The First Days
The First Days
Ever since Fluttershy returned to Ponyville, she was met by her friends, who wasted no time in asking for her safety. Once Fluttershy relieved them of their insecurities, she was asked a plethora of new questions, all revolving around a certain green unicorn. They were all gathered in Twilight’s castle to talk about it, each of them sitting on their thrones to discuss the issue more comfortably, except for Spike’s throne, which was empty due to Spike being heavily asleep in his room.
“How is Statice doing?” Pinkie Pie asked worryingly.
“He’s fine,” Fluttershy answered reassuringly. “He has a headache and cannot use much magic for the time being but he’s okay.”
“Did that jerk hurt you?” Rainbow Dash asked with a mixture of protective anger and worry, grabbing her by the shoulders to look into her eyes.
“Not really,” Fluttershy shook her head. “He was polite, more or less. I gave him a tour around the castle before Princess Celestia and Princess Luna asked for a personal dinner with him.”
“What happened at the dinner?” Twilight asked rapidly once she heard the mention of her fellow princesses. “He didn’t cause any trouble, did he?”
“None at all,” Fluttershy spoke with the same supportive smile she gave Pinkie Pie earlier. “He was very polite. The princesses wanted to discuss about Statice becoming an official citizen of Equestria.”
“They’re giving him a citizenship test?” Rarity asked incredulously.
“If he’s going to live in Equestria then he’s gonna have to take it sooner or later,” Fluttershy calmly informed her. “The test will also determine his educational levels, but I’m not sure what does that mean.”
“Neither do I,” Twilight rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “While I am interested in finding out what kind of education Statice had outside of Equestria, I don’t see how that will have something to do with the citizenship test.”
“Well, until Statice passes the citizenship test, he’s not allowed to leave the castle or Canterlot,” Fluttershy recalled as best as her memory allowed her.
“Sounds like a prison,” Applejack shuddered. “Ah don’t think that Ah wanna stay locked inside mah home until Ah pass a test.”
“Me neither,” Rainbow Dash groaned with disgust. “It was a nightmare having to study for my citizenship test. I barely passed mine with a C...and I think that was because I answered the multiple choice section randomly.”
“How different was your citizenship test, Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked with curiosity. “I heard that the test that is given to anypony depends on the type of pony you are. How different is the pegasus version of the test?”
“I’m not sure,” Rainbow Dash shrugged her shoulders. “They asked me about stuff from Equestria, particularly Cloudsdale. I think that the only different thing about it were the questions about my weather duties and flying.”
“The unicorn version has a section focused on magic theory,” Rarity answered calmly. “However, I don’t remember Cloudsdale being so frequent in the test I took. Mine was primarily focused in Ponyville.”
“Princess Celestia informed me about that one,” Twilight chimed in. “Each town has their own version of the citizenship test. The citizenship test not only focus on your tribe, but also on how much you know about the town you live on.”
“It’s a good thing Granny Smith always told me stories about mah family’s early days in Ponyville,” Applejack smiled as she remembered her test. “That citizenship test was probably my easiest test ever. Ah got a B+ on it.”
“I got an A as well, darling,” Rarity joined in, sounding a little vain at her higher grade. “I pride myself on being a good student when I was a filly.”
“I got an A just like you do!” Pinkie Pie chimed in but then frowned. “I took my test in Ponyville when I moved here.”
“I also took mine in Cloudsdale,” Fluttershy joined into the conversation. “It is kind of a rule for every pegasus born in Cloudsdale to take the citizenship test there. I didn’t do that good in the weather duties and flying section, but I did well in everything else. Just so you know, I got a B.”
“I got an A+ in my citizenship at Canterlot,” Twilight informed them. “I’ve been studying for that test a year before I was of legal age for a better grade.”
“Wow,” Rainbow Dash winced upon hearing Twilight’s claim. “That’s a lot of preparation for a test.”
“When you’re Princess Celestia’s student, every test matters,” Twilight frowned as she nodded her head.
“How do you think Statice is gonna do in his test?” Pinkie Pie asked.
