“Are you serious, Jetstream?!” Shadow yelled, absolutely furious at the stallion in question, “You handed the conductor, Diamond Dust’s father mind you, a bag containing her undergarments stained with your seed?! Are you really that stupid?!” Shadow Spell glared daggers at Jetstream. His nostrils flared up, showing just a small fraction of the burning rage that was seething within him.

It wasn’t often that Jetstream saw his friend so livid at him; but when he was, it was like the Gates of Tartarus just opened its unholy gates. Shadow’s intimidating glare caused him feel like he was only an inch tall his heart started to palpitate. He was practically sweating bullets and with a hard gulp he let out a nervous chuckle, “I-I…um…g-guess I didn’t think my decision through.”

“You think?! It would be a great inconvenience if I wasn’t able to get on that train because of some vendetta you caused! If that happens, I'll make *you* pull my chariot all the way back to Canterlot!”

Jetstream narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth the more Shadow went on, “Alright, alright! I bucked up! I get it! Now, can we please drop the issue already?! Bitching about it won't do us a damn bit of good at this point!" He said in an annoyed tone. He was normally a patient stallion, but there were still a few things that aggravated him. Harping and dwelling on mistakes and situations that were now beyond their control was one of them.

As much as Shadow would've liked to keep ripping on him, he knew he had a point. If even Jetstream was getting annoyed, chances are that he was starting to take it too far. He let out a sigh, and sat back down on the finely crafted wooden chair. The thick cushioning already helped eased his tense muscles and helped him relax a little, "Fine. We'll cross that bridge when we get there. Until then, try not to do something like that again."

Had the stallions not been so focused on the disagreement at hand, they would've noticed that they missed several series of knocks coming from the door, "And here I thought we'd all changed so much!" A familiar voice said from the door.

The stallions gave each other a quizzical look before it finally registered that there was somepony at the door, and from the sounds of it, it was an old friend of theirs, and she just heard every word of their conversation.

Jetstream got up and walked to the door, taking a peek in the peephole to confirm their suspicions. A small smile grew on his face as he saw none other than Twilight Sparkle herself. She may be a Princess of Equestria now, but she dressed comfortably. She was wearing a casual, light yellow blouse that seemed to compliment her slender figure, and simple denim blue jeans, "Some things never change." He said to himself as he opened the door, greeting her with a warm smile "Hey, stranger! Long time no see!"

Twilight had a big smile of her own, "Yeah, it's been a long time, Jetstream." She said as she gave him a firm hug. After a few moments, she broke it and looked at him up and down, and started to giggle "Still with the t-shirt and blue jeans sense of style are you?"

"Yup! Simplicity is a good thing I say." He said as he stepped to the side to let her in the room.

"Princess Twilight," Shadow greeted as he bowed to her, "It's a pleasant surprise to see you here."

"Oh, Shadow," Twilight said in a lighthearted tone, "You don't have to address me so formally. I prefer not be called princess. Just call me, Twilight" she said, motioning with her hand for him to stand.

"I'm just following etiquette on addressing royalty, Twilight. Something *somepony* needs to start doing more often." He said as he gave Jetstream a small glare.

"Hey, she asked not to be addressed formerly before, so I don't," the pegasus stallion shrugged, answering in his usual carefree tone, to which Shadow just rolled his eyes.

"Wow, even when you're off duty you still dress so nicely!" Twilight giggled as she admired how well pressed his light grey, long-sleeved button shirt was, as well as his khaki slacks. She giggled a little more as she saw how perfectly tucked the shirt was in his pants, "Last I checked you were here to relax."

"Yes, indeed. I have more casual clothes for later," Shadow said simply as he hugged her,

"That's good. Princess Celestia and Luna just want to make sure that the both of you will unwind after such a trying assignment." Twilight informed. Almost immediately she regretted her choice of words.

Shadow's eyes became disconnected, and he visibly tensed up as the memories of the 'assignment' came rushing back to his head. It was obvious that it was a subject that he didn't enjoy hearing about. One that caused him a great deal of discomfort.

