on starting our gaming time and won't get optimal amounts of entertainment out of it now. We should start before losing even more time." Considering I still didn't know what she was going to have us play, I didn't really think three minutes was all that big of a loss. Of course, I was probably biased, as I didn't exactly like board games or cards in the first place. I'd much rather read a book, work out engineering problems, or test new magic to entertain myself. There was a collective series of giggles from my many links, and Twilight glared over at Rainbow and Pinkie in particular, the cyan mare outright snickering and her friend holding both hooves over her mouth. Applejack just smiled in amusement, however, and suggested, "Maybe ya should let us know what we're gonna be doin', first?" Spike continued snickering on the other side of me, despite Twilight's irked demeanor. "I can answer that one!" Shining cut in. "We always do the same game. It's Dad's and Twiley's favorite! 'The Dark Castle'!" Wait, what? That didn't sound like a board game. Twilight grinned at that, however, and Night Light nodded in agreement. Luna, previously quiet, gasped at that and requested, "Surely?! We loved that game in our youth! Please, allow me to be the Stable Master?" Stable Master? Thankfully, the others looked about as confused as I felt. "Uh, how exactly do you play?" Rainbow asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow towards Twilight, who she apparently guessed would elaborate the best. She got a grin in return, and I inwardly relaxed my posture. Yup, we were going to be here a while, in instruction phase alone... * * * * * The wind blew harshly outside, making the rain pelt down like a thousand frozen tears of small foals. Fun times. Another crack of thunder sounded outside, momentarily illuminating the dank lab beyond the intensity that the flickering candles could manage. I grinned, magic swirling around me as I sat, waving my hooves over the crystal clear pool of water indented into the hewn stone floor. Soon. My grin shifted into a twisted smirk as I looked into the water, lit up from within by an unnatural green glow as it shifted, showing their forms storming the outer keep. It was almost too late, and I knew they'd never make it in time now. The sacrifice was almost ready, and once she was silenced forever, I'd be granted power over the darkness itself! The realm of the living would never be safe again. For every pony who yet lived, a hundred generations of dead existed. There was true power there. Of course, I'd have to find something more substantial than skeletons and zombies, I noticed. It was a bit problematic when one's undead minions didn't have brains, of course. The group of do-gooders blew my gate away with a mighty blast of fire from their wizard before storming the inner courtyard, thousands of skeletal and decomposing ponies rushing forth to swarm them. The prince himself led the charge, holy sword shining brightly in his tightly clenched jaws as he spun and slashed, cutting through my minions left and right. The orange one was right next to him, wielding her massive hammer and literally sending the heavier zombies flying away from the group. Hmm. Maybe I could try Diamond Dogs? At least they had more mass... The blue pegasus was just as annoying, I noticed, as she danced above the group with her double crossbows, raining arrows down into sensitive spots on my minions. Why did I even make undead with weak spots? As annoying as it was, it was a bit pointless to consider now. Their pink rogue slipped in and out of the fray as well, also targeting those same weak zones with what looked like a rubber chicken and a spork. Apart from her obviously, well, unique choice in weapons, I wondered at how effective her coloring was at stealth in the first place, but considering it gave me a headache, maybe she was going for a more subtle tactic? Their cleric and wizard, however, were absolutely stunning! The deadly spells of the lavender mare were matched almost equally by the healing powers of the potions dropped by the gorgeous yellow pegasus. Yes, they would become my dark brides after I inevitably dispatched all of their friends. Yes indeed! Grinning, I watched them slowly draw closer and closer to my dark spire. They were going to fall right into my trap, just as I'd hoped. A low hiss of amusement slipped past me, alongside a heated blast of dark green smoke, sparks of magic and sorcery dancing along it. "Mmm, may I be granted the gorgeous bard in the back, Master? She would make a lovely addition to my horde," my dark drake asked from my side, his massive and intimidating form accenting my throne well, if not dwarfing it with his size. His scales were obsidian black with wicked scythe-like spikes extending from his back and shoulders. His sadistic looking grin showed rows of razor-sharp fangs, and his glowing green eyes narrowed while looking at the pearly mare in my scrying pool. "Of course, Doom Fang the Magnificent. I've been meaning to get you a servant for a while now, and if she strikes your fancy, she'll do nicely," I promised, smirking back over my shoulder at him. His grin widened, of course, and at the same time, my current prisoner's thrashing intensified. "No! You'll never get your hooves on any of my friends! They'll make you pay for your evil ways, Moonlight the Vile!" shouted the pretty pink Princess Melodic Repose, or just 'Melody' to her do-gooder friends. I looked over to her before bursting into a mirthful round of crazed, rather therapeutic laughter. Her hope was delicious! It was a pity she was to be sacrificed to my dark Mistress for eternal power, but such was how things worked. "If it's okay with you, Master, I would also love to have the cute looking alchemist in the back, in dark blue. I believe his coat would be fetching against the drapes in my room, although his tacky clothing would have to go," I heard whispered in mirth from the other side of the pool. Smirking again, I nodded up at my sorceress, who looked to be eagerly awaiting our trap unfolding on the heroes. She'd get her prize as well, of course. I might be a total jerk, but keeping those under my employ pleased was merely the sensible thing to do. It cut down on needing replacements after their rebellions failed to thwart my genius and magical prowess. "Of course, Silk Nightshade. Leaving a few living is irrelevant, so long as the Princess is sacrificed," I assured. That said, I turned back to my viewing pool and smirked as the 'heroes' rushed on to their doom. Soon, it would be too late for all of- "Gah! Why do I keep rolling ones?! Twilight, I think these dice hate me!" Rainbow complained, slamming her hoof down on the kitchen table and glaring down