This got the rest of the girls to stop talking and start thinking. From their previous encounters with Statice, it was clear that the stallion was far from stupid. Twilight remembered the distinctive nature of his spells, recalling how very few casters were capable of achieving such a feat on their own since the days on which spells were weaved from scratch with no theory. Rainbow Dash was sorely recalling the complicated rules of Arcanum Ball that he used and the strategies that he employed to win the game, almost like the professional athletes she admired during sports season. Pinkie Pie thought of how good of an actor he was when he disguised himself as Aster, remembering how she always felt something familiar on Aster but was unable to figure out what it was until she discovered that he was Statice. Applejack frowned with how much of a planner he was when fighting Piercing Gaze, both when it came for practical use to gain an advantage and when it came to making him suffer more than necessary without risking a disadvantage. Fluttershy grimaced at how his words were not only harsh but had some cold logic and philosophy into them. Likewise, Rarity was mortified at how that rude stallion managed to create a perfect façade of a gentlecolt that flawlessly charmed her in contrast to the first expression he gave her back in Canterlot...
He was smart and cunning. But the question remained if that was going to help him pass the citizenship test. None of the knowledge in his possession was going to be applied in a test that focused on Equestria. With Statice having little education about the land, his chances of passing the test were small. Still, their interactions with him had taught them that he was not somepony that should be easily underestimated.
“I think that he can do it,” Pinkie Pie broke the silence with a forced smile. “Statice is kind of a smart pony.”
“But none of that matters if ya don’t know the subject of the test,” Applejack countered, grimacing as she added a particular incident back when she was a student. “It will be like studyin’ for a history test rather than a geography test after being distracted from doin’ so many farm chores.”
“I agree with Applejack,” Rarity added supportively. “We’re not sure about how much Statice is well-read about Equestria. If I were to guess, I’d say that he knows too little of Equestria to pass the test.”
“Maybe he can pass the test,” Fluttershy supported Pinkie Pie. “He can always learn what he needs to know. I mean, do you girls remember when we helped Rainbow Dash to study for her test to join the Wonderbolts Reserves?”
“You’re right,” Twilight nodded her head grimly. “Rainbow Dash knew nothing about the test material and yet she passed it with flying colors once we found the perfect study method. Who says that Statice doesn’t have a similar study method?”
Rainbow Dash leaned on her throne and rested her hind legs on the table. “I’d like to say that regardless of whether he passes the test or not…he’s still a jerk,” she finished her statement with a frown.
“I suppose that we’re gonna have to wait to meet Statice again to see what happens,” Twilight sighed in defeat.
“Maybe the wait won’t be so long,” Rarity offered with a sly smile.
“What do you mean, Rarity?” Twilight stared at the fashionista in surprise.
“I have an order to deliver in Canterlot,” Rarity smiled triumphantly at her alicorn friend. “Don’t you remember? You asked Princess Celestia to reserve a suite at the castle over a month ago.”
“That’s right!” Twilight beamed now that she remembered that reservation she booked at the castle. “Maybe you can supervise on Statice during your stay.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked nervously. “I don’t think spying on him is gonna make him happy.”
“He basically spied on us with Discord’s movies and his Aster disguise!” Rainbow Dash snapped at her. “I say that this is fair game.”
“Besides, I don’t plan on spying on him all day, Fluttershy,” Rarity promised gently as she waved a hoof dismissively. “I’m just going to give a peek and see if he’s not doing anything dangerous. It’s not like he has anything to hide from anypony.”
A few days later, in Canterlot, a bell was ringing. Many unicorn foals were sitting on their chairs happily laughing and talking with each other. Their voices were silenced when they saw their teacher. She was a middle-aged unicorn mare. She had a beige coat, blue eyes, and a short platinum mane. Her cutie mark was a wand releasing magic over a field of flowers. A few wrinkles were present in her face but she spoke with a voice that still showed signs of youth.
“Hello, foals,” she addressed her class.
“Hello, Mrs. Late Bloom!”
“Today is a special day in that we are getting a new student,” she informed them, getting a round of cheers from the foals. “Easy there, I have to tell you something else about our new student.”
All of the foals went silent at what she had to say.
“Our new student is named Statice and he’s from outside of Equestria,” she begun, looking into their faces to ensure that they were listening to her. “Now, I must inform you that Statice is a…little bit older than you. That is however not a reason to give him a hard time…”
As Late Bloom begun instructing his new classmates on how to behave, Statice was waiting outside with an annoyed frown in his face.
A little older than them…that’s the best she can say? It doesn’t matter. I’m gonna have to bear with it for the time being.
He stood outside for a few more minutes until he heard Late Bloom call out his name. With his cue delivered, Statice went into the class and stared at the foals that were supposed to be his classmates.
“Statice,” Late Bloom addressed him with a forced smile on her face. “Please tell your fellow students more about you.”
Here goes nothing.
