//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Friends // Story: The Unicorn with Fire on Her Flank // by Noradora //------------------------------// Her story finished, Wisp took a deep, shaky breath. And then several more. Between all the talking, crying, and just sitting there feeling sorry for herself, it had taken hours to get it all out. At some point Cloudchaser had left her spot behind the couch to turn on the lights, the moon had rising high into the sky to look forlornly down upon its subjects. Though the pegasus had spent most of the evening sitting on the floor next to her sister, she was now sitting opposite from her on the couch; they had both felt that Wisp needed a little space with all the stress she was letting out, but there had come a point where Flitter demanded she scoot closer into winghug range. Now that she'd had a few minutes to recover, the unicorn was looking between the two of them with a strange look. Then she looked down at the floor, ashamed. "I don't know what I was expecting, but... If you two want to go..." During such a sensitive time, a pony such as Flitter would never dream of whacking a pony not named Cloudchaser over the back of the head with her wing. Cloudchaser, however, was not Flitter. Flitter herself glared poisoned daggers at the cloud-brained idiot. "Don't talk like that, Wisp," Cloudchaser said with fervor. There was no room for argument. "I get that you feel bad for hurting ponies and leaving your family, but we're your friends. We're not going anywhere." If there weren't an emotionally spent unicorn in the way, the more socially aware sister would have headbutted her less-than-tactful counterpart. Even so, a small, tentative smile formed on Wisp's lips. Okay, the headbutt could wait. Flitter squeezed Wisp's barrel with her wing, which hadn't left the unicorn for a good while. "My sister's an idiot, but she's right. If you're expecting us to leave just because of a few accidents and not being perfect, then we're happy to disappoint." The darker pony sniffed and pulled herself into a more upright position, looking at her skeptically. "But you hardly know me." Cloudchaser poked Wisp in the side and smirked at her. "Yeah, but does that make us any less friends? So what if you have a few anger issues and make some bad decisions?" "Oh, sister, dear, I would very much appreciate it if you would SHUT UP around our emotionally vulnerable friend, here." Wisp shook her head. "No, she's right. It's definitely true. And I think there's value in blunt honesty, even if she's not clever enough to use it on purpose." The darker pegasus nodded appreciatively at the compli—"Hey!" The others were now having a good laugh at her expense, especially Wisp. Flitter was just happy to see a smile on the tall mare's lips. Celestia knew she needed it, and it was such a shame to see that pretty face marred with such negativity. The more tactful sister thought she deserved better. Drama aside, that night turned out to not be so bad, after all. ————————— Wisp awoke to the sound of painfully loud snoring. What the heck? Star never snores. Maybe she has a cold or something... She rolled over and half-heartedly pawed at the other mare's face. "C'mon, Star, quiet down. I don't know what the deal is, but right now I just want to..." As she opened her eyes, she was confused by the lack of black in her field of vision. All she saw was lots of purple and white. Almost like— "AH!" she shrieked, pulling her hoof away from the Ponyville pegasus' lips, and the sudden noise caused Cloudchaser to stir. Her eyelids fluttered as she opened her mouth wide with a great, big yawn, blissfully smacking her lips as she returned from the depths of sleep. When she finally noticed Wisp in front of her, she smiled. "Hey, new girl. How'd you sleep?" What was Cloudchaser doing in her bed? Why was she looking at her like that? Just what had happened light night? In her moment of weakness, did she...? No! A much more quiet, dainty yawn came from somewhere behind her, and then a foreleg wrapped itself around her barrel. "Be quiet, you two. Just five more minutes..." When Wisp's head snapped around and saw Flitter snuggling into her back, she nearly jumped out of the bed. WHAT? She thought she was about to hyperventilate. Looking between them, she stammered, "W-w-what the heck are you two doing in my bed?!" Cloudchaser propped herself up with an elbow and rubbed the sleep out of an eye with her spare hoof. "Huh? We decided to stay the night last night, and when we heard you rolling around in your sleep we came up to give you some company. Remember?" "C... Company?" The pegasus snorted. "Nothing untoward happened last night, Wisp, if that's what you're thinking." "Yeah," Flitter mumbled into her neck. "So shut up and be a good pillow..." The ashen mare's blush could have been seen a mile away, even through her dark coat. She scrambled away from Flitter, which only brought her into Cloudchaser's hooves. The tomboy gave her a look so sly and conniving that the panicked pony thought the pegasus was secretly a snake in disguise. And that was before rested her free hoof on the poor unicorn's rump. "If that's what you want, though, we are still in bed..." This time she really did jump out of bed, and bolted into the adjoining bathroom. She cried "I-I have to go!" before slamming the door shut. Pause. "Shut UP, Cloudchaser!" Outside, the mare could be heard laughing both her flanks off. Wisp also thought she could hear Flitter quietly chuckling with her. Oh goddess, I'm never going to hear the end of this... ————————— Eventually, the pegasi had gotten out of her bed and made their way downstairs, allowing Wisp to clear her head. The cold water from the faucet definitely helped her cool off, oh yes... Cold, refreshing water... It eventually occurred to her how much better she was feeling. Sure, she still felt terrible about everything that had happened, but... She didn't feel it all hanging over her head anymore. Talking to her new friends about it instead of bottling it up and trying to ignore it had proven incredibly cathartic, if exhausting. My friends... Her thoughts turned to the sibling pegasi. Somehow she had made two good friends as soon as she arrived in Ponyville. With her track record, she still felt a little worried, but these two knew full well the extent of her... problems. They hadn't run away, hadn't tried to avoid dealing with her. She actually had real, honest-to-goodness friends to speak of besides Twinkleshine. How had she been so lucky as to meet them? ...She reminded herself that she would have to profusely thank Derpy for crashing into her. On that happy note, she left her restroom and cantered her way downstairs. Turning left into the kitchen, she found that her friends were at work making breakfast. Well, Flitter was the one at the stove cooking some pancakes; Cloudchaser was just relaxing at the table. As soon as Wisp bounced in, however, she got