Chapter Eighteen - This ant a problem
It was a little after midnight, and the Thestral of the same name couldn’t sleep. Level and Cider were snoring peacefully and the batpony clicked her tongue in annoyance, jealous that sleep continued to elude her.
Getting out of bed, she ran a hoof through her mane. She tiphooved over to a window and opened it just enough to sneak outside. Once she was, she spread her wings and glided up to the roof, landing and laying on her back to stare at the stars. It was a small pastime she had ignored in recent months and it calmed her a little.
It also brought back much older memories, of the pony she allowed herself to get close to, only to get cold-hooves and run away. She never knew why she did that, but after the invasion, she had found herself not really caring about a lot of things. She’d been quite jaded for a few weeks after, the doctors saying it was a result of her being drained by a Changeling.
She’d dismissed it as nonsense. How could something take away an emotion for such a period of time?
Her former lover had been accepting of the decision though. They remained friends and would act as each others wingmare when on the prowl for a temporary bedwarmer. She stood up and stretched her wings, before shooting straight up, flying towards the moon. A hundred feet... two hundred... a thousand. She rose higher and higher, leaving the clouds far below her as the air got thinner and colder. Ice started to form on her body as she continued to push herself higher and higher. The moon, the stars? They seemed so close now, like she could reach out and touch them.
But that was it, this was the limit of what she could take and she leaned back, simply floating there for a moment before she fell towards the earth once more. The wind roared in her ears as the ice fell from her body, leaving a shimmering, glittering trail as she fell faster and faster. She twisted her body and spread her legs to slow her fall. If she opened her wings now, they’d be torn from her body.
Once she was falling at a slower rate, she spread her wings to their full breadth, acting as air brakes as she came to a stop a few hundred feet from the ground. The sun was peeking over the horizon and a wide grin spread over her muzzle, as she let out a whoop of exhilarated joy, beating the rooster to his job.
Yeah, it didn’t matter what came her way. She was Midnight freaking Song and she was the best, no matter what she did!
Ledger, for the second time...First time being when he told Midnight to clean and went to bed alone. Woke up alone. This was slightly worrying, but Cider was a farm-pony, so it was to be expected of her that she might wake up early.
The fact that Midnight was gone as well, though, was cause for a slight twinge of concern...
At least until he heard a loud sneeze from downstairs and the sound of Cider scolding somepony. Ledger smirked before deciding to feign sleep. Maybe if he were lucky, one might come up to try and wake him up, and he’d be able to get the drop on one of...his mares.
A year ago he’d never think of mares as attractive, and now he had two that put up with him. Ledger mused on this for a moment before smiling and resuming his feigned sleep. After a while, the door opened as wingbeats filled the otherwise silent room, hinting at who it was.
“Geez!” Midnight said aloud. “Freefall from a few hundred thousand feet and somepony thinks it’s the end of Equestria.” She noticed Ledger still in bed and snorted. That stallion could sleep through the end of Equestria.
Thanks to a lot of practice at staying calm in stressful situations, Ledger didn’t overtly react to the Thestral’s statement, instead internalizing the panic for later. Right now, he had a mare to surprise. Bit closer...just a bit closer...
“I mean, sure, I almost froze to death, but... that’s part of the thrill.” Midnight sat on the bed and sighed again. “Wingless ponies just don’t get it.”
Using every memory of being a two-faced liar to Toll’s face as a motivator, Ledger held himself perfectly still. He had a list of questions for Midnight once the proper environment had been found…but he was committed to surprising this mare now. Once she drew close enough to touch him, then...
She frowned as she got off of the bed and paced around the room. “I mean, I’ve had wings since I was born! I think I know how to handle myself and not become a mile-wide crater. Though it would be a really sexy crater... Are you even listening?” She turned to look at Ledger. “Oh yeah, sleeping.”
She sat back on the bed and rubbed his side. “You’re such a good listener.”
With that, Ledger pounced, doing his best to tone down the ‘scary changeling’ factor by not pinning her too badly. And thanks to all the talk about what she’d been up to, the drone knew to avoid her wings as well. Fortunately, a new target presented itself.
Her stomach.
Ledger dove right in...and started giving the thestral mare the raspberrying of a lifetime.
She should have seen it coming, and in that split-second of a moment, she could have reacted in a multitude of ways. Mind you, each was more excessively violent than the last.
So the end result?
Was her cackling with laughter as Ledger blew a loud raspberry on her belly.
Eventually the drone eased up and just lay his head on her stomach, eyes twinkling with mirth. “And good morning to you too, silly bat,” Ledger teased.
“You...are an ass,” Midnight wheezed. “Have a good sleep did you?”
“Mmm, and then someone started talking about flight and how they don’t intend to land, namely badly, in the near future, and my deviousness started working.” Ledger ran a hoof over one of her wings before adding to that. “Truth be told, I only wanted to surprise one of you for leaving me to wake up alone. Your bad, or good, fortune to be that one.”
She wondered how he’d react if she told him she let him do that? Oh well.
“Yeah, I couldn’t sleep last night and went for a little flight this morning, namely towards the moon,” she smiled, petting his head. “I think I almost made it this time~”
“Wanna be the first pony besides Luna to make it to the moon?” Ledger teased. “Y’know, you could probably get an express ticket if you went to Canterlot and kissed her awake.”
“Tempting,” Midnight mused, filing that away as an idea to do that later. “She was a pretty good kisser. Maybe better than you? Perhaps I need more samples to work with.”