“My name is Statice…I’m older than you…and I’m only coming here because the princesses are making me do this.”
His short introduction was met with silence that was immediately broken by a chorus of laughter. Late Bloom was staring at him with her mouth agape, before looking at her class.
I hope that this class is laughing WITH me rather than at me.
It took a full minute for Late Bloom to bring back order to the classroom. After that, she assigned Statice to his own seat.
“Today, we are going to do these activities,” Late Bloom announced as she levitated a piece of chalk and started writing a few activities.
“We will learn how to color with crayons, how to use our school tools, sing a few songs, nap time, and then we are going to read stories.”
One of the foals raised a hoof.
“Do you have a question, Sweet Dreams?” she asked her student with a smile.
“Isn’t that what we always do every day?” Sweet Dreams asked boringly. He was a light blue colt with pale gray eyes and a black mane. His cutie mark was a bed under the night sky.
“It isn’t what we always do every day, Sweet Dreams,” Late Bloom gently chided him. “We study magic theory on Tuesday and Thursday.”
Sweet Dreams snored dismissively at the answer. However, the answer was taken seriously by one of the students.
Magic theory is only studied twice a week!
Statice inwardly groaned. It was going to be impossible to graduate earlier at this rate. He expected to study magic theory every day to pick up the material quickly. Having only two days to study was going to hamper his progress.
I’m going to have to study late for this class.
Statice stared at Sweet Dreams. The bored colt was his neighbor at the right side of his seat. Standing at the left side, he had a filly. She had an orange coat, yellow eyes, and a red mane. Her cutie mark was one of those reflective glass sheets that Statice saw other ponies use to sunbathe.
Might as well try to make friends with this filly…okay, coming from me, that sounded wrong in so many levels.
“Hi,” Statice addressed the filly.
“Hi.”
“My name is Statice,” the green stallion presented himself. “Can you tell me what’s your name, little girl?”
“My name is Sunlight Sunray,” she smiled at him.
“Hello, Sunlight,” Statice spoke the name softly. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too, Statice,” she beamed at him.
“That kid over there is Sweet Dreams,” she pointed at the blue colt and whispered to him. “Say hi to Statice, Sweet Dreams.”
“Hello,” Sweet Dreams yawned. “My name is Sweet Dreams.”
“My name is Statice.”
“I already heard the name enough,” Sweet Dreams snored.
“Sorry about that,” Sunlight frowned disapprovingly. “Sweet Dreams is always bored and finds everything here insufficient to his own amazement.”
Are all Canterlot foals that intellectual? Sweet Dreams looks like he knows that this place sucks and Sunlight sounds like some sort of dictionary. I hope that growing up here won’t turn them into insufferable snobs.
“We will begin by coloring our beloved Princesses of Equestria!” Late Bloom announced as she levitated many sheets of paper and boxes of crayons to each of her students. All of the students cheered sans Statice and Sweet Dreams.
Statice frowned as he was given his own sheet of paper and his own box of crayons to color the princesses. Much to his annoyance, the crayons came in a variety of colors, but none of them matched with the princesses.
Canterlot or not, the art program of any kindergarten sucks.
He started to color Celestia first. Thanks to Celestia having a white coat, he didn’t waste time painting her body. The problem came in the form of her mane and tail as both of them came in different shades of pink, blue, and green. The result he got was Celestia having a darker mane than expected.
Luna was worse since her dark blue coat and her blue hair were two different shades that were hard to distinguish using just one crayon. Arguably, the easiest part was to color her cutie mark, her eyes, and her regalia.
Statice had little trouble with Cadence thanks to having the appropriate crayons for her pink coat and her triple colored mane. The challenge was to paint the Crystal Heart that she had for a cutie mark while applying little pressure from the blue color to give a lighter shade.
Twilight was the worst in account of being all purple. The only good thing that he did in the coloring was the cutie mark and the light pink strand that she had in her mane and tail.
At least he did better than most of the kids, who were drawing outside of the lines and even coloring some of the princesses with different colors. He stared at Sweet Dreams who was snoring on his desk rather than doing his job. Similarly, Sunlight Sunray was putting a little too much energy into coloring that she got out of line.
I’m not sure what’s the difference between Magic Kindergarten and a normal kindergarten. From the looks of this, there’s no difference at all.
“It will be a long day,” Statice sighed as he levitated his finished job to Late Bloom and prepared for the next activity. Much to his annoyance, the teacher had a no pony left behind policy and refused to let him go to the next activity until the rest of the class was finished coloring.
