The Line Between Fire and Light

by Stolenalicorn

63 Day to Day

Twilight and Starlight watched eagerly as James removed the sides of the form that held his replica. Twilight had never actually witnessed the creation of a magical item before and was curious if this had even worked. She did have to swallow a little revulsion as she recalled that one of the components for this was James’s own alicorn horn that he ripped off himself after using a True Polymorph spell.

She felt like she had seen a lot in the last few days.

Apparently the spell had made him as much a real alicorn as herself for the duration. She was going to have to look this spell up later, it would be interesting to learn about it’s limitations and effects.

She saw the silver hilt as James broke away chunks of the fine black sand that had been used to make the mold and began taking notes. She had already transcribed much about what she had seen on James’s blueprints. Though he did tell her that they might be useless as the item was still likely to literally blow up in his face. She also wanted to make her own observations.

“This is so exciting!” Starlight eagerly said.

“It's a shame Sunburst couldn't be here.” Twilight noted.

“That's why I'm taking copious notes; that way he can read all about it. Not to mention I'm pretty sure I managed to explain exactly what he did in the letter I sent him.” Starlight beamed.

“Everything …” Twilight said awkwardly.

“Yeah. It may be disgusting, but it was an important part of the alloy.” Starlight hesitantly explained.

Once enough of the hilt was exposed James reached his hand out and pulled it free before quickly dropping it, pulling his hand back and shaking it while cursing under his breath.

“Everything alright?” Starlight asked.

“Yeah, it’s just still hot.” James said as he continued to shake his hand. After a moment he stood up and went to the footlocker where the crucible had been and collected a pair of silver colored gloves. Once wearing the gloves he was easily able to handle the hilt.

Twilight was able to get a good look at it as James brushed the loose sand off. She didn’t know that much about swords, only what she'd read, but from what she did know the handle was was long enough for a blade at least as long as she was tall. She could see the three dreamstone marbles around the outer edge of the crosspiece. The cross piece itself had three spikes protruding from it, the first two close together while the third was on the opposite side of the two. As James cleaned it she could see a slit in the center where a blade could easily fit.

“So when do you make the rest of the sword?” Twilight eventually asked.

Starlight grinned. “That’s the whole sword. It’s blade is made up of a magical light that it produces.”

“Really?” Twilight asked eagerly.

“Yes.” James said. “It’s a bit more complicated than that, but that’s the general idea.”

“I need to know this. Don’t spare any details!” Twilight eagerly urged.

James chuckled for a moment before leading them towards a transport hub, explaining the nature of the original sword as best as he could compared to what he hoped his would accomplish while they walked. Once the bright light of the transport faded they found themselves in a small building they hadn’t seen before. There wasn’t really anything beyond a few chairs to note as they walked out into what they would only describe as wasteland. There was no sign of any life here, no plants, no animals, no insects. Just dirt, rock, and blasted out and occasionally scorched craters.

“Woah.” Starlight said as they looked out over the devastated area. “Where are we?”

“These are the testing grounds for my more dangerous spells and experiments.” James calmly said.

“It may not look like it, but he’s had a few successes.” Lucca said with a smile as she walked up to them. “… Some of these craters being those successes.”

“You’ve got everything set up already?” James asked as he hugged his wife.

“Yeah.” Lucca said. “It only took a minute.”

“Alright ladies. Let’s go do some damage.” James said as they walked off into the distance.

The walk to the testing area took a few minutes and Twilight had a lot of questions about the tests, both past and the ones he was about to perform. It was Lucca who stopped the ponies as James continued to walk away. He stopped about twenty feet away and Lucca knelt down and operated a machine covered in diodes she had clearly placed recently. An energy dome flashed to life around the three as James stood outside and held his Sword of Light out to the side. The pommel nearly extended to his elbow as he held it out.

“Test one:” James called aloud. “Activation.”

“Go!” Lucca called back.

James took a breath, this was, in some ways, one of the most important tests for this blade. It was going to tell him if the pain of ripping off one horn, let alone two, had been worth anything. He cleared his mind and focused on his own determination.

Already this test felt different, as if he were somehow connected to the hilt he now held. He could feel the strength in his chest as in moments it built up in the blade. With a grin James took his other hand and grabbed the hilt and called out. “Light come forth!”

He felt it as the blade sprang to life, he didn’t even have to look to make sure it was there, but he did anyway. He wanted to see this. Just beyond the crosspiece a blade of pure white light the length of a broadsword extended out. He moved the sword a bit before taking a test swing. He could feel the length of the blade but no weight. Closing his eyes knew exactly where the tip was.

“Test two:” James called out as he opened his eyes. “Cutting.”

“Go.” Lucca called back even as Twilight was taking extensive notes and sketches of everything she saw.

James looked for a moment and found a boulder jutting out from the ground, that would do as well as anything else. As he swung he felt no resistance while the blade passed through the stone.

He thought for a moment that maybe nothing had happened and he'd just managed to create an overblown flashlight. But inspecting the rock showed him that there was a cut along exactly where he had sliced, and that his error had been misjudging the size of the stone as it was still connected after the cut itself.

“How’d it go?” Lucca called as she looked to James inspecting the rock.

