A Rather Large Adventure

by BradyBunch

Chapter Twelve: How To Make Even More New Friends

In the absence of Twilight after she left, the girls and Spike decided to give her a surprise when she came back by cleaning up the castle. The evening after the day she had left, they all went to her castle to tidy up. When they had gotten there, they had all went to work on the areas of the castle they felt most comfortable around. At this moment, Fluttershy was sweeping up in the throne room while her friends were cleaning in the hallway. Fluttershy liked it when this happened, because then she could think clearly.

Twilight had left on a train to Saddle Arabia, but the train had never returned after it had dropped her off in the capitol. Twilight had also promised to write a letter to them when they had arrived, but there wasn't a letter there. The other girls just thought that Derpy the mailmare had lost her way, but Fluttershy, being the fearful pegasus she was, thought differently.

The fact of the matter was, there was no word of Twilight. She assumed the worst, naturally. What if she had gotten lost, or was frightened, or even... hurt? She didn't know a lot about Saddle Arabia, so she was unaware of the dangers involved in traveling there. She wanted to tell her friends about her suspicions, but she was scared they'd shrug it off as just another rash worry session of hers. After all, it was too early to be sure about anything. So she worried quietly.

She noticed a bit of dust underneath Rainbow Dash's spot at the Cutie Map. So she ducked her head down and reached under it with the broom to try and reach it-

POP

Fluttershy "Eep"ed softly and dove under the table, startled by the sudden noise. Above her, four very heavy objects hit the table, one after the other, each of them making a grunting noise. The last grunt as it fell to the table sounded feminine. Recognizably feminine.

"Uuuugghh," the female voice groaned. Fluttershy recognized it immediately. "Welcome home, I guess," Twilight's woozy voice said.

"Twilight?" Fluttershy said eagerly, and peeked her head over the top of the table. And she gasped.

Twilight was in fact there, but she wasn't alone. Three other ponies were lying on the table, clearly exhausted. One was an earth pony in so much black she initially thought she was a shadow of another one of them. Another was a pegasus in ragged brown and maroon clothing mixed with flexible armor and a black armored mask. The last pony she saw was a unicorn coated entirely in dull grey armor that comfortably overlapped.

What made her apprehensive was the weapons they all had on their backs and on themselves. But Twilight didn't seem to mind the weapons. She had spotted Fluttershy, and had gotten up fast, ran across the table, and hugged her in relief, startling her again.

"Oh, am I glad to see you!" she cried, and hugged her tighter. Then she pulled away. "Where are the others?" she asked. She looked bedraggled and dirty. They all had black dust powdered softly on them.

"Oh, um, they're cleaning the castle along with me," she said, a bit of confusion in her voice. "But, um, why do you look so terrible? Why are you back so early? Who are they?" She indicated the three ominous ponies getting to their hooves.

"Please, listen to me. The meeting- you know, the thing I was supposed to be in Saddle Arabia for- didn't go as planned."

"What do you mean?" she said, but one of the other ponies on the table spoke.

"Twilight, who are you talking to?" the knightly unicorn spoke, angling his head to get a glimpse. The voice was soft, and warm, and strong, and it gave her goosebumps just by hearing it. Under the visor he wore, she couldn't see his face, but when the unicorn saw her, he froze. He seemed to be transfixed on something.

"Oh, this is just a friend of mine. Come on, introduce yourself," Twilight urged the shy pegasus.

Feeling a little unsure, Fluttershy tried to look at the armor-coated unicorn, but ended up looking at the ground instead. "Um, hi. My name's..." Her voice lost volume. "F-f-fluttershy," she managed to squeak.

The knight didn't say anything. He was still lost in something as he just looked at her.

"Um, if you don't want to be around me, I understand. I'll just back off now." she said quietly. She started to move backwards.

"Please don't go," he said. The knight then used his hooves to undo a hook or two holding his helmet to the rest of his armor, and pulled off the helmet.