at the latest set of ill-fated ones she'd rolled. I blinked, and then raised an eyebrow her way as Twi started giggling in amusement. "I told you to roll out the ones, Silly! That's how these things work. You have to get the ones over with in order to make sure they don't come back and be meany faces!" Pinkie explained yet again, downing another cup of punch in a single toss back of her head. Damn. I still had that theory that her powers worked on the pure levels of sugar she ingested. Night Light continued to glare down at his character sheet with disdain, adding, "And why did I get stuck as the alchemist?! I'm horrible with support roles!" Uh... Velvet, to my left, rolled her eyes and reminded, "You made Mender be the evil warlock, which is usually your role, remember? I at least kept my typical one." That oddly explained so much... Applejack raised an eyebrow at that before asking, "Why aren't Flutters an' Twi on Mender's side, then?" Fluttershy, play evil? I didn't think she could even manage pretending to be mean! Fluttershy perked up at that and surprised me with, "Oh, um, could I? I wouldn't mind changing to Mender's side. I, uh, really didn't want to be against him in the first place." My eyes widened just a little, and I felt my face heat up as I stared at her. Her eyes stayed locked with mine, and she blushed softly herself, offering me a timid smile. Twilight's ears twitched lightly and she frowned, considering it as well, it would seem. "I don't know. I'm most familiar with the wizard's abilities," the lavender unicorn admitted, tone rather hesitant. Velvet smirked next to me and shook her head, adding, "The sorceress' abilities are fairly similar. Although, if my husband were to simply trade places with Mender, this would all be solved." Alchemist, huh? Yeah, I didn't so much mind the sound of that. "No! Nopony's allowed to switch places after the game's started!" Night Light vehemently denied, instantly defeating the entire point in discussing it. His wife looked less than pleased, adding, "We're allowed to change the rules of the game if it's going to lead to upset feelings, Dear." Fluttershy, who was still partly cowering from his outburst, hastily added, "N-No, it's okay! Um, I don't want to cause problems or anything. I... I'll just bow out if we actually get to Mender." The heat came back to my cheeks as I looked back to the yellow pegasus, and she gave me another smile and nod. "Is that really in-character with the loyal healer of the group?" Night Light asked again, raising an eyebrow towards the now startled yellow pegasus. He himself jumped, however, as Rainbow's hoof hit the table next to him, her giving a stern glare to accompany it. "If Fluttershy says she wants to stop when we get to Mender, then she stops when we get to Mender. No questions asked," the cyan mare adamantly proclaimed, irritation more than evident down her link. I shifted a bit of pleased sensation towards her, and she inwardly smiled towards me while maintaining her flank-kicking expression. Night Light promptly backed off, which was probably the smart thing to do, given that Rainbow could probably turn him inside-out if pushed sufficiently. Chuckling, Shining Armor shook his head before suggesting, "How about we just get back to the game, then? Anyone wanting to step out when we get to Mender can, freely. This is supposed to be fun, not make ponies uncomfortable." That was a very good point. I was at least amusing myself by hamming it up to the maximum. I thought the stereotypical villain laugh was particularly effective. His sister smiled towards him and nodded, turning back towards the table again. "Very well. It's my turn anyway. I cast Gryphon's Sight on Prism Burst to improve her accuracy, and then..." * * * * * They were remarkably resourceful! My hooves pounced against the stone stairs as I ran down them, rolling under some sliding debris. Stupid ancient tower! Why did I put so much funding into creepy looking architecture and a gloomy looking location rather than, I don't know, a secret hideout that didn't collapse from a single fireball?! Even better, why did I go for a 'secret' hideout in the form of a sixty story tall, somewhat phallic looking spire that was literally the only structure for a hundred miles in any given direction? That kind of screamed 'evil overlord', it would seem. Oh, and compensating for something. Deciding that I was never going to make it to the bottom in time, and cursing my lack of foresight in installing an elevator, I decided the next best approach would simply be to bail out the window. I gave a shrill whistle as I dove out the closest portal to the outside, hoping that Doom Fang was close enough to hear it. The giant dragon swerved, attempting to cut close enough to the tower to catch me. Sadly, being the size of a humpback whale didn't exactly benefit him at this point, and with all the grace of said whale falling from the sky like a rock, he hit the side of the tower instead and neatly severed the already crumbling tower in two. Damn it... Now, instead of being rescued by my loyal drake, I was falling slightly above him as he panicked and shot fire everywhere, both of us being followed by a few thousand tons of brick and mortar that used to be my lovely base. I sighed and leaned into my dive, catching up with him in mid-air and easily healing him with a burst of negative energy from my evil, all-powerful soul. He recovered and spun, landing me on his back before shooting off and away from the falling tower. Then, an idea struck me! Turning back, I fired off a Shockwave spell out of my hoof, usually one of the most useless of my repertoire. It hit the already falling tower, however, and abruptly adjusted its trajectory as it dropped. My grin widened as the orange warrior, Stalwart Glade, panicked and tried to get away from the rapidly collapsing mountain of brick and wood. Sadly, Prism Burst shot out of the sky faster than I realized even she could go, and plowed into the orange warrior, sending both of them off to the side just a second before the tower hit. I watched in anticipation as the blast of massive dust and echoing crash sounded throughout the swamp, then frowned as I watched the two roll free, the dust settling around them. They were covered in wounds now, however, with Prism's wings and Glade's legs out of commission. Ha! I was lucky their cleric, Gentle Sunbeam, fled the fight at my display of pure awesomeness. We circled around, attempting to flank where Silk Nightshade was leading our elite forces on the ground and get a few fly by attacks off next. We'd win this yet, and then I'd make them pay for destroying my lovely tower and stealing the Princess from me. Well, I'd technically stolen her first, but