Twilight's Story

by Damaged

3 - Random Encounter

… and that was how we managed to get a boat. Night seems rough still, despite how well we worked together to stop the fight on the docks, I don't know why he is so put off with me all the time. Guess I have to keep being friendly, it is how ponies work… but he drives me so crazy sometimes, I just want to tweak his horn! Did I really write 'tweak his horn'?

Twilight looked over the waters ahead of them. The boat had spent the rest of the day loading and they had sailed with the morning tide. Silent steps, those of a big predator, came up beside her and she turned to see Frida. "Good morning!"

Settling down beside the unicorn, Frida looked out over the waves. "It is that, a good morning to you too. So, bugbears huh?" Twilight nodded. "And what's up with ol' big strong and tin-plated? You two together or something?"

This had the unicorn blushing hotly. "No!" It was too sudden, too loud, and the blush gave everything away. "Well, no, not really. I mean, he is cute, and everything a stallion should be in the bravery department, but he has this attitude…"

"Mmm hmmm." Frida grinned widely. "But that flank, right?" The words had the desired result, Twilight blushed even hotter. "Yup, thought so."

"What you two talking about?" Night wandered up behind the mare and griffon, not hearing their conversation over the sounds of ship and sea. He did notice the blush in Twilight's cheeks and felt one in his own. Why did it have that effect on him? He didn't like her at all!

"Mare stuff." Twilight tilted her head at Night and smiled as sweetly as she could. "You really should try a thinner brush in your fur, it takes more work but it will have you almost shining." The last she addressed to Frida, reaching to her own pack to pull out a brush.

Closing rank against the male invader, Frida turned slightly and reached for the brush, starting to work on her flank. Her eyes twinkled when she caught the glance Twilight gave her.

Realizing he wasn't going to get any further with the pair, Night gestured forward with a hoof. "Captain Bandyr says we should only be another two days away from land. So we could-" He froze, mid sentence. Squinting and looking forward, he could have sworn he had seen something in the water.

"We could what?" Twilight was looking at Night and missed whatever had caught his attention.

Night shook his head. "Sorry, thought I saw… well, a pony. So anyway, he said we could either get off there, or he could take us a bit further along, to where the Equestrian Outpost is."

"Definitely take us right there, no point in hiking in unknown woods." Twilight gave a nod. "Did you want something to read? I have some books on magic here."

Frida wore the biggest, silliest grin ever. "I was so right…"

Night nodded to Twilight. "That would be good, you did well with that situation on the docks, I didn't think to just lift them both up and away." He didn't even know why he was admitting he was impressed by her quick thinking.

"Thanks, I just didn't want anypony to get hurt…" The implication that it was only him likely to be hurt in the fight brought the blush back to Twilight's cheeks. "Oh, you might want to try this one." She pulled out a book that had to do with using horn telekinesis to prevent hostility.

Night blinked at the book. "This actually looks really handy, thanks." He held up the book in his magic, flicking a few pages, skimming.

"I am surprised they didn't teach it in your training. Might be something you could do when we get back after this mission." Twilight smiled brightly, she loved helping ponies. "Oh, but be a little careful with that one, the spine is a little damaged."

Closing the book and turning it to examine the cover, Night nodded. "I promise I will take good care of it, thanks, Twilight."

"Now kiss her to show your thanks…" Frida was staring raptly at the pair, her matchmaker side kicked into overdrive.

Mare and stallion blushed, but each bonked the griffon on the head with their magic at the same time, getting a laugh from the bird-cat before she bounded off toward their cabins.

"She can be so annoying." Night didn't want to look at Twilight right then, there was some part of him that he really didn't want to own up to possessing, that did want to kiss the mare. "I'm going to go read this." He trotted off.

Twilight watched the stallion's plot retreat and gave a little sigh. "What am I doing? I am on a job!" She shook her head and turned back to the prow of the ship, grabbing up her diary.

---

It was overcast the next day, but that didn't stop the two ponies from sitting out on the deck, a book before each. Twilight gave furtive little glances to Night, every now and again, just to make sure he was focused on his reading. She had put a little mark in his favor when she saw how carefully he was looking after the old tome she had given him to read.

The soft, soothing music brought much relaxation to the pair and Twilight found her head leaning down against the book she was meant to be reading, it was so very easy to just relax and, with a cute yawn, close her eyes.

Night felt too sleepy to remain awake. He had donned his armor as usual but left his helmet free; it was a touch uncomfortable, but one of the sailors had shown him how to set some extra padding here and there.

Then a flash and a rush of magic woke the stallion. Wide awake, Night saw his armor was glowing brightly and there was a creature that looked almost like a cross of dragon and pony, slithering up and onto the deck. "Twilight, anypony… wake up!"

Twilight yawned, something had disrupted the best sleep she was ever going to get, possibly even the last. "Night? What are you doing in my bedroom?"

Freed of the siren's magic by his armor, Night stepped before Twilight, putting himself between the creature and the mare he was to protect. "Return to the waves!" He clopped a hoof down soundly, glaring at the beast.

The pressure in Twilight's head eased as the soft singing stopped. "And why should I? I have a ship full of new pets!" Staccato flicked her tail and landed fully on the deck. She preferred the feel of water to land, but she detested flying around like some of her kind did.

"No, I won't let you have them!" Night stepped forward and was charging his horn with magic.

"Stop! Wait, we can talk about this, surely?" Twilight looked over Night's shoulder at the creature. "Why do you need pets?"

The question seemed to confuse the siren for a moment. "Well, I… I like to…" Staccato blushed a little. "I like to have my scales polished…" Her own hoof reached down and rubbed where her scales looked inflamed and sore.

