(Image link if the picture is unclear: Map)
I was devastated. Fluttershy didn't fare any better, seeing what Twilight pointed out.
Fluttershy's home, or what was left of it, lay in ruins. Burned to the ground, with just a few support pillars remaining.
"Who would do such a thing like this!?" Twilight shouted at nobody in particular.
"I don't know, but whoever done this is going to pay dearly. Even if it costs me, I will hunt whoever did this untill the ends of the earth!" I roared.
I found the essence I was looking for in my arm, and activated it. My hands started changing form, becoming bestial, clawed.... Fur grew on my body, and my teeth got sharper.
My transformation completed, and I howled at the moon...
WWWWW
Change of Character - Natura Thorn -> Fluttershy
"Natura?" I asked cautiously.
"Don't worry, I'm in control." he growled. He sniffed the air in an attempt to locate the scent of the one who destroyed my home. "I must say, this is quite weird being able to smell everything nearby to such an extent."
" How so? " Twilight asked.
" Well, for one, you two smell rather.. odd, compared to everything else. You smell like lavender, while I can't see any around, and Fluttershy smells like... a spring breeze? It's hard to explain. " Natura said.
" I never knew we had such scents. Can you pick up anything else? " Twilight said.
" I can't... Wait, yes. " he sniffed the ground, and followed a trail towards Fluttershy's wrecked home. " This is the scent I'm after. It's really musky, and smells like hard labour and effort. Ugh. "
" Could you... spare the details, if you don't mind? " I asked.
" Yes of course. Follow me, it leads this way. "
"Can't we rest first? We haven't slept at all this night. " I asked.
" I agree with Fluttershy, we're quite tired. " Twilight said.
" You two can go sleep, I'll track this monster myself. Take Primal to the library, and if he wakes up send him my way. " Natura said.
" Will you be okay? I don't want to see you hurt. " I asked.
" I'm a werewolf, I'll be fine. Go rest, I'll take care of this. "
" Alright. Safe hunting, Natura. " Twilight said, before slowly walking in the direction of her home. I wished Natura good luck before following Twilight.
WWWWW
Twilight opened the door to her library, and placed Primal down on the couch. " What a relief, he got quite heavy after a while. " Twilight sighed.
Primal turned around in his sleep, and made a funny face.
" Oh Primal, you are crazy. But I like that... " Twilight said giggling.
" Twilight, do you...? Sorry, I shouldn't have asked. " I said shyly.
" It's okay, I'm not doing a good job hiding it now am I? Yes, I like Primal. I don't know what it is, but there's just something about him... Nevermind, I'm sounding like a crazy pony now. " Twilight rambled. " Where is Sabrina, actually? She teleported along with us didn't she? "
" I think she went invisible before we got teleported here. I don't know where she is now, but she's linked with Primal. She'll know where he is. " I said.
" You seem rather.. okay, with your house being destroyed. How come, if I may ask? " Twilight asked.
" I have you and the others to help out. Besides, I know all the animals got out. Angel is probably trying to find me. " I said calmly.
As if by magic, a scratching was heard on the door.
I opened the door, and Angel was there. He launched into my hooves and hugged me as best he could.
" See? It's all fine. " I petted my bunny on his head, and he tapped his foot in approval. He jumped into my mane and made himself comfortable.
" Atleast you are okay. I hope nothing bad happens to Natura.... "
" Natura? Where is he? Where am - Oh wait. I'm at Twilight's home. Where is Natura though?" Primal asked, having just woken up.
" He went after a scent in his werewolf form to catch the one that destroyed Fluttershy's home. " Twilight explained.
" Wait, WHAT?! Why?! Why would somepony do that?" Primal asked.
" SomeONE. Natura believes it wasn't a pony. " I said.
" Oh that damn devil. Damn him! I should've killed him when I had the chance! Any idea which way Natura went? "
" Towards the forest, I think. He asked to send you over to him when you woke up, but I don't think you should. " Twilight said.
" Why? I need to help him! "
"You had a long night. You turned into a werewolf, turned back into a human only to get taken over by an elemental, and when he left you got knocked out. You should rest, like us. He'll handle it. " Twilight said.