“Just fine.” James answered. “The rock was just larger than I thought.” James lifted the sword again and swung down, shaving off a piece of the boulder easily.

“Test three: Dragon Slave.”

“Medical is on standby, and transponder is active. Test three is good to go.” Lucca called out once she confirmed everything on her omnitool.

James held the hilt firmly with both hands as he closed his eyes and concentrated. “Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows.” He chanted.

“I know he’s talked a bit about it before, but what’s the Dragon Slave?” Twilight asked.

“The strongest recognized black magic spell. It calls on a Mazoku named Shabranigdu. Who, by the way, even the sword of light can’t hurt.” Starlight explained.

“Didn’t James call him Ruby Eye Shabranigdu?”

“Yes, that’s his proper name.” Starlight said as she kept her eyes glued to the spectacle before her.

“Dragon Slave!” James shouted. As he did so the blade when from a brilliant white to a dark crimson and even grew slightly. He could feel just how powerful the sword had become like this. With this, destroying some Mazoku would be easy. It actually felt rather intoxicating to be holding this much power.

“Lucca.” James called without looking back. “Since we’ve got Twilight and Starlight taking notes, I’d like to try a Super Nova if this passes the next test.”

“You think it can take a Dual Tech?” Lucca called back.

“Only one way to find out.” James answered with a smile. With a swing of the sword he sent out a crimson wave that mowed down anything in it’s way before exploding. James had to shield his eyes from the shock wave and shrapnel that came flying his direction while the shield Lucca put in place easily protected her and the ponies.

Twilight and Starlight stared on in amazement at the destruction the one spell had done, Twilight even forgot to take notes. As the destructive wake subsided they saw James standing exactly where he had been and the blade of the sword was gone.

“They say that three sorcerers casting that spell at once can destroy a kingdom.” Starlight eventually said.

“I know you’ve been reading the books on this magic, but what made you decide to start there?” Twilight asked.

Starlight looked at her notes so far, though not reading them, more just to have something other than Twilight to look at right now. “When we cast that spell … The Giga Slave … I felt the power and fear of it. It was horrible, but I couldn’t run away from it. I had to confront my fear and learn about the magic I had used. It was a simple matter to find just where the information on magic like it was. Though the guild has absolutely nothing about the spell itself, not even a mention of the Lord of Nightmares.”

“Because Xellos is actively trying to repress knowledge of her. That’s part of his purpose in life.” Lucca calmly said. “Everything James has told you is just surface level knowledge, the most basic of information about her. Partially because he doesn’t know much more himself.”

“Test four:” James said with a smile. “Ragna Blade.”

“Deactivating Transponder.” Lucca called out, as she tapped out a command on her omnitool. Starlight and Twilight stared at her astonished that she would do something like that if this were dangerous. “Senzu ready. Begin warmup.”

James closed his eyes and cleared his mind. He focused his power and prepared to get seriously hurt. His hair slowly rose and twisted around him as it flashed from blond to gold. He felt his muscles tense and loosen, each time they left him with more strength. His Ki became visible around him as if it were a fire and lightning arced across him. Stones began to float and crush into powder in his immediate area. His hair stopped moving and the form was stable. Thanks to Piccolo's training, holding this form wasn’t as draining as it used to be.

However James didn’t stop there, he wanted to be at his strongest if this failed. The ground began to shake as his power continued to rise, his hair twisted and stuck out at new angles. Small fissures formed as his strength rose, even reinforced as it was this planetoid’s surface had weaknesses.

Now he was ready. “Warm up complete.” If the sword blew up at the chaos words when the spell was at it’s strongest there was no guarantee this would save him, but as of yet it had never gotten that far.

“Test four: Go.” Lucca called. They watched as once again the light blade sprang from the hilt of the sword. “This is where even the best copies he’s made have failed.” Lucca said.

“What’s Ragna Blade?” Twilight asked, not taking her eyes off the spectacle.

“I have no idea.” Starlight answered. She knew that she had heard the name before, but she couldn't quite place where.

“Sword of the cold dark void.” James quietly began. “Free yourself from heaven’s bonds and gather in my hand.” The sword began to vibrate in his hands as darkness crept up the blade, an occasional flash of gold streaking across it.

“Become one with my power and one with my body,” The hilt almost felt as if it were pushing against the darkness, it was here that the sword usually failed and exploded in his hands.

“and we shall walk the path of destruction together.” The light of the blade fought hard against the magic but James welcomed the power, even knowing it’s further cost on his body and stamina.

“Power that can smash even the souls of the gods.” He said to the blade. It’s vibration was enough that his hands began to feel numb. Just then, as the spell became stable, it stopped vibrating, the blade of darkness had taken over where the light had been but the light was still there. Much like James, the sword had accepted the power and no longer fought against it. “Ragna Blade!” James called.

Black and gold lightning arced across the dark blade and up James’s arm. He was surprised at how little the spell physically demanded from him, as if the sword itself were helping him maintain control. He took a breath and swung the blade a few times, it held perfectly and handled exactly as he wanted it to. He had finally done it. He had made his Sword of Light!

