Unspoken things
The air felt stale.
It was by far my biggest complaint about the house we had been given by Celestia. The rest were minor details unworthy of mention. This one just made my skin crawl. The house hadn’t been aerated enough for a long period of time; and it gave me shivers to think about it.
Closing the door behind me, a pang of regret surging through my chest, I let out a sigh. If it wasn’t so necessary to be careful about our identities, I might have let the door open. But I could not help fear that I would be taken by surprise and exposed if I did. Thus, the muscles of my face twisting into a grimace, I shot another glance at the house that had become ours after all that craziness in Canterlot.
The emptiness of the house was depressing. It was truly bare of any kind of furniture whatsoever. The previous owners obviously hadn’t used the house before. Underneath a thin layer of dust, the floor lacked even the smallest scratch. Nothing had been placed on that floor until Calx and I had created our makeshift camping circle of blankets, pillows and lamp.
It had worked for the first night, but the sooner we each got a comfortable bed to sleep in, the more collateral damage would be spared. Cranky alicorns in the morning made for the strangest messes.
Beds, mattresses, couches, bedside tables… I started listing in my head.
Almost mechanically, I directed my internal magic toward my horn and focused it in a levitation spell. The magical field appeared without trouble, but the quill and paper I wanted were completely absent from this place. Right, let’s add quills and scrolls to the list.
Continuing my round, I glanced into the empty room meant to be the kitchen. New items were added to my mental list. Silverware, fridge, oven, dishwater if that even exists, cooking pots, food…
Each item seemed to make this even more real. I was alone to take care of Calx. Deep down, I knew I could do it, and there was no question that I would do it without even a second of hesitation. It was simply a heavier responsibility.
This time, there might not be anypony above me to salvage my screwing up. We would bear the brunt of the consequences of our actions. Sure, Celestia wouldn’t leave us hanging, if not me then Calx at the very least, but she was in another city...
With a bit of slowness to my movements, I made my way to the bedrooms, of the number of two. Light easily filtered through the spotted windows from the living room and the small kitchen.
A low grunting noise echoed to my ears, and it took me a moment to realize it had come from my own throat. That door was resisting me!
Snorting in annoyance, I rolled my shoulders and was rewarded with a satisfying cracking noise. Then, shifting my weight backward, I stood on my hind legs and slammed my front hooves into the door.
Gray.
Before I could realize what was happening, my head was covered by a cloud of dust, making my yelp quickly devolve into a coughing fit. Elders, this was starting to piss me off. It seemed to take an hour for the burning and aching in my throat to recede. And it was not over yet.
A tingling sensation reached my nose. Snorting, I shook my head, trying to shake off the dust gathering against my coat. Each contact between myself and those particles was irritating, enough to have me shivering. Thus, my mouth twisting in a scowl, I eyed the empty room unhappy at its state of uncleanliness.
“Not hard to figure out how long it’s been on sales…” I grumbled, knowing that the cleaning would invariably fall on my shoulders.
For the most part. There was no way a certain colt would get out of some chores around here.
Still quite unhappy with the coming prospects, I turned around to leave, more items carefully added to my list, when I sensed a call rippling through me.
There had been a voice and, unlike most of the voices, this one was very familiar.
“Ventus, I hate you so much…” Somepony grumbled, with an exasperated sigh.
Instantly, my heart felt lighter, as a furious desire to laugh came over me.
“Why, Blueblood, you wound me,” I said playfully to the empty space, directing my voice much beyond the walls of this house. “I am certain that I am innocent of whatever you blame me of.”
For a couple of seconds, his voice failed to reach me again. No words came from him.
“Y-you… you can hear me?” He used such a shaken tone.
“You and everyone in this world.” I gave a little laugh, as light as I felt. “I usually have the good sense not to pay attention to any of the conversations rippling through my body, but… from times to times, I do notice somepony.”
Again, his reply took some time to come, as I suspected he was effectively trying to digest this revelation… and mentally reviewing everything he had said negative about me. Which gave me an evil idea.
“Yeah, I know about that one, Blueblood,” I said sternly, in complete contradiction to the grin stretching my face.
Instantly, a gasp echoed to my ears, followed by a quick and desperate “Celestia’s flanks!”. A great deal of willpower was necessary not to burst out laughing at that.
“Hum…” He stuttered, as I imagined him sweating and shooting nervous glances around to find a way to get out of that. “T-that was…”
“Forgiven.” I rolled my eyes, putting a stop to this unfair game. “IF you tell me what I’ve done recently to make you hate me.”
Okay… Almost done playing… I told myself, suppressing yet another giggle.
A sigh came from him again. “It’s because of your teaching. This morning, the maid cleaning my room was one I remembered being spectacularly bratty toward in my previous dealings with her.”
“Yes?” I nodded, waiting for him to elaborate.
“Well, I thought I would apologize to her for my past misdeeds.”
It gave me a pause. For a second, I just wanted to appreciate his progress… and ignore that stupid relief dancing up my throat at the lack of relapses. Strangely, however, he did not interrupt my train of thoughts. Rather, once I was done contemplating his words, I realized he had remained silent the whole time.