" I... Ah, it's okay. Sabrina acknowledged, and she went over to help him. I'll stay here and rest, I am actually feeling a bit tired. " Primal yawned.
" You can stay in the guest room, Fluttershy. It shouldn't be occupied. Upstairs, second door to the right. Mine and Primal's room is at the far end. " Twilight said.
" Okay. Good night, you two. "I said, and headed to the guest room Twilight pointed out to me.
Angel took a spot at the end of the bed, and I slipped into the bed myself and closed my eyes, letting exhaustion wash over me.
WWWWW
Change of Character - Fluttershy -> Sabrina, Panther of the Moon
I did not like those winged unicorn ponies teleporting me places, but I had to say it was useful. Just in case there were strangers around I had become invisible before teleporting.
The sight of the ruined building , and seeing the pegasus, human and unicorn upset about it did little to me. After all, it was simply a house. To my knowledge, they are easily rebuilt.
The human had transformed into a werewolf, and while I took caution, he assured that he was in control. He said he would track down the perpetrator alone. I decided to follow him, as I knew Primal would want me to.
Once he got into the forest, I uncloaked next to him. " You look like you could use some assistance. "I said.
He jumped back slightly. " Don't scare me like that. You were invisible and following me, weren't you? "
I nodded.
" Alright , stay close and alert me if you spot anything. This guy knows how to cover some of his tracks, but he obviously doesn't know how strong a werewolf's sense of smell is. "
He took low to the ground, sniffing various parts of the ground and slowly making his way forward. I could smell the scent aswell, but not as clearly as him. My eyesight was better than his in the dark, however, so I used that to my advantage.
I could see a grotto in the distance, draped with various animal hides.
" Natura, there is what looks like a grotto ahead of us. It is lined with animal hides. " I told him.
" Stay quiet, and let's check if the scent leads that way." He whispered back.
The trail led to the grotto, as I expected. "Wait here, I will go invisible and scout it out. " I whispered to him. He nodded, and took cover in a bush.
I made myself invisible, and carefully stepped over to the grotto. My feline nature helped out with making no noise, as being invisible did not account for sound.
The grotto stretched back and down a small bit, and ended in a stone wall with a wooden door. I could see a faint light coming from under the door.
I made my way back and told Natura what I found. "Let's ambush him. He won't see anything coming. " He said.
We crouched over to the door. Natura motioned to check if I was ready, and I nodded.
" Meet your maker, scum!" Natura yelled when he barged into the room.
There was nobody there, however. The light came from a nearly burnt out fire.
" Damn. I hoped that we'd find someone here. Let's leave a message in case the one who stays here comes back. " Natura said. He transformed back into his human form, which conveniently saved his clothes from being shredded, and took a sharp rock from the ground to carve a message in the wall.
"We... Will... Find... You... There, that should do it. Let's go back to the library, got nowhere else to stay now anyway. " he said. I silently followed him back to the ponies' town.
"They're already asleep." he whispered. " Good night Sabrina, and thanks for the help. "
I gave a nod of approval, and headed to my sleeping spot in Primal and Twilight's room. Twilight was snoring peacefully, and Primal was continuously turning around in his sleep.
" Must be a bad nightmare. I hope the pony Princess of the night helps him sleep. " I muttered to myself.
I placed my head on my paws and closed my eyes, content with the adventures of the day.
WWWWW
Change of Character - Sabrina, Panther of the Moon -> Primal Dagger
"You should really rest. I cannot have you weak and tired. " Xiz'Rath said in my thoughts.
"I can't sleep, and I don't know why. Can't you find out why?" I replied.
"You are my host, but this does not mean I control you in any way. Only thing I can do is talk to you like this if I am not in my form. Your actions are your own. " he said.
"Ugh, great. Let me try talking to Luna, if she responds. " I said. I attempted to link with Luna's mind, much like calling her on a phone. She accepted the link.
"Hello Primal, what is it that you need at this time of night? " Luna asked.
"I have trouble sleeping. God, that sounds cringy. I was wondering if you had any solution. " I said.
