The Mane Six Militia and The Shadow of a Phantom

    "Lets go." Kumori said as he began to trot along, Ditsy beside him.

    "Thanks for walking with me here." Ditsy stated. "I haven't been feeling myself lately."

    "It, it was no problem." Kumori replied.

    They trotted slowly down the road, to tired to hoof it out. Kumori noticed that every thirty second or so, Ditsy would shake her wings and wiggle uncomfortably. She had an annoyed look on her muzzle as she opened them half way and lay them back to her sides.

    "What's wrong?" Kumori inquired.

    "My wings, after landing on them like that and fighting in the dirt... Well they need to be preened badly." She replied. Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink as she looked as if she were about to say something. "I'm sorry if I am crossing some kind of line here, but... Could you preen them for me? I was going to ask shy but she had already done so much, and I'd do it myself, but it would take forever in the condition they're in."

    Kumori wasn't going to tell her he was a little uncomfortable with the idea, but she did need his help, it was a small task but also quite the personal one. He thought it over for a moment before sighing. "Okay, I'll take you to your place and help you out." Kumori decided, his cheeks blushing a bit themselves. "But then im leaving." He added quickly.

    "T-thanks." Ditsy replied without looking at him. "I'm sorry I'm being such a nuisance."

    "Your fine... I actually... Well I actually have come to enjoy your presence over the past two days." Kumori admitted. He was mentally beating himself up, as he was going against every instinct to run from the situation.  'Not this time.' He told himself.

     "I'm just happy your talking to somepony, I know what its like to be alone and I don't want any pony to feel that way."

    "Yeah... I guess your right." Kumori replied.

    "I never got the chance to thank you for saving me."

    "Think nothing of it." Kumori replied. He wanted to say it was his pleasure to kill them but he felt that would be inappropriate given the circumstances.

    The rest of the walk they were silent. Finally they arrived at the beat up apartments she was staying in. "I'm on the fourth floor at the top. I'd fly up there but, well you know. You can go ahead and fly up there. I'll take the stairs.

    "Its okay, I'll walk the stairs with you. My wings aren't exactly a hundred percent either, being I use them to fight." Kumori shrugged.

    Ditsy smiled and trotted up the stairs with Kumori in tow. Ditsy skipped a few doors until she got to hers. "Not exactly the prettiest place but its not bad for an abandoned room." Ditsy told him before opening the door, inviting Kumori inside.

    Kumori stepped inside and nodded his head in approval. The wall paper was old but relatively undamaged. The bed's sheets were a plain blue color and the carpet was a plain gray color, and from what he could tell there were only a couple of stains. Two bed stands stood on either side of the bed along with a few unlit candles on one which Ditsy lit for lighting.

    "Well, ya sure you don't mind?" Ditsy asked.

     "No, I don't mind." Kumori replied. Just, lay down on the bed and I'll get started."

    "Alright." Ditsy jumped up and laid face down on the bed, spreading her wings slowly and painfully.

     Kumori jumped up after her and stared down at her awkwardly before shaking his head. "Which ones worse?"

    Ditsy shifted a bit and folded her wings with a grunt. "Definetly my left one." She replied, unfurling her wings again.

    "Okay." He shifted to his left and looked at what he had to work with. "They are bad." He mumbled.

    "Yeah... I hadn't preened them in a while anyway." She explained.

     "Alright, just take a deep breath and relax. I'll do what I can." He decided to start with the base of her wing as he gently bit at the feathers, working them back into place one by one. He was careful not to pull any of the sensitive feathers out.

    Ditsy had forgotten how good it felt to have her wings preened by another pony seeing as she hadn't had it done since she was a young filly. She took slow deliberate breaths and sighed, almost falling asleep.

     Kumori finished with her left wing after a few minutes then started on her right, repeating the process, starting with the base of her wing to the tip.

     After he was done he took a step back to examine his work and gave a nod in approval. "How does that feel?"

     Ditsy stretched he wings out and fluttered them slowly. "Much better, just a little sore now." She replied.

    Kumori thought for a moment, he decided it wouldn't do any harm. "Stay there, I think I can help you out with that."

    "You've done enough already Kumori. I feel like im bothering you with to much." Ditsy replied.

    "Its no problem, really. I want to help if I can."

    "Well, i-if you wouldn't mind then." She replied, relaxing her wings back on the bed.

    "I don't." He approached her wings again, starting with the left he began to massage her wing from the base where most of the stress was put on the wing. He started gently and pressed a little firmer the more she began to relax, careful to avoid any of the bandages areas.

