Apple of My Eye- Ch. 25 and a Half
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?
AKA- Let’s Get This Story Back On Track…
Halberd wasn’t the most attentive guard in the castle… in fact, he’d been the pony on duty in the royal garden when Discord had started to break out of his stone prison. When he noticed the statue breaking apart, he’d merely commented to the gardener that one of the “decorations” looked like it needed a touch up… he’d also been posted as Princess Cadence’s personal guard while she was in Canterlot… Unfortunately, he got caught up in a conversation with a rather charismatic cloaked figure one night and didn’t notice the changeling sneaking up behind him to knock him out. Luckily, when he woke back up, Princess Cadence was alright, albeit, a tad bit surlier than before… But that had to have just been the pressure of organizing a wedding showing, right?
…The point is, Halberd just wasn’t very watchful, despite his job as a watchpony… and it was about to bite him in the flank.
Let’s watch…
Princess Luna had just walked into one of the guest suites to check on a young mare that had been brought into the caste a few days ago after some kind of accident. She had actually woken up yesterday, and Halberd couldn’t help but pay attention to the cutie after she was up and about again… in fact, all of the seven mares that the Princesses were hanging out with had their own charm… he had heard about a couple of them through the grapevine of the Guard’s barracks. If he was guessing right, the pink one had terrorized at least three squadrons before being stopped by Princess Luna. But how could this little ball of sunshine ever be threatening?
Then there was the purple one. If he was remembering correctly, her name was something Sparkly, and she was the personal student to Princess Celestia. There was something else important to remember about her though… what was it?
Ah, whatever, if it was really that important, he was sure that he’d remember it eventually… in the meantime, the six mares were all hanging out right down the hall from his post outside their friend’s door…
Time to do a little recon… he thought to himself, trying not to be too obvious as he angled his spear tip to catch a reflection of the group… or more exactly, their flanks…
Oh yeah… the pink and yellow one’s have curves in all the right places… the blue and orange ones look nice and tight without looking like a stallion, very important… and the Unicorns have got it going ON… geez… I don’t even know where to start. He thought to himself, drooling slightly as a dopey grin spread across his face.
Oh hay…who says this job doesn’t have any perks? Ooohhh… that’s right sweetie, turn around a bit for me… there we are… hmm? Is she looking at me? She is! This is awesome! Come on cutie… you know you want this… Halberd thought, noticing that the white Unicutie was looking back at him with an appraising eye. Maybe he should strike a pose or something? Yeah… that just might do it! Mares love a Stallion in uniform…
V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V
“……Twilight? Your brother was Captain of the Royal Guard… do you have any idea what that Pegasus guard is doing?” Rarity asked, nudging her friend with a hoof, keeping her eyes glued to the odd stallion.
“Hmmm… I’m not entirely sure… Pinkie Pie, you’re random enough… does that make any sense to you?” Twilight responded, getting the giggly mare’s attention.
“…I’m not a hundred percent positive…. But I think he might have an itch he can’t reach…” Pinkie replied, “Oh! Maybe that other guard walking up behind him is gonna help him out!”
V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V
“Dang… this is working better than I thought… now there’s three of them looking at me!” Halberd said, a mildly smarmy grin on his face as he struck another pose.
“And what exactly are you supposed to be doing?” a voice said from behind him.
“Come on dude, don’t crowd me… I’m trying to impress those hot pieces of flank over there…” he responded, striking yet another goofy pose before realizing that there was someone behind him… uh oh…
Spinning in place and crouching in a defensive stance, Halberd was about to ask who went there, in a very official voice of course, but stopped short when he saw his superior officer, Sergeant Sun Storm standing and glaring at him.
“Uhhh… Sir, nothing sir!” Halberd said, snapping to attention and saluting the large Zebrican guard in front of him smartly.
“Private Halberd… would you care to explain what in Tartaurus you are doing at your post…” the Sergeant asked, remarkably calm given the silliness in front of him from a supposedly ‘professional’ guard…
“Sir, I was uhhh…. Scanning the hallway for threats to the Princess’s guest?” Halberd replied weakly.