" I can cast a sleep spell on you, but I can't promise it will work or if it will help at all. Other than that, I cannot do much. " she said.
"It's better than nothing. Do it. "
I could feel my mind getting foggy, but I was still clinging to consciousness.
"Seems like it did not work. I am afraid you will have to find the cause yourself. " Luna said, and closed the link.
I might go to hell for doing this, but I gotta find out what's wrong.
I swiftly made my way out of my bed and carefully poked Twilight.
" mmh.. leave me alone changelings.." she mumbled in her sleep.
I poked her again, this time a bit more enforced. Still no response.
"Damn, you can't be woken up easily now can you? " I muttered. " Hmm, what to do..."
I got a slightly creepy idea which required me to get a bit closer to avoid potential damage. I touched her horn softly, and sent a small shock through it.
" Yeow!" Twilight shouted. " What'd you do that for? " She whispered when she saw me.
" Well, I tried to wake you up, but that proved quite difficult to do with just poking. I dunno why, but I can't seem to sleep. " I whispered back.
" You can't sleep? Now that's a first. "
" I even asked Luna to put a sleep spell on me, but that didn't work either. Also, I feel chillier than usual for some reason. " I whispered.
" Interesting, I didn't know you humans got the same things we ponies do. What you mentioned there are symptoms of missing the comfort of someone else. " she whispered.
" So, you're saying my body wants to be with someone else, huh. Can I... No, that'd be too intrusive to ask... "
" I don't mind. If you want to know, I had the same thing yesterday, but I somehow managed to sleep through it, even if it took ages. " Twilight said silently.
" God, this is so awkward. Thanks anyway. " I whispered, and got into her bed. I attempted to keep a bit of space for her, but instead she huddled closer to me.
" It's okay, just don't think. " she whispered into my ear.
I could feel my mind slowly drifting away now thanks to the added warmth of Twilight's body...
WWWWW
"Aaah, what a lovely morning. " I yawned, stretching my arms and back. I looked next to me to see Twilight still sleeping. " So it wasn't some weird dream after all... "
I absentmindly stroked her mane with my hand, causing her to softly murmur in approval.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"Shut up and continue" she retorted.
"O-kay then..."
I continued stroking her mane, and she seemed to like it a lot. "Mmh, for some reason this feels so good.."
I wonder if I can magic my phone over here. I bent the air around my phone in an attempt to get it to float over to me. It took a little while, since moving objects with just air wasn't exactly fast. Eventually, the phone was in my hand, and I checked the time. 10:37.. What time did we go to bed last night?
"Twilight, you got any idea when we went to bed last night?" I asked.
"About 2 o' clock, I think? I'm not sure. Why?"
" It's nothin' important. We should get up sometime soon, I wanna know if Natura and Sabrina discovered anything. " I mentioned.
" Aww, just a little longer.. Please?" she begged.
" Ugh, fine. I suppose Natura is still sleeping after tonight. " I said, and continued stroking Twilight's mane.
" We should do this more often... "
"I'd rather not make it a habit. I mean, what will everyone think? Me, sleeping with you? They'd go mental! "
" Hmm... Or they won't. You can't tell, and neither can I. Maybe they would encourage it instead? " Twilight said.
" Unless this... 'missing comfort' thing happens again, I'd rather lie low if you don't mind. Even if they would encourage it, I'm not sure if I can fully accept it. "
I heard her mumble something about 'patience' and 'giving space', but I was unsure what that had to do with anything.
She looked at me. " Alright, we should get up now. Spike's probably wondering where his breakfast is. "
I got out first, quickly changing dimensions to put on my clothes. I heard my voice echo back to me: " Thanks for these powers, whoever granted them to me. Honestly, I don't deserve them, but I won't say no to controlling Air, and being one with the shadows. "
"Nonsense, you do deserve these powers. Look at all the good you did so far. " Xiz'Rath said.
"You've been with me all this time? Why didn't you show yourself earlier? "
"I was not able to. Your friend 'woke' me up when he touched your essence. I could not act, merely spectate, untill that happened. You know what happened after that."
" Primal? Where did you go? " I heard Twilight ask through the veil between the dimensions.
