Duty?

"FALL IN!"

Tempest Shadow barked out the order. She gave no warning to it as she walked through the gates of the court yard, thus she was not surprised by the ensuing disorder that followed. The group of ponies that had been waiting inside obviously only had a vague idea of what was expected of them.

Under different circumstances she had some idea that watching the ponies suddenly try to converge on the same spot in such a haphazard fashion might have passed for entertaining, perhaps even funny. But seeing as it was going to be her job to organize this chaos, her scowl stayed perfectly in place as she literally watched two stallions run headlong into each other and both fall to the ground with a noticable thud.

Tempest did not even look down at the fallen pair before her as she continued her deliberate stride, stepping over them without breaking her pace in the least. A few steps later she finally came to a stop, still watching the clutter of bodies moving as they tried to organize themselves into orderly lines. She allowed herself only a low growl of frustration at the knowledge that they were supposed to have formed their ranks before she made it to this spot. At this current moment she counted exactly three of the twenty or so ponies that had made it there, and even they weren't positioned or standing correctly yet.

As the ponies quickly but unproductivly tried to comply with what was literally their first order, Tempest could not help but dread the upcoming weeks. This task was going to be much harder then the past six months of her new life. After the fall of the Storm King she had found herself in a place in her life she did not plan. A place with no direction, no purpose, and assuming she was about to spend a very long time behind bars. But something unexpected had happened to her, something that gave her reason to not sneer as the ponies before her finally came to a stop in two unevenly spaced and crooked lines.

"You lot have got to be the most pathetic excuses for solders I have ever seen in my life." Tempest Shadow paced back and forth in front of her first batch of new recruits to the Equestrian guard. The ponies that might someday soon be protecting the lives of the princesses of Equestria, were being trained by the pony who had brought the capital city to it's knees almost single hoofidly a mere half a year before.

She made her way around to the side of the lines, standing in the place where the row should be lined up. "Four, seven, and eight. Half step forward. Nine and ten. One, Full, step back." She didn't allow much emotion other then discontent enter her voice, and she could tell it was having certain, noticable, affects on some of those in the formation. Including the next row she hadn't gotten to yet.

Her head snapped in the direction of movement as she caught ponies before they could make much of any attempt to adjust themselves on their own.

"DID I TELL ANY OF YOU THAT YOU COULD MOVE!" Ponies froze, looks of shock and the beginnings of fear becoming apparent as they struggled to keep their gazes locked forward. She turned on her hoof, took a few steps, and turned again to begin the process on the second line. "Fourteen, nineteen. Half step forward. Fifteen, sixteen, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three. Half step back." She watched their stiff movements as they complied with the orders.

She stepped back to the front of the line and retook her original position. "Everypony. Right forehoof straight out to your side." There was some confusion, but they slowly complied. The motion forced each pony in turn to adjust their positioning, making their spacing much more uniform. It was good to see that the second row was at least smart enough to have made a conscious effort to keep themselves lined up with the front row.

This was going to be an all new challenge for her, she really hadn't had to go to these lengths yet with any of the soldier she had trained. Following Canterlot's defeat at her hooves and subsequent trial for her actions, it was determined that a general of her talent would be wasted if she was locked away. There was also some debate as to if they could even manage to keep her locked away. So it was eventually decided that rather then be put in jail for her crimes, she was to be given a rather hefty sentencing of community service. Community service which she would be spenting, as she had been the last six months, retraining the very guards she had defeated. And while they hadn't been the best of soldiers, they had had at least a solid base to work off of.

She resumed her pacing and began speaking in as dismissive a tone as she could. "From today on, this is your formation. You will line up like this at my request, at any time. And for future reference, I expect you in your positions, Before, I reach my position. I don't have the time to deal with any tardiness on your part." She stopped briefly to direct a withering gaze across the lines to show her how serious she was. "And memorize your positioning. I also don't have time to determine who is here and who isn't. A simple hole in the line will be enough for me to determine who has and has not decided to continue with their training."

She actually had to suppress a small smile as she resumed her pacing. Maybe it would be harder to train new recruits, but perhaps there might be some fun to be had. As she paced closer to the line and now began working her way between individual stallions and mares she noticed something that she hadn't with any of the soldiers she'd worked with so far. Fear. Legitimate, trembling fear. Her mere presence was now having a noticable effect on at least a few of the ponies present. She decided to see just how much of an effect she could make it.

"Chest out!"

"Straighten that helmet!"

"Back straight!"

Each pony she barked the order at hastily made the adjustment, bringing their ranks closer to what she expected. She now noticed only one major issue to deal with.

She suddenly came to an abrupt stop, turning on a hoof and coming back to stare into the very nervous eyes of a short, light furred stallion. His eyes refused to meet hers.

"What exactly were you looking at cadet?"

"Uhhh, umm?"

"That is not a sufficient answer cadet. Do you speak Equish or not cadet?"

"Yes."

" Yes what, cadet!"

"Yes... Umm, uhhh, ma'am?"

"That's a little better cadet. Now let me ask you. Are you aware what a thousand yard stare is?"

"Yes ma'am?"

"Then let's hear it."

"Umm, right now ma'am?"

"Yes now cadet, why would I want it later?" She was deepening the glare she was giving him as he was having a very hard time not cowering in front of her. Were it not for her own resolve, she would be having a hard time not smiling at the feeling of control it gave her.

"Umm... You, you pick a spot in front of you, and you stare at it as if it's a spot a thousand yards in the distance... Ma'am?"

"Very good cadet," she made the words condescending, and yet it seemed to allow him to relax just a little, just as she had hoped. "Then what exactly were you just looking at!" His relief faded fast.

"N, nothing ma'am." His own resolve was crumbling fast, his ears were now beginning to press back to his head against his will.

"Nothing? I'll have you know there is no room in this outfit for liars. Now what were you looking at because it definitely wasn't anything a thousand yards in front of you."

He was actively cowering in front of her now. She honestly wasn't sure if his legs were going to keep holding him up much longer there way they were shaking. Knowing he wouldn't be able to tell in his current state, she gave him a once over, deciding to remember details about him. Light, almost pink fur on his coat. His fur also looked fairly fluffy. His mane was also a little long for a soldier, and clearly something he took pride in. All that, combined with the rather short horn sticking from the top of his training helmet made a small sinister smile slightly grace Tempest's lips . He had a lot she could use against him, and she felt confident she could break him within the week.

He stammered, but finally spoke, fear of disobeying her overcoming all else at that moment. "Y, your.... flanks ma'am."

Her glare deepened. His eyes closed to avoid it. "My flanks, is that what you said cadet?" He managed to nod his head just slightly.

Taking a deep breath she finally stepped away from the position. She resumed her pacing as she now addressed the entire line of stallions. "Understand what you have signed up for today. The word of this training is dedication. If you expect for one second that you can survive without full dedication then I can tell you right now you should just leave."

She took an abrupt turn, now facing all her new recruits. She noticed all of them now staring straight ahead as dutifully as possible. "As of right now what I say is your first priority. It comes before all else. It comes before pain. It comes before weakness. It comes before your desire to look at flanks."

The entire line fought the urge to cringe as they heard the sound of a collapsing pony. The previous target of her wrath had apparently lost his nerve and let his knees give out.

"And just what is wrong with your legs cadet?" She stepped back up to him, though she could already tell he was well beyond responding to her. "Don't worry, we'll toughen those jelly legs up for you. I think you owe me quite a few for the show you were enjoying earlier. We can start with some pushups. Just how much were you enjoying my flanks do you think? Maybe enough for a few hu..."

"Tempest..."

Tempest Shadow looked up to a balcony overlooking the courtyard they were in. Atop it stood Twilight Sparkle, casting a mildly disapproving stare down to her.

"Princess on deck!" All condescension left her voice immediately as she shouted this command. She then lost her usual controled tone for just a moment as she growled to the stallion below her. "On your hooves for your princess." His hooves were shaking, but something in her voice did manage to just barely give him the strength to stand. Tempest shouted again. "About face!" The whole line turned on their hooves. "Present arms." Right hooves raised to foreheads in unison. The still untrained movements they preformed made her have to restrain a cringe as she looked back up to the balcony.

From above Tempest could make out Twilight rolling her eyes just a little. "At ease," she said half heartedly and watched them return to their previous position.

"To what do we owe the honor of your presence this morning your highness?" Tempest spoke with the utmost respect in her voice. At least that's what she hoped her words were conveying. The concept of actually wanting to show respect to others was something that had been absent from her life for a long time, but she felt like it was getting more natural. And if there was a pony she felt she needed to show respect for it was the princess casting a warm gaze down to her right now.

"You owe nothing to it Commander Shadow. You had just seemed, excited, to get your first batch of new recruits. I just thought I'd come check in on... them."

Tempest could feel that the smile she put on at that moment probably looked forced, but she decided to play it off anyway and hope Alicorn eyes couldn't stop it at this distance. "Well, your highness has nothing to worry about. I'll be sure to turn this group into the finest soldiers this kingdom has ever seen."

"I have no doubt Commander. But if I might make one little suggestion?"

"But of course, anything you wish Princess Sparkle." Tempest could feel her smile faltering even more.

"You don't have to be so tough on them right from the start. I'm sure they'll get better with time, especially with you training them." She then smiled sweetly down to her Commander and gave her a nod.

Tempest was taken aback more then a little. She had no idea how it was that Twilight always did this to her. A minute before she had been completely certain she was doing everything right. Now she struggled to keep her composure as she was quickly going over everything she'd been doing in her head and trying to find what she might have been doing wrong. But she also had to still seem confident and in control in front of her recruits.

"I'll take your words into consideration your highness." She reasserted her scowl as she turned back to her lines. "Ok everypony, I think this dressing down can be cut short. Luckily I was planning on a nice day full of PT anyway," she casted a glance to the pink coated stallion she'd been tormenting before. "Still plenty of ways to see who's going to make the cut."

She saw his throat move as he gulped hard, but he made no other indication of his hesitance. Tempest turned back to the balcony. "Do we have your permission to continue then Princess Sparkle?"

"You don't need my permission. Proceed however you think is appropriate."

"Thank you your highness." She turned again and drew a deep breath. "Alright ponies! Right Face! Forward March!"

Tempest did her best to maintain her own stare, but she caught herself watching out of the corner of her eye. Was there any look of disappointment on Twilight's face? Had she gone to far? Why did she care?

She forced the thoughts from her mind as her progression with the lines of recruits finally took Twilight out of her peripheral and she forced the thoughts from her mind.

Debt?

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Tempest took a few seconds to properly straighten her armor, again. She had done so several times already and she was really starting to wonder why. Especially now, when she was so close to doing what she was here to do. Although she did suppose she was here to ask a rather large favor of somepony of a much higher ranked then she was, so looking well put together probably was a good idea. But the fact that she was standing right before the royal chambers and still adjusting her armor was probably a bad thing.

She grumbled to herself. She then scowled at nopony that she was finding herself grumbling to herself. But she supposed that this was the reason she was here. Well she felt like she was settling into her new role, her new life, fairly comfortably, she also had lingering doubts. There were times when everything felt like it was going smoothly, and other times when she felt the way she did while standing before the judging eyes of three Alicorn rulers months ago.

Tempest caught herself reaching up to straighten her armor again. She ground her teeth for a few seconds, then forced her already raised hoof forward. There was an awkwardly loud echo of her first knock which she hastily tried to match with her slightly late second and third. And there was that feeling again. She ground her teeth more, until a voice from the other side of the door made her stop.

"It's open, please come in." Twilight's singsong voice put her at ease enough to push the door open. Upon entering, the loudest sound in the room became the sounds of her armor clanking softly as she walked. She didn't really need to look around the massive room to know where she was going. She proceeded over to an unlit fire place along the side wall with two piles of comfy pillows in front of it. Twilight lay there, half buried in one of the piles, face down in a book. Exactly where Tempest knew she'd be. She felt herself start to smile but beat it back to her usual professional demeanor.

"Your highness, I have a request to make of you." Tempest went as far as to bow humbly and hold the position to wait for a response. And wait. And wait.

"Your highness?"

Twilights eyes kept scanning the book. It was as though nothing in the world could bother her.

"Princess Sparkle?"

Twilights horn lit briefly to turn the page of her book. She kept reading.

"Princess Twilight?"

Twilight put her hoof down on the page of her book to mark her spot as she let out a hearty yawn. She then kept reading.

Tempest suppressed a groan as she finally raised from her bowing position. "Twilight?"

Twilights ears finally made a move, turning slightly in Tempest's direction. She still kept reading.

".....
..... Twily."

"Fizzlepop! It's so good to see you tonight." Twilight said this with great pleasure as her magic floated over a book mark and slid it into her now closing book. She turned and directed a smile to Tempest that practically glowed with warmth.

Tempest tried her best to remain as unmoved by the kindness being shown as possible. After all, she actually was here on official business. "Why do you insist on making me use that childish nickname to address you?" She asked, letting herself sigh slightly as she did.

"As I've said before: You're a particularly hard nut to crack as far as the magic of friendship is concerned. So stop being so serious or I'm putting you back on Pinkie Pie duty."

Tempest resisted the urge to cringe at that. Surrendering another week following around the pink party pony and following her every instruction was far from a desirable outcome of this meeting. "I don't think that will be necessary, but it should be necessary for me to be formal and serious in this particular instance."

"If it's formal and serious then it can wait for tomorrow. Crown is off, so I'm off the clock. And even though you decided to wear your armor, I think your shift ended a good while ago too."

"I'm doing it after hours because... It's kind of a favor too."

"Oh, well a favor from a friend sounds great. But I'm afraid an official request from the head of the guard is going to have to wait until tomorrow."

Tempest actually let the groan escape her this time and let it resonate for a long time through the room as Twilight retook her book in her magic and opened it. She began scanning the pages while wearing an impregnable smile Tempest knew would not let up until she complied. With practiced ease she began sliding herself out of her armor piece by piece. Each one she set aside in a neat pile, finishing with her helmet which she removed and placed on top. After making sure they were all squared away and now only wearing the fairly comfortable harnessing of the armor, she turned back to the pony she had come here to talk to.

Twilight's expression didn't change in the slightest as she all too sweetly chirped out, "don't forget the dagger too."

Tempest stiffened slightly. The two of them had gone through routines like this more then a few times before. But this was always the one part that actually made her legitimately irritated with Twilight. She reached her hoof under her front left haunch to feel the clasp of a hidden scabbard where she knew it was. "Why do you always make me take off my dagger too?"

"Because you need to loosen up. There's no threat here, no need to be on your guard. It's just me, and I promise not to try to ambush and kill you."

She'd said this to her before in this situation, and previously Tempest would decide to relent at those heart felt words. But she felt like this was her last chance to make Twilight understand. She gripped the scabbard, but not like she wished to draw the blade from within.

"I know," the words came out before she meant them to, so they did not sound like her usual measured tone. "But this isn't about that. I can feel safe and at ease with it or without it, I really can. But I just prefer to be with it. It's my knife and I like my knife."

Twilight's ear turned quickly at that followed by the rest of her as her book finally set itself down. With a very quizzical look she spoke. "You... Like your knife?"

"Yes. Is it so weird to like a blade. I've had it six years which is longer then I've known anypony in my life. It's saved my life countless times and the peridot gem in the handle is...." Tempest stopped herself as she finally realized her tone had slipped completely. In fact if she had had to describe it, she would say she sounded like a whining filly at that moment. She straightened herself back up. Mortified, she forced herself back into her stoic demeanor. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to let myself get emotional. I'll just..." Her hoof was already moving to remove the scabbard to set it aside and try to move past her embarrassment.

"... Can I see it?" Tempest froze at the words. The lacquered and belted case was already half way off by this point as her now wide eyes were met by Twilight's soft ones.

"You, you want to see it?"

Twilight only nodded. Hesitantly, Tempest finished removing it before holding it out. She could tell that Twilight took it up into her magical aura delicately. And she watched closely as the mare before her began turning it around in that aura, examining it with interest from every angle.

Holding it before her, Twilight used her magic to pull the handle away from the sheath. Said sheath was designed to cover part of the handle as well, and thus only then did a shimmer of green suddenly start shining off a well polished gem in the handle near the hilt. Twilight now examined the blade itself, but Tempest noticed her giving extra attention to the gem. She then looked over to Tempest, then back to the gem. "It matches your eyes almost perfectly." For reasons unknown to her Tempest felt heat rise to her cheeks. The sensation made her involuntarily twitch her face just slightly, which of course Twilight noticed immediately and smiled at. "And I'm going to make a wild guess and say we can at least narrow your birthday down to August."

The heat on her face became more intense as she managed to hiss out, "do not! Let Pinkie Pie know."

Twilight smiled triumphantly. "As always, anything that happens here is between you and me." She then used her magic to resheath the blade. It then hovered back towards Tempest, sank low, and magically reattached itself to her leg.

The normally unflappable soldier suddenly had to stifle making a noise at the unfamiliar sensation of someponies magic being that close to her. But when the warm glow of magic faded away she felt the familiar object nestled right were it was supposed to be.

"So, you.. you don't mind if I..." Tempest let the question hang, but Twilight answered with a smile.

"It's a beautiful dagger now that I get a look at it. It actually fits you well." Tempest didn't know why, but that statement made her face once again feel warm. "And if I knew before how much it meant to you I'd have never made you take it off."

Tempest felt a tension in her shoulders she hadn't realized was there loosen. But as she felt herself breathe a sigh of relief it suddenly caught in her throat. She found herself looking back and forth between her pile of armor and the princess comfortably nestled in a pile of pillows. She then heaved a heavy sigh and half fell, half threw herself into the pile next to it.

"Well I was going to tell you to have a seat, but you can just help yourself too." Twilight said with a small giggle.

Through frustrated grumbling Fizzlepop began churning herself through the small sea of soft things. "Why, do, you, always, make, it, so, hard, to, be, serious!?" She tried to punctuate each word with some kind of aggressive move against one of the many soft Intruders upon her brooding.

"..... Do you want the fluffy pillow?"

In her exasperation the previously flailing pony realized she had come to rest in a position most who knew her would not assume they would ever see her in. She had managed to end up with her head sandwiched between at least three pillows, rolled over on her back, and with her hooves dangling in the air. Dignity thoroughly forgotten she huffed out a resigned, and yet content, "yes please."

She heard the telltale sound of Twilight's aura igniting and moments later felt something incredibly soft being lightly pressed into her exposed chest. She forced back a sound of contentment, but her forelegs still slowly moved to wrap around the soft mass.

"And what do we say?"

"Thank you."

"Eh-hem."

"Thank you... Twily."

"You are very welcome. Can I coax you out with some of those cookies you love?"

"..., Which ones?"

"The chocolate filled ones."

Fizzlepop's grip around her pillow only tightened as she attempted to maneuver herself to a more upright position. When her head finally managed to poke itself back out she found a welcoming sight. A nearly sickly sweet treat hovering right before her.

Barely restraining laughter, Twilight spoke. "Now say 'awwww'."

The other mare only shot her a withering look. She snagged the offered treat from midair with her own crackling magic. "That's the line." She maintained the glare, at least until she took a bite of the previously offered treat. She made an involuntary noise as an explosion of chocolatey sweetness overrode her contempt. "You know, I actually did have something serious I needed to talk to you about." She grumbled as she said this, knowing the weight of her request was getting lost in the little routines the two had somehow managed to develop over the months since she had come to the Castle of Friendship. "How does every conversation with you always end up with me like this?"

"Because you spent a very long time denying yourself even the smallest pleasures in life out of a misguided sense of obligation. So I'm going to keep showering you with luxuries until you actually start to accept that you deserve to be happy."

Fizzlepop attempted to make a groan of aggravation. It ended up sounding more like a rather large and content cat purring. "You can't change a pony with chocolate and soft things Twilight."

"Probably not, but it's a good start." Fizzlepop didn't have to look up to know the exact smile Twilight was giving her. A sweet, vaguely smug one she usually pulled out during their time together, usually when she felt like she was in some way winning whatever exchange they were having. And because of how much it triggered the very problem she was here to discuss, she very resolutely did not allow herself to look up at it.

Tempest groaned in discontent as she forced herself to release the mass of softness clutched to her chest. With some effort she managed to slowly extract herself from her quicksand like pillow pile. When this was complete she finally stood before the princess she had come here to see.

"But this is serious Twilight. And I have to be serious when I say it. And this... This whole thing," she gestured to her abandoned place and the small pile of cookies Twilight had hovered over while she thought she wasn't looking. "This is the reason why. This whole.... thing, between us. I know you're just trying to be friendly, and that friendship is your whole thing.... But, I don't know. I just..."

Sensing the real distress in her friends voice, Twilight too managed to extricate herself from her fluffy snare and came to face the other mare. "Fizzlepop, what's wrong? If you tell me I promise I'll try to help you."

Tempest turned away from the sympathetic eyes now being directed to her. "It's not something you can help me with, not when you are the problem." Hearing a sudden intake of air from the pony that had shown her so much compassion, Tempest's mind quickly reacted to try to amend what she had just said. "No, you're not the problem. It's me. It's that I have a problem, it's just centered around you." Realizing this didn't sound much better, in fact it might sound much worse, she again tried to retract her statement. The frustration was now becoming enough that sparks of magic were crackling from her broken horn. "No, that's not what I mean. What I'm trying to say is...." She trailed off as she realized that it was happening again. The reason why she was here, and why she had to do what she had been preparing herself for during the past weeks.

With noticable strain she pushed back her frustration and returned to her stoic demeanor. "Princess Sparkle. I have come here today because I don't feel that I can perform my duties as Commander of the royal guard. At least not while I am maintaining residence within the Friendship Castle."

"Fizzle... but why?"

Tempest let out a sigh, knowing she was causing her first real friend some bit of distress. But she knew this was for the best. "Twilight, why did you come to the courtyard today?"

Reeling back her emotions to some degree, Twilight managed to make a cough by way of giving herself time to respond. "It, it was because of Saturday night, during our usual get-together. You were nervous about dealing with your first group of new recruits."

"Did I ever tell you I was nervous?" Despite herself, Tempest found her words carrying very little of the usual respect she tried to show to Twilight. Her voice now sounded like she was dealing with her recruits back in the courtyard.

The affect was noticable as Twilight winced a little before speaking again. "No. But that's kind of standard. You never tell anypony when you need help, even if it's just a little encouragement. I just went today because I wanted to make sure you were ok."

"Then why did you interrupt me!?" The words carried weight despite being spoken so flatly.

Not cringing this time, Twilight instead stepped forward. She faced Tempest and met the mares impassive glare with a disapproving one of her own. "Because you needed help!"

"And what made you think I needed help!?"

Twilight backed down just slightly, her face returning to a more calm, but still firm state. "You didn't feel in control of the situation. You were worried none of the new recruits were going to improve. And you were just about to take all your insecurities out on that one pony."

Tempest felt several layers of her returned defenses fall in an instant at the words. She did her best not to show it as she made a dismissive noise and turned away from her friend and superior. "That wasn't what was going on at all, princess. There is only one way to properly train totally green troops, and that's with total and complete domination."

"That's one way to train, it's definitely not the only way. And you can't control anypony if you aren't even in control of yourself."

More walls crumbled within Tempest, but she was hastily trying to rebuild them with each word she spoke. With a sigh she continued, her tone attempting to be dismissive again. "Then once again we find ourselves at a point of difference in our philosophy. And it's part of the reason I have to leave."

"Why would you want..." The words had come out somewhat frantic by Twilight, but she caught herself and started again. "Why would you have to leave in order to continue your duties? And what does it have to do with me?"

"Because..." Tempest felt her temper flare, but pushed it back down and answered in a level tone. "Because, I did it." Twilight's face suddenly held a question Tempest didn't need her to ask. "That recruit today, and the rest of them. I took it easy on them. I showed weakness to them, and now I don't know if my training will even take. Or even if I'm going to be able to train them properly at all."

"Fizzlepop, you're too hard on yourself. I trust that you..."

"It's not just that," Tempest cut in, losing her composure just a little. "I... I'm not myself, when you're around."

Twilight was visibly confused by the words of the slightly flustered mare before her. "What... What do you mean?"

Tempest raised a hoof, straightening her hair in absence of armor to give herself a moment. "I don't hold very many ponies opinions in very high regards. Even the Storm King, I never served him because I respected him. But you," she paused, resisting the urge to straighten her hair again. "I feel the need to follow what you say no matter the circumstance. And even more problematic, even when you haven't made any kind of request from me, I still find myself questioning my actions. Specifically in terms of what you'd think of them."

"I'm sure that's nothing you need to jump to such drastic measures for. You're just a good soldier, trying to do your duty no matter what. All you need to do is relax and remember that you are doing a great job and to not be so hard on yourself."

Tempest felt her head droop slightly and noticed her voice lacked it's usual bite as she continued. "I'm... distracted. Thoughts of you have made my mind wander, to the point that when I come back to myself I'm not even sure how much time has passed." She managed to lift her head again, looking to the pony she was explaining her situation to. She was curious to see her with a sudden look of shock on her face, as well as the slightest bit of color in her cheeks. She brushed it off as she continued. "I put off all else when it comes to our Saturday meetings. It... It's supposed to be an official meeting, but it never ends up being one. I can't maintain discipline when I'm around you, and for some reason I actually don't mind that fact. It's gotten to the point that I look forward to Saturday every week, and it's effecting how I do everything everyday." The color in Twilight's cheeks was now fairly noticable, but Tempest was finally making progress on her prepared request. So while putting more resolve back in her voice she continued again. "It's taken me some time, but I've finally figured out why this keeps happening."

Tempest could actually see the color fill into Twilight's cheeks more deeply and her eyes visibly widen at those words. "And, uhh, what... What is it that's, you know, making you...."

Somewhat confused by Twilight's behavior, Tempest decided it would be best just to finish her planned speech. Then she could do what had to be done. "It's... It's because of the debt I owe you. You're a pony with more compassion then any I've ever met. Not only did you save my life when you had no reason whatsoever to do so, you then stood between me and the judgement of every other ruler in Equestria."

Tempest saw whatever stress had been plaguing Twilight noticably lessen. It didn't go away entirely, but it was good for her to know at least one of them wasn't caused great discomfort by the memory.

"Fizzlepop, I've told you before it wasn't that big a deal. You don't need to feel like you owe me anything from it. Much less..."

Twilight trailed off, but Tempest didn't need her to finish. She had her own opinion about it. "They didn't think a cell would hold me. They were talking about turning me to stone. You literally stood up, put yourself between me and them, and said you'd never let that happen. Twilight..." She turned to see color had returned to Twilight's features, but ignored it again as she continued. "I've literally faced down entire armies without blinking, and you might be the bravest pony I've ever known." The color became more pronounced. "I don't think I'll ever be able to repay everything you've done for me, but I do know I especially can't do it while working at a diminished level."

"You are not working at any kind of diminished level. If anything you're doing a better job then ever. And besides that I don't..." Twilight's composure slipped a little more, causing her to pause for a moment before continuing. "Eh-hem. I don't think we should make any hasty decisions here. Especially since I... I umm, think I might have a different explanation for what's going on."

Tempest became downcast. "This isn't a decision I've come to hastily. I've thought on it a great deal and it's the only answer I can come to. And the decision has already been made." She looked back up. "I've already talked it over with both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. They said that I will be allowed to finish out my community service under close and strict supervision in Canterlot after relocating the enlistees there. The only thing I need to make it official... is the approval of the pony currently overseeing my parole."

Twilight was caught off guard by this. She sputtered for a second before responding. "You.. You've already gone that far with this. I don't want you to... You don't need to leave Fizzlepop. There is... potentially, a more manageable solution to this situation."

"There really is no other answer. I owe you my life more times over then I could ever hope to repay. But if I'm to have any chance to repay it, I can't do it while I'm around you. If you approve, then the process can be put into effect and I can be out of the castle as soon as the end of next week."

"Wait. You've already figured it down to that extent?"

"I've already begun packing my few belongings. And, the books you gave me to read... I can return them whenever you wish."

"What? No, I just gave you those. Wait, that's not important. What's important is that you're overreacting. You don't need to be..."

"What I need, is to stop feeling like I'm drowning every time I see your face." Tempest said this with an air of finality and with a firm tone she didn't feel as she had her eyes closed and her ears pinned back.

"Fizzle...." Twilight trailed off, a defeated sound to her voice that made Tempest's stomach tighten up.

Tempest heard the purple princess take a few steps away. She knew Twilight wasn't the type to give up easily, so right now she could only hope that whatever reason she came up with to try to convince her to stay was one she could still handle with her defenses and nerves largely in ruins.

She heard her princess step back over to her, coming close enough that the gentle tone she spoke in could be easily heard.

"Fizzlepop, do you trust me?"

Tempest cringed as she felt this was going to be a hard one. "I... I trust you more then I've ever trusted another pony in my life."

"And I trust you as well. So, I've got an idea I think might help you get past this."

Tempest sighed. She had hoped by now that Twilight would just let well enough be and let her go. But she figured she at least owed her enough to hear her out. She finally raised her head and opened her eyes. "And what.. might.. that.... be?" She was somewhat puzzled to find Twilight's face more red then she had ever seen it. She also had expected to see Twilight looking more resolute, and definitely not looking at her own hooves while smiling the most sheepish smile she had ever seen.

"Instead of, umm, spending a week preparing to leave, I was thinking..." She managed to look up to Tempest, which somehow managed to make her face even more red. "How about, for the next week, you delegate all but your most necessary duties to other ponies in the guard. And....,......" Twilight now looked like it was taking considerable effort to keep her gaze fixed on Tempest. But she pressed on, straining not to look back down to her hooves as she did so. "...., You use that extra time.... to take me.... out on dates."

The silence in the room felt like it might press itself down and smother Tempest. It was some time before she could manage any response that would come out even remotely coherent. ".....,....... Whaaat???!!"

Though the response was not exactly elegant, it did little to change the look on Twilight's face. Though she did finally yield to the embarrassment and looked away as she spoke. "I think this is kinda like when you first realized I really didn't want anything back from you when I gave you your room here in the castle. You, you just aren't familiar with normal emotional responses to... normal things. And I'm thinking this because, what you've been describing... sounds more like you have a crush more then anything else."

Tempest hadn't lied when she said she trusted Twilight, she hadn't even exaggerated. It was thus very odd for her brain to suddenly try to do is best as it could to find reasons to contradict the words her first real friend had just spoken. However, the fact remained that she now felt like she had to force herself to breathe, and it seemed to get worse and worse the more times the words ran through her head.

With some effort, and with her face for some reason feeling very hot again, she finally managed a response. "A... crush? As in, I might be having romantic feelings, towards you?" Twilight managed to give a nod in response. "That, does not really seem possible. So why does the idea of it make my pulse rise?"

"You gave up on other ponies at a very young age. You probably never had a first love or even a first crush. So it's very possible you wouldn't know what it feels like, or even what kinds of ponies you might be able to feel it for." She managed to look back up to Tempest's still frozen in shock face. "So, I think it might help if you got to experience them. You're a good pony and a good friend, so I wouldn't mind going out on a few dates with you. We can just see where it goes, and hopefully after a week you won't feel so much like you can't be around me. What do you say?"

A haze had settled over Tempest's thoughts at this point, which at least was keeping her from making decisions irrationally. She had some idea that parts of her brain currently unaccessible to her would probably tell her to use her magic to set off an explosion and tactically retreat through the nearest non-solid surface available. Instead she focused on Twilight's sincere smile, and the fact that she knew she'd made it her goal to see as much of that smile as she could since coming under Twilight's care.

"I... I'm not sure what I'm feeling right now. But I do trust you more with these types of, emotion... things." She felt her face warming up again. "And this is also the calmest I've managed to feel around you in a while, so I think you might be right at least on some level. So, if you think me taking you out... on a date will help, then yes."

Twilight's face had been regaining it's normal color, but at that moment flushed with some more red again. "Well then, we had plans to meet on Saturday anyway right. How about we make a day of it?"

"That, that sounds like it will work." Not knowing what to say or do at this kind of moment, Tempest found herself stiffly turning towards the door of the room. "Thank, thank you for your time. I'll take my leave for tonight." Her words were as automatic as her actions, but something finally cut through the haze she was feeling.

"Fizzlepop." The voice was just as sincere as it ever was as it called out to her. Tempest turned to find her forgotten armor hovering in the air before her. "I think you might still need this for duty tomorrow." She smiled sweetly.

Fizzlepop's face felt warm again as she carefully attempted to take her armor in her magic, trying her best to return the smile. "Thank you, your highness."

Twilight's smile shifted into a more playful one as she held her magic field to prevent the armor from being passed between them.

Fizzlepop's smile spread more naturally across her face. "Thanks, Twily."

The lavender field relented and Fizzlepop managed to take hold of the plates as she once again turned to leave.

Fear?

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"Ninty-eight!"

Tempest remained unmoved as she saw the group of ponies before her lower themselves until their chests just barely touched the ground. She saw the strain as they now had to put significant effort to raise themselves back up. She waited, causing the rest to groan as one in particular took longer then the rest to manage to straighten his legs. Barely a heartbeat after he did...

"Ninty-nine!"

The group lowered itself that much more shakily, the one she was watching seemingly barely not falling on his face as he did. She knew on some level that had she been in her usual state of mind she would have decided to take a stand right in front of him. Staring him down would likely have made him fail by now. She was somewhat glad she hadn't though. Judging by how matted his now darkening but still feminine pink fur was with sweat she would currently be trying to act like she wasn't trying to suppress a gag at his smell. However, even in her current state of distraction she couldn't just let his weakness go unpunished.

"Hurry it up stubby, everypony else is waiting!"

That made him visibly wince, having the opposite effect and making him lose height as he struggled even harder to finish the rep. She didn't have to imagine the irritation it was causing the rest of the group. Some even broke form to stare at him in irritation. He seemed to only just manage to get his forelegs straight again before...

"One hundred!"

This was the slowest rep of them all. They clearly thought this was the last one of the set. If Tempest was more invested in what was going on she would probably decide ten more were in order. As it stood, she simply waited for her designated weakling to finally finish. She watched his forelegs shake violently for a few seconds, offhoofedly wondering how long he could last there.

"Recover!"

Nopony could suppress their relief of finally being able to stand after the grueling workout. She noticed some legs shaking, ones particularly badly, but decided she didn't need to comment on it today.

"For the rest of the day you all will be undergoing duty specific training." Nopony showed it, but she could tell they were hesitant at the idea of more training after what she'd put them through already. "For your information, I will not be the pony administering this training." The relief was palpable even if it wasn't visible. "Due to unusual circumstances I will be on light duty the rest of this week and all of the next." She paused briefly to let their relief settle in. "I will still be, directly, overseeing all your morning training as it pertains to discipline and conduct." And there was the unheard groan she was looking for.

She did one more pass of the line. If she was paying more attention she probably could have issued several reprimands for lack of form in their exhausted state. But she supposed that if she was going to be taking the rest of the day off, like some kind of slacker pony, then why prolong the inevitable.

"For now, break for chow. You'll be getting your assignments from Captain Gleaming Spear after that. Dismissed!"

She barked the last part and was not surprised to hear the sound of a pony hitting the ground right after. First row, third from the left, again. Tempest made a mental note to decide who was going to fill that hole when he likely didn't show up tomorrow. She was already turned away and marching off as ponies tried to decide if they were going to help him or themselves. She was in no state to instruct them on such things. She had to get herself right before she could do the same for others.

***

Tempest had to admit that the castle of friendship was amazing. There had been some concern when it was decided that the training center for the royal guard would have to be moved there. Tempest had to be near Twilight do to the nature of her punishment, but also needed to do her community service. Obviously it would be impossible for Twilight, Tempest, or the guards in training to be transported back and forth every day, but the castle of friendship hadn't been designed with housing and training a bunch of soldiers in mind. Then, while Twilight had been showing Tempest around / trying to find a suitable space that would work well enough, the princess had opened a previously undiscovered door to find a ready to use military barracks and mess hall as if it had always been there.

Between Twilight's organization and Tempest's experience they were able to begin training there nearly within the week. Since then navigating the halls of the castle had become second nature to her, which was good as she now wandered through them seemingly with no direction.

She felt the need to think about what had transpired between herself and the princess she served the night before, but every time she did she felt her chest tighten in a way that somehow felt both familiar and alien to her at the same time. It was creating a hard to understand concept of wanting to understand something but not wanting to think about it in her head.

However, the fact that she wasn't a pony use to aimless wandering led to her deciding she needed something to clear her head. Finally taking a moment to pay attention to where she actually was walking she found that she was just a few hallways away from the mess hall. She decided this was perfect and proceeded with the most certainty she'd felt all week.

Though Twilight had taken the time to make sure that ponies could get food there at any hour of the day, it currently was close to lunch time and thus she was not the only one heading in that direction. She sighed inwardly to herself knowing what this was going to mean.

As she walked, a fair bit faster then most ponies with her long confident stride, she watched with a lack of reaction as the sea of ponies parted at her presence. It was something she was use to after years of it happening. So much so that she didn't even bat an eye as the ponies in line to get food all made way and allowed her to get hers first. She even felt it not phasing her at all as she approached a table full of ponies with her tray of food hovering in her violently crackling magic and watched them all become suddenly not very hungry and decide to leave abruptly.

She took a seat at the table. The Castle of Friendship had done such a good job of making all the troop accommodations the most comfortable she'd ever experienced, it really had. And Princess Twilight had gone so far out of her way to make sure they would all have the best experience they could while they were there, she really had. And the food did look and smell good. And Tempest really was hungry. And yet she sat, staring down at her food, her mind still too distracted to make her want to dig in.

Her ear twitched and turned at the sound of something being peeled apart. Not being accustomed to hearing any sounds close to her while she was eating, Tempest was prompted to turn her head. She was surprised to find that there was actually a pony at the table that hadn't decided to abandon ship when she came around. She was even more surprised that it was a pony she actually knew, but not any that she'd normally see around these parts.

"Fluttershy?" How Tempest had not noticed the pegasus with her buttery yellow coat and long pink mane was a mystery to her. But there she was, having apparently just removed the top from a disposable yogurt container and now gently licking the excess off the foil lid. At hearing her name she turn with a quizzical look to the pony sharing a table with her.

"Oh, hello..." She stopped to look around, noticing other ponies were within earshot of them. "...Tempest. Are you feeling better?"

As odd as this situation already was, that question did jump to the front of the line of Tempest's inquiries. "What do you mean? What would I need to feel better about?"

Surprisingly, Fluttershy didn't seem taken aback by the questioning. Her ears did flatten somewhat, but more in a concerned way then showing any kind of fear. "Oh, well, I'm sorry if I misread it before, but you didn't say hi when I said it before. Twilight says you can still be prone to brooding from time to time and we should just let you if it doesn't look like you're in any kind of major distress. So I, umm..." Not knowing how to finish her explanation, she just trailed off and went back to licking her lid clean.