that look in her eye again. "Well, somepony looks real happy with herself." Wisp stomped indignantly in her direction. "Shut up, it's not like that! I was just..." Cloudchaser exaggeratedly rolled a hoof. "You were juuuuuust..." She blushed. "Just... Thinking about how lucky I am to be friends with you two." Well, that hadn't gone the way Cloudchaser was expecting. "O-oh." Wisp took her own seat at the simple dining table. Unlike the old couch, she hadn't felt a need to replace this; it didn't look very modern by any means, but there was nothing wrong with it. It fit right in with Ponyville's quaint atmosphere, and it almost felt wrong to mess too much with that. She hadn't had enough money left over to spare on a table, anyway. "I, uh... I've never really had many friends. I tend to, well... scare them off. The only one to stick with me over the years has been Twinkleshine." Flitter cut off whatever Cloudchaser had been about to say (likely to keep her from saying something stupid again). "Well, we don't plan on going anywhere," she called over the sizzling of the batter and vegetable oil. "Ready for some flapjacks?" Wisp grunted her assent. "Yeah, but you didn't have to go to the trouble," she called, pointing toward her horn when Flitter turned to her. "This thing could have made it a lot easier on you." The persian-blue pegasus scoffed, her bow shaking shaking along with her head. "Nonsense. I cook flapjacks all the time, and I thought you could use a little treat. Besides, a little skill with these wings helps just as much as your little horn would." "Oh, really?" Wisp reached her magic over to one of the two skillets Flitter was watching over and floated the pancakes over to herself with a flourish, meeting them halfway with one of the plates waiting on the counter. She even grabbed the bottle of maple syrup from Flitter's side and gave her breakfast a liberal dose of it before placing it on the table in front of her. She eyed her meal longingly. It smelled delicious. Ignoring the pointed glare she could feel boring into her skull (she hadn't the slightest idea where it was coming from), she took a fork from the silverware drawer, used it to briskly cut off a piece of the fluffy goodness and took a bite. "Mmmm," she drawled. "Soooo good." "...Well, if your magic is so great, why don't you take care of the rest of this? I swear, you're acting like my sister." "Nah, I'm good," Wisp grunted. Swallowing another bite, she chuckled, "Sorry, I'm just messing. Though, just so you know, I do prefer pancakes." Cloudchaser got a laugh out of that. "That's what I keep telling her, but she won't come off it. I guess it's something she picked up in Trottingham." Her sister hid a melancholy look that neither of them could see. "Yeah, it's what my family always used to call them. I guess I just got used to it." "You miss them sometimes, don't you?" Cloudchaser asked. Her tone wasn't accusatory, just... a little concerned. Flitter nodded. "More than you know," she muttered under her breath. "Anyway," Cloudchaser started, cheering up as her sister brought over her plate, "So, you're feeling a lot better after last night, are ya?" "Yes, definitely," Wisp replied. "I just kept getting worse, trying to hold it all in and pretending nothing had happened. It feels... good, to just let it out and acknowledge it." "Good, cuz," the pegasus continued, even as she was chewing on her own pancakes, "Now that you're over that stuff, you're gonna have to apologize to Cloud Kicker." "Thunderlane, too," Flitter added. Wisp coughed. "Yeah, you're... you're right. Though I still don't think I care for how she was coming onto me..." "She is, well... one of a kind," Flitter admitted as she finally joined the others at the table, "But she's pretty fun once you get to know her. Really good in bed, too." Wisp nearly spat out her sip of milk that Flitter had considerately sat out ahead of time. "You've done it with her?!" "At the same time," Cloudchaser added. Her smile was so wide, one might think she were posing for a picture in some glamour magazine. If that had been so, the syrup and chunks of pancake wouldn't have worked in her favor. Wisp almost tried to protest further, but they seemed serious. This made the scene back upstairs much more... awkward... Cloudchaser was quick to capitalize on the sudden heat the unicorn was feeling in her cheeks. "What, are you... jealous?" Wisp vehemently shook her head. "N-no! I'm just... surprised. How did that even happen?" Cloudchaser shrugged noncommittally, while between bites Flitter told her, "Cloud has her ways. She's had her way with lots of ponies, actually." "She's kinda like... the Pinkie Pie of sex," Cloudchaser contributed. Wisp couldn't keep a straight face for long after that. "Hahaha, that sounds so absurd!" "But it's true!" the pegasus laughed back. "She's all about having a good time, 'sharing love with ponies,' no strings attached. She's made lots of ponies really 'happy.' Nothing equivalent to a Pinkie Pie party, though." She then thought better on that statement. "...That I know of." "Well, that's kind of interesting, I guess. Kind of explains how she was acting... But I'm just surprised you have the word 'equivalent' in your dictionary, Cloudchaser." "Hey, I know some fancy words... I'm just too cool for most of them." "Careful, sis," Flitter said, looking up from her plate. "You're starting to sound like Rainbow Dash." The ponies all had a good laugh at that. Even Wisp understood the jab—all it took was one meeting with the brash pegasus to notice her inflated ego. The table became mostly silent after that, though, and Wisp found that an odd, uncomfortable feeling was growing in the pit of her stomach. She tried to ignore it, as had always served her so well, but it continued to slowly grow in intensity until, by the time everypony was finished with their pancakes (or flapjacks), she felt sick. Once she set down her fork (and levitated all the dishes to the sink and left them to soak), she realized what the problem was. With breakfast over, within a couple hours she'd have to go back to work. Perhaps for the last time. Flitter, ever the observant one, picked up on her anxiety. "Are you feeling alright, Wisp?" She licked her lips. When had they gotten so dry? "I... I really do feel a lot better about last night, guys. But... I have every reason to expect that Shooting Star and that batpony told the Guard what happened. My dream, for all I know, is already crushed." The pegasi looked at her with faces full of sympathy, and regret for their impotence. Even though they were such new friends. "But that's not it. I can be depressed about that later. But now... I think I'd really love to live here in Ponyville, with you girls, and whatever other friends I can make. But if Wintergreen tells the captain what happened... I'm pretty sure I won't be able to find a job in Ponyville ever again." Silence reigned for a few moments. "Well..." Cloudchaser