Restless in Hoofington

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16

Chapter 1

Quiet; it is the perfect word for night in some places. Though things are certainly livelier than earlier in history once the sun sets and Luna’s orb reigns, one cannot deny that some areas just aren’t meant for night life. The market area of Hoofington is one such example; the only sounds heard are the buzzing chatter of insects as they dart about, playing in the streetlights in the empty streets.

A quick blur of motion, however, reveals that the streets may not be so barren after all. A dark-clothed figure darts around the market, it’s movements quick, precise, and avoiding the light. After a moment, it freezes, as if waiting for something. Another moment of stillness passes before its head jerks forward and three more shapes come out of a nearby alley.

The smallest shape trails the others, its head swiveling around and trying to take in everything beneath its low hood that conceals its face. The other dark forms wait for it, one tapping a leg impatiently. Upon noticing this, the shape darts toward them, momentarily going just enough under a light to reveal the darkblue color of its ensemble and a small blue and red symbol on the forehead of the hood.

The initial figure nods, pointing them to a small store. Another of the shapes goes to the door, appearing to fiddle with it for a moment before it opens and they all slip inside. The interior really isn’t much to be spoken about, as it is a common enough sight: a produce store filled with any number of different foods.

The shape responsible for opening the door glances at its cohorts, making a few odd gestures with its leg. The second-smallest shape responds with a few of its own before looking to the apparent leader for confirmation.

It nods once, motioning them forward with a hoof as it whispers, at the very least identifying itself as a male, though with an odd quality to his voice. "Go ahead and get whatever you want. We're taking more than enough for all of us, but leave everything else intact."

Nodding, the second-smallest shape turns back to the other one that had signalled it, making a few motions with its hooves. They split up after that, heading to different corners of the store to fill their pockets.

The smallest shape peruses the shelves, taking a few odds and ends and stowing them in its loose clothing. As it comes to the fruits though, a smile can be seen just before it giggles, the tone revealing it to be female.

The leader looks around sharply as he suddenly hears muffled commotion. A sharp hiss comes from him as he faces the culprit. The smallest shape turns around, a dripping juicy apple unashamedly hanging from her mouth, half hidden by the hood. The cases of fruit next to her filled high with things like strawberries, peaches, and pineapples as if she were going to take them all cause him to sigh, placing a leg over his eyes in exasperation.

Hearing the sigh, the second-smallest of the group looks over, lifting its hood up to get a better look, revealing a distinctly female face. She takes a look at the piles of fruit and snickers quietly, shaking her head in amusement. The last shape doesn’t seem to react at all, choosing to continue checking the lower cupboards and cabinets behind the counter.

Looking between them all, the smallest shape chews her apple a little more, popping it fully into her mouth a moment later as a tongue flicks out and licks the juices off her lips. “What?”

The leader just sighs. “Nothing… try to avoid snacking anymore until we get back, though.”

“Aww…” She lets out a small whine as she looks over to some pears, eyeing them up as she adds a few to her haul.

They return to their gathering for a few more minutes before a word from their leader has them all gathering at the doorway, ready to leave. As smoothly as they came in, the group exits… well, three of them do. The smallest one runs into a few issues; namely, trying to fit herself through the doorway with boxes of fruit balanced on her back and even some hanging half off. She grunts as she backs up again to try and wriggle her way through.

The only one of the four to remain completely silent just stands beside the doorway, staring at her and waiting for her to get through. Lifting its hood, the form is revealed to be a stallion; more specifically, a stallion with a look of equal amusement and annoyance.

The female looks at him, her mouth in a frown as she whispers to him. “You know, you could help instead of standing there!” He continues to stare, now seeming confused in addition to his prior emotions. Huffing, she rustles her crates meaningfully, motioning her head between him and them. “Get it?”

Rolling his eyes, the stallion steps forward and motions for her to put the stack down, as the other mare walks over to see what’s taking so long. “Come on, Nightshade!”

As she sets the stack down and weaves around the stallion dealing with it, the smaller female looks at her. “Hey, I’m just… preventing scurvy. Yeah, that.”

The mare sighs. “You don’t need to make excuses. You just need to hurry. This is a snatch and grab, not a leisurely trip to the mall.” She looks over at the stallion, who has stacked about half the boxes on his back and begun carrying them out, able to fit through without much issue. “Think you can fit the rest through?”

“I’ll make it work.” She walks over, shifting the rest onto her back. “I am not leaving stuff this good.”

“Just try not to drop it and attract attention. That’s the last thing we need.” The larger of the two females starts trotting off after their two companions. “I’ll tell Snap you said thank you.”

“All done?” The leader watches all of them, keeping an eye on the streets for witnesses. “We need to get back. While we did get more than expected, we’re pushing it more than I’m comfortable with.”

“Coming, sir!” The smallest form hurries after him, all four soon melting into the shadows. Only a slightly less stocked store is the proof that they were ever around.

The next day, a street over, quite a different shop is bustling with a nice flow of customers, unaware of what happened so close by. The shop’s title, Rune’s Arcanium, gives away the shop’s nature with all the subtlety of a billboard. A collection of gems etched with strange symbols lay in the windows, enticing the shoppers to come inside.

One teenage unicorn walks in, but doesn’t seem to be interested in any of the gems. The young cobalt blue mare instead walks across the shop and makes her way behind the counter, her blonde-and-brown flowing mane the only thing visible of her from the other side. Noticing a familiar emerald green mare, she smiles and trots over. “I’m back, mom!”

As she floats a small bag over to a customer, taking the bits they offer in return, the tall unicorn turns her head, revealing a soft motherly smile. “Welcome back, Autumn.” With the last customer left browsing, she walks over and nuzzles the teen.

Smiling, the young unicorn nuzzles back. “Hope I’m not interrupting. I know you’re usually pretty busy around this time...”

“Well, no custom orders today, so it actually all went fairly quickly.” She spots her customer walking over and lifts her head up to face her. “Have you decided what you need, ma’am?”

The mare nods, adjusting her fancy saddle a moment. “Yes; your sign says you do enchantments on already existing items, correct Mrs. Rune?”

The owner nods. “Yes ma’am. Just tell me which ones you want, bring in the item, and I can have it done within a few days.”

“Excellent.” The mare nods again. “I’ll be back tomorrow then with a necklace I would like to have enchanted with your marking spell.”

As she turns to leave, Rune smiles. “Of course, ma’am. I look forward to your return.” As the door chime sounds, signaling her exit, the arcanist can only giggle as she turns to her daughter. “I’ll never understood why so many ponies need marking spells. You’d think they’d learn to just keep up with their things, but then I guess I’d lose a lot of business.”

The younger unicorn giggles as well. “I guess it’s a good thing they’re so forgetful.” She starts sliding off her saddlebags, depositing them in the corner. “Is it alright if Alloy comes over when we get back home? There’s a test tomorrow, so we’re comparing notes and studying together.”

“Of course, dear. You know your little friend is always welcome.” Rune stretches a little, standing behind her counter for hours sometimes leaving her stiff. “Anything interesting happen at school?”

“Not really.” She shrugs, glancing at the empty store for a moment. “Apparently we’re getting a new student in science class tomorrow...not sure what to think about that. They didn’t tell us much.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll make them very welcome.” The mare double checks her displays in anticipation of more customers. “I’m surprised they gave you warning anyway, Autumn. The few times they had new students when I was in school, they just dropped them on us the day of.”

Autumn shrugs again. “They did that for a while, but every now and again, they’ll tell us ahead of time.” She thinks for a moment. “I think they actually did that for Alloy when she first moved here, too...”

Nodding, Rune muses aloud. “That wasn’t long before you, and thusly I, met her, right? She was such a shy little thing then…”

“She’s still pretty shy around others...and quiet, too. I don’t think she even has hoofsteps when she walks.” The young mare snickers a bit. “Though I guess you can’t really blame her for being so...introverted.”

Nodding understandingly, her mother ducks down behind the counter, straightening a few of her blank jewels. “Poor dear… I knew things wouldn’t be easy for her, but I did hope. At least she’s got you, right?”

Before Autumn can answer, the door opens with a familiar chime, in walking a bright magenta pegasus pony about Autumn’s age; however, her age is not the first thing most would notice about her. Her long mane and short tail are both a dark green, contrasting with her coat; one of her eyes is light blue, while the other is silver; and most obviously, she is missing both her left wing and her right hindleg, a prosthetic replacement taking the spot of the latter. The feathers on her remaining wing are all entirely different colours from one another, and her cutie mark is an unsolved Rubik’s cube that seems to have different patterns on either flank.

“Speak of the devil,” Autumn says with a giggle as she puts her front hooves on the counter to see over it. “Hi Alloy!”

The mare perks up at the familiar face and trots over. “Hi, Autumn!” She turns to the other mare as well. “Hello, Mrs. Rune!”

“Hello, dear!” With magic and hooves, Rune brings both fillies in for a hug, giggling as she does so. While surprised, they don’t hesitate to hug back, laughing as well.

“I know it’s earlier than I asked, but it got boring just walking around,” Alloy said apologetically. “I hope you don’t mind...”

“Like I told Autumn, you’re always welcome, Alloy.” The mare lets them go, smiling at her two favorite fillies. “Anytime, day or night.”

The pegasus smiles even more at that. “Thank you, Mrs. Rune.”

“Tell you what…” The mare brings out a small pouch of bits, levitating it over to the teens. “Why don’t you two go ahead and head over to the house, maybe grab a snack on the way. I wouldn’t want Autumn home alone, but with the two of you it should be fine. I’ll close up in a bit and be home in time to start dinner.”

Autumn grins happily, taking the pouch in her own magic. “Thank you, mom!” She trots over and gives the mare a hug once more. “We’ll be careful, promise!”

“That’s my girl…” Rune hugs and nuzzles the blue filly as she points a hoof to the pegasus. “Same goes for you too. If I have to punctuate it with hugs as well, I will.”

Alloy giggles. “I understand, but I don’t mind taking a hug.”

Breaking away from Autumn, the mare walks over and delivers on her promise. “Hug for you too then. Both of you be safe.”

“We will!” Alloy promises, hugging back. Once she’s released, both young teens head outside, Autumn keeping the pouch in her magic hold.

As they walk along the roads and pathways, glancing into any shops that catch their eye, they spend the time chatting about school and recent events like most friends do. They wonder about the new student coming in later; worry about the test they’ll have to take; and complain about any other students or teachers they don’t like for any variety of reasons. However, all conversation comes to a halt as they walk by a certain produce shop and hear the owner within yelling.

"I don't care that not much was taken! The fact that I was robbed at all is the issue!" The voice pauses a moment. "If they can just walk into my store when it's locked down, what happens next?! What if-"

A stern voice cuts him off. "Sir, I understand you're angry, but I need you to calm down."

Concerned, Autumn walks to the door and lightly pushes it open, poking her head inside. The owner of the shop, a tan earth pony stallion with a fruit basket cutie mark, is pacing around the store as he rants to another male earth pony; this one is light blue in colour, and judging by his outfit, Autumn recognizes him as one of the city’s officers. She steps inside fully, catching the attention of both stallions. “Is something wrong?”

The officer looks at her, stating simply, "Just a small break-in last night, Miss. Nothing to be worried about." The store owner huffs at this assessment.

“Break-in?” Autumn asks quietly, glancing around the shop. “Nothing looks missing to me...” She looks back at Alloy for her opinion, only to realize that her pegasus friend is still several feet away from her, looking more than a little nervous. She tilts her head in confusion.

"Oh sure, it wasn't much," the tan stallion says, "but still, the fact is that this is more than some teenager nicking an apple from the stand. I don't like it."

“Um...right,” the young unicorn replies absently. “Well...I hope you find them soon.” With that, she walks back outside, leaving the owner and officer to return to their loud conversation. She turns to Alloy. “Who would go to the effort of breaking into a produce shop at night if they’re barely going to take anything?”

Alloy just shrugs quietly, and the two continue their trek along the road, putting the entire event behind them for now.

Chapter 2

Another night, another shadowy figure darts through the shadowy streets. Through alleys and cut throughs of all manners, it goes ever onward towards its destination. Finally, a small building comes into sight; nothing special compared to those near it, but the figure strides purposefully toward it. Looking around one last time, the form approaches the door…

...and knocks quietly.