that was hardly the point! Curse that bard! We'd barely gotten within a hundred meters when the pearly unicorn spun, dancing about with magic wrapping around her like ribbons. Amidst the ribbons of force, however, were a few thousand shards of crystal. I saw it coming and tried to raise a barrier up, but didn't quite extend my hoof in time. The first two waves of the razor sharp splinters got through, tearing into Doom's wings and the more sensitive membranes therein. I winced, the shards slashing across my magically treated fur in various places, shattering and fragmenting when it couldn't get through more than a sliver. Still, I felt the scrapes, and warm liquid coming down my cheek and forehead. Doom Fang wasn't so lucky, however, letting forth a great scream of pain alongside a huge billow of flames. Crap! I'd told him not to do that inside the barrier! The flames bouncing off the inside of my barrier, I screamed too, as they washed up over me instead and we crashed into the ground in a massive fireball, the world spinning and tumbling around me as we rolled like a glorified bowling ball through a line of my own forces before hitting the inner curtain wall of my fortress, Doom Fang thankfully hitting first. Shaking slightly, I stood as my faithful drake righted himself once more. No, wings would heal, and my coat would grow back. Now they'd done it. Now, it was on! Flares of necromantic energy swirled up around me as the ground ruptured, revealing my ultimate secret. I'd put most of my preparation into it, of course. Everything under my courtyard was layer after layer of compact crypts, perfectly designed by my rather engineer-oriented mind to squeeze as much dead bodies into as little space as possible. The magic swirled through the bones by the thousand, literally creating a tidal wave of energy as flesh and tendon awoke, obeying my every will. They worked as one, forming huge spikes and grasping claws to blast out of the ground, lashing up at the heroes from every side! "Stop! Wait, wait, wait, you spent almost all of your preparation points on layering the entire courtyard design with inner crypts?!" Twilight suddenly yelped, looking a mixture of shocked and horrified. Shining Armor nodded next to her, looking somewhat impressed at my arrangement. "Indeed. I didn't think you could even fit this many. I also never considered a strategy for or against, uh, this many undead constructs..." he admitted, staring at the map on the table as I smiled and nodded. Twilight twitched slightly again as she stared down at it as well, sharp eyes scanning every laid out room for anything that broke the rules, it looked like. No, I'd analyzed the rules rather intently, and applied a couple space conserving algorithms to the design scheme based on the requirements. It was one of the things I was trained for. "It's perfectly legit, Twilight. You're just upset that you're losing. Now it's your turn, Pinkie," Velvet reminded, smirking in amusement towards her daughter. Heh, it was the best way I could think of to counteract the heroes' absurd power levels. Spam them with so many attacks and minions that it literally filled every hexagon of the battle board. Regardless... I'd predicted it happening. They knew I'd try a fly by attack. Splendor had waited until the last second to counter me. They wanted me to crash by the wall. That pink mare, whose name I didn't even bother trying to remember, descended from the top of the wall a second later, twin blades extending from her forehooves, one tied securely to each gauntlet she wore. If I hadn't prepared for it by placing crypt guards in the walls, too, it might have even worked. Thankfully I had anticipated the heroes getting inside the keep. "Hold it! Wait, no, just no. You didn't spend any of your preparation points on your actual abilities, did you?!" Twilight asked once again, sounding irate now. I coughed lightly, looking away before shrugging. "I added the armored fur. And a lot of shield spells. But really, the synergies with the necromancer tree just fit together too well!" I admitted. Okay, so I was maximizing only one particular area of my build, but it was working! She glared intensely at me, and I could almost see the smoke coming out of her ears. I take it I wasn't supposed to play this way? Pinkie seemed oblivious to the tension and added, "By the way, I told you my name was Pink Wonder of the Dancing Ribbons, the Fifth, Mare of Mystery and Deception," she explained yet again. I blinked idly towards her, and Twilight stopped fuming long enough to turn and look at her questioningly. Yeah, I didn't know either. "Enough interruptions! I want to get to my turn at some point tonight!" Spike reminded, taking another annoyed sip of his juice before frowning back up at Twilight, who glared back and crossed her forelegs. Right... The three meter long blade slammed out of the wall seconds before... Pink Wonder of the Dancing Ribbons, the Fifth, Mare of Mystery and Deception, got to me. Her gasp was almost as long as her name itself as she spun, barely avoiding the upwards cut from the four meter tall giant that burst out of the wall behind Doom Fang and me, right on cue. The mare spun and dove backwards with surprising finesse, her ability to dodge being much better than her ability to surprise me, it would seem. I shrugged as a second layer of wall broke free above the first, revealing a few hundred skeletal archers as well. Casually, I sat down again on my haunches and waved my hoof up towards the rapidly overwhelmed heroes, and all the archers fired at once, releasing volley after volley of pointy death down towards them. Of course, I was careful to instruct them not to hit the lavender wizard. Marring her beauty would be a travesty. She would be my dark queen after watching all of her friends die, of course. She'd have no choice. Then I'd just have to catch her yellow friend, who was probably still flying South as fast as her wings would take her. As predicted, the lavender mare and her brother, the Prince, put up a joint shielding spell, struggling to maintain it under the waves of attacks from the arrows, massive skeletal arms, and razor bone spikes hitting them from all sides, pushing all but the cyan mare into a tight, defensive formation. They didn't have wings, of course, so I knew I could push them hard and make them fight defensively. Of course, it also clustered them all together, as I'd hoped. Smirking, I raised my hoof again and nodded towards Doom Fang, who grinned and let out a howl. His own necromancer abilities came forth, as he summoned his legion of bone dragons from the sky, and charged at the dome of shimmering light himself. Ah, right. Normally dragons wouldn't be anywhere near stupid, of