And Fluttershy's heart skipped a beat or two. He was a pale blue color with a strong, defined face and a small asymmetrical, nervous grin as he looked at Fluttershy. His thick mane was a rich bright blue and stuck up in random places. It sparkled slightly with sweat, giving him a dreamy appearance as she was drawn to his...his eyes. They were an even more magical dark, deep blue. They held wonder in them, and were partly dilated in fear when he saw her try to back away.

And suddenly, for some inexplicable reason she didn't know at first, she didn't want to anymore.

But before either of them could say anything more to each other, the doors to the throne room burst open and Fluttershy jumped and looked at the doors. The knight stayed where he was in wonder.

Five other ponies ran in. "We heard a pop in here. Fluttershy, is something--" Starlight Glimmer started, then stopped as she saw Twilight with three new, unfamiliar ponies on the Cutie Map table. The other four mares with her also stared at the sight, some of them apprehensively.

There was a bit of time as everypony stared at each other. The three strange new armored ponies looked at the mares. And the mares looked back.

Pinkie was the first one to speak. "NEW FRIENDS!" she yelled, throwing up her hooves in celebration.

Starlight then spoke. "Twilight? What are you doing here so early? Aren't you supposed to be in Saddle Arabia?"

"What I want to know is, who are these new guys?" Rainbow asked suspiciously. She flew to the table and put herself between Twilight and the three stallions. She reared in a fighting stance. "Stay back, Twilight! I don't trust 'em! They'll hurt you!"

The pegasus in maroon and brown rags said in irritation from under his cowl, "Okay, so you see me for less than a second, and you instantly think I'm going to harm somepony I've sworn to protect?" He swept off his cowl and his dark orange face was now displayed, his long fiery mane sticking up in the air. He put a hoof to his chest and pretended to look offended. "Is it because I'm a guy? Well, I'll have you know, I am deeply offen-"

"It's because you've got two swords strapped to your back!"

"Well, okay, yeah, there's that, but still-"

"STOP!" Twilight cried, and her horn ignited in a lavender color. The two pegasi were suddenly separated, both of them surrounded in a violet aura. Both were still glowering at each other. "I want these introductions to go smoothly, and the two of you aren't helping!" Twilight cut off her magic and the two of them dropped to the ground. They continued to glare at each other suspiciously.

"Okay, listen, everyone. I should explain what exactly happened, but first I want everypony to be acquainted with each other. Good terms, okay? You can trust these guys." Twilight came over and patted the pale blue unicorn, then indicated with a jerk of her head to talk to the rest of them.

The light blue knight shook his head as if going out of a trance, then faced the mares that had just came in and jumped off the table, leaving his helmet on the round table. His face captured everyone's attention, and they all looked at him. He gulped and said, in a Canterlot accent not present before in his voice, "It is an honor to be in thy presence." He looked at all the mares, but when he glanced at Fluttershy, he looked away quickly. "For I tremble exceedingly beneath thine collective beauty."

Upon hearing the compliment in the archaic tongue, Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, Pinkie Pie grinned even brighter than how she was before, Applejack raised a single eyebrow, though the ghost of a smile was present on her face, Starlight's eyes widened in curiosity, Fluttershy turned a deep pink and hid in her mane, and Rarity's entire face took on an intense glow.

"My name is Noble Blade," he continued. "Me and my companions, according to all known records, doth not exist. The fact that I am explaining such information, therefore, indicates a level of trust we expect you to keep. We are known as the Guardians of the Sun."

"And you secretly carry out special missions under the order of the princesses and protect Equestria from inside and outside threats and are basically unsung heroes because nopony knows about all the crippling events you've stopped?" Pinkie eagerly interjected.

The mouth of every single Guardian fell open. After a few moments Firestorm weakly said, "How did you know about that?"

Pinkie shrugged. "Eh. I just talked with the author earlier and he explained everything. Duh." She rolled her eyes.