He reiterated his claim inside his mind. It was going to be a long day.
It was a long day indeed. As soon as the bell rang, Statice ran away from the class full speed ahead. He didn’t even stay to talk to Late Bloom. All he wanted to do was return to the castle.
“Finally,” Statice groaned in satisfaction once he got out of the school. It was a boring day to say the least. Most of the craft work he did was stuff that he was already capable of doing in the first place.
“I guess I can see why Twilight doesn’t want to return to this place,” Statice growled to himself. “This place is unbearably boring.”
Still, it was productive anyway. After his napping session, Statice took the time to choose the magic theory book that the foals were supposed to read tomorrow. He made sure to use the Archive to record each page. Once he returned to the castle, he was going to study everything it had to offer. If he was lucky, maybe Late Bloom would give him the chance to skip a grade.
“I just hope tomorrow is a better day,” Statice sighed despondently. He kept on walking to the castle. As he reached the entrance, he was met with somepony that he didn’t expect to see again.
“Rarity?” Statice asked in surprise.
“Hello, Statice,” Rarity spoke to him with an uncharacteristically high spirit. “Are you enjoying your stay at the castle?”
“I was,” Statice replied. “Would you mind telling me what are you doing here, Rarity? No mention of your visit was made to me.”
“Twilight reserved a suite at the castle back during the Friendship Summit,” Rarity coyly informed him as she rubbed her mane. “I have some business to attend to in Canterlot and you just happened to be living there at the moment. It’s nothing personal, Statice, just business.”
Try to tell that to anypony who’s been on either side of that line.
Suppressing his urge to say what he had in mind, he yawned and made his way to his room. “Enjoy your stay in Canterlot,” Statice addressed Rarity respectfully. “I’m going back to my room.”
“I’d like to say that I’m happy that you are not injured anymore,” Rarity called after Statice as she followed him.
“You’re happy about me not being injured?” Statice asked in surprise. “I didn’t think that you’d care for my safety that much.”
Rarity raised her nose indignantly. “You can’t think that anypony hates you that much to wish harm on you, Statice. I’m sure that Fluttershy must have told you that just because you don’t like somepony doesn’t mean that you want them hurt.”
“You should try to get outside of Equestria and see what anypony else has to say about your words,” Statice allowed her to walk by his side. “Saying something so altruistic only gets others to think you’re weak.”
Rarity flinched at that comment. Deciding that she wanted to know nothing of who told him such things, she changed her approach.
“How do you get along with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna?” Rarity asked as she tried to get a reaction out of him.
“They’re fine,” Statice shrugged his shoulders.
Well, we got into a wrong start, but I’m starting to see that they are nice ponies.
The conversation continued fruitlessly. Each of Rarity’s questions was shot down by Statice’s simple answers. He gave no details or hints that clued her about his current situation. They kept their verbal exchange until they reached his room.
“Thanks for the talk, Rarity,” Statice curtly nodded his head. “But I am busy for the time being. I have to…”
“Statice!”
The green unicorn paused when he heard a voice. He turned his head around to see Late Bloom in front of him. Levitating in her magical aura was the coloring assignment he had done earlier.
“It’s so good to see you!” Late Bloom smiled as she approached him. “I forgot to give you back your coloring assignment. Look at it! I even gave you a gold star for doing such a good job coloring. I’ve never seen a student who tried his best at choosing the most accurate color palette for the princesses.”
Just like she said, the paper had a gold star around it. To make matters worse, the paper was turned so that Rarity could also see it. She looked at the drawing of the four princesses of Equestria, then at Late Bloom, and then at Statice.
“What’s going on here?” Rarity asked nervously.
“Oh, you must be a friend of Statice!” Late Bloom smiled as she shook Rarity’s hoof. “My name is Late Bloom. I teach at Magic Kindergarten.”
“Magic Kindergarten?” Rarity asked in surprise as she looked at Statice.
“Yes,” Late Bloom smiled approvingly. “Princess Celestia tasked me to help this foreign pony to have the education that was long denied to him.”
“Cut that out!” Statice yelled and gestured at her.
“It’s okay, Statice,” Late Bloom placed a hoof on his shoulder. “I have informed all the staff and the parents of the students. I didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable at being the oldest student in the class.”
