Chapter 16 - Party...
Steve followed Lyra’s gaze as it turned towards the door, curious to see what had caused the sudden swing in the unicorn’s mood. In the entrance stood a beige coated mare with a cobalt blue mane that had light fuchsia stripes running through it. As he recalled, he had seen her together with Lyra earlier that day when she had pulled her… eccentric friend away from him. Bon Bon, if he had heard her name correctly between the pleas of the mint colored unicorn. Finally! It’s about time somebody actually tried to stop her, he thought and couldn’t help but smile as she marched over to them, her eyes locked onto her quivering target.
“Lyra Heartstrings,” she hissed at the scared unicorn, who had stood there petrified with shock the entire time the earth pony had stalked over to their table, menace seemingly radiating from her every step. Her voice was filled with both anger and disappointment; it was impossible for Steve to tell which emotion was stronger. “I knew it! You promised me that you would not come here!” Behind him, he noticed how the conversation had died down as all the ponies focused their attention on the newcomer.
“Bon Bon, pleaaaase,” Lyra begged, finally able to speak after the dramatic entrance of her friend. She shuffled back while looking imploringly at Bon Bon, who simply kept glaring at her. “I just—”
“No,” Bon Bon interrupted her harshly and raised a hoof in the air, causing Lyra’s pleas to wither away with a nervous gulp as she scrambled back even more, slightly brushing Steve. “No more excuses, we are going. Now!” she barked in a voice that brooked no dissent. Despite the tension in the room, he couldn’t help but notice that the only time she didn’t seem to be even slightly apprehensive about his presence was when she was blindly enraged at her friend.
“Silly, you can’t go nooow. You just arrived!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed from behind her. Bon Bon quickly spun around to face her, startled by her sudden appearance. Steve also wondered how she had gotten there. He had been watching the entire drama unfold before his very eyes ever since Bon Bon had arrived and hadn’t seen Pinkie moving from the table either. She just seemed to… teleport behind her. He couldn’t remember if Twilight had ever mentioned anything about earth ponies using magic. “Hey girls, look!” Pinkie unnecessarily called out to her friends, who were still quietly watching the scene. It wasn’t like they could have missed the commotion occurring around them. “Bon Bon’s also here!”
A few murmurs of greeting sounded from around the table as Bon Bon turned from them back towards Pinkie. “Sorry Pinkie, I just have to talk with Lyra really quickly in private if you don’t mind.” Bon Bon was met with a long, searching look from the pink pony, her anger momentarily displaced as she was inspected from top to bottom by the hostess of the party.
“Okie dokie lokie,” Pinkie eventually chirped and bounced away, leaving two confused ponies and a human behind.
Bon Bon shook her head and turned towards Lyra again. “And now to you. Will you come with me quietly, or do I have to drag you out of here?” Try as she might, it seemed she couldn’t make herself as angry as she was when she had first stormed into the bakery. Seems like Pinkie Pie works in mysterious ways, he noted dryly.
Steve looked around, but none of the other ponies seemed to be paying attention to the conversation ever since Pinkie Pie had intervened. Instead, they had returned to either eating or listening to the story she was telling, the energetic mare already back in her seat and commanding a small audience. A short glimpse told him it was a discussion about what she had eaten for breakfast and who she had eaten it with. Bemused, he shook his head and looked back at Lyra and Bon Bon, hoping that he would be able to figure out what the deal was with those two.
Lyra was still pleading with Bon Bon to let her stay, but she remained steadfast. “Just… just let me explain, okay?” she said, pulling away from her friend. It seemed like it was her last attempt at convincing Bon Bon. Eyes downcast, she avoided looking at her friend. Lyra seemed so saddened, so downtrodden and so defeated, that her fragile state finally seemed to dawn on Bon Bon, a hint of worry briefly appearing on her face.
“Fine, go ahead. Explain,” she demanded firmly, erasing any outward hint of sympathy as she waited for an answer. Neither of them paid any attention to Steve, who was leaning over as inconspicuously as he could, trying to keep them within hearing range as they slowly drifted away from him. If the ponies kept refusing to tell him what was going on with Lyra’s behaviour, then he would have to try and figure it out himself. The fact that they seemed to have an idea as to why Lyra was acting the way she was and yet refused to tell him did not sit well with him, especially when Applejack had basically lied to his face about it.
"Not right here,” Lyra insisted adamantly with a shake of her head, exaggeratedly shifting her eyes towards Steve, and then motioning Bon Bon over to the corner at the other side of the room.
Bon Bon and Steve both rolled their eyes at the antsy display. “Fine, but you had better start talking quickly,” she warned, stalking off, followed by the sulking Lyra. Steve had to watch as the two ponies walked away. No! Dammit, I want to hear too, he thought, disappointed. For a moment, he considered whether or not he should follow the ponies. After all of Lyra’s creepy behaviour, I think I deserve to know just why the hell she was acting like that.
He would have gotten up if he hadn’t heard his name being called, causing him to turn towards the other ponies. “What?” he asked in their general direction, clueless as to whom to talk to.
“Oh, I just asked what you did today,” Twilight repeated her question, looking at him expectantly. “You told us that you had some preparations to do earlier, and I’m curious.”
“Oh, that. I just went to bed. Didn’t sleep very well the night before,” he admitted and scratched the back of his neck, feeling slightly awkward that he had made a short nap sound important. “That was until Rainbow Dash showed up, and we went on a field trip.”
“A field trip?” Twilight inquired, sounding interested and a tiny bit jealous. He was quite sure that she would have enjoyed seeing some of his machinery at work, but that would have to wait for another time.
“Yes, we were… Well, I actually think Rainbow Dash should tell you that; she can probably describe it better from the eyes of a pony,” he replied and motioned towards Rainbow Dash, who sat with a wide grin, clearly eager to bask in the spotlight. Now with that out of the way, let’s see if I can find out what they are talking about, he thought and turned back to look at the place where Lyra and Bon Bon had wandered off to. Huh? Is she crying?
***
Lyra was trapped. There was no way she could escape from it now and have even the tiniest shred of dignity left. Her eyes flickered around nervously, avoiding the impatient look from Bon Bon.
“So?” Bon Bon repeated curtly. “Are you finally going to tell me? I let you off the hoof last time you acted so weird, but I will not allow you to behave this way in front everypony. Now just give me one reason why I shouldn’t immediately drag you out this door.”
Lyra met her eyes, trying to melt Bon Bon’s heart with her patented saddened look that had gotten her out of trouble on more than one occasion, but it was of no use. Bon Bon just kept on staring at her, waiting for a response while tapping a hoof against the wooden floor of the bakery impatiently. Reluctantly, she sighed and mumbled, “I-I’m… in h….”