     Ditsy sighed happily, making no effort to move as he finished with her left wing and moved to her right. Kumori finished with her right and started on the space between her wings. Ditsy let out a squeal and jumped up turning to face a bewildered Kumori. "D-don't do that." She stuttered, her cheeks and muzzle glowing.

    "Did I hurt you?" Kumori asked, taking a step back trying to analyze the situation.

    "No, just." Ditsy sighed. "Quite the opposite actually. I've never had that kind of reaction before."

    "What do you-" Kumori stopped as he figured it out. "Oh... I'm sorry." It was his turn to blush.

    "Its okay." Ditsy took a deep breath. "Have you done this to other ponies before? Your really good."

    "No, I just do what I would imagine what would feel good to me." He replied, thankful for the change of conversation.

    This gave Ditsy an idea. "Lay down." She told him.

    Kumori got where this was going and shook his head no. "No, I don't let anypony touch my wings. Its nothing personal."

    "I want to though, you've done to much and I haven't done anything." She replied. "Besides, with you fighting with those wing blades your wings can't be in good shape."

    Kumori had to admit that his wings did take a toll when he fought, but that was the price to pay for his strategic assault. "I-well..." Kumori growled at himself. There was that damned insecurity again. "Okay." He finally said.

    Ditsy smiled. "Lay down." She repeated.

    Kumori did as he was told, spreading his wings.

     Ditsy looked down at his pitch black wings, fur and feathers that seemed to reflect the candle light. "Your wings are really pretty." She told him before going to work on his out of place feathers. She came across one that was damaged at the tip. "Uh... Kumori, this is going to sting a little bit. I'm going to need to pull this one." She told him.

    "Alright." He winced as he felt the sting but held still.

    Ditsy took the feather from her muzzle and placed it on the table before continuing to preen Kumori. She wasn't happy to see all the scars under his fur from fighting but continued none the less.

    The preening complete she moved to massage his wings with a gentleness Kumori had never known. "I use to do this for The Doctor." She explained.

     "He was a Pegasus?" Kumori asked.

     "Yeah." Ditsy said sadly.

     "Well, I can tell, your really good at this." He tried to cheer her up.

     Ditsy sighed and stopped her work.

    "Is something wrong?"

     "Its just, tonight. It hit me all of a sudden. He can't save me anymore. If it wouldn't have been for you, I-I'd be dead." She choked and began to sob. "Why would he do this? Leave me here like this?"

     Kumori sat up and turned to face Ditsy. There it was, what the look in her eyes represented. It made him sad to just see her this way, but he didn't know what to say. He didn't know who this Doctor was or even Ditsy to be honest. He did know what it was like to lose somepony he cared for though, that feeling of emptiness. To have them there one day, laughing, talking, playing. Then the next... Gone forever. "Ditsy, I... I don't know what to say." He suddenly felt utterly useless.

    Ditsy sniffles a bit, calming herself she looked up at him. "Kumori, I need you to teach me how to fight." Ditsy told him. "Like you, you learned how to take care of yourself."

    Kumori was taken aback by this. "Ditsy, I don't know if I can do that, I tought myself. Plus, you'd need wing blades. They don't exactly mass produce these like swords. Not to mention the strain it takes on your body and wings, its dangerous and-"

    "I know somepony who'd be able to make me a pair. Please Kumori, I want to feel safe again, and if fighting is how I do it then so be it. I can't rely on The Doctor to save me anymore. I have to learn to take care of myself, I can handle it, I promise." She pleaded.

     Kumori thought long and hard about this. The two sat in silence as Kumori pondered it over. If he taught her how to fight, she'd want to fight and she might die. Then again, on the other hoof if he didn't and she needed to defend herself one day, she wouldn't be able to. Plus he would be out of his comfort zone for a while, with Ditsy being around him much more than usual, but, was that necessarily a bad thing? "Buck it, I'll do it."

     Ditsy sighed with relief and hugged him. "Thank you." She told him.

     Kumori was lost for a moment as the Gray mare hugged him tightly. After a couple of seconds he wrapped his own for hooves around her back, deciding once and for all to trust her.

     Ditsy pulled away a moment later, gratitude and a drop of happiness in her look.

    "Well... I-Its getting late." He told her. "I'm sure its actually morning by now, I'm going to get some sleep."

    "Goodnight." Ditsy replied. "Sounds like a good idea anyway." She yawned.

    "Uh... Tomorrow night, whether you have the blades or not, meet me behind the old school in town." He told her before jumping down from the bed and trotting to the door.

    "I'll be there." Ditsy replied.

     "Okay, see you then." He replied before leaving and closing the door behind him, the lingering feelings of awkwardness following him, but with it a since of relief, almost like he wasn't alone anymore.