• Published 28th Apr 2012
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Your Wings Were Made For Angels - Still Breeze



When the universe is in trouble, it's going to take more than the magic of friendship to save it.

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Don't Know What You've Got Until It's Gone

Chapter 13: Don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone


The next moth flew by so quickly for Cantor; he lived each day to it’s fullest, kept his job up and even started paying rent to Twilight. Everything in his life was pointing in the right direction, and as he stood there in the dressing room in Rarity’s boutique with his seven other friends in the afternoon before the Grand Galloping Gala, he became excited towards the night that quickly approached.

“I still think it’s a little awkward to have him in my dressing room with us…” Rarity whispered to Twilight as she tapped at her face with a powder puff. "I mean Spike's bad enough... But he's a stallion..."

Twilight cast her gaze from her vanity mirror to the one Cantor was looking into, practicing different types of smiles. “Rarity,” She started, “Look at him. Does he look like the perverted type?”

The white unicorn turned also to look at the alicorn posing in front of the mirror. “I guess not…” She replied with some sense of gratitude.

“Besides,” Twilight added, “We don’t usually wear clothes. If he was going to look, he would have done already.

“Ahhh…” Rarity sighed in charmed understanding. “A true gentlecolt, nothing like Blueblood; he was just a… a…”

“Dick?” Asked Applejack.

“That’s… one word…” Rarity replied, casting her eyes back to her mirror.

“Jus’ let it go.” Applejack spoke, trying to reassure her unicorn friend. “I mean sure he treated ya bad for one night two years ago, think yourself lucky his ‘I get my own way because I’m prince’ attitude didn’t reach a worse level.” She tipped her head and raised her eyebrows to empower her point.

“Whatever do you mean, Applejack?” Asked the white mare.

“You know what I mean…” The tan Earth pony spoke with a danger filled tone, like a mother would speaking to her daughter about the world she had tried to protect her from. “You know what stallions are like…”

“Hey!” Cantor, who had been idly listening to the conversation whist pretending to do important things in the mirror piped up.

“Sorry, Cantor…” Applejack replied with a chuckle. “You know what A LOT of stallions are like…” Cantor smiled and returned to idly amusing himself in the mirror to which he had been doing for the past hour.

“Let’s just do what we think is fun this year, okay? None of these ‘opportunities’ we all fell for last year and the year before that.” Rainbow chimed in from her hair-dryer.

“Rainbow’s right. If we all jus’ stay in our group, this time, we’ll all have a darn good time!” Declared the farm pony.

“Agreed.” Said Twilight. “Are you going to be staying with us for the night, Cantor?”

“Um…” Said the stallion, turning from his mirror to face the unicorn. “Sorry, but princess Luna said she has some ‘fun things’ planned for tonight…”

The girls all stifled laughs and turned bright red. It took Cantor a second to catch on. “Oh, not like that, you immature little fillies…” he said, blushing a little himself.

Applejack took it upon herself to close the conversation. “Okay, well you two have fun.” She scoffed, “Whatever you end up doing…” The ‘baby’ dragon and all of the ponies, even the innocent little Fluttershy laughed at this point until the room returned to the peaceful state it was in before.

“Hey, guys, have you seen this!?” Asked Rainbow Dash peering up from her gossip magazine.

“Oh, Rainbow Dash, don’t believe anything you read in “Oh, Hay!” magazine, but if you must, please try to bear in mind that the articles in there are just over-exaggerated pieces of nonsense.” Rarity conjectured, waving a painted hoof in the air.

Everypony stared at her and Twilight announced the elephant in the room. “Rarity, you read Oh, Hay… how can you criticize Rainbow for reading it too?”

“I merely read it for it’s entertainment value! It’s so fun to get an insight into celebrity ponies’ personal lives!” Rarity replied, grinning and making a ‘squee’.

Again, everypony looked at each other in disbelief. And again, Twilight was the one to speak. “How can you say that Rarity? Do you remember Gabby Gums?”

“Oh, how could I forget!?” Cried Rarity in mock distress.

“You should think yourself lucky that everypony thought she wrote lies, otherwise they would all know about your fantasies with Fancy Pants.” Scorned Twilight.

The white unicorn’s face flooded with redness as she was accused of writing filth. “Now THAT was a lie.” She protested. “The false eyelashes, getting my teeth whitened, hell, I’ll say it: my hair’s not naturally purple. Those were all the embarrassing truth. But I would NEVER write down my desires with anypony, not even in my diary. My fantasies are locked away up here.” She angrily made clear, jabbing her hoof in the direction of her head, but not actually making contact.

“Wait a sec, are you tellin’ us that three fillies wrote about somethin’ like that!?” Cried Applejack in mild outrage.

“To her defence, Applejack,” Pinkie Pie spoke up, “The article I read wasn’t that… Explicit… I don’t think they quite knew what they were writing about…”

“To be honest with ya’,” Said the blonde earth pony, “I only read mine an’ Big Mac’s article… so I can’t really criticise…”

“Trust me, AJ, it was very… ‘misinformed’…” Pinkie added.

“Well alright. But seriously, Rarity, you don’t like ponies reading about your personal life, so don’t take so much enjoyment out a' reading 'bout theirs.” Said Applejack as if she were telling off her foal.

“I see…” Rarity replied, dropping her eyes to the sink below the mirror. “I’m sorry…”

“T’aint nothin’ Rarity, we all do things we ain’t proud of…” Applejack said, giving the white unicorn a warming glance when she looked back up. “Sorry, Rainbow,” The orange mare continued, “What was that article about that you said?”

“Oh, nothing really,” The blue pegasus replied. “Just something about the primitive parts in a pony’s brain that makes us attracted to each other.” She said this looking at Pinkie, who shyly met her gaze. “Nothing important, really… It just looked… ‘sciencey’…” she licked the tip of her hoof and turned the page.

“By the way, Rarity, I can’t thank you enough for that suit you made me. It’s absolutely perfect!” Cantor said, looking into the mirror at the reflection of the white unicorn seated behind him.

“Think nothing of it, dear.” Replied Rarity. “I made all of my friends’ outfits for the gala and you are no exception.” She and Cantor exchanged smiles before he turned back to the mirror, taking a nice, long look at the handsome black and white suit that hung in a plastic bag from the rim of the mirror.




Cantor gasped in astonishment as the six mares followed each other out of Rarity’s doorway, all adorned in earrings, jewelled necklaces and flowing ball gowns. “You look stunning!...” He said with wonderment to the group, drawing bashful giggles from each lady.

“And I must say, Cantor, you look rather dashing yourself…” Rarity commented, admiring the well-built stallion wearing her work of art.

“It feels great to be wearing something that had wing – holes.” Thought Cantor gratefully, not missing the cramped sensation that old vest bore. His time in Ponyville, eating nothing but vegetables, flying nearly enough everywhere and keeping a demanding job had made him rather fit. His muscles were slightly defined, even when they were relaxed. But the alicorn had nothing on Big Macintosh. He had met the stallion twice before and he certainly lived up to his name; he was built like a tank, his legs, back and neck were rock solid when he relaxed and when he tensed to buck an apple tree, his entire body bulged with mighty muscles.

The alicorn turned to face their transport. “How are we all going to fit inside that!?” Exclaimed Cantor, an expression of shock worn on his face as he observed the small white carriage.

“You’d be surprised, Cantor; these things are huge inside.” Replied Twilight with a sly wink. The seven ponies and one dragon stood outside the carriage and stared into the distance. They could see the tips of the cliffs being illuminated by flashes of colour, accompanied by the distant rumbles of magical fireworks.

“Right, shall we go?...” Asked Rarity, looking around the group who were all checking their own dresses.

“All set, I think, girls?” Asked Twilight, eager to get going.

“Yup!” Answered Applejack. “You ready, Rainbow?”

“Ready.” She answered. “Pinkie?”

“Ooh I can’t wait!” Exclaimed the pink party mare. “How about you, Fluttershy?”

“I’m looking forward to tonight.” Softly, but in no way shyly answered the butter coloured pegasus.

“Ladies?” Said Cantor, standing on his hind legs and holding the slender door open for the mares. They each thanked him as they entered. “Come on, Spike.” He beckoned to the small dragon, wearing a rather fetching tuxedo himself, differing from Cantor's in that he wore a red bowtie around his neck and unlike the alicorn, his outfit didn’t have a bottom half. Cantor also felt lucky it wasn’t customary to wear neckties, this way he could breathe more easily and show off his muscular neck which rose from the shirt above the three unbuttoned points.

“Thanks, Cantor.” Spike delivered as he hopped inside the carriage. The alicorn quickly followed him inside. Shortly after signalling to the… horses to begin the journey, Cantor closed the door and turned around to find a large round room, easily five metres across.