course, but these ones purposefully didn't have a brain to work with. I'd given Doom Fang very specific instructions for this signal, and he commanded his fellow dragons perfectly. As he stormed across the battlefield, thunder blasting in the background and bones kicking up as he sprinted, all of his dragons swooped together, haphazardly smashing into each other and grappling themselves into what almost looked like a small moon of bone as they plummeted. Then, they all released a massive blast of fire as one, straight downwards as they dropped towards the barrier the heroes were in. Okay, so this might do a bit of damage to the lavender wizard, but I could always put her back together again... The flames lit the dragons on fire as well, of course, but I hardly cared. They had barely used up any of their flame reserve by the time they crashed into the shield, so all of that magic just exploded outwards. Doom Fang also released a point-blank range fire Shockwave into the explosion, sending shards of burning bone shrapnel through the miasma of dragon fire as it rose up in a burning mushroom cloud. There. That was how to use area of effect to your advantage. I'd seen the flash of light just before the ball hit, of course, and smiled. I had to appear confident that my combination attack was going to defeat them, or they'd suspect that I suspected that the lavender wizard had a teleport spell memorized. Well, I didn't know she had one memorized, but it was a distinct possibility that I had to prepare for, just in case. Thankfully I researched what wizards were capable of before designing my evil castle. Sure, it would have been nice if they'd just blown up with the dragon attack, but one never puts all of their bones in one crypt, so to speak. The only part of the courtyard that hadn't ruptured to pieces with the bone attacks was, of course, the area directly where I was standing. Hitting myself with my own attack motions was rather foolish, after all, and I knew I had to leave a full five-yard square to all sides of me to account for the actual crypt room, oddly. Given that a good amount of her group was melee oriented, teleporting practically on top of me was actually a really smart idea. The flash appeared all around me, her magic expanding out as the Prince landed next to me, the pink one whose name I forgot again behind me, and the recovering orange warrior to the other side of the Prince. All three attacked almost simultaneously, obviously having prepared this tactic ahead of time. I was impressed! Thankfully, having memorized almost nothing but shield magic, I aimed my hoof straight down and threw a barrier up under me instead. The lavender wizard, who I now recognized as the genius Glimmering Dusk, frowned for just a moment as she appeared as well, then widened her eyes and tried to shout a warning. Too late, of course. Doom Fang had charged forward, thus removing himself from my 'safe' square as designed. My shield blocked straight down and I activated the last remaining crypt right on top of myself. The huge blast of bone and zombie flesh was blocked, just barely, by my barrier. Instead, I was knocked clear of the magic as the thousands of claws lashed out, grabbing and holding onto the heroes all at the same time, even as I was sent flying away from the three way melee attack. Wow, that might have actually hurt had I not dodged it! Doom Fang caught me as he turned around, smirking at the heroes who struggled and fought to pull free of the grasping claws. Silk Velvet also wore a pleased smile as she exited the safe bunker under the main part of the tower. Her roll as distraction worked wonderfully, it would seem. I grinned as well and nodded to him, instructing, "Burn them alive as expediently as possible, except for the blue alchemist, the lavender wizard, and, of course, the mare you want. I don't care if they get singed a little, though, as I can fix that." Ah, sweet victory. "Wait, aren't ya even gonna do ah little bit o' gloatin'?!" Stalwart Glade suggested, looking horrified as she fought even more against the five claws that held her down. "Hmm, let me think about that... No," I returned, nodding towards Doom Fang again, who smirked before inhaling sharply and preparing his Line of Flame attack, for those precision burning needs. Of course, when making plans with others involved was always a risky gambit. One can't always be assured that the other individuals in one's plans are as dedicated or professional as oneself. Splendor, of course, took this opportunity to immediately stop struggling and shouted out, "Wait! Doom Fang the Magnificent! I've a secret to confess!" I raised an eyebrow and inwardly sighed, wondering if this was a distraction or a plea for mercy. Predictably, the fearsome drake actually stopped, instead listening to her. She smiled winningly towards him, blushing oh so faintly before continuing. "Admittedly, I didn't come here for the glory, or even for stopping evil, no matter how bad a fashion sense it has," she admitted, glancing momentarily over at my black cloak and vest with what could only be described as disdain. I glared at her in annoyance, but she turned back to Doom Fang, ignoring me again. "Wait, what?!" Glimmer asked, staring over at her friend in shock. I just waited idly for the punchline, while preparing 'Plan Three Beta'. It would be unfortunate, but if it came down to it, I'd really rather not die, even if I'd have to put my future dark queen back together again before marrying her. Splendor smirked and nodded to her friend before explaining, "I'm sorry, Glimmer, but it's true. I've been using you all along. I just wanted to get closer to Moonlight because I knew of his legendary drake, Doom Fang. Oh, how his scales glitter in the dark, and his powerful muscles flex. I simply had to meet him, in order to pledge my unending love to him." I continued staring at her, losing brain cells by the second. Did she honestly expect us to fall for- "R-Really?!" Doom Fang asked, voice slipping momentarily into a fit of eager shock instead of his usual intimidation and stoic power. Damn it. The pearly bard smiled and nodded towards him, earning an equally skeptical stare from her lavender friend, who either thought she was stupid or the worst liar ever. Regardless, the bard continued with, "Indeed! I'm oh so eager to do so, but alas, my conscience is getting the better of me now, at the last minute. I find myself unable to actually let the others die for me. Please, I'll go with you willingly and do every little thing you request, if you just let the others go and run away." Ah, it was a plea for mercy after all. Just a backwards and confusing one, I noted. Regardless, it was time to just murder them all, I guessed. Piecing