The Crescent Pact

by Chromentazol

33 - The Departure

Author's Note:

Shorter chapter today. I've been spending way too much time on Rimworld recently and forgot about my daily writing goal, woops

Her head buried between the incredibly expensive pillows, Misty kept her eyes closed in an attempt to fall asleep. The curtains were drawn, leaving the room pitch-black. Just outside, however, the constant noises of ponies trotting, talking and going about their days prevented the suffering unicorn from falling asleep. She groaned as she heard another set of hoofsteps getting louder, slowly approaching her room. Each step echoed in the hallway and resonated inside Misty's cranium, causing additional waves of pain to her hangover-induced headache. Eventually, the steps stopped right in front of the door as it was pushed open, revealing a half-worried, half-smirking Sandstorm.

"Hey, Misty, are you feeling better?" she asked while scanning the room with a quick glance. Noticing the lack of any putrid smell, Sandstorm was glad to see that her marefriend managed to keep inside the very little she ate and drank since the morning.

Misty answered with a series of long, drawn-out moans and groans. Eventually mustering up the strength to utter a few words, she pointed a hoof toward Sandstorm. "The door... Close, please... Light is pain..."

"What, you're a vampire, now?" Sandstorm chuckled as she closed the door behind her. "So... I'm guessing you're still not doing too hot, then?"

"Mhm... My go-better-spell doesn't work..."

"Yeah, no shit. You said it required your full focus to do it right. Can't do that after drinking half your body weight in alcohol," Sandstorm said as she climbed over the bed and sat next to Misty, stroking her marefriend's mane.

"I'm never drinking again," Misty replied as her body relaxed.

"You say that every time... That's adorable, y'know? Seeing you be the irresponsible one, from time to time."

Lifting her head up from the sea of pillows that surrounded her, Misty stared deep into Sandstorm's eyes. "No, this time, it's for real. I don't want to be sick anymore."

"Sure, whatever you say. D'you want something to eat, or drink?"

"Not right now, but thanks," Misty said as she rolled around to lay on her back, looking at the ceiling. "... So, how did the meeting go?"

"Right, about that... Steady gave each of us a different mission. Aphelion needs to un-buck his spells since the Pact only uses illegal magic."

"Dark magic," Misty corrected her.

"Yeah, that. So, he's off for a week or two to Ponyville, to learn from Celestia's number one horseshoe-licker."

"Who?"

"Twilight Sparkle, the one with all the friendship crap."

"Oh... That's a good call on Steady. From what I know about her, she's pretty good with magic. She can help Aphelion adapt his spell repertoire."

Sandstorm shrugged. "I dunno. Isn't that type of magic pretty powerful? We could use that against the crazy cultists we're gonna have to deal with in the future."

Forcing herself up, Misty sat right next to Sandstorm before letting her head rest on Sandstorm's shoulder. "Sure, these spells are strong, but they're too dangerous... Especially to the ponies caught in the crossfire. There's a reason why any unicorn with half a brain cell avoids using them."

"I guess. Just saying, though, might be nice to keep that as an option."

"Well, that's going to be up to him, anyway. So, what's our mission going to be, then?"

With a sigh, Sandstorm answered. "That's the fun part. We're not assigned to the same tasks. We'll have to be apart for a week... Steady wants me to come with him to investigate some leads concerning the Pact in a few random cities. Don't worry, I'll bring you souvenirs," she said with a smirk.

"Really? Why can't I come with you two, then? If we go to one of the cities where I have a connection, I could help figure some stuff out."

"That's because of your mission. Sometime in the beginning of next week, you've gotta take part in an expedition inside that weird place you and Aphelion found, underneath the castle. The weird sex dungeon thingamajig."

"It... It wasn't that. It was... I think it was some sort of lab belonging to Nightmare Moon, in retrospect."

"So, Nightmare Moon's sex dungeon? Lucky you," Sandstorm teased before suddenly getting impacted in the face by a flying pillow.

"Shut up, you perv'. Anyway, why do I have to be there for that expedition?" Misty asked while the glow on her horn vanished as the pillow landed further away on the marble tiles.

"I don't know for sure. Steady said that Luna wanted to see your magic in action. Guess it's your turn to have a one-on-one with her."

"I... I guess. Alright then, I suppose that's it, then," Misty said as she sighed. "One more week apart... That's such a pain."

Putting a hoof over Misty's shoulder and holding her tighter against her, Sandstorm closed her eyes for a moment. "Yeah... That sucks. If I'm quick with my mission, though, Steady said I could be back in time to come with you."

"There's that, at least. Just... Be careful, out there, alright? I know you can take a beating, but I'd rather if you kept away from unnecessary scraps."

"Aw, where would be the fun in that? But fine, I'll be careful, mom."

"Don't... Don't call me that, you idiot."

"Right, you prefer it when I'm the one playing the momm—" Sandstorm was cut off by another flying pillow, this one hitting much harder due to the increased speed.

"Shut. Don't ruin the moment." Misty said, her voice showing hints of both annoyance and amusement. The two mares remained in each other's embrace for a while, a comfortable silence falling over the room. Eventually, Misty spoke up again, though in a much more hesitant manner. "... Sandstorm, when... When you had your talk with Princess Luna... What did you two talk about?"

"Oh, that? She just thought I was awesome, and wanted to chill with the coolest mare in Canterlot... Well, sorry. Second-best," the yellow mare winked at her marefriend which caused her to chuckle.