A moment later, light spills from the home as the door opens, the figure nodding and slipping inside. The building, now easily identifiable as a home, is nothing too special. A simple house that is quite literally dull compared to its tenant, who closes the door behind the newcomer.

The sparkling amethyst coat of the crystal mare glitters as she turns to her guest. “I was wondering if you were going to make it. The others arrived a while ago.”

Pulling back her hood, the visitor reveals the tufted ears, slitted eyes, and protruding fangs of a thestral. She rubs her emerald mane as she grins, a little embarrassed. “Sorry, Ornate… I took some wrong turns…”

Chuckling, the jeweled earth pony motions forward. “Don’t worry, Nightshade. We’ll get you memorizing those streets in no time. Now come on, everyone else is waiting. Just hang your uniform in the hall closet with the rest of them.”

The young batpony nods, opening the door and stripping out of her dark blue outfit. She hangs the pants and hoodie up next to a number of identical ones, each adorned with only a single splash of color: a red crescent moon on a blue circle. Closing the closet, she manages to spot a small bit of Ornate’s blue sparkling tail, following into the room where she can now hear voices conversing.

Aside from the crystal mare, she sees several other familiar faces standing or sitting around. The first is a griffon with striking black and white coloring named Snowdrift. She lays curled up on a fluffy cushion, not speaking to anypony. Rather than this be some form of antisocial behavior, instead the rather simple explanation is that she is using both beak and claw to do a little sprucing of her wings at the moment.

Lying across the couch is Snap Gun, whom Nightshade recognizes from the previous night’s outing. He has also ditched his outfit, revealing a silver coat with a short brown mane and long tail. His cutie mark, a padlock, gets across his role in the team rather well. He is the only one not actively listening to any conversations, instead reading a small book.

Beside Snap and practically talking his ear off is Portal; a young dark orange colt with cyan hair, cut rather short for his mane and left to grow long for his tail. He lacks a cutie mark, and is clearly a good couple years younger than even Nightshade. As he speaks, he repeatedly taps his hooves on the ground, making a clacking noise that would likely irritate the others if it could be heard over the conversation.

Lastly, sitting on the floor beside the couch and resuming talking with Ornate when she returned, is a rather large zebra with a thin silver chain around his neck. Aside from that, Zesten, as he is named, wears very little; the only unique detail about him being the glyph on his rump of a crescent moon with two stars on the inner side.

Ornate looks over to the thestral, seeing her just standing in the doorway. “Well, come on and sit down. We’re all friends here, even if you’ve only been introduced to all of us but not actually spoken to us.”

Nightshade smiles, nods, and relaxes, walking over and sitting down next to the crystal mare. “Guess I’m still getting used to this.” She looks around, frowning for a moment. “Umm… where’s the boss?”

“Oh, he’s just out on one of his nights-on-the-town.” Ornate nods her head towards the window. “He likes to get his food on a weekly basis so he doesn’t have to worry much. He told me just to check up on everypony while they were here, since it’s my house this time. Now that you’re here, I guess we can do that before we start just chatting the night away.” She looks towards the hallway. “Well, as soon as our last filly is done in the bathroom.”

The young mare looks towards the hallway as well for a moment before her ears flick at the chatter that hadn’t stopped since before she entered the room. She looks over at the colt and the stallion calmly reading, tilting her head. “He must be very patient…”

Zesten chuckles before replying in a quiet tone. “He is quite patient, we have seen before. But that is not quite why the child is ignored. Confusing though it may first appear, it is simply because he cannot hear.”

Nightshade blinks. “Oh… does Portal know that?”

“I imagine he does. I will admit, it seems like he talks for the sake of it.” Zesten shrugs lightly.

Finally, a door can be heard opening and closing from the hall, and practically silent hoofsteps enter into the room. Along with them comes a certain young pegasus mare, with one wing and a prosthetic leg.

“Sorry for the wait,” Alloy says apologetically as she sits down on a cushion, smiling at the newcomer. “Hi there, Night.”

Seeing the only pony in the group close to her age, the batpony smiles toothily at her. “Hey Alloy. I miss anything?”

“Just making sure all of us got food from last night’s outing,” the pegasus confirms before smirking. “Judging by your own personal haul, I assume you got enough to last about a year.”

Nightshade sticks out her tongue. “Hey, I shared. I just like fruit.” As if to prove her point, she pulls out a pear she had stashed under her wing and bites into it, a dreamy look coming across her face.

“We noticed.” She giggles at her friend’s antics, looking over the others. “Portal, leave Snap in peace, okay?” The child instantly quiets down and turns around to play with a pillow on the couch.

Looking up from her now completed preening, Snowdrift clacks her beak once in amusement. “Always a bundle of energy, that one.” She looks over to Ornate, raising a feathery eyebrow. “So, what was it the boss wanted you to tell us?”

The crystal pony simple looks around at all of them. “He just wanted to make sure we were all enjoying the food, and ask if any of us needed anything else so he could go ahead and look into the next place we should hit.”

Nightshade tilts her head. “He’s planning another one already?”

“He’s seeing if he needs to,” Ornate corrects.

“Well, I’m doing fine,” Alloy begins, to which Zesten nods in agreement. “What about the rest of you?”

The thestral nods her head, as does Portal. When eyes turn to Snowdrift, though, the hybrid looks down and plucks a little at the pillow she’s on. “Well… I don’t know if it’s worth mentioning…”

Ornate pushes. “Everything is worth mentioning.”

“...Okay.” She takes a breath and her feathers bristle a moment as she thinks. “As you all know, fall is here, so the temperature is slowly getting colder. While they weren’t a problem before, a lot of the windows in my house actually don’t fit quite right, so they let in cold drafts, making it very hard to be comfortable or even sleep sometimes.” Her eyes sharpen. “I hired someone to take care of it, but I swear every time it gets close to the day he should come over, I always get a letter or a note about ‘some more important job came up’. I was fine with it the first few times, but after the third I’m certain something fishy is going on.” She clenches a talon. “I even went down there to talk to him, and he just repeated what he said before ignoring me to talk to the one other customer in his store that wasn’t even trying to talk to him yet!” Her whole body droops a little as her voice calms. “I just want my nest to be cozy and warm… I don’t think that’s much to ask.”

Alloy frowns, getting up and putting a hoof on her shoulder. “It’s not. And we won’t let him get away with this. If we can’t get him to do the job, we’ll at least get your money back so you can find someone who will.”

Nightshade stands up, leathery wings outspread aggressively as she echoes the sentiment: “Yeah!” She tilts her head a moment later. “How do we do that? Because you know starting tomorrow I’m going to be a little busy some nights, but I really still wanna help…”

“Don’t worry, Nightshade.” Alloy smiles. “I’ve been juggling the school and these guys for about a year now. I’ll help you through it.” Her smile fades. “As for how we’ll do it...I’m not too sure, myself.” She looks to Ornate and Zesten. “Any ideas, you two?”

Looking at her fellow senior member of the group, Ornate smiles slyly. “Oh, I’m sure we’ve already got some ideas. We’ll collaborate, run it by Mr. Big Bad Boss, and you’ll be in a comfy nest in no time, Snowy. You need to promise me something, though.” The griffon looks on attentively. “If it gets too bad, you come stay with one of us. I know home is home, especially for you, but running on no sleep isn’t good for anypony.”

The monochrome predator sighs and nods. “Okay, I promise… I’ll try not to be too stubborn.” She grins and laughs sheepishly, the laughter soon being echoed by the other occupants of the room.

“Good. We’ll get to work on that as soon as we’ve let Reflect know about it,” Alloy concludes. She looks to the only one of the group yet to weigh in, only to discover him still reading his book, completely oblivious to the conversation going on. She sighs. “Can someone get Snap’s attention?”

Portal quickly hops up and obediently nudges Snap in the side. The silver stallion jumps in surprise, looking at the colt in confusion and annoyance.

“Alloy wants to talk to you,” Portal says before going back to playing with his pillow. While deaf, Snap can still read the general statement on his lips, and turns to Alloy attentively.

Rather than speaking, the pegasus sits on her haunches and begins to gesture rapidly with her hooves, going through a flurry of seemingly random motions. When she finishes, Snap begins to motion back at her. Slowly, the young mare starts to look confused, then worried, then grim. “...oh...um...” She looks to the others. “He says that he…is having a problem...but we should focus on Snowdrift’s issue first.”

Ornate blinks. “Is he sure? Does he at least want to tell us what it is?”

“He told me, but he doesn’t want anyone else to know for now...and I really think we should just leave it at that for now.” She shuffles her hooves a little awkwardly.

“Hmm… okay…” The crystal mare hesitantly accepts this.

After a short silence, Zesten finally speaks up, having remained quiet for a good while. “So...Nightshade is your name, is that true? Why don't you tell us a bit about you?”

She turns to him, confused. “Umm… what do you want to know?”

“For one, where do you come from, I implore? I have never seen a pony like yourself before.”

"Well... I haven't really seen too many other thestrals outside of my birth town..." She examines one of her bluish-grey hooves. "We were pretty much the majority there. Only a hooffull of ponies from other tribes lived there."

Alloy tilts her head. “Where was your birth town, anyway?”

"It was a place called Veil, a town half built into the base of a mountain." She smiles, remembering. "Half of the ponies there actually didn't bother building houses. They just hollowed out caves and made them into homes. You should have seen some of the families that had stonecutter cutie marks. They would go all out with designs on walls; heck, they would even have furniture connected to walls and ceilings because they carved it out of them. It was always easy to find a dark quiet place when you wanted to... but anyway, yeah, it was mostly ponies like me. It was a town like any other as far as I know, except that half the town was nocturnal while the other half chose not to be."

“That sounds cool!” Portal chimes in, having apparently begun listening not too long ago. Alloy nods in agreement.

Nightshade's emerald leathery wings shuffle as she smiles. "Thank you. I didn't think it was too special, but it's still the place I was born, so I'll always remember it." She waits a moment before continuing. “Okay, I get to ask a question now: what was Alloy doing to talk to Snap, and how come none of you did it?”

“Oh, like this?” Alloy moves her hooves in a few gestures similar to the ones she made towards Snap. “It’s sign language. Since he can’t hear or speak, and his lip reading is very basic, it’s how we communicate with him. As for why the others weren’t doing it, that’s because not many of us actually understand it.” She giggles sheepishly. “I only know it because my cousin is deaf as well, so I had to learn at an early age to talk with him.”

“Cool…” She blinks. “Wait, so… what if we need to ask him something then? I just kinda… flailed my hooves in enough directions the other night until my point got across… I’d rather avoid that in the future.”

“Well, if you don’t have anything to write with, just ask me or Zesten to do it for you. Or Reflect, if he’s ever around.” Alloy suddenly smiles a bit. “Or I could teach you some, just in case.”

“Sure!” Nightshade holds her hooves up eagerly before narrowing her eyes. “Don’t make me say anything embarrassing.”

Rolling her eyes, the pegasus smirks a bit as she moves over, helping reposition the batpony’s hooves as she explains. “Okay, let’s start with just individual letters. This is ‘A’...”

“...minus, at least. We studied all night, so we should be golden!” Autumn grins hopefully at her friend, who returns the smile, albeit a little tiredly. “What’s wrong?”

Alloy yawns. “Just...stayed up later than I should’ve.” She shakes her head, trying to wake herself up. “Spent a couple hours teach...um, I mean studying.”

The unicorn tilts her head in confusion, but doesn’t press the topic, needing to focus more on not bumping into any other students as they make their way to their classroom. Once they arrive, they settle into their seats, Autumn looking a little nervous at the usual odd looks her friend is getting from their fellow students.

Luckily, the form of their spring green teacher walks through the door before too long. Setting her saddlebags down next to her desk, she picks up a ruler in her magical aura, tapping it sharply on her desk three times. “Alright class, settle down now.” Her tone is not unkind, but still carries the expectation of obedience within.

Within a few seconds, the entire class settles down, voices going quiet as they look to their teacher. A few still cast looks at one another, attempting to whisper and finish their prior conversations, but most students remain focused on the front of the room.

With a few pointed stares, the instructor soon has the silence she desires. She nods once. “Good. Now then, I have a little announcement for you today. No, for those of you who just got wide eyes, it’s not a pop quiz.” She pauses to allow a few sighs of relief. “I am pleased to announce we have a new student in our class who just finished transferring. Everypony, please give a warm welcome to Miss Nightshade.”