Glimmer back together again afterwards would be much easier than dealing with all this. Sadly, Splendor was far faster and more cunning than I had previously given her credit for. The second I started to lift my hoof again, she shouted out, "Now!" Eh?! Her signal inspired a much faster reaction than normal from their group, Glimmer disappearing in a flash as she lunged sideways into her brother. Growling, I continued lashing down with the signal regardless, deciding that the rest of them could at least explode. My left foreleg continued moving down, however. And down. Until it landed limply on the ground, entirely separate from my own body as her brother reappeared to my left, mid-cut. Oh. Dick move. Glimmer herself hesitated after flashing in again from her teleport, staring in shock at the limb on the ground as I lashed out at her brother with a barrier blade, him barely dodging to the side. Silk lunged in as well, her left hoof glowing a sickly green color before smashing into the shoulder of the Prince, who wasn't paying attention due to barely dodging me. He gasped sharply and stumbled sideways away from her rather weak attack, the real damage spreading through his muscles already, a dark blotch expanding off his shoulder. Her corruption magic was second to none, after all. Way in the back of her friends, the pesky alchemist shouted out as I powered up another energy barrier with my only foreleg left. My eyes flicked his direction just in time to see him whip a potion right towards me instead. Crap! The Prince grinned as he watched the potion come in, and sliced it in midair with all the fortitude he could muster, just as I tried to lift my barrier to it and knock it aside. It shattered instead, of course, liberally spraying me down with the contents, which charged up instantly with a blue glow on me. Ah! Crap! Wait, blue? The Prince dove in, but stopped as he saw the blue glow instead. This wasn't the kinetic magnification I'd been anticipating... The alchemist grinned at my confusion before shouting out, "It's a conductive elixir! Hit him with lightning, Glimmer!" Eh?! Glimmer gave a start, looking over at him in confusion, as she obviously hadn't expected to be called upon to deal the potential deathblow. Damn it! I prepared my next shielding spell, hoping I could beat the lavender unicorn to the punch and- "Dad! I specifically said that I wasn't going to attack him directly! What are you doing?!" Twilight yelped, dropping character almost instantly. I blinked, and then remembered that she had said that before we started playing, slightly after I was forced to be the evil warlock due to being the 'guest of honor'... Of course, I thought she was just saying that to try to make me feel better. He scowled at her instead, pointing out, "It's just a game, Twilight. It isn't as if you're attacking him for real." It appeared to only serve to make her more pissed off, however. "That's not the point! He's my herdmate and coltfriend, plus I said that I wouldn't attack him directly. You have the kinetic potion prepared, too! Why didn't you throw that?" she demanded, shooting him a rather icy glare. I had a sneaking suspicion the whole thing was to cause tension between the mares and me anyway, and she probably had guessed that by now. She knew he didn't like me because of the articles, after all. At least, I hoped it was only because of the articles... "A melee attack might not do enough damage to kill him! Just cast the spell!" Night Light growled back, looking equally angry now. Shining looked back and forth between the two of them, edging away slightly in attempts to undoubtedly stay out of the fray. Velvet looked more than a little annoyed herself, however, and flicked her dice again on the table. The rolling noise alerted all of us, and we looked back curiously towards her rather high roll, giving two sixes and a four. "I'm burning a corruption point and adding myself to the initiative. I cast time lock on Glimmer, freezing her in time for a full two rounds," she coldly reported, looking up at her husband with a smirk. His glare returned a second later, along with an eye twitch. A second set of rattling sounded out a half a second later, however. I looked over at Spike, who was grinning down at his three sixes. Luna, our Stable Master, raised an eyebrow to him from over the top of her screen, and he nodded, stating, "I'm burning a corruption point, too, and made top of the initiative. That flame line attack I charged up? I'm releasing it all right into the alchemist." Ha! Night Light's eyes bulged out as Spike rolled all twelve damage dice onto his character instead of using it in a line attack. Luck holding out, he got absurdly high rolls and hit the alchemist for over ninety points of damage, practically obliterating him instantly. Twilight snorted, and then started actually outright laughing, as her dad got a bit red in the face, glaring at the baby dragon instead. Sighing, I decided to head off the hostility and announce, "My barrier has gotten enough time to charge up, then, given that nopony else can act this round, right, Luna?" "That's Princess Luna!" Night Light corrected almost instantly. Again. I'd slipped up during supper, too, and referenced her like that, and got chewed out despite trying to say she wanted me to call her that. He refused to believe me, of course, despite Applejack and Rainbow chipping in that it was true. Luna herself held a hoof up, however, and shook her head, smiling. "Mender is my dear friend, and is encouraged to use shortened names for my sister and me. Further, yes, Mender. Your barrier is charged," she revealed, nodding towards me instead. Night Light just stared at her with wide eyes, mouth slightly open in surprise. I just nodded towards Luna, however, and added, "Then I cast it, and cover Silk and Doom Fang as well, rejecting the Prince and Glimmer. Then I start casting my prepared escape portal." Idly, I wondered why Shining hadn't bothered to name his character, while he rolled his fortitude save. Sliding the results forward so Luna could see, he announced, "Sadly, I've failed my fortitude save and pass out from the magic affecting me." His tone didn't sound sad, I noted, and I raised an eyebrow over at him as he grinned back. His father looked even more irate, and I started to hope he didn't have blood pressure problems as he yelped towards Rainbow with, "Quick! Your arrows are the only things that can reach them! Disrupt his casting!" Dash raised an eyebrow to him, then grinned and looked to Luna instead, asking, "I don't know. My quiver is on my back, and my legs are held. I don't think I'd be able to reach any arrows, and I already failed my strength check, no?" Oh. They were letting me escape... Night