My brows furrowed together, I felt my voice rumble at a lower tone than usual, in strong contrast with before. “And?”
“I just finished a visit to the Castle’s infirmary after a complete medical check-up to confirm that no, I am not sick, physically or mentally.” From his reply alone, I could visualize his scowl with perfect accuracy.
My frown slipped off my face entirely.
He was just feeding a troll at this point. My chest heaving, I was struggling to keep a straight face and those bubbles of hilarity popping in my brain under control. “Now, now, I get that your maid was grateful, but there was no need to offer you a free medical examination to reaffirm that you are in great sh-”
“THE WHOLE CASTLE WAS SHUT DOWN!” He screamed, loudly enough to even overwhelm my own uproarious laughter.
“It goes to show how concerned they are for you.” I examined my right front hoof nonchalantly, wearing a lazy smile. “What’s an incredibly awkward examination or two in comparison to that?”
“You should be imprisoned.”
“Being related to the co-rulers of this kingdom apparently has some advantages.” I bit my lips desperately, holding back an incredibly smug laugh.
There was more stuttering on his side, and a martyr-like groan.
“How am I ever going to change with you as a mentor?”
“Baby steps, Blueblood. Baby steps…” I replied quickly, turning around to leave the dusty room. “Ponies will warm up to the idea that you want to be a better stallion, eventually. Give or take a few months.”
His voice came again, in a harsh whisper he probably didn’t intend me to hear. “Bucking alicorn…”
Now he was just taunting me. “Oh, and just so you know, I don’t care much for volume. I still hear it and I can even redirect words I heard before to another pony. Voices are such an easy thing to recreate.”
“You’re the most evil thing since Discord,” he deadpanned.
Sad, but true. If one did not consider Sombra. I would like to think I still hadn’t fallen to that level of depravity, yet. Alright, time to stop the teasing. Clearing my throat, I focused on keeping the amusement out of my voice as much as possible.
“Don’t give up hope, Blueblood. Nopony’s going to buy the change you underwent right away, but they will eventually.” I grabbed my saddlebag, one of the many gifts from my royal cousin and strapped it on. “Someday, you’ll tell this anecdote to somepony else and laugh even louder than I did. Until then… keep trying.”
And it was to the sound of his atrocious swearing that I trotted outside, toward the Ponyville market. The stallion had a fouler mouth than I would have thought.
--
Blueblood looked away in displeasure, scowling intently at the wall. That infuriating laugh still echoed in his ears. But worse even than having to sit through his “teacher’s” taunts was his anger at himself. How could he have not thought about that? After the kind of secrets Ventus had revealed to him about the nature of alicorns, he had not even guessed about that ability? It was unacceptable that a noble of his stature hadn’t realized how foolish he had been in voicing his opinion. Dreadful day or not.
Speaking of which, he had certainly not expected to feel so angry at other ponies now that his perspective had started to change. Mentally ill? Could they be more insulting if they had tried?!
“My, Nephew, news of your critical condition seems to have been greatly exaggerated. Unless, of course, you are glaring out of pain, in which case I retract my previous statement.”
Startled out of his indignation, Blueblood swiftly turned around, coming face to face with Princess Celestia herself. S-she was there with him, in that small, uncomfortable examination room that belonged to the castle’s nurse. The lack of space even worked against him, as his aunt’s impressive stature seemed magnified in such an environment.
So abruptly placed in the presence of his ruler, the stallion suddenly found himself unable to decide whether he ought to bow or not. A lifetime of etiquette ingrained into his brain told him there was no question, while the seeds of doubt planted by the treacherous bastard left him uncertain. Pressed for a reaction, or so he figured from the delicate eyebrow the princess had raised at his strange behavior, Blueblood settled for a half motion, nodding curtly, ignoring quite a bit of protocol with that simple gesture.
“Princess,” he said, realizing with not just a little fear that the alicorn was looking at him with a light of curiosity in her gaze.
“At ease, Nephew.” She moved one hoof downward and he allowed himself to relax. “I have simply come to inquire about the state of your health.”
His mouth acting faster than his brain, he grumbled a few unhappy thoughts.
Rapidly approaching a full blown scowl again, Blueblood almost convinced himself that he could hear Prince Ventus’ snickering floating in the air.
“Now then, I can see you are clearly healthy despite ‘falsified evidence’ saying that you are. I believe this will necessitate a few words with Captain Steel Rampart, but that is nothing you need to concern yourself with, Nephew.” Was it just him, or there had been a small note of disappointment in her voice? N-now that he thought about it, i-it seemed incredibly likely. “Since the castle is nonetheless in a complete state of panic, how about you tell me how this all started?”
Ignoring the guilt tying his guts at causing such a debacle for his princess, Blueblood started narrating, how he had recognized the maid and thought he owed her an apology, how he had even pushed himself to give her a tip, which, as he pointed out, was a dying practice amongst the sweet and elite, and finally how he had quickly been escorted to the infirmary by a bunch of royal guards who enjoyed it way too much.
