Chapter One
Now this was heaven, nothing but the scent of books old and new. The only sounds were that of turning pages and the shuffle of hooves on the carpeted floor. Sunlight streamed through the high windows, enough to illuminate, but kept away from the precious books and tomes.
Moondancer couldn’t help but let out the softest of sighs. No matter what happened in her life, the library was a source of comfort and safety. Heck, she’d hidden in here during the Changeling invasion some time back.
Nothing changed around here. It was, in a word…
Perfect~
So the question was, why was she frowning?
The answer was simple.
There was… something in the library. Something… new.
It wasn’t a new book, or some piece of obscure or tasteless artwork.
Nope, this thing was something much different. And because of its presence, the sanctity of the library lost as ponies gasped, murmured… or worse. They spoke out loud!
Moondancer knew what this thing was. Hay, most of Equestria knew what this was. This so called ‘human’ had been in just about every news article and radio show since it arrived some time ago.
And now it was entertaining some foals, reading aloud in various voices as they laughed and clapped their hooves. Even the head librarian wasn’t shushing them. It was complete anarchy!
What was next? Fanfiction being recognised as actual literature?
Was a not-so-silent huff, she closed her book and got up. Slinging her saddlebags over her back, she headed for the door. If she couldn’t get any peace and quiet, she might as well go hang out with Minuette. No-one noticed the mare exit.
Save for one.
“And then, it has the gall to talk. In the library!” Moondancer threw her hooves up, luckily the donut she had was in a magical grip instead of her hooves.
“How rude,” Minuette gasped.
“And it made all the foals laugh! How am I supposed to concentrate of Starswirls Third Theorem with that?”
“What a monster,” Minuette gasped again.
“…You don’t care do you?” Moondancer replied, her tone and expression flat
“Not in the slightest,” Minuette giggled more earnestly as she nibbled her donut like a chipmunk. “Look Moonie. He’s really not that bad you know. And I’m sure he’s very sorry he disturbed your studies.”
That threw Moondancer for a loop. “Wait, how do you know it?”
“Him,” Minuette corrected her friend, rather sternly too. Moondancer did drop her donut this time.
“M-Minuette…”
“No Moonie!” Minuette said and sighed. “I don’t know him all that well. We've passed a few times in the street and we made small talk once while waiting for Joe’s to open. But, even from that I can tell he's nice. Sure his appearance is a little…” She waved a hoof as she searched for the right word.
“Weird?” Moondancer offered.
“Different,” Minuette corrected again. “I just don't think you should say stuff like that about somepony you don't even know.” She frowned and took a massive bite of her donut. “And you shouldn't call him an ‘it’. That’s just… It’s really rude Moonie!”
Ah crap, mad Minuette was mad. So for the sake of clarification, anything besides a happy Minuette was something you did not want.
“Alright, I’m sorry,” Moondancer immediately folded like a house of cards. “If I see it… him again, I’ll be sure to apologise.”
“Good filly,” Minuette giggled, petting her mane and smiling brightly. “Now that that’s out of the way. What else is new?”
“Not much,” Moondancer sighed, tidying her mane with her magic. “My studies are aimless at this point. I just… I don’t know.” She lifted her coffee and sipped at it. She didn’t have a direction at the moment since her last field of studies fell through. Long distance time travel had already been done apparently. Thanks Starswirl!
“Hmm, sounds like you need a break,” Minuette said with a small nod. “Lyra’s coming to visit, along with her new fiance tonight, so we’re gonna go out to Neon’s Nightlife to celebrate. Why don’t you come out with us tonight? Help your big brain relax a bit.”
While Moondancer was spending more time with her friends now, but going out to a club?
“I don’t know…” she protested weakly.
Then she made the mistake of looking up, and right into Minuette’s pouting face. Whelp, good game Futile Resistance. May you rest in peace.
“…Fine,” Moondancer sighed and Minuette clapped her hooves.
“Yay! Minuette clapped her hooves. “You won’t regret it. I promise.”
“I regret absolutely everything about this,” Moondancer deadpanned as she and Minuette waited in line to get into the club. She’d been convinced to comb her mane and tail, and now wore a newer turtleneck sweater, one that wasn’t three sizes too big.
