//------------------------------// // Hearts and Hooves Special // Story: Friendship Starts With You // by Indi3g //------------------------------// Pinkie Pie was humming happily, taking out and throwing baked goods into the kitchen ovens. Anypony who had not met her would be confused by the way she was moving; it seemed random and dangerous. To those who did know her would simply smile and continue with whatever they were doing: such was the way of Pinkie. "Hey Mr. Author, aren't you supposed to be moving the story along? The readers already know about my amazing 'Pinkie Pie Physics™' silly!" YES PINKIE I know. No fourth wall breaking for you; that ability shouldn't kick in for another few chapters! "Okie-dokie-lokie!" With her usual giggle-snort, she bounced to the front and put the goods on shelves for the day. The inside of Sugarcube Corner was decorated with hearts and other Hearts and Hooves items; this was one of the busier holidays the store had to prepare for. The Cakes came down from the steps that lead to their room's and smiled at the set-up. They had planned on waking early to do the decorations and start baking themselves, but their children stayed awake the majority of the previous night. "PINKIE, you are best! You didn't have to go and do all of this, dearie," Cup Cake said. Her husband, Carrot Cake, glanced around and scratched the stubble on his chin in thought. "Say....why don't you take the day off? It's only fair since it seems you took care of most of today's work," Carrot said after some time. "Are you sure? I don't mind sticking around," Pinkie replied. "Besides, doesn't it get REALLY busy?" "Normally, I'd be worried, but Nick offered to help in the kitchen today. Something about wanting to 'stay out of sight'? We'll be fine Pinkie." Cup Cake said. With a *SQUEE* and a hug for each, the pink pony zipped out the door and down the road, intent on gathering her friends. ----------------------------------------------------------- Canterlot Castle ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Luna woke up with a yawn and stretched her entire body. Slipping out of her custom-made cloud bed, she stumbled into her personal bathroom and began her daily ritual. Taking off her dark-blue nightgown, she began running hot water for her bath, followed by different salts, herbs and liquids being put into the water to make it more enjoyable. Soon enough, she was sitting in the water, enjoying the warmth and the effects of the things she had put in. As she washed herself, her mind began to go over what would be done for the day; in mid-rinse, an important detail came to the front of her mind and a predatory grin grew. Jumping out of the water and running to her room door, she swung it open and spoke to the guard standing there with excitement. "Tis' Hearts and Hooves day, is it not?" The stallion, stuck somewhere between aroused, confused and scared, could only nod in reply. In turn, the door slammed shut, only to be opened again within minutes. Luna stood there in a dark red dress, that hugged every curve she had, along with silver earrings that shone like miniature stars. Her hooves were in black slippers along with her mane being styled so it covered only part of her muzzle in a sensual way. Finally, there was a small amount of blush, eyeliner to bring out her eyes, and a small amount of lipstick. Closing the door to her chambers, she turned to the guard and spoke in a clear, yet soft voice. "We are going to....meet...with an old friend. When we return, see to it that nopony comes to my chambers. Also, sister asks for me, simply tell her that we are on a...hunt." The guard could only stare as Luna strutted away. He could've sworn that there was almost a purr in her voice....the way she had licked her lips, the look in her eyes and that....smile she had. There was no question: the Lunar princess was out for blood. "......Celestia have mercy on the stallion that she's going after." Shivering, he went off to spread the word to the other guards. ----------------------------------------------------------- Golden Oaks Library ------------------------------------------------------------------------- The girls sat around in the main room, each of them chatting with the other about random topics, as Spike and Pinkie were in the kitchen fixing snacks. When the drake and pony finally came out and passed out the treats, the talking turned to Hearts and Hooves day itself. "So! I call to order, the Hearts and Hooves day mini-party!" Pinkie said with a smile. The rest smiled as well, with the exception of Twilight. She glanced around to make sure she was right, before speaking up. "Pinkie, where's Nick? He usually wouldn't want to miss out on any kind of party you're throwing." That made the pink pony slightly deflate and sigh in frustration. "Trust me, I asked him the same thing! He's helping the Cakes in my place, but I made most of the stuff for today! He did seem really, really twitchy though..." Twilight hummed and after a moment groaned as well. "I have no clue why. Yesterday was our daily training session, and when I asked what he was going to do for today...well...." The rest of the group leaned in and motioned for her to continue; letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding and continued. "He freaked out." When she saw their confused expressions, she explained some more. "Nick just froze in place, like he was completely caught off guard. I asked if he was ok, but he just demanded a calender, so I gave him one. That look on his face, when he gave it back...it was like he knew something from Tatarus was coming for him." Rainbow Dash blinked, then whistled in surprise. "Damn...it's gotta be pretty bad if he was that freaked out." Before anything else was said, a flash of blue came from the center of the room, followed by a 'pop' and the appearance of Princess Luna. The group could only stare in awe of her figure before it