Tempest thought better of any kind of remark she'd usually use in this situation. Largely thanks to Twilight she was getting better at reading ponies personalities, and actually caring about them. She proceeded gently. "I'm sorry Fluttershy, I'm just not use to there being anypony else left at a table once I've sat down."

Looking around at the wide berth they were being given at this point, Fluttershy decided to comment on that. "Well, that's just not very nice now is it."

Tempest gave a light chuckle at this. It really did seem that none of the elements really understood the implications of somepony having once been a tyrant. "It's fine, I'm used to it. But I also wouldn't have expected to see you anywhere near the barracks. Why are you eating here?"

At this question Fluttershy smiled bashfully. "Oh, well that's simple. I sometimes sneak over here for lunch if I don't like what they're serving at the school of friendship." She nodded down to what remained of what looked like it had been a rather well constructed salad. "Don't tell the cooks at the school, but the chili they make is a little too spicy for me."

Tempest smiled without noticing it. In her efforts to help her become more social the princess had dragged her out to certain types of gatherings with the rest of her friends. From various meals they had eaten together Tempest would guess that there were some brands of mayonnaise that were too spicy for the skittish pegasus. It really did amaze Tempest just how a pony with so many fears could even function in day to day life. This suddenly made her stop and consider something as the mare now lifted a spoon full of her sweet pink treat to her lips. Tempest casted a glance around the room, noticing like she usually did that the ponies that were already keeping themselves at a distance also now snapped their gazes away as if that would convince her they had not been watching her cautiously.

"... Fluttershy?" The pegasus looked back over, spoon still held in her mouth as her expression turned quizzical again. "I feel I need to ask you something, but I think I still lack the social tact to do so without offending."

Fluttershy gave her lips a lick before responding. "It's ok Tempest, you don't have to worry about offending me."

The words were said so sweetly it was hard for Tempest to not agree. With a nod she spoke again. "You are a coward, aren't you?"

"Oh yes, very much so."

It was said so casually it nearly took Tempest aback. With another look around to confirm the fear bubble she seemed to project was still keeping ponies at bay she continued. "Then how is it that you're not afraid of me?"

Fluttershy now looked even more puzzled then before, her next spoonful stopping midway to her mouth for another bite. After a few moments though, she just smiled. "Because you're my friend Tempest."

This again was said so casually that it did this time manage to take Tempest aback somewhat. "Oh... Right. I'm sorry, it's just something I'm still getting used to, you know?" Tempest couldn't understand why she suddenly felt the need to focus heavily on one of her forhooves as she tapped it gently on the table.

The smile persisted as Fluttershy spoke again. "It's ok. Twilight says it still might take a few reminders before you really start to understand what that means." She finally took the waiting bite of her yogurt before turning away to focus on her tray again.

Bringing up Twilight's name again made Tempest wince slightly, luckily without Fluttershy noticing. The subject she couldn't force herself to think about seemed to keep trying to force her to think about it. However, the thought of Twilight did suddenly make an idea come to her mind. An idea she would have thought absolutely crazy just a few months ago.

Tempest managed to refocus her attention to the delicate pegasus next to her. With all the resolve she could muster she spoke again. "Fluttershy." She waited for a moment while her companion once again turned to pay attention to her. "As a friend, I request that you listen to something I have to say and afterwards convey to me your thoughts on the subject."

Fluttershy looked like she was considering for a few moments, then brightened in understanding. "Oh of course. I'd be happy to help you with a problem if I can."

Tempest let a sigh of relief escape her. As foreign as the concept was to her, there were times when she really was glad that there were now ponies that understood her to some degree. "But I must ask for your discretion on the matter as it is a matter that could be considered personal despite, and indeed because it does, involve another."

Fluttershy now flashed a look of concern before glancing to the room around them. "Oh, well if it's something personal, are you sure you want to talk about it here? There are still a lot of ponies around."

Tempest turned her head quickly to the closest table to them. "No pony will pay us any attention." The statement was made with the authority only a seasoned soldier could manage. Ears pinned to heads around them and several more ponies decided they were finished eating.

Fluttershy turned her head curiously watching this display. "Oh, I see." She said hesitantly. "In that case, what do you need help with?"

The moment of dealing with things she did understand had made Tempest feel confident again. But those words reminded her of what she was about to do, and suddenly those 'being around Twilight' feelings were back. She ground her teeth briefly to avoid stuttering out her first words.

"I've been having issues with concentration and focus as of late. And though I've thoroughly attempted to find alternate reasons to explain it, any explanation of my inability to concentrate always seems to come back to it being somehow related to... Twilight."

Tempest didn't know why she decided to pause there, but for some reason she found herself looking over to the other mare. A small, "go on" did prompt her to continue.

"I was.. originally going to relocate, both myself and the training facility, back to Canterlot so that I could properly fullfil my duties. However Twilight had an.. idea about what might be the real source of the issue." She once again found herself stopping her account without any knowledge as to why she would. The normally timid pegasus gave her a simple nod that gave her reason to continue. "She believes that I may have come to harbor... romantic feelings towards her." This finally got a reaction from the eagerly listening mare, a sudden look of surprise coming to her. However this time Tempest didn't want to give her a moment to react quite yet. She quickly continued. "But while I do have great respect for the princesses intelligence and judgement this did not seem like a thing that would be possible. Not only have I never been interested in romantic pursuits, I'm also her subordinate and to harbor such desires would be highly unorthodox, bordering on inappropriate. Furthermore..."

Tempest suddenly stopped as a hoof was placed on her shoulder, causing her to draw away in instinctive defensiveness. A soft voice kept her from kicking her own chair out from under her and assuming a fighting stance. "Everything's ok Tempest, you can relax. I'm not judging you. Calm down, because I can barely understand you if you talk that fast."

Tempest suddenly realized she was breathing heavily, she even felt like she might start sweating at any moment. She had no idea what could be causing such a reaction in her. "I'm not talking fast, why would I be talking fast." And Tempest then abruptly stopped, realizing she was talking quite fast. That 'Twilight feeling' started settling in her chest once again as she unconsciously let out a groan. "What is wrong with me?" She growled low under her breath. Her temper flared at herself but quickly fizzled as it collided headlong into the feeling in her chest.

At this point she realized her forehead was now cradled in her forehooves which were joined and keeping her head from colliding with her long forgotten tray of food. This not being a position she was particularly familiar with she allowed her head to simply roll to the side to face the pegasus she'd been talking to once more.

"I don't know what it is, but for some reason I behave differently when I'm around Twilight. Heck, I behave differently even if I'm just thinking about her. I owe her more then any pony ever in my life, to the point where I think that debt is affecting me. At this point it's like I don't even recognize myself. I don't know." She stopped herself there as her focus shifted away from her own frustration and to the pony she somehow found herself asking advice from, who she suddenly realized was smiling an indistinguishable smile towards her. "What do you think Fluttershy?"

Seeming to realize she was behaving oddly, Fluttershy suddenly reverted to her usual timid demeanor, looking away sheepishly. However the ghost of that smile still remained. "Umm, well... If you really want to know my opinion..." She paused until Tempest gave her a nod to continue. "Then I think I have to agree with Twilight. It sounds like you might have started to have slightly more... romantic feelings towards her."

Tempest for some reason felt her face become warmer the way it did when Twilight was around as she decided to explain more. "Twilight described it as a 'crush', but I don't really understand what that means. I understand the concept of ponies wanting to pair off, marry, and procreate, but it's not something I've ever wanted for myself. So I'm unclear as to why it would seem like an obvious conclusion to other ponies that I would be having such desires when I myself don't even understand the circumstances."

"Oh, well that one is easy, at least in my case. I just noticed that what you were describing of how you are around Twilight is the same way I feel around Rainbow Dash."

That truly caught Tempest off guard. She stared blankly as the pegasus nonchalantly went about scraping the last bits of her yogurt from the bottom of her briefly forgotten container.

"What?"

Fluttershy looked over and seemed puzzled at the shocked look on the face of the normally stoic pony. She then seemed to have a moment of realization. "Oh right. I keep forgetting you haven't been around for very long. I've just gotten use to everypony somehow knowing about it already."

"You are saying that you have a crush on Rainbow Dash?" Tempest asked, vaguely noticing her words coming out fast again.

The pegasus hesitated for a few moments, for some reason her cheeks getting progressively redder and redder the longer she did. "Umm, well. I guess you could say that." She turned away, now absent-mindedly nudging her now largely empty lunch tray with her hoof.

"I'm confused then," Tempest continued more calmly while considering this reaction. "If you know you have this feeling for Rainbow Dash then why are the two of you not mates?"

A mental image must have jumped into Fluttershy's mind at that moment as Tempest noticed her eyes go wide and her cheeks turn even redder. She had to recoil for a moment to regain her composure, but after doing so she actually turned to face the other mare and gave a smile. "Lots of ponies have already asked me that, and each time the answer is very simple. And I think it's one that will help you too."

Tempest was now very confused but also very interested in what the timid mares next words would be. "What is it?" She asked somewhat impatiently.

"Well, the simple answer is that I'm scared." The implication of the answer was not lost on Tempest as her eyes instinctively narrowed at the mare speaking. It didn't seem to keep the next words from coming. "And I think it's the same with you. You're scared."

Though on some level she realized she shouldn't, long hardened instincts forced that aside as Tempest dawned a long practiced glare. She leaned forward and in a voice that made the air around her chill she replied, "do I look like a mare that is afraid of anything?"

To Tempest's immediate shock, the pony before her did not back down in the least. Fluttershy smiled sweetly and actually leaned closer to the killer look. "No, you don't look like it. But that doesn't mean you're not scared." Tempest was about to respond, but somehow the admitted coward before her maintained a confident tone as she blocked the attempt. "I am the reigning expert on being scared after all. I'm scared more often then probably any pony in Equestria." Her expression softened as Tempest's anger was attempting to flare. "I think it's also part of the reason my element is kindness. I see the fear in other ponies, and I know what it feels like and what they must be going through much more often then not."

The rage Tempest had been trying to build in her chest was shattered by that tiniest of assaults. Fizzlepop let her head lean forward until it was pressed against the table. A random thought of how her face was not in her food right now was answered as a small peek let her know that Fluttershy had moved it in anticipation. She had to wonder what it was about the elements that made them so good at breaking down her defences. After taking a moment to slow her breathing she had only just realized was getting quick, she rolled her head to the side to speak to her friend.

"I keep on being reminded that the Elements of Harmony are all very formidable. But even knowing that, you really are an opponent I never wish to face competitively again." She paused again, only feeling herself blink slowly as the information washed over her. "So I do have a 'crush' on Twilight. That's what you believe."

Fluttershy hesitated for a few moments as she did before, this time her cheeks not progressively reddening. "Yes, or something like that."

Fizzlepop had too many other things to think about to consider what 'something' might be. "And... The reason my first instinct was to move away rather then face the problem... was because of fear." At this point she barely recognized her own voice, as soft as it was coming out at this moment. "That... that's the reason I thought it would be a good idea to move the training facility back to Canterlot."

The idea that had seemed like such a sound resolution to her problem just a day before now seemed so foolish she had a hard time saying it out loud. It was soothing to her when Fluttershy's soft voice came again. "When I discovered my special talent, I told everypony I wanted to move away from Cloudsdale to the ground so that it would be easier for me to work with animals. But, something I've actually never told anypony is that that was the much smaller reason for me wanting to move away. What it really was was that around that same time is when I realized I was in lo... I had feelings for Rainbow. But I also knew I'd never be able to tell her how I feel."

Fizzlepop was still dealing with feeling unsure about herself, but she was curious about the story being told to her. "If that's true, how is it that Rainbow Dash lives here now as well."

This question seemed to cause the smallest of smiles to cross the shy mares lips. "Because Rainbow Dash was and is still the best friend I've ever had. When she found out what I was planning to do right after flight school, she told me there was no way she was going to let me face that all alone. She somehow managed to find a way of moving herself down the same week as me." Her smile grew more melancholic as she looked up to direct it towards Fizzlepop. "It's part of why I can't tell her. When a relationship is already perfect, it's really scary to try and change it. She's already the most important pony in my life, how could I ever ask her to be even more?"

The sentiment once again hit Fizzlepop hard, causing words to come out before she wanted them to. "I've never had anypony willing to stay with me out of anything but fear for as long as Twilight has. And I never deserved her attention in the first place. She is the only reason I feel I even have the chance of having a real life after all I've done. She's probably the only reason I'd ever have realized it's what I wanted." A thought hit her that for reasons unknown to her made her eyes sting a little as she turned to her friend again. "Am.. am I just trying to build a life around her, is that why I keep feeling this way?"

Fluttershy's head moved side to side as she spoke. "I think the fact that your first instinct was to distance yourself means that can't be the case. You may have changed a lot in the past few months, but I don't think you'd become the kind of pony who needs to define yourself by another that quickly." She reached out to pat the other ponies hoof reassuringly. "You're not a bad pony, so I think you'd be able to tell if what you're doing was wrong. You're just scared, and it's making you question yourself and what you want. And I think that's what you need to figure out if you want to move forward. So, when you think about Twilight, what is it you want?"

"I...," She paused to really consider how to answer. "We normally see each other every Saturday anyway, so Twilight said we could just make the day into some kind of date. And... I usually really look forward to our time together. But I think.. I think I'm looking forward to it even more." For some reason saying the words out loud made it feel easier to raise herself from the table she'd felt glued to for some time now.

Fluttershy's smile became warm. "Well then I think you know what you want. And the best part about it is, you're not a coward. The pony you.. you have feelings for knows how you feel, and you've even already got a date lined up. You're already miles ahead of me."

The words were reassuring, but uncertainty still worked its way back into Fizzlepop's chest. "But, but what do I do when I lose myself around her. What about this fear. I, I'm not sure it's something I can handle."

The pegasus seemed to try to beat back the uncertainty with her smile as she reached out and slid the forgotten tray of food in front of the other mare. "Good food fixes a lot." Looking down to the tray she seemed to get an idea and turn back to her own. From it she retrieved the only untouched food item left on it, a rather large, brown muffin covered in tiny chocolate chips. "Especially dessert." She then leaned forward and suddenly whispered conspiratorially, "and don't try to turn it down. Twilight already kinda let it slip how much you like chocolate."

Fizzlepop once again felt that odd sensation of her cheeks feeling warm as her friend seemed to begin preparing for her departure.

"After that, I'm not sure. That's about as far as I've ever gotten. All I can really tell you is good luck and you should try to have fun on your date, for the sake of those of us who are still too scared to make it that far." She gave her a genuine smile, and with that took her tray and finally stood from her seat. "I have to get back for a class, but come see me to tell me about it when you can."

As she saw Fluttershy retreating, a lesson Twilight had taken the time to thoroughly drill into her shot through Fizzlepop's mind. Her mouth opened before she intended it to again and from it came a slightly choked, "thank you."

Her friend turned with a genuine smile again. "Any time."

Fizzlepop hesitated only a few seconds after the other mares departure before reaching out and quickly ripping the paper off of the baked treat. She felt the remaining apprehension from the conversation begin to melt away as the sweetness filled her. She sighed contentedly as she slowly savored it. She then realized how big of a bite she had taken, and how much her cheeks must be bulging with the effort.

Tempest pulled the sugary temptation in close to her chest protectively, discreetly shooting glares around the room as she remembered where she was and that it wasn't exactly private. She relaxed again as she realized general lunch must have ended at some point and only the few staff that Twilight had finally broken down and hired recently were left finishing their own lunches and all giving her a generous amount of privacy.

She let a sigh of relief escape her. That was a fortunate way for things to end up. She had plans to make... and a muffin to finish.

Confusion?

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Tempest found herself walking much more slowly then she normally preferred. She was proceeding early enough in her planning that this was not going to be a problem, but thinking of the fiasco she was sure was waiting for her at her destination made her in no hurry to arrive.

It warranted reminders to herself every once in a while that all of the element bearers were truly formidable individuals. Fluttershy especially made her wonder just how she had conquered Canterlot as easily as she did. After one conversation with the pony the day before she had found herself suddenly able to consider actions that previously would never have even crossed her mind. In this case, asking for help.

While her hard life had left a great many gaps in her knowledge of interpersonal relationships, she did know at least a few things. One of those was that despite that it was the most comfortable... familiar, for her to wear armor most of the time, showing up to a date in it would be inappropriate. And while she did occasionally go without armor, whenever she did she usually found that her armor harnessing was the only sufficient substitute she really needed or cared for. She however knew that this didn't always go over the best with the mare she'd be spending the day with. This was why she now found herself heading in the direction of Carousel Boutique for the second time in as many days.

The idea of dealing with the dramatic mare had almost made her decide to just forgo clothing for the day, however this had presented her with a problem. A hidden blade couldn't really be hidden if ponies could see where it was strapped onto ones body. And do to the fact that she had only just gotten Twilight to let her wear it whenever, not doing so seemed regressive.

That had almost seemed worth it the previous day after experiencing Rarity's reaction to coming to her for help preparing for a date. Doubly so after responding to the excited mares inquiry as to just who the "lucky stallion" was. Triply so when this triggered so much excitement in the fashionista that it took much longer then Tempest would have liked to dedicate to the entire process just to convince Rarity that a giant, fancy, multilayered, gala style dress was not necessary, practical, or wanted in any way.

The resulting argument, which the normally very prissy mare didn't back down from in the least, finally culminated when the designer just asked her directly what she desired in her clothing. To which Tempest had basically just described something with all the functionality of her harnessing. Pure purpose over anything aesthetic, unlike anything the mare had presented to her so far.

Tempest was then confused when this had suddenly seemed to make the other mares eyes glimmer after a few moments of thought. The confusion grew as Tempest was somehow caught off guard by a flurry of magic, during which she felt something long and slender snake over her body at such a pace that she could not catch it. It then had suddenly darted away and Tempest found Rarity somehow already in front of a drawing board, drawing pencil and tape measure floating above her. She was then instructed that she should come back in the morning, early enough to leave plenty of time to still make it to her date. And now with the door to the boutique in front of her she would have to face whatever it was that had been glimmering in the ponies eyes the afternoon before.

With a resigned sigh, she knocked.

"Do come in darling." Rarity's singsong voice was almost sickly sweet in Tempest's ears, but she pushed open the door nonetheless.

Inside was something that seemed confusingly familiar to Tempest. Rarity's usually immaculately maintained shop currently seemed more like a warzone. Fragments of fabric, wads of string, piles of unrecognizable debris. It was a very elegant disaster. Which is also what she could say about the owner of the ~~mess~~ shop herself at the moment.

Rarity pranced up to Tempest, a happy smile and exuberant look in her eyes that contrasted horribly with her frazzled mane and dark bags under her eyes. Despite her clear exhaustion she seemed surprisingly strong as she made it to Tempest and gave her a crushingly tight hug.

"Fizzlepop dear. Early, just as I anticipated. You have got to see what I've come up with for you." Those deceptively strong hooves now began edging her into the oddly familiar wasteland that was the current state of her shop. "Something about what you said yesterday sent me into a fit of inspiration. I will say, while meaning no offense, that designing for the more masculine mare such as yourself has never been my speciality."

"No offense taken," Tempest responded automatically.

"Of course darling. But now when presented with the problem, and having such a marvelous specimen as yourself for inspiration, I suddenly had an idea for a whole new type of fashion."

Tempest was now pushed in front of a garment that made her double, then triple take. It was some kind of confusing, and yet not unappealing, mixture of dress and suit. There was a nice crisp collar around the neck that would look good even next to the best pressed military dress uniform. But it flowed seamlessly down into a form fitting dress with cuffed sleaves which also didn't look like it would inhibit her movement much if at all. It ended in a skirted bottom with just enough frill, Tempest hoped, to cover her blades belting and give her easy access. To any other pony it would have been an amazing garment to wear, however Tempest had to mention one issue.

"It's an interesting, and most certainly not unappealing design Rarity. But isn't the appeal of any type of suit usually offset by their more impractical nature.

There was a flash of magic and Tempest was engulfed in a whirlwind of activity not unlike the one from the day before. This one was much shorter however, lasting only a few moments, and at the end the ponyquine before her was now bare and she felt the embrace of soft fabric around her. She looked over to Rarity, initially out of anger for the mares presumptuous actions, but was caught off guard when she saw... herself.

Rarity had floated over a large mirror and placed it between the two of them. This left Tempest no choice but to see herself in the prepared outfit, and she couldn't help but like what she saw.

"Oh," she said, largely involuntarily.

"Yes," Rarity responded, stepping from behind the mirror. "I designed it with ease in mind. Ease of movement, ease of putting on, ease of utility, and one more thing."

The mares horn lit up again and something now floated in from another room. Tempest's anger returned. "How did you get ahold of my armor!?"

"A lady has her ways." The answer was unsatisfactory, but it seemed to be the only addressing of the situation Rarity wished to give.

Before Fizzlepop could press for a better answer, her armor was flying at her. A flash of magic suddenly blinded her as she heard a series of clicks. When she could see again she was surprised to find her armor already on her, secured tightly and being accented well by the suit underneath where it extended from under the plates.

"Wow." Once again the response was largely automatic as she took in the look. Rarity was beside the mirror, eyes wide with anticipation. "Rarity, you might be a genius."

"Ah, but of course," she exclaimed, her eyes fluttering at the praise. "And just think, this is a whole new market I can corner. Just think of all the guards staying here in Ponyville ever since you moved them here to The Castle of Friendship. Eventually I could even extend to all the guards still in Canterlot with the other princesses. I'll have to have Twilight get ahold of her brother for me as well." She was now prancing around the room gleefully while Tempest used the mirror to get the alignment of her armor and the suit just right. She was just thinking about how much more comfortable it all now felt as Rarity's rambling continued. "And just think, I could even extend it to other professions. Other ponies who value utility but still want to...."

There was a dull 'thump' sound that finally caught Tempest's attention. Looking over, she saw Rarity now with her face on her carpet, rear end stuck in the air awkwardly, and snoring loudly. The position caused her long mane to fall to the floor, exposing her back and a folded piece of paper taped there. 'Fizzlepop' was written neatly upon it.

Curious, Tempest stepped to the prone mare and removed the note, mindful of the usually elegant coat it was stuck to.

Dear Fizzlepop,
Never fear for I am fine. This just happens from time to time when I get into a creative frenzy. In case I didn't impart this to you before my nap, I'd just like to let you know the outfit is already paid for by the inspiration you've given me and the advertisement having you wear it will serve. It and the other three variations of it I have waiting in a bag next to the door.
I'll be fine where I am. Sweetie Bell will be here soon and she knows how to handle this situation.
Go show Twilight a good time.
Rarity
P.S.
One little favor if you could. If it's not too much trouble could you make sure I've come to rest in a way that is at least somewhat... presentable. Thank you dear.

Tempest looked up as a particularly bear like snore came from the delicate pony. With some hesitation she reached out a hoof and pressed it against the side of the mares flank. She cringed at the resulting thud as her body fell limply to the ground, still in a position that looked neither comfortable nor presentable.

Fizzlepop looked around in earnest for an alternative. In the corner of the room was a small couch covered in what looked like very brutalized fabric samples. Concentrating hard to keep the crackling of her magic to a minimum, she lifted the pile from it and set it aside on one of the few clear places on the floor. She then even more gently used her aura to lift the snoring mare onto it. Giving it a second thought she looked around and found a larger piece of discarded fabric that was mostly intact and placed it over her sleeping form.

Rarity stirred for a moment, but did not wake. Letting out a breath, Fizzlepop turned to leave. In doing so, she caught another glance in the mirror of what the fashionista had made for her. She had to smile at how much effort the mare had put into such a gift for her.

"Thank you, my friend." She said before taking the bag next to the door and making her departure.

***

Tempest marched down the halls of The Castle of Friendship with a confidence she hadn't felt in some time. A large part of her trepidation about what she was doing today was gone and she was now even more excited for her Saturday then she normally was.

She arrived at Twilight's door, paying just a moment to brush her mane from her eyes. Having dropped off her armor before starting down the short hall between their rooms, this was now the one annoyance she hadn't found a way around yet. While it didn't seem it, her usual mane style was something she did for the sake of a commanding image. Figuring that would be about as appropriate as wearing her armor on this day, she had decided to attempt something a little more simple. It would do for now, so long as it stayed out of her face.

She reached forward and knocked at the door firmly. She was then confused at the monotone, "You may enter," that followed. Brushing it off she pushed the door open.

What was inside was even more confusing. Instead of the usual places Tempest would find Twilight, she now found her in the middle of the room, sitting at a very professional looking desk she was fairly certain had never existed in here before. Twilight sat at the opposite end of the desk, a single empty chair on Tempest's side. She seemed to be reading through some paperwork, glasses that she'd never seen before upon her nose.

"Ah yes, miss Berrytwist. You're early, very good." The voice coming from her barely sounded like Twilight Sparkle. The normally warm and inviting tone that so easily put Tempest at ease was currently so staunchly business like and almost cold. It took Tempest aback, causing older, more engrained instincts to take over.

"Yes ma'am," she said quickly as she sat.

"All right. Let's get this parole meeting underway then."

Tempest had almost forgotten that the reason her and Twilight got together every Saturday was actually for official business. In addition to being her princess and commanding officer, she was also technically her parole officer. Although they hardly ever even thought about that on their days together, on several occasions Tempest having to even make special trips back to her room first thing in the morning to sign the paperwork they had forgotten about so Twilight could submit it on time. That exact paperwork was now shuffled to the top of the pile Twilight was going through.

"Yes ma'am." It was said this time less out of instinct and more out of being not sure how to respond.

"First off: Community service hours. You are required to log at least twenty hours a week. Has that been completed?"

This was one of the questions that usually wasn't asked. Twilight was the one who kept track of her hours for her and she knew that her community service was her job. All the work she did training the guards was done for free while her room and board were courtesy of Twilight's generous nature. She often logged more then twenty hours before the end of her second day of the week.

"Yes ma'am." Once again, it was the only way she could think to respond.

"Very good." She shuffled the paperwork in what seemed to be a needless way. "Special circumstances of your case also require you to devote some of your free time to social interactions, preferably of the friendly variety. Has that been accomplished for the week as well?"

Tempest felt herself wanting to break rank and simply mention that Twilight was there for most of her social interactions and that this week had been no different. Instead, she remembered the time she'd spent alone with other of Twilight's friends, her friends. Not being able to find a way to succinctly say that she had covered that even more thoroughly this week then any other she simply responded, "yes ma'am."

"Very good." Twilight then made a show of checking over the paperwork. "Oh yes, one more thing. Have you taken part in any action that will either directly or indirectly lead to a plot to conquer Equestria or do you have any knowledge of any individuals who might have?"

At least this one was easy. It was the only question that had to be asked during their meetings do to some kind of official protocol. They both always had to joke about how it was literally required for Twilight to ask and for Tempest to answer every time in order for their meetings to be official. That's when the answer finally hit her.

A joke. And Fizzlepop had walked right into it.

She realized she had been instinctively sitting in an attention like position and barking out the answers as if in formation this whole time. Her posture now relaxed and her next words came out much more casually.

"No ma'am, and are you done yet?" She slouched back in the chair, casting as teasing a smirk as she could to the other mare.

A smile threatened Twilight's composure, but she managed to keep it to a twitch. Her voice shook only the slightest as she responded. "Not until you have thoroughly read over and signed this document."

Fizzlepop gave a gesture she'd noticed become all too familiar while dealing with Twilight, she rolled her eyes. She barely glanced down at the page she'd signed some huge number of nearly identical copies of so far before signing and sliding it back to her parole officer.

Twilight returned the eye roll. "I keep telling you that you should always read official documents before signing them. Who knows what I could have just made you agree to."

The familiarity of this argument finally made Fizzlepop relax completely. So much so that she responded by saying, "well you already got me to agree to go on a date with you today. Not sure you can top that."

Twilight only blushed slightly, but smiled at the jab very genuinely. "Yeah, I guess I did." Her horn now lit up and the papers she had now recollected were teleported off to who knows were to be submitted to who knows who. "And now that that is out of the way, we can focus on having a good time for the rest of the day."

She then lit her horn again, this time for a levitation spell. Fizzlepop turned at the sound of her magical aura humming gently on the other side of the room where her bed was. There, hovering above where it had apparently been was a rather simple but pretty sun dress. She then heard a familiar pop cut off the magical hum and suddenly saw the dress fill out with the form of the princess that had been behind her. The now dressed mare took a few seconds to straighten her new outfit before looking back to where her companion had now stood up. Her gaze then turned inquisitive as the purple mare tilted her head and asked, "what?"

Fizzlepop once again felt that odd sensation of her face feeling warm, but she pushed wondering about it to the side again in favor of tackling how to phrase what just popped into her mind.

"I... Just didn't expect you to wear a dress. I know I usually prefer to be covered, but it's a little.. different on you."

"Oh, that." Twilight looked back, more specifically at the dresses clear lack of wing holes. "It's just something I was thinking about. Even ponies I knew back before I became a princess notice me more whenever I'm out and about now. I was thinking it would be better to blend into the crowd today, so this is just a little experiment to see if removing that little visual stimulus will alter ponies behaviours and allow me, allow us, to progress through today more like normal ponies would." She turned back around and smiled while glancing at her soon to be dates attire. "And it would seem it's actually a nice little coincidence. I'd feel more then a bit underdressed with how well you managed to polish up."

Fizzlepop's face felt that warm feeling intensify, but paid it no mind. Or at least tried to. "Rarity initially tried to put me in a dress, and made a rather big fuss about it as well. Could you have imagined such a thing?" Twilight's face went to a look she knew was one she used when she was slipping into deep thought. The warmth grew. "No, don't actually think about it. I'd look ridiculous in a dress, even one made by Rarity."

"Huuummm. I'm not so sure about that. You're good at most things when you actually want to be. If you actually were to try to go for a more classically 'pretty' look I think you could pull it off." She smiled playfully to her before adding. "But I did want to tell you when you first walked in that I think this look actually works great for you. I don't really like it when you're trying to make sure everypony knows you're tough all the time. You are a tough pony, but you don't need that to be the first thing everypony knows about you. This is nice, still that commanding presence, but also very handsome, in a feminine way."

Fizzlepop was going to have to get around to determining what was making her face feel so warm at some point, because it seemed like everything Twilight said seemed to set it off. It distracted her enough that her response came out more hesitantly then she would have liked. "T, thank you. I.. I'm sorry, I don't know exactly how to respond in this sort of situation."

Twilight gave her a supportive smile. "It's ok, that's kind of what we're supposed to be working on right." Her smile became more playful as she took a half turn to the side to show her full profile, turning her head back to gesture. "I guess the logical place to start would be to tell me if this is a good look for me."

The sudden change of topic caught Fizzlepop off guard and caused her to look at Twilight without proper thought as to what she was looking for. This caused the heat in her face to intensify as she inexplicably focused in on a specific aspect of her current look. "We're you... going to keep the glasses on too?"

A hoof instinctively went to the other mares face, and the moment of realization caused a giggle from her. "Totally forgot I was still wearing those." She adjusted them absent-mindedly but didn't remove them yet. "I randomly found them when I was trying to think of a way to hurry up and get you past your serious side today. I honestly couldn't believe they still fit, they must have been so huge and dorky on me when I was a filly. Had to pop the lenses out though, I haven't needed them since I accidently fixed my eyes in a magic accident."

Fizzlepop only realized she was paying very close attention to the mare still absent-mindedly playing with her glasses when that statement shook her out of it. "Wait. You, accidently, fixed your eyes with magic?"

"To be fair, it's the same way I accidently hurt my eyes in the first place."

The usually unflappable mare actually had to give her head a quick shake at that. "Is taking you on a date going to mean hearing more stories about how you've nearly broken the laws of reality without even meaning to?"

Twilight snorted a little laugh at that. "Oh no way, most of those stories are way too embarrassing."

Fizzlepop blinked. "What?"

"What?"

Fizzlepop stared for a moment. Twilight's smile was impenetrable, for multiple reasons.

"I find it incredibly difficult to feel properly irritated with you while you're wearing those." She didn't know why she said it, but for some reason it had to be said.

Twilight looked confused briefly, the question of, "why", slipping from her at the statement. She then seemed to think of something before shifting over to a clearly unpracticed expression of half lidded eyes peering from behind the frames. "Do you like this look?"

The heat in Fizzlepop's face ignited anew, but she was able to respond in a, mostly, level tone. "It is, not an unappealing look for you."

Fizzlepop was now confronted by something she'd seen just a few times since being put under Twilight's care. The scientific mares tendency to forget social norms when something had peaked her interest. It was normally something that made Fizzlepop smile, but not when it involved the scientifically minded pony to suddenly be very close to her face and looking at her with an intensity few ponies could muster.

"..... Twilight?"

"....."

"..... Twily?"

"....., ..... Are you... blushing?"

Fizzlepop was even more confused as her face suddenly felt even warmer. Twilight's eyes seemed to light up. "Of course not."

"You are."

"I can assure you I am not." Her face now felt hotter then it ever had as Twilight now got right in close to it, her nose almost brushing her cheek.

Twilight finally pulled away, and it confused Fizzlepop that her doing so somehow felt just as unwelcome as the initial intrusion of her personal space had. She didn't have time to dwell on that however as Twilight was giving her that smile that made her head fuzzy again.

"The color of your coat hides it well, but you were, are, totally blushing." Her smile became almost playful as she continued. "Apparently you like the look of mares with glasses."

"You should know that everything you are saying right now sounds completely ridiculous."

Twilight's smile now became mischievous. She reached her hoof up, cocking her head down just slightly as she slid the glasses down her snout to peer towards the other mare over the tops of the frames. "Does it really?"

Tempest had a moment of panic as an unfamiliar tremor ran through her legs making them briefly feel weak. At the same time her mouth suddenly felt like she was dehydrated despite perspiration starting to bead on her forehead. She was certain at this moment that she should be trying to think of some kind of counter attack to whatever had just been done to her, but the feeling that usually accompanied being around Twilight was dulling her senses even more then usual.

The look of concern that had taken over Twilight's face quickly brought Fizzlepop back to herself enough to stand from the defensive position she had instinctively crouched into. She took a moment to brush her hair from her eyes and give herself time to think. She would have also taken an extra second to adjust her suit, but it had apparently stayed exactly where she wanted it.

"So, is this really what having a 'crush' is like?"

The concern was replaced with relief, which then quickly changed to a sheepish expression that was not quite a smile. "Umm, well, I think what was just going on there would fall more into the category of 'flirting', if I'm not mistaken. Although I do suppose it is related. I'm sorry, I've never really ever tried to do something like this before. I'm not sure where or even how to draw the line on what might be going too far."

Fizzlepop sighed openly at this. "It's ok. Thanks to some of your friends I thought I had a better understanding of my own feelings at this point. I apparently wasn't quite as prepared as I thought I was for what I was going to face today."

Twilight looked to her, apology still written all over her face. And glasses still framing her face perfectly. "I'm still sorry," she said with the slightest of pouts.

Fizzlepop had to twitch back. "Just.. take off the glasses and I'll forgive you completely." Realizing what she was doing, Twilight once again smiled sheepishly before levitating them from her face and over to a shelf on the other side of the room.

"Sorry, I really wasn't trying to fluster you that much. I wasn't really trying to at all actually, it just sort of happened. I mean really, you're normally so hard to get any sort of reaction out of. And I'm usually trying to get some kind of reaction from you, so I guess I just got a little carried away."

Fizzlepop allowed herself to grumble at that. "I believe I have emphasized that it is in fact very easy for you in particular to have a rather dramatic effect on me. After all, the only reason we're going out today is so that I can learn to get myself under control when I'm around you is it not?" She tried to sound serious, but the conversation so far had taken all the bite from her words, as interacting with Twilight often did.

"Well, I was treating it more as an opportunity to have a nice, fun day out with a friend. I think all of that other stuff will work itself out naturally." Twilight now paused and blushed slightly, Fizzlepop presumed finally remembering what was planned for the day. "And if ponies think something more of it in the meantime, I think that's ok."

Fizzlepop, also remembering what had been planned for the day and it's potential implications, felt her cheeks heat up again. Twilight squinted and smiled at her. That was frustrating, but the statement had made her remember something she had been thinking of doing ever since talking to Fluttershy the day before. She had planned to do it early on, but this was the first moment she felt it would fit into the conversation properly. And as her eyes tracked over the pony before her, sans glasses this time, she knew it would be both easy and hard for her to do at the same time.

"It.. It might be difficult for ponies not to think there's something going on, not when.. not when you look as lovely as you do today." Twilight's eyes widened at the words as her entire face suddenly darkened to nearly match Fizzlepop's. Fizzlepop herself was suddenly concerned and tried to make amends immediately. "I'm sorry, that was probably too forward. I.. I've never tried something like that b..."

A raised hoof from the blushing mare stopped her as Twilight managed to get out a hesitant response. "It's ok, really. I know that you do kind of, like me. And I was kind of teasing you about it just a few minutes ago anyway." She took a deep breath and gave a smile to her friend. "I guess I wasn't fully prepared for this sort of thing either. Just so you know, this is my first time going out on something that can officially be qualified as a date."

With her usual reserve already thoroughly devastated at this point this took Fizzlepop aback enough that it caused her to speak before thinking. "How is that even possible for a mare as brilliant as you?" Both mares froze at the very obviously genuine words being spoken so suddenly. The moment drug on slightly longer then either mare was comfortable with, but it did give Fizzlepop time to collect her thoughts. Looking at the expression of the mare before her she managed to come to a realization. "I am blushing, aren't I?"

The moment finally broke as Twilight snorted out a laugh and giggled lightly at the mares plight. "Yeah. And just so you know it's also not a bad look for you. It's.. cute."

Fizzlepop's face felt even warmer as her blush deepened. Twilight's smile was making it difficult for her to concentrate on a proper response once again. She turned away in an attempt to find a distraction from the situation. It came in the form of her noticing the clock hanging on the side wall of the room and what time it read.

"Why does this always happen whenever I'm around you?" Just by her hesitation she could tell Twilight was sending a quizzical look in her direction. She indicated the clock with a nod. After a moment she heard Twilight giggle again, also realizing how long they'd already spent together. "I normally adhere to a strict and disciplined series of events throughout my day. Whenever I'm with you my hours slip by like nothing."

"It's a lesson I've had to relearn more times then I'd care to admit, but it's ok to let yourself enjoy just waisting time with somepony." Her blush came back slightly as she paused. "Especially if it's with somepony who's maybe a little more special."

Twilight launching into some kind of lesson was a far more familiar situation then anything that had been going on so far. It was enough for some confidence to come back to the usually confident mare. She gave an only slightly devious smile before responding. "Even so, I don't think this relationship has progressed enough for a date to involve not leaving the bedroom all day."

Twilight did blush at the slightly crude joke, but laughed nonetheless. "Good thing we still have plenty of time. And that I did think of a great idea of what we can do for the rest of the day." Finally focused on their days plans, she lit her horn and levitated a small bag from the corner of the room. With it secured over her shoulder she finally indicated the direction of the door.