“Mmm,” Ledger said as he snaked up to be level with Midnight’s head. “More from me, I’ll happily oblige,” he purred, before locking lips with Midnight.
This was nice, just relaxing like this with her cute cuddlebug. “Oh? And for future reference, Cider is just a liiiiitle mad I came home half-frozen.”
“I heard,” Ledger smirked, before cuddling Midnight close. “Wanna hide up here and wait for her anger to die down? I’m afraid the bed has a slight bug infestation, but it’s still rather comfy.”
“Well, I heard that snuggles and sexytimes are great cures for bugs,” Midnight giggled, just as the door opened and Cider stood there, tapping her hoof.
“Ah have breakfast t’eat and an orchard to buck. Up and at ‘em... now!”
Ledger actually frowned at Cider. “But I was enjoying the cuddle,” he mock-whined. Internally, he was thinking that if she didn’t back off for a moment...
“And ya’ll can enjoy it just as much later. You wanna stay here? Then ya play by mah rules!” Cider nodded.
“Don’t fight it!” Fritter called from the living room. “You will never win against an Apple.”
Ledger’s eyes narrowed dangerously as he whispered to the Apple mare. “I have a pegasus form. You can either be nice or I can abscond to check on my company.”
“But y’all promised and yer not the type of stallion that’d break a promise to a mare that loves him,” Cider smiled back, calling his bluff.
“Ooh, she’s good,” Midnight whispered, watching from the sidelines.
“Technically, I agreed to help if you felt like you couldn’t buck your trees today,” Ledger said with a smirk before pointing at the mare. “Seeing as you not only got up before me, but made us all breakfast, I’d say you’re perfectly capable of locomotion.”
Cider blinked, snorted and turned around and just walked away. “Hey Fritter?” she called out. “Ledger says he ain’t hungry, ya can have his share!”
“Score!” Fritter called out.
“Speaking of,” Midnight said. “I need to duck into town and grab Cider a little fix me up,” she said. “Later loves!” she gave them both a kiss and zipped out of the window, leaving a hungry Changeling alone once more.
“...Yeah, she’s not keeping me here without food,” Ledger said, rolling his eyes before donning his unicorn disguise. Once the stallion lurched to his hooves, he tapped his chin with one and hummed.
“So...leave out of spite, or stay and earn the food anyways...Decisions.”
Getting the potion was easy enough, just duck in, pay some bits and walk out.
Getting home on the other hoof, now that was a slightly larger issue. As she made her way down the Strip, everypony had suddenly cleared the street. She looked around, wondering what the cause of the disturbance was, as she laid eyes on a Griffon standing in the middle of the street, their scarf blowing in the breeze as they locked eyes with Midnight.
“Oh buck me sideways,” Midnight groaned as she set her potions down and stepped out to greet them. After making sure what armour she was wearing was affixed properly, she grit her teeth and rocketed forward, screeching loudly...
*~*
Consuming his breakfast, which he had managed to rescue from Apple Fritter in the nick of time. Level Ledger ate with a small hum over the culinary masterpiece. All was well with the Apple family, her mother and sister teasing Cider over last nights exploits.
“So,” Apple Leaves asked innocently. “You sure sounded... busy last night~”
“That as may be,” Ledger said as he looked over the last bits of his breakfast. “But Midnight is currently out getting a few potions so we don’t have any unwanted surprises a few months down the line.”
“A pity, but understandable,” Leaves nodded. “I want to apologise for last night as well. I do not mean to pressure you into anything before you are ready dear.”
“Y’know,” Cider asked as she poured some coffee. “Shouldn’t Midnight be back by now?”
“Might just be crowded, or we might not have been the only ones who were busy last night,” Ledger observed as he watched Cider pour the coffee. “Can I get a cup, please?”
Cider nodded, only to spill it as Scope Lens all but bucked the door in, panting heavily as sweat dripped off of her lithe form.
“What the hay?” Cider blinked, but the Pegasus mare ignored her as she ran to Ledger.
“Midnight... fight... in town... HURRY!”
Ledger’s countenance darkened considerably as he turned to Cider. “Coffee, sugar, kiss,” he outlined what he needed from the mare with simple words. This was a time for action. The mare blinked, thoroughly confused as she did as she was asked, pouring some coffee, filling it with sugar and giving the stallion a gentle kiss on the lips.
Ledger absorbed the love, downed the coffee and sugar in one gulp, then turned to Scope as he began to feel the energy coursing through him.
“Lead,” he told the disguised nymph.
“...Seriously?” she gasped, having flown at full speed to even get here. “A ‘please’ would be nice.” She just rolled her eyes at his expression and led him towards the disturbance, hoping that the fight hadn’t escalated.
The fight had escalated. Several cracks ran through the street as Midnight raced at the Griffon once again. She let her mind go blank as Ledger felt her emotions slip away.
“Third Beat...”
Her form blurred, but the scarfed Griffon stood its ground as it raised a claw slowly. As Midnight appeared behind it, the Griffon spun and placed the clawtip against her forehead.
“Beat Break.”
The effect was instant as the Thestral was blown down the street, her battle-mode cancelled as her emotions flooded back and overwhelmed her senses. "Gah!” she tumbled across the street as the Griffon re-appeared behind her.
“Beat Rush!”
His talons were balled up into fists as he struck the Thestral again and again, her breastplate shattering under the repeated strikes as she was sent sprawling again, landing near Ledger’s hooves. She groaned as she rolled over and looked up.