“Oh, you silly filly,” her blue companion giggled. “Regret comes later, after a few shots of Sunrise Surprise.”
Moondancer idly wondered why it was called that, but she decided to look it up later.
“LYRA!!” Minuette suddenly shouted and Moondancer whinnied in surprise before shoot her a glare, but was utterly ignored by all parties involved.
“Hiya!” the minty mare said as she approached and hugged Minuette, then looked at Moondancer and her eyes widened in a look of genuine shock. “Whoa! You… actually came?”
“Could you sound any less surprised?” Moondancer deadpanned again. Lyra was almost as bad as Minuette sometimes. Still, their enthusiasm could be infectious at times. “And yes, Minuette asked me to.”
“She used ‘The Face’ didn’t she?” Lyra smirked and Moondancer sighed. Lyra laughed and patted her withers. “Yep, you got played like a fiddle.” She whirled around and dragged an earth pony mare close. “This is my lovey dove, Bon Bon. Bonnie, these are my pals from school. Minuette and Moondancer.”
“Hello, and my condolences for having known her that long,” Bon Bon smirked. Lyra frowned and pouted as Moondancer snorted in amusement. She was probably going to like this mare.
“Aww, even Moonbutt’s laughing at me?” Lyra mock-whined. “Not cool girls. Not cool at all.”
“Mm, yes, I believe I like these mares,” Bon Bon giggled as the line shuffled forward.
“Is anypony else coming tonight?” Lyra asked as she looked around. “I don’t see Lemony or Twinkle anywhere.”
“Lemony has to foalsit her cousin and Twinkle’s out of town, I asked Twilight, but she’s dealing with Princessey stuff.” Minuette informed her. “Sorry, it’s just us tonight. So we’ll have to have enough fun for all of us!”
“Aw, well I guess it can’t be helped,” Lyra pouted. “Okay! I’m gonna dance my hooves off!”
“Just keep her away from the minty cocktails,” Bon Bon sighed. “Otherwise we’re carrying her home.”
“I’m not that bad,” Lyra pouted as Bon Bon nuzzled her and smiled. The line moved forward until the four mares were at the front.
“Alright, you’re clear,” the massive earth pony bouncer said and opened the door. The vibrating bass of the music nearly knocked Moondancer’s glasses off.
“All my regret,” the mare sighed as she was pushed inside by her friends. Well, at least this night couldn’t get any worse right?
Antino sat at the bar, his foot tapping to the music playing behind him. He was no stranger to this place, stopping by a few times a week once the sun set. They had drinks and Neon Lights knew how to scratch a record.
“Something on your mind tonight Anny?” the barmaid asked. She was a petite little unicorn mare with a speckled brown coat and auburn hair. Her cutie mark was a half-full cocktail glass.
“Sorta,” Antino replied. He ran a hand through his dark hair and sighed. “I was reading to some foals at the library today, but I think I may have been too loud and upset some of the visitors. One mare in particular looked pretty steamed.”
“Ah, don’t beat yourself up over it,” she said as she poured him a drink. “Who cares what a few bookworms think. You’re a swell guy.”
“I dunno, I didn’t mean to be rude or anything.”
“Look Anny,” Shot Glass leaned forward and smiled. “I know your wear your heart on your hoof… or, whatever it is you have. But you gotta stop getting down every time you think you upset somepony.” She looked past him and smiled. “You know, a group of pretty mares just walked in. How about I send a few drinks courtesy of you, paid for by me.”
“You're incorrigible,” Antino sighed with a small half-smile and shook his head as Shot giggled and started mixing some drinks.
“Aww yeah!’ Minuette grinned and bobbed her head. “Is this place the best or what?”
“Or what?” Moondancer asked yelled over the music. “I can’t hear a thing in here!” It was the complete opposite of her library. This place was loud, uncomfortable and full of ponies. She just wanted to go home already.
She was ushered into a booth by the rest of them and blinked in surprise as the music’s volume faded to a more comfortable level. She looked around and saw some silencing runes on the floor, surrounding the booth. Well, that was certainly interesting.
She didn’t get to study them further as a unicorn mare approached the table with a tray of drinks in her magical grasp.