As the teacher looks toward the door, it opens, allowing the bluish-grey thestral in the hall to enter. Her walk is calm, but her smile betrays both nervousness and excitement as she enters. Stopping next to the teacher, she quietly looks out at the faces looking back at her. “Umm… hi!” She waves a hoof, hoping to break the ice a bit.

Autumn and Alloy both wave back at her, but the rest of the class is completely silent, aside from hushed mumbles to one another. Almost none of them look her in the eye, and those that do don’t seem to be very happy. It isn’t more than a second before the awkward silence begins to set in, and even Autumn and Alloy start feeling it.

Breaking the silence, the teacher turns to the batpony. “Alright, well...why don’t you take one of the spare seats, and we’ll get started with today’s test? Just read the text or something else and you’ll be fine while the others are working.” Without further ceremony, she withdraws a stick of chalk and begins to write a few more things on the board, including time left.

Nightshade nods, keeping her eyes forward as she heads down the row and to an empty seat next to Alloy and Autumn. She gives them each a grateful smile and wave as she sits down. Autumn begins to greet her, but goes quiet when the teacher places her test on her desk, signalling it’s time for all to stop talking and start writing.

Later that day, class gives way to something much more agreeable to all students: lunch. With tables both inside and outside and a fair variety of food to choose from in line, most everypony can find what they want at this time. Almost all of them are sticking with friends, chatting away with one another about the day’s events thus far or preparing for (or griping about) future classes.

Autumn and Alloy are no different. Once they have their selection of food, they pick an unoccupied table just outside, sitting down and beginning to eat. Conversation is minimal, which worried Autumn, as Alloy is usually just as talkative as her at lunchtime. Yet today, she seems intent on one-word answers and mumbled grunts as her main method of communication.

“Alright Alloy, what’s the matter?” she finally demands. “You’ve been quiet all day. I know you’re tired, but that can’t be it. You seem more distracted than anything.”

The pegasus sighs. “Don’t worry about it, Autumn. I’m just thinking about stuff.” Noticing her friend about to ask the obvious question, she quickly glances around for a way out. Her salvation comes in the form of a familiar thestral stepping out the door, and she leaps at the opportunity to evade further questioning. “Hey, Nightshade! Over here!”

The familiar voice gains a flick of tufted ears and a smile of pointed teeth as the young mare quickly trots over. Sliding onto the bench, she sets her tray down in front of her. “Hey, thanks for the invite. You saved me about five minutes of wandering around.”

“No problem!” Alloy says with a grin. Autumn, while a little irked that she can’t continue her questioning, smiles at the newcomer nonetheless. “Trust me, I know all about having to wander around all lunch period for a table.”

“At least the food looks good once you get to actually eat it.” Opening her mouth, the thestral is just about to chow down before she stops, looking up at the unicorn and smiling sheepishly. She sits back up, offering her hoof. “Sorry, I didn’t really get your name, but you got mine in class.”

She smiles and shakes her hoof. “Autumn Equinox. It’s great to meet you, Nightshade.”

“Wow, mouthful of a name you have. I like it.” Nightshade smiles back, giggling a little.

Autumn giggles as well. “Thanks. I like it too. Just call me Autumn, though.” She retracts her hoof once the shake is over and sits back down, returning to her food.

Alloy, who has remained oddly quiet this whole time, finally speaks up. “So, um...Nightshade, you’re new here, right? Where did you go before?”

Looking at the pegasus, she answers. “Well, before now I really just went to the one school in my home town. My dad homeschooled me a little while we were moving and getting settled in here in Hoofington.”

“Ooh, where was your old home town?” Autumn asks, looking rather intrigued.

“A little out of the way town called Veil,” she answers, getting a bit of deja vu. “We had a nice house right in the shade of the mountain.”

“You lived near a mountain?” The unicorn has practically abandoned her food by this point.

Seeing the girl’s enthusiasm, Nightshade giggles. “Yeah, half the town lived in it. Caves are more cosy than you think.” She quickly takes a bite of a pear before the next question can come, eyes closing for a moment as she happily chews.

“In the…?” Autumn shakes her head for a moment. “How...how did you manage that? Aren’t caves just...you know, all rock and stuff?”

“Well, aren’t houses just wood and stuff?” the thestral counters. “You put in a door, add furniture, some pictures, carve out the rooms, and you’ve got a shady house with no windows.”

“But don’t they get cold? Or damp? And...how do you carve out rooms big enough to live in?”

Smiling again at her eagerness, Nightshade eats the rest of the pear in one bite, licking up the few drops of juice that get on her chin. “You learn how to pick ones that don’t get damp; those are usually better for growing mushrooms or something. You keep warm by having a fire, same as normal homes; you just makes sure to have a high ceiling, then carve some channels for the smoke to flow out. As for rooms, well, usually you pick a cave with one really big room, then if you get a few ponies working at it in shifts, you can have a new room in a few days. It’s actually really easy to make them bigger afterwards too if you just do it a bit at a time.” She takes a drink to wet her throat.

Autumn listens to this all with rapt attention as though she’s in class. “It’s...that easy? I always thought carving rock would take weeks or months to get anything really big...”

Nightshade waves a hoof. “Nah; we had good rock, good proven tools, and ponies who had done it before so they could tell us how to do it best. Everything’s easier when you have all that.”

“Maybe we should change the subject?” Alloy interjects. “You know, before you end up blowing her mind again. We might not be able to put her back together.”

The tufted ears fold a little. “Aww… come on, Alloy, look at her! She’s so attentive and nice!”

“Yeah, but I don’t want to be the one left trying to turn her brain back on.” Alloy chuckles, not noticing Autumn give the thestral a confused look for a moment.

“Has that happened before? What’s she like then?” Nightshade asks with genuine curiosity.

The pegasus shrugs, smirking. “Mostly she just kind of sits there quietly like she’s trying to figure out what everything you said means. Kind of like a trance or something. If you get her attention, or she snaps out of it herself, chances are she’ll have just blanked out and missed the last few minutes of conversation.”

The thestral giggles. “Have you tried poking her during it? It’s always the first thing to try.”

“Yep, and trust me, it works. But she gets angry if you interrupt her ‘train of thought’ too early, so I usually just let her come out of it herself.” She turns to the unicorn they’ve been discussing, noticing that she’s actually paying attention again. “Like so.”

Nightshade narrows her eyes. “I dunno… might still be a trance.” She slowly moves her hoof forward until it touches Autumn’s shoulder. “Poke.”

The unicorn looks at the batpony with a bemused expression, but can’t hold it, and soon she starts giggling. “Yes, Nightshade, I’m awake. Don’t worry.”

The new student giggles along with her. “I like you, you’re fun! I think we’ll be great friends!”

Autumn smiles. “I think so too! Say, want to meet up after school? We can go for a walk around town, or just head back home to one of our places for a while.”

Blinking at the sudden invitation, Nightshade answers after a moment. “Oh, um, sure! Sounds great!” She turns to Alloy. “You’re coming too, right?”

“Well...” The pegasus cuts herself off as she yawns. “...normally I would, but I think today I just need to rest...I was up really late.” She smiles at the two of them tiredly. “You two can have fun without me though, right?”

Autumn sighs. “Aw...oh well. Hope you feel better tomorrow, Alloy.” She turns to Nightshade again, smiling. “Besides, she’s right. We can have fun together.”

Nodding, Nightshade agrees. “Sure we can! No idea what we’re gonna do, but that just means it’s a surprise.”

Just as Autumn nods in agreement, the bell rings to signal the students to come back inside. The unicorn stands up, sighing when she notices her mostly-untouched meal. “Great...now I’m gonna be hungry all day.”

Looking down at her own meal, the batpony picks up an apple, ignoring her urge to lick her lips, and offers it to the young mare. “Here. You can eat this on the way, it’s something, right?”

Surprised, the unicorn looks at the fruit for a moment before smiling and accepting it gratefully. “Thank you...are you sure you don’t want it?”

“I’ve got an orange slice left to suck on. Plus, I don’t want a new friend going hungry.” She smiles brightly, fangs completely showing.

Despite the toothiness of the grin, Autumn is able to resist the urge to flinch, and instead grins back - albeit not as big. “Alright...again, thank you.” She takes a bite of the apple as the three start heading back inside.

Chapter 3

In the back room of her arcane shop, Rune’s horn is lit and her tongue sticks out one side of her mouth as she focuses. With a few more strokes of magic, she lets the glow fade, admiring the now enchanted gem in front of her. Lifting it with her hoof, she feels something tugging her in a specific direction, the force remaining constant no matter where she moves her hoof.

“Perfect.” She smiles at herself as she reattaches the gem to the necklace it came on, stowing her notes with her formulas in her safe. She double checks the product one more time before nodding and trotting out to the waiting mare with the saddle. “Here you are, ma’am, exactly as you ordered. You’ll now be able to track your bracelet with this, or vice versa.” Setting the jewelry down next to the piece she had worked on a moment ago, she starts discussing payment and soon has a very satisfied customer exiting the shop and leaving her a bag of bits wealthier than when she came in.

Rune giggles to herself as she stows the money. “I love ponies that have personal projects. Interesting, custom, and profitable. Wins for everypony.” Seeing nopony else in the shop, she shrugs and plops herself down on her nice cushion, pulling a book out from under it and cracking it open.

She barely gets a couple paragraphs in before the door opens, two young ponies walking into the shop, one of whom she recognizes very well. “Hi, mom!”

Standing up, Rune walks over and bring Autumn into a quick hug. “Welcome back, sweetie. Who’s your friend?”

Autumn smiles, gesturing to the thestral following behind her. “This is Nightshade. She’s the new student I told you about yesterday. Nightshade, this is my mother.”

Smiling at the huggy mare, Nightshade holds out a hoof. “Nice to meet you, ma’am!”

Rune smiles back, letting Autumn go and taking the other filly’s hoof. “Well, aren’t you a polite young thestral? No need to call me ‘ma’am’, though; just Rune is fine.”

Blinking, the batpony nonetheless smiles and shakes the hoof. “If you say so, Miss Rune.”

The mare lets go, looking between the two of them. “So, I take it you two had plans then?”

Autumn shrugs sheepishly. “Sort of, but not really...we planned to spend the day together, but not really how we would.”

“Ah, going spontaneous.” Rune nods understandingly. “Well, be sure to let me know if there’s anything I can do to help out. I’ll be heading home in an hour or two, so you’re more than welcome to hang out there if it’s what you decide.”

The young unicorn smiles. “We’ll keep it in mind. For now, though, we’re probably just going to walk around town for a while. I just wanted to check in with you and introduce you to Nightshade.”

The batpony waves. “Hi!”

Giggling, Rune waves back. “Hello! Quite the new friend you’ve got here, Autumn. I like her.”

Nightshade puts her hooves in the air. “Woo! Parental approval!”

Autumn giggles. “You’re so silly, Night. Is it okay if I call you Night?”

“Yep!” She nods, smiling. “I don’t think I have a short name for you yet… I’ll think of one eventually.”

“Good luck. Not much to work with. My name’s already just ‘Autumn’.” She laughs a bit to herself.

“I’ll think of something… it’s a challenge now.” She puts a hoof to her chin in thought.

Autumn rolls her eyes playfully. “Well, while you think, should we start walking? We can stop by that produce shop and see if they found out whoever stole from them.”

Nightshade’s ear had perked up at the word produce, but they fold back down halfway at the mention of stolen goods. Rune’s do the same thing, though her eyes grow sharp and maternal as she raises an eyebrow at the two of them.

The mare speaks directly. “Autumn… exactly what are you planning on doing at that recent crime scene?”

The unicorn blinks, surprised. “Huh? Nothing, mom! I mean...Alloy and I heard yesterday that the guy running the place got robbed, and...well, I just wanted to know if they found the pony yet. That’s all!”

“Ah…” Rune eases up a bit, her usual smile coming back, though a little calmer than normal. “Alright then, I suppose that’s a fair question. I just didn’t want you getting into anything dangerous, sweetie.” She leans down and nuzzles her affectionately.

Nightshade lets out an “Aww…” as she watches. Autumn, who was nuzzling back, jerks away self-consciously with a slightly reddened face when she is suddenly reminded of somepony else being in the room. Now it’s Rune’s turn to let out an “Aww…” though this one has a much different tone.