“But, what does, how’d you, it’s bigger… huh!?” The stallion stammered as he took in the impossible surroundings. The walls were a bright red, adorned with mirrors and shelves filled with books. The only window was the one set in the door behind him, allowing a refreshing breeze to cruise through the warm room. Three ponies each sat on the velvet sofas on either side of the room. Rarity, Twilight and Applejack perched on one, chattering excitedly amongst themselves. Pinkie and Dash sat next to each other on the opposite red seat, engaged in quick conversation. Fluttershy watched from the side, smiling broadly as an attempt to look included.

Two wingback armchairs rested at the back of the room. It would have been dark inside the impossible carriage, but the honest to Celestia crystal chandelier suspended from the ceiling threw light over the entire room. Gawping in awe, Cantor awkwardly placed himself in the armchair closest to Fluttershy, muttering "I love magic..." at the same time as Spike who settled a lot more easily into the chair next to the glamorous Rarity.

After several minutes of gazing around the dazzling scenery, Cantor finally found his voice and turned to Fluttershy. “This is a gorgeous cabin, isn’t it, Fluttershy?”

“Huh?” Asked the pegasus who had become engrossed with her own silky smooth mane. Before the night, she had quietly sat in the corner of the dressing room brushing her mane. By the time the other ponies were ready, she had counted one thousand, two hundred and sixty six strokes of the brush. Her hair was as smooth and shiny as it could possibly be and it fell over her shoulders and spread out over her back like a long pink waterfall, accentuating the delicate petals and jewelled hairpins with which it was adorned.

“I said this carriage; it’s beautiful…” Cantor repeated.

“Oh, my yes it is…” Replied the pegasus, now enjoying herself even more that somepony was talking to her. “Actually, I’ve been looking forward to the Gala for a long time now. The castle is such a nice place to be…” She closed her eyes and sighed contently at the memories.

“I hope it’s not… too fancy… I don’t think a pony like me would fit in around really up-tight ones.”

“Not really, everypony just stays in their own little groups and talks to their friends…”

“Oh, that’s good." The stallion said with a relieved and proud sigh. "Well, I’m sure we’ll all have a great time tonight!”




The echoes of explosions wafted through the air accompanied by showers of crackles. Cantor found himself hanging out of the window gazing in awe at the colours and lights bursting in the beautiful night sky.

“You’ve outdone yourself yet again, Luna…” He remarked happily to himself as the carriage began to slow. The horses whinnied and reared a little when they stopped. Cantor pushed the door open and hopped out, standing on his hind legs and using the door as a support. He held it open as the girls stepped out.

“Can horses talk?” He asked the carriage pullers. When he received a powerful snort as a response, he assumed the answer to be no and turned his attention back to the mares who now stood in amazement at the brightly lit castle. Magical spotlights illuminated it’s walls and every single spire in a brilliant white. The wind was gentle, but strong enough to make the flags flutter carelessly atop their poles.

“Wow! This is the third time I’ve been at the Gala, and I never get tired of seeing that!” Twilight squealed in excitement as the group merged in with the other approaching ponies along the cobbled pathway to the Castle’s main entrance. Cantor hastily withdrew an expensive cologne from his jacket’s inside pocket and sprayed two quick squirts on either side of his neck. The fragrant smell of cut grass hit him again as he took a long inhale and slipped the glass bottle back into his pocket. This particular scent stood out from the rest in the shop for more than one reason. One of those reasons being it reminded him of Spring. He didn’t know if that was considered appropriate for early December, and frankly, he didn’t care; he liked the smell, it suited him and that was mainly all that mattered to him.

Putting on his best smile – which wasn’t too hard to do on this night – he caught up with the mares, watching the fireworks explode into cacophonous showers of coloured sparks, delivering with them the most amazing crackles and booms. To his surprise, Fluttershy seemed unfazed by the loud noises, but he didn’t question it, maybe she was putting on a brave face, or maybe she just wasn’t scared at all. Humming “At The Gala”, Cantor observed the areal acrobatics team Rainbow Dash had been talking about non – stop for the last three weeks. And he had to admit, they truly were a sight. The Wonderbolts pulled into extremely tight turns at ridiculous speeds, leaving a trail of thick smoke and white electricity behind them as they flew.

The night was perfect; the temperature was cool and refreshing for ponies who needed a break from the party to stand outside and breathe the fresh night air. The castle itself was somehow really warm, whether that was air conditioning or some kind of spell, it didn’t matter. It was as if the castle was greeting the guests with it’s warmth as princess Celestia was, stood at the top of a small flight of stairs, a red carpet stretched tightly beneath her. Somehow, she looked even more beautiful than Cantor had ever seen before. Not cute – beautiful, or sexy – beautiful, just… beautiful.

“My little ponies!” Exclaimed the regal princess as the couple in front if their group made their way to the right and into the ballroom. “So lovely to see you all again!”

“You too, princess. Thank you for inviting us.” Replied Twilight, bowing gracefully along with her friends.

“It’s my pleasure, Twilight.” Celestia beamed, her face radiated compassion and serenity. “Enjoy the night.” The seven ponies and Spike turned to the right to approach the ballroom where all the main events would be held. “Oh, Cantor.” Came Celestia’s voice from behind the stallion.

“Yes, princess?” He asked softly.

“My sister is waiting for you in the royal booth overlooking the ballroom. Just take these stairs to the left, first door on the right.” She instructed, waving her hoof in no helpful manner inches from the floor. “That will take you to another hallway: the royal booth is the third door on the right.”

“Got it.” Replied Cantor with a nod. “Thanks princess…”

“Don’t mention it.” She replied, her expression unchanging. “Welcome to the Gala, I’m so glad you could join us…” Celestia spoke to the next pair of guests as they watched the other alicorn cross behind Celestia and ascend the other flight of stairs.

He noticed the ponies staring at him as he walked. Cantor stopped halfway up the stairs and gave a firm nod to nopony in particular, accompanied by a greeting and farewell at the same time: “Evening.”

Cantor climbed the flight of stairs. The corridor cut to the right and an ominous darkness flowed out. Candles and chandeliers illuminated the parts of the castle the quests were allowed access too. Though the darkness made him a little wary, this was dampened by the fact that he felt like a V.I.P. (Very Important Pony) Amused with this notion, he crossed the hallway to a door on the right. Compared to other doors in this castle, this one seemed tiny in comparison, even though it was built large enough so that Celestia could enter without having to duck. Cantor opened the dark, very old looking door with his magic. He expected the old black rivets in it to creak with age, but they remained silent. Cantor couldn’t work out whether this would have made the sight on the other side of the door creepier or not.

The alicorn stood there for a moment, staring down the nearly pitch black hallway, the only light coming from the entrance he stood in. He lit a small flame just in front of his face and entered the corridor, shutting the door behind him, dampening the sound of the classical band to that of a muffled whisper. The only light was his own, and it didn’t light the way any more than a few feet in front of him. He counted one door on his right, then another, then the stallion crossed a mirror. He screamed like a filly at his own reflection and the light went out. In the second he was squeezed by the darkness, he could have sworn he heard footsteps – not hoofsteps – footsteps.

He set another larger portion of air on fire and looked all around him quickly. In front, behind, left and right… he hesitated before looking up. But nothing was there, no monsters, no ghosts, just a darkened roof. He sighed in relief before turning to the door Luna was waiting in. Cantor gripped the door with magenta magic, and as soon as it cracked open, the sound of relaxing classical music met his ears once more. The room in front of him reminded the alicorn very much of the carriage he had taken to arrive here. There lay a small wall blocking his view of the dance floor and an entry at either side of the candlelit divider. He turned right and, extinguishing the flame in front of him, peeked his head around the corner to see a radiant princess Luna sitting on her haunches, smiling and looking out at a particular point in the ballroom.

“Good evening, princess.” Said Cantor, causing the princess to jump at the unexpected intrusion.

“Oh! Hello there, Cantor.” She replied, rising to her hooves upon which she wore her shimmering silver shoes.

“You’re looking even more gorgeous than usual tonight, princess.” The stallion complimented with a royal bow.

“Thank you, sir…” She replied with a blush. “And please, call me Luna.”

“Alright.”

“So I suppose you’re wondering what we’re going to do tonight?”

“Um, yeah… kind of…”

Luna giggled. “Hard for a white pony to hide his blush, isn’t it?”

Cantor hadn’t noticed his face heating up when the princess asked that. “Oh, come on, Luna…” The white alicorn replied bashfully, partly because of her approach, but also because she was one of the princesses and had great social power in which he didn’t know how to safely retaliate to.

