Welcome one and all to the sequel of the sequel of 'Begrudged Tolerance is Magic'! No, I didn't just type the same thing pointlessly - this series that was supposed to be just a collection of oneshots has turned into a trilogy! I may even take a page out of Douglas Adams' book and make it a trilogy of four, depending on how well this goes down! Though, the fourth part will probably end up as a 'My Little Pony'/'Doctor Who' crossover, simply to vent every Whovian thought that passes through my head.
This story, cleverly titled 'Frienemies Forever', (in tribute to the comic series) will be set in the near-future of the Mane 6; my OC Delta; Discord; and a few more important ponies. I feel compelled to warn you now that there will be many ships in the story - some popular, others not so much.
A brief list would include Fluttercord, Flashlight, CheesePie, SoarinDash, etc.
Oh! For readers of the last two stories, the format is changing again. Yeah, I know. This time it's a little more readable, according to half the site.
Now, without another iota of time-wasting, let's dive right in!
The Grand Galloping Gala
The coffee-brown pegasus known as Delta bounced along the path to Canterlot Castle alongside her best friends. The mare wore a royal blue gown with swirls of gold thread embroidered in its design. Her light blue mane with the white-dip was tied up with a golden clip in the shape of a pocket watch, matching her cutie mark. Part of her mane was plaited, too, curtesy of Rarity. The dress was also thanks to the creative genius of the white unicorn.
As the group of seven ponies made their way toward the Palace, each had their own wary expectations of the night's events.
Ever since their first Gala, the Mane six held a sort of reluctance to the night. Even though every night since had been brilliant, they still tried not to get their hopes up.
Things were a little different to their first Gala, too. For one, Princess Twilight Sparkle was already inside, greeting ponies alongside Princess Celestia and Princess Cadance. Princess Luna was performing her duties as Princess of the Night, so could not attend.
Two more strange changes to the group of ponies heading into the Palace were that one of them used to be human and another was actually a draconequus in disguise.
Discord was incognito amongst the group of mares in his ponified form. Ever since first using it against Tirek, the Lord of Chaos had found it increasingly useful when traversing an area filled with ponies that could potentially hate him. In this form- a dusty grey unicorn with a black mane and tornado cutie mark- he kept his yellow and red eyes. He'd dubbed it 'Twister', in honour of his cutie mark and his twisted sense of humour.
As Twister, Discord wore a dark, pinstriped waistcoat and a deep blue bowtie. Rarity had insisted he remained somewhat up to date with Equestrian fashion if he were to blend in successfully. At first, the waistcoat had been a mix-n-match selection of different fabrics and colours. That would've stood out a mile away, and in a place as crowded by sophicticated ponies as the Gala, he was bound to be noticed.
Since the catastrophy of the year earlier's Gala, being noticed was the last thing on Discord's agenda.
"Oh, I'm so excited!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, bouncing in circles around the group of friends. Delta and Pinkie were the only ponies actually bouncing into the Palace, much to the amusement of the others.
"Oh, so am I! I can't wait to spend time in the gardens." Fluttershy smiled. Beside her, Discord gently nudged her with his shoulder.
"You mean we get to spend time together." The draconequus-in-disguise corrected with a smile, draping a hoof behind her neck. "Possibly in the garden."
Behind them, Rainbow Dash mimed throwing up to Applejack, who had to cover her mouth with a hoof to smother her laughter. Meanwhile Delta had to contain the squeal of delight. The sight of Discord and Fluttershy together together never failed to elicit the alarming reaction of a fangirl from the ex-human. It was still abnormal to her, even after five years, that her OTP, 'One True Pairing', was real. It was like every fanfiction she'd read - just not the sad ones. In all that time, Delta had only seen them argue twice. The first was over Discord's pranks and their increasing severity. That was quickly sorted when Delta pointed out she really didn't mind being woken at two a.m. by a flock of parrots in her room. It was a lie, but at least living in a different place meant it wasn't every morning.
"I simply cannot get over how adorable you two are!" Rarity cooed as the group of seven got to the main ballroom where Twilight was greeting other subjects. She looked exhausted already, but it didn't take her long to spot her friends. Spouting a quick excuse to a disgruntled stallion in a top-hat, the Princess galloped over, her dress flowing behind her.
"Girls! Discord! I'm so glad to see you all!" The purple Princess exclaimed, pulling individuals from the group into hugs.
"Twilight, dearest, you look divine!" Rarity beamed, holding Twilight at hoof's length.
"Thanks! Cadance gave me a hand with my mane. Everypony loves the dress you made, too." Twilight glanced at her outfit.
"Oh, making clothes for royalty will never grow old, dear." The white unicorn reassured her with a smile.
