Alula wasn’t feeling good today, for some reason she felt downright awful. She wanted to go and see the Neighponese delegates arrive, excited as the rest of the ponies in town to see foreign dignitaries coming to Ponyville. She was around for when the Saddle Arabians arrived with Princess Celestia, and they were a sight to see, so she could only imagine what ponies from Neighpon looked like. Unfortunately, this sick feeling was really kicking her flank. She was on her way to the meeting place, for some reason somepony forgot to wake her up and let her sleep, which was strange because Alula was usually an early riser.
Nonetheless, the young filly had slept in and was now trying to make her way to Castle Concordia, but along the way was when the sickness hit her. It was hard to describe, she felt nauseated, her head pounded, and her body ached. This had never happened to her before, sure she got sick with a cold every once and awhile, but what foal didn’t get the occasional sniffles or tummy ache. But this was different, it was like her body was trying to tear itself apart from the inside out, and right now, she was all alone.
The, currently, pegasus filly slumped up against the water fountain, her breathing was labored and her vision was coming in and out of focus. She wasn’t going to lie to herself, she was scared, and she was alone with nopony around to call for help because most of them were far away near the castle. But still, Alula pressed on, as much as it hurt to even move, she had to at least find somepony who could help her. Alula thought about heading to the hospital, but it was too far away from where she was, and flying was definitely out of the question, her wings were in just as much pain as the rest of her body.
At that moment Alula heard, what sounded like an explosion. That’s when the pain in her body spiked, causing the vanilla colored pegasus to scream out loud. She fell to the ground, feeling the pain focus right around her head, it was agonizing, it blocked out every thought with throbbing, stabbing pain. What was even stranger was that this pain seemed focused on her forehead, almost exactly where her horn would pop out.
More explosions went off in the background, making Alula scream in agony from the pain. It was like somepony was torturing her from far away, and she had no idea why they would be doing this to her! Her eyes began to water, begging to Celestia, Luna, Faust, and even the ancient goddess Bonny for one of them to make the pain go away, or at least put her out of misery.
Alula dared to open her eyes, she watched as ponies stampeded away from something, yelling in a panic, not even noticing the pegasus filly lying on the ground in enough pain to wish for death at this point. Her eyes roved over to the sky, seeing a pink tornado swirl around, and within a few seconds that tornado caught on fire, transforming into a column of flames that bellowed up into the air.
It was at that point that Alula no longer felt the pain, it was silenced, almost as if it were never there to begin with. Alula had no idea why or how it happened but she was just thankful that it did. Her thankfulness was short lived, however, when the pain came back again, making her fall to the ground again. Now she saw even more ponies come running down the streets, but she still had no idea what was going on, or why this pain was plaguing her now. Time seemed to skip around for her, one minute she closed her eyes, and the next, she’s seeing three familiar ponies.
“Scoo…Scootaloo…!” Alula cried weakly.
The orange pegasus filly seemed to be talking with Pinkie Pie, about what was a mystery to her, but whatever was said made Scootaloo leave the group and head off in some random direction. Alula couldn’t waste this chance, there were ponies there who knew her, ones who could help her. With great effort the filly pushed herself up onto all four legs, and woozily walked towards them. Her vision began to blur again, but she just focused on the pink color in front of her.
“Miss…Pinkie Pie…! S-Sweetie Belle…! Apple B-Bloom…!”
Alula’s vision focused enough for her to see three ponies looking straight at her, the three she had wanted and was hoping she was loud enough to hear her. Thankfully, she was. Pinkie Pie, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle rushed to Alula’s side. The young pegasus collapsed before Pinkie, making the earth pony mare quickly catch her in her forelegs.
“Alula, sweetie, what’s wrong?!” Pinkie Pie asked.
Alula was about to answer, but the roar of thunder echoed out over the town, and with it another surge of pain struck her. The filly screamed out in pain, feeling like her head was about to be ripped open. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom looked to the filly with worry and concern.
“What’s wrong with her Pinkie?!” Apple Bloom asked.
“I-I don’t know, she’s in pain, but I don’t know from what! Oh Alula, just hang on! Just…hang…on…………! ”
Pinkie Pie’s voice was becoming distant, fear gripped her heart as Alula felt her consciousness being to drift away, and despite her best efforts, Alula couldn’t stop herself from closing her eyes and passing out completely.