“Huh? Speak clearly,” Bon Bon demanded.
“I’m in….” Lyra repeated but dropped off at the end, looking down at the floor.
“In what?” Bon Bon asked, growing more and more annoyed at the unicorn’s fumbling speech.
“I… Argh, to hay with it! I’m in heat!” she blurted out, louder than she had intended to. Panicked, she whirled around, frantically looking to see if anypony had heard her outburst. To her relief no one seemed to do. It felt good to finally tell her the truth, but it didn’t help her hold back a few tears from running down her cheek. I knew staying in Ponyville would be a mistake, she thought miserably.
“Oh…” Bon Bon blanched, taking an involuntary step back. They had been roommates for over eight years now, ever since Lyra had moved to Ponyville from Canterlot to practice playing her lyre. For the first few months, she had struggled, trying to get noticed with various gigs until she finally got accepted to the Ponyville Orchestra. She had seen her in many emotional states over the years, but now that she thought of it, she didn’t think she could ever recall the unicorn being in a state of heat. Not that she had actively kept tabs on Lyra’s activities. There were some things a mare needed to keep to herself, after all. “That is still no excuse for what you have done,” she replied sharply as she overcame her short moment of empathy. “You’ve made a complete fool out of yourself! Don’t think that nopony else hasn’t noticed how you’re acting! Haven’t you learnt anything about controlling yourself during your… time?”
Uneasy, Lyra scratched the back of her neck. “No,” she admitted, “I need it, Bon Bon. I just… can’t control it. I get all hot and… Well, you know what it feels like.” No, Bon Bon couldn’t say she could; at least not the way Lyra seemed to be insinuating. She certainly wasn’t one to parade around so blatantly in public during her time of the year. Some magazines and some of the usual medicinal teas available for mares usually served her well. She pushed her reproachful thoughts away as Lyra kept on speaking, her voice hollow and devoid of the usual cheerfulness she usually exuded. “Usually I would just go to Canterlot… I know more or less when it’s going to happen, so I know when it’s time to leave. There are plenty of options there; plenty of ponies looking for an easy lay. Spend the time riding it out there with a nice, strong stallion... or mare.” She sullenly avoided looking at Bon Bon who wrinkled her nose in antipathy.
“So why are you here then? And why Canterlot over Ponyville?” Bon Bon eyed her friend suspiciously, her erratic emotions not sitting well with her.
“Stay here? As if!” she shot back almost defiantly, a wild gleam in her eyes. “Don’t you know how they talk behind my back, thinking I won’t notice? In a small town like this, you can’t even talk to somepony without everypony knowing what you said. If I ever hooked up with a stallion here, everypony would already know what was going on before I was even finished with him. At least Canterlot ponies know the meaning of discretion and value it above making it their morning gossip! I have to keep up my reputation you know!” she huffed, almost sounding indignant to Bon Bon’s astonished ears.
Oh, I can see how much you value your reputation. I just wonder which one you’re talking about, Bon Bon thought but kept it to herself, letting Lyra continue in her explanation. She couldn’t help but shake her head at what she was hearing though.
“Plus, I won’t ever forget the time I tried hooking up with a stallion here in Ponyville, and he couldn’t stop talking about how he was going to enjoy ‘breaking’ in a unicorn!” she exclaimed, causing Bon Bon to splutter in shock, a feeling she had had to deal with more than she expected today.
“It’s not like everypony in Ponyville is like that you know!” Bon Bon fired back, shaking her head for what felt like the umpteenth time today. “Unless you really think all the ponies here are just some busybody, gossiping, earth pony hicks who just so happen to hate all unicorns, because apparently unicorns are the master race,” she said sarcastically.
“I never said everypony was like that!” Lyra avoided shouting it out just in time, barely able to bring her voice down to a hiss so nopony else in the room would be able to hear her. For her part, Bon Bon just stared at Lyra, feeling as though she had lost control of the conversation. “And just so you know, I wanted to leave for Canterlot. I had bought the tickets already since I knew the time would be coming soon, but then I saw him...” she trailed off and looked over to Steve, a dreamy look replacing the stressed out and agitated façade that had been evident on her features just moments ago.
Bon Bon followed her look sceptically. “I don’t know, Lyra. Don’t you think that love at first sight wouldn’t really apply during heat? And even if you’re not, that definitely is not the right way to approach a stallion… or whatever they call their males.” At least they could try and get back on the topic that had caused her to barge into the bakery in the first place. She would have to sort out everything else she had learned about her friend today when things had settled down. For now, trying to dissuade Lyra from doing anything more was her priority.
“What?” Lyra asked, sounding genuinely surprised. “Who’s talking about love? No no no.” She quickly shook her head, her mane becoming even more dishevelled than before. “Haven’t you seen his hands?”
"His what now?” Bon Bon raised a brow.
“Hands! No hooves,” she explained, once again becoming more excited. Unfortunately, her friend didn’t seem to be on the same level with her as Bon Bon’s bewildered face seemed to indicate. She let out a sigh, trying to think of a way to convince Bon Bon to see things her way. “You really need to go into the city with me from time to time, seeing that there are more creatures than just ponies living there. Of course you know hands; haven’t you ever seen Spike, that little pet dragon of Twilight? He has hands too.”
“He’s not her pet but her assis—”
“Whatever,” Lyra cut her off, her exhilaration overwhelming her. “Don’t you know how amazing fingers feel? They are so much more agile and dexterous than hooves, and there are ten of them! Ten! And we’re not talking about dragon claws where you actually have to be careful not to cut each other, totally kills the mood by the way, but these are blunt fingers. I mean, hooves can’t even begin to compare; they’re rough and they can’t really reach in the way fingers can. Ohh, I can already imagine them wriggling inside me, squirming about—” She seemed to shudder with excitement as Bon Bon cut her off.
“Okay! I got it! Thanks! No need to make it any more graphic!” Bon Bon hurriedly said before she would tell her any more details, becoming more revolted by her words.
“He’s also the first alien, and you know how curious I am. I can’t let this chance slide by,” Lyra told her eagerly, still trying to convince her that she was acting with only the best of motivations.
“Urgh,” Bon Bon waved her off, looking away in a disgruntled manner. “You disgust me sometimes.”
"Hey! It’s not my fault you’re such a puritan,” Lyra defended herself hotly.
“Enough of this now!” Bon Bon cut her off with a stamp of her hoof. “I don’t want to talk about this here anymore. We’re going home now, where you’re going to stay until you’re no longer in heat and stop making a fool out of yourself.”
“But Bon Boooon…” Lyra dragged the words out and gave her the saddest look she could manage to pull off.
