Shisno Chronicles: Friendship is Magic

by nightelf37

Hearts and Hooves Day

(WCDDtEo) Hearts and Hooves Day

Chronicle was en route to Fluttershy's cottage, with a basket full of carrots and corianders, and a vase with buttercups (her favorite), cowslips, daisies, elderberry blossoms, field lilacs, (yellow) jasmines, longi lilies, pansies, violets, white june lilies, and white verbenas. Admittedly, he selected those flowers after consulting a book regarding the meanings behind flowers when offering them to someone. Well, Flower Wishes (a.k.a. Daisy) did, and had a field day in choosing so darned many (well, just a pair each) on his behalf (except the classic full bloom red roses, they just felt too cliché.) when he just wanted a few. At least she wasn't panicking like she, Roseluck, and Lily Valley often do. And the deal-sealer? The whole thing came at a discount.

Also, on the way, Comet Tail bypassed him at high speeds with a bouquet and a card for Amethyst Star. Comet had a speed spell that wasn't really different from his own "enhance running speed" spell. Only problem is, he's not good at cancelling it without crashing into something first.

He also bypassed Written Script, who not only has been seeing Golden Harvest for a long while now, but has also stopped attending Mystic Shield's classes due to his line of work; script-writing for plays and books, which often take him outside of Ponyville.

Just as he crossed the small bridge leading to it, he could hear the sounds of a haircut session. Curious (but not paranoid, that was not healthy), he approached the door and listened in. From the sounds of it, it seems that Rainbow Dash was there, but what exactly were they doing?

"Wha-ha-ha-ha! You'll never be as cool as me, but at least now you look the part!"

"G-gosh!"

He decided to open the door, which caught the attention of the occupants, and everypony froze.

As it was, Rainbow and Angel had just given Fluttershy a haircut, and now her mane and tail were styled in the same short and ruffled fashion as the speedster. The blue pegasus stuttered as if caught in a heinous act, the yellow one quivered as if fearing the worst from him, the lagomorph remained neutral, and the unicorn just started blankly, verging on dreamy.

"Uuuummm, I-I-I can explain!" Rainbow panicked.

But Chronicle wasn't listening. So far, every time he's looked at Fluttershy's face, either part of it has usually been obscured by her long mane or its presence distracted him enough from focusing on her entire visage when it is all there for him to see. And when those were non-issues, he was often either too busy with other matters to notice her entire face, or she isn't in the correct mood for him to fall for. But now, he was overwhelmed by the sheer cuteness, and he was losing concentration on even basic maneuvers.

"So dreamy…"

The next thing he knew, he had dropped his basket and vase, and immediately passed out with a blissful smile on his face.

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" was the first thing he heard, and it sounded panicked.

"Chronicle, please wake up." Another voice came, sounding so angelic.

"What are we gonna do? What are we gonna do? What are we gonna do? What are we gonna do?!"

"Nnngh."

"Oh! He's waking up."

The first thing Chronicle realized that he was on the couch, and the first thing he saw upon opening his eyes was Fluttershy's face, with much less hair framing it than he was used to. That face was just too cute, especially when she was looking worried. It threatened to make him swoon again, and his groan confirmed it.

"Stay with me, stay with us." He felt her cradle his head.

"So… cute… with short hair…"

A squeak came in response.

"Huh?" Rainbow seemed calm now. "Huh? I wonder why I don't pull off the same effect."

"I happen to have a…liking for yellow redheads," Chronicle confessed, keeping his eyes closed. "My first ever charge happened to be one." His mouth turned into a frown. "And so was the one I first failed to protect."

"Maybe I should warn Applejack about—"

That frown turned upside-down. "Heheh, don't worry about Apple Bloom. My respect for children offsets that…desire."

"And Fluttershy?"

"Roseheads are close enough. And then I got to know her for who she is, so I'm not gonna… you know…"

"…Okay."

"As for the hairstyle being better on Fluttershy, that's just because her face is so gorgeous, and the reason why I don't pass out at any other time is because my attention also wanders off to her long hair. It apparently distracts me from the face enough."

This left his marefriend confused. "So…do you like my new look? Or would you—"

"While I love your new short hair, I'd rather you keep it long. Passing out from cuteness is not good for my health. Though you could do without the tail extension."

He didn't see her blush. "How did you—"

"Gabby Gums, a.k.a. the Cutie Mark Crusaders. …Wait, what they said about that was the truth?" Silence. "Eh, no need to answer."

"I'm sorry our picnic has to wait a while."

"Now what should we do about that hair? It would be unfortunate if I could not look at your face in Hearts and Hooves Day."

"I-I-I guess that's true."

Later…

After a visit to the Ponyville salon, and keeping attention away with an overcoat and hat she used once during her time of fame under Photo Finish, Fluttershy exited via the main door with a new hairstyle, which consisted of brushing her hair into smooth and symmetrical bobs.

(On a side note, Applejack was on an Apple Family errand that took her out of town. Rarity was at Canterlot on a business deal. This left the two of them, Twilight, Rainbow, and Pinkie as Ponyville's protectors. Well, aside from the local police, the Martial Arts Group, which Mystic Shield's academy is now part of, and (likely) Doctor Whooves and his companions. The last of those was instrumental in stopping one of his old enemies when they came to invade Equestria. The Story Crew secretly aided from outside the planet, since this enemy came from outer space.)

Chronicle was already waiting, his basket and vase levitating next to him. "Ready?"

She allowed a smile on her face. "Yeah, I think so."

And the two began to walk their way to the park, and he figured that with the current day it was fine to show that he and Fluttershy were a couple. Angel and Rock were accompanying them as well, both on their owners' backs.

As they bypassed the barber shop Snips's parents own, Chronicle said, "To be frank, I've never really been on a date before."

"Well, neither did I."

"I understand that."

"But not you? Not even with… umm…"

"Until the Elements of Harmony, all of my relationships with my previous charges have been completely professional. And sometimes friendly, but never ever romantic. As a freelance bodyguard, I can't afford that, though I did manage to earn favors from them by going above and beyond my 'call of duty'."

"What do you mean?" By this point, they have reached a bridge leading to the park.

"Well, my contracts only call for one individual's protection only, but I try and be a hero when I can, even if I have to do the wrong thing just so nobody else has to. For example, when my charge's relatives are in danger, depending on who they are, I go out of my way to save them when I can, and not once have I failed in that. That at least I can take pride on."

