71 - Hugs
"So." I stepped away from Luna, and looked out over the city. "All that's left is mopping up, huh?"
"Yeah." Twilight nodded. "Chrysalis is captured, Bodkin is gone, and the Shard Field is down. We just need to collect Bit and destroy the golems. I don’t know—"
"Allow me."
Twilight and I spun, as Luna's sepulchral voice boomed off the nearby walls.
"Finally, I can use my power!" Her aura surged, and her eyes hazed. Her wings flicked wide, and a magic upsurge wafted her upwards. We watched in awe as she started weaving an exceedingly intricate spell.
"Holy—" I grabbed Twilight, dragging her to the ground as a midnight blast flashed over us. In the distance a series of ringing bursts sounded, like light bulbs exploding.
"Oh, that felt good!" Luna landed, stretching hugely. "Really Wes, no need to duck-and-cover. Now the power-players are gone, I can afford to show off without worrying about escalation."
"Well, good show." I looked up as a dark speck bobbed into the sky. "And here comes our final member."
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZIP!
Bit alighted nearby, wings thrumming loudly in the narrow street.
"All the golems disintegrated, and the spell looked like Luna's. Is it over?" Her crystalline eyes darted back and forth. "Your plan worked?"
"Like a charm," Luna nodded, "although there were a few tense moments."
"Yes." Twilight frowned. "And I still want details. This is a fascinating situation, and—"
"So we won?" Bit stepped up, pitching her voice to cut Twilight off.
"Yes. Good job, Bit." I smiled as she grinned triumphantly.
"Well, um, then as leader…" She glanced around nervously. "Can I say one last thing?"
"Of course," Luna said. We all nodded.
"Then, maybe, um. Victory group hug?" She spread her arms wide. Luna and Twilight enthusiastically threw their forelegs around her. I hung back for a moment, but two sets of wings snagged me and dragged me in.
"Get over here," Twilight grumbled, and I surrendered.
There were worse fates.
"So… we have a plan, right?" I stood before an ‘interstitial warp space node’, ready to enter the 'internet', the Equestrian military's top-secret rapid transit project. It was a permanent magic circle, silver wire hammered into a granite base. Technicians surrounded it, preparing to send us off. Later jumps would be self-powered, but we had enough casters to continue comfortably.
"Of course." Celestia smiled at me. This was her personal node, in a small, featureless room near her throne. She had recalled us to the castle as soon as we reported our situation, and now she was sending us off again less than an hour later. "It's quite simple. Get there first. Speed is one of the strongest tactical advantages in any situation. Expect support to be inbound for the next few days. Sombra will also move, but I'm confident my infrastructure will give us the advantage." She waved to the node.
"You're sure our intel is good?" I glanced across the room. Celestia hadn't let Chrysalis out of her sight. The Queen looked disheveled, but no more so than usual. Twilight was quietly berating her, and she hung her head in what might have been true misery and dejection.
"I believe so." Celestia frowned slightly. "I've promised her a measure of clemency, although she will still stand trial. Her gratitude and fear seemed genuine enough. Besides, she has committed to us firmly."
"What did you offer?" I raised an eyebrow, curious.
"I promised her an impartial jury, a sentence under Equestrian law, and that when her punishment is set, it will be carried out under Luna's authority."
"You'd have done that anyways, though." I frowned. "That's just. And Luna's the closest to 'impartial' you've got."
"Ah." Celestia smiled. "But Chrysalis doesn't know that. The very idea of 'fair' and 'just' is about as far from her mindset as can be. Speaking of which, could you attempt to find a half-dozen impartial changelings for the jury? Filling my half and finding a judge is going to be difficult enough. I've even considered having her tried in some sort of international court." She sighed. "But I don't think any of my allies would be able to resist the lure of double-dealing. They're not bad, per se, but… well." She shrugged. "Governments. And this really is an internal affair."
"I think I could do that." I frowned. "My ambassadorial staff should have a list of Tezecans registered by location. Maybe we can pick some far enough out who haven’t spoken to the Queen much. Perhaps the Phoresians would work? I'll look into it." I glanced at the node again. "After." I shrugged noncommittally. It wouldn't be a big deal as long as we made it back.
