For Her Happiness, or Yours?

by Relagen

Chapter Three

Stratus had just finished bathing and was busily preening when a knock came at the door. “Come in,” he called, not even looking up from his wing.

The door opened slowly and a male voice spoke politely, “I have just come to return your clothing, sir.”

Looking up, Stratus saw the servant placing his clothes on a low table and bowing to Stratus before turning to leave. Stratus thanked him and returned to preening, not noticing the second set of hoofsteps and the taller figure slipping through the door before it closed.

A long silence followed before a familiar voice startled him, “We see that our servants have done an excellent job of cleaning the food from thy clothing.”

Stratus uttered a rather unstallionlike noise, his wings flaring out as if ready to fly for his life. Princess Luna giggled, blushing slightly, and gave him an apologetic smile. “We are sorry for startling thee. We should have announced our arrival sooner.”

Relaxing, Stratus smiled back at her, “That’s quite alright, Luna.” He fluffed up his feathers before folding his wings down. Trotting over to her, he took a quick glance at his clothes, “Yes, they did clean up rather nicely. Thank you for taking care of that for me, your highness.”

“Thou art most welcome, Master Swirl. Wilt thou be returning to the inn immediately, or dost thou wish to socialize for a spell first?”

Stratus shrugged, “I’ll probably be heading back. I expect the Elements of Harmony will have something planned for the morning. It is best if I get some rest tonight to ensure they don’t wear me out before the negotiations begin tomorrow.”

Luna nodded, “That is fair. We shall direct the captain to escort thee back to thy inn.”

Stratus thanked her again, blushing as she draped a wing over him and led him back to the front entrance, where the captain and his small squad from earlier were already awaiting him. They promptly bowed to their princess uttering quiet greetings of “Your Highness”.

The captain gave Stratus a stiff salute, “We are ready to escort you back to the Far Afield Inn. Shall we be on our way?”

“Yes, just one one moment, captain.” Turning to the princess, he gave her a slight bow, then met her eyes with a wide smile, “I thank you for your hospitality, Your Highness. The accommodations and...entertainment were most delightful.”

“It was a pleasure to have thee join us, Master Swirl,” Luna replied with a polite nod.

Stratus turned back to the captain, “Now we may go.” He followed the captain out, barely noticing the rest of the escort that accompanied them back to the hotel. The trip seemed even shorter this time, and few words were exchanged before he made his way inside and up to his suite to get some much needed rest.

*****

Stratus awoke to an unfamiliar sound, complete silence. He rolled out of bed and mozied over to the balcony. Though the sun had not yet risen, it's light was beginning to break over the horizon. Did Canterlot’s school have a belltower like home? Perhaps if they did, it was simply too far from the hotel to hear.

Shrugging off these thoughts, he waited until the sunrise then quickly made ready for the day. A strange thought kept running through his mind during his routine. Equestrian citizens, with the exception of nobility, didn’t wear clothes for the most part. With that thought came another: could he avoid the attention of the nobility if he too refrained from wearing clothes?

It was not illegal, nor even unusual in his own country, though the long winters made it unsafe for most of the year to be outdoors without some manner of garb. Despite that, he always clothed himself, even in the summer. The thought of walking around in public without clothes seemed almost as uncomfortable as the sun’s heat this far south of his home. If he was going to be out in town all morning, it could get much hotter than he was used to. He did not want to walk around in sweat-soaked clothes.

With his mind made up, he set out clothing for the afternoon and left the room, feeling oddly vulnerable without his clothing.

As soon as he entered the lobby, he was aware of the presence of a familiar pink mare. She noticed him too, and he had not a moment to brace himself before his senses were again overwhelmed by the giggling pink hurricane. There was something different this time. She had smelled like cake frosting before, but now he smelled something else: a small hint of coffee. Did she just?—Yup, she was hugging him, and he could hardly breathe.

“EEE! Look how cute and fluffy he is beneath all those fancy-pantsy clothes!”

Oh, good heavens! That squee was adorable! Wait, what was that she had said? “Cute and fluffy”? He wasn’t...actually, his coat was certainly denser and longer than the Equestrian ponies. Ouch! Why was she pulling on his wings?! He frowned at her, “Please let go.”

“Look, Nilly! I told you he has big, pretty wings with strange feathers!”