"Depending on who they are?"

"I'm not all-loving like you. There are bad ponies out there who can't be set straight, ponies that society really is better without. I try not to always take the vigilante path for that, but when it has to be done, I'd rather I do it, as long as it won't stain my reputaation.

"As for why I'm telling you this, It's because I believe keeping secrets in a relationship like this will be detrimental in the long run. I want this to work, and for you to know just what you'll be getting yourself into, even though I'm the one who started this relationship to begin with." Finally, they reached the spot, which was the same place they first ate together alone. "It's also needed for our sessions, so you can know more of what I'm teaching you."

The two (four if the pets are counted) assembled the picnic spread, taking out plates, the food and vase from the basket, as well as a certain Heart Warmer jam they both shared once before, complete with bread.

They both ate in silence, and at one time Chronicle levitated a sandwich to Fluttershy's waiting mouth. He immediately felt red in the face after that.

Eventually, he decided to spark some small talk. "So, do you remember that one time I discovered one of your secrets? Of course, by that I mean without checking Surveillance first."

"Oh, yes. I remember."

While inside Fluttershy's cottage, doing some spring-cleaning with her at the end of the second ever finished-on-time Winter Wrap Up, which was after the Antithesis incident, Chronicle was sweeping the bookshelves with a feather duster before deciding he could steal a few seconds of reading time and 'grabbed' a book. However, he then noticed something was up with the book he got; it was stuck.

Getting curious, he put a hoof on it…and it bent down, and a loud creak came before the entire bookshelf pulled itself back like a…secret door. Getting even more curious, he decided to sneak in, wondering why Fluttershy hasn't reacted yet. He had a moment of dread on what secrets lay beneath.

Calm down, just calm down. This is not her shed. She's not gonna kill you. And she's definitely not gonna turn you into cupcakes! You already checked Sugarcube Corner for a basement, and all you found was Pinkie Pie's party paraphernalia stash. Which also had archives of every resident in Ponyville. And it even knew exactly what I really am!

Once the entryway was completely open, Chronicle descended the steps, emitting a light from his horn as he went. "Okay. What do we have here?" A few seconds later, he found himself at the bottom of the steps, and in a room that was illuminated with electric bulbs. The tungsten kind, but it did the job. (He remembered seeing fluorescent lights in the hospital.) And what he saw made him drop his jaw.

The entire room was swamped with knitwork. And not just wearable accessories either; these were meant to be models. Aside from shapes pertaining to their friends (lightning bolt, books, jewels, balloons, apples), there were also models of parasprites, Steven Magnet, even some gremlins that once tormented Ponyville with a cloud of despair. In some alternate Equestria, that event was even covered on TV news, but not in Prime, since TV doesn't even exist in here (yet). In that Equestria, the Rainbow Dash there thwarted them after having to get her funk back, which took more than a month. In this one, Chronicle flew up there himself with his new carpet, knocked them down as fast as they came, and had them arrested.

And then he heard hoofsteps; whoever owned this (Fluttershy was the likely suspect) was coming down, and likely found out that somepony else has discovered their secret. Immediately, he look for a place to hide, found it in the form of a huge knitwork bunny, and jumped behind it.

Seconds later, he heard a familiar voice say, "…what I do here in my Chamber of Extreme Knitting!" Despite hearing it a couple of times already, hearing Fluttershy suddenly shout was still something he couldn't get truly used to, especially when it's not directed at somepony else. And it rang in his ears. "I've also considered calling it The Palace of Friendly Pony Grotesqueries, but I thought that might be a bit too much.

"Here in my studio, I've turned a simple craft into a radical art and created objects d'art that scare even me, even though they are all made by my own hooves! Art sometimes takes control of you, Angel!" Oh. He's here too. "Here, I'm trying to show what I think and feel on the very inside, but it also has its practical side!"

Another thing Chronicle wasn't used to either was hearing her monologue; whenever he does it, he keeps it in his head to not only save his breath but to avoid any possibility of being eavesdropped, unless they're mind readers, in which he currently has no defenses for. And he seriously should.

"Look! Chicken cozy cups—both artful and practical. This'll keep their little eggs toasty war—um, Angel? where are you going?"

A few seconds later, Chronicle felt something tap him in the leg. Oh ███t!

"Must've been embarrassing for you to find me there, huh?"

"It really was. Promise you won't tell, okay?"

"I already told you." Chronicle reminded his marefriend. "Not until you're ready. That is your secret to share or keep."

"Thank you. But why did you just make a regular promise and not—"

"Because it's your secret to keep, and to make that kind of promise risks calling her over, thus revealing it to yet another individual. Besides, even though I know keeping promises is serious business for Pinkie Pie, I just can't trust a blabbermouth with this, which—admit it—is what she is."

"I guess you're right."

After finishing the jam, Fluttershy attempted to get her coltfriend to eat some of the flowers he gave, but while he was very hesitant, he relented to some and found them…okay to eat.

"Um, what game will we be playing for our Board Game Night?" Board Game Night was an activity the seven agreed to attend to every month. This get-together started at the month since Winter Wrap Up was first finished on time.

"Anything but Diplomacy. We are never, ever playing that game ever again."

"Yeah. I understand why."

In the Books and Branches Library…

“Get ready for a dull time.” Rainbow Dash warned as she and the other girls joined Twilight at the table, which was cleared of its unicorn head ornament. “The egghead found an educational game to play.”

“I’d call it more historical than educational,” Twilight Sparkle said, happily ignoring the lighthearted name calling, as everypony gathered around the table and got their first look at the game.

The board, spread over the oaken tabletop, depicted a map of Equestria and all of its surrounding nations. Each nation was colored differently to easily tell each other apart, and divided into a number of overly-simplified territories. The oceans, which surrounded the whole continent, were also divided into differently shaped spaces. Six notebooks and six pencils were spaced around the board, obviously meant for the players. The slightly crumpled cardboard box contained a number of stacks of tiles, a cloth bag, and an hourglass that looked like it counted about fifteen minutes.

“Diplomacy,” Rarity read, lightly tapping the edge of the box with her hoof and recoiling at the faint trace she left on the dust covering it. “Where did you find this, darling? It’s positively filthy!”