"Right." The princess nodded. "Yes. When Luna and Bit return, you'll depart. I've sent messages to Ponyville, so the rest of the Elements, Sunset, and possibly Lyra, should be inbound. According to Chrysalis, Sombra believes your destination is where the Tuatha exited this reality. He thinks the next step in his… 'evolution' can be found there. Your first and foremost goal is to deny him that, whatever that means and whatever that takes. He’s nearing alicorn levels of power. If he believes he can attack us directly, the only outcome is total war. And that can only end badly." I nodded soberly.
"You're not coming?" I glanced up at her. She smiled wryly.
"Would that I could, but despite the desperation, we do need reserves. Planning to not need contingencies is not a contingency plan."
"Fair enough." I nodded. "So… what do we know about the location?"
"I've briefed Luna," Celestia said. "She can give you the details, but we don't know much. It's in the Smoking Wilds, as legendary histories of the Tuatha indicated, although much farther than we expected. It will be rough terrain, but everypony here is experienced with wild lands."
"Okay." I nodded. "I just have one more question."
"Yes?"
"This… internet. It doesn't have 404 errors, does it?" Celestia frowned in confusion. Across the room, Twilight snorted.
"HOLD!"
"Stand down!"
We shared a glance and spun for the door as two familiar voices rang in the corridor. Celestia flung it open with her magic.
Luna and Bit's retainers were facing each other down.
One side was Luna's night guard, a dozen fierce, tough ponies wearing her trademark uniform. On the other were six of the biggest, most dangerous changeling soldiers I had ever seen. They were nearly Big Mac’s size, and were marked with startlingly blue stripes. Both sides stared warily, ready to burst into violence at the first excuse.
"Peace!" Celestia called, drawing everypony's eyes.
"Stand down, I said. Do not embarrass me." Bit was pony-shaped again, her ornate carapace openly displayed. The soldiers dwarfed her, but at her flat demand they formed ranks and stood like stone.
Luna just hissed, ever so slightly, and her guards formed up even faster. The two sides froze solid, with the exception of the leaders. Luna coughed, embarrassed, and nodded to Bit.
"I apologize, Queen Tezeca, for the behavior of my soldiers. I neglected to brief them on your inclusion. It was an inexcusable oversight on my part." I winced as the Night Guard's eyes widened. Causing Luna lose face obviously stung their pride harder than any reprimand.
"Think nothing of it, Princess Luna. These roaches obviously don't know their place yet, to threaten declared allies without even my command." Bit's voice was level, with just a hint of contempt. Her soldiers were unreadable, but I could tell she was seething inside. The two turned and walked side-by-side into the room. Their contingents shared what might have been sheepish looks before following.
"So, um. Nice army, Bit."
"Do you like them?" She glanced back. "They were my mother's. Normally they'd each have a contingent of drones, but my hive has no soldiers."
"They seem… seasoned?" I frowned. Actually, from what little of a read I could get on them, they were lethal.
"They're generals." She shrugged. "They are war. This is now an official joint military action between the Tezecan Hive and Equestria." She glanced over at Luna. "I hope we can all get along."
"You honor us." Luna nodded. "Thank you for your support."
I blinked. The two of them were giving off an extremely official vibe. I hadn't seriously contemplated how significant the risk was here. They were both extremely important to hundreds, thousands of ponies, and we were headed to battle. Maybe war. I swallowed, suddenly much more apprehensive, and glanced at Bit. She was as calm and collected as ever. Still, watching her walk alongside Luna as an equal, my comment on how she’d become responsible really hit home. She was responsible for the welfare of her entire hive, and she was risking it all for her allies.
I sighed and bowed my head. I’d asked her to face golems earlier today, but I'd known she was up to the task. Letting her face Sombra? I flinched at the thought. But I'd told her she was free to fight for her friends. She hadn't needed my permission, really – I didn't have authority to naysay her, even if she'd was doing wrong. Which she wasn't.
"Heavy thoughts?" Twilight trotted over.
"Yeah," I grinned wryly. "I just realized how weighty this task is. I think it’ll be better when we’re actually moving."
