Love for all

by Thestoryteller

Chapter thirteen

The City of Stormcrow was the cloudy city within the kingdom of Chaosville, its architecture was similar in design to the buildings one would find in Cloudsdale. The city was home to most winged creatures, such as pegasi, griffons, and other diverse creatures that could inhabit the cloudy structures. Stormcrow was in charge of most of the weather and required the utmost care and attention. Soarin was in charge of the care for this city, and helping him were three other Pegasi; Spitfire, Lightning Dust, and Rainbow Dash.

Spitfire was working with Rainbow by pouring bags of chemicals and atoms into a metal container that would turn the clouds made in the city into snow clouds. As Spitfire was pouring out one of these bags, she couldn't help but notice that Rainbow was stealing glances at Soarin and Lightning Dust as they worked on a separate container.

"You haven't told him, have you?" Spitfire asked, straight to what she assumed to be the source of Rainbow's distraction.

Rainbow turned her head and directed her attention to Spitfire, "Huh?" She asked, absentmindedly.

"About your bisexuality," Spitfire stated bluntly, which instantly caught Rainbow's full attention.

"Spits!" She hissed, "Not so loud."

"Why?" Spitfire asked as she approached another bag. "What are you so afraid of? I mean," Spitfire paused as she tore open the top of the bag with her teeth, "it's Soarin, what's the worst he could say?” Spitfire then realized that it was Soarin she was talking about, ’actually, knowing him he’d probably misinterpret bisexuality to mean attraction to bicycles.'

Rainbow released a heavy sigh as she admitted to Spitfire the truth, "I'm not afraid about telling him about that, I'm afraid about telling him about Gilda."

That caused Spitfire to pause as realization dawned on her. "Oh...right." She said as she resumed pouring the contents of the bag into the funnel. "To be honest, even I don't know the full story between the two of you. I know that the two of you met when the Lunar Kingdom was at war with the Griffon Empire."

"Yeah, but that was before Cloudsdale joined the Lunar Empire." Rainbow corrected. "Gilda and I were different back then, but then everything got complicated when she joined the war and Cloudsdale joined the Lunar Empire, we still kept in touch as best we could but…” Rainbow hesitated, trying to find the right words, “we started to drift apart, so much so that one day she just stopped sending letters. I was so desperate to see her again that when I found out we were engaging her company on the field, I rushed out without a second thought. But when I saw her…” Rainbow looked down, her rainbow mane covering her eyes. “Well…let’s just say she wasn’t the same Gilda I knew."

Spitfire could easily tell how shaken up Rainbow was about it so she placed her hoof on Rainbow's shoulder to provide her with some form of comfort. "Look, I get that whatever happened between you and Gilda must've been rough, but you can’t blame yourself for who she is."

“But I can,” Rainbow said, meeting Spitfire’s eyes. “I was her…mare-friend.” Rainbow forced out, the label lacking the meaning it once meant to her. “I cared about her and I…I…”

Spitfire’s eyes widened in realization, “Rainbow, do you still have feelings for Gilda?” She asked.

Rainbow shook her head, “That’s just it, I don’t know if I’m still hung up on her because I still have feelings for her. Or if I’m doing it because of who she used to be.”

Spitfire then understood Rainbow’s dilemma, Rainbow had always been a fiercely loyal pony, it was the main reason she was brought into their sisterhood to begin with. Now, that fierce loyalty was betraying her, her heart told her that she wasn’t in love with Gilda anymore, but her core told her that she should stay with her and try to work things out. She had a similar experience once, but she knew there was no easy answer for it. And then there was Soarin, who was still in the dark about Rainbow’s love life. The two were so close, and Rainbow didn’t start dating Gilda until after Soarin left. She wanted to tell Soarin about her past in an attempt to better understand her feelings, but couldn’t because there was no telling how Soarin would react.

“Hey,” Spitfire touched Rainbow’s hoof, “there’s no time limit on understanding yourself. Take all the time you need to sort this out, just don’t forget that we’re all still here to help you every step of the way.”

Rainbow smiled at that, “Thanks Spits, that…actually helps.”

After their talk, Spitfire noticed that Rainbow was still stealing glances at Soarin and Lightning, who were now, to Spitfire’s shock, actually getting along. Spitfire realized that Rainbow’s look of concern wasn’t just about her fear of telling Soarin about her past, there was another underlying reason for her concern.

'Could it be that she’s…jealous?' She thought.

