Chapter 3: Misunderstandings
(Dominic's P.O.V.)
"Alright Rainbow Dash, dinner is... here..."
Turning around and looking away from the window, I saw a white Pegasus walk into the room, and she had been pushing a cart into the room; until her eyes locked with my own and she froze where she stood. I smiled kindly to try and keep her calm as I nodded towards her, "Hello."
Her eyes seemed to widen a bit, before she seemed to crack a nervous smile, and replied back with a clipped, "Hi."
Glancing over at the rainbow maned Pegasus that was lightly slumbering in her bed, I knew I wasn't going to get any help from her, so I looked back towards the other mare in the room. She still stood there, looking up at me with an apprehensive expression, so I shrugged more to myself, before turning around, and once more looking outside. I wasn't sure exactly how it was possible that ponies spoke, but I just went with the flow; it kept everything from getting overly complicated.
...
(Guard's P.O.V.)
Standing straight and as rigid as I had been trained to, my gaze never wavered as I kept as still as physically possible. We had only been briefed to remain outside a room that housed an injured Element of Harmony and a strange creature. Me, and my three fellow guards were to protect the Element of Loyalty should she become endangered by whatever the creature was. That was the extent of our debriefment. None of us knew what this strange creature was, where it came from, or what it even looked like, but our orders were orders; protect if needed, guard as necessary.
From the corner of my eye, I saw the mare exit the room, and as she did, I noted the shakiness in her steps as she pushed the cart out of the room. When she closed the door behind her, she let out a shaky breath, before she looked at my partner, and spoke in a slightly trembly voice. "I... I... the creature..." then she collapsed.
(Dominic's P.O.V.)
Sitting on the edge of my bed while Rainbow happily ate some oats, I made sure to discreetly watch her movements. I wasn't worried about her being dangerous, but I was rather curious as to how she was able to make all the movements she was, as I didn't see any joints that allowed a creature like herself to make such movements. It was interesting how she was able to hold the spoon as well, as it seemed to simply... stick, to her hoof. Turning my attention from her as I heard a brief shuffling from outside the door, it was then that Dash spoke up, and asked, "So Dom, what kinds of food do you eat?"
Looking away from the door, I saw Dash looking towards me as she drank something through a straw, but still seemed to hold the cup in her hooves nonetheless. "Well, Humans are omniv-"
CRASH!
Jumping to my feet as my training kicked in, I spun and faced the door as I braced myself for any kind of rush. Quickly scanning the room, I noted the table in the corner with two chairs, the curtains that were pulled to the walls around mine and Dash's bed, the two beds, one being occupied, and most importantly, the four ponies that stormed into the room in gold metal; most likely armor. They each raised a spear towards me, and while two had wings, the other lacked those appendages, and one of them, I noticed now, had a horn. Four possible hostiles, two Pegasus, one regular pony, and... a unicorn?
The room was silent, save for the pounding of my heart in my ears. Five bodies were ready for action, and I knew adrenaline was most likely working its way through their systems as it was my own. Everything came in with sharper detail, and the four other ponies seemed to wait for me to make the first move. I however, was waiting to see if they were going to act hostily, and as soon as they made a move towards me with any aggression, I would make sure to first go for their wings, and then the unicorn. However, neither their group or I made the first move.
"WHAT THE BUCKING HECK!?"
I flinched as the loud feminine voice shouted in the small room, and I took a moment to glance as Dash, and if it wasn't for the circumstances, I would've cracked a smile. Turning my eyes back towards the ponies, I couldn't help but internally chuckle. Rainbow Dash had apparently spilled her drink all over her during the infiltration of the pony troops. They however, didn't bother looking towards her, and just as one of them made a step closer to me, she let her indignation manifest itself in another shout.
"GET THE BUCK OUT!"
"Ms. Dash, this creature is too danger-"
"Get... the... buck, OUT!"
Flinching once again, I saw the guards do so as well, but they remained there. They seemed intent on keeping an eye on me, and they seemed to step closer, but it could have always been my imagination; that didn't matter anymore. My heart was now threatening to break free of my chest as my breath came in shallow puffs of air, I was shaking from the adrenaline that I was feeling, so it was no surprise that I made the first move. I made to rush forward, but just as I did, a very angry Dash landed on the floor by her bed. Her one good wing was splayed out to the side, and she seemed to make the guards wilt under her stare.
Anything they saw in her stare that made them wilt like that, I'm glad it wasn't directed at me. She stalked towards them, and it was now that the head troop seemed to look directly at her as she spoke, "If you don't get out, I will tell Princess Celestia that you barged in here unannounced. She gave me the choice to ask you guards for help, not gave you permission to bucking barge in. I will say this one more time, get out, now..."