“Huh? We haven’t ordered anything yet,” Minuette said as Shot put the tray down.
“Compliments from the gentleman at the bar,” the barmaid smiled and motioned to the human. Moondancer’s eyes widened further as she recognised him.
“And don’t worry, I mixed these myself,” Shot Glass said.
Okay, why did the barmaid feel the need to add that little tidbit? But before Moondancer could ask, she left the group alone to continue work.
“Psst!” Minuette nudged Moondancer. “That’s him right? The one you were talking about?”
“Well seeing as how he’s one of the few humans in Equestria,” Lyra butted in. “If you were talking about a human in Canterlot, I’d say it was a safe bet. Still, how do you know Tino?”
“You know his name?” Moondancer quirked one of her eyebrows.
“Well duh, I think most of Equestria does,” Lyra giggled and nuzzled Bon Bon. “We used to talk a lot when he was in Ponyville. I was one of the first actually, as most ponies were too scared to even approach him back then.” The minty mare smiled fondly and looked at Moondancer. “You still haven’t answered my question though.”
“She got in a tizzy because he was pretty loud at the library,” Minuette said as Moondancer frowned and looked away. Minuette made it sound so… petty. Too bad Twilight wasn’t here, she could back her up on this.
“Oh no!” Lyra gasped over dramatically and put her forehooves to her mouth. “What will that villain do next? Adopt a filly and give her a loving home?”
“Ha. Ha. You’re hilarious,” Moondancer said dryly as she eyed her drink wearily. “Sure, make me look like the badpony here. Look, I was being petty alright. Can we please drop this?”
“Weeeell…” Minuette sat closer to her and put a leg over her withers. “You did say that you’d apologise the next time you saw him, riiiight~?”
Moondancer paused and stared with an incredulous expression. “Um… no, not now. This is hardly the place to—” She never got to finish as Minuette pushed her out of the booth and towards the human. The unicorn glared at her friend and yelled something, but was utterly ignored over the loud bass of the music.
“Celestia damn it,” Moondancer sighed. Fine, if that’s how she wanted to play. She turned and started moving towards the seated creature. ’This’ll be easy. Walk up, say sorry, leave. Mission accomplished and Minuette would finally drop this whole thing.’
Should be easy.
Juuuust, walk up and say it.
…
’Come on Moondancer, move your flank.’
’Ponies are staring at you.’
They really weren’t, save for her friends anyway.
Behind her, said friends were staring at her and the fact she seemed to be playing ‘Red Light, Green Light’ with the human seated at the bar. Every time his head even turned in Moondancer’s general direction, she froze like a statue. Minuette fought the urge to facehoof as she mentally cheered her friend on regardless.
“I’m not sure if this is funny—” Lyra commented as she sipped her drink. Ooh, minty~ “—Or just plain sad.”
“A little of column A, a little of column B,” Bon Bon replied.
“Moonie’s a little… shy,” Minuette paused to find the right word to use. Or least the kindest one to use. “Give her a bit, then we should hopefully see some progress here.”
Bon Bon and Lyra shared a look, as Minuette smiled to herself. This little development hadn’t been in her plans to get Moonie and Tino together, something she’d been planning on for a while now. But hey, she wasn’t gonna look a gift pony in the mouth.
Now if only Moondancer would stop standing there like a statue.
“Hey Shot,” Antino said as he sipped the light cider in his grasp. “Is it just me? Or has that unicorn staring hole in the back of my head been getting closer when she thinks I’m not looking?”
Shot Glass quirked an eyebrow and peered over the counter. There was indeed a mare slowly inching towards him. She didn’t look dangerous, but…
“What me to call Bouncer?”
“Nah, no need to start something unless she does,” Antino replied and took a sip from his drink again. He was curious about what she wanted though. Something about her was… familiar.
It was a very awkward few minutes as the mare made some painfully slow progress. But eventually she stood close enough so that her voice might be heard over the music. It would seem the bar itself possessed the same muting runes as the private booths, though not quite as potent. Moondancer found her mind wandering.
”is it Hoofenheimer’s work? Or maybe Starswirl? If only I could get a closer look at the runs themselves, or even take a glance at the spell matrix…”
“Hello there.”