Alula suddenly felt herself become weightless, she looked around, feeling like she was in a daze. The environment was green colored, it had been a long time since Alula had this dream, she knew it well enough to know she was in a dream. It was some kind of ocean, she thought, judging by the way this green stuff felt, slowing her movements and making it feel as if she was floating, it was just like water. Although, Alula couldn’t imagine where she had seen a green ocean before, or had ever been to the ocean period. The only time she was fully submerged in water was at the lake when she went swimming with the other Wayward House foals.
Suddenly bubbles of foam started form around her, blanketing her vision of the endless green ocean. She looked up and saw the image of a pony standing over her, Alula felt a connection to this pony. Was it her parent, her mother or her father perhaps? A relative? She wasn’t sure, the image was always too blotted, too murky to see fully, all she knew was that the one standing over her was a pony, and that it was someone she knew…
Alula’s eyes fluttered open, she was then greeted by the worried gazes of Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. “Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle…?”
“Oh my gosh! Pinkie Pie, Alula’s awake!”
Alula started to take in more of her surroundings, she was in a bed, covered up to her chest. Ponyville’s flag that was hung on the wall across the room, along with a wreath, the same one that the Cutie Mark Crusaders earned when they won the flag waving competition in the Crystal Empire. And of course she spotted the dresser with the various pink bows on it, allowing her to conclude that she was in Apple Bloom’s room. Alula heard the rushed clopping of hoofsteps coming towards the room, and in no time flat the party pony Pinkie entered the room. She looked upon Alula with relief, running her hoof through violet mane soothingly.
“Ms. Pinkie Pie, am I at Sweet Apple Acres?” Alula asked.
“You are, I brought you and the girls here. I wanted to take you to the hospital, but with all the craziness going on, I didn’t know if it would be safe to go there. So I brought you here and hoped you wouldn’t get any worse before it was safe to go! Are you feeling any better?”
Alula took a moment to check herself. The throbbing pain was gone, her body no longer ached, and the nauseous feeling in her stomach was nonexistent. It was as if whatever ailed her had up and vanished without a trace, like it never happened at all, however, she did feel really tired.
“I’m alright, tired, but alright.”
“Oh good, I don’t like seeing other ponies hurting, especially foals. You really scared me, but still, we’d better get you to a doctor later just to be sure,” said Pinkie.
Alula hated the doctors, what kid didn’t, still, after that mysterious pain, she was worried about what it meant and scared that it could happen again without warning.
“Okay…”
“Alright then, I think the frackus is almost over. I’ll just double check and we can take you later. C’mon girls, let’s let Alula rest a little bit more.”
The two fillies nodded to the older mare and walked behind her as they left Apple Bloom’s room. The farm filly turned around and looked to Alula with concern etched in her face.
“Are ya sure yer feelin’ alright? Do ya want me to stay with ya?” Apple Bloom asked.
“No, it’s fine, thank you Apple Bloom.”
Reluctantly, the red maned filly closed the door behind her, leaving Alula alone in the room. She sighed and turned onto her right side, trying to close her eyes and sleep again. I don’t want to be a burden to Scootaloo’s friends…and I don’t want her worrying about me more than she does…especially with that whole Diamond Tiara thing. Although, who am I kidding, she’s going to worry when she hears what happened to me from Sweetie and AB, or even Ms. Pinkie Pie. Scootaloo…
Just then Alula saw something rush by across the window, it moved fast, only appearing as a blur of red. The young filly rose up out of the bed and carefully got out of it, she then walked over to the window and scanned the tree line where she saw the blur enter. Something tugged at her consciousness, something that told her she needed to go and see what it was. For all Alula knew, it was whoever was responsible for the explosions and chaos earlier. She gulped, if it was, then they were in danger!
No! Scootaloo wouldn’t be afraid! Alula thought.
Alula steeled herself, opening the window and glancing about to make sure that she couldn’t be seen by anypony. She gave her wings a few test flaps, making sure they didn’t hurt or were in some way nonresponsive after her little episode earlier. Thankfully they were working. Alula flapped harder and was now airborne, she zoomed out of the window and went headed for the trees. Alula landed on the ground as quietly as she could, not wanting to alert a possible intruder to her presence. The young filly walked for a few more feet and stopped suddenly when she saw who it was.