Autumn coughs awkwardly as she composes herself. “S-Sorry...Night just startled me.”

Suddenly, she is swept up by surprisingly strong yet soft green hooves, her mother nuzzling her unabashedly before setting her back down and fixing her mane with a little magic. “Nopony can escape a mother’s love. Now, I believe you two had a little exploring to do?”

Blushing brightly, but giggling a bit, Autumn nods and looks to Nightshade. “Sh-should we get going?”

She nods. “If you’re ready. I can wait if there’s more nuzzling that needs to be done.”

“I think we’re done.” The young unicorn looks to her mother almost expectantly, smirking slightly. “Are we?”

“Hmm…” Rune thinks a moment before nodding. “I think so. I can always give you another nuzzle when you get home anyway.” She sticks out her tongue cheekily.

Autumn giggles and sticks her own tongue out back at her. “I’ll hold you to that.” Smiling, she trots to the door and opens it. “Let’s go, Night. Bye mom!”

“Have fun and stay safe you two!” The little bell above the door signals the two teenagers’ exit back into the city.

As she and Alloy did the day before, Autumn finds herself leading the way down the road by various shops and small businesses. Since it’d be a short while before they got to the produce shop, Autumn decides to start up some conversation.

“So, Nightshade...” she begins, pausing briefly. “I don’t mean to sound insulting, but...what are you, exactly? Mom called you a ‘the-’ something...”

“Thestral,” the young mare corrects, not minding. “It’s the proper name for my tribe. Someponies also call us batponies, but that’s more slang than anything else. I take it I’m your first?”

Autumn nods. “I actually haven’t met any ponies aside from earth, pegasus, or unicorns at all. Hoofington doesn’t seem to be very diverse in that regard...” She shakes her head for a moment. “So, um...what do thestrals eat? You don’t suck blood like a vampire, do you?”

“No, think less ‘vampire bat’ and more ‘fruit bat’,” Nightshade explains simply and openly. “We do like the juicy ones the best though, and we can get a little odd when we eat the fruit sometimes, but no, no blood.” She pauses in thought. “Although… we do like to bite and nibble when we’re playful…”

Autumn blinks at this. “Playful…?”

Realizing she mused out loud, the batpony giggles sheepishly. “Umm, yeah. Like… siblings and friends will sometimes nip eartips occasionally, and couples will… let’s just say there’s more. It’s affectionate.”

“Oh...” The unicorn flicks her own ear in thought. “Never really considered biting to be a form of affection, but...alright then.”

“It’s not like it’s full on teeth-sinking stuff,” she defends. “Think like… barely brushing your hoof on somepony, but with your teeth. Occasionally you do it a little harder, but never to hurt.”

Autumn nods slowly. “I guess that makes sense...” She looks up as a familiar shop comes into view. “Oh, we’re here!”

Looking up at the shop, Nightshade keeps her expression blank, if tense. After a moment, she pulls out an orange from her saddlebags, sinking her teeth into and sucking lightly, calming down.

Her friend notices this and tilts her head. “Is something wrong?”

The thestral shakes her head, smiling around the fruit but not making an effort to take it out of her mouth as she drinks from it. She motions forward with a hoof. Still a little concerned, Autumn sighs and trots into the shop.

The shopkeeper, standing behind his counter writing a few things down, looks up at them as they enter. “Ah, what can I do for you two fillies today?” His eyes momentarily look at the fruit in the thestral’s mouth, but he just chuckles and looks at the one of them that can actually speak.

“Well, you’re definitely feeling better,” Autumn notes with a smirk. “Found out what happened a couple nights ago?”

The friendly smile sinks somewhat. “What happened was never in question. It was who and why.” He makes one more stroke on his paper. “Cops aren’t making too big of a deal about it, and after I had a night or two to sleep on it, I guess it far from bankrupted me. Still wish I could get my hooves on them, but beyond that…” He shrugs.

“Hey, at least with all the commotion it’s caused, I doubt they’ll try again.” Finished her conversation, Autumn begins looking over the products available, glancing back at Nightshade occasionally.

The batpony just sucks at her fruit, her eyes roaming over the inventory.

The owner looks at them curiously. “What’s got you so curious about this nasty business anyway, little lady?”

The unicorn shrugs. “For one thing, curiosity. I did sort of walk in on you discussing things with the police. For another, it’s something interesting to talk about, at least. School talk gets boring after the first few sentences.”

Nightshade giggles as the storepony lets out a short laugh. “Ain’t that the truth? Well, I guess all that makes sense. Here I thought with a cutie mark like yours, you were trying to do a little investigating for a future with the guard.”

Autumn giggles, glancing back at her mark; a silver shield with a red leaf on it. “It’s more just to represent my ability with shield magic. I don’t think I’d be good at the whole ‘officer’ or ‘guard’ thing.” She looks at Nightshade once more, eyes narrowing a bit. “Okay, no way is there any juice left in that. Say something. You’re creeping me out.”

Taking the citrus fruit out of her mouth with a wing, the now hollow fruit collapsing in on itself like a deflated ball, she smiles apologetically. “Sorry, didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable…”

The unicorn sighs in relief, giggling. “For a while there, I thought you went mute.” She goes back to looking over the available foods, soon adopting a look of confusion. “Now that I think about it...who would steal from a produce shop? Furthermore, who would take so little? Not a lot went missing, like you said.”

Throwing her orange peel away, Nightshade offers her two cents and two words. “Hungry ponies?”

The shopkeeper shrugs, waving a hoof in the air in a circle. “Honestly, if I had to put bits on anyone, it’d probably be on that Restless gang that popped up a while back.”

“Restless?” Autumn turns away from the shelves to look at the shopkeeper. “Who’re they?”

“Nopony really knows,” the produce pony answers. “Heck, nopony even knows what they look like. They’re always in these uniforms that cover them from head to hoof.” He leans forward a bit, his voice lowering. “They haven’t minded being seen when they do certain things, usually scaring somepony into doing something, but other little crimes that happen around town might be connected to them as well. Nopony can get a real connection between them though, so unless one of them gets actually caught, nothing can be done.”

Nightshade listens attentively, tufted ears perked. Autumn listens as well, though less interested and more confused. “What do they do, exactly?”

“That’s the thing; the only things they’ve been seen doing is stuff like vandalism. You know; breaking windows, trashing things, writing and leaving messages.” He hums thoughtfully. “It makes them sound like just a group of teenagers rebelling and being a general pain in the flank. Then you get stuff like this we think they did, but can’t prove it. This makes them seem like some sort of professional criminal group, but the crimes are always relatively small.” He shakes his head. “It’s all very strange…”

“Huh...” Autumn takes a moment to think to herself about this, eventually snapping out of her trance. She turns to Nightshade, trying to steer the topic in a new direction. “Hey, want another orange? I’ll pay.”

The thestral lights up from her more glassy state that she had been in since they entered. “Really?! Umm…” She scuffs her hoof against the ground. “Actually, could I have a peach?”

Autumn giggles as she takes out a small pouch of bits, turning to the shopkeeper. “Sure thing. One peach, please.”

“Sure thing.” Within moments, the produce pony has a peach in a small paper bag. “That’ll be two bits.” Nodding, the unicorn pays for the fruit and levitates the paper bag to her thestral friend.

She licks her lips, but doesn’t immediately dive in yet. Looking at her friend, she smiles. “Thanks Autumn.”

Autumn smiles back. “No problem.” Waving goodbye to the shopkeeper, she leads the way out, back into the street. “So, where to now?”

Shrugging, Nightshade digs her treat out of the bag. “I dunno. You seem to be fun and nice wherever we go, so it doesn’t matter to me.” She opens her mouth to bite into the fruit, only to pause and look at the other young mare coyly. “Bet you’re happy I bite fuzzy fruits instead of fuzzy pony necks, huh?”

The unicorn shudders, putting a hoof to the side of her neck. “Not something I want to think about.” Still, she smirks back. “I don’t think I’d taste very good anyway.”

“I could always let you know for sure.” The batpony snaps her teeth playfully in Autumn’s direction. “I could be gentle.”

Her smirk doesn’t fade. “Careful; I might take you up on that.”

“And I might call that bluff. Aren’t we a pair?” Night giggles, sticking her tongue out and closing one eye.

Autumn laughs, bumping shoulders lightly with the thestral. “I think we’re gonna get along just fine.”

A little bit later, the two schoolfillies walk through one of the more budgeted housing areas. Nightshade leads the way, going over to a particular house that isn’t rundown or anything, but most would prefer something a little more. Still, one cannot deny this is a home.

Pausing at the door, she turns to her friend. “Umm, one thing I forgot to mention; my dad works the night shifts at his job, so he sleeps during the day. So… just try not to make too much noise, even if he is a heavy sleeper, okay?”

Smiling, Autumn nods. “I’ll be as quiet as I can.” She mimes zipping her mouth closed.

“Heh, you probably don’t need to be worried too much. Just no yelling.” Turning around, she opens the door with a small key. Motioning for her friend to follow, she walks inside the dark house.

Opening up some blinds, the thestral sheds light into the cosy abode. It certainly isn’t as bare as one might assume from the outside. Paintings adorn the walls, mostly of mountains, suns, and moons, but there are quite a few of thestrals as well. Half of the furniture appears to be the usual wooden or fabric affair, but the other half like tables are actually stone. Quite a few different hues and textures are in evidence as Nightshade motions towards the small kitchen.

“Want anything to drink?” she asks.

“Sure,” Autumn replies with a smile, keeping her voice down. “Just some water, please.”

After a moment, Nightshade returns with a glass of water balanced on her wing, her other one tucked so she can get through the doorways. “Here you go.”

The unicorn giggles as she lifts the glass up. “Thank you.” She sips from it as she looks around at the interior of the room.

The batpony rubs the back of her head. “Yeah… it’s not too big, but at least we have all our stuff from our house we had before.”

“How did you get the stone furniture in here, if I may ask?” Autumn looks towards the stone coffee table in the living room. “It looks...really heavy.”

“It is, but dad said we’d never need another one as long as we had this one. It doesn’t rot or anything like wood does, and it doesn’t damage easily.” She starts walking towards the hall. “It did take a bit to get it in though… they had to take breaks.”

Autumn follows her. “Stone furniture, huh...I’d try it, but I think mom would have a fit if she found a rock chair or something in the living room.” She snickers.

“Heh, I’m sure it’d be a surprise.” She enters the first room on the left, setting her bags down next to the door. “Here we go, my room. Cozy, soft, and smells like fruit. Also black as a cave when I want it to be, but that’s just when I want to sleep.”

The room is modest, a one-pony bed with the head against the wall being the main eye-draw. It has what looks like four different layers of blankets on it and is obviously well used. There is a chest against another wall, and a closet in another. A small vanity sits a few feet away from the door, only a few things on it. There’s only one window, average size. The walls are painted a greyish colour while the carpet is dark, but the bit of color of the furniture and items makes it pop a bit more.

“Ooh...nice place,” Autumn says, slightly forcing a smile at the small room. She takes another drink of water to avoid having to say anything else on the topic.

“Thanks!” She literally dives onto her bed, shimmying under the topmost blanket and becoming nothing more than a moving bulge for a bit until she pokes her head out the bottom of it. “So let’s see… if stereotypes are to be believed, we should now braid manes, give makeovers, talk about colts, and do copious amounts of giggling, ending with a pillow fight.” She blows a raspberry. “While some of those sound fun, I’m not sure about all that. Plus we can make up our own fun.”

Autumn starts laughing, nearly spitting out her drink. “R-Really? That’s what you think friends do?”

Nightshade sticks her tongue out. “I didn’t say I believed it, I just said those were things that ponies think fillies our age do. I moved here, it’s not like we can go play in caves or fields like I’m used to.”

“Well, there’s always the park, or we can just head outside the city for a while...long walk, though.” Autumn sits on the bed beside the batpony. “So...what parts of that list do you think sound fun?” She smirks.

From under her blanket, Night thinks. “Well… playing with manes and tails could be fun… colts and makeovers are meh, giggling will happen anyway, maybe pillow fight.” She shrugs, pawing through the blanket at Autumn’s tail, not succeeding in doing much more than moving it.

The unicorn notices the pawing and grins, flicking her tail around. “Yeah, Alloy and I don’t really do much of that when we hang out either. Sometimes we end up in a pillow fight, but it’s really just unorganized smacking one another with a pillow for a few seconds because of a bad joke or prank.” She giggles at a recent memory of such an event.