“I just stumbled across it while I was making some room in the basement!” Twilight answered, levitating a feather duster from under the table and brushing off the offending dust. “Somepony had shoved it between one of the roots and a bookcase and must have forgotten about it. It looked like it had been there for years, but all the pieces are still here.”

“So how do you play?!” Pinkie Pie asked, eager to learn a new game. “Is it an exploring game? Or are we building civilizations? Oh! I bet we have to manage resources, like farms and banks and stuff!”

Twilight shook her head and mentally shifted into lecture mode. “No, in this game we each take command of a nation and try to take control of the rest of the board. We do this by marching our pieces into unclaimed territories and pushing the forces out of the other player’s spaces. Each time you take a territory with a symbol like this, you can add a new army to the board. There are three types of units: armies, navies, and air forces, and they each have different ways of moving and affecting the game.

“But here’s the best part! There are no dice or cards or anything like that. Each turn, we each just write down where we want our pieces to go and then we move them! It’s got all the strategy of chess but with far, far more possible scenarios! Why, the fact that six ponies can play it at the same time alone…”

“And that’s the whole game,” Rainbow grumbled. “We just talk to each other for a while and move pegs on a glorified chart. Color me unimpressed.”

“What, don’t think ya got what it takes to win?” Applejack pressed, knowing just how to get the pegasus motivated.

It worked like a charm. The blue pegasus straitened up from her slouch and slammed her hooves challengingly on the table. “You know I have what it takes! Let’s get started already!”

“But… um… won’t it be a little difficult to keep track of everything? I mean, none of us have played this before…” Fluttershy’s question broke apart into mumbles.

“I already thought of that,” Twilight said, placing a reassuring pat on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “The rules book had a ton of examples of what would happen in any given situation. Spike volunteered to be the turn-keeper and he’s been studying them since I found the game.” She raised her voice. “How’s it going, Spike?”

“It’s a lot more complicated than it first looks, you know,” the baby dragon answered from his perch on the staircase, waving a thin booklet at the assembled ponies. “Nearly all eighteen pages of this is ‘what ifs’ and ‘when this happens’. I’m gonna need five minutes each turn just working out what’s what!”

“I’ll help if you need it, but I should remain impartial if I’m taking part.” Twilight turned her excited gaze on her friends. “So, want to play?”

“Well, duh!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“Sure, sounds interestin’,” Applejack grinned.

“If she’s playing, I’m in!” Rainbow declared, matching the farmpony's grin.

“If everypony else want to,” Fluttershy said, offering a brave smile.

“Well…” Rarity tapped a hoof lightly on her chin. “I suppose it does sound fun. Why not?”

“Excellent!” Twilight clapped her hooves and levitated the cloth bag out of the box. “Then the first thing we have to do is pick our nations!”

"Hold on a minute! Where's Chronicle?" wondered the pink earth pony. "I'm sure he'd love to play with us!"

"Yeah," agreed Spike. "There's even a alternate way for a seventh player to play."

"Chronicle's…currently busy right now," Twilight explained. "He said he was going to…you know…visit his family."

Everybody nodded. They knew just what she was talking about, and have even met his relatives before. And that what they did was supposed to be a huge secret.

"Really?" A certain voice came. "Is that the excuse you were going to make?!"

Everybody turned to see Chronicle at the door leading to the basement, his mane disheveled, his face angry and tired, marks on his legs indicating he was previously bound, and levitating a ring next to his head. All the individuals in the room were surprised, Twilight most of all.

"H-how did you…" Twilight began.

"If you've been what I've been through for the past few years, you'd understand how. Now step away from the game!"

As it was, while they were down in the basement, Chronicle and Twilight had found that wretched board game. He wanted to burn it up straight away, but she somehow managed to get the upper hoof, incapacitated him, bound and gagged him, and placed a magic-inhibiting ring on his horn. He wasn't new to this situation, and while the ring would prevent an ordinary unicorn from using magic, he was no ordinary unicorn. Due to what he really was, he had ways of channeling magic besides via the horn, but he wasn't about to tell anybody that.

"NO, TWILIGHT! If there's anything more stupid than playing this game, it's playing it with friends! This game has been known to shatter the best of friendships, and I'm not about to let this game take ours!" His horn flared as he fully intended to burn the game to ashes. "If you value the friendship we have all forged, you will allow me to destroy it.

Do not… play… this… game… with them!"

“Oh, come on, Chronicle. It’s just a game. What could possibly happen?” Twilight asked.

"What could possibly happen?" he mocked, and then did something everybody found disturbing and something he wouldn't normally do; laugh like a lunatic. This continued for twenty seconds before he stopped and continued talking, a smirk on his face. "What could possibly happen? Do you really want me to answer that question?"

"Since you're confusing us with that, then yes."

"All right. Let me show you one game of Diplomacy I watched a charge of mine play." Chronicle used a spell he learned from Trixie when she last visited Ponyville with the Alicorn Amulet to summon a screen that showed his Surveillance's screen. He then 'rolled back' to a scene showing him, his at-the-time charge—a dark-coated unicorn stallion—and his fellow players gathered around a table, ready to play a game of Diplomacy.

"Wait a second, dear!" interrupted Rarity as she pointed at two ponies in the screen. "Are those…"

Everybody looked at where Rarity was pointing as Chronicle 'paused' the memory.

One of them was a large white unicorn stallion in a black morning coat, light magenta bow tie, blue vest, gold shirt studs, and a monocle, his short wavy hair was blue-green, there was a pencil-thin mustache on his face, his eyes were blue, and he had a cutie mark of three jeweled gold crowns. The other was a white unicorn mare of tall stature (nearly as tall as Princess Luna), with long, pink/white hair, blue eyes with dark lavender eyeshadow, and a cutie mark of three fleur-de-lis crests—a gold one flanked by two smaller violet ones.

"Huh. Fancypants and Fleur Dis Lee," Chronicle remarked. "Or was it Fleur-de-lis? Who knew?" And then he got himself back on track. "Anyway, the game started with little incident, just as one would expect."

He let the scene play, 'fast-forwarding' a couple of times to show just how a game in progress was done.

The game had started out simple enough, with conversations being civil, honest advice being supplied, and Chronicle just watching over his charge, not participating, and keeping an eye on the other players. As the game went on however, even through the screen, his friends could feel the tension of hostility begin to rise amongst the players, but not Fancypants, who merely showed worry, or Fleur, despite playing as well.