The sudden voice broke her out of her daydream and she glanced up, adjusting her glasses as she did. It was that thing, that… human. He was looking right at her and she found her hooves about to start moving backwards.
Arrgh, this was ridiculous. Why was she so scared of it? Okay, so she might not have known as much about it as say, Minuette. So, let’s use this as a… study period. She could work in a few words, like a social experiment.
Yes, that would work. She smiled at her brilliant plan.
Antino stared at the smiling mare, she looked rather pleased about something. A look over her shoulder saw that he recognised two of this odd mare’s friends. Lyra Heartstrings and Bon Bon. The two gave him a friendly wave.
‘She with you?’ he mouthed and pointed at Moondancer.
‘Give her time,’ Lyra pantomimed. This was a long practised event between the mare and the man. They had all of Ponyville convinced for a month that he spoke a special sign language that only Lyra could understand. It had been hilarious.
During his brief reminiscence of the past, Moondancer had come out of her small trance and moved a bit closer.
“So, you are the human?”
Not the first time somepony had greeted him like that, but he couldn’t help but tease her regardless. She looked a lot like Twilight, and teasing her had brought an endless amount of amusement.
“Well, good evening to you as well Miss—” he glanced over her shoulder as Lyra mimed her name. “—Moondancer. And yes, my name is Antino, thank you for asking.” He flashed her a toothy smile as the slowly dawning look of shock appeared on her face.
Moondancer winced, now realising how impolite that sounded, and even worse that he not only pointed it out, but kept his own manners. The fact he knew her name seemed to glide over her head for now.
“Yes, sorry. My name is Moondancer.” She looked up at the seated human. “It is… interesting to meet you finally.” Well, it was still marginally better than her initial introduction. He seemed to look more amused than offended anyway.
Antino was pleasantly surprised. Well, at least she wasn’t running away, begging not to eat her or barraging him with a thousand and one questions. He fired her another smile and patted the barstool next to him.
“Why don’t you take a seat and we’ll talk,” he said. “I’m sure you have a question or two.”
Moondancer looked hesitant at first, but accepted the offer as she climbed up onto the seat. She attempted to sit upright like Lyra liked to do, but ended up having to place her forehooves on the bar for support. She took a breath and remembered the reason she was here.
“I’d like to know why you were so noisy in the library today,” Moondancer said. Minuette’s accompanying facehoof could almost be heard over the music.
“You cut right to the chase huh?” Antino recognised her now. She was the mare that stormed out in a huff after he’d made a little too much noise. Well… crap. He sighed and closed his eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make so much noise, I guess I get a little into it when I’m reading.”
Moondancer watched his expression with a slight frown. Well buck, she hadn’t been expecting that kind of reaction. She’d been hoping he could justify her irritation and be uncaring about.
Now she just felt like an ass. A really petty one.
“It’s, not a big deal,” she replied slowly as she looked away. “I guess I over-reacted. Folas will be foals…”
“Yeah, we usually have the private reading room, but it was closed for repainting,” Antino explained. “I should have been more courteous of the ponies trying to study. I’m sorry Miss Moondancer.”
“I-It’s fine,” Moondancer said. She was feeling quite embarrassed now. “No harm, no foul. I should apologise for over-reacting as I did.”
“Good!” Shot Glass suddenly said from behind the bar, startling Moondancer as she nearly fell out of her seat. “Whoops, easy there,” the pette unicorn chuckled and caught Moon with her magic, sitting her back upright. “You’re not nearly drunk enough to fall out of your seat yet.”
“Hilarious,” Moondancer replied with both a flat tone and expression. Though her heart was still pounding in her chest. She didn’t handle jump scares very well. Celestia, during the Changeling invasion, she’d been holed up in the library inside in what she thought was a very durable bookfort. A warm cup of cocoa and the latest Daring Do, she’d barely known the invasion was even going on. And that book on Ancient Geomancy had been so enthralling...
Antino stared at her, resting his head in his palm as he leaned on the counter. It seemed this Moondancer had a rather high level skill of spacing out. Or getting lost in her own thoughts. Twilight would do the same when she researched and Luna when she was hosting Night Court.