“No more buts!” Bon Bon remained as unmoved as before, just about reaching the end of her patience with what had turned out to be one truly bizarre day. “I can maybe understand what you’re trying to do,” she had to almost force herself to say, “but it was still very wrong, and you’re lucky you didn’t get into any trouble with the way you were behaving. No more discussions. We’re going home. Now!”
Tears returned into Lyra’s eyes. “Bon Bon, please don’t! This might be the best chance I’ll ever get,” she begged.
“You’re completely out of your mind! I heard the way you were talking with him, like one of those mares who think using cheesy pick-up lines would get you anywhere with a stallion!” Lyra reeled back as Bon Bon advanced. “And now you want to do the same in front of the Elements? For Celestia’s sake, Lyra, he’s an alien! Who knows what kind of diseases he can give you if you… be with him! And speaking of Princess Celestia, don’t you think she had Pinkie Pie and her friends look after him?” She took a deep breath, trying to funnel out all the anger, stress, impatience, the constant need to throttle Lyra out of her system. It was only slightly helpful. “It was quite clear that he isn’t going to fall for your… approach, so stop that or they will,” Bon Bon said more calmly, attempting to have her friend see reason once again.
“Stop me? You sound like you’re afraid of them,” Lyra wondered.
“Of course not, but you know how hot-headed some of them can get. Just look at Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Do you really think it would be the best idea to behave like you did in front of their muzzles?” Bon Bon retorted and pointed a guilty hoof at Lyra.
“Well…”
"It’s enough for now,” Bon Bon said before Lyra could say anything else. “You’re apologizing to him and then we’ll go home.”
“Oh Bon Bon! Come on. Can’t we not just go and forget about this? I don’t want to apologize while you stand next to me,” Lyra muttered, leaning back on her haunches and folding her forehooves with a huff.
“I’m not going to let you talk with him alone. So, are you coming with me, or do I have to make you?”
***
Steve kept both ponies in his peripheral sight, all the while trying to keep up with the conversation flowing around him. He would have loved to be able to hear what they were saying, but unfortunately he was out of audible range. Instead, he had to guess the nature of their conversation based on their animated gestures and facial expressions. And they certainly weren’t being subtle about it either; he could still make out the angry look that seemed permanently etched on Bon Bon’s face as she quarrelled with Lyra, who seemed to switch from being gloomy to happy to angry every so often. The hooves occasionally jabbing in his direction and the pointed looks they both sent his way did little to ease the tension and curiosity he felt from the situation.
“Right, Steve?” he heard Rainbow Dash saying from his right, nudging him lightly with a hoof. She had spent the past few minutes explaining to her friends what they did today in her own graphic and unique way. Although he was a little curious to hear how the experiment had gone from her viewpoint, he had paid almost no attention to her, more interested in attempting to eavesdrop on Lyra and Bon Bon’s conversation. Only when he heard his name did he snap back into reality, and he saw the expectant look on the ponies’ faces. He had no idea at what point in the story Rainbow had reached, but she seemed to have caught their attention.
“Ummm… Yes, absolutely,” he replied, hoping it was a valid answer to the question.
“See? Told ya!” Rainbow crowed out triumphantly to the others.
Content that his answer seemed to be correct, he excused himself and went to one of the food laden tables, hoping to observe them better. He turned back around to Lyra and Bon Bon, thinking that now they would be in audible range. The only problem was that they were no longer in the corner they had occupied for the last few minutes. Instead, Bon Bon was dragging a resisting Lyra by her ears over to the buffet table. What the hell did I miss? Nopony else seemed to notice them; they were all focused on Rainbow’s storytelling.
Eventually they arrived at the table. Lyra’s face was fixated on the wooden floor of the bakery, while Bon Bon looked at him uneasily. It seemed that the usual nervousness that she had displayed the only other time he had met her was back once she had gotten rid of the anger she had arrived with. Expectantly, he waited for them to make the first move, alternating his gaze between the two ponies.
Eventually, Bon Bon cleared her throat and spoke up, not before shooting an angry scowl towards Lyra, who was still purposely avoiding their gazes. “It appears I have to apologize for the behaviour of… my dear friend.” She aimed another venomous glance at her ‘dear friend’ before continuing. “Even though she is a grown mare, it seems she does not fully understand how her actions can affect others. And I would like to personally apologize, since it seems I didn’t do enough to stop her earlier. I hope you don’t think badly of her now. I promise it won’t happen again.”
After she finished talking, she jabbed Lyra in the side, causing her to flinch and look up at him as well. She then pouted and turned away her head away with a sullen huff, her ears pressed firmly against her head while her tail lashed against the ground violently. Bon Bon let out an aggravated sigh as she rubbed her forehead with a hoof, frustration evident on her features.
He looked between the surly face of Lyra and the stressed countenance of Bon Bon, knowing something more was brewing between them both. It didn’t take a genius to figure that out or to hazard a guess that it somehow involved him. “I’d like to know what happened first,” he politely said. No sense morphing into Jack Bauer and shaking the answers out of them, he thought, internally smiling at the image briefly.
“Well umm… Lyra hasn’t been feeling very well recently. I-I will bring her home now where she’ll stay until she feels better,” Bon Bon explained after a few moments. It was obvious she wasn’t telling the truth, or at least left out most of the details. Her rapidly shifting eyes and beads of sweat that stood out on her fur made it quite obvious.
Annoyed, Steve rolled his eyes at the lack of information and the poor attempt at subterfuge. “Fine, fine…. Apology accepted,” he muttered, much to Bon Bon’s relief as she audibly sighed. I really hope this will change when I’ve stayed here for a little longer.
“Thank you very much.” She gave a slight bow, though she never took her eyes off him. We won’t bother you any longer with this. We’ll be going home now, so…. enjoy your party.” She glared at Lyra one last time, but the mare had already started dragging herself to the door, despair seemingly radiating from her with every step she took.
“Bye,” he waved them off as they quickly disappeared out of the room. Both of them failed to acknowledge him, and he ended up holding his hand in the air limply before awkwardly lowering it.
Steve slowly returned to the table, mulling over what had just occurred. With a quiet ‘Pardon me’ to Rarity as he sat down beside her, he looked to follow the conversation of the other ponies. Rainbow Dash was getting to the end of her story, telling them how she had recovered the equipment before they had returned to the ship. He didn’t know how she could make a simple drop off to the ship sound so adventurous, but she certainly pulled it off.
“WAAAIIITT!!” A loud scream interrupted her story, however, and everyone looked over to Pinkie Pie who whooshed out of her spot and out of the door.
“What’s up with Pinkie Pie?” Rainbow asked, cocking her head in confusion and a hint of irritation, no doubt disappointed that her retelling of her ‘heroics’ had been disturbed.