---

While Rainbow and Spitfire were having their conversation, Soarin and Lightning were having theirs. Well, a conversation was perhaps not the right word as Lightning was trying to start a conversation with Soarin but it was to no avail. Lightning Dust would start with a question and Soarin would answer with a "yes" or an "uh-huh". This went on for a while until Lightning Dust said something that made Soarin give a different response.

"Remember working in the rainbow factory all those years ago?" Lightning reminisced. "This place sure is a lot like it, huh."

"Well yeah," Soarin answered, "Cloudsdale was the one that supplied Chaosville with the weather technology."

"I see," Lightning Dust said as she scooped out a hoof-full of wet snow and packed it into a ball, "then do you remember...this!" She exclaimed, throwing the snowball it smacked Soarin in the face.

"Lightning!" Soarin growled, wiping off the snow, "now isn't the time to be playing."

"Oh...sorry." Lightning Dust's confidence dropped just like her gaze fell to the floor.

Realizing Lightning's saddened expression made Soarin calm down, "No, no, I'm the one who should be sorry." He stated. "I'm just really stressed is all."

"By what?" Lightning Dust asked, "if you're fine with sharing, that is."

"Let's just say that I ran into an unexpected visitor a while back and he said something to me that's made things complicated." Soarin avoided the whole truth because he himself didn't understand exactly what he saw. Then he suddenly remembered that Lightning Dust knew his father back when he lived in Cloudsdale. "Say Lightning, did you know anything about my dad? Before he took me to Chaosville?"

Lightning Dust tapped her chin in thought. "I can't say that I do, I know that my father and Castiel were good friends." Lightning said before adding, "why do you ask?"

"Let's just say that there are a lot of things that don't make sense to me about him," Soarin said. "Like why he brought me to Chaosville?

A devious idea crossed Lightning's mind, "Actually, it is rather strange that your father took you to Chaosville days before Cloudsdale announced their joining with the Lunar Empire."

"That's right," Soarin said, "why did he bring me to Chaosville before Cloudsdale joined the Lunar Empire?"

"Perhaps he knew about the decision before it was announced?" Lightning suggested.

"Maybe, but then why didn't he come back?" Soarin pondered out loud.

"Back to Cloudsdale?" Lightning asked.

"Yes," Soarin confirmed, "my dad was a part of the council in Cloudsdale, if he wanted to protect me, then why didn't he leave me in Cloudsdale with you guys? Why take me to King Discord when he never once mentioned that he knew King Discord to begin with?"

"Soarin, where is this all coming from?" Lightning asked.

Soarin let out a sigh and told Lightning everything, "A while ago, somehow, I saw my father. Not like, at his grave or anything, but I saw him, really saw him. And he told me that I couldn't trust King Discord."

"Woah..." Lightning Dust said in wonder, "Soarin... I don't know what to say."

"Don't worry about it," Soarin said, "I'm just glad I'm finally able to talk to someone about this," Soarin said with a small smile. 'How the heck does Johnny keep secrets like this and not tell anyone?' Soarin thought to himself.

"I think I might know a way to help," Lightning Dust offered, "Princess Luna seized all of the records of all of the members on the Cloudsdale Council. I bet that she has one on Castiel that holds all of his records and even some of his journals. I can get it for you if you want."

"Really?!" Soarin Beamed. "That would be amazing, thank you so much Lightning."

"Of course, Soarin, anything for you." She smiled.

Soarin let out a chuckle, "you know, deep down I was kinda afraid of meeting back up with all of you again, seeing as how awkward we left things. But now, I'm actually glad I got to see you again Lightning."

"Like-wise." Lightning smiled back, and her smile grew at the fact that her plan was slowly, but surely, starting to unfold.

---

The City of Dale was the most modern city in all of Chaosville, it was the city closest to the castle and the most recently modified city. Since the five other major cities were originally constructed in the early days since the beginning of the Kingdom of Chaosville they can be found to be further away from the castle compared to the City of Dale which was constructed quite a couple of decades ago. Because of its recent construction, the buildings were taller and were comprised of mostly just class and steel frames. The City of Dale was under the jurisdiction of Fancy Pants, because of how modern the city was it had a good handle on being prepared for the coming winter season. The main task that was given to Fancy Pants was the role similar to an accountant. Fancy was in charge of documenting the amount of food needed for each city and miscellaneous village, how much energy each household will need to stay warm and productive, reestablishing a tax on any items that were in surplus or in shortage, and various other tasks that would be a great challenge to anyone.

However, such tasks were merely child splay to Fancy Pants.