I kept the shiver in check. There was one thing I knew about females, and it seemed to be true for even those of another species. When they were mad, they instilled more fear when they spoke calmly like that... especially when she was clearly ticked off.
The guards seemed to suddenly hear her words, before they began to back away from her at a steady pace, seemingly trying to keep their dignity intact. She kept her glare locked onto them until the door shut, and as soon as it did, she walked towards the restroom that was in the room. When she walked into the restroom, she shut the door a little forcefully. Once it was closed, the sound of running water was heard.
Looking from the restroom door, to the hallway door, then back again, I wasn't too sure what to make of it. She had just kept me from starting a fight with the local law enforcement apparently, as for whatever reason; they felt I had been acting hostily prior to their arrival. Then I looked towards Dash's bed, and saw that the drink hadn't only spilled on her, but all over her blankets where she had been eating. Her entire tray of food had, however, been spared.
Might as well repay her kindness... even if it was unintentional...
Moving over, I grabbed the cup to prevent what little left from getting directly onto the bed. Placing it right side up on the tray, I picked it up and moved it across the room and onto the table, that way I could work on her bed without risking making more of a mess. The covers would just be a nuisance for her to try and use anymore, and I wasn't planning on using mine, so I might as well switch them over to her bed...
...
(Rainbow Dash's P.O.V.)
Once my fur was dry once again, I knew that not I got to return to a wet bed...
It had been so warm before, unlike the hospitable in Ponyville, I was easily able to fall asleep in these beds, and now mine was all wet... thanks to those guards. It was with one last bitter thought that I gave them that I felt the last of my anger turn into weariness, Jerks...
Opening the door, I kept my eyes down as I made my way towards my bed. I felt my cheeks warming slightly as it came back to me that I had just used profanity in front of Dominic. I never cussed...
"So Dash..."
Looking up, I saw Dominic was leaning against the wall near my bed, and he gave me a smirk, before he asked, "So... buck?"
Feeling a bit embarrassed, I looked away, before I nodded, and he went on, "So... buck is like a cuss word or something negative?"
"Yeah..." He chuckled a bit, but then I realized what he asked, so I had my own question, "Don't you use b... that word to cuss?"
He chuckled quietly, before he said, "Well no, humans don't say buck... for example, if I'm mad at someone, I will just say, 'Fuck you' instead of 'Buck you'..."
My ears perked up immediately after he said that, and just the thought of saying that when I am mad made my cheeks instantly burn. I looked towards him with wide eyes, and I shifted a bit from one hoof to the other. He seemed to notice as well, because he chuckled, before he pushed away from the wall.
(Dominic's P.O.V.)
Noting the deep red hue that mixed with her blue fur, I pushed away from the wall so that I could go recline in one of the chairs along the table. I passed Dash as she made her way to her bed, yet she refused to make eye contact, most likely from embarrassment; though I don't know why.
After I sat in a chair, I looked over, and saw Dash looking towards her bed with a confused expression, so I spoke up, "I won't be using my bed, so I thought it would be best if I switched your covers with my own."
She looked at me, briefly, before she looked away again, but she said, "Thanks."
"No problem. Consider it thanks for sticking up for me when those guards came in. Besides, I did end up hurting you, even if it was unintentional..."
When she looked back towards me, it was with a hint of surprise, before she smiled boastfully and said, "Heh, no problem, they did make me spill my juice. Besides, nothing can keep the best flier in all of Equestria down..." she winced when her wing twinged a bit too much, "... for too long anyways..."
Nodding my head a bit, I was going to say something else, but before I did, the door opened up again. springing to my feet as I prepared for the worst, I was quickly standing between the beds, but I didn't make to get in an aggressive stands as I saw it was just that nurse again, with what must've been the doctor from what he was wearing. He looked towards me with a gentle smile, though I could see the nervousness in his eyes, but it was very well hidden.
"Why hello there good sir. I have a few questions, and if you wouldn't mind answering them, I can leave you here to relax." He seems composed well enough. Nodding my head, he pulled out a notebook from his bag... but most interesting was; he did so without touching it. The horn atop his head glowed very faintly, and the hue that surrounded his horn surrounded the clipboard. "Well, the first order of business, is your bed comfortable enough to sleep on?"
Nodding my head, he nodded as he lightly circled something with a quill I hadn't even noticed before. "Alright, next, did you wake up with any pain?" I shook my head, and then he circled something else, before he looked towards me and asked, "Lastly, in order to better meet your needs, I need to know what your diet consists of in order to properly nourish you during your current stay, and any future visits."
Oh... time for some fun...