"You should go back to her. She is genuinely concerned about you, if you want to know. "
I phased back into the normal world, and Twilight let out a small gasp in surprise.
" I just went to put on some clothes, don't worry. " I said calmly.
"Without taking a shower? "
" I took a shower yesterday before heading to bed, remember? " I said.
" Oh yeah. I got annoyed because you took so long, and just went to sleep. I will go shower now, if you don't mind. "
And with that, she left for the bathroom.
" I'll never understand... " I mumbled as I opened the door to the guest room. Fluttershy and Natura were in their beds, looking peaceful.
" Rise and shine! " I shouted.
Fluttershy shot up with a look of fear on he face, and Natura merely opened his eyes and yawned.
" Oi, you scared her. " he said.
" Apologies. Did you discover anything this night? "
" No, unfortunately. We found a grotto draped with animal hides and a room with a campfire, but other than that it was deserted. I left a message in case the guy would go back there. " Natura said.
" Doubt it. But ye never know, he's a crazy bastard." I said. " You two gonna get ready for breakfast? Twilight's in the shower right now, so take your time. "
" Sure, we'll be down soon. "
I left their room and headed downstairs. I was met with the pleasant smell of food, and fiund Spike preparing breakfast.
" Morning Spike. Did you count for 2 humans, 2 ponies, a panther and a dragon? " I asked.
" Two more? Who? " he asked.
" Natura and Fluttershy. Fluttershy's home got destroyed yesterday, so they're staying here for now. "
"Destroyed? Who'd do such a thing? " Spike asked.
" I have a hunch. Natura and Sabrina went out to pursue the one who did it last night, but they found nothing interesting. "
" You will find out who did this, will you? " he asked.
" No doubt. And I'll make him pay for his crimes. " I said with determination.
" Good. Give 'em my regards! "
" I will. What're you cooking there? " I asked.
" Pancakes! I figured all of you would've wanted something tasty today. "
" Lovely. " I sat down on the couch, and pulled out my phone from my pocket.
" Haven't had much time to do this. Let's see what that research was now, shall I? " I mumbled to myself.
I opened up the game, and played it for a little while until Twilight walked down the stairs. She looked more done up than usual, for some reason..
" Morning Primal, Morning Spike. What are you cooking? I thought I would make breakfast today. " she asked.
" I felt like making pancakes for all of you. " Spike replied.
" Okay. Natura and Fluttershy should be down soon, they went to take a shower. " Twilight said.
" Together?"
" Seperately, ofcourse. I never said 'together', did I? " Twilight asked.
" Never say never. God I'm going to hell for that one. Screw the guy who made that song. " I said, facepalming.
Twilight threw a confused look my way, but didn't question it further. "What are you doing there on that device of yours? "
" Playing a game. Got nothing else to do right now anyway. " I said.
" Can I watch? " Twilight asked.
" If you're able to on this small screen, who am I to say no? " I stated.
She sat down next to me, and looked down at the phone's screen. I was just queuing up a research for a new card combination, and made my way over to defeat the king of the castle once more to get more gold for packs.
" What do you do in this game? " Twilight asked.
" You do research for new card combinations and buy new cards for your deck with gold. In this part, you fight a 'boss' using the combinations you got with the cards in your deck, and try to defeat him that way. It's pretty simple, but a bit grindy sometimes. " I explained.
" What does 'grindy' mean?"
" Repeating the same or a similar process in order to achieve a far-fetched goal. The further the goal is, the grindier it gets. It's only acceptable if said process is enticing enough to keep you hooked. "
I just defeated the boss, and got a golden booster card from it. " Sweet. I never got one of these before. "
" What does that card do? I suppose it's pretty powerful if you didn't get it yet. "
" That's a booster card - can be disenchanted for dust to upgrade cards with. It provides a lot, so it should be pretty rare. Not this rare, though... " I said.
" Interesting game. Ah, there's Fluttershy now. " Twilight said.
Fluttershy floated down the stairs, Natura following shortly behind.
"You pegasi and your wings... Too lazy to walk?" I asked.