A creamy-colored magic aura carefully freed his wings from the mare’s painful grip. He turned to Pinkie’s companion, whom he had overlooked before. She was a beautiful unicorn mare, about his age. Her coat matched the color of her magic, and her mane the color of dark, freshly brewed coffee.

“Yes, Auntie Pinks, I see them. They aren’t that strange. It looks like northern pegasi have broader, stronger feathers to match with their larger wings.”

Pinkie nodded excitedly, “I bet Scoots will be so jealous when she sees.”

“I don’t think she cares as much, now that hers finally grew in.” The young mare took a couple steps closer and offered a hoof to Stratus, which he gladly shook. “I’m Pinkie’s niece, Vanilla Drops. I own the café next door. Pinkie said you’d like a spot of good coffee, so I thought I’d personally invite you over today for breakfast.”

Stratus smiled. This mare had good manners, and she owned a café to boot. He already liked her. “Yes, please. I’d love a good strong cup.”

Pinkie bounced forward, grabbing Vanilla and pulling them both along, “Then let’s go already! The others are waiting for us!”

Stratus splayed his ears back, “Others? You mean, Twilight and—”

“No, silly! You already met them. You need to meet Maud and Scootaloo.”

“Maud is my mother, and Scoots is a friend my age,” Vanilla elaborated. That sounded good. Stratus thought he could handle meeting two more new ponies in one morning.

They were in the café before he could think or say any more. It seemed busy, but not crowded. Pinkie had pronked out of sight somewhere, so Stratus simply followed Vanilla to the counter.

“Two tall Prench roasts, Cara!” Vanilla called to her employee.

The mare behind the counter quickly passed them two large mugs. From the color of her fur, Stratus assumed “Cara” was short for “Caramel”. He gave her a polite smile and wave as Vanilla, draping a hoof over his withers, directed him towards a table where Pinkie sat with Rainbow Dash and four mares he did not know, though he guessed the lovely, athletic orange pegasus was Scootaloo.

“Hey, everypony, say hi to Stratus!” Pinkie pointed at him as he approached. The mares all said “hi” in vastly different tones. The gray one sounded as bored as she looked.

Vanilla came to the rescue again, “This is Scootaloo,” she said, pointing to the orange mare as Stratus had expected. “Sweetie Belle,” she continued, the ivory unicorn with the shrill voice. “Applebloom,” she had to be related to Applejack, “and my mother, Maud,” the bored gray one who seemed nothing like her daughter.

“Pleased to meet you all,” Stratus said, repeating the names in his head as he looked around the table again.

Pinkie lunged for Stratus’s wings again, but Vanilla caught her aunt’s hooves in her aura again. “What?” she asked innocently. “I just want to see Scoots’s reaction to them.”

“Didn’t you see that it hurt the last time? Besides, he doesn’t have to show them off if he doesn’t wish to.”

“I’d like to see them,” Maud piped up. “Do be a dear and spread your wings out for us, Stratus.”

Well, at least she asked nicely. Stratus took the last empty seat by Vanilla and slowly stretched out his wings. By the time they were spread to their full length, silence reigned in the café as everypony stared at him.

Scoots was the first to speak, stamping a hoof down on the table and flaring her own wings, “Oh that is so not fair! Your wings are huge! They look awesome, and I barely have enough to fly with.” She pouted, letting her wings fall limp at her sides.

Dash scoffed, waving a hoof dismissively, “They could be all for show, you know. You should challenge him to a race. I bet you’d make him eat your cloud trail.”

Scootaloo perked up instantly, “Aw, heck yeah! I’d totally destroy you in a race, big guy. I’ll prove it next time I come back Canterlot.”

Stratus glanced at Vanilla, half expecting her to interject as she did with her aunt, but the mare was strangely quiet and seemed to be hiding behind her coffee mug. That was even stranger than the silent stares from all through the café. He folded his wings, eager to get the eyes off of him.

“She’s not even boasting, you know,” Dash began flying in a circle around the table while she went on. “My little ‘Loo got herself into the Wonderbolts reserves with way less effort than it took me, and way less air time. She’s faster than Fleetfoot!”

“To be fair, the lack of air time means I have, like, zero stamina,” Scootaloo admitted. “I’m fast in a short race, but even Twilight could outfly me in a marathon.”

“You’ll get there, ‘Loo,” Dash ruffled her mane playfully. “What do you think I put you through all those crazy exercises for?”

“Wait, all that is to help me stay in the air longer?”

