"So why did you ponies abduct me?"
"I didn't abduct you." Twilight managed to say after a short coughing fit. Storm noticed the "I" and turned to her.
"Then you can send me back?"
"What? Why?" He glared at her. "I-I don't know. I don't even know if it's possible."
"Then how is what you did any different from abducting me." She was about to respond but he interrupted her. "How can you justify forcing me away from my friends, family and loved ones to be your pet."
She looked down dejectedly, scoffing her hoof across the table. "I can't," She finally managed to say.
Storm gave an exaggerated sigh. "Look Twilight," he waited til she looked up at him, "I've never liked being forced into things I didn't want to do. I get enough of that from my brother, but as I see it there's currently nothing I can do about it. Just give me some time to adapt to this place and we'll see where things go." The ponies smiled." BUT! That doesn't mean I will be your pet. If you want something of me then you will ask. Nicely. You will treat me as an equal, and nothing less. Do you understand my terms?" She grinned and nodded to me.
"And second I want a promise from you that you'll look for a way to send me back. Maybe even find a way to summon me back and forth between my world and yours." She made the promise, but the pink mare spoke up.
"Twilight, you took him from his home, he should get more reassurance that you will look." A short chant which ended with a hoof in
her eye later and Pinkie was happy. Storm being confused, looked to the others. Rainbow spoke up.
"You don't break a Pinkie Promise."
"Why's that?"
"Do you know what Pinkie would do to her if she broke her promise." He deadpanned and waved a hand to indicate himself. "Right, right. Just don't break a Pinkie Promise."
"I can't believe shes that scary. I mean look at her. That fluffy mane, those big innocent eyes, and her personality, while random, I would call her a candy girl." She and others giggled. "She is just an unassuming lass."
"Well I do work with the cakes making all sorts of sweets." Pinkie claimed. Storm gave a little fist pump. It wasn't every year he got something right.
"Oh! Speaking of unassuming, where could I get some cloth?" Strangely it was only Twilight that wasn't confused or curious.
"Why would you want some cloth?" That one came from the white one. So he turned towards her.
"Well I don't have fur and cant keep myself warm, so I need to make cloths for myself. Though I'll be the first to admit whatever I make won't last a day." He shrugged. "Besides, I don't want to be eye candy." Looking around he saw that Pinkie was drooling just a little.
"Well I don't know about eye candy, whatever that is, but I could create you an assemble for any occasion." He looked back at her.
"You can make cloths?" She responded with a yes. "Ever work on a biped before?"
"Er, no, I admit I've never had the opportunity to." She looked sheepish at her admittance. He shrugged again.
"Meh, it'll be better than whatever I end up making. You available right now?" She was. "Then lets not waste time." He got up and wrapped the blanket tighter around him. He took a few steps before turning back around. "Where am I going again?"
"This way dear." And thus I ended up following her along with Twilight, and Pinkie, while the others excused themselves.
"So what types of cloths can you make?"
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"Good morning Luna. How was Night Court?" Princess Celestia asked her sister as she came to breakfast looking sullen.
"The court was cancelled so we may concentrate on finding the humans dreams." She sat at her end of the table where a waiter placed a big mug in front of her. Celestia couldn't understand how her sister enjoyed such an awful beverage, but the results speak for themselves. It came from a locally grown bean on a far off island on the southern edge of the kingdom. Luna discovered it when she went to see the world in her first year after her return.
"It doesn't sound like you were successful." Celestia commented as she began to cut into her strawberry waffles.
"Not so. I did find his dreams. However I saw nothing." Celestia looked back at her sister. Before she could ask Luna spoke again. "Nothing at all. He was dreaming, or at least in the dream realm, but he wasn't dreaming about anything. Just nothing but a void. So I used my magic to try and force a dream. The same blackness was there. Then I tried to bring a memory of a dream. It worked, but before I saw more then the first image he awoke." She took a big gulp of her drink.
"So what did you see." Celestia asked curiously. It was not often when her sister failed with dreams.
"An ancient forest before the rays of first light shown over the horizon." She sighed, thankful for the mug in her magic grasp. "I shall have better luck tonight." Just then a plate of blueberry waffles was placed in front of her. Before she could say her thanks a puff of smoke covered the table. Discord was there in the middle when the smoke cleared.
"Good morning Princess, and Celestia. I have returned." He said triumphantly holding up a stallion in armor and his family along with a large amount of suit cases.
"Discord, you didn't need to bring Fortress back from his vacation." Celestia didn't want to deal with Discord this early in the morning, but she had to now.
"Now now Tia, I looked it up," He pulled a book out of his ear. "Right here, if any active member of the Guard is called to be on duty then they shall be compensated yada yada, in short he will receive four weeks paid vacation. Consider this my Hearths Warming to him and his family." He snapped the book shut and tossed it over his shoulder where it landed as a potted plant in full bloom. Celestia looked to the floating stallion.
"And what do you say Captain?"