Smirking a bit, a crossed my arms as I made a show of trying to think, before I spoke in a nonchalant tone, "Personally, I like to dine on the souls of my prey, before I consume there dead flesh, cooked to a medium to well-done portion. But if you insist on giving me proper nourishment, then I can always try unicorn... it would be amazing, as you seem to come with a built in toothpick." The quill had since fallen to the floor, and while the nurse looked queasy enough, he simply looked pale as he lightly shuddered.
"Uh Um... s-sir...?"
"No...?" I let out a sigh, before I turned my attention towards my real target, and once my eyes landed on her, she froze up, and she seemed to be at a stiff attention as she looked towards me, fear evident in her eyes as I eyed her wings. I licked my lips, before I said, "If you will, I will just eat Pegasus... I won't waste any of her if that's what you're worried about." Stepping up to Dash, I reached out and trailed a hand over her surprisingly soft feathers, causing a red hue to tint her cheeks as her other wing flexed against her bandages, "Nice, soft feathers... I can make a pillow worthy of royalty with feathers this soft."
"...s-sir...?" the whisper was barely audible, but I didn't cease my movements, as when I reached up and stroked her mane. This is when her eyes tore away from me own, and I said, "I can use her mane to make a pillow case, and if that isn't enough, I can always use her tail to finish it." Looking over at the stunned doctor, I saw his clipboard was shaking in his none physical grasp, before I looked towards Dash, who seemed on the borderline of a panic attack. Good... heh, I nearly woke up with a heart attack. Stepping even closer, I pulled her against me, careful of her bandaged wing. She made a strangled gasp like sound, but I ignored it as I moved my lips close to one of her ears, and said in a quiet whisper, "Hmm... I wonder if I can eat you with some bar-be-que sauce... and maybe a side of potatoes would do wonders as well. Mmhm... delicious..."
By now, Rainbow Dash was shaking in my arms, and she let out a whimper like sound, and I stroked her mane one last time, before I let her go, and she quickly scrambled to her headboard, keeping her eyes on me like I was some dangerous animal; though with joke I just made, I probably seemed like one. Keeping my eyes on her as I did my best to appear to eye her wings hungrily, my stomach chose the right moment to growl loudly, and her eyes became pinpricks of what they had once been. Smiling broadly as I laughed to myself, I turned towards the doctor, and I nodded happily as I said, "I will take her, with some dipping sauce, and maybe some fries or potatoes for the side... and maybe some juice."
All was silent in the room. Me staring at the ponies, them staring at me, and my idle joke hanging in the air as they slowly digested what I had asked for. It was only when the clipboard fell to the floor with a loud clack did havoc rain.
The nurse and doctor made to escape the room as quick as their legs could carry them, and I was soon on my back. Standing atop my chest was Rainbow Dash, tears threatening to leak from her eyes as she growled down at me, fear evident in her eyes, and panic seeming to keep her wings tight to her sides. "WHOA WHOA DASH!"
Quickly moving to grab her hooves, she instantly slams her hooves into each bicep, and I grunt from that particular tactic, but she is now holding both my arms down. Twisting my hips, I slide one arm from under her firm hold, only to have it slammed into again as a tear slides down her cheek, and I feel her hind hooves plant themselves over my legs. "Y-You w-won't eat me!"
"Dash, it was a joke..." raising my palms, she didn't seem to hear me, but all she saw was movement from me, yet I saw it from the newly arrived guards.
BASH!
"AH FUCKING HELL!" Feeling blood seep from my nose, I withered around beneath Dash's firm hold. "MAH FUCKING NOSE!"
She seemed flinch a bit as a redness tinged her cheeks, and she seemed to snap from some sort of trance, before she growled louder, before she stated, "T-Take it back!"
"WAT!?"
"Y-You will n-not eat me! T-Take it b-back!"
Groaning a bit, I rolled my head to the side as I spit some blood from my mouth, before I looked back up, and said a bit calmer, "Ah was messing around Dash. Consida it paybak for earlier. I won't eat ya Dash, I promise! Cross mah heart hope ta die!" She seemed to flinch a bit, before I said, "Now let me up, mah nose is fucking bleedin'!"
...
Keeping my eyes down as I continued to eat the pony meal I had been given, I could feel Dash still glaring at me from her bed. It had taken a while to explain my joke to her, the guards, and then the doctor; the nurse refused to be in the same room as me after that incident. The Doctor had taken it the best, with the guards seeming to still be wary, but as soon as Dash told them to leave, they did so. They had all seemed to grumble about leaving me alone in the room with her, but none of them lingered long enough to hear her wrath.
Rainbow Dash however, she made it clear with every chance at conversation that she was still furious with me. She hadn't said one word to me with that kindness she possessed before, and now, anything that came from her muzzle was cold, hard, and hateful. All from my one little joke.