He hadn’t seen Moonbutt in a while, he made a mental note to pay a visit to the castle again soon. He idly wondered if she’d gotten together with that Aegis Shield guy…
“Are… they seriously just spacing out at the same time?” Minuette blinked as she sipped her cider.
“Yeah… Tino tends to do that on occasion,” Lyra giggled as she leaned against Bon Bon. “He’s sweet, but yeah, he tends to get hung up on the little things sometimes.”
“They sound utterly perfect for one another,” Minuette clapped her hooves. Lyra blinked and then gave her longtime friend a scrutinising gaze.
“Minni?” she said slowly. “Now, I’m gonna go out on a limb here, so feel free to correct me. But… are you shipping Tino and Moonie?”
“Shipping?” Bon Bon quirked an eyebrow.
“Maaaaaybee?” Minuette giggled and rubbed her hooves together. “Oh come on Lylie. Lookit those cute nerds and tell me they wouldn’t be adorable together.”
“Lyra, I am starting to see why these mares are your friends,” Bon Bon replied and sipped her drink.
“The power of cute compelled me to do it!” Minuette said and Lyra shook her head. Cuteness aside, there were other reasons she could see this working. Oh the look on Moondancer’s face when she finds out. This ought to be fun~
A loud round of applause from the dancefloor snapped Moondancer out of her reverie, Frogs and Fetlocks! How long had she been spacing out this time. This human was probably laughing his…
Wait a minute.
She looked at him, his glassy gaze seemingly staring off into nothing. It wasn’t until the barmaid cleared her throat that he blinked and looked up.
“Huh? What?” he looked around as Shot Glass laughed and shook her head. “Ah, sorry,” he apologised to Moondancer. “I kinda space out sometimes. Sorry about that.”
“I-It’s no problem,” the unicorn forced a smile. Thank the Stars, he didn’t notice her do it too from the looks of it. “Happens to anypony.”
“So uh…” Tino turned and then raised his glass, sipping from it. “You um, enjoying this place?”
Wait, was this small talk? Was he attempting small talk? Why? She’d apologised. He’d apologised. It’s not like they were friends or anything. Moondancer swore she could see a little Twilight Sparkle sitting on her shoulder, telling her it was a good opportunity to make more friends. But why? She didn’t even like this stallion? Colt? Male human? What was the correct vernacular here? Maybe this could be a new road to study? Hmm, it might even get her out of the rut she was in right now, give her something fresh to focus on. Were there even any books on humans? She’d never recalled seeing any. Perhaps the Royal Archives? She should send a letter to Twilight. On that note, Moondancer wondered how her princess friend was doing…
Tino watched as the mare’s attention drifted away again, a thoughtful look on her face. “Uh… Miss Moondancer?”
He looked over her shoulder to Lyra again, the minty unicorn just shrugging and nuzzling Bon Bon.
’Yeah, thanks for the help Harpbutt. I’ll remind you on how bad you panicked asking Bon Bon out, and who was in the background to help you later.’
Well, it hadn’t been like he was asking Moondancer out on a date. He was just trying to make some casual talk, but had no idea where to start. Given she was Lyra and Minuette’s friend, he’d assumed Moondancer was just as much of a chatterbox as they were.
He was now fairly certain Fluttershy was more outgoing than this mare. And at the very least, Flutters didn’t space out as much.
“Real smooth, like sandpaper,” Shot Glass chuckled as she wiped one of her namesakes. “You’re a natural with the mares Tino.”
“Uhuh, like you’re any better,” he snarked back.
“Better than you,” Shot’s eyes narrowed.
“Saffron Masala,” the human replied, a small smirk on his face as his opponent’s eyes widened in an embarrassed blush crossed her muzzle.
“H-How was i supposed to know she wasn’t into mares until she said so!” the indignant-looking unicorn huffed.
“She did, three times. You were too hammered to listen,” Tino replied and reached over to tussle her mane. “It all worked out anyway. Aren’t you two friends now?”
“Yeah,” Shot sighed. “Sucks… she’s really cute. Maybe I can convert her~”
“You’re incorrigible,” Tino chuckled as Shot shrugged and poked Moondancer.
“Hey hon, I have a question.”
