//------------------------------// // As Good As It Gets // Story: The Golden Armor Part II: Lost chapters // by Comet Burst //------------------------------// Angel peeked out the door for the fifth time in the last three minutes. Her gigantic golden eyes peered into the same marble hallway again, scanning the same red tapestries before making a noise of disgust. She pulled back and shut the door, sending the room into almost complete darkness. In the pale light being cast from a window on the east side of the room, Angel could make out enough shapes, though her nose was going crazy with the scents here. The desk in the center of the room stood out most, both being in the light and reeking of scents that drove Angel crazy, mostly those of Comet. She fidgeted with her hooves, wondering if her half-baked plan would work. Surely Comet was awake by now, especially if he bought the story. He would be charging here any minute, determined to rescue his dear marefriend, and be right where she wanted him. However, things could go wrong and Angel knew anything relating to her or Comet could and would go wrong. Comet could ignore the note until morning, leaving a frustrated Angel alone for hours or he could hurt himself on the way there, meaning Angel would have to explain how she escaped capture by a known enemy of Equestria. Angel shook her head, her mind still foggy. This would work; it had to work. "Commander?" Comet's ear twitched at the voice, but he didn't open his eyes. "Mmmhm?" "Message for you, sir." the voice spoke again. Comet groaned at that. He really hoped it wasn't from Celestia, which would mean he would have to get up. "Can't it wait?" "Commander Angel was quite adamant that it was urgent." the voice responded. Comet's eyes snapped open. He expected a random note about an inebriated guard he would have to chastise later or something from Shining Armor, but not from his marefriend. Spinning back over to face the door of obscenely bright light, he was able to make out the silhouette of a Zodiac member standing in the doorway. "Let me see it, soldier," Comet commanded, hiding his shock rather well. The guard trotted up to him and dropped the note off at the bed before walking out, much to Comet's relief. Once the door was shut, Comet extended a hoof to his nightstand and touched something. Instantly, his room was flooded with enough light to make him recoil. The magic lamp on his nightstand had never worked properly and he grumbled as he rubbed his eyes. What could Angel want at this time of night? She knew he needed to sleep and had even agreed to a pact of sleep schedules. He wouldn't wake her unless it was critical for the Zodiac's intervention on a matter and she wouldn't wake him unless the Goldencloaks were needed to pacify a threat or restore order. Pulling back his orange hoof, Comet's fiery red eyes started to scan the note. His eyes were bloodshot and itchy, telling him he needed to sleep. However, ignoring his own discomfort, Comet started to read the note. Hopefully, this wouldn't be something bad. A few minutes later, Comet's eyes were the size of dinner plates and a look of utter fear was all over his face. Without thinking, he tore off from the bed, ignoring the fact his sheets were still wrapped around his waist and bolted out the door, straight past a now flinching Night Guard. As the orange pegasus tore off, his door slammed shut after making a nice sized dent in the stone wall, catching his sheets in it. Comet didn't realize this until he felt the wind get knocked out of him and was pulled backwards, landing squarely on his back and luckily not smashing his wings. As he pulled himself up, he frantically shook the sheets off as the Night Guard ran up to him. "Sir, are you alright?" he tried to ask, but never got the full question off as the orange pegasus bolted off again. Curious, the guard looked back at the commanders' room and wondered just what made a sleeping pony tear off like a bunny being chased by a timberwolf. As the orange pegasus ran and flapped his wings, he grew slightly frustrated about the layout of the castle. Why the heck it was on the other side of the castle, he never figured out. It normally wasn't a problem since he wasn't particularly fond of being cooped up in an office, but now it was a gigantic pain in his flank. According to the note, someone had infiltrated the castle and captured Angel. The note was fairly simple: either he came to his office now to meet with whoever this was, or Angel would be hurt really badly until he decided to. however, the note itself wasn't what scared him. The signature on it was stuck in his mind as he weaved throughout the castle, making his heart pound in his ears. ... and if you don't, I assure you that your precious marefriend will endure more pain than you will. Sincerely, Nova Angel sat in the office, playing with her hooves as she waited for her coltfriend. She had found the odd noises her hooves made against the cold stone made for some pretty amusing entertainment. It didn't last long, though, as the door flew open and a blur of orange bolted inside, scaring the bat pony mare. She paused for a second, trying to remember what she was supposed to do before collecting her senses. Comet, however, was scanning his office for anything unusual when the door slammed shut behind him. With his nerves already on edge, the pegasus spun and leaped to the door, ready to attack what he thought was a pony he shouldn't have let live. Instead, he proceeded to grab onto a much smaller pony. Before he could react, a hoof smashed the side of his face, causing him to let go and fall to the cold and rough stone below. Before being able to roll away, his attacker jumped onto his back, pinning him to the ground. Comet, however, surprised the pony by pushing himself straight up and throwing it from his back. He darted forward in an attempt to escape, but instead ran headfirst into the wall. Comet's forehead burst with pain as he staggered back, right into his assailant's hooves. Angel, who could see much better in the