Chapter 13
Noctilucent wasn’t quite sure what to expect as he walked away from the orphanage. Part of him worried that an overwhelming magical compulsion would pull him back. But that didn’t seem to be happening. The night was cold, chilly even, but Quirky radiated heat like a furnace, and it was easy to see why. Five wisps of fire on her backside was an impressive cutie mark.
“I probably shouldn’t have teased you about being simple minded earlier, but you made yourself an easy target,” Quirky quipped, sounding almost annoyingly cheerful. “It isn’t too warm for you, is it?” she asked.
“No, I feel fine, Noctilucent said nervously.
“You are able to talk now,” Quirky observed.
“I, uh, have had some troubles in the past with love,” Noctilucent confessed skittishly. He walked slightly behind the mare, just waiting for magical compulsion to kick in and force him back to the orphanage.
“The breeze feels really weird blowing over my teats after nursing,” Quirky blurbed. “So bad luck in love eh? You seem awfully sweet and you are so good with foals. How could somepony not love you?”
Noctilucent certainly didn’t need to hear about where the wind was blowing. He began to sweat and feel itchy all over. Images began to flash in his mind, unpleasant images. Hearts and Hooves Day. Merriweather. The whorse. He whimpered.
“You alright Night Shining?” Quirky asked, stopping and staring at Noctilucent, her horn igniting with a fiery orange glow that completely demolished all the darkness in the immediate area.
He squinted from the bright light. “I’m fine,” the pegasus lied. “My wing hurts, that’s all.”
“Don’t lie to me,” Quirky said.
“How did you know I was lying?” Noctilucent said, panicking.
“I didn’t, but you just told me. Now come on, we’ll talk once we sit down and I won’t hold this against you this time. Ever lie to me again and I’ll set you on fire,” the mare warned.
Noctilucent gulped and followed her to the diner.
“Lemon custard,” Quirky protested, sticking her orange tongue out.
“I like sour things,” Noctilucent said in his own defense.
“You are a silly pony,” Quirky asserted.
Noctilucent said nothing but cast his eyes downward.
“It is okay to be a silly pony,” Quirky stated. “So, what brings you here?”
Noctilucent became very concerned about being set ablaze. Not saying something wasn’t exactly lying. He thought about his words very carefully.
“I needed a change. I made a few bad choices. Princess Luna set me straight, picked me up, dusted me off, told me she loved me, and then brought me here because this is a change,” Noctilucent replied carefully. Everything he had said was categorically true.
Quirky peered at him carefully. “That’s not saying much in detail, but I can understand you wanting privacy. You on the run from something? Did the Crown put you here to keep you safe?” the mare asked. She blew her mane out of her eyes after she spoke and watched Noctilucent carefully.
“Yes,” replied Noctilucent, not going into detail.
“You’re a virgin,” stated Quirky.
“Yes,” Noctilucent replied, embarrassed.
“You are here hiding from something.”
“Yes.”
“You like foals.”
“Yes.”
“You are a bit troubled.”
“Yes.”
“You are blue with white dapples.”
“Yes.”
“And you like sour stuff.”
“Yes.”
“Do you think I’m the prettiest mare you’ve ever seen?”
“Yes.”
“AH HAH! I knew it!” Quirky exclaimed.
“You… you… you tricked me!” Noctilucent stammered, the white spots on his face all turning pink and the blue turning somewhat purple.
“Aw, look at you, you’re pink where you used to be white,” Quirky teased.
Noctilucent made a mental note to have a long talk with Arroyo at some point in the near future. Perhaps they could form a support group.
“You’re kinda sweet,” Quirky said. “Cactus Blossom says you need a filly friend because you are all lonesome and pitiful and you sigh every five minutes.”
Noctilucent stared down at the table, unable to look Quirky in the eye. He was going to have to have a long talk with Cactus Blossom.
“Cactus Blossom is the most honest little earth pony foal you will ever meet. While honesty is commonplace in their kind, it runs strong in Cactus Blossom. She’s a troubled little filly,” Quirky quipped, looking sad momentarily.
“So I have gathered,” Noctilucent said.
“Don’t you hurt them,” Quirky warned. “They get caretakers, usually hard on their luck sorts traveling out of Las Pegasus, and these caretakers stay for a few days, get fed up, and then split without so much as a goodbye.”
