Chapter 8
Giving Love a Helping Hoof
Chapter 8
Flying through the air, sunlight glinting off their golden finish, six magnificent chariots made their way towards Ponyville. Their pegasus escorts, picked at random from the Canterlot guard rotation, had known that something interesting was happening when they had seen just how many guards were being assembled – twelve guards was a full pegasus division! Upon seeing just who they were escorting, the stoic ponies very nearly widened their eyes in surprise; the Elements of Harmony themselves!
...and the Elements of Harmony... again?
However, one didn't become one of the elite pegasi guard of Canterlot by asking questions. They did as they were ordered, immediately and without complaint. So each guard had strapped himself in, nodded politely to his assigned passengers, and with an affirmative glance to his co-pilot had taken off down the runway.
It was at this point that six of them entered their own private hell.
Leading the pack, more than likely due to a subconscious desire of the guard's to make the trip as swift as possible, was the chariot containing Berry and Pinkie. The two pink dynamos would not sit still. Their non-stop blasted chatter was enough to severely fray the pegasi's nerves, but these two seemed to be completely incapable of understanding the implications and consequences of gravity. They bounced, literally bounced, back and forth, over and over, singing and dancing and playing games! They seemed to actively enjoy the danger of falling to their own doom! The two guards had been forced to make so many minuscule adjustments to their flight pattern to keep the paired Elements on board, and every adjustment brought their heart leaping into their throat. Each began to wonder whether it would ever descend into their chest again.
Trailing the comparatively frantic lead chariot were two particularly dour-faced pegasi. The deep glower marring the features of each spoke volumes as to just how intensely irritated they were at their current predicament. They wouldn't speak a word of complaint; they would do their assigned task as best they could, but they would hate every second of it.
A disgusting retching noise sounded, in stereo, from the chariot they were pulling. A splattering noise sounded from the panelling on each side. The guard on the left gritted his teeth. The guard on the right's eye spasmed. The scent of too-sweet apples briefly reached their nostrils.
Bucking farm ponies.
The third and final pair of guards that considered this assignment a particularly gruelling chore had been forced to put up with more complaining than the dreaded 'Blueblood Brigade', the small squad of ponies appointed to watch over and protect the Prince. Though Blueblood was capable of delivering an astonishing variety of different commands, complaints, comments and concerns in his usual verbose vernacular, the two chromatic pegasi sitting in the chariot had put him entirely to shame.
And all just because the two wanted to fly!
But orders were orders. The Princess commanded the ponies stay on the chariots, so the ponies stay on the chariots. It was just a shame she didn't command they be quiet about it as well. So the two guards continually repeated themselves, each time forcing the politeness through just a bit more, “Apologies, sir and ma'am, but our orders were for you to stay in the chariot”, and each time the two left them alone for a little while, only to start prodding again in a few minutes like an irritating foal. Thankfully, the two seemed to distract each other as much as they tried to distract their escort. It was amusing, actually, subtly watching the two testing the waters with each other. They seemed to stand closer together than was strictly necessary a lot, and when the filly 'accidentally' tripped into the stallion's arms they sure took their time separating.
…
“Aha! Take a look over there!”
Rarity followed Elusive's pointing hoof, taking care not to look in Applejack's direction, to behold the normally graceful and coordinated Rainbow Dash stumble over her own hooves, right into Rainbow Blitz's waiting grasp. She could almost hear the giddy giggle and the muttered “Oops!”
Rarity sighed, smiling at her friend endearingly. “That pony... She can be such a little filly sometimes.”
Elusive nodded, watching the pair in amusement. “Yes, Blitz too.” He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. “Although don't tell him I said that he can be such a little filly.”
Despite her best efforts, Rarity couldn't quite hold back a grin.
Elusive smiled. “I'm sorry, I appear to have amused you.”
Rarity laughed outright at that, surprised by the stallion's sense of humour. In a weird moment of self-admiration, she thought, “I never realised I was so funny!”