"Well then, let's start!." She turned to the group. "Everypony, listen up! Today, we will be traveling long distance on the internet, and here's how it's going to work!"
ZAP!
"Woah."
I stumbled out of the teleport arrival zone and looked out over a blasted, broken landscape. A tiny guard outpost, just enough for a cache of supplies, stood behind me.
"No wonder they call it the Smoking Wilds." The land seemed mostly volcanic rock, crumbled and scattered carelessly across the ground. Occasional plumes of harsh ash floated in the breeze. I forced myself alert and marched to join the advance party, three of Luna's Night Guard.
ZAP!
The next passenger, one of Bit's soldiers, warped in behind me. This was our last stop, and I was glad. Teleporting didn't exactly give me motion-sickness, but whatever I felt was only one step away. The others seemed unfazed.
The general stepped up beside me, keeping me between him and the ponies. I gave him a curious glance. They had thicker carapaces, streaked with vivid blue. I tried to match them to changeling types I'd seen before and failed. Maybe they were more of Tezeca's special projects? I'd have been more nervous around them, except I'd seen the way they deferred to Bit. And I trusted Bit.
ZAP!
The Night Guard glanced back and moved to make space for their leader. Luna stepped up to join them.
"From here, we have eleven hours by air." She looked to her soldiers. "Negotiating the Wilds on hoof is unreasonable, so non-flyers will camp here until we have a warp beacon set up. Considering the distance, that may take several more hours. Lumiere, you are in command until I contact you." Nods and salutes answered. The Guard sectioned themselves into 'stay' and 'away' as more warped in.
ZAP!
Bit appeared, and her contingent formed up. She gave them an exasperated look but held her peace. Both the Guard and the Tezecans had acted extremely formal since this morning.
ZAP!
Twilight was the last one through, and she was panting heavily.
"You okay?" I stepped over, and offered her my canteen.
"Yeah." She accepted gratefully, gulping my water. "In a minute. That was draining." She sighed and relaxed. "At least now it's over."
"Yup." I grinned. "Now we just fly until three in the morning and pitch camp."
"Urgh." She slumped slightly. "Forced marching sucks."
"Sorry." I gave her a reassuring pat. "If you want, you can stay and wait for the second group."
"No." She shook her head. "I'm going with. I’ll set up the beacon. You understand, right?"
I nodded. She felt as strongly about this as I did. Sombra needed to be stopped. Doing any less than our utmost was inexcusable. To that end, I'd be the only non-flyer in the advance group. It would be difficult, but since there might be Tuatha artifacts at our goal, it was necessary.
"Fly with me a little?" She fluffed her wings, and I eyed them apprehensively. "I want to talk."
"We can set our comms," I offered. "Not that I have anything against your flying, but I'm not exactly a light load."
"Pff." She huffed but nodded.
"Wes?" Luna called.
"Yes?" She stood beside a sleek pegasus wearing the Night Guard armor, adorned with a Wonderbolt badge.
"This is Zephyr. She will assist you for the first leg."
"Awesome. Sorry to be a bother." I held out a fist. Zephyr hesitantly bumped it.
"She never said you were so big." She eyed me. "Whelp, there's nothing for it."
"Sorry, I—" I awkwardly rubbed my neck.
"Night Guard, move out!" Luna called. I barely had time to gasp before Zephyr blasted skywards. I flailed in shock as her contrail snatched me up and whipped me along.
"Holy crow!" I yelled as we climbed with blistering speed. "How are you doing that?" She was carrying me without even touching me! I just hung in the air, a few feet to the left and just behind her shoulder. She nodded approvingly as I flipped around, orienting myself face-first to minimize air resistance, and summoned a simple harmonic shield for my eyes.
"No need to yell." Her voice came clear across my comm. "I'm a professional. Wonderbolt training is no joke. Want to see a real trick?" She glanced to be sure I was watching and folded her wings. We didn't even slow down! She just hung there, smirking, wings folded.