"Oh... I...umm.. force of habit?" she said hesitantly, and dropped to the floor.
"It's alright. I can basically fly too, just have to use a lot of effort to make it happen." I said.
"You can fly? How?" Fluttershy asked.
"I got the element of Air, I can bend it to do what I want. I use it to push myself upwards and into the air, but it requires a lot of power."
"Do you... Could you... Show us?"
"I think I might've already done at some point, but if you so desire." I stood up, and went through the rhythm of bending air to get myself floating. "It's highly inefficient, and requires a lot of power... Hold on, I got an idea."
I dropped down again, and instead of bending air to propel myself, I used it to create a small cloud-like platform made of wind. I stepped on it, and moved the platform instead.
"Haha, genius! I got a cloud-like hoverboard now!" I shouted in glee. My cloudboard shook a little, nearly causing me to fall off. "Whoa, gotta keep focus though. It's not very stable."
"Amazing. I wonder what kind of things I could do with my Element." Twilight said.
"Anything Earth-related, I'd imagine. Maybe.... Maybe you could try actually becoming one with the Earth?" I suggested.
"Becoming one? As in my body merging with the ground?" Twilight said, confused.
"Yeah, sorta. Try it, see if it works."
She stood up, and I could feel magical energy humming in the air. A moment later, Twilight disappeared into the ground.
"Three cheers for imagination! Now you gotta un-do it"
Twilight reappeared behind me. "That was certainly an.. odd.. feeling. I could feel the ground all around me."
"You could use that for quickly travelling around, if it doesn't cost you too much energy." I said.
" I don't think it did. " Twilight said. " Anyway, what did you discover Natura? "
He and Fluttershy sat down at the table, and me and Twilight joined them. " As I told Primal, we found a grotto with animal skins, and a room with a campfire in it. That's it. "
" Disappointing. I'm sure we'll catch that maniac at some point. What did you say about those bandits again Primal, they can't outrun their shadows? " Twilight asked.
" Something like that. I got you guys to help though, so don't think it's just me. We will catch that lunatic together, make him pay for his crimes. " I said.
" Breakfast is almost ready. " Spike called out.
" Smells good! " Natura said.
" Let's see if dragon-made pancakes are as tasty as they should be." I said.
Spike readied the table for the food, and placed a stack of pancakes in the middle, with jam and sugar on the side.
" Enjoy! "
"Ohho, enjoy I definitely will... " I said as I captured a pancake for myself.
WWWWW
We all ate our share untill we could eat no longer, and then some.
" Now, I'll oversee the reconstruction of your home, Fluttershy. I'll go to Canterlot in a moment and talk to Celestia if she has the time, I'm sure she can help out. "
"Where will you build it, though? "
"Exactly the same spot. I'll take down the remains personally, and make sure that the foundation is stable for rebuilding. " I said.
" Sounds like you got a lot to do. Need a hoof? " Twilight asked.
" I'd appreciate it. " I said.
Natura gave Twilight a sly wink I didn't see. " You'd better get working then. When did you plan on finishing it? " he asked.
" Hopefully by either tomorrow or anywhere untill next week. " I said.
"That's wonderful. Thank you so much Primal. " Fluttershy said.
" Thank me when it's done. " I said. " You two will be okay for today, right? "
" Yeah, me and Fluttershy will try to recollect the lost animals. "
" Good. You coming, Twilight?" I asked.
" Yep! Let me just give Spike his to-do list. " she galloped off to her room, and returned a moment later levitating a note, which she gave to Spike.
I was waiting by the door for Twilight, checking my phone for no real reason.
" Alright, done. Let's go! " Twilight said happily.
I opened the door, and Twilight bounced outside. " Those pancakes were filled with energy, I presume? "
" Nope! Just happy! " she replied.
" Right. "
I followed her to the ruins of Fluttershy's home, mostly staying silent. My mind was far from silent however,as I had a conversation with Xiz'Rath.
"How do you think we can awaken Gaia? " I asked.
"In your case, it was triggered when your friend removed the essence of the werewolf. I do not think it will work the same way for her. However, I know it has to be triggered by something related to the element or the bearer. " Xiz'Rath said.