started. "You could probably still... find work as a bouncer?" "Cloudchaser!" The pegasus placatingly waved her hooves in her sister's direction. "I know, but it's true! A bar would probably be happy to use that reputation to prevent trouble. I know Sun's Flank would be glad to wield the Stick of Wisp against idiots like Sticks and Stones." "Stick of... Wisp?" the eponymous mare muttered. "I guess you have a point," Flitter conceded. "But seriously, you can be so insensitive." Cloudchaser's only response to that was a shrug, but Wisp promptly got the conversation back on track. "Well... If it comes to that, I'll look into it. But right now... I'm just really dreading having to face this." "Well, then, we can come with you." Huh? Wisp blinked and repeated her thought aloud as Flitter did the same. "...Huh?" "We're not scheduled for weather duty today," Cloudchaser clarified, "And we don't have to go babysit Rumble for a few hours. We can follow you to work and see what happens. If stuff goes south, we can barge in and make a case for you. We could try to make you look a bit better, at least. And if nothing happens, well, no harm no foul." It wasn't a particularly complicated idea. Even so, Flitter complimented her for it. "You know, 'Chase, you can be stupidly brilliant sometimes. It probably wouldn't change much, but it's better than nothing." So, then... Wisp thought to herself as Cloudchaser jokingly reveled in the praise, wiping a tear from her eye. These really are my friends. "Alright, then," she said, steeling herself. "We'll all go to the Search and Rescue Office, and... see what happens." ————————— Alone in the office with Searchlight, Wisp was quickly beginning to feel hot under the proverbial collar. She had been anxious the entire way over here, but the company of her friends had helped a lot. Now, though, even if they were just a short distance away, they were out of sight. She couldn't see them, so there was little to keep her fears at bay besides the knowledge that they would be there for her. Searchlight was sitting beside his desk, almost still as a statue. Stoic as ever, Wisp thought. He was apparently electing to not say anything until Wintergreen arrived, which Wisp hoped meant the other stallion hadn't immediately reported her. Even with that bit of hope, though, being alone with the silent Searchlight was unsettling. It reminded her too much of Wintergreen. But at least this pony COULD talk... For that matter, her mind drifted to the other pony he resembled. All the captain's colors, save the silver streak in her hair and the more brilliant lemon-yellow of her eyes, matched Shooting Star all too well, but Wisp found that it no longer really bothered her. She had always had to suppress the thought around her captain and stay professional, but... Now she wouldn't have to do even that. Her train of thought was broken when the office door opened, and in trotted her partner. She caught a glimpse of Cloudchaser's face before the door shut. Heh, you goof... Turning her attention to the stallion settling next to her, the first thing Wisp noticed was the shorter tail. It appeared he had trimmed about a foot off of it, leaving no trace of the destruction she had caused. Searchlight noticed the change, but didn't act on it. Wintergreen looked pretty much the same as ever, just with half the tail length. Besides that, he... well, he looked exactly the same. Wisp would never have been able to tell he'd been a victim of arson if she hadn't been there. Searchlight cleared his throat, eyeing both of them. "So I trust that nothing out of the ordinary happened yesterday, seeing as neither of you reported in after your patrol?" Her elation at learning for certain she was safe for the moment was almost enough to keep her from jumping in surprise. That's right, I didn't report! Even if Wintergreen doesn't tell him, what will he think? That I'm irresponsible? Am I screwed either way? I— Oh. Hold the phone. "Er... I'm sorry, sir, but while you've been otherwise thorough in your instructions, I don't believe you ever said anything about reporting in. We didn't come across anything unusual, so we just figured it wouldn't be necessary. Eheh..." Searchlight considered that. "You misunderstand. You're not expected to report if nothing happens. I may be strict, but I'm not fond of exercises in futility. There would be no point." Wisp nervously rubbed the back of her neck. "Right, right, of course..." "Indeed. I suppose that takes care of that." Sizing up Wintergreen, the elder stallion inquired, "But what happened to your tail, Wintergreen? You've always groomed yourself to the same standard." Wisp froze up. Well, this is it... Moment of truth... Will he or won't he? Somewhere outside, two pegasi tensed up as well. "Nothing, sir. I simply felt it time for a change of pace." All the tension immediately flowed out of her, but the mare felt like she should be more relieved. He's... not going to say anything? After the way he flipped out? It was almost as if... He didn't hold it against her? Or maybe he intended to blackmail her? She told her brain to shut up and wait before jumping to conclusions. "Fair enough." Dividing his gaze again between them, Searchlight continued, "In that case, you both can head out and continue your patrol." Wisp almost galloped out the door just then, but thinking back to yesterday, she realized there was something she wanted to ask, first. "Before we go, may I ask you a question, sir?" "Of course." "Well... You didn't sound very pleased about some things yesterday. You made it sound like things in Ponyville aren't quite the way you'd like them to be. What did you mean by that?" The larger pony grunted. "Caught that, did you? I try not to speak ill of the Mayor, but although she's a competent, generally reasonable mare, I can't agree with her sentiments when it comes to security." Raised eyebrows all around. Well... both of Wisp's were raised, anyways. "She agrees that security is important, but thinks that what we have is enough. She's not against more ponies joining up with us, but she is decidedly against allowing us to go looking for recruits. She thinks it would make ponies uncomfortable, make them question whether Ponyville is as safe as it seems." Wisp thought she could almost see a vein beginning to throb in the captain's forehead. At the least, his posture was definitely even stiffer than usual. "But Ponyville isn't as safe as it seems. Day to day, things are fine, but just a couple months ago, that Twilight Sparkle's baby dragon became a full-grown dragon and went on a rampage. The very same Twilight Sparkle drove half the town insane with some doll enchantment the month before. Last year, parasprites from the Everfree were eating all our food, until, again, Twilight Sparkle cast a spell that made them eat not our food, but the town itself." Woah. Wisp knew very well that powerful unicorns could cause lots of trouble if