“Really? Because to me, it looked to me like you were a bit too busy checking out Princess Celestia’s student and her companions to be scouting anything.” Sun responded, quirking an eyebrow and glaring at his subordinate.
“Uhhh…. I suppose I may have taken a break from surveying the hallway for that…” Halberd choked out, his life flashing before his eyes. “Sir, sorry sir, if I-”
“Can it Private. You’re just lucky that I’m not in a bad mood.” The Sergeant said offhandedly. “Besides, I just got through with the new recruits for the day, so I don’t exactly have any plans to make anypony else do drills for at least the next eight hours or so…”
“Thank you sir!” Halberd said excitedly, saluting again and smiling, “Permission to at least try and talk to the white Unicorn sir?”
“Permission denied, now get back to your job Private.” Sun Storm said, rolling his eyes and walking over to the group, muttering to himself, “I swear… one of these days, I’m going to figure out how to get through that thick head of yours…”
“Momma always said that I had a thick head in case I needed to break my way through a challenge.” Halberd said, smiling lazily but standing at attention and looking forward.
The Sergeant couldn’t even bring himself to try and fire off a retort to his subordinate, shaking his head as he approached the circle of mares. There was something he needed to do…
V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V
“Oh my… is that a Captain?” Rarity asked, inspecting the newest arrival in the hallway from the Royal Guard.
“Actually, based on the silver armor and the star on the chest piece, that guard is a Sergeant.” Twilight informed her friend, squinting down the hall to get a better look at the guard, the details were a little fuzzy at this distance, but she was sure that those were the trappings of a Sergeant.
“And since when did you become so knowledgeable about military ranks?” Rarity questioned, her expression surprised, to say the least.
“My brother was the Captain of the guard, and I’m kind of going out with an officer.” She answered, frowning slightly, “I’m actually surprised that he hasn’t tried to visit me yet… we’ve been in Canterlot for almost four days now, and I haven’t seen him at all!”
“Oh come on Twily, you shouldn’t think like that. I’m sure that he’s busy off doing guard things. And we didn’t exactly come here for a planned vacation.” Pinkie said, actually making a good amount of sense…
“I guess, but-” Twilight started to say, before being interrupted by Pinkie.
“I mean, if we HAD come here on a vacation, then I totally would have brought my party cannon, my portable pool, my swim goggles and scuba gear, ooh! And I can’t forget my special we’re-on-a-vacation-in-Canterlot-Castle Cupcake tin! They’re shaped like the castle!”
“Well… I have to admit, those do sound interesting…” the guard said from behind Twilight and Rarity, somehow having made his way to the group without being noticed.
“Oh my!” Rarity said, jumping slightly in surprise, the rest of the group turning towards the guard.
“Sunny!” Twilight gasped, a large smile growing on her face in an instant as she launched herself at the Sergeant and giggling as she tried to tackle him to the ground.
“Heh… hey sweetie, how are you doing?” Sun Storm replied, shuffling back under his marefriend’s unexpected tackle-hug before returning her affections with a loving nuzzle and looking at the other young mares in the group. “Oh, hello everyone. I’m Sun Storm, Twilight’s coltfriend.”
“Oh my… No wonder Twilight has been hiding you from us…” Rarity commented, blushing, “You are certainly a wonderful example of Stallionhood, Sergeant... If you were with me, i'd be ever so scared that somepony might try and steal you away...”
“Rarity!” Twilight said, turning red with embarrassment, “That’s hardly appropriate!”
“Relax hun, it’s alright.” Sun Storm said, grinning and removing his helmet, revealing that the plume for his helmet was actually his own mane. “Anyways, I meant to come see you earlier, but I’m the acting Drill Sergeant for the new batch of recruits, so I’ve been kind of busy the last few days… Anyway, I was wondering if you’d let me make it up to you tonight.”