“Lyra and Bon Bon just left, and I think she now noticed. From what I’ve seen tonight, I don’t think she would like that a lot,” Steve replied, and the ponies exchanged worried looks. “Do you think she’s going to have a bit of a relapse?”
“Possibly,” Twilight replied after a few moments. “But why did they leave anyways? I know we were a little boring,” she pointedly ignored Rainbow Dash’s ‘speak for yourself’, “And we haven’t done anything much, but we were basically just waiting for more ponies to show up while we ate, and we’ve just finished with that. Pinkie was about to prepare some games.”
“I wish I knew.” Steve shrugged. “Bon Bon just said something about Lyra not feeling well, but I think there was more to it than that.” And I know at least one of you have an idea why she kept harassing me, he thought, looking over at Applejack who was busying herself with what looked to be an apple pie.
“I haven’t talked with her recently. I just hope that there’s a good reason why she was acting like that. I thought maybe Bon Bon and Lyra had an argument, and I didn’t want to get in the middle of marefriends like that.” She frowned to herself and looked to be internally debating something judging by the way she seemed to be concentrating on the donut in front of her. For his part, Steve was confused. Sooo… Lyra and Bon Bon are a thing? But then why was she hitting on me even when Bon Bon was around? Maybe they’re in an open relationship or something.
“I better go after them and check if everything is alright,” Twilight declared. As soon as she finished speaking, a short bright flash came from where she just sat. When he looked at the spot again, it was empty. “At the very least, I should make sure Pinkie’s alright. I’ll be right back… I hope,” her voice appeared from his left.
Surprised, Steve spun around to her new position. Oh yeah, teleporting. I forgot. That really comes in handy sometimes. “Should I come with you?” he offered, seeing how well it had worked then last time.
“No, it’s fine,” she quickly denied his offer and shook her head. “This is your party, and you should enjoy it.”
He wanted to make an objection but stopped before the first sound left his already open mouth. She’s right. I haven’t even met everyone who’s here yet. I know Big Macintosh and some other ponies were already here, he thought, standing up. “Alright, if you say so. I’m just going to say hi to the other guests. I just realized I missed a few. I hope you can turn them around. Oh… and if you find out what exactly is wrong with Lyra, please tell me.”
“Okay,” Twilight replied slowly and raised her brow, but didn’t ask any further questions before vanishing with another flash of light, giving none of the other ponies a chance to join her. Her reappearance was marked through a short light that dimly fell through the window from outside.
“Should we maybe follow her?” Fluttershy spoke up, flinching lightly everyone at the table turned towards her.
“Eh, I dunno. Lyra’s always been kinda… out of there,” Rainbow Dash spoke up, lazily rubbing her slightly swollen stomach, her plate licked clean.
“Be that as it may, Rainbow Dash, we should aspire to help any pony who is in need, no matter the… eccentricities they may have,” Rarity haughtily said, dabbing her mouth with a napkin delicately.
“I think,” Applejack began slowly, “that we should just be minding our business on this one. I’m sure whatever them two have got going on will sort itself out right as rain. Sure there ain’t nothing more to it than a simple misunderstanding, that’s all.” The small looks she aimed at him when she thought he wasn’t looking didn’t escape Steve. “Besides, are ya sure ya want to be running through Ponyville at this hour, working up a sweat like that?”
He could almost see Rarity visibly deflate at that. Applejack knew her friend too well, it seemed. “Oh… Of course, Applejack. You are most certainly right; it would be incredibly rude prying into the business of other ponies,” she agreed lightly, laughing weakly.
“That’s what I thought.” Applejack smiled before turning to Steve. “If ya want to go ahead and still meet anypony else, well go ahead. We’ll be sticking ‘round right here. Ya can go talk to mah brother over there.” She pointed to another table on the other side of the room.
He mulled things over, looking around at Derpy and Mayor Mare. Having not spent much time with either of them, he would have liked to join in on the discussion they were having, but he guessed he had other plans for now. “Sure, I’ll go ahead and say hello again,” he said, getting up from his chair. As he left, he could see Applejack letting out a sigh of relief, causing him to bite the inside of his cheek in frustration. I’ll get the answers out of her, one way or the other, he vowed.
“Hey, Big Mac,” he called for the large red stallion as he walked across the room and stepped around the corner of the booth.
“Oh, howdy Steve. Ah didn’t notice ya were here already,” Big Mac replied and looked over to him. Only now did Steve notice that the stallion wasn’t sitting there alone the whole time. Instead, he was snuggling up against a cerise colored earth pony mare. He had placed one of his hooves around her neck, while she rested her head against his chest. Her large, bright green eyes looked out underneath from her pale pink mane, traversed by a single bright stripe in the middle, and focused on him. Quickly, she pulled away from the stallion’s grip as she saw the human looking at the two of them, and her cheeks turned even redder than they already were from her natural color. It seemed like Big Mac was disappointed with the actions of the mare and sighed loudly as he pulled his leg back.
Yeah, looks like you were busy. No wonder you didn’t notice me when I came in. Steve smirked, eyeing the stallion. “Oh, hello to you too, Miss…?” he said to the mare that had scooted over to her own spot.
Her gaze turned towards him, the blush on her cheeks slowly disappearing. She replied in a soft voice, “Hello, my name is Cheerilee. I’ve heard a lot about you. I expected you to be a bit different.” she said, looking hesitantly at him, then back at Big Macintosh.
“Oh really?” he wondered. “What did they tell you about me?” Curiously, he took a seat at the opposite side of the table where he now remembered he had seen three little ponies sitting. However, it seemed as though they had disappeared. Spending no time wondering about it for now, he turned his attention back to the mare, hoping glean some information about how ponies saw him from someone he had no prior interaction with. The mayor hadn’t given him much information on that matter, only that she seemed a little intimidated by his size, while the other pony, Derpy, showed no strange reaction at all. It was as though he could have been a normal pony.
"Well, not that much you could rely on. I doubt anypony has told you this, but I am the teacher at the primary school, so I get to hear what the little fillies and colts are talking about.” She tried to wave it off. “Nothing that really matters.”
“I’d still like to hear it though. Kids say the darndest things, don’t they?” He chuckled, hoping to hide his genuine interest to lure someone into telling him the truth for once.
“Oh…” She fell silent for a short moment, her eyes wandering around quickly. “Well, if you really want to know…” she dragged out the words, making Steve expectantly lean forward slightly. “They kept talking, and I’m just putting it in their words, about a strange creature that came from the skies and lives in the forests. With hooves that end in claws and only two legs needed to run. They got that sort of right, I see.” She looked at his fingers for a short moment before continuing, “No fur except a yellow mane and….” She cut herself off and looked down at the table.
Expectantly, he looked at her, waiting for her to continue. “Aaand?” he cajoled when no answer was immediately forthcoming, leaning ever further forward. In response, she seemed to shrink back even further while unconsciously scooting further towards Big Macintosh.