occurred to bow in respect. Waving her hand, she smiled and spoke in a happy, yet nervous voice. "Greetings, Elements of Harmony, and happy Hearts and Hooves day!" Rarity, who had been holding in her excitement from the moment Luna arrived, let out a squeal of joy and began looking over every part of the lunar princess. "I'm sorry for being so rude your highness, but you look AMAZING! The dress, your mane and make-up...it's perfection itself!" Luna blushed from the praise, but before she could properly respond, Rarity gasped and gave her a knowing and giddy look. "Are you here to...pick up your special somepony by chance? Who is he?!" The rest of the girls became just as excited (although Dash would deny it for days afterwards), and waited for the princess' response. Thoroughly embarrassed, Luna began playing with her hands before she started to speak. " 'Tis true, lady Rarity. We have come to...As you say...'pick up' our special somepony. To be honest with thee....it is Nick, whom I am enamored with. He is kind, hardworking and loyal to a fault...." At that, they let out a small chorus of 'aww' from the sheer cuteness of the situation. Spike on the other hand, stepped out, seeing that there was no place for the incoming mushyness. When the girls gestured for Luna to continue, she cleared her throat and looked at them with hopeful eyes as she finished her thoughts. "To be truthful, he plays hard to capture on this day of all days....which is why we have come for thy aid. Will thou help us capture our stallion?" The mane six huddled together for a moment before turning back to the princess with mischief and determination in their eyes. Twilight grinned and said, "If there's anypony who deserves to be happy on Hearts and Hooves day, it should be you princess! He won't come willingly though, so here's what I have in mind...." ----------------------------------------------------------- Sugarcube Corner ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nick put the tray of cookies into the oven, before a shiver went through his entire body. When Twilight had brought up the topic of Hearts and Hooves day, It took everything he had not to go flee into the Everfree forest. He'd forgotten all about it since training the elements to defend themselves took up most of his time. The first Hearts and Hooves day he had spent with Luna was terrifying. He didn't mind spending time with her, but when they got to her room......Sweet Faust, just thinking of it brought back old pains and terrors to his body and mind. What was worse, was the fact that nothing had happened to him yet. No magic to try and trap him, and no Luna in sight to try and grab him...and that scared Nick more than anything. There was no way she'd forgotten today, and if she wasn't taking a direct route for him, that meant she was planning. That usually meant worse things were going to be coming if he wasn't careful... "Heya Nick! How's the baking going?!" Asked Pinkie Pie from right behind him. Without thinking twice, he dove to the side and under one of the many counters in the kitchen before looking where he thought he had heard Pinkie from. "Ooh, who are we hiding from? Are we super-spies? Huh,huh,huh?" She said, giggling right next to him. Holding back a scream of shock, he took a few deep breaths before giving her a shaky response. "No Pinkie. I was freaked out when you came from behind me just then. I was thinking of a....scary memory, when you popped up. Nearly gave me a heart attack...." The pink pony pouted and looked guilty for a moment before brightening up and pulling out a blue-frosted, heart-shaped cookie from the air and holding it out to him. "Sorry for that Nick-nick, but eat this cookie as an apology! It's super yummy, I promise!" He sighed and took it with a smile before nodding. "I forgive ya Pinks. No harm done. Though, why is it blue of all things? Kinda against the whole Hearts and Hooves thing...." With a bigger smile, she pulled him out from under the counter and began bouncing around to check on the other goodies baking before responding in an off-handed manner. "Oh, that's cause Princess Luna came by and asked me to give it to you. Said it was special, just for....oops! I said too much!" By the time she turned around, the cookie was on the counter, uneaten, and sitting next to the apron Nick had been wearing. The kitchen's back doors were swinging, indicating that he had ran through, intent on escaping as far as possible. "My job's done, just like Twi-twi said! Now, I've got some sweets to taste..." ~~ Nick was in a full-on panic. Luna had come looking for him, and recruited Pinkie Pie of all ponies, to help her out! There were a few places he could hide for a short amount of time, but first, he had to warn the other ponies not to reveal his presence in Ponyville itself. Glancing over at the Carousel Boutique, he shook his head and kept running; no point in visiting Rarity. She'd be on Luna's side if she caught wind of this, and that was one risk he wasn't willing to take. As he ran through the market, he spotted two of the most reliable ponies he knew: Applejack and Rainbow Dash. The two were by the apple stand, and when Nick ran up to them, had expressions of concern. When he finally got enough air, he gave an explanation as simply as he could. "Help...hiding....can't Trust...Pinkie or...Rarity. Yes?" The two glanced at each other, before Dash touched his shoulder and gave a sympathetic look. "Hey, I've got your back bud. If you need to hide, cool. Just remember that I'll fight whatever if you need that too." "Thanks Dash," he replied with more air running through his lungs. "If anything, I think that AJ's barn should be a....good place..to...." At that moment, he had seen Applejack's face scrunch for a quick minute before going neutral again, but the damage was done. Just from that alone, he knew the both of them were with Luna as well. AJ saw the look on his face, but