they weren't careful, and Twilight was the most powerful unicorn of her time, as far as anypony knew, but... She could definitely see why the captain would have a problem with her. "But Ms. Sparkle is the Princess' protégé, so she's untouchable. The point is that things can go wrong here more easily than ponies like to think. Even Derpy causes a little trouble here and there. Not to mention that the Everfree Forest is just outside the limits, and there's a pegasus pony who lives right next to the blasted place." He sighed. "I'll be the first to admit that there's... not really anything we could do against a dragon or a swarm of parasprites. But a magical charm could be easily dealt with, and there are any number of other things that could happen. Even just doubling our roster would go a long way toward a fast, coordinated response to anything that happens. But no, the Mayor insists that we keep the ponies calm... Ugh." Well, that made plenty of sense. Wisp could see both points of view. She had to admit, though, that she found herself wondering how the Mayor could make such an uninformed decision, but that may have just been the captain's influence talking. "Anyway," Searchlight continued in his rumbling voice, "That answers your question." He snorted with what sounded like amusement. "You have a habit of getting me to monologue. That's enough for today; go on out there and do your job. Lest something happens, I'll see you again tomorrow." And with that, it was over. Wisp somewhat regretted getting the captain on that diatribe—it had been nothing she couldn't have eventually figured out for herself or perhaps asked Wintergreen about, but the only thing special it really did was prolong her wait to just... take a breath. For some reason, Wintergreen was choosing not to get her in trouble. Big trouble. He had every right to, but... he didn't. Now instead of fearing for her new life, she was curious, and she was going to get to the bottom of it. First, though, she smiled in quiet rejoice at her pegasus friends. It wouldn't do to get too noisy just outside the office, and inside Town Hall, no less, but a smile she could allow herself. Her friends, of course, beamed back at her. A sigh and a "whew" later, and they both joined her side opposite Wintergreen on the way out of the building. The stallion paid them no mind. Wisp found this as perturbing as ever, but more because in this case it amounted to ignoring her friends. She was feeling the slightest bit protective. This was not the time for that, though, let alone with the incident so fresh. She had... a lot to apologize for. Once they had made it a ways from Town Hall and were weaving through the streets of Ponyville, Cloudchaser let loose and did a couple backflips in the air, taking to instead flying above the group once she was finished. "Woohoo, I told you everything'd be fine!" The grounded sister rolled her eyes. "No, you didn't." "Details." She hovered closer to Wintergreen and prodded him with a forehoof. "So this is him, huh?" "Leave him alone, Cloudchaser," Flitter groaned. "What? He's the one who got Wisp all upset. What's wrong with a little poke?" Poke, poke. "She's right, Cloudchaser," Wisp agreed. "It was my own fault I got so worked up, you know that." Turning to the stallion beside her, she added. "He didn't do anything wrong. Not really." He surprisingly nodded in response. Whether simply acknowledging he was being spoken to or agreeing with her was anypony's guess. "And, well, speaking of which, Wintergreen..." Wisp paused. "Yes?" "Why... Why didn't you tell him what I did?" He calmly turned his head and looked her in the eye. "Because it wasn't your fault. I egged you on at the end, for which I apologize." He returned his gaze forward. "You also remind me of someone." "And who is that?" "I'd rather not say." Right. Well. Wisp knew better than to bark up that tree, so she let it drop. Her thoughts moving back to the matter at hoof, though, she was rather surprised. He just... apologized to me? That was the last thing I expected when I got up this morning... She took a deep breath, and released with it the leftover tension from... everything. "Thank you, Wintergreen. And either way, I'm sorry, too. I was being irritable, and... well, that was my own fault, too. Flitter and Cloudchaser here helped me with that, though, so uh..." Stopping in the middle of the road, she offered a hoof. "Anyway. No hard feelings?" He too stopped in his tracks, and looked down at her hoof. Looking back up at her, he stepped closer and took it. She was the only one really putting effort into the hoofshake, but she'd take what she could get. "Indeed." "Well, then, if Wisp's cool with him," Cloudchaser muttered from overhead, "I can try to get along, too. Got a hoofshake for me, too, Wintergreen?" The earth pony ignored her offer and simply continued the way they had been walking. "No," he replied. "What? Why not?!" "We've only just met," the stallion explained. "And you're loud." The two other mares burst into laughter. Cloudchaser flushed a little and looked threateningly down her nose. "Of course, you understand, this means war..." The next hour on patrol passed with little incident, with Cloudchaser quietly contemplating ways to get back at Wintergreen. Eventually, though, the twins bid him and Wisp goodbye as they left to tend to their babysitting duties. Of course, this left something of an uncomfortable silence, Wisp finally being alone with the stallion she had wronged. "Thanks again. For not telling." "There's no need to thank me," he said. "I made the logical choice." "If you say so..." Wading through her thoughts a moment, Wisp realized that they still hadn't been down the path they had been down before, to the outskirts of Ponyville. She thought that seemed odd. "I notice we haven't gone quite the same way as yesterday," she began. "And you said you'd started intentionally provoking me. Did leading me outside of Ponyville have to do with that?" And then it dawned on her. "You... You led me out of town, away from ponies who might see us. Did you... want me to burn you?" Wintergreen, solemn and silent as ever, said nothing at first. By the time he did, it came as a surprise. "You were beginning to get quite upset with me. I thought it best for things to play out somewhere it wouldn't affect your reputation." "Even though we'd only just met?" This time, silence was her only answer. "You're a strange stallion, you know." The rest of their trip around Ponyville passed with little incident, and hardly a word between them. That is, until they made back to the town square at the end of their patrol, sun still high in the sky at about 2 'o clock in the afternoon. Wisp coughed to make sure she had the other pony's attention, and not at all because what she was about to say made her feel awkward. "I guess that's it for today, right?" He nodded. "Then, well... I still feel bad about before. Care for a drink, on me?" "You