Uneasy, she tried to avoid his gaze by nervously looking over the table. Eventually, as they all remained silent, with the only sound coming from Rainbow Dash pounding her table from across the room, she looked back up and met his gaze. “If you really want to know, and this is just their words, not mine,” she hastily added on, “they also said that ‘the creature had teeth sharp enough to rip flesh,’” she responded carefully, followed by an awkward chuckle.
"Oh," he replied slowly, “well, they weren’t too wrong about that, I guess.” With that, he gave her a big grin, revealing the top row of his teeth, making sure she could clearly see his incisors and canines. His grin grew even wider at her reaction. Startled, she flinched at first, but he couldn’t exactly blame her for that. As a teacher in such a small town, even if it seemed just like something similar to an elementary school, she most likely covered general education. It appeared to be quite clear for the ponies with some knowledge in biology thus far that based on his teeth he was an omnivore. “Don’t worry, I don’t bite.” He chuckled and hid his teeth behind his lips again.
“Umm, yes… sorry about that,” she apologized for her reaction and sat down normally again, shooting him a timid smile.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ve had worse first encounters here already.” He waved it off and leaned against the back of his chair, drumming his fingers against the table. So they think I could eat them. Maybe that I’ll sneak inside their houses and steal them out of their beds too, he concluded while thoughtfully staring into space. That’s rather unfortunate, not to mention bad for my image. Although I guess that my image already isn’t too nice right now, seeing as so many ponies made sure not to be seen here tonight. Scaring Cheerilee like that probably wasn’t too smart either since she’s the one looking after the most impressionable ponies here. If she sees me as a threat, whatever she tells her students would be no doubt passed on to their parents, along with any ‘enhancements’ to the story. The last thing I need is them forming some kind of mob to chase me out of town. He sighed, frowning to himself as he slouched down in his chair.
“Oh, don’t worry. It’s like I said; these are just stories of little colts and fillies, nothing to be taken too seriously,” Cheerilee quickly assured him once again, catching sight of his frown and misinterpreting its cause.
Yeah right. That’s easy for you to say, he thought sarcastically. “Oh, of course not.” He dismissed her words again with a wave of her hand, sitting up in his chair so that he was no longer slouching. “It’s just that I love stories, that’s al. And on this world, I’m sure that there are plenty to find.” Unlike his last statement, he was actually serious this time. Even if some of what he was going to find out here would be unpleasant, as his last couple of nightmare riddled nights had proved, he wanted to learn as much about this world as he could.
“There are,” Cheerilee agreed and nodded. “I bet you have some to tell as well.”
“I suppose.” He shrugged, but then an idea occurred to him. Spreading some good news about me through the teacher would actually be pretty helpful. If I can somehow convince her to tell her pupils that I’m not actually dangerous, it might speed up the time it takes before they no longer fear me.
Looking back at her, from the way she was fidgeting and biting her lip, she seemed to be wrestling with some internal conundrum. “Would you like to be a guest speaker at our school someday?” she blurted out before staring at him with wide eyes. She appeared to have surprised even herself by vocalizing her request, as she looked to Big Macintosh, who simply nodded. “W-What I meant to say is that it has been too long since I did something special for my students and it is hard to keep the attention of some of the fillies and colts.” She sighed, pausing a bit as she looked around the room again. Either not finding what she was looking for or content with what she saw, she continued, “I’m sure they would be interested in hearing something about your world, as well as meeting somepony who is… well, a real, living alien.” She looked at him expectantly, smiling slightly.
Well… that went far easier than expected, Steve thought, surprised. Can’t see any real downside to it either. Doubt they will run away screaming if I’m in the presence of their teacher. At least I hope not. “Of course,” he agreed with a nod, much to her pleasure as well. “That sounds like a good idea.” The image of terrified young ponies screaming in horror and trampling upon him tempered his pleasure at not having to needlessly try to convince her.
“Wonderful.” She beamed at him and clapped her hooves together, creating a clopping sound. Excitement filled her voice as she continued, “When would you be available for such an arrangement? I would prefer to do it sooner rather than later, but it is up to you, Mr Steve.
“My schedule is not that tight; I can work with pretty much any date. Oh, and it’s just Steve,” he replied. I really need to find something to do here. Something that could occupy my time for a while, he mused, cracking his knuckles, the unexpected noise causing Cheerilee to flinch slightly. Big Macintosh, as usual for such a stoic pony, paid it no heed. Hiding myself in the shuttle, watching movies, dealing with a smart mouth AI and having nightmares was fun and all, but I should find something else to do in the future. I also need a source of income at some point. I don’t really want to live off Twilight and her friends’ money much longer; they’ve done more than enough to help a stranger. Good thing I only need their food as a luxury item though since everything else is taken care of. Once again he was amazed by how lucky he was to be stranded here in this ship. To be fair, if he had been in one of the other ships, he wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place, but mainly because he would have died during the crash-landing on this planet.
“I would have to look at my schedule first to know that,” she replied after a few seconds of thoughtfully looking at the ceiling, not noticing that Steve’s own thoughts had drifted off as well, causing a silence that only she now broke.
“Sure. You can come by my ship if you work out a date. Do you know where I live?”
She nodded and looked over at Big Macintosh, whose only reaction was to shift in his seat. “Big Mac showed me from afar where it was. The E-Everfree Forest,” she murmured, not looking keen on the whole idea, “I honestly don’t think I can walk through there by myself, Steve, even if it isn’t too far in,” she confessed, twirling her forehooves around on the table nervously. “I heard that there aren’t as many creatures as before the past week or so, but… I’d really rather not be in there unless I can help it.” She shot him an apologetic glance.
Huh… that could be a problem. He frowned, considering what to do. While he had never encountered any problem travelling to and from Ponyville to his ship, the ponies – Twilight in particular – had stressed the importance of being careful while traversing the woods. It stood to reason, therefore, that ponies like Cheerilee would be especially cautious of its dangers, presumably having lived near it their whole lives and maybe even encountering some of the hazards it held. It all boiled down to whether or not she showed up at his door, as unless he encountered her by luck in town, they wouldn’t be able to iron out when he could visit. After all, the last thing he wanted to do was show up at the school unannounced. Unless… he eyed the red stallion sitting across him as the thought floated across his mind.
“You know, you don’t have to go through the forest alone, Cheerilee,” he casually said, smiling inwardly at her puzzled look. “Big Macintosh could always walk you to the ship with no problem. I doubt anything in those woods would want to wrangle with a big and strong fellow like him.” That finally shook Big Macintosh out of his zen-like state he always looked to be in as his head swung around and gaped at Steve, the unexpected suggestion leaving him with a look that seemed to be a combination of surprise and bewilderment.