Applejack gave Pinkie a strange look. "Who the hay is this author?"

"And why does he sound like someone I should smack in the face?" Firestorm asked, smacking one hoof into the other.

Noble Blade blinked, then continued. "The point is, we protect Equestria's protectors. We are the ones who will stay and fight when the rest of the world doth flee. For over five years we hath served. And we doth now serve thee. Our lives we will gladly give to ensure thy protection." He pounded his hoof on his chest and bowed.

"My, my! A flatterer who knows how to work a fancy tongue! You've found a good one, Twilight," Rarity said, fluttering her eyelashes.

Firestorm snickered at the comment's double meaning.

Rarity continued, twirling her mane. "Tell me, Noble Blade, are you always like this?"

Noble eyed her for a second, then said, "Either if the occasion demands it or if I feel particularly in the mood." He paused, then said, "Tell me, what is thy name, my lady?"

Rarity let out a flushed laugh at the title. "Rarity, my lord," she said extravagantly, and extended a hoof. Noble shrugged and kissed her hoof. Rarity giggled and started to swoon a little, but managed to stay upright.

"Alright, hold on. These are the Elements of Harmony?" Firestorm asked, waving a hoof at all of the girls. "Can I guess the names? Can I? Please?" He fixed Noble Blade a pleading look. Before Noble could say anything, he shrugged. "Silence is consent," he said flippantly, then begun. "Okay, so there's Applejack," he pointed at the farm mare, "Who I'm going to guess is the one with apples on her butt."

"Tha's one way of puttin' it," she muttered sarcastically.

"I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the one with the awesome mane and, ah, colorful attitude is a certain Rainbow Dash," he continued. "Element of loyalty." He then pointed at her. "Seriously. Love the mane."

Rainbow shrugged. "Everypony does," she said, looking at him like he was an idiot.

"And I know you have the name of Rarity... for some reason."

She stiffened. "That was rude."

"Why thank you, dearie. I meant for it to be that way." He hurriedly moved on before she could retort. "And I have no idea why, but I think I have a faint suspicion that the one that's completely pink is... Pinkie Pie?"

She nodded vigorously. "Yep! That's me! Strange, isn't it?"

"And finally, I'll assume that that one pegasus over there that's hiding in her mane is Fluttershy, right?" he finished.

Fluttershy nodded mutely.

He then flapped up in the air and announced flamboyantly, "And now for me! The name's Firestorm!" He then did a few obnoxious over-the-top gestures. "The fast! The deadly! The super hot-"

"The what?" Rainbow Dash asked, suppressing a smile.

"Aaaand... the totally annoying!" he finished. He looked around the room. There was no reaction. He sighed. "I'M FUNNY! I-I'm supposed to be funny." He then crossed his arms and sulked like a child.

"And the introductions are officially blown to pieces," Twilight said.

"What about that feller over there?" Applejack asked. She pointed at the pony in utter black that was standing motionless, observing silently the event happening before his hidden eyes.

"Oh, him!" Twilight exclaimed. She had almost forgotten about him, he was so self-effacing and quiet. She turned around. "His name's Freedom Fighter. Say hi, Freedom!" Twilight said.

Freedom Fighter did not move.

"Ah hardly even noticed ya at first. Why didn'cha say anything?" Applejack said to him. He still did not move. After a second or two, Applejack said, "Yer the strong and silent type, huh?"

"He can't help it," Firestorm told her. "He doesn't have a tongue to speak with."

"He don't?" Applejack gasped. Freedom Fighter finally nodded, the first movement the mares had seen out of him. He was around the size of Shining Armor and most of his weapons were in plain view, so he was a little intimidating. He then sat on his haunches and made a few hoof gestures, startling the girls by his rapid movements.

"He says it's a pleasure to meet you all," Noble translated. "You can't see it, but he's smiling under the mask." Freedom pointed at him and nodded.