Walking through the trees was none other than the mysterious alicorn mare known as Shazam! Her gaze was kept forward, her hood obscuring her face. Alula had to put her hooves over her mouth to stifle a squeal of excitement, she had always wanted to meet Shazam after hearing about how she saved everypony at Manehattan, and wanting to thank her for saving somepony she…ahem…cared about, a lot.
Shazam seemed to be muttering to herself, making Alula wonder what it was she could be talking about. It dawned on her that whatever the explosions and chaos from earlier were what brought Shazam here in the first place, maybe something had happened at Castle Concordia, prompting the intervention of the superhero mare. Regardless, it appeared that whatever the crisis was it appeared to be over, and not without some damage either. Alula could faintly make out a tear in her armor-suit when she angled her body just right, and there were scuff marks, and dust on her.
Shazam stopped when she reached the edge of the tree line, making Alula wonder what it was she was looking at, come to think of it, why was she even at Sweet Apple Acres to begin with.
“SHAZAM!”
Suddenly a bolt of lightning shot down out of nowhere and struck the alicorn mare! Alula gawked in horror as the white smoke bellowed around where the alicorn once stood.
She…she vaporized herself?! Wh-Why would she do that?!
The smoke started to clear, fading away into the wind. When the air was clear, what stood in place of the alicorn mare was instead a pegasus filly. Orange fur, a spiky purple mane, purple colored eyes, and a yellow lightning bolt cutie mark upon her flank. Alula watched as some sparks of the lightning energy arced off of Scootaloo for a moment before disappearing, leaving the vanilla colored filly to utter in shock.
“Oh my Celestia!”
Scootaloo became as still as a statue. Alula covered her mouth with her hooves, but it was already too late to take it back, or attempt to hide. She watched with slow dread as Scootaloo turned in her direction, looking upon the vanilla filly with shock. Alula had just unintentionally discovered Shazam’s secret identity, and never, in her wildest dreams, could she have imagined it to be the very same filly she had developed a crush for so long ago.
CASTLE CONCORDIA…
Royal Guards and Dusk Guards swarmed the entire castle, all of them taking up defensive positions while others assisted with helping the other guards, samurai, and monks get back on their hooves. Twilight was with Sakuya and Kagutsuchi, watching over them in the medical wing of the castle. Of all the things she loved about her new home, the addition of a place for ponies to come and receive medical care was one she highly liked. It always bugged Twilight why the castle had such a place, it was furnished with a sterile operation room, rooms for examination equipment to be brought in and mounted, and even a delivery room! Twilight blushed when she saw that room in particular.
Honestly, does this castle think I’m going to be giving birth to foals left and right?!
Even with that, she was still grateful for it. It allowed for some doctors from Canterlot to come down and practice medicine in the town, some of whom were specialists in different fields who could help ponies with certain disabilities or diseases. That’s not to say she was looking to run the local hospital out of business or put anypony out of a job, on the contrary, many of the doctors and nurses worked in a rotating staff to allow them time at the hospital and some at the castle, making sure that the medical wing always had at doctors and nurses at the ready, be it for small things, or in this case, treating the various injuries from a psycho, unicorn assassin.
Kagutsuchi was lying on one of the beds provided. His wounds were a little bad, considering the strange magic that the unicorn wielded, but his dragon physiology allowed him to regenerate his body fairly quickly, he merely needed to enter a hibernated state to focus his magic on healing himself.
Sakuya hadn’t left his bedside for the past couple of hours. Twilight admired the young princess, she was very worried for the one she loved, she could both see it in her face, and feel it like an aura surrounding her. At the same time though, Twilight felt bad. The assassin was out to get her, not Sakuya or Kagutsuchi, but the two delegates sprang into action, fighting alongside Twilight even knowing that their lives would be endangered.
“Forgive me Princess Sakuya,” said Twilight.
The pink pegasus mare looked up at the Princess of Friendship curiously. “Forgive you for what Princess Twilight?”
