Bad Company

by Symphony

Ch. 23 - Only to Rise

Strawberry rolled over to her back, smacking her lips and yawned. She stretched her forelegs and sighed. 'Thank goodness for Saturdays...' She reached across the bed and frowned when she felt nothing but air. She opened her eyes and noticed that Jay wasn't in bed. She darted up and looked around. The door was closed and the covers on his side were haphazardly thrown to the side. The spot where he had been sleeping was cold.

She rubbed some gunk out of her eyes then got out of bed. Glancing up at the clock she read that it was still rather early in the morning.

She walked out into the hallway and looked around for any sign of her boyfriend. When she didn't hear or see anything, she decided to continue her search in the kitchen. He wasn't there either. Her ears perked when she saw that coffee was already made, a clean mug placed next to a plate of pancakes.

She smiled and filled up the mug with her magic and retrieved the food from the counter. A note she didn't spot earlier fell to the ground and she stared at it for a few seconds before placing her breakfast on the table. She opened the note and immediately recognized Jay's messy handwriting.

'Good morning! I'm in the left wing of the house. Eat up and then you can come over there!'

She smiled at it and blushed a little at what looked like a poorly drawn cartoonish heart along with his signature. She walked over to the table and started eating, rushing to go see what he was doing in that part of the house. When she finished, she levitated her plate to the sink where it joined another and brought the mug with her as she walked through the hall.

When she neared the end, she heard thumping and what sounded like loud music echo. She walked to the door and knocked. She waited for a couple of seconds but when no answer came, she cracked the door open and looked inside.

The sound of loud music echoed through the room. It sounded as if the drummer was hitting so hard he was attempting to break his instrument along with a pair of heavily distorted guitars. What stood out the most for her though was that the vocalist wasn't exactly singing, it was more like he was yelling into the microphone about a 'motherfucking invitation' or something like that.

She searched for the source of the music only to see that little black device Jay normally used to check the time vibrating along a small spartan table. How could such a small thing be that loud, anyway?

She winced and opened the door wider. She saw a couple of machines lining a wall, along with some racks that had different weights on them. This was certainly new, she didn't know he had a gym at home!

She walked inside and froze as she spotted Jay nodding his head to the beat of the music with his back to her. He was wearing a black tank top and a dark green pair of shorts.

He covered his hands in some chalk before he looked up at a reinforced bar that was hanging from another rack but this one looked much sturdier. She let out a quiet gasp as he jumped up and grabbed it with both of his hands with his palms facing him, a measured distance between them.

He hung there for a few seconds, adjusting his grip before he started hefting himself up to the bar to his chest. Slowly up, down just as slow. He grunted when he had descended fully, then repeated the motion ten more times. His legs had bent back slightly and were crossed near the ankles. He straightened them and then let go, dropping to the floor with a thud. He rolled his shoulders and sighed, flexing his left arm with a frown.

Strawberry just stared at him, forgetting about the mug she was levitating. Her magic faded from it and it fell to the ground with a crash, spreading porcelain all over the floor next to her and a small puddle of coffee. She jolted out of her trance and cursed, staring up at Jay who was smirking at her.

He grabbed a small towel off a rack and walked over, pausing the music on his way. He scratched her ear with his free hand. She sighed and tilted her head toward it.

“Good morning!” Jay gave her a quick peck before he gathered the pieces of the broken mug and wiped the floor clean. He placed the shards on the towel then folded it. “I'm guessing you found my note? Was... Was the food edible?” He asked nervously, staring at her for any reaction.

She smiled at him, walking further into the gym and glanced around. “It was delicious, thank you!”

He chuckled. “Glad to hear it, I had to thank you somehow... I considered coming up with it but you were really out of it.” Jay scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly.

“So...” She looked up at the rack that he had been using earlier. “What were you doing up there?” She pointed up at it. Jay looked up, then back down at her.

“That's called a chin-up. It's a good exercise because it uses a lot of muscles.” He shrugged. “It uses my back, abs, chest, and arms in one go.” He walked over to the far end of the room where some dumbbells laid in a row with a bench in front of it and another rack above it. On the rack laid a pole with some rather big weights on them.