“Oh, my poor Blueblood…” The alicorn shook her head, her left wing softly patting him in the back.
“It’s all Ventus’ fault!” He said through gritted teeth.
At his remark, Princess Celestia placed one hoof over her mouth, trying to hide a simple chuckle. It puzzled her nephew that she did so. He thought it was a beautiful sound.
“Well, since it appears everything is going well, I will take my leave and let you rest,” she said graciously, shifting slightly to her left to turn around.
“P-Princess Celestia?” He called, feeling the pulse of his blood ensnarling his head. Already, his vision had become blurry with spots and dots of light.
“Yes?”
Gulping down, he opened his mouth to speak, only to find himself unable to enunciate. W-what if made a fool of himself? Worse, what if he offended her?!
‘Nothing would make Celestia happier’… “I was going to visit downtown Canterlot tomorrow evening and I wanted to know if you wished to accompany me!” He blurted out.
For a second, the white alicorn remained frozen, her eyebrows raised so high strands of her mane could hide them. Then, slowly, her expression softened, until a smile had stretched her lips and her eyes had become misted.
“I would love to, Nephew.”
--
Ponyville was brimming with surprising life, for the middle of the day, in the beginning of the week no less. Quite a few ponies, mares and stallions alike, were walking around the streets and the shops, most of them unknown to me. The impression was apparently mutual however, as more than a few sent intrigued looks my way.
Those, I offered a friendly smile and a wave of my hoof. Without doubt, it either startled them out of it or they sent an equally friendly gesture back. I could not deny liking this.
Even occurrences I had come to resent had a different meaning here. The familiar passage of sounds through my being held many warm and loud voices, as opposed to the colder, self-important ones I had been accustomed to. There were even shouts and claims of possessing the best product you could have ever seen, produced by as many ponies as there were carts. I could hear them clearly, not because of my nature, but simply because they were loud enough to echo throughout the streets.
“It’s probably my best bet to get the supplies we need…” I muttered, eyes lingering in the direction of the town’s square.
After a moment of deliberation, my hooves started carrying me toward the market. Mentally revising what I thought would be needed, I went over my list, naming a few products that would make Calx happy. After what Cheerilee had said, no doubt he would be restless this evening.
Thus, once a few minutes of trotting had passed, I stepped into the market. And paused to take in the scenery. I couldn’t quite say it was that big, as I had spent enough time in Canterlot to see what big meant. Still, the mayor’s office, that big arrow-like building, served as the anchor and the landmark in small afflux of citizens. Surrounding them all were the salesponies, attempting to make the most profit.
There was a lot of stuff here. Fragrances of all kinds floated up to me, carried by the wind. Fruits, veggies, flowers, perfumes, dirt, sweat, animals…
I should be able to find something for him here, I thought with a small smile, trotting into the marketplace.
Calmly, I browsed around the town’s square, observing the goods and denying a few enthusiastic offers with a shake of my head. So far, nothing had really captured my attention. But then, my ears twitched, having caught a hint of a familiar farmer’s voice.
“Fresh apples! Straight from the orchards!” She yelled over the ambient noise. “Who wants delicious apples from the Apple family? Grown with all our hard work and love!”
Apples from Sweet Apples Acres? That should work…
“Howdy, stranger,” Applejack greeted me with a smile, her tone denying any negative connotation her words could have. “Nice day, right?”
“Yes, it seems the winds have pushed the clouds away from the market.” I replied, fighting the urge to grin smugly.
Glancing at the sky, she held her right hoof up. Her mouth twisting in a corner, she brought her hoof down and shrugged. “Really? How’d yeh know that?”
“Oh.” Great going… “My special talent relates to the weather, so…”
“Really? First time I hear that from a unicorn.”
“Yeah…” I looked down, pretending to be embarrassed, curling my tail over my cutie mark. “I get that a lot.”
“Aw, don’t get like that. Ah was just surprised, s’all. So, how can Ah help yeh?”
“How much for two of these?” I asked, shyly pointing to a box of appealing red apples.
“That’ll be two bits, SugarCube.”
A fair price as far as I could tell. I lacked a bit of knowledge about Equestrian economy. It came from being sheltered, a lot. In two worlds. Or three, more accurately.
So without hesitation, I levitated the money out of my saddlebags, paid Applejack and took the two most appealing fruits I saw in that box. A rumble going through my stomach, I glanced at Applejack with drooped ears and a blush on my cheeks.
For sole reply, she rolled her eyes playfully, before raising her head just enough to show her approval. That was all the encouragement I needed.
Hungrily, my teeth sank in the flesh of the fruit. Its flavor exploded into my mouth.
I-it was… it was…
Good. Fresh and juicy, not too sour or acidic, but not a big candy either. The flesh itself tasted sweet and the texture wasn’t grainy. All in all, it was a good apple. To my likings.