“What do you mean by oldest student?” Rarity asked Later Bloom, wanting to verify if her ears did not deceive her. Luckily for her, and tragically for Statice, Late Bloom gave her a detailed answer
“As a result of growing isolated from Equestria, Statice’s performance at the citizenship test was lower than average. As such, I’ve been tasked with helping him take his first step as a pony of Equestria. I am to tutor him as he climbs his way into the education system to take the citizenship test again, starting from Magic Kindergarten.”
“You’re a student at Magic Kindergarten?” Rarity exclaimed as she pointed a hoof at Statice. Even with Late Bloom admitting it in front of her, she still had trouble believing what she heard.
“Yes, he is!” Late Bloom beamed at her. “He’s a little awkward, but he’s quite a good student. I’ve never seen a student taking coloring so seriously. Most of my students tend to draw out of the lines or use the wrong colors for the drawings. Statice is the only student who bothered to use the right colors for the princesses. That’s why I gave him a gold star!”
Rarity turned around to ask Statice about his predicament. The response that she got was him covering her mouth with his hoof and teleporting her out of the castle. They were at some part of the city, but it was impossible to distinguish it when they were at an alley. The stallion looked at both sides before he removed his hoof from Rarity’s mouth to let her speak her mind.
“Have you no shame, Statice!” Rarity shrieked at him indignantly.
“I have shame,” Statice deadpanned. “Why do you think I had us teleported away from the castle? I didn’t want you to have a scene at it.”
“I’m talking about the teleportation and the gagging!” Rarity stomped a hoof disapprovingly. “That was straight out pony-napping.”
Statice snorted at the accusation. “If I wanted to do that, I would have done it a long time ago. Remember, I had lots of chances back in Ponyville as Aster.”
Rarity gulped at that comment. To be honest, Statice was right. She had dropped her guard around him in all of her encounters with him. She certainly dropped it the most back when he assumed the identity of Aster. To think that he could have taken her away in each of those occasions made her shiver.
“Anyway, I’d like to ask you to not let anypony know about this issue,” Statice sighed, glad that Rarity had turned silent.
“What makes you think that I’ll tell anypony?” Rarity asked indignantly.
“You’re into gossip,” Statice bluntly replied.
Rarity gasped twice in response, gritting her teeth immediately after the second gasp. “I’ll have you know that I can handle privacy rather well, Statice,” she growled at him.
“But how will I know that you won’t share anything with your friends?” Statice asked her wearily. “You like your friends and you dislike me enough to actually tell them about this.”
“I do not gossip for the sake of hurting others,” Rarity glowered at him.
“I’m not trusting your words,” Statice narrowed his eyes. “Luckily for me, I have other methods to ensure that you keep my secret.”
“What kind of methods are you talking about?” Rarity flinched, taking a step back and subtly breathing to ensure her loudest scream in case he went on the offensive.
“You’re a business mare,” Statice smiled charmingly. “Since I can’t trust you to give me your silence willingly, I’ll just buy it from you.”
He lighted his horn with magic to open Hammerspace. From the dimension he pulled out a large silver bar. Rarity’s love for beauty got her entranced by the precious metal. Statice smiled as this was going to stop Rarity from interrupting him when he was finishing the bribery.
He focused his magic in the silver bar to separate it into two pieces. It didn’t break or make a sound when it was split in half. The bar just simply pulled apart into two smaller halves. The smaller silver bars contorted until they were two thin bands that traveled around Rarity’s forelegs. The fashionista gasped a little bit as the two bands wrapped on her forelegs and clasped together into two beautiful silver bracelets.
She daintily lifted a foreleg and stared at her new accessory. “Are those silver bracelets?” she asked, already knowing the answer but still needing confirmation from Statice.
“Yes,” Statice nodded his head.
“How can they be?” Rarity asked uncertainly, but still not taking her eyes away from the bracelets. “I saw you pull them apart. It looked like you melted them, and yet they were not hot when you put them on my hooves.”
“Let’s just say it’s some sort of original transformation spell,” Statice shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t feel the need to talk about his Plasticity Spell with Rarity.
Unlike a transformation spell, the Plasticity Spell manipulated the shape of an object that was had enough malleability and plasticity into any shape he desired. It was a perfect way to make artistic crafts from anything.
Rarity was gently beating the bracelets with her hooves, still trying to check on the veracity of her new accessories. To her continued shock, they were real.
“If you keep this secret for me, I will finish the payment with a couple of sapphires,” he promised with a professional smile on his face. “I got a whole lot of gems in my own personal storage area. All I need is to pick up a couple of them and then use a little spell to bedazzle your bracelets.”