He laid down on the bench, wiping his hands on his top before putting his hands on the pole.. He drew a deep breath before adjusting his grip on it further and began his bench press. Once he was finished after a few repetitions, he placed it back on the rack with a grunt and sat up on the bench, reaching over to a water bottle and drank some before dumping some of it on his face and hair.

“Alright, I'm finished for today.” He walked over to where Strawberry had been sitting and staring at him with wide eyes. “I'm gonna head to the shower, you want to go outside and do something?”

Strawberry nodded and followed him back through the hall. She stopped at the foot of the stairs when he walked up. “I'll be right out!” He shouted after he had rounded a corner. She heard the sound of a door closing.

When she was absolutely certain he couldn't see or hear her, she covered her face with her hooves and squeaked, her face once again beet red at what she had witnessed minutes earlier.

---

-First person-

I exited the bathroom, wearing a pair of pale blue jeans and the same red button-up shirt that I wore when I visited Strawberry at her house. I threw the clothes I had used during my workout in the hamper.

It's weird, I had been walking around and checking the rooms in my house and at the furthest back there was a small home gym. Suffice to say, I was pleasantly surprised by that. Because well, the best way to regain strength is by training. My left arm was starting to come back like it was before, I just had to be careful with it from time to time.

I walked into the kitchen and spotted Strawberry standing to the counter with her forelegs on it, cleaning up some plates from this morning without her magic. I raised an eyebrow at that. Oh well... I walked up behind her quietly and placed both of my hands on her sides. She tensed up and gasped, then craned her head up to look at me with wide eyes.

“You missed a spot...” I faked, looking at her and down at a plate.

“What? Where?” She looked down at the dishes. Jackpot.

Quicker than she could react, I scooped up some suds on my index finger and spread it on her nose. Her head reared back at the contact and her ears flicked madly. Her eyes crossed as she stared down at it, I caught her and laughed at her reaction.

“Jay!” She wiped her muzzle clean and glared up at me, her ears lowered slightly. “That wasn't funny...” She looked at me and snorted. My face was turning red and I was biting my tongue to stop my laughter from exploding. “It really wasn't funny at all...” She pursed her lips and I grinned at her. Eventually, she started giggling as well.

“See? It was funny!”

“Only a little bit...”

“Alright, let's get going. I've been cooped up in here for too long...” I put her down to her four hooves we walked to the front door together. I opened it for her and she went out. I followed her, locking the door behind us.

We walked downtown in silence, greeting some ponies as they passed us. “Jay, that thing playing the music when you were working out..?”

I looked down at her. “My phone?” I picked up the device from my left pocket and showed it to her, turning on the screen. “What about it?”

“Oh, I was just wondering how a small thing like that could play music so loud...” She asked, staring at it warily as if it was about to blow up in her face.

“I dunno, really... It's been acting really weird after I jammed it to Celestia's horn...” I stared at it.

“You did what?!” She squeaked out. “Why would you do that?!”

I shrugged. “It was running out of battery power. I figured that your magic is energy that you developed to the point of being able to control and manipulate. Keeping that in mind, my phone is charged through electronics so I tried it out.”

Strawberry stopped walking. I did the same and looked back at her, raising an eyebrow. “What?”

“And what if it wouldn't have worked?”

“Well, I'd probably be in jail right now.” I grinned at her. She rolled her eyes and started walking again. “Anyway, it started acting weird after that. The sound of it was boosted for one, not that I'm complaining of course... The flashlight on it broke when I tried to light it and the camera was doing all kind of weird things.”

Her ears perked. “That thing has a camera on it? Where?”

“It has two, actually.” I pointed at a little circle on the front on the top of it. “This one's smaller but takes lower quality pictures. I flipped the phone and showed the primary camera. “This can take higher resolution pictures and handles zoom functions.”

Strawberry still looked unsure, glancing at the phone and then at me. I chuckled and unlocked the phone, flipping through the apps until I found the camera. I changed it to selfie mode and turned it toward her.