After the laughter died down, there was an awkward moment of silence as both unicorns struggled to think of something to say that wouldn't make them sound like a complete foal.
“So...” Rarity looked to Elusive as the stallion spoke, noting his supreme discomfiture as he tried to complete his thought, obviously casting stones into the conversational abyss. Her narcissism evaporated as she folded her ears against her head and looked away in shame. She had scarcely said a word and kept more than a respectable distance from Elusive the entire trip, yet here he was putting his pride and, more importantly, his poise on the line to try and bridge the gap between them. He had taken the first step in Canterlot, acting the perfect gentlecolt, and here he was again, doing his best to put her at ease with simple conversation. Yet at every turn she shied away, still too wrapped up in her own insecurities to let the well-meaning stallion through her defences.
Well! She narrowed her eyes and stomped a mental hoof. No more!
Levitating out the little notepad and quill she kept in her mane at all times, Rarity approached the stallion. “So, Elusive, how exactly do you think we should split the work at the Boutique? Why don't we start going over some of the details, hmm?” She sat down, admittedly with no small amount of trepidation, right next to him.
Elusive's horn glowed as he levitated out his own notepad. There was the smallest twinkle of gratitude and relief in his eyes as he smiled broadly at her. “Why Rarity, I do believe that is a fine idea.”
Rarity, her heart fluttering with an odd mixture of conflicting emotions, couldn't help but smile right back.
…
Fluttershy had always been a particularly perceptive pony. Though normally she preferred the company of animals, empathy didn't really limit itself to any particular species; she was always willing to help somepony with a problem, so she was particularly concerned with just how quiet Butterscotch was being. Though she knew that he, like her, preferred not to be what one would call the most sociable pony, when they had first met and talked to each other in Canterlot they had gotten along wonderfully, each sharing stories and thoughts. It was one of the few times Fluttershy had felt comfortable enough around another pony to talk freely about herself, yet she had never felt so at ease so quickly with anypony before, and that sent her off on an entirely different train of thought altogether...
Refocusing her attention, she raised a delicate hoof and tapped Butterscotch's shoulder. “Ummm... Butterscotch? Are you alright?” Ohmygoodnesshe'ssowarm!
The stallion blinked and raised his head. “Oh, I'm sorry Fluttershy, I didn't mean to be so rude. I'm just worried.”
Fluutershy had to fight an urge to stroke his mane like she would a small bunny. He just seemed so... so... “Oh no, you weren't being rude at all! What are you worried about?”
Butterscotch looked away, his ears drooping. “It's just... what the Princess said about our world...” He drew in a ragged breath and his chin wobbled. “I'm scared that I'll never get to see Angel again...”
The very same compassion that made Fluttershy who she is now worked against her. She read Butterscotch like an open book, and saw just how much pain he was in, exactly what he was hiding inside. Unable to resist, she immediately moved to his side and put a wing around him, drawing him close. The stallion gasped in surprise and embarrassment, but Fluttershy didn't hesitate.
“There there, it's alright.” She nuzzled his neck. “Don't you be sad now...”
Butterscotch had never felt so... so safe as he did right now, being held by this mare, feeling her gentle warmth against his side.
“You just close your eyes and let it all out. I'll be here for you.” She started humming a familiar tune.
He turned and rested his chin atop her head, before just letting himself go and crying. Fluttershy held onto him for Celestia knows how long, Equestria racing by beneath them, as the stallion let out all the stress and tension he had accumulated over the past couple of days. Being so approachable as he was, several of his friends had already come to him during their time in this world for comfort, just to talk and gain reassurance from his gentle kindness. Even Blitz, though he would never admit it, had been stressed out over the change, and had almost had to be talked out of the air at one point. But the gentle pony had not uttered a word of complaint, nor hesitated for an instant to be there for his friends. He had tried so hard to be strong, to help them as much as he could. He held in all his own fears and worries, so the others in turn wouldn't worry about him.
