Turning It Around
Sweet Strokes woke up with the biggest headache she ever had, only dimly aware of a hoof rocking her body back and forth. What her groggy mind took for a dream massage quickly turned out to be an armored leg of a guardspony.
“Princess Celestia requests your presence at your earliest convenience,” he whispered in a deep voice that made Sweet tremble in more ways than one. “I am to escort you to the palace as soon as you gather your bearings, Miss Sweet Strokes.”
“H-Huh? Oh, yes!” squeaked out the mare, wings slightly aflare with a mixture of anxiety, embarrassment and the handsome guardspony’s breath tickling her ear. “U-Uh, let me just, umm, I mean… shower! Uhh, I can take a shower, right? A-And maybe a bite of something-”
“You have been officially invited for lunch, Miss Strokes,” politely explained the guard, stepping to the side and offering Sweet a hoof. “I will escort you to a place where you can freshen up.”
It was times like these that Sweet Strokes wished she had a vividly red coat to cover her blush. The wings would have been a dead giveaway anyway, lamented the mare, trying to keep up with the briskly strutting guard in front of her. But damn those firm flanks…
* * *
Everything about Canterlot Castle frightened Sweet Strokes. Every corridor she passed on her way to the gardens were clean to the point she felt her chipped hooves might ruin their pristine elegance. Every single statue seemed almost life-like, the details most likely carved out by some intricate magic. The most amazing were the stained glass windows. It baffled Sweet how the compositions of colors and shapes formed elaborate scenes and figures, the decorational frames stretching for miles.
The mare had thousands of questions for the stallion who led her through the marble maze, but the guard remained quiet for the entirety of their journey. He carried himself with an air of authority, the kind ponies respect rather than fear. He was a lighter shade of brown with cerulean eyes that expressed kindness whenever he looked at Sweet. He seemed pretty muscular under the heavy plate, a prominent feature of his earth pony heritage. With every step the guard took, the armor across his back flexed up just a fraction of an inch, giving her a tantalizing glimpse of his concealed cutie mark. Her attempts to get a good look were foiled as the stallion abruptly stopped and turned, seeming nonplussed by the sight of her face at an embarrassingly close range.
“The Princess is expecting you, Miss Strokes,” he declared, lowering his head and pointing outside.
“O-Ok,” mumbled out Sweet, incidentally taking a deep whiff of his masculine scent and fluttering her eyelids. She stumbled backwards a few steps, her ears pinning to the back of her head in embarrassment. She quickly glanced to the side, her features softening into those of wonder and bewilderment.
If the castle was so rich and pristine, she really should have expected no less of the majestic gardens. They seemed to stretch forever, with thousands of colors through the multitude of flowers that she had absolutely no idea how to name, much less if they were edible or not. They formed a colorful carpet that draped across the walkways, forming dozens of little alcoves surrounded by thick trees. Their mighty branches were heavy with birds and creatures she never saw before, their distant cacophony strangely soothing in a place like this. Even the bugs flitting from blossom to blossom were different than any insects she had ever seen before. The only thing that Sweets could recognize was the wavy flowing mane of Princess Celestia, seeming so subdued in the colorful surroundings. She and a few other ponies were hidden under a cluster of tall trees, a carpet of multi-colored flowers under their hooves.
“I would not keep the Princess waiting, Miss Strokes.”
The guard’s words, as tactful and soft-spoken as they were, made the mare jump. She nodded stiffly, taking a few deep breaths to steady herself. Feeling her face turn beet red, she slowly started fighting her petrified muscles to move forward. Just as she was passing the guard, she felt a touch on her withers. Sweet shot the guard a look that spoke of a deep desire to not soil the pristine marble underneath.
“Please, relax,” said the guard in a calm voice. He looked around discreetly before leaning in to whisper to Strokes. “For all the regality and power the Princess wields, she is a gentle ruler. There is nothing to fear from her. I know exactly how you feel right now, so trust me when I say - there’s no need to be afraid.” He winked at Sweet with a smile before donning his neutral expression and resuming his stiff stance by the archway.
Thank you, mouthed Sweet. The guard obviously knew nothing about the purpose of the ‘invitation’, but his calm voice managed to loosen up the knot in her stomach at least a tiny bit. Whether it would be for the better or worse, she would find out soon enough.
* * *
“Ah, Miss Strokes,” smiled Celestia, standing to greet the slightly quivering mare. “I’m glad you could make it. Please, have a seat. Your timing couldn’t have been better - we were just about to start with some tea.”
“Good morning, Sweet.”
Sweet Strokes had been focused so much on Princess Celestia that she had missed both the somewhat restless figure of Twilight Sparkle who had just spoken as well as a considerable number of snooty unicorns, most of them regarding Sweet with equal parts curiosity and contempt. Only one of them caught her eye as genuinely intrigued, his eyes bearing no ill will. It was that stallion that rose from his seat and trotted over to offer his hoof.
