//------------------------------// // Chapter 12: Playing // Story: No spell for that // by Jeweled Pen //------------------------------// Drifting shrieked as she ran through the castle halls, the sound of the angry guards pursuing her. “Buck buck buck buck!” she shrieked, little tears in her eyes. She could hear the angry buzz catching up on her when she turned a corner. She caught sight of Neon and her eyes widened, before she galloped forward. “Neon, fly!” “What? Wait, Drifting, don't--” But it was too late, she tackle glomped him, sending them both flying out the window. ------ Aeon stared, before face hoofing. “Did... you forget that he's a donkey in this?” Drifting blinked a few times and looked down at the tabletop, staring at her little unicorn figure who was supposed to represent her zebra princess. “O-oh. Oops. I-it's not my fault, his figures a pegasus, I keep forgetting!” Neon sighed and face hoofed. “I knew I should have gone griffon. But seriously, the donkeys are just such great tanks. How much damage we taking?” “Well, you're on the third floor. Five to Drifting since she lands on you. Neon, you take fifteen, falling and crushing damage.” “I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!” Drifting said, bowing her head quickly. “I-I use my healing touch on him. That's uhhh.... ten damage healed. Sorry.” Neon shook his head. “It's fine. Besides,” he said before posing dramatically. “It is a stallion's duty to protect such fair, beautiful maidens. Even if the only way to do it is to act as a landing cushion.” Drifting gasped and stared, her hooves together. He was so amazing. Aeon rolled her eyes. “Honey, dial it back a bit. Anyway, you soon hear the flutter of the changeling's wings and the sky is darkened as the hive bursts out of the windows, descending on you two.” She nodded. “And I think this is a good point to pause it. Not bad for a first session.” Neon chuckled. “Next time just remember neither of us can fly, okay?” Drifting blushed, poking her hooves together. “S-sorry. I just... sorry.” “Hey, it's fine. We all make mistakes.” Aeon nodded, chuckling. “I'm surprised you've never played a game like this. You really got into it when we were making your character.” “Of course I did. You said I could make a princess. How could I NOT?” Drifting asked, before sighing and lowering her eyes. “I... actually like these kinds of games. Though I've... never really had a chance to play them.” “Oh? Why?” “Well... most of my friends weren't...” She sighed. “Me and my old friends never really had much of the same interests. Probably would have made fun of me for wanting to play the mare. I uhhh... you guys don't really mind that I went... I mean... I...” “Wanted to play a princess? Not at all,” Neon said, before taking her hoof and placing a kiss to it. “My fair maiden, as your loyal bard, I will protect you until the day I die.” Drifting's cheeks went so red that she swore there had to be steam coming out of her ears. “O-okay,” she squeaked. Aeon just glared. “No trying to bang the princess. In or out of game,” she warned. “What? You said you wanted me to make sure she felt like a woman,” Neon said smoothly, before leaning in, his wing moving out to be placed on her back. “Now, tell me,” he whispered softly into Drifting's ear. “Do you... feel like a woman?” Drifting gave a weak, delicate squeak. Aeon rolled her eyes. “Neon, too much. If you're going to flirt, wait until she's at least able to resist it. I think she's going to explode.” The stallion snickered before leaping over the table and landing besides his wife, giving her a little nuzzle. “Awwww, you know I'm just playing, my little angel. I'd never make her actually explode. Much.” Aeon grinned and gave him a little kiss, her own cheeks red. She then looked to Drifting. “Hon? You okay?” The mare yiped, shaking her head. “What? Oh, yes, errr, fine. I uhh, just, err, sorry. What'd you say?” “That my husband needs to use his great powers on someone with higher resistances. So, did you have fun?” “Yes, I did. Thank you very much for all of this,” Drifting said, nudging her little game piece around. “I uhhh... I never would have thought you were into this kind of stuff. I mean, being a royal guard and all.” Aeon giggled. “Oh, please. Us royal guards are like the biggest nerds EVER. Most of our job is standing around, looking intimidating. The rest of it is sitting around, trying not to go mad out of boredom. Card games, board games, table top