With a thought the darkness left the sword and the power returned to it’s rightful place. The blade of light was as brilliant as when he first activated the sword. To him this was a thing of beauty, his crowning achievement in the creation of magical items. An amalgamation of magics from many universes had to come together to make this, and the last pieces from a place he never would have suspected to hold the key to it’s creation.

The light faded as James began to relax. His hair once again limp and his muscles back to their normal strength, though maybe a bit tense still. He began to laugh, barely believing his longest project had finally come to a close. He still had the materials to create one more should he need, or even improve on it in the future. But this was it, a fully functional model.

His legs felt weak as he fell onto his backside and just looked on at the horizon with a wide smile. He slowly began to laugh before he let out a victorious holler.

Lucca smiled as she looked out at the scene before calling out to him. “Ready for test five?”

– – – – – – – – – – – – –

James was enjoying a little time to himself while Sara and Amber were at school. There hadn’t been much demand of him for the last week and he was happy to keep it that way for now. He took a minute to check his mail from Equestria, even with his frequent visits there were those that still liked to send letters. Fluttershy and Rarity were both particularly fond of writing him while Spitfire would occasionally send Lucca a letter.

A letter for him from Shining Armor wasn’t unheard of, though more often Twilight’s brother would simply visit when they were in the area. He really enjoyed James’s game room as it had a lot of miniature collectables.

But this letter had nothing to do with a normal visit.

“James, I am working on improving the security for Canterlot Castle. I know we can ask for your help should we need it, but it’s important that we are able to defend ourselves.” The letter read.

“I have asked Twilight to test our defenses and fully expect her to try to enlist your help. You have means we cannot yet understand and as such have no ready defense against. I'm asking that you not help her this time. Should I lose our bet though, I would like to get your help shoring up the defenses. Sincerely, Shining Armor”

“P.S. Next game is mine too. You’re gonna have to get better if you intend to finally beat me.”

James brought out his omnitool and typed out a quick message to Liara. “Can I get a full defense analysis of Canterlot Castle? I want to know just what Shining Armor’s working with.”

It took just a couple minutes for him to get the report complete with Shining Armor’s additions. While some were impressive, some were simply laughable.

Distracted by his reading he didn't notice Twilight's approach. “So I’ve got an interesting proposition.” She coyly said.

James couldn’t help himself. “Proving Tenyo right I see.”

Twilight chuckled as she rolled her eyes. “No. You see my brother’s in charge of increasing security at Canterlot Castle and he's dared us to sneak in and get a certain item.”

“Actually he challenged you. He’s specifically asked me to stay out of this.” James said as he handed her the letter he just read.

“Are you kidding me?!” She growled as she read it. “Fine. I guess you can’t help us this time.” She said as she turned around.

James stepped forward to cut her off. “Not exactly. I may not be there to help, but a map including guard rotations and your brother’s alterations might just be useful to you.”

Twilight’s golden eyes lit up as she heard the offer. “Yes, that would be amazing!” She happily said. “How did you get it?” She asked as James printed off a full copy.

“Some things are best left to the imagination.” He answered as he handed her the print out.

“Yes-s-s-s!” She said with a wicked smile. “Next time I see you I’ll be Sibling Supreme.” She added confidently as she looked over the pages, committing them to memory.

James stared blankly for a moment before shaking his head. “Definitely best left to the imagination.”

“Thank you, you’ve been a big help.” Twilight said before walking off.

Minutes later James got a message from Liara. “It would seem that Twilight and Shining Armor are reliving a little sibling rivalry for some toy crown. Sorry my information is so limited, it was hard enough to get operatives in Canterlot Castle. With the increased security most of my sources are currently silent. There’s definitely some contention between Celestia and Lu too, but that’s not uncommon.”

James smiled as he wrote out a reply. “Thanks. But also … I knew something before you for once! HA!”

Moments later he got a response. “You have direct sources, I have to rely on my network. Sometimes you're going to be ahead of me with Equestria. Of course I guess that means it's my turn to buy the coffee.”

“About time I win one.” James sent the message before walking to the den to read for a while. He hadn’t even picked up his book when the next message came in.

“Odd. I would have thought with both Lucca and Tali busy on their projects you would be eager for something interesting to do.” Her message read.

“What? I can’t just enjoy a book?” James asked, more joking than irritated. He kept an eye on his omnitool, waiting for Liara's response.

“Of course you can, I just expected that a little sneaking around might interest you more. See if you can get in without changing your form or using illusion magic.”

“That sounds like a challenge Liara.” James said aloud.

“In broad daylight.” She was definitely egging him on.

***

James stood around pulling at his camouflage pants and grumbling. “I can’t wait to get back into my comfortable clothes again. … Dammit, it’s rubbing my tattoos.” He looked up the mountain where Canterlot Castle was built. Fortunately he didn’t have any restrictions about using Ki to fly up. In the distance he saw a pinkish purple blot fly wildly around before vanishing over the castle. Probably something in Twilight's plan going wrong. But he wasn’t concerned about them right now. In fact they could provide him a good distraction, he was certainly going to need it.

He concentrated and lifted off the ground, unfortunately he couldn’t move too quickly as he had to pay attention to who and what was around him. Of course if he went too slow he would definitely be seen.