“Yeah, heck, you could totally take him on for a marathon by this time next year, if he’s still here negotiating.” Dash waved her hoof at Stratus again, knocking over her own coffee, “You’re still gonna race her before all that, y’know.”

“I expect you to clean that up,” Vanilla piped up. Stratus turned to her, but she avoided his gaze again. Grumbling, Dash went to the counter and rudely demanded a towel from Cara, which came flying right at her head a few seconds later.

“I have to head back to Ponyville tonight,” Scootaloo started, “but I’ll be back next week. We’ll race then, if only for the fun of seeing those wings in action.” She ruffled her feathers at that mental image.

“Then we’re on for a race next week,” Stratus agreed. “Now, how about the rest of you tell me about yourselves?”

“Oh, that’s easy,” Applebloom hooked her hooves around her friends’ necks. “We three are the Cutie Mark Crusaders! It started off as a club for foals that hadn’t found their cutie marks, but then we got our marks for helping others understand theirs.”

“That kinda got way bigger than we imagined,” Scoots added.

Sweetie Belle continued, “My sister helped us turn it into a full-fledged counseling business. We only asked for her help because we couldn’t legally buy the office building on our own.”

“I still think that’s nonsense,” Applebloom remarked.

“Totally!” Scoots nodded, “It was even our money we were paying with!”

Vanilla finally spoke up again, “My mom did the same thing for me with the café last year. I just bought it back from her when the law allowed.”

Stratus turned to her again, noticing she’d moved her chair closer to his. “I suppose that’s one benefit in my line of work. The lord of Faroan pays for everything, so there were no legal issues when my father let me tag along.”

At this point, Dash had cleaned up her spill and returned to her seat, bringing a basket full of fruits, muffins, and bagels. “Hey, you guys need some food to go with caffeine, you know.”

Vanilla gave her a bright smile, “Of course, miss Dash. We were just waiting for you to get hungry enough to buy something.”

Rainbow shrugged, “Well the ‘Bolts have a training session today. Can’t practice on an empty stomach.”

Vanilla nodded, “That’s how I knew you’d be the one who caved first and bought breakfast for everyone.”

“My daughter is smarter than you give her credit for, Rainbow,” Maud added with a small hint of a smile.

“Yeah, well, her bagels are the greatest, and she gets the freshest fruit this side of the Canterhorn. Seriously, Stratus, try those bagels.”

“They’re really not as good as Auntie Pinks makes,” Vanilla muttered.

“Sure they are,” Pinkie squeaked out surprisingly coherently around at least three bagels as she stuffed another in her mouth. “You use my recipe still. I can tell.”

Stratus quickly concluded that he had to try them before the pink menace inhaled them all. He selected a simple blueberry bagel and took a generous bite. Instantly, his eyes lit up and he nodded at Dash as he chewed.

“See?! Mister big, gorgeous wings likes them, too!”

Blushing at that description, Stratus turned to Vanilla. This time, she met his eyes, her cheeks taking a delightfully rosy hue. “I daresay miss Dash and your aunt are underselling them. I’ve never tasted bagels so delicious.”

The flattered young mare splayed her ears back, somehow making herself even more adorable. “Thank you, Stratus.”

“Why is everypony else just staring?” Dash gestured wildly at the platter, “Hurry up and eat so we can get moving again! Uh, your café is very nice, Nils, but I’m bored of just sitting around.”

Giggling at Dash’s impatience, the Crusaders dug in. Noticing that Maud was the only one not eating, Stratus cast a curious glance her way and was surprised to find her staring at him blankly. When he met her stare, his blood ran cold and he found himself unable to look away.

Vanilla caught on and waved a hoof at her mother, “Will you stop staring? You’re making him uncomfortable.”

“Do you like him?” Maud asked tactlessly.

Vanilla’s horn glowed as she levitated a muffin directly into Maud’s mouth. “Don’t talk like he’s not here, and don’t ask such questions the day I met him. I don’t know him any better than you do.”

Maud, having extracted the offending muffin, replied, “I like him already. Why can’t you say so too? Are you embarrassed to admit it? I saw how you blushed when he flared his wings.”

Vanilla squeaked, struggling to find words as that adorable rosy hue lit her cheeks again. Figuring he could help, Stratus draped one wing around her, which she promptly hid her blush behind. “I believe your daughter simply wants to point out that it is normally considered rude to talk about who likes somepony and why or why not while the pony in question is listening.”

“She clearly likes you, though,” Maud observed.