“Oh heyyy~” she said dizzily. “Did Lulu teach you her trick too Ledgie~?”
Ledger was only feeling one emotion as his horn lit up with his silver magic. The unicorn took a few steps forward, putting himself between his marefriend and her aggressor, saying nothing verbally.
However, if looks could kill, he’d probably be arrested for multiple homicides. After all, there were ponies behind and to the side of this griffon.
The griffon didn’t even register the Unicorn, it simply glared at Midnight and lowered its scarf.
“Get up!” the voice was very much male. “Is that all you have? That was the most pathetic display I have ever seen!”
Midnight groaned as she got to her hooves. “Buck you...” she muttered as she rolled her neck until it cracked. Now Ledger was here seeing her acting all uncool. She put a hoof on Ledger’s side and pushed him slightly. “Mind giving me a little room?”
Ledger didn’t respond verbally again. In all actuality he couldn’t come up with the words. He’d been dosed with the most potent energy mixture for Changelings before coming over here to see his marefriend having the tar beaten out of her.
That griffon so much as put one more talon down closer to her, Ledger might just go off.
Midnight sighed as she walked past Ledger and shook her body a little. “Then cover your ears at least,” she said, before taking a deep breath and letting out a Thestral Scream! The noise was deafening, as several nearby windows shattered in response.
Even the Griffon covered his ears as Midnight shot forward, flipping in midair at the last second and delivering a painful buck straight to his chest. Now it was the Griffon’s turn to be sent spiralling across the ground, until he dug a calw in and righted himself.
“HA! Now you fight like a Thestral! Come at me!”
Ledger blinked a few times as his anger dissipated, taking his pent-up magical charge with it. He...was he watching a sparring session? ...That griffon was still getting a hoof to the head before Narrow showed up.
The two traded continuous blows, Midnight would deliver a painful strike with a hoof or he would smack her with a fist or wing. Midnight Song tackled him again, flipping his body onto his back as he landed near Ledger and Scope, the edge of her wing pressed an inch from his throat as she sighed.
“And yet I lose again. Goddammit.” She moved her wing, as she showed that he had two daggers pressed against her belly. She stepped back as he got up and brushed himself off.
“Not too bad, but I won’t take it easy and pull my punches next time,” he stated, before pulling the mare into a hug. “It’s good to see you again, my student.”
“You as well, Aerial Ace,” she giggled, nuzzling his feathery chest. Ledger slowly walked forward a few steps, waiting for information before acting. It paid to get details.
Ace saw him out of the corner of his eye and nodded. “So, who’s the bug? Someone you know? It’d be a real shame to kill him otherwise.”
“He’s mine and you leave him alone,” Midnight growled at him, snapping her fangs. “Play nice or I will be most upset.”
Aerial Ace stepped forward and held out a claw. “I suppose an introduction is in order then. I am Aerial Ace, Midnight’s mentor. You?”
Ledger carefully put one hoof into the claw before replying. “Level Ledger, new head of Pegasus Air, Midnight’s coltfriend.”
“Ah, so that’s what she means,” Ace hummed, shaking his claw once and letting go. “Forgive my doubt, but given Midnight’s history, the last thing I expect is a Changeling lover...” He frowned as he looked down at him. “She... does know yes?”
Ledger looked around before hissing in a low tone. “She knows, they don’t need to, either stop saying it or lower your voice.” The other ponies hadn’t been close enough to hear yet, thankfully, but that was...rapidly changing.
“Right then,” the bird turned to find his student as she pacified the crowd. She had explained that it was a foreign exchange training exercise... and the crowd bought that excuse for the most part. Several were dubious as a trio of violet-eyes mares watched them, along with a pink-eyed stallion.
“Heh, seems she has quite a few unusual friends,” Ace laughed loudly. “Good to see she’s doing well.”
“I’d be doing better without your enthusiastic greetings!” she snapped at him. She winced and held one of her bruised ribs. “Damn that hurts.”
Ledger winced at the sound of the batpony inspecting her own injuries before shaking his head and turning to Scope. “Could you escort a certain stubborn thestral to the hospital before she breaks?”
Scope nodded, but Midnight waved her off. “Oh please, I’m not going to break so easily. All I need's a little rest and maybe a cup of cider.”
“Thatta girl!” Ace laughed again. “You get knocked down, get right back up!”
“Still, it wouldn’t hurt to have a professional look at you,” Ledger pointed out. Midnight rolled her eyes and sighed.
“Yes Mom. C’mon Scopey, you can come with me.”
The little Pegasus took one look at Ledger’s face and nodded eagerly. Yeah, she didn’t want to be anywhere near here. The two mares left, leaving the Griffon alone with Level Ledger.
“So, what can I do for you?’ he asked as he started walking down the street. “I assume you have a bone to pick with me?”
“Just a small one,” Ledger agreed with a smile. “See, I’m aware that Midnight can take care of herself, I know you two know each other, and I figured out that was a sparring match midway.”
At this, the disguised drone’s horn lit up again. “But that was still my marefriend, and I still feel like I should beat something outta you for your little stunt.”
“Heh! I like your spirit, but the ability to choose your opponents wisely needs a lot of work,” Ace said. “If we fought, perhaps you might get a hit or two in... maybe. But your ability to hold a disguise in front of all these ponies would be at risk. Are you willing to risk that for the sake of Midnight’s honour?”