He flew up to the lowest part of the castle grounds and ducked into some bushes nearby. He watched as two guards walked past him. Fortunately they were more interested in each other than they were in doing their job and didn’t notice the rustling of the bush. He had to be aware of his height here as everything was much shorter than he was used to it being.

He was safe for the moment with the distracted guards and began to focus. He could feel where every guard was and was even able to locate the princesses, Shining Armor and the girls.

Shining Armor runs a tight ship, I’ll give him that. He thought as it seemed there was a guard every ten feet inside the castle. Though maybe he should work on his hiring practices. He added as he looked to the two guards confident enough in their isolation that they had actually started kissing. He took a quick picture so Shining Armor could alter their rotation or at least their partners.

He looked at his map to determine exactly where he was. Things looked completely different from here and he couldn’t be entirely sure where he was without it.

Slowly he began to climb the wall, well aware that he would be obvious to anyone looking at him against the white walls of the castle. He just had to be grateful for the amorous guards at the moment. There was a second story window that fortunately wasn’t locked when he tried it. He silently slipped in and hugged the wall trying to get his bearings.

There were lockers along the walls and at least one row sticking out from a wall with benches nearby, he could hear female voices casually chatting just over the sound of showers. Great. He thought sarcastically. Mare’s changing room. I don’t think the fact that I’m not a pony would be of any comfort to them if they found me. Better get out of here as soon as possible.

As he approached the doors he saw what looked like a button pad next to it. Bringing out the review Liara gave him he knew that this needed a badge to get past. If it were technological he could probably just bypass it with any number of programs Tali had or slathering it with Omni-Gel, but unfortunately this was most likely magical and he would have to actually get a badge.

Of course he didn’t want to risk any of the girls in here seeing him so he wasn’t going to try to find anything they might have brought in here with them. However, there were two guards outside he could probably sneak something away from.

With a hop he was out of the window and floating down to the ground. It was easy enough to see that the make out session had ended and the two guards were once again talking to each other. Sorry about this. James thought as he cast a sleeping spell on the Earth Pony. The Pegasus was just starting to turn his way when he finished his second spell knocking them out too.

Calmly James walked over to the two and collected their badges before turning away. He changed his mind, however, and didn’t go back to the wall right away.

Turning back to the two sleeping ponies he grinned and carefully adjusted them so they were spooning with the Pegasus as the little spoon. Honestly, I don’ t think they’ll mind waking up like that with how they were acting earlier. He took one more picture before making his way to the changing room once again.

The showers had stopped but he could still hear talking, most likely he wouldn’t have much time to get out of the room before they came his direction. He made sure to float above the floor as he hurried over to the door and touched the badge to the topmost button. The door unlocked and he hurried out.

He didn’t have time to consider what direction he needed to go at the moment as there were guards on either side so he simply went up as the door began to swing closed.

A fortunate choice too as the guards looked to the door once it did close. One of the mare guards walked towards the door when it opened again and three more guards walked out. Unarmored but clearly recognized. With a nod the investigating guard went back to her post.

It was surprisingly simple for James to fly among the rafters towards the throne room. This was another clear security hole, especially since they could easily station at least a pegasus or two to keep their eyes on the higher sections. Or just look up from time to time.

There was another security issue that came to mind as he flew towards the throne room and he was going to check it out.

He took a look at his map and inspected the Princesses balcony section, while it had fan protection he couldn't see any listed guards as being posted there. Neither were there guards inside the closest rooms to throne room.

From there he could sneak into one of those rooms and hug the outside wall to avoid the fans as he went to the balcony to enter the throne room from behind.

Geese honked and made a general ruckus as he sneaked across the balcony, peering inside he clearly saw Celestia, Luna and Shining Armor hiding behind the thrones. This must be why there were no guards here, they technically weren’t necessary.

James hid behind the wall until her heard Celestia speaking and he hurried to sneak in while they were distracted. Getting the toy crown from right underneath them would really be one to brag about.

As he got closer he saw Luna quietly teleport the crown to Spike. He was definitely beat this time. But he did enjoy hearing the devious plan that Luna and Spike had cooked up. A plan much more simple, elegant, and (most of all) effective than his own. All it took was two conspirators and some confusion to win the prize.

If he could do so without being noticed immediately he would have applauded them openly.

***

As she hugged Spike, Twilight sensed a familiar energy. It was low, and obviously attempting to sneak around. With only a little concentration she could tell that it was James she sensed and he was right behind Celestia’s throne. Twilight opened her eyes for a moment just in time to watch James violently melt away. He looked like he was smiling.

***

Shortly after changing back into his normal clothes he walked back to the den, threw himself back into his reading chair and collected his book.

As expected, his omnitool alerted him to a new message from Liara. “How did it go?”

James considered the question a moment. “Got in and to the throne room alright, didn't get the toy crown. So I failed.”

“So I don't owe you coffee now.”

He stared at the message a moment. “Was all this just to try to get me to lose a bet I didn't know I was part of? I never agreed to it.”

“We're even now. No amount of complaining is going to change that.”

– – – – – – – – – – – –

Rainbow Dash walked into her home as she returned from Apploosa, placing the picture of her, Quibble, his new family, and her friends on a shelf in her trophy room. With a smile she walked out of her room of treasures.

