xel101 - Oh, there's plenty in store for him. And sorry I missed your birthday :( I'll post details on what happened in my A/N
DragonLovingBrony (Ch96) - Lol isn't she though? I couldn't tell ya :P I'll post something about her image in my A/N, so everyone can see it.
DragonLovingBrony (Ch95) - Oh, you'll find out what's really going on... soon enough ;)
DragonLovingBrony (Ch94) - Lol that just means I'm doing my job right ;) Yup, I know that feeling...
PBJFanFiction - Lol Lil bit.
ShadowfireAngel - Oh, don't worry, the true feelings of the Sun will be revealed, in due time.
SquirtlePWN - Lol You'll get to see it, don't worry. :P
KillerWoW - Hmm... but will it be *Random Cut Off*, or someone else? Or will it even be anything at all?
shadows being - Perhaps
Nothing.0 - Yup. Can't believe we're already this close...
DragonLord RyuKizoku - Probably. Though will he be banned... Daily?
PyraohXBlaze - Nice. Well, technically, Blake actually did die... the Princesses resurrected him in a brand new body on Mythis.
centaurus2 - Oh, you'll find out.
Kyguy - Well, he is a former Guard Captain; it was kind of his job to report potential threats to the Princesses.
Mikalzilla (Ch96) - Lol because you're a smart cookie.
Mikalzilla (Ch1) - Lol because you're a smart cookie. (Yes, I know I put that twice ;) )
coldshadow 92 - Thanks :D
Arkraiththeepicbrony - Hmm... but, why would she be acting off? Lol right?
ZyphMLP - I was kind of wondering where you'd gone. (Yes, I do keep track of my reviewers. Lol as best as I can, at least ;) ) I know how you feel. I've said it before, but it bears saying again; this story started out as a way for me to deal with my own depression, and it was a monumental help for me when I was at my darkest times. Just keep fighting the good fight, things will get better.
A/N - Howdy everypony! Sorry I missed yesterday's update, I kind of forgot about MLK Jr. Day, and that threw off my schedule; I ended up going the entire day yesterday thinking it was Monday. Also, a belated Happy Birthday to Xel101! One last thing for those who have been asking for a pic of Shimmer's pony form, I have a code for you all to enter into Pony Creator. (Just Google it, and it'll be the first result). I would give you all a Dropbox link or something, but this site doesn't allow links, so you'll have to make due with this, unfortunately. Anyway, here's the code: 4C4S000300001299FFC49D0010100FE15UN1837000200000T0E50000FF7FFF0Q107F3FCC004CB2
As always, don't forget to follow/favorite, review, and most importantly; enjoy!
It had been nearly three weeks since Celestia visited my home, and everything seemed to have slipped into some sense of normalcy. Twilight hadn't slowed her research into what might be causing certain ponies to act strangely around me, and while I'd become doubtful that she'd find anything, she still seemed just as confident as ever.
Cadance finally spoke to Shining, though as much as he apologized for his actions, she refused to fully forgive him. I had to give her credit though; she was trying to build their relationship back to what it once was, even though it was a slow and sometimes painful process, and the two were at least on speaking terms. She still worked with me on my healing magic through that time, and even a little on my shield spell, though I could tell that it was just as much to keep her mind off of things as it was to help me.
Shortly after Nightmare Night, I got to watch an event called 'The Running of the Leaves', an apparently annual event where the townsponies would run through the Whitetail Wood and somehow knock all the leaves off of the trees just by doing so. Twilight had explained to me that it used to be a fairly standard affair, but it had evolved into something of a competition over time to make it more interesting for other ponies to watch.
She had also explained to me how Applejack and Rainbow Dash took that competition to the extreme one year and raced to the finish at top speed. They apparently not only failed to knock down any leaves, but they also came in dead last as well, even behind her.
Things were still tense between the blue Pegasus and I, and I had hardly seen hide nor hair of her since the incident with the cantaloupe. She had told Applejack that she was ashamed of what she'd done; so much so in fact, that she couldn't bring herself to look at me, let alone talk to me. She felt even worse when Applejack told her about the barrel of cider I'd bought just for her after hearing about her bad luck with getting any of the stuff.
I wanted nothing more at this point than to make amends with her, but, as she had explained to Applejack, she didn't feel like she deserved to have a friend like me after what she did. That point was really nailed home by the fact that it took AJ nearly twenty minutes to convince her to accept the barrel of cider I'd bought for her, especially considering her love for the seasonal drink.