Advice always came with a tone of deceit, conversations had a tone of mistrust, bribes and the like were being made, both in-game and out, and one player even attempted to pay Chronicle to spy on his charge, which he vehemently refused to do. Only Fancypants and Fleur did not turn on each other, their alliance being stone-solid. Before long, the players began acting like enemies, as if they were at war. There was shouting, yelling, stares of hatred, and then it devolved to physical assault, magical assault (there were unicorns at the table, after all), vicious rough-housing, all without somehow messing up the game board.

It was a miracle nopony was even permanently crippled in the ensuing fight, let alone killed, and Chronicle certainly helped with that, not wanting any murders to happen on his watch. Fancypants assisted as much as he could as well, and had Fleur call the Royal Guard to control the situation. The freelance bodyguard felt a little weird being taken in by authorities for being in a fight that wasn't in a bar. He did get into bar brawls before when accompanying some charges of his, but never when he's drinking.

None of them were ever the same again. Their lives have been ruined. Any friendships between some of the players have been shattered. Chronicle's charge shortly fired him after a minor incident for not telling the truth about something (even without lying).

This was a result of a game of Diplomacy between mere associates. Chronicle didn't want to risk this game with the best of friends and, more importantly, bearers of the Elements of Harmony. Either the damage won't be as bad, or the consequences to them or Equestria will be far worse.

"It's not just because we found out just how… willing to win Twilight can really be, right?"

"Yup."

"And I have to admit you sounded… umm…"

"I know, I know. I sounded like a complete fool sounding so serious about something as trivial as a board game."

"You even made all of us Pinkie Promise."

"It's the closest thing to a magical binding contract that I can find that doesn't need the usual risks, like one's soul, a beloved one, or one's own freedom. I believe the ire of Pinkie Pie is enough of an incentive for anybody."

"So you still want to play this game. Even after what I showed you?"

Six nods, but not unanimous, were the response. Spike was busy setting up the game. The board, the notebooks for writing down moves, the game pieces, the works. He would be serving as the neutral party checking the rule book, moving the pieces, that sort of thing.

"All right. Before we play, let's all make a Pinkie Promise, okay?" He arranged for his friends to stand in a close circle around him and outstretched his left front hoof. All his friends then did the same. "We solemnly swear that no matter what any of our friends do while playing the game, especially any lies and backstabs, we will not hold it against them." He then did the motions. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

The six to-be-players followed suit. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

Chronicle then turned to the namer of the titular promise. "Pinkie Pie, do you Pinkie Promise that you can make absolutely certain that everypony, including yourself, will uphold this promise?"

"Okie-dokie-lokie! Pinkie Promise!"

"All right. Let's get started."

"And then while we 'roleplayed' as the six factions, you 'roleplayed' as a finicky…deity who does not tolerate his 'children', the 'players' controlling the factions' rulers, being too…invested in their game and will put a stop to their 'game' if they go too far."

"That's right, Fluttershy."

"You really got yourself immersed in the game, you know. You even made strikes on a 'Reminder Board' to warn us constantly. Nine I believe was the number you said you would tolerate before ending the game prematurely."

"Well, after the last game I witnessed, and because it's you girls, I could not let this game get to you. And it nearly did for one of us."

Just at the fifth in-game year (it took longer in the previous game Chronicle participated in), it has become apparent that Twilight had gotten herself way too invested in the game. Well, the others were too like Pinkie with her out-of-game bribes, Rainbow's over-competitiveness, and Rarity using her wiles to manipulate the other players. At this point, Spike decided to cower upstairs, perhaps writing a letter to Princess Celestia.

Right now, Twilight has just revealed her moves, which has begun to deal severe blows on all the other players, and she has started to boast on how victory for her was irreversibly imminent.

"Every general I’ve ever read has detailed exactly how to win a war like this!" she ranted. "Divide and conquer! Split up the enemy and sweep through them in their chaos! And I have! I’ve been studying you all since the day we met! I know exactly how to drive you all apart! And now it’s too late for you to stop me! You’ll never pull your fractured nations together to stop the might of Equestria! And soon, I will push my forces to every edge of the map and claim it for myself. And then my rule will last FOREV—”

"Nine strikes! Game over!" At this point, Chronicle marked the final strike on his 'Reminder Board', blasted Twilight with a charged wind blast, knocking her off of the proverbial pedestal she put herself on, then 'gathered' as much of the game as he could and stored it into his hammerspace. And then a beam of magic hit him in the face and onto the floor. Everypony else got out of the way as a very irate Twilight got up, ready to face off against her bodyguard.

"I was so close to winning! Why did you stop me?!" Twilight demanded.

"You're just playing a game! I told you from the very beginning not to get too invested in it! That's what you're doing right now!"

Her answer to that was another blast of magic. Using a spell he learned from his older brother, Chronicle conjured an orb of light that absorbed it (though judging by it now fluctuating, it seems that the orb was now overloaded), then teleported away to just outside the Everfree Forest to take the fight outside. Still livid with his forced "rage quit" despite not being a player himself, she teleported after him, leaving the messed up ground floor of the library silent with their still-befuddled friends for a full minute before suddenly realizing what was about to happen and immediately left the library to stop this madness.

"Your duel with Twilight was so frightening. She was so powerful, and has learned more since, well, everything. And you looked like you were struggling to keep up."

The ensuing battle had kept Chronicle "on his toes", which he hadn't needed to for a long while since Antithesis, who had contended with one-and-a-half sets of the alicorn sisters, himself, and his brother Blue Diary, who he realized was an Assassin in a lot of ways, and sealed all the Princesses away with moderate effort. Responding to powerful attacks with quick-time teleports, swift strikes, and magical clone fake-outs, it was all he could do to handle his irate charge without permanently injuring her.

And then Princess Celestia stepped in, and when Twilight attempted to attack her mentor to get to him, Chronicle got a first-hoof view of her power, apart from reversing the Want-It-Need-It spell. Her opening move was to make a huge flash in front of Twilight, blinding her (and him) momentarily. With minimal effort, Celestia then followed up by 'holding' her student, and lifting her up, ready to give a harsh lecture.

When she then asked the others what was going on, Twilight's friends explained the whole Diplomacy board game (and that they promise never to play it ever again), how it progressed, how they ignored Chronicle's warning even after he showed the consequences, and trying to keep things under control with a Pinkie Promise.