“Fair enough,” Ledger admitted with a smile. “So I’ll have to settle for getting one over on you instead. Somewhere, somewhen.”
“You’re welcome to try anyway,” Ace nodded, adjusting his scarf. He frowned as a twinge of pain shot up his neck, that last blow from Midnight hurt more than he thought. “So tell me,” he asked quietly as they walked. “How does a Changeling Hunter wind up dating one?”
“Long story,” Ledger said with a roll of his eyes. “Basically we ended up saving each other from our worst versions of ourselves. I helped snap her out of her trance before she could kill somepony, and she stopped me from killing two thugs before that. After which, we trusted each other enough to start a relationship.”
“You...broke her Lyrica Trance?” Ace blinked. As far as he knew, he was the only one that could do that. “Perhaps you might not be such a disappointing fight after all...” Still, this was interesting information. It seems that his wayward student had taken quite a few steps forward in recovering what was lost that day.
“So, you two are close then?”
Ledger nodded. “We live together, we sleep in the same bed. While our diets may differ, we trust one another...or at least, I trust her. I can understand her...trepidation to trust me with some information, seeing as how what might have happened would be extremely personal.” With a cheeky wink, Ledger replied to the griffon’s earlier comment. “And sad to say, I broke her out of the trance with words. I don’t fight, or if I have to, I don’t fight fair. Quick, fast, clean. Magic’s fun sometimes.”
The Griffon laughed loudly again, slapping the stallion on the back. “Hah! Perhaps you are a good match for that impetuous bat.” His laugh ceased as quickly as it had started though. “Still, I guess she hasn’t progressed much, if she’s using the Lyrica still.”
Level pursed his lips at the thought of Midnight getting even worse before shaking his head. “She...really shouldn’t need too much more than what she has for Las Pegasus. I can understand the drive to improve yourself is well and good...but I’d really rather wait for her to heal a little more from what’s been done to her before she goes after any more emotional-suppressing techniques.”
The Griffon snorted, adjusting his scarf again. “Ah, you don’t know then?” Ledger’s blank stare confirmed that. “The Lyrica that I taught her isn’t a combat technique. It simply helps the user obtain a certain state of mind. One where their current goal becomes crystal clear. It blocks all unnecessary thought and emotion. Only the goal and reaching it matters.”
“Well, that’s interesting,” Ledger said with a nod. “That makes a few things a bit more clear, then. I still think she should heal a little more before she pushes herself so far something breaks, though. And I am doing my part to help, but it’s really up to her if she does.”
“I don’t intend to train her, I intend to instruct her,” Ace clarified. “She seems to be in a good place now, so I don’t know why she is still using Lyrica. I taught it to her so she could overcome that-” He paused and coughed. “Well, regardless. It puts tremendous strain on one’s brain and body.”
“So getting her to the point where she no longer needs it is good for multiple reasons,” Ledger summarized. “...I might be able to better understand how far we have to go in helping her if I knew where the starting point was.”
“I don’t know if you could, given your...” the Griffon gestured at him. “I mean no offense of course, but are you up for that challenge?”
“If I hadn’t been up for the challenge of helping her, I would have simply mind-wiped her of all memories of me when she found out my secret,” Ledger deadpanned. “She’s my friend, my closest, best friend. Near and dear to my heart. I will help her.”
“Just a friend?” Ace smirked. “I was under the impression you were closer. Or is Midnight mistaken?”
“If she says I’m her husband one more time…” the unicorn said, before sighing.
“Apologies, where I come from, we separate friends from lovers,” the bird smiled once more. “Well, your feelings speak for themselves regardless. Labels are... inconsequential.” He craned his neck and it gave a satisfying crack. “Ah, better. Now little ling, I assume you have other questions?”
“Just a few,” Ledger said with a smirk. “The first one being, how could you tell? And the second one being, could you please stop pointing it out? I’d like the mask I wear to be free of claw-marks.”
“Right, sorry again,” he guffawed. “And finding out is easy really. Your kind has a different magical signature to your equine counterparts. It’s like...” he paused as he thought up a good analogy. “It’s like... Bah! I’m not one for fancy words anyhow. Needless to say, I can see the flow of magic in the air, so telling when someone has a disguise wrapped around themselves? Easy. While I knew you were disguised, I didn’t know you were one of them. Lucky guess on my end that you just confirmed.”
“Fair enough,” Ledger said with a smile. “And hey, at least you aren’t reacting like the majority of ponies might if they found out. So far everyone who has seen through my disguise has been...really understanding.”
“Griffon, we personally don’t have much of a problem with your kind,” Ace stated. “And ponies are a skittish bunch. Give it another year or two, and most will forget what you even are.”
“Considering the way we were introduced as a whole, that might be for the best,” Ledger said, one of his ears flicking in irritation. “That...fool doesn’t know the damage she did that day. Or maybe she does. I almost want to track her down and punch her until she answers my questions...then until she stops moving.”
“Heh, don’t tell Midnight that. She’d be rash enough to actually do it,” Ace chuckled. They’d walked a fair distance by now, getting close to Fredrick’s place. Ledger perked up when he realized where they were, and his stomach growled.
“Heh, I guess breakfast was a little rushed,” the unicorn said, casting a glance over at Aerial Ace. “What about you?”
“I suppose some sustenance would be agreeable,” he nodded. “I worked up quite a bit of sweat in my little greeting with Midnight. So I’ll take you up on that.”