Aerith had made herself at home within Twilight, doing her best not to bother my bookish marefriend if she didn't need to. She did, however, offer advice from time to time, usually on subjects of ancient history or certain types of forgotten magic. All in all, Twilight seemed to have grown to enjoy the disembodied succubus's presence. After she'd recovered from near-starvation, Aerith discovered that she could use her magic to enhance our sexual encounters with one another. I couldn't be sure, but I had a feeling the pair were plotting something involving that new discovery.
Falathiel had made a full recovery, returning to her old self in a matter of a day or two. With her help, I had managed to make quite a bit of headway in translating the spellbook I had found in that God-forsaken temple. My thoughts had turned to Spring Leaf a few times during my translation sessions, and I found myself hoping that she had moved on to a better place, and that perhaps I'd see her again someday.
Shimmer slipped into her own niche fairly quickly, especially after we managed to convince Rarity, Fluttershy, and thanks to Applejack, Rainbow Dash, that she wasn't dangerous. Pinkie Pie, being the boisterous, friendly mare that she was, took literally no convincing at all that our new changeling resident met no harm, and the two became quick friends.
She even seemed to enjoy walking around the town when she wasn't busy cleaning the house, and I made sure to give her plenty of free time to do just that, as well as anything else she might find an interest in. I was so impressed with her dedication to her self-appointed duties that I set her up with a weekly salary of two hundred bits, which as I understood, was on par with the maids working in the palace.
I woke up to a peaceful Saturday morning, and noticed that the light streaming in through the drawn curtains of the balcony doors was different than it usually was. I crawled out from under my usual blanket o' marefriends and walked over to the doors, where I moved one aside slightly and peeked through.
As I had expected, the reason for the shift in the light was that everything was coated in a shell of white; the first snow of the season had finally fallen the night before. A smile crept to my lips as I stood there, simply taking in the serene beauty of the landscape, blanketed in gleaming, pristine white. I turned when I felt a hoof upon my shoulder. "Good morning, Love." Luna's voice and smiling face caused my own smile to widen.
I turned and kissed her on the cheek. "Morning Lulu. How did you sleep?"
"Wonderfully, Love." Her gaze turned to the window. "Ah, I see the weather Pegasi have finally brought in the snow."
I chuckled quietly and followed her gaze back out the window. "Seems like it… I still can't get over the idea of manufactured weather though."
Luna nodded. "I can imagine. Even after all this time, it's a big change to come to terms with. In fact, most ponies find the Everfree to be strange simply because nopony tends to the weather; it simply happens on its own, naturally."
I kissed her again. "You know, I've been looking forward to this time of year for a while now… the night sky always seemed even more beautiful in the winter back on Earth, and I really want to see it here… I bet it'll be amazing."
She rested her head on my shoulder. "I don't believe you'll be disappointed; something about the crispness of the winter air always seems to make my stars shine brighter." I wrapped my arm around the Lunar mare, and we sat there for a time, simply enjoying the view of the unspoiled landscape through the crack in the curtains.
Eventually, my stomach declared its displeasure at being ignored with a loud growl. "What say we head downstairs and get something to eat?"
Luna smiled broadly. "Only if I get to help you prepare it."
I chuckled and scooped her off her hooves, carrying her to the door. "I wouldn't have it any other way, Sweetheart."
When we reached the base of the staircase, I set her back on her hooves, and the pair of us made our way into the kitchen. It only took a minute to decide on breakfast; oatmeal with fresh berries, toast and jam, bagels and cream cheese, and apple slices with caramel.
As Luna helped me cook the oatmeal and slice the apples, I also began slicing up several veggies. She looked at me quizzically. "What are those for, Love?"
I glanced at her, then gestured towards one of the windows while I chopped the veggies. "Well, I figured with it being the first snow of the year, I'd make a nice, hearty stew for everypony for dinner."
She stirred the oatmeal with her magic as she sliced the last of the apples, then trotted over to me. "But, it's not even quite breakfast time yet, why would you be starting dinner so early?"
I smiled at her, and cleared the cutting board before loading it up with potatoes. "Well, a good stew takes time to prepare, and the longer it cooks, the more the flavors will mingle, and the more everything will soften up. You don't want crunchy potatoes after all."