She wandered around her house, picking up a bit as she hadn’t bothered for a few days. It wasn’t until she stopped to smile at herself in a mirror that she noticed she looked a little different. It wasn’t obvious at first, everything looked fine, just slightly off from normal. She shrugged and continued her work for a while longer.

She walked around her place for a minute once she finished, already bored. Alright, my place is clean … now what? As she looked out her window she saw Twilight's castle in the distance. Oh, I should go see what Twilight is doing.

Twilight was easy enough to find. Even though it was the middle of the day, on a weekend no less, she was cooped up in her library reading a book.

“Heyya Twilight.” Rainbow Dash said as she flew into the library. “What’cha reading?”

“Oh, hi Rainbow Dash. I was just rereading my book on Equestria’s magical artifacts. Did you know that most of our artifacts are defensive and utilitarian in nature?” Twilight happily said.

“Uhh, no. I didn’t.” Rainbow Dash admitted as she came to land.

Twilight laughed awkwardly. “Yeah, I guess it’s not really your subject. So what brings you out today?”

“Just thought we could hang out for a bit.” Rainbow Dash said casually. “Also, do I look different to you?”

“Different? How?” Twilight asked as she looked to her friend.

“I don’t know. When I saw myself in the mirror I just looked … different.” Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her head as she spoke.

“Let me get a better look.” Twilight said as she got up and walked around Rainbow Dash, examining her. She made an interested sound as she walked over collected a scrap book that Applejack had made a while ago and examined an old picture inside. Comparing Rainbow Dash in the picture to the pony standing before her now.

“Ah, that’s it.” Twilight said with a grin. “You’ve just lost some weight.”

“Really?” Rainbow Dash asked as she came over and looked at the picture herself. It was only a few months old and she couldn’t exactly see much of a difference. “I didn’t think I could. I was already pretty thin.”

“You’ve seen Cadence, right? She’s thinner than both of us and that’s after having a baby.” Twilight said as she put the book away.

Rainbow Dash nodded as she thought about it. Then a new idea popped into her head. “You wanna get a hay burger?”

While she hadn’t been thinking about it, simply hearing “hay burger” made her mouth water. “Yes.” She eagerly said as she turned to Rainbow Dash with a smile.

Rainbow Dash chuckled as she watched the sudden shift in her friend's expression. “Great, let’s get going.”

At the restaurant they sat with two burgers each and a pile of fries between them. Rainbow Dash went face first into the meal and even though Twilight used her magic to bring the food to her she was no less messy than her excited friend. They happily ate, barely paying attention to the other customers around them.

While Twilight had some ketchup on her cheeks Rainbow Dash’s face was a total mess. The sight of each other made them both laugh, Twilight taking a napkin and wiping off Rainbow Dash’s face before attending to her own.

“Thanks.” Rainbow Dash said as they left the restaurant a while later.

“For what?” Twilight asked as she smiled.

“For everything. Being my friend, being awesome and being concerned about me.” Rainbow Dash calmly said. “I mean it has meant you go overboard a few times, but that’s part of why I like you.”

“Thank you for helping teach me about friendship.” Twilight said as they walked along. “I can’t imagine my life without all my friends.”

Rainbow Dash smiled as they continued to walk before another fun idea hit her. “Wanna go dancing? We can head over to Midnight in Truce.”

“Sounds great!” Twilight said happily, this day had gone from good to amazing and only promised to get better. She practically pranced as they continued.

“Awesome, let’s just stop by my place so I can get my credit chit.” Rainbow Dash said before the two flew off. It wasn’t long until they landed and entered Rainbow Dash’s home. “I’ll be just a minute. I’ve got cold water in the fridge if you’re thirsty.”

As Rainbow Dash went upstairs Twilight walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge. It wasn’t exactly bare but there were only a couple clear containers with different salads an open bag of baby carrots, sliced yellow cucumbers and tomatoes alongside several bottles of water.

Twilight took a moment to look around the kitchen itself. In the sink were several more containers like those in the fridge, on the counter was a bag with only a couple bagels and there was no hint of Rainbow Dash preparing anything for herself beyond making sandwiches with the bagels.

Twilight wouldn’t have thought so much about it but she recognized the tomatoes, cucumbers and even the containers as having come from James’s castle. She had a few herself, but like this it looked as though Rainbow Dash was eating exclusively from their pantry. Coupled with the fact that Rainbow Dash had definitely lost weight, she had to wonder just how her friend was doing.

“Got it.” Rainbow Dash said happily as she came down stairs. “Have you been to Midnight before?”

“Is everything alright Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked as she turned to face her.

“Uh, yeah.” Rainbow Dash looked around a moment, wondering just what could be going on.

“Really?” Twilight asked as she walked over. “It just looks like you might need some groceries.”

“Nope. I’m good.” Rainbow Dash insisted with a smile.

“I just can’t help but notice that it looks like everything in here is from James. Do you need help with anything?” Twilight needed to know her friend was doing alright before she could let this go. “It looks like James is taking care of you, but I'd like to help if you need it.”