Fizzlepop walked over, opening the door for her date, but also bowing low for her princess. Twilight just rolled her eyes as she walked past. Fizzlepop wasn't sure if it was accidental or if Twilight was making another attempt at flirting, but the mares tail, swishing as she walked, brushed across her muzzle ever so slightly. Whether deliberate or not, she knew it caused her face to ignite in her deepest blush yet.

Author's Notes:

Ok, author notes are gonna be a little long here because I have quite the odyssey to tell you all about.
It took me over a week to get barely over 500 words down in this chapter, and they were fighting me the whole way. At just over that mark the story sat down and refused to move. I spent another week trying to make those first 500 work, but they just wouldn't. After staring at it for over an hour one night I just decided to sleep on it for another night. Suddenly a switch flipped in my head and it made sense what was wrong. I was going to try to keep as much of what I had written so far as I could, but quickly realized that would be more work then it was worth. Deleted to a clean slate, and with my problem figured out I burned past that original 500 word barrier in less then twenty minutes.
At which point this piece of garbage phone gave me it's biggest middle finger yet. Totally freeze, completely unresponsive. Had to wait for it to realize it had once again nerfed itself to death, during which I had plenty of time to realized that I was so in the zone that I hadn't saved at all. After the reboot I was staring at the original 500 that I hated. And I think most people know it's hard to get back on a roll when something throws that kind of wrench into it. It's also impossible to catch that partially creative spark again, so redoing that part took me most of the night.
Setup for this chapter also ended up being way longer then I thought it would be. This chapter was suppose to include the date as well and still be roughly as long as this charter ended up being.
I also thought when I finally finished it that it was fairly well done. Six edits and an extra thousand words indicates that that was a lie. However that part of it I'm actually happy with. I do like polishing my work, even when it does seem like I'm polishing a turd for much longer then it should.
Anyway, if you actually bothered reading all that then I guess it's just the usual from here. I love getting comments, both good and bad so let me know what you think. Or just say hi, I'm sure a lot of us are starved for human contact at this point. Stay safe everyone.
P.S.
I was kicking around the idea of tempest either having already or at some point in the story giving her dagger a name. Definitely not concrete at the moment, and part of that is that I can't think of a good name for it. If anyone has a good suggestion, it just might make me decide to do it.

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Tempest Shadow... Fizzlepop Berrytwist, had never been on a date in her life. And from her understanding, neither had her friend and superior Twilight Sparkle. That being the case she had no idea what to expect, and that was not a state the usually well prepared mare liked to be in. It was therefore relieving to her when the start of the date had mainly consisted of situations that were at least somewhat familiar.

They were starting out their date fairly early, so the first stop had been a light lunch. And so far it was not much different and no less enjoyable then any of the many times the two had done so before. There were just a few added pros and cons she was still trying to work out the balance of.

"Fizzlepop, stop checking your blind spots in the napkin dispenser." Fizzlepop flinched just slightly at that, causing Twilight to roll her eyes with a tired smile. "And yes, I am going to keep calling you Fizzlepop in public."

"It's bad enough all your friends know my real name. I don't need the general public to start calling me by that embarrassing thing."

Twilight gave her a slightly exasperated look. "Well I think you're just going to have to deal with it for now. After all, it would be inappropriate for me to go out on a date with Tempest Shadow, the interim head of the royal guard. Going out on a date with my friend Fizzlepop Berrytwist is completely fine though don't you think."

Fizzlepop gave a sigh of resignation. "Yes, of course you're right Twilight." Twilight glared. Fizzlepop grumbled. "Twily." Twilight smiled. "I understand why you make me call you that, I really do. And I actually can deal with how cutesy it sounds coming out of my mouth. But honestly, I don't like using that name because it just sounds so silly for you."

Twilight had been taking one of the last spoonfuls of the soup she had ordered as Fizzlepop said this. She seemed to think for a moment while she held the bite there, spoon sticking from her mouth. She gave a casual shrug at the statement before swallowing. "Yeah, you might be right about that. I mean, the only ponies who use that nickname for me are my family. My brother gave it to me when I was just a little filly afterall."

"Ok, then I really don't want to keep calling you Twily. Calling you by a familial name would be weird even if I didn't..." She managed to catch herself, but not before...

"You're blushing again." Fizzlepop groaned, Twilight smiled. "I guess if you want to stop calling me Twily you're going to have to come up with an appropriate pet name for me." Fizzlepop looked away as she felt her face get even warmer. From the corner of her eye she saw Twilight's smile get even bigger. "You don't always have to be in complete control of everything, even yourself. You are allowed to feel however you want to," she blushed a little as she continued. "About anything."

Fizzlepop rolled her own eyes before very obviously checking the reflection in the napkin dispenser again. "I feel like I want to know why those stallions keep glancing over here. The amount of attention they are giving us makes me think they're planning something."

Twilight used her magic to tilt the improvised mirror onto it's side so that it was useless to her. "It's probably nothing. Lots of ponies stare at me when I walk around town anymore. Especially new comers, and I don't recognize them."

Tempest grumbled at that while discreetly checking over her shoulder. "Well then I'm even more suspicious. I know what ponies look like when they're in awe of you as a princess. This isn't that."

Twilight rolled her eyes again. "Off duty, remember. It's Ponyville, who would try to hurt me here."

"You've read my reports and you know I am tracking the movements of at least two different groups that don't think you should be a princess."

Twilight snorted a laugh. "Which one? The Luna is best princess fanclub, or the Cadance alliance fanclub."

Tempest gave her a mild glare. "What about the antiascensionists? You know, the ones who believe that only those born an alicorn are true alicorns."

Twilight puttered her lips as she laughed that off. "What, all six of them."

".... Nine."

"And they've broken up like five different times already."

"Well if you don't think those stallions are dangerous then answer me why they keep looking over here." Tempest grumbled as she checked over her shoulder again.

Twilight stopped to consider for a moment, very undiscreetly looking between her date and the stallions across the cafe. She smiled mischievously. "I'm no expert, but if I had to guess I'd say it looks like they're checking us out." Fizzlepop turned to Twilight, shock managing to break onto her face. "Actually, now that I've had a good look, I'd say they're checking you out."

Forgoing her usual discretion Fizzlepop turned to the table behind her, whereupon the two stallions seated there suddenly decided they were done with their barely half finished meals. The two blond maned stallions rudely left their plates right where they were and managed to be out of the door of the establishment within seconds.

Fizzlepop sat stunned looking at where the two had been. Had she tipped them off that she noticed them? Had she scared normal ponies off again the way she usually did? Or... was Twilight actually right about this? Twilight was usually right about a lot of things.

She managed to direct her gaze back over to her date, who was smiling at her smugly. "You know, I really didn't have time to properly tell you how good you look in that suit."

Fizzlepop felt she should be able to come up with a proper response to that. She knew she had thought in advance of as many scenarios as she could and how to react to them. Being complimented had been one of them. But right now her thoughts seemed to be paralyzed by the smile Twilight was giving her. She maintained that smile as she lit her horn and began to collect they're empty plates and bowls.

"We should probably get going, I had a lot of stuff I wanted to show you today." Fizzlepop automatically followed the direction as she stood to follow her princess. Her confusion redoubled when they walked past the table the two stallions had been at and she noticed Twilight's magic wrap around their plates and silverware as well. She turned and gave Fizzlepop a playful smile. "Might as well do something nice for your secret admirers right."

Fizzlepop managed to find her glare at that as she lit her own horn. It sparked violently, but Twilight noticed not as much as when she was actually mad. She proceeded to force the stallions plates back down and take their own away from Twilight. She trotted past the smirking alicorn to properly dispose of them and wait with an irritated expression for Twilight to catch up.

Within minutes the pair were walking down the street, Fizzlepop still leading while Twilight smirked from behind.

"So, how long are you going to give me the silent treatment?"

Fizzlepop stopped at what passed for an intersection in Ponyville and looked in both directions. She wilted slightly as she replied. "Considering I have no idea where you were planning on going, I think I'm done." Twilight's smile became sickly sweet as she passed by her friend and led her down the path leading towards the market place. Fizzlepop followed with a huff. "And I was not giving you the silent treatment."

"Of course not. That would be childish, and big bad Fizzlepop Berrytwist couldn't possibly act childish from time to time."

"... You're really laying it on thick today aren't you?"

Twilight just shrugged her shoulders. "If you can't be open to having fun with somepony on a date, when else can you?"

Fizzlepop grumbled. She hated it that Twilight had the ability to be so reasonable even while being completely unreasonable. And yet, she still felt like she hated it a lot less then she should.

"Where exactly are you taking us anyway? The only thing this way is all the local shops and merchants isn't it?"

"Mostly, yeah."

".... So what were you planning for this date then?"

"I'm using it as an opportunity to also continue my ongoing quest of getting you to admit you like and deserve nice things."

"We're going shopping?"

"That's right," Twilight chirped as they were now entering the lively open area that made up the shopping district. "With a little added bonus too."

"Twilight, as frustrating as your usual attempts to pamper me already are, I really can't allow you to spend money openly on me. I mean seriously, where are you going to get the bits from anyway?You're a princess, ponies will talk."

"Here's a fun little story. We're supposed to share those when on a date right?" She didn't let her date respond before continuing. "For some reason ponies don't seem to be aware just how much interest Princess Celestia has taken in the education of equestrian youth over the years. Despite the fact that I was the most notable personal student of Princess Celestia, I was by no means the first. However I was by a wide margin the youngest as she usually takes on post graduate students."

This actually made Fizzlepop quirk her eyebrow in question. "And just how old were you when you became her student?"

"I was seven."

Fizzlepop felt her hooves stop of their own accord. Twilight seemed to anticipate this and looked back with an overly sweet smile when she did.

"What?!?"

"That's right. So the stipend her students usually got for housing, living expenses, and various other stuff so they can focus on their studies and experiments went largely untouched. And it also had a lot of extra years to build up." Twilight lit her horn and a massive bag popped into existence before her. The sound it made as it hit the ground got the attention of every merchant in the area. "So don't worry your pretty head about it for one second."

The bag disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared and Twilight continued walking. Shaking off the shock, Fizzlepop managed to follow and noticed something odd about the other mares course.

"But wait, if we're shopping then where are you going?"

"That's the bonus I mentioned," she replied as she now seemed to be walking right back out of the shopping district on the opposite side. However despite this the only real difference between this area and the shopping district they'd just left seemed to be that this one was not paved. The ground they now walked that should just be a grassy area just outside of Ponyville was now long trodden to bare dirt with various stands, tents, and some very new buildings surrounding it.

"Ponyville really wasn't built to handle the burden associated with having a large population of royal guards ponies and the staff to comfortably house them moved into town. But that ended up not being an issue I had to consider for very long. It turns out that that sort of presence seems to attract a lot of new business into a small town."

Fizzlepop looked around at the lively street herself in curiosity, noticing as she did several ponies she had seen before around the castle. "Really, I would think the larger draw would come from you. I assume most ponies would want to live near a castle and a princess."

"That was true for a little while after my ascention, but then everypony realized that living near lightning rods of trouble like the element bearers was not for the faint of heart." She stopped as she came to the center of the new extension of the shopping district where beginnings of a paved square were just being started. "Most of those ponies only started coming back ever since the guards showed up. So, just so we're clear. All of this," she now grandly gestured to the lively and well packed area. "Is thanks to you."

In the back of her mind Tempest felt she needed to be analyzing this new area and incorporating it into her planning for defensive strategies for the castle and town at large. To say nothing of her need to get out of the castle more often if changes like this were going on under her nose. But those thoughts melted away from Fizzlepop's mind at the sight of the proud smile of the mare with her. All her usual proclivities to argue or prioritize her duties fell to the side and only one thought came to her lips.

"Where did you want to go first?"

***

Fizzlepop squinted hard with her nose nearly pressed against the glass of a display case. She knew she wasn't a pony who knew a lot of the ins and outs of how the day to day lives of normal ponies worked, but she was still sure there was something wrong. She looked past the item in the display case to where Twilight was closely examining what looked like some tapestries hanging from the far wall. She was about to call out to her, but then found herself smiling at the look of deep concentration on the mares face.

Apparently she was staring a little too hard as the mare turned to her. Thinking quickly Fizzlepop managed to remember what she had initially wanted to do.

"Twilight, if you're not busy could you come over here?" She was then somewhat confused when Twilight proceeded to smile at her and turn back to what she was doing. Fizzlepop then rolled her eyes in understanding. Much more loudly she spoke again. "Twily, could you come take a look at this for me?"

Twilight then turned as if only just hearing the other mare and began to trot over happily. "Sure thing Fizzlepop, what is it"

Twilight came up to the case right next to Fizzlepop and proceeded to put her face very close to the other mares to see what she was looking at. Fizzlepop bit her lip to force back a blush. "I was just thinking this didn't look quite right."

Twilight stared deeply at what Fizzlepop was indicating. After deep consideration she could only shrug. "I'm not sure. This is more your area of expertise then mine in several ways."

Fizzlepop felt her cheeks heat up just a little as she looked around the moderately sized tent they had come to. It was set up to look like a Saddle Arabian bazaar. Fizzlepop remembered with mixed feelings the first time Twilight had managed to get her to open up after asking her about her past. Apparently she had gotten more then a little excited after telling Twilight about a time before the storm king when her travels had led her to the far east. It was probably the only place other then the Castle of Friendship that she had ever felt comfortable. Which was why she could tell something was off.

"This knife. It's just that doesn't look to be made of any type of Saddle Arabian steel that I've ever seen."

Twilight redirected her attention to it as Fizzlepop did the same. It was why only Fizzlepop noticed it when a large stallion approach them from the other side of the glass.

"Ah my good sir. It seems you have an eye for quality. Which of these lovely authentic blades has caught your attention."

Fizzlepop didn't seem to react to getting mistaken for a stallion in the least. If anything, Twilight noticed only the slightest ghost of an evil smile make it to her lips. "Actually I was just wondering if you were certain that these blades were actually made by true Saddle Arabian artisans."

"My dear sir. All of the pieces you see here I saw created with my own eyes in my many travels to the far nation."

"Hummm." Tempest seemed to consider the statement deeply. Twilight was now becoming slightly concerned. Those concerns were mostly assuaged as she spoke. "Well considering I don't think I can trust your discerning eye, I'm afraid I'm not convinced these are authentic."

The stallions demeanor turned on a dime as his voice became much more gruff as he continued. "Young man, I can assure you that absolutely everything in this tent is one hundred percent authentic."

"Umm," Twilight chimed in as the stallion now seemed to be attempting to glare down a completely unfazed Tempest. "If that's really true then you might have a problem." The stallion now turned his glare to Twilight, which now finally drew a glare from Tempest. Twilight simply pointed over to the wall where she'd been examining things. "If everything is authentic, then you being in possession of those prayer rugs over there would be extremely illegal."

Tempest's glare became a smug smirk again as the stallion was now clearly becoming irate. "The two of you obviously have no idea what you are talking about." He began reaching into the display case, pulling out the blade Tempest had been looking at. "I am a legitimate business stallion and I sell only the best. If you really understood Saddle Arabian craftsmanship you'd know...."

In the span of less then a second several things happened. The shop owner began to pull the knife from it's sheath. Before he fully managed to do so they're was a sound like something slicing the air, followed closely by a metallic clang, and a sound like something impacting wood. Reacting to this the stallion pulled away, front hooves separating as he fell back on his haunches. At this point he realized one hoof was holding only half a blade, presumably the other half now lost in it's sheath. Looking up he saw a much larger dagger now expertly driven into the thin strip of wood at the base of the display case he'd been standing in front of.

"I actually do have a fairly good understanding of Saddle Arabian craftsmanship. As you can see a true blade can literally cleave an inferior blade cleanly in half."

As shocked as the stallion, and to a lesser extent Twilight, was about what had just happened he soon stood back up. Impantent rage flared. "How dare you. You dare damage my quality merchandise. I'll call the guards on you this instant."

Finally realizing just why Tempest had even bothered with this in the first place, Twilight couldn't help but let the smallest snort of a laugh escape. Tempest spoke before the stallion could snap at her. "Are you really certain the guards would even come, much less side with you if they did?" Her words practically dripped with condescension as she leaned forward and smiled oh so smugly at him.

"I'll have you know that I am close friends with the current head of the royal guards herself." Both Tempest and Twilight couldn't help but smile wider at that. "You doubt me. I happen to know commander Shadow very well. She's a fine mare and she'll make short work of the likes of you young man. And perhaps I'll inform my other close friend, the princess of friendship. That's right, I know some very important ponies. You can't mess with me, either of you."

He seemed slightly off put when both ponies began laughing heartily at that. He seemed even more confused at the strangely feminine laugh coming from the "stallion" he had mostly been directing his rage at.

Twilight recovered first, standing up in the regal posture Tempest had definitely not accidently walked in on her practicing a few times now. "Commander Shadow, would you please lend me a hoof?"

Catching on from the bump rising on the other mares back Tempest turned, just enough to show the skirted bottom of her outfit, and with bowed head reached up to take hold of the fabric of the back of the dress. "My pleasure, your highness."

With a flash and a pop Tempest was now holding an empty dress aloft. She heard the unfurling of wings from the opposite side of her. The sight of the stallions eyes growing to the size of dinner plates while his pupils shrank to pin pricks made it hard to maintain her Demeanor.

"P p p p pri prin princess...."

Twilight cleared her throat to cut his stuttering short. "So which is it? Is all your merchandise authentic or not? Because either way I'm afraid I'll have to be making a report to the mayor to have your shop investigated. Will the investigation be for misrepresentation of goods, or for international trade violations?"

Though Tempest could tell Twilight was struggling with her smug and superior tone, the shop owner was off guard and was thoroughly buying every moment of it.

"Umm... I, I might have been mistaken when I bought the rugs...," he finally conceded as his ears flattened and he tried not to look away. "But every thing else I can assure you is of the highest... quality." He trailed off as he seemed to remember what was predominantly just the handle of a knife in his hoof.

Twilight seemed to stare at it critically for a moment before an idea seemed to come to her. Electrical sparks started jumping from her horn, almost looking like when Tempest attempted more complicated spells. "If you are so sure of that I could always perform an electro-chemical composition test to determine their physical makeup. Compared, of course, to a piece that is known to be of the make and quality you've advertised."

The sparking around her horn reached out and plucked the dagger with a green gem from where it had been driven into the case. The stallion finally looked away at this. "That... won't be necessary..."

Twilight twirled the dagger around in her magic nonchalantly as she spoke. "I'm working very hard to set up the kind of quality shopping district that will attract ponies from all over the world. I'm afraid there's no place in it for a shop that lies about the quality of their goods." The blade stopped spinning and with speed and precision found itself sliding back into it's sheath on the other mares leg.

Tempest had maintained a soldiers level of stoicism this whole time even while feeling the other mares magic that close to her. She finally broke it as there was a flash and a pop and she found the dress she was holding filled in again. She couldn't help but smile to herself as she saw the slightly smug smile on Twilight's face.

"I would suggest either updating your signs or your merchandise. And I'd do it within the next few days as I'm not sure exactly when there will be time to get somepony down to inspect your shop thoroughly. But I promise it will be as soon as is possible." She turned to Tempest. "Anything else?"

"Yes in fact," she said as she leaned forward with a glare. "Don't ever make me think you're about to pull a blade on my Princess ever again."

The stallion gulped as both mares smiled and, in unison, walked from the tent.

Not far from the tent Twilight was the first to break and start laughing. Fizzlepop could only smile proudly at it.

"Ok, so being the big bad mare in charge can be a little fun sometimes." She said this while smiling and giving the larger mare a small shoulder bump. "I can see why you like it so much."

"It would seem you're a natural at it too. I mean seriously," She turned to the other mare with an exasperated look. "Electro-chemical composition test." She reached up with a hoof and flicked the other mare's horn as they walked, causing a few remaining sparks of magically conjoured electricity to discharge from it.

Twilight smiled with embarrassment at that. "I thought it sounded official. And apparently it worked." She reached up to her own horn to shoo away the other hoof as more sparks kept discharging. "You're the one that who says that saying things with confidence is more important then being right most of the time."

"Yes, and now you see that it's true. Perhaps I'm as bad an influence on you as you are a good one on me. Maybe this time next year I'll be saving Equestria from you."

Twilight snorted a laugh and bumped her shoulder harder. "Well you'd have to assemble your own group of best friends forever before you can do that."

"Is that right. In that case I'll just borrow yours. Maybe even become the new element of magic in the process."

"As the element of magic I can say with complete confidence that that is definitely not how the elements work."

Fizzlepop laughed at the fake confident tone Twilight tried to maintain as she spoke. She reached up to flick her horn again. "Whatever you say sparky."

As the latest and seemingly last of the sparks discharged, Fizzlepop was suddenly caught off guard when a very cocky smile came to Twilight's face.

"Hey Fizzlepop, guess what." Fizzlepop could only cock her head in question. "You don't have to call me Twily anymore."

Fizzlepop's eyes widened in shock and realization. "Oh no. No no no no no. That is not happening Twilight."

Twilight very obviously ignored the other mares plight. Going as far as humming a little tune as she picked up her walking pace.

"If anything that is even worse. Twilight stop so I can reason with you." The other mare just kept walking. "Twilight.... Twily?" No response. "Ugh! Sparky."

"So the only down side to this is now I have to come up with an appropriate nickname that would match it to call you." Fizzlepop could only grumble at somehow still being ignored despite being acknowledged at last. "If we want it to match properly the obvious answer would be Twisty. Or would it be Berry...ie? Hummm, I'm not sure which would match better."

"It doesn't matter because I would not respond to either." Fizzlepop said this with a very solid conviction.

"Oh come on now. Having a nickname isn't the end of the world. Is it Fizz?"

"It's not the idea of having a nickname, I just wouldn't respond to such a childish name in gener... You just tricked me into responding to the one you really wanted to use didn't you?"

Twilight just smiled sweetly as she again trotted on ahead. "Now that that's settled, we'll have to make up for that shop not being as good as I was hoping it would be. And also we are going to have to address how casually you handled being mistaken for a stallion. I've got a few places in mind."

She now came to a stop in front of a fairly large stand. A fairly large stand with a fairly large assortment of entirely too pink accessories. And although she wished to protest, Fizzlepop found Twilight to be smiling an impenetrable smile to her.

"Are you ready Fizz?"

Fizzlepop could only sigh. "Lead on, Sparky."

***

A few hours and a few too many stands for Fizzlepop's taste later and all the mare could do was groan. "Did you really have to buy me all that stuff."

Twilight's smile was entirely too sweet for Fizzlepop's taste right now as well. "Of course I did. After all, if you have so many new cute outfits to wear then you need a wardrobe to put them in as well right?"

"I suppose from a logical standpoint you are right, but you bought me an entire bedroom set to go with it. And besides that, I didn't need the outfits to begin with."

"Oh they were casual outfits. Just some things that might let ponies see how pretty you can be. The suit is really nice, but you need some middle ground between this and your usual armor right. And you can't go around looking this nice all the time just because Rarity made you a few extra outfits either. And besides that," she looked over to the mare with a knowing smile. "I've gotten pretty good at figuring out when you actually do want something. You liked all the stuff I bought for you. Even and especially that cute green mane bow." Fizzlepop could only glare at the impenetrable smile before her. "And no I'm not going to tell you what your tells are."

The mares continued walking through town, glancing at shops they passed along the way. It was probably good that Twilight was as skilled at teleportation as she was. Fizzlepop didn't care much for shopping at the best of times, but had they needed to be carrying around what had been purchased so far the day would have ended a long time ago already. And she was starting to not have to wonder why that was a plus for her.

"Even if you've convinced yourself that I might actually like looking more feminine, you can't possibly force me to wear any of it."

Twilight's smile seemed to turn slightly melancholic at that. "That's true. I can't force you to do anything really. Even as a princess I couldn't force you to act in any certain way." Her smile brightened as she continued. "But I can try my best to make you realize you might want something much more then you think."

Fizzlepop found herself rolling her eyes again. "Still trying to turn me into a sentimental pony like the rest of your friends." She saw Twilight's smile turn sheepish at that. "I still don't think buying me stuff like I'm a spoiled filly is going to..."

Twilight stopped a few steps ahead realizing her date had seemed to stop dead in her tracks yet again. She was curious to see the other mares nose twitching unconsciously. "Fizz, are you ok?" The other mare didn't move, but a quick glance around made Twilight's face turn up into a smile. "Hey Fizz. In your extensive travels you wouldn't have happened to have learned any Haytalian by chance?"

Finally broken from whatever trance she'd been put under, Fizzlepop turned to her princess in question. "No... Why do you ask?"

Twilight smiled deviously. "Then I definitely think we should go to that shop next."

Fizzlepop looked over to where a merchant had set up what looked like a rather large tent for his shop. In elegant script on a sign out front was written "Maestro del Cioccolato".

"What's in that shop?" Fizzlepop inquired as she walked over, Twilight having walked ahead and already poking her head in. She pulled her head back out, carefully holding the flap closed so Fizzlepop couldn't see in, and flashed a grin that was down right wicked.

"So Fiiiizzz, have you per chance ever seen a chocolate... Fountain?"

Fizzlepop felt her eyes widen as Twilight threw the flap open and she was hit in the face with a sweet scent. Inside were three odd structures, with three different colors of chocolate running off of them. Her mouth began to water, but she turned her face away.

"No, this is ill advised. If you take me in there you'd force me to indulge far too much."

She was caught off guard when Twilight's voice came to her softly from just next to her ear. "Fizz, you're already inside."

Fizzlepop looked up to notice the other mare was in fact right. Whether her own hooves had betrayed her or Twilight had silently worked some sort of magic she wasn't sure. But either way she knew who she was going to blame.

She grumbled. "Sparky, you really are far more evil then I ever was."

Twilight's smile only became brighter. She glanced around the interior before locking eyes with a stallion dressed in white, presumably the owner of the fountains. "Signore, could you please start us a tab. Under Princess Twilight Sparkle if you would."

***

The hour was a little later then either ponies realized as they walked down the halls of the Castle of Friendship. Both were under no delusion that their hoof falls were much slower then they normally would have been.

"Ugh. If I thought for a second the magical displacement wouldn't make me puke I'd just teleport both of us at this rate." Twilight said this while carrying the dress she'd been wearing most of the day over her shoulder. Some time after leaving their final stop of the night she'd decided that it no longer fit as well as it previously had and was making her wings uncomfortable.

Fizzlepop could only groan her affirmation. "I don't want to hear it. You're the one who got us the literal royal treatment. 'It would be rude to refuse when a master chocolatier is preparing fresh new creations just for us'. I do believe those were your exact words if I'm not mistaken."

"You were still the one who finished off his regular stock that prompted him to start making new stuff in the first place."

They rounded a corner which made both their stomachs slosh in ways they didn't like. "Don't remind me. I'm going to have to spend hours in the gym working this off."

Twilight gave as much of a chuckle at that as she could at the moment. "Says the pony in great enough shape to train soldiers. I sit on my flabby haunches all day long signing papers and have literally never even seen the castles gym. I need to hit the gym and work this off if anypony does.

Fizzlepop snorted a laugh. "I'll drag you along. We'll get you on a workout that will have you looking like the goddess you essentially are." Realizing what she was saying she felt her cheeks heating up again for the first time in hours. "Not that I'm saying you don't look good as you are now. I..I mean it's just."

Twilight bumped her hips into the other mares. "It really is fun to see you when you get flustered you know. It's kinda cute."

How natural it had become to talk to Twilight normally had made the real purpose of their days activities get lost for most of the day so far. But now that they were alone once again it was all coming back, and making her cheeks feel even warmer still.

"I am not cute. No pony has ever called me such a thing."

"Well, now one has." She came to a stop naturally as the doors of her room came into the side of her vision. "And the same cute gentlemare has also gone through the trouble of walking me all the way to my door." The potential implications of walking her date to their door were not lost on Fizzlepop, and this fact was not lost on Twilight as she was now squinting at the darker coated mares cheeks intently and smirking.

"I wasn't thinking of anything untoward. Even if this was a date I couldn't possibly be so unprofessional as to imagine doing such a thing with a pony who is still my sup...er....ior."

Fizzlepop's words trailed off as she felt another ponies cheek rub against her own gently. "This was a first date ever for the both of us. I think it's ok if we put that sort of thought off for the time being since neither of us knows where this is going at this point." She stepped away from the very warm cheek she'd been pressed into and lifted a hoof to her door. "That being said, I still want to spend more time with you this week. In fact, count me in on joining you at the gym. Would two o'clock on Monday work for you."

Fizzlepop went through her plans for her next work day quickly in her head. Before working it out completely she responded. "That would work perfectly. I'll look forward to it."

"That's good. Not that I won't see you, but enjoy your weekend. Fizz."

"And you as well." She couldn't help a smile coming to her lips. "Sparky."

Twilight pushed her door open and with one last smile disappeared into her room. Fizzlepop felt an odd mixture of sadness, glee, and even relief as she stared at the large doors. She was still smiling as she turned to walk the short distance down the hall to her own room. About half way she heard the same doors open behind her again.

"Oh, by the way," Twilight said as Fizzlepop turned to her once again. "I sent a message ahead to Spike with your new things. I hope you like what he's done with your room."

Not knowing how to respond to that Fizzlepop just smiled. "I'm sure it will be fine."

"Great. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." And the doors shut again.

Upon opening her door she found just a small amount of dragon fire still burning in the hearth on the far side of the room. This gave her enough light to see just how much Twilight had gotten for her today. Tempest had previously limited the accomodations allowed to her to the bed that had come with the room and a large duffel bags worth of the few things she owned neatly arranged next to it for easy access. But looking around at the dresser, wardrobe, mirror, and several other new furnishings that she knew also had things inside given to her out of the kindness of another ponies heart she had a weird filling. And it was even more weirdly a feeling she felt in both her chest and her stomach at that moment.

It felt full. But not in a suffocating way having this many personal items might have felt at other times in her life. For once in all the time she could remember she felt like her world was filled with wonderful things. Wonderful things given to her by wonderful ponies.

She shuffled over to her bed, carefully lighting her horn to assist in removing her clothes as she went. A type of comfort she'd never felt before came over her the moment the soft covers wrapped around her. She had never fallen asleep so quickly in her life.

Author's Notes:

Time to sound like a broken record again, but once again I'm sorry it takes me so long to write. By the time I'm done with editing I will have added a little something to make up for that, so look forward to it. This chapter was a little hard to write as I kept feeling like it was going a little too well for them for it to be interesting. There is some point to that but I still need for the story to be compelling to read obviously. That might be fixed with editing, but over all I feel like there's a flow issue with this chapter. Either way, taking a break from this to write for my other story for a bit. Hopeful it won't take too long. As usual, let me know what you think, good or bad. Or just berate me for taking so long to finish. No matter what I like hearing from everyone.

Interlude: A Promise

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Fluttershy hummed to herself tiredly as she began to make her usual morning rounds. Animals tended to be up earlier then most ponies, so she had to be awake early to tend to them. Being so use to being awake much earlier then most ponies she knew, she was startled when she heard an enthusiastic knock at her door.

Hesitantly she made her way over and oh so slightly cracked it open. Through the sliver of open space she saw a familiar dark purple coat. She smiled as she opened the door fully, but stopped short at how out of place what she then saw was.

Fizzlepop Berrytwist was on her doorstep, and she was currently smiling a smile that would seem more at home on Pinkie Pie. The mare seemed to hesitate for a brief second, but made Fluttershy gasp slightly as she suddenly lunged forward. Fluttershy did relax, but was still confused when she realized the normally stoic mare was hugging her.

"Thank you so much Fluttershy. Yesterday was probably the best day of my life and it might have never happened if it weren't for you."

Hearing this, Fluttershy was finally snapped out of the shock and raised her hooves to return the hug. After finally breaking the embrace she spoke. "That sounds great Fizzlepop, I take it your date yesterday went well."

Even though she seemed to want to, Fizzlepop didn't seem to be able to stop smiling as she responded. "Sparky very well might be the most frustrating pony I've ever known. She took me shopping to get me things for my room, and wouldn't stop buying me things no matter how much I told her to stop."

Fluttershy motioned for Fizzlepop to enter, which she did, while giving her a quizzical look. "Sparky?"

Fizzlepop's smile now became slightly sheepish as she looked away and rubbed her forelegs together. "Yes that. I, might have accidently called her that at one point and now she won't let me call her anything else." She glanced back over to see a very warm smile from her friend that allowed her to continue. "She also calls me Fizz now."

"That sounds really really great. I'm so glad to hear it worked out so well for you." They were now in her living room, but Fluttershy realized she had no place to invite her guest to sit as she currently had bags of pet food covering her couch. "Oh, I'm sorry I'm being a terrible host. I normally don't have ponies here this early."

Noticing the current state of the living room Fizzlepop's smile finally faltered for the first time. "Oh, I'm so sorry. Did I interrupt something."

"Oh no it's fine. I just have to feed all the animals first thing in the morning."

"First thing?" Fizzlepop inquired as she looked out the window to check the position of the sun. "Is it really still that early."

"Yes, the sun was only just raised a little while ago. Is something wrong?"

"No. I'm normally up this early just out of habit. But I slept so well last night I was sure that time had passed when I awoke." She considered this for a few moments before shrugging. "I suppose some instincts are harder to ignore then I thought."

Fluttershy smiled at the statement. "So yesterday went so well that you even slept really well?"

Fizzlepop nodded as her smile returned. "I even had these things. They were like nightmares, only they weren't bad. It was because of them that I was reminded the debt I owe to you and that you had wanted to know how things went between Sparky and myself."

"...., Dreams?"

"Dreams.... That is what they're called aren't they." She seemed to think for another moment before looking up to smile a slightly sad smile to the kind pegasus. "I'm indebted to you more then I could ever repay. Thank you so much my friend."

"You don't owe me anything Fizzlepop. I'm just happy that you're happy."

Fizzlepop managed to catch that Fluttershy's smile was also just the smallest bit sad at that moment. "You helped me with a problem you yourself have yet to conquer. Therefore I will do my best to repay the help you have given to me." She attempted to spark her horn to life to lift a large bag of food, only to find it too large for her to do so without her horn crackling painfully. She then just reached out and lifted it by hoof. "I will begin by helping you with your chores. Now and every weekend if you'd like."

"You really don't have to do that."

"It would be my pleasure. I'm usually up this early with nothing to do on my weekends anyway."

The smile being shown to Fluttershy right at that moment made her decision easy. "Well, ok. I guess it would be nice to have the company of a friend in the mornings. We can also have some breakfast afterwards."

She lifted her own bag of feed and began to lead the other mare to the back of the cottage. Fizzlepop was not finished speaking though. "And I also promise that if ever I have a chance to help you with your own crush that I will do my best to try to help you achieve your happiness as well. I can now attest that getting to go on a date with a pony you have a crush on is something every pony should get to experience."

Fluttershy smiled warmly before speaking very softly. "Yeah, we can keep calling them crushes for now.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Are you ready, because Angel can be a bit of a hooffull.

Challenge?

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Tempest clicked the button on her stopwatch as a pony in mid sprint finally lost the obvious battle he'd been having with gravity and his own legs and collapsed to the ground just a few feet in front of her. His soft pink mane was completely soaked as he tried his best to take deep lungfuls of air. The sad sight in front of her only somehow became more sad as a few other ponies passed him while coming to a stop.

These ponies were also out of breath, but still fairing better then him. They were followed by a few other ponies, then a few more. Writing times in a notebook as they arrived she finally spoke. "I guess we've finally found something you're good at." She couldn't tell through his exhaustion if this made any impact on his disposition. She proceeded nonetheless. "You might actually be very well suited at running away it seems."

She made to walk in front of the roughly gathered group, who all instinctively started to move to their usual positions. Even the still panting mass on the ground dragged his legs against the dirt to try to get them under him. She made a gesture for them to stop as she spoke up. "Stay at ease, take time to recover. You're going to need it."

She finished writing notes as she stood before them. They all seemed to be very cautious as they watched her, trying to anticipate her next move. She smiled cheerily. They all reflexively took a step back.

"I have great news for you all. For the rest of the week you get to participate in my all time favorite training activity." Anypony who had recovered enough actually managed to look optimistic at that. Maybe the smile really had taken them off guard. Perfect. "Survival training. All alone in the woods, no food, one days worth of water, and a knife for each of you." She gave them another cheery smile. "Doesn't that sound fun."

There was a collective cringe from all around. She smiled more wickedly at that. "Guards will be going with you, but only to observe. They will be under strict order to render absolutely no assistance whatsoever, no matter what hardships you might end up facing. Although if you ask nicely enough I'm sure at the end of the week they'll help you remove any of your fellow cadets who are, for whatever reason, unable to leave the woods under their own power."

And that finally led to despair. The ponies around her looked completely horrified and broken at this idea. And so she decided to add just one more push. "And, since he somehow managed to place first on the obstacle course, sissy mane over there will be in charge." Eyes widened and breaths caught at that. Heads turned to the stallion who was shakely attempting to stand, the news causing him to fail that attempt. Eyes turned back to Tempest, but none were brave enough to voice their protests.

"Prepping starts now, although considering your load is predetermined it shouldn't take any of you too long to prepare. Physically anyway, mentally is up to individual discretion. You'll be leaving after grub, so feel free to enjoy your last meal." She gave one more warm smile as she finished.

While her briefing did seem to be sufficiently menacing, judging by the looks of abject horror she was getting, even she didn't think it sounded like her usual style. But she had to admit, she didn't mind. She knew this was one of those types of training that she couldn't really help on, which she was ok with. She had other plans for the week that were occupying her thoughts.

***

Tempest Shadow stared at herself in the mirror of the locker room. Most ponies had their own pre-workout routines to get themselves in the zone, and she was no different. She knew she would soon be pushing her body until it begged her to stop, and then she would keep going. And she'd be doing it again and again and again. Thus she needed her focus, needed to be psyched, needed to know she wouldn't even show herself any mercy.

She glared at her own deep green eyes in the reflection, daring herself to back down from the challenge. With a snort she pushed away and began making her way into the main gym area, trotting with confident authority as she did so. Stepping through the door her eyes met and locked onto another pony about to enter it. The moment was frozen in time as her current unbreakable demeanor was met with a formidable challenge.

"..... , ..... snort, bwahahaha." The instant she lost the battle with the image before her the flood gates opened and Fizzlepop could not hold back anymore. She now clenched a hoof to her side as her ribs began to hurt. "Bwahahaha, Sparky, what in Equestria are you wearing?"