“W-what did you have in mind?” Twilight responded, flustered… it was one thing to be around the tall, strong stallion… it was a different one entirely to have her friends watching them…”
“Well, I was thinking, there’s that Prench restaurant you like just a few blocks away. And it’s been awhile since I got to take you out for a real date…” he offered, smiling warmly.
“I’d love to Sunny… but, well, we’re kind of still waiting for our friend… there was this spell, and it’s wearing off tonight, and we just want to be there for them…” Twilight explained sadly.
Sun Storm considered this, “Hmmm… well, this spell, do you all know when it wears off? If I remember right, most spells wear off relatively quickly once they reach their limit…”
“Luna said it would happen after the moon comes out tonight!” Pinkie supplied, bouncing around Twilight and Sun Storm. “I remember because Aurora was all surprised that the spell was already at its deadline, and I wanted to throw a party so I got the exact time from Luna so I wouldn’t throw the party too early, and then she started talking about a whole bunch of magicky stuff that didn’t make any sense at all, but I mean really, this was the kind of stuff that would probably confuse a Unicorn, and they’re MEANT to understand magic and stuff like that, and then-”
Luckily for everyone present, it was at this precise moment that not one, not two, but three separate hooves covered up Pinkie’s mouth at the same time. Rainbow, Rarity, and Applejack looked at each other, breathing a simultaneous sigh of relief.
“I think we get it Pinkie…” Rainbow said, chuckling and looking at the Sergeant, “Sorry about her, she gets a bit excited sometimes.”
“Excited? She's as hyper as a squirrel that got into a batch of mah family’s coffee…” Applejack chimed in.
“Well in any case, Sergeant, I’m sure that Twilight would love to accompany you out tonight, but it will have to wait until after sundown and we have all had a chance to check that Aurora… I mean, ORION, is alright.” Rarity said graciously, looking at Twilight as if daring her to contradict her.
“Oh? So your friend is under a sex-switch spell?” Sun Storm surmised. “Hay, I was under that one once… didn’t wear off for a week… how long have they been under it?”
“A month.” Pinkie said, somehow escaping her friend’s grasp for a second.
Sun blinked, trying to wrap his mind around that time frame. “……Wow… well, I mean, the invitation isn’t just for you Twilight. I heard that you all went through some kind of trouble… I heard a couple of the night guards talking about it last night… If any of you want, I’d be more than happy to treat you all out to a night on the town. Orion too, if he feels up to it after the magic works him over… again…” he offered. "Besides, if i remember right, somehting calming is gonna go a long way to helping your friend after that magic works its way out of their system..."
“Umm… I’d rather not… I actually was going to go see the animals in the Royal Gardens with the groundskeeper… it’s been awhile since I got to spend time with my little friends…” Fluttershy replied, looking at Sun Storm,
“But uh… thank you anyway…”
“And as much as I would love to accept your offer, Sergeant, I have already agreed to meet up with my friend Fancy Pants and his wife after checking in on Orion.” Rarity said, “Oh, and Pinkie darling, Fleur requested that you join us so that you might be able to show her some of your baking skills. She’s been taking classes, you see, and she would like to put them to the test against a pony that knows their way around the kitchen.”
“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie replied excitedly, “Looks like I get to make some cupcakes tonight after all!”
“Okay then… what about you two? My treat.” Sun said, looking at Rainbow Dash and Applejack.
“If Orion’s feelin’ up to it, Ah guess Ah’m in.” Applejack replied, shrugging, “Truth be told, not too comfy with the idea of Dash being alone with him…”
“And we both know there’s no way I’m leaving you alone with Orion either…” Rainbow huffed, getting in her rival’s face. “Besides, I’m not the one that kissed him the other night, so I’m clearly more trustworthy.”
“Fer Luna’s sake, it was a game, you were just too scared, and Ah wasn’t gonna give up a chance ta try and git closer when Ah saw one.” Applejack replied, gritting her teeth. This wasn’t the first time they’d argued about that kiss over the last few days.
“……Do I want to know?” Sun Storm asked his marefriend, who just shook her head.