"Showoff," came across the comm. While we'd been talking, the rest of the Night Guard flyers had caught up. Luna had brought four pegasi, and three had the Wonderbolt badge. The last had a strange winged skull sigil and seemed to be acting leader. "Really, Zephyr. No need to waste your energy on stunts here. Let's get a slipstream going." He positioned himself ahead of us, and I felt our airstream smooth. "Princess Twilight will join us in a minute and we need to be ready to support her." The rest of the guard fell in, and he put us into a holding pattern over the outpost. Twilight and Luna were talking below, but they glanced up as we started circling. Nearby, Bit was martialing her generals into a V formation.
"And the… Tezecans?" Another guard asked. "Are we working with them?"
"Only one of them has a pegasus pony form," I answered. "He might join us. But the rest of them will be flying with Bit— Queen Tezeca. Their changeling magic won't mix well with yours, so they're forming a separate group. They might try pushing ahead of us."
"Good luck with that." One of the guards chuckled. I shrugged. That confidence wasn't bad, but Bit had visited her agents in Canterlot for two reasons. One was to pick up her army, and the other was to top up her reserves. She'd burned an incredible amount of magic during her fights with Chrysalis. She should be nearly at full power now. If she wanted to arrive first, Luna would be the only pony with any hope of matching her staying power.
"Okay, here I come!" Twilight lifted into the air. The Guard made a place for her. Luna followed a moment after and took a spot at the head of the column. I looked back, watching Bit, as our convoy oriented itself and headed into the wilderness.
"What are they doing?" Zephyr muttered, looking back as well. The Tezecans had lifted off and followed us leisurely in a tight V.
"Bit's up to something." I squinted as curls of blue foxfire lifted off her horn. "I bet it'll be impressive."
I wasn't disappointed. The wispy changeling magic slowly spread across the group, before solidifying into a large, curved shell. The bugs began picking up speed.
"It's a… wing?" I frowned. Bit had constructed an aerodynamic shell, optimizing airflow the same as our pegasus convoy.
"Bit?" I clicked my comm over to the Tezecan band. "What are you up to? It's looking pretty neat."
"Something my mother worked out." Her voice was calm, but I could hear a hint of strain. "Hold on a second, and I'll— Ah, there." Her magic finished solidifying and she sighed in relief. "It's a formation to use changeling magic more effectively. In our native forms, we fly and cast magic." Swirls of power started building behind each Tezecan general. "With this I can manage the airflow and control, while my cohorts provide impetus. It plays to our strengths of adaptability and cooperation."
"I can see." I nodded as the generals finished casting. Spikes of magic, pulsing with force, extended behind each one. The complete formation looked like nothing so much as a glass airplane, a multi-engine flying wing straight out of a sci-fi film. It smoothly accelerated, quickly passing our speed. It eventually leveled off and slid ahead of us.
"I will go ahead and set up camp. See you tomorrow, Wes."
"Night, Bit." I clicked back to the Guard channel. "They're going ahead."
"I can see that," Zephyr replied sourly.
"Hey, don't take it so hard." I grinned. "You've got a passenger and an amateur with you, after all."
"True." She lightened up a little. "Even with Commander Luna's help, it’s challenging."
"Yeah. So, um. Do you need my cooperation for this lifting thing to work?"
"No." She shot me a puzzled glance. "Why?"
"Well… I'd like to take a nap." The airflow around me was nearly gentle, despite our speed. Zephyr's magic wasn't as comfortable as clouds, but it was better than most people's couches.
"Heh." She snorted. "Knock yourself out."
"Wes. WES!"
"Huh?" I jerked awake. The sun was a little lower. I'd managed a decent nap. The pegasus holding me had changed, but this voice was…
"Twilight?" I tapped my comm, re-seating it in my ear. I really should have put it in my pocket, but at least I hadn't lost it napping. "What's up?"
"We need to talk."
"Okay." I yawned. "I'm listening."
"Change your comm to channel six."
"Sure. Over and out." I fumbled with the switches but eventually got it.