" 'Scuse me, but who's that last one?" Firestorm asked, pointing at Starlight Glimmer. "I thought we had gotten them all. Is there another element I should know about?"

"My name's Starlight Glimmer," Starlight said. "And I personally...think you're a little bit dubious. I mean, a secret group of warriors working for the princesses? That sounds suspicious."

"I can understand why you'd say that," Twilight said to her. "But they haven't hurt me yet." She looked behind her shoulder. "A certain pegasus might've tried to annoy me- "

"I'm not sorry," Firestorm piped up.

"-but so far all they've done is try to rescue me from harm."

Silence fell. Finally Applejack spoke up. "Ya needed rescuin'?" She sounded a little shocked. "Sumthin' bad happened to ya, didn't it?"

"Well...you could say that," Twilight laughed. "I was on my way to Saddle Arabia, but my train got hijacked and I got knocked unconscious."

Everyone gasped. Fluttershy felt a horrible feeling that confirmed her silent worrying.

"When I woke up I discovered I was being held captive by a kind of monster called the Noxxa. They... how do I describe this... looked like a pony, but they also looked like a bug and dragon hybrid."

"Sweet Celestia, they sound terrible!" Starlight said in concern. "Were they related to the changelings?"

"I think they had a common ancestor. I'm not certain."

"Did they rescue you?" Starlight indicated the three warriors.

"I'm getting there. Just before I was put in a holding cell for me to wait for my execution-" All the girls gasped again, "These three changed out of their disguises and beat the Noxxa back."

"She was very thankful," Firestorm let them know. "I particularly remember that she threw herself at me and showered me with affection."

"She punched you in the face," Noble reminded him.

Firestorm waved him off. "For her, that's the same thing." Pinkie giggled.

Twilight flushed but continued. "We then came up with a plan. Freedom Fighter went off by himself, found the thing that was blocking our magic, and destroyed it."

"You couldn't even use magic?" Starlight asked. "Like how me and Trixie and Discord had our magic blocked when we rescued you from the Changeling nest only a little bit ago?"

Freedom Fighter pointed at her and nodded emphatically, then used more sign language.

"He says that's exactly what it was. It was a black diamond around the size of an apple that blocked all magic in a mile radius," Noble translated.

"So while he went off, me, Noble, and the princess...we went and we..." Firestorm trailed off, then looked in confusion at Noble Blade. "What did we do, anyway? Were we just skedaddling around creating distractions to divert attention away from Freedom Fighter?"

"I assumed we were trying to get out of the tower," Noble said to him.

"...So we were just running around like a chicken with its head cut off?"

Fluttershy winced at the image.

Seeing her face, Noble quickly said, "No. This chicken," he indicated Twilight, "kept her head, while the two of us appeared to lose our heads in the field of battle. In fact, I recall that Storm here acted like the biggest chicken of us all."

Everyone laughed.

"Being compared to a chicken. My life is complete." Twilight sighed.

"Forgive me, my lady. No offense was meant," he said, bowing his head.

"He's so quick to apologize," Rarity admired. "Not many stallions I've met have been so quick to apologize before."

"Thank you?" Noble asked inquisitively, raising an eyebrow.

Twilight continued the tale. "There were some parts that were a little scary, like hanging in an elevator shaft for our lives, or being stuck in a warehouse with a crazy laser, but we stuck through it all and pushed our way through all they threw at us."

"Until we got caught," Firestorm said.

"Until we got caught, yeah. But you bravely refused the chance to abandon your friends, proceeded to insult the monster behind the whole thing, and then we got our magic back, disappeared, picked up Freedom Fighter, and teleported in short spurts back here."

When the story was over, Rainbow scratched the back of her head and spoke up. "Hey, uh, Firestorm?" She looked reluctant. "Sorry about yelling at you earlier. I didn't know you were fighting for Twilight and not against her."

"Oh, 'tis fine," Firestorm said in a posh voice. "I wasn't sure if you were on my side at first either." He flopped lazily into Twilight's throne around the table.