"How did removing that essence link to waking you, then? "
"I.. am not sure, actually. I think it might have been linked to you and your desire to protect your friends, now that I think of it."
"So Gaia could maybe be woken by Twilight's friendship with the others? " I said.
"I honestly cannot tell. We will have to wait and see. "
" We're here! What did you have in mind for breaking this down? " Twilight asked.
" Wanton destruction. "
" Let's keep it controlled, though. Don't want to upset the town's residents. " Twilight said.
" Aye." I saluted. I began channelling power to create a small, localised tornado.
" A tornado? That's not what I would call 'controlled' "Twilight said, slightly annoyed.
" I control the tornado, though. So technically it is controlled. " I replied. " Use your magic to sever the bonds between the ground and the ruined parts. "
Twilight channelled her own magic, surgically tearing the wrecked building apart piece by piece. Said pieces got picked up by the tornado, and once the ruins were no more, I moved the tornado to an open area and slowed it down, gently putting all the pieces on the ground.
I quickly checked the foundation for signs of damage, and found none. "Looks good. Let's go see Celestia. "
"And leave all that junk there?" Twilight asked.
" What else did you want to do with it? It's not going anywhere, and Celestia probably has a better way to get rid of it. "
" You are talking to Celestia's student. I know how to get rid of it, let me handle it while you go see Princess Celestia. "
"Oh how could I forget.. " I said teasingly.
" Shut up and get your flank to Princess Celestia before I kick it there. "
" Woe unto thee, I am already gone. " I shadowstepped away, reappearing in the portal shack.
" 'Course, I still need to get this stuff sorted. " I mumbled to myself.
"I could help you with that. "
"How? You are part of me, are you not?" I asked.
"Correct. But you can provide me with a physical manifestation of my being, along with yourself. It might be slightly draining, but I can fix this place up quickly. "
" And how will you do that? Place wires everywhere? "
" Exactly. "
I shrugged, and made Xiz'Rath into a physical elemental. The raging Air elemental stood before me, and quickly exploded with gusts of wind, travelling across the entire building. I could hear zapping noises, and the portal lit up shortly after.
He reappeared in front of me, and did a quick bow before returning back to my body.
" Impressive. "
" Having Lightning closely linked to Air is quite useful in situations like these."
I stepped through the portal, reappearing at Canterlot.
"Let's see if Celestia is around now, shall we?"
"You shall. I cannot do anything other than talk to you, remember?" Xiz'Rath replied.
"You're still a part of me, even if you can't do anything other than talk."
"I... Thanks. My previous host did not consider me as such, and used me as an extent of his powers."
"What happened to him?" I asked.
"He got overconfident, and thought he could defeat this 'Celestia' by himself. He was terribly wrong." Xiz'Rath replied.
"So, to some extent you have fought with Celestia?"
"Unfortunately, yes. I hope she will be forgiving if she finds out I am still around. I did not have much control over his actions."
"So you have to follow commands? That's horrible! I won't use you like that, I promise. When we fight, we do so together." I said.
"You might just turn out to be the promised one, together with your friends."
I didn't understand what he meant by that, so I was sure to ask him later. Now, however, I had arrived at the throne room. There was a guard posted in front of the closed doors.
"Hail, guard. Is Celestia inside? I need to speak to her." I asked.
"I will check if her majesty accepts visitors at this time." The guard replied.
"Oh, I'm not just a visitor. And it's quite important." I said.
"Whatever. I shall check if her majesty is available."
The guard went into the throne room, and I could hear him talking to Celestia.
"Princess Celestia will finish current activities, and will see you personally in a moment."
Sickening... I suppose she has to keep up appearances for her subjects..
I pulled out one of my daggers, inspecting the edges for signs of damage. The blade was still in perfect condition. These sure are durable.
"You will not go in to the throne room with those." the guard demanded.
"I can and I will. I'm a personal friend of Celestia's, and I'm quite tired of you guards not seeing that. Also, I am in service of 'Princess' Celestia. I cannot go anywhere without my trusted daggers." I said, annoyed by the guard's demands.