Cheerilee looked over to the stallion, a dubious look in her eyes. “Oh, I don’t know about that. Would you be willing to come with me?” she asked almost shyly. Steve grinned, knowing he had them now. Cheerilee was giving him The Look, the expression that few men could withstand for more than a few seconds before crumbling. And neither, it seemed, could stallions. At least that was one thing that remained constant across worlds, he thought with a smile.
“Eee…yup?” was the only thing that left Big Macintosh’s mouth. He was rewarded by a happy smile by Cheerilee, who made a move towards him before catching herself.
“Well then, I guess should expect you at the ship sometime soon then?” he asked for confirmation, smiling innocently.
“Eeyup,” the stallion agreed and fell silent again. For a moment, Steve could have sworn the stallion shot him a murderous look, but it was so brief that he dismissed it.
“You keep saying ship,” Cheerilee continued while looking at Steve, “I really couldn’t really see it that well from the road. Is it really a ship? That sounds very strange. A ship that works on land?”
“Eh, it’s probably not the kind of ship you might be thinking of. I think it will be better to see it for yourself instead of describing it. Same goes for most of my equipment,” he explained to her dismay, judging by her disappointed look. This feels like Twilight all over again. I should really consider staying away from teachers, scientists and such for a while. At least she didn’t mention performing any experiments on me. Maybe because she isn’t a unicorn…
“I suppose I will have to wait until we clear things up then. I just hope there will be enough time left. Nopony could tell me this far, but you’re the only human here, right?”
“Oh… yes I am,” he replied carefully. Right, the details about my arrival here are most likely unknown to the other ponies, he concluded. Makes sense, though I wonder what they had been told. Surely someone would ask a question if an alien landed on their planet.
“I only got a few details when I picked up a book from Twilight’s library earlier. She seemed very busy, so I didn’t ask her too many questions. There are still so many things I’d like to find out. If you don’t mind me asking, there is one that I can’t wait to hear the answer to,” she inquired, looking at him expectantly, the eager glint back in her eyes again.
“Sure, go ahead,” he replied slowly, bracing himself. I’m guessing something along the lines of how my name sounds so weird, or if we can read minds, or if rain falls upside down on Earth.
“When will more humans arrive? I’m sure you are not the only one of your kind, right?”
Okay, that was actually a pretty logical question, though it does tell me that they have no idea at all about my arrival here. I sure saying “your blessed and almighty Princess Celestia screwed me over” would not exactly sit well with them, he thought and quickly went through various answers he could give her to satisfy her. “No, I’m not the only one,” he answered the second part of her question. “However, I can’t give you many details about my mission at this point. That includes further arrivals. This information requires security level four or higher,” he told her, looking directly into her eyes and trying to sound as serious as possible. “You would have to consult the princess for that; it is outside of humanity’s jurisdiction.” Did she buy that? And keep on resisting smiling! he ordered himself.
“Oh,” came her reply a few moments later. “Well, I understand,” she accepted his lie, bowing slightly, though the hint of disappointment clearly stood out.
Perfect. “Don’t worry though,” he assured her, “there are plenty more questions I would be able to answer,” he promised and looked around the room. His eyes stopped on the buffet for a few moments before he looked back at her. “If you would excuse me for a moment. You can continue where you left off before I interrupted you.” He smirked at Big Macintosh as he stood up from the table, only to be met by a small smile and a nod from the stallion.
***
“Come on, Scootaloo! What do you have pegasus eyes for if you can’t tell us anything...” Sweetie Belle impatiently huffed towards her friend while rapidly knocking a pen against her notebook.
“Alright, alright! Hold your horses.” Scootaloo waved her off in annoyance before she turned towards her friends. “He’s sitting there with Big Mac and Cheerilee.”
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle both rolled their eyes. “We can see that as well. Tell us something new,” Apple Bloom replied for both of them.
“Fine, I’ll have to get a better look. Hold on a second,” Scootaloo said and peeked out from underneath the tablecloths on the tables that held the buffet. Careful not to be seen, they had snuck into their new hiding spot here. Now they could only be seen when they occasionally stuck their heads out from under the tablecloths, which was exactly what she was doing now, knowing she had to be quick. A few moments laterm she pulled her head back in, only to be met with expectant looks. “Okay, so it’s true. He’s wearing clothes like you said.”
“Told ya,” Apple Bloom said triumphantly.
“Yeah, but they’re really weird clothes,” Scootaloo added, “Nothing I’ve ever seen before.”
“Ha! Even more proof that he’s an alien.”
"He does have a mane. It’s kind of yellow, but I couldn’t see the tail. He probably sits on it,” Scootaloo pointed out, momentarily closing her eyes while she tried to recall everything she had seen.
“Noted,” Sweetie Belle said and scribbled something down in her notebook. “What about the rest of his body? Could you see his face?”
“I don’t know. It looked so weird. It was so round, but maybe that’s just because I was looking from the side.” Scootaloo shrugged and opened her eyes again. “Oh, and he doesn’t just walk like Spike, he also has claws like him!”
“Claws?!” Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom shouted in unison only to be met by a quick hiss by Scootaloo, motioning them to be silent.
“Wait just a minute…” Scootaloo began and thoughtfully looked at her friends. “Don’t you remember what Snips and Snails told us in school a few days ago?”
“Huh?” Apple Bloom asked in surprise, brow raised. “Nah, not really,” was her reply as she shook her head. A shrug was all that came from Sweetie Belle.
“Urgh, no wonder Cheerilee has to tell you off so often for not listening if you can’t even listen to the gossip the others tell us.” Scootaloo sighed and had to resist the urge to facehoof.
“Yeah, like yer grades are any better than mine,” Apple Bloom retorted and rolled her eyes again.
Scootaloo’s next response got cut short by Sweetie Belle impatiently tapping one of her hooves. “Girls, don’t get off track now… again. We have a mission.” Both her friends looked at her than at each other before nodding. “Good. Now, Scootaloo, what did they say?”
“Yes… right.” Scootaloo had to concentrate again. “They were talking about some monster they saw a couple of days ago. Maybe it was even a week ago… I don’t really remember.”
“So?” Sweetie Belle inquired and shot her a doubtful look. “Not to be rude, but those two are not the most reliable ponies. Maybe they just wandered off in the Everfree again and were frightened by the first scary tree they saw, so they made up a story about a monster instead.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought too,” Scootaloo agreed but her look stayed determined. “At first at least. But they were talking about a monster that came from the skies, that had long hooves that ended in claws, and it only needed two of them to walk.”
Now she had gotten the attention of her friends. “Now that sounds more like it,” Apple Bloom said quietly to make sure they were not easily heard by the other party guests. “What else did they say? They probably saw something important. Did they see him mind controlling other ponies?”