“Ah, a pleasure to meet you, Miss Strokes,” said the white gentlecolt. He took her hoof and, to Sweet’s utter surprise, landed a quick peck on it. “My name is Fancypants, and this is my companion, Fleur Di Lis.”
It was obvious from the looks Fleur gave Fancypants that they were a couple. The white mare was a head or so taller than Sweet, matching her mate’s height. She pressed her side against his firmly and gave Strokes a kind smile.
“A pleasure to meet you,” offered the mare in a surprisingly soft sounding voice.
The rest of the gathered ponies reluctantly followed suit, introducing themselves more lavishly than the first pair of unicorns. Sweet didn’t pay them much attention, the tone of their voices enough to make her not care about their duke statuses or how much of Canterlot they owned.
“So, who exactly are you, Miss Strokes?” came a question from one of the stallions.
Before Sweet could even start to panic for an answer, she felt a hoof tug at her. It was Twilight forcing her to lie down by her side.
“She’s my friend,” declared Celestia’s pupil, shooting everypony gathered a wide grin. The statement triggered a slight change in the group’s behavior. Twilight could almost see the cogs in their heads churning, calculating just how much they needed to befriend Sweet Strokes in order to get leverage.
A small bell rung as a procession of ponies carrying various dishes and cups entered the shaded alcove, letting Sweet Strokes rest from all the sudden attention she gathered.
* * *
“Was the food not to your liking?” asked Princess Celestia, lying on her side and stretching. Her gentle gaze rested on the petrified form of Sweet Strokes.
“N-N-No, it’s n-not t-t-that,” managed Sweet, her eyes locked with the diarch’s. Now that everypony was gone and the three mares were alone, she would learn her fate. And the dread that festered in her during lunch already made it a point to tell her just how bad it would be.
“Don’t worry,” whispered Twilight, rubbing Sweet’s hoof delicately. “The Princess and I talked about this in the morning… a lot. We decided that it would be too cruel to alter your memories. Unless of course that would be what you’d want-”
“No!” blurted out Sweet, immediately stuffing her muzzle with a hoof and pinning her ears back. “S-Sorry, p-please do go on.”
Twilight nodded and cleared her throat, continuing to reassuringly stroke Sweet’s hoof. “We looked at the options we have and decided it would be for the best if you remained in the castle. It would be easy to disguise you as a guest of the Princess and have you stay… well, for a longer time at least,” Twilight said, looking at her mentor. She received a small nod and continued: “I know it might be a bit difficult for a pegasus to be confined to their quarters… So, if you’d agree, we’d have a guard follow you around. It would be more for your safety than anything else, promise.”
Sweet nodded absent-mindedly. She was kind of tuned out after the “we’re not going to brain-wash you” part and relief was washing over her like a waterfall. She would have slumped to the comfy pillow below if it weren’t for how the previous stress stiffened her muscles.
“Well, I guess that that would be it,” chuckled Twilight, hesitating only for a second before pulling Sweet into a hug. “I’m glad we managed to work something out.”
Sweet Strokes hugged back. Her brain was recovering from the stupor and ran a check of her current predicament, stopping on the issue which started this whole mess.
“What about Redberry?” she whispered, looking between Twilight and Celestia.
“What about him? I mean, he’s going to… well, continue his thing,” replied Twilight, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly.
“B-But, uh… I mean, will I get to see him again? I need to apologize after all...” mumbled Sweet Strokes, dabbing at the pillow below. She felt feathers graze her head, the shadow of Princess Celestia coming over her.
“When our friend recovers, I’ll let both of you know,” smiled Celestia, stretching her hind legs out. “Now, ladies, if you’ll excuse me...” she paused, stomping the ground with her other back leg. She sighed in defeat, trying to move along without betraying a limp. “I wish you a good day.”
Sweet Strokes and Twilight watched Celestia walk away towards the majestic arch leading into the castle, stopping for a short while to exchange a few words with the guardspony there.
“What’s wrong with the Princess?” whispered Sweet, the absence of the regal mare working wonders on the knot in her stomach.
“She’s really tired,” whispered back Twilight with a frown. “This whole, uh, mess, is really wearing her out. I can only imagine how hard it is to run Equestria and work on protecting it from a potential threat.” She sighed and fell to her side, rubbing her eyes. “If it weren’t for coffee, I’d be pretty dead myself. My research isn’t going too well.”
Sweet looked away from the entrance to the gardens, shifting her attention to Twilight. Now that she managed to get a good, non-panicked look at her, she really was in bad shape. Bags under her eyes made her look slightly older than she was. Her uncut mane was groomed nicely, but to a trained spa employee’s eyes, it screamed of negligence. Twilight’s coat was in no better form.