She gasped and looked closer. “It actually works!” She stared up at me for confirmation. I nodded, smiling at her.

“Here...” I crouched down next to her, placing my right arm around her neck and held my left arm up at an angle. “Say cheese!”

On the screen I saw her face morph into panic, then an unsure smile before she sighed and smiled genuinely up at it with a small blush on her cheeks. I took the picture and showed it to her. With some sneaky hand movements, I set it as the background of my lock screen.

“Human technology is amazing!” She gushed, moving her head closer to the screen. “What else can it do?”

“You can play games on it, call people that are far away, send text-based messages and a lot more.” She stared at it, then up at me.

“If you can call people that are far away, can you call your... family?”

My smile faded lightly and I scratched my chin. “No, I can't... There's no service here.”

I looked away for a few seconds and narrowed my eyes. Strawberry did the same. I saw Spike running at me, carrying a rolled up piece of paper.

“Jay!” He yelled when he spotted me. “Jay, you got a letter!” Spike stopped in front of me, breathing heavily. I turned my head to Strawberry who looked back at me.

“Who's it from, Spike?”

“It's from Prince Blueblood!”

My eyebrows raised waaay up.

“Oh fuck, I forgot I sent him the blueprints...” I slapped my palm to my forehead, then slid my hand down my face. “Here, lemme see.”

Spike handed the letter over to me. I saw Blueblood's mark stamped in red wax on a blue strap that kept it rolled up. I ripped it off and unfurled it.

'James,

I, along with my directors and advisors at Platinum Industries have decided to put your idea into a prototype stage. With this in mind, we would like to see you soon at our headquarters in Manehattan for introductions and you overseeing the first products being made. We would like you to arrive this coming week.

This is a good start for integration as my aunts have informed me of your situation and I offer my deepest sympathies.

P.S. Be sure to bring clothes fitting for high-end business meetings. I'm sure you can find a tailor that can help you with what you need.

P.P.S. A grant for giving us the idea has been sent to you. Two hundred and fifty thousand bits, to begin with, not counting the bonuses you will receive during eventual sales.

-Prince Blueblood.'

I stared at the piece of paper slack-jawed. My eyes narrowed at the part of me having to be there next week. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. “Fuckin' hell, why now...”

“T-two h-hundred th-thousand..!” Strawberry gaped at the letter, her hooves shaking. Eventually, she recovered. “Looks like you're going to my hometown, Jay!” She hopped on her hooves. “Oh, you'll love it!” Her hopping slowed down as her ears lowered. “But I can't go, I have to work...”

I patted her back. “Don't worry, we'll go there together sometime.”

I turned to Spike. “How about you, you want to come and raise hell in the big apple for a few days?”

Spike's eyes lit up but he looked away after a few seconds. “I don't think Twilight would like that. I'll ask her though...”

Right, off to Rarity's and blackmail her into making me a suit, I guess...

Author's Note:

Guess the song he was listening to. It's one of my favorites...

HAHA, YOU PROBABLY THOUGHT I FORGOT BLUEBLOOD HAD A PART IN THIS STORY

Comments

[sycotic]

lamb of god: redneck

[Necrogen Lord]

Killer Queen.

[Kosmosu]

I actually forgot what the prototype was.

[benjamenYTDead]

8933223
It was a backscratcher.

[D48]

8936999
Long story short, they deleted most of her character traits including all the ones that made her interesting and lovable around the same time they gave her wings and instead stared warping everything around her to make her look important, usually at the cost of her friends (who also got flanderized into twisted mockeries of themselves). I haven't watched the show in years so I can't speak with authority on the newer stuff, but I have heard that some of the old quirks of season 1/2 Twilight have come back in a monstrous, twisted form since Starlight Glimmer replaced Twilight as the show's Mary Sue and they started making a mess or Twilight to make Starlight look good just like they did with the rest of the cast several years earlier.

[-headshot123-]

She walked inside and froze as she spotted Jay nodding his head to the beat of the music with his back to her. He was wearing a black tank top and a dark green pair of shorts.

black tank top

i can almost hear him screaming something about witness protection and tying his shoes