//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 - Amendment // Story: Steady as She Flies // by Witching Hour //------------------------------// Monkey stands before an almost quaint looking guest house in the elite part of Canterlot, eyeing it skeptically. It doesn’t really look like it belonged in the upper end of Canterlot, but it’s well-constructed of finer materials and the number on the door (9 ½) is gold, glimmering in the evening light. Her day after meeting Soarin, Spitfire and Fleetfoot at Rusty’s had been amazing! Being shown around the compound, meeting the Wonderbolts was exactly the thing she’d needed, all while finding none of the scorn she’d expected for her wings. In fact, most had commented positively about them. It’d taken a solid ten minutes and Soarin balancing trays on her before Monkey had been able to move after Point Dex of Squad 7 had complimented her on her performance at the fly-meet. Now though, her emotional high fading with the sunlight, she hesitates outside Witch’s new home, only hoping she would be able to call it theirs… Her hesitant state of mind causes her knock to be far softer than her norm, and she waits with bated breath for a seeming eternity. Getting no response, and inhaling for desperately needed air, Monkey raises her hoof to rap again on the door, only to have it swing open. “Oh… Hello, Miss Wrench…” Witch greets, her tone almost stiffly neutral, but Monkey could easily see that she’s on her guard and anxious. Monkey tries to smile, but her nerves are too shaky to allow more than a slight grimace. “Hey Witchy,” Monkey replies softly, her eyes averted. Silence falls heavily over them, an awkward tension between wanting to move on, but unsure of how to take the first step. “Witchy, I’m -” “Monkey, I -” Witch closes her mouth sharply and Monkey gives her an embarrassed look as they start to speak at the same time. Apparently unwilling to have the same thing happen again, Witch quickly gestures for Monkey to speak first. Monkey sighs heavily as she watches Witch’s professional mask fall back into place. “Witchy, I’m sorry. I should’ve listened to you and not that sandy plot. I know you were just trying to help me see I was wrong when you spoke to your boss. I’m sorry I thought you were behind the invitations…” she says quickly, almost rambling in a rush to get everything out. By the time she finishes her speech, she’s looking at the ground, so she looks up and watches Witch’s eyes and face, almost desperate. It takes another seeming eternity for Witch to inhale to reply, all the while Monkey’s heart thumps painfully against her ribs. “If it were just me you hurt, I’d have no issue saying that it’s behind us, Monkey…” she starts softly. “But you hurt Trick Step too.” “I know…” Monkey replies in a soft whisper. “No, you don’t.” Monkey looks up and finds Witch no longer hesitant, but just as angry as she herself had been upon getting the letters from the Wonderbolts. “You don’t know, Monkey Wrench. You don’t know that he’s asked every night if you were coming back. You don’t know that he cried every time I had to tell him that I didn’t know. You don’t know that my parents have had the worst time trying to get him to open up to them because you left him. You don’t know that I wake up in the middle of the night to him begging to sleep next to me so he knows I’m still there!” Witch advances slowly on Monkey, and while Monkey doesn’t take a step backwards, she finds herself shrinking under the unicorn’s angry onslaught. While Monkey had known that Tricks would take her leaving hard, she had failed to comprehend how hard and how ill-timed her fit of temper had been. Crouching down on the paving stones, Monkey shudders against the weight of Witch’s words, the guilt of her actions bringing tears to her eyes. “I may have gone to Bliss for advice, but I was trying to help, Monkey…” Though her tone loses some of its harshness, it remains just as intense, forcing sobs to break free from Monkey’s restraint. There’s a slight creaking noise as the door opens wider behind Witch. Without any further warning, Monkey suddenly has small auburn forelegs around her neck, hugging her so tight as to almost cut off her air. “MONKEY!!!” Tricks cries gleefully, clinging to the pegasus as though she would vanish the moment he let go. “You came back!!! Are you going to stay?!” he asks, his voice ringing in her ears at high volume. She inhales sharply as he leaps back, glaring at her with his gold eyes. “You’d better be staying! You’re not allowed to leave! I won’t let you!” Monkey stares at Tricks for a long time, her tears slowing to a stop, before she pulls the colt back to her in a tight embrace. “Oh Tricks… I’m so sorry… I won’t leave you again… But I’ll only stay if you and Witchy want me to…” she says quietly, raising her eyes to the gray unicorn still in the doorway. Witch stares at the reunion, eyes wide with surprise. She blinks at Monkey’s use of her name, giving her head a subtle shake to dispel her shock. She’d expected Tricks to be just as upset as she’d been, but Tricks had done almost the complete opposite. She catches the subtle emphasis in the last part, stressing that she had to agree to let Monkey stay too. Tricks’ agreement is already obvious. Witch sighs, stepping towards the pair on the walkway before nosing her way into the hug. “As long as Tricks wants you around, you’re welcome here, Monkey,” she says softly, putting her arms around the pegasus and the colt. Monkey and Tricks happily let her join the pile. After a long moment, holding each other in the fading daylight, Witch pulls back slightly, smiling to reassure both her ward and her friend. “Let’s get inside and show Monkey her room, and then we’ll have dinner with our landlords,” she explains, gaining a nod from Tricks as he bounces near the door. Monkey, on the other hand,  looks confused. “Who does this place belong to?” she asks Witch, one eyebrow raised. “Fancy Pants and his wife, Fleur Dis Lee… We’re going to have Sunday dinners with them… They asked about you when we arrived yesterday,” Witch answers, smiling. “I’m glad I’ll be able to tell them that everything’s been sorted out… It has, hasn’t it?” she queries, a concerned expression in her blue eyes as she seemingly tries to read Monkey’s mind. Monkey simply smiles and nods. “Yeah… I’ll fill you all in over dinner… But we should get going before Tricks achieves flight.” Witch laughs and the friends go inside, lead by the eager colt.