Rainbow's eyes narrowed. "Are you always like this?"

"Of course." He smirked and tossed his mane behind his shoulder. "Why, do you like this sort of behavior in males?"

"WHAT?" Rainbow shrieked.

"I'll take that as a yes, then." He propped his hind legs up on Twilight's armrests and closed his eyes contentedly.

All the mares watching the scene unfold were looking at Firestorm with either distaste or nervousness. Except for Pinkie. She could not stop softly giggling under her breath at the ridiculous pegasus's antics.

Noble sighed. "I apologize for his behavior. He knows that he annoys everyone he comes across, so he tries to be funny at the same time. As you can probably tell, it doesn't always work."

Fluttershy whispered, "That isn't very nice..."

"You're right. It isn't." Noble said softly to her. Fluttershy, upon hearing it, looked at Noble. Noble smiled shyly at her and Fluttershy turned pink yet again and looked away. Noble felt a jolt of fear run through him. Did he do something bad to make her blush?

Rarity spoke up. "It astounds me that not only he acts like that, but that he also chooses to wear such appalling attire. Tell me, were there any tailors or fashion artists you visited at all at anytime?"

"No, actually. Not for five years now," he said smugly, still sprawled in Twilight's seat.

"WHAAAAAT?!" she exclaimed, recoiling in horror. "You dare go without visiting a tailor for more than a year, let alone five?"

"I'm proud of my uniform. It fits comfortably, it's inconspicuous, and it's armored nicely in between layers. I made it myself."

Rarity eyed his uniform distastefully, observing the ragged appearance and mismatched colors of maroon and brown in random spots and how it all looked hastily stitched together. "...Yes, I can see that clear as day." She shuddered. "I simply cannot stand to see you in such bedraggled attire. You absolutely must visit my boutique soon!" It was a command, not a suggestion.

"Nope," Firestorm said simply. "No. Nopenopenopenopenopenope!"

"And why ever not?" she asked with a hint of steel in her voice.

"Because we don't wear much anyway. There isn't much point to clothes if it isn't functional or ornamental, and I'm not one for the ornamental type. What I wear is functional enough, and doesn't need maintenance. Honestly, there can come a point when you can care too much about clothes." He picked a bit of dirt out of his outfit and flicked it away.

"But... but clothes are amazing, fashionable pieces of art!" she exclaimed.

"Clothes are mostly unnecessary," Firestorm said casually. "I don't see why anyone cares about them enough to run entire articles or shows or gossip about them. They're just clothes. They cover up your body. That's it."

A faint whistling noise could be heard coming out of Rarity as her face turned red with anger. She marched haughtily over to where Firestorm lounged in Twilight's throne. "You, sir, are the most disrespectful ruffian I have ever had the misfortune to speak with!"

"Blueblood!" Pinkie's voice came from behind everyone else. At the mention of his name Noble's face darkened momentarily, then it passed without anyone noticing.

Rarity huffed. "Yes. Well, apart from that lout." She waved it off, then turned furiously to Firestorm. "Admit it! You are a disgrace to the male population! Admit it!"

"With pride." Firestorm spread his arms sarcastically, then folded them behind his head. "What can I do for you?" he said helpfully.

"Rarity, just stop. He's just tryin' ta git under yer skin," Applejack said, coming between her and Firestorm and pushing her away.

"He already has gotten under my skin!" Rarity screeched at him as she was pushed back.

Firestorm sat upright and looked at her. "I have?" he asked hopefully.

"OF COURSE YOU HAVE!"

"Yes!" He pumped the air in triumph.

"Wait a minute!" Twilight said suddenly. "Where's Spike? He ought to know about this!"

"I think he was cleaning the kitchen," Fluttershy offered. Twilight then ran out of the room and flew down the hall towards the kitchen, leaving the three Guardians and the girls.

There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment or two as someone tried to think of something to say. A few times someone opened their mouths as if they were about to start a conversation, then awkwardly closed them again and looked at the ground.

