A Convenient Arrangement

by Juntao112

Chapter 6

Sugarcube Corner was unusually busy that morning. The lunch hour rush had gotten an eary start, but Pinkie Pie was ready for it, having received proper warning by the twitching of her ears. Fresh cakes, pastries, and pies were laid out on the counter ready to go as an unusually large crowd appeared.

Halfway through serving them Pinkie's left hind kneecap jiggled twice, the same way it did when Caramel and Sassaflash came in. She looked around wondering what could have triggered it, and saw Adjutant and Thunderball walking in together.

Adjutant tossed a hooffull of bits onto the counter. "A baker's dozen of cupcakes for the cheater here."

The request was met with the sound of stunned silence from the other patrons, as all eyes focused on them. Pinkie gasped and grabbed Adjutant by the shoulders.

"He cheated on you?" Pinkie wrapped her hooves around Adjutant's neck and gave her a firm pat on the back. "There there, the phony-baloney pegasus never deserved you in the first place!"

Thunderball massaged his forehead as Pinkie fixed him with her most powerful glare. "Well, mister? What do you have to say for yourself? You'd better make it quick, because you're about to be banned from Sugarcube Corner forever!"

Adjutant cleared her throat. "Miss Pie, and good customers of the bakery, while I appreciate your support, I was referring to the fact that he cheated in a contest. I assure you, there's no need to ban anyone from anything. Please go back to your business."

A gentle murmur of conversation immediately filled the air again, while Pinkie bowed her head bashfully. "Oops! Sorry about that, I guess I should've thought about it first. So, what kind of cupcakes would you like?"

Thunderball glanced over at the display case. "Just give us a wide sample of whatever you have on hoof."

"Sure! Does that include the–"

"Nothing with hot sauce in it."

"Okie-dokie-loki! You two just sit tight and I'll be back in a jiffy!" Pinkie herded them into a nearby booth and dashed off to the counter, giggling as she did so.

"I hope you choke on your cupcake, cheater," Adjutant smirked.

Thunderball rolled his eyes. "You're the last person I'd expect to be offended by it."

"While I may be an avatar of devious and cunning, I had hoped that you would hold yourself to a higher standard, thus allowing me to win. Whatever happened to being an officer and a gentlecolt?"

Thunderball chuckled at the phrase. "You're barking up the wrong tree. Want to hear a story about that?"

"I'm all ears." Adjutant's horn flashed green and her ears doubled in size.

"Well, when the army graduates officers from military academies, they want to see if the kids can prove themselves out in the field. A wargame is usually arranged against experienced units. The graduates always lose, of course, but its a good test of ability and character. This year, they chose to simulate a ground war near Trottingham, so they gave one of the newly minted lieutenants my squad — fresh out of boot camp, and as dumb as a sack of rocks. We were deployed to reinforce units in the Trotttingham forest who were surrounded by the opposing force. It was a pretty hopeless situation; they were outmaneuvered and being torn apart by veterans by the time we arrived, and we could only delay the inevitable — if we stuck to our orders."

Adjutant leaned in. "I'm guessing you didn't?"

"Our lieutenant was inclined to follow orders, but he was 'killed' shortly after landing by an enemy archer. Command fell to our sergeant, and we were in the mood to have some fun. One of us put up a white flag and pretended to surrender, while most of the squad ambushed the opposing team when they moved in to take prisoners. We then took their uniforms, improvised a few stretchers, and acted like we were carrying our wounded out of the battlefield."

"I'm guessing that all of this was blatantly illegal?"

Thunderball winked at her. "We managed to waltz into the enemy base seeking medical aid. Their command center happened to be located along the way, so we pulled up a flap and tossed in a chalk bomb. It flushed out a hornet's nest of angry officers asking what the hay was going on, whereupon we informed them that they were dead."

"I can't believe they let you get away with it," Adjutant grinned. "I'd have flayed you alive for pulling a stunt like that."