“Sounds fun…” Her voice trails off as she narrows her eyes, trying to get the tail pinned while under the blanket it’s on. “What else do you and Alloy do then?”

Autumn keeps her tail still, only to flick it out of the way again at the last second, enjoying this little game. “Nowadays? Just sort of what you and I are doing now. Talk, goof around, maybe go for a walk or something. If we have a sleepover or something, sometimes we’ll indulge in those ‘stereotypes’ you brought up, but just for fun for a little while.”

“Yeah, sounds really like we’d just do best winging it unless we come up with something good…” She’s got all four hooves working under the blanket to get the tail now, providing the amusing visual of a determined head attached to a wriggling blanket. “Gonna get you…”

The unicorn finally relents, letting her tail stay still rather than flicking it out of the way, finding more entertainment in watching Nightshade slowly tangle herself up. “Making it up along the way is usually how I live my life, so it’s nothing new to me.”

Nightshade has just enough movement left to pin the tail between two hooves. “Gotcha!” She starts giggling before she notices she can’t really go anywhere now, having essentially tucked and tangled herself from within the blanket. “Oh… still got you… so umm… what did you mean by ‘nowadays’ that’s what you and Alloy do?”

Autumn sighs, her tail flicking lightly once more, though not of her own accord. “Long story...you’d probably be better off asking Alloy about that. She can explain it better.” She turns and lies on her stomach across the bed, levitating her now-empty glass onto the vanity.

The thestral under her tries to wiggle free. “Hey! No using me as a bed when I can’t say no! I can’t even talk to you face to face now… I just have to talk to your tail…”

Giggling, the unicorn rolls off of her and turns around so their heads are beside one another. “Better?”

“Yes, though it’d be a little better if you let me out. I’m starting to think you like me like this, all trapped.” Leaning her head, she flicks her mane up and down against Autumn. “Take that, you!”

Smirking, Autumn grabs the mane gently in her magic. “If you wanted out, you just had to say so. Though really, it is funny to see you tangled up like this.” She swats playfully at the thestral’s ear with one hoof as she stands up and hops off the bed, turning and starting to help get the blankets off of her.

Nightshade sticks her tongue out as she slowly gets untangled. “Maybe we should wrap you up in blankets then.”

“What makes you think I won’t just use magic to free myself?” Autumn sticks her own tongue out back at her, finally getting the blankets off completely.

“Well, if you’re going to be like that, I’ll just have to use these!” The thestral suddenly stands up tall, spreading her green leathery wings fully in a dramatic pose.

The pose is met with a slightly amused look and giggle. “You know there’s not a lot of room to fly in here, right?”

Nightshade mutters. “You were supposed to be impressed…” Clearing her throat, she lowers herself a bit. “Wings can be used for more than flying you know…” She smiles widely and mischievously as she narrows her eyes at Autumn, wings still spread.

The unicorn’s amused look slowly fades as she backs up a step. “Okay, getting creepy again...what are you doing?”

“Pouncing.” She does just that, launching herself at the unicorn and bringing the two of them down on the discarded blanket behind her. After a brief tumble, they end up laying side by side, the batpony’s wings wrapped snuggly around the unicorn, keeping her pinned. One wingtip playfully brushes across the blue horn of her friend as she speaks in a sing-song voice. “Who’s trapped now~?”

Mumbling incoherently as she is pressed against the thestral’s body, Autumn struggles feebly to free herself. She lights her horn to try and pry the wings off with magic, but as soon as it starts to glow, she gasps and the light goes out, interrupted by the brushing. Her struggling dies down a bit as she mumbles again.

“I know I have better hearing than you, but it doesn't help when you’re both quiet and incoherent.” Night giggles to herself as she watches the unicorn, her tail swishing happily.

Grumbling, Autumn starts trying to worm her way free once again, or at least get enough space around her muzzle that she can talk. After a few seconds of failing to achieve either goal, her struggles get a bit more frantic as she tries pushing Night away directly.

The thestral loosens up a little, but still holds onto her friend. “Umm… you aren’t claustrophobic, right?”

Finally able to get her face free, Autumn gasps for air, finally calming down her convulsions. She replies sheepishly, “K-Kind of...but the main problem was that I couldn’t breathe...” She sighs, finally stopping her struggles completely.

Night’s ears fold down as she quietly replies. “Oops… sorry… didn’t mean to do that…” She nuzzles her a little in apology. “Are you mad?”

Managing a smile, Autumn shakes her head. “No...just got a little freaked out for a moment...it’s fine.” She returns the friendly nuzzle.

“Good… I don’t want to hurt my friend.” She smiles once more, laying her head on the blanket. “Hey, quick question… how come you’re fluffier than most thestrals I’ve known? We’re usually pretty fluffy.” She wiggles her tufted ears for emphasis. “But you’re even fluffier than me! What’s your secret?”

The unicorn smirks playfully. “If I told you, it wouldn’t be a secret, would it?” Giggling, she shakes her head again. “I just got it from my mom, I guess. She’s really fluffy too. Apparently that got passed down to me.”

Giggling, Night thinks out loud. “I wonder if that’s why she likes to hug and nuzzle so much…”

“Maybe. I don’t mind, anyway. I like it too.” She snuggles against the thestral’s body.

This only causes the batpony to laugh more, squirming a little. “To think at one point I thought we should wrestle… this is much nicer.”

“Yup!” Autumn snickers at her friend’s reaction. “What’s wrong? Ticklish?”

Night tries to shy away, but really can’t at all due to holding Autumn to her, especially with one of her wings partially beneath them both. “Umm… maybe…” Her voice is a little nervous.

Autumn giggles. “I’m not gonna tickle you, don’t worry. I’m too comfy right now. You’re warm.” She snuggles closer again, more carefully this time, and rests her head on the blanket alongside Night’s.

“Heh, yeah… same to you…” The batpony’s tail wags a little more as she adjusts the wing on top of them, moving it from near Autumn’s horn to something more comfortable. Resting her head against her friend, she closes her eyes and sighs happily. “Now this is a good thing to do.”

“Agreed.” Autumn smiles and closes her own eyes as well, enjoying the comfort and the company in blissful silence.

Chapter 4

The school bell rings on a Friday afternoon and students instantly flood out the doors, celebrating their blessed freedom for two whole days. After the initial rush, the calmer students trot out of the main doors, chatting amongst themselves. A particular batpony and a certain unicorn wave goodbye to each other as the latter expresses a need to go help her mother on her busiest day. As Autumn gallops off, Nightshade lets out a sigh, her eyes gazing over the multitudes of other students before shaking her head and starting to walk off by herself.

“Niiiiiiight!” a familiar voice calls from behind her, Alloy trotting quickly over. “Found you!”

The thestral’s ears pop up and her eyes match her bright smile as she spots a friendly face. “Hey Alloy! You were looking for me?”

The pegasus nods happily. “I was thinking we could spend the day together, assuming you’re not busy with something else.”

Shaking her head quickly, Night replies, “No, I’m free. We hardly ever get to hang out outside of school and… after school stuff.”

Alloy laughs lightly. “I know...maybe we could get together over the weekend too. Autumn could join us then.” She looks ahead briefly to make sure they’re not about to bump into any of the other students exiting the area. “Want to head over to my place for the afternoon?”

She nods once more. “Sounds like fun! I don’t think I’ve been to your place yet. I wonder if I can find embarrassing things in your room to tease you about…”

The pegasus bumps her friend playfully. “Don’t go poking through my things. I’ve got my eye on you.” She sticks her tongue out.

Night sticks hers right back at her. “I don’t dig to snoop, I just see things. Besides, like I said, strictly for teasing purposes. You're free to reciprocate of course.”

“Well...feh!” Alloy huffs and looks away, unable to help giggling a bit. “Telling me I can do it back to you makes it less fun, you know.”

As they walk down the street, the other winged mare just giggles more. “Nah, it’s like me telling you I’m gonna do it to you. You know it’s coming, just not when or how. So like… if I secretly found your porn stash, I might bring it up in front of Autumn for maximum embarrassment.”

Alloy’s face reddens and she glares at the thestral. “I don’t even have… don’t say things like that!”

Night smiles apologetically, but tilts her head nonetheless. “Hmm… is that offended anger or defensive anger…” She gently pokes Alloy’s side to see how tense she is. The pegasus responds by lightly swatting her hoof and stepping away. “You know this is part of the teasing, right? I can be all sweet and innocent until we get to your place if you’d prefer that.”

“I know it’s part of the teasing,” Alloy says with slight irritation. “But can you not talk about that sort of thing and then bring Autumn into it?”

“Huh?” The thestral is genuinely confused now. “I just brought her up because she’s the only other friend I have in school, and she’s so innocent she’d probably blush more than you if I did it… is there something I don’t know?”

“Yes...no. Kind of...just don’t joke about that anymore, please. In front of Autumn or not.”

“Ah…” They descend into awkward silence for about a block and a half before Night speaks. “Want to talk about it? We could wait until we get to your house if it’s private.”

Alloy shakes her head. “It’s not really that private. Besides, I doubt anypony who cares would hear us.” She pauses. “Wait...talk about what, exactly?”

The batpony shrugs. “What’s on your mind. I guess I edged close to a nerve there and you sounded annoyed, so... I thought you might want to talk about it.”

“It’s nothing, really...I just don’t want you making jokes like that to Autumn, please?” She sighs. “It’d upset her.”

“Oh… okay… might have restrain myself a little then…” She walks quietly for a few more minutes before speaking again. “How come? Have you tried to make jokes like that before and it didn’t go well? I mean, you guys hang out and joke and stuff like everypony else does… at least, she said ‘nowadays’ you do, which was a little strange wording.”

Alloy sighs again. “Do you want the long, complicated answer, or the short answer?”

“Is there a happy medium? I mean, I might ask for some details, but not all.”

“Tell you what; I’ll give you the short answer, and answer any questions you have.” She clears her throat dramatically. “So Autumn and I have been friends for a couple of years now. But for about seven months, we were...more than that.” She looks down at the ground. “It was almost more like an experiment than anything real...probably why it didn’t work out. In that time, we got a lot closer, made jokes like that ‘porn stash’ comment...now that it’s over, I’m over it, but I don’t think she came out of it completely fine. I don’t want her to get reminders shoved down her throat.”

Night’s ears fold as she walks, her voice quiet. “Oh… she really is an innocent softy, huh?”

Alloy nods. “That’s why I have to really watch my step around her. The fact that she can handle even being around me after all that happened is amazing.”

“...I want to hug her and hold her now,” the batpony says honestly.

The pegasus smiles. “Feel free. She likes hugs. Just don’t tell her I told you any of this, okay?”

“It may come up eventually… but I’m not just gonna blurt it out. Maybe she’ll tell me herself.” Her wings droop slightly. “I feel kinda bummed out now… I need fruit or affection.”

Noticing that they’re coming up to the apartment complex, Alloy nudges the thestral. “Well, we’re here. I can get you fruit from the kitchen, though I’m not sure what you mean by the second one of those.”

Night bumps her lightly with her hip. “It means hug me or give me something juicy to suck on. I need comfort.”

“I’ll hug you when I don’t need my hooves for walking, then. Deal?” She giggles.

“Prepare yourself to be cuddled then.” The batpony nods succinctly as they enter the building.

After closing up shop, Autumn and her mother are more than happy to head straight home. The younger of the two unicorns trots quickly to the door, holding it open as they head inside.

“Thank you, sweetie.” Rune walks inside, sighing in relief, her whole form seeming to relax. “And thank you for your help at the shop today as well. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Autumn closes the door and smiles. “You seem to get by every other Friday just fine, even when I’m not there.”

“Well yes,” Her mother answers as she heads back to her room. Their house isn’t large, but for two ponies living there, it is quite roomy and needing for almost nothing. “But you know what I’m like when I get home after all that. I can barely get out more than a smile without an hour of soaking in the bath to relax.”

“Remind me not to run my own business when I grow up.” The young unicorn giggles a bit. She follows her mother after dropping her saddlebags off in the living room to put away later. “Good thing it’s the weekend now. You can relax all you want.”

“Very true.” Slipping off her bags in her room, the mare stretches much like a cat would. “Of course, the same could be said of you after a long week at school.”