“I don’t want to hurt them!” Noctilucent whimpered in fear.
“Good. That sounded honest,” Quirky stated.
The waitress brought pie, ice water, two bottles of pineapple soda, and a plate full of flatbread with guacamole. She left it on the table, smiled, and left the two alone.
Noctilucent immediately tore into the flatbread and guacamole.
“Avocados grow on you round these parts,” Quirky said. “About all they eat here. I didn’t care for them when I first moved into these parts, and now I cannot get enough of them.” She levitated a slice of flatbread and guacamole to her mouth and began to nibble.
“It’s bland,” she said with her mouth full. She hauled over a small jar from the end of the table. “Habanero picante?” she asked Noctilucent as she spooned a fair bit onto her flatbread.
“What is it?” Noctilucent asked after he swallowed.
“Something delicious,” Quirky said with casual dismissal. “Just try a bit.” She spooned a tiny amount onto Noctilucent’s flatbread and smiled a coy smile.
The pegasus took a bite, and then another, and then…
Everything was on fire.
He grabbed a glass of water and guzzled, but that only made it worse.
“Pie,” Quirky said casually, sliding the pegasus his plate.
Noctilucent began to shovel in the lemon custard pie, and finally his mouth began to cool.
Quirky chewed thoughtfully on her habanero picante drenched flatbread with guacamole and watched the frantic pegasus breathing heavily. “You really are adorable when you are panicked,” the mare commented, taking another bite.
“Why?” the pegasus wheezed, taking a sip of water to wash down the pie.
“Because, you needed change. Tell me, did you not experience a change?” Quirky asked.
“I thought I was gonna die,” Noctilucent gasped.
“And now you feel really good about being alive, right?” Quirky replied in wise tones.
The pegasus sat, now completely puzzled. He did feel pretty good about being alive after being set on fire.
“You are the strangest mare I have ever met,” Noctilucent said truthfully.
“Aw, your sweetness never ends,” Quirky said, genuinely touched.
Seized by a moment of unusual bravery, Noctilucent pressed his advantage. “Can we do this again sometime? I don’t get paid for what I am doing, but I am certain Luna will give me a few bits if I asked and I could pay my own way…”
“I ain’t worried about bits,” Quirky said. “But yes, I would love to do this again sometime, even though we ain’t done with this little outing just yet.”
“I can’t understand why a mare as pretty as you would even give me the time of day,” Noctilucent confessed, eating more flatbread and guacamole. He placed a tiny dribble of picante on his food before eating. He took a deep breath and then took a bite.
“Well, you had this foal slung from your neck, and that was fairly interesting. You’re handsome, and well, that foal stunk something awful. Yet you still looked after her. Plus, Cactus Blossom likes you,” Quirky answered.
“Holly made me responsible for that foal. And to be honest, I feel really bad without my little Shortbread Cookie right about now,” Noctilucent admitted and then took another blistering bite. He was sweating now and his white spots were definitely pink. “I like having Shortbread right here where I can kiss her. It makes life bearable.” He tapped his chest with his other forehoof.
“So you really like foals,” Quirky gushed, melting into her seat a little bit.
“I do actually,” Noctilucent said, the habanero picante searing a hole through his tongue. “I had a job where I was reading to foals, little sick foals, terminally ill foals, and I was happy there. I had to stop doing it though. I couldn’t deal with the sadness. It left me hollow inside.”
“You know freckle face, most stallions when they talk about spending time with terminally ill foals, they just want to brag about it or try to get laid,” Quirky said bluntly. Her words made Noctilucent choke on his food and it took him several moments to recover. “Coming from you though, there is something about how you say it. So maybe spending time with the terminally ill ones was a bad idea. Maybe that is what you are meant to do, spend time with foals. But everypony has their breaking point. Maybe that was too much. Maybe the orphanage will be a much better fit for you.” The mare loaded down more picante on her last piece of guacamole smeared flatbread and went to work wrecking her food, eating with gusto.
Noctilucent sat in profound silence, holding his food, not moving, but suffering from what could only be called an epiphany. What Quirky said made sense. Too much sense he said to himself. What if I was meant to be working with foals this entire time, went into one bad situation that scared me away, and then I spent all this time running away from my destiny he asked himself. What sort of damage might that do…
“Freckles?” Quirky asked, now genuinely worried.