“No.” Rainbow Dash was quick to say. “It’s not like that. I mean yeah I get a lot from him, but I don’t know if you’ve noticed by now: I’m not really a good cook.”

“I know, but you could clearly take care of yourself before he came along. If something’s happened since then please don’t be embarrassed to tell me.” Twilight said as she looked Rainbow Dash in the eye. “I'm your friend, I just want to know that you're alright.”

“Really it’s nothing. Before this I was eating out pretty much every meal we weren’t having together.” Rainbow Dash explained. “And it’s not like I asked him to do this. He just started one day with some broccoli salad that I liked, and before I knew it I had a full week of good meals and snacks waiting at home for me.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t notice.” Twilight said comfortingly. “But you really are okay then?”

“Yeah, I’m doing great. And thanks to this I’ve got plenty of money to treat my friends to nice things.” Rainbow Dash said before smiling wide. “Like treating my awesome friend to an evening at the best dance club in Truce!”

Twilight giggled for a moment before smiling at Rainbow Dash. “Okay then. As long as everything’s alright.”

“Nope.” Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Everything’s awesome.”

– – – – – – – – – – – –

There wasn’t anyone in line for Starlight’s office as Rainbow Dash passed by. Noticing this she quickly doubled back and landed in front of the door, taking a quick breath she raised her hoof.

She waited a moment, trying to think about what she was doing. She didn’t contemplate things often and trying to do so now was uncomfortable and only served to make her more anxious.

“Just do it! Just do it!” She said to herself in front of the door.

“Just do what, Rainbow Dash?” Starlight asked happily as she opened the door.

Rainbow Dash squeaked and jumped back slightly. “Oh. Hi Starlight.” She said, trying to sound casual. “Uhm … How are you?”

Starlight laughed. “I’m fine. Did you want to talk?”

“Yes.” Rainbow Dash said as she hurried into the office. “Phew. Alright, this is better.” Adding as she landed on the couch.

“So what’s got you so nervous?” Starlight asked as she sat at her desk.

“Well, it’s about the dance coming up.” Rainbow Dash said. “And I was wondering …” Rainbow Dash got quiet as she second guessed herself, which was rare enough to make her freeze up completely.

Starlight’s eyes went wide at the pause. Rainbow Dash had been acting weird at the door, and now she was nervous while talking about the dance. “Uhm … were you going to ask me?” She wasn’t opposed to the idea, she just didn’t think about the often brash pegasus like that. She was definitely for the stallions herself, though she had wondered about her friend.

The question shocked Rainbow Dash back to the moment and she was quick to answer. “No! I mean it’s not like I wouldn’t, you’re beautiful, but no.”

Starlight blushed slightly at the compliment. “Thanks. Not that I could really say yes as anything but a friend if you had. So who were you thinking of asking?” She had her suspicions, but she wasn’t leaping to any conclusions. She still got teased occasionally for how she fell so easily for Tenyo’s prank.

Rainbow Dash paused before looking back to Starlight. “You promise that nothing I say in here gets out?”

“I promise, nothing about what we talk about will get out.” Starlight said.

“Seriously, not just nopony, but nobody will hear about this. Tali gossips more than Rarity.” Rainbow Dash insisted.

Starlight chuckled again. “I promise. Now go on, tell me who you want to ask.”

“Okay.” Rainbow Dash said before looking to the door to make sure it was closed. “Don’t laugh either! I’m being serious, and this isn’t easy for me!” She insisted.

“I won’t laugh.” Starlight said calmly. “These things can be stressful, but once it’s out in the open you’ll relax and probably laugh about it yourself. Just look at Big Mac and Sugar Belle: they both laugh about how much Big Mac made a fool of himself trying to impress her when it would have been so much easier to just talk.” Starlight chuckled for a second as she thought about the situation. “I could have told him that if I had known. Then again, I think his idea was better.”

“Yeah, but Big Mac’s always been kind of shy. He’s relaxed around us because we’re Applejack’s friends.” Rainbow Dash said.

Starlight could easily recognize that the conversation had already drifted off target, and while it served to relax Rainbow Dash some, she had to bring it back. “Be that as it may, we’re talking about you and somepony you want to bring to the dance.” She said with a grin as she pointed at Rainbow Dash.

“Yeah, about that … I’m … not thinking about a pony.” Rainbow Dash admitted as she rubbed the back of her head.

Starlight was blindsided, while she always suspected that there really was something between Rainbow Dash and James they had also gone to a lot of effort to make it look that way. The fact that it never really stopped just seemed like their normal to her. “So are you and James really dating? I thought you two were just good friends and you kept it like some weird brother sister thing for Scootaloo.”

“No. And well … that’s why I’m here. I don’t really know what we are.” Rainbow Dash admitted. “We’re great the way we are now, and I do love him. But I love all of my friends.”

“Woah!” Starlight said before Rainbow Dash finished. “You just said that you love him.” She was wide eyed at the remark. Even when they were pretending to date Rainbow Dash had never said that she loved him. And here she was now saying it so easily.

“Yeah, I love all my friends.” Rainbow Dash reiterated.

“But he’s not like your other friends.” Starlight emphasized.