He wasn’t lying. A Synthesis Spell allowed him to perfectly fuse physical objects as long as they had the potential of being a perfect match for each other. Back when Statice made jewelry, he used that spell to make his own accessories.
“You can make these bracelets more beautiful than before?” Rarity asked him. She was trembling in excitement and reverence.
“Yes,” Statice nodded his head. “You’d be surprised at how many things you pick up outside of Equestria and how you can apply them into magic. Now then, are you satisfied with our agreement?”
Rarity expected her to say something professional. Instead of that, he got an excited shriek as Rarity wrapped her forelegs around him and hugged him.
“OH YES!” she nuzzled him, rubbing his cheek with her own. “I ACCEPT THE TERMS! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THESE BRACELETS!”
Statice blushed as he felt Rarity’s smooth coat nuzzle his cheek. She was wearing a perfume of lilac and a matching shampoo. To make matters worse, she looked more ravishing up close. Such features from the elegant mare were overwhelming his sense of sight, smell, and touch.
Somepony please save me from this awkwardness.
“I’d say that this is quite a pleasant sight, don’t you think, Fleur?”
Rarity stopped nuzzling Statice when she recognized the owner of the voice. She mumbled something in a low voice. It was a name and Statice knew from Discord’s memories the only stallion capable of eliciting such response from Rarity.
Statice softly broke Rarity’s hug to turn around and face the stallion. He was a white unicorn with a blue mane and eyes. He was a large stallion wearing a fancy suit, a purple bowtie, and a monocle. His mane was well combed and his hooves were unshorn, showing that they were blue. His cutie mark looked like three crowns with purple jewels at the center.
Standing next to him was a beautiful unicorn mare. She had an elegant body, a white coat, a long pink mane, and light purple eyes. Her cutie mark was that of three fleurs-de-lis, one of them was gold and the other two were purple. She was leaning on top of her husband’s back on her forelegs, resting her chin on her hooves.
“It is so nice to see you again, Mrs. Rarity,” Fancy Pants smiled at the fashionista, who stammered in his presence.
“I-I can say the same thing about you, Fancy Pants,” Rarity nervously replied. “What brings you here?”
“I was having a walk with Fleur,” Fancy Pants gestured with his head at his wife, who was looking at Rarity and Statice with doe eyes. “We usually travel into this route because nopony tends to travel here at this hour. You’d be surprised at how crowded Canterlot can be at the right hour.”
“Our walks are very quaint,” Fleur spoke with a soft voice, never taking her eyes away from Rarity and Statice. “Fortunately, this time we found a very interesting event unfolding in front of our eyes. It’s quite rare to see a new couple in Canterlot.”
“New couple?!” Statice and Rarity yelled in unison, both of their faces flushing at her statement. Their embarrassment increased tenfold when they realized they spoke in unison and promptly turned their faces away from each other.
“But of course,” Fleur moved fast and silently enough to appear besides Rarity before the “couple” noticed her. “It’s not very common for a stallion to give a beautiful mare such as you silver bracelets.”
“That reminds me that I have not presented myself to you,” Fancy Pants chided himself as he walked to Statice and offered his hoof for him to shake. “I am Fancy Pants and this is my wife Fleur. You must be Statice.”
“You know my name?” Statice asked in surprise as he shook Fancy’s hoof.
“How could I not remember it after that Arcanum Ball game?” Fancy Pants scoffed with laughter. “I have never seen such interesting game in my entire life. It’s sort of surprising that you started a relationship with Rarity after such an intense game.”
Statice blushed at the statement. As likeable as Fancy Pants was, he didn’t want him to get the wrong idea, much less spread it around Canterlot. “Ah, we’re not really-”
“Maybe we should bring them to Ritzy Hay Bale,” Fleur suggested as she stood in front of Statice and offered a hoof, which he reluctantly kissed.
“That’s an excellent idea, Fleur!” Fancy Pants beamed at his wife. “We can start catching up with Mrs. Rarity and Mr. Statice there.”
“Uh, I don’t think that’s a”
“It’s not a bad idea,” Rarity covered his mouth with her hoof. “We will meet you both at Ritzy Hay Bale this evening!”
“Wonderful,” Fancy Pants nodded his head. “I look forward to seeing you both this evening. Let’s take our leave, Fleur.”
The stallion took his leave. Fleur stood in place posing for a few seconds until she realized what Fancy said, following after him. Statice stared at the couple before giving Rarity a disapproving glare. Unfortunately for him, Rarity was busy in her own fantasy as she squealed in delight.