“I’m okay, really, better than okay actually, better than I’ve been for a while,” Noctilucent reassured in a whisper.
“You’re a mystery. I like mysteries. Now, I want to spend more time with you,” Quirky quipped.
“What you said, it really impacted me. What if this whole time I was meant to work with foals? But because I bit off more than I could chew, more than I was capable of coping with, it scared me away from my destiny? What happens to a pony when they don’t follow their destiny?” Noctilucent mused.
“You know, I don’t know. I am a pyromantic unicorn and I am the happiest I have ever been in my whole life working as a librarian. I won’t deny though I get a special pleasure from using my fire talents. For you, maybe it is different. Maybe your talent is focused to one specific area,” Quirky admitted in reply.
“My mark just showed up one day. No warning. No fanfare. I didn’t even notice when it had happened. Just looked back there and there it was. I don’t even know how long it had been there. It was all very vague and mysterious. A candle in a holder. In this day of electric lights,” Noctilucent muttered. He began to work on his last piece of flatbread and fearfully placed a little dollop of picante on his food.
“Candles are romantic,” Quirky announced. “Very nice to have around when you are making foals and not just looking after them,” Quirky teased.
Noctilucent began to sweat and he didn’t think it was from the nightmarishly hot picante sauce.
“Oh my, you are fun to play with. I just say the right words and look at you…” Quirky said with a coquettish giggle. She took a sip of her pineapple soda and began to work on her pie. She took one bite and puckered, her face shaking back and forth as she shuddered from the sour feeling. She felt an uncomfortable tension in her cheeks. She heard Noctilucent having a good laugh at her expense.
“The lemon custard must be extra lemony,” Noctilucent said, his white spots still very pink. Sweat trickled down from his ears, and somehow, the hot picante sauce made him feel cooler. No explaining how some things worked he mused to himself.
“Don’t get wise,” Quirky warned, “unless you want to find out what it feels like to kiss a flaming unicorn.” She puckered up and shuddered again. “Huuyah! that’s sour.”
“Flaming unicorn?” Noctilucent said, trembling slightly as he did so.
“Some unicorns burst into flames when they get angry. I’m one of them,” Quirky warned.
“Remind me to never make you angry,” Noctilucent said, making a mental note for himself.
“Never lie to me and always tell me I look pretty when I am feeling insecure,” Quirky explained. “And you get to stay in a non-crispified state.”
“You are so very impossibly pretty,” Noctilucent admitted. “Why would you be insecure?”
“I have my reasons. Just like you have yours. I’ll show you mine when you show me yours,” Quirky offered. “When you feel like telling me the whole truth, I’ll tell you more about me. Teat for tat.”
“I want to know all about you,” Noctilucent said, exposing his innermost thoughts and leaving himself vulnerable.
“And I am mighty curious about you,” Quirky said.
In a moment of total honesty, Noctilucent broke down. “Look, maybe this is a bad idea. If you knew certain things about me, you’d hate me. I…”
“Shut up,” Quirky interrupted. “I get to decide what I like and what I don’t like. Ponies make mistakes. Sometimes bad ones. Mistakes you spend the rest of your life regretting. But you don’t get to take away my choice to get to know you better in spite of your faults. Do that, and suffer my feminine wrath. I mean it. Cross me at your own risk. I can set rocks on fire.”
“I…”
“You what?” Quirky asked. “Tried to kill a pony maybe? Said some angry words? Did some stuff you ain’t proud of? Maybe hurt somepony and now, you think you aren’t worthy of being somepony’s friend?”
Noctilucent felt his white pucker puckering up even tighter when he heard Quirky’s words, the part about trying to kill a pony in particular.
“We all have our failings. I have my own. You don’t think I have the same worries that you do, that when you find out certain things about me, that you are just gonna run away and leave me high and dry?” Quirky questioned.
Noctilucent took a bite of pie and felt very afraid. Not of Quirky, but just afraid in general. Of everything perhaps.