“Hm? What?” Moondancer looked up.
“What’s the weather on the moon like?”
“The…” Moondancer paused and Tino thought the dawning look of realization on her face was kind of cute. The unicorn mare groaned and put her hoof to her forehead. “I spaced again huh?”
“So, what’s got that brain so distracted?” Antino asked.
“Is it his weird face?” Shot asked and waggled her eyebrows. “Or perhaps my irresistible charm?”
“Neither,” Moondancer said in a tone dryer than the designated wagon drivers in the bar. “A lot of things really. But mostly my stagnate magical research.”
“Stagnate?” Tion asked. “How so? I figured that there’d be an endless supply of things to learn about magic here in Equestria alone, let alone the rest of the world.”
“Well I don’t know what to say,” Moondancer sighed and shrugged. “I was researching time travel, well, long distance time travel anyway. Seems that Starswirl and Twilight Sparkle’s new student beat me to it. So… now I don’t know.”
“Time travel is nothing but trouble,” Tino said. He’d been there when Twilight went a little loopy over an impending disaster from her future self. Turns out she was caught in a paradox and followed it, utterly unknowing until she’d actually completed it and become that future version herself. “And Starswirl was a genius, but he loves his vague prophecies and I’m pretty he loved Arcane Calculus more than anything else. Now Clover on the other hand. Direct and to the point. I particularly like her Magical Renforcement spells and her theories on Arcane Summoning and Leyline Geomancy are really interesting. Plus she has the most delicious sense of snark and irony.”
Moondancer’s brain ground to a screeching halt. Did he? Wait. WHAT!? How… How does he know about that stuff? Does he study Magical Theory? She worked her jaw a few times, trying to voice her questions, but all that came out was a few rasped squeaks. Leyline Geomancy? What the heck was that?
Then something beeped and the human sighed, looking at the watch on his wrist. “Damn, I have to get going,” he said.
What? No! She hadn’t gotten an answer yet. Come on Moondancer. Talk. Speak. Make the word sounds with your mouth!
He stood up and bowed his head to her. “It was nice to meet you Miss Moondancer. Perhaps we’ll meet again?” He turned and said a few things to Shot Glass, before walking away. Moondancer just continued her goldfish impersonation for a moment or two then…
“Wait!” she suddenly said, but the human was long gone. And even over the noise of the customers, the deep rhythmic bass and Moondancer’s own racing thoughts, she heard Lyra and Minuette’s hooves meet their respective foreheads.
Her voice was drowned out by the loud music though, and the human hadn’t seemed to have heard her, as he weaved through the crowd of ponies and out the exit. Moondancer let out a frustrated growl and stamped a hoof.
“Hey, I’m home,” Antino called out as he walked through the front door of a cozy apartment. It was close to the castle, and mostly housed guards and castle staff. More like a dormitory than an apartment complex.
“Oh?” a feminine tone called out. From around the corner, a mare poked her head out. She had a snow white coat with a stormcloud grey mane, tipped in silver. Her eyes were a mix of oceanic blues and greens. Once she laid eyes on the human, she stepped into view, her feathery wings twitching. “Hey Tino, you’re home late.”
“Stopped by the club, he explained as he hung his jacket on a hook near the door. “Why’s that, did you miss me Astra?”
“Oh, my heart longed for your return~” she swooned. “My sweet, silly Antino. My every moment is dedicated to you.”
“…Are you done?” the human deadpanned.
“Maybe,” she giggled. Her name was Astral. A Solar Guard that worked in the palace, and Antino’s roommate. She’d been amongst the detachment of guards accompanying Princess Celestia when the human stumbled dazed and confused out of the Palace hedge maze. After he’d moved from Ponyville to Canterlot, she’d offered to help house him until he got on his hooves… er, feet. The two had been pen pals for a long time, in fact, she could be considered one of his first friends. Anyway, it turns out she couldn’t cook worth a damn, and he was quite talented in that area. And whereas he usually kept a mess in his home, Astral was extremely meticulous in keeping a tidy and orderly house.
So a mutual exchange was forged and the two have been good friends ever since.
“So, meet any cute mares?” she asked with a waggle of her eyebrows as he took off his shoes.