“That assassin had come to kill me, I was the one responsible for your safety the moment you entered Equestria, and now…”
Sakuya extended her right wing towards Twilight, draping it over her withers in a comforting fashion. “The blame is not yours. Kagutsuchi and I chose to fight, we could see that the assassin was concentrated on you, and even knowing that we engaged. Honor is important to those of Neighpon, and having a ruler die while we stood by and did nothing would bring shame to my family and our nation. Plus…I did not want to lose a new friend so soon after making one.”
Twilight smiled and bowed to Sakuya, to which the Neighponese mare returned. “I hate to bring this up Princess –”
“Sakuya.”
“What?”
“My friends just call me Sakuya.”
“Oh…then, Sakuya-hime.”
“Nice use of the honorific, but no, just Sakuya.”
Twilight smiled a little more, in Neighpon, the use of honorifics was used as a way to show respect to another pony. The meaning of the honorific changed also depending on the relationship the other pony had, or where they worked. When one forgoes the honorific, it is usually only reserved for when another pony considers that pony a close enough friend that no honorific is needed. It spoke volumes that Sakuya told Twilight to forgo them.
“Alright, Sakuya, I hate to bring this up, but because the assassin was disguised as a samurai, and arrived with you…”
A sad smile appeared on the young pegasus mare. “I understand, we will need to remain under close watch until you are done investigating. Again, I’m truly sorry that this happened, but on a lighter note, I get to extend my visit.”
The door to the room opened slightly as Spike stuck his head inside. “Twilight, um, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are here. They wanted me to come and get you if you’re alright to talk with them.”
“Thank you Spike, I’ll go now. Sakuya, if there’s anything you need, don’t hesitate to ask. For now, my home is your home.”
Sakuya bowed her head yet again, grateful for Twilight’s hospitality. Spike opened the door a little more, allowing Twilight to walk out. The young dragon was about to close the door, but stopped momentarily, glancing at the worried and yet loving gaze Sakuya gave Kagutsuchi. This did not go unnoticed by the Neighponese Princess.
“Yes Spike-chan?”
“Oh, uh, me?!”
“Was there something you needed?” Sakuya asked.
The young dragon rubbed his left arm nervously. “Can I ask you a question Princess?”
Sakuya nodded.
Spike walked closer to Sakuya and stood before her as she looked down at him with curiosity. “I…You said that Kagutsuchi was your…coltfriend?”
“Fiancé,” she corrected.
“Oh right…you also said that ponies marrying dragons was…okay there?”
“Yes, it is not that uncommon. In fact, we have a few half-dragon, half-pony citizens that are quite beautiful. They came up with the name ‘Kirin’, as a way to distinguish themselves from either race. But I imagine it’s just the same here, or are there laws against it that I am not aware of?”
“No, none that Twilight has found.”
Sakuya looked upon the young dragon, feeling where this conversation was going. “Spike-chan, by chance, is there a pony you have fallen for?”
Spike’s cheeks went red as an apple, which was all the indication that Sakuya needed.
“I just…well…she’s really pretty, and nice, and I’ve had a crush on her ever since Twi and I moved to Ponyville.”
“And what is the name of this one who has stolen your heart, if you don’t mind my asking?”
“Her name’s Rarity…she’s the Element of Generosity, and…yeah, I know, she’s way older than me.”
Sakuya got onto the bed beside Kagutsuchi’s, she then sat on it and patted the empty side next to her. “Why don’t you tell me about this mare, and if you wish, I will tell you how Chi-kun won my heart.”
Twilight headed for the library, which was the default meeting area since the throne room was in need of some repairs. Once she got there at least twenty Guards stood sentry along both sides of the door, normally she’d scoff at the extra security, but given recent events, she wasn’t complaining. Twilight nodded to the guard and the unicorn stallion turned and knocked on the door.
“Your Highnesses, Princess Twilight Sparkle is here.”
“Enter,” said Luna.
The doors opened up and inside was Celestia and Luna, gathered around the round center table. Celestia and Luna had looked a lot better since the fight in Manehattan, both of them releasing their full powers like they did took a bit of a toll on their bodies, on top of the beating they received from Black Adam. But their recovery had gone well, and while they probably weren’t up to combat strength just yet, they were still strong enough to move the sun and moon, as well as protect themselves and others if the need arise.