Twilight had apparently decided to come to the gym prepared... by the standards of a pony who had never been in an actual gym in their entire life. She currently wore what looked to Fizzlepop to be some type of skin tight singlet that was probably about half a size too small around the alicorns slight pudge. Not more than an inch lower than where the singlet ended around her legs were the tops of some rather long and very baggy socks of some kind. Or perhaps they were meant to be some kind of leg warmers, she wasn't sure and was in no position to try to figure it out. And yet despite the presence of the leg coverings, all four hooves were also adorned with sweat bands that were awkwardly bunching them in what looked to be an uncomfortable way. Finally she was also wearing something at least a little average, a sweat band around her head. Or it would have been had there not been, for reasons that the mare could not even begin to understand, another matching sweatband around the bookish mares horn.

Making it all the more amusing for Fizzlepop was that the first timer had apparently even taken the effort to make sure all parts of the ensemble matched. The only thing that was not particularly purple in front of her were the whites of Twilight's eyes from around her shrunken pupils as she cutely attempted to harshly glare down at the still laughing mare. In the back of her mind Fizzlepop wondered how Twilight could be looking down at her while doing such a bad job trying to intimidate her. After probably longer then it should have taken her, she came to realize that at some point during her laughing she had apparently ended up on the ground. Her fit slowly died down as she stared up at her workout partner for the day, willing herself to breathe evenly.

"Are you finally done?" Fizzlepop could only nod her head from her position at the moment. She worried that any sound escaping from her would set off more laughter and her ribs would not appreciate that at the moment. "Was it really that funny?" Again, Fizzlepop could only nod her head in reply, only this time slightly more vigorously. She was caught off guard when that made a smile come to Twilight's face. "Then it was totally worth it."

The mares horn lit and the outfit glowed for a second. With a flash and a pop it was gone, leaving the mare in a much more practical combination of sweat bands on her forehooves and across her forehead. Fizzlepop winced slightly with the effort as she managed to stand herself back up. "Wait wait wait. There is absolutely no way you wore all that just to get a reaction out of me."

Twilight gave her a very playful smile as she began to turn away and towards the rest of the gym. "Oh, you really don't think so?" She didn't turn away quite fast enough.

"You're blushing."

"No I'm not. Now let's see what the mighty Tempest Shadow does to keep herself in shape." Fizzlepop groaned as she came to stand next to Twilight, unconsciously raising her hoof to her side again as she did. "Fizz, are you ok?"

Once again she could only nod at the expression Twilight was giving her, this time for reasons she couldn't figure out. She considered for a few moments on how to put her next words in a way that wouldn't worry her friend. "I had no idea laughing could be so strenuous. There is absolutely no way I could handle my usual workout right now." She groaned again as she rubbed her side. "At least now I finally understand how it is that Pinkie Pie manages to not weigh five hundred pounds." Twilight giggled at that, nodding in agreement. "That being the case, I think a half speed workout will do for today. Does that sound good?"

"Sure thing. I might actually be able to keep up with you in that case. It sounds like we might be able to have some fun."

***

"That. Was. Not. Fun."

Twilight lay panting on the ground. She tried to wipe sweat from her face again, but her bands had become completely soaked a fair time ago already. Fizzlepop looked on in concern as she stood above her, trying to offer water from a bottle she had already refilled twice for her. "I'm sorry Twilight, I really didn't think I was pushing you that hard." Even in her current state Twilight managed to shoot a familiar glare at her. "Sparky, now do you need some more water?"

"No, I'll be fine." Her resolve only lasted a few seconds before she swiped the bottle and downed a few frantic mouthfuls. "Why would you do that to yourself?" She weezed out between pants. "Some of those workouts seemed almost like they were designed to punish your body as much as they were made to build it. Maybe moreso on some of them."

Fizzlepop reached down to offer the mare a hoof up. She knew the other mare was in a state that probably meant that her words were to be taken sarcastically, but they hit a deeply buried nerve within Fizzlepop. As she stood and they started making their way away from the weight machines they'd just been occupying she had to think on how to respond. "I.. I think maybe they were at some point." This caused Twilight to look over to her with concern despite her current state. Fizzlepop shook her head at that as she continued. "For a long time I really didn't like myself very much, so some of what I did to keep myself sharp might have evolved into, I guess, some kind of punishment. Something unconscious, from deep down were I'd buried the feelings that what I was doing was wrong. I actually have been meaning to change my workouts for a while now, but they've become such habit at this point."

Twilight could tell that saying this out loud hadn't been easy for the normally tough mare. Knowing where this was going she looked around them. Despite her exhaustion she managed to redirect their path to a more secluded area of the gym that looked unoccupied. Before she could voice any protest, Twilight pulled her friend into a hug that had become somewhat practiced between them at this point. She held it until Fizzlepop returned it, only with one foreleg, but it would do considering where they were. She pulled away and finally spoke.

"You've already acknowledged the problem, so you've already taken the first step to fixing it. And you even went half speed today, at least partially for your own benefit and not just because you knew I'd never be able to keep up."

This actually did make a small smile return to Fizzlepop's face. "Thanks." She was silent for a few moments, but did her best to shake it off. She took the initiative and led the way as they made their way back into the open gym, once again heading towards the locker room where they'd first met up. There was still some part of what had happened that she could not shake off quite yet. "... Do... Do you think I actually am getting better? Sometimes it's hard for me to even realize some of the things about the way I use to be were so wrong. Am I ever going to stop being the kind of pony who secretly hates things about themself?"

Twilight lifted a wing to wrap the other mare in a hug before responding. "Fizz, I know you're getting better. Think about this, did you even realize that a whole gym full of ponies saw you literally rolling on the floor laughing just a couple hours ago?"

Fizzlepop felt the hair on her back stand on end as those words hit her. Looking around she did in fact realize that many of the ponies in the castles gym had probably been there when she had first started her own workout. However she noticed something weird as she did so, particularly when she noticed a pony on a treadmill just a few feet away from her who looked over at her... and smiled.

"Nopony, is freaked out by me. None of them are even paying attention to me." She even noticed some of the older royal guards she had retrained who used to freeze up at the sight of her. They were lifting weights not far away from her right now. Their gazes tracked over her a few times but they didn't even seem to register her presence.

"Well, except for them." Fizzlepop followed the other mare's gaze. She felt her face go into a much more familiar expression as she scowled.

"What are they doing here?" Two blonde maned stallions were on elliptical machines not far away from them and doing a horrible job of pretending like they were not looking in her direction.

"Well I have recently opened the castle's gym up to the general public, just like I did with the library originally. So they're either here for a workout, or they just had to try to get another look at you."

Tempest glared in their general direction, whereupon they decided they were done with their workout for the day. Still covered in sweat and without even considering wiping down their machines, they quickly made their way to the public doors of the gym which led back out into Ponyville. She turned her glare back to Twilight. The alicorn was currently giving her a grin she might feel like punching off the face of any other pony. Words found their way to her mouth before she knew they were there.

"You're lucky you're so cute." Both mares felt their cheeks heat up before turning away from each other. After a few moments of embarrassment Fizzlepop felt the need to explain herself as best she could while still mentally kicking herself for saying something so sappy. "Sorry, I'm just a little, off kilter. I.. I usually do my best to try to ignore ponies when they're trying to avoid me. No pony was trying to avoid me, so I guess I somehow didn't even register anypony. Nothing felt like a threat so I guess I was able to, be at ease."

Fizzlepop had looked away while speaking, thus she couldn't see the look on Twilight's face as she responded. "Fizz, you don't have to explain yourself. This is a good thing. This is exactly what I keep telling you. I've always known there is such a good pony inside that you for some reason feel you need to keep locked away. And if you let other ponies see that part of you I'm sure they're going to love you."

That statement made something in Fizzlepop's chest stir, but it was drown out as she managed to look up and saw possibly the warmest smile she'd ever seen. Which was especially amazing considering it was on the pony that had given her more warm smiles then any other in her life. A part of her mind she realized was usually fuzzy and impossible to understand when she was around Twilight began giving her body unusual commands to lean her muzzle closer to that warm smile. Before it started sounding like an idea she really wanted to follow through on however, that warm smile turned away.

"I think I should start joining you in the gym more often. A princess probably should have a certain image if she's going to command respect. Although I'm going to have to research some new workout routines that will be better for the two of us." That word hung in Fizzlepop's head for an extra second, but she brushed it off along with all the other things she was doing her best to brush off. "In the mean time, I hope you don't mind if we call it a day. My everything hurts and I think I need a nice, long, bath after this."

Fizzlepop felt an odd feeling stir in her chest as Twilight began to walk away from her. They weren't actually parting quite yet, and yet the declaration that their day would be coming to an end made her suddenly feel the need to reach out to her for some reason.

"Oh, ummm." She wasn't sure what the sound she just made with her mouth was, but it was all that would come out at the moment. Twilight turned back with curiosity in her eyes. "I.. If your not up for it today, are you going to need tomorrow to recover as well?" Yes, that made sense the way she said it. Completely.

Twilight seemed to consider the butchered sentence for a few moments before her face turned back to her usual smile. "Of course we can still see each other tomorrow. I am helping you work through some things right now, and I think spending time together is the best way to do it. You should be completely free tomorrow with the new recruits doing their training right? So how about since I decided to join you today, you get to decide on something for us to do tomorrow."

An odd mixture of joy and dread settled over Fizzlepop. Knowing now that she wouldn't miss a day with Twilight did put her at ease. But the idea of planning a date made her mind go on autopilot for a moment. "That sounds acceptable. I do believe I can find something that will be enjoyable for the both of us." Twilight rolled her eyes at Fizzlepop dropping back into a more serious demeanor. She immediately and instinctively dialed it back as she continued. "But for now we should probably go get cleaned up."

Twilight gave a little chuckle at that. "Yeah, we. Because you were totally working up a sweat while trying not to leave me in the dust on every workout. I'm sure you were getting drenched while trying to look like you were straining at least a little bit so I didn't feel bad." Fizzlepop blushed at the observation, but they managed to share a laugh as they made their way into the locker room.

Peace?

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knock knock knock

Fizzlepop stood in front of Twilight's door for a few moments. She didn't hear anything after knocking, but considering what she was anticipating walking into she decided to wait a while more before knocking again. As she was finally considering raising her hoof a second time she suddenly heard a sound that could easily be mistaken with that of an unconscious body being dragged across the floor. When the sound from within seemed to be within ten feet of the door she finally saw the door handle become surrounded by a familiar purple aura.

Fizzlepop trotted lightly into the room after the door opened. She found herself looking down at a vaguely pony shaped mass of blankets on the floor. "Wow, barely enough concentration for ten feet of casting range. For you, that is really bad. Just how sore are you?"

"Existence is pain."

"Oh, so just a stage three then. You'll be fine." She said this while grabbing a corner of the blanket. With a flick she tossed it just far enough to uncover the other mare. "Wow. When I heard you cancelled your morning duties I knew what was up, but I didn't think you'd be this bad."

To say that Twilight looked disheveled would have been a massive understatement. If it was possible it seemed that not a single hair in either her coat or mane seemed to be going in the same direction as any other. Her eyes were bloodshot, as if something had prevented her from getting any restful sleep all night. And she now seemed to be glaring at the pony that had uncovered her.

"How are you even still standing. You went way harder than me and alicorns are supposed to have the enhanced strength and endurance of an earth pony."

"You're still a bookworm who has not spent nearly enough time running away from authority figures to keep up with me." She gave a teasing smile as she rolled the princess into a slightly more dignified position. Twilight did nothing but groan in protest. Lacking the ability to tilt her head to glare properly, Twilight opted to stick her tongue out at her friend instead.

"Well, unless you have something to do that does not involve a lot... any movement, I think we might need to take a raincheck on hanging out until I recover. In about a month."

Fizzlepop was already reaching back to dig through saddle bags around her haunches. "Actually this works out nicely. Until I ran into Spike I still didn't have a solid plan on what to do today. Now I have the perfect idea." From her bag she produced a large tower of paper that seemed to be alleging itself to be a book. "The Compendium of Interesting and Completely Useless Information. Vol. 3 was written on it's side with plenty of room to spare despite the large text.

"Spike said you kicked him out before this arrived and he didn't want to be the one to bother you."

Fizzlepop could already tell Twilight was very interested, but she was committed to trying to seem angry at her previous workout partner. She turned her head away dramatically, then cringed at the feeling that produced. "Figures. It's been delayed two weeks and finally comes when there's no way I can possibly even lift it. I think you still might be barking up the wrong tree."

Fizzlepop now held up a small container in her hoof. "I also have a special muscle relaxing salve that is so powerful it's actually illegal to sell in Equestria and most of the surrounding countries."

Twilight suddenly found the strength to reach out and swipe the container from the other mares hoof. "Done, and we shall never speak of this again."

Fizzlepop let out a little chuckle before grabbing the mare and extracting her from the blankets she was tangled in. With the princess secured over her shoulder she also scooped up the book and began carrying both in the familiar direction of the hearth. She placed the book in front of one pile of pillows before offloading the limp pony onto it.

Twilight landed with a small grunt. "You are not gentle."

"It's never been my strong suit." She responded as she tried to straighten the other mare out.

Twilight lightly batted her hoof away as she did, managing to roll herself into a more comfortable position. She then smiled giddily at the large pile of paper before her. Reaching out she remembered her other problem. With a cringe she pulled back and located the container that had ended up with her in the pillow pile when she landed.

Fizzlepop felt heat rise in her cheeks as words were coming to her lips, but she didn't stop them. "Did you need help putting that on, given your condition?"

Twilight attempted to give her a deadpan stare, but there was color in her cheeks as well. "Getting awfully forward there aren't you."

Fizzlepop knew Twilight was trying to tease, but she still felt she had to respond appropriately. "I would never suggest doing something of that manner with lewd intentions. I simply thought you might be a little too stiff to get it everywhere you need."

"So why are you blushing?" Twilight asked with a quirked eyebrow. Fizzlepop couldn't help but to look away.

"It's still a very intimate action. And I can admit that I. I... do find you attractive. So..."

Twilight had to look away as well. "Well I'm flattered, but I'm perfectly capable of doing at least this on my own." Her horn flared to life and lifted the container from her hoof. Nothing happened. Twilight seemed to squint at it, a squint that soon became a glare. Her magic cut off with a pop and she began prying at it with both forehooves. She was just about to raise it up and aren't to use her teeth when she noticed Fizzlepop with her hoof raised to her mouth, trying in vain to keep her lips from trembling.

With a huff she looked away in frustration, but offered the small container to it's original owner. She took it up and popped it open with one small twist. "You know, I'd agree with you if you wanted to say you loosened it for me." She said this while Twilight swiped it back from her with her magic.

"... That would be appreciated." Fizzlepop could only shake her head at the words as she began the sometimes difficult task of getting into the overly soft pile of pillows Twilight had gradually amassed for her since they had started spending time together. She was just getting into a comfortable position when she noticed that Twilight was nearly done applying the ointment. She settled in and waited for the show. A moment later Twilight flopped. It was the only way of describing it as she flattened into her pile of cushions as if knocked unconscious.

"Doing alright over there Sparky?" She asked, doing a bad job of masking her glee. She snickered lightly as she noticed her princess attempting to move her own body, only managing meager and slow twitches even after several tries.

"Fizz, have you been playing the long con? Is this an assassination attempt? What was that stuff and why do I feel like I'm made of liquid? Am I liquid right now?"

Fizzlepop let out a deep, hearty laugh that went on probably a little longer then it needed to as Twilight attempted to look up at her in mild shock. "Don't worry. That part will wear off in a few minutes." Twilight looked up at her with a skeptical quirk to her eyes. "What? Do you honestly think I'd try to do something to you while you're incapacitated?"

Noticing the teasing tone Twilight turned her head away in mock indignance. "Well you were the pony who was just offering to rub ointment on me a minute ago. Who knows what else you might be planning."

Fizzlepop stared in confusion. "Wait, you can move already?"

Twilight turned back to her in confusion. She then lifted a hoof to stare at it. "It appears so."

Fizzlepop gaped. "Well, I guess that alicorn physique truly is superior. I thought I was paralyzed for nearly ten minutes the first time I used that stuff."

Twilight kept looking at her hoof, moving it around as she did so. "Wow, all the pain is gone. I can barely feel my body right now. I don't think I've felt this light since I first ascended."

"It'll be like that for a few hours and you should be back to normal by tomorrow. Although moving around will still be difficult for a while yet, your whole body is essentially numb right now." Twilight nodded in affirmation, clearly impressed. "It is a very good product. It's a shame though, I'm almost out and I can't find it anywhere. I do understand why it would be banned though."

"You should meet Zecora, she might be able to make you something similar." Twilight paused. "But now thinking about that, why haven't I introduced the two of you yet? You'd probably be great friends."

"Who's Zecora?"

"A zebra friend of mine and the girls. She lives in a small hut the Everfree forest."

Fizzlepop's head tilted at that. "Wait, somepony lives in that death trap? What kind of nut is she?"

"The kind like you. Brave, strong, resourceful. Independent almost to a fault."

"... Are you talking about me or her?"

"Yes." Twilight said smugly as she finally turned with a smile to the canvas bound deforestation sitting in front of her. At the same time Fizzlepop rolled her eyes and pulled out one of the books Twilight had loaned her. She would have been happy to dive into another of the many tales of friendship conquering all that Twilight had recommended to her, but one part of their conversation still weighed on her as she tried to begin to read.

"You.. you didn't actually think there was a chance I would have done something to you while you were helpless, did you?"

Twilight didn't even look up, she just smiled warmly as purple magic from her horn opened her book and summoned over familiar boxes of goodies. "You might not be sure about your own feelings yet, but I do know that no matter how you feel you're still a good pony at heart."

The words were plenty to put Fizzlepop's mind at ease and the two began their respective books.

***

shwink

Twilight's ears turned to the sound. Her attention had been thoroughly held by her book for some time now, but she had at some point decided on a personal policy of no more then sixty chapters of any given book without at least considering a break. As she finished off chapter eighty she was finally able to wrestle her attention away enough to become aware of other things happening around her.

shwink

It wasn't loud, but it wasn't quiet either. She had to figure that it was due to how perfectly rhythmic the sound was that she hadn't even noticed it until now.

Looking over to her reading partner she saw the other mare seemingly deeply enthralled in the pages of her book. However her hooves were still occupied.

shwink

In one hoof was her dagger, the gem in the handle reflecting vibrant green light around as it moved back and forth. In the other a small flat stone that she was rubbing against the edge of the blade. Her hooves seemed to work on autopilot, switching the blade to either side with each movement. Twilight watched for a few minutes, the trained precision of the movement almost hypnotic to see.

"Are you even aware you're doing that?"

Fizzlepop's movements stopped instantly and her head snapped in the direction of Twilight like a trained soldier called to attention. "What is it prin.. Sparky?" Twilight just pointed her hoof at the other mare's, which caused her to make a pained expression. "Sorry, I do that sometimes without even realizing it. It must have been bothering you."

She was already sliding the sharpening stone into a well disguised slot in the side of the blades sheath before Twilight could respond. "No, it's actually fine. It was just interesting that you were doing it on pure muscle memory alone."

Before she could put the blade away Tempest had to inspect the edge. Seeing that it was up to her standards she made to put it away, but was stopped by a reaching forehoof to her own. She sighed as she knew she was going to have to explain. "For most of my life I've never really had much of a social life. Years ago when I got this knife she gave me something to do with my hooves when I was alone. Keeping her edge perfect gave me some ambition besides lying awake at night wondering if I'd ever find a way to fix my horn. So it became a very natural thing for me to do. You've never noticed before because you usually make me take her off."

"I'm sorry," Twilight said. Fizzlepop waved it off, though Twilight was starting to understand just how much she had to make up to her for that. "May I?" She asked as she held her hoof out.

Fizzlepop hesitated for a moment, but then freely offered it to the mare a second time. Twilight did her best to examine the edge the same way its owner did, looking down it while aiming it towards the fire the other mare must have started at some point. When the fire fluttered in just the right way the light hitting it almost seemed to be cut as it gleamed off the edge.

"You said you've had it over six years, and you've clearly taken care of it. Is it really that special to you?" She asked this while offering it back to her.

Taking it back and resheathing it with practiced ease she let out a sigh. "You are trying to make me tell you a story about my past because I usually loosen up after embarrassing myself like that."

Twilight at least had the decency to look sheepish at the accusation. "Ok, usually that would be true. But honestly I think you've loosened up considerably already. Have you even noticed how informally you've been with ponies the past few days?"

Fizzlepop made a measured groan. "Yes, you have an uncanny ability to make me let down my defenses and once upon a time I would have recruited you and used you to break captives. But that does not necessarily mean I'm going to tell you something that personal."

"It's ok Fizz, I'm not going to try to pressure you into telling me anything you're uncomfortable talking abou..."

"You realize that just saying that does kinda fall under the category of pressuring somepony into talking about something they don't want to talk about right."

"No idea what you are talking about."

Twilight's smile was so sweet it threatened to give Fizzlepop diabetes. Or that might have been the copious amounts of snacks Twilight always fed her. Either way her next groan was considerably less measured then the last. Or maybe that was just that it didn't reverberate through her the way it was supposed to while on a pile of soft cushions. She let it fade to a defeated sigh.

"Six, or I guess it's nearly seven years ago now. I'd been serving the storm king for some time at that point. I couldn't say I was happy, but my life had reached a level of stability I hadn't had in a long time. I had food, I had a place to sleep, I had what could be called a daily routine. It was... nice. That was about the time he told me that he had found the method that he'd use to fix my horn. The fact that there was an actual timeline to getting it back... Well I can't really describe how it made me feel."

She looked over to the other mare. She was surprised to see the book she had been reading not only closed, but pushed away so she could turn to a better position to listen. Realizing she was actually being prompted her face screwed up in thought for a moment. "I would say... It was probably hope. If what you've been telling me about your past is accurate, and I have no reason to believe it's not, then I'd say that hope would have been a foreign feeling to you at that point."

Tempest gave a little laugh at that. "Yes, I was feeling hopeful at the prospect of destroying a nation for my own gains. Sounds like the me of that time." She saw Twilight's expression turn sympathetic but cut her off before the pep talk could begin. "I know, I know. I was misled, I was desperate, I shouldn't blame myself for feeling like I had no other choice. Not necessarily true, but I accept that I've been given the chance to move on and try again."

Twilight was now giving her an incredulous glare. "Well if you know these things so well then why do I have keep to reminding you?"

Tempest now put on a familiar devious smile. "Maybe it's because you look so cute when you're trying to be angry."

Twilight's cheeks changed color, but she seemed to be getting better at controlling it. "Just because you've suddenly become a master of flirtation doesn't mean your going to get out of telling the story."

Fizzlepop laughed a genuine laugh at that. "Well ok then. Being so full of 'hope' as I was apparently made me remember things I hadn't thought about in ages. I was out gathering supplies. Well, it was actually a mission to both gather supplies and intel as we were actually planning on raiding the town the next day."

Twilight gave her a look.

"I like to do things efficiently."

Twilight rolled her eyes but shrugged it off.

"But for some reason I wasn't as focused on my recon as I should have been. I.. I kept on thinking about times before I lost my horn. The things that used to be normal that I hadn't done in years. That's when I came upon a street vendor peddling various goods. Mostly jewelry, but he said before he learned to set stones that he had actually made a good career from forging weapons. I had recently broken my previous sidearm and was awaiting a replacement from the storm kings armory. The blades he was selling seemed to be of much better quality then what the storm king provided, so I thought I could indulge myself some. He.. He had another blade that was cheaper, but he said that he couldn't help but notice my eyes kept being drawn to..." She noticed herself absentmindedly running her hoof over the scabbard.

Twilight couldn't help but smile. "You have a good poker face, but I've started to be able to spot the holes too."

Fizzlepop grumbled at that. "He then 'suddenly realized' that he was doing a special on any piece he had that were set with peridot gems. It was only supposed to apply to his jewelry, but he said she was a work of art anyway so he didn't see why it wouldn't count." Fizzlepop went quiet all of a sudden. Seeing the look on her face Twilight decided to remain quiet as well, waiting for the words to come. "... And I'd been thinking about the times before... And the day just happened to be..."

When she didn't finish this time Twilight decided to fill in the words. "The special was because peridot is the birth stone of August, and I'm guessing you realized how long it had been since you'd had any kind of birthday present. And even as stubborn as you are you decided you wanted, needed, something nice in your life."

"..... , ..... I reported back that there was no strategic need to take the town. The effort to take it would not yield enough resources to be worth it. That was, mostly true. There weren't that many resources, but there were talented artisans that could have been conscripted. We left it behind us on the twenty-sixth of August, six and a half years ago."

Twilight smiled so brightly that Fizzlepop couldn't quite look straight at her. "That was a great story Fizz. I'm glad you decided to tell it to me."

When Fizzlepop didn't respond for a minute Twilight finally turned her smile away and pulled her book back towards her. She realized that if she wanted to say something then she had to do it before the bookworm found where she'd been reading before. But that raised a question of what it was she felt she had to say, and why it seemed so important at that moment.

"Sparky." The nickname came out without her permission, and did its job to turn the mares attention back to her. She thought she might be able to play it off as nothing, but evidently Twilight must have caught one of those emotions on her face that she didn't know how to hide. She pushed her book away again and looked at her with concern.

"Take your time Fizz. You can talk to me about anything."

"Yes, yes I can." Not what she had wanted to say, but she could work with it. "I've literally never told anypony that story before. There are quite a few of them like it now. Stories about myself and the things I have done that are only known by myself, and by you. Not to mention," her hoof went in under her foreleg unconsciously again, "you're literally the only creature who has ever held my blade. The only one who knows how much it really means to me."

"You mean like how you've been referring to it as a she this whole time?"

That made ice run through Fizzlepop's veins, but that was a feeling she was much better at hiding. "Yes, kind of like that. What I'm trying to ask, is what does that mean?"

This made a look cross Twilight's face, one that Tempest knew well from many unfair negotiations she had been a part of in the past. One that brought her great pleasure at one point but made the ice in her veins from before seem pleasant.

She had brought up a subject the other party wished desperately that she hadn't.

"Fizz... That, that's really not easy to determine. We've had some extra fun today, the past few days. But, well, is it really any different from when we hang out normally?"

Tempest did think about the question for a minute, trying her hardest to look at it in a manner that was as detached as possible.

"No, I don't suppose it really has been any different. You've always been the one pony who could break down my defenses so easily. The only one who even comes close is probably Fluttershy and her penetrating eyes." Both mares shared a shutter at that. "So are you saying you were wrong when you said that I might have deeper feelings for you?" For some reason asking this question made her chest feel tight, like the moment before a large battle.

"..... , No. But also yes. Like I said it's not that easy." She seemed to be fighting back a cringe as she continued to speak. "I think I should be up front when I say... That if we tried to decide what our feelings are right now, at least one of us might end up hurt."

"Hurt?!"

"Emotionally hurt," Twilight corrected hastily. "More like when your childhood friends turned their backs on you. I mean, I would never do that to you, but emotions like this can honestly be even more painful. Or at least that's how I understand it."

Twilight seemed to struggle with the next words, absentmindedly reaching out to dig through the pile of discarded sweets that had amassed between them while they read to give herself time. Fizzlepop instinctively scooted a nearly empty sleeve of cookies to where she could reach. She nibbled down on one before continuing.

"I honestly think that you do have feelings for me.. but at the same time I think that once you've had enough time to explore them that they won't be quite as deep as they might seem now. But knowing you, and knowing that you can be stubborn and dedicated to a fault... Well I just don't want you to end up suffering for any reason, but especially not because of me."

Fizzlepop stared for a minute. She decided she wanted a snack from the pile too, but definitely not because she needed a distraction or more time to think. After a second cookie, then a third, she responded.

"I'm not a filly Sparky." She gave a dismissive smile. "I am in control of my emotions and I'm not about to suddenly be hurt if you don't want to immediately declare everlasting love for one another. I just needed a little clarity of language. We've gone on dates, and I'm closer to you then anypony I've ever known. Obviously that doesn't immediately make us special someponies or any other such intimate relation, but I didn't know if it meant there was some word for what it might be."

Twilight seemed taken aback by this, but quickly smiled warmly to her. "It means we're really good friends. I mean, it honestly might make you my closest friend. I love the girls, but I couldn't see myself ever going on any kind of date with any of them."

Fizzlepop allowed herself to smile at that, but it didn't feel like it went as deep as when Twilight usually made her smile. And she didn't know why. "Don't worry, I'm sure when I'm old and grey, and I finally finish paying off my community service, you can finally be rid of me and spend more time with your real friends."

Fizzlepop wasn't very good at jokes, or judging ponies reactions to them, but she did think Twilight's hesitation before her sarcastic eye roll seemed a bit off. She didn't say anything as she gave her a telekinetic shove on the shoulder.

"You are one of my real friends Fizz. I like spending time with you even if it is court mandated. You wouldn't be here right now if that wasn't true."

"Doesn't really count though. I wouldn't be anywhere near here if it wasn't for you."

"You. Do. Not. Owe. Me. Anything." Twilight tried to put an air of finality to her words. However they both knew how often this argument had come up between them, and now even what it had led to. So instead she just gave a mild glare, accentuated by pouting her lips.

This didn't do what she was expecting it to, but she wasn't going to complain about what it did do. Fizzlepop snorted a laugh and then chuckled for a few moments.

"You know what, I don't care whether I owe you anything or not. For once in my life I don't need to force myself to feel like I'm justified in my actions because of what I'm trying to get out of it. What I'm doing just feels like it's what I should be doing." The words flowed from her lips so naturally that she felt the need to punctuate them by closing her eyes and stretching her whole body out long and slow. When she brought her legs back in so they were now wrapped around a particularly squishy pillow from her pile she finally opened her eyes back up to see Twilight staring at her. There was just a little color in her cheeks. "What?"

Twilight blinked a few times, though it didn't seem like she was trying to think of much of anything. She finally turned away and rubbed her cheek, only now seeming to think for a second before responding. "Nothing. It just seems like we're finally making really noticable progress is all."

Fizzlepop gave a derisive laugh at that. She then reached out with her closest hoof and swept it through the collection of empty candy wrappers and cookie sleeves that had accumulated between them. "Not a chance. You should just accept I'm far beyond redemption. The only thing we're making progress on is your snack supply. And probably your royal coffers for how much you must spend on them." Finding nothing left that was edible caused her to glare at the pile as she settled deeper into her cushions. She snorted the closest wrappers away.

Twilight gave a laugh that turned to a sigh. "Well if I'm out of sweet things then I presume you're more or less done with me for the evening."

Fizzlepop actually did seem apprehensive at that suggestion. "It is kind of customary, but I guess we don't have to end our night here just because we're out of snacks." Her hesitation actually made Twilight curious. She remained silent to try to coax an explanation out of her, and it seemed to be working. "I mean, you still have nearly a quarter of your book to finish." A smile started to creep across Twilight's face as she remained silent. Fizzlepop had to look away as she continued. "And I really want to see what happens next and I prefer to read with you."

Twilight couldn't have contained her excited giggles at the rapidly spoken words if she had tried. Her hooves clapped together as she smiled brightly. "Yes, I'd definitely say this is progress." Fizzlepop snorted another wrapper away as she felt no reason to look away from the floor between the two of them that they littered. That was the reason she didn't notice Twilight's horn light up or something floating across the room. The normally unflappable mare twitched slightly as several new containers were placed before her. "Well a proper reading date can't keep going without snacks, now can it?"

The mares smiled at each other before both of their magical auras reached out to tear open a case of chocolate cookies. The point where their magical auras touched caused Fizzlepop's to crackle in a familiar way, but this time giving her a relaxing feeling at the base of her horn where a headache would usually start forming. Twilight took the first cookie from the pack but instead of eating it she simply held it out and waited. Fizzlepop rolled her eyes before taking one of her own. They tapped the treats together like goblets before taking a bite and opening their respective books again.

***

Twilight woke with a familiar soreness in her neck. She knew right away that she had fallen asleep reading, but at least not at a desk from the feel of it. Careful as to not potentially damage any book she might be curled up with, she slowly started to move and stretch. She gave her head a satisfied shake after managing to draw a number of jarring cracks from it. As she moved on to cracking her back she began to stand up and finally open her eyes.

Initially she saw what she expected. The hearth in her room was in front of her and she was surrounded by now scattered pillows. The rustling of plastic as she now stretched her wings drew her attention to her side, where she was now caught off guard by what she saw.

While herself and Fizzlepop had managed to spend some rather late nights together before, they had never ended any of their nights sleeping next to each other. But apparently both had been a little more tired then they had realized the day before as in amongst the debris of scattered pillows and sweets wrappers was a dark purple mare. The barriers of their pillow pile had become less defined throughout the night and it appeared that prior to waking up the pair very well might have been back to back on the floor.

While there were definitely places that idea could take her brain to, Twilight decided with a glance to the clock on her wall that it was more pressing to finally put their time together to an end. She did have some royal duties to handle today after all. She took a few steps around to the front of the other mare, but then could not help the smile that came to her face.

Tempest Shadow, the master military strategist and at one time one of the most feared ponies in the world, now lay there on the floor of her bedroom. Curled up tightly. Chocolate smudges on her face. A little trail of drool at the corner of her mouth. And a book tightly clutched to her chest. She then even gave a small snort of a snore that any sane pony would have to categorize as adorable.

Twilight didn't know why, but for some reason she felt like continuing her day without waking the sleeping mare. The display even made her feel like laying back down herself and waiting to start her day for at least another few hours. There was now something that just seemed so delicate and peaceful about the normally indomitable pony before her. Something almost....

Twilight reached out a hoof to the mares shoulder. She then thought again about the action. She took and extra step and a half back before lighting her horn and lifting one of the nearby pillows from the ground. She hovered it above the trained soldiers head before cutting off her magic.

If there were intervening movements in that moment Twilight didn't catch any of them. In an instant Tempest was on three hooves with the fourth already reaching under one of her hind legs. The motion caused her makeshift bed to scatter to the four corners of the room and made Twilight ignite her horn again to catch an innocent book that was accidentally thrown before it hit the floor.

Tempest blinked furiously as she tried to clear her vision, her body tense and ready to attack. Her brain then began to process information much more clearly. The first thing she recognized was a smirking Twilight standing a few feet from her.

"Good morning sleeping beauty. Hope you slept well, because we missed breakfast."

Fizzlepop felt her cheeks warm as her body relaxed. She then felt her stomach rumble in an uncomfortable way as her now downcast eyes scanned over scattered wrappers around her. "That.. that's probably ok considering how much chocolate I ate last night. Again."

Twilight could only laugh at that as she set the book down before the other mare and began gathering pillows and trash in separate piles. Noticing what she was doing Fizzlepop immediately began helping.

"Don't worry about it Fizz, I can clean my own room up at least."

"Not a chance. Well over half this mess is my doing. And I'm still on light duty for the week, I have plenty of time to help you clean this up."

Twilight could only laugh at the suddenly serious tone of the other mare and thus decided not to stop her. They made quick progress on their shared task before they were interrupted by a knock at the door. The fact that the door immediately opened after that left no question in Twilight's mind as to who it was. She turned to see the small form of her dragon assistant.

Fizzlepop had a moment of dread as Spike looked up from some papers he was carrying to see the sight of the two disheveled mares hastily cleaning up the space. She then got some idea of just how much strange stuff the young drake had to deal with as he merely shrugged his shoulders and turned to Twilight.

"Morning Twilight. I hope you're feeling better then you were yesterday."

This made Twilight cut off her aura as she was reassembling her reading spot and approach him. "Much. Why?"

He offered the papers he'd entered with. "Remember that thing you were hoping wouldn't happen this week? Well it did."

Fizzlepop was now confused, but instinctively remained silent at the exchange as she shoved trash into an overflowing can from Twilight's desk.

"Oh no. The batpony envoy decided to come now?" Twilight asked as she skimmed through the papers.

"Yeah, which means Celestia is going to need all princesses on deck to show up, look pretty, and basically waste their time with meaningless royal protocol." He noticed Twilight groan as she pulled an envelope from within the stack of papers. "Oh yeah, and an obligatory ball in their honor." He said this while looking her up and down and noticing the telltale signs of a bookworm who'd spent most of the night reading.

Fizzlepop decided to enquire. "What is going on exactly and why doesn't the head of the royal guard know anything about it?"

Twilight broke away from what she was reading to address her, only mild distress on her features. "It's nothing that important. Since the batponies have always been loyal to Princess Luna it's important to keep up peaceful political ties. None of it really means anything, it's just a really long and drawn out way of saying, 'were all still friends here'." She said this while opening the letter to reveal what looked like a card. Whatever it was it looked fancy. "Wait, plus one?"

"Official business is official business. If there is no way I can help then I shall be content to see to whatever other duties I have while you are occupied."

Twilight grimaced slightly at that. "Yeah, but I mean we kind of had, plans, and stuff. I don't want to just cancel on you for no reason."

Fizzlepop finished forcing all the trash she could fit to stay in the can before facing her princess. "It's not for nothing. Once again, I'm not a filly who's going to be hurt if you have more pressing matters to attend to. My recruits may be d... training in the woods but I'm sure I can find something to do while you are busy."

".... You're disappointed." Fizzlepop opened her mouth to protest, but a look from Twilight closed it again quickly. She really was getting too good at reading her. Twilight seemed to think it over for a little bit. She looked back at the card in her magic and read it over once more. Fizzlepop then became slightly worried as an almost devious smile crossed her features. "Commander Shadow." Saying the title in the tone she did made Fizzlepop reflexively stand at attention. "It has come to my attention that as part of royal protocol, part of my official business as a princess, is to attend a very fancy royal ball this evening. And apparently part of that expectation is that I do not show up unescorted. Do you know what that means?"

"I do not your highness." Glare. "Sparky." She relaxed her posture.

"It means that in addition to having to prepare myself for a very formal occasion and securing transport, I'd also have to find somepony who is free tonight and willing to go all the way to Canterlot and act as my date for the evening."

Fizzlepop felt her heart begin to beat faster. There was absolutely no way Twilight was about to propose what it sounded like she was going to, was there?

"So, since I rely on her for good intel, does my most trusted officer happen to have any idea where I can find a pony who fits that description?"

Fizzlepop knew she was blushing just by the smile on Twilight's face. But she found her resolve and decided she wasn't going to let her win this round. "I do believe it would be highly inappropriate for a princess to use her authority over one of her subordinates to attempt to pressure them into a potentially compromising position."

Twilight only smiled at the push back. "Yes, I suppose you'd be right about that." Fizzlepop felt her blush subside, but some how it wasn't a satisfying feeling. "In that case I'll just have to go with my next best solution." She turned back to Fizzlepop with a slight blush on her face. Fizzlepop felt her own return. "Hey Fizz. Would you be interested in being my date at a formal ball tonight?"

Fizzlepop's resolve remained and she decided not to back down from the challenge. "That sounds lovely Sparky."

Both mares thought it felt odd that this interaction, in fact, did not seem odd to either of them. Then they both remembered they were not the only creatures in the room.

They both turned to Spike to find his eyes squinted and head tilted as he gave the pair a look neither could identify. Before either of them could find the words to explain he just shrugged his shoulders once more. "So I guess the two of you are going to need a trip to Rarity's, and maybe the spa while you're at it."