“Look, I do stupid things. Really stupid things, please, don’t hold them against me,” Noctilucent said. “I am a pony in need of second chances. I just recently got a second chance, and I don’t want to blow it. I don’t know the rules for relationships and dating and all of this” Noctilucent gestured between the both of them. “I have never had any success at all with fillies and mares. Everything I’ve ever tried has turned to horseapples.”
Quirky’s hard look softened. “See, that’s all I want. Honesty. I had a friend. She was a good friend. She wasn’t honest with me. She told me a little bit of what was wrong, but she didn’t tell me everything that was wrong. She lied to me. She told me that she was going to be okay.”
“What happened?” Noctilucent said.
“She hung herself,” Quirky stated bluntly. “In the backyard. She left a note, as though that made everything better somehow.”
“I’m sorry,” Noctilucent said, now absolutely terrified. The truth was a terrible thing, and something which might cause him to burn at some point. “Someday, when I can trust my self, I promise to tell you more about what happened,” Noctilucent offered.
“That’d be nice,” Quirky replied. “And that sounds honest. I can only be friends with honest ponies. You and I are going to be friends, I can tell. Maybe something a little more someday, like best friends.”
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4446429
Quirky catches on fire when she is overly emotional.
Pyromantic unicorn.
I was wondering where in the hell that prequel came from.
Gotta say though, you have me hooked. Besides the fact that suicide is an issue that hits home with me, this is just a very good story all around that needs more attention.
Gah, I've been working on writing a scene for two weeks now and you come in and get the flavor of the scene I was trying to write down pat. I don't know whether to be pissed or ecstatic.
4446695
Ah mang, I'm sorry.
I don't know how to make you feel better...
4446716 Don't be, the only reason I'm pissed is because I'm jealous of your writing chops, and the reason I'm ecstatic is that reading how you did it has helped me envision my own chapter better.
If we ever meet, you are getting the hug of your lifetime.
4446606 Just sayin... During intercourse one can get emotional.
Does she set on fire when she is having sexy times? Cuz the poor stallion could have a little more than is virginity taken off him, his tail for one.
You bitch... continue.
In more than one way, I imagine.
4446769
She's a spicy mare.
They get paid a visit by the Cutie Mark Inspector.
Nice chapter. I wonder when Noctilucent will be ready to talk about his attempted suicide.
Yay! Rage flare Quirky! Ten thousand points for Pie and two hundred points for the difference between character knowledge and player knowledge! Kudos to Quirky for habanero and seducing Nocty... Speaking of Night Shiny he gets kudos for being a little more honest and being nice to Quirky, because she is now in my top five favorite OC ponies... which is a list that for safety's sake does not contain my own OC's... also if I went to top ten the list would be completely dominated by certain orphaned foals living at the Mustang Springs Orphanage.
okay I now understand why I dislike her character, She's too easy. I understand why, single mother in a town with nothing but old fogies, meets a shy handsome vulnerable young stallion, whom Luna may or may not have conditioned her into likeing. Also seeing that you were having trouble with the 'cutesy wootsy' parts I understand why. It's not bad and as the author it's your prerogative, but to mee this relationship has not depth. It feels forced, like mating the pandas at the zoo forced. Or trying to hook your friends up with your GF's friends.
I like Quirky.
Edit: Damn, guess that means I'll have to read that other story now. Been avoiding it because of the whole "graphic depiction of suicide" thing.
Edit edit: It wasn't as bad as I'd worried, and it makes me like Quirky even more.
4446834
Luna has done nothing to tamper with this relationship.
Quirky is an extravert to the highest degree. What she wants right now is a friend, an adult friend, who is honest with her.
Same reason why she loves Holly. (But not in that way)
Quirky is looking for hope actually, not love, but she confuses the two.
4446753 I am sorry for this joke, it is horrible and I am ashamed of it.
Doctor, it burns. Down there.
4446875
Pyroclastic syphilis.
4446878 Yup.
I am so sorry for that joke. Also, very sweet, and believable dinner date.
.................. i wonder if tiwlight ever had to deal with spike accidentally catching things on fire.
4446911
Fire training. Like potty training. I deal with it in Mail Order Orphan.
4446917 wait that story is connected to this one?
also if i remember you said he had balefire rather than some other fire......... only remember that because of fallout equestria, where balefire was used instead of nukes.
4446930
No. And Ivy had Nullfire.
Only when he is flustered.