With that, the unicorn opened the door with his magic and stood off to one side, both to be courteous...and to see two wildly different griffons meet one another.
“So here because it’s closest? Or do you know this place?” Ace asked with a raised eyebrow.
Ledger smirked and said, “Yes,” waiting for Ace to step inside. Oh, this should be...interesting.
Aerial Ace stepped inside and a familiar scent filled his nostrils. This was the scent of a kinsman!
“Ahh, I see now, sneaky little thing aren’t you?” he cawed softly. “Well then, KINSMAN! COME GREET YOUR BRETHREN!” he screeched in a thick Griffon accent.
A thoroughly bemused Fredrick emerged from the kitchen. Once he caught sight of Aerial Ace, his confusion turned to a smile. “Ah, it has been far too long since I have seen a new beak in town,” the owner of the restaurant said in return, also in his native tongue.
“Indeed, but I wouldn’t be were it not for my foolish student,” he replied back in kind. “It is unusual to see one outside the Empire in such a profession. And one so handsome I might add.”
“Born and raised here,” Fredrick said, before smirking. “And my good looks and profession have served me quite well in ensuring I rarely go to bed lonely. As well as making a nice amount of profit besides.”
“Seems I’m in the wrong business then,” Ace grinned, switching back to Equestrian for the sake of their company. “Well, it has been a while since I had a good, home-style meal.”
“Ah, for that you may want the Chop Shop a few streets down,” Fredrick said. “While I do a variety of delicious and filling meals, there are very few traditional Griffon ones on my menus.”
“A pity, but seeing as how I like the view here so far, I’ll stick with what I have.” Ace picked up a menu and gave it a once over. “Hmm, I’ll have this,” he said, gesturing to the menu as a whole.
Fredrick blinked a few times, looking at the red menu his fellow griffon had indicated, before turning back with a deadpan look. “Please tell me you aren’t serious.”
“I am always serious,” he nodded. “Except for the times when I am not. This is not one of those times.”
“If I were to attempt to make you the entire dinner menu, you would be here until dinner. Not to mention you would find eating all of my dishes to be impossible,” Fredrick said, a slight sigh escaping his lips. “Please do be a little more reasonable.”
Ace sighed, seems he would have to go elsewhere for a real meal. “Well, a light snack wouldn’t hurt I guess. Bring me your largest serving of this,” he said, pointing at the fettuccine. Fredrick nodded and turned to Ledger, who smirked.
“Oh, just my usual rigatoni, Fredrick...though if I could have a small salad on the side, that’d be nice. I get the feeling my lunch might be poached partway through.”
“I would never steal a-” Ace stopped as a Unicorn mare descended the stairs. “Well now, who might that be?”
“The mare who is good enough to keep up with a griffon,” Fredrick said with a wink. “I’ll let one of my serving-colts see you to a table and take your drink orders, I have to tend to her.”
Ace was faster though, already in front of Narrow with a confident smile. “I sense great power coming from you!” he grinned, as Narrow just blinked in confusion. “It would do me a great honor if you accepted my proposal!”
“I’m not in any state to be accepting any proposals from any griffons for a little bit,” Narrow replied with a roll of her eyes. “Besides which, I think Fredrick might take offense.”
“Offense?” Ace said, a little confused. “Why would he take offense?”
Fredrick walked over and met the mare’s lips with his own beak, humming appreciatively into the kiss. “You, my dear, were wonderful,” he said softly.
“Were? Past tense?” Narrow teased, trailing a hoof along his tail and playing with the tuft of fur at the end. “I’ll have you know that I am always wonderful~”
“Moreso last night when you had so much more of yourself to give,” the griffon replied just as playfully. “Alas, duty calls you. Shall I be seeing you again?”
“As I said before, I have the day off, so perhaps I could lend a hoof around here?” she asked coyly, still playing with his tail.
“And it appears that my proposal for battle has fallen on unwanted ears,” Ace said, looking a little crestfallen. “Tis a shame, the fight would have been glorious!”
“I never did say how Narrow keeps up with me,” Fredrick said with a wink, before pointing at a nearby waiter, who was in fact quite patient with the latest customers. Ledger was already standing next to the colt with a smirk of amusement on his face as he observed the scene.
“A tale for another time perhaps,” Ace sighed. He wasn’t going to get a fight, nor a decent meal. Today was turning out... disappointing. “And you are taken also, another tick against the day.”
Ledger’s smirk became a full-on grin as he realized just which team Ace batted for. Oh, did he have a tale for Midnight~ The serving-colt coughed once to regain the new griffon’s attention. “Table for two, I assume?”
“Ah! yes,” Ace nodded. “Apologies little colt, for keeping you waiting.” He gave the couple a wink and returned to his host for the day. “A most entertaining place, this one,” he laughed loudly.
The colt nodded and led the unicorn and griffon to a table. “Will this do?” he asked as Ledger pulled both seats out with magic.
“Yes,” Ledger replied, situating himself in one and waiting for his new acquaintance for the day to join him. “I will be having lemonade for a drink, if you’d be so kind.”
“Water for me,” Ace said as he took his seat. “Apologies for my absence, but that mare would have made for an excellent sparring partner.”
“She is the head of the local Guard,” Ledger observed. “Perhaps you could arrange something with her when she’s done trying to tame Fredrick for the time being.” The serving-colt had disappeared into the kitchen during their conversation.