"No!" Tempest growled without a thought.

"Yes." Twilight chirped with a warm smile.

Tempest did something she didn't think she'd ever done in her life. She looked at Twilight with horror in her eyes.

"It's absolutely necessary for a formal event." The warm smile did nothing to calm the other mare.

"Then I decline."

Twilight didn't flinch. "Oh come on Fizz, you aren't going to make me find another date at the last second are you?"

The question made Fizzlepop flinch for several reasons she couldn't process at the moment. Yet her mind still raced. After a few moments she felt herself deflate as she slumped and lowered her head in defeat. She was then surprised to find a claw patting her on the shoulder reassuringly.

"It's ok Fizzlepop. Everypony loses the battle to the spa eventually."

She found the sentiment as well as the understanding look he was giving her to be surprisingly comforting. She considered lamenting the situation for a moment. She then decided instead to remember who she was. Straighting up tall she spoke with confidence. "If there is no helping it, then in exchange I wish to be allowed to experience a massage during my visit."

Both were taken aback by the declaration, but recognizing the desire behind the words made Twilight smile as she responded. "Only if you let me add a mud bath to the trip too."

"A mud bath is an oxymoron. Why in the world would you want to do that?"

"Because I think it would be c.. funny to see you with cucumber slices on your eyes."

Fizzlepop glared, but eventually let out a grumble.

"That's a deal then. Spike." The dragon turned with a salute. "Could you finish cleaning up for us?" He nodded in affirmation. "Great, we've got ourselves a date."

Author's Notes:

My surprise that I mentioned in the last chapter was that I managed to do two chapters in the time I've been gone. Originally I was going to be doing a rapid firing of small dates to get us through the week quickly. Then I was having too much fun writing certain parts and they got long. Plus the way I was doing it was going to end up making an idea I had early on not possible. Once I remembered that idea though it made another idea for a chapter materialize in my head and gave me a much more clear path to the final two chapters. Thus this story is not getting rushed along to the finale, it is actually going to be an even longer process. Hopefully this is a plus for everyone. Oh yeah, it also meant you didn't have to wait to long for another chapter for once, but I can't promise that will keep being the case.
Part of that is I'm also writing for another contest so look forward to that as well. I looked how a lot of this chapter turned out. After a few edits I cut massive chunks and added a lot as well so I think it came out even after all that. Yeah, 7k words was going to be a part of a rapid fire compilation chapter. After the first part was over 3k after edits.
Also to my friend Kody, sorry for the deception but I didn't lie. They did spend the night together
The usual as always. Feel free to comment on whatever you feel like. Love it, hate it, tell me why. Thanks for reading.

Pampering?

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"Fizz, if you eat one more cucumber slice I swear to me you aren't getting your massage."

Fizzlepop snorted a laugh at the joke, which prompted her to actually place the watery vegetable back over her eye and decide not to question how the mare had spotted her through her own. "I had nothing to eat yesterday except a small breakfast and obscene amounts of sweets. If they want to show me luxury at the current moment they should have some sort of buffet prepared."

"There'll be finger sandwiches when we're getting our hooves done. You can wait."

Fizzlepop grumbled as her stomach did the same. "Is that going to be before or after my massage?"

"After. I don't think it's good for you to have food in your belly during a massage."

Fizzlepop grumbled some more for a moment before a thought came to her, causing her to blindly look in the direction of the other mare. "Wait, what in Equestria are finger sandwiches."

A door opened nearby, distracting her from the conversation as she had to squash down her automatic response to feeling restrained while an unknown pony was approaching her. The dainty hoof steps of one of the spa ponies were easy to distinguish even before their accented voice cut their conversation short.

"Excuse me, Miss Sparkle, Miss Berrytwist. We are ready for you in the massage room if you'd like to start getting cleaned up."

"Of course Aloe, we'll be there in just a few minutes."

The mare gave a slight bow before leaving the room. "I thought she was Lotus?" Twilight looked over, lighting her horn and floating her slices from her eyes to see Fizzlepop holding one of her own slices up away from her eyes as she indicated the direction the mare had left. She felt her face heat up just a little. At what she didn't quite know.

"Don't tell anypony this, but I'm honestly not sure." This seemed to catch Fizzlepop off guard as she gave the other mare a disbelieving look. "Yeah. Even though they have reverse colors, they sound and act almost exactly the same." She set her own cucumber slices down on a platform between them where the extras that had been freshly sliced for them had once been as she let out a slightly frustrated groan. "I'm pretty sure I mix up what I call each of them every time I come here, but they never say anything."

By this time Twilight was standing from her mud bath. Fizzlepop seemed to be thinking about what she had said before responding. "Well if it helps, the one who introduced herself as Aloe is the one whom I believe sustained a childhood injury to her rear right knee. Her gait indicates an old injury that didn't quite heal correctly."

Twilight stared down at the mare now beginning to extract herself from the other mud bath. "Do you always analyze ponies for possible combat advantages?"

"Every pony I meet and every room I enter for any strategic advantages or ambush potential, yes. It's a very old and ingrained habit that I have no intention of breaking anytime soon."

Twilight just rolled her eyes and turned towards the shower stations on the side of the room. She then turned back at the sound of a crunch. By the time she did Fizzlepop was already three cucumber slices into what had remained of their used ones and was lifting a forth to her lips. "What, we were done with them were we not?"

Twilight gave her an incredulous glare before shifting to her best attempt at a pout. "Yeah, but you're not the only one who's had nothing but chocolate since yesterday."

At this Fizzlepop's eyes went wide and her hoof stopped with the slice nearly at her lips. Twilight barely managed to maintain the fake pout at the sight of the usually stoic commander of the guards very suddenly blushing and looking very pensive at her action. She turned away in embarrassment, holding the slice out as she did. "I'm sorry. You didn't want me eating mine during the treatment so I thought you wouldn't care for eating your own. I should have considered your needs before my own."

Twilight worried briefly that she had struck a nerve, but decided she could easily fix it if that was the case. With a slight sigh she stepped forward. Fizzlepop turned her attention back to her own hoof as she heard a crunch and felt the slice being pulled away from her. Twilight sat, eyes closed as she chewed the bite and swallowed quietly. She gave the other mare a slight smile as she wondered if the slice had been one of her own or one of her companions. "I was kidding, but thanks."

Fizzlepop smiled back as they both proceeded to the showers. It didn't take them long to clean the mud from their fur, but Twilight noticed that the other mare seemed to be taking a little longer than was necessary. She was drying herself off when she noticed Fizzlepop rubbing a hoof across her own fur with a confused look on her face. She did this a few more times before stepping back under the water.

"What's wrong Fizz?" Twilight inquired.

Stepping back out from the spray and shutting it off she ran a hoof over her fur again. "I'm not certain. I think I'm having trouble removing all the mud from my coat."

Twilight quirked her head at this, giving the mare a once over lingering from place to place as she did. "You look alright, I don't think you left any that I can see."

For some reason Fizzlepop felt herself warming, but brushed it off. "Well then it must be something in the mud leaving a residue. I told you a mud bath was an oxymoron." She kept rubbing her hoof through the fur of her chest.

Without thinking about it, Twilight stepped over and raised a hoof. Fizzlepop felt the warmth from before intensify as the other mares hoof brushed lightly over her chest. After a few passes, and then a few more, Twilight could only shrug.

"I don't know what's wrong. Just feels like regular chest fluff to me."

"..... Take that back."

Caught off guard by the command Twilight could only stutter out a response of, "what?"

"Take it back. I am not a fluff."

"..... Is there something wrong with having fluffy fur?"

"Yes. I mean no. It's ok for some ponies. Your coat is nice but I don't have a fluffy coat. I've always had coarse fur."

Twilight stared for a moment, before smiling deviously. "So in other words, Commander Shadow has never used high quality products for her coat and is now going to have to find new ways to insinuate that the ponies she's training are soft. She can't make fun of them for having a fluffy coat if she's fluffier than they are."

The smile held firm, and Fizzlepop could only grumble at it. Her gently sparking magic lit and snatched a towel from the rack beside Twilight, bumping the mare in the back of the head as it traveled. "You're lucky you're cute," she found herself grumbling again. Twilight could only laugh, though Fizzlepop noticed her gaze drift up to her mane for a moment before she gave a shrug.

They got themselves dried off before leaving the room. The next room they entered was a little more open with two oddly shaped tables set up facing one another. The spa mares sat beside and each gestured for the mares to lay down.

Fizzlepop had to force herself to retain her usual stoic demeanor at this point. She resisted the urge to move more quickly to the odd structure, deciding to keep pace with Twilight as they chose their places. She wasn't sure exactly how to lay on the bed, but luckily the position of the tables made it so she could watch Twilight as she settled herself in. Aloe spoke as she adjusted herself into what felt like the correct position.

"Have you ever had a massage before Miss Berrytwist?"

"No unfortunately. My life until recently has been devoid of most luxuries. However, a massage is something I've always heard is good if one lives a high stress life. Many creatures have actually told me I could use a massage, among other things." She added the last part under her breath, nopony seemed to notice.

As Fizzlepop was finding a comfortable position she noticed her masseuse applying oil to her hooves. "Indeed, a massage is great for anypony who has to maintain a high level of stress. Princess Twilight has often mentioned you as a pony who would do well to learn how to relax."

From where she lay Twilight now perked her head up as Lotus was oiling her own hooves. "Oh there's no reason to bring any of that up."

Tempest now directed a scrutinizing gaze at Twilight, transitioning it back and forth between her and Aloe for a few moments before settling on Aloe. "What does she say about me?"

Aloe now looked between the two mares in question, clearly not sure how to continue. Twilight decided to follow up. "The same things that I've always said about you Fizz. That you're a good pony who has a hard time seeing the good inside herself. I've.. spent a lot of time asking a lot of ponies about ways they think might get you to loosen up. The spa has actually been one of the most suggested ways."

Aloe nodded along with that explanation, smiling brightly as she did. Fizzlepop chuckled at the answer. "Well if you've gone as far as asking these two, then of course they'd suggest bringing me here. They own the place after all."

Twilight matched Fizzlepop's chuckle as they let the subject pass and settled back into position. Their attendants finished their prep work, however upon her hooves making contact with the fluffy fur on Fizzlepop's back Aloe suddenly pulled away in shock. She tried again but only managed to keep a hold a few more seconds this time.

"Is something wrong?" Fizzlepop asked, rising just a little from her place again.

Aloe seemed out of sorts as Fizzlepop could hear her mumbling something in what she could tell was Prench, but couldn't translate. She put on what was clearly a fake smile before responding. "Oh no not at all Miss Berrytwist. I just think there might be a better way to service you, if you don't mind a little change."

"No, do whatever you think will help."

The masseuse stepped away and Fizzlepop heard her approach her sister. Both mares could hear the two spa ponies converse in their native tongue for a few moments. After this they seemed to switch places. Aloe now took up a position beside Twilight as Lotus approached Fizzlepop.

"My sister believes you are in need of some, special services." She said this while running hooves across her back, she paused to mutter something in Prench for a moment before continuing. "And I believe she's right." Although Fizzlepop was more than a little bit skeptical, she nonetheless gave a nod to the mare. She became even more curious when she seemed to now take a few steps behind her. "Alright then, please try to relax."

Fizzlepop only barely managed to keep a reflex at bay as she heard the pony take a trotted couple steps before kicking off the ground. Her eyes did instinctively lock on a few sturdy blunt objects she had noticed in the room upon entering when she felt the somewhat familiar feeling of hooves impacting her back. However those instincts melted away in an instant as the mare now standing on her back dug the hard but smooth edge of her hoof into a mass of tough muscle below her shoulder blade.

"GRUUUUUUUUGUUGHHHHHHHH!!!!!" All ponies in the room turned to the sound. Fizzlepop herself wasn't sure where the sound had come from despite being sure it had somehow originated from her own mouth. From her now arched back position she could see all the eyes on her, including that of the pony applying the pressure. All were staring in shock at the reaction, but right now she didn't care. She managed to articulate the one thought that she wanted to at the moment despite her condition. "Did I tell you to stop!"

It was barked like a command only an experienced drill instructor could manage. This was why all ponies in attendance automatically got back to their tasks. Aloe massaged Twilight. Twilight proceeded to enjoy her massage, though with an eye still on the display. Lotus stood up on her hind legs and reached up to steady herself against the ceiling, and push herself deeper into the ministrations.

At the moment the difference between pain and pleasure were indistinguishable to Fizzlepop, but it really didn't matter. She didn't think she could force herself to break away from the assault on her spine. Lotus now stepped with her entire hoof rather than just an edge. She pressed it firmly between the mare's shoulder blades and pushed with her whole body into the vertebrae, slowly.

A sickening cracking sound went through the room. Tempest smashed her hoof into the thankfully firm and cushioned table. As the mare on top of her increased the pressure and more cracks could be heard her hoof repeated the action a few times over. She thought it was over, but with how deeply the hoof was driven in she knew the removal would be jarring as well. As the pressure began to let off her hoof was about to raise for another strike, which was when she felt another on top of it.

Through the haze of her brutal relaxation she managed to look up and see the always calming eyes of Twilight. "Are you going to be alright Fizz?"

For some reason the pain seemed lessened as the mare above her sought out more tangled knots of muscle below her fur. The relaxation of the experience was starting to become more apparent. Instead of raising her hoof for another strike she found herself instinctively turning it over where it lay. Her back stopped arching and she managed to settle back into the table.

"I think I've needed this for a while." She couldn't figure out exactly why her voice sounded so tired at the moment, or why her vision seemed to be getting blurry as she looked over the relaxing form of the mare in front of her. Twilight's smile at the words brought one to her own cheeks.

"That's great to hear. Relax, everything is OK."

She said this to Fizzlepop as her own massage continued, her own masseuse now reaching her wings. Upon being prompted, Fizzlepop's princess flared her wings out before her. In the moment they seemed to catch the light of the room perfectly, framing the mare's face and seeming to give her an angelic glow. At least that's how Fizzlepop saw it as her vision seemed to get even more blurry and her eyelids started to feel heavy. Her foreleg curled around the one on top of it.

"Your wings are gorgeous, like an angels." She felt her eyes drift closed. "I.. think... I'm....."

***

Fizzlepop opened her eyes at the feeling of something grinding on her rear hooves. When they did she felt her hoof reaching to a familiar place. The moment it did however she felt another hoof stopping it. She looked over to see Twilight in a chair next to her and realized, with some confusion, that they were now both upright while another pony sat below each of them using various implements on their hooves. "You left her in the changing area when we got into our robes anyway Fizz. Take a breath and let yourself wake up."

She gave a shake of her head as her senses came back to her. "Did I somehow manage to fall asleep during my massage?" She asked this while noticing some bit of disappointment enter her voice. "I don't even remember most of it."

"Passed out would probably be more accurate. Even if you don't remember, I'm sure you'll be feeling it for a while yet." She smiled as Fizzlepop began moving her neck and shoulders around, clearly impressed by the results. "I've never seen anypony enjoy a massage that much. We all thought you were going to throw Lotus off for a second when it started." Twilight stopped briefly as she lit her horn and levitated a glass of ice water with a long straw sticking out into her view. "You should drink water after a massage otherwise you'll be sore tomorrow. We don't want a reverse of what happened to me."

Fizzlepop muttered a simple, "thanks", as the idea of that made images flash through her mind. She didn't get very far into the thoughts as she lifted the glass to her mouth, stopping when she realized something. "... Did they already do my front hooves?"

Twilight gave a little giggle at that. "Yeah, you were out pretty good."

Fizzlepop considered this while lifting her other hoof to examine it. "I wouldn't have even thought I could be moved, not without accidently atttacking somepony."

"I just used my magic to carry you. It was the easiest option for everypony involved. And I didn't want to wake you while you were sleeping so peacefully again."

Fizzlepop finished taking a long sip from her glass. "You must be very gentle."

"I try my best." Twilight answered with a small smile.

"They're... shiny. I thought a hooficure was just for cleaning and shaping."

The young stallion working below her, presumably another member of the spa staff, decided to chime in on this. "We can do just about anything you wish. Including polishing and painting if you desire." He seemed to notice Fizzlepop recoil at this and gave a small laugh. "But her highness didn't think you'd care for those treatments. So what you have there is just our all natural rejuvenating lacquer."

She looked down at him in question, but Twilight answered her unspoken inquiry. "They said there was a lot of wear and tear, but mostly just what you'd get from being very active. But they did notice a few spots that looked like some old and untreated damage, probably from hitting things really really hard." Fizzlepop decided not to argue this observation.

The stallion working on her continued again. "It's probably causing you a lot of pain that you've just gotten used to at this point. But if you come in for regular treatments you'll start to notice the difference and they'll probably be much stronger within a matter of months."

"I'm afraid that will be impossible." The answer was largely reflexive. "I don't actually have any source of income and such expenditures for my own sake are not necess.."

"I'm putting her on my membership. We'll work out scheduling at another time."

"Sparky no! I have no idea what that'll cost but there's no way I'm worth the.."

"Your princess demands it." Fizzlepop's further arguments were cut off, her mouth slamming shut and her posture going rigid instinctively, nearly kicking the stallion below her as he finished his work. It made Twilight giggle just a little as she reached over to pat the other mare on the shoulder. Fizzlepop relaxed a little at the touch. "After all, I need to make sure the head of my royal guard is in the top physical shape possible don't I?"

"Yes your highness." Twilight glared. Fizzlepop let herself smile just a little. "Yeah Sparky."

Twilight smiled warmly as the stallions stood and she nodded her appreciation and to give them their leave. She suddenly seemed to remember something. "Oh I'm so sorry I almost forgot. But it'll be perfect for while we wait for our hooves to dry." She lit her horn. Fizzlepop felt her eyes widen and her mouth water as a plate with tiny bite sized sandwiches came from the other side of Twilight where she hadn't been able to see them. One of them was enveloped in a glow and floated away from the others. "Are you still hun.."

Twilight drew back in shock at the feeling of her aura enveloping the morsel itself becoming enveloped. It cut itself off as the small bit of nourishment was pulled away in the other mares mouth.

Fizzlepop chewed and swallowed quickly, letting a groan of contentment escape her while oblivious to the shock of the other mare. "Whatever fingers are they are delicious. Another."

Twilight's shock passed quickly at the words, smiling as she picked another up in her magic. Fizzlepop snagged the next offered treat as Twilight spoke lightly. "And I thought that was the line."

Fizzlepop swallowed again. "What was that?"

"I don't think they're made from fingers. Maybe it's just a Prench word for the way they're prepared or something like that."

Fizzlepop considered this for a few seconds, picking up a third and fourth in her magic as she did. "That seems like it could be, but although I don't know much Prench I don't think it sounds very Prench." She munched another, small sparkles shooting from her horn as she chewed.

"Neither do I, and the last time I tried to research it I ended up on a massive tangent. Somehow my research led me to actually find some information about the mirror portal."

Fizzlepop ate a fourth, and a fifth. "That portal to the other world you've talked about? I wonder how those would have been related."

"Not sure, I got myself a little lost in a studying frenzy at the idea of actually finding some relevant information about inter-dimensional magical theory." She pulled the plate away as Fizzlepop grabbed the last two in her gently sparking aura.

Seeing this the other mare looked down to the sandwich she hadn't immediately inhaled. Her aura now transitioned from sparking to crackling just a little as she floated it back over. "I'm sorry, I did it again. You've let me indulge far too much and it's making me selfish, even towards the mare who has already given me so much."

"Fizz, you were out for a while. I already had mine."

Fizzlepop seemed relieved, but didn't immediately pull away. "Oh, I'm glad for that. But even so I didn't know that for sure so it was still selfish of me." She began to pull the sandwich away, but Twilight saw that she hesitated while doing so ever so slightly.

She reached forward and snatched the last bite of food from between them. "But thanks, I was still hungry." She gave a cocky smile, one that caught Fizzlepop off guard but made her smile back nonetheless. "I keep telling you that if ponies offer you something out of the kindness of their hearts, you don't have to assume you're burdening them for it."

Fizzlepop rolled her eyes at the obvious friendship speech she had apparently triggered. "Yes I know, but you're different. I'm sure I'm already burdening you and yet you still wish to give me more. I can't keep taking without giving back."

"You give back plenty Fizz." She said this while lifting a hindhoof to where she could see it better. "In more ways than I'm sure you're aware." Before Fizzlepop could inquire as to the meaning of this Twilight jumped down from her chair. "I think our hooves are done. We've got facials next then it's on to the salon."

Fizzlepop couldn't help but cringe at that. "Oh joy," she said dryly, letting the sarcasm solidify the words as she spoke them.

***

Twilight glared. It didn't intimidate Fizzlepop at all, but she knew how stubborn her princess could be. With a shrug and small groan she finally looked away from the purple death glare. "Fine. I'll at least admit that the entire experience was less grueling then I imagined. But I still don't think future visits are necessary and even if they were I would not miss the facial."

Twilight smiled immediately. "Then you shouldn't have any problem in having a membership so you can come back anytime you like."

"That is a rather large assumption to jump to Sparky."

Twilight's smile only grew. "Well I'm about to go do it. If you're really opposed to it feel free to stop me. If not, then I'd say you should probably get some more water." Twilight took one step away and her smile turned cocky. Fizzlepop grumbled as she turned towards a table with some waiting refreshments. She could practically feel Twilight's smug smirk as she made her way to the counter that separated the spa from the salon.

Even so, she turned back and watched Twilight as she went, sipping on some ice water as she did.

That was the moment she didn't hear something. She set her water down silently as her ears began twitching back and forth. There was a void in sound in the room and Tempest was going to find where it was, wasn't, coming from. Her eyes scanned as she shifted silently out of the direct eyeline of everypony in the room. Ponies chatting and roaming about, Twilight waiting to talk to the ponies at the front desk, the hiss of the steam rooms down the hall...

One of the steam rooms had shut down and no pony had yet exited it. And if it was just ponies taking a few extra minutes to socialize she'd at least hear something. And there it was, the door began to open slowly. Too slowly. The way it did when somepony didn't want anypony else to notice. She moved smoothly and silently as a blue hoof poked out, a small mirror cradled in its frog. Ducking where she wouldn't be spotted Tempest reached down towards..

She sneered. Her knife was still back where she had changed into this ridiculous bathrobe. She stripped it quickly. A decision had to be made. Without her blade she didn't have the means to check the corner without potentially exposing herself.

Worth the risk.

She made a quick motion to see what was still going on down the hall. Another quick decision. If this was a threat she needed to intercept quietly. The mirror was gone so whoever it was would be moving soon and possibly in the direction of Twilight. Easiest option, find a way around and try to get behind them in time. Best option...

She moved smoothly so that despite her rapid pace she wouldn't be noticed right away by ponies in the room. The door that had opened was the third down the hall. She moved to the second door and slid inside without making a sound.

Inside a pair of mares were caught off guard by her intrusion, their lips separating quickly. "Sorry to intrude. I mean you no harm but I need you to remain silent for now." She would have usually demanded silence, which half the time seemed to make ponies scream. She would have to remember this as the gentler approach she used seemed to keep the mares from making a startled reaction. Although the gray mare did seem to gulp dryly. The white unicorn just shrugged and pulled her back into her. Fizzlepop didn't have time to think about how far they'd go with her in the room as she had to listen closely through the sound of the steam being pumped in. The next door in the hall had opened and she could hear very light hoofsteps. This had to be timed right.

Whoever was on the other end of the door was only a half step past when she began opening her own. She slipped out without making any disturbance, finally laying eyes on the threat.

She then stopped and gaped.

They were in one of the more generic bathrobes provided, and she was doing her best to cover herself as much as possible, but it was obvious to Tempest who this was as she reached the end of the hall. She seemed to be trying to scan the room ahead of her as Tempest finally spoke.

"Rainbow Dash?"

"Whoa!!!"

The shock caused the prismatic mare to jump and wings to flap in an uncontrolled manner. The motion propelled her into the lobby, and subsequently into the ceiling of the lobby. Followed immediately by the floor of the lobby. Each impact was accompanied by a loud thud and by the end every eye in the room was focused on the multicolored mass. Twilight was the first to address the situation.

"Rainbow Dash? What are you doing here?"

Despite her state the voice caused Rainbow to jump up in a second. She assumed what she clearly thought was a nonchalant posture and proceeded to very obviously not look at Twilight.

"Twilight hey. No, you've got the wrong idea. I'm not actually here. Well obviously I'm here but I'm not here here. I have a very good reason to be here and it in no way involves me wanting to be here."

Twilight's eyebrow quirked in a way that would make Applejack proud. "Oh yeah, and what might that be?"

Rainbow Dash finally managed to look at Twilight, but the size of her eyes seemed to indicate she hadn't planned on that response.

"Uuuumm? Well I was just somewhere close to here, being awesome you know. But then somepony, umm, asked me to come here, you know, for them. Yeah that's it. Somepony who actually comes here a lot. Like...."

The mare's mind was clearly racing, unable to decide on a lie to tell. For some reason a thought jumped into Fizzlepop's head, and she was moving with purpose as soon as it did. "Clearly it must have been Fluttershy. A request from her would be the only thing that could possibly get you into a place like this."

Fizzlepop stepped into Rainbow's view, now slipping back into her retrieved robe from where she'd discarded it.

Rainbow immediately latched onto the life line thrown to her, pointing immediately to Fizzlepop as she voiced her agreement. "Yeah, that's right. Fluttershy totally told me to pick something up for her. That's what it was." Having finally managed to explain herself properly and truthfully Rainbow Dash managed to calm down. It was then that she noticed what she was pointing at. She blinked several times in confusion. "Huh?"

General business seemed to be returning to the room as Fizzlepop responded. "I noticed that Fluttershy's errand forced you to take a detour through the steam room. If I might ask, how was that experience?"

Rainbow blinked again, now taking in the rest of the mare including the fluffy pink robe she was tying back around herself. "You... actually want to know about spa stuff?"

"Well, Twilight intends to keep dragging me back here it would seem." She rolled her head to the side to give a look to the other mare. This prompted her to stick out her tongue and turn away to continue whatever conversation she was having at the front desk. "And while I enjoyed their massage greatly, I'd likely replace the facial with another activity in the future."

"..... The steam room is nice. I mean, I've been dragged here by Fluttershy a few times and it's something I don't mind. "

Fizzlepop betrayed no reaction at the obvious lie. She merely nodded her head in affirmation. "Fluttershy has mentioned that she greatly enjoys the steam room as well. And she has also mentioned that your word is one to be trusted. I may have to give it a try on my next visit."

That caused Rainbow's confusion to increase. "She said that?" Fizzlepop just gave her a nod as if it was the most obvious thing. Rainbow decided to press on. "So you, like it here Tempest?"

"It is not the least enjoyable thing I've ever endured. And also it seems to be becoming less taboo for ponies to use my real name by the way."

"And you don't care what that will make ponies think about you?"

Fizzlepop let a scoff escape her. "If anypony has some objection to anything I choose to do, I only hope they have the fortitude to say it to my face so that I might.. inform them as to how much their opinion means to me. If I am content and Twilight is happy then that is all that matters to me."

"Yeah, that's totally true. Who cares what ponies think." Her eyes seemed to be lost in deep thought for a few moments. Then something seemed to bring her back to reality as her confusion returned and she looked back and forth between her and Twilight. She looked like she would say something, but words never came.

Fizzlepop heard some strain in Twilight's voice behind her, making her decide to end the conversation. "Well, I won't keep you from your task. Fluttershy is lucky to have a friend who would endure such hardships for her sake."

Though she turned back to Twilight she paid attention to the rainbow mare behind her for a few more moments. She sat, still out of sorts for a few moments before she was approached by one of the spa ponies.

"Miss Rainbow Dash. We're almost ready for your facial. But I also noticed your limited membership plan runs out in a few days. While we have a few minutes would you like to re..."

"I'm upgrading to the premium package."

The stallion seemed caught off guard for a moment, but like a true salespony recovered quickly. "Oh great. Perfect timing as well, we're running a special this month. With a new premium membership you get one of our exclusive robes. What color would you like?"

".... I'll take the pink one."

Fizzlepop couldn't help but smile as she came up behind Twilight who was apparently having some sort of disagreeable discussion with the mare behind the counter.

"Are those really the only packages you have? I could have sworn Rarity and Fluttershy shared some kind of membership plan."

"Oh, no no no. Miss Fluttershy and Miss Rarity each have their own membership. You certainly could get her her own membership as a gift. We do allow for that sort of thing. Although the other option would be cheaper by a fair amount and open up a few extra options."

"If this pertains to her getting me a membership then I would suggest the even cheaper option of simply forgetting the whole thing."

Twilight turned to give her a glare, but then just rolled her eyes. "I'm getting you a membership. I just didn't know there were, limited options for membership. Specifically with having multiple ponies on a single account."

"I'm sorry your highness, this has never been an issue before. We just simply never anticipated it."

Fizzlepop decided to weigh in again. "If I have no option but to leave here as a member today, then I insist on it burdening her as little as possible. Whichever option was cheaper will be fine." She suddenly felt she might regret this position when this statement seemed to make a slight blush come to Twilight's cheeks.

"Well, I guess either way they'll be linked to the same address." The mare at the counter hesitated for a moment, but Twilight gave her a nod of consent.

"Alright then. Would you please fill out this form for us, miss...?"

Fizzlepop groaned. "Fizzlepop Berrytwist."

The pony was clearly caught off guard by this, but seemed to stay stunned for much less time than most of the few she had ever openly given her real name to. "Miss Berrytwist then." She said as she slid a form in front of her. "We just need a few personal details."

Fizzlepop could tell it annoyed Twilight when she ignored most of what was written on the form and just began filling in information.
But she quickly ignored that as well as she found it oddly satisfying to actually be able to answer questions on a form like this without needing to ask clarifying questions. She felt ok with giving her real name for once. Twilight was an obvious choice for her emergency contact. Thanks to a recent shopping trip she now could give her rough measurements, even if she wasn't sure why they'd need that for slippers and a robe. And finally, she didn't hesitate as she listed the castle of friendship as her official address. A signature and date at the bottom and she was done.

"Very good," the mare said as she accepted the paper back. "We'll file that away with Princess Twilight's. Congratulations to the both of you. We hope you'll both enjoy your couples intimate escape all inclusive package."

She was entirely too casual for Fizzlepop's taste as she turned away to file the paperwork. Eyes slightly wide, Fizzlepop turned towards the mare she now shared a spa package meant for married couples. At least her face seemed to be as red as her own felt.

"I, it's ok. I didn't mean for things to get quite this, intimate. But I don't mind sharing. I mean, no matter what happens between us you're still my friend, and we technically live in the same place. I don't mind if some ponies get the wrong idea about... us, at least for a while."

Fizzlepop wasn't very good at humor, but the situation seemed to warrant some kind of effort to break the tension. "Yes, I believe this is acceptable. After all, I am legally bound to you for the foreseeable future. There are certainly worse ideas ponies could have about our situation."

She wasn't sure if it was her words that did it, but Fizzlepop did note that something seemed to harden in Twilight's eyes after a few moments. The mare's natural colors began coming back to her cheeks as she stood and gestured to the other side of the establishment. "Yeah, we're stuck together. For now. So let's just enjoy our time." Fizzlepop tried to smile, but couldn't help a slight grimace at the door they approached. The word 'salon' was written across it in such stylized cursive it was barely legible. "Did you have a chance to decide how you want your mane cut?"

"... What?"

***

"Listen, I will not be sending you out of here with a Mohawk, I have my pride as a stylist."

"Well I have my pride as a soldier. I have to be able to present a strong image if I'm going to be able to do my job effectively."

"Sweetheart, you got the bad mare thing down. I don't think the mane will affect that at all. In fact, I'd dare anypony to try to talk down to you just because you want to properly show off those magnificent locks."

The fight had begun immediately after the mares shampooing and scalp massage had been completed. Fizzlepop hadn't been wearing her mane up in her usual style for most of the week, but she had clearly been maintaining it. This was why Twilight couldn't figure out why she was showing so much resistance to having work done on it by a professional. If she had to describe it, she thought she was acting similarly to when she tried to get her to talk about...

Fizzlepop reached up to straighten her hair seemingly for lack of anything better to do with her hooves. That's when Twilight noticed that the style she'd gone with for the last week seemed to be pushed up in one particular place.

"Excuse me." The stallion holding some clippers turned to give her his attention. "Could you give us a few extra minutes to decide. I'm sure we can come to a compromise."

Fizzlepop didn't like the tone in which Twilight spoke, it usually meant she was going to become uncomfortable very soon. "Sure thing sweetheart. Feel free to have some refreshments, I'll be back in a few to check on you two." He gave a derisive glare to Fizzlepop as she defiantly sat herself down next to the stylists chair rather than in it.

The door to the room clicked shut as he left. Fizzlepop noted that the amateur didn't even bother to pretend he had kept walking. He likely had his ear pressed to the door already. Twilight turned to Fizzlepop with understanding in her eyes. Fizzlepop was having none of it at the moment.

"It has nothing to do with my horn." She knew Twilight would see straight through the lie, but she at least had to try it. A flaring of Twilight's nostrils confirmed. Fizzlepop grumbled in response. "No pony looks at the freak with the broken horn when the pony with the mohawk who can break them in half walks in."

"If it's something that makes you feel better then you can keep it." That had been much easier then Fizzlepop had anticipated, so much so that she could only gape. Twilight smiled as she continued. "You've opened up about a lot of things, but I know that one is still a really sore subject. And even more so, you can keep your mane that length and still wear it however you like if you feel more comfortable later."

Fizzlepop let out a sigh. "Why must you make it so hard to be angry with you. It's the only way I know how to deal with uncomfortable situations." It was true, she had been prepared for a fight on the subject. Twilight deciding not to fight with her on the subject left her with no alternative but to accept the situation. "Fine then, how do we proceed?"

"Well, since we don't need to worry about getting anything more than a trim, you just need to decide on a style you wouldn't mind wearing for the evening. Did you have any ideas?"

Fizzlepop gave her answer no thought. "You decide for me." Twilight gave her a deadpan glare. "What? Do you honestly believe I know the first thing about mane styling?"

The deadpan remained. "Mohawks require a lot of maintenance. And believe it or not, most ponies know that." Fizzlepop had to resist the urge to bite her lip. "That's why I thought it was weird that you didn't know the natural texture of your own coat. You might not care about your coat that much, but you take pride in your mane. As much as you do in a lot of things about yourself. And you're allowed to show that pride if you want to. It doesn't make ponies think you're weak."

Fizzlepop looked away. Twilight worried for a moment that she had gone too far, but as she attempted to speak up again a raised hoof stopped her. Memories of various conversations with the ponies she now called friends passed through her mind before she spoke. She decided to put aside her fear. To not worry about the stares of ponies. And she decided she wanted to make a statement.

"When I was a filly I had a, friend. If I had to classify, then at the time she would have probably been my best friend. She had told me her mother was letting her get her mane done over the weekend. We made a plan that whatever she had done we would try to copy for me the next week at school. I never did get the chance."

"Why not?"

"Because later the same day we made the plan, I chased a ball into the woods." Twilight cringed, Fizzlepop simply shook her head before she could make an attempt to apologize. "I saw her after, with the other ponies that abandoned me. I would have tried it for myself as a way of proving I didn't need them anymore, but I didn't even know what the style she got was called."

"If you wanted to try, I might be able to figure it out if you described it."

Fizzlepop smiled a small smile as she thought about it. "I also didn't think I could pull it off because it would take a lot of pride if I was going to do it, much more than I had back then." Twilight quirked her head in question. "It involves braids, but done so that they're flat against the head." She looked up, the edge of her broken horn just barely at the edge of her vision. "It would leave me nothing to hide behind."

The mares locked eyes. After a few moments, Fizzlepop finally nodded her head. Twilight smiled warmly. "André." The stallion was back in the room almost before the words were spoken. "We were thinking of something in a Prench braid." She gave her date for the evening a hoof up, leading her to sit in the stylists chair. She then continued to hold the hoof she'd led her by and locked her gaze with the other mare again. "Something elegant. For the both of us."

Parties?

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Twilight sighed. "Do I even need to say it?"

"Three times is a pattern Sparky."

"It was the train station. You run into random ponies at the train station. They were probably leaving town and we'll never see them again."

"And if we do, will you take me seriously then?"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Yes, if we ever run into those stallions again you can feel free to interrogate them, search them, hold them without bail while you run a background check if you want. Free reign, royal promise."

"I'll hold you to that." Fizzlepop now finally turned to Twilight, making eye contact with her for the first time since they'd left the train station. Her hoof was leveled at her indicating she was being very serious at the moment.

Twilight rolled her eyes again. "Fine, so does that mean you're going to dial down the intensity and at least try to enjoy the party?"

Fizzlepop was very aware of the attention her glare, rapidly turning ears, and proximity to the princess of friendship was getting her right now. She struggled to focus on Twilight as the attention from around the room made her instinctively watch and listen in every direction.

Twilight grumbled. "I'll take that as a no. Come on, let's go get some refreshments."

Fizzlepop had been on guard ever since they made it into Canterlot. Well, truthfully she'd been on guard even on the train to Canterlot, but trains were actually horrible places for an ambush. Unless the plan involved an explosion, but Fizzlepop had had no Intel on any potential threats who operated by those methods.

Checking every angle and opportunity for potential threats throughout preparations for the unity event, as well as the event itself, had left her feeling frustrated. She was sure there was a threat somewhere, but every opportunity there might have been seemed to be covered by a redundancy of royal guards.

As they made it to the refreshments table her eyes widened as Twilight filled a plate very full and lifted an hors d'oeuvre to her lips. With trained precision Tempest snatched it away.

"What..." Twilight sat dumbstruck as her date for the evening was now deeply sniffing the bite of food she was about to take. She then took a nibble for herself for good measure. "... Really? You realize I've known the castle staff most of my life right? Pierre and Gustav have been cooking for me since I was a filly."

"They might not have been the only ones to touch these." Fizzlepop didn't look up as she now was scrutinizing the rest of Twilight's overstuffed plate.

"Yes they were. They hoof prepare everything for big events like this. For both quality and security reasons." Twilight used her magic to quickly snag the morsel Fizzlepop was currently examining. She gobbled it quickly, chewing aggressively. Fizzlepop stared wide-eyed. Twilight stuck her food covered tongue out at her. "See, no poison."

Fizzlepop glared as Twilight swallowed the bite. "I'm just being careful."

"You're being paranoid. We've been working on this and you've been doing so good." Noticing her escort for the evening still glancing around the room Twilight reached up with a hoof to force her to look at her. "Fizz, relax." Fizzlepop very noticeably didn't relax. Somehow looking at her that closely only seemed to make the mare more tense. Twilight sighed. "Alright, let's try something a little different."