"Yeah. I was sorely tempted to cripple her, but I knew that would be a bad impression." Chronicle decided it was time to change topics, but he decided he needed some time to ruminate on that. In the meantime, the two resumed eating, while their two pets decided to 'play' with one another. Well, it consisted of Angel kicking Rock away as he rolled back to the bunny again and again.

Elsewhere…

After turning down a fair number of offers from aspiring potential coltfriends, Skyla decided to go visit an acquaintance of hers. Incidentally, the two of them have Chronicle as a friend.

Ever since chasing the Cutie Mark Crusaders after they had crashed into his place the first time she foalsat them, Skyla had made occasional visits to Mystic Shield's Self-Defense Academy. Sometimes, it was after getting those three foals out of it after they crashed in for the umpteenth time. Sometimes, it was when Snips couldn't wait for Snails to finish. Sometimes, it's to watch over Ruby Pinch when Berry Punch is in a particularly panicky mood, which is thankfully not often. And sometimes, she's just passing by alone. Right now, she was doing the last.

Skyla knocked on the door thrice, waiting for them to open. Because of the constant interruptions, Mystic had a spell cast on his doors so that they couldn't be forced open by barging into them. They will only open after a few seconds (but not late in the night), or at his consent.

When she knocked on the door (she can't just open them anymore, not after Mystic had a spell cast on them to ward off sudden intruders), when they opened, she saw that the only student present was Greatstone. When she later asked, she found out what happened to the rest, or at least the ones she hasn't seen throughout the day before coming here.

Chrono Cards loved picking up mares on Hearts and Hooves Day, and Bullseye was surprisingly charming enough to do the same, so they were out. Someone managed to catch the bookworm Tricky Books's attention, so he couldn't attend either. Twilight was doing a research project for the Princess, and didn't look the type to search for love. Dinky Hooves was still at school, and so was Snails, Tootsie Flute, Ruby Pinch, and Firelock. Comet Tail and Pokey Pierce managed to pick up mares of their own. Morpheus was unaccounted for. And all the mares got special someponies (as at least two of them had mares rather than stallions), at least for today.

Well, there would be one new applicant coming in later, but Skyla wouldn't know of it until she arrived. The applicant was a mare, and she has some…bad history with Ponyville. But if Ponyville could forgive Spike after he wreaked havoc with his greed-induced growth, they could probably forgive somepony like her.

"Skyla!" Mystic greeted. "What brings you here?"

"Hi, Mystic," Skyla greeted in return as she walked in . "I'm surprised you're still at work. And that you still have a student today."

"Well, Master Shield is considering grooming me as heir to his mentor's legacy," Greatstone explained. "He's been teaching me everything he knows and more."

"Any reason why you chose Hearts and Hooves Day to do that, aside from the fact that neither of you plan to take any special someponies on a date?"

"I don't intend to celebrate the holiday. Not one of the mares in Ponyville interest me romantically."

"Okay, that explains you, but what about…" She turned to face the teacher.

"All I'll say is that it's a painful reminder of my past, and that I don't wish to be reminded of it."

Suddenly, three certain fillies popped up from behind Skyla and were stacked on top of the pegasus to look inside, making the three adults feel awkward as they saw Sweetie Belle about to say something only to be cut off. The fillies looked at Mystic, then at Skyla, and then at Mystic again. The three then let off a sigh as they they hopped off and left.

"…Okay." Mystic was confused. "Why were the Cutie Mark Crusaders here?"

"I'm not foalsitting them today, I promise," Skyla swore as she walked all the way in so the doors can close and 'lock' themselves. "But judging by their expressions, and looking back at previous escapades…" A sweat drop flowed down her head. "I believe they think I'm seeing you. Or Greatstone."

"Whyever would you assume that?" asked Greatstone.

"Matchmaking was one of their previous escapades. While I know they never seem to recycle their schemes, it looks like the current holiday has inspired them to give it another try. I could tell, since I've foalsat them during that."

"Well, that's good for us, I guess," said Mystic. "At least they won't be bothering my classes today."

"Except there's only one student in attendance."

"…True. By the way, you haven't answered my question, Skyla. Why are you here?"

"Well… I remember what you told me once before, but…" She didn't want to compromise her current relationship status (which is 'friends') with him. "I was wondering if you… if you could tell me about…"

He felt a little irritated. "What makes you believe I trust you enough that I'd tell you?"

She panicked. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I should figure your trip where I came along didn't matter. I just… I got nothing to do for today. No cheesecake is being sold today at Sugarcube Corner, the Wonderbolts have no scheduled public events today…" Remember, the less ponies who know you're an undercover Wonderbolt, the better. "And I thought a friendly visit wouldn't hurt."

Mystic gave a sigh, then said, "Well, I guess you can stay awhile. I was about to tell Greatstone about my mentor Aegis. I guess it's okay for you to listen in too."

"Thank you."

Just then, there came a knock at the doors. A couple seconds later, they opened to let in a yellow-eyed black unicorn mare, who had a cloak to obscure her identity. Judging by her face, she looks like she's holding a lot of guilt and is seeking atonement.

"Um, is this Mystic Shield's Self-Defense Academy for Unicorns?" the newcomer asked.

"Uh, yes. I take it you wish to enroll in my class?"

"Yes, sir."

"What's your name?"

"Midnight Shadow, sir."

Back to our couple…

As they finished their picnic meal, the two decided to head to the Lucky Clover Restaurant. He, Twilight, and Spike ate there once, when his charge was wondering who to take to the Grand Galloping Gala, hours before the ticket fiasco began. Angel and Rock were asked to return to the cottage, in which they complied.

As they walked, Chronicle thought it was okay to start talking about something else. "So, um…"

"I was told that at some point, we'll have to meet each other's parents," Fluttershy started hesitantly. "But given what your family does, I'm not sure if that'll be possible on your end."

Surprised at this topic, Chronicle stumbled a bit before replying, "Well, from what my parents told me in the dreamscape, they seem to be okay with you and me, but they said I should still wait. The organization I work for isn't really keen with those like me getting romantic with someone like you."

"Someone like me?"