Celestia waved with her wing, silently telling the unicorn guard to leave them to their talks. The guard obeyed and closed the door behind him, and at that moment a layer of magic fell over the door itself. It was a kind of magic that the castle would use instinctually, if Twilight required privacy, then the castle would release a magic ward over the doors and walls, preventing any eavesdropping. Once the ward was up, and the three alicorns were completely alone. Celestia broke away from the table and rushed to her former student’s side, quickly hugging her and holding onto the mare tight as if afraid to let go.
“Princess…”
“Twilight I feared the worst when news reached us of an assassin. I…” Celestia couldn’t speak the words, afraid that doing so would undo the spell that kept Twilight here with them.
The lavender alicorn brought her foreleg up and hugged Celestia back. “I’m alright Princess, really I am. A little tired and shaken, but alright all the same.”
Celestia pulled away and Twilight saw some tears in her magenta eyes. Luna came up beside her big sister, she bent down some and hooked her neck around Twilight’s, her own tears falling. Twilight hated that it took events such as this for her know just how much she meant to them. Celestia was her teacher, the mare who was like a second mother to her, always there for when she needed advice, always pushing her to be better than she was the day before. To Luna, Twilight was the one to free her of Nightmare Moon, the first to show her friendship when others showed her fear, she was a dear friend, one that she dare not ever fathom being lost to her, for the pain would be too great. That was reflected in the alicorn mare beside her.
The three alicorns went to the table, sitting at different spots so that each of them were in the other’s field of vision. Twilight decided to start things off. “I assume you’ve been informed thus far about what’s happened here?”
Celestia nodded. “Yes we have, and it is troubling, although that is a gross understatement.”
“Indeed, an assassination attempt on a Princess hasn’t occurred since King Sombra dispatched the Crystal Princess a thousand years ago. This ‘Kingdom’ is a most troubling thorn in our sides,” said Luna.
“I was hoping that they were just a radical group of ponies, but that was just wishful thinking. I hate to say this, but we may be up against an organization, one with different cells ready to pick up the slack of the others.”
Luna hummed as she thought. “They’re name is very generic. ‘The Kingdom’, kingdom of what?”
“They seem to be concerned with our deaths, they might see themselves as revolutionaries, seeking to end our rule in favor of a different political system, but they could also be anarchists, seeking to destabilize Equestria and its territories. But what concerns me more is this assassin you and the delegates faced. He appeared as an earth pony, but he grew a horn?”
Twilight nodded. “His armor was on as well as his helmet so I’m not a hundred percent sure if it was some kind of illusion. But when it did come off, I saw his horn grow from his forehead and emit a strange type of mana. It wasn’t like anything I’ve ever sensed or felt, it was different from dark magic, which is normally fueled by pride, hatred, greed, negative emotions in general; this kind…it glowed red like the alicorn amulet, but it had such a bloodlust to it, it was primal in nature and yet unyielding, like it was fueled by the need to kill.”
“Is that what caused your scar Twilight?” Celestia asked.
Twilight had forgotten that the beam from the unicorn had cut her cheek during the fight. One of the medics had tended to her, but Twilight was too busy directing the Guards and helping where she could to notice the regeneration spell that was working to heal her scar to the best of its ability.
“Yes, it’s also why Ambassador Kagutsuchi was badly hurt during the fight. The assassin redirected his attack, doubled its power, and laced it with his own energy, and threw it back at him. He did that with a few of my spells as well. Princess Sakuya’s physical attacks in combination with her chi magic was able to inflict severe damage to him. However…”
“However?” Luna asked.
“The assassin suffered terrible burns, third degree! He rose up from the ground, and I watched as his body repaired itself almost instantly! That kind of damage should’ve incinerated any chances of cellular regeneration, even with magic! And yet somehow he gets back up and is ready to fight again as if shrugging off a light blow to the jaw!”
Celestia raised an eyebrow at this. “And yet, this Shazam mare was able to defeat him, despite his ability?”
Twilight became a little skittish around the subject of Shazam. “Yes…her magic seemed to have an adverse effect on his body and magic. Allowing her to deal more damage to him and circumvent his strange malign magic.”
Luna leaned forward with a dubious look. “Most peculiar, an assassin shows up and tries to kill you, and then Shazam appears out of nowhere and suddenly is able to combat and in the end kill his menace.”