But the stress of holding it all in had apparently been as obvious as the sun and moon to the perceptive pony beside him. As the tears flowed, he put his own wing around her, and touched his hoof to hers. She just kept humming, that same tune, over and over. It wasn't long before he found himself humming along with her.
...
Dusk Shine and Twilight Sparkle were so wrapped up in their own devices that they couldn't give a flying fetlock about what exactly all their friends were doing. Though lacking a quill and parchment, normally courtesy of the everpresent Spike, the two were still having a stellar time making a checklist with what one could call a slightly worrying amount of enthusiasm. However the novelty quickly faded due to the lack of stationary.
Heaving an exasperated sigh as his listing urge was stifled, Dusk Shine plonked his rear end down. “So, Twilight...” The mare looked up at him. “How do you think everypony's going to react to us?” He gestured vaguely at the other chariots.
Twilight thought for a moment before answering. Her eyes narrowed, her gaze shifted, and she tilted her head just slightly. It was an unconscious reaction, and one that Dusk knew he himself was guilty of, but was content to live with. In fact, seeing Twilight do it... it was really quite cute. He cleared his throat at the thought.
“I think,” said Twilight, not noticing his slight awkwardness, “that it shouldn't bother most ponies. After some of the things that have happened around here lately, I don't think there's too much that can surprise Ponyville these days.”
Dusk nodded in agreement, though he still had reservations. “I certainly hope so. I don't want to be mistrusted by ponies that I know as my friends.”
“That's exactly what I think will work in your favour!” nodded Twilight, pointing a hoof at him. “If anypony doubts the authenticity of our story, we can just get them to ask us a question only I would know. Then we simply get you to answer!”
Dusk smiled at Twilight's enthusiasm and quick-thinking both. “Good idea! Why I didn't think of that?”
Twilight smiled slyly. “Well, I guess that settles it!” She turned her nose up in the air, doing her best Blueblood impression. “Mares really are the more clever ponies!”
Letting out a snort of suppressed laughter, Dusk played along with the joke. “Hay, it's not my fault! Everypony knows what stallions think with!”
The words hung in the air for a moment before the unicorn realised just how little of his time he spent around mares, and how badly it showed.
Twilight let out a very short and very unconvincing laugh, looking anywhere but at Dusk. The stallion simply sat there dumbly, mentally berating himself.
Stupid, stupid, stupid! She's a mare you foal! You don't make dirty jokes around mares unless you've known them for years, it said so in Mares: How to Meet Them, Greet Them and Keep Them! What, do you turn into a brainless pile of mush whenever you're close to her?!
His internal monologue ground to a halt as it cornered itself.
Oh. Fair enough. Well, lesson learned! Don't do it again!
“So...” said Dusk, unknowingly emulating Elusive. The stallion's sharp mind immediately latched onto that one subject, that classic mainstay that anypony could turn to at the slightest hints of conversational awkwardness to save the day. “Lovely weather we're having!”
Twilight Sparkle vehemently agreed and the two were off, springboarding from topic to topic, the conversation getting less awkward with each change of subject. Eventually the two were talking naturally again, enjoying each other's company. For a time the pair lapsed into a comfortable silence, enjoying the view of Equestria sprawled out beneath them. Dusk Shine in fact grew so enamoured with the view that he failed to notice it had long since lost Twilight's attention.
No, her purple gaze was firmly fixed on him, ready to refocus at a moment's notice. Had he managed to catch her, he would've caught an odd look in her eyes, a certain gleam deep within their violet depths. Twilight Sparkle was just beginning to feel the barest hints, the mere scratch on the tip of the iceberg, of a feeling she had yet to encounter. It was enough to make her heart pound a little bit faster, and she immediately turned away, to look out over Equestria once more.
Standing on the precipice was one thing, leaping into the void was quite another.