"You know, we nearly were, but one of the generals observing the wargame thought the prank was hilarious. I heard he personally argued with the disciplinary panel that we showed initiative and creativity, and deserved an award instead of punishment. Which was very fortunate, because the army can be very creative. Of course, they 'rewarded' us by sending us in for stormtrooper training..."

Adjutant was not the only one enjoying the story; Thunderball could see the other patrons out of the corner of his eye eavesdropping with thinly veiled interest.

"Is it me," Thunderball whispered, "Or does everypony seem to think we're together?"

Adjutant batted her eyelashes at him. "You do seem to be enjoying my company quite a bit."

Thunderball blushed and looked away. "I–well...it's good to be around someone who doesn't mind all the subterfuge so much."

She leaned across the table and put her chin on her forelegs. "What would you say if I suggested you be around me more?"

He reached out hesitantly and put his hoof on her's. Before he could react, she grabbed his hoof and pulled him in for a deep kiss on the lips. It was only broken when Thunderball's wings shot out and filled the air with a loud rustling. He broke away from her, panting wildly as he folded his wings back and tried to salvage as much dignity from the situation as possible.

"Who wants cupcakes?" Pinkie popped up between the two with a tray of cupcakes.

Adjutant plucked a chocolate cupcake from Pinkie's tray and grinned at Thunderball, who was as still as a statue. "What's the matter? Changeling got your tongue?"

Pinkie Pie giggled. "I'll just leave you two alone. Enjoy the cupcakes!"

Thunderball waited for her to walk out of earshot before growling at Adjutant. "Stop playing around! I'm being serious."

"Of course you are." She pushed a cupcake towards him. "It wouldn't hurt you to relax a little, though."

He took a bite of the cupcake — lemon, with a hint of vanilla. "So, what now?"

"I suggest that we act like adults. You like me, and I like you. The disapproval, shock, admiration, or elation of others is irrelevant."

"Alright. I'm with you so far."

"You are the kind of stallion who would like to take things slowly. I am perfectly fine with that. So, after we finish our snack here, we should take a day off to walk around town and enjoy each other's company."

"Here? Now?" Thunderball looked at the patrons around them, who were listening in with thinly veiled interest. "Look, how about we go back to the castle, finish our work, and spend tomorrow in Canterlot?"

"My, you do know how to take care of a lady," Adjutant purred. "Consider it a date, my fine gentlecolt. I'll make room for it on my calendar."

Thunderball slumped back against his seat, wondering just what he had gotten himself into.

---

The rest of the day passed in a blur for Thunderball. The paperwork became steadily more monotonous, to the point where he began to long for a disruption in his routine. But no interruptions came; Adjutant had evidently decided to make herself scarce. He tossed himself onto his cloud mattress and wondered why. Perhaps she had work to do herself, or maybe she had decided to apply the law of supply and demand to their relationship.

Relationship.

The word sounded strange, even in Thunderball's head. Well, not so much the word — he had many relationships, professional, familial, platonic, carnal — than this specific use of it. But they did have something between them now; mutual respect, attraction, or perhaps even a bit of both. It was a decidedly odd feeling, though far from unpleasant. He had gone out with mares before, and even slept with them, but they had never provoked such a reaction. If anything, it made him feel like he had before his first deployment — nervous and giddy, yet itching for action.

Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day.

Comments

[Juntao112]

5372301
5355082
5355281
5358606

I have heard you, and am writing more chapters.

makeameme.org/media/created/Are-you-not-o4vxvx.jpg

[Not so New Brony]

You're continuing this. Yay
It's funny how Thunderball is getting the short end of the stick though in this case, it just might end out in his favor.

[nioniosbbbb]

5374992 we are entertained.

[Bobbin]

Much win here. I'm very much looking forward to the rest of this. It's a shame it took me so long to discover your work, but I plan on rectifying this situation asap.