Separation

by Maneiac

Canterlot Bound Part Two

“.... He’s so easily flustered. Are you certain this is the drake of whom you’ll be most pleased, Father?”

“Patience, Aasterinian; I want you to trust in my judgement.”

“Mortals are such fragile pieces of existence, yet I find it odd how they place the same amount of faith in us as we do them. Gods without prayers are myths, after all.”

“.... I have pondered much in the confines of eternity we’re blessed with, Falazure, but that one thought never occurred to me. I find it amusing how the God of Undeath is talking about what could possibly lead to his undoing, however.”

“Silence yourself, Kereska; we may be sister and brother, but I’ll have you know that I won’t hesitate to end your existence.”

“Falazure, stop with the death threats. Kereska, stop teasing. And for the Eternal Flame’s sake, can we all just go back to watching the blasted human in the draconian’s body? This is about all the enjoyment we have coming our way for a horrendously-long time, after all.”

“Listen to Bahamut, both of you. Pay attention, and see a once-lost soul undergo the beauty.... of metamorphosis.”

---

I found myself staring into the eyes of a blonde bombshell; a minotaur cow whose curvaceous body would probably make most mothers die should their son bring her home. A long, blonde braid flowed down the length of her back, tied off with a blue ribbon, while most of her slim belly and overly-modest thighs poked out from the white, fuzzy trim of her skimpy Saint Nick outfit.

On instinct alone, a single pace backwards was taken to avoid bumping into those massive melons she probably knew were too big. “By the Gods.... how does she not have back problems!?.... G’s... they have to at least be G’s.” Smiling sheepishly while mentally trying to remove the purple shading on my cheeks, I dipped my head towards her.

“Again, I’m so sorry; I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going, and -”

“Stop.” Blinking, I raised my head with a quizzical look. Stepping forth, the waitress applied her creamy-blonde hand to her left hip with a smug smile. “I recognize you from the party we had welcoming the lost ones home. Silas Epista, correct?”

“.... She’s articulate. Most farm girls got smokin’ bods like those, so I’m surprised.” Scratching at the side of my face in some discomfort and embarrassment, I averted my eyes away from the slightly-peeking pink of her nips. “... Yeah, that’s me. It’s a small world, am I right? Ha...hahaha...”

A giggle was the response to my near-silent awkward chuckling, making me wince a bit. “It is, Mister Epista. Nice to meet you,” The cute girl beamed, the phrasing of her response causing me to turn my head back around. It sounded as if she extended her hand at the pause, and based on what my eyes are picking up, she did. “I’m Cindy!”

Taking her smaller hand in my claw, I became aware of the soft texture of her fluffy hair and underskin. It was like I had somehow captured the essence of a warm spring wind in my claw, invigorating me somewhat to come out of my shell a bit more. Smiling warmly, I decided that playing the awkward duckling could come later. “... A pleasure, Miss Cindy.”

She giggled again, breaking off the handshake. “I’m guessing you’re here for our special night of fun; Naughty or Nice, Sugar and Spice?”

“It honestly sounds like she’s inviting me for a shag.... I don’t want Sunset thinking I’m some sort of sleaze. There’s no way she’d ever continue going out with me if that’s the case! Deny her!” I turned my head slightly to the left, then paused in mid-thought before completing my shaking-of-the-head response to Cindy’s question. “... Or what if Sunset set all this up for me.... no.... yes?.....”

“Excuse me for this....”

I blinked out of my daze, just to be slapped with Cindy’s receipt booklet. The action registered no pain on my part, but it didn’t stop me from looking at Cindy with a confused facial structure. “.... Why did you hit me, again?”

Nodding once, Cindy appropriately smiled sheepishly and blushed a bit, averting her dark-blue eyes from my gaze. “Ehhhh.... you dozed off or zoned out.... one of those two. Either way, that’s the gist of it.”

I chuckled, finally breaking the ice. “It’s not like she hit you to have fun. To see someone actually be worried about someone else in this day and age is rather shocking, seeing as how I come from a planet that’s adopted the “Every man for himself” policy.”

“.... And landsakes! This woman’s huge as hell! I’m at least nine feet and some change, but I ran into her melons!” Gulping a bit sneakily, I nodded at Cindy and motioned towards the rest of the Tipsy Clover. “... Have you seen my girlfriend?”

“You mean that pony?”

I nodded, making Cindy cross her arms under her fun bags, hefting them up even more than what her skimpy clothing was doing. “... Can’t say that I have, Mister Epista. She’s not the type of mare to come here, though; especially when something as traumatic as Granite Podium happened. Why.... I think it’s more appropriate that she’s in Town Square.”

“Yeah,” I responded shortly, finding myself smiling while talking to her. “I just came from there after losing her in the crowd. Some other taurs pointed me to the T.C. when I asked where she went.”

Cindy gave another giggle from this, making me chuckle a bit as well. “Must be hard having such a small love interest....”

“Although she can be a raging, miniscule ball of fury, I still like her. I mean... well... we just sorta clicked. Going through Granite Podium sealed the deal for us, though.” Snickering a bit at the surprisingly-accurate description I gave of Sunny, I proceeded to head into the Tipsy Clover’s recesses, enjoying the Christmas-themed decoratio-

“... Do you guys celebrate Christmas?” My sudden question was laced with heavy amounts of bewilderment; my body stopping mid-step so I could turn my head and peer at Cindy with a raised eyebrow.