"Nothing to do with what you are or who you are. Just the fact that you are too…important for this world, being a Spirit of Harmony and all. If you had been anybody else, I wouldn't be as hesitant in taking the next step. You see, when…someone like me wants to eventually marry someone in this world, one of the two in the couple has to break ties with their home world. So far, neither of us can do that; you for reasons I already explained, and me because I'm still not finished in my mission. It's years-long, so we could be waiting a long time."

"I see."

"Look, even if this doesn't work out in the end, I won't regret falling in love with you." He stopped for a while to lift his left front hoof to caress her face. "I just wish you won't regret it either."

"I won't." She stopped as well to raise a hoof to touch his outstretched foreleg. "You've been teaching me to be brave, and you never forcibly pushed me, even if it would be for my own good. I'll always thank you for that."

Yeah, but I had reasons for not being forceful. Because this is a Heart World, I shouldn't make such fundamental changes. It's bad enough as it is that I fell for you.

"Still, perhaps we could meet my parents."

She then noticed her coltfriend go red in the face as he suddenly took interest in a certain cloud in the sky while they resumed walking. And the head in there seemed to indicate that Rainbow Dash was currently napping in it. She followed his gaze, but knew the reason he turned away wasn't because of the fact that her fillyhood friend was possibly spying on them.

"Why are you so nervous?"

"Well, ever since I started dating you, I've been wondering just what kind of parents you have that would give birth to somepony like you. Well, not all the time, but the notion has reared its head a few. Of course, one of them will probably be meek like yourself, but what about the other parent? I could even be wrong on that. For all I know, one or both of your parents could be Canterlot royalty, in the Royal Guard, some other similar position, or even outright tough and/or boisterous. That boisterous could be very obvious, or very concealed like yours. And it's driving me nuts on what is the case!"

"Well, they're—"

"And I don't want to be spoiled by you telling me! I'm just not ready yet."

"Why?"

"It's… it's…" He let out a loud sigh. "You know what, I guess I just found out another phobia of mine. And just like that fire-coming-out-of-body deal, I admit it's an absurd thing to be afraid of. And maybe I'm not even using the term correctly."

All of a sudden, there came a giggle from Fluttershy, which made her coltfriend panic a bit. Oh no. What did I do this time?

"Sorry," she apologized. "It's just that it not often I see you this…frazzled. I've seen you angry, calm, resolute, happy, sarcastic, rambling, stressed. I even saw you cry, if only because of what I had to do. But for you to lose your cool,
it's just…"

"Hmm… that sounds strange coming from you." A smirk came to Chronicle's face. "Saying the phrase 'lose your cool'."

Before any more could be said, all of a sudden, they could hear a commotion. The two stopped just as they reached the restaurant, and saw an earth pony stallion in a green cloak on the run from a circus troupe's worth of animals (and a manticore), screaming his head off.

As he passed them by, the two could only stand there stunned for a few moments before they both decided to chase after the poor guy to help him out. Besides, this commotion can possibly ruin Hearts and Hooves Day.

"And that's all you need to know about my class."

"Thank you, sir."

"Although you didn't need to tell me all that much about you."

"I believe baring your past is the first step towards atonement."

After storytelling about his time with his mentor, Mystic Shield was conversing with Midnight Shadow, and Greatstone and Skyla were listening as well.

"Okay, but I can't protect you from my other students while you're outside the Academy. Also, while I know Chronicle can be surprisingly merciful to enemies at times, I can't say the same about Twilight, if what you did to her was true."

"I've done quite a few terrible things in the past. After our therapy, after the others and I parted ways, Princess Celestia decided I be sent to Ponyville under a sort of probation and that I make a friend there. I am under watch by two Night Guards around the clock, and they are hidden so well I can't even detect them."

"What about the others?" Skyla interrupted. "Jewel? Fungus Amongus? Warmonger? Black Rainbow? Bluebird?"

"Last I heard, Warmonger is under the same probation as well. Because she has family there, Jewel is under house arrest in Canterlot. Black and Bluebird are now apparently living together at the latter's home under standard probation, although I heard Bluebird will be visiting Ponyville sometime this week. As for Fungus, she escaped and is currently on the run."

"Elements of Discord, huh?" mused Greatstone. "We should've been there, Master Shield."

"The past is in the past," said Mystic gloomily. "No use in pondering on it. Besides, the Martial Arts Group has been helping in defending the town long before I set up my Academy."

"At least I won't have to start with someone who has seen my notoriety first-hoof," Midnight made an attempt at humor as she added a single chuckle. "My quest for atonement would be very hard then, or I could risk relapsing out of frustration."

"Lucky us, then," stated Skyla, then changed subjects. "Say, about that Warmonger fella, is she that big red pegasus with the knives cutie mark?"

"Yes."

"Huh." The white pegasus then put a hoof below her mouth. "Come to think of it, I did see her once around town. There I was thinking 'hey, she sure looks like she could be in the Wonderbolts'—"

"Really?" deadpanned Greatstone. "A bulky pony like her?"

"Hey, that Bulk Biceps guy is more muscular, and I can see he has the potential to be a Wonderbolt, too. I also saw her make a run for it when she saw Chronicle's marefriend. Or some other pony she happened to see."

"From how you said all that, you're acting like a talent scout of sorts," Midnight stated, her somber mood steadily improving. "In fact, I daresay you're actually a Wonderbolt, albeit going incognito."

The pegasus was taken aback for a bit on the unicorn mare being a little spot-on. "Oh, that?" She then let off a nervous laugh. "I never really wanted to own up to this, but… I'm basically a Wonderbolt nerd. I've read a lot about the Wonderbolts, learned all I could about them, things like that."

"Like Rainbow Dash?" asked Mystic.

"Naw." She waved him off. "From what I know of her, she's just a fangirl who also happened to be able to save them back at the Best Young Flyer competition. While she'd certainly know a lot of their tricks, I know a lot more; their favorite food, number one song, tidbits about their past, love life or lack thereof, life behind the cameras thanks to daring paparazzi ponies, that sort of thing."

"What's Soarin''s favorite food?" Midnight asked.

"Pie. Presently, apple pie. Specifically, apple pie from Sweet Apple Acres."

"Is that right?"

"Don't ask if you can't verify. I actually saw him visit the farm itself for a pie a couple weeks ago. And please don't ask me more. I'm not that brilliant, to be honest."

"How did our conversation divert from Midnight's past to this?" Mystic then asked.