“Ah, I thought I sensed an aura of authority with that one. Seems my kinsman will have his talons full with that one.” Ace smirked as he removed his scarf, revealing a scar across his neck that the feathers had refused to grow back over. “Perhaps it is she that will have to be tamed~”
“No, no, she doesn’t need to be tamed. Opened up a bit, maybe, but not tamed,” Ledger said, hoping that the griffon would ask about any of the bait he’d just laid out.
“So, a quiet one then?” Ace hummed. “And it seems that my kinsman is a rambunctious one. Still, he is young, I’m sure he will grow out of that phase.”
“I doubt it,” Ledger replied as his drink arrived. The unicorn took a sip of his drink and nodded at the sweetness. “I’ve been here for a year and he only just started to slow down...thanks to Narrow.”
“A pony taming a young Griffon? This city is just full of surprises,” Ace mused as he drummed his claws on the table. “Reminds me a little of Songbird when she was younger. Always looking for a fight, or a nice tail to chase~”
“Those do seem to be her default modes,” Ledger agreed with a nod. Out of the corner of his eye, the unicorn saw Fredrick duck into the kitchen, probably to aid with the meal preparation. Mentally adding the name that Ace had used to his list of things to try out on Song, Ledger thought for a moment as to what he could talk about with the griffon. “So, has she always been so...competitive?” he asked of Midnight’s instructor.
“Hm? Well, she seems to have calmed a bit since coming here. But yes, she’s always had that ‘need to prove’ attitude. Comes from her foalhood due to-” Here he silenced himself again. “Ah, but that is not my story to tell.”
“I know a bit of it,” Ledger admitted. “...Males are treated like she was in the Lands...only I think our entire civilization could use a quick rinse cycle with the Elements of Harmony.” Ledger idly swished his lemonade around before continuing his original thought. “Two very damaged ponies coming together to help one another heal. Hopefully she’ll open up a bit more about the things that hurt her so badly.”
“Perhaps she might, but push too hard and something will give. Just hope you're prepared to forgive her if she pushes back.” Ace hummed as the waiter brought out his water, which he gratefully took. “Songbird is a wonderful mare. She is full of love and kindness for others, and an inner fire that burns like the sun itself. But, there’s a darkness there that even I could not heal properly.” The Griffon looked at his new acquaintance and smiled. “Don’t give up on her.”
“Didn’t plan on it,” Ledger said with a sigh. “I just...wish she could trust me.”
Further talking was interrupted as Fredrick came out of the kitchen, pushing a cart that had a huge bowl on top of it towards their place.
“I...think that’s your order,” Level observed.
“Ah, now that’s a snack!” Aerial Ace licked his beak. “Again, tis a shame I can’t take that delicious garnish coming with it~”
Fredrick pushed the cart close enough for him to push the bowl from the cart to the table, to reveal that it had been filled to the brim with noodles. They appeared to be coated in a fine, cheesy sauce as well, and the griffon had even included a few breadsticks.
“Fettuccine alfredo, with a few breadsticks to clean up any sauce you may have missed,” Fredrick said. “Taking your comments about this not being a meal into mind, I decided to break out my largest bowl.”
“HAH! A meal fit for a warrior!” Ace shouted as the monstrous bowl was laid on the table with a heavy thud. “I thank you kinsmen!”
Fredrick preened a little bit at the praise, before reaching under the cart and withdrawing Ledger’s positively puny by comparison plate. “And your order of rigatoni in clam sauce as usual,” the griffon said with a nod. “If that is all, I will be leaving you to your meals.”
Aerial Ace didn’t need to be told twice as he all but dove into his meal, opening his beak and inhaling the food before him. Ledger shook his head, well it was obvious who the thestral mare had learned eating habits from. With a soft application of magic, the unicorn began to eat his meal at a more sedate pace.
It was a moment of silence as they ate. Mostly due to the fact that Ledger wouldn’t get an answer anyway. After he had finished, the Griffon let out a deafening belch that rattled the windows. The massive bowl of noodles had been licked clean.
“Ahhh, a wonderful appetiser!” he laughed, munching on a breadstick.
“Yup, Midnight definitely picked up her eating habits from you,” Ledger said as he polished off his own meal. “I always make enough for there to be leftovers, and there never are.”
“That’s my little Songbird,” Ace nodded, finishing off his bread and using a lettuce leaf from Ledgers salad to wipe his beak, before eating that too. Ledger sighed before starting in on his salad.
“I’m certain if you ask nicely, Fredrick might cook you up another meal,” the unicorn pointed out. “Though, two might be as much as he feels he can give you and still serve others.”
“I’m good for now,” Ace said. “Perhaps we should go and find Midnight? Or, we could use the alternative method of locating her?”
“I have to at least make a showing and get some paperwork done at my office,” Ledger said as he got the attention of a nearby colt. “Bill, please,” he asked, before turning back to Ace. “So, I leave it to you to find her if you wish to. I also have to put in a few hours with somepony else, so my schedule is looking a little full at the moment. I will hopefully be around for dinner at my place, so if Midnight asks where I am, feel free to tell her.”
“As you wish,” Ace nodded, dropping a sizable bag of bits on the table to pay for the food. “I shall go and find her then. I doubt the hospital would have kept her long, none ever have.”