Autumn shrugs a bit. “Yeah...but this week wasn’t so bad. It was cool to meet Nightshade and all that...” She smiles to herself.

“Yes, that is quite the new friend you seem to have made. I like her.” Horn lighting up, Rune floats a few bits of fabric out of her chest of drawers, slipping on her favourite blue ‘hanging out’ socks as she calls them. “Was this the week you were trying out for some after school things?”

Watching her mother pull the socks on, the younger mare nods. “They finally opened sports tryouts...don’t know why they delayed it like they did. I think somepony on the committee was sick or something...” She shakes her head, getting her mind back on track. “Anyway, I tried out for baseball on Monday, and tennis this morning. They’ll let me know next week if I made it onto either team.”

Her mother smiles, straightening up and shaking her mane a bit loose. “Sounds wonderful. I never really got into sports myself, but I am proud of you for trying and I hope you end up liking whatever you get picked for.” Looking back at Autumn, Rune tilts her head. “Hmm… what do you think we should do this afternoon? Obviously something relaxing, but I admit, I’m drawing blanks…”

“Well...” Autumn thinks a bit. “I’d ask you to teach me more runes, but I’m pretty sure you’re tired of dealing with them after today...”

“Only when dealing with customers.” She nuzzles her lovingly. “I’m always more than willing to make time for the most important pony in my life.”

“Mooooom...” the young unicorn whines in embarrassment, but nevertheless returning the nuzzle.

“Autuuuuuuuuumn…” She whines right back in the same tone, giggling.

Autumn starts giggling as well, pulling back from the nuzzle. “You know stuff like that gets me flustered...”

“Stuff like what, sweetie?” Rune asks knowingly as she walks closer. “Stuff like… this?” Suddenly she sweeps her into a hug, smothering her head with playful kisses.

Yelping, the young unicorn wriggles around, trying to get away. “M-Mom! Stop...” She trails off, devolving into a laughing fit.

“You can’t escape the mom love!” The older mare laughs, giving more exaggerated kisses. Smiling slyly, she loosens her grip just a bit.

Worming her way free, Autumn flops onto the floor before jumping onto her hooves. Grinning, she runs out the door. “Escape!”

“Not for long!” Rune pads out after her, her smile wide.

“...you know, you could’ve at least waited until we were done eating,” Alloy deadpans, a mildly annoyed expression on her face as she taps a hoof against the small sandwich in front of her.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, Night’s face shows a blissful thestral as she happily munches on a pear. Popping it out of her mouth a moment with a wing, she remarks, “I could have… I didn’t. You know this is nicer than waiting.” She puts the fruit back in her mouth and bites another chunk out of it.

Sighing, Alloy stops her tapping and uses her hoof to rub her temple. “I guess it is...but I kind of need my other hoof to eat, you know. I’m not a unicorn.”

“...fine…” Night reluctantly releases Alloy from her constant hug, waiting until her hoof goes out and grabs her sandwich before hugging her once more, though just around her torso this time. “Better?”

Smiling, the pegasus nods. “Better.” She takes a bite of her sandwich before nuzzling the batpony.

The thestral giggles, nuzzling back as she swallows the last of her snack. “Thanks. You know how much I like my hugs.”

“Oh, I do. And you know how much I like my food.” She takes another large bite, chewing and swallowing before continuing. “So right now, I’d say we’re both happy.”

“Yep!” She waits patiently as her friend eats, musing to herself. “I wonder what we should do next… I keep thinking of things that’d be fun, but they seem like they wouldn’t work tonight…”

Alloy raises an eyebrow. “...what sorts of things are you thinking of, exactly?”

“I dunno… I can only seem to come up with stuff that’s not in your house.” She shrugs. “I keep thinking how fun it’d be to go swimming in the lake, explore the woods, camp out under the stars… maybe make our own secret cave. Lots of things.”

“Hm...” Alloy thinks for a moment as she continues to eat at a slower pace. Once she’s finished off her sandwich, her eyes light up. “Ooh! What if we went on a camping trip over the weekend?”

Night’s ears perk up. “What? Really? We can do that?” Her smile is wide and hopeful. “Wait… can we bring Autumn? I’m sure she’d have fun too!”

The pegasus grins and nods. “Sure! I bet she’d love it! I can ask her later today.” She moves to stand up, but finds herself held in place by the thestral’s hug. “Um...I need to put the plate in the sink, Night...”

She sighs. “Okay… I guess cuddle time is over for now.” She sits properly, watching as Alloy goes over to the sink. “I do need to think of things for us to do tonight, still…”

Once she’s put the dish in the sink with several others, the pegasus trots back over with a smile and nuzzles the batpony. “Why not just hang out and talk? No big plans, just spending time together. We barely get any time together outside of school and...” She hesitates to finish her sentence.

Nodding at the unfinished sentence, Night answers. “Yeah, I guess. I just… I’m not used to just sitting around and talking too much…” Her hooves tap a little nervously. “I mean… do we just sit here in the kitchen and talk about whatever? Because it’ll probably be food if we’re in here.”

“We can move to the bedroom if you want,” Alloy suggests. “More comfortable there, too. An actual bed instead of wooden chairs.”

She narrows her eyes. “You’re not going to trap me in bedsheets, are you?”

“Curses! You’ve tumbled my nefarious plan!” Alloy laughs out loud. “As funny and adorable as it was before, I think we’d both prefer just lying on the bed normally.”

“...can I still get under the covers?” The batpony pouts with wide eyes.

Sighing playfully, the pegasus nods. “Yes, you can get under the covers...if I can as well.”

“Yay!” Nightshade starts skipping toward the room before stopping and looking back. “You know, this would all sound so wrong if we weren’t just good friends.”

Alloy giggles. “Yeah...if anypony heard us right now, they’d probably come to some pretty dumb conclusions.” She follows along for a moment before bursting into a sprint. “Race you!”

“Hey, get back here!” The batpony takes off after her, laughing as the chase begins.

“So, any ideas on what sort of new runes or combinations you wanted to pursue this time?” Rune looks curiously at her daughter, the two in their living room where they cleared a good amount of space for practice. A few glowing symbols etched strategically around them also serve to prevent most accidents from getting out of hoof.

“Well...maybe something that can make air?” Autumn taps her hoof on the floor, trying to figure out how to describe what she means. “Like...something to help dry my mane and tail after showering? That always takes forever.”

“Oh? I generally just use a towel, but something like what you’re asking should be simple enough…” A few runes appears in the air in front of her, as if scribed by a large quill with glowing green ink. “We could… do a concentrated blast of air; we could do a stream of air; we could add heat to the air; we could technically make a spell to draw the moisture out of your mane and tail, but that’s very complicated for something so simple.” More runes appear the more she talks. “Hmm… perhaps a semi permeable magical barrier to run through your mane, letting everything but water pass through so your mane gets dry in a single stroke… wouldn’t be too difficult to adjust from a small shield…”

Autumn’s ears perk up. “I like the sound of that last one.” She smiles. “How does it work?”

Most of the runes wipe away, leaving only a few floating around them. “Well, we covered the runes making up shield spells when you were much younger, just after you got your cutie mark.” A simple circle with a rune on the inside surrounded by three others is formed. “Remember?”

“Mm-hm. It’s easier for me to just make them with regular magic, but I remember the rune way too.” Another circle appears in the air, this one a light blue colour, a copy of the runes quickly being sketched inside. “Like that, right?”

“Perfect, sweetie.” Rune nods. “Now then, what we’re going to do is build off that and add an exception for water, then an inverting sigil so that instead of blocking everything but water, the shield will only block water. Sound right to you?”

Autumn nods. “I think I understand...”

“Okay, so first, let’s starts with this…” A shape not unlike an elongated kite appears on Rune’s circle as she puts it on. “Just shift the rune on the outer circle a little to accommodate…” The three runes move in the outside circle to better equalize space for the shard-like shape. “Then, we scribe the basic water symbol inside.” A symbol that looks like a wave appears inside the shard. “Try it so far, dear.”

Concentrating, Autumn stares at her own floating rune, her own rhombus shape appearing and fitting into her sketch just like her mother’s. After a second of moving the other runes to provide proper spacing, she works on the wave symbol next, which finally appears after some focusing.

“Good, now lets make sure everything is working so far.” Her own circle disappears and a bit of rustling is heard in the kitchen before a wide bowl and a glass of water float in toward them. “So, go ahead and put one of your shields over the top of this bowl with the new exception, and we’ll see how well you did.”

“Alright...” The younger mare’s eyes close for a second as she concentrates, and one of her shields appear above the container. “Like that?”

“Good.” Rune tips over the glass of water, letting it run out. The water smoothly flows out and into the bowl, a few drops even bouncing back and through the shield and back into the bowl. “Perfect, sweetie. You can let it go now; this next part is where you’ll need to focus on the new rune.”

The shield disappears and Autumn sighs, rubbing near the base of her horn. “What’s next…?”

“Next, we add the inverse rune. This one I haven’t shown to you before, so pay close attention.” She lights up her horn and the circle they’ve been working with is scribed again in the air. The written runes in the outer circle shift once more, going closer to the shard as they make room for a new arrival. A strange rune that looks to include a mirror image of itself is slowly drawn in the empty space, glowing more than the runes already present. “Now, be sure to note how the rune is drawn, and put just a bit more power into it than the rest of the formula. It affects all the rest, so it needs a bit more backing.”

“Alright...” After staring at her mother’s example for a few seconds, she begins to slowly copy it into her own sketch in the air, putting as much extra power into it as she thinks necessary. Once she has it finished, she glances to her mother for the next step.

Rune looks at the copy curiously, motioning to the bowl once more. “Alright… try casting.” The shield once again manifests itself over the bowl, slightly shakier than before but staying mostly in place. She pours a bit more of the water out, this time with mixed results. Some of the water does indeed stay above the shield, but about half of it still goes through once enough was on it. “Hmm…” She looks back at the copy. “Try recasting, sharpen the edges of the inverse rune, and put a little more power.”

Groaning a bit, Autumn tries to do as instructed, reworking her rune design slightly before casting the shield again. “There…?”

Rune tests the shield again. This time none of the water goes through, but it seems to never actually touch the shield, always floating above it. “Technically correct, but you can relax, Autumn. You’re putting a bit more magic into it than necessary; you’ll just tire yourself out faster this way.”

The shield dissipates and the water falls into the bowl as Autumn’s horn stops glowing, the light blue runes in the air going with it. She groans again and rubs her head. “Ow...”

“Easy there, don’t want to burn yourself out.” Rune holds up a cautionary hoof. “We don’t need to do this all at once; you do technically know the formula now. You could just write it down and practice at your leisure.”

“R-Right...” Sighing as the pain starts to fade, Autumn lowers her hoof, smiling weakly. “Thanks for the help...”

“Not a problem, sweetie…” The older mare embraces her daughter gently. “Want me to make you some hot cocoa to help you feel better?”

The blue unicorn shakes her head. “No thanks, I’ll be fine...this is already helping enough.” She giggles as she returns the hug.

“That’s my girl…” Rune stays silent a moment before continuing. “So, I was thinking I might make something special for dessert tonight if you’d be willing to help me make it. Feel like another lesson in making my tasty bread pudding?”

Autumn smiles as she nuzzles her mother. “Sounds great to me.”

Night lets out a small growl as she once again catches the large inflatable ball in all four hooves. Acting like she’s running even though she’s on her back, she giggles as she watches the ball spin as she lightly tosses it again. “I don’t know why this is so entertaining, but it is! Is this what cats feel like with yarn?”

“How would I know? I’m not a cat.” Alloy giggles as well from her spot a couple feet away. “But it’s definitely just as entertaining to watch.”

“Want me to toss it to you?” the thestral asks as she looks backwards, seeing her friend as upside down.

Alloy spreads her forelegs wide. “I’m open!”

Bunching up all her legs, the batpony tosses the air-filled ball up and over herself toward the pegasus. “Heads up!”

Reaching for the ball, the filly is disappointed when it bounces off the tips of her hooves. She reaches to the side to try and grab it a second time, only to miss completely and instead fall off the bed onto the floor.

Laughing, Night rolls over and crouches low, preparing herself for her next move as she calls. “Come on, don’t let a ball get the best of you!”

For a moment, nothing happens, until the ball comes flying up onto the bed again, bouncing off her nose. Alloy then stands and hops back up to see her reaction, only the front of her body on the bed.