…Yeah, that was it. Somehow, I had been expecting to be blown away from a regular apple, fall on my back ranting that there was a god – more than one, to tell the truth –, because Applejack and fanboyism. Urgh, that was stupid. And disappointing. Perhaps the Zap Apple Jam was a whole new experience, but regular apples were just that, regular apples.
Worse… this was the second or third thing I ate in Equestria that wasn’t a five star dish prepared by the most refined cook. So it might even fall below my new standards a bit.
And thus, a horrible truth dawned upon me.
Tartarus… I’m just as spoiled as Blueblood!
I froze, coming to a total halt.
“You okay there, pal?” Applejack leaned forward, frowning slightly.
“Y-yeah, I just had a weird thought, that’s all,” I said, waving my hoof, hoping that she would not see past my fake smile to the frantic ideas dancing in my brain.
Okay, let’s calm down. There is no way I’m as spoiled as him when it hasn’t even been that long since our arrival in Equestria. Before that, we weren’t treated as royalty, far from it.
“A-anyway, I’d best get going…” I turned around, glancing at the clock tower. It wasn’t late, but I still had a certain number of things to do, including going to see Twilight before the school day was over. “Have a nice day!”
“Will do!” She waved back, before turning to serve another customer.
With her attention no longer on me, I was back to being a simple face in the crowd. Somepony might observe me, but not too closely… It would be quite impolite to stare, after all. Still, I did my best not to delve too deeply on my recent self-actualization.
Every single muscle of my body shook, in the most shudder inducing realization in the history of my life.
I’m a snob!
“No, you’re not!”
It took most of my self-control not to jump out of my skin at the sudden pair of blue eyes appearing right in my face. I still yelped without dignity though.
“Pinkie!” I shouted, stepping back a meter or so, clamping my wings against my body so they wouldn’t ruin the illusion.
“Ooooooooooh, you knew my name!” The hyperactive pink pony leaned forward, to the point her muzzle almost touched mine.
Perhaps in fascination, I broke character. Shyness would have dictated I back away, but I sort of… stared instead. “Yes, I do…”
“That’s interesting. I don’t know your name yet, but you already know mine? How did you know that? That kinda reminds me of a time when I was babysitting the C-”
“You’re a national hero!” I forced one of my hoof in her mouth, before falling prey to what I knew would be without a doubt a long rant that I would not be able to follow for the life of me. “That’s why!”
Instantly, of course, she started talking again, tickling the tip of my hoof with her breath as she tried to make a coherent sound. Seeing no use in fighting the inevitable, I closed my eyes and pulled my hoof back. “Wow, that’s funny, you’re like the first pony we meet ever that remembers that.”
Despite my best efforts, the shy smile I was showing her started slipping into an uneasy grimace. How come Pinkie threw me off my game so much? It wasn’t the first time I talked to her either, but for some reason, on her home turf, I was stumbling over every detail.
It was just lucky Pinkie had chosen to look in the direction I assumed was Sugar Cube Corner. A look of determination had fallen onto her face and I was fighting the urge to flicker my wings. The stress was sending itching sensations all over my body.
“I guess I can’t exactly throw you the regular party,” she finally mumbled, taking me by surprise.
“W-why?”
Moron… I thought, fighting the urge to facehoof.
“Well, I already gave one of you a ‘welcome-to-Ponyville’ party, so it wouldn’t really fair if we made them both at the same time, but it wouldn’t be better if we had them happen out of order because then one of you won’t get his party right away.”
“W-what?” I blinked, struggling to digest her words… and their implied meaning.
“So I thought I would just throw a ‘welcome-back-to-Ponyville’ party instead. That way you can both enjoy your cupcakes and your music at the same time. Smart, eh?” She smiled, jumping up and down, her mane bouncing exaggeratedly every time.
“Miss Pie…” I said, deepening my voice back to its usual tone.
“Oh!” Pinkie froze in midair, comprehension dawning upon her.
All of a sudden, she fell to the ground, solidly on her hooves, and stretched, allowing her to loudly whisper directly into my ears. “No party, right?”
“Thanks.”
Well, that didn’t last long… We’re already starting to make waves again, aren’t we?
--
The impossible had happened.
He just couldn’t believe it was so, but school could be even more boring than it already was. He was looking forward to sleeping of all things.
So… not… awesome…
And some of the fillies in the class just wouldn’t stop sending him weird looks…
--
“And here I thought nopony would ever buy both quills and sofas at once, but I have been proven wrong.” I said out loud, my horn glowing while I fished for the bits in my saddle bag. “By my own hooves, no less.”
“And that, sir, is why I am still in business.”
--
“How does one extinguish a tornado alone?!” A brown coated pegasus shouted, reading a job interview report with total incredulity.
--
My tail twitched.
It was a stupid tic, and all too horse like to my liking, but my tail was the part of my body on which I could exercise the least control in these situations, namely trying to fight this knot in my throat.
It should not be so. I should not be so nervous, simply for being done with my shopping and being a few meters away from the library.