In the center of the City of Dale stands the towering skyscraper named Northwood Tower, which was the heart of the City of Dale and was the home to all records of each and every city and home to the employees that work there. The tower was owned by the notorious businesswoman known as Busy Business. Inside the main office, which was located at the very top of the Northwood Tower, Fancy Pants stood in the middle of the room with a storm of papers flying all over the room in an organized and controlled manner by Fancy’s magic. A paper would fly in front of him, he read through it and understood it within seconds, took a pen, wrote down a solution to the problem stated on it, and then sent it to one of the many mail-messengers that were standing by at the far side of the room.

Because of Fancy’s skill and expertise in the task, his companions were not needed to assist him in any way. His companions were Fleur de Lis, Rarity, and Fluttershy, who were all sitting in the most comfortable desk chairs Busy Business could offer.

“Um…Prince Fancy Pants, if I may be so bold, we could assist you if you wanted.” Rarity offered any aid she could to Fancy.

“Much appreciated, Miss Rarity,” Fancy Pants thanked, not even looking away from his work, “but it will not be necessary as I have the situation completely under control.”

Rarity leaned back in her chair in defeat, letting out a small sigh.

“Don’t bother, Servant,” Fleur said, “he won’t accept your help because he’s ‘so capable’.” Fleur waived her hooves to use air quotes.

Rarity looked to Fleur and a thought came to her mind that had been a topic of question for some time. “Mistress,” Rarity began, “you and Fancy used to be in a relationship did you not?”

Fleur glared at Rarity, “did I permit you to speak to me, Servant?” She snapped.

“Sorry Mistress.” Rarity reflexively apologized, bowing her head.

Fleur’s expression softened and she let out a sigh, “No, it’s alright serv-, er...Rarity.” Fleur apologized. “To answer your question, yes Fancy and I were in a relationship, you could say... we were engaged to be specific.”

Rarity looked to Fancy Pants with an expression of shock and surprise, “he is the stallion that left you?” She gasped, realizing that the unicorn in front of her was the topic of many hated discussions and foul language whenever Fleur would talk about her past. And whenever she had too much champagne.

“Yes, he’s that one.” Fleur grimaced.

“Mistress, are you sure you want to talk about him while he’s standing right there?” Rarity asked, concerned about how Fancy would react if he were to hear them.

To which Fleur simply waved away such concerns by saying, “not to worry, knowing him he’s so focused on his work he’s in his own little world.” Fleur said, “watch this.” she curled her hoof up to her mouth to amplify her voice. “Hey Fancy! Wearing a monocle doesn’t make you look any smarter!” Her insults did nothing to sway Fancy from his work. “See.” Fleur gestured before continuing, "anyways, he and I were in an arranged marriage fixed between our two fathers. However before the ceremony could be held, King Discord intervened and abolished our arrangement.” Fleur explained, looking down. “I was heartbroken and devastated.”

“Mistress…I…I had no idea.” Rarity said.

“I’m so sorry that happened to you,” Fluttershy spoke up.

“Yes, well…it’s all in the past now-“ Fleur paused, looking at Fluttershy with bewilderment. “Who are you?” She demanded.

“Oh…I’m Fluttershy…your, um…Grace.” Fluttershy whimpered under the cruel gaze of Fleur.

“Miss Fluttershy,” Fancy Pants spoke to the timid Pegasus, taking his attention away from his current work, “may I have a word with you?”

“Uh, yes of course.” Fluttershy stammered, quickly rushing over to Fancy Pants side for safety from the death stares emanating from Fleur. “What can I help you with, your Grace?” She asked.

Fancy Pants said nothing at first, he created a magical wall between both of them and Rarity and Fleur to prevent them from hearing what he was about to say. He eyed Fluttershy up and down, studying her with a serious and somewhat calm look, he asked, “what is your relationship with my Father, King Discord?”

“Wha-what?” Fluttershy stumbled back in confusion.

“I am not daft, miss, I have seen you enter and leave the cambers of Father, King Discord, for quite some time now.” Fancy Pants stated, still looking over the notes and papers in front of him. “I want to know what it is you hope to gain from my Father.”

“I don’t hope to gain anything from Dis-I mean… King Discord.” Fluttershy said firmly.

This time Fancy Pants tore his gaze away from the flying papers and directed it towards Fluttershy, giving her his full attention. ’I’ve been with Father for roughly 7 years, yet she’s been with him for mere months and somehow…she’s changing him.' Fancy Pants thought. They were subtle changes but they were changes nonetheless, something that was practically impossible when it came to Discord. Fancy was still observing the timid pegasus, she was standing tall and confident (somewhat). "You’re not lying, are you?” He asked.