owe me nothing." The stallion looked somewhat awkward himself, though only, as always, it was barely noticeable. This guy's body language is going to take some getting used to... "And I... usually don't go out. Or drink." Wisp hesitated. "Well, if you're sure..." The senior searchpony turned away, told her "...Maybe next time," and went on his way. Wisp wasn't sure what to think. She got the feeling that—well, she knew he had no friends. She didn't see the earth pony having a good enough reason to lie. So was he just going home to... be alone? That couldn't be healthy. With nothing else to do until Flitter and Cloudchaser got back, she turned on her heel and headed toward nearby Town Hall. She was going to find out what, if anything, the captain knew about Wintergreen. ————————— "Come in." The office door squeaked open, and in walked Wisp. "Wispwillow. If you have anything to report, Wintergreen should still be with you." "There's nothing to report, sir. I'm just... curious about my partner." "I'm not surprised. He is a rather odd one." The younger pony nodded. "Exactly. As of today, at least, I'm getting along with him better, but... He's hard to read. Two days on the job and I don't know anything about him. I was hoping you'd be able to fill me in...?" Searchlight scooted aside the papers on his desk—always with the paperwork—and leaned onto it against his foreleg. "Honestly, I know little more than you. He's been in Ponyville a while, apparently arrived alone on the train. He worked out his living arrangements, signed up here, and... That's it. Nopony ever sees him around except when venturing out for the necessities. No family, no friends... He just does his job and goes home. The most I've ever gotten out of him is that he came from Fillydelphia." "I see..." Searchlight was right, this told her nothing new. Wintergreen was as much a mystery as ever. Well, so much for that. "Is that all you want to ask me?" Wisp scratched her chin. "Well, I guess, since I'm always asking you questions... How do you feel about searchponies taking up part-time jobs?" The dark stallion snorted. "So long as you do your job here, it makes no difference to me. Despite my everything I say about Ponyville not being completely safe, the truth is that hardly anything goes wrong here." He huffed. "Frankly, you're only on regular patrol because you're new, and because Wintergreen could use a partner; Unless there's something going on that warrants heightened security, you'll usually have lots of time on your hooves." "I see," the young mare nodded. "Well, that's good to hear. I think." Then, for the first time, Wisp made to leave without being dismissed. That is, until Searchlight stopped her. "By the way, Wispwillow," he said, "In case you haven't heard, there's somepony in town looking for you." Wisp's ears perked up. "What? Who?" "I didn't catch her name," he answered, "But it seemed she was rather cross with you." He actually chuckled and allowed himself a little smile. "She's probably still speaking with the Mayor, if you want to find her." "Oh. Uh... Thanks, sir." Continuing on her way out, she called "see you tomorrow" over her shoulder and cantered through the building to where the Mayor's office should be, if she remembered correctly. Who the heck could it be? I don't think I've done anything to upset anypony that I haven't spoken to today... I don't get it. Passing a few ponies on the way, she stopped when she heard a muffled conversation behind the door. One of the voices was definitely the Mayor, so she knew she had the right place, but the other voice was just quiet enough that she couldn't quite tell who it was. Not that she'd have recognized the voice of anypony in Ponyville, but... By the sounds of it, she was catching the tail end of things. That must have been the Mayor thanking her and welcoming her to Ponyville, the other pony thanking her in kind, then hoofsteps approaching the door... And then the door opened with a light blue glow, and the mystery pony called "Have a good day, Miss Mayor!" as she trotted out into the... lobby, or whatever it was Wisp was standing in. The mare closed the door behind her, and when she faced forward, she froze as her face twisted into that cute little expression she always made when she was angry. "Wisp?!" "Twinkleshine?!" The mares stared at each other in surprise. Twinkleshine, of course, also being rather peeved. "'What am I doing here?' What are you doing here? I don't hear from you for a week after you walk out my door, and then your parents tell me you moved to Ponyville! What the HAY is wrong with you?" Wisp had no defense. She'd been caught unprepared, but more than that, Twinkleshine had a point. "Wait... They said I moved? They told me to use the money to rent a place..." Twinkleshine scoffed. "Yeah, I'm sure they did, but they also knew better than to think you would. They knew very well that they were lending you enough to get a permanent place, and that you'd be stupid enough to do it." Wisp's ears folded back as she realized the truth in what her friend was saying. Of course they had known... They always saw right through her. "But then, in this case, I'm just as bad as you, because I'm moving into Ponyville, too." The darker mare did a double take. "W... what? Why? What about your other friends?" Twinkleshine's expression softened. "Wisp, they're my friends, but you're my best friend. I'll follow you wherever you go. Even if you are an idiot." Then she rolled her eyes. "Besides, it's not like Canterlot is all that far by train. I'll just be spending most of my time here for a while." Wisp chuckled, wiping a tear from her eye. Sure, the little unicorn was unhappy with her, but something about having her dearest, and only— Well, Twinkleshine wasn't her only friend anymore, was she? She had Flitter and Cloudchaser, and... well, who knew what might happen with Wintergreen. Maybe having almost burned his tail off would prove a bonding experience. "By the way, Twink. I've actually... made some new friends while I've been here. And they seem like keepers." Deciding that they'd been spending enough time right outside the Mayor's office, Twinkleshine brushed past her and motioned for her to follow. "Oh? What are they like?" Trotting side-by-side with her, Wisp wasn't sure where to start. "Well, they're twin sisters. And pegasi. Cloudchaser really likes to—" "Oh boy, pegasi? Which one are you crushing on, then?" Wisp sputtered in disbelief. "W-what?! What's that supposed to mean? I'm not crushing on either of them!" She mumbled, mostly to herself, "Besides, I'm not ready to date again just yet..." "If you say so," Twinkleshine snarked. "In case you haven't noticed, you date lots of pegasi. And you were always going on about how 'warm' and 'wonderful' Star's wings were." Her friend winced suddenly as she realized who she'd just brought up, but Wisp didn't notice. She was more focused on the fact that, again, Twinkleshine