“Trust me, if I told you, you’d only have more questions…” she said, walking away from the group and tugging her special somepony along for the ride. “Girls, we’ll be back before the sun goes down.” She said over her shoulder, a wave of acknowledgement and a smile from Fluttershy letting her know that the message was received, despite the ongoing debate between AJ and Rainbow, and Pinkie chewing Rarity’s ear off about some kind of new cake recipe…
“Well… they seem nice….” Sun Storm said, looking down at the lavender Unicorn leaning gently into his side as they walked.
“Oh yeah, they’re wonderful friends… but sometimes, it’s nice to just get away and do your own thing… and it’s been a while since we got to spend time together, just the two of us…”
“Hmmm… that it has my dear, that it has… come on, there’s no one in the astronomy tower right now, we can have all the privacy we need up there…” Sun said, smiling and leading the two of them down the hallway for some much needed catching up.
Sun storm kicks ass!
Hmmm... Two chapters in two days... This pleases us, continue.
Ooo~ Twilight gonna get it ON!
While reading through I did notice a few places where you didn't capitalize your I's. And in all honesty I am kind of disappointed that the sex-swap I coming to a close, or maybe its not I don't know what you are going to do.
2782678 yes she is Your Highness, and not with you i'm afraid... umad?
2782727 it's coming to a close for now. might make a reappearance in the future, not entirely sure yet. also, the uncapitalized i's may be a result of doing some last minute edits on Fimfic when i uploaded it... or if they're in the Author's notes, that's because of a personal thing i have with capitalized letters in regards to my name.
2782759 Not particularly. I have my eyes set on the 'Author'
There is a Storm a come'in I can feel it im me britches
#Molestia
2782763 ........ oh...
2782921 i'm just worried that i'll feel it in MY britches...
2783117 In order for you to feel it in your 'britches', you would have to have some first. I intend for you to not have them when I get to you~
2783154 nope nope nope nope nope nope nope.....
2783183 Hmm...it seems we've reached an impasse. Care for cuddles instead then?
2783190 NEVER!
*flees*
Meh, least favorite chapter of the whole story so far (considering it's half)
If it's sexytime they're gonna do, I won't sleep for days... that is all
2783392 Aww....
And then Sentry Flash was a sad pony.
All in all, a good wrap-up chapter, and a good look into the next arc.
2785815 Sentry Flash?
2785052 Oh no, i'm not falling for the tears again.... last time i took pity on a Molestia, it took a week and a half to get things to stop smelling like a vanilla....
2786746 I just want cuddles!
2786753 ..........ughhh, fine...
*cuddles*
2786773 Yay~ *Cuddles back*
2786746
The pony/human thing Twilight shows interest in during Equestria Girls. I apparently transposed his name. It's hard to keep track of some of these ponies names, sometimes...
2786776 2786773
I would also enjoy the cuddles.
2786838 Hmm.... Okay! *Cuddles*
Ok, soooo, a few problems in my head.
One, Twilight has a boyfriend.
Two, he's a zebra.
Three, Twilight has a boyfriend.
Honestly, I've always pictured Twilight as a traditional mare, considering that her known ancestral lineage is all unicorns. And, i fought she would be as powerful as she is if she had a non unicorn as an ancestor. So for her to date a zebra..... Doesn't sit right with me. And another thing is, zebras aren't in the guard. Zecora is the only known Zebra in Equestria (off the top of my head) so why would such an unknown and feared species be in the guard, let alone have a rank of sergeant. And, even If he is in the guard, how the hell did Twilight not recognize him sooner. He's a Zebra for Celestia's sake.
AND YOU DON'T KNOW WHO FLASH SENTRY IS! SHAME ON YOU! YOU CAN'T CALL YOURSELF A BRONY ANYMORE! He's Brad from Equestria Girls! And, despite popular belief, I totally saw the whole romance thing coming. Everyone thought he was gonna get friend zoned. But he exists not just in the human world, but the pony world too, as a guard in the Crystal Empire. HE is the one Twilight should be dating.