“Cantor, come here!” She beckoned with her hoof eagerly. Her excited tone reminded him of the kind of way Rainbow Dash or perhaps Pinkie would talk to him in. Cantor complied, coming over to her side and looking out over the scene. The band of four ponies, two of which he recognised instantly, were magnificent; the most astounding classical musicians in Equestria, hoof picked by a panel of experts to play at the most prestigious party in Canterlot. Their delectable music wafted over the entire cathedral – like ballroom, so wonderfully emotional you could almost see the notes flooding from the spectacular instruments. Several couples danced slowly on the dance floor, gently swaying each other from side to side. And even one or two pegasus couples were intertwined in defined areal swoops in time with the ambience.

Everypony looked spectacular, even the stallions, most of whom were just wearing collars looked suited for success – probably because they were – and every mare looked drop dead gorgeous in their luscious dresses. Three epic crystal chandeliers, which given the circumstances could have been made from pure diamond, making each cost a small fortune, most ponies wouldn’t see in a lifetime hung from the high ceiling by thick platinum chains. The couple hundred dinner tables which massed below the booth were partially empty, having around one hundred or so ponies accompany around fifty of them. A luxury bouquet of red flowers of many breeds stood proudly out from the perfect white tablecloths which draped in thick ruffles to near the floor.

Everything to the smallest detail was absolutely perfect. Cantor felt as if he could watch the scene for hours before another thought crossed his mind. Even though he preferred less ‘high class’ events, to be here now, stood next to his royal friend, watching this magnificent sight, he couldn’t have felt happier.

“It’s quite something, isn’t it, Cantor?” Asked Luna, peering down at the room through half closed eyes.

“It really is…” Replied the stallion, still staring in wonderment at the Gala.

Princess Luna sniffed briefly. “What’s that scent you’re wearing?” She asked turning to the stallion on her right.

“Cut Grass by Narricious. I didn’t really know what to look when I was buying it. I just liked the smell.” Replied Cantor, remembering trying on multiple fragrances which all smelled the same apart from this one.

“Expensive?” Asked Luna.

“I’ll say. It was like thirty bits for this bottle.” He replied, withdrawing the aquatic blue bottle from his jacket pocket. It was nearly full, but only big enough for one hundred millilitres tops. “I got it because I hardly ever wear these things, except tonight, I feel I can make an acception, and besides: Twilight said she really liked it.” He slipped the bottle back into it’s pocket and returned to Luna’s eyes, which just happened to be virtually the same colour as the glass vile containing the fragrance.

The princess cocked her head and smiled alluringly. “You… like Twilight, don’t you?”

“Yeah.” replied Cantor with a slight shrug.

“I mean, you really like her?” She leaned closer. “Don’t you?”

Cantor coughed and his face flushed again. “Well, I uh… wouldn’t say I don’t want to get to know her better, but at the moment, no, we’re just very good friends…”

Luna’s smile lessened into a smirk. “Okay, I understand…”

“Hey!” She began again, clearing the awkward atmosphere. “You see those two mares over there?” She asked, nodding towards a table in the far corner.

Cantor Followed her gaze to a table where two familiar mares sat next to each other, adamantly watching the small orchestra play, speaking without making eye contact.

“Hey, I know those two!” Exclaimed Cantor.

“You do?”

“Well… I’ve heard of them, but I don’t actually know them. Why, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, it’s just they were here last year… they were doing pranks on the other guests.”

“No way!” Remarked Cantor, mostly because he couldn’t believe the story he read that one time on the internet influenced this universe. “I wonder what other fan fictions are true?” He thought to himself.

“I know, right!” Replied Luna, who was also watching the two ponies. “We’re gonna go have some good old fun with them!” She fell to her flank and clopped her hooves together in a foalish manner.

“Celestia was right,” Thought Cantor, “She really is immature…”

“Alright.” The stallion agreed.

“You should have seen it; they put wing poppers on the cupcakes and the wonderbolts ate some! It was hilarious! I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time!” She sighed, reflecting on the joyous moment. “I’ve got my own supply right here!” Luna continued, reaching round behind her mane and presenting a small powder shaker containing a substance comparable to talcum powder from the cosmic locks.

“What’s that?” Asked the stallion, intrigued by the strange substance.

“This is the most potent wing popper you can buy.” Replied Luna, stowing the small jar back into her starstruck mane.

“Wing popper?”

“Yeah, you know it makes your wings… you know…”

“What?”

“Are you serious? Do I need to say it?”

“Say what!?” Cantor laughed.

Princess Luna sighed. “Wing-boners.” Both ponies turned bright red as she said this.

“Wing- They’re real!?” Cantor exclaimed.

“Of course! Do you know nothing about pegasus anatomy!?”

“No. As I said, I wasn’t a pony before I came here.”

“Well what were you?”

“Human.” Cantor blurted out without thinking.

“And what do humans look like?” Luna asked, fascinated.

“Well, they don’t have hair covering their bodies, they walk on two legs and they certainly don’t have wings or horns.” Cantor informed, glancing back to the ball. When he returned, Luna's face was bound by a troubled delta of curiosity. “Princess, what’s wrong?” Asked the stallion, becoming worried.

"Once again, nothing is wrong, but..." She noted, her expression ridiculously hard to read.

"But what?" The amber-eyed pony insisted, the likelihood of humans in Equestria all too possible, and the probability of their negative mannerisms even more definite.

"I would prefer for us not to trouble ourselves over manners such as this on a night like tonight." Luna answered curtly, her supreme authority overtaking her improvised and filly-ish demeanour all of a sudden.

A very awkward silence blew through the booth. Nopony said a thing for at least a minute. “Come on, princess: tonight’s supposed to be happy. Just forget about the past!” Cantor spoke finally with a reassuring smile.

“Yes, Cantor… you’re right…” Luna replied, returning a more delighted expression.

“So Luna, enlighten me on the pegasi organs…” Cantor began, returning to the tender subject beforehoof.

“Ah, right. Well, I won’t go into the deep biological stuff, but basically, there’s a hormone in pegasi and alicorn blood called alae erectus-“ Started Luna, to which Cantor snickered. “Indeed.” She continued, beginning to redden around the face again and becoming more intense as she spoke. “Now just like when testosterone makes a stallion… ‘happy’ sometimes, this hormone applies to both genders…” By now Cantor had stopped giggling like a little colt and was genuinely fascinated by this information. Luna took a breath and continued her science lecture. “The um… ‘sensation’ in a pegasus’ wings will uh… 'intensify' the feeling in the other um… ‘organs’… when they feel like this.” By now she was practically glowing red and Cantor himself was no different.

“Please tell me you understand… I really don’t want to say the… correct terminology…” Asked Luna jokingly in a pleading tone.

“Oh, no. I fully understand. Thanks for telling me about how it works… Rainbow Dash told me about the ‘spot’ in-between the wings…” Replied the young stallion.

“Oh, and uh, have you ever… um…" The deep blue princess began, but halted herself once she decided that the particular question she had on her tongue just might be offensive to a pony she had rarely seen. "You know what, never mind. Let’s go down there and make some trouble!” Proposed the princess, stepping towards the door and opening it with her midnight aura. Cantor nodded before he took one last look back over the ball, his eyes scanning the room until they rested on only one thing; the pair of enchanting rubies which stared back up at him from the quiet corner of the floor.




“Hello, ladies.” Cantor said as an introduction. He and Luna stood before the two mares who they had seen in the corner of the room.

“Oh, um… hello.” Replied the white unicorn with the well-groomed blue and cyan mane. “Um, good evening, princess Luna.”
The two young mares bowed gratefully towards the princess as best they could from their sitting position at the table. “Oh, please!” Said the princess of the night. “Call me Luna!”

“Oh, alright!” Replied the electric maned unicorn happily. “And you would be?” She asked, extending a hoof towards Cantor, her dazzling red eyes making him feel giddy.

“Cantor.” The stallion simply replied, taking the mare’s hoof and shaking once gently.

“My name’s Vinyl Scratch, and this here’s Bon Bon.” Said the unicorn.

“Hi there!” Added the butter coloured earth pony in a rather annoying nasally voice. Though she seemed sweet enough.

“We were just wondering if we could sit here?” Asked Luna, already stepping around the table before awaiting a response.

“Yeah, sure. Go right ahead.” Vinyl said, waving a hoof over the table as if to say “Anywhere you like.”

Luna took her seat on the opposite side of the white table and Cantor sat next to her. “So. Last year you two had some fun with the food?” Asked the princess, leaning on the table with both her forelegs and resting her head on her hooves.

“Uhhh…” Said Vinyl nervously, looking at Bon Bon for help. “We… might have done…” She finally answered, her vibrant red eyes filled with fright.