dark, almost squeed as Comet backed into her. She immediately pounced onto the orange pegasus and tried to pull him towards her. "Come on over here, cutie," Angel cooed with a wink that Comet didn't see. Reflexively, Comet tried to scramble forward, but to no avail. Whoever was holding onto him had a firm grip on his waist. As he pushed, he felt a hoof start to wander on his body. Immediately, he yelped and bucked his rear legs, determined to get the pony off him. "Get off of me, Gorgon!" he almost shouted. At the mention of the name Gorgon, the attacker loosened its grip and Comet bucked again, loosening himself. The next thing he heard, though, made him freeze. "WHO DID YOU SAY I WAS?!" the eerily angry voice of Angel shrieked. Comet spun around to see the silhouette of a bat pony leap up in the moonlight. The extremely familiar golden eyes of Angel glared down at him as the figure approached. Comet wanted to react, but felt his legs refuse to work. Together, the two ponies collided and wound up flipping over the desk. As the two flipped landed on the other end, papers proceeded to fly everywhere. The sound of a commotion could be heard as their voices started to fill the air. "Comet, stay still!" Angel commanded. "Angel?! What are you doing?!" Comet replied. Some more struggling noises came out from behind the desk as the papers started to settle, with Comet's shouting becoming much more flustered. "Angel! What the hay are you--? Hey, stop that! Angel, that's not somewhere you should--!" His cries were cut off and silence reigned in the room, making the scene feel much less chaotic. After a few moments, it was Angel's voice who broke the stillness. "There, now will you stop protesting?" she cooed. "Angel..." Comet started to say before yelping again. "Angel, stop doing that! Hey, that's not for you to--" After the sound of more struggling and furniture moving, Comet started pleading. "Angel, please stop! We could get in a lot of--" The desk lurched forwards and both Comet and Angel gave a rather abrupt yelp, one of both shock and what seemed to be... pleasure. "Angel, what the hay?" Comet asked, breathing heavily. "Don't... argue..." Angel grunted back. The door to Comet's office flew open, bathing the room with light. In the doorway stood the silhouette of a Night Guard, whose green eyes scanned the room, wide with panic. Papers were scattered everywhere and furniture was pushed around, the obvious sign of a struggle. "Commander Comet!" he almost shouted into the disheveled room. He took once step forward before a voice answered him. "What?!" came a surprised cry as an orange head shot up behind the desk. The guard tensed quickly, a reflex to a surprise, before registering the face. The orange pegasus he had woken about twenty minutes earlier stared back at him with his blazing red eyes, a blank look gracing the rest of his face. "Commander, are you al--" the guard said as he stepped forward before being cut off. "I'm fine!" Comet almost shouted in return, stopping the guard and he shifted uncontrollably. "Sir?" the Night Guard asked. "I'm *ahem* I'm fine, soldier." Comet replied in a much more cool tone. He tried to smile, but the guard sensed something was amiss, especially when the commander's ear started to twitch. "Uh, sir, I found this note in your room," the guard said as he pulled out a scrap of parchment from his armor. Comet's pupils shrunk as he watched the guard look back to him. "Stthir," the guard spoke with the parchment in his mouth,"Thhitth ith not good. Itthh thhomepony thhhreateningh you?" "Uh, what?" Comet responded blankly. The Night Guard spit out the note and stared straight into his commanding officer's red eyes with his green ones. "Sir, what does that note mean?" he asked with a little force. Comet grinned sheepishly and before he said anything in reply, he jumped a little, as if a bug had bitten him. "I-i-it's nothing, soldier," he replied with a grin, "Just a harmless prank.' The guard narrowed his eyes and took another step forward. "Commander, I know something is wrong. Please tell me before--" "Soldier!" Comet almost shouted, stiffening up a bit himself, "What was that noise?!" The Night Guard snapped his head around and replied, "I didn't hear anything, sir..." "I thought I heard Princess Luna! Where is she?" "Sir?" "I think the writer of the note may be distracting you from your duty! Check on your post!" The Night Guard turned a confused face to the orange pegasus, who was squirming oddly now, before replying, "My post is the Royal Wine Cellar..." Comet stared blankly back at the guard, utterly lost for words. Just before he spoke again, the Night Guard spun his head and stared out the door. "What was that?" the guard asked suspiciously. He extended a hoof towards the door cautiously, but jumped when a black figure ran by. "Stay here, Commander!" he shouted over to the pegasus behind him before bolting out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him. In the now dark room, Comet blinked slowly at the door. As he stared blankly at it, a small voice spoke up. "Don't ever bring this up again," Angel grumbled. Comet looked back down as a set of gray hooves shot up and grabbed his neck. He didn't resist as they pulled him back down. Ten minutes after that, Comet wobbled out of his office, legs stiff and a very weird mix of facial expressions gracing his face. "My legs feel funny..." he mumbled as he walked off. A minute after he left, Angel stuck her head out of the door, grinning happily to herself. After making sure the coast was clear, She emerged from the door and closed it, humming happily to herself. She felt good with her annoying thoughts gone with the itching. In fact, she felt more than good. Her and Comet had just cemented the next step in their relationship. However, Angel suddenly felt hungry as she trotted off to her post. Unable to resist the thought of fresh picked fruit and the sweet juices they contained, the bat pony stopped by the mess hall for a few minutes before trotting off, chewing on a portion of a pineapple.