Earlier, while I was talking to Cheerilee, the idea had seemed simple, almost elegant. Two birds with one stone and all that. Now, standing here with Calx looking just about ready to bolt for the door, I realized that this was a terrible idea.
The little guy had spent the day sleeping or pretending to sleep out of sheer boredom. He was going to explode in a spray of volatile gases or something soon. And I would be caught up in the explosion, along with half of Equestria.
So I really didn’t have a choice. No pause, no slowing down, or else he would shot up like a cannonball and demolish the door itself. His patience was spent.
He reached the door first, and knocked before I could say anything.
“Hello?” The small dragon looked at us with a bit of hesitation. His claws remained gripped on the doorknob.
“Hey Spike!” Calx replied completely without shame, forgetting that they had never met not only in disguise, but out of it as well. “How’s it going?”
“Huh… good, but…” His emerald eyes narrowed slightly and his frown deepened. “Do I know you guys?”
For a second, my little brother’s mouth slackened and I thought he would panic, but was surprised to see him snort. “Oh, right, Feather Dust and that’s my big brother, Cloud Circle.”
Well, at least he got the names right…
“We wanted to see Princess Sparkle.” I stepped forward, trying to gather Twilight’s number one assistant’s attention before he started grilling Calx. “Is she here?”
“Oh, yeah, sure…” He moved aside, apparently mollified, even if he still followed our progression with his eyes.
Because of Calx’s stumble, he probably wouldn’t leave us alone for some innocent browsing. He probably would end up knowing the truth soon enough anyway, but I felt some reluctance to give that secret to a child. It would be hard enough to keep as it currently stood…
“Oh, Spike?” I called back, making sure my voice was unsteady. “I heard there’s a nice c-collection of foals’ books in here.”
“Yeah, Spike, where’s that stuff?!” Calx turned, stretching his wings and jumping a few times. “Rumble said you had some really good ones and Luna’s rump, I need to read something fun!”
Biting the interior of my mouth not to burst out in laughter at his swearing, I watched as my brother shot up in the air and loomed over Twilight’s assistant, unintentionally intimidating him into submission.
He would have followed him right away, finally finding an answer to his boredom, but I had to nip that one in the bud. While he was flying behind Spike, a breeze passed them by and smacked him lightly on the flanks.
One indignant yelp later and he was staring resentfully in my direction.
The look I gave him was neither timid nor hesitant. It was the same kind of look he received from Mom and Dad when he screwed up badly, or gave all the indications he would.
“Behave,” I mouthed off silently, before turning back toward the opposite side of the library.
Walking down the stairs, unaware of the predicament her surrogate little brother was in, Twilight had appeared, wings folded and horn glowing, carrying half a dozen books behind her. Though her mouth was moving, she was not muttering. It seemed as if she was trying to mentally recite a formula, with her lips escaping her conscious attention.
Feeling a shiver run through me, I decided not to focus on her lips! That was just going to make an awkward situation worse. Mentally, I went through the reason for my visit. Gotta get Calx a good tutor, also, dodging the public’s eye would be nice.
This resolve cooling off my less than pure thoughts, I risked moving closer to her. , taking me by surprise. “Oh, hello. I didn’t realize there was somepony else in the room.”
“P-princess Sparkle?” I stuttered, less as part of my role than as the result of my fear. “Your assistant let us in, t-that’s fine, right?”
“Sure. This is a public library, you know?” She said, stepping aside to let me in. However, her expression was graced with a frown. “I don’t know why ponies always feel the need to knock before they enter…”
“Politeness?” I ‘guessed’, offering her a smile.
“Well, maybe you’re right. You are one of those same ponies, after all.” She chuckled, placing her things on a nearby desk and focusing her attention back on me. “Though I don’t know you personally. I’m Twilight Sparkle. You are…?”
“Cloud Circle,” I whispered, feeling my cheeks heat up at her innocent look.
As soon as she noticed my embarrassment though, something clicked in her head and her own face reddened. Now she seemed to find the library surprisingly small and suffocating. She was just so cute in that sweet, nerdy way…
The sound of stomping hooves brought me back down on earth, just in time for me to turn and see one excited little colt.
“Sa-… bro! You have got to see the comics they have here!” He yelled, as soon as he had spat the book on the ground.
I nearly cringed, both because of how he treated the thing and how he had nearly blown our cover in his excitement. Calx definitely wasn’t fit for long spanning deceptions.
Quickly, I levitated the book to my eyelevel, opening it up at a random page. To my surprise though, the drawings felt familiar. They reminded me of something, what I could not tell, but the pages sent waves of nostalgia through my brain.
“Hey, this looks pretty cool,” I said, putting the book back in his hooves. “Tell you what, go choose a few books with Spike and we’ll read them together tonight. Sounds good?”
“Sounds awesome!” He grinned, rearing with excitement.
“Good, now go. I need to talk to Princess Sparkle.” I gave him a gentle push, keeping my voice friendly but firm.
“Yeaaaaaaaah.” He wiggled eyebrows at us, his tone more than a little cheeky. “Talk. With Twilight.”