“Are you going to be doing that again tonight?” Asked Luna through half – closed eyes.

“Oh, no. not at all, your majesty.” The unicorn replied hastily, shaking her head violently, sending her spiky mane whipping through the air.

“Hmmm… shame…” Muttered Luna. “I was really hoping to do some of these with you…” Said the princess, bringing out the powder shaker and an assortment of clear bottles, displaying vividly coloured liquids inside. Vinyl and Bon Bon gawped at each other wide – eyed before returning to the princess.

“You what!?” Bon Bon exclaimed.

“Ha, ha… You serious, pr- Luna?” Asked Vinyl, reaching into her pocket and drawing out a small vile of liquid in her dark grey aura.

“Oh, yeah…” Thought Cantor as he vacantly watched Luna and the other two mares converse. “A unicorn’s aura turns the same colour as the pony they care deeply about… does that mean I have… real feelings for Twilight?”

“Cantor... Cantor!” The voice of Luna snapped him from his daydream.

“Huh?” He asked, still slightly absent from the world. “Sorry, Luna, I was miles away.”

“I said do you want to get started?” Replied the princess impatiently.

“What, already?” Asked Cantor, looking back at Vinyl and Bon Bon who had already made their way over to the bowl of punch.

“Yes. Are you feeling alright?”

“Yeah… I’m fine, I was just thinking…”

“What about?”

“… Don’t worry. Come on, this’ll be great.”

The long table of entrées spanned the entire length of the hall, there were heaps of exquisite food on silver platters and yet more bouquets of flowers to which Cantor couldn’t work out if they were for eating or to look at. The table Vinyl and Bon Bon had been seated at laid directly next to one of the ends of the spread, the one farthest away from the orchestra. Only a few tables down and the group were at the front of the dining area, stood next to a crystal bowl holding a vibrant pink liquid, a metal ladle jutting out from the rim.

He noticed Vinyl Scratch gazing towards the stage where the orchestra was performing a song with a slightly faster tempo than the previous one. Cantor followed Vinyl’s line of sight to the grey mare stood on her hind legs playing the cello next to a spearmint green unicorn plucking away at a lyre. “Friend of yours?” He asked, gently smiling.

“Ahhh, a little more than a friend…” The unicorn replied, smiling and looking down upon her left foreleg at a polished golden band, bearing a solid amethyst treble clef.

“It’s beautiful…” Remarked the stallion.

“I know she is…” Replied Vinyl, turning her head back to her wife on stage, playing as one with her instrument, eyes closed and in the deepest frame of concentration. Vinyl could have watched her peacefully draw the long bow across the beautiful cello forever, but she was broken away by Bon Bon’s beckoning.

“Vinyl, come here.” Called the pink and purple maned Earth pony. The love struck unicorn obeyed, and Cantor followed. Luna and Bon Bon were stood behind the elongated table staring at the bowl of drink in front of them.

“Ready?” Asked Luna, raising the shaker over the bowl after checking to see that nopony was looking. The glass container was nearly horizontal before a low droning voice from behind Cantor and Vinyl caused them to turn around instantly.

“Well, hello… my name is pri- AH!” Cried a white stallion with a floppy golden mane and extremely fancy frontal attire, consisting of a large blue bowtie and golden buttons. “Ugh! Not you, again!” The well-groomed stallion groaned before adding: “I thought we’d gotten rid of your type.”

He turned around in a huff and went to storm off but stopped when Vinyl Scratch told him to “Shove it up his ass!”, to which Cantor exploded into fits of giggles on her left.

“How dare you speak to me like that!?” Demanded the stallion, marching up to Vinyl’s face, pushing out his chest and glaring at her. “Do you know who I am!?”

“Yeah,” Began Vinyl dryly, pushing him away slightly with her forehoof. “You’re prince Blueblood, but I hear all the mares call you ‘Blue Balls’…” Cantor’s laughter intensified at this notion.

“What are you laughing at!?” The prince growled towards Cantor, who rapidly became quiet, not out of fear, which was what was intended, but out of what little respect he felt he needed to have for the prince.

“I’m just… really immature…” Cantor snickered as a response, wiping a small tear from the corner of his eye.

“A word of advice, my friend:” Blueblood began, “don’t involve yourself with harlots such as this.” He grimaced at Vinyl, who took the insult to heart.

“Don't involve yourself with dicks like this, Cantor, he'll just be bitchy all the time because of his 'one-inch-wonder'.” She spat, anger coursing through her veins. Cantor began to bellow with laughter once more.

“How DARE you speak to me in such a way, you- you… you cheap WHORE!” He barked as he raised his hoof intending to make contact with vinyl’s face. She screwed her eyes shut and winced as the hoof shot towards her.

Like a bullet, Cantor’s own hoof shot out and caught Bluebloods, inches from Vinyl’s face. The unicorn slowly opened her eyes and saw Cantor forcing back her attacker, their hoofs still locked together and both stallions straining to try and prevail over the other. Blueblood was a lot stronger than Cantor had anticipated, but he just had the upper hoof. With one last, strong push, Cantor made Blueblood stumble backwards into the middle of the dance floor where the couples had stopped dancing to watch. Even the band had recently silenced their music.

“Hey, what do you-“

“Listen here!” Cantor snapped, grabbing the prince by his collar and locking eyes with him. “I don’t care what kind of dick head you are, but one thing you NEVER do is strike a lady… Understand?” The alicorn growled through gritted teeth which quickly lost their ferocity once he had finished. “If you’re going to hit somepony…” Cantor pulled Blueblood close so the lengths of their muzzles were aligned. “Hit me.” Cantor finished his threat by shoving the prince away, his ironed collar all crumpled and creased.

The prince stood there for a moment, sizing up his opponent before deciding he ‘didn’t want to get his hooves dirty’.

“Humph!” Huffed the Prince as he stormed off down the gangway between the dining tables.

“You alright?” He asked Vinyl who nodded a ‘thanks’. Cantor looked towards the Black maned cellist on stage. She gave him a soft wink with one of her pale lilac eyes before drawing her bow and closing her eyes fully and begun playing again. The rest of the band followed soon after and the other guests continued dancing and chatting as if nothing had happened.

“I’m glad that’s out of the way.” Cantor sighed, turning back to his little group to see Luna stirring the punch bowl with her magic wrapped around the top of the ladle.

“My sister’s not going to be impressed you threatened her son.” Luna said, shaking her head and clucking her tongue.

“Blueblood’s her SON!?” Exclaimed the alicorn, before coming to an assumption. “Actually, I don’t think he’ll tell her; he won’t want to say he tried to hit a mare and you can’t really lie to Celestia…”

“That’s correct…” A familiar mare’s voice came from behind Cantor. He turned around to see Celestia stood right behind him.

“Ah! Princess!” He exclaimed, dropping to one knee. “What did- why are you here?”

“Oh, I’m just checking on the party: everything seems to be going fine.”

“That’s… Great…” Said Cantor through a very wide toothy smile.

“And don’t worry about prince Blueblood; I saw the whole thing and I’ll be having a little chat with him later…” Celestia said, casting a disapproving gaze in the direction of where her son had exited the ball room. She then turned her attention to Vinyl. “Are you alright, dear?”

“Yes, your majesty.” She replied.

“Are you having a nice time?”

“Yes, your majesty.” She repeated with a modest curtsey.

“Wonderful.” Said Celestia, ending the conversation with a small smile and nod to her sister before gracefully turning around and exiting the room.

Cantor sighed a long exhale of relief. “Whew… I thought I was screwed then. Though it wouldn't really be a party if there wasn't a fight!” He stated, picking up a cup and ladle with magic.

“Don’t worry, Cantor, Celestia wouldn’t- actually I don’t think you should-“ Luna began, but failed to halt Cantor before he guzzled the punch, which turned out to be nothing more than fancy cranberry juice. “-Drink that…” Luna finished. He put down the glass next to the punch bowl when he had finished.

“What’s that, Luna? Sorry, I was lust having some before you put the wing poppers in. It’s actually quite nice…” Declared the stallion, bending his head forward a little towards the navy blue princess.

“That’s the thing, Cantor… I already sort of… did.” She replied, blushing violently, and trying not to burst out laughing.

“What?” He asked, the enormous embarrassment removing any expression from his tone as Bon Bon and Vinyl began to laugh hysterically.

“Yeah, you just... took the wing poppers…” Luna explained to the horrified alicorn.