games, I guarantee you, if the game exists, there's a guard who has specialized in it.” Drifting giggled. “Oh, sure, it--” She paused. “Wait, are you serious? But you're all so... all so... big! And tough!” “Well, yeah. It's our job to be big and tough. That doesn't mean we can't have fun, too. Buck, I hear sometimes even the princesses join in on some of the games. Rumor has it that Princess Luna is an amazing Dress-up poker player.” Drifting giggled softly, shaking her head. “Okay, now that I won't believe. But uhhh... that does seem kind of cool. Nice, even. I uhh...” She chewed on her lower lip. “You... don't... mind, do you? I mean--” “No, we don't,” Neon said with a shrug. “Not gonna lie, it's a little... shocking. But hey, whatever makes you happy. Sorry about the whole...” “I know. And I'm sorry I kind of...” Drifting sighed again. “Got... very defensive and mad. It's just... sometimes... I've met so many ponies who just won't... give me a chance, I just want to lash out and... thanks. For ummm... listening and stuff...” She poked her hooves together. “I'm sorry, I'm not really good at this.” “Awwww, it's okay,” Aeon said before reaching out to pat her hooves. “You're doing fine. So, do you have any friends at your school?” Drifting shuddered. “No. I... almost did, but well... it didn't work out.” “What happened?” “She burned my dress off me, leaving me standing naked in public, shamed and humiliated.” Silence reigned over the room for a few long minutes as Aeon and Neon just shared looks. Finally, the latter coughed. “Well, onto less depressing matters. Now that you've got a feel for the game, think you'll be up to doing it later? We could probably add you to a larger game of ours we do with a few of the other guards. Once you've got the feel of it more.” Drifting gulped. “I uhhh, I don't want to intrude.” “Nonsense,” Aeon said with a shake of her head. “Besides, we're supposed to be guarding your room, more or less, so we get paid for it this way and we get to have fun.” Drifting snickered before giving a nod. “Well, when you put it that way. They uhhh... you won't tell them about my... condition, will you?” Aeon shook her head. “Nah, of course not. That's for you to tell ponies. Though, I should mention... wellll...” She coughed into her hoof. “Sometimes they can get kind of... crude.” “Crude?” “Oh yeah. Some of the girls like to, well... you blush easily. They will take advantage of that to torment you. A lot.” Drifting squeaked. “T-that's... fine. I mean, a-as long as it's all in good fun, I guess I don't mind and just... errr... they won't... ummm...” “Pull an Aeon? No, you're still technically a minor until you graduate. Well, I guess Poofy might, but she's a few years younger than you, so I'm really not sure how that'd work.” Drifting nodded and gave a soft sigh. “Yeah. I know all about that. That's one of the annoyances with going to the higher prestige schools. They take so long to graduate, so we stay minors forever! I knew a girl in one of my classes, her little sister went into weather management and graduated years ago, so kept buying her alcohol and stuff. She was always soooo smug about it, too.” Neon chuckled. “Yeah, it can get iffy and odd sometimes. Though could be worse. I hear in griffon lands, you're considered an adult the moment you hit a random age. Could you imagine?” Drifting blinked and shuddered. She could think of a few students who she couldn't imagine being adults at ANY age. “Weird.” She looked down and then blushed. “So... ummm... just... thanks. For everything. Do uhhh... do you think we'll see each other again tomorrow?” “Sure,” Aeon said before getting up. “Come on, we can help pick up before--” “No, no, don't worry about it,” Drifting said before she got up as well. “You two were the guests. I'll clean up. Besides, it's late. I'm sure you guys probably wanna get home and get some sleep.” “Are you sure?” Aeon asked. “It's really no--” “I insist. Besides, there's not really that big a mess and I'm going to be up for a while. Go on.” “Well, if you're sure,” the mare said before picking up her books in her magic and then turning around. “Come on, Neon.” “Coming dear,” the stallion said with a nod, before grinning to Drifting. “See you later, princess.” Drifting squeaked and blushed, looking down at the mess and quickly getting to work as the two walked out. “So, that was a lot of fun, actually,” Neon said with a shrug once they were out and the door closed behind