"Shadow?" Jetstream called out in concern as he walked to him. He placed a hand on his shoulder, and looked him right in the eye, "Shadow, it's okay. There's nothing to worry about anymore. The mission was a success." He said softly, "We did what we had to do. That's all there is to it."

The contact broke the unicorn out of his little trance, and looked at his friend for a moment. He nodded in agreement, "Yeah, we did."

"Then let's put it behind us for now. We'll deal with it another time."

"I'm sorry, I..." Twilight was about to apologize, but was cut off when Shadow waved his hand,

"It's okay. Like Jet said, we'll deal with it another time," Shadow said with a small smile to assure her of his claim, "So, to what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?"

Twilight kept her gaze on the unicorn stallion for a few moments longer to make sure he was okay, then cleared her throat, "Well, I just wanted to inform you that I took care of your fans, Jetstream. They won't be a bother for a little while."

"Cool, thanks!" said Jet. He really didn't mind the crowd of mares. It's just part of being a Wonderbolt, and most of the time, they mean well.

"Thank, Celestia!" said Shadow, obviously relieved that he didn't have to deal with the menacing crowd of delusional fanmares. He already felt uncomfortable being around crowds, and those groupies didn't make it any easier on him.

"I also wanted to apologize. I won't be able to host your stay here after all. Shining Armor and Cadence asked me to go to the Crystal Empire to spend the week with them. Since it's a rare event that we get to spend time with each other these days, I jumped on the opportunity as soon as it presented itself." Twilight said apologetically.

"Oh, sweet! In that case I say go for it!" Jetstream said.

"I agree. We know how close you are with your family and it would be a shame if you missed an opportunity to spend time with them." Shadow Spell concurred.

"Besides, with as much as you stress yourself out it'll be good to unwind and let loose over there. Just don't go too crazy with the booze like you did last time. You tend to get a little...freaky, to say the least” Jetstream said with a sly smirk on his face

Almost immediately, Twilight began to blush fiercely, her face turning the darkest shade of red anypony has ever seen, “W--w-what are you talking about?” It couldn’t be! There’s just no way he could be talking about that night...could he? Jetstream’s scrutinizing gaze and almost mocking smirk only served to make her all the more uneasy.

“Oh, don’t play coy with me, Twilight,” the pegasus teased, crossing his arms across his chest in a haughty manner with the ever present smirk of his, “The last time you were drunk you ran all around your new castle wearing nothing but your panties declaring your undying love for your new scepter. You even made poor Spike clean it exceptionally well after you had some...alone time with it.” he said, trying everything he could to keep from going into a side-splitting fit of laughter. He was trying to resist the overwhelming tugging at the corner of his lips. But alas, he wasn’t able to suppress the snort that escaped his nostrils, opening the floodgates to his loud, rambunctious laughter.

To say the princess was mortified would be a gross understatement. She looked like she was handed down the ultimate punishment by Princess Celestia herself, and could no longer bear to face the world again, let alone speak. Jetstream’s unflattering laughter only served to pour salt in the wounded pride, “B-but...how d-did you..?” Twilight was about to ask but was cut off

“Tabloids…” Shadow Shadow Spell deadpanned, becoming increasingly annoyed with his friend’s absurd behavior, “It was...quite detailed. The photos were also of a professional quality.”

“Priceless!” Jetstream said in between breaths, “I never thought you were that kind of mare, Twili..AUGH!!” he was about to say before he was abruptly cut off from Twilight hitting the back of his head with the force of a freight train. For a small mare, she could hit surprisingly hard; especially when angry or otherwise annoyed,“What in Tartarus was that for?!” No sooner than he finished saying that, he was met with yet another hard hit to the back of his head. This time, Shadow Spell was the culprit.

“You know very well why, Jetstream!” Twilight shouted, clenching her fists and teeth together.

“I hit you because you never know when to stop, and thus you forced my hand.” Shadow rebuked with a sharp glare.

“But...y-you can’t just hit me like that! It’s no wonder why I can’t think straight!” Jetstream complained as he was tenderly rubbing throbbing his head.