She nodded, and watched me for a moment. "How difficult is it to make stew?"
I shrugged. "Not very; all I really need to do is chop up all the ingredients, throw them all in a pot, and let them cook in a broth or water. It would be a little more complicated if I were making a proper Earth stew, since there would be meat involved, and I'd need to braise it and let it cool overnight before I added it into the pot."
As I chopped the potatoes, Luna used her magic to gather up the chopped pieces and set them aside for me. "I see. I'm glad that this won't be a 'proper Earth stew', though I'm also curious to see just how the two would compare."
I chuckled at the thought. "Well, to my taste buds, there probably won't be any comparison between the two, but I plan on doing my best to make sure this one tastes just as good as its Earthly counterpart."
Luna turned and stirred the oatmeal once more before turning back and watching me some more. "And, what kind of meat would you add to this if you were to make it like one from Earth?"
I didn't say anything for a moment, simply contemplating my options as I chopped away. "Well, I think I'd have to go with beef… cow meat; that was always my favorite for adding into stew, except maybe venison… what we call deer meat."
Luna gulped. "Then I suppose it's a good thing that you won't be adding those to this stew… Cows are relatively intelligent, as I'm sure you already know, but deer… deer are our close cousins. I believe you could equate them to your 'Native Americans', similarly to the buffalo tribes in the west."
I nodded. "Yeah, that's probably for the best then." I chuckled as a thought came to me. "Maybe I could show you how it tastes the next time you visit my dreams."
Poor Luna made a face. "Please, don't make me lose my appetite." She paused for a moment, then cleared her throat. "That reminds me; Twilight wanted me to bring her into your dreams one night. She mentioned something about wanting you to show her a few things from Earth. I believe she would find the experience thrilling, especially if you showed her that 'motorcycle' contraption that you owned."
A smirk creased my lips at the thought. "Heh heh… that would be pretty fun. I can think of a certain Pegasus who would love to ride something like that too."
"Yes, I believe she would. But first, we must get the two of you on speaking terms. I could always bring her into your dreams if you like."
I shook my head. "No, I don't want to force it; if we try to corner her like that, it would only make the situation worse, no matter how badly she might want to apologize."
My sable marefriend heaved a long sigh. "I suppose you're right. I can't say I'd be thrilled with being put in a situation like that myself."
The conversation died off, but it didn't last long before we heard the clip-clopping of two pairs of hooves making their way down the stairs. "Good morning everypony! I hope you slept well." Cadance's pleasant voice rang out from beyond the kitchen threshold.
The two of us smiled and looked in the direction of the open doorway that led out of the kitchen. "We slept wonderfully, thank you niece. How have you been sleeping?"
Cadance's pink head and pastel mane popped into view. "I've been sleeping much better, Aunt Luna. Shining Armor and I have been talking more lately, even if he insists on staying at the library still."
I gave her a look. "I know you're trying to talk things out with him, Cady, and I think that's great, but I still don't trust him here, especially around Shimmer. Maybe once Twilight can figure out what, if anything, caused him to go off like that, I'll consider letting him stay here, but until then… I'm sorry, I just don't like the idea."
She nodded, and took a step into the kitchen. "I understand completely, Blake, and I wouldn't ask you to let him stay here knowing how you feel about it. I just wish I could have convinced him to stay someplace that we both could stay comfortably so we could work things out."
I paused mid-slice as the words sank in. "That's right; you're leaving today, aren't you?"
Her face fell slightly, and she nodded. "We are. As much as I'd really love to stay even longer, and as much as I enjoy seeing everypony, The Crystal Empire just won't run itself for much longer."
I sighed, and went back to working on the vegetables. "I can understand that."
Cadance trotted into the kitchen, and Luna looked between the two of us briefly before turning the burner under the oatmeal off and trotting out of the kitchen, mumbling something about giving us some privacy. Cadance sidled up to me as I tried to focus on my work, feeling a pang in my heart knowing this mare that I'd come to grow so fond of was leaving. I knew it wasn't right for me to feel like that about a married mare, but I couldn't help it.
She was silent for some time before she rested her head against my arm. "Thank you Blake…" The simple phrase puzzled me; I wasn't sure what she was thanking me for. "I know how you feel about me… and I wanted to thank you for resisting the urge to ask me to join your herd… I care a lot about you, and if you had… I would have said 'yes'."