them. “Yeah, sure is lucky you went out and made out with her last night,” Aeon said with just a hint of annoyance. “Eh... heh heh... I-I really did think she was you. Maybe not as pretty, but I was drunk.” Aeon glared at him as they walked, making him squirm. Then, finally, she relented and gave a sigh. “Yeah, I guess it's fine. She seems nice enough.” “Yeah,” Neon said, before gulping. “So... the whole... I mean, do you think there's any truth behind it?” “Hmm?” “I mean, sure, she wants to be a mare. But... well...” Aeon sighed. “I don't know. I honestly can't imagine why a pony would want to go through something like that. I can't imagine how the other children at her school must treat her. But... if this is what makes her happy, then I don't see any reason to try to bring it down. She's cute enough as a mare, anyway. If she hadn't told us... well, I wouldn't have believed it.” Neon nodded. He glanced to her. “Soooo... there's probably something else we could do.” “Hmmm? No more making out with her, dear. I'll forgive your little drunken mistake once, but only once.” He chuckled and shook his head. “No, not that. Luna's little... well, the Dreamscape.” “Oh? That game of hers? I... suppose that might work. But would she be a mare in it?” “I don't know, maybe? We could talk to the princess, I'm sure she could set it up and make it so she was. Drifting's a unicorn, too, so it'd be easier to have her in it. Besides, even if it IS meant for training, we both know that's not all it's used for.” Aeon snorted. “Oh, you mean that little adventure they had set up? Well, even if she's not a soldier, I'm sure the princess would probably be okay with it. So it couldn't hurt to try. Worst case scenario, we're rejected.” She frowned. “Do you think we should talk to the princess directly, or go through one of her maintainers?” Neon hummed and tapped his chin. He then chuckled. “We should probably go through Twilight. She's obviously taken quite the interest in the mare, I'm sure having a princess requesting it might help.” She frowned. “Are... you sure it's a good idea, though?” “Huh? What do you mean?” “Well... it'd just be an escape, after all. Not real. What if she gets to the point she just... wants to live in it all the time? Shuts herself out of the real world to be in it?” Neon frowned, before shaking his head. “Well... that can happen just about anywhere and in anything. Besides, she seems pretty... smart about this kind of stuff. She's getting therapy now too, right? And has one of the princesses looking out for her. I'm sure it'll be fine.” Aeon nodded. “I guess. Well, we can send the princess a letter tomorrow. Now that we're assigned near the kid and all, maybe we'll meet her more often.” She gave a snicker. “Maybe she'll dump about five hundred pounds worth of paperwork on us, too.” Neon shuddered. “Oh man. Did you see some of those stacks? They almost touched the roof.” “Exactly. Truly this princess is one to be feared.” ------ Drifting sighed when she collapsed on her bed and closed her eyes. Today had been a pretty good day, actually. She felt pretty good, at least. She'd had a wonderful kiss the night before, made some actual friends who seemed okay with what she was. She'd even got to play that game with them, it had been so much fun. She had always wanted to play games like that, but she'd never known anypony who played them. But now she had friends who did. She sighed and glanced towards her bags and the homework they held. “Well... buck,” she grumbled to herself before getting up and dragging them over to her desk. She had the time, she might as well bust some of it out. She was midway through before she found herself giggling again. “Me, the princess' student. Ugh, could you imagine what a pony would have to go through as that? I mean... she's brilliant. You'd have to be super smart to not mess that up.” ------ Starlight yelped, looking up when she felt a shiver go down her spine. She looked around in confusion, before shrugging and looking back at her tome. She had no idea what Twilight's next test was going to be, but she'd be bucked if she was going to fail it. ------ Drifting sighed and pushed her books aside once her eyes started to get droopy. She folded her hooves in front of herself and laid her head down, giving a soft yawn. She found her mind brought back to Branding. She found herself... oddly not as mad as she had been before. She still didn't trust the mare, not in the slightest. But she