“As a matter of fact, I can!” Twilight said with a smug smirk. She reached into her canvas bag that had her Cutie Mark printed on it, and pulled out a scroll. The paper looked like it was beginning to turn beige, a mark of aging, but the scroll itself looked well preserved. As she began to unroll it, the scent of fresh paper filled the stallions’ nostrils the closer she brought it to them, stopping in front of their faces.

Jetstream’s eyes widened in disbelief as that familiar scent triggered his memory of that scroll’s origins. It couldn’t be that scroll could it? “No way, is that the contract we made when we were foals? We couldn’t be more than five years old at the time!” he said with a smile. Sure enough, the two saw the familiar words of the contract with surprisingly good penmareship for a five year old...even if it was written in purple crayon.

I, Twilight Sparkle, get to hit Jetstream and Shadow Spell as hard as I want if they act like stupid-heads and/or make fun of me! And they will sign this because that's what you’re supposed to do with contracts! I read that in a book!

Just under the purple crayon was another statement written in black ink,

I, Princess Celestia, hereby give Jetstream and Shadow Spell permission to tickle Twilight Sparkle in the event that she abuses her contract by including, but not limited to: excessive hitting, using the contract as a means to hit them without just cause, and/or if she makes fun of either of you. Her biggest tickle spots are as follows: her sides, her belly and the bend of her knees.

Just below the last line of the text were the signatures of Twilight, Jetstream and Shadow Spell. Off to the right of the signatures was a red wax seal of Princess Celestia’s Cutie Mark, making this a legal and legitimate contract.

“I remember that day,” said Shadow Spell, a rare smile tugging at the corner of his lips, “Princess Celestia thought that the contract between the three of us was so adorable that she just had to make it legal. At the time I just wanted an excuse to hit Jetstream without getting in trouble.”

“So, as you can see, Jetstream, I can hit you like that, and according to the contract, I’m not hitting you excessively and I have just cause to do so.” Twilight said with a smug smile and tone to match as she crossed her arms. It wasn’t often that she gave such a haughty display of gloating, but after being humiliated by Jetstream, she allowed herself to savor the sweet taste of victory.

Jetstream, on the other hand, could only grit his teeth and start muttering his dismay under his breath, lest he earn the ire of the Princess of Friendship again.

“So when do you leave for the Crystal Empire, Twilight?” Shadow Spell asked.

“I should be leaving right now. The train I’m on will depart shortly after I get there.” she responded

"Oh?" Shadow asked curiously, "Then the train won't leave without you?" It was difficult to notice for those who didn't know him as well as Jetstream and Twilight did, but there was a hint of mischief in his voice.

"No, it won't," Twilight replied, not quite catching the tone of voice as her mind was elsewhere. "Why?"

"It's just...I think you're a little overdue," he whispered with a smirk, managing to walk up behind her.

"Overdue for wha-" Her question was interrupted by a shriek of laughter as Shadow's dancing fingers slipped under her shirt to attack her belly. "Sh-Shadow!" she gasped out, struggling to resist and escape.

Grinning like a madpony, Jetstream rushed forward, not wanting to waste the opportunity to get even with Twilight. He quickly and mercilessly started attacking her sides with his own skilled hands, their combined laughter echoing throughout the room.

When they were foals, they were always together, spending their time with one another when time allowed them to be. There was always an adventure to be had within the vast walls of Canterlot Castle, always a book to read in its impressive library, and always a sunset to bask in as they enjoyed the friendship they forged with one another. It was a time they all cherished with one another, even when life put them on separate paths. They would often not see one another for years, and when they did, there was never enough time to catch up with one another. And so the stallions continued their tickle attack on the unsuspecting Twilight, the three friends once again bonding after too long.

Author's Note

Sorry for the short chapter, everyone. Between my insane work schedule and RL in general, I didn't want to keep you guys waiting much longer than I already have. Rest assured, there will be clop in the next chapter.

Since I totally forgot to say so in the first chapter, Shadow Spell is Tatsurou's OC and Jetstream is mine. Hope you all enjoyed!