Fizzlepop followed behind at a proper defensive position as Twilight moved through the crowds of ponies and batponies with her plate of food still hovering in her magic next to her. She ascended some stairs to an overlooking area near the side of the ballroom. A large window with a balcony beyond on one side, a banister looking out over the assembled ponies on the other. Fizzlepop didn't like it.

Twilight turned her back to the exposed balcony. Fizzlepop made to take up a protective position behind her but was gestured to stand beside her instead. Twilight finally spoke as she looked out over the festivities.

"From what I've been learning from you about proper defensive strategies and security, we're standing in just about the most exposed and vulnerable place in the room right about now, right?" Fizzlepop was surprised by this observation, but nodded at the accurate assessment. Twilight noticed from the side of her vision and smiled warmly. "So, Commander Shadow, former tyrant of the storm king and expert military strategist. If you were to be sent here to abduct or assassinate either myself or one of the other princesses, how would you do it?"

That caught her off guard even more. Twilight now turned her focus back to her, showing she was very interested in the answer. Seeing this, Fizzlepop gave it serious thought. Twilight's look of interest didn't waver as Fizzlepop thought on the situation. And kept thinking. Finally with a grunt she answered.

"Assaulting the castle would be very difficult currently. I know that every traditional method of stealthy entrance has been closed. It's also now become impossible for ponies to fake credentials to get in unseen that way as well. Fail-safes are also in place to prevent bribery or any other method of inside help being employed." She grumbled as Twilight's smile started to become smug. "Therefore the only option would be a dynamic entry. A hard and fast raid with a hoof picked squad of crack soldiers. Very loud, very chaotic, lots of damage. Even then, I know the current defensive measures being implemented on the castle and around the city. Best odds would put success at a fifty-fifty chance, and even if it went as smoothly as I can imagine, I'd still anticipate losing a good half of the squad."

Twilight's smile was even more smug. "And without all the knowledge you have to guide the assault?"

"... Odds of breaching the perimeter would dip into the single digits. But that's still not zero."

"True, but if you could choose the squad you would use, who would it consist of?"

Fizzlepop could only grumble in defeat at that as she glanced to the corners of the room at the few places where she could see armor clad guards. She then glanced to the places where she could not see them but knew they were. "It would probably be made up of most of the ponies guarding this room actually. Maybe Applejack and Rainbow Dash as well if I had a chance to train them first."

"Did I ever tell you that you have been doing a great job as the interim head of the royal guard? Because you really are. So much so that every pony in the kingdom can rest a little easier. And that even includes you."

Fizzlepop finally focused her attention fully on Twilight, then remembered one of the reasons she'd been avoiding that as she felt her cheeks heating up as she did. Over the past week Fizzlepop had actually been making progress on sorting out her feelings for Twilight. She had a deeper connection with her then any other pony in her life, and that could be as scary as it was comforting. It had become something she couldn't imagine losing, but she could now see that no matter what that wouldn't happen. And that clarity had been making it easier for her to separate her feelings of admiration, friendship, and attraction she had for her savior. That was something she wanted to be able to do decisively before they became a burden to her friend and superior. She had been becoming confident that when the time came she'd be able to put aside her crush.

Until Twilight stepped out from Rarity's back room. Clad in a glamorous dress, light touches of makeup bringing out her features, and flowers now woven into the braid that hung down the side of her face. That heat in her face that she'd been getting used to seemed to spread to the rest of her body at that moment, and the intensity of it forced her to look away. Luckily it had seemed like Twilight had been focused on the dress she was wearing, so she hadn't seen Fizzlepop turn away abruptly. Unfortunately, when she had turned away she had found a pair of blue eyes practically sparkling with mischief awaiting her.

Rarity had known what she was doing and had clearly been reading too much into the situation. The memory of it forced Fizzlepop to keep her gaze locked on the radiant mare before her if only to prove her progress hadn't been lost. She did allow herself a moment to close her eyes and sigh. Twilight was right again, she had to admit. They were probably in one of the safest places in Equestria. To top that off she was with a beautiful mare, and they were guests of honor at what was probably one of the most prestigious events of the year. Even if she knew the truth of the situation she knew this should be a happy memory for her regardless. But that fact was what finally made her speak honestly.

"What do I do then?" Twilight quirked her head at the question. "I have no idea what I'm doing here Sparky." She felt a strain in her voice like she'd never known before. "I barely know how to handle myself when you drag me along to a party with the girls. And I like them. I don't know any of the ponies here but they all obviously know who I am. Everypony keeps glancing at me out of the corners of their eyes and the only thing I know is that I definitely can't kick them in the face for it like I normally would. And on top of that, this party doesn't really seem to be any fun for anypony. What is even the point of us being here?"

Twilight seemed to understand her frustration. She decided to give her something else to focus her anxiety on. She lit her horn and floated one of the morsels from the plate she'd placed on the banister in front of them. It hovered before Fizzlepop's lips enticingly. She was taken aback by this, glancing around discreetly to see if the action had been noticed by others. She couldn't rule out the possibility. She very subtly gestured an obvious protest to it. The pout Twilight matched it with made Fizzlepop lightheaded.

"That is not fair," she grumbled as she reached out and took the offered treat in her mouth. It was surprisingly good, but she still had to grumble as Twilight's magic sparked again. She proceeded to separate a second plate from the bottom of the one she was using and began dividing the bite sized treats between them.

"Pinkie Pie proved at our first Grand Galloping Gala that unlike her parties, there definitely is a wrong way to enjoy these kinds of parties. Luckily, you have a veteran of these borefests to help guide you." Twilight smiled brightly as she lifted a plate of food before her. "First things first: Food is a good distraction. It occupies both your hooves and mouth, so you have an excuse not to be interacting with other ponies for a while. Just don't go crazy on the desserts, ponies won't start cheering you on like they would in Ponyville for, just as a hypothetical example, forcing a chocolatier to close down early due to lack of inventory."

Fizzlepop felt her cheeks heating, but took the advice and occupied herself with a few of the treats selected for her. She looked out over the room full of ponies, finally concluding she couldn't assess all of them for potential threats. Even if she could, the information she could glean in this situation would be limited. Her posture finally came to a rest, and in doing so she only then came to realize how close Twilight was at the moment as the fabric of their outfits brushed together. She decided not to move away.

"So beyond forcing me to make more trips to the gym, what else are we meant to do at these parties."

Twilight looked out over the ponies along with her companion, their shoulders now pressing together. But if Twilight didn't seem to notice Fizzlepop wasn't going to bring it up. "Personally, if I'm not here with any of the girls, I mostly waste time ponywatching. We're supposed to be mingling, but I long since lost interest in that sort of thing."

Fizzlepop swallowed a bite she was chewing before responding. "Isn't mingling a form of getting to know others? I would think that would be right up your alley, oh great princess of friendship."

Twilight gave a little giggle at that. "It's a lot different then that. Most of those ponies down there are only here because they're trying to meet somepony else important, often a princess. It's a tangled mess of noble back talk and honestly I've never understood the reason for it." She giggled just a little. "And I accidentally made it pretty obvious a few times I didn't have the right disposition for it."

Fizzlepop giggled a little as well. "I'd like to hear those stories."

Twilight snorted a laugh. "I'd sooner tell you how I first messed up my eyes using a new spell to try to get back at my brother for a prank."

They shared a few moments of laughter between them. During that time Fizzlepop came to realize that the party had become fun. Their laughter died down and Fizzlepop couldn't help but to admire the serene smile of the mare beside her. The Princess of Friendship was looking down, but seemed to be looking past the crowd below as she spoke again.

"All of that is the reason I wouldn't have let you stay here for your community service."

That caught Fizzlepop's attention. She turned to direct a questioning gaze to her princess. "What do you mean?"

Twilight for some reason seemed slightly surprised by that, but recovered quickly as she responded. "Oh right, I never told you about that. It's not a secret exactly, but you were actually going to get a regular parole officer for the duration of your sentence. I guess in all the time we've been working together we never really have talked much about your crimes or your punishment have we?"

"No..." Fizzlepop felt some of the emotion drain from her voice. She sampled something sweet looking to raise her mood some. "And thank you. I don't know how many times I've said it but I guess I need to add a few more. I've known creatures like the ponies down there. They would have made sure I always knew where I stood with them. It's not something I would have been able to stand, not back then. I'd have ended up in a cell after all that you did for me."

"But I've always made sure you know where you stand with me too Fizz. I just know that your place isn't in a cell."

The words made Fizzlepop lower her head, her ears lowering just a little. Her voice was softer then she would normally allow it to be. "Where.. is it then?"

Twilight smiled warmly, pushing into her shoulder a little as she did. The action made Fizzlepop look up, and notice Twilight's face only inches from her own. "Right here, next to me."

A shot went off in Fizzlepop's brain. It felt like her usual fight or flight reflex was hammering on overdrive, but she found herself unwilling to flee or attack even with the signals bouncing around her skull like crazy. But she did want to advance. And her tendency to analyze a target for points to attack seemed to still be focusing as well. She had some idea of what her brain was telling her it wanted, as she found herself focusing on Twilight's lips. But it was something she couldn't possibly think of doing. Not ever, and certainly not here of all places.

So why were the muscles in her neck relaxing?

She felt her eyes slowly closing without a command to.

She then felt her ear twitch.

Her posture went more rigid as she pulled away from Twilight just a little. Hoofsteps that were heavier then what would belong to most ponies were ascending the stairs they'd come from. From where she was she couldn't see who it might be. Seeming unaware of what Fizzlepop had been doing or what Tempest was doing now, Twilight stole the last bit of food from the other mares plate which she then set on the rail in front of them.

"But you really should give yourself more credit. You're a survivor, I'm sure you would have managed even without my help. Besides that, not all the ponies in Canterlot are that bad. I'm sure you'd have made some friends eventually even without my help."

"Uh-huh, like who?" It was mostly an automatic response. She was now weighing the options of reaching under the modest dress Rarity had picked out for her just to be ready. The when and the how could wait, right now she just needed to know the who.

"I know you didn't exactly have the best first, or second, impressions of them, but the other princesses are really nice."

"Is that so?" A few steps and they'd be in view. Secure Twilight or take the first strike?

"Of course. I mean Cadance is my sister-in-law and one of the nicest ponies I've ever known. Although she lives in the crystal empire so you probably wouldn't see her much. Luna is still learning the modern world, so she's always really inquisitive and genuine. She sleeps during the day, but you pull so many late nights I'm sure the two of you could be friends."

A particularly long, white horn began to crest the stairs in Twilight's blind spot. It made Tempest tense instinctively. "Princess Celestia."

She didn't mean it as a question, but Twilight seemed to take it as one. "Yes of course Princess Celestia too. She taught me nearly everything I know. She's always so calm and understanding, and she knows so much that I always feel like I learn something from her whenever we meet." The genuine look of admiration Twilight seemed to have at the moment made Fizzlepop relax again.

"Well, I'm glad I can still pass along my wisdom to you my dear former student." Twilight gave a start, having very obviously not seen her coming. Fizzlepop simply turned and gave an automatic salute at her arrival.

"Princess? Oh I'm sorry, we were just. I know I should be mingling with the emissaries, but we just had to discuss some things..."

Princess Celestia raised a hoof and gave Twilight an understanding smile. "It's fine Twilight. You being here and taking part in the ceremony is more than enough. Even I get a bit of a reprieve with the batponies, they mostly want to talk to Luna. Commander Shadow, you may be at ease."

"Thank you your highness." Twilight only then seemed to realize Fizzlepop's position as she shifted to a more at ease but still not relaxed posture. That broke as she caught an elbow in the side from Twilight. "What was that for?"

"You're off the clock. I just barely got you to relax."

"You just called her princess though."

"Force of habit. Plus I'm technically acting in an official capacity. You are not." They both gave each other a small glare but smiled and rolled their eyes almost in unison.

Celestia seemed to be enjoying their banter. "It seems Twilight has brought you a long way from the last time I saw you Tempest."

"Of course. Twilight has helped me in a great many ways. She's actually the reason I haven't yet contacted you about the arrangement we made."

Celestia smiled a knowing smile. "I had assumed. Twilight is not one to give up on a pony easily. And by all means, if you feel that you are indeed better off staying by her side then we can pretend those letters were never exchanged. Would that be agreeable Tempest?"

Fizzlepop felt her cheeks warming again and hoped Celestia's eyes were not as sharp as Twilight's. "It would be. But.. since I'm not operating in any official capacity, it has recently become common for ponies to..." Fizzlepop grumbled at her current level of hesitancy. She straightened up and spoke clearly. "I wish for there to be a fresh start between us. Since you are close to Twilight and I trust her judgment above all others, if you wish you may refer to me by my given name."

Celestia seemed taken aback by this. Her expression seemed inquisitive as she responded. "That would be lovely miss Berrytwist. Or perhaps, Fizzlepop?" She received a solemn nod at that. "But I addressed you by your title because I was under the impression you were here on official business. I assumed you convinced Twilight to let you conduct a surprise inspection of castle security. Was that not why you were checking over all the new security measures?"

Fizzlepop willed her face to a normal temperature and addressed the issue. "I am an extremely paranoid individual by nature. A possibly... probably unrelated event made me fearful for Twilight's safety. As such I neglected what I was invited here for in favor of acting as bodyguard to her. It was a mistake I was hoping to make up to her before the night was over.'

This seemed to genuinely catch the princess of the sun off guard. "Invited? Twilight was only given one extra invitation for a.." Her gaze now seemed to track over Fizzlepop with scrutiny. Followed immediately by her eyes darting to Twilight.

Fizzlepop became immediately aware of the circumstances of the situation and of their preparations for it. While Fizzlepop did care about her appearance, she had never cared about whether or not she was attractive. But she had recently been made very aware of just how attractive Twilight was. A contributing factor to realizing this was the dress she was wearing. Fizzlepop suddenly realized the implications of the fact that Rarity had insisted that if they were going to be attending a formal ball together, then they're outfits should compliment each other. On top of that, they're manes were styled in mirrored Prench braids, Twilight's braided so that her mane flowed down her right shoulder, Fizzlepop's to her left. And there was the fact that when Celestia had come up the stairs the two had been pressed together.

Fizzlepop had made sure to keep reminding herself that even if they'd been going out on what could be described as dates for the past week, Twilight and herself were not a couple. And while the other elements all likely knew the story between them due to Rarity's love of gossip, Fizzlepop realized something that had been a miss all week. She usually only paid attention to ponies around her as far as assessing them for threats. She hated the ways they usually stared, or avoided staring at her, so she would force herself to not think about them once she could rule them out as potentially dangerous. Thus in all that had happened throughout the week she had never really noticed; how other ponies might have been reacting to them together.

Celestia's eyes widened, not by an extreme degree but more than Tempest had ever seen them. It also seemed to be slight enough that Twilight didn't notice. She kept smiling even as an intent Tempest couldn't identify seemed to harden in the elder princesses eyes.

"Twilight. Since I'm done meeting with nobles and dignitaries for the moment, I'd like you to accompany me somewhere. I do believe there is a lesson I've wanted to teach you for a while that I feel you might finally be ready for."

Fizzlepop saw an innocent light of intrigue flash into Twilight's eyes. She already regretted the words coming from her mouth but decided she had to draw whatever was coming to herself as quickly as possible. "Your highness, there is a reasonable explanation and any fault lies with me, I can assure you that.."

"My dear Fizzlepop." The way she cut her off was not forceful, and yet gave Fizzlepop the impression that it invited no contest. "I had thought you wished to be less formal. If you and Twilight have gotten so close then I would like it if you can call me Celestia as well."

"Certainly, Celestia. I just didn't want you to get the wrong impression." She looked to Twilight for help on how to explain, but apparently she had not realized what Fizzlepop had yet. The pause allowed Celestia to cut in again.

"No explanation is needed. I simply wish to impart my wisdom to my dear former student as I used to so often. Is that alright Twilight?"

Twilight seemed to have not noticed the change in the atmosphere, the prospect of once again learning from her former mentor apparently being a strong influence on her. With a smile she responded. "That sounds great", she then thought to look over to Fizzlepop. She seemed to notice her distress, but apparently misinterpreted it. "I don't want to leave Fizz alone though. Would it be ok if she joined?"

Celestia smiled so sweetly it made Fizzlepop cringe. "She may accompany us, but I'm afraid the lesson itself is for you alone. Fear not though, it's a lesson you'll be sharing with her very shortly I'm sure. "

Twilight smiled wider, taking up what seemed to be a practiced position next to her former mentor. Fizzlepop naturally took up a position flanking Twilight defensively from slightly behind. She was then enveloped in a by now familiar lavender magical aura. The familiarity of it kept her from instinctively spreading out her body to break the field and instead allowed herself to be gently lifted and placed at Twilight's side. Having watched the display Celestia now gave them both a smile so sweet it made Fizzlepop's teeth hurt.

"Shall we then?" She cooed pleasantly as she guided them.

Fizzlepop had a bad feeling, but she dutifully accompanied the pair of alicorns.

***

She could take them.

Fizzlepop had been allowed to stay by Twilight right up until they made it to Princess Celestia's personal chambers. The chatter along the way had been pleasant, enough so that even Fizzlepop herself had joined in. But the princesses had excused themselves and left Fizzlepop in the company of the royal guards who were posted outside the door. While closing the door Celestia had seen fit to flash Fizzlepop a toothy smile, the meaning behind which she could not decipher.

Fizzlepop was sure she was overreacting.

She didn't care that she was overreacting.

The pony who held more sway over Twilight's thoughts than any other had seen them together and suddenly decided she needed to speak with her in private. Her thinking was irrational, especially after what she'd been planning herself not long ago. She had made peace with the idea of removing herself from Twilight's side if it meant she could serve her better. So why then was the idea of being taken from Twilight's side making her so anxious.

The guards in front of her were formidable, among the best she'd ever trained. It would be difficult to get past them, but she reasoned that if she suddenly felt like she needed to, she could. The only problem was that she knew if she tried that the two pegasus guards in the ceiling above would be on her in seconds. And the moment they pounced it would alert guards in hidden rooms on both sides of the hall. If she had any delusions of getting through all of them then she'd have to come to terms with ripping a hole in her dress and dealing the kind of damage her former students wouldn't recover from.

Would she really go that far for Twilight. Considering the fact that Twilight would very much not approve of the tactics, she doubted it. Not to mention it would mean being forcibly removed from Twilight's side anyway. The fact that she would even consider it showed she still wasn't over all the confusion her mind experienced when Twilight was involved. In some ways it might have even gotten worse.

"Commander Shadow." One of the guards she was glaring at broke rank to address her. Although considering the situation it was probably warranted.

"What is it, Captain Paragon?"

"If I may speak freely Commander?" Fizzlepop only nodded her affirmation, but it was enough. "I am not sure what has you so on guard, but I can assure you that the princesses are as safe as they can be in this castle."

Fizzlepop finally broke her glare, closing her eyes with a sigh as she responded. "I know that. I have complete faith in you and the others that I have trained. Things have just become much more, complicated, as it pertains to Spar.. to Princess Twilight, and my service to her."

At this both guards now broke rank. Just for a second, they both suddenly glanced over to one another. Catching themselves they shifted back to watching their surroundings while seeming as though their gazes were fixed ahead of them.

The other spoke next. "If I may speak free..."

"Yes Resolute, out with it," she cut him off. Sometimes even she hated military procedure.

"We are all loyal to our princesses. They take care of us more so then we can ever take care of them. There are few guards at your level that wouldn't do literally anything the princesses ask of them."

Fizzlepop grumbled at that, but not loud enough for them to hear. "It's a little more complicated even then that, you probably wouldn't understand. But I do appreciate the sentiment."

They broke rank again, shooting each other shocked looks before returning to their position. "I think we would actually Commander." Fizzlepop tilted her head at that but Paragon continued before she could make comment. "And not to be too familiar, but I think your interaction with Princess Twilight has probably been good for you."

Her head tilted ever so slightly as she asked, "how so?"

"We were your top graduates, and I think that's the first word of praise either of us have ever heard from you." Resolute gave the slightest of nods in confirmation.

"..... That can't be right." Neither made any move. Fizzlepop internally groaned, relaxing some as she raised a hoof to her head in frustration. "Maybe Twilight was right about my methods. I must have been a terrible pony if I couldn't even acknowledge soldiers of your quality. You have my apologies and my regards, the both of you. "

If they were taken aback by Fizzlepop showing her gratitude then they were already getting better at masking it. "You're a great CO ma'am. But even the best of us shouldn't have to be that intense all the time."

"I'm pretty sure Princess Celestia isn't going to fault you for taking time to unwind with Princess Twilight every now and then." Resolute now broke rank heavily, looking directly over to Fizzlepop to give her a toothy grin not dissimilar from the one Celestia had given her before disappearing into her chambers.

Fizzlepop was about to ask him what the meaning of it was when the doors finally began to open back up. Both guards now stood at attention perfectly as if the conversation had never happened.

Celestia stepped out first. She almost pranced down the hall as she left, wearing a smile on her face Fizzlepop could only think to classify as goofy.

Twilight followed behind much more slowly. Her eyes were wider then they'd normally be as she seemed to stare at nothing as she walked. Fizzlepop would also have to guess some of the color had drained from her face from below her fur.

Fizzlepop was in front of her in a second. "Sparky, are you alright. You didn't get in any kind of trouble because of me did you?"

Fizzlepop was vaguely aware of the guards closing the doors behind them. In her stupor Twilight had kept walking and now was almost face to face with her companion for the night. As she seemed to snap out of the trance she was in and realize she nearly had her nose pressed into the other mares, the color came back to her features very quickly. So quickly that it was overflowing, turning her face red all the way up to the tips of her ears. She turned away and finally began making her way down the hall Celestia had already made considerable distance down.

Fizzlepop noted that she seemed to be keeping her eyes turned away from her as they walked side by side back in the direction of the ballroom. "Did Celestia get the wrong idea about what was happening between us?"

"Y.. yes. I think that would be a good way of putting it."

"Then you told her it's my fault right? It's only your well meaning nature that would ever allow something like this."

"It, umm, never came up."

Fizzlepop stopped short, but kept walking as Twilight's stiff and automatic movements seemed to indicate she would not stop of her own accord any time soon.

"You will not take any more burden for my transgressions. It is I who wasn't thinking clearly and needed your help. I.. if this has to end and I need to be reprimanded for my feelings I'd prefer that than to..."

"Fizz, for the last time you've been punished enough. Now I need a minute to process my mentor and secondary motherly figure opening up to me very suddenly and very descriptively about her sexual exploits."

Both mares now came to a stop. A random maid was walking past the hallway they were coming up to, though she seemed to not take much notice of their presence or outburst. Fizzlepop sat with eyes wide and mouth agape while Twilight's eyes were clenched shut and she looked as though she may go into the fetal position.

"...., ...., What???"

"I said give me a minute, I need time to process."

"That isn't the type of thing that can be said with no explanation Sparky. What in the hay did you and her discuss?"

Despite her previous protest Twilight now turned to her date with an earnest look in her eyes. "Oh my goodness it was so awkward. She didn't just assume we were a couple, she assumed we were already in a sexual relationship."

Both mares felt their faces heating up but neither broke away their gazes. "So why didn't you tell her that that was impossible. I'm your subordinate, it wouldn't be allowed."

Twilight made a face but pressed on. "I would have, but she dove right into an explanation of how it was a good thing there were never any official rules on relationships between superiors and subordinates."

"Why in creation would there not be any rules about such a thing? Unless she had intentions to..."

"Because apparently up until about three hundred years ago she mostly used the royal guard as a way to bypass not being able to have a harem without causing a public outcry."

The soldier in her jumped to the forefront of her mind and she forgot her embarrassment for a moment as she turned to look back down the hall to where Celestia's personal guards still stood watch. She felt a growl in the back of her throat as she spoke. "No wonder they were all so incompetent before. I swear, every single one of those new recruits is getting grilled on sexual misconduct until they can't look at their own mothers without apologizing."

"Still having a mild freakout over here Fizz."

Fizzlepop turned back with concern. "I'm sorry. Not that I'd be the right pony to talk to about such things but is there anything I can do?"

"No, it just turns out that venting to you was helping." She took a few deep breaths, raising her hoof to her chest while doing so. "It was just a lot to process all at once. Most everypony correctly assumes I'm a romantically challenged nerd who's too busy studying to worry about the fact that I'm a virgin." She gave a cringe as she turned down the hall and kept leading them back towards the party. "So most ponies don't really talk about that sort of thing with me. Then all of a sudden a mare who has always been a symbol of purity to me asked me when I was going to establish my own royal guard so that I can have my own orgies and if I wanted a few choice picks to get a start."

An image flashed in Fizzlepop's mind and words left her mouth at the same moment. "I will not train any guard for the express purpose of violating my princess." She felt a force grip around her muzzle and only then realized how loud the words had come from her mouth. She looked over to see Twilight with her horn lit and face almost glowing red.

"Of course I don't want to have my own royal guard for that. I don't even really know if I want my own royal guard. It's not like I really need them. Having them in Ponyville has done wonders for the town but having ponies around watching me all the time would be weird." Fizzlepop felt herself take in a sudden breath of air. Twilight must have felt it through her magical aura which caused her to realize she was still holding it and decide to release it. "Not you, I don't mind you watching over me. It's never felt creepy, even after... you know, this thing started."

They had come to a stop again just outside where the ball was still going on. Twilight had raised her hoof to Fizzlepop's shoulder in a comforting gesture after releasing her from her magic. It left them face to face with Fizzlepop looking at a familiar gentle smile she'd come to know all too well. A sudden thought caused her to remember part of what Twilight had said about her conversation with Celestia. This thought caused her to turn away, feeling her face burning again.

"I would not want to make my presence more of a burden on you either. I would never presume that I could enter that sort of relationship with you as it would make my actions suspect."

Realizing that the conversation had come back to the nature of their relationship Twilight's blush deepened again and she looked away as well. "I still trust you Fizz. I know that even if we keep... I mean, even if we were in a... There's no right way to say this is there?"

"There's nothing to say. I've already told you I'm not a foal, I know where we stand. Even if we are friends and you'd never cast me aside, I still am just that. Once I have my feelings for you completely sorted out we can continue as we were, and I only hope you'd never think I was thinking of you in a lecherous way once we do. We'll still have to work together for a long time and I wouldn't want to put that strain on you."

Twilight seemed to cringe slightly at that but managed to refocus on the other mare as she spoke. "I mean, you're not wrong. We aren't in any type of traditional relationship I can think of and I can't imagine what we have now continuing forever. I am happy to hear that you finally realize that you aren't disposable. Even once you've moved past this I'll still be comfortable around you, that much I can promise."

Fizzlepop gave a sigh of relief at that, but didn't quite feel completely at ease by the words. "Thank you my princess." Twilight gave her a look and a little shove at that. "Let me have that one. I'm always going to respect you more than any of the other princesses, so no matter how close we ever become you'll always be my princess."

Fizzlepop had expected some resistance to that, but Twilight seemed to only smile after a brief moment of surprise. "Ok. I'll let it slide every now and then." They slipped into a companionable silence as they still lingered outside the doors to the ballroom. Proper decorum would state that they had been absent too long at this point, but they both knew there was one more thing that had to be addressed. "So I'll handle the elephant in the room. Have you ever thought about me in a sexual way?"

Fizzlepop felt remarkably calm at the direct question. She allowed her gaze to track over Twilight, a gesture the other mare noticed but didn't betray much response to. "You once said I gave up on ponies before I might even know what types of ponies I might be able to have feelings for. Well at this point I think it's safe to assume I prefer mares. And while there might be certain factors that make me bias, you are the most breathtakingly gorgeous mare I've ever seen." That did cause a reaction, some color coming back to Twilight's cheeks. Fizzlepop kept her own in check. She continued before Twilight's embarrassment led her to respond. "That being said, you're not the only pony who's spent their life being far too preoccupied to care about the fact that they are a virgin."

Both took deep breaths before finally looking over to the doors.

"Better Sparky?"

"Yeah. You too Fizz? Are you ready or is it still awkward?"

"Just a little. I still have to think about Celestia and what she does with her guards when I get back in there."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No. After all that..." She let out a breath that puttered her lips for a moment before lighting her horn. "...I need a drink."

The door glowed and opened. Twilight proceeded forward before turning back to find Fizzlepop still standing where she was. A wave forward prompted her back into the fray of the party. She remained silent as Twilight seemed to immediately spot a waiter some distance away. With a light hum of magic two glasses from on top the tray he carried lifted into the air and made their way over to the pair. She felt her jaw slacken just a little as Twilight immediately upended the glass to her lips and downed the entire thing.

"Eww, champagne." Fizzlepop couldn't help but smile at seeing the face she made upon finishing the glass. She went back to shock as she instinctively reached out for the other glass only for it to be pulled away and for Twilight to upended and drink down that one as well. Noticing her dates extended hoof Twilight smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."

Fizzlepop had to literally shake herself at that. "No, it's fine. I never even took you for a drinker, much less a heavy drinker."

The smile became even more sheepish. "I usually don't, but on the rare occasion I do... it is kind of to excess. But this won't get me drunk, alicorns can handle a lot of alcohol before it affects them." At this she floated her empty glasses back over to the waiter she had gotten them from. She scanned the room before two more floated right back to them from another waiter. "Hopefully you don't mind wine."

Now being offered the glass Fizzlepop lifted her hoof again. She then decided she didn't care and lit her horn. The crackling of her magic drew attention, but she just gently clinged her glass together with her dates and took a sip.

"So what kind of excess does it take to get an alicorn drunk?"

Twilight smiled like she knew that question was coming. "I've tried to figure that out, but it becomes hard to take careful data once I start getting tipsy."

"And how is it that in the time I've been living with you that I've never seen this? I think seeing you drunk would be very amusing."

"Oh, well you know those get togethers the girls and I do every month?"

"Yes, if I recall you told me you all went to see a play in Manehattan the last time around. I don't recall you mentioning drinking while you were there though."

"Yeah, that's the kind of thing we do when it's Rarity's turn to decide. If it's Fluttershy, we usually go on a hiking or camping weekend. Something out in nature you know. Pinkie will usually find some sort of party or concert. I've taken us to various conventions with varying degrees of success. But if Applejack or Rainbow Dash are picking... it usually ends up as a bar crawl of some type."

Impressed, Fizzlepop held her glass up in gesture. "Let it never be said that the Princess of Friendship isn't up for new experiences."

Twilight rolled her eyes but raised her own glass and joined in taking another sip. "What about you? My brother says you can't be a soldier if you don't know how to hold your liquor."

Fizzlepop gave a huff at that. "I was forced to attend many a war council meeting that was mainly an excuse for a bunch of old wardogs to get drunk and reminisce. Being the only female there meant I was offered many a drink I was obliged to accept. It's part of the reason I was inclined to and able to make myself the storm king's only general over time."

"Sounds like more bad memories I guess," Twilight said with a wince.

"It was not entirely unfulfilling to ruin a bunch of rude old males that underestimated me. But I do suppose it's something I could use a slightly more positive outlook on at some point." She punctuated this with another sip of her drink.

Twilight smiled at that, but then slipped into a face Fizzlepop recognized as her being in deep thought. After a few moments and another sip of her drink she responded. "Why don't you join us then?"

"Join you?"

"Yeah, I think it's a great idea. We're getting together Friday after all. You should totally come along."

Fizzlepop was slightly hesitant at this. "But isn't it meant to be a special time with your friends? I wouldn't want to intrude."

"They're your friends too. Honestly, I would have invited you to Manehattan if I thought for a second you'd enjoy a Broadway musical."

Fizzlepop winced at that. "Good call." She considered for a few moments. "You're certain the others wouldn't object?"

"Actually, Fluttershy was asking if I'd invite you along earlier this week."

Fizzlepop couldn't help but smile at that. "Well if that's the case, I accept the invitation."

They had finished their drinks by this point and looked around to find a waiter. This led them to realize that the crowd around them had become somewhat sparse. They ventured deeper into the room to notice a good number of the crowd had already left and a good many more seemed to be on their way.

"I guess we missed whatever qualifies as a grand finale for one of these occasions."

"I would guess a speech from Luna. If the free food has all been packed up then the party is definitely over." Twilight gestured to the table at the side of the room where most of the waiters now busied themselves. "Looks like you missed out on dessert," she said while giving her a gentle bump of her flank.

Fizzlepop rolled her eyes. "I prefer stealing your snacks anyway." She bumped her back. "So how does one end this sort of party then?"

"Proper decorum says we should go thank our hosts and heap piles and piles of praise on them until it becomes uncomfortable."

"And if we aren't trying to move up the social ladder and it looks like our host is ready to commit an act of war?" She gestured to where Luna was standing near the main door to the room. While most would probably not see through the mask of grace she put on, Fizzlepop knew the look of somepony ready to snap. Apparently Twilight noticed it too.

"Then we wave." Fizzlepop followed suit as Twilight managed to catch Luna's attention while Celestia was now coming up behind her. They both waved back, but Fizzlepop couldn't help but notice Celestia lean over and seem to whisper something to her sister as they did. "Then we sneak out a side door, catch our train home, and hope Celestia isn't starting too many rumors about us."

They both turned away as a look of shock came over Luna as she looked between the two retreating mares. "What are our odds?"

Twilight winced slightly but still managed to laugh just a little as she responded. "Celestia offered us a private suite in the castle for the night if we wanted some private time."

"If I require sleep before we are home then I think a nap on the train will suffice."

"Sounds good to me. Let's go home."

Due to her impromptu makeover and inspection of all the procedures of the party earlier in the day, Fizzlepop did find herself succumbing to sleep before the end of their trip back to Ponyville. In doing so the gentle rocking of the train slowly but steadily jostled her until her unconscious form came to rest leaning against the mare who had invited her out in the first place.

Twilight had some idea that it was probably best to gently move her away, possibly laying her down in a more comfortable position along the empty seat next to them in their cabin. But looking down at the gently sleeping face of her friend she decided instead that she looked like she might be cold.

With mild hesitation she gently slid her wing from out under herself. She then even more gently wrapped it around the sleeping mare. Despite Fizzlepop not stirring at all from the movement, a look of concern slowly came to Twilight's face. She took a deep breath before deciding she too needed some sleep.

Author's Notes:

I basically rewrote this chapter twice before I liked it at all. Something just wasn't right, and I realized that there was no clear idea or obstacle for this chapter to overcome. I got stuck at a part near the end where I was attempting to get to the part of the story where everything is starting to get wrapped up. Eventually I realized I couldn't transition to it because I didn't have anything to properly wrap up. I was looking in the wrong place to fix the problem is what I'm saying, so hopefully it ended up being worth my pain.
Once again sorry for the wait. I might throw in another interlude just by way of apology if I have the time. Hopefully everyone is still invested in this story after so long. As usual I look forward to hearing what you all think, good or bad.

Interlude: Crushes

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"Hold still you rotten rabbit."

Fluttershy couldn't help but laugh as Angel Bunny once again broke free from Fizzlepop and now decided he was done. He ran over and managed to jump onto his owners back and bury himself in her wings.

Fizzlepop held a brush in her now violently sparking magic. The glare she now directed to the other mare could curdle milk, but it was met with a giggle.

"I told you dealing with Angel could be a hoofful."

"I have toppled empires, I will not be defeated by a spoiled brat rodent."

Fluttershy was caught off guard, but only flinched a little as her friend quickly but gently lifted her wings out of the way. Fizzlepop growled as she found no white mass of fuzz hiding there. "Where the hay did he go now?"

Fluttershy now openly laughed as she felt familiar tiny paws working their way up her neck from below her mane. "It's Ok Fizzlepop, you've already helped me plenty. It usually takes me half a day to get my weekly shipment of animal feed home and put away."

Thursday afternoon had found Fizzlepop without much to do. Twilight had some official meetings to take care of to make up for the time she'd missed earlier in the week. And she'd received surprising news about the current status of her recruits and just how they were managing in their survival training. The news had shocked her enough that she decided to venture out into town to clear her head and find something to occupy herself with. That was when she came upon a dainty yellow pegasus attempting to pull a cart full of various animal feeds down a fairly lightly used path near the outskirts of Ponyville. A cart that was so over packed it looked like it would give Applejack a hard time pulling it.

She had immediately volunteered to help her friend with the burden, and somehow that had led her to decide she would help her with her seemingly endless list of bunny related duties as well.

"The physical burden is of no consequence to me. You've continued to help me with my crush on Twilight so I must find other ways to help you. There you are!"

Fluttershy seemed confused by the statement as Angel now popped out on top of her head. She had to raise a hoof to keep the other mare from lunging at him and bringing her down along the way. "I haven't done anything for you and Twilight. What do you mean?"

Fizzlepop glared at the rabbit, but relented and set the brush down. "Twilight informed me that you expressed a desire for me to join you and the rest of the Element bearers tomorrow. I assumed you did it so that I could spend more time with Twilight."

"Oh that." She seemed to remember as she reached up to lift her pet bunny from her head and place him on one of his many cushions scattered around the cottage. "Actually I didn't even think of that when I asked her. I just thought it would be nice for you to come along. We've had other friends come along before, and you've practically become part of the group as it is. Although I guess you probably would like to spend more time with Twilight specifically."

Fizzlepop felt herself blush a little at the insight of her pegasus friend. "It will be interesting to see what it's like for her to be inebriated. Her and you now that I think of it. You are both ponies I would not have thought I'd get the chance to see in a bar of any kind."

Fluttershy smiled bashfully at that. "Oh, well actually I don't drink very much, even when we do go out specifically for that reason. I'm very much a lightweight, more than a few drinks and I'll end up spending the night in the bathroom. But there is one thing..."

Fizzlepop noticed the hesitation of her friend and the slight blush that came to her cheeks. She smiled as she had some idea as to what she was trying to say. "I imagine Rainbow Dash is not a lightweight by any measure other than her actual weight class. Such a bold pony will probably be consuming as much as a pony twice her size just to prove she can. And I'd think she'd be in need of some gentle and kind assistance before the end of the night as a result. "

Fluttershy's blush grew even more pronounced. She took up the brush Fizzlepop had previously been struggling with and began brushing her pet rabbits tail to occupy herself, much to his delight. "She usually ends up too drunk to fly, so I bring her here to take care of her. She usually assumes she did something bad while she was blacked out and assumes I was the one who had to clean it up. It's so cute, she always tries to make me breakfast in the morning as a thank you and apology. She always burns it and I end up cooking for her. I love it."

"And a pony as pure as yourself has never even thought to take advantage of that situation I presume? A shame really. At the very least it would be the perfect chance to tell her if you thought she wouldn't remember in the morning. Get some practice in."

"I could never take advantage of her in any way while she was so vulnerable. But...Umm. Well there was this one time... she did fall asleep on my lap." Fizzlepop flashed her a smirk. "I was still afraid she might puke, so I didn't want to properly lay her down just yet. So I decided to leave her there like that for just a little while longer than was totally necessary. And that's where we woke up the next day."

"Bravo my courageous friend. She'll be yours in no time."