“For the last time, Apple Bloom, Big Mac is not being mind controlled. He just looks like that all the time.” Scootaloo rolled her eyes in exasperation.
“Well excuse me for bein’ worried ‘bout mah brother!” Apple Bloom glared at Scootaloo angrily, her eyes narrowed dangerously.
“Aaanyways…” Scootaloo ignored her statement and continued recalling what she could remember from Snips’ and Snails’ stories. “They also said that—”
“That what?” both Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom asked as their friend suddenly stopped and her eyes went wide.
“T-That…” Scootaloo began but had to stop as a shiver ran down her spine. “They said that h-he steals little foals out of their bed and e-eats them.” Her eyes went wider and wider, her pupils were only a small black dot by now, while her voice was filled with panic.
She was met with an equally terrified look from Apple Bloom and a less shocked, but more questioning one by Sweetie Belle. “And you really believe that?” the latter asked, raising her brow yet again. “You would really think that my sister and her friends would let a monster like that wander through Ponyville?”
“M-Maybe he really can mind control ponies so that the older ones don’t notice that!” Scootaloo tried to explain.
“Ah told ya!” Apple Bloom agreed and scooted away from the open side of their hiding space until she stood with her back against the wall.
“Shush,” Sweetie Belle quickly ordered them, “or they will hear us. I can’t believe that you’re so easily tricked into believing them. Did Snips and Snails actually say they saw him take anypony and… e-eat them.” Even though she didn’t believe that part of the story one bit, she still had to gulp as she gave voice to her thought and had to suppress any images her mind might conjure up.
“Weeeeell...” Scootaloo dragged the word out and scratched the wooden floor with her hoof. “No, I don’t think so.”
“See? Told you that…” Sweetie Belle began but got interrupted by Scootaloo.
“But they saw his teeth. Sharp enough to tear through flesh they said,” she told the unicorn, her level of fear rising again after the short moment of relief that followed Sweetie Belle’s logical assumption that the story was fake. “What else could he have so sharp teeth for if not for eating ponies?”
That made Sweetie Belle wonder for a few moments, though she shook her head shortly after. “No, I don’t believe this, not until we have seen that ourselves. You saw his face. Were his teeth sharp or not?” Though she tried to keep her voice steady, she didn’t manage to completely hide the fear that slowly began to rise within her.
“I-I don’t know,” Scootaloo replied. “I didn’t see them very clearly.”
“Girls…” they heard Apple Bloom call faintly as she trembled, but they both ignored it.
“Then go out there and look again,” Sweetie Belle ordered her with a weak voice.
“Go look out there yourself if you want to find out,” Scootaloo returned. “You said they made it up, so you can check it too.”
“I-I guess I could,” Sweetie Belle said and nervously scratched the back of her neck.
“Girls...” came Apple Bloom’s voice again, but they paid her no attention once again.
“Then do it,” Scootaloo told her and pointed towards where Big Macintosh’s table was, but her eyes were still locked on to Sweetie Belle.
“But you have better eyesight, I might not even see it from here! And we risk blowing our cover for nothing...” she tried to talk her way out of the situation.
“Ha! And some ponies call me a chicken. Guess we know better now,” Scootaloo taunted her.
“You’re not going to look either!” Sweetie Belle hissed back.
“I already did; it’s your turn now.”
“Girls….” This time Apple Bloom’s voice was merely a whisper, but in the silence that surrounded them, they could still hear it clearly.
“What?” they asked in unison. Apple Bloom stood there, a look of pure terror on her face along with a few pearls of sweat, while her hoof was pointing at some place between them. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked at each other first for a couple of seconds, both with open mouths and wide eyes, before they slowly began turning their heads in the direction Apple Bloom was pointing at.
“Hello there.” They were greeted by an unfamiliar voice, but they clearly saw who it belonged to, having just seen whose mouth those words escaped from. All three of them stood as stiff as a statue as they stood face to face with the alien they had been observing and were just talking about. He stood only centimetres away from them, just at the tables, lifting the tablecloth with one of his claws. He was squatting on his haunches, his upper body bent forwards so that he was on the same eye level as them. His other claw rested idly on his knee.
His face was round like Scootaloo told them, and besides some stubble around what should be his chin and cheeks and a small patch of hair above his bright blue and very small eyes, only a rough, relatively short yellow mane was sitting on top of his head. The rest of his face was covered by bright tannish skin. They presumed the rest of his body was as well, but that was covered by his clothes, a tight material of dark blue color that tightly laid over the rest of his body, leaving only his face and claws uncovered. Underneath the clothes that covered his arms, they could see a hint of muscle.
Now so close to him, there was no doubt for them that this was an alien. Never before had they seen a creature like that, and living so close to the Everfree Forest, the hatchery of vile creatures, that meant a lot.
A few seconds passed in which they stared at each other in silence, the alien’s eyes wandering between the three fillies who all stood there in shock and looked back with wide eyes.
“Crusaders, retreat?” Sweetie Belle whispered faintly, her eyes still locked on the alien only mere inches away from them. He only raised his eyebrows and shot her a questioning look while moving his claw to up to his face to scratch his chin.
“Can’t… move… too scared,” Apple Bloom replied behind her, her voice not louder than a whisper either.
“What shall we…” Sweetie Belle began but fell silent as the alien opened his mouth.
“Crusaders. Hmm… where did I hear that from?” His voice came so quiet that it seemed like he was talking to himself, a look of concentration on his face as if was he trying to remember something. Suddenly, he snapped his claws and his smile grew a bit wider. “Oh yes, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, wasn’t it? Applejack told me about it. You must be her sister then,” he said cheerfully and pointed with his claw at Apple Bloom.
Finally, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo managed to avert their eyes from him and looked back at Apple Bloom who gave them a baffled look back. “Umm… yes,” she replied carefully, quickly followed by a nod.
“Ah, very good. Nice to meet you all. I’m Steve,” he replied in a friendly tone and reached out his claw towards them. A bit startled, they moved away from it at first but then stopped and looked at each other, confused after nothing more happened. “Oh, I forgot. Handshakes are not that common here,” he chuckled and pulled his claw, or hand how he called it, back. “Soooo, what exactly are you doing down here, hiding under the table? Maybe something to do with how you weren’t allowed to come to this party and yet you still did, and now you want to avoid being caught, hmmm?” he asked them and looked over his shoulder, back at the other ponies.
“N-No,” Apple Bloom stammered, causing him to look back at her again.
“Good. Why don’t you come out of there then? That looks a bit uncomfortable, sitting there in the dark,” he proposed and took a step back, motioned them with his hand to come out.
“What shall we do?” Apple Bloom quickly whispered to her two friends.