Rubbing her nose, the batpony looks at her friend with a bemused face. “Oh, we’re playing that game now?”

“Hey, don’t look at me. The ball is what hit you.” She sticks her tongue out. “Don’t let a ball get the best of you.”

“Hmm…” Night slowly backs off the bed until she is in a position mirroring Alloy’s. Picking up the ball with a wing, she suddenly tosses it, watching her friend carefully.

Alloy’s own good wing extends to swat the ball back at her, giggling. “It’s like ping-pong!”

The thestral giggles as well, swatting it back. “I didn’t even think of that. Let’s see who gets a goal…”

“Hey, that’s not fair!” The pegasus jumps to the side and hits it back with her hoof this time. “You have two wings.”

“Well, if that’s what you have a problem with, I won’t use either.” She turns around, swatting the ball with her tail. “Hah! Face my tail!”

“Oh, that I can handle!” Grinning, Alloy turns and uses her own tail as well, hitting the ball again. However, her aim is wild, and it flies off to the side, hitting the wall. “...or not...”

Laughing triumphantly, Night waves her tail in the air. “Praise my superior flank, knave!”

Alloy grumbles. “Not my fault I don’t use it very often...” She walks over to retrieve the ball, tossing it directly at the batpony rather than walking back with it.

Bumping it onto the bed with her rump, the grey filly looks at her friend curiously. “Hey, you’re not mopey, are you? Because I’ll correct it if you are, and you might not like that.”

“Oh? And what’s your plan for that?” Alloy smirks a bit. “I’m curious now.”

“Are you sure you want to know?” Night grins toothily as she starts to prowl around the pegasus.

The young mare starts to look a little nervous. “...not so sure, now...”

“I don’t see a smile~” Her grin doesn’t fade. Alloy tries to smile, but her nervousness shows through. “Drastic measures!” Night soundly pounces onto Alloy, carrying them both onto the bed as she starts to mercilessly tickle her friend with her soft hooves.

Alloy yelps as she gets tackled, quickly transitioning into nonstop laughter from the tickling as she tries to swat away the hooves with her own. “N-Night! N-N-No! Sto-o-op!”

“Not a chance, pinky!” The tickling continues as the batpony runs her hooves up and down her friend’s ribs. “I wanna hear you laugh some more! You aren’t allowed to be mopey!”

“I-I-I’m not mo-o-opey!” the pegasus gets out through her laughs, tears stinging her eyes. “H-Help!”

“No one can save you from me!” Night eases up a little on her hooves as she playfully snaps at the pegasus. “Silly pony.”

Whimpering, Alloy tries to shove her off. “Y-You know I’m t-ticklish...”

“Mmmhmm…” The thestral plops herself down on her friend’s belly, looking at her smugly. “I know that very well.”

The pegasus frowns as she struggles feebly to sit up. “Why do you torture me like this?” She makes a pouty face, eyes going wide.

Leaning down and nuzzling her, Night answers simply. “Because you do cute faces like that.” She follows this statement by lightly booping her on the nose.

Giggling, Alloy reaches up to do the same, but can’t reach and flops back down with a defeated sigh. “My face is not cute...”

“Silly, all of you is cute.” She nuzzles her again. “Just like all of me is cute, and all of Autumn is cute.”

The pegasus nuzzles back. “I can’t tell if you’re just giving a general compliment, or trying to be flirty.”

“I’m just an affectionate pony.” Night smiles, getting comfortable on Alloy. “Even if I am into girls, I don’t really feel that way about you. You’re my friend.”

“Aww...” Alloy groans playfully before sticking her tongue out. “Sooo...what about Autumn, then? You called her cute out of nowhere.”

The thestral blinks her slitted eyes before answering. “I dunno… I mean, I was just saying that in general, but you have to admit she is cute…”

“Hey, I was with her, remember? I know she’s cute.” She pokes the batpony in the belly. “Still find it weird how you just brought her up, though.”

Night giggles, rolling off her friend. “Well, I’m happy to know her. She’s fun, she’s nice, she doesn’t care what we’re like… it’s easy for her to grow on you, you know?”

“Yeah, she’s really something different...” Alloy sits up, stretching, and starts giggling. “Look at us, gossiping about our friend like this.”

“Is there something else we should gossip about?” The emerald-eyed mare tilts her head. “She seems like a good subject to me.”

“Well...isn’t gossiping usually a bad thing? You’d think we’d gossip about ponies we don’t like.” She shrugs. “I guess it’s not a big deal, though...on the topic of Autumn, how’d your day with her go?”

“It was really neat.” She smiles, though it does turn into a frown for a moment. “We did end up popping by the shop we hit, though… but she bought me a peach there, so I guess it was alright.”

Alloy blinks. “The produce shop? You didn’t...let anything slip, did you?”

“Of course not. I kept my mouth stuffed with a fruit to make sure.” She smirks proudly.

“Well, that’s good.” The pegasus sighs in relief. “We ended up walking by the same shop and stopping in for a bit so she could see what was with all the yelling...I didn’t have anything to keep my mouth shut, so I had a bit more trouble keeping quiet.” She rubs her neck. “Hopefully she didn’t notice...”

“I think we’re fine. We keep those lives separate from our normal ones.” Patting her friend reassuringly, Night grabs a pillow and snuggles it. “Hey, what time is it? We don’t want to stay up too late or we’ll be pressed for time when we get ready to camp.”

Glancing out the window, Alloy frowns. “Well, the sun hasn’t set yet, but it’s getting close to starting to...” She sighs. “And I was having fun, too.”

“We… could cuddle more,” Night offers. “It’s conducive to sleep and fun!”

“I don’t think you know what that word means...” The pegasus giggles. “But I’m fine with cuddling...will your dad be fine with you staying the night?”

“I think so.” She shrugs. “He knows you and he knows I liked spending a lot of time with my friends in my old town. I just need to make sure to check in with him tomorrow, or leave a note if he’s asleep.”

Alloy grins. “In that case...” Quickly, she dives under the covers headfirst, only her tail sticking out. Her face peeks out the other side, looking up at the thestral. “Come on, it’s warm!”

Not being one to deny anything comfortable, Night dives in as well. She immediately hugs Alloy, getting cozy. “Yep! Sure is!”

The pegasus hugs back, snuggling against her. “Now this is comfort...it’s like having a big teddy bear.” She nuzzles. “Why do we not do this more often?”

“Because we live in different houses and you never ask.” The thestral nuzzles back. “I’m always up for cuddling.”

“Then consider this an invitation to initiate cuddling sequence whenever you want.” Alloy giggles as she rests her head on her friend’s neck.

“I happily accept your terms. Prepare yourself, for you never know when I might want it.” Night’s wings wrap around them as well, giving them a warm cocoon to sleep in.

“Fine by me.” Snuggling in closer, Alloy closes her eyes, prepared for a comfortable night of rest.

Chapter 5

Saturdays are, for most ponies, a day where they can relax and sleep in. However, two ponies find themselves up and on the streets at barely half past eight, heading towards their friend’s house with large packs on their backs before Celestia’s sun is even all the way up in the sky.

“Night? Niiiiiiiight.” Alloy waves her hoof under the thestral’s muzzle. “Wakey wakey. You’re slowing down again.”

The emerald-maned mare jerks up. “Oh, sorry…” She yawns, her wings stretching out as she does so. “Don’t worry, I’ll be awake by the time we get to Autumn’s place.” She opens her eyes just in time to dodge around a sign.

The pegasus shakes her head playfully. “You really know how to put the ‘bat’ in ‘batpony’. Next you’ll be using echolocation to get through the city.”

“...” Nightshade doesn’t meet her friend’s eyes.

“...Night? Hello?” Alloy raises an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me you’re falling asleep again.”

“No… I’m awake.” The thestral gives a small smile, but there is a bit of nervousness to it.

The pegasus tilts her head before giggling. “You do use it, don’t you?”

“...yes.” Night giggles quietly. “It’s not exactly something we spread around…”

“Don’t be embarrassed about it. It sounds really cool!” She smiles. “Besides, unlike bats, you can still see fine, right? So it’s not something you have to use to get around.”

“Yeah, I mostly use it to ‘see’ things I can’t actually see.” The grey mare nods, but a small blush still comes to her cheeks. “Still, it’s the sound I make when I do it that’s embarrassing…”

Alloy slowly smirks. “Now that you’ve said that, I have to hear it.”

“Not now!” She looks at the empty street around them. “Maybe later.”

“Fine...on the camping trip, then.” The pegasus grins as they approach their friend’s house. “Then Autumn can hear it too.” She lifts a hoof and knocks on the door.

Night’s eyes go wide. “... I walked right into that, didn’t I?”

“Yep! Too late to back out now, though.” Her wicked grin fades into a softer smile. “Don’t worry; we’re friends. We won’t make fun of you for it.” Not hearing any noise from inside the house, she knocks again, a little louder.

“Maybe she sleeps in on Saturdays?” The batpony offers.

“If that’s the case, I’ll just keep knocking until she wakes up,” Alloy replies. She knocks a third time, much louder than before. “Wish she had a doorbell...”

“Won’t she be mad if we wake her up?”

This causes the pegasus to pause. “...I...didn’t think of that.” She takes a step back from the door, looking a little nervous. “Do you hear anything?”

“Hmm…” Night steps up to the door and puts her ear to it. “There’s… something maybe… but it’s slow and muffled… I can’t tell what it is.”

Alloy shuffles in place. “I hope she’s not too angry...”

The door suddenly opens, revealing a very nonplussed Rune. Her stare is bleary as she stands before them in white socks and an overly large white shirt that hangs off her loosely. Her mane is a rough bedhead style, and the fur on her face can be seen going every which way; a far cry from the cheery, self-employed business owner they’ve seen before.

She blinks once at the two of them, the words taking their time coming from her. “Hello… why were you banging on my door this early?”

“We’re really sorry, Mrs. Rune,” Alloy apologizes immediately, looking sheepish. “We wanted to ask Autumn to come on a camping trip...I guess I kind of forgot that it’s the weekend...” She scuffs the ground with a hoof.

Blinking once more, the corners of the mare’s mouth twitch upward in what may be an attempt to smile. “She’s sleeping in her room… be gentle when you wake her.” Without another word, she leaves the door open for them, trudging toward the kitchen muttering incoherently.

Sighing, Alloy steps in. “Now I feel bad...”

“Looks kind of rough in the mornings, doesn’t she?” Night comments. “Still, I’m not really one to talk about that.”

“I’m pretty sure she only looked that way because she woke up a couple hours earlier than she intended to,” the pegasus points out as she starts heading for the stairs. “Autumn mentioned her mother likes sleeping in.”

“Unlike a certain pink pegasus,” the thestral remarks, giving said pony her narrowed gaze, “who wouldn’t let me snuggle her for five more minutes this morning.”

Alloy rolls her eyes, but giggles. “We can snuggle at the campsite. Besides, if I let you have those five more minutes, I’d have gotten comfy again and fallen back asleep.”

Night sniffs and holds her nose up. “My point exactly. I have a cuddle quota to keep and you are endangering that.”

“Maybe, but in doing so, I’m giving you the chance to cuddle with two ponies at once.” The pegasus is about to knock on Autumn’s door, but thinks again and instead bites down on the door handle and slowly begins to open it. “Hofully ish wurf if.”

Whispering now, Night replies. “I accept your trade. Now the question is, how do we wake up…” She trails off when she looks into the room and sees Autumn, still fast asleep under her covers. Closer inspection reveals her to be wearing a set of purple pajamas with white dots and holding a teddy bear under one foreleg. The batpony’s hooves immediately go to her mouth to stifle a squeak at how adorable the scene is. Even so, one can see her wide smile.

Alloy has trouble holding back some aww-ing of her own. She whispers to the thestral, “Do we even want to wake her up?”

Night shakes her head quickly as she slides off her bags. “I must cuddle her. That bear can’t have everything.” She starts slinking across the room towards the bed, her hoofsteps completely silent.

The pegasus quietly closes the door behind them and trots over as well, just as quietly. “I didn’t think she still slept with one...” She giggles as she slips her own bags off onto the floor beside her friend’s.