“...You do realize that this is probably more than enough to pay for the meal you originally requested, right?” Ledger asked as he poked the bag with a hoof. “Fredrick’s most generous with his pricing…”
“An adequate reward for a most pleasurable meal and company,” Ace said as he got up. “I have little need for material wealth, so most of my pay often goes to waste.” He stretched his limbs and nodded. “I shall see you again soon yes?”
“Perhaps,” Ledger said with a smile as he got up as well, deciding to leave the bit-bag alone. “Until next time.”
“FARWELL KINSMEN! AND TOO YOU DEAR WARRIOR-MARE!” Ace shouted again and flew from the building, laughing heartily as he did so. Everypony turned and looked towards the kitchen. Fredrick poked his head out and smiled at his...rather exuberant fellow griffon’s departure.
“Warriors. They know how to make an entrance...and an exit,” Fredrick said with a snicker.
“I got that much,” Ledger replied. And more~ he thought before leaving as well.
“I told you I was fine!” Midnight huffed as she stormed from the local hospital, Scope keeping pace with her.
“I saw that, but was it necessary to hang the doctor's coat on the rack... with the doctor still wearing it?” Scope questioned.
“Very few things go in my ass, and his thermometer was not one of them!” Midnight stated. “Now where do you suppose those two have gotten off to? I sure hope Ledger didn’t try anything drastic. It’ll be real hard to scrape him off of the wall.”
“I think Ledger can handle himself,” Scope said. “What he did to that pegasus...”
“Wouldn’t work on Master," Midnight said. “Or did you miss the part where he cleaned the street with my face? And he wasn’t even warming up yet. I have never beaten him in a fight. Ever!”
Scope Lens was now hoping that the Griffon would not be sticking around for very long. Midnight was scary enough, and now there was an even greater monster here? Scope would settle for spending the day with princess Luna again, rather than hang with these two.
“Still, I wonder where he... oh? There he is!” Midnight perked up as she saw him talking with an ice-cream vendor. One she could have sworn she’d seen before...
“As I was saying,” Ace hummed as he looked at the cute stallion. “It takes real strength of heart to make the children smile, just for the sake of it. You have my respect for that my dear~”
“There is nothing better than the smile of a child,” the red pegasus agreed. “I’m just lucky I got the job so easily. Otherwise I’d have a doozy of a time finding a way to make kids happy.”
“I’m sure a wonderful gent like yourself would have other means,” Ace cooed, brushing a lock of mane from his eyes. “Perhaps you’d like to accompany me to dinner tonight? I can show you all the ways I make someone like yourself smile-ACK!” He found himself eating pavement as Midnight stood there, glaring at him.
“And that’s enough of that,” she said with a huff. “Seriously Master, what the hay?”
“I hang out with enough violets to know what he was up to Middy,” the stallion complained. Actually complained. “And if not for the fact that I was planning on going somewhere tonight already, I might have accepted his invitation. It’s been a while for me.”
“You used to be a great wingmare,” Ace said as he picked himself up. “What happened to those days?”
“The days when you didn’t seduce my friends,” Midnight sighed. Then she recalled the last conversation she had with this Changeling and sighed. She wondered if they were even friends in the first place. “Right, sorry. Despite his squawking, Master really is a great guy. Maybe when you’re not busy, you should go out with him if you want. It’ll even be my treat for this little scene.”
“Meh, I wanted to go to a gathering for once,” the stallion said, before putting one hoof on Midnight and sticking out his tongue in concentration. A moment passed before he nodded and put the hoof down.
“You’re...better, but not by much,” the pegasus said. “Whatever it is you’re doing, keep doing it.”
“Um, okay?” Midnight tilted her head. This Changeling was...strange. And what did he mean by better? Was this more of that ‘patient’ crap that Ledger had mentioned. “You know I’m fine right?” she said. “I’m not one of your-” she lowered her voice “-patients.”
“Nope, but that doesn’t mean I can’t help,” the stallion all but chirped at her. Then he took a somber expression. “Though it’s usually a lot easier to deal with your pain if you trust somepony else. And pain is the number one reason somepony might have problems smiling. So...get back to me on that sometime, kay? I like helping ponies smile.”
‘So what do you do when your kind is the problem?’ Midnight asked herself, saying that aloud might not have gone down well, given her present company. “So where’s Level?” she asked the Griffon. “I thought you were with him?”
“I was, then he said he had to work, but luckily I stumbled across this wonderful specimen here,” he winked at Cherry Scoop. “So I haven’t been too bored. Now if only I had someone strong to fight, then my day would be infinitely better.”
“Sorry, but a good half the fights around here are intellectual ones,” Cherry said with a smile. “It’s why Toll Taker got taken out: she lost her leverage on Level and ended up dealing with his intellect unmaking her. Though having Middy around to kick plot probably didn’t hurt either.”
“And I wonder how you know that,” Midnight asked in a bemused tone. “Well, I guess it’s common knowledge at this point.”
“Midnight,” Aerial Ace said in a neutral tone. “Did you use Lyrica on a civilian?”
The Thestral paused and gulped. “W-Well... she had hostages, and her magic was powerful, and she had Changeling backup-”
“Did you. Use Lyrica. On an untrained pony.” Ace said, looming over her. The Thestral winced, feeling very small under his glare.
“...Yes.”
Ace sighed as he stepped back. “I thought I’d forbidden you from doing that,” he said with a soft sigh. “You know what you’re like in that state. You could have killed her!”
“...Which is why Ledger spoke up,” Scope said with a sigh. “He...told her that if she was still the pony she used to be, she wouldn’t descend to Toll’s level. I don’t know exactly what happened next, as that’s about when I blacked out, but I heard wingblades moving again.”