"That was two years ago actually."

"Ah. Sorry."

"It's ok." She looked a little downcast at that, but recovered to direct a questioning gaze to the pony glaring at her now contentedly squeaking rabbit. "I wanted to ask you though... Were, were you also trying to do something to help me with Rainbow?"

"I don't think what I did really qualifies. She needed some kind of an out in a situation she clearly didn't like being caught in. I provided that, but I phrased it in such a way that you would seem to be her savior. Why, did it actually have some sort of an effect?"

"Um, well you could say that." Her blush had been subsiding but now came back in full force. "Everypony knows she actually loves going to the spa, it's probably the most widely known secret in Ponyville, followed closely by how I really feel about her. But she can get so hung up on ponies not thinking she's going soft that she's never admitted it to anypony. Not even when ponies catch her literally mid-way through and thoroughly enjoying a spa treatment. But.." her blush got even deeper, "yesterday she asked if I wanted to hang out with her at the spa the next time she went."

Fizzlepop couldn't help but to pump her hoof in triumph. "I knew it. You're a wonderful mare, I knew it wouldn't take much for you to get her."

Fluttershy had to bite her lip to restrain her smile. "It's not that impressive, it's not like it's a real date or anything. We hang out as friends all the time. I'm sure the fact that I'm the first pony she wants to go to the spa with is just a coincidence."

Fizzlepop smiled deviously. "It has to mean something, does it not?"

Fluttershy let the smile come to her lips just a little. "You really are such a great friend Fizzlepop. Most ponies tell me I should just tell her, or say that they're just going to tell her for me to get it over with."

"That would be very presumptuous and rude. I'm a novice at interpersonal relationships and even I know you can't take away another's chance to tell somepony how they feel."

"Yes, you get it. Thank you so much for what you've done, and all that you didn't do."

"Wishing to see others happy is a surprisingly good feeling. If I can make two of my friends happy at the same time, then all the better. I imagine the two of you will be happy together, possibly very soon."

Fluttershy now smiled brightly. "Like you and Twilight. The two of you sound like you're so happy together."

Fizzlepop let out a content sigh, looking up to the ceiling in what appeared to be contemplation. "I don't think I've ever been so happy in my life. All these feelings are new, exciting, but also terrifying. I think I'm becoming a better mare than I ever was by indulging and facing them." Fluttershy smiled happily at the look of contentment on her friend's face, but was confused when it faded away quickly and she gave her head a casual nod to the side. "It will be over soon though."

Fluttershy was taken aback by this heavily, dropping the brush she had been automatically using which caused Angel to glare at their guest once again. "What, what are you talking about? I thought things were going great between the two of you. Are you planning on breaking up with her? And why?"

Fizzlepop almost seemed confused by the questions, but decided to explain calmly. "I merely have a crush on Twilight, it's not like the romantic feelings are really that deep. I only needed the time to explore them so that I could put them behind me. Besides that, the attraction is one sided. Sparky just has an endlessly accommodating nature and has been indulging me this whole time. It is better for the both of us for me to get past it so that I can work effectively without causing her more burden."

Fluttershy now sat looking dumbstruck at the statement. "So you've... been dating her this whole time while assuming you were going to break up eventually?"

"It's not really breaking up. We aren't really dating after all. We aren't marefriends, or special someponies, or lovers. Not like you and Rainbow will be."

Fluttershy seemed to finally shake off the shock, now looking at Fizzlepop with undisguised scrutiny. After a few moments of this something seemed to harden in her eyes. Fizzlepop was shocked at herself when that action seemed to make her gulp. "Ok, I don't believe any of that for one second."

A few layers of Fizzlepop's internal defenses crumbled at the softly spoken words. She didn't let it show. "Even if you don't, it's true. If I didn't even know what my feelings for her were then they can't possibly run deep enough to sustain a real relationship. Not to mention, it would be improper for such a union to occur in the first place."

Fluttershy now turned to face her friend fully, taking a deep breath to steel herself. In her eyes Fizzlepop found a menace like she'd never seen before, but in a moment it was gone. "Twilight's brother literally married the princess he was assigned to guard. It was a celebrated occasion for the entire kingdom and even beyond. They are now genuinely and deeply in love and even have one of the most adorable little baby fillys I've ever seen together. There shouldn't be any problem if you wanted to be with her for real. "

"I'm sure there were exceptional circumstances to that situation," Fizzlepop tried to latch onto some train of logic. "I'm sure major exceptions had to be made and however they were made I'm sure they couldn't be made a second time. And besides that, Shining Armor didn't have a checkered past like mine. It was probably barely allowed and there's no way such exceptions would be made for..."

Fluttershy held up a hoof to stop what she couldn't possibly have been able to tell was a mare flailing for an answer. "More importantly, your feelings are definitely not fleeting. They clearly run much deeper than you realize. You can't just decide they don't mean anything because they might be inconvenient for others."

"I just have a crush on a pony who has helped me more than any other in my life. Nothing more, nothing less. You even agreed with that yourself."

"I didn't say anything like that. What I told you back then was that the way you described how you were feeling reminded me of what I felt for Rainbow Dash. I never said what that was."

Every wall inside Fizzlepop shook. "And.. what are you implying exactly."

Fluttershy blushed a little but maintained her resolve. "I moved past my crush on Rainbow Dash a very long time ago. What I have for her now is love. I love her more than I've ever loved anypony in my life."

Another massive shockwave seemed to go off inside of Fizzlepop. "What.. what's the difference..? I mean, what exactly does that feel like?"

A serene smile came to Fluttershy's lips. "It's so easy for me to picture the rest of my life with her. Even if I never have the courage to tell her how I feel I can't imagine ever not being around her. I know that no matter what happens to either of us in life, I'll find a way to stay with her no matter what, because I can't imagine my life without her."

Every defense in Fizzlepop's heart fell. They were not smashed, they simply crumbled and scattered in the wind. "Oh, oh...no. This can't be."

"It pretty obviously is. Rarity has been talking about it ever since you went to her for an outfit. She usually doesn't get into a creative frenzy that leaves her passed out for thirty-six hours unless she feels like she's going to change a ponies' life with her design. Rainbow saw it in just whatever time you were all together at the spa. It was so obvious to her that there was something else going on that she accidentally admitted to being at the spa to me. That's how she ended up deciding to ask me to go with her. Even Pinkie knows. Apparently she's been planning a party for the two of you for months. And all of us are OK with..."

"That's not the point!" Tempest's rage flared as she growled out the words. A carrot to the side of the head made her realize she'd actually managed to scare her usually timid friend. "I'm sorry. But you don't understand. I can't be in love with her."

"Why not? We all know you're your hardest critic, but you have to realize we've all figured out what a good pony you are. You've been our friend for a while now and you deserve to be happy."

"That's not it. I'll never go back to my old ways. Being good is so much more fulfilling than being bad ever was. It's just that," Fizzlepop felt a confusing sensation of her nose suddenly feeling full while the corners of her vision became blurry. "It's just that," she suddenly felt the need to inhale quickly, the intake seeming to pass loudly through her now nearly running nostrils. "I can't fall in love with her because, I know she'll never love me the same way."

Both mares, and even Angel were now shocked as tears began to run down the face of the mare who had once brought the country to its knees nearly on her own. Fluttershy moved quickly, wrapping her friend in her forelegs and wings. A slightly awkward position considering her imposing stature. Fizzlepop surprised even herself as she took to the hug immediately, wrapping her forelegs around the other mares back and burying her face in her shoulder.

Fluttershy did her best to try to comfort her usually indomitable friend. "Shhh, shhh, it's ok. Why would you think Twilight wouldn't love you back? You're a pony worth loving."

"I, if my feelings were so obvious to others, then why did it take a near confession of them for Twilight to realize? It's clear that she didn't imagine me as a potential romantic option to start. I, I'm also fairly certain, that she isn't even attracted to mares. Even if she is, then not to me. She's complimented me on my appearance a few times before, but it never sounded the same way as when I told her. She always seems like she's just making an analysis of the situation, not like she's actually moved by it."

They remained like that for a minute, until the tears finally stopped soaking into the buttery yellow fur of the pegasus's shoulder. Fizzlepop finally felt able to pull away and looked down to her friend hoping for answers.

"I don't know what to say Fizzlepop. I'm sorry, I didn't even consider that. I just assumed that if Twilight was going on dates with you then she probably at least liked you. Honestly, before you came along I didn't even think of Twilight as a pony who would think about romance. And I definitely never wondered if she liked mares or stallions. I really don't know."

"Is.. is there any way to know?"

Fluttershy looked strained. "This will sound really hypocritical coming from me considering my track record. But I think the only way might be for you to just ask."

A pang of something Fizzlepop now recognized as fear ran through her chest. Fluttershy seemed to notice and pulled her in for another hug. "I'm not sure I can."

"It's hard I know. If you don't have an answer then at least the answer isn't no. But you're closer than I've ever gotten. If I was where you are now, I don't know if I could stand not knowing for sure."

"I don't know if I can either. Why do both options feel so wrong?"

"Because she's already the most important pony in your life, and imagining more can make you feel selfish. But you should be happy. And not knowing at this point won't make you happy." She paused and seemed to think for a minute. Due to still having Fizzlepop pulled in close to her she could feel her face begin to warm at whatever she was thinking. "How about this. It's easier to face your fears if you're not the only one facing them."

Fizzlepop pulled away, giving her a questioning look as she did so. "What are you proposing?"

"Just a little push for the both of us. If one of us manages to work up the courage, then so does the other. No backing down, and they have to do it within twenty-four hours of when the other does." She tried her best to put on a smug smile. "Do you really want to be beaten by a coward like me?"

Despite the situation, Fizzlepop felt the need to smile. She finally pulled away from her friend's embrace, wiping her face and straightening herself up as she did. "I do believe I recently said that I would not want to face you in a competitive situation ever again. You really are much more formidable than you give yourself credit for." She inhaled to steel herself. "But I'm not one to back down from a challenge. We have an accord." She extended a hoof, one which Fluttershy took and shook with a smile.

"Umm, you weren't planning on doing it now were you?"

"No, of course not. If I did that it might cause problems with our plans tomorrow. That would be unfair to the other girls, it could ruin their night."

Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief. "Yeah. Just in case it's my last chance, I'd like it if I got to bring Rainbow home after a night out one last time."

"And I still have to fill out the next round of my parole papers with Twilight the day after. I wouldn't want her to be too embarrassed to see me to do that as well."

The pair smiled to each other. The moment was interrupted by a persistent thumping. They looked over to see a very impatient looking Angel Bunny gesturing to his mouth.

"Oh, it seems in all the excitement we ran into the afternoon feeding. Would you like to help out Fizzlepop? I promise you won't have to deal with Angel. I can make you something for dinner after as a thank you if you like?"

Fizzlepop smiled at her. "That sounds great. I'd drive myself crazy if I was alone for the next few hours."

Fluttershy laughed. "I know the feeling, why do you think I wanted you to stay."

Night had fallen by the time Fizzlepop returned to the Castle of Friendship. She found herself hesitating as she walked down the long hall to her room. She absentmindedly wondered just why she hadn't decided to take the alternate route that led straight to her room. It also occurred to her that she could have been taking that route for the entirety of the months she had been living here.

She stopped in front of the heavy double doors of Twilight's room. She remembered that after discovering the shorter route to her room that she decided it was better to keep taking this one, so she could make one last security sweep for good measure before going to bed.

She let out a sigh. "Just how long have I been lying to myself?" She lingered a few seconds more, trying to imagine what the mare beyond the doors was doing right now. More than likely she had her nose in a book, adorably oblivious to the rest of the world. With one last sigh she resumed her course to her own room.

"Friendship. Love. Honestly, war is so much easier."

Libations?

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'Take it off, take it off, take it off, take it off this looks so wrong!'

'It's not weird, it's just pretty. I can be pretty if I want.'

'Pretty is one thing, this is downright cutesy. Take it off!'

'Twilight got this for me. It's not quite my taste, but it looks OK on me.'

Fizzlepop stared at her reflection in the mirror. It was probably the longest amount of time she had ever spent continuously staring into a mirror in her life. She usually preferred to be dressed, but this was something entirely different. Wrapped around her solid frame currently was not the stiff binding of her armor thatching. The delicate fabric of a pretty emerald sundress currently brushed gently over her soft, fluffy fur. It was not an unflattering look, even if she didn't exactly have a build that made it flow over her the way she imagined it should. She had made peace with that much so far.

The problem she had now was one that might just defeat her. It was a tiny strip of fabric tied intricately into a bow and secured to a hair clip. That hair clip was now woven into her mane, her mane that was brushed out and left to flow elegantly down her shoulders.

On the one hoof, it would give some distraction from her broken horn that was currently on full display. On the other, it was a pretty green manebow that wouldn't look out of place on a filly who had yet to receive their cutiemark. That fact left her; a warrior, a conqueror, a general of the highest caliber, nervous to the point that she could not find the resolve to apply enough pressure to latch the clip in place. Life could be weird like that she guessed.

There was a knock at her door. She knew very well who it was. The melodic voice of her princess, her best friend, and the mare she was in unrequited love with, flowed into the room. "Fizz, hurry up. It's not like you to be running late."

She would like to think it was the sound of that voice and not just a frustrated moment of indecision that allowed her to press her hoof down until she heard a click. The deed was done, and she was ready. It wasn't her usual battle armor, but she decided it was, in a way, the same thing. It was the proper equipment for the battle she now faced. And at least she had one familiar comfort.

She pressed the fabric of the dress into the gap of her haunch where she felt a familiar harness. It was lucky she wouldn't need it for the night, trying to draw it quickly like this would surely ruin the dress. But she did know it was the feeling of that handle that allowed her to finally speak. "I'm ready, just give me a moment."

To finish the look, Twilight had also gifted her a small bag the same color as the dress. She lifted it over her head and left it to hang at her side over her shoulder. Inside were all of the few bits she'd managed to procure in her time in Ponyville. She didn't really need them, her current lifestyle left her wanting for very little. But there was one thing she did want them for tonight. She took a step back to take in one last look at the whole outfit.

'Good enough.' She turned to her door to face the lavender mare waiting behind it. Her horn sparked with mild discomfort as she pulled the door open.

She found it made her happy that Twilight gave a reaction at laying eyes on her for the first time in this outfit. But she didn't linger on it as her friend's eyes only widened for just a moment in surprise.

"Oh," she smiled a warm smile. "I didn't know if you'd get dressed up or not. I knew you could pull off those dresses if you wanted to." Fizzlepop felt a manageable heat come over her as the other mare casted a critical eye over her for a few seconds. "It's, nice. It's a really pretty look for you. Now I almost feel like I should go back and get dressed up."

Twilight was unadorned, wearing only a midsize bag over her shoulder. It was presumably stuffed with the bits she'd be using to cover their tab for the evening. Although Fizzlepop couldn't help but notice she seemed to be well groomed to start the night. Her coat and mane were well brushed, her mane slightly styled for the occasion. Fizzlepop smiled and pulled her gaze away before it started to linger awkwardly.

"Nonsense. We are under no obligation to impress anypony tonight. I simply prefer to be covered and didn't want to argue with you about wearing armor in public again. And besides that, you are as beautiful as you always are." She didn't actually mean to include that last part. She had debated with herself for much longer then she cared to remember as to if she was going to treat tonight as a date. She had decided to let her instincts decide, and apparently they had. She brushed it off as they set off down the hall and spoke again before Twilight could offer a reply. "Where were we planning on meeting the girls? As I understand we aren't planning on leaving Ponyville for the evening."

Twilight had had the beginnings of a blush on her face, but the distraction had helped and given her something else to focus on. "We were going to meet up in the town square. Applejack is picking the place tonight so she was going to decide once we were all together."

Fizzlepop smiled at that. "So considering Applejack, I presume you already have some idea where we're going tonight?"

Twilight smiled back. "Applejack is nothing if not consistent. There's a bar here in town where the owner has a standing challenge to anypony who thinks she can out drink her. Applejack is determined to beat her someday."

"Ha, I might have to throw my hat into that ring someday. I might not be the heaviest drinker ever, but I know how to play it off. If I really focus I can pretty much keep acting sober, right up until I pass out."

"I wouldn't. I've literally never seen Berrypunch get past tipsy, even after draining the better half of a full keg."

Fizzlepop gawked at that. "What is up with Ponyville and reality breaking weirdos?"

"I basically said the same thing the very first day I was in Ponyville." They shared a laugh together before Twilight seemed to give her friend a devious smirk. "And by the way, don't you mean; throw your bow in that ring?"

It was a dumb joke, and Fizzlepop knew it was a dumb joke. It still made her reach up and brush the bow unconsciously. "Do you honestly think I'd throw away something you got me so needlessly? I'm sure Pinkie could just loan me one from some emergency cache she has hidden everywhere."

"Ah good, I see you've officially accepted Pinkie's randomness. You took my advice and stopped trying to figure her out right?"

"Actively yes. I still believe there may be some tactical and analytical advantage that can be rendered from her. I think the key is to find a way to do it passively, so I occasionally run a passive test on the depths of her ability."

"You're setting yourself up for headaches."

"Passive. Plan D level at best. Not something I'm relying or counting on. Call it... a passing curiosity."

"I don't get it."

"I'm dedicated, not obsessive. It's one of the major ways we differ, your highness."

Twilight glared at her as they went, but didn't press the issue. They had made it out of the castle at this point, and the town square was coming up. Already they could see their friends ahead, one waving enthusiastically as they approached. They were the last to arrive, so all attention came upon them at once.

Rarity was the first to greet them, prancing up to Fizzlepop with a gleam in her eye. "Glad you could join us tonight Fizzlepop dear. I'm glad to see I'm finally not the only one who understands the value of a nice outfit."

Indeed, among the assembled mares they were the only ones dressed. Unless one counted Applejack's hat. Looking over her fashionista friend made Fizzlepop force a smile. She knew her friend pulled the look off much more appropriately, but she decided not to dwell on it. She decided to turn herself to the side to display her efforts, to a few playful catcalls from the assembled group.

"Not exactly my usual look, but what does Ponyville's premiere fashion expert think?"

The mare gave her a casual once over, taking in the look. She scrunched her face up in thought for a moment before giving a nod. "Not the look I would have chosen for you, but you pull it off well enough. It is the perfect color for you, and I love the bow. I think it's the perfect accent."

"I'll say," Applejack came up beside Rarity. "She shines up like a new bit. Glad Twilight invited ya'. Maybe Rarity can focus on gussin'up y'all and not worry about me fer' once."

Rarity rolled her eyes as her farmer friend gave her a hip bump. "Quite the contrary Applejack. Much like dear Fizzlepop, I still prefer a challenge. And obviously she needs very little guidance. So perhaps instead she'll help me in wearing down your resistance and we can finally get you into something more appealing." Applejack glared at Rarity. Rarity smugly smiled right back.

Rainbow Dash cut in before Fizzlepop could decide on how to comment on their banter. "Oh not this again. Would you two just get married so that you can get divorced already."

Both mares she addressed rolled their eyes in unison. Both glance to one another, deciding not to address how closely it seemed Fluttershy was staying to her and how unperturbed Rainbow seemed by it.

Fluttershy decided to end the argument. "It's good to have you with us Fizzlepop. I'm glad to see you and Twilight here together." Fizzlepop allowed herself to smile at the comment, even if she could sense Twilight tense up from close beside her.

"Well, since it's my first night out with all of you I'll try not to drink everypony under the table." She gave a confident smile that mostly wasn't for show.

Amazingly it was Twilight who decided to take the bait on that. "Hey, Alicorn here remember. Literally don't even know if I have an upper limit on how much I can drink or if I can succumb to alcohol poisoning."

At this Pinkie seemed to materialize in front of Twilight. Fizzlepop managed to not instinctively swing in her general direction at the movement even she didn't fully catch.

"Oooooo, having Fizzlepop along brings out Twilight's competitive side. Things are gonna get spicy." The excitable mare now turned, raising a hoof as she exclaimed, "Let's get this party started! Applejack, lead the way."

The whole group smiled at the antics. "Like y'all don't know where we're going," Applejack replied.

"Well no uh'doy. But you still get to lead the way." She said this while coming up behind the much sturdier earth pony and attempting to hurry her along. "Now come on, come on, come on. We can't party our flanks off out here. Well we could, but I didn't bring any decorations."

The group now followed behind the impromptu, two mare, earth pony conga line. Already all attention seemed to be on them, and Fizzlepop was actually somewhat impressed with the amount of hoof traffic they came across. They were getting an early start, presumably because the establishment they were heading to only allowed for challenges at the start of the night. So one could not call what they passed through now to be the local nightlife, but it was close enough.

Before long an establishment with a large neon berry lit up out front came into view. Seeming to be very familiar with the establishment, Applejack still led the way and slammed the door to the bar open.

"Berrypunch, tonight's the night y'all are going down."

A mare behind the bar didn't seem taken by surprise by this at all. She turned to the entering group from behind six already assembled glasses on the bar. "Applejack, great to see you. I was hoping to add a new addition to the bar soon, but it seems I haven't taken quite enough of your bits yet." She smiled smugly before seeming to notice the newcomer. "What's this now? When did Twilight finally get a pretty little marefriend to bring along?"

Not betraying any reaction at all, Fizzlepop just trotted up to the bar. "I'm actually her pretty little interim commander of the royal guard."

"Oh no way. So you're the notorious Tempest Shadow then?"

"You seem remarkably undisturbed by that," Fizzlepop responded, slightly impressed.

"It's kinda a weird town. I regularly serve two former evil dictators and the living embodiment of pure chaos. What's your drink commander?" She asked while lining up another tall glass.

"Off the clock, so Fizzlepop if you don't mind, and give me a second on that." The mare nodded as Fizzlepop turned to the mares she'd come in with. "Not to start the night on a dower note, but may I take a moment to tell you all something?"

The bar was largely empty save for some stallions who had come in not long after them. Not surprising considering the still early hour. So Fizzlepop decided it was the proper time for her to try something sappy in public. Her friends didn't seem to mind the delay on their night, all of them nodding their approval.

Fizzlepop smiled and tried her best to not focus on a particular mare as she began. "I've never had friends like all of you before. I'm not good at expressing myself, but I just wanted to tell you all that coming out with you tonight means more to me then I can ever say. So I hope you'll all allow me one little gesture to show how much I appreciate all that you've done for me over the past months." There were more nods of approval, and a warm smile that made her face feel warmer. She smiled as she lifted the bag from over her shoulder. She opened it and turned to dump a pile of bits on the bar behind her. "The first round is on me."

Whoops and hollers of approval came from most of the assembled ponies as the bartender had apparently already filled most of their glasses while Fizzlepop's back was turned. Only two glasses were empty.

"What's it gonna be tonight Twilight?"

The lavender mare seemed to consider for a moment. "It is a special occasion. What's that special drink you always recommend?"

"The Berry Punch. You gonna finally mare up and give it a try?" With mild hesitation Twilight gave a nod. "And what about miss tall, dark, and sexy."

The others seemed to acknowledge the comment in various ways, including Twilight quirking an eyebrow at the mare mixing her drink. Fizzlepop merely nodded to the drink she was preparing. "Is that your own specialty?"

"How did you ever guess?" The mare asked sarcastically.

Fizzlepop just smiled back. "Make it two."

The pair turned to find the rest of their friends waiting for them. Fizzlepop was slightly confused, especially when she turned to see Twilight smiling mischievously at her. She had a flare up of an old instinct to use her magic to set off an explosion and tactically retreat through the nearest non-solid surface available. But she figured that would be some kind of party foul, not to mention the proprietor of the establishment would probably be upset. So instead she raised her eyebrow at the assembled mares in question.

Pinkie was the one to explain, somehow appearing beside her and wrapping a foreleg over her shoulder. "Since it's your first time joining us, we all thought you'd like to decide what we're drinking to tonight."

The window above the group of stallions in hoodies was the closest thing available and she could clear it in one jump if she used Applejack as a steady springboard. Wait, they had probably anticipated that, if there was anypony among them who could hold her it would be Applejack.

'Stop being dramatic, it's just a toast.'

'Yes, but I have no idea what to do. I'm usually a loner.'

She was taken aback by the offer, but the presence of six encouraging smiles settled her down. But what did she want to drink to? She looked at Twilight.

'Not that!'

"It wouldn't be too cliché for the Elements of Harmony to drink to friendship, would it?"

Smiles of various types passed among the girls, including an eye roll from Rainbow Dash. It ended up being her that replied. "That'll work, but you'd better have something more original next time."

The words were encouraging, so Fizzlepop lifted her glass followed immediately by the rest. "To friendship then."

"Friendship!" They all exclaimed, followed by the sounds of chugging.

Watching the various actions of her friends felt oddly satisfying to Fizzlepop. Rarity and Fluttershy had only taken dainty sips of their drinks, apparently favoring to savor the experience. Applejack, Rainbow, and Pinkie apparently preferred to start off the night by seeing who could chug their drinks the fastest. It was Pinkie by a good margin, with Applejack and Rainbow finishing at almost the same time. Meanwhile Twilight and herself had apparently decided to be a little more cautious with their mystery drinks, taking decent enough pulls to get a good taste of them. Their bartender got their attention as an argument of the places of the chugging contest was already starting.

"So, what's the verdict ladies?"

Twilight and Fizzlepop both smacked their lips. The princess answered first. "That is tasty. I expected it to burn a lot more." Berrypunch smiled mischievously. Fizzlepop smiled knowingly.

"Yes, it's a very appealing mixture of sweet and tart." She took another small sip with a satisfied sigh. "Which does a fine job masking the taste of the frankly staggering amount of alcohol in it."

Twilight seemed confused by this. Berrypunch seemed surprised. She then let out a barking laugh. "Ha. Most ponies don't catch that until they're three in and already propositioning bar stools. Careful Twilight, if you ever decide to dump her I'll definitely catch her on the rebound."

Twilight was taken aback by this, starting to stutter out a reply she clearly didn't have. Fizzlepop cut her off with a laugh of her own. "Ha. Flattered, but I'm usually far too busy to be thinking about courting anypony. My vacation that Sparky here has so graciously granted me is nearly over, so I'd prefer to think about how many more of these specials I can get in me before the night is over."

The bartender was already at work, laughing as her hooves seemed to be working on autopilot as she poured two more hard ciders and something sweet looking into three presented glasses. The argument had apparently been decided and more drinking was to be commenced. She poured an extra cider as Applejack took a seat in a barstool and squared up to the bar across from Berrypunch.

"If y'all will excuse us, we got a score to settle."

"Oh Applejack, you sure know how to get a mare in the mood."

Fizzlepop turned away to give them their privacy, deciding to inquire with the others. "Do I want to know what that's about?"

Rainbow laughed before speaking. "The strongest drinks in town isn't the only reason AJ likes this place. She's got a weird thing for ponies who know what they like and can make a living off of it. That and they do a lot of business together." She raised her glass. "This place goes through a lot of Apple Family hard cider." She took a big swig. "And it's just as good as their regular cider."

"I've heard their cider is very good. But I'd imagine the nonalcoholic variety is in shorter supply."

Twilight seemed to remember something and seemed excited by it. "Oh right, cider season is coming up soon. We all usually help the Apple family out with it so they can provide more cider to the town. With the town's population going up so much the demand is going to be higher than ever. You should definitely stick around to help out. You get all the cider you can drink and it's actually a lot of fun when you work with friends."

Fizzlepop laughed at the offer. "Well of course I'm going to stick around. The only question will be if I can count it towards my community service. Maybe then I'll be able to pay it all off before I need to retire. Count me in."

While Twilight was smiling tentatively at that, Rainbow seemed excited. "Hey, you hear that AJ," the prismatic mare called out to her farmer friend. "You're going to have some military efficiency to help with this year's cider season."

There were already a number of empty mugs around the two mares, more on the opposite side from Applejack. She looked over, already looking a little shaky, but noticed who Rainbow was pointing to. She smiled a slightly dopey smile. "I am definitely puttin' a down payment on a new apple cart, that's for sure. A real big one like Mac's been wantin' fer' years."

"I'll drink to more Apple family cider." Berrypunch added, raising another glass to the wobbly mare.

"Here here," Applejack clink them together and they both downed another. She smacked her lips a few times as she finished. "You know Berry, I don't think I've ever noticed what pretty pink eyes ya' got."

"Oh Applejack, yes you have."

"And I'm good,'' Rainbow declared. She turned back to her newest friend. "Hey Fizzlepop, you ever played pool? Since AJ is usually distracted I never have anypony to compete with. You in?"

Fizzlepop finished off her drink before pretending to think it over. "Hmm, pool? I do think I've heard of that before. You'd have to show me how to play though."

Having apparently caught a look Fizzlepop still didn't know how to hide from her, Twilight shot her a skeptical glance. Rainbow didn't seem to notice.

"Ah yeah. This'll be cool. Just a sec." She grabbed all their glasses to get a refill from their currently no worse for wear bartender. She then flew them over to the side of the now filling bar to get a spot at the table.

"Fizz, are you going to scam her?" Twilight asked incredulously as they approached the table.

"Are you going to rat me out Sparky?" Fizzlepop asked while directing what she hoped was a flirtatious smile to her.

It did its job as Twilight blushed slightly. "Just don't completely rip her off."

Fizzlepop stuck her tongue out teasingly. "But if I did, then it would just be something else Fluttershy could console her about at the end of the night."

Twilight noticed Fluttershy joining Rainbow Dash on the other side of the table, apparently ready to cheer her on. Twilight looked back and forth between them, then back to Fizzlepop, looking impressed. "Are you sure you can beat her?"

Fizzlepop smirked. "Pool is one big math problem. Once you get the angles down, you can't lose." For some reason Twilight's cheeks seemed to take on more color at that reply, but Fizzlepop decided to attribute it to the already half empty glass of extremely alcoholic liquid floating next to her. "Cheer me on, ok." She gave the mare a wink before trotting over to Rainbow. "So, how do you hold one of these sticks?

***

Four games and six ciders later and Rainbow Dash was feeling very confident. It was around that time that Pinkie Pie rejoined the group.

"Hey Pinks, how's the pickings tonight?" Rainbow asked as she racked up the balls again.

Pinkie seemed to put on a serious face as she made a display of considering her response. "Hummmm. I'd say only so-so."

"Really, what's wrong?" It was Fluttershy moving in close to Rainbow that inquired.

Pinkie took a sip of her latest drink before continuing. "The fact that there's so many new ponies in Ponyville to be friends with is superdooper great, but it also means there's more meany-mean pants around too. Those stallions in the corner and those ones hanging out by the jukebox didn't want to talk or be friends at all."

Twilight spoke up next. "It's probably OK Pinkie. There's usually a few ponies at a bar who just want to drink their troubles away."

Pinkie waved her hoof as she took another drink. "Yeah yeah, I remember. Not everypony necessarily wants to be friends. At least not right away. Besides that, I've already made seven new friends tonight. And I'm going to plan one of their birthdays in twenty-seven days. It's gonna be fun."

Fizzlepop looked up while apparently still struggling to hold her pool stick correctly. "I should have figured that's what you were up to. You won't rest until you can throw a party for everypony will you?"

Pinkie smiled an only slightly devious smile. "No I won't." She said in an almost chilling tone.

"I'll never tell Pinkie. I don't need a party and you girls do more than enough for me as it is."

Pinkie looked at her with challenge in her eyes. "Well my Pinkie sense tells me that you told somepony, so we'll just see about that." She then transitioned back to one of her usual smiles. "So if you 'should have' guessed what I was doing was what I was doing, what did you think I was doing before I told you what I was doing?"

Fizzlepop shrugged her shoulders at that while taking another sip of her drink. She had switched to cider after her second Punch, it really was hiding an obscene amount of alcohol and even she would have started feeling it a little too much by now. She was honestly concerned that Twilight was on her fourth. "Honestly, the way you were moving between the various stallions and the bar, I thought you were flirting with all of them. Whether for free drinks or some companionship for later, I wasn't really sure."

Pinkie smiled even more brightly. "A mare can do more than one thing." Before anypony could inquire further she moved on. "So what are you girls all up to over here?"

Rainbow seemed to miss the suggestive tone in the always surprisingly observant mare's voice. "Oh, I'm just kicking her flanks at pool while Fluttershy continues to be the best cheering section ever and Twilight keeps making it easier for me to win by trying to turn the game into egghead stuff."

Fizzlepop suppressed a devious smile. "You're hardly kicking my flanks. I was starting to figure it out during that last game."

Rainbow Dash scoffed. "Yeah, that's because I was taking it easy on you. Twenty bits says you don't sink more than three balls this time around."

Twilight was currently turned away from Rainbow Dash, so Fizzlepop had to suppress a smile again at the eye roll she now shot her. "Oh yeah, well forty says I win this one."

Rainbow's eyes flashed with challenge while Fluttershy looked concerned. "Oh yeah? You're on."

Pinkie smiled a knowing smile to Fizzlepop and Twilight. "Sounds like you girls are having fun. That's all that matters, so if you'll excuse me, it looks like Rarity needs a wingmare with a few cuties over there."

Pinkie Pie departed while Rainbow Dash rested her pool stick over her shoulder in a cocky manner. "Well, you ready."

***

Three games and one hundred and sixty bits later and Twilight had decided they'd all had enough pool for the night. She had scolded Fizzlepop briefly about taking advantage of ponies, but Fizzlepop was having way too much fun to be discouraged and Twilight had known it.

They had managed to join Applejack at the bar, where she'd apparently been staring at the same glass of cider for the past twenty minutes. It seemed like she couldn't figure out exactly why the drink didn't seem appealing at all to her at the moment. It was also fairly clear that she wasn't moving due to her body realizing more than her mind that if she moved her forehooves from where they were on the bar, then she'd likely end up on the floor.

The bar being full now meant Berrypunch was only paying a passing attention to her challenger for the night. She made some lighthearted jabs at her every now and then to make sure she was still OK. Applejack's face seemed to get redder with each one.

Rainbow Dash had finally slowed down on the ciders as well. She currently was nursing her wounded pride along with another one Fluttershy had had to purchase for her now that she was much lower on bits for the evening. Fluttershy seemed to have had enough Shirley Temples to feel bold enough to drape a wing over her friend's shoulder as she did her best to assure her that she was still the coolest mare ever.

Not far away Rarity and Pinkie Pie were busy letting some stallions try to teach them how to play darts. Fizzlepop was sure they were doing their best to try to let the sets of mares have their time alone. She did appreciate it. But all the assembled mares, as well as some other patrons of the bar, suddenly had to turn to pay attention to an odd sound.

A high, almost piercing laugh came from Fizzlepop. It was loud enough that it could easily be heard over the rather loud music the stallions by the jukebox had been keeping going for some time now. The laughing seemed to become infectious as the intimidating mare it was coming from now seemed to weeze with the strain of the action, pounding her hoof on the bar heartily as she did so.

"You cannot tell Shining Armor I told you that story though. He would kill me. Then you, then probably himself just for good measure."

Fizzlepop struggled for breath as she tried to respond. "Bwh-hahaha... you can't be serious if you think I'm not going to use that. Hahaha... and you too!!! He took your chemistry set as a joke, so you...bwahahahaha, just, created an x-ray vision spell. Just created it, at age 10, like it's nothing. And it accidentally fixed your eyes when you freaked out because you accidently found his..."

She finally stopped as she felt hooves clamp down on her muzzle. The frantic look in the eyes of the mare in front of her did little to abate her good mood. She snickered through her restraint.

"Not one word! He made me swear not to tell anypony about that."

"Eh Mumph dungh mef..." Twilight removed her hooves and Fizzlepop started again. "I don't know. I'm not sure if I'll be able to stop myself from snickering around him the next time we have any sort of joint military activity."

"And just like that Equestria is going to have to cut all political ties to the Crystal Empire."

"And just like that I'm going to have to declare war on them."

"You can't declare a war just to laugh at my brother about being caught with Playcolt magazines."

It was at that moment that Twilight became more aware of the sudden lack of other sounds in the bar. Despite that the town had already adjusted to the former tyrant Tempest Shadow no longer being quite so threatening, it apparently still drew attention to hear her surprisingly feminine laugh ringing quite so openly in public. It was now apparent to Twilight that a fair bit of the now very much lively bar had been paying them at least some attention. And a fair bit more of them definitely were now.

With a glance Twilight confirmed that the rest of her friends were now staring at her in various states of shock. Except Rainbow Dash, who was clearly over her losses at the pool table. Her cheshire grin was only beaten out by Fizzlepop's.

"Ok Sparky, I promise I won't tell your brother that you told me about this story."

"I hate you so much." Twilight slumped onto the bar.

"I knew you would eventually. Berrypunch, get her another one of those fruity abominations. On Rainbow Dash," she added as she dumped a more than generous amount of her winnings on the bar.

Twilight attempted to use her magic to slide the bits back, but their bar keep was faster. Her glass was refilled before she could protest.

"Fizz, you don't need to use your money on me. I brought enough for both of us and extra if the girls needed."

"I'll take another cider," Rainbow cut in with more than a little slur to her words. The act of attempting to grandly gesture to Twilight as she did so caused her to lose balance on her stool and end up slumped against Fluttershy.

Fluttershy looked over to Twilight as she begrudgingly attempted to right the other pegasus. "She's cut off." She directed her gaze back to Rainbow Dash. "You can finish the one you have, but that's it Rainbow Dash."

"Oh come on Shy, I'm good. I could still fly a lap around Equestria in ten seconds flat if I wanted to. I'm just that awesome." She said this as she took what she clearly thought was a heroic pose.

Fluttershy rolled her eyes, looking down to hide her smile. "Did you mean to fan both of your wings out for that?"

Rainbow looked confused. "Why...?" She turned and noticed she had only opened one of her wings. She proceeded to manually push it out with her hoof, only to notice the other fold back in. The collective ponies at the bar watched in amusement as she repeated this several times. The rainbow mare finally let out a snicker of laughter. "I might need some help getting home tonight."

"Isn't it inherently dangerous to be drunk in a cloud home?" Fizzlepop decided to helpfully ask.

Seeming to catch on to what was going on, Twilight chimed in as well. "She's right, it makes you statistically more likely to cause damage to the clouds and fall."

Fluttershy managed to suppress a smile, but a little color did manage to spread into her cheeks. "They're right Rainbow Dash. Plus I had a drink too, I can't fly you home. You can spend the night wi.. at my cottage."

The blush on Fluttershy's face became more prominent as Rainbow now decided to lean in and try to give her friend a drunken hug. "Thank you so much Fluttershy, you're the best."

Others now seemed to start looking away, giving the pair their privacy. Twilight and Fizzlepop did as well, Twilight turning and speaking low as she did. "You got them further in one week than the rest of us have in years."

Fizzlepop turned her nose up in a show of mock indignation she had clearly learned from Rarity at some point. "How rude of you to accuse me of such a thing. I would never meddle in the love lives of my friends. I simply stated the truth that it would be unwise for Rainbow to go home alone tonight. If Fluttershy wishes to do something with that information then it is by her own will."