Antino didn’t respond verbally, opting with an eyeroll as he got up and walked into the kitchen. He saw the mess on the counter and sighed “Really? Peanut butter sandwiches?”
“What? They’re good!” she huffed. “And you didn’t answer me.”
“Come with me next time,” he said and she frowned. “You know, if you can get over that crippling shyness of yours.”
“Oh shut up,” she poked her tongue out. So what if she couldn’t talk to ponies when outside of her armour. It was perfectly normal.
“I’ll make something better,” he said and looked in the cupboards. “Pasta do? I’m gonna need to do some shopping tomorrow.”
Astral’s stomach gave a gurgle in response.
“I’ll take that as your voice of approval,” he mused as he filled a pot to boil some water. Now this was an upside to Equestria. Forget gas or electric. Magical appliances were amazing! In under a minute, the water was boiling as he grabbed the box of dried pasta and added a pinch of salt before dumping the contents into the pot.
“You still didn’t answer my question,” Astral teased him, leaning against the doorframe. Tino rolled his eyes, she was quite relentless with this sort of thing.
“There… might have been,” he admitted. Like a bandaid, best rip it off now to save pain further down the track. “A unicorn mare.”
“Oooh, so you found a cute hornhead huh?” she teased. “Well, what’s she like?”
“We only talked for a bit,” he said as he stirred the pot. “She’s pretty smart from the looks of it. Doesn’t get out much either I’d wager.”
“Hmm, bookish nerd type then?” Astral chuckled as she looped her hooves around his neck, dangling down his back. “Right up your alley.” She giggled into his ear. “Or maybe we can have a little fun~”
“You’re gay,” he quoted as-a-matter-of-factly.
“Yup, and proud of it!” she messed up his hair and leapt off of his back. “She have any cute friends?”
“Several,” he nodded and she wagged her tail at the thought.
“Ooohh, a harem eh?”
“Lay off the manga,” he sighed as he stirred the pot again, before dicing some tomatoes and herbs to make the sauce. “It’s no good for you brain… oh wait, that’s a lost cause.”
“Oh shut up!” she giggled, whapping his back with a wing. “So, you gonna ask the cute nerd mare out?”
“Barely know her,” he replied with a shrug. “And honestly, it’s not like I’ve had a ton of interest in that area.”
Astral winced. He had a point there. Any mares that had shown interest of that nature, it was mostly due to his… uniqueness. And that being with him would mean quite the limelight socially. So naturally, he’d avoided anything of the sort so far.
“Well, was she some high-faulting noblemare?” Astral asked him, poking his leg. “Want me to arrest her?” He’d had some trouble before, so his trusty Guard friend might have… stretched her authority without him knowing.
“One, that’s an abuse of power. And two, would a noblemare be caught dead in a black turtleneck sweater inside Neon’s place?” he tacked on.
“Point,” Astral nodded and resumed leaning against the doorway. “So, gonna ask her out?”
Tino rolled his eyes. “Canterlot is a big city. And she looked like she’d been dragged along with her friends. I doubt I’ll even see her again.”
“You never know,” Astral sighed wistfully. “Two nerdy souls, bound by fate to meet again and geek out over complicated math.” It was cute mental image and made her giggle
“Huh, What was that?” Tino asked with a raised eyebrow. “You didn’t want any pasta?”
“Ah! I’m sorry! Please feed me!” Astral’s eyes widened as she begged for her dinner. No teasing was worth losing a delicious meal over.
“Yes yes, I know the rules of owning a pretty pony,” Tino chuckled as he strained the past and started stirring the sauce through it. “Make sure they’re properly fed and watered and get plenty of sleep.”
“Urgh, I’m a Guard, sleep is a luxury for everypony else,” Astral sighed and rolled her head until her neck gave a satisfying crack. She watched Tino serve up dinner into two bowls and sprinkle a generous amount of cheese before holding one out. She took the bowl on an outstretched wing and brought in close, taking a deep whiff of the food and humming pleasantly. “Ahh, you’ll make somepony a good wife someday Tino.”