<"You there?">
<"Yeah. Twilight, what's this about? You're being very serious. A private channel and English?">
<"Well, it's an important friendship issue! Of course it's serious! What do you think it’s about?">
<"Um… Twilight, I hate guessing games. Just lay it out for me, will you?">
<"Fine."> I could almost see her puff her cheeks in annoyance. <"Wes, how do you feel about Bit?">
<"Uh."> I paused again, suddenly unsure. <"She's my friend.">
<"Then why does she make you uneasy?">
<"She doesn't—">
<"Don't give me that."> Twilight cut me off firmly. <"You hesitated to join the victory hug. I saw you pause, and it was more than your ordinary ‘I’m a twitchy human who loves personal space’ pause. What was that about, Wes?">
<"Oh."> At her words, I realized what she was talking about. <"You mean, after Luna wiped up the golems.">
<"Right.">
<"I… um."> I thought back. My hesitation hadn't been anything conscious or intentional. <"She looked… different.">
<"Scary? Dangerous?">
<"N-No."> I pictured her coming in to land, a svelte girl with jet skin, white hair, and dragonfly wings, wearing a crumpled tuxedo and carrying a lightsaber. Striking, to say the least. <"Well, sort of dangerous. In a good way. She looked… strong. Powerful. I mean, I knew she was. I told her she was. But I didn't see it until then. For a moment, I saw her differently. And I realized… I'm really not sure just what our relationship is, now."
<"And that scared you."> Twilight sighed.
<"Maybe. It made me pause, at least. For a second, she seemed different. Strange. And I usually don't just hug strangers.">
<"Did you find her beautiful?"> Twilight asked bluntly. <"I know you don't find ponies attractive. But half the time, Bit's human. Well, human-looking.">
<"Urgh."> I groaned, wretchedly uncertain. <"Twilight, I don't even know. That's—">
<"Complicated?"> She laughed lightly. <"Then it's probably worth thinking about.">
<"Blech."> She was right, of course. So I did.
For a good five minutes, I just hung in space and thought. The pegasus carrying me swept his wings in a calm rhythm. The ground flowed away smoothly and slowly. The landscape was still broken and shattered. Occasional pockets of green or columns of ash interrupted the monotony of blasted rock. I pondered Twilight's question, and tried to pick paths and patterns out of the pockmarked landscape.
<"Alright."> I sighed. <"Well, I can't claim I've figured everything out. But… yeah. She's pretty. Beautiful, even.">
<"Ahah!">
<"But there's more to it than that. I mean, I think Luna's pretty, even as a pony. But I never thought of Bit as attractive before.">
<"Before what?">
<"Before she inherited Tezeca's memories. It's this whole relationship thing. Before she inherited, ascended, whatever, our relationship was pretty well set in stone. I decided I was going to be a teacher and protector, and that's exactly what I did, to the best of my ability.">
<"And she just accepted that,"> Twilight said. <"Okay, I think I get it. Now, you're not sure what your relationship is anymore, because she's changed. But you feel like 'teacher, protector' isn't quite correct. You have no idea what Bit thinks, and you can't ask because 'what if'? And you're afraid of 'what if', because it's unfamiliar and uncertain.">
<"…Something like that.">
<"Well, for what it's worth, I think keeping some distance is the right idea."> Twilight sighed. <"Bit is unique, as far as I know. A changeling Queen raised by a human and living openly with ponies? She's going to have a hard time figuring herself out, and she only just started. She barely understands friendship. If she got the idea in her head that she was in love with you… I don't know, Wes. I just don't know.">
<"Me neither. Still… for what it's worth, I don't think she's likely to."> I watched the sun sink a little lower. <"She's less aware of how she's changed, and I don't think she's realized yet how that affects our relationship. Or she doesn't want it to."> I sighed. <"I think if I let her, she'd be happy to just keep taking notes for me and sleeping at the end of my bed.">
<"You still let her do that?"> Twilight's voice was sharp.
<"I never really had much say in it,"> I mumbled. <"She just sort of moved in. She's surprisingly adamant behind that meek attitude.">
<"That… That's exactly the sort of thing you need to stop, Wes. Look, I didn't really bring this up to badger you about whether you think your secretary is cute—">
<"Hey!">
<"—I brought it up because when you hesitated to hug her, I thought 'is he angry at her?' and I don't know if Bit noticed, but if she did, I bet she thought the same.">
<"…Really?">
<"Absolutely. Wes… this is Equestria, remember? On Earth, hugging your friends might have been a little odd, but I think Rainbow said this to you before. Here, sometimes you've just gotta hug ponies. If you keep distancing Bit – and I mean distancing her more than the rest of your friends – when she notices—">
<"She'll be hurt,"> I finished soberly.