"What about that thing you did at the spa? Did that not count as meddling?"

"Not according to Fluttershy, so that's the story I'm going with."

Twilight smiled and took a sip of her drink before replying. "And you still try to act like you haven't changed at all."

Fizzlepop gave a low laugh that could barely be heard over the now even louder music that one of the stallions who'd been standing by the jukebox had put on. She finished her own drink with one big swig. "It is entirely possible that I truly haven't. I've spent most of my life around creatures I could break through sheer force of will. Maybe this is just what I'd be like if I had been able to live my life among ponies I respect." She threw down another few bits on the bar, presumably the last few she had won from Rainbow. "One more Punch, and another for her when she's finished."

"Fizz, I've got it. I only just realized you don't have an income which I'm definitely going to have to address. Don't waste your money on me."

"You pay me in room and board as well as not being in prison. And besides, there's no other pony I'd rather spend my bits on. My lovely princess."

Color flared up in Twilight's cheeks. She finished her drink to wash it away. "You still should have some bits for if you want to go do stuff on your own." She stopped to think for a moment, which seemed harder for her to do at this point in the night. "Where did you get the bits you used for everypony earlier if you don't have any income?"

"I sold all my belongings." She took another drink, pretending not to notice Twilight's jaw drop next to her.

".... What?" Twilight managed to catch herself and keep her outburst from being too loud.

"Everything I came to Ponyville with. I managed to find some shops in the new shopping square that had some eclectic tastes and wanted some items from very far off places. Everything that didn't sell, I threw away."

"Fizz. Why? You can't just get rid of everything you own."

"I have a lot more now, thanks to you. I had no use for any of it anymore." She turned fully to the other mare. "I don't try to hold onto things I don't need or want. You've given me a new life, so I thought it was time to make a clean break."

Twilight looked taken aback. Her cheeks were redder than they were before but she seemed to be keeping her composure. She seemed to track her gaze over Fizzlepop before she responded. "The way you say it seems almost sad, but I'm still happy. I've... I've been worried for a while now about what would happen when you didn't have to be here with me."

"Not that we have to worry about that any time soon, but I don't plan on leaving your side by my own power if I have any say in the matter."

That was the moment Fizzlepop realized that they both must have had much more to drink then either of them noticed. After Fizzlepop had turned to face Twilight, it had apparently prompted the other mare to do the same. In their slightly more inebriated state than they thought, apparently they had slumped forward on the squishy barstools. And had leaned forward. And why were Twilight's eyes half closed? And why did it feel like hers were too?

Something happened that should have been incredibly painful to Fizzlepop. Without realizing it, she had gotten close enough to her princess that the tip of her horn poked into the blunt base of Fizzlepop's broken one. Rather than a shot of searing pain, an odd feeling of contentment came with the sensation, giving her an odd sense of euphoria.

"Twilight..."

"Yeah Fizz?" Why did her voice seem so far off at the moment? It couldn't be just because of the drinks.

Even though she had told Fluttershy she would wait, her pegasus friend had also left her with no defenses left to fight this feeling. Her fight or flight instincts were hammering on overdrive like they never had before. She paid attention to nothing and everything all at once.

"... There's something..."

Across from them, Rainbow Dash seemed to be nearly passed out while pressed against Fluttershy. Just beyond them Berrypunch served Applejack another glass of water while drinking down another glass of cider against her.

Twilight's breath tickled her nose.

Off to the side Pinkie seemed to be leading a drinking game with some ponies she'd just met. Rarity had apparently decided to play referee to it.

And her princess smelled so sweet.

The music had changed up again to something even louder. And the stallions hanging around there seemed to be spreading out to dance to their selection.

Just an inch away.

"...I think I need..."

A stallion from the group that had been there almost as long as them had apparently been picked from his friends to get the next round. He seemed to be making his way up to the bar, but seemed to be in no condition to do so. He stumbled and staggered heavily as he went, nearly bumping into several ponies as he did. One brushed against him as he almost made it to his destination, causing a lock of blond mane to fall free from his hoodie as he lingered to catch his balance.

He lingered half a heart beat too long.

Behind Twilight.

In the span of less than a second several things happened. There was a sound of ripping cloth which immediately accompanied a sound like something slicing the air, followed closely by a metallic clang. Then a sound like a hoof impacting a face. A gutteral shout of a drill instructor broke through the atmosphere of the bar, seeming to cut the blood alcohol level of everypony in an instant.

"ASSASSINS IN THE BAR! PRIMARY TARGET IS THE PRINCESS! ELEMENT BEARERS LIKELY SECONDARY! AS MANY AS NINE ASSAILANTS!

Twilight's eyes had gone wide, along with most of the bars at that moment. Fizzlepop didn't have any time to focus on it as she took a defensive stance in front of her charge.

The stallion had come from the table at her two o'clock position, and they all seemed to have stood after her declaration. The assassin had been knocked across the floor of the bar, but not as far as he should have been; her hoof also stung from the impact more than it should. Luckily his cheap knife had been broken in the confrontation and lost somewhere to the bar floor. He was currently being helped up by some of the stallions that had been lingering around the jukebox, who were now advancing from her nine o'clock.

Her primary objective was as secure as it could be behind her. Secondary objective:

"Fluttershy, Rarity. I need you to get all non-combatants out of the bar safely. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, defend them while they do so. Pinkie Pie. Fast as you can. Go get some guards, we need them here now."

The group had sobered up considerably in just a few seconds, and while they took to their tasks quickly they were still obviously concerned.

"What about the two of you?" Rarity asked while lighting her horn to magically shove some still stunned ponies in the right direction.

Two stallions were still advancing from her nine. She switched her knife from her hoof to a magical grip that crackled and hissed. Before they could lunge forward with their own knives drawn, they were hit by bolts of magic coming from behind her.

Twilight had jumped on top of the bar to give herself an elevated shooting position. "Berrypunch, you need to get out too. We'll try to keep collateral damage to a minimum, go with Applejack and Rarity."

Fizzlepop allowed herself a moment to look away from the advancing attackers and give her friends a smug smile. "We'll be fine. We're just going to keep their attention on us for a while so you all can get everypony clear."

Pinkie was apparently already gone. There was luckily enough airspace in the bar for Fluttershy to take to the air to grab the few patrons of the bar left between the two advancing mobs. Any attack sent her direction was met with a vicious kick from a blue hoof coming from a target too fast for any of the attackers to retaliate against.

Making sure not to move out of a defensible position from Twilight, Fizzlepop advanced enough to cut off whatever attack she could before it was even made. The group in the hoodies moved to try to stop the escape of the rest as the Elements got them out of the door as quickly as possible. Twilight threw up a shield.

"Hurry, get them as far away from here as possible. Guards will be here soon, so stay with them."

One of the attackers pulled something from his pocket and slipped it around his horn.

"Sparky, their clothes have magical defenses and they seem to be carrying combat enhancers."

"No wonder that guy was able to stand up after you hit him." A familiar blond stallion shot off a wave of magic into Twilight's shield. "Military grade, not bad." She pumped more energy into her spell. "But I was breaking those when I was twelve."

Feedback from the shield hit the stallion hard, shattering the ring around his horn and blasting him back into the wall. This seemed to end their attempts to go after the others in the bar. All nine, eight now, turned to the Princess of Friendship and the Commander of the Royal guard.

"You think that because your magic is strong that you are a true Alicorn. Only the purest may lead, that is why your mere existence is a blight on..."

"Are you really doing a villain monologue right now?" Fizzlepop asked, almost letting a laugh escape her lips even as the group all brandished weapons now.

"Hornless freaks like you do not speak in the presence of true believers."

He was blasted through a wall with the force of the next shot Twilight let loose. "Don't you dare talk to her like that."

"Abominations!"

Twilight was already overcharging another blast when a hearty laugh from Fizzlepop made her reconsider.

"That's right. I am an abomination. I'm the stuff of your worst nightmares. The only reason you aren't all already dead even with those enchantments is because I have a strict no kill order from the Alicorn kicking all your flanks right now."

Two advanced on her at the same time while another tried to move around her to Twilight.

She blocked the first stallion's weapon with her own, while delivering a blow to the face of the other that made a crunching noise. She used the momentum to feint away from the first, but only to drop low and get his momentum over her. With a swift kick she sent him flying over her and into the third before he got another step closer to Twilight.

"Enchantment versus Enchantment." She had already righted herself as she gestured to the two stallions that had knocked each other out cold. "Not to mention your faces are still free game." She wiped her hoof off against the now tattered hem of her dress.

"You can not stop the tru.."

"Guards will be here soon and I don't think I'm getting any Intel from these wack jobs. You want to wrap this up Twilight?"

"With those enchants on I'd have to use a level five restraint spell, and I can't hit them all at once with that unless I have some kind of prism to split the beam."

Fizzlepop laughed smugly. "Ariel can lend us some assistance."

Though she heard a noise of confusion from behind her, Fizzlepop still proceeded with confidence. She stood on her hind legs, taking her knife into both her forehooves. She held it high above her, exposing herself to any attack they might decide to make. And it looked like they would take the chance, If a beam of magic didn't hit the blade at nearly the same moment.

***

"You know, for 'pure' ponies, you sure do whine a lot."

Nine stallions lay on the ground, most moaning in pain at the magical bonds that had blown their magical guards off before subduing them. The guards, as well as Applejack and Rainbow Dash, had arrived just a few moments after Fizzlepop and Twilight had wrapped up the fight. Their presence had at least made it easier to get the group out of the bar for processing.

One of them had been much chattier than the rest, apparently taking on the role of their leader. One of the blond stallions that seemed to have been stalking Twilight and Fizzlepop all week now lay before her and responded in as condescending a tone as he could muster.

"You think you've beaten us, you lesser pony. You don't know how things really work. We'll be freed soon enough, and we'll be back. We are an unstoppable cleansing light."

Fizzlepop gave a grunt of affirmation. "It's true, Equestria's legal system is much too forgiving for my taste. Luckily," she now said as she bent low and gave him a sickly sweet smile that made him cringe. "I have the word of a princess stating that if I ever saw either you or your buddy over there again, then any and all decisions on how you are apprehended, interrogated, and prosecuted," pause for dramatic effect, "falls to me."

He was visibly shocked, but was trying to maintain some level of stoicism. The one he'd been seen around town with just across from him however; "Oh sweet Celestia, no! I told you she hadn't gone soft. She's been onto us this whole time. She clearly wasn't even drunk, this must have been a set up."

"Quiet you whelp! We are superior ponies, we don't need..."

"Oh shut up Jerry! We are so screwed!"

Jerry now became frustrated as he tried to quickly talk over the other unicorn. "That is Grandmaster to you. Cease your chattering for the glory of..."

"I will roll on everypony here if you'd just please not hurt me."

"Dave you little turd, you said you wouldn't do this again." Jerry's voice now suddenly became much more whiny as he struggled against his bonds to glare at the other stallion.

"Screw that. I told you, that's Tempest Shadow! She'll feed us to Timber Wolves just for fun. I'm done, I'm out."

They began to bicker back and forth, several of the others getting involved. Fizzlepop let it go on for a minute, gesturing to one of her guards to start taking notes on what they were saying. They were giving up a lot of information. "When they're done go ahead and free the squealer. Princess Twilight is busy so it will take at least six of you to break her magic. Be careful of the magical backlash." She whispered this to him as he diligently took his notes.

"Yes ma'am, thank you ma'am. Where will you be if there's trouble?"

"I'm going to go check on the V.I.P.s. Although I'm sure you all can handle the situation from here."

He suddenly broke his composure, eyes going wide as his gaze turned slowly up to her. "Uh, thank.. thank you ma'am."

Fizzlepop gave him a salute. " I know you'll all make me proud."

He managed to get himself back on track as she left him and the other guards behind to deal with the official procedures. The Element Bearers, her friends, were close by down another small street. Although something seemed off.

"Shy! Shy! What happened Shy? You guys, she's OK right?"

Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie stood aside looking concerned. Rainbow Dash lay on the ground next to an unconscious Fluttershy. Fizzlepop's pace quickened, leading her to sliding in on the opposite side of her fallen friend.

"Fizzlepop, what happened to her? Do the guards have a medic? Is she going to be ok?"

Fizzlepop did her best to ignore the panic in Rainbow and herself as she carefully rolled the delicate pegasus on her back and pressed an ear to her chest. She then shifted to her face, lifting an eyelid and checking dilation. She then pressed the area of exposed skin at the base of her ear to see how quickly the color came back.

She had to force herself not to let out an involuntary noise, it wouldn't help the situation. Fluttershy, by self admittance one of the biggest cowards in Equestria, had seen a literal threat to her life and the lives of the ponies she held dear and had faced it head on. Despite her fear she had done what needed to be done, heroically securing bystanders to allow Fizzlepop and Twilight the time and space needed to sort out those responsible.

And only then had she decided it was OK to faint. She'd be fine in mere minutes at most. "This isn't good Rainbow Dash." But a side of her she didn't even know existed until recently decided Rainbow Dash didn't need to know that.

"WHAT!!! What happened? If any of them hurt her I swear..."

"There's no time for that now Rainbow." 'Because she's probably going to wake up soon anyway.' "You need to help her."

Seeing that Rainbow's entire focus was on the mare before her, Fizzlepop directed her attention to the other onlookers, and gave them a smile. Their tension broke, but Fizzlepop did manage to signal for their silence. They managed to signal their understanding as Rainbow's attention now shifted to her.

"What do you mean I have to help her? I only know about sports injuries."

"It has to be you Rainbow Dash. She needs resuscitation. I sprained my hoof, Applejack is too strong and Rarity and Pinkie aren't strong enough to give her chest compressions after if she needs them." Fizzlepop was sure if the rainbow mare in front of her wasn't so frazzled she'd realize how ridiculous that sounded. But with her brain firing in every direction at once, all it did was make a look of iron determination harden in her eyes.

"Ok, just tell me what to do. Anything for Fluttershy."

"Good. Then place your hoof on the side of her face and lean her head back." It should be the forehead, but she didn't need to know that.

Rainbow fumbled for a second before leaning over her fallen friend and reaching her hoof around the opposite side. Fizzlepop stole a glance to the others who were now all smiling slyly. And where did Pinkie get that popcorn?

"Now I already checked her breathing, so all she needs is you to give her breath." 'Or to take it away.'

"Be Ok Shy," Rainbow said as she leaned close.

"Now lock your lips tight with hers."

Rainbow Dash didn't hesitate, but unfortunately neither did Fluttershy. Their lips were only locked for a moment before her eyes shot open, then immediately began to flutter closed. The stirring was enough for Rainbow to notice and pull away before even one breath was given, which was probably for the best anyway. Though she was initially shocked, she luckily made the switch to excited quickly enough that she didn't realize she hadn't actually done anything.

"Fluttershy, you're OK. Thank goodness." Rainbow wrapped her friend in a tight embrace. Tight enough that neither noticed Fizzlepop lightly pulling back and joining with the rest of the group to quietly back away. Fizzlepop did however keep an ear open as they tried to give them some privacy.

"I don't know what I would have done if you got hurt Shy."

"It's Ok, I'll always be ok if you're around." There was a quiet pause where the whole group was sure they heard a sob. "Rainbow Dash, there's something I really need to tell you."

"So how did the rest of you fair?" Fizzlepop asked once they were far enough away.

"We're fine sugarcube, just sorry we didn't get back in time ta' help out."

"Indeed. I know you're very capable but I didn't like leaving you alone with..." Rarity suddenly gasped as her eyes went wide upon finally getting a good look at her friend.

"Relax, it's fine. Those guys were pushovers even with their magic gear. The longest lasting problem to take care of with this is going to be the paperwork. And considering how much Sparky loves that sort of thing, I'm perfectly happy letting her handle that." They all managed to exchange a smile. Fizzlepop had the distinct feeling she'd walked into something.

"Sharing chores already. My my, an attempted assassination does seem to push a relationship forward does it not."

"We li... we share a residence and she is my commanding authority. We've shared responsibilities ever since I arrived."

Applejack smiled smugly. "So how was it fighting alongside her?"

Fizzlepop rolled her eyes at the smile Rarity now gave at the question. "The gossip has been strong I see." The smile remained. "It was amazing. Knowing I had somepony like her at my back made me feel invincible. And that's coming from somepony who doesn't regularly feel intimidated in battle as it is."

"We were all hoping that giving you happy couples some time alone tonight would lead to something. It looks like we were right even if it happened a little differently than we thought." Pinkie Pie smiled brightly.

Fizzlepop smiled, but it was slightly downcast. "Unfortunately, it still doesn't mean things are going to turn out how you all might hope." Smiles turned to looks of encouragement. "I should go find Sparky. She might need help wrapping up the last of this mess."

Smiles returned as she turned away. Twilight would be back at the bar coordinating cleanup and transportation of all the assailants. Fizzlepop found her talking with a familiar mare.

"Once again, we're sorry for the mess. Equestria's disaster relief programs should cover anything you need."

Berrypunch rolled her eyes as she absentmindedly looked over some papers Twilight had presented her with. "I live in Ponyville. Like I've never filled out disaster relief forms before." They shared a laugh at that. "Wait up, this wasn't caused by a world ending monster of any kind. Is it still the same form?"

"Just don't fill out anything from section 'E' on."

"So nothing after page sixteen, gotcha. Now I think your marefriend might want your attention."

Fizzlepop decided to feel encouraged that as Twilight was looking over her checklist, she seemed to not feel the need to correct the statement. Instead her ears perked up at the sound of approaching hooves. She turned, and smiled. Her eyes then went wide and she suddenly disappeared leaving her parchment to flutter to the ground. Fizzlepop's vision filled with light a second later and she was amazed she only reacted by feeling her cheeks heat up as she felt hooves suddenly on her.

"Fizz! Why didn't you tell me you got hurt!? How bad is it?! We need a medic over here!!!" Twilight suddenly shouted without pulling away from where she was trying to examine the bloody spot on Fizzlepop's neck without touching any of the blood.

Fizzlepop was looking down at a clearly panicking princess. And while she did think her worried expression was kind of cute, she did not want to prolong her distress. Using her clean hoof she reached up, catching Twilight's chin and forcing it up until she was looking her in the eyes. Their noses were also nearly touching, but she figured it was a necessary byproduct of the situation and didn't need to adjust.

"Twilight, calm down."

"No! You're..."

"It's not my blood. I got it on me when I broke one of those guys' teeth out." She lifted her other hoof to rip away some of the tattered remains of her dress. She held it out so Twilight could see the soiled remains of the fight that still clung on.

Twilight, having calmed considerably, sat back on her haunches and brought her own forehooves up to the offered one. She turned the hoof over dumping the torn fabric and examining the dirtied hoof instead. "It looks like you nicked up your hooves again, and after we just got them cleaned up for you."

The attempt at humor did its job well enough. Both mares smiled as the stress from the incident finally seemed to lessen from the shoulders of both mares. "Well if both of us weren't going to be buried in paperwork for the next ten hours or so, I'd say we earned some spa time."

"And apparently we need to commission Rarity to make you some combat ready dresses considering the state of this one. And a new bow too from the looks of it."

Fizzlepop pulled away from the embrace, her hoof going up to her mane. She unclasped the small green accessory, and groaned as it's now cut and dangling remains came into view. "Blast it all. I could have taken or left the dress, but I liked the ribbon."

Seeing the genuine displeasure in the other mare, Twilight raised her hooves up. She wrapped her hooves around the occupied one and pushed it down so Fizzlepop and herself were once again face to face. "Well then, it looks like I'll just have to get you another one."

"You don't have to..."

"Every time you say I don't have to, I'm getting you another one. As many as will fit in your room, the very next time we go shopping.

Fizzlepop rolled her eyes. "So another trip to the spa and another day of shopping. But with your paperwork and me tracking down how these guys managed to get military hardware, that will be when? June or July, maybe August."

Twilight pretended to consider it. "Let's go with August, so we can make it your birthday present."

Fizzlepop rolled her eyes again, but smiled. "Yeah, sounds great. It's a date."

Weight fell back onto them at the words. Both knew at a glance that those words needed to be addressed, but both knew they didn't quite know how.

"Fizz..."

"Sparky..."

"....."

"Your highness."

"Commander Shadow."

Guards had approached both of them, multiple to each and each seeming to require their attention for different tasks. They began talking over one another as the mares struggled with their priorities.

Duty and emotions battled in Fizzlepop's head. A look of concern came to Twilight's face, followed by her expression hardening.

The princesses' wings flared out dramatically as a hoof went up to silence the assembled guards. "I need a minute to speak to the Commander of the royal guard alone. We will get this situation sorted out as efficiently as possible, for now I must ask you to return to your tasks."

The guards were taken aback, but all dutifully bowed before departing. Fizzlepop had to smile. "You've gotten way more assertive haven't you?"

"Fizz." The soft tone immediately brought Fizzlepop's full attention to Twilight. "We have some serious things to talk about, don't we?"

Fizzlepop smiled, but it felt more like a wince. "It's not anything you need to be concerned with. My duty comes first, so we can put..."

"Quit trying to tell me not to care about how you feel."

The words weren't loud but they still made the former villain stagger back as if she was struck. They stood in silence for a few moments before Twilight spoke again.

"You told me you always leave Saturdays free right?" Fizzlepop nodded, it was all she could manage at the moment. "Then if you want to... No. Your princess demands that you be early to your meeting. As early as is convenient. Do you understand?"

"Yes your... Sparky." Fizzlepop was confused looking into Twilight's eyes at that moment. It was suddenly as if the entire week had never happened and she was once again unable to figure out what she was feeling towards Twilight.

Her voice came out smaller than it ever had while she was in public. "Can... can I still bring my book with me?"

Twilight smiled, and Fizzlepop felt a weight lift from her instantly. "Of course. I'll have snacks."

With that both mares turned to the ponies waiting on them. They both worked with urgency, they had plans they would not put off.

Love.

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Knockknockknock.

"Come in."

The sounds of a large door opening and closing.

"Good morning."

"....."

"Fizzlepop Berrytwist, Have you taken part in any action that will either directly or indirectly lead to a plot to conquer Equestria or do you have any knowledge of any individuals who might have?"

"No"

"Then would you please thoroughly read over and sign the document on the table?"

The sound of quill on parchment could be heard a moment later.

Twilight stood in front of one of the large windows of her room looking out over the courtyard that had been co-opted for training new recruits. At the sound she turned to her guest, giving her a tired expression.

"Even after all this time you still don't read your paperwork." Her smile was of a mare that hadn't slept well the night before.

Fizzlepop gave her a smile to match. "There is very little I fear in this world, and bureaucracy is not one of them." She managed a smug smirk at the declaration.

Twilight seemed to perk up some at the remark. "Are you sure about that? Honestly, some of the scariest things ever done have been done with quill and parchment."

Fizzlepop managed to make her smirk even more smug. She sauntered forward, approaching Twilight in what could be mistaken as a threatening manner. "Unless there is some way legal jargon could manage to take me away from your side, I don't think I have anything to fear."

Fizzlepop felt her own cheeks heat just a little as she noticed that her actions seemed to have had their desired effect. Just a little color came to Twilight's cheeks, but she did not back down as Fizzlepop came to be just a step away from her. She did let out a sigh as she raised a hoof to try to rub away the color.

"You really have become a lot more open with your feelings haven't you?"

"For the first time since I can remember, my feelings haven't been painful. You allowing me to indulge my silly crush on you has done me more good then I think either of us could have imagined. I've been holding onto so many bad memories for so long, and yet in just a week they no longer hurt so much to think about. You and the others have helped me to realize, just how afraid I was to move past them. It's something I'll be forever grateful to you all for."

"And that 'silly little crush'?"

"What about it?"

"I... I feel like we might have lost the point of this week, but I still have to ask. Did you... get over that crush?"

"...... Yes."

Fizzlepop put an air of finality in the single word. It was the statement only an individual who was very sure of themselves could make.

And yet; "There's a lot more to that answer, isn't there?"

"........ Yes."

Twilight realized she was holding her breath while waiting for the reply. She let it out with a sigh, giving herself a long moment to decide if she wanted to proceed. "I want to hear it. Everything you have to say."

"Are you sure?"

Twilight lit her horn. Fizzlepop felt a tug at the book she had tucked under her leg opposite her dagger. She released it and watched as it floated over to sit in front of a familiar pile of pillows. It was joined a moment later by a pile of snacks.

"I'm sure."

Fizzlepop took a deep breath as well, deciding how she wanted to do this.

"Then Ariel too." Twilight seemed taken aback by that. "I'm very sure of myself right now. I don't need her for comfort at the moment. I want this to be all me."

Twilight nodded. Fizzlepop lifted her leg and allowed the other mares' magic to envelop her companion, carrying her to sit next to the book she had brought. She felt naked and exposed, but she stood tall with confidence.

"A silly crush was all I was able to have for you before, because it was the only type of emotion I hadn't taken the time to beat into submission during the course of my life. It was something so insignificant that it would never have affected me. Until you came along. The only emotions I've been able to feel for the longest time that were strong enough to affect me were anger and contempt. And yet, because it was for you, that silly little crush was able to bypass all my defenses. And there was a lot hiding behind that which I would have never known about if you hadn't given me the chance. It was honestly never about a silly crush, that was just the one thing I allowed myself to feel for you."

Fizzlepop paused. She looked over to her first and best friend, expecting to see her blushing like she had the week before. But Twilight stood tall and strong at the words Fizzlepop had been dumping onto her so far. It made her chest flutter, and the next words came out as easily as taking her next breath.

"Sparky. I've fallen deeply in love with you. And it doesn't matter to me at all if you don't feel the same way. I have no intention to live my life through you, and you have no obligation to return my feelings. You are the strongest pony I've ever met, in ways I didn't even know a pony could be strong. And I know this because no pony else could have ever pulled me out of the place I was before. Others helped, but you were the only one who was able to initially break through. That strength of will, strength of character, strength of integrity, strength of trust in others. All of it, it's made me love you like I'm sure I'll never love another."

Twilight had not backed down during the entire declaration. However at the moment both mares noticed that both had begun to breathe heavily. If Fizzlepop focused closely she was sure she could hear the sound of Twilight's heart beating hard and fast, just over the sound of her own doing the same.

The princess finally allowed her eyes to break contact with the mare confessing their deep feelings for her. She closed her eyes to take a deep, steadying breath.

"Thank you Fizz. You've been very open with me, and I think it's only fair for me to do the same for you. But... I just want you to know that I don't think there's any way for me to be nearly as concise with you as you have been with me. There's some things I need to tell you, some are really good, some not so much, and some I'm still not sure about. The first one is not so good, but please give me a chance to finish."

"Of course." Fizzlepop had to focus on not holding her breath as Twilight steadied herself again.

"Ok. I think it's important for me to tell you before anything else. I.... have never been attracted to mares." She seemed to pause for a minute to see if Fizzlepop would react, but the mare remained stoic. "In my entire life I have never seen a mare and had any inclination that I might come to have romantic feelings for them, not even any of my best friends. I've always felt that love is love and that anypony should feel free to love anypony else. I mean, did you hear about Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy?"

Fizzlepop couldn't help but to smile a little. She had heard the news. "If nothing else, at least somepony got a happy ending out of this."

"I'm happy for them too. But I've just never felt like that could ever happen for me with another mare. So when you started to describe your feelings for me last week, I honestly thought that if you got the chance to explore those feelings that you'd realize we didn't have anything in common romantically. I mean, why would we connect romantically if at least one of us isn't into it, right?"

"You don't need to justify your feelings to me Sparky," Fizzlepop said with a half hearted smile. "I already told you that it doesn't matter if you don't feel the same about me. If me being a mare is a deal breaker, then there's nothing that can be done about that." It was the truth, and she had arrived there today fully prepared for this outcome. That didn't mean it didn't currently feel like there was a knife in her gut. But that twisting pain subsided as she focused on the mare that apparently couldn't love her back who currently wasn't looking at her.

"You know, I wasn't lying when I told you you looked great in that suit Rarity made you. You are a very handsome mare, and it's not like I can't tell that."

"But that's not really the problem, is it? If you aren't attracted to mares then it's a deal breaker, right?"

Twilight now seemed more frustrated then she was before, bringing her forehooves up to rustle her own mane. "It should be more of a deal breaker than it is honestly, but there's more I need to tell you and I really hope you don't hate me for it."

"I'm not going to hate you just because you can't be attracted to mares. You don't need to fully explain why it won't work out between us."

"No, not that. I am honestly sorry that you being a mare is an issue for me, but honestly there's something worse I need to confess." Twilight seemed to take a minute to organize her thoughts again. "I'll just say it in the worst possible way, since I already feel bad about it. I didn't want to see you thrown in a dungeon for the bad things you did, and then I went and tried to keep you trapped for all the good things you did."

".... What you just said made no sense at all. How have you tried to trap me in any way?"

"I've been worried for months now that you'd leave. That the day you finished your community service you'd say thanks, turn around, and be gone for good. And I told myself that if you left, if I let you leave, something bad would happen. I don't even know what that would have been." Twilight's voice seemed strained. Fizzlepop tried to give her some comfort.

"It wouldn't though. You truly have shown me the error of my ways and I have no intention of going back to how I lived before. Even if I didn't have to stay, I have no reason to leave."

"But you don't have any reason to stay either. I really was just trying to open you up to the idea of Friendship, but I think I was pushing extra hard because I thought it was the only way to make you want to stay. Even this whole week I've been doing it. I've been hoping you'd let me get you things, things I could... anchor you down with. Oh sweet Celestia, I really have been horrible to you. Even yesterday, after you've told me in several different ways that you'd never just leave, I was still trying to think of ways to get you to stay. I tried to bribe you with free cider for Luna's sake."

Twilight only seemed more distraught at this point. Fizzlepop decided she needed to get her friend off of this line of thought. She stepped forward, placing her hoof on the other mare's shoulder as she tried her best to speak comfortingly. "Sparky, none of that is important. You and the girls have become more important to me than anything else in my life." She gave a half hearted laugh as she continued. "And even if that somehow weren't true, even if somehow you weren't the most wonderful pony I've ever met, I still couldn't leave."

"And what if you could?"

"What?"

"What if you could leave? What if there was no longer anything that was keeping you here legally? Just a spa membership and a room full of stuff I bought you to try to guilt you into staying." Twilight became more downcast saying this, pulling away from the contact as she did.

Fizzlepop once again tried to be comforting. She put on a light hearted smile she knew would look fake if Twilight actually focused on her. "Sparky, stop worrying about that. When is that ever even going to be relevant?"

Fizzlepop was surprised when Twilight's horn began to glow. She heard the telltale pop of teleportation. She turned to the source, feeling her eyes widen as the papers she had just signed now seemed to be gone.

"Fizzlepop Berrytwist." She turned to look back to Twilight. The mare before her seemed completely defeated, unable to raise her head as she spoke with no life to her voice whatsoever. "By the powers vested in me as a Princess of Equestria: I hereby declare your debt to the nation to be paid in full. You are a free mare."

Fizzlepop could only stare for nearly a full minute. "... How? There's no way. I had so much time to serve. I thought I'd never..."

Twilight let the unfinished statement hang until she couldn't take it anymore. Her ears folded and her eyes closed as she forced out her words. "I'm sorry, it was supposed to be a surprise. And then it started to happen so quickly and I realized I didn't want it to even though I didn't want to admit why. Please don't hate me."

"For what? This isn't even possible. I should be paying my debt off for... I don't even know how long. I never bothered figuring it out because it didn't seem like a number that would go away no matter how long I worked at it."

Twilight seemed to have calmed some after her outburst and managed to explain. "Ten thousand hours of community service. Most ponies do community service while living their normal lives, so they usually only do the bare minimum. Doing it like that, it would take nearly ten whole years. But you're dedicated, to everything you do. Your community service is your job, and you put in a lot more than forty hours a week. Between working most weekends, staying after hours, pulling all nighters with me to set up the training facilities... I've been watching, and making sure you got all the credit you deserved. I wanted everypony to know just how dedicated you are, just how much you have changed. You've put in nearly two thousand hours in just over six months."

"But that's still..."

"And the part I should have told you." Twilight cut in, losing her cool for a second again. "Celestia has been so pleased with your efforts retraining the guards that she's been rewarding you for every group you send back. Eight rounds of guards, eight thousand extra hours. You started this week off with less than twenty hours left. And the conditions of your parole mean that the moment your hours are completed, your rank as the interim commander of the royal guard is also officially revoked. As of this moment you have nothing that is legally keeping you here."

Fizzlepop suddenly realized she hadn't inhaled in a while. She hastily did so while closely watching the wilted mare before her. "You're...serious."

"I promise I didn't want to hide it from you. Even if this week hadn't happened I was going to tell you when you finished your time." She was suddenly frantic, stepping in close to the other mare with a desperate plea for understanding in her eyes. "I know I was trying to manipulate you into staying, but I would never have lied to you. I can't force you to stay if you don't want to. I can't force you to do anything, even if I am a princess."

Fizzlepop's mind was racing as fast as her heart. She knew what she wanted, but she already knew she couldn't have it. Right?

"But will you stay anyway?" Fizzlepop's breath caught at the words. Twilight finally managed to look back up to her. "Will you stay here, with me?"

"But I thought you said..."

"Fizz, I really don't think that matters anymore. I've gotten so used to you being here. I've told you things about myself I've never told anypony before. I've always believed that love is love, and I think I know what that really means now. Because even though I've never been attracted to a mare before in my entire life... if you had kissed me yesterday, I would have kissed you back."

"Is that true?" Fizzlepop's breath had come back to her and she was now breathing rapidly.

Twilight sauntered forward, approaching Fizzlepop in what couldn't possibly be mistaken as a threatening manner. "How about you try again and see."

Fizzlepop's chest was hammering, but her fight or flight instincts refused to trigger. Having no idea what she was doing, she stepped forward with confidence. The shorter mare craned her neck up to her. Their eyes met and their cheeks flushed. The moment their lips met both their eyes fluttered closed. Fizzlepop thought it would be over after a moment, but at the point she felt she should pull away she instead felt herself pushing closer. Even if she wanted to pull away, she suddenly felt hooves wrap around her shoulders pulling her deeper. Her chest started to burn before their lips finally parted. Still, neither mare pulled away. They both leaned forward, pressing their foreheads together as they both recovered their oxygen supply. Sparks tingled pleasantly where Twilight's horn rubbed against the side of the remains of Fizzlepop's, sending shots of pleasure straight into both mares.

"Fizz. I love you too. I'm sorry I spent so long trying to convince myself I didn't."

Fizzlepop felt something building in her chest. She offered no resistance as it traveled up her neck and out of her mouth. "Yes! Woohoo." Twilight was caught off guard at the sudden outburst of joy. The former tyrant Tempest Shadow, now her special somepony Fizzlepop Berrytwist, lunged forward. Their embrace caused them to topple back into a waiting pile of pillows. She could only laugh as Fizzlepop's explosion of emotions compelled her to embrace her harder while trying to nuzzle her and kiss her all over at the same time.

Fizzlepop seemed to catch herself but refused to be embarrassed by her show of emotions. She pulled away, but offered the brightest smile Twilight had ever seen. "You know, for such a serious soldier, you're so adorable when you let yourself be."

Fizzlepop leaned forward where they lay side by side surrounded by what was left of the pillows to nuzzle their noses together. "Nonsense, if anypony is the adorable one in this relationship it is you. But since you bring it up. Who's the new head of the royal guard?"

Twilight quirked an eyebrow at that. "It would go back to the previous head, from the first group you retrained. Why?"

Fizzlepop began to try to untangle herself from her marefriends legs. "Because I still refuse to be a burden to you. I now have no job, so I'm going to go challenge him for the position."

Twilight playfully put up resistance to Fizzlepop's attempts to leave. "The position was allowed to be here only by very special circumstances. If you wanted that job back, you'd have to either move to Canterlot or commute every day. And your princess denies both."

"Then do you expect me to get a regular job or something? Because I refuse to not bring something to this relationship."

"No, you'd go crazy at a regular job. As sweet as you actually are, you're still a soldier and I'd never deny you that. So since I'm not going to let you walk out on our first reading date as an actual couple, here's something for you to read."

A small stack of papers floated over from Twilight's desk and was set in front of them on the floor with a quill.

"What's this? I thought you said I was done with all my service."

"Princess Celestia has been telling me for a while that I should have my own guard with how many world ending threats I encounter. My own guard as part of the royal guard. Like her Solar Guard or Luna's Moon Guard. The Friendship Guard, as weird as that sounds. But I'll need a qualified commander. If you're interested, then you should thoroughly read over and sign this..."

Fizzlepop slammed the quill down, having already signed and dated the documents. "File them now."

"You know you really should read official documents before you sign."

"I trust you."

Twilight smirked mischievously as her horn lit up. "Ok, if you're sure." With a flash and a pop they disappeared. "But you should know I added a little something to those, and now there's no way out."

"And exactly what do you think you can threaten me with at this point?" Fizzlepop demanded with challenge in her voice.

"Oh nothing much, just an entire extra job that's going to demand your full attention on top of your duties as the head of my guard."

Fizzlepop was now curious. "And what exactly would that be?"

"I just put in a stipulation that the head of the Friendship Guard would also have to carry out the duty of being the personal bodyguard to the Princess of Friendship. They'll have to escort me everywhere and basically never leave my side." She smiled triumphantly. "So, Commander Berrytwist. I look forward to working very closely with you from now on."

Fizzlepop's smile felt like it might push past the confines of her face. "I look forward to serving."

Author's Notes:

I forgot to mention in my last author notes. A big thank you to Lucha in the comments for giving me the idea for the name of the dagger. The fact that it's the name of a loyal companion to an exiled individual would be enough, but the fact that it's from a Shakespeareian play called The Tempest, I couldn't pass that up.
I feel like this chapter might trigger some people due to mentions of sexualities and the possible implications of them shifting. My blanket response, life is strange sometimes and you just gotta roll with it. I feel like this has some similarities to one of my other works, when did this happen, in that we've mostly seen the story from one character's perspective. So I had to unpack how the other had been feeling this whole time a little bit. Just a little insight into this, an entire theme of this chapter had to be cut, thanks to my wife for making me realize it needed to happen, and therefore the entire first half needed to be rewritten as a result. I was going to try to lighten the mood by including a part about Twilight actually being attracted to Tempest initially, but only because she thought she was a stallion. Really didn't work by the time I got close to the end of the story. Probably would have been borderline offensive honestly. The writing process can be fun, but it's still frustrating.
This is now my longest story, so I hope you all had a lot of fun with it let me know what you think. As always, I love hearing from you all.

Why She Serves

by Natedogg2006

Duty?

Debt?

Fear?

Confusion?

Rewards?

Interlude: A Promise

Challenge?

Peace?

Pampering?

Parties?

Interlude: Crushes

Libations?

Love.

Epilog: Second Tour?