“Fancy Pants invited me to the Ritzy Hay Bale! This is SO going to expand my fashion career in Canterlot! I have so many dresses to choose! Which will be the best one to bring?”
“You do realize that you just signed us up for a double date?” Statice deadpanned, deciding to break Rarity’s fantasies to help her focus on the mess she put them on. "And that your date is a stallion that you don't really like, much less is a friends of yours?"
That question was enough to break Rarity out of her dreams. She gave a dramatic gasp as she stared at Statice. She started to sweat and walk around in circle. The stallion took a few steps back away from her so that he wouldn’t get involved once she started having her histrionic episode.
“Oh my goodness, you’re right! What did I just do? I just lied to Fancy Pants! And now I have to go out on a date with YOU! How am I supposed to tell him that we are not a couple? How will he react? Will he be mad that I lied to him? Maybe he’ll think that I took advantage of his generosity to get a free meal at an expensive restaurant! He’ll never want anything to do with me again!”
Statice sighed at how his day was going from bad to worse. He had a boring day at Magic Kindergarten, Rarity came to stay at the castle, she found out about him being a student at the bottom of the education system, and now he was stuck on a double date to satisfy the most influential couple of Canterlot.
I better bring back Rarity to the castle. I don’t need her panic attacks to bring more attention to me.
Closing the small distance between him and Rarity, Statice used his magic to teleport them back into his room. Much to his shock, the surprise teleportation did nothing to stop Rarity’s rant.
Wow, she’s really having a panic attack if she didn’t mind the teleportation. Then again, she is friends with Twilight. Maybe she’s has done the teleportation gigs many times already.
Rarity’s speech of despair continued for a few more minutes before it came to its dramatic conclusion. “Of all the things that I’ve ever done in my entire life this is THE…WORST…POSSIBLE…THING!”
Having said all that she had to say, Rarity burst into tears and started having a fit…on his bed. The stallion yelled at her, finding her incessant crying to be infuriating and being annoyed at her using his bed as her fainting couch.
“Are you done crying?” Statice asked pointedly. “Because I don’t think that wailing like a whale is gonna help our way out of this mess.”
“You’re right!” Rarity stopped crying and stood defiantly. “As Celestia as my witness, I swear that I will make this night work!”
“What do you mean by making this night work?” Statice asked. “Just tell them that we’re not a couple and that’s it!”
“They already think that we’re a couple, Statice!” Rarity got out of his bed. “It’s too late to back down now.”
“You accepted their invitation,” Statice reminded her. “You didn’t confirm that you and I were dating.”
“But I did by accepting the invitation, Statice!” Rarity stomped her hoof to put emphasis on her explanation. “It was a subtle answer that was read between the lines. You have to know this stuff when you are in Canterlot.”
“How the heck did you come up with that garbage, Rarity?” Statice stared at her in confusion.
“Social skills,” Rarity closed her eyes and tilted her head up. “Now prepare yourself, Statice. We have to prepare you for this double date.”
“Are we seriously doing this?” Statice asked with a sarcastic smile. “How about you tell them I had diarrhea and can’t make it with them.”
“I am NOT telling them that!” Rarity shoved her snout to his.
“And I am NOT going with you!” Statice shoved his snout back into hers.
“You will,” Rarity darkly promised.
“Why would I?” Statice challenged.
“Think about it, Statice,” Rarity raised her head at him with closed eyes. “How did the sight of you giving mare bracelets on her hooves look like in the eyes of anypony who walked across the scene?”
“It’d look like I was asking you to marry…” Statice answered before he realized the implications of how the act of bribing Rarity with silver bracelets could easily be misinterpreted as asking her to be his bride.
“Now who’s to say somepony didn’t watch you ‘propose’ to me but left out of respect for our privacy?” Rarity shook her head while still looking at him with half lidded eyes. “Who’s to say they didn’t tell anypony else? For all we know, we’re the new couple of Canterlot even without Fancy Pants saying anything about us.”
That little…huh…I guess that’s what many of my enemies must have thought of me every time I outsmarted them. I must start recognizing these girls as something more competent beneath their cute and silly natures.
“Let me give you my own proposal,” Rarity stood in front of Statice, giving him a cold stare. “You take me to the restaurant, we have fun with Fancy Pants and Fleur, I clear the misunderstanding, and I’ll make it up to you.”
“How will you make it up to me?” Statice raised an eyebrow.
“For starters, I’ll try to make our date as pleasant as it can be,” Rarity started and began a long rant.