"I wouldn't object to an entire month with my girls." Fortress smiled, he pretty much got four weeks extra for missing the last day of his vacation.
"Very well, Discord, please put them down." He did so. "Take your family home and unpack, we will discuss what we need you to do at lunch." The stallion bowed and asked for help with the luggage from the other guards before leaving. "So how are you feeling?" She asked when the doors closed.
"Much better than yesterday, thank you." He sat down and with a snap of his talons a plate of upside down waffles and a huge amount of plaid syrup appeared. Instead of thinking about that the Princesses simply ignore it and continued with their own breakfast's.
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Storm was amazed. Not because of all the ponies staring at him. Not because he got a brief history on the town and the different kinds of ponies within it. Nor was he (too) amazed that pegasus's controlled the weather. No. He was amazed that Rarity, under two hours, measured, designed and completed six outfits to his specifications and lots of grumbling. Five casual and one suit, with one he put on paper from memory so she could work on it later. Call it a special order he said and to take her time with it along with his suggestion that she could put some needle work to it, but nothing shiny or too fancy.
Thanking her for her work, the three of them left and headed out to lunch. Storm wanted to go back to the castle to put the cloths away but Pinkie just snatched them up and they disappeared into her mane. "Uh?"
"Don't think about it, it's just Pinkie being Pinkie." Twilight said, still walking.
"I guess I should just call it magic and leave it at that?" She nodded. "Too late, I'm already thinking of the possibilities." She looked up at him and noticed he looked contemplative.
"Isn't what she did bothering you?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"It's possible she's compressing the space in her mane so that any objects that enter become smaller and easier to carry. Course that's only one of the things I can think of and I have no way to prove it." He paused as he saw her eye twitch. "Course it could just be Pinkie being Pinkie." That was the right thing to say as she sat down and did a calming gesture.
When they made it to their destination, Storm couldn't help but giggle. Standing in front of him was what looked to be a mix of fast food restaurants all rolled into one. Upon entering and being seated he asked Twilight a question. "Hey Twilight? Didn't you say there were only four pony races?" She looked at him from her menu.
"That's right. Earth, Unicorn, Pegasus, and Alicorn. Why do you ask?"
"Well there's a pony over there that doesn't look like the others." He said as he pointed over at a table closer to the kitchens. Both her and Pinkie looked but turned back looking at him strangely. "Really? The black one over there." He pointed again, they looked again.
"There isn't a black pony there, or anywhere in here Storm." Twilight said after she looked around.
"Really? You don't see the black pony with... insect wings and holes in its legs?" He asked again as he squinted at the pony before turning back to see both the ponies he was with looking at him nervously.
"Th-that would be a changeling. Their magic lets them disguise themselves as a pony and they eat love. There's an order to detain them if they are found." Her ears perked up. "But how can you see it when we can't?" She got a glint in her eye when he answered in the negative, followed by science and experiments.
"Twilight, focus. You said they must be detained?" She nodded. "Very well." Storm got up and headed towards the changeling.
"Storm, what are you doing!?" She attempted to grab him with her magic but couldn't. Before she could think about that, he was already at the table where three ponies were eating. When they looked up he grabbed the one sitting by herself. Immediately a wave of green fire washed over the pony from where his hands touched, surprising him long enough to stop him from picking her up when a cry of "Changeling!" came from the ponies sitting across the table. After a few seconds the place was empty except for the four of them, even the sounds in the kitchen had ceased. Picking the now struggling Changeling up and carrying her to Twilight.
"I don't think we'll be eating here anytime soon." He said. The changeling, realizing just who she was with stopped struggling in favor of shivering. "It's okay little one, I'm not going to hurt you." He petted her on the head while still holding onto her tightly. "Whelp, let's go back and get Buttercup out of view." Putting action to words he did just that, with no interference as he left the building all the way to the castle.
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Back at Canterlot, Princess Celestia had just called for lunch and was heading to the dining hall when she met with her three captains. "Ah, good afternoon. I trust the two of you have appraised Captain Fortress of the details." The three nodded. "Excellent! Do any of you need to prepare for your assignment?" The three shook their heads. Now they entered the dining hall where there was an assortment of sandwiches, a few cakes and some tea already prepared. "Will you join me?" It wasn't much of a question as it was a polite command to stay.
After they were all seated and took a dish or two they were ready to eat. Then a scroll materialized in front of Celestia. Putting down for fork of cake, she caught and opened the scroll. She read it once, twice and again for good measure before speaking. "It appears that our guest caught a changeling...and is treating it like a scared puppy." She looked up to the Captains. "It seems we'll have to move up our plans. Gather your ponies and an interagator. I will transport us all to Ponyville Castle."
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"Why do you want to keep a changeling as a pet!?"
"Why do you hate a race based on what a few did? And not as a pet, a friend! Wasn't it you who sent Twilight to learn of friendship? Or are you saying only ponies are worth considering?"
It was discovered that day that Storm and Celestia do not get along. At all.