Light saw that clearly at this point, shaking a bit as he glared at me instead, and I tilted my head back a little, wondering why he was angry with me specifically. Luna just giggled, however, and added, "I believe so. Normally that is a loophole, but thank you for playing within the bounds of being realistic, Rainbow Dash. I agree that you cannot reach your arrows." Velvet grinned at that ruling and nodded over at me a second later. "That means there's nopony left that can interrupt us! The warlock casts his portal magic uninterrupted, and the three main villains escape to a far away dimension," she announced. Heh. Twilight grinned at that, and Fluttershy, who was snuggling into my right hip still, let out a squeak as the lavender mare flashed away for real this time. I blinked, the spots still in my vision from the sudden burst of light, and realized she was right in front of us when my eyes opened again. I gave a start, but she pounced onto both Fluttershy and me and kissed me on the cheek. "Congratulations, Mender! You escaped. The heroes rescued the Princess, but evil got away. For once, I'm happy about that!" she exclaimed, smirking towards me from point blank range. Shining Armor snorted at that, adding, "Considering how much you used to rage when Mom and Dad won when we were little, that's really saying something!" She looked back over her shoulder and shot him a mildly irked looking glare, but Rarity shook her head whimsically as she walked back around the table. "Regardless, that's absolutely barbaric! Loping legs off and breathing fire on ponies is just horrible. Could we please play a more civilized game next time?" she requested, giving one of her 'dramatically distressed' looks towards Twilight's parents. I coughed lightly before appending, "While sometimes violence is necessary to protect what's important, you, uh, could have at least cut off the other leg..." My glance was directed towards Shining, who momentarily looked entirely clueless, blinking at me in vague confusion. Yeah, thought as much. He hadn't intended it as a jibe at me. Twilight rolled her eyes, however, and gently lifted my left foreleg with her right one, extending it slowly up and gesturing to the underside with her other hoof while staring expectantly at her brother. Oh, I'd forgotten that I had scars on the underside of my leg, against my barrel. Oddly enough, her gesture drew pretty much everypony's attention instantly, probably out of the pure oddity of it. Night Light's eyes widened a bit, and his wife put both forehooves to her mouth as she looked a bit on the sad side. Applejack paled, however, her eyes locked solidly on the three deep gashes that ran along my rib line where the skin literally tore off in ribbons along with my bone. I knew it had been bad, but... Oh. I also saw the slightly curved scar of where her hoof had slammed into my side, fracturing my ribs underneath into practically dust. Rainbow frowned a bit, looking over at Applejack instead before reaching up and lightly pushing the orange mare's jaw closed, giving her a start out of her daze as she looked over at her friend. Dash smiled, however, and hugged her instead, earning a light shiver before the normally strong mare buried her muzzle into Rainbow's shoulder, sinking against her slightly. I felt my eyelids sag a bit as I couldn't watch any longer and looked away, back towards Twilight. The horror and disgust raging down Applejack's empathy link was enough of a clear sign. Big Mac had been right in that she needed some more support. That night had traumatized more than just me. Twilight surprised me by glancing back towards her two silent parents and apologizing with, "I think we should get back to our rooms and rest up. Um, I'm sorry to just leave like this, but..." Her father shifted back to a much calmer expression before shaking his head. "No, we understand. Seeing how things are now, it's easy to realize the more, well, personal angle that all the newspapers missed, I now realize. Uh, for what it's worth, I'm sorry," he muttered, nodding first towards Applejack, and then towards me. I sighed and returned his nod, not sure what to say about anything anymore. My leg hurt suddenly, more out of the memory than anything. Was it possible for scars in the mind to physically hurt? Fluttershy snapped me out of my slow descent into another spiral with a peck to the cheek and warm smile. I returned it more freely this time, realizing she somehow managed to know exactly how to cheer me up and timed it perfectly. She grinned at my expression and nodded, pulling me gently by the other leg as her wings shifted her backwards towards the closest end to the table. Spike slid out of his chair and moved it out of the way for her, nodding to both of us as we passed before hopping up on Twilight's back as she slowly followed us, looking uncertain. "We're gonna stay here tonight, Sis. I have a bit more to talk about with Mom and Dad," Shining Armor gently explained as he and Cadance followed us towards the hallway. Rarity lingered over by Applejack and Rainbow instead, as Pinkie looked back and forth between the orange mare and myself, looking uncertain as her ears dropped a little. Okay, if there was anything I couldn't stand, it was a sad Pinkie Pie. Mentally focusing, I whispered down her link with, "It's okay, Pinkie. We'll be fine. Just make sure AJ is okay and let us know if there's anything we can do to help, okay?" Twilight's ears twitched as she was close enough to hear it as well, so I just assumed Fluttershy had picked it up, too, being easily three times more sensitive to such. Pinkie perked and glanced towards me for a second before realization fully kicked in and she smiled again, nodding twice and hopping back over towards her other three friends. Heh, that much I could understand. Being at a loss for what to do was never fun. Luna followed us out towards the entryway, her much longer legs easily clearing the distance and catching up as we walked. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry as well, Mender. We cannot change what happened that night, of course, but we can help those hurt by it cope and recover. That's the wisest course of action, I believe," she slowly suggested, gesturing back towards the light coming from the dining room. I knew she meant Applejack regardless. Cadance, who had also followed us, looked momentarily sad before looking at me as well. "I think I'm starting to really realize the gravity of the situation. I know Aunt Celestia already offered, but if there's anything Shiny or I can do as well, for any of you, just let me know," the pink alicorn offered. Tia had mentioned that, yes, but there was something more immediate, of course. "Of course. We need to stop it from ever happening again. I think that's going to be my goal for a good, long while," I returned, frowning at nothing in particular. It was at times like this when I just wanted some materials in front of me and to get to work building that testing prototype for the connection jammer. Of course, I knew myself better than that, and realized at least part of it was me just wanting to work with my hooves on something. Keeping busy and making stuff was a good way for me to vent. Cadance smiled at that and nodded, agreeing with, "Indeed. That's why we're here, and why your new organization has been formed. At first I didn't completely understand why you were put in charge of the research division. I had thought you needed more time to recover after what happened, but I think I see now. I'm glad you're okay and helping us, Mender." Oh? Now she had me curious as to what she saw. Of course, outright asking was probably rude... Luna giggled, however, earning my attention again. I suddenly realized at the same time how informal she'd been over the course of the evening. Twilight's family was a group she could 'relax' with, I suddenly noticed. "You have to admit, Mender, that you're very adamant about stopping and preventing danger to the ponies of Equestria. It's a very pleasant sensation, I mean to say. Not a surprise so much as somewhat unexpected that somepony such as yourself, who should have no allegiance at all to us, is so willing to help Equestria as you are. I believe Cadance is speaking of your conviction to the cause and sense of morality," the Moon Princess suggested, glancing over at the pink mare for confirmation. Cadance looked momentarily surprised by that, but smiled and nodded towards Luna, recovering quickly. Conviction? Morality? I had never really thought about it all that much. Of course, I hesitated using such words myself, as I usually considered them negatively, surprisingly. If I started thinking of myself as morally superior or of righteous conviction, it felt fake to me. It was like I was just pretending to gain popularity or act humble to impress ponies. I didn't want to be a hero. I'd murdered far too many for that title, even if I couldn't consider the Keldarians to be all that innocent in the first place. I'd rather somepony else was responsible for all of this, so I could just limp away and nap for a decade or so. Well, nap and passionately love my two mares, it would seem. Heh. My priorities had been complicated a little bit, I decided. But at the same time, there wasn't anypony else. If I just walked away, Shining, Luna, and Tia would try their best to keep everypony safe, of course, but due to what and who I was, I held knowledge and abilities that were fairly unique. I could teach somepony else about dimensional travel and the theories behind it, but I'd actually crossed the dimensions, and worked the magic to stop a teleport, like I'd talked about. Further, I didn't even know if other ponies were capable of using my particular flavor of magic in the first place, which was all I knew in regards to blocking a link like that. Teaching others anything would also take time, which I wasn't sure we had very much of. So no, if I walked away, it put truly innocent ponies at risk, which might as well be the same as me killing them myself. I couldn't let that happen. I had to protect them, because I was the only pony that could do those things. Was that a hero, however? I didn't have a choice. It was either this, or risk letting a bunch of ponies die. No, a hero was somepony who strived towards saving and helping others because it was the right thing to do. They didn't get lazy or frustrated or wish it were somepony else. That wasn't very 'heroic' at all. Twilight pushed into my forehead, lightly kissing it and startling me out of my heavy thinking in time to see that everypony was staring at me. Twilight and Fluttershy held softer looks, given their more intimate awareness of my thought processes, but the two Princesses just looked sad. Spike looked more confused than anything, but shook his head slowly after a long moment. "I don't know about all that, and I'm not entirely sure what you were thinking about there, but I do know what I've seen myself," Spike interrupted, followed by, "Sure, you can get frustrated from time to time, but even after somepony hurts or annoys you, you're still so kind towards them. So even if you don't agree with calling yourself those things, you can at least know that I think you're a nice pony." He grinned awkwardly at me afterwards, scratching at the back of his spines as Fluttershy giggled lightly next to me. Heh. That felt more real to me than anything. Yeah, I could get downright furious sometimes, and didn't handle my anger very well at all, but I really did want to get along with everypony. I didn't like fighting with others, either physically or verbally, and deep down, I wanted to leave a good impression on ponies. Why was that? Luna snorted and then chuckled at that. "Oh, that much I also agree with. After what Sweetie put you through, I thought you were going to yell at her! But no, you stayed her friend and remained kind to her regardless. That surprised me," she admitted, scratching her chin momentarily before nodding twice towards me. Sweetie was hard to stay mad at, both because she was dangerously adorable, and just a foal. A lot could be forgiven considering she was still learning. She might be considered a 'teen', but her behavior indicated there was a good reason she wasn't considered an adult for two more years. "Sweetie's still learning, so I couldn't stay mad at her. Besides, she's like a puppy. All she has to do is look sad towards you, and it's like you melt," I muttered, shuddering at the memory and earning a giggle from Twilight. "It's good to know for the future, I think. You're amazing with kids, but tend to spoil them, so watch out for that. Got it!" the lavender mare announced, as if taking a mental note on it then and there. I blushed lightly and rolled my eyes, not sure if I should be more bothered by her taking notes that far ahead in the relationship, or the implications therein. Cadance tilted her head for a moment in thought before nodding in agreement as well. "Yes, I believe Mender would make a good father. Are you going to work towards that in the future, then, Twilight?" the pink mare asked. Oh hell. Why did everypony say that?! It would seem it was Twilight's turn to blush, her eyes widening slightly as she froze on the spot. Fluttershy smiled gently and also flushed, apparently more out of sympathy for Twilight than actual embarrassment. I hoped. If not, Fluttershy really did get embarrassed much too easily. "Well, uh, eventually I guess. I mean, well... We