“Hush.” I snorted, giving him a more forceful push, that may or may not sent him stumbling forward. It mattered not, as he just shrugged it off and left snickering.
Others… had not taken this little interlude as well as he did. Calx’s remark had made Twilight blush from horn to hooves.
“P-perhaps we could speak calmly away from those two?” I asked, scratching the back of my head sheepishly.
“Oh, yes, we could…” Is she shaking? “Spike! We’re going to be talking downstairs! You’re in charge!”
“Okay!” The little dragon shouted back.
“If you’ll follow me,” she said, turning toward a closed door on her left.
Vaguely, Tom and Spike’s voices became more indistinct as we walked down the stairs, the last understandable words being “So, what do you do for fun around here?” and Spike’s surprised stutter in return. The rest was lost on Twilight.
She settled down in the middle of the room, motioning to a cushion identical to the one she had just sat down onto. “Well?”
“Hum…” I said, very obviously looking at the ray of light filtering through the door upstairs.
Following my gaze, a quick frown appeared on her face, then disappeared the next second as she shook her head. I couldn’t even place a word before her horn had started glowing and the heavy slam of a door being shut was heard.
“Now then, the library is being taken care of, we’re in the basement and the door is closed. I think we’re good to go.” “To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”
“Oh, well, the first thing I really needed to ask you was if you could tutor my little brother. Miss Cheerilee came to see me today and said that she doesn’t feel she can give him a proper education while also taking care of her class.”
“Hum…” She pinched her lips, looking at the ground and tapping the ground with her right front hoof. “I do not know if I’m qualified either, nor if I can reschedule accordingly. I’ve personally tutored a few classmates with difficulties, but… I don’t know. What kind of education are we talking about here?”
“University,” I said casually.
Twilight reacted predictably.
“UNIVERSITY!” She shrieked. “H-how c-ca-can that be possible?! He’s just a foal!”
“I…” I shrank down on myself, playing the part of the scared good citizen while she worked on that breathing technique Cadence had taught her. “I’m sorry… Princess…”
After a few more seconds, the poor mare had calmed down enough to speak again, although her mane appeared out of place, giving her an altogether frazzled look. “O-okay, come again?”
That had been fun, but the time for teasing was over. Perhaps a less succinct approach would help her deal with the problem. “My brother knows so much of the school material that he spends his days sleeping on his desk.”
“Oh gosh… A-alright, I’ll think of something for him to do and speak with Miss Cheerilee about it.” She paused, obviously giving it more thoughts, while her breathing steadily returned to normal. “What was the second reason you wanted to speak with me?”
My wings twitched, and although I knew she could not see them, I could have sworn her eyes flickered to the sides of my body. In a flash, it felted as if my mouth had gone dry.
“T-the second reason…?” I asked, albeit not while expecting an answer. What should I…? I-I couldn’t quite… Tartarus with it! Breaking character, I looked away, feeling my shoulders slack despite my best efforts. “Well, you’ve… kind of given me the cold shoulder a few times already…”
Her mouth opened in incomprehension, forming a few silent words, as she looked down and thought back. “I… I don’t understand… We’ve met before?”
It was tempting. It was sorely tempting to pretend to be Cloud Circle, mousy geeky unicorn, and start anew with her. I had the opportunity to deceive her. She hadn’t been there at the train station; she wouldn’t know. But she’d never forgive that kind of deception. Or… at least, I wasn’t willing to take the chance she would.
My lips formed a playful grin, so out of place on this fake personality. “And kissed, if that helps?”
“Prince Ventus?” She gasped, recoiling away in shock. “Oh my gosh! T-that’s you?”
Oh dear, did I break her brain? Again?
“Yes, that’s me.” I nodded patiently, waiting for the gears to stop turning behind her eyes.
Seeing as she had leaned forward and a notebook had flown out of her desk, it might take a while.
“T-this is amazing!” Sparkles danced in her eyes. “I-is this an illusion?”
Without the kind of vocabulary she had access to, I unfolded my wings to their full extent, causing the spell to ripple in alternating waves of gold and orange all over my fur. Another blur of color shuffled before me, albeit a purple one.
Comfortable warmth seeped onto the edges of my right wings, with a soft pressure running through its full length in fascination. Jolts of electricity travelled through my right shoulder and furthermore.
“T-Twilight…” I gasped.
My voice broke through her scientific trance, causing her to shake her head briefly. Just then, her exact position and her previous actions very clearly appeared to her.
“It was the spell! I swear!” She squeaked in prey of a total panic.
Frantically, Twilight scurried away, a fact I was grateful for, if only to give me a chance to settle down as well. On my body, the spell was slowly retaking its rightful place, hiding away my wings and my true appearance under the guise of a timid orange unicorn.
For a moment there, I was glad to have this illusion put some distance between us. A few instants passed in silence, while we both avoided the others’ eyes.
My desire to get things cleared up was the thing that finally pushed me strongly enough.
I coughed awkwardly. “So, yes, it’s an illusion that Celestia casted over my brother and me.”