couldn't find herself too upset or angry about it anymore. All her hatred had burned away and now she just felt empty. Maybe it was time to forgive her. She doubted she'd be able to trust the mare again, but she wasn't sure she wanted to have that hovering over her for the next few years. What if something happened and she never got the chance? At least if she did it, it would all be over and done with. She could get it off her mind finally. She took a deep breath and got up, walking to her bed and collapsing on it. She wondered if she should ask the princess for advice about it. She was the Princess of Friendship after all, she'd have to know something about forgiveness. She shrugged and decided to write a letter tomorrow, before putting it out of her mind and focusing on what happened today. As tired as she was, she couldn't stop smiling. It had been sooooo much fun. It hadn't taken her long at all to decide what she wanted to play. Once she realized there was a class that every other class protected AND could be a princess AND was still pretty useful, it had only taken a few seconds. She gave another little sqwee as she imagined herself, the adorable princess, running off on adventures, being protected and flirted with by majestic, rugged knights. Tending to their wounds, accepting their deep, passionate kis-- Her cheeks turned bright red and her eyes shot open. She quickly shut THAT line of thinking off, shaking her head and holding her cheeks. “No no no no, baaaaad Drifting,” she said with a little squeak, before pulling her covers tightly over herself. Best of all, though, was the fact she had friends now. Not just friends, but ones who seemed... while not able to understand her, they were trying. They seemed to want to be around her. Even if she had been a tad pissy at first. They even ran this entire little game for her on the fly since it was getting so awkward and they had to do something. She sighed and wiggled a little more. Even better than best, one of them was a pretty mare. She finally had a gal friend! Maybe it meant she could do all those things that gal friends did together. They could do each other's hooves, talk about... well, okay, she didn't even know if she liked colts and Aeon was married. They could talk about Neon. Who she swore was still the best kisser ever and she squirmed again, taking a slow, deep breath. She'd make sure not to talk about that with Aeon, again. She couldn't wait until the next time they could hang out. She hoped it was after school. She pulled the blankets close and curled up into a ball, a big dopey grin on her face. ------ Drifting opened her eyes and stared into Twilight's face. She blinked, then screamed, flailing about and falling off the bed. “AHHH! What are you doing in here why are you here am I in trouble you scared me please don't banish me!” “You made some friends!” the princess said happily before she skipped around the bed. Drifting blinked a few times, still tangled up in the blanket and her heart hammering. She just stared and blinked, before looking towards the clock. She didn't have school for two hours, what time did this mare wake up? “Err... yes?” “I knew you could do it! I got Aeon and Neon's letter yesterday!” The mare blinked a few more times. “W-what?” Her heart began to fall. “They... wrote a letter about me? A-are they asking to... to be left alone?” “What? No! It was a good letter! They wanted me to talk with Princess Luna about letting you come with them on a special training thing with them.” The unicorn squeaked. “W-what? They w-want me to come with t-them on a trip?” “Well, sorta. I mean, I hear the dreamscape can be a bit trippy, I haven't had the time to try it myself yet, but I'm sure it's positively delightful! But that's not important, you made a friend!” The alicorn's horn glowed and she lifted up the blanket, dumping Drifting out with a squeak before folding it up neatly. “This is a cause for celebration!” “How... how long have you been up?” the unicorn asked, staring at the deranged princess. “Oh, ever since I got the letter last night,” Twilight said with a dismissive wave of her hoof. “Once I realized you finally came to the next part in your development, I just knew I had to come here and congratulate you.” “Y-yay,” the unicorn said softly. “Errr... so... did you ever send my mom those papers?” “Hmmm? Oh, of course. I sent her everything I could find, I imagine she is quite well informed by now.” Drifting grinned as she