haven't even, uh... No! What I meant was..." Twilight started to stammer, her composure slipping further as her cheeks flared up and Cadance started giggling. It was rather cute, her spilling intimate secrets aside... Actually, was it really a secret after what happened at the party a while back? Cadance grinned a second later, and I inwardly groaned. That expression was similar to Rainbow's mirthful one, when the cyan pegasus was about to say something horribly awkward and embarrassing for somepony as a tease. I recognized it instantly, as she'd fired more than one off at me in the past. "Oh, don't worry Twi. I can give you tons of pointers for pleasing a stallion for when you get that far. Trust me," she offered. My mind blanked at that as Twilight blushed even further, flailing her forelegs in the pink alicorn' direction. I so didn't need to think about her and Shining like that! Gah! Twilight gave Cadance a glare that might have been able to vaporize a lesser mare, but just got a wink instead. Her mouth opened to undoubtedly switch to a verbal attack, but her eyes shifted past the pink alicorn and down the hallway before she could say anything. Taking her cue, I glanced backwards at the approaching sensation of several mares that were linked to me, only to notice the others catching back up now. Applejack looked solemn but in control again, and gave us a soft smile as she approached. Rainbow didn’t look quite as convinced while walking next to her, but kept her mouth shut. Hmm. I wondered if there was honestly anything I could do to really make the situation any better? “Sorry ‘bout that, ya’all. Those memories ain’t too pleasant, but ya know that already. Anywho, are we ready ta head back ta tha castle, then?” she asked, catching up with the rest of us and slowing to a stop. Cadance turned and smiled at her, reiterating, “I already told them, Applejack, but it stands to be repeated. If there’s anything any of you need that can help cope or heal from that event, just let us know. You know both Shiny and I are perfectly willing to do anything we can to help.” Applejack momentarily looked surprised before smiling fully and nodding in return. “That’s mighty kind o’ ya, Cadance. Ah’ll be fine so long as Ah can find somethin’ else ta think about. Might pick up ah book back at tha castle,” she considered out loud, tilting her head in thought. Twilight perked at that, of course, and instantly offered to show her to the castle library and archives room, give her the guided tour, and personally recommend several good articles by her favorite academic minds. I had an inclination that Applejack wasn’t looking for scientific articles so much as a good story, but kept my mouth shut this time. A still giggling Cadance had led us to the door as Twilight was still going over the merits of their record keeping system. I was filtering it out at this point and peeked out into the darkening night instead. It was chilly, and I felt my fur puff up as the colder air drifted over me. To my surprise, Rarity slipped up next to me first, smiling back at the others before turning and sitting next to me. “Worry not. I’ll be sure to make you some warmer clothing when we get back to Ponyville. With winter well on its way, you’ll need something to keep warm,” she assured, digging into her side pouch as she talked. “Heh, at least I can pay you for them this time,” I muttered, feeling infinitely better with myself now that I could say that. She, of course, gave me a rather stern glare at that, but didn’t say anything as she pulled a measuring tape out of her saddlebag. Uh, did she seriously carry tailoring supplies with her wherever she… Actually, no, that didn’t honestly surprise me, given this crew. Twilight’s pack probably had an abacus and several notebooks in it, just in case. Who knew what party supplies Pinkie had in hers. Rainbow wasn’t carrying one, but if she were, it would probably have track equipment in it… Rarity carefully measured me around the neck this time, frowning as she peeked at the measurements, then pulled out a small notepad to write stuff down on. A scarf, I assumed? Applejack continued walking, explaining, “Ah told ya, Twi. Ah’m more lookin’ fer somethin’ fantasy. Knights an’ Princesses an’ fantasy stuff, ya know?” Oh, she liked fantasy? Rainbow perked at that, and got a rather impish smirk on her face similar to what Cadance sported a few minutes ago. Uh oh. “Oooh, Knights and Princesses, huh? Do you like romance, Applejack?!” Dash asked, grinning even more as AJ gave a start and looked over at her. It didn’t go as anticipated. “Sure do!” the farm mare answered in a totally honest tone, followed by, “Heck, Ah’ve been dreamin’ since Ah was ah little filly about somepony comin’ along an’ sweepin’ me off mah hooves.” She gave a ‘pleased as punch’ smirk back to Rainbow, who was taken completely by surprise by that answer, now blushing instead. Well, that backfired on her. Rarity smiled as she closed her notepad again and tucked it away alongside the measuring tape. “Well, I for one feel that’s a perfectly honest and admirable goal. There’s nothing wrong with seeking a special somepony to liven your life up. Even you’re looking for that, aren’t you, Rainbow?” the pearly unicorn reminded. Yes, reminded. Her tone wasn’t actually questioning so much as pointing out what she already knew perfectly well, and her smirk towards the cyan pegasus only rubbed that in further. Dash went crimson at that point, glaring daggers at the mare before standing again. “I… Of course I am! Why wouldn’t I?! It… It’s none of your business, however!” she managed to stutter out before quickly storming in the direction of the castle and earning a giggle from Rarity. Twilight held back her own snicker before turning back to Cadance and adding, “I guess we’ll talk more tomorrow. Rainbow is apparently leaving.” The pink alicorn smiled pleasantly and nodded to her sister-in-law, apparently totally unfazed by the antics of the mares at this point. Hum. Would I become that jaded one day, too? I couldn’t tell if that was a good or bad thing at this point. Did that mean I was already jaded to some degree? Crap! Of course, my debate over what my inner debate actually meant distracted me from the fact that everypony started off without me… Giving a yelp, I ran after them as best I could, Fluttershy smiling and lagging back to wait for me, her wing held gently out. I smiled to her as I paced myself to her speed, and she slipped her wing over my back, snuggling into my left side as we walked. Okay, it wasn’t such a bad thing… Jaded was really just another way of saying ‘gotten used to’, which was probably for the better. Kissing her cheek, I snuggled back as we walked, suddenly not so cold anymore…