Little disappointing, but hey, it's not my story to write. Can't wait for the next 0.5 chapter!
P.S. oh yea, and Halbred. PRICELESS
2788124 if you'll recall, Twilight never expressed initial fear of Zecora. and Ponyville is not exactly the best microcosm to draw from if you're trying to gauge the different kinds of sentient characters in Equestria. We've only met Gilda, doesn't mean there aren't other Griffins. and why wouldn't a Zebra be allowed in the Royal Guard? if Spike is an Equestrian citizen as a dragon, then i'm sure there are families that immigrated from other places and raised their children (zebras, griffins, what have you) as proud Equestrian Citizens.
and why can't Twilight have a boyfriend? and why does she have to be traditional? she's one of the most UNtraditional characters in the show. think about it, she's the first Unicorn to become an Alicorn, the first one we know of to have a cutie mark for Magic as a whole. as for her ancestry, we've only seen her parents, and pony genetics (if the Cakes are anything to go by) are screwy at best...
besides, a zebra boyfriend makes it a little less creepy that she's essentially infatuated with a Big Brother figure. seriously, it's a bit unexpected, it breaks the mold on the whole "royal guard" thing...
last but not least, the reason that she didn't know it was him, they wear armor and he wasn't exactly close when she saw him.
how did you like the movie btw? i missed part of the middle because the video flaked out in my theatre when i saw it :(
2789916 Twiloght being a traditional mare was kinda head canon on my part. The only ship I really support other than unicorns for Twilight is Applejack, but that's cause she's do damn awesome. I personally just don't think that Teilight could have so much raw power if she doesn't have exclusively Unicorn ancestors. And the Cakes? I have no counter argument for that.
I say that a zebra shouldn't be in the guard is because, in my mind, the Zebras are obviously African, so it's like their black (colored, whatever you want to call it). Now let's get one thing straight. I'm not racist. But Ponyville is, or at least ignorant. They acted like they've never seen a zebra before (besides Twilight, but that's cause she's knowledgable and open-minded). Don't you think if the majority if the rural population of Equestria doesn't know what a Zebra is, it might cause a bit of unrest to have one as a high ranking officer. Although you are right when you say they have the right to be proud Equestria Citizens. Same goes with the Griffins, and the buffaloes, and so on and so forth. I just don't think that a majority of the population would feel comfortable.
Oh yea, and I found out, Flash Sentry is never actually called Brad.... That's just a fandom thing. I guess. I'm not sure....
I thought it was great. After the second trailer was released, I was pumped. There's only like, 3 or 4 songs, but I only remember two actually being good. It was "Help Twilight win the Crown" and "This is Our Big Night". Oh yea, and remember how Spike is a dog, and everyone was freaking out? I think they executed it brilliantly. I love Spike so much more now. He had some awesome lines, and he's do darn cute too :3
It's on YouTube, do just go watch it on their like I did.
Oh, and Twilight not having a girlfriend. I'm not really ok with it, because it just popped out of thin air. Like, there was no setup, whatsoever. It's just "hey sweetie, how's my favorite marefriend."
2791764 i DID mention that she had a coltfriend... back when everyone was playing the question game... it might have been overshadowed by AJ kissing Aurora, but it was still there... check Chapter 22 or 23 again...
2791764 check Sleepover Shenanigans, it's right after they get Aurora down from the bathroom, and Twilight has a semi awkward moment with Luna about her being "Celestia's territory."
and yeah, Ponyville at least is pretty ignorant about a few things... but Equestria as a whole? no way. especially not Canterlot. sure, there's more Unicorns than most other places, but it's a metropolitan atmosphere, that means diversity is inherent. besides, Saddle Arabians are a thing... so Zebra guards, not so far fetched in my head canon.
and ultimately, i think that's what it boils down to, is head canon.
What about cannons? I have this really cool one i could show you all that i just finished fixing!
NO. MORE. PARTY. CANNONS.
awww... but why?
because your last one left me with cake batter in my hair for a week... and Spike smelled like Vanilla for even longer!