Night was suddenly out of his element, monsters shouldn't be like this, they should attack and need a good blasting. He held the charge in his horn with a little effort, not ready to give up on violence being the best action.

"Well, I don't have any wax, but I am sure we could give them a good oiling. Wake up my friends and let's get you looking like a princess." Twilight stepped past her confused protector and up to the surprised sea monster.

"But… how… I…" Somewhere, Staccato realized, she had lost all control of the situation. A good scale-oiling sounded good, though. "You promise?"

"Silly, of course I do. We have another day before we get to where we are going, so it isn't like we had anything else to do. Oh, I can see why you needed ponies to help, some of your scales look scuffed!" Twilight spotted the bucket of fish one of the sailors had caught, that they had claimed were too oily to be eaten. "Here, just let everypony wake up and I promise you won't get attacked." She looked around at Night, still holding his charge of magic.

Staccato was more than a little scared. The two ponies who had seemed to shake off her song were likely up to the task of driving her off, did she dare listen to the nice-sounding mare? Taking a deep breath, she whispered a few more notes, the end of her lullaby. "There."

Griffons all over the ship woke up and immediately entered guarded stances. "It's a siren!" Bandyr's shout was heard all over the ship. "Quick, drive it off!"

A wall of light blue magic wrapped around Staccato and she realized she was trapped in the stallion's power. She started to panic and was already reaching for the mare who had come too close when she realized that the sphere wasn't to hold her. "He's protecting me?"

"Of course. You did everything we asked. Night doesn't like seeing anypony get hurt." Twilight's heart surged with pride for the stallion. "Give them a moment to calm down, please."

"Please, relax everypony. We have the situation under control. She was just a little confused and desperately needs some oil." Night was telling a slight lie, but it was one that fit well and would mean there were no casualties.

"But it's a siren!" a sailor yelled, his foretalon gripping a gaff and waving it about.

"She just wanted some help, she didn't want anypony to react badly to her." Night looked at the griffon, then to the gaff in their claw. He lifted an eyebrow pointedly. "Just relax, calm down, she promises not to sing any more songs. Don't you?" He turned his head, judging it was time to release his magic.

"Of course I won't, I just need my scales tended to…" Staccato coiled her tail around and showed the griffon who had put down his improvised spear.

Twilight lifted a hoof up and set it to Staccato's side. "Thank you."

"Frida, get your feathers over here and look. This seems like the same problem we get on our legs. Some oil, and a good brushing, and it will be cleaned up in no time. Hurts like the dickens, I bet." With Bandyr's acceptance of the siren the other griffons quickly returned to their tasks.

Bounding up with a brush and a knife, Frida gestured to the bucket of nasty fish. "Get me those, please. Let's get you looking perfect again." As soon as Twilight floated the bucket over to her, the griffon started using the knife to slice down a fish. Holding it over Staccato's tail, she wrung the creature out.

"Twilight Velvet." Twilight held her hoof out to the siren. "And I am pleased I met you."

The smile was almost unnerving to Staccato, how could the pony say they were happy to have met a monster and look like they meant it? "Uh, my name is Staccato." Her own forehoof lifted and bumped, the siren looked to the stallion who had protected her.

"Night Talon." Night offered his own hoof and got a clop back. "And the griffon working on your tail is Frida." Trailing off, the stallion watched as the goofiest look ever passed over Staccato's face, the sea monster going almost limp on the deck.

"I bet that feels better," Frida was working the oil into the siren's scales, "when I was a chic, I got scaly leg pretty bad. Mom put some oil on it and I passed out and slept for two days." She brought a brush into play and started working at the nasty stuff. "This will choke the bad stuff, make it so it can't grow back. The brushing will help with the itch."

Staccato didn't move, she couldn't. She felt better than she had for a while and suddenly realized how angry and upset the constant pain had made her. "T-T-T-Thank… you…" She barely got the words out.

"You're welcome. Hey, you want to come on an adventure?" Frida kept working the brush, memories of her own relief making it impossible to stop tending to the poor creature. "Because Twilight and Night are big-time adventurers and we are going to go and find bugbears!"

"What's a bugbear?" Staccato was recovering from the effect the relief had on her, but that didn't mean she wanted it to stop, so she kept still.

"See!" Twilight clopped a hoof in excitement. "I am going to see if I can get the name changed, it is silly!" Three different creatures gave her odd looks. "Okay, if I tell you 'bugbear' you think of some huge, mutated ant, right?" She got a nod from Staccato. "Okay, now if I said 'bumblebear', what do you think of?"

Staccato had had little experience with land creatures, but she knew bears, and bees. "Uh, something that was half bear and half bee? Does it sting?" She had to jerk back from the cheer that Twilight gave. "Did I say the right thing?"

"Okay, okay. I grant that is one point in your favor." Night sat back down to his book. "But it will still confuse a lot of ponies."

Author's Note:

See! Princess Twilight could learn a few lessons about how to handle sirens from her mother... actually, she probably did...

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Awesome ponies who are already helping to keep me in keyboards and rum:
Canary in the coal mine
Daremo
Mary Rowland

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

Will Night Light be badass in this story as well?

[Daremo]

he saw something - he had seen something
Hey eyes twinkled - Her eyes twinkled
anymore songs - any more songs

*****

I really like where this is all going. I like the plot hook, and I love the characters so far.

[Mary-Rowland]

great work!!!

[Damaged]

7296063 Glad you like it. Likes-dislikes is a bit harsh so far, but damn it I am writing this cool story and I am not going to stop!

7296024 Night is pretty badass already... well, at least he acts it. He is doing what a good guardspony does, puts himself in danger so others don't need to.