“W-well made…” She chimed in, with a hint of genuine admiration, but even that wasn’t enough to get the conversation into gear again.
No more avoiding it then…
“I didn’t see you when we arrived in Ponyville…” I tried, really, I tried, but I could not keep the disappointment and the accusation out of my tone.
“Y-yes, there were a few other things I had to do.”
I fought hard not to let my deception snarled around my heart. “Other things?”
Almost too quickly, she nodded, but she clamped up even more strongly.
A few drops of blood pearled on her bottom lips. Her eyebrows furrowed together, as the rest of her traits hardened. She looked frustrated, but there was nopony for her to direct it at.
“I-it’s ridiculous. I don’t even know why…” She whispered, stomping one hoof against the solid wood of the floor.
I waited patiently, while the mare in front of me worked up the courage to elaborate. Seconds quickly became minutes, but she didn’t say anything else. Her gaze would move between some of her furniture, almost questioningly. She had her hesitations on this matter, but it didn’t seem the kind of things one needed to think alone on to develop.
Finally, I made another step toward her, leaning until our faces were inches apart. I took great care to soften up my tone, until there was nothing but concern for her in it. “What is it, Twilight?”
Startled, she flinched, but didn’t move back. A second of hesitation passed, until she decided to spill her heart out. “Applebloom, Applejack’s little sister, she told me Zecora’s hut had been emptied completely.”
The Everfree Forest? I thought, feeling a strange sensation flow through my veins. It wasn’t unease… I couldn’t identify it.
Twilight didn’t notice; her attention was on her memories and the images only she could see. “So I packed my saddlebags, told Spike to call for my friends if I didn’t return before the end of the day and…”
Her voice trailed off again, and I thought she wouldn’t reveal anything more, but then, her head tilted downward and her legs started trembling.
“I was at the entrance, Ventus!” Her cry stabbed me in the heart. Tears were gathering in the corner of her eyes. “The trees were mere meters away from me! I could feel the difference in atmosphere on my coat. I was so close! But… my legs wouldn’t move. They refused and not an ounce of my brain could fight against it. I stood alone for hours…”
“Oh, that’s… understandable…” I said softly.
“But I’ve already been there many times!” She buried her head into my shoulder roughly, hitting my chest with one hoof in frustration and making me wince at the unexpected pain. “And something might have happened to Zecora! I can’t just avoid going in the forest because I’m feeling scared! She’s a friend, I have to make sure she’s alright!”
“No… I meant… the Everfree Forest is a place alicorns would naturally avoid.”
“W-what?” She muttered, astonished.
Since when do I figure…? The answer was simply one I knew. I hadn’t even needed to think about it. “Well, think about what I told you about the coming of creatures of Order or Chaos… then try to figure out why a forest grew over the remains of a royal castle governed by the sisters alicorn of Order.”
“What do you mean?” Her shaking had stopped, but her voice retained hints of bitterness.
“What kind of place can it be, if the plants grow out of control, if the animals are monsters, and if the weather patterns are downright bizarre…? What kind of place is it?”
A soft gasp reached my ears.
“I… I can’t believe I didn’t figure it out…” Her voice was raspy and she still wouldn’t look up. “And here I should have been trying to find a solution to that instead of just bea-”
My hoof rested against her mouth. The contact was gentle, enough to completely shock her out of her spiral of self-loathing. Slowly, I moved my hoof away from her lips, the lingering feeling tickling my skin, only to raise her chin to meet her gaze again.
“It is alright, Twilight. There’s no need to chastise yourself over this.” My wings brushed off against her shoulders. Without thinking, I started stroking her back soothingly. “You went through a life-changing experience, in every sense of the term, when you became a princess and an alicorn. You’re a strong pony, an extraordinary mare, but nopony can be infallible.”
Our gazes were locked together, and I noticed once more how much of an effect she had on me. I just couldn’t help love the shade of her fur, or the few rebel strands of pink in her mane that just wouldn’t sit with the rest. Those were such simple things that made my heartbeat accelerated.
It was so strange… I had just taken an opportunity when I had noticed her attraction, but it had simply built on itself so easily until the truth felt like a weight on my mind.
I don’t want this to be fake.
Twilight’s expression had softened, her wings were relaxed against her, her chest was taking in air at a reasonable pace. But she still hadn’t spoken. I would have expected her to at least say she was alright.
“Twilight?”
There were untold questions in her eyes.
I… I can’t. I mustn’t!
“Twilight?” I asked again, a few bells starting to ring in my mind at the mare’s strange behavior. “W-wha-”
She crashed her lips into mine.
Stats
Page generated in 0.038 seconds
Total duration
847 users online
1,254,327 hits today, 2,561,572 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Bit of a minor typo here:
"Flagrances of all kinds floated up to me"
should be "Fragrances" with an R.
Otherwise, a nice chapter, and watching the young man/alicorn realize his own flaws even as he assists Blueblood with his own is heartwarming.