“As long as my dress is pretty,” he replied, getting a snerk from the mare as they headed into their living room. Flopping onto the couch, Tino grabbed the remote for the projector. “So, are you working tomorrow?” If she had the day off, then they could stay up all night and watch movies.
“Yup,” she sighed as she nursed her bowl. “So no all night movie session tonight.”
“Too bad,” he said as he looked through the crystal discs. “Hmm, zombie slash horror? Or cheesy romance chick flick?”
“…Why do we own that?”
“Because you wanted to impress that mare at the general store, and failed most hilariously,” he recited back to her.
“Oh yeah… she was still hot,” Astra sighed wistfully. “Oh well. Let’s go zombies then. We can giggle at stupid ponies getting eaten.”
“They really are dumb,” Tino agreed as he set the disc down and started it. “So, anything new with work?”
“Eh, I stand in a hall and look all serious,” she said with a shrug. “Honestly, Equestria’s pretty peaceful for the most part. You know, invading Changelings and demonic centaurs aside.”
Ahh, Antino remembered those. The Changeling’s hadn’t known what to make of him when they cornered him in a library. He’d managed to shake them off and take refuge in the library with some foals and other ponies. And he’d escaped the Tirek event, hiding out at home after he’d found Astral wandering the street, completely out of it and blank flanked.They hadn’t found out for a while after on what really happened.
“Well, I’d rather not lose my best friend,” he said, pulling the mare into a one armed hug.
“Aww, thanks!” she giggled and booped his nose. They turned to the screen as a cute mare was ripped apart by zombie. “You know… the pony body doesn’t have that much blood.”
“Mhm, and honestly, she was a pegasus. Why didn’t she just fly?”
“Yeah, well she’s dead so whatev’s… oh! Calling it now. This guy’s next.”
“Naah, it’s totally the snooty noble.”
“You hope it’s the snooty noble you mean?”
“I may be a little biased.”
…
…
“Damn.”
“Caaaaalled it,” Astral giggled as the mare she picked met her grisly end.
“Meh,” Tino shrugged as he ate his pasta.
Turns out the noble survived the whole movie, along with the clearly obvious main character. Tino was less than amused with this.
“Ah well,” Astra giggled as she got up off of the couch, having been leaning against him for most of the trip. “All’s well that end’s well. And on that note, this little pegapony is going to bed.”
“Righto,” Antino said as he gathered up the dinner bowls and various snack wrappers and cider bottles that had accumulated over the course of the movie. He bid her a good night and started to clean up, his thoughts drifting back to the unicorn he met earlier. Miss Moondancer seemed like a mare he might be able to get along with. It was too bad he couldn’t have talked with her longer.
Well, he could always ask Lyra on how to contact her.
“In the meantime, I think I hear the bed calling,” he yawned as he headed for his own room. Tomorrow was a new day after all.
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It's Rated E, it's a Romance, it has one of the best characters as a main. I have to read it.
8196256 - I hope you enjoy it. Chapter two is already underway~
8196258
I'm not even going to lie, I didn't just like this, I loved it. Already can't wait until the next chapter.
Going against my own set rules, it (this story) being currently incomplete, this is going in my 'Top 10' as number 10.
Ugh, this is amazing so far
8196282 - Eeeeee~ I'm glad you loved it. I'll work hard to make the rest of it just as good.
It is good to see a new story! I like it so far. I hope I don't have to wait too long for the next chapter...
s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/44/0a/64/440a64f330e1f0a51baa02495db03dc8.jpg
A good read so far
I really like this story so far!
100% ADMIRABLE 10/10
Eagerly awaiting chapter 2.
Aus, if you turn this into another Shifting Melodies (lengthwise) I will love you forever. I loved Shifting Melodies and I'm in my 4th or 5th reread of it currently. Keep up the great work!
Waiting intensifiesorig14.deviantart.net/0e3f/f/2012/100/6/1/laundry_day_gif_by_subjectnumber2394-d4vo36e.gif
8204955 - Dear goddess no. That story was over a million words long. This will be three, four chapters at most.
8205347
Dang.....
8205598 - Sorry. But Thad and I are working on a new, likely as long a story. Head on over to his page to read it.
That sounds like an excellent name for an OC!
8240394 - Ya know... It kinda does. Heh, don't mind if I do~