“What, because he’s a guy?” Rainbow Dash was getting defensive now. “I have guy friends. Quibble Pants, I know I told you about him. And there’s plenty of guys in the Wondrbolts I’m friends with, like Thunder Lane. We hung out just the other day, that doesn't mean I'm dating the guy.” She said as she sat up on the couch.

“I don’t mean because he’s a guy. It's that your relationship with him is different.” Starlight said as she leaned on her desk. “I mean, you never see Sunburst giving me a massage.”

“If you want a massage from James, just ask him. Lucca likes that he practices on us so he’s better for her.” Rainbow Dash was reaching for whatever she could think of. “Besides if we’re going to talk about who’s relationship with him is different, you flirt with him all the time!”

Starlight grinned. “That’s a game between Lucca and myself to make James blush. Now I may get a little flirty when he’s disguised as an Alicorn, but he makes a handsome stallion. I’m not going to deny that. And we’re not here to talk about me.”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m just confused.”

“Well, let’s take a moment and look at your relationship with James.” Starlight said as she brought out a clipboard and paper. Her magic suspended a pencil above the paper as she started writing. “Alright, the moment James isn’t doing well you’re at his side taking care of him along with Tali and Lucca. You’ve memorized little things about him nopony else notices. You practically live in his castle one day a week.” Starlight listed off in a matter-of-fact way while Rainbow Dash blushed and sank into the couch as if she were trying to hide. “When there’s something bothering you, you usually go to him or drag him here so you can talk to everypony. You call him your boyfriend around your parents and Zephyr Breeze. …”

“I don’t call him my boyfriend around my parents. They assume that and we just stopped correcting them to save ourselves the stress.” Rainbow Dash quickly cut in, coming out of her indent in the couch.

“Oh … Well around Zephyr you still call him your boyfriend.” Starlight corrected.

“Yeah, to keep him off me! That pony is obsessed! Even still it doesn't always work, I have to threaten him with James when he gets creepy on me. And Rarity's plan to get us into Celestia's castle just made things worse. Later he came to Ponyville to “talk” and asked why James and I were still only dating, I …” Rainbow Dash stopped abruptly for a moment, clearing her throat before continuing. “I had to tell him we were married to finally get him off me. I swear if there’s a next time I’m going to have to have a foal with me or he’ll be right back at it!” Rainbow Dash began to rant.

“I know you’ve used a storm cloud on him before, why not just threaten him with that?” Starlight offered.

“He didn’t believe me! Even when I followed through!” Rainbow Dash complained before doing an insulting impression of Zephyr. “That’s alright Rainbows, we don’t need lightning for there to be electricity between us.” She stuck her tongue out and pantomimed vomiting as she finished talking.

“Okay, okay.” Starlight calmly said. “I think we have the basics for your relationship with James. I mean it’s not like you two have really kissed.” She finished with a chuckle.

“Right!” Rainbow Dash quickly said, sitting up straight with her wings sticking straight out. “Definitely. Definitely haven’t … done … that.” Rainbow Dash glanced around the room to avoid eye contact with Starlight.

“So now let’s move on to James’s relationship with you.” Starlight said, drawing a line down the center of the page.

“Okay.” Starlight’s tone was much more cheery as she started the next list. “James gives you massages whenever you want.”

“He’ll do that for any of us if we just ask.” Rainbow Dash was quick to say. “Twilight and Rarity have both taken advantage of that a few times themselves. Applejack says it’s weird though, but she hasn’t tried it yet.”

“Okay, strike that. Let’s see, when you’re with James do you pay for anything?” Starlight asked.

“He won’t let me.” Rainbow Dash said. “But that’s not odd either, he’ll pick up things for everypony else.”

Starlight couldn’t exactly refute that, for most big things he would insist on paying, but for little things like coffee, tea and meals he was more lenient about letting others pay. “I’m still counting that one. Make up the difference between this and the massages.” She said.

“He knows your interests even though he doesn’t share them. I mean, he’s no sports pony like you.” Starlight said as she wrote more.

“Well he’ll play sports and actually try if you invite him, he just doesn’t like watching them. But yeah, he’s more like Quibble and plays a lot of role playing games.” Rainbow Dash said.

“Games he’s got you playing too.” Starlight added.

“I’m just there for the story. Or the fighting.” Rainbow Dash cut in. “… Okay. Some of those games are awesome. But it’s those holosuites of his, it’s like when Discord plays O&O with Spike and Big Mac. It’s suddenly real and awesome.”

Starlight chuckled. “I’m in those holosuites more than you Rainbow Dash, I know my way around the Game Cabinet. If you look in the recently played section it shows you who’s been playing what and for how long. Actually, now that I think about it, I should thank you. Because of that I found Armored Core.”

Rainbow Dash smiled at the comment. “Are you any good? James has monthly competitions with some of his other friends. Lucca and Tali still fight for the Champ position, but I’m the only one who can beat his heavy mech.” She smiled and puffed out her chest slightly at the comment before continuing. “Seriously, that thing is so overpowered that the group won’t allow it in the competitions.”

“I’ll look into that, but I can also add to the list that he’s brought you into his other groups of friends.” Starlight said as she wrote down the next item. “That says a lot about how he thinks of you.”