“She defeated him, yes, but didn’t kill. He used some kind of self-destruction spell, turning his body into a living bomb! Shazam hurled him into the air, if she hadn’t done that the delegates and myself would surely be dead right now.”
Twilight still saw the look of suspicion in her teal eyes. She knew Luna was dubious of Shazam, and Celestia to a degree. After the battle with Black Adam, and the subsequent victory over him by Shazam, both sisters weren’t sure how to take this news. She stopped a rogue alicorn from killing them, Twilight, and her friends, and saved the citizens of Manehattan. However, in their eyes, this meant that Shazam was stronger than Black Adam, possibly even more dangerous since she was able to go undetected within the land. Although neither of them would publically endorse or renounce the heroic deeds she has done in the past year, for doing so would show that they took a side, and right now tensions were high enough as it was.
“Twilight, I want you to consider something for me,” said Celestia.
“Of course.”
“From what I understand, Shazam appeared in Ponyville first, and now she appears in Ponyville again. Is it possible that one of the citizens in the town is Shazam in disguise?”
If Twilight were drinking something this was the moment when she would be spitting it out. “O-Oh, well, I’ll be sure to keep an eye out, although Shazam did leave after the battle so she’s either really far away or gone back to wherever it is she hides out.”
Celestia and Luna nodded.
“Nevertheless, be vigilant Twilight Sparkle, this Kingdom seeks to take our lives, and for a cause we know not. And an unknown element like Shazam only complicates matters.” Luna spoke in a stern voice.
Twilight became nervous. She didn’t like how Scootaloo was being cast as a suspicious mare, but right now Twilight had to remain silent about her, it was her choice to tell those about what she was, and Twilight had no right to tell anypony, just like she did when she told Twilight, Milano, and Cheerilee about her painful past.
“We’ll be increasing the Guard patrols and personnel within Canterlot, I suggest you do the same as well Twilight. We’ll also send additional Guards to aid in this endeavor.”
“Thank you Princess, and what of Princess Sakuya and Ambassador Kagutsuchi?”
Celestia smiled. “We did a thorough check of her guard, personally. We found nothing to indicate that either the Princess or the Ambassador knew anything of the unicorn, and as far as we were able to detect, none of the remaining samurai or monks have any signs of the strange magic you fought against.”
Twilight breathed a sigh of relief, at least Sakuya and Kagutsuchi were free of suspicion. “I’ll let them know the good news.”
Luna smirked. “Getting off topic for a moment, and to dispel this dreariness, how goes your relationship with the schoolmarm?”
Twilight’s cheeks blushed red. “H-How do you know about Cheerilee, Luna?!”
“Dear Twilight, there is little that the land of dreams cannot make me privy to. I must say, I am not surprised you chose her for a mate, very in keeping with your comfort zone,” said Luna as she glanced at her sister.
Celestia raised an eyebrow at that. “How do you mean.”
“Well, Twilight grew up studying, and being taught by mare who was seen as the most beautiful and most desirable mare in the land, and she just so happened to be her teacher. Perhaps young Twilight wished to fulfill a hidden desire that she could not fulfill or perhaps was afraid to for fear of a certain mare’s reaction.”
Twilight tried to make herself as small as possible, adopting a very Fluttershyesque demeanor. Celestia’s ears were perked up and her face held a crimson blush that was very visible on her alabaster coat.
“T-Twilight, so you – ahem – have a marefriend?”
Twilight was now hiding under her wings, but addressed Celestia anyway. “Y-Yes…her name’s Cheerilee and we’ve been seeing each other for a couple of years now, and yes, she is the teacher of the local school. I meant to tell you both, but I…this was the first real relationship I’ve had with anypony and I just wanted to be sure of it…that and I was worried you might not like her.”
Celestia forewent the embarrassment Luna put on them both and gave her former student a cheerful smile. “Twilight, anypony, mare or stallion, you have chosen to be a part of your life is something special. And for you, knowing how you were in the past, to see you have gained somepony special for yourself makes me very happy.”
Twilight opened her wings as a relieved smile started to form on her lips. “Really?”
“There is one condition though that must be met before I say much more though.”
Twilight gulped, but nodded.
“I want to meet this mare who has stolen my former student’s heart. But at a time that you’re comfortable with.”