had a point. I... never noticed before. I mean, I've dated other kinds of ponies, but... She's right. Huh... "Um, Wisp? Are you alright?" The mare in question perked up, startled out of her reverie. "Huh? Yeah, why?" The ivory mare was giving her an odd, worried look. "I just mentioned Star, and you're... not upset?" "Oh. Yeah, I... I guess not. Not really." "Who are you and what have you done with my friend?" Wisp snorted and turned up her nose. "What's the big deal? So I'm not freaking out. Doesn't mean I'm happy about it." Twinkleshine's voice grew more and more ripe with disbelief. "The Wisp I know would still be trying not to think about it and flip out at the drop of a hat." "Yeah, well, I was doing that for a few days. But then I set a pony on fire—" "WISP!" "I-I know, I know! But it's alright, he said it was his fault anyway—" "What?!" Wisp sat down on the dirt road they were walking down and rubbed her eyes. Funny how quickly time seemed to pass with a friend around. Even if she spent half the time yelling at her. "Look, I know it wasn't his fault. I think. He said he was to blame for provoking me, but it was my fault for bottling everything up and getting so irritable in the first place. But the point is, after that I told Flitter and Cloudchaser all about it, and everything that happened in Canterlot. So I really just... feel a lot better about everything. I don't feel it hanging over my head anymore, at least." "...I think you should tell me the whole story." ————————— By the time Wisp could finish her tale, they'd made it back to her new home and settled into the couch. Nearly an hour had passed, and she had just finished telling Twinkleshine about the previous night. "So then, when I woke up, I found both of them in my bed—" "What the hay, Wisp?!" "N-no, it's not what you think! I was having some trouble sleeping, so they came up to give me company—" ... "...Okay, I know that sounds bad, too. But nothing happened, I swear. The only thing that did was Cloudchaser grabbing my flank when I started freaking out—" "Wisp..." "What? I told you she's the flirty one. She's always messing around with me, and Flitter is just as bad when she gets drunk." "I don't know. It sounds like they're after something, to me." At that, Wisp finally stopped a moment to breathe and look her friend in the eye. "Look, I know it sounds odd, but they really are my friends. They can tease me all they want, but I'm... really glad I met them." Twinkleshine brought a hoof to her mouth, contemplating. "Well, it's true that if not for them, you'd most definitely still be an absolute mess. I guess they sound nice enough..." "Right," Wisp nodded, pleased. "I think you'll like them. Though, I'm not sure they can handle you..." The subsequent shove to her shoulder only made her smile grow. "Besides, who knows? If they are after something, maybe you could live out some of your romance stories..." That one was more like a punch, but that just made her laugh. Twinkleshine really wasn't the physically strongest of ponies, even for a unicorn, so it hardly even hurt. Once the other mare gave up, she begrudged her a smile despite herself. "So anyway, where was I... Oh yeah, there was the conversation over breakfast..." Wisp scratched her chin thinking over the details of that little talk. "I really should apologize to Cloud Kicker, I guess..." "Who?" "Oh, just this other pegasus mare." Ignoring Twinkleshine's smirk, she continued, "She tried putting the moves on me at my Pinkie Pie Welcome Party. Very... bluntly." The unicorn frowned. "It pissed me off. She didn't even try being subtle, it was just, 'Wanna bang?' There was nothing alluring about it at all." Sighing internally at her actions, she continued, "I shouldn't have reacted so harshly, though. It... felt kinda good at the time to see her feeling bad about it. She asked to start over but I just told her 'maybe later.'" Suddenly Twinkleshine was all up in her face. "You're darn right, you should apologize! Right now! Even if she did deserve it a little." And then Wisp found herself being pushed off the couch and toward the door, but that didn't last long. "Twink, I have no idea where she lives or even where to find her." "Oh." A moment of silence. "Well, you should find out." "You're right, I will. I can ask Flitter and Cloudchaser once they show up. But, as I was saying..." Wisp trotted back up to the couch and nonchalantly picked up Twinkleshine in her magic and floated her back to where she'd been on the couch. Entirely unnecessary, of course, but Twink always got that same look on her face when she did something like that, and that alone was worth it. The one-sided tension could have been cut with a knife, but it faded soon enough as Wisp picked up where she left off. "Actually, there's really not much more to say," Wisp admitted. "They came with me in case Wintergreen decided to tell the captain about what happened, and he didn't. The girls followed us on our patrol for a bit, and that's about it, besides going back to the office and hearing you were looking for me. So I... guess my life here in Ponyville is safe." Looking down at her hooves, the air suddenly grew heavy. "Can't say the same for Canterlot and the Corps, though..." "What do you mean?" She looked up. "Well, I'm sure Star and Crescent Moon told the Royal Guard what happened. Why wouldn't they? So my dream of being a magus is ruined..." "Uh, Wisp..." Twinkleshine started. "They didn't tell the Guard. I don't think they told anypony." Cue double-take. "Wh... what? Why not?" Twinkleshine shrugged. "I don't know. I just know I haven't heard anything, and, well... She sent me a letter." "You mean... Star did? What did it say?" "It said to tell you your career is safe. And... that she was sorry." Wisp turned around and planted her face into the arm of the couch. She was dumbfounded. After all that happened, Shooting Star wasn't going to tell anyone what she'd done? And for that matter, her new marefriend wasn't, either? Sure, if there had been any scars after the fire was so promptly put out, modern medical magic and science could heal it, but... It didn't make sense. And on top of that, she was apologizing again? Wisp dimly realized there was something leaking from her eyes. "Dammit, Star..." "That's not all. She included something with the letter." She pulled herself up and faced her friend again. "Yeah? What was it?" Twinkleshine pulled something out of her saddlebags behind the couch and levitated it towards them. The aircruise tickets. Stars damn you, Shooting Star... She took the tickets and stuffed them somewhere she could forget them. Who knows, maybe I'll end up with somepony I can take with me. The cruise isn't for a while, anyway... Wisp's home was quiet for a while after that. With Twinkleshine leaning against her, she soon felt mostly better, but they continued to sit in relative silence. It eventually occurred to Wisp just how glad she was to have Twinkleshine