imagined their house being filled to the brim with packages from the princess. Ah, sweet vengeance. “Wonderful. So... errr... it's just to congratulate me, right?” “Well, I also figured we could get victory waffles! I tried to get Starlight to come too, but she threw her clock at me and yelled it was too early. I think she was up too late studying...” Twilight gave Drifting the biggest grin. “Soooo, tell me everything, how did you meet your newest friends?” “... One of them came into my room and made out with me. With full kissing and tongue action.” That jarred the princess, her cheeks going bright red. “They... they did... wait, b-both of them?” “No, just Neon.” Drifting got to her hooves. Normally her make out sessions were not something she'd want to discuss with the princess, but being woken up at the crack of dawn by a hyperactive alicorn had a way of putting things in perspective. “And oh my gosh he was amazing. You should ask Aeon if she'll let you borrow him.” The alicorn squeaked and shook her head. “N-no thanks. I, err, a-anyway. So, I have a number of fun activities I think the two of you should try.” Twilight's horn glowed and a scroll appeared besides her. She unrolled it and Drifting yiped when it spread across the floor, all the way to the opposite wall and then some. “I think trust exercises should be done first, I recommend trust falls. However, once the foundation of--” “H-hold it,” Drifting said weakly, shaking her head. “Hm?” “Can... err... I take my shower first and get ready? Also... victory waffles do kind of sound good.” “Oh, sure, I'll wait,” Twilight said before sitting at the hoof of the bed. Drifting sighed and walked to the bathroom, locking the door behind herself. Holy buck the princess was insane. Completely, utterly insane. And DRIFTING had somehow managed to become the target of her insanity. She couldn't imagine how this had happened. Still, she couldn't help feeling a little flattered and thankful. As crazy as the princess was, if it wasn't for the mare's... brand of insanity, she'd have never met her two new friends. She wouldn't be going through proper therapy and having at least a shot at getting the transition she wanted. She also had an ally in this whole ordeal who her mom couldn't just flat out ignore AND who seemed to have a decent grasp on everything. If a few early morning waffle breakfasts were the price of this, she'd be more than willing to pay it. As long as she didn't have to actually pay for them. Oh, and it meant she got to meet RARITY! The most awesome mare who she wanted to be when she grew up. She gave a soft sigh when she finished adjusting her mane, before stepping out of the room and smiling to the princess. “I uhhh... I'm done.” “Wonderful, you look good. Shall we?” Twilight asked. Drifting blinked. Just good? “Oh, uhh, sure. Let's--” And almost instantly they were outside the castle and in the town, outside Pony Joe's. “Right. Princess. Teleportation.” “Come along,” the princess said before trotting in. Within a few moments the two were sitting across from each other and the princess just smiled at her. “So, has there been any other friends you managed to make?” “Hm? Oh... uhhh...” She shuddered when she thought about Branding. “No. Not really.” She paused and glanced up to her. “Hey have... you ever...” She frowned. “Have you ever had a pony who... really hurt you and... well... didn't know if you could forgive them?” Twilight blinked and slowly her eyes lowered. “A... few times. Discord, for one. I'll be completely honest, I still have a lot of trouble trusting and forgiving him after all the things he's done. Why?” Drifting blinked a few times, then coughed. “O-oh. Right. Yeah. I guess... uhhh... you'd uhhh... have a lot more... bad ponies you knew, than I would. Heh. I guess... Branding doesn't feel so bad, in comparison to a chaotic spirit of... that.” The alicorn blinked, then smiled. “Is there somepony who has hurt you a lot, then? This Branding?” The unicorn nodded. “Uh... huh. I used to be really mad at her but... honestly, it feels like it's fading. But... when I did, it really... it hurt.” “It hurt?” “Uh huh. I felt this burning hatred in my very core towards her. Like... I really, really hated her. I wanted her to just go away and leave me alone forever. I wanted to never see her again. But now...” “You miss her?” “What? No. I just... I don't feel much of anything for her. I don't feel anger or hatred. I feel... disappointed. I was hoping we