shook her head and gave him a stern glare of her own. "Now listen here par'ner. She loves ya a whole darn lot, an' I promised her mah help. Jus' stay there an' she'll come pick ya right up." At that moment, Dash slightly tightened her grip on his shoulder, as if to remind him that she would catch him if he attempted to run. In a blind panic, he pointed in a random direction and blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "Look! Spitfire and Soarin are throwing perfectly good apple pies at each other!" The two were instantly distracted: one in rage of said pies being wasted in such a manner, and the other in fan-mare mode. That moment was all he needed to twist out of Rainbow Dash's grip and run off for the last place he could get help. As he ran, he couldn't help but think, 'That actually worked?' Oddly enough, If he had turned around, he would've realized he was actually correct about the two Wonderbolts throwing pies at each other. ~~ Throwing the library's door open, then shut behind him, Nick sat down heavily, wheezing from the amount of (sadly) unnecessary zig-zagging to escape Rainbow Dash's chase. When he heard a small cough in front of him, his eyes met Twilight's, which were amused and slightly annoyed at the same time. Holding a hand up to indicate he was still getting his breath back, she shook her head and went to get a chair. By the time he had calmed down, she was sitting in front of him with a glass of water in hand. "Thanks Twilight. I'll explain in a sec." Taking a few sips of water, Nick closed his eyes, before opening them and giving the unicorn a wary look. "I know you're the most reasonable of the group....so I really hope you can help me out." She merely raised an eyebrow, and motioned for him to continue; within minutes, he explained the 'betrayal of Pinkie, AJ and Dash' in trying to give him up to Luna. "I don't mind spending time with her, but she gets a bit too touchy on Hearts and Hooves day. So, think you can help?" Twilight got up and began to pace for a few minutes before breaking into a wide smile and clapping her hands. "I've got an idea! I've been practicing long-range teleportation, but I don't have enough energy to do it by myself. If you can help me out with that, I can teleport you someplace safe!" "I'll do it! I knew you wouldn't let me down Twilight! If anything, send me into the Everfree, I'll be fine in there." Nodding, she began to focus on the spell, and within minutes, her horn began to spark, followed by her hands glowing with a lavender aura. "Gonna...need...that boost....now..." She grunted out. Nick took one of her hands in his, and his body started to shine with a grey aura, next to her lavender. "Back up, quick!" Hissed Twilight. He let her hand go and let his aura fade, while the color around her hands grew brighter. When he could no longer look without squinting, the spell hit his body without warning. As he began to fade, the last thing he saw was her giving a tired, yet satisfied smirk, and mouthing the words, 'have fun'. ~~ When his vision began to clear, he let out a happy sigh, thinking that he had successfully escaped from Luna for another year. That thought vanished the moment he realized that it was too quiet to be the Everfree forest. Not only that, but with his eyes adjusting to the dark, he realized he was in the last place he wanted to be in. "Hello, my beloved," a voice whispered in his ear. Nick's body froze in an instant, as his mind began screaming a loop of 'No, no, please no'. Slowly turning around, he came face-to-face with Luna, who had a smug, yet lustful expression across her muzzle. "We are pleased to find thee within our chambers once more, and on Hearts and Hooves day, too. There is...much...we have to do today." Each time she stepped forward, he took a step back, until his back was against the wall and she was pressing against him. "Dinner....a bath together....and cuddling among other things." As she spoke, her fingers traced patterns in his chest in a slow, but playful manner, before she stared into his eyes with absolute lust. "We must see if thy body is still in shape as well. We were both strong and had endurance for days once upon a time...but now would be the perfect time to see where we stand." Giving his ear a playful nip, Luna pulled away and began stripping her dress in a slow and provocative manner, as she continued to speak. "Furthermore, we desire to see thy spear. It has been some time since we have seen it, but we have no doubt that it has not lost its edge...nor power." Nick could only whimper, as he was stuck between two awful decisions. Either go with what Luna was doing and suffer in the hospital for weeks after, or attempt to escape, with a good chance of things going on longer if caught. He had no chance to decide when she slipped the last bits of her outfit off and stood before him in her full glory. Sauntering towards him, she raised a hand, glowing with her blue aura before speaking once more. "I have told the guards to leave this section of the castle empty, so we can be as loud as we want. Now then, there is a long night ahead of us Nick, and I will enjoy every...single....minute." Before she cast her spell, Nick let out one last cry that could be heard from Canterlot all the way to Ponyville, before there was silence from the castle for the rest of the day. ~~ Twilight and the rest of the girls were sitting in Sugarcube Corner, enjoying the Hearts and Hooves day treats, while congratulating each other for tricking Nick so easily. In the middle of their conversation, their ears twitched, as they and every single pony heard a cry come from the direction of Canterlot. All of the stallions that heard the cry that day, gave a short prayer, because they had a pretty good idea of what had happened for a male to sound like that. It was a voice filled with wrath, fear, resignation and a hint of determination to survive. TWWWIIIIIILIGHHHTTTTTTTTTT!