<"Exactly. So, if you want to keep your relationship 'just friends', that's probably wise. After all, you haven't really given up on leaving, right?">
<"Yeah.">
<"Well and good. But now Bit's in a better position to understand being friends, you'd better at least treat her like one. So, here's your homework, Wes. When we make camp, ask yourself: 'have I hugged a changeling today?'">
<"Pff."> I smiled, despite myself. <"Alright, alright. Friendship lesson learned. You're the Friendship Princess.">
<"Damn straight I am,"> she said firmly. <"…Why are you laughing?">
"By the stars, this is insane!" Zephyr giggled across the mindlink, and I smiled.
"Don't I know it." I grinned into the air flowing around me. It was after sundown. "Hey, how's Twi doing?"
We'd stopped for an half-hour break before dark fell, eating concentrated rations and resting as best we could. The column formation we were using meant that the trained athletes could push a fast pace all day, supporting each other like long-distance bikers. They were tired, but still good for miles, even carrying me. Luna was in the best shape, and Twilight in the worst. She had large magic reserves, but her muscles weren't nearly as well developed or trained. She'd been spared taking point at least.
"'Twi?' really?" Zephyr's thought was surprised. "She's looking better. That rest was good for her, and Commander Luna's been keeping her close. Should you be so familiar?"
"I don't think it will be a problem." I grinned. "Not even your captain's security clearance is enough to hear about everything we've gone through together."
"For real?" Out of boredom, I'd asked Luna about the security clearance on her guards. My mind-link wasn't exactly a state secret, but caution never hurt. Apparently, the prerequisites for the Night Guard were strict. Stacked on top of Wonderbolt training, these pegasi were an impressive contingent.
"For real." I considered for a moment before coming up with a 'safe' story she might enjoy. "Still, most of it was fairly normal. Tell me, have you ever heard of Poison Joak?"
"And she drove off the manticore? In your body?"
"Seeing is believing, right?" I pushed a snippet of what I remembered from the fight across the link. Astonishment echoed back.
"That's wicked awesome. So, you can use this mindlink thing to borrow magic?"
"Sort of." I hesitated. "Actually, that's part of why I showed this to you. I've got a favor to ask."
"Shoot." Her curiosity trickled across.
"How hard is it to learn that wingless flight trick you were doing?"
"It's not a difficult maneuver, but it's really hard to actually teach. Using magic through flapping your wings is natural. Using magic without flapping takes a lot of practice. It usually takes hours of falling before a pony gets the hang of it."
"What about someone who'd never had wings?" My thought was mischievous. "Maybe someONE who can see inside a pegasus' head?"
"You want me to teach you?" Her surprise was obvious.
"Why not?"
"Uh." She thought for a second. "You know what? No reason whatsoever. Let's do it!"
"Haha, awesome!" Zephyr guided me as I carefully bent the airstreams and stumbled out of the air, making my own controlled landing. I couldn’t see the ground in the dark, and my knees buckled at the unexpected burden. I collapsed, laughing. I was nowhere near mastering flight, but just attempting my own landing was enough of a thrill.
"Hey, you okay?" Zephyr alighted softly and gave a worried frown, leaning over me. Her face was dim in the moonlight, but I grinned up and poked her nose.
"I'm feeling great." I forced myself to sit up. Actually, I was probably in the best shape out of our whole group. I had spent the afternoon and most of the night floating. I didn't even have the holding-still exhaustion long car rides gave. "Thanks, Zephyr." Determined to show Twilight I'd listened to her lesson, I pulled the pegasus into a hug.
"Um, no worries." She stepped back, and gave me a strange look. "You're alright, Wes. None of us were really sure what to make of you, but you're alright."
"Thanks." I wobbled to my feet as the rest of Luna's column landed around us. I looked around, and spotted tents. “Looks like Bit made good on her promise to set up. They must have arrived at least an hour earlier.”
