The Witch, The Bug, And The Airhead

by Bucking Nonsense

Not My Decision

Silhouette hadn't expected to encounter the Equestrian Guard as soon as they entered the city limits. More surprisingly, they weren't the normal guards that had been stationed there since Twilight Sparkle had become an Alicorn. These two were different in more ways than one. They were among the rarest ponies in Equestria: Bat-winged pegasai. That typically meant one thing and one thing only...

Giving the two guards a small smile, Silhouette asked, as calmly as she could, "So, I take it Princess Luna is visiting Ponyville today?" While not completely unheard of, it was rare for the Princess to be out and about during the daylight...

One of the guards snorted, then said, "Lucky guess. Yes, she's visiting: Nightmare Night is just a couple of nights away, and the Princess wants to... make up for some problems that sprang up during Nightmare Night last year. So, she'll be here in Ponyville for the next couple of days, helping with the planning and preparations." The guard's eyes narrowed a little bit and gave Trouble a look that implied that, while he was not yet at the point where he would be kicking her out of town, that could easily change at any time. "So, you'll understand why there might be a little... concern, regarding a changeling coming into town right now, I hope?"

Trouble gave the guard a look that implied that, while she was not yet at the point where she was kicking the guard in his face, that could also easily change at any time. "Oh yes," she said, her voice dripping sarcasm, "Two big, strong stallions like yourselves must be terribly worried that you might not be able to stop a changeling who is too injured to fly or change shape from causing any problems in your happy little town."

At this, the guard actually gave a small smile. "Point made. I'm a reasonable pony, and I'm not going to get into an argument about something that ultimately isn't my decision," and at this point, the guard pointed towards Silhouette, and continued, "Miss Silhouette is willing to vouch for you, so here's what we'll do: I'll send word to Princess Luna. If she says it's alright for you to come into town, then that's what'll happen. If she says no, then you can argue about it with her. Not my decision to make, not my headache if you don't get your way, and not my flank on the line if you turn out to be a problem. Fair enough?"

Surprisingly, Trouble laughed out loud, then said, a large grin on her face, "I suppose I'd be wasting my time if I tried to argue with that. Fine, send a message to the princess and see what she has to say. I'll sit right here with my friends and wait." WIth that, Trouble sat down with a chuckle.

As the guard sent his counterpart to deliver the message to the princess, Silhouette asked, "Trouble, what's so funny?"

Trouble gave Silhouette a grin that would have made Heddy's look almost normal, and said, "Would you believe me if I told you that this is still the warmest welcome I've ever received in my entire life?" At the end of that sentence, Trouble gave another laugh that almost sounded like a sob, and continued, "At least they haven't broken out the torches and pitchforks yet. But hey, the day is young. HEY!!!" Trouble shouted, as Heddy suddenly gave her a hug, "I thought I told you, no more hugging today!"

Heddy looked at Trouble with big puppy-dog eyes and said, "I know. But you sounded like you really needed one..."

Trouble looked like she was about to argue, then seemed to reconsider. "Yeah, you're right, I did," she said, her voice a bit gentler than before. "Hug away, Heddy. Hug away."

Silhouette wanted to say something, like maybe things couldn't get that bad, that she was sure that Princess Luna would be reasonable about this, or at least something optimistic, but she realized that saying anything like that would not dispel any fears that Trouble had: For a changeling, 9 times out of 10, the worst case scenario was probably the one most likely to occur. Instead, Silhouette took a deep breath and said, "Don't worry about it, Trouble: even if the Princess declines letting you into the town, you can stay at my place, and I can have a doctor brought over to see you. I don't live inside the city limits, so the Princess can't object to that."

The look on Trouble's face was one of pure disbelief. "Y-you," she started stammering, "you'd d-do that for me?"

Silhouette smiled at Trouble and said, "Of course. That's what friends are for."

Trouble seemed startled to hear those words from Silhouette's mouth, and after a moment, she did something surprising: she stood up, and, dragging Heddy along with her, walked over to Silhouette... and hugged her. It wasn't a bad hug, as hugs go. Admittedly, changelings are bit more... solid than most ponies, but it was a good hug, for somepony who probably wasn't very used to hugging. Trouble said, in a voice that was almost a whisper, two simple words that had a world of emotion crammed inside of them, "Thank you..."

"You know, that is a really touching scene," the guard said, "and if it were up to me, I'd go ahead and let you three come into town. But, like I said, not my call," he finished, as his counterpart returned, carrying a folded up note in his mouth. Taking the note, the bat-pegasus read it, then said, "The princess has given her approval, with one condition: you must be accompanied by a guard for the duration of your stay in Ponyville." The guard looked thoughtful for a moment, then said, "I suppose I can escort you three to wherever you need to go today. That is, unless you have any objections."

Trouble untangled herself from what had ended up being a group hug, then looked the guard in the eyes. After a moment, she tilted her head to the left, then to the right, as if she was actually seeing the guard for the first time and was wanting to get a better look at him. After a moment, Trouble smiled, then said, "No, I guess I don't have any objections. Mind telling us your name?"

"Sir Belfrey, Royal Canterlot Guard, at your service, miss," the guard said, smiling in return.

"Well," Trouble said, turning back to look at her friends, "Now that all of that is settled, I believe we were going to see a doctor?" Silhouette nodded in response. "Well then," Trouble said, turning back to Belfry, "Would you be so good as to lead the way, Sir Belfry?"

"It would be my pleasure," Belfry replied, then turned and began marching, and Trouble, Silhouette, and Heddy followed close behind him.

Comments

[Frantic Starz]

bucking nonsense couldn't write a bad fic if he wanted to

[djthomp]

Sir Belfrey the bat pony.

[mew3]

I am conflicted. I really don't want to see what goes on at his house during a family reunion but I am curious to see how many bat ponies are in the Belfrey's.

[Wolf Wytch]

3827333 Huzzah! I am of a similar opinion.

[Razzy]

Woo, she'll get help now.

Also, dat name.

Cya
Raziel-chan