“But- but my wings are huge!” He protested as he felt his pegasi appendages, much longer than any other pegasus’ or alicorns’ wings as they didn’t just rest at his sides when folded, but crossed each other behind his back begin to steadily pulse from his sides. By now, his wings had already half inflated and were rapidly increasing in width and stature as the nature of the drugs kicked in. Unlike a pegasus' regular areal arousal, where much of the sensation and stiffness came from uncontrollable muscle spasms, the wing poppers purged every possible drop of blood into the wings in order to achieve this 'phenomenon'. A side-effect of this for any normal winged equine may be light-headedness and possibly a shallow headache thereon after. However, with a wingspan of over ten metres, Cantor was less than eager to try out this new perverse form of entertainment.

He tried to ask for help, but the massive blood loss has already begun to take hold of his mind. After another five seconds of masses of blood being pumped into his enormous wings, they were fully erect and as hard as a rock, both due to blood pressure and the muscle contractions. He began to breathe heavily in a feeble attempt to supply adequate amounts of oxygen to the little blood that stayed in his veins.

It took Luna only a brief moment when she opened her eyes after laughing to realise something was seriously wrong. Even though Cantor was white, somehow his face had lost even more colour. He swayed precariously on his hooves, his eyes rolling back into his head as he drifted in and out of consciousness. Luna began to panic as she realised that soon he would pass out and if his brain remained starved of oxygen, he could actually die. And it would be her fault.

She leapt over the table and landed right next to Cantor on the other side. She quickly placed her neck under the stallion and supported him, all the while, Vinyl and Bon Bon had become caught up in the panic and helped Luna guide him to a table. Vinyl levitated one of the beautiful bouquets of flowers onto the edge of another table and Luna lifted Cantor with her magic and laid him over the edge of the table so his wings and head hung towards the floor. His wings bent at a painful angle along the tiled floor and as the little bit of spare blood began to trickle from his legs and body into his head. He found the mental capability to breathe again. He gasped for breath and tried to sit up, but Luna kept his face pointing to the floor and he was too weak to resist.

“Oooowwww…” He managed to groan in agony as he looked up at one of the chandeliers. Instead of the waves of pleasure and pain cancelling each other out, they made each other twice as bad. “Wha’s going on?” He slurred upside down.

“It’s okay, Cantor, just lie here for a moment; you’re going to be fine.” Said Luna trying to comfort him.

For the next minute or so, Cantor simply lay groaning on the table, drawing disapproving looks from the other party guests. Twilight and all the other ponies had rushed over when they saw Cantor lying upside down on a table surrounded by three mares. “What happened?” Asked Twilight who carried a more than adequately sized glass of rosé wine by her side with magic, her eyes focused on Cantor’s closed lids as she spoke.

“He ingested some wing poppers, and this, well… is the result…” Explained Luna, to which Rainbow Dash began to giggle into her hoof.

Cantor’s Wings began to subside after around another minute and the blood returning to his body felt like a godsend.

“Don’t try the punch…” Were the first words to come out of his mouth, making all the ponies around him laugh. He groaned again as he slid himself off the table and rolled onto his hooves, his wings falling flaccid at his sides, dragging along the floor behind him like two wedding dresses. “Oohhhhh, my head…” He groaned as he felt the blood hammering around his aching brain. “I thought wingboners were supposed to be nice…” He complained, drawing more giggles from the girls.

He had a mighty headache, but mercifully, that began to subside too. He gazed around the group, highly embarrassed, showing how he ironically had excess blood in his face. “Sorry, guys…” He apologised.

“It’s okay…” Said Twilight, taking a step closer to Cantor to be able to smell his wonderful fragrance. “But this proves my point, doesn’t it?...”

“What would that be?” Asked the stallion, tilting his head and looking into Twilight’s deep eyes.

“I just can’t leave you alone for five minutes, can I?”




Two and a half months, one bouquet of twelve red roses, a box of chocolates, a small plush bear and thirty bits worth of perfume later and it was the fabled Hearts and Hooves day. Cantor trotted through the town centre at dusk, the sky blazing orange and the clouds jet black against the slowly setting sun. the alicorn’s heart was singing and he couldn’t be happier; today was the day he would finally tell Twilight how he felt about her. He had high hopes as when he told Rarity, she squealed in delight, and she nearly feinted when he told her he would do it on Hearts and Hooves day.

“Oh, how romantic!” She cried, clasping her hooves together at the side of her head and gazing longingly into the distance with stars in her eyes.

Cantor remembered having a heart-to-heart discussion about finding love with her. He had told her that “There’s at least one pony in the world who you have a special connection with, even before you’ve met them. Fate assigns the two to meet at some point in their lives. No matter how many you let into your life, thinking they might be your ‘very special somepony’ just to have your heart broken in disappointment, it’s all worth it for that one day with that perfect pony you were made for.”

Revelling in his own philosophy, Cantor grinned even more as he neared the library, already seeing the couple in the future, their peaceful home in Ponyville, the wonderful friends they would make together… He stopped walking at his third thought…

Foals…

Could he really have children with an equine from a different universe? He already knew the answer before he asked the question. Yes. Because he loved the equine from the other universe, and tonight he would let her know that. Though he preferred calling her ‘Twilight’ other than how he previously referred to her in his thoughts.

He resumed his gleeful trotting towards the library, carrying the gifts for Twilight behind him in his purple / magenta aura. Anxiety grew as he approached the big red door. He ignored it though, replacing it with giddy excitement.

He reached the door all too quickly and slowly opened it with a big glowing smile on his face. But when he peeked through the entrance into the room, the shock that faced him was so great, he didn’t even feel his heart being ripped slowly in two.

Twilight brought her lips away from the dark green stallion’s when she felt the new presence enter the room.

“Oh, good evening, Cantor…” She said awkwardly as the unfamiliar stallion also turned to face Cantor. The shock had stolen his breath, but he somehow found it again after a second of disbelief. He kept the gifts outside the house as he miraculously found his voice as well.

“Um, evening, Twilight… sorry to um… interrupt.” As he said this, he felt the pain of his broken heart rip into quarters. “Who um, who’s your friend?”

Twilight went to speak, but the stallion opposite her answered Cantor in a soft and deep voice: “I’m Storm Surge,” Cantor’s heart tore into eighths. “I know you: you’re that alicorn who showed up last September…”

“That’s right.” Confirmed Cantor, a serious lack of emotion in his voice.

“His name’s Cantor.” Twilight spoke quietly.

“Is that right?” Asked Storm, placing his dark foreleg around Twilight’s shoulders between her neck and the back of her sofa Cantor had ‘claimed’ as his bed. The sight divided Cantor’s heart once again. “Twi’s my very special somepony.” The alicorn’s heart lied in thirty two pieces now, and the pain only worsened each time it broke. Cantor had only ever called Twilight ‘Twi’ once, and that was an accident; ‘Twi’ was far too intimate for him to call her after such a short period of friendship.

Clocking the bright little daises in the vase on the coffee table, Cantor’s broken heart split into sixty four.

“I guess I should leave you two alone…” Cantor said, his crippling pain and severe sorrow masked through monotone. He took a step backwards out of the doorway.

“Would you? You’re kind of imposing…” Asked the murky green pegasus stallion in a bored sort of tone, eager to get back to Twilight.

“Yeah, of course.” Said Cantor as he backed away from the happy couple, his eyes still fixed on Twilight’s. Usually, he could tell what she was thinking when he looked at her this way, but this time, she gave away nothing. Or maybe she had a mix of emotions too scrambled to read.

He just couldn’t tell. Was she even thinking about him? She simply watched him back out of her home. Storm Surge pulled Twilight across the sofa onto his shoulder, but she still kept her blank expression on Cantor. He slowly ambled backwards out of the door, whispering goodbye just loud enough for both of the ponies to hear.

“Bye, Cantor!” Called Storm, waving briefly to the stallion leaving the library before turning back to Twilight. She said nothing. But instead, watched the last little bit of her closest male friend's orange eyes fade away as he closed the door when he left with a quiet ‘click’ of the latch.

The alicorn sighed silently and tears began to sting at his eyes. He trudged past the outer houses of Ponyville, dragging his hooves all the way. And, reaching a nearby hill, he lost the will to carry on and simply collapsed under the now night sky into the dirt, the useless gifts dropping beside him as he sobbed silently into the cold, damp grass. To say his heart was broken would be an understatement; it lay in a deep pit in his chest, shattered into hundreds of pieces, along with the love it once thought it held. As his sorrowful tears streamed down his face, the idea of a future with Twilight slowly began to fade as well. Living together, learning about each other…

Having a family…

All just dreams that could have never come true…




“Storm, I think we should take it a little slower…” Twilight asked, breaking away from an uncomfortably sensual kiss. She and Storm Surge were the only inhabitants in the library as she had requested Spike go out and see a movie to leave the two alone for the night. As per usual, he had invited Rarity, and despite Cantor's tips on love, and his talk with the unicorn about very special someponies the night before, the purple maned mare still declined.