“Twilight?” tried Sweet, looming over the mare.
“Hmm? Somethi-”
“Thank you,” whispered Strokes, sitting on her haunches next to Twilight. “And sorry. I didn’t mean to cause so much trouble. It was terrible luck,” she sighed, putting her hooves on the librarian’s trunk. “And I have no idea how I’m going to repay you for all this. You, the Princess, Redberry for all its worth. I mean, living in the castle, wow. I never expected such a ‘punishment’ for sticking my snout into other ponies’ business,” she chuckled, giving a firm press into Twilight’s side.
Twilight wanted to respond somehow, but the sudden touch and push caught the words in her throat. A wave of bliss rolled over her as a bundle of muscles she didn’t even know were cramped gave way. It didn’t take long for another solid stroke to expertly attack another coiled up section of her body, releasing tension and secreting liquid pleasure around her whole self.
“Wow,” managed Twilight, her eyes rolling back in her head. “It feels so good.”
“That’s the least I can do, Twilight,” cooed Sweet, settling into a steady rhythm, working up the unicorn’s body. “I don’t like being ungrateful or a slacker. I’ll do my best to make my stay here enjoyable for you and the Princess.”
* * *
It didn’t take long for Sweet Strokes to be recognised as Princess Celestia’s personal masseur. Within less than a week the mare managed to improve Celestia’s mood by several magnitudes, letting her think more clearly and be more energetic. The cover-up was so good in fact that Sweet soon started being visited by other nobles, Fancypants naturally being the first to preach the expertise of the pegasus.
Along with the fame came a variety of perks, most of which included tons of pampering, baths in scented lotions and food so elegant she felt bad for eating it. Many ponies tried to impress her with gifts of rare flowers and jewelry, the more business-savvy ones offering their products as free samples to use at her own leisure.
After but a few days she was looking at a totally different mare in the mirror - gone was the rug-like mane and scruffy coat, replaced with expertly groomed hair and shining fur respectively. Her hooves made her feel like she was constantly walking on clouds, no longer gathering pebbles and dust in the tiny cracks and lacerations she had before. Her wings were coated in feathers akin to those in the highest quality of pillows, the two maids assigned to her preening them every day meticulously.
It was all like in the dreams she used to have way back when. She wished to never wake up, lest she did so in another run down motel with a snoring, filthy stallion by her side. Luckily, each time she rose from slumber she was greeted with warm, scented pillows, tucked under a large blanket in the queen-sized bed of the guest chambers in Canterlot Castle.
Whenever she finished her morning stretches she would trot out to meet the bodyguard appointed to her, who incidentally was the same guard who first led her to the castle. His name was Braum and, to be honest, he was on par in the handsome department with Redberry. The one time she managed to treat him to a massage proved that he was a lot more muscular, though.
Sweet was still kind of hung up on the red stallion who lay motionless in the hospital. She didn’t know how much of it was guilt and which part of her still wanted him. Twilight confessed they were friends for a longer time, and it was obvious from her behaviour she felt something more under the surface. The main problem was whether the stallion reciprocated or not.
“Time will tell,” she sighed to herself, trotting briskly towards Celestia’s quarters. By now she knew her way around more or less.
Her favorite place was of course the gardens, where she could get lost for hours on end between sessions. Even the usually reserved and professional Braum tended to smirk while watching her burn off energy in flight and prancing around in the tall grasses. So far her attempts of drawing him into the fun ended up in a firm shake, although her feminine senses could tell his resolve was slowly eroding away.
Up for grabs if there’s no ring on it, no? she smiled to herself, rolling around in the grass.
Life finally decided to cut the water in her personal stormcloud and let her taste the sun for once.
* * *
Since Life had a surplus of unspent resources on hand, it decided to start pouring it over Chip instead. It begun its work by compulsively rousing the changeling from the magically induced sleep. Life liked moments like these, where it only had to poke the first piece for the dominoes to start falling one after the other in a neat chain, driving straight to the point at an increasing speed.
In this case, the point was the pain of existence.
The first word to come out of Chip’s mouth was ‘Ow’. It was more like a drawn out ‘Ooowwwwww’, lined with a whimper so pathetic it could have a Hydra weep. Immediately after the meek attempt at communication, the changeling felt somepony’s presence over himself. He could swear he saw a blurry form, a mouth, garbled sounds coming out of it.
“...Awake...” mumbled the voice, the muzzle vanishing from view.
Yes, Chip was finally awake. Whether or not he would appreciate it would largely depend on Life.
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Wait, an Adventure and a Slice of Life Tag? Isn't that supposed to be against the rules?
4943220
This was posted way back when such petty restrictions weren't in place
4943226
Ah, I see.
Well, it's nice to see that after two years, you're still updating this story.
4943235
It was high time I finished it
2 year hiatuses are bad
Stand behind me!