Just then, Stratus felt Vanilla nuzzle his feathers. It felt incredibly pleasant, and when he looked at her face, her eyes were shut. Was she…sniffing his feathers? He lowered his wing to rest it on her shoulders, and she looked up at him with a sweet smile, “Thanks. My mom can be impossible sometimes. She’s not really trying to be rude. It’s just hard to tell that she’s teasing me if you don’t know her that well.”

“That’s quite alright. I think I know what she really wanted.”

“Y-you do?” Vanilla’s ears perked up and she leaned closer to him, “What do you mean?”

“I mean she’s just teasing you to get you to blush,” Stratus replied.

With a gasp, Vanilla turned to look at her mother, folding her ears back and giving her the most adorable pout. However, Stratus wasn’t finished. He continued, “I must say, I don’t blame her. It’s certainly adorable.”

Squeaking, Vanilla quickly hid her face in his wing again. Maud gave him a tiny smile. “He teases you too. I like him more now.”

Applebloom tapped a hoof on the table, “Y’know, the faster ya’ll eat, the more time we’ll have for our plans before we have to deliver the ambassador back to the castle.”

“Alternatively, anything we miss today can be rescheduled down the road.” Stratus sipped at his coffee, “I’m quite sure negotiations will take several months. I’m not leaving anytime soon.”

Vanilla lifted her head, raising her mug for a sip before making a face. “My coffee’s cold. I need to get another. Don’t eat all the muffins before I get back.” She wriggled out from under Stratus’s wing and trotted over to the counter, passing her mug to Cara. Stratus watched her for a moment, then turned back to the table.

To his surprise, Maud had disappeared from her seat. He took a bite of his bagel, then jumped slightly when Maud hopped into Vanilla’s vacated seat. “Do pegasus wings have any cultural significance in Faroan?”

“Are you talking about draping them over other ponies, specifically?”

“Yes, exactly that.”

“Centuries ago, it was reserved for couples. Now, it’s either used for comfort or to show other ponies that the pegasus is protective of the pony under their wing. The context clues can be a bit complex and confusing, especially when there is some overlap between the two common interpretations.”

“Thank you,” Maud said simply, standing back up to return to her seat before he could say anything more.

Vanilla came back then, setting a steaming latte on the table. “Oh good, you did save me a muffin.” She quickly grabbed it with her telekinesis and set it on her plate. “Unfortunately, I need to do some shopping before Cara can make more, so I won’t be coming with the rest of you this morning.”

“That’s alright, Nils,” Scootaloo gestured to her other friends. “We can definitely find something to entertain him for today.”

“What time do we gotta have ya back at the castle, anyway?” Applebloom asked.

“Actually, we should return to the hotel before going to the castle. Say, the first hour past noon.”

“Oh, we can find more than enough things to fill that time!” Sweetie Belle waved a hoof at Vanilla, “We can leave some stuff for you to do tomorrow, since you won’t be joining us today.”

“Thank you, Sweetie. I’m sure I’ll have more time tomorrow.”

Noticing that Stratus was finished with his food and coffee, Rainbow flew around the table and nudged him, “Come on, let’s get moving. Scoots and I are tired of sitting around.”

“Very well,” Stratus stood up, following Dash and the Cutie Mark Crusaders out of the cafe. “I will see you tomorrow, Nils,” he said, giving her a smile as they departed.

Author's Note:

This chapter is so late going live. I had to add the AU tag to avoid rewriting everything to adopt season 9 canon. I will do my best to adopt most of the canon through season 9, with at least two major exceptions. The first involves Twilight and the royal sisters. The second involves character ages, as I wanted Vanilla and Stratus to be the same age as the CMC's, which does not work with Maud not being a mother in canon.

Also, cover art has been added, thanks to the wonderful Aurora Fang. It is a couple years old already, so make sure you check out his new arts on Twitter. I will have a few illustrations from the same artist to go along with future updates.

Lastly, while I do intend to continue working on this story, I will not promise faster updates. They will be randomly spread out depending on when I find time and inspiration to work on them.

Comments

[Kit the Kite]

oh this is a nice little story! I'm definitely hoping to see more.
I'm a sucker for fluffy pegasi and the writing is solid. Everything seems sensible and I can clearly see the initial impulses behind the relationship forming.

[Relagen]

10581821
Thank you so much for the kind words!

[Kit the Kite]

10582829
It’s no trouble. I only speak the truth!