I felt the pain in my heart grow sharper at the revelation, and I set the knife down before leaning on the counter for support. "You're right Cadance… I did want to ask you, so badly. But, you're still married to Shining Armor, and I can tell that even though you two are having troubles, that you still love him. I… It wouldn't be right of me to come between the two of you like that." I could feel the muscles in my arms tightening as my hands began to clamp down on the countertop.
I felt a hoof rest on my shoulder. "Blake… you have a strong heart; one of the strongest I've ever felt, and I know that this isn't easy, even for you. I can see a lot of what I love about Shining Armor in you; his loyalty, his dedication, his kindness, and even his goofy sense of humor. I know this won't make things any easier for you, but I want you to know… if things had gone differently… I could see myself being very happy with you." She sighed briefly as she finished speaking.
I felt electric tingles race up and down my skin and my body heat rise sharply as she planted her soft lips against my cheek in a tender kiss, holding them there for but a moment before lowering herself down and trotting wordlessly out of the room.
Luna walked back into the room, though I had no idea how much time had passed. "I'm glad the two of you finally got that out into the open." I gave her a perplexed look, but she continued before I could respond. "Just because I'm not the Princess of Love, doesn't mean I can't see when two ponies care for one another."
I nodded. "I know, Luna… I just… I feel bad for it; like me liking her is going to ruin their marriage or something."
There was silence in the room for a long moment. "I don't believe that would happen, unless the two of you actually acted upon your feelings." She let out a low sigh. "I wish I could help you with this, Blake; I know that the two of you would be happy together, but what the two of you decide is in your hooves only."
I stared at the cutting board for a moment, studying the chopped portions of potatoes that rested on it. "I know… I also know that if something happened between the two of them, I'd be there for her, though if that happened, I wouldn't want her to go leaping into my arms or anything; I'd want her to take time to recover and decide what she wanted with a clear mind."
Luna took the chopped potatoes in her magic, as she had before, and deposited them in the large bowl I had been using to store the chopped veggies. "That is a commendable viewpoint, my love. All this talk has me curious though; have you spoken to my sister since she visited here three weeks ago?"
I knew what she was trying to do; she wanted to shift my thoughts to something less painful than the situation with Cadance. I sighed, and picked up the knife again. "I haven't… I want to tell her how I feel, but I'm… afraid. I'm afraid she'll deny that she feels the same, despite that letter, or that she won't want to take the risk."
I felt the sable mare's hooves wrap around my neck in a loose hug as she leaned in to whisper into my ear from behind. "I have known my sister for nearly three millennia, Blake; I can tell you that she would be willing to risk a secret courtship… for a stallion like you, how could she not?"
That got a chuckle out of me. "You know, I would say something about how 'I'm not all that great', but I already know that you'd shut that right down."
I heard her sweet giggle next to my my ear. "And don't you forget it, Love."
I turned and kissed her on the lips. "I don't ever plan to, Beautiful." She blushed at my compliment and nuzzled her cheek into my own.
"I do love you Blake… more and more each and every day." She whispered softly.
I rested my head against hers and continued cutting. "So do I, Lulu… so do I."
As usual, everypony started filing down stairs right as breakfast was finished being made. Luna and I began plating everything up to take out into the dining room for everyone to eat. "Y'all sure do have good timing, Hon."
I chuckled and stared walking with two armloads of dishes. "Or maybe my cooking is just so good it's enough to get you bunch of lazybones out of bed."
Applejack rolled her eyes. "Ah don't know 'bout all that, Sugarcube. Ah'll admit yer food's pretty darn good though."
"Papa makes the best food, Applejack!" Scootaloo said in a mock scolding tone.
The country mare turned towards the table and chuckled. "Alright, ya got me; yer pa sure does make some fine vittles." She took her seat at the table and Luna and I passed out the plates of food and set down pitchers of water, apple juice and milk.
Once everyone was ready, we all dug into the steaming meal. "It always amazes me how you can time everything so it all comes out at the same time, Blake." Cadance remarked after swallowing a mouthful of food.
I shrugged. "Practice makes perfect, I guess. I don't really think too much about it to be honest; it just kind of happens that way."
"Well whatever you do, it works." She wasted no time after finishing her sentence before taking another bite of food.