"The Princess has not told us about anyone else 'in service' of Her majesty."
"That's because my position requires secrecy. I am already telling you too much, but I'm fed up with her personal guards not knowing who I am." I responded.
"I will make sure to tell my guards about you, and Spirit, as you are both in my service." Celestia said, walking in on the conversation. "Mostly Spirit, since he does not require much secrecy as you do."
I stood my ground, much to the annoyance of the guard, and followed Celestia into the throne room.
"Now, what was it you wanted to see me for?" she asked.
"Quite a delicate matter. Last night, we managed to purge the werewolf from myself and Natura, and he has full control over his form. However, once we got back to Fluttershy's home, it was completely destroyed. I was unconcious at the time, so Natura went with Sabrina to track the villain. They have not found anything other than a deserted grotto, seemingly abandoned after the incident."
"Why were you unconcious? Backlash from removing the essence?" She asked.
"Not really. You see, I am host to Xiz'Rath, Element of Air. He took over my body shortly to establish his connection with me, after which my body needed time to recover." I explained.
"Xiz'Rath..? The name sounds familiar, but I cannot place it."
"He said he had to fight you because of his previous host. He had no control over his actions." I said.
"Oh yeah, now I remember. That pony was quite the arrogant type. Shame to see Xiz'Rath used in such undeserving ways. I am sure you will be a much better host for him than that pony was."
"I've already told him I'll refrain from 'using' him, and when we'd fight, we would fight together. Anyway, back to the point, Fluttershy's home is destroyed, and she and Natura have no home now. I wanted to ask if you could provide some aid in rebuilding her home."
"I could send an architect and some workers over. What was your plan for her home?" she asked.
"I wanted her home to remain the same as it was before. It served her well, and it's such a disgrace it had to be destroyed in such fashion." I said.
"My architect should still have those building plans somewhere, and if not, he could retrieve them from Ponyville's major. What happened to the remains of the building? I assume you want it in the same spot?"
"Already been removed and taken care of by myself and Twilight. I took the liberty of checking the foundation for signs of severe damage, but found none, so it should be good to go."
"When did you want it finished?"
"As soon as possible. I was thinking either tomorrow or anywhere between then and next week." I said.
"I will send adequate workers to have it finished in two days. Decorating is something Fluttershy will have to do herself." Celestia said.
"Alright, thank you. So... How have you been lately?" I asked.
"Bored, tired, but otherwise alright. These nobleponies sure know how to annoy somepony."
"Perfect. That brings me to another matter... Do you have interest in a... 'trip' across Equestria?" I asked hopefully.
"A trip? Why so?"
"Well, since both Luna and Night are still largely shunned by the pony population, I thought you and them could go around Equestria's various towns and cities and pay a visit." I handed her the map with the route on it.
(Image link if the picture is unclear: Map)
"I see you have already made certain preparations." Celestia remarked.
"I have indeed. I wanted to leave transportation to you, Luna and Night to decide over. As for protection, I will offer myself, and I suggest Spirit aswell, as his first task in the field. As for governing, I assumed you have some subjects under you to do that for you, and Twilight could help out aswell." I said.
"I do indeed have some subjects to do that for me. Those nobleponies can wait untill myself and Luna have returned to relay their ideas." Celestia said.
"So you agree?"
"It sounds like you have it all figured out, so yes, I agree. You have talked with the others already?" Celestia said.
"I haven't talked to Spirit yet, but I figured you could do that. I wanted few, but skilled guards to protect the three of you." I said.
"Excellent idea. As for transportation, we could either use a carriage, or simply use the trains. A carriage would be more suitable for accessing Cloudesdale and Los Pegasus. When will we go?"
"We could go after Fluttershy's home is ready. I am going to oversee the building for it to make sure it goes without flaws."
"Oh, but Hearth's Warming is in just four days. We should plan to leave after that." Celestia said.
"Hearth's Warming...? Is that the equivalent to Christmas in my world?"
"It's the celebration for the founding of Equestria, celebrated on the 25th and 26th of December."
"Alright, so it is the equivalent. Good to know. It'll be interesting to celebrate it here..." I said slowly.