"I'm gonna go party!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, leaping into the air. "Vinyl Scratch has a party room this year! A whole room!" After the first Gala disaster, DJ Pon3 was invited to the subsequent events to cater for ponies such as Pinkie with more energy to burn. The classical artists still played in the main ballroom for those with... 'refined tastes'.
"Heh, have fun, Pinkie." Rainbow called after the crazy pink pony-turned-blur as she bounced off. "I have to meet with the Wonderbolts soon, so..." The cyan pegasus began.
"Don't worry, Dash, we can cope without your awesomeness for a short time, if that's what you're asking." Delta smirked, eyes gleaming with sarcasm. Rainbow responded by nearly knocking the brown pegasus over with a playful shove.
"I'm sure you can. I was more worried about these guys." Rainbow gestured to Applejack, Twilight and Rarity with a smirk.
"Ah really don't see why ya can't leave us... jus' fer a while. Y'know... t'see Soarin." Applejack teased. Rainbow's brow furrowed, but to Delta's delight, her cheeks were tinged with pink.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about, AJ." The rainbow-maned mare tried to act nonchalantly, but ended up appearing surprisingly defensive. "A-anyway, I need to go. I'll see you guys around, though. Right?"
"Right." The other ponies smiled back. Rainbow was off in a dash, leaving just Twilight, Delta, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy and Discord.
"Well, we're two ponies down already." Discord sighed. "I suppose you four won't mind if we just slip away?"
"Not so fast, you two." Twilight stopped Fluttershy and Discord with a smile. "I believe you have some news for me."
Delta frowned. News? Since when did they have news that Delta herself didn't hear first? As the proudly proclaimed third-wheel of the two of them, Delta was subject to every single scrap of news; from where their last date was to what type of flowers Discord got Fluttershy.
As Delta glanced around the group, expecting similar reactions of confusion, she was instead greeted by a collection of knowing smiles. Of couse Twilight knew what she was referring too, but apparently so did Rarity and Applejack.
Fluttershy and Discord exchanged a glance that Delta couldn't quite discern between worry and nerves.
"Well, since you brought it up..." Fluttershy began with a half-smile.
"We're engaged." Discord finished with a grin.
Delta was suddenly caught in a whirlwind of emotions. For one, she was super-excited to hear that they were getting married. However, she was also a little annoyed that she didn't know sooner. On another note, she was very jealous of the others who, apparently, knew long before Delta. Excitement. Anger. Jealousy. A weird mix.
Biting back whatever she wanted to say then, Delta forced a smile. She wanted the others to think she knew as well. She'd interrogate the duo later.
A chorus of congratulations surrounded the pegasus-'unicorn' couple as the others expressed their previous knowledge of the engagement. A series of questions like 'How did he ask?', 'Where were you?' and 'When will it be?' flew aound like a flurry in a snowstorm, suffocating Delta, forcing her to take a step or two back. Mostly, beyond any other emotions, were hurt and confusion.
False smile still affixed to her face, Delta spouted some excuse about wanting food before hurrying away as fast as she could. Her emotions surrounded her again, tugging at her mind and her heart, demanding to be recognised and felt.
Hurt. Anger. Excitement. Jealousy. Confusion.
As Delta found a quiet spot on a balcony, she stopped to catch her breath. She didn't care much for the cliche of hiding out on a balcony, but at that time it was the last thing on her mind.
They'd kept this from her. They'd genuinely not told her. After everything they'd been through...
No, it was probably some misunderstanding. Maybe they forgot to tell her? Maybe they were going to, but for some reason didn't. They had to have a good reason, of course. She'd just have to ask - calmly - and they'd explain the situation and then they'd laugh about it and Delta would joke about how worried and confused she'd felt. How angry she'd been that the others knew first. How much hurt she'd felt and how it made her want to cry, inexplicably.
She was a grown mare, for Celestia's sake! Delta couldn't go around crying for stupid reasons like this.
Still, she found it increasingly difficult to deny she wanted to.
There ya go. I should mention this story is gonna be filled with drama, because... y'know, drama.
Also, unrelated, I have to ask... would a 'Whose Line is it Anyway' crossover be appreciated, using the characters here? For those who don't know what that is, it's a TV show where four actors improvise a collection of funny scenes based on games and prompts.
I'll give you a quick preview of one game called 'Scenes from a Hat'. Basically, the audience suggests a bunch of things before the show and those suggestions are written down and put in a hat.
When the actors arrive on-stage, they're given a suggestion from the hat and have to come up with something on the spot. Eg, 'Things that sound inappropriate but aren't' would warrant an actor to come forth with the words: 'Hello, yes, I'd like to order a fut bucker, please.'
So... yes? No? Heh, if it's a yes, It'll probably be posted randomly between chapters (in a separate story, of course) just if I get writer's block. Anyway, I'll see you guys next time!