Finally Firestorm cleared his throat and said, "So, ladies... I... bathe regularly..."

While the girls exchanged quizzical looks, Noble came next to him, still lounging indolently on Twilight's throne. "Storm, what are you doing? Remember the rules of conversation? What do we never try to talk about?"

"Politics, death, and hygiene," he said in a bored voice. "I know. The only trouble is, everything we do as Guardians of the Sun relates in some way to politics, death, or hygiene!" He put his face in his hooves. "And the worst part is, what I said wasn't even true!"

Unfortunately, the girls heard.

Applejack recoiled slightly. "Wait a sec- ya haven't been bathin'?" she said, wide-eyed. "Ah work on the farm and Ah bathe more frequently than ya might think!"

"When was the last time you bathed?" Rarity said in shock.

Deciding to have a little fun, Firestorm replied, "When did Nightmare Moon return?"

Pinkie shot her hoof up. "Ooh, ooh, I know! Seven years ago!" As she spoke, Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity, and Starlight turned slowly towards him in disbelief. Fluttershy was just silent.

"I've never bathed," he said simply.

Noble mouthed to the others, He's joking.

"I'm kidding, of course!" Firestorm said hurriedly. "I'm not that uncivilized. I'm cleaner than that! I think it rained on me about a week ago. Or was it a moon ago? Hold on, let me think."

Rarity's face was absolutely livid.

"Oh, now I remember. It was a moon ago," he said, unconcerned. "Plus, you know, there was this really great drinking fountain that I would sometimes visit if it was really bad-"

"-And now that you've admitted that, it's time for you to make some life changes," Noble spoke to him. He ignited his horn and Firestorm was enveloped in an aura of dark blue light and was lifted off the seat. Firestorm's eyes bulged in surprise and started to flail about, to no avail. "Where is the nearest restroom?"

"Down the hall, first door on the right," Pinkie told him.

"Where are you taking me?!" Firestorm fake-wailed as he floated down the hall, trapped by Noble's magic.

"Cease thine accursed tongue this instant, churlish cur, or I shall do thee an injury!" Noble lapsed back into the archaic tongue just for fun, a joking lilt in his voice. A doorknob on the side of the hallway opened in a dark blue haze and Firestorm was tossed in with a thud. "And thou shalt not come out until twenty minutes have passed!" He slammed the door to the restroom with his magic and turned to face the rest of the girls. He noticed the strange looks directed at him and coughed. "Again, sorry about the, ah, behavior." He noticed Fluttershy wasn't looking at him very often, and he grew worried. Whenever she did look at him, she would look away quickly again and hide in her mane. He didn't know why this was so alarming to him, though.

"Oh, you have nothing to worry about, dahling!" Rarity was speaking to him. "While it is admirable that you try to take responsibility for his behavior, this faux pas lies upon his head." She gestured out at the hall with her head.

Pinkie chose that moment to let out a hard gasp of terror. "I ALMOST FORGOT!!!" she screamed, then ran straight up to Noble's face, making him lean back a little bit. "Do you like parties?" She then moved to Freedom Fighter's face, hidden entirely under the black cowl he wore. "Huh? Do ya do ya do ya do ya?" She asked, emphasizing each "Do ya" with a bounce.

Taken aback slightly by the sudden question, Noble slowly said, "Yes, parties are nice-"

"Chocolate or vanilla cake?" she asked.

Barely keeping up, Noble uncertainly said, "Vanilla-"

"GOTTA GO!" she said suddenly, then disappeared in a blur of pink clouds.

Noble blinked. "What?"

"Oh, don't worry about it," Rainbow said, shrugging. "That's just Pinkie being Pinkie. She's probably setting up for your Welcome To Ponyville party. She should actually be done setting up by now."

"But she left only ten seconds ago," Noble said, confused.

"Plenty o' time, then," Applejack said.