“Come on, Twilight…” Storm said in a chilled sort of tone, leaning back in for another kiss. Twilight looked away. “Come on, twilight, lighten up.” Repeated the pegasus. “Tonight is Hearts and Hooves day: the most romantic day of the year…”

They had another kiss. Twilight’s eyes stayed open.

“What’s wrong, Twilight?” Asked storm, taking her cheek in his hoof and turning her head to face his.

“It’s just…” She started, turning her head away. “It’s just… I’m not sure about this, I mean, I’m not one hundred percent comfortable, so I don’t think we should take things too far…”

“Okay, Twilight.” Agreed the pegasus hastily, drawing her in to another kiss in which never broke.

Their hooves rubbed gently on each other’s backs and they both had their eyes closed in the moment. One of Storm’s hooves drifted round to Twilight’s stomach, to which she replaced on her back with one of hers. Almost immediately after her forearm returned to embracing Storm, his hoof strayed back around her side. She quickly put her other hoof on top of it, but to her dismay, it didn’t move. Her eyes shot open as the strong hoof carried on down her body.

“Storm, no…” She softly said into his mouth. He Ignored her. “Storm, I said no…” She repeated, a little more forcefully this time.

“Come, on, Twi: Let’s just do it tonight.” He replied eagerly.

“I really feel uncomf-“

“Oh, Twilight.” Sighed Storm sensually.

“Please.” She whimpered desperately, now having both her hooves pulling on Storm’s, yet it still fell lower down her body.

“I love you.” He whispered gruffly.

Twilight started to panic and her breathing quickened, images of rape and pain thrashed her mind. “I don’t want-“

“Let’s do it!” Storm growled, bringing his hoof between Twilight’s thighs.

The young purple mare began to protest again until she felt a wave of the most wrong feeling imaginable shoot through her body when the large, dark green hoof brushed against her virginity.

“NO!” She screamed as she pounded her hooves into Storm’s face. He reeled back, his bright yellow hair flailing as he shook.

“What the fu-“ He started, but was cut off by another purple hoof slapping him across the face.

“No means no!” Twilight shrieked, remembering the self defence class she had taken last summer as she teleported herself up to her bedroom. She peered over at the stallion clutching his face and returning to his hooves after toppling over from the unexpected shock.

“Please leave now.” She ordered shakily, desperately trying to keep her cool, though her voice clearly showed how absolutely terrified she was. All she wanted was for Cantor to be there to protect her. How could he leave her alone like this?

“Twilight, I-“ Storm began, before being cut off again.

“Leave or I’ll scream.” She threatened, knowing that’s the last thing any stallion would want.

“Okay, alright, I’ll go…” He replied, slowly backing away towards the door.

“Don’t come back.” She added.

“Are you sure you don’t-“

“No.”

“Okay, I’m going…” The perverted stallion then turned and ran out of the door, not closing it behind him as he took off into the night sky.

Twilight made a quick lap of her home, making sure to lock all of the doors and windows, turning off all the lights and drawing all the curtains in case he decided to come back with his friends. She guessed that wouldn’t be the case, but better to be safe than very, very sorry. She felt tears of anger well up as she tore the flowers from one of her favourite vases, not noticing it topple over and smash, spilling it’s liquid contents all over her prised coffee table. She stormed into her kitchen and tossed the enraging bouquet into the trash. Galloping across her living room and up the stairs to her bedroom, her tears began to increase until they were nearly bursting at the corners of her eyes.

She threw herself onto the chair at the desk where several sheets of blank parchment sat as well as a pot of black ink. She drew out a quill with her magic and tried to calm herself to no avail with sharp, shaky breaths.

“Dear princess Celestia,” She said through clenched teeth as she wrote, “Today… I learned that…“ She broke, and the first tears of many streamed down her face. She gagged on sadness and threw her head back to scream at the heavens: “ALL STALLIONS ARE BASTARDS!!!” The broken-hearted mare then covered her head with her hooves atop a pile of parchment, wailing loudly into her fur in frustration, feeling violated as she slowly and painfully cried herself to sleep.




Twilight Sparkle was awoken by the frantic banging on her large round bedroom window. She shook the excess sleep from her as she remembered what had happened last night and why she was dozing on her desk. She looked over to the window to see her baby dragon assistant on a ladder hammering at the window. “Twilight! Let me in!” Came the muffled pleas of the dragon from the other side of the slightly misty glass. Groggily, Twilight rose from her chair and could have sworn she actually heard her bones creaking from the awkward position she had slept in.

She rounded her still made bed and passed her mirror without taking a peek at her reflection. She flipped open the latch with her magic and Spike practically shot indoors and under his blanket. The purple unicorn quickly shut the window again, keeping the cold February draft out.

“Spike! What’s wrong!?” She asked in deep concern at the trembling dragon wrapped up in sheets.

“F- f- f- freezing…” Stuttered Spike as a response. “What h- h- happened t- to you?” He asked, peeking his head out from under the covers, trembling like a leaf.

“Me? I- I uh…”

“L- l- l- look in the m- m- mirror.” Spike instructed before returning to his warm bed, the chilliness of the winter outside already beginning to disperse into the soft sheets.

Twilight strode around her bed to the desk that held her mirror. She froze when she caught sight of the horrendous unicorn staring back at her. It’s eyes were bloodshot, it’s mane was a tangle and it had black mascara rivers down it’s face: evidence of much crying. She brought a trembling hoof up and tried to rub away the sorrow, but only succeeded in smudging it across her cheeks. Twilight ran away from the monster in the mirror, but it followed her into the bathroom. She opened up the cold tap and scratched at her face until she was sure all the blackness was gone. She also rubbed her forelegs as they too, were streaked with the black mess.

Turning the tap back off, she frowned at the wet face in the mirror. “Oh, Twilight…” She muttered, bringing a towel over to dry her off. The warmth and softness of the fabric felt somewhat comforting to her. “Why didn’t you just ask him like you were going…” She brought her face away from the towel and stared at the reflection above the sink. Yes. That was her again. “Cantor…” She mumbled to herself before dropping the towel and rushing out of the still open bathroom door. She turned her attention to the sofa where he always slept, expecting to see the caring white alicorn; he was always there, always happy to help. She needed somepony to comfort her right now… But he was absent. “Cantor?” She called out on her way to the front door. She unlocked it with magic and opened it up, nearly blinding herself with the bright sunlight that flooded into the dark house.

“Cantor!?” She called out a little louder, scanning the sky and the hilltops for the unmistakeable pony. She went to take a step outside, but stopped when her hoof hit something on her doormat. “Huh?” She asked as she looked down, A bouquet of red roses lay on top of a small box and a note. She raised the small piece of paper and skimmed over the first line. Her eyes widened and she turned around without a word, closing the door behind her. She set the box and flowers on her table. “Oh…” She squeaked as she noticed the pretty little white vase smashed on the surface.

She slid the large pieces of porcelain to the side, trying to look on the brighter side, as Cantor had taught her and thanking that it hadn’t shattered everywhere. She placed the bouquet next to the little red box and opened the lid. Inside were various items that she didn’t really pay attention to, naturally, all she was interested in the little note that came with it. She opened the paper up again and her eyes skimmed across the contents, it became quickly apparent that this was Cantor’s style of writing: as if he were actually talking. She couldn’t believe what she had just read.

“No… no, I have to have made a mistake…” She muttered to herself, returning to the very top of the letter…

The first words were: “Hello, Twilight…”

Hello, Twilight…

Rather, a more appropriate intro would be goodbye…

Look, I’m not that good with words, so I’ll make it short. Last night, when I saw how happy you were with Storm, I’m not going to lie, it made me feel… bad. What I’m trying to say is… we’re good friends, right? And I was hoping we could be… a little more than that… but after finding out you were with Storm, I knew that wasn’t going to happen…

This spot on the letter was dappled with many dried spots of moisture. Twilight let out the breath she had been holding in from when she started reading and sucked in another.

With this note, I’ve put some little things I picked up for you for… for yesterday. Also in that box, you’ll find a cheque. That’s all the money I have, and I hope- no, I know you’re going to spend it on the right things.

At this point, the ink had smudged a little into the increasing quantity of dried droplets, but it was still fairly legible…

Even if… even if you forget about me, I’ll always remember you… We will meet again. I’m certain of that, just, I don’t know when that will be. I can’t tell you where I’m going… I don’t want you to try and follow me… you don’t have to forgive me; I don’t expect you too… I just… wanted to let you know…

I just want to say thank you. Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for me over the past months. When I look back to when we met in September, I never thought I’d feel this way towards you, but... I do.