However, as the wisemare once said, “Great minds think alike”. When he was sure that Twilight's attention was entirely focused on the far and not the near, Dusk couldn’t help but glance her way.
…
The chariots gently set down just outside Ponyville, and with an exasperated nod from one of the pegasus escorts two wound up pegasi immediately took to the air, happy to stretch their wings once more. What's that? My stretching wings brushed yours? My my, how did that happen?
Eventually everypony disembarked, and the chariots wheeled around, taking to the sky once more. Some of the guards sure had an interesting tale to tell.
The group all met up, Dash and Blitz alighting once more. Though they had left for Canterlot only that very morning, each of the mares felt like they had been gone for days, the events of the morning completely draining them. By comparison the stallions seemed energetic, even frisky, looking around Ponyville with bright eyes and wide grins. Berry's tail wagged back and forth behind him like an excited puppy.
“It's so so goody woody toody noody good to be back in Ponyville!” The stallion bounced back and forth, Pinkie joining in for the fun of it. “It feels like it's been days since I've seen Sugarcube Corner!”
Dash snickered. “Berry, it has been days since you've seen Sugarcube Corner.”
“HUUUUHHHH!!!” Berry came to a dead stop in mid-air, halfway through a bounce. Pinkie crashed into his rear, and the two tumbled to the ground in a tangle of pink legs. When the dust cleared, Berry was standing with Pinkie perfectly balanced on two hooves on his back, doing a little jig. “Pinkie! Do you wanna go to Sugarcube Corner!?”
“HUUUUHHHHLET'SGO!!!” And the two were off, disappearing like a couple of pink fireworks, leaving only confusion and the vague scent of cupcakes in the air.
Dusk Shine raised a protesting hoof, words of caution on his lips, but it was too little too late. “Pinkie! Berry! Wait! We need to think this through!”
“Now hold on there Sugarcube, Ah think they're on to somethin',” said AJ, cutting off the hare-brained plans to try and contain Pinkie, of all ponies. “If we all stick together, an' march right on into town, we're gonna get eyeballed worse than a turtle at a track meet.” The corner of her mouth twitched.
Dash and Blitz glowered. “TORTOISE!” Fluttershy and Butterscotch looked on proudly. Yay!
With a chuckle, AJ waved a hoof through the air. “Mah point still stands!” The filly's next words confirmed Twilight’s suspicions that even though Applejack and AJ hadn't done much talking, AJ at least had still been thinking of the situation. “What better way to convince everypony that these colts are... well, what they are, than to see 'em actin' just like us? I say we all head on home, and act like nothin's happened. If anypony asks about 'em,” she continued, making Applejack wince as she prodded him in the side with her hoof, “we tell 'em what they want to know. Easy as pie.”
“Now AJ, I'm not quite certain that is the best way to go about announcing ourselves!” intoned Elusive, waving a dramatic hoof through the air. “I'm sure you have the same views on Honesty as Applejack does-”
“Darn tootin' Ah do!” interjected the filly with a glare.
“-which is why I think you might be predisposed towards seeking a particular course of action that might not be entirely in our best interests!”
Both farm ponies looked at Elusive blankly. Applejack spoke up.
“Say what now?”
Further confusion was forestalled by Twilight Sparkle's intervention. “Elusive, I think I agree with AJ this time. While it might be a little bit easier for the citizens of Ponyville to come to terms with the appearance of six new colts if we slowly introduce all of you bit by bit, it would just be too difficult on each of you! You'd have to stay out of sight all the time, locked up indoors... No, I think that this will be like taking off a band-aid. We just get it all over and done with at once.”
“So what do you think we should do, Twilight?” asked Butterscotch.
“I think we should all take our fellow Element, and go home,” replied the unicorn. “We should just act normally, and if anypony asks, we tell them the complete truth. That way, no idle gossip will go around, and no one will think that we're 'evil enchantresses',” she finished with a smile.
“Thank Celestia Berry and Pinkie aren't here,” muttered Blitz. Dash giggled and punched him in the shoulder.