"Sure, I don't doubt that one bit. But... If there was anything... Else that was discussed... Well, I'm here, if you need it."

"Damn. I really can't hide anything from you, huh? But... Yeah, she did tell me some interesting stuff. I, uh, think I need a moment to... Think about it all, I guess. I'm not... Quite ready to tell you. Sorry."

"Don't be. It's fine... You need time, I understand. Whenever you're ready, you'll tell me, though, right?"

"Of course," Sandstorm replied with a genuine smile before nuzzling against Misty's chest. "... Oh, also, there was something else I had to tell you."

"Yes?"

"If you're feeling better, Steady invited us to some rich restaurant this evening, so that we could talk about his ex. If you're not feeling better, though, he said it could wait 'til next week."

Taking a few seconds to reply, Misty looked deep into Sandstorm's eyes. "I'm feeling a bit better, sure, but... When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow morning. Why?" Sandstorm asked.

"Well..." Misty began as a devilish smile formed on her face. "I think I'm going to have to skip this one, because..." she continued as she rolled over, getting on top of Sandstorm. "...We're not going to see each other for a week, and I'd rather keep you all to myself before you leave."

Blushing furiously, Sandstorm's breath quickened. "... Yeah, I like where this is going. Let's not—"

The remainder of Sandstorm's sentence never left her mouth as Misty kissed her suddenly, ensuring the couple would spend the rest of their day together, without wasting any more time.

---

As he finished packing a large suitcase, Aphelion used his magic to read his checklist one last time. Feeling satisfied with his preparations, he crossed the last entry on the list before closing his suitcase. Then, walking toward the large window, Aphelion observed the city below. He had grown accustomed to living in Canterlot, even though he mostly remained inside the royal palace, or in a coma. Still, though, he knew he would miss the capital while he was gone.

Thinking about Ponyville, Aphelion felt worried. Since Ponyville was much smaller than Canterlot, he assumed that the community over there would be a lot more tightly knit together than Canterlot, where he could walk in the street without having anypony notice him. There, however, Aphelion was bound to meet many ponies and to have to talk a lot more. "Well, at least, that'll help me improve my social skills," he spoke aloud.

"If you want a tip, don't let anypony see you talking alone," a voice surged from behind Aphelion. Quickly turning back, he saw Glaze standing next to his door, a smirk on her face.

"Probably a good point. So, you've already heard about my trip, then?"

"Yup. Overheard Celestia and Steady talk about it," she said as she entered the room and began tidying up.

Aphelion, without skipping a beat, began helping Glaze along as they talked. "I've never been there, so I don't know what to expect. Didn't you say you had family back there?"

"I do... Though, I don't really speak to them. They're decent folks, just don't tell them you like strawberries unless you want them to kick you out of town."

"Ha! I'll keep that in mind, thanks. I've always been more of an avocado guy myself, anyway."

"Pfft... You rich bastard," Glaze joked. "Always had a silver spoon in your mouth, huh?"

"I... Huh. I suppose so. Never really thought about that," the gray unicorn admitted.

"How will you ever survive living amongst us plebeians for a week," the green earth pony teased while putting out an exaggerated voice.

Rolling his eyes, Aphelion chuckled. "I suppose you can't come with me so that I don't have to deal with those tasks that are obviously so beneath me?"

"Careful, you're starting to sound like Blueblood. And nah, I can't come be your personal maid. You're a grown up, though, I'm sure you can clean up after yourself for a week."

"Hm. But I like it when you're with me—" Aphelion's eyes went wide as he froze mid-sentence, blushing intensely. He spoke without thinking and, in that moment, wanted to disappear into the aether. Glaze stared at him for a while before chuckling, a faint blush on her own cheeks.

"I'm guessing this was supposed to stay in your head, Aphy?"

"I... Uh..."

"You really need to learn how to flirt... Though, that was kind of sweet. I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy spending time with you," Glaze winked.

"Wa... Wait, really? Great! Uh... I mean... That's cool," Aphelion said as he attempted to keep his cool. "... Say, when I'm back from Ponyville, do you want to... Grab lunch, or something?"

Glaze smiled. "I'd... Like that, yes."

The two remained silent for a while, awkwardly smiling at each other before a guard pony knocked on the opened door. "Sir Aphelion, it's time. Your train is going to leave soon."

"C... Coming!" He replied, closing his suitcase before stopping in front of Glaze. "... So, see you next week?"

"Yup! Next week!" She replied. Both made a step forward, towards each other as they each went for a different motion. Upon noticing what the other was doing, they stopped and mimicked the other, inverting their actions. Repeating the same set of actions twice, Aphelion and Glaze eventually settled on an awkward hoofshake. "... Next week, then!" Aphelion said as began to leave.

"Mhm! Next week!" Glaze replied, her voice echoing through the hallway.

Following the guard, Aphelion kept his smile for a minute before dropping it, groaning and cringing as their discussion replayed in his head. The guard next to him glanced at Aphelion. "If I may, sir..."

"Huh? Uh, sure... Oh, and just call me Aphelion, please."

"... You really need to learn how to flirt, Aphe—"

"I know!" He shouted, drawing the attention of the other guards, maids and butlers around. "... Sorry," he said to nopony in particular with a sheepish smile.

Comments

[Flora Blossom]

My Little Reviews & Feedback Review 2023.

[Chromentazol]

11870656

Once again, thank you for the review! I hope that one day, this story'll be finished and you'll be able to give it its "full" note