My power… my magical abilities have gotten so strong since I’ve lived in Ponyville… so strong you can’t even begin to imagine… With such a force, I can help change so many ponies’ lives. In fact, the only reason I stayed in Ponyville after discovering what I can do with my magic was because of you…

Listen to me! I’m going off on one again, like I always do!

Twilight smiled at this point as the tears poured from her eyes, joining Cantor’s on the page.

Good bye, Twilight… I hope you’ll keep the money and the gifts, as a ‘thank you’ for letting me be a part of your life…

Under the last line, amongst all of the dried tears, there was a short sentence written, no more than three words long, and then furiously scribbled out, rendering it absolutely unreadable. Below this, in the bottom left of the page, lay a single word that spoke farewell itself…

“-Cantor”.

Twilight read the note a second time, and then a third, still refusing to accept what it had said. She reached into the box which now lay open on the table. She pulled out the first thing her hoof rested on: an emerald green box with the words “Cut Grass. Narricious.” Written on the front. On the side was a little note which read “I know you liked this one!” Followed by a smiley face. Twilight bit her lip when she read the smaller text beneath the fragrance’s title: “For her.” She took the small teal bottle from the box and sprayed a little into the air in front of her. A more feminine smell of the scent Cantor used to wear wafted over her. She smiled happily at the thought he had put into the present.

Next to the perfume rested a small grey teddy bear. It was sat on it’s behind and in it’s arms, held one of the most painful things she had ever seen in her entire life: A big red heart with white stitches in the middle, spelling out the most wonderful of phrases… “I love you.” Twilight let out a fluttering sigh, ending in a sob. She sniffed loudly, alerting a certain basket-dwelling dragon to her whereabouts.

Her assistant, who by now had risen from his bed and was making his way down the stairs spoke. “Twilight?” He asked as he clocked his depressed looking carer. “What’s wrong?” His tone was soft and willing to comfort as he slowly made his way towards the heartbroken mare resting on the white sofa.

With her head still hanging heavily, staring into the cold, beady eyes of the small plush, she spoke to Spike without acknowledging him. “Could you make me some tea, Spike?” She asked in a voice that came out as a little more than a whisper.

“What was that?” Asked the dragon, still approaching her.

“Tea please.” She asked, not in anger or impatience, but she was trying to speak as little as possible to try and hide her crippling sorrow.

Spike said nothing but obeyed, disappearing into the kitchen to prepare Twilight’s drink. The unicorn sat on the sofa, and spoke softly to the bear. “You can’t go, Cantor…” She whispered. “You can’t… you can’t leave me… you…” Her tears flowed openly as she begged for this all just to be a horrible nightmare. “You… you promised…” She pulled the soft toy to her shoulder and held it there. Oh, how she wished this were the real stallion.

“…You promised…”




“Please, don’t do this!” Squealed a brown Earth pony mare as she fought against the lime aura of the stallion who was pushing her further into the corner of the pitch-black alley.

“Ooh! I love it when they scream.” Replied the pale green unicorn as he backed her further into the darkness. Somewhere in the distance, police sirens flared through the dark city; truly an evil place at night.

“Why are you doing this!?” The mare pleaded, continuing to back away until her large round rump hit the cold masonry, preventing escape as both the walls on her left and right were made of sturdy – looking bricks too. Tears streamed from her eyes, carrying with them heaps of eyeliner she had plastered under her big green eyes.

“Because you look like a whore, and I want a nice piece of your whore ass.” Replied the stallion, his dark brown – nearly black eyes glinting in the moonlight.

Intensifying his magic, he began to edge her towards her. She scrambled at the dirty, litter covered ground as she felt herself being rotated to face the wall. She screamed. A true scream of terror and also a desperate cry for help. “Scream all you want, bitch: nopony’s gonna help…” She took the assailant’s advice and screamed for what felt like hours until her voice became hoarse. She finally gave in, sobbing out of anguish as she tried to prepare her body for the brutality that would soon ensue.

“Please don’t kill me…” She begged quietly from her place in the floor. “I don’t want to die…” She continued to blubber incoherently into the dirty newspapers which invaded her nostrils with a vile smell she couldn’t even imagine what diseases it held, though that was the least of her worries.

“I haven’t decided if I’ll let you live, yet…” The stallion remarked, pretending to examine his hoof. “It depends how you do…”

“Please… please, I beg you… please don’t do this, I’ll give you money!” She said, trying to find some way in which to spare herself the inevitable agony.

“I don’t want your money, I want your ass!” He growled, slowly forcing her hindquarters apart. The young mare tried
desperately to keep her legs together, but even against her earth pony strength, his magic was just too powerful.

“Let’s see what we're working with here…” He rumbled, approaching the mare from behind, still keeping her head firmly pressed into the ground with the lime green field.

He slid his sturdy hoof under the base of the mare’s purple and red streaked tail. Her petrified trembling only excited the brute more. He lifted her tail high, the straight – cut strands of hair draping over her back. “Ohhh…” She moaned in the greatest of discomfort as she felt the cold air pass between her flanks.

The stallion laughed evilly. “Heh, heh… Yeah, this’ll do nicely.” He remarked. The brown mare felt her tail drape across her left flank. She didn’t try to hide her marehood as she screwed her eyes closed and waited for the pain to begin.

...

“Let her go.”

The spearmint unicorn turned his head around to see an enormous pair of wings, silhouetted by the dazzling white street lights. The magical aura dissipated from the mare, and as soon as she was free, she scurried into the corner and curled into a foetal position, covering as much of her body as possible.

“What?” He slowly asked in disbelief as the biggest pair of wings he had ever seen began making their way down the smoky alleyway. At first, the scoundral suspected the new arrival was a griffon. It was only when the newcomer grew closer did the unicorn notice he too had a horn atop his head. “Who the fuck are you?” he barked in a tone that was supposed to scare the alicorn.

“That is none of your concern.” He replied, folding his huge wings behind his back. They were so large that the tips of the outermost feathers crossed over each other at his rump.

“You getting’ funny, boy?” Demanded the unicorn in an equally unthreatening tone.

“Not at all, sir. I simply wish to not engage in conflict with you…” Replied the white alicorn in a strong male voice. He noticed the quivering mare in the shadowed corner. “Your… marefriend I take it?” He asked casually.

“No. Just some slut.” The unicorn snapped in a disgusting tone.

The alicorn had to bite his lip to not just end this bastard right here and now. He leaned in towards the unicorn and brought his lips right next to the green ear and whispered: “I’m going to give you a chance: apologise to this young lady and walk away now. Or, face the consequences if you resist…” He trailed off, elongating the last vowel sound of his last word.

The unicorn grinned and turned his head in the direction of the alicorn’s ear. “You picked the wrong day to be a hero, boy.”

He jerked away, reeling back to attack. The alicorn remained motionless, even when the unicorn shot through the air at him. Suddenly, a brilliant white aura flared the length of the new stallion’s horn, shrouding the unicorn in an identical colour. “Hey, man! What the fu-“ He began to shout before the alicorn cut him off.

“Let’s see what we’re working with here…” He drew the unicorn closer and examined the subtle muscles under his coat. “Yeah… this’ll do nicely…” He grinned as he began to tug at the layer of skin on the side of the pony.

“What the hell are you doi-“ He was silenced by the stinging pain that resonated from his left side as a long slit came down from his shoulder to nearly the bottom of his chest. He cried out in pain, but could do nothing as the powerful alicorn had all of his limbs in a tight magical grip. He squirmed as best he could as another slash began at the top of the other one. Blood was beginning to pour out from the lacerations and the unicorn was screaming in pain.

“I’m sorry alright!? I’m sorry! Just stop!” He pleaded before releasing another agonised wail.

“Too late!” Growled the alicorn. “You had your chance, and now you face the consequences!”

Another minute full of screams and wails emanating from the canary yellow maned unicorn later and the work was completed. His entire left side was sopping with blood, and by the time the scars healed and the hair refused to grow back, everypony who gazed upon him would see the word “RAPIST” in large capital letters, and they would all know his disgusting life.

The white alicorn released his magical vice and the rapist fell to the floor. To see the street thug in tears let the alicorn know his work was done. With any luck, he wouldn't try anything like this again.The unicorn sprung to his hooves and galloped off out of the alleyway and around the corner, leaving a trail of dark red blood behind him as he ran.

As with the leaving of the rapist, the alicorn’s hate left him as if a shroud had been pulled from his body. He smiled and turned to look at the mare who was still cowering in the corner. He slowly and quietly approached her trembling form.