"That almost makes up for being second," Zephyr sighed. "Almost. I could use a good night… well, morning's rest."
"I hope you enjoy it." I smiled. "I've got graveyard shift yet, with the Princesses."
"Haha, good luck!" She clapped me with a wing and trotted off towards the tents. I followed, moving to join up with the rest of the group. Bit came out to meet us.
"Right." Twilight stepped up. "Let's see about getting the warp beacon set up. Bit, if you're up for it, Luna and I would appreciate your help with that. Wes, would you start scanning for anything related to the Tuatha?"
"As you say." I nodded and turned away, stifling the urge to yawn. The night stretched on.
“Okay.” I stumbled out of the stone arch, the magical door swooshing closed behind me. “Yeah. That’s the entrance.” It was nearly dawn; the horizon was starting to color. “You’ve got orders for fortification?” The changeling guards escorting me nodded.
ZAP!
I heard the warp beacon activate for the first time and smiled.
“That’s my signal for bed.” I nodded to the soldiers. “Thanks. If Sunset shows up, direct her here.” I shook my head fuzzily and meandered towards the campsite, leaving them behind.
“Bit?” I poked my head into the tent I’d been assigned. My secretary was already there, curled up on the end of my bedroll. “Haaaaah.” I sighed, Twilight’s admonishment floating up in my mind. “Bit, wake up.”
“Hmm?” The Queen roused from her slumber and yawned. “Do I need to move?” She uncurled enough to look soulfully up at me.
“No…” I pondered for a moment. How best to say this? “Look, Bit. I want you to know, I’m perfectly okay with you sleeping nearby, next to, or on top of me, as long as you do it shaped like a pony.” I sat down on my bedroll and unzipped my boots, sliding them off.
“Okay.” Bit rubbed her eyes with a hoof and curled up again. She’d been pony-shaped all day, but I wanted to be clear. “Why?”
“Um, cultural reasons.” I yawned again. “Anyways, now you’re a little more mature, we can be better friends. And so, I want you to stop sleeping at my feet. That’s something a pet would do, and you’re not a pet.”
“But I thought you said— Eeeep!” She gave an adorable squeak as I lay down, wrapped my arms around her, and rested my head on her shoulder.
“According to the Princess of Friendship, friends in Equestria hug each other, and I need to give you more hugs. So, if you’re going to sleep nearby, you’re going to be my pillow.”
“Okay.” Her reply was meek, and I sighed, finally relaxing after a long day. Right now, we were at our most vulnerable. We were trusting in our speed, believing we’d arrived in time to dig in and be ready before conflict arrived. If Sombra was faster than we guessed, we could be in serious trouble.
Right now, though, I couldn’t bring myself to care. Bit smelled comfortingly of cedar shavings and sun-warm cloth. I drifted off to sleep, listening to her breathe.
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Eeyup, this didn't show up in my Faves list
4896063 It's a known bug with the site. Although I like a lot of the features on this site, there are some definite rough edges as well.
4896160
Like not being notified about anything happening with groups or the broken bookmark or the....
Shifty gorram Fimfiction, trying to sneak a chapter of one of my favorite series past without me noticing, did ya? Well no sirree!
4896352 Ex-actly. Although for a website coded by one or two guys, it's pretty impressive. Honestly, my biggest gripe is the lack of a user manual.
4896472 On the plus side, I do stick to a fairly regular schedule. Without extreme interference IRL, updates should be predictable. I'm glad you're enjoying it, too.
4896616
Aye, but there are some problems with it.
Like essentially destroying groups because of RPers who used a really stupid system...
thanks for the update!!
I am shipping that ship.
I'm shipping it all the way across the ocean.
...in a good way.
4922067 Well, as long as it's in a good way.
and it looked like Luna what?
5223662 Fixed!
ahh, i ship it.
to quote my friend who probably is quoting someone else.
I ship it like Canada Post -- in large quantities, very slowly.
7337083 Haha, can't argue with that. It is interesting how things that were likely originally mispellings come to be accepted. Like catsup and ketchup.
"we" or maybe "we'll", though I'd go with the first.
4928303 Hey, if It fits, It ships!
Celestia.exe has stopped working.