Setting down my fork, I took a deep breath, before I looked up, and met Dash's unwavering glare, and she kept her eyes on me as she furiously seethed, before I said, "Look Dash... I'm sorry th-"
"No you're not..."
Looking back down as the sound of her voice cut deep into my own wounded pride, I knew I was only partially telling the truth. I did feel sorry for scaring her as bad, but I didn't feel bad for nearly making her panic in front of everyone else. Turning my eyes to the side a bit, I saw the pile of blankets lying on the ground beside my bed. My kindness from earlier, ruined by my joke from just recently.
"Dash..."
"I don't want to hear it."
Glancing back up proved to be the wrong course of action, as when my eyes met her own, she seemed to grow even angrier. This time however, I felt if I looked away, the consequences would be worse, so there I sat, eyes locked with Dash's. I opened my mouth to say something, but with a stern look from Dash, I knew if I didn't say the right thing, then she might just get physical again. I could easily handle myself in a fight, but against Dash, I wasn't sure if I wanted to force myself to fight her; she may be injured, but she was still a Pegasus. Sure, she was smaller than those guards, but hitting a lady, even a different species, still was a huge negative in my book.
"Dash, is there anything I can even do to make it up to you?" I asked, and I felt remorse as she seemed to grow even angrier, so I added my suggestion, "Maybe I can do things for you while we are here..."
She seemed to grow a bit wary, but she lowered her head a bit before she asked, "What kind of things...?"
Shrugging a bit, I said, "Anything you see fit if you will forgive me. And I promise I won't do any more jokes like I had..."
She looked down a bit, and the aggressive stance she had seemed to adopt now relaxed into a more comfortable looking position. She wasn't looking towards me, but she did have a thoughtful expression over her muzzle while she thought over my proposal.
Looking towards me, she smiled a bit, before she said, "Well, I do need some help... it is hard to keep these... soft feathers maintained by myself. But there are some rules if I am to allow you to touch my wings, ok?"
"Deal..." I nodded my head, hoping to quickly get on her good side.
Rainbow nodded and the hint of a smile touched the corners of her lips before she hardened her expression. "First, and this is important, TELL NO ONE. I won't go into detail about it but keep it a secret. Second, don't get any ideas." Rainbow flared her good wing. "These beauties are important to me and have tempted many a stallion and mare so don't go getting any ideas." Rainbow folded her wing again. "Third, I will have some other tasks for you to perform from time to time and you are to do them without question, got it?"
I nodded, but then felt my brow furrow as I fully processed the requests. "Wait, what do you mean ideas." Rainbow wiggled her eyebrows and I took a moment to fully understand before I felt myself joke on the food I placed into my mouth moments ago. After a few moments of pounding my chest, I couldn't help but look at Rainbow with reddening cheeks. "Seriously Dash? You're a different species than me. I don't know how it works here but were I'm from that kinda thing is considered, well, off limits to put it kindly."
Rainbow tilted her head to one side a bit as a slight red tint stretched across her muzzle, though she still gave me a quizzical expression. "Really, you guys don't have any cross species relationships were you're from?"
"No. We are the only sentient race and fucking your dog is just plain wrong." I shuddered just from the thought of someone getting... intimate, with their pet. "And you happen to look a lot like a creature of subpar intelligence where I come from, so the very thought of finding you... that kind of attractive and having those thoughts." I felt myself heating up a bit as a random flash of imagery flashed before my eyes that featured Dash, and I felt a shudder run through my back. I took a deep breath to try and calm myself before I said, "That won't be happening at all... it's not you... just it won't happen."
Rainbow frowned towards me, before she gave me a pair of the most lethal puppy eyes I had ever seen. It didn't help that she was intelligent either, as she quickly took advantage of that fact. "Really, so nothing about me..." Rainbow turned slightly to show her figure off a little, all the while dropping her sad eyes for a more sultry one, "entices you even a little bit? I would think you would see something, as I am the best flier in all of Equestria."
I found myself blushing for reasons that would cause a sailor to have a heart attack, and I looked away as I coughed firmly into my fist. "Nothing at all, nothing at all." As nurses walked into the room to collect the food trays from Dash and I, I made sure to avoid Dash's gaze, along with doing my best to imagine the coldest shower. Doing my best to place those provocative thoughts to the side, I asked, "So what's next?"
Rainbow smiled. "Nothing much, I need to heal and you're in my care now." Chuckling, Rainbow dropped jumped off of her bed. The sound of her hooves meeting the floor made me look up, and I watched as she sashayed over to me. "And I wanna cash in your little bargain as... soon... as... possible." She ran her tail over my leg as she walked by and let out a sharp laugh as I felt like I burned all the more red and stammered as I tried to find a way to argue about our agreement...