“We've all got a bit of explaining ahead of us anyway,” continued Twilight. “There is a baby dragon at the library who just might have a heart attack.”
Dusk paled. “I hadn't thought of that.”
“Hooowee, this'll be a whopper t' explain t' the family,” grimaced AJ.
Applejack smiled encouragingly at her. “Well shoot AJ, you know as well as anypony than an Apple can always tell an Apple. Besides...” He grinned and waggled his eyebrows. “Ah still got that little secret o' Big Macintosh's Ah've bin' hangin' on to... Remember?”
AJ's green eyes widened for a moment, before she burst out laughing. Clutching her sides, the farmpony tumbled to the ground. “Well Ah'll be! Ah'd plum forgot about that! With you danglin' that nice juicy apple over his head, he'll say whatever y' want him to!” Applejack joined in her mirth.
Rarity, gossip mode engaging, pressed forward eagerly. “What's this you say? Big Macintosh has a skeleton in his closet?” Elusive hovered over her shoulder.
After AJ calmed down a little, she shook her head. “Nuh-uh Rarirty, I promised Ah wouldn't tell. Breaking mah brother's trust is the best way to lose 'im.”
A distant voice echoed on the breeze. “Foooorreevvveeerr....”
The farmfilly pretended not to notice; sometimes her sugar-powered friend was just a little too weird. “And technically Ah still haven't told anypony.” She nudged a still chuckling Applejack. “Why, it's just the luck o' the draw that Applejack here happens to already know!” The orange ponies burst into renewed peals of laughter.
“'Sides!” choked out Applejack, between gasps, “Shouldn't... you... worry 'bout... Sweetie Belle?”
This closed down the fashionista. “Yes, I have been wondering about that.” She lowered her gaze, slightly troubled. “What will I tell her?”
“Why, we tell her the truth, my dear Rarity!” Heads turned to Elusive. “I do believe that Twilight is spot on: the truth is the way to go! I'd rather leave Sweetie Belle with a bit of a puzzle than with a lie.” Rarity had to agree with that. “Besides, you know her! She's a nice girl, she'll be fine. Frankly, I'm far more interested in just how exactly another little filly is going to react...”
Rarity raised a perfectly shaped brow. “Oh? Who is that, Elusive?”
He smiled. “Welllllll....” he said, turning towards the now recovered farm ponies. “We've discussed how Applebloom is going to handle things, we've discussed how Sweetie Belle will react... Tell me, aren't those two members of a particular organisation? A 'crusade', if you will? Wasn't there...” He turned to smile fiendishly at Rainbow Dash and Rainbow Blitz. “...a third member of that group?”
The two pegasi looked at Elusive, then at each other, then off into the middle distance, then each other again. Slowly, their eyes widened.
The buzzing of tiny wings filled the air.
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i.minus.com/ibakgriKQQGmLm.gif
Oh, dear. The CMC are going to make this MOST amusing. I'm loving how differently all the six pairs are reacting, and yet they're all steadily growing closer...
((These comments were made as I read))
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Huh... guess I spazzed out a little TOO much when I read "Fooooreeeeeverrr!"
~Jeff~
Great story in all but one small thing made my Military history side twitch uncontrollably:
I am not an expert in Royal guard but, a division is around 10000 men (ww2) and a land organization of troops. Also because it is an air unit, I think Squadron would fit better. Just a pet peeve.
I actually cried at the scene with Butterscotch and Fluttershy.
How is this not yet a movie?!
I DEMAND MOVIE!!!
go cmc
2074079But that's human terms. Pony terms are different
YAY SCOOTALOO!
xDDDDDDDDDD
the best fanfic ever
Not bad, not bad at all
Mares really are the more clever ponies!”
Letting out a snort of suppressed laughter, Dusk played along with the joke. “Hay, it's not my fault! Everypony knows what stallions think with!”
I'm not even gonna start with this comment...