“Follow him?” Scootaloo asked and nervously looked at him, then at her friends.
“Are you nuts?” Apple Bloom retorted. “We can’t go out there.”
“Why not?” Sweetie Belle piped up. “If he wanted to do anything to us, he wouldn’t tell us to come out so that all the grown-ups can see us.”
“Well,” Apple Bloom began but stopped, having no idea how to argue against that. “Yer making a good point. Still….”
“Follow me then,” Sweetie Belle said determinedly, and slowly marched out from their hiding spot. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom looked at each other with concern one last time before following their friend.
Dazzled by the light, they had to raise their forehooves in front of their eyes for a few seconds until they adapted to the new lighting. Once their vision was clear again, they could see the human patiently waiting for them, still in the same position as before. “See? It’s much nicer out here,” he pointed out and smiled again. “Will you tell me now what were you doing down there?”
Unsure what to say, the ponies looked at each other for a few moments. “A-Are you an… alien?” Scootaloo asked and looked up at him. Even though he was making himself as small as possible, he was still taller than them, so they had to look up at him.
“Technically yes,” he agreed and nodded. “To be more specific, I’m a human, but you can also call me Steve.” After a short pause, he added, “That’s my name, just in case you’re wondering.” Instead of a reply, he only saw the ponies exchanging confused looks again.
This doesn’t seem like a wild beast at all, Sweetie Belle concluded but didn’t want to say that out loud to her friends, seeing as this Steve could speak their language quite well. The looks on her friends’ faces, however, told her that they were thinking the same.
“Umm, what are your names then?” the human asked, expectantly looking at each of the fillies.
Apple Bloom cleared her throat and replied, “Ahm Apple Bloom, this is Scootaloo and this is Sweetie Belle.” She pointed at the pegasus and unicorn next to her as she mentioned them.
“Nice to meet you,” he replied and nodded. “I hope I didn’t scare you under there. For some strange reason, my appearance sometimes has that effect here.” He laughed, but his eyes told a different story.
After a few seconds of awkward silence in which neither of the ponies could decide who should speak, Scootaloo jabbed Apple Bloom in the side, causing her to flinch a little. “Ouch… I mean, no of course not. We were just….” Quickly, she looked around, searching for an excuse but was only met by shrugs from her friends. “Umm… playing hide and seek! Yeah, hide and seek, that’s it.”
“Aha. So you three were hiding underneath there?” he asked and was met by quick nods of the three fillies. “Then who’s the seeker?”
“Uhhh… you?” Apple Bloom asked carefully and tried to put on a smile, but the human only gave her a confused look. “We’ll hide better this time. Count to one hundred!” she quickly ordered him and grabbed her friends by the neck before running off with them towards the kitchen, leaving a confused human behind.
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Quality > Quantity
As long as you keep up the quality of work time doesn't matter much.
Although more updates is much appreciated!
Good chapter, interesting relationships, and even a bit of world building. I especially enjoyed the way you guys form the conversations between the groups. Its something I'm hoping to learn from so keep at it.
Looking forward to the next chapter
~8chill
What a fun party - if fun is now a substitue for "a timeframe in the day, mostly the evening, that is filled with anxiousness, awkwardness, confusion and leaves anyone attending with a few questions". On the other hoof, this going anything diffrent would have been unexpected.
I personally found Sweetie Belle not innocent enough, normally she would be prone to fall for Snips and Snails tales but that could just be me. Another thing I'm not really fond of is the concept of heat for Equestrains - in most part because it is as much overused as Pinkie's randomness as a plot device and in part because I asume they evolved already past that stage.
But still, great chapter.
See you next installment.
3880406 Dammit, I knew there was something I forgot to add in the author's notes. That aspect is going to be expanded upon later on. Let's just say that this heat isn't the 'mares go wild and mindless and tackle and rape any stallion they can get their hooves on' type we've all read at one point or the other.
3880441
Ah, ok, good to know. I can accept the standard-kind heat for certain fics as a neccessary means to an end but found it kinda strange to encounter it here.
he guessed he had other plans for now
Wouldn't he know?
Its his plans, unless its their plans for him.
Anyway tablet controls suck.
3880500 Hmm? The quoted text is just a "." I don't know what you mean^^
is more the voice of reason. More reason than the other CMC at least.
3880238 Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated.
3880406 Awkward is the new fun. And for me
3880512
I can certainly accept that. Its just anytime we saw a bit more of interaction between the CMC Sweetie Belle always was the innocent one and sometimes even oblivous to the extend of her actions. And as far as we know Sweetie Belle is in fact the voice of reason but she seemed a bit to determined. She gave in in "One bad apple" and "Flight to the finish" even though she was right but alas I wouldn't know how this could have worked out otherwise
Great chapter!
Really liked the CMC interactions, looking forward to more of that and the schoolhouse meeting.
3880512 yes. Tablet copy paste sucks. It pasted outside the quote, its the next line.
lol Nice chapter. Bet the crusaders will be really trying to second-guess their first assumptions about him now, with how patient and kind he was. XD
3880765 That would be a logical assumption. Do you think this is likely?
3880863 Yeah.... though, chances are, they'll still find some way to cause trouble by accident. XD Like by causing misunderstandings when talking to others due to their own confusion on the matter, then try to clear it up, only to fail till they get help with clearing it up. XD
Realistic heat? The kind that makes mares more touchy feely and distracted? My fetish. Please good sirs I implore you to write Dash going through her cycle!
“Come on, Scootaloo! What do you have pegasus eyes for if you can’t tell us anything...”
Was that some kind of elf eye joke?
Then Contact was updated and there was much rejoicing.
Awesome chapter, as always!
It's also nice to see someone supporting the SS CheerMac.
Also... First.
3885182 I dunno, the first thing that happened as the chapter was published was two downvotes. Damn near broke my heart, it did...
3885417 I only cried a little
3885417 sorry for that. I know how it feels. If its any consolation I don't begin to understand them.
3886438 We both would really like to know what caused the downvotes, especially right after the update. Well... we'll probably never know
But happy to see that people like it
3881975 Yes and no. In my head canon pegasi have superior eyesight because it seems logical to me.
3881578 I have to say, I never expected too see a comment that includes "fetish" under this story
3881578 i.imgur.com/ZKLT2hF.gif
3897485
i.imgur.com/M6Ycymc.gif
Not quite fitting. I need better reaction images.
Late to read sorta, but I enjoyed this.
. They are flying at high altitudes, that eyesight is needed. Which bugs me when I read fics where humans have better eye sight and hearing and smell then the ponies.
Also. I agree with pegasi having hawk/eagle eye sight
"Scootaloo, what do your Pegasus eyes see?"
"They're taking the ponies to Eisengard!"