“Those are just his gaming buddies, not close friends. People he only sees at these competitions or other game nights.” Rainbow Dash countered. “He’s pretty reclusive so he doesn’t actually have many friends. I think out of his other friends, the ones who know him best are the Dreemurrs, and that's mostly Asriel. Honestly, we're probably the best friends he has.”

“And that says even more about he he thinks of you. Let's see what else we can … ” Starlight said before being interrupted by a knock at the door.

Moments after the knock the door opened and Rarity came walking in. “Starlight, darling, have you seen …” She said before opening her eyes and seeing Rainbow Dash looking back at her from the couch. “Ooh, just the pony I was looking for. Rainbow Dash, we need to teach Yona how to dance for the Fetlock Fete (or whatever Twilight is calling it) coming up, and there’s nopony better than you and Fluttershy.”

Rainbow Dash looked to Starlight for a moment. “Go on ahead, I’ll keep working on this and we can talk about it later.” Starlight said with a grin.

***

She didn’t have much to do that day as most of the students were too excited about the Amity Ball to really need her help with anything. As such she was able to devote more time to her list and the questions she needed to ask Rainbow Dash about her relationship.

It was a couple hours later when she found Rainbow Dash walking through the hall shaking her head.

“So how did it go?” Starlight happily asked.

“It’s … going to be challenging. We’ve only got a few days to get Yona ready and we’ll all have to be working with her the whole time.” Rainbow Dash said. “I mean, she can definitely get it. But I guess I’m just going to be too busy to ask James.”

“You know.” Starlight hesitantly said, looking to the list she had made. “If you want me to: I can invite him for you.” She had a likely conclusion for what Rainbow Dash had come to her about, but now definitely wasn’t the right time to talk about it. There were still things she had to ask Rainbow Dash before settling with her observations.

“Nah. It wasn’t important anyway.” Rainbow Dash said with a grin.

“If you’re sure.” Starlight said, trying to sound comforting.

“Yeah, it’s alright. Besides, I’d have to teach James all this too. He doesn't dance much except for a few styles, like swing and ballroom. He just watched the Fetlock Fet Twilight invited him to years ago.” Rainbow Dash casually said. “But … Thanks for your help earlier.”

“If you want to finish our talk we can whenever you’re ready.” Starlight offered.

“Thanks. Maybe sometime we will.” Rainbow Dash said before walking off in a noticeably better mood.

Starlight just added another question to her list.

– – – – – – – – – – – –

The deep rumble of thunder woke Rainbow Dash. James had told her that is was going to rain that day, but she wasn't expecting the downpour she now saw from the window. She stretched slightly, tightened James's robe around herself (She'd taken it from his room when they got back from their breakfast/dinner.) and walked towards his study.

Lucca glanced out of her workshop as the familiar garment passed by.

James looked incredibly bored as he worked, occasionally mumbling to himself, soft rock playing quietly in the background.

“Hey.” Rainbow Dash said with a grin as she entered and climbed up on the couch across from James's desk.

“Hey.” James softly answered with a smile as he put down the tablet he was working on. “Sleep well?”

“Yeah. 'Till the thunder woke me up.” She said as she lounged on the couch, making herself comfortable. The robe was soft, warm, and way too big for her. She loved it. Now if it only had somewhere for her wings.

“Sorry. It's a heavy rain today so thunder and lightning come along with it.” As he spoke another rumble of thunder rolled through the air. Rainbow Dash just grunted slightly as she made herself comfortable. He looked back to the tablet for a moment, but found he couldn't concentrate. His attention drifted to Rainbow Dash, wrapped in his robe and just now starting to doze off.

He once again put down the tablet, this time turning off the music too, and listened to the muffled clatter of the rain outside. He felt a familiar pull inside him as he heard the white noise and he began to smile.

“You sure you want the music off?” Rainbow Dash asked, opening her eyes slightly as she recalled Starlight telling her about what she knew could trigger James's flashbacks, and having seen a few herself.

James gently shushed her. “I like the rain.” He quietly said as he looked towards the entry hall, inevitably he followed the pull and walked off.

***

Lucca eventually found her husband standing in the doorway staring out into the rain.

“Smells wonderful.” James said as he took a deep breath of the fresh air. He turned to his wife and gave her a quick kiss before smiling and backing out the door into the rain.

He laughed as he looked up to the sky currently drenching him. Enjoying the cool water wash over his face and soak his clothes.

Rainbow Dash walked up and stood beside Lucca, watching James spin and laugh in the rain. “Well … this is new.”

“No,” Lucca quietly said. “it's not. It's … very old.” James never bothered to avoid the rain, but she hadn't seen him enjoy running out into it for ages. Since they were dating, in fact. With a genuine smile she ran out and leaped onto James who easily caught her. She looked into his eyes as James held her up. “It's good to see you again.” She whispered into his ear.

“Hasn't been that long.” James said with a laugh before Lucca kissed him and they both continued to get soaked be the downpour.

That's not what I meant. Lucca thought to herself.

Rainbow Dash smiled as she watched the couple enjoying themselves in the rain.

Author's Note:

They cant prepare all the time and eventually, with no hint of activity from Xellos, things fall back into the daily routines.