could have been good friends, that she could have been somepony very special to me. Maybe even my... special somepony. I feel... betrayed, though. In the end. Like she took my vulnerability and used it to stab me in the heart. All I feel now is... just sad. Betrayed and sad. How do you deal with somepony like that?” Twilight blinked a few times and stared at her waffles. “I uhh... I'll give the best advice I can. I've met a few ponies who hurt me over the years, but in the end... well... I've found there's usually a reason for what they do. Usually. There was usually something driving them. Pushing them. A reason for their actions. I'd suggest you forgive her. Maybe try to find out what pushed her to do this. Do you have any idea why?” “Well, she hurt me because... she didn't believe any of this about me. She thought I was... she thought it was just a kink. That it was some kind of fetish. So I kinda... broke it off with her. We were on a date and... I didn't want to... I couldn't stand the idea of being with somepony who couldn't see me as a mare. So I wanted to break it up early. She got... mad, and hurt me.” Twilight nodded and looked thoughtful for a moment. She then nodded. “Well, ponies do sometimes do bad things in the heat of the moment. What she did was wrong, but that doesn't mean you can't forgive her. Maybe you two can actually become friends in the future, as well. Do you think you can?” “I... don't know. Maybe. If she can... accept who I am. What I am.” “Good. There may be a future for you two. A future of friendship. I've found that some of my greatest enemies have become great friends over time. Why, even Sunset and Starlight used to be the most... well, they were difficult ponies. But with time, effort and determination, they're now great friends. I know it might be hard, but I do believe in the long run making them friends is the best way to go. It might not always be easy but... well, it's worth it. It will likely require hard work from both of you, though.” Drifting nodded, smiling. “Thanks, princess. I uhhh... I'll remember that. I... guess, who knows? Maybe there can be friendship in the future for us. But I don't think I'm ready for that. Right now... right now I think I just want to forgive her so I can get over this and heal.” Twilight nodded. “Of course. You can't force it, but do make sure to consider it. Now... is she sorry for hurting you?” “I... think so. At least, a little bit. She just...” She sighed again. “Yes.” “Then I think you know what you need to do.” She nodded, before taking a bite of her waffles. “Thanks.” “Wonderful. Now, onto your new friends. I can probably get the observatory ready for this weekend and you could have a friendship building slumber party!” Drifting blinked and opened her mouth to object, before pausing. “Slumber party?” “Mmmm hm!” “Do... you think we could do make overs?” “Well, I don't see why not. I actually have the perfect book for the occasion and I can get all of the things you'll need. Flashlights, popcorn, make up, fruit, backup pillows for when some of them explode.” The little mare nodded. “I uhhh... think that could actually be kind of... fun. If they're okay with it.” “Wonderful! I'll have it all set up by this weekend. You'll get your letter in the mail.” Drifting blinked a few times. “Letter? Err... o... kay... then?” She eyed the princess nervously. “What's wrong?” “Nothing, just thinking. I uhhh... thank you. For all of this. I uhh... I know you're busy and all, but uhhh... thank you for taking so much time out of your day to help me. With everything.” Twilight nodded. “It's really no problem. Besides, this is what a princess is supposed to do. Help ponies. As long as we can get you some friends, it's all worth it!” Drifting giggled into her hoof. “Well, thank you. I... think that's a distinct possibility now.” she nibbled her waffles a bit more, suddenly feeling not very hungry, though a tad tired. “I do have class soon. I should probably start getting ready.” Twilight nodded. “Okay. Remember, if you need any more help, send me a letter at any time!” The unicorn nodded. “Thank you, princess. I uhhh, I'll walk home. I could use the fresh air,” she said before getting to her hooves and slowly trotting out. She took a deep breath when she stepped outside. Forgiving Branding wasn't going to be easy, she knew that. But the princess was right, it was something she needed to do. And maybe it was possible they could still be friends. Maybe.