I wonder what Noctilucent's dreams will be like tonight?
4446937 and she farted it for some reason...........
4446859
Ahh I see, sexual confusion, feels things and thinks it's related to sex. Also would flaunt herself sexualy, not intending too. I guess I'm not satisfied with her level of development yet, technically having a story about her and a full chapter of interaction with the main character i kinda expected to have her be more developed than she is. But seeing as our 'Shining' hero is a having some distracting over reactions to her I guess it might take a bit.
I'm still hoping for some conflict to help define the relationship, your words have given me hope.
Come on, baby, light my fire~
I don't want to be crispified! O_O
Ok, I was waiting to read "at the end of your rope" until this fic was completed but what the hell, let's read it now.
I have found a minor mistake;
I do believe this is meant to be Las Pegas? Otherwise, brilliant story and I want more!
Feels a bit rushed, with a couple of word-choice flubs, but overall a good update.
Heh, my dad hung himself, was waiting for that method to show up.
Like this story by the way.
4447427 Las Pegasus is the correct term, mentioned in It's About Time
Anyway, I'm liking Quirky. It gives Notilucent someone to talk to about his problems besides Princess Luna, someone to help get his life back on track, and without bothering all the foals at the orphanage.
Well, the constant teat mentions are a bit awkward, but I like where this is going.
Can an OC be best pony, because i just truly fell in love with Noctilucent. He is so like me its ridiculous.
4447552 Point of thought that life is good. And to think about exactly how many people you affect in your life.
Background Pony really made me think about that.
Everyone reading has something to live for.
and if you wanna talk about you not believing that you do, inbox me. As soon as I see it, I will reply.
All are loved, just not all are truly aware of it just yet.
Ahhhhh.... another chapters, cant wait!
Ah man! i only got 1/3 through the chapter before finding anything to change
review time!!
First off, your writing and language skill in the first part shows improvement. you are using better words, description; its more engaging
She left it on the table, smiled, and left the two alone - did she "place" it on the table? Left, although it may mean the same thing, doesn't quite work here. You use left twice in the same sentence and other are being used to describe different actions. change one
smiled a coy smile - you mean "and gave him a coy smile" - otherwise you write smile twice
Everything was on fire - everything was "or is" on fire, depends on whos prospective its from. Im voting for "is"
dribble of picante on his food before eating - he is eating afterwords, so cut the ending off this sentence after food, otherwise its just repetitive.
The mare loaded down more picante on her last piece of guacamole smeared flatbread (my sticking point) and (then?" went to work wrecking her food, eating with gusto - for some reason i just dont like this sentence. it feels to long like there is too much description.
Sweat trickled down from his ears - ok... not sure why its coming from his ears, your story, it just leaves me with two raised eyebrows.
everything else looks good
I think Quirky is a good name for her; ans she seems to have a lot of conflicting traits. She's willing on almost no notice to take to teat feeding a foal, especially considering a newborn needs to be fed about 8-12 times a day; taking a lot of time and energy, she also seems very good with the kids and a librarian would need to be meticulous and organized.
At the same time she goes on a date with a guy she met a few hours ago, in which several times she threatens to kill him, and also makes highly suggestive sexual comments, and yet somehow almost comes off as sounding wise/ mature the rest of the time.
Well I guess given how much Nonchalant has bonded to the baby Quirky is going to breastfeed, they sort of have a baby together already.
Get out of there marine, it's a trap.
Smart to have posted "End of your Rope." Smart, reusing when twilight burst into flames in the episode trying to find out Pinkie .
This and so many other lines in this chapter sure felt like a breather. Phew, haven't laughed this hard since Beating the Heat! Also:
Given the context of the situation, this has more meaning if you've been on fanfiction.net like I have. *shudder*
4512584 I, too have been on Fanfiction.
Oh dear.....
4625706
*cringes*
I want that food love me some fire.
...my Plot twist sense is tingling... I have the strangest feeling that somehow Quirky's friend and Night's mother have something eerily similar about them
5074521 Um, they both committed suicide?
Oh, and if you're saying that Quirky's friend was Noct.'s mother, she was a zebra, if my memory serves me correctly, so, yeah.
If you're not, then tell me, and I'll slap myself for absolutely no reason.
Picante!
Where the crap did i get queso from!?