Skyla just shrugged. "No idea."

"Now how did we get from helping out a stallion whom animals seem to hate to this?"

'This' was a run-in with a sect of Discord cultists who were hiding in the Everfree Forest. And right now, they were surrounded. The cultists all wore cloaks splattered with colors pertaining to the draconequus. There weren't just ponies in this bunch; there was the occasional zebra, griffon, and diamond dog. There was even a horse from Saddle Arabia, and it disconcerted Chronicle greatly, but not for reasons most would think.

"Looks like we're in luck!" said one of the cultists "Not only did we find an Element of Harmony, we also found the pony responsible for taking out so much of our brethren!"

Following that was a series of taunts and promises to get rid of him, as well as perverted laughs.

Fluttershy was terrified as she positioned herself back-to-back with her coltfriend. Well, as much as that could be possible as ponies. "Wh-wh-what should we do?"

"I'd say 'leave it all to me', but I figure that wouldn't do."

"Get 'em!" Yelled the apparent cultist leader. On that command, all the cultists proceeded to dogpile the two. But a simple barrier spell staved them off.

I will not let some cultists ruin this date, or Hearts and Hooves Day for Ponyville! "Fluttershy, watch my back!" Chronicle then procured the 'wind crystal' from hammerspace and put it in her mane. "Blow them away." Upon hearing the 'keyword', she nodded as she jogged her memory on what she can do with the 'wind crystal'.

The moment he dismissed his barrier and let off a signal flare spell, a gale force blew from the two and knocked the cultists off their feet. As he then unsheathed his magic horn blade, the cultists were beginning to pull back.

"She's alerted the others!" warned the leader. "Retreat!"

Setting aside the notion that he was once again confused for a mare, Chronicle charged straight for the first cultist in range—a pegasus—and struck them down. Because his blade was set to stun, the cultist merely keeled over in excruciating pain. "We can't let them escape! Every cultist we take in means one less of their number that can threaten Equestria!"

Right after he said that, a gale force blew against the retreating cultists, blowing them back in Chronicle's direction as he continued attacking them. Previous fights like these have assured Fluttershy that they would certainly live and won't be permanently crippled, but it was still a bit frightening to see him come so close to ending a life without actually doing so.

She hopes for this to end quickly; their Hearts and Hooves Day was seriously taking a bad turn.

"I'll be seeing you tomorrow, Midnight Shadow. Take care."

"I will, Master Shield."

"Allow me to see her home."

"Have you forgotten she has Night Guards watching her for that?"

"It's so we can learn where she lives."

"Right."

Mystic Shield was bidding Midnight Shadow farewell as she exited the Academy and headed on home, with Greatstone accompanying her. This left the teacher with Skyla, who has yet to leave as well.

"It was nice hearing about your history with Master Aegis," said the foalsitter. "I'm sure your…um, heralds will continue your legacy with that tale. But why set up in Ponyville of all places? Pardon if I have repeated the question before."

"You have, actually, when you came along in my field trip when the Elements of Discord attacked. And you never really told me why you decided to tag along in the first place. The only reason I didn't ask was because I wasn't going to turn down a pegasus willing to aid in scouting ahead." Mystic rubbed his nape with a hoof in a trace of embarrassment. "Never even thought of asking, to be honest."

"I wanted to know you more. You looked like you could use a non-unicorn friend, and not just by proxy through your students or Chronicle." Skyla expressed a little worry. "You really should make some more friends from the other two tribes."

Mystic let off a sigh. "I guess I'm just too busy teaching to take time off. I just want to ensure the future of my master's art, make certain it doesn't die. I owe it to Master Aegis. Until then…"

Skyla sighed as well. "Looks like I'll have to make the advances, then."

Just then, they felt a rumble. Curious, they left the Academy (Mystic locking it first) and followed the vibrations. After making a turn, they saw what was causing it; Big Macintosh was tied to one end of a rope…and a house was tied to the other end. And Apple Bloom was following him for some reason.

The two would say that this was an unbelievable sight, but they would be lying. Unfortunately, unbelievable sights have since become at least a weekly occurrence, though thankfully not often at this degree. Discord must've left his mark deep in Ponyville, because weirdness hasn't been to this level or frequency before his attack.

"Just what kind of harebrained scheme did the Cutie Mark Crusaders come up with this time?" Skyla asked herself.

"Whatever it is, I think it's related to love," Mystic answered, still a little flabbergasted. "As to how, don't ask me that. I'm going home."

"Me too."

Once there were no more Discord cultists left in sight, Chronicle and Fluttershy (and Rainbow, Pinkie, and Twilight when they came at the former's signal flare) rounded them all up and tied them all together. The stallion then asked his charge to write a letter to Princess Celestia reporting this, and then had Rainbow fly over to Spike back at the library to send it. The wind crystal was also returned for safekeeping.

"That's… twenty-nine more Discord cultists put away," Twilight recorded, then turned to her bodyguard. "What brought you to go looking for them?"

"A lot of things happened one after the other," came the reply.

"It started when we were on our way to the restaurant when we saw a pony who needed help," Fluttershy explained. "For some reason, a lot of animals seemed to hate him, even when he wasn't bad at all. It was all a blur after that, but I do remember then going to the Everfree Forest to lead Manny Roar back home before the cultists appeared."

"I just wanted a regular picnic, lunch, and maybe dinner at home," groaned Chronicle. "That was all I planned for Hearts and Hooves Day. Why can't today have been a completely regular day to celebrate the holiday?"

"We got another problem," reported Pinkie. "Just as I left Sugarcube Corner for the day, I saw Big Mac and Cheerilee all lovey-dovey at each other. They were so sweet even I was starting to feel a little sick, and so were the Cutie Mark Crusaders. I really got a bad feeling about that."

"Hold on a second," Twilight realized as she tapped her head to jog her memory, but not before re-casting a sleep spell over the cultists to keep them from getting rowdy. After a couple of seconds, she then realized it. "Oh no."

"What is it?" asked Fluttershy.

"I think the Cutie Mark Crusaders probably tried to make the love potion in the book I gave them earlier."

"Don't tell me the ingredients are readily available," said Chronicle.

"They are."

"And you thought giving them the book was a good idea?!"

"I didn't think they'd actually try it!"

"These are the Cutie Mark Crusaders we're talking about here! I wouldn't put it past them to make friends with Gilda if that's what it takes to get their cutie marks."