I doubt that’s possible.
“I’ll give you a free discount on clothes on Carousel Boutique to make up for the bracelets you made for me, the date, and the trouble I caused you,” Rarity continued, fortunately speaking with her eyes closed so that she couldn’t see him rolling her eyes at her.
I don’t think I’ll need it, but it better be worth the monetary value of that silver I used for those bracelets.
“And if things do end up fine at the end maybe we can laugh this off as friends,” Rarity finished her speech with a nice smile, which vanished when she noticed the cold look on Statice’s face.
“No,” he bluntly answered.
“And why would you refuse?” Rarity stomped her hoof.
“I’ll take everything but your friendship,” Statice clarified. “Getting me into this mess and having me solve it with you does not count as something a friend would do. It doesn't matter if I end up enjoying the date in the way, that'd be more of a guilty pleasure and a moment of weakness in the face of temptation. If you want my friendship, you’re gonna have to do it in a different misadventure on your own volition and without being asked.”
Rarity was seething at his refusal of her friendship. This whole mess started because he kidnapped her and bribed her because he thought that she was going to tell her friends about his time in Magic Kindergarten. She was prepared to retort, until she took the calming exercises that Twilight always did. He was right. She could have told the truth to Fancy Pants. If there had been anypony making rumors about Statice and her being a couple, Fancy Pants could simply tell the truth.
Well, he’s doing this for you. It’s fair for you not to push your friendship on him when he doesn’t want it. You can earn his friendship when he thinks you deserve it.
“Sounds reasonable,” Rarity nodded her head. “I believe we shall prepare ourselves for this evening. However, I’d like to tell you that I do want to be friends with you, Statice. I know that we’ve started on the wrong hoof and this incident certainly won’t help your opinion of me, but I am sincere over starting anew.”
As his mind was confused over mixed feelings for the fashionista, Statice sighed in defeat. “Very well,” he replied. “I will help you with this farce since I don’t have much of a choice on this matter.”
“Perfect,” Rarity purred in delight. “Now all we need to do is plan on how the date should be going. We can’t just monopolize the time for ourselves. We have to at least give some time to Fancy Pants and Fleur to let them know that we’re interested. But we can’t be too interested since they deserve to have some romantic privacy…”
She is in another one of her rants again! By the stars, I wish that Fluttershy had been the one coming here. She would have probably shut up about Magic Kindergarten and leave me to my own devices.
“You do realize that going on this date can also be the wrong choice and make us look more like a couple?” Statice asked her despondently. “Sooner or later, we’re gonna have to tell these guys that we are not a couple. I don’t want you getting too caught up in the activities and forget telling them the truth”
“True,” Rarity sagely nodded her head. “But I can always tell them that I broke up with you after the date. Therefore, we won’t have to worry about them asking us out on another double date.”
“Except that we’ll be surrounded by paparazzi that want to know about how we ‘broke up’ with each other,” Statice gestured with his hooves. “And you’re forgetting that the paparazzi will be chasing me during the period on which we’re ‘still together’ so I’m not sure how long am I gonna stand them before going to the dungeons for assault.”
“Just tell them that we tried to take a long distance relationship, but it was not working well between us,” Rarity gave a dismissive wave with her hoof before looking surprised. “Also, you don’t mind me lying about me dumping you?”
“You think that will stop them from asking more questions?” Statice scoffed at the fashionista. “Those guys are like flies. Once they swarm you, there’s no getting rid of them until they have what they want. As for you dumping me, I don’t care. That reminds me, I may reconsider being your friend if you tell me how the ponies ignored you for Fluttershy, it could come real handy…”
“Just help me prepare for this date!” Rarity yelled at him in irritation when she saw him smirk at her. “We have to cover our bases. We need the proper attires, discuss etiquette, find topics of conversations, and plan a background for our relationship. This is going to require time to make this double date fit the Canterlot standards.”
“Fine!” Statice yelled back. It was official…his first date was going to be with a trio of snobs…correction: two worthy nobles and a semi-lovable-snob.
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Now that was a surprise. Statice should have just ran into his room with Rarity. It would have been easier.
8111504 Before their first date?
Oh my
8112489 Would have at least cut out the middle man.
Plasticity spell sounds like it would produce weaker metal constructs than forged equivalents, and would only work with wet clay before firing it, as trying the reshape fired ceramic would unmake the crystalline structure that gives it its strength, and metal that gets reshaped would lose any internal structural tension forces introduced in its forging.
Keep going! :)