"Do you have regrets about staying in Equestria?" Celestia asked.
"Noo, it's okay. It's just... Christmas was always a special time on Earth.. and to not celebrate it with my family feels... off."
"I will make sure that Hearth's Warming will be just as special as Christmas was for you, you have my word." Celestia said reassuringly.
"Thanks... I should get going, Twilight might still need my help." I said.
"Take care of Twilight for me, will you? She is.... a bit uncertain at times. Reassure her when necessary, and make sure she does not dedicate herself to work too much. I will send the workers and the architect tomorrow."
"I will, and thanks again." I left the throne room, and headed back to the portal room, casting a quick glance at the guard near the door. He seemed unfazed about what happened.
We meet again, portal. The cake is not a lie this time!
WWWWW
Twilight was nowhere to be found near Fluttershy's home, and neither was the debris.
"She did tell me she'd handle it. Where could she be now?"
My question was answered a second later by a 'Poof' from behind me.
"Ah Primal! You're back! Did you get Princess Celestia to help out?" Twilight asked.
"I sure have. She also agreed to the trip I had planned for them."
"Wonderful! Say, want to grab some lunch? It's about 3 o' clock by now." Twilight asked.
"Yeah sure, why not. What did you do with the debris, by the way?"
"I know somepony who handles waste processing. He agreed to take the debris." She answered.
"Great. Where did you want to go for lunch?" I asked.
"Me and the girls went to The Silver Spur once. We could go there!" Twilight suggested.
"Fine by me. Could you maybe.. turn down the excitement just a tiny bit? You're almost acting like Pinkie, and one is definitely enough." I said.
"I can be happy, can't I?"
"Ofcourse you can, but you don't need to overtly show it, do you? You can be happy and not bounce around everywhere." I said, sighing.
She stopped bouncing, realizing what she was doing. "Oh sorry, got a bit carried away on the bouncing. I'll try to keep the bouncing to a minimum."
"Thanks. Let's go."
WWWWW
A few hours later...
"We finished lunch, and it's almost time for dinner already! Well, it would be, if I didn't want to suggest skipping it. I'm full to the brim!" I stated as we walked back to the library.
"We can skip it, but what about Fluttershy, Natura and Spike? We can't not make something for them!" Twilight said.
"I'm sure they can figure something out. How about we...umm..."
" 'We'? You want to do something with me? Not as in 'do' do something, but you know, do something?" Twilight asked.
"If that vague description is what I think it is, then yes, I guess?"
"FINALLY!" she shouted.
I looked at her with concern, and mostly confusion. "Are you... alright?"
"Never been better!" she replied.
"O-kay then... Did you have anything in mind?" I asked.
"We could gaze at the stars together, or read books, or... I don't know.... I'm not so good at this kind of thing..."
"Wait... You want to be.. 'together', with me?" I asked, still confused.
"YES! I mean.... Yes." Twilight smiled happily.
"I assume Natura told you about my previous relations...?" I asked.
"He has. He told me you had a tough time dealing with rejection, and you have not tried again since." she said.
"Well, that's partially true, but I suppose I never told him. I did try again, but got rejected again. After not getting any kind of attention, I just stopped trying altogether, thinking my life was to be lead alone." I said.
"But you don't have to be alone... I'm here for you, and will always be here for you. If you accept me, that is."
"I... I don't know..."
"C'mon Primal.... What do you want me to do to prove myself to you that I will not leave you?"
"I... Just give me some time to think about it... okay?" I said hesitantly.
"Anything you want. Take as much time as you need."
"Thanks... I think I'm going to go to bed early. Got a long day of overseeing tomorrow." I said.
I left for the bedroom once we entered the library, saying nothing to Natura and Fluttershy who were lounging in the room. Twilight will probably tell them... Am I up for a relationship? I wondered.
"Time will tell, Primal. I, however, can clearly tell that she wants to be with you." Xiz'Rath said.
"I can tell too... I... I'm just going to go sleep, see if I've made up my mind by tomorrow."
"Disappointing her is a much worse fate than being with her, I can tell you that much. And you will dissapoint me aswell, since she is host to Gaia..."