The vanilla wasn't from the party cannon Twilight...
I can't think about something else than THAT when I hear that name...
derpicdn.net/media/W1siZiIsIjIwMTMvMDYvMTgvMTdfMzhfMDBfNjI2XzM1MTY1N19fc2FmZV90ZWFtX2ZvcnRyZXNzXzJfZmxhc2hfc2VudHJ5X3NlbnRyeV9ibHVfcXVpY2tfYW5kX2RpcnR5X3Nob3AiXV0/351657__safe_equestria%2Bgirls_team%2Bfortress%2B2_pun_brad_flash%2Bsentry_sentry_blu_quick%2Band%2Bdirty%2Bshop.png
2794325 .......... Is this whole vanilla thing a new fetish I haven't heard about yet? I keep hearing it over and over again.
2795228 the picture didn't load. Is it that comic with gummy?
2796203
No it's a BLU sentry from TF2 with Flash Sentrys hair on top of it.
2796211 XD whoever made that is a genius
2796417 it's actually a Molestia joke. the artist for the Tumblr made the original joke, and it's kind of caught on since then. don't worry about it too much. did you at least see the passage i was talking about though? the one that mentioned the fact that Twilight did in fact have a coltfriend in the Royal Guard?
2803141 that sounds like work...... So many clicks, and the scrolling. I'll just take your word for it.
Oh, and how goes the new chapter! This relationship stuff is the stuff I've been waiting for! I can't wait!
2804593 working on it now. and if i do say so myself, it's gonna be good
I am hooked with this Fan Fic, not many others have been as attention grabbing as this masterpiece of a beautifully interwoven story line. I give a million internets to you for creating such a glorious story that has taken my attention for hours on end. Thank you for entertaining my bored mind.
PS: I'm only up too chapter 10 and I'm loving it, I'm hooked /)
2826751 2827299 i'm glad you both seem to like it so much
if you don't mind me asking, what exactly is it that has you hooked? i'm always looking to improve, and getting feedback about things that readers enjoy is a great way to add to the story.
stay awesome my friends...
2830178 I think the thing that has me interested in this story is the plot line. I have enjoyed reading the predicaments that Orion has found himself in, although I am a bit wary about the whole gender-swap because of previous stories about the same subject, but I do admit this is already better than that particular story. I generally hope that this story continues in the same side-splitting humorous way that it has been with the odd serious chapter to even things out.
2831175 I forgot to mention, do you have any art for this story? It would be interesting to see how accurate my view of Orion is.
2831787 i do have some art... i just need to remember to copy the link into the author's notes after i upload the next chapter :p
and just so you know, the art includes Orion and Aurora with long hair, as well as with short hair, no cutie mark though.... i'm saving the image of the cutie mark for when the character earns it.
2832471 Ok wonderful, I look forward to reading the next chapter then :)
2877301 eeyup...
here's the album, http://imgur.com/a/C0mME
and in order, you see Orion as male, female, female with manecut, male with manecut.
kept meaning to post these...
2917296 What was that? I couldn't hear you I was too busy electricuting myself.
2915934
I'm confused, is the chapter removed? All of the comments from chapter 27 say chapter 0 instead, and I can't even get to said chapter! :/
2917601 i'm making some edits to the chapter because formatting is a BITCH on here sometimes... and to top it off, i wrote this chapter on more than one computer, and with more than one word processing software... so things are a little... weird... working on fixing everything now though :)
2918757 what's on?
2919202
I was wondering where it went. Now I know.
Will commence read when it's finished being formatted.
When's the next chapter coming out
My eye is twitching. I'm sorry to sound like a butthole, but Twilights' colt toy CAN NOT be a Sergeant and an officer as well. That's calling a noncommissioned officer, an officer. No bueno sir. If he is top dog of the NCO's, then his rank would be 1st Sergeant in army terms, or Optio in a Roman style army. There is only one of those on post usually. Purple Smart would know who he was from a half a kilometer away.
Sorry... I'm done. Just ignore me. I love the story all the same.