“No, your Grace,” Fluttershy stated.

Fancy knew she wasn’t, but she was still hiding something. Fancy had a gift of seeing if someone was lying or not, and from what he witnessed she was telling the complete truth when she said she wasn’t planning to gain anything from Discord. But the fact she was withholding information bothered Fancy, her intentions were pure but he had been fooled before. Fancy Pants then looked at Fluttershy and asked her,

“Then, what is it you are after?” He asked Fluttershy intently.

Fluttershy opened her mouth to respond, but then closed her mouth as she realized that she didn’t have an appropriate answer for Fancy.

“Actually, your grace,” She began, “I’m…not too sure myself."

Author's Note:

Hello Fimfiction, it has been too long! So, I suppose I do owe you all an update, don’t I? Well, suffice to say I stopped writing this when good ol’ lockdown happened, during that time I went through a review of this story and decided that a break was in order, just from writing the story because there was so much here that I needed to have organized. Let me tell ya, having ADHD is the worst! So anyways, after reviewing everything that I had planned for this story, I realized that I had bit off way more than I could possibly chew and needed to rethink how I wanted the story to go. That’s when I realized that I needed to make some edits and rework the direction of the story while also juggling my crumbling social life.

THANKFULLY, I’ve got it sorted now. I’ve got about 70% of this story mapped out and I now know what direction I want to take it in. Once again, thank you so much for your time in reading my works, it really does mean a lot to me that people read this.

Comments

[SuperSonicHeroes]

Man, it is good to see an update from this story again after so long! I was starting to worry that you abandoned it. But I look forward to seeing more from this again.

[Thestoryteller]

11194031

Yeah, sorry about that, after the show ended I did my best to keep myself motivated to write more but just lost it. Thankfully, I’ve regained the motivation to write once again and I have a document that contains notes on what I had planned for this story. But anyways, I’m glad you’re looking forward to it.

[AstralFlare42]

If you need an OC for this amazing story, let me know via PM.

[Yoshifan30]

"Why?" Spitfire asked as she approached another bag. "What are you so afraid of? I mean," Spitfire paused as she tore open the top of the bag with her teeth, "it's Soarin, what's the worst he could say?” Spitfire then realized that it was Soarin she was talking about, ’actually, knowing him he’d probably misinterpret bisexuality to mean attraction to bicycles.'

What lol I mean he's a lot of things but I don't think he's that stupid what that means

[Yoshifan30]

"Yeah, but that was before Cloudsdale joined the Lunar Empire." Rainbow corrected. "Gilda and I were different back then, but then everything got complicated when she joined the war and Cloudsdale joined the Lunar Empire, we still kept in touch as best we could but…” Rainbow hesitated, trying to find the right words, “we started to drift apart, so much so that one day she just stopped sending letters. I was so desperate to see her again that when I found out we were engaging her company on the field, I rushed out without a second thought. But when I saw her…” Rainbow looked down, her rainbow mane covering her eyes. “Well…let’s just say she wasn’t the same Gilda I knew."

Yeah long distance relationship can be very complicated and it doesn't end well and when it comes to War as well yeah they really change them for the worse that's pretty sad

[Yoshifan30]

"Like-wise." Lightning smiled back, and her smile grew at the fact that her plan was slowly, but surely, starting to unfold.

Is that mean she's starting to feel guilty or what because I don't know how to feel about the situation

[Yoshifan30]

Ok things are getting a little interesting now so it looks like lightning Soarin and Rainbow on Spitfire are basically doing their chores as well but Spitfire and rainbow having a discussion and apparently rainbow did have a relationship with Gilda and rainbow really don't know how she feel about it she still cares about Gilda but she's also falling in love with soarin and that's a pretty tough situation and apparently Soarin talk with lightning about that visit that he had supposed to be his father and lightning offer her help to search for the answer it was pretty glad that she did came which that's what she wanted him to feel it really feels dirty what she's doing meanwhile fancy pants along with Rarity Fluttershy and fleur de lis are at the studies and basically just reading and yeah Fleur and fancy did have a pretty complicated relationship as well Boy Love is a Battlefield isn't it but anyway Fancy Pants ask Fluttershy about Discord and what is she gaining after this but she told him she's not she just wants to get to know him but apparently she really doesn't know what she wants out of this well I guess we'll find out next time and with that I finally caught up with your story