Tilting her head adorably, the cow blinked a bit in her own confusion. “... What’s a Christmas? It sounds fun, but.... hmm... nope, never heard of it.” Returning her cranium to its nominal positioning, Cindy placed both hands on her hips and walked forward a bit. “Is it something dragons celebrate around winter time?”

Shaking my head, I turned back around. “Naw, it ain’t.... I don’t think so, at least.” I furrowed my brow, then blinked as I finally registered all that she said. Turning my head back to look at her in pure shock, my right claw flexed a bit. “... Are there dragons around here, Miss Cindy?”

“.... No.”

Sucking my teeth, I gave a snap of my fingers before turning around again. “Dragsville; I was hoping to get a headstart on something involving the dragons.” At the end of my response, Cindy went silent for a moment as we traversed the distance between the entrance and the bar counter.

“Wait...” Cindy trailed off, hastily walking up to my left side. “... I know someone that can help you with that! You wanna know more about dragons, right?” The busty minotaur beamed, making me smile warmly back at her and nod. “Then all you gotta do is go see Dennis! He claimed to have met a dragon once before!..... Silas?”

“..... Shit..... goddammit.” I gritted my teeth, feeling unholy amounts of anger start to resurface as I trembled. “... I’m fine, Cindy. Can you leave me alone for now?” My question was laced with a little bite to it, making my company wince before nodding and heading off.

“Out of all the minotaurs.... it had to be Dennis? What dragons could he have possibly known? How many dragons live around here?” I sagged my shoulders with a sigh. “... Why couldn’t I protect him? I have this fucking dragon body for nothing.... absolutely nothing.”

Defeat pulsated through my being; I felt locked-in, forced to choke in the miasma of my failure. Oxygen and air was a scarcity compared to this new noxious fume, its power seizing hold of my lungs with a vice grip. “I can’t protect anyone the way I am now... I need to get stronger.”

I gave a nice jump as someone placed their hand on my back, turning my head sharply to see who had touched me. To my infinite surprise, however, it happened to be none other than Dominika! “Donna!” I smiled warmly, shifting my body around so that I faced and looked down at her.

She looked worlds better than she did back in Granite Podium; her finely-toned legs hanging out the bottom of an elegant plaid skirt, red tank-top, and beige jacket that had its sleeves go down to her wrists in nice cuffs. Her hair was still nice and curly, falling down to her shoulders as her glasses sat perched right on her snout. And to top it all off, she had a warm smile plastered on her face as she looked up at me, completing her pleased-secretary look.

“Good to see you as well, Silas,” Donna replied contently, dipping her head a bit in greeting. Of course, I returned the gesture. “What brings you to the Tipsy Clover right now? I’d imagine Sunset and yourself to be enjoying the festivities right outside.”

I gave a sad chuckle at that, hanging my head in defeat. “I thought the same thing.... that is.... until I lost her in the crowd. She’s just so short, y’know?” My mouth curved up in a sad smile, making her giggle and roll her eyes. “I asked some other taurs about her and they all said - or pointed me - towards the Tipsy Clover... so here I am,” I surmised, shrugging my shoulders a bit while giving a chuckle.

Donna nodded then, grabbing my claw and leading me to the bar stools, which she made me sit on. “Look... I dunno if you’ve heard, but I’ve seen Sunset walking around with a pegasus that recently came to town.” By the way Donna’s face looked almost pained to say it, I knew something was up with this.

“Say what now? Sunset would never cheat on me!”

Donna quickly waved her hands, which told me my face must have been souring up. “No no no, I’m not saying she’s seeing other men without you knowing,” She whispered strongly, almost frantically. “I just thought you should know what’s been going on with her...” Giving an exhale, she smiled at me again. “You guys don’t talk as much as you used to, do you?”

I grimaced at that. “... Yeah. It’s not like how it used to be... she’s become something else entirely.” It was hard to admit, but even I knew the facts. “She’s been more irate and caring at the same time. There’s also a subtle - no - very subtle hint of arrogance shining through. Her handing me those groceries is a strong reminder of that.” My gaze traveled down to the thought-about bags, making me sigh quietly in grim acceptance. “... Things have definitely changed.”

My friend - at that point in time - comforted me by patting my claw gently. “It’s alright, Silas; as long as you know she’s into you, there’s no reason to fret about how much she changes. It’s not like she’s gonna fall out of love with you, right?”

That earned Donna some pursed lips on my end. “It’s hard to say, Donna... with change comes unexpected events, and I don’t think I’ll be able to handle a breakup so soon after what happened in Granite Podium.” I facepalmed after sitting for a bit, the bags rustling with fresh produce. “... Ugh, I sound like a giant wimp.”

Donna giggled again, releasing my claw from her comforting embrace. “Don’t worry so much, Silas; you’re doing nothing but psyching yourself out. I suggest finding out who this mystery pegasus is with great haste, or it’s gonna eat at you until there’s nothing left but an irate asshole.”

I raised my eyebrow at that. “You seem to have some experience here....”

“See? You already have the asshole-part down!” Laughing, Donna got up and waved goodbye as I watched her head for the Employee’s Only door near the back of the building. A pout was etched onto my face from her remark.

Standing up, I decided to take her up on that. “Finding out who this guy is will put me at ease, she’s right. I gotta drop these groceries off, though; waking up to no food in the house is no bueno.” Without so much as a second thought, I headed off into the coldness of the day, wondering at all times who this mystery pegasus was.

Comments

[Black--Soul]

Who can the Pegasus?! Rainbow Dash? A Royal guard/Spy? Damn nice Build up