3457992 Whoops, yeah, I do confuse the two spellings from times to times. Thanks.
Otherwise, well, things are slowly but surely moving toward their conclusion...
3458171
It made me laugh - I was reminded of the scene in the third Lethal Weapon movie when the furious Chinese mobster (with perfect English) snapped at the two cops harassing him, "It's flied lice, you plick!"
I'm still trying to figure out how this story will end, but I do know it's going to stay in my favorite listings.
Of course Equestria would try to make him forget the other reasons why he was here with Twilight or even make the two of them forget what was important, but I suppose it's easier to manipulate true genuine feelings one has for another to make them overlook things that should concern them greatly. I'm just beginning to hate this world's magic of trying make Sam stay in Equestria forever, even if it meant destroying itself in the process.
In terms of their undercover story, I just can't believe that Tom wasn't quizzed on the history of Equestria, that should've been the only subject he sucks at besides everything else. Because I'm pretty sure he doesn't know squat about what Equestria is really like, especially what Star Swirl the bearded did in his time.
Yeah, "crashed" is probably the most fitting word here.
*Careless Whisper sax plays in the background*
...
So, is Zecora's disappearance actually integral to this story or is it just a string you're going to drag along with the story wherever it goes? Because if it's the latter, it's very distracting from the surface events.
...
Why the heck am I complaining? This fic is amazing!
I don't know. Maybe I just need more sleep.
Although this is not my favourite(although I have favourited this), it is still, in my opinion, one of the most underrated and less known great stories on this site.
Its also one of those, "it gets better later" kinda stories.
Why I added that last bit there... felt like I needed to.
3458704 Oh? Are you willing to bet about what he does know? Tom screwed a few ponies that way, remember?
3458850 I'm not going to say it's like this, but...
...Okay, maybe Twilight is doing exactly that.
3459064 Wait, wait, wait, wait, are you asking me if Zecora being missing is part of the plot or if I just wrote that as a sidequest that will never be resolved? Have I given off that impression so far?
3459430 ...It's not your favorite?
I... I...
Still, if you really want to, feel free to promote it.
3461842, It probably wasn't an intentional move. But when it comes to that particular element, the story as it stands tells me this:
Why am I still talking?
V: "Could I ask you to tutor my little brother?"
T: "Um, I suppose. Zecora's missing by the way."
V: "Oh no."
T: "But enough about that. What was the second reason you came here?"
V: "I still love you."
T: "Come here you!"
That was a terrible oversimplification on my part, and I'm sure that you plan to do something much better than that. It's just... for all the emotional drama, Zecora's name sounds like filler text right now. It says, "Oh yeah, that's a thing," and then doesn't do anything with it.
...
Gah!
3461924
Oh my Celestia! Don't be sorry, you're making me laugh.
You're making your point though. True enough, it appears that Sam doesn't care about Zecora.
I mean, that's really surprising, right?
pffffffff... For freak's sake, I can't keep a straight face!But in all seriousness, if I may, I'll only say that Sam didn't mention any feelings he might have for Twilight outloud, nor did she actually. It was more of a confession of her shameful weakness and him conforting her. She did the kissing all by herself
at first, Pinkie Promise3461842
Twilight eats his face?
What a twist!
3461842
I'm guessing it'll be Tom's Gary Stu abilities getting the history questions right when all reason suggests he shouldn't, because the show doesn't exactly dedicate to Equestria's history before the mane cast after all. Although it could be worse like when he should be getting these history questions wrong, history rearranges itself so he could be right... we are talking about Tom right?
3463470 We're talking about Calx.
Sam wasn't kidding when he told Celestia his little brother had studied a lot under Magister (aka Alicorn of Knowledge), to the point of having completed university level classes.
Also, here's question I wanted to ask you. Have you read Divided Rainbow before? Because the way you think about the spell reminds me of the one in that fic.
3464459
So just like Sam, Tom ended up knowing everything Calx is supposed to know thanks to Equestria making him real. Though it'll be a bit worrying if Tom starts to deny his human life like believing his human life is a part of his alicorn life for example.
Anyway, I never read that story before, I got the idea from Fairy Oddparents when Timmy makes a wish that everything he says is right and the world changes around so he can be when he's really wrong.
Yes trouble is still brewing. When will the next dude appear? The Everfree has been brewing for a while now...
Keep going! ;)
3461842
No, it is not. Only a story I write can be my favourite.
I don't get it.
3488651 It's a place that does not obey to the laws of ponykind, neither on plant growth, on weather management, and the creatures living there are stranger than anywhere else in Equestria as far as we know. Twilight, a young alicorn, does not want to go there.
It's Chaos.
Normal for humans is chaos for ponies, i like that idea and so enjoy it when others use it.
New items were added to my mental list. Silverware, fridge, oven, dishwater if that even exists,
OH GOD!!
it better!! 
through my body, but…from time to time, I do
W-what if he made a fool of himself?
Did...Did...He just call his brother a dirty animal?
forced one of my hooves in to her mouth,
I was wondering when that will happen.
so it wouldn’t really be fair if we made