“Hey.” He said softly, declaring his presence. The mare looked up, her fear – filled eyes relaxing when she saw the comforting kindness radiating from her saviour’s bright orange eyes. “Are you okay?” He asked just as softly, reaching out with a hoof and allowing her to take it in her own time. She pulled herself to her hooves using the alicorn’s foreleg as a support and brushed herself off. He was so sturdy it was as if his arm were made of steel.

“I’m fine…” Her sceptical frown turned into a great beaming smile. “Oh, thank you! You saved me!” She cried gratefully.

“Any time, miss…”

“Tricia.”

“Miss Tricia…” His smile lessened. “Do you need any help getting home?” He asked, staring into her emerald eyes.

“I… yes, please…” She replied timidly.

“Alright, then…” Replied the alicorn, raising his wing and beckoning her to stand under it. At first, the chocolate coloured mare was sceptical, but after realising that he wouldn’t have just saved her from being raped just to rape her himself, she decided that he was genuine. She wasn’t certain about it, but somehow she felt safe by his side.

Still keeping eye contact with the stallion, she walked to his side. She felt the enormous pegasus limb embrace her and warm up her body.

“What’s your name?” She asked as the alicorn walked her out of the alleyway and followed her lead towards her apartment.

“I… I’d rather not say…” He explained, quite relieved at the fact that she hadn’t criticised or rejected him for being an alicorn.

“I see…” She replied, looking down at the feathery appendage which encased her. She revelled in the feeling of the hundreds of silky smooth feathers brush against her skin.

Many blocks of silence later, and the two had reached a rather tall tower block.

“Thank you so much again… I- I might not be here if it wasn’t for you…” She smiled back at the stallion. “Would you… like to come inside?” she asked, a small blush appearing over her black streaked cheeks.

To say he wasn’t tempted would be a lie; if he couldn’t have that perfect unicorn who lived in Ponyville, then shouldn’t any mare do? He asked himself this, but couldn’t bring himself to say yes.

“Sorry Tricia, but I’ve got other ponies to look out for…” He replied with a modest bow.

“Will I ever see you again?” Asked the Earth pony, brushing a bang of hair out of her eye.

A warm smile appeared on his face. “I'll be around...” He replied. And with that, took off into the night, nearly instantly becoming invisible amongst the stars as he became part of the beautiful Manehatten skyline.




“I guess he’s really not coming back…” Muttered Twilight as she soaked in the lake-sized bathtub in the spa.

“Oh I feel so sorry for you, darling.” Replied Rarity, who perched on the small ledge under the water opposite to the purple mare. “If there’s anything I can do to help, just let me know…”

“Oh thank you for the offer, Rarity, but I don’t think you can help me…”

“Well what do you need?” Asked the white unicorn.

Twilight sighed sadly. “I need Cantor back, Rarity…” Her blinking became more rapid as she fought back the tears. “I need him.”

Twilight made out that she was itching her face with her forehoof, but really, was trying to cover her rapidly moistening eyes.

“Oh, sweetheart…” Rarity muttered, sliding herself around the edge of the wooden bath towards her friend. Rarity’s tone caused Twilight to start bawling. All Twilight could see were the backs of her eyelids as her breath came out in short, shaky stabs. She felt a comforting arm wrap around her shoulders and pull her into an embrace. She did all she could not to sob into Rarity’s fur.

The white unicorn looked out over the tub and motioned for the pink spa pony to leave. The bright blue maned earth pony said nothing but nodded briskly and scurried out of the room.

“Twilight?” Rarity began. “Can you please tell me why Cantor left?”

“I haven’t told you?” Twilight replied, looking up at rarity’s big blue eyes.

“No. Every time we ask, you’d always… break down like this…” She answered.

Twilight let out a hefty sigh and breathed in and out through her nose a few times, somehow calming her down a little.

“Cantor thought I was in a deep relationship with Storm Surge.” Said Twilight. To her, it sounded like more of a confession.

“And who is Storm Surge?” Asked Rarity, looking puzzled.

Twilight sighed loudly again. “Just some stallion who asked me out on Hearts and Hooves day…”

Rarity’s eyes grew wide and her pupils dilated. “What?” She asked shakily. “I- I thought you and Cantor were together…”

By now, Twilight had stopped crying and was now feeling relieved to get the burden off of her back. “I think Cantor felt that way too…” She replied.

“Then why did you go out with Storm Surge?” The white unicorn questioned with raised eyebrows.

“Because Cantor never told me he loved me!” Twilight snapped. “He- he never told me… he loved me…” She repeated herself, a lot softer the second time. She kept her dampened tone as she spoke. “Storm… said the right things…” Her face fell to the perfectly still crystal clear water. She pulled her legs together. “But he was only interested in one thing…”

“Darling!” Rarity gasped, astonished. “You didn’t!?”

“No, no… I told him to leave when he got too… close…”

“Twilight! Sweetheart, Cantor informed me that he was going to tell you how he felt on Hearts and Hooves day!” Rarity exclaimed.

“He was?” Asked Twilight, gazing back up at Rarity.

“Yes!” Exclaimed the white unicorn, who now wasn’t embracing Twilight, but holding her at arm’s length with both of her hooves on her shoulders. “He was being romantic!”

Anger was detected in her voice as Rarity said this; she was so disappointed and frustrated that all the stallions, and admittedly mares, she had been with weren’t half as charming as Cantor, and they had all left her. And now somepony in front of her had caused her one true love to walk away!?

“Twilight! He told me that he loved you!” Rarity yelled.

“Really?” Twilight meekly, feeling the burning depression she had felt for the past two weeks well up inside her again.

“Yes! And now he’s Celestia knows where, probably killing himself all because of you!” Right now, Rarity was shouting into Twilight’s face, the frustration of a lifetime of loneliness coming out at her friend.

“Don’t you DARE say things like that!” Twilight growled back, shoving the other unicorn away from her. “Cantor would never be so WEAK!”

“Don’t talk to me like that!” Rarity snapped back. “You don’t know what it’s like!”

“What what’s like!?”

“To be alone!”

“To be alone!?...” Twilight started, felling the deepest hatred towards this mare she, for some reason called her friend. “You had friends growing up. I had nothing. All I had were books and some rag doll. Have you ever felt the pain when you realise your only friend when you were growing up was simply an inanimate ball of material!?”

“NO! No I haven’t because I had REAL friends!”

“Well what about the time I had to talk you out of killing yourself because your whole life was devoted to that... th- that cunt, Blueblood and when he wasn’t what you’d dreamed of, it broke your pathetic little heart!?”

That was the first time Rarity had really heard Twilight swear; it made her realise just how upset she was about this whole fiasco and instantly, her anger left her. “Twilight…” She began softly.

“NO! Not ‘Twilight’!” The purple unicorn interrupted, still spitting venom. “You’re right: you’ll never have anypony who cares about you! Because you’re just a sad, oversensitive little bitch who would go as far as to want to kill herself because her shallow, gold – digger dream went unfulfilled!” Rarity did nothing but listen, mouth agape and astonished, tears stinging her eyes as the very element of friendship sat opposite destroying her. “You know, maybe it would have been best if I never talked you out of it! Because that’s all that’s gonna happen in the future! You should just do it right now! In fact, let me give you a hoof!”

With that, Twilight’s horn exploded into an intense purple glow as she grabbed Rarity around the neck with magic and pulled her under the water. Rarity’s first reaction was to scream, but after a long second of silence and a plethora of bubbles, she stopped, holding on to what ever little breath she had. All of a sudden, Twilight wrenched her out of the water. Rarity just managed to gasp “Twilight!” Before she was plunged back into the treacherous soak. The world around her exploded into bubbles and the hammering of her heart in her own head as the adrenaline coursed through her veins. She pushed with all her strength against Twilight, but her experienced magic was just too strong. She pressed her hooves onto her mouth to stop her from sucking in the water. She had about ten seconds, maximum. Her lungs felt as if they were going to burst. She found out that day that you can cry underwater as the fear of the fact that she might never see her family again sunk in. She was weak, but still she tried and tried to push her head out of the water for the air she desperately craved. Her pampered hooves flailed uselessly along the smooth enamel surface of the tub as her eyes shot open and her world began to pulse black.

“Is everything alri- OH, MINE GOSH!” screamed one of the two spa ponies who had just entered the room. Without hesitation, they galloped up the steps and grabbed a hold of Twilight just as Rarity couldn’t take it any longer. The two spa mares heaved Twilight out of the water and over the edge of the bath, causing her to land on the hard tiled floor with a wet slap. The white unicorn felt the strong grip around her neck release and instinctively gasped for air. Instead, all she received were two great lungfuls of water. She only felt the pain of drowning briefly before her eyes rolled back in her head and she sunk to the hard bottom of the tub.