"You seriously think that?"

Chronicle rolled his eyes. "I'd say Discord cultist, but that'd sound like I have too little faith in them. Is there an antidote?"

"Well…" Twilight was a little thrown off in how easily Chronicle can switch subjects (and even demeanor) in such a short amount of time.

"The pleasure of your company is requested at the Annual Aquastria Race. Attendants and friends are welcome. The race will officially begin after the First Moon Tide.

Very truly yours,
King Leo, Ruler of Aquastria"

That was what the letter Twilight had received read. When she told her friends, they showed varying degrees of enthusiasm. What was most surprising however was that Chronicle was the most enthusiastic out of all of them, more than even Pinkie Pie.

Simply put, his reaction was like that of Rainbow Dash upon meeting the Wonderbolts personally for the first time; he was squeeing, and he was also pronking around like Twilight herself did long ago when she told her cutie mark story to the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

When he was asked why he behaving like Pinkie Pie in the middle of a candy store, he explained excitedly, "I just loooooove swimming! I never get enough time to do so around here! Indulging on the job is unprofessional, and the nearby lake is too small, not to mention it has a squid living there. I'm so psyched!!!"

nightelf37: But let's get back to the present.

Twilight answered the question. "The imbibers of the love potion must keep their eyes off of the pony they first set eyes on—in this case Big Mac and Cheerilee from each other—for one full hour for the spell to be broken."

"I see. Let's head back." With that, Chronicle began to run back to Ponyville, summoning a magical clone to guard the cultists until the Royal Guard arrived.

"Right," agreed his charge as she, Fluttershy, and Pinkie followed. "We need to fix this problem of theirs."

"It's also partly yours, you know, for giving that book," he countered. "And let's see if they can't fix it themselves." He saw the shock in Twilight's and the others' faces and added, "Hey, they were able to fix the problem they caused as Gabby Gums. They can't truly learn from their mistakes if they think we'll always be there to fall back to when they do something wrong. But we'll be there when they're seriously over their heads, all right?"

"Do you really think they can fix this?" Twilight was still a little doubtful. Around this time, Rainbow had passed them by, and immediately turned around to follow them as soon as she saw them.

"We'll see when we get there."

Ultimately, intervention was unnecessary. By the time the five got to the disaster area, which was just outside Carousel Boutique, the "love poison" was finally 'cured', which 'happened' just after Cheerilee broke through the Boutique's door and fell into a pit the Crusaders dug up (and added a mattress to to cushion the fall) to stall Macintosh, who had been pronking his way to his "schmoopie-doo" while dragging Berry Punch's house (which Apple Bloom had tied him to to stall for time).

Cheerilee figured giving the Cutie Mark Crusaders doing all of Macintosh's chores for the entire day. Of course, Rarity, Applejack, and Scootaloo's caretaker(s) will give them further punishment once they hear of this. And Macintosh offered to move Berry Punch's house back to its proper place. And apologize to the oxen that were delivering a wagonload of anvils, who in turn were both impressed and a little frightened that the earth pony stallion was able to drag both them and their load without even trying.

Chronicle made a mental note never to be in melee range of Macintosh when he might ever need to anger him (Hopefully, that would never come to pass). A full-power buck from him could possibly smash his strongest barrier and break a lot of bones.

After confirming that no more shenanigans will occur for the rest of the day, the five returned to their usual business or retired to their homes. Right now, the couple out of them were returning to Fluttershy's cottage, where they'll have a simple dinner.

"Whew!" he said as they walked. "That was a really weird Hearts and Hooves Day, wasn't it?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Why couldn't we just have one regular day with nothing interesting happening? Ever since this town was turned topsy-turvy by him, completely peaceful days have been few and far between."

"Yeah."

"So, what should we have for dinner?"

"Please leave it to me. I don't think Angel appreciated your cooking the last time."

He was hurt Fluttershy thought the bunny thought that. It's true he wasn't well-versed in the culinary arts, but he couldn't have been that terrible. "At least they're not as bad as the baked bads, right?"

She giggled a little at that. "That's true. Good thing I didn't try them, though."

"Yeah. Maybe a takeout at the new Hayburger place?" He shuddered at that for some reason. "I'm gonna have to work out more after eating there."

"Why?"

"I visited it when it opened. I'm not really comfortable with how they cook their food. I could smell it from their kitchens."

"Wow. I didn't think you were that weight-conscious."

"Hey, I gotta stay fit if I wanna stay strong enough to protect you guys."

"You know, not that you mention it, that got me wondering about something."

Chronicle was curious. "Really?"

"Well, we've all been worrying for quite a while, Twilight and the rest of us, but you seemed perfectly fine, so we never asked you. Um… You see… you seem to, umm… eat less than we do."

"Are you serious?" He has no idea where she was going with this.

"Twilight ran a test, and from what she found, you eat as much as Rarity does for a day, yet you exert a lot more energy than she does." Before Chronicle could make a small retort, she continued. "And that's counting her sessions at the Martial Arts Group. We're worried that you might be taking an unnecessary diet for reasons you won't tell us, but you bear no signs of undernourishment at all."

"So?"

"What is your secret, Chronicle? How can you expend so much magic without needing to eating lots of food to replenish it?"

Now that got Chronicle thinking. Pinkie wasn't the only "big eater" out of all of them (he often attributed her non-fattening to her fourth-wall abilities). Whenever she's done a lot of magic-casting, Twilight also eats plenty of food after that, and doesn't get a distended stomach after all that. "You know, I never really gave it much thought." Is this another difference between me and native magic-users? "But I assure you I don't need to change my diet. I am perfectly fine. I've always eaten as much as I have for a long time. The only time I've felt the need to eat more is after a lot of athletic maneuvering."

"So you only need to eat more after physical exercise, but not after using up a lot of magic?" Fluttershy asked as the cottage entered their sights.

"I'm not sure. My physical exertion and magical use go…umm…" What's a good substitute for 'hand in hand'? "…together most of the time, be it exercise or combat. Guess that really sets me apart from other civilian unicorns. And all the unicorn Royal Guards I've seen so far."

By this point, they're at the door. "Yeah. I guess I like that in you."

"Well, better get started. I'm hungry." He opened the door.

"Yeah." She crossed it and her coltfriend followed before closing it.