This shield will protect my shield.
Wait is that ... Not sure if it is, but if it is then
and to say it in his words: "Sometimes icy heart just needs warm smile"
4943282
4943281
You know...
4943301 The goats are wise.
Fear and self doubt can make the nicest and fanciest of prisons, feel like the lowest depths of Tarterus. Except with Tarterus, all you have to worry about at the door, is Cerberus.
Congratulations, I am you 11,111th reader... I guess... Here's a screen shot. Congrats!!
s29.postimg.org/4qeziwu47/Screen_Shot_2014_09_02_at_3_27_46_PM.png
4943482
Yay
4943220
Wait, you can't have Adventure and Slice-of-Life tags at the same time? what kinda BS is that?
4943774
Apparently life has to be boring and mundane around here
>*rather than?
Also, really good chapter. I hope you let this keep going for Sweet. She needs a happy ending.
As for Chip and his mission, I have a feeling that there are going to be a few quirks.
4943774
I quote the author:
4943799
Shhh, you saw nothing *slips a small pouch into your hoof and flies away*
4943805
You might wanna re-read my comment mate, I don't quite think you got it.
4943301 oo that sounds really painful
lol
4943774 hmmm... googling this part of your comment "can't have Adventure and Slice-of-Life tags at the same time" led to a forum post in the writer's group. as far as i can tell its something about the adventure tag overriding the slice of life tag and well...the whole thread sound fairly dumb imo, o.O as does the whole thing about being unable to use both tags at the same time.
4943805 I don't think you read that correctly.
4943987
4943997
It's in the FAQ.
Under "Stories"> "Why do certain tags conflict?"
I am sorry Gordon_Freemane for misreading your comment.
Basically, the argument is this: Slice of Life indicates an average ordinary slice of life. Adventure indicates something out of the ordinary. You can't have a story that is out of the ordinary and ordinary at the same time.
Another excellent chapter. And I like that she's still hung up on Chip. I actually hope that she'd fall harder for him once she sees his true form. XD Kinda like Twilight seemed to after the shock wore off.
4944572 We can put it this way.
"Death of a Salesman" = slice of life
"Death of a Sword-Swinging Pirate Ninja" = Adventure!
Or to put it another way, slife-of-life generally does not involve battles and secret plots and conspiracies and stuff.
It's more along the lines of having tea, going shopping, philosophizing about the meaning of life, and giving characters cancer.
4944572 Adventure isn't just for things "out of the ordinary". Adventure is the long road of experiences that happen in a story arc. Life can be adventuress, and adventures can happen in life, but you must remember that an adventure doesn't need unordinary events to exist.
4945680
I didn't say that. The FAQ did. Go tell it to the admins.
4945328
So...
We now know the answer to Pirates vs. Ninja:
Pirate Ninja wins.
4945680 I had a slice-of-life adventure that led me along a mad dash through what seemed an endless series of unexpected encounters and barriers until at last I reached the restroom.
Colloquially, it was the adventure known as 'Alondro Gets Food Poisoning'.
4944572 on the contrary, this story is exactly that.
4946254
As I said before:
4946280
4946254
Ya, lets just settle for 'this story is a special flower and does what it pleases' and leave it at that
4944892
Thanks! Who knows how a pegasus mare might react to a strong, tall, menacing looking changeling with a golden heart
Ah Life...busy making someone miserable somewhere again aren't you? And have you finally decided to lower the douche levels yet? No?
Why am I not surprised.
Hang in there Chip...shes only just begun to pour the pain on
I am so happy that Sweet Strokes got a better life out of her encounter.
i've seen a similar gag in several comics: it's usually called a "wing boner"...Pegasi spread their wings is a strange way, usually accompanied by a distinctive "pomf" sound...let me find an example:
http://bcrich40.deviantart.com/art/Improving-Skills-Part-27-450845973
Good gravy she laid him out for over a week? Frickin incredible! A lucky critical hit if we do say so...
I get that it is magical pony land, I really do, but Sweet Strokes assaulted a Royal Guard recruit with enough force that only his hidden biology (barely) saved his life. And as a result, she gets appointed to a job where she lays hooves on the Princess?
No actual punishment, unless you count one day of stress awaiting punishment, as punishment. There is no reason, besides a meet-cute friendship with Twilight. This makes so little sense it actually broke me out of my suspension of disbelief. Magical friendship lasers, I can dig it, but allowing a homicidally violent prostitute to rub the Princess of the Sun's Sun's . . . I just can't buy that.
10387340
Older comment but I agree, she should have been charged with attempted homicide for that stunt. She never even got punished for it at all, and got off scot-free and now works personally for the princess after she almost killed Chip, like what the fuck was going on here?
I have to personally retcon this part of the story in my head where justice is actually done and she gets thrown in prison.
Happy for Sweet.
Twilight’s turn.