around. She hadn't realized it before, but now she felt as if she'd been lost without her, or would have soon have come to feel that way. They had been friends since they were fillies, never staying apart for long. She was one of the few constants in Wisp's life, pony-wise. The only pony she could always rely on besides her family. Why in the bloody hay had she chosen to leave that behind? On that note... Where is she even gonna stay? Doesn't she have to go finalize the sale like I did? "Hey, Twink..." "Hm?" the smaller mare inquired from her place against her shoulder. "What are you gonna do for lodging? I heard the Mayor welcoming you to Ponyville and all, but..." "Oh, I asked her where you were living and I picked a place just next door. I'm all set, I just have to send for some of my things." Oh. Well. That'd have been nice. "That is, depending how long you plan on staying here." ...Oh. That. "Well..." Wisp started uncomfortably. "It's a bit early to make a final decision, but... I'm starting to think I'd like to stay here in Ponyville. I can go visit my family anytime, and it's just... It's great here, Twink. No nobles, no stuffy guards... I still love Canterlot, but things are so much more simple here. It's really... cozy." And, opting to make a small joke at her own expense, she added, "Besides... There are more pegasi here." Twinkleshine gave her a look, then shifted around a bit to make herself more comfortable. "In that case, if you do stay, then I'm staying too." Wisp felt her jaw drop. "Twink, you don't have to—" "I don't have to, but I will. I wouldn't mind a change of scenery, myself. Besides... You'd be lost without me." Wisp closed her eyes, grinning to herself. "Yeah... And so would you." "Pfft." They remained like that for a while, simply enjoying each other's company. Things were as they should be, and for once it felt like things would be just fine. It seemed all too soon, though, that a knock came at the door. "Oh, I wonder who that could be," Wisp grunted, reluctantly pulling away from Twinkleshine to answer the door. Sure, she could have just opened it from the couch, but if it turned out she had assumed wrong, that would be incredibly rude. And even still, it was just customary to personally greet your guests. Even if one of those guests was a real blockhead. Opening the door, she was greeted by a rather unexpected surprise. One she had to admit she liked, but that made it no less startling. Instead of a purple pony's face at her doorstep, she was greeted by a near-faceful of flank. "Ah! C-C... Cloudchaser!" The offender rolled onto her back and began kicking at the air as the laughing fit started. She was quickly joined in her mirth by Flitter, who had been hovering above the doorway, out of sight. "Bahahaha, you should see the look on your face! Priceless!" Wisp dragged a hoof over her face, the obfuscation of her blush a pleasant bonus. "Haven't you anything better to do than tease me, Cloudchaser?" The pegasus eventually got most of it of her system and rolled back onto her hooves. "Nope. It is my only goal in life, m'lady, to make thine cheeks burn red." Wisp scoffed as Flitter laughed and said, "It's true. It's not like she's doing anything else with her life." That put an end to her sister's giggling. "Yeah, I get it already..." But then she noticed the light-colored pony over on the couch—not difficult, since the couch was so dark—and raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" she said, letting herself in. "Who's this?" Wisp waved her off. "Oh, don't mind her. It's just Twinkleshine, my dearest friend. No big deal." The mare in question rolled her eyes. "Oh," Cloudchaser said. "Awesome. She sounded pretty cool when you mentioned her. Especially the part about the... romance novels." Well, if the pegasus' intention had been to set the little unicorn off, she succeeded. "Wisp!" With Cloudchaser offering background noise with her unbridled amusement, Wisp found it hard not to join in. "What? All I did was mention it's a hobby of yours." After a moment, she just found herself unable to resist a snicker. "Besides, w... what was that one I caught you reading that one time? 'Daring Do and the Mysterious Goo'?" Joining Wisp, Cloudchaser was on the floor again, rolling around and clutching her sides, while Flitter was trying and failing to quiet her own laughing with her hoof. Twinkleshine's cheeks and ears were burning red as the setting sun. And, unfortunately for her, she had a very light coat. "I-I told you, I was just curious! I'm not normally into that kind of stuff..." When her excuse didn't stop them, her lips twisted into a wicked grin. Oh yes, she knew how to turn things around. Twinkleshine was, if nothing else, a clever pony. "By the way, Wisp," she said in a honey-sweet voice, batting her eyelashes, "What was that we were discussing earlier? You know, about you having a thing for pegasus ponies?" The room went dead silent. As Twinkleshine had predicted, all eyes went directly to her dear friend as Wisp found herself the center of attention. "Yes, Wisp, do tell," Cloudchaser purred, brushing up against the unicorn and wrapping a wing around her. Whispering into her ear, she asked, "What is this... thing you have for pegasi like us?" "SO, uh, I'll begin the introductions!" Wisp tactfully exclaimed, quickly wriggling away. "Flitter and Cloudchaser, meet Twinkleshine. Twinkleshine, meet... them." Cloudchaser took to the air and flew right over to her senior in friend...dom and offered her hoof. "Nice to meet ya, Twinkleshine. And, if I may say so, that was a lovely comeback." Twinkleshine returned the hoofshake and smiled in kind. "Thank you. Wisp forgets sometimes what it's like to have a taste of her own medicine." As they shared a laugh at that, Wisp grumbled that she hadn't touched anypony. "Wisp didn't say a whole lot about you," Flitter said, "But she did speak fondly of you. You sound like great friends." "Well, I should hope so," Twinkleshine laughed. "We've known each other since magic kindergarten." Wisp smiled at the memory, but then she remembered something. "Oh, uh... Girls? Do you have any idea where we could find Cloud Kicker about now?" "Ready to talk to her, huh?" Flitter asked rhetorically. "Well, right now she'll be on weather duty, but that should be over soon. After that, she usually hangs out with Blossomforth, but sometimes she just goes 'out on the town.'" Wisp facehoofed. It was the weakest facehoof of all of the facehoofs of the last few days, but still it was a facehoof. "I'm getting tired just talking about her. And I imagine if we just tried catching her at home tonight..." "Yep." "Blegh. I guess I'll just apologize whenever I see her. Tracking a pony down is so tiresome... Right now, I just know I'm hungry." The way Cloudchaser's face lit up, Wisp already knew where they were going. "Well, we've got another new mare in town, so Sun's Flank is the only option." Twinkleshine seemed