The meal passed uneventfully, and after dishes were cleared, I went upstairs to fetch something; a project I'd been working on to do with the fillies. I came back down the stairs carrying three metal tubes and a burlap bag with smaller, cardboard tubes and three donut-like rings stuffed inside. Cadance looked at the items quizzically. "What's all this, Blake?"
"Well, this is something I was going to do with Scoots and Dinky… but since you're leaving today, I thought you'd like to see it too."
She trotted up to me and inspected the metal tubes and the contents of the bag. "I don't understand… just what is all this?"
I looked over to Twilight, who had taken a seat on a chair and had buried her nose in a book, probably to do more research. "I bet you'll want to see this too, Twi." She looked up from her book and studied the objects. "These are called 'rockets', and they're pretty amazing."
Twilight hopped down off of her chair and trotted over to me. "What's a 'rocket'?"
I picked up one of the metal tubes for her to see better. "Well, basically, it's a device that's powered by the exhaust of burning propellant that shoots up into the sky. These are just models, but we have some that are big enough that they can carry people into space."
Twilight's jaw literally hit the floor. "You… wha… that's insane!"
I chuckled. "Oh, it gets better. They're so big and advanced, that they can put people in a stable orbit around the planet. There's actually a station in orbit around Earth that humans put up there about sixteen years ago or so, and as far as I know, they're still using it to conduct research to this day."
Twilight shook her head in disbelief. "That's just… Wh-what else can they do?"
"Well, we've sent one to the next planet out in our solar system, then landed a probe that we sent with it onto that planet, and we've even sent one towards the very edge of our system. There's also a second one headed towards the furthest planet out in our system… though that one hadn't arrived at its destination yet when I… well, you know."
Twilight stared at me for a long moment, jaw hanging slack as she tried to digest the information. Even I had to admit that that kind of revelation would be staggering. Cadance was the first of the two to find her voice. "These little ones can't do that though, can they?"
I shook my head. "No, these little guys can do about two thousand meters, tops. And that's with a full load of fuel, but I don't plan on using that much fuel this time around."
Cadance took one of the rockets in her magic and flipped it over, inspecting it more closely. "And these things on the bottom? From the look of it, I'd guess they work like the fletchings on an arrow."
"That's exactly right; they're there to keep the rocket pointed in the right direction by creating a small amount of drag. There are some back on Earth that have little fins on the bottom that can steer it in different directions, but I don't think we really need that here." I looked around for the girls for a moment. "Now, what say we go get the fillies and I show you how these things work?"
Twilight nodded dumbly, and the three of us went off in search of the little fillies. It didn't take us long to find them playing out in the back yard, roughhousing with Aurora and Pabu. I watched them for a moment, glad to see that Aurora's front leg had finally regrown and seemed to be working just fine. "Hey girls? Can you two come here for a sec?" The pair looked over to me as I called out, quickly scampering over to where we were standing.
"What is it Daddy?" Dinky asked as they trotted up to us.
I knelt down to be closer to their level. "Well, do you remember when I told you I'd show you some of the neat stuff from where I'm from?" The pair's eyes widened, and they nodded vigorously. "Well, it just so happens that I have something I think is very neat that you girls will want to see."
The pair grinned, and began prancing around. "Show us Papa, show us!"
I chuckled and set the three rockets, as well as the bag of propellant tubes, down in front of them. The pair stared at it quizzically. "Don't worry, you'll understand what these are for in a second." I pulled one of the propellant tubes from the bag and inserted it into the base of one of the rockets. "Now watch closely girls, this is the cool part." I screwed one of the metal rings, the rocket's nozzle, onto the base and walked out several paces into the yard and set the rocket down in the snow on its fins before taking a homemade igniter out of my pocket and inserting it into the propellant tube.
I walked back to the girls, unspooling twin lengths of wiring as I went. When I reached them, I dug around in the bag once again and produced a small cylinder with a button at the top that housed a spark-battery, an oddity of Equestrian technology that used magic to produce the electricity that powered certain devices. I attached both of the wires to the device in their intended locations, and held it out to the girls. "Who wants to do the honors?" The pair looked at one another uncertainly, and after a moment, pressed down on the button together.
All four of the gathered ponies yelped in surprise and watched in awe as the rocket's motor ignited, sending it shooting off into the sky, marking its trail into the heavens with a trail of white smoke.