Freedom Fighter turned his head slowly to look at Noble. Noble looked back at him. Freedom tilted his head to the side in confusion, then shrugged and looked away.

There was the flap of wings and Twilight flew back into the throne room, with a running baby dragon panting in exhaustion behind her. "I still don't know... why you had to... make me.. .run back here-whoah!" Spike yelled in surprise as he saw a knight and what looked like a black shadow in the throne room. "Who are you two?" he asked tiredly but enthusiastically.

"The two charming gentlecolts are Noble Blade and Freedom Fighter," Rarity introduced the two of them. "There was... another, but he's off doing something he should have done a very long time ago." Rarity said the last part through gritted teeth.

"Where is Firestorm, anyway?" Twilight asked, looking around as she landed. "Wasn't he here?"

"He's in the shower," Rainbow explained.

Spike's face darkened at the way Rarity had emphasized the word "Charming" but nevertheless his face showed excitement at meeting a real life knight and a super soldier. "Hey, guys. My name's-"

"Spike the Brave and Glorious?" Noble finished for him. Spike's face betrayed curiosity as to how he knew that particular title, and Noble saw it. "I've had to go to the Crystal Empire from time to time for a mission from Princess Cadence," Noble explained. "I've got to say, the mares there would not stop talking about you. Any one of them would consider you to be an amazing snag for a husband, you know."

"WHAT?" Spike jumped about a foot in the air.

Noble laughed, a warm sound. "Simply teasing, Spike. I don't even know if you're old enough for that sort of thing yet."

"Well, good. 'Cause there's only one mare in life I'll ever go for," he said dreamily, gazing at Rarity.

Noble saw this and looked at Rarity. He then looked back at Spike. And he smiled. "Then you go for her," he said to Spike. "You go for her and you never, ever give up on it."

Spike rubbed the back of his head. "Aww, thanks." He smiled back at Noble.

Noble Blade then turned to Twilight. "Me and my companions require a place to stay for the night and drop off our supplies and armor. I would not force it of thee, but if there would happen to be some small, out-of-the-way corner of this heavenly castle for us, I would be indebted to thee."

Twilight giggled. "Heavenly? Oh, no, this is just a place I like to call home. It's not, like, heaven, you know? Spike, can you show Noble and Freedom Fighter the guest rooms, please?"

"Sure, Twilight!" Spike agreed, and motioned for the two soldiers to follow him. Noble picked up his helmet, and Freedom Fighter, with one long, sweeping jump, lept off the table and landed smoothly, without making a sound. The two warriors walked into the hall, where they could hear running water and Firestorm singing obnoxiously in the shower. But before Noble left, he stopped and looked back, his eyes resting on Fluttershy, who froze when she saw him.

"But I am in heaven," he softly spoke. "For I stand in the presence of an angel."

And he awkwardly shuffled out, a blush on his face after he said it.

Only Fluttershy heard him. Her brain short-circuiting, she thought wildly, He...called me an angel...

Comments

[Jade Dawn]

"Being compared to a chicken. My life is complete." Twilight sighed.

Scootaloo: Hey! That's my thing!

[Idoubledareyou]

Okay I'll try to figure out the shipping, I might get it wrong but let's try.

NoblexFluttershy - I kinda expected it to be with Rarity but that last part denied it.

FirestormxRarirty - Opposites attract each other, am I right? Honestly I don't know about this one, it's kinda hard, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie sound like possible candidates too.

FreedomFighterxTwilight - Or not...?

[BradyBunch]

9597963
It gets sweeter as you read. Will your suspicions be confirmed or denied? Will you see adorable FlutterBlade romance? A floundering Firestorm? Find out for yourself!

[Shadic Midnight Blitzer]

Pinkie shrugged. "Eh. I just talked with Braden earlier and he explained everything. Duh." She rolled her eyes.

REEEEEE

Love the story. Jokes are intense

[BradyBunch]

10817001
Lol, thanks. It warms my heart.