wary. "Sun's... Flank?" "Oh, don't worry about the name, Twink," Wisp said. "You'll love it. It's mostly a place for mares, but the food and service are great." The other unicorn blushed. "I wasn't worried about that. More like... what it refers to..." "What are you talking about? It—" Oh. Oh. She turned to the pegasi, heat rising in her own cheeks as well. "Just how risqué is this place?" Cloudchaser shrugged. "You might see some PDA, but that's usually about it. Unless Cloud Kicker is there. Or somepony drinks too much. Or you stick around too late." "Of course..." ————————— "You know, if you're so worried about it being risqué, then why are we here?" "I'm not that worried about it. I liked what I saw last time, after all." Looking across the table at her pegasus friends, she added, "Besides, I'm gonna ask about that bouncing job." Cloudchaser coughed. "Well, if they're actually looking for a bouncer, I haven't heard about it. They'd probably be happy to have you, though. Every so often somepony gets too drunk and needs escorted out," she explained. Then, bouncing her eyebrows, she concluded with satisfaction, "Might as well hire somepony who can just throw them out with her horn." The unicorn blushed a little at that, but the unicorn next to her had something of an objection. "Wait a minute. Why are you looking for a job here when you have work as a searchpony?" Wisp shrugged. "Well, as Captain Searchlight says, Ponyville seems really quiet and safe most of the time. Not much happens that would even call for a rescue pony. We're pretty much just here to be ready for when those emergencies do come up, and take care of any smaller problems if we come across them. Searchlight told me that I'm really only on patrol because I'm new, so I might as well make myself useful here." "I suppose that makes sense," Twinkleshine admitted. "Doesn't that bug you, though?" "Not really. I take it as a good sign that ponies are safe. Besides, this way I get to hang out more with my favorite ponies," she said, causing her Canterlot friend to roll her eyes. "By the way, Wisp," Flitter spoke up, for the first time since they'd entered the bustling building. With how rambunctious her sibling could be, it seemed almost as if she could fade into the background sometimes. "Why did you sign up there, anyway?" Scratching her head, Wisp answered, "Well, if I'm going to get into the Magi Corps, I'm expected to do something besides just study. I want to help ponies, and it's not the Royal Guard, so it was a no-brainer." "Huh." The quiet left by the sudden lull in conversation was quickly filled with the din of ponies talking and laughing, plates and glasses clinking against their tables, and door opening and closing as ponies came and went. It seemed busier than Wisp remembered... Maybe it had something to do with her Pinkie Party? Just how long did those things go on for, anyway? She was about to bring up Pinkie Pie to Twinkleshine—her friend hadn't asked about the welcome party when she mentioned it before—when the door opened again and she caught a flash of yellow and purple in the corner of her eye. More of a proper purple, too, less flirtatiously subtle than the shade of "persian blue" that Flitter called her own... Though still dangerously close to Cloudchaser's palette. Wisp turned to make sure it was who she thought it was, but it was hard to make out the pony behind the veritable crowd. She caught a glimpse, here and there, of the wings... The cutie mark... Yep, it was definitely her. And it looked like she was being followed by a freckled pegasus with a watermelon mane (the shades of green and pink in her hair looked exactly like those of a watermelon). It occurred to Wisp that she was seeing a LOT of pegasi lately... But this one looked like she was a bit uncomfortable. If the blush on her face was any indication, Cloud Kicker had taken to teasing her. That, or she was as concerned about the nature of the place as Cloudchaser had thought Wisp was. Once the pair came into plain view, Wisp called out to them. "Hey, Cloud Kicker! Can I have a moment?" Cloud Kicker muttered something to her friend as they approached the table of mares, acknowledging Flitter and Cloudchaser with a wave. "Hey again, new girl. Who's your friend?" Wisp cleared her throat, protectively putting herself between her and Twinkleshine. "Yeah, see, that's the thing. I've been meaning to apologize for snapping at you, but I don't think hitting on my best friend while we're at it is in your best interests." "Oh, let me guess," the blonde pegasus' friend—presumably Blossomforth, going by the cutie mark—grumbled. "She got too close for comfort and just wouldn't give it a rest?" The new unicorns in town might have thought Blossomforth's anger was directed at Wisp if not for the way the mare was glaring at her friend. Cloud Kicker, for her part, seemed used to this. "Pretty much," Wisp confirmed. "Though it was more that she kicked it off with 'wanna bang?'" Blossomforth facehoofed. Hard. "Seriously, Cloud? Seriously?" "Hey," Cloud Kicker said in her defense, "I admit it wasn't my most creative pickup line..." Blossomforth just rolled her eyes and sighed. A few moments later, though, something dawned on her. "O-oh, I'm sorry," she apologized, mostly to Wisp. "I didn't mean to be rude. She just doesn't know when to quit..." After Blossomforth was assured it was alright, Cloud Kicker gave a dry laugh. "And you were the one about to apologize to me..." Looking oddly serious for a moment, she added, "Well, I really am sorry. I'll try and keep it down around you and your friend. So... We're cool?" Wisp eyed her warily. "Make that a 'definitely,' then yeah, sure." "Great," Cloud Kicker concluded with a smile. "But now then, if you'll excuse me, I have a date with Blossom in the corner over there..." Her freckled friend cried "W-we're not dating!" as she was dragged away. "So, uh..." "Yep," Cloudchaser affirmed. "Remind me to be thankful it was you ponies I met instead of her." "What," Flitter jested, "Because Cloudchaser is so much better?" Wisp was about to have some fun with that, but it just so happened that their food had arrived. Perhaps the waitress had been waiting on them for that little exchange to end, but fortunately, this time the waitress was a unicorn. Wisp made a note to be more aware in the future, just in case. The ponies enjoyed their respective meals over the course of the next half hour or so. Twinkleshine, as Wisp had, found herself impressed by the hayfries, and indeed, everything else. And as the food gave way to conversation, Flitter found that she had some common ground with the little unicorn. Between being the more levelheaded of herself and her more excitable counterpart, and often having to pick up said counterpart's mess, the two had plenty to talk about. Wisp and her friends, old and new, enjoyed each other's company and got to know each other just a little bit better. And it was enough.