“She shouldn’t have done that,” Ace sighed. “You are perfectly capable of fighting without it. So why?”
“Because... I got angry,’ Midnight said honestly. She wouldn’t be able to lie to him anyway. “It was clouding my judgement so I used Lyrica to defeat my enemies...” She shuddered when she thought on how close she came to killing the Unicorn mare. And the worst part, she wouldn’t have cared if she did.
“I see,’ Ace said. “Then, I have little choice.” Before Midnight could respond, a claw tip struck her forehead and she was blown back several feet. She just lay there, and it seriously looked like he’d just killed her on the spot.
“...If she’s dead, there will be no stopping Ledger,” Scope pitched in as she just watched the mare’s unmoving body. “He threatened me horribly for one mistake I made around the pair of them.”
“Get up, stop being so dramatic,” Ace sighed as the Thestral got to her hooves and shrugged.
“Still hurt, what the hell?”
“Sealed your ability to use Lyrica,” he stated. “At least until you learn to wield it properly.”
Midnight just blinked, her mouth open slightly. “Y-You did what!?”
“Maybe it’s for the best, Mistress?” Scope offered. “You...do tend to use it a lot. Sometimes just to mess with others.”
“Then I feel all the more justified,” Ace nodded. “At this rate, me giving it back isn’t looking like an option at all.”
Midnight just growled as she tried to use the skill. Scope and Cherry felt her emotions dampen a little, but not disappear completely like they should have. Midnight tried this two or three more times, as Aerial Ace just waited for her to get past this little bit.
“It’s gone,” she whispered. “I can’t use it. I’m defenseless...”
“Hardly,” Ace scoffed. “You are the most talented warrior I have ever trained. But you’ve been relying on a crutch I should never have taught you. But you took to it so well, I was... overzealous at someone being able to master the lost art.”
Midnight frowned, stamped her hoof and then took to the air. Scope went to follow, but Ace held her back.
“Let her be little one, she needs time to process this and think about it. She’ll be fine. She has a few things that need to be dealt with and I have given her a little shove in that direction. While I didn’t like doing it, it is necessary.”
“...Fine,” Scope said, still flexing her wings. “Do you know where Ledger is, then? If I can’t follow Mistress, I’ll bother the other of the pair. Plus, he should know about this.”
“He said he would be at work, wherever that might be,” Ace shrugged. While Midnight was throwing a bit of a tantrum right now, it was nothing new for the Griffon. Scope nodded once and began winging her way over to Pegasus Air’s main offices, hoping to catch Ledger there. Cherry just shook his head at the drama that had been going on.
“I apologise for all that,” Ace smiled. “My student is a handful sometimes. And correct me if I am wrong, but you seem quite invested in her yourself.”
“She needs to learn how to smile honestly, it’s what I ask of anypony wanting to be my friend,” Cherry smiled. “And I’m sorry that I have plans for dinner and after dinner, but I should be free tomorrow.”
“Now that would be wonderful,” Ace said, his beak split in a confident and wide smile. “And I should hopefully be less distracted myself.” He leaned across and planted gentle kiss on Cherry’s ear, as his claw pressed a small point behind it, eliciting a pleasurable shock through his body. “Until then~”
All that remained of the Griffon after that was the sound of fading wingbeats.
“...Wonder what he’ll think of Amy,” Cherry said, subduing his blush that had managed to make his red coat even redder.
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PSYCHIATRIST NEEDED!
I love the character of Awrial Ace. Is nice to see a badass fighter that can keep Midnight in check and even suppress/seal her Lyrica. Also, his bombastic interaction with Frederick and Cherry Scoop was funny. Thanks for the chapter.
thanks for the update!!
Wait a second, wasn't there only one Pink in the city? I think our knowledge is a little wrong...
So Midnight's hidden talent has been locked for now. That sucks, but it's not the end of the world. Well, until it is...
Keep going! ;)
6432176 Nah, not her talent, just a crutch. She can't use her full power because of what I assume to quite simply be that she can't quite tone everything but the objective out of focus, thus her mind is constantly multitasking, slowing her down too much to reach the same results without it.
6432176 Spoiler blinders, sorry for the inconvenience, but you know how it is!
There is only one pink in the city, if you recall, the pink is of ambiguous gender and runs an ice cream shop of sorts, it's the same pink as before and the only pink we've seen only Amy is under a different alias and is male. “...Wonder what he’ll think of Amy”-- Ace knows what Cherry is, and Cherry is referring to his female alias: Amy.
6439519 after thinking on it a bit that makes sense. Musk have been tired at the time.
... It seems all your griffons are awesome. Aerial ace is no exception. I bet he even has techniques to deal with magic.
Me when someone thinks I'm joking
Aerial Ace seems like he's straight out of an anime.
7021984 In the best ways possible! <3
Just so you know there are clop chapters as well
oh, this movie scene came to mind:
oh, i just remembered a scene in the story, "a mark of appeal" by Estee, where Luna does that to Celestia after Celestia insults her.
"Might be wrong though"
Very entertaining. Very unexpected end. Quite the game changer... Magnificent world development by culture.
One focus technic sealed and she think herself defenseless? Indeed weak minded...
Hiding behind a meditation technique?
Mare needs therapy and a lot of literally love given by others...
Pretty sure Ace should tech more his combat. Equestria sure needs it...