Twilight unraveled herself from her wings, her face scrunching as she thought about the best way – most comfortable non-stress inducing situation – they could meet. That’s when it hit her, and honestly, it was something that she thought both Princesses would enjoy.
“Why don’t you both come to our Pony-Pet Play Date!”
The sisters of moon and sun looked to each other curiously. Seeing the confusion on their faces, Twilight clarified.
“My friends and I gather together every Wednesday and head to the park with our pets, so they can play together and we can play with them! You both can come too since Cheery’s coming as well!”
“‘Cheery’ is it? My, my, they already have pet names for each other,” said Luna with a cattish grin. “But that does sound rather enjoyable, it’s been quite some time since little Tibbles got to play with others besides the normal animals in the gardens!”
Celestia rubbed her chin with her hoof smiling at the idea. “And Philomena has been getting a bit antsy lately, expanding that extra energy playing with others would definitely help. Very well Twilight, next Wednesday Luna and I will be back in Ponyville, and we’ll all have a Pony-Pet Play Date, and I’ll get to meet this Cheerilee face to face.”
Twilight looked nervous but happy at the prospect of her marefriend getting to meet the most important ponies in her life.
“And don’t take any of this personally Twilight Sparkle, Tia was the same way whenever I wanted to date a cute mare or a handsome stallion, always giving them – what’s the modern slang term for this…oh yes – the third degree as they say.”
Celestia rolled her eyes at that. “Oh please Luna don’t exaggerate.”
“You scared one of them so bad they defecated and ran away into the night.”
Twilight’s jaw dropped, Celestia spluttered and tried to explain, but each attempt ended up with her spouting gibberish.
BACK TO THE DRAMA…
Scootaloo was not having a good day. She just got through fighting a psycho, suicidal assassin pony, and now, now Alula just witnessed her transformation from Shazam to her filly self. The vanilla pegasus filly just sat there, still stunned at the revelation. A million different ideas popped into Scootaloo’s mind on how to best deal with this situation, all of them as out there and as hit or miss as her ideas for earning cutie marks. For safety reasons, Scootaloo wanted to keep the circle of ponies who knew her identity as small as possible. She didn’t want somepony to come after them for knowing who she was, but now…now Alula knew. Scootaloo’s mind and heart were racing, and she didn’t know why. Well, scratch that, she did know why, but not why it should be affecting her as much.
“You saw…didn’t you?” Scootaloo asked. It was a stupidly obvious question and answer, of course she did. But for her, it needed to be said.
“Y-Yeah I did…”
Silence reigned once again, both fillies’ eyes darting from each other or down to the ground. Now Scootaloo was wishing she knew a memory-erasing spell, would come in very handy right now.
“I…I didn’t know you were like me!”
Scootaloo’s head shot up. “Wh-What?”
“You can become an alicorn, and can be just a regular pegasus pony! How long could you do that?!”
Scootaloo threw up her hooves quickly. “Whoa, wait a minute Alula, I…I can’t switch like you can.”
Alula gave her a confused look. “But you just changed, I saw you!”
“Yeah but, that’s completely different from what you have. At least I think it is. Never mind. Alula I – MMPH!”
Before Scootaloo knew what was going on, Alula had darted forward, finding the speed within her to close the distance between them, and in that same moment, the vanilla filly placed her lips against Scootaloo’s. Her eyes bulged and her wings flared out stiff, her heart pounded in her ears as her face became incredibly warm. Scootaloo’s could feel Alula’s warm lips against hers, holding them there as time felt as if it had become slower than Tank.
This couldn’t be happening, right? This just couldn’t be happening. Alula was kissing Scootaloo, kissing her on the lips! And all the preteen filly could do was just sit there in shock as her brain tried to process this. Alula drew back, a twinkle within her eyes as a blush as fierce as Scootaloo’s glowed upon her face. She then reached out and hugged the filly close to her.
“I knew I couldn’t be alone…couldn’t be the only one! I knew you were special, every time I was around you my heart would beat faster, and I felt…I…I like you Scootaloo!”
If it were possible to look more shell-shocked then Scootaloo found a way. Her pupils reduced to pinpricks at hearing those words, Alula liked her, no, from that kiss, she like-liked her! And the scary and exciting part of all that was…Scootaloo liked it. The hugging, that kiss earlier, she liked this, but was it really alright?