“I’m glad she does… it makes it so much cuter…” Nosing her way under the blankets, the thestral slides her way into the bed, a smooth-moving bump that soon aligns itself next to Autumn’s body bump. Somehow, she worms her way under the unicorn’s hoof so that the bear is between them as they lay face to face. Movement under the covers shows her hooves and wings getting into position as well. The unicorn just smiles in her sleep and snuggles closer.

Alloy paces back and forth next to the bed, pouting. “There’s no room for me...” Huffing, she sits on the floor beside the bed instead.

Speaking in the quietest whisper, Night calls to her. “You could snuggle her back…” She goes back to facing Autumn, her expression soft as she looks at her. Smiling, she gently touches their noses together.

Deciding to try this, the pegasus scoots over to the foot of the bed and crawls under the covers, carefully worming her way beneath them up to the pillow, managing to not jostle the other two the whole way. Her head pops out the other side, Autumn between her and the thestral, and she slowly puts her hoof around the unicorn to join in on the cuddling. “Imagine if Mrs. Rune came in and saw us like this...”

“Right now, I don’t think she’d care…” The batpony sighs happily, closing her eyes as she nuzzles their sleeping friend.

However, as much as the unicorn enjoys sleep, she can only sleep through so much. Her muzzle twitches from the nuzzling gesture, and as she begins to stir, she feels the presence of two other bodies. Her eyes flick open, blinking as they try to clear some of the blurriness. “...huh?”

Seeing the green eyes in front of her open, Night only has a few options and quickly picks one that seems promising. “Morning, you. Have a nice sleep?”

“...Night? Is that you?” Autumn yawns, covering her mouth with the hoof not currently around the batpony. “...why are you in my room?”

“We came to get you!” Alloy replies, announcing her presence as well.

“And you were far too tempting not to join.” Fangs show briefly as she giggles. “I mean, you, PJs, a teddy bear? It was too much.”

The unicorn flushes red and pulls her teddy bear closer, mumbling. “Don’t laugh at me...”

“Why would I laugh?” Night pulls all three of them tightly against her. “You’re adorable. I like adorable.”

“I’m not adorable...” She tries to bury her face into her pillow, but having Alloy hugging her back greatly restricts how much she can turn.

“Yes you are. You are the cutest thing since puppies and you are mine-” she chokes on her words a moment. “I mean ours.”

Alloy lifts her head, raising an eyebrow. “You okay there, Night?” Autumn, for her part, just stares at the thestral like she’s lost her mind.

“...so does he have a name?” Night asks suddenly, pointing to the bear and smiling a bit too wide.

Autumn blinks, glancing down at the bear before curling around it as though trying to hide it, looking embarrassed. “...I call him Dizzy...”

“Awww… cute…” The thestral giggles, nuzzling her embarrassed friend.

“Well, he can come too, if you want to bring him,” Alloy adds, smirking a bit to herself.

“Come?” Autumn asks, glancing back at the pegasus. “Come where?” She looks between the two, seeming both confused and worried.

“Camping!” Alloy grins. “Night and I are going on a camping trip today. Wanna come with?”

The unicorn blinks. “Um...well…” She tries to sit up, but finds herself held in place. “...can you two let me go, please?”

Night whines, holding them tighter. “But I wanna snuggle and Alloy was being a meanie and not letting me…”

“Night...” Autumn whimpers a bit, trying to get free. “I just woke up...I need food...and the bathroom...”

“Oh… right…” Blushing, the thestral releases her hold on all of them, sliding out of the bed and standing awkwardly.

Autumn is the next to climb out of bed, pausing only to carefully place Dizzy on her pillow. “I’ll only be a minute.” With that, she trots quickly off to the bathroom just across the hall, shutting her bedroom door on the way and leaving her two winged friends alone.

Alloy, who hasn’t budged from the bed, looks at Night and smiles. “At least she didn’t scream, right? I was kind of expecting her to when she woke up, honestly...”

“That wouldn’t have been nice to do or experience.” The batpony flicks her ears a few times. “I don’t want to make her to scream…”

“She’s fun to scare, though.” The pegasus snickers before lying back down on the pillow, sighing. “Her bed’s comfy...”

“Yeah… yeah it is…” With a small growl, Night pounces onto her friend, snuggling up to her and giggling happily.

Alloy doesn’t even fight it, instead happily cuddling up against her after moving Dizzy out of the way. “I think she’ll be a while...maybe this will help get you to forgive me for earlier?”

As she settles down against her friend’s warmth, the thestral mutters quietly, “...maybe.”

Rune walks down the hall in her home, looking much brighter and better than she did earlier. Amazing what a glass of milk and a little time will do for some ponies in the mornings. Curious as to why she hasn’t heard anything from back here, she only gets a few steps forward before the bathroom door opens ahead of her.

Coming out of the room is Autumn, who has showered and cleaned up, now looking almost the same as she typically does during the day; all that’s different are her lack of glasses and her mane and tail, still damp. She stops when she notices her mother out of the corner of her eye and turns, smiling a little tiredly. “Morning, mom.”

“Good morning, sweetie.” She tilts her head. “Letting the mane and tail air dry today?”

“I still can’t get the inversion signal down properly,” the younger unicorn explains with a sigh. “I’m afraid if I try it, I’ll just rip my tail hairs out.”

“A fair worry; it’s fine, I’m sure you’ll get it.” She leans down, nuzzling her softly. “Maybe you can impress your friends with it at some point. Speaking of which, where have they gone to?”

Autumn nuzzles back, smiling a bit more now. “They’re probably still in my room. I was about to go talk to them about this camping trip they invited me to go on.”

“Camping trip?” Rune raises an eyebrow. “I suddenly have questions for them as well.”

“So do I.” She giggles, nodding to the door to her room. “Should we go interrogate them together?”

“I think you can start and I’ll just pop in when I have a question.” The mare walks to the door as her magic grabs the knob. “The first being: do they want breakfast?” She opens the door, pausing and smiling softly as she sees the two cuddling in Autumn’s bed. “Aww… that’s adorable. Don’t they make a cute couple?”

Autumn peeks in and rolls her eyes, smiling. “Guess Night really needs to fill her snuggling quota.” She looks at her mother. “What do you mean, ‘cute couple’?”

“Oh, sorry, slip of the tongue.” Rune shrugs. “It’s just that you usually only see snuggling that cute between either lovers, or siblings. I suppose they are just that good of friends, though.”

The blue unicorn looks back at the pair, her expression twitching a bit before she averts her gaze to the floor. “Yeah...I guess so.”

Her mother looks down at her curiously. “Go on and wake them up; they can’t sleep all day if they want to go on their trip.”

“R-Right.” Nodding, Autumn trots over to the bed and starts gently shaking Night. “Hey, you two...wake up...”

The thestral cranes her head around, her slitted emerald eyes blinking. “Oh, hey you. What’s up?”

The unicorn smiles weakly. “You two, if you want to go on that camping trip. Mom and I wanted to ask about that.”

“And I wanted to ask if you wanted breakfast,” Rune adds.

Night nods, shaking Alloy with a wing. “Sure!”

The pegasus, for her part, sits up almost instantly. “Huh? Breakfast?”

“Yes, breakfast.” The socked mare, having discarded her shirt a while ago, smiles softly at them. “It’s the most important meal of that day, you know.”

Alloy quickly hops to her hooves, only to stumble on both the soft surface and the blanket tangling around one of her hooves, causing her to nearly topple off. “J-Just give me a moment to escape this...”

Night giggles, jumping easily out of the bed. “Quick! Get some markers so we can draw on her face while she can’t stop us!”

“Don’t you-” The pegasus yelps as she falls right back onto the pillow, flailing her hooves wildly and only getting them more tangled. “...dare.”

Autumn, giggling, looks at her mother with a hopeful yet mischievous look in her eyes. “Can we?”

Rune just giggles, turning around and walking out of the room. “That’s between you three. You know where the office supplies are, sweetie.”

The younger unicorn grins. “We’ll be down in a few minutes~!” She looks to Night. “Keep her from getting away. I’ll be right back.” With that, she gallops out of the room.

“I hate you both,” Alloy pouts, her chin on the table as she slumps in her chair. Around her left eye is a crudely-drawn monocle in black marker, and on her upper lip is a scribbling of a scraggy mustache. Across her forehead, somepony has written “DAT FLANK” in large letters.

“What?” Night smiles mischievously as she takes a drink of her orange juice. “All we did was make you fancy… and wrote a compliment to either you or everypony who reads your face.”

Alloy huffs. “I don’t want to look like this on our trip...”

“Oh, quit whining,” Autumn interjects, putting down her glass of milk. “It’s washable marker. Just rinse your face before we leave. It’s not the end of the world.”

The batpony giggles. “Maybe she’s just worried about having flanks on the brain.”

Alloy blushes and sinks lower in her seat. “Niiiiiiiight...”

Said young mare blinks. “Wait… I was right?”

“What? No!” She blushes further. “Just...don’t say things like that.”

“Our little Alloy is more sensitive than she lets on,” Rune offers, taking a bite of her own breakfast. “Don’t let her confidence fool you into thinking otherwise.”

Autumn nods, grinning. “It’s really easy to get her face red. Only reason you barely see it is because she’s already almost that colour as is.”

The pegasus flops to the side, lying on her stomach sprawled over the chair. “Leave me alone...” she whines, staring down at the floor.

“Maybe ease up a bit,” the oldest of the four remarks, looking at the pegasus, concerned.

“She knows we’re just teasing her… right?” Night looks down at Alloy for confirmation.

“Yeah...” she reluctantly agrees, not moving from her position. “But why all of you at once?”

“Because it was fun to see you react,” the batpony answers. “We didn’t think you’d take it so hard…”

Alloy groans and sits up straight again. “At least when you got tangled in the sheets, I just laughed before letting you out,” she grumbles to Night, eyes narrowing. “I’m cutting your snuggle rations for this.”

“Aww…” Night pouts, her ears folding down as she sullenly goes back to her food.

Rune clears her throat as things quiet down. “So about this camping…”

“Oh, right!” Alloy suddenly perks up. “Night and I were planning to go camping today, and we wanted Autumn to come along.” She hesitates for a moment before smiling sheepishly. “I-If that’s okay with you, I mean...”

Rune looks to her daughter. “Do you want to go, sweetie?”

“Well...” Autumn sighs and puts her fork down. “I’ve never been camping, before...I’ve heard it’s basically like a sleepover outdoors, which sounds fun...I just don’t really know what to expect aside from that.” She pokes at her plate with a hoof. “As long as there’s nothing big I don’t know about...sure, I’d like to go.” She smiles.

“That’s about it, yeah,” Alloy agrees. “You have to pack more stuff, but Night and I already have most of the big stuff taken care of. All you’d need to bring is a sleeping bag, a blanket, toiletries, and anything else you feel like taking along.” She grins. “Like Dizzy, for example.” Autumn’s face reddens slightly at this and she quickly becomes very interested in her food again.

“Now do you actually know where you’ll be going?” Rune asks. “No dangerous places by either pony, animal, or environment?”

Alloy nods. “I already know of a good place, in the forest just outside the city.” Her eyes widen and she backpedals. “The regular one, not the Everfree! The most dangerous thing in there would be an angry bird.” She pauses. “...or a couple of the plants, but they’re easy to recognize. And the worst harm they can do is give you a rash.”

“And you have everything packed? Food, shelter, bug spray, first aid kit?” Mom mode is fully engaged.

“I already packed us a tent for shelter and some bug spray. Night and I are both bringing food, and Autumn can bring some too if she wants.” Alloy smiles. “Our first aid kit is basically empty, but I know a few tricks on how to use some of the plants around that area for medicine if something happens. And if any of us are in major trouble, Night can fly back and get help.” She chuckles a bit. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Rune. My father and I used to go camping all the time. I know all the basics. I even packed matches for starting a fire.”

“Hmm…” She pauses for a moment. “And how long will you be camping?”

“Just overnight. Depending on when we left, we’d probably get there at about four or five in the evening, and we’d start heading back home at nine in the morning.” The pegasus taps a hoof in thought. “It’s about a twenty-minute walk from the outskirts of the city to the campsite, if I recall.”

Rune hesitantly nods. “Alright… it’s fine by me I suppose, as long as you girls are all careful.”

“Awesome!” Alloy cheers.

Autumn grins and jumps up, running over to hug Rune. “Thanks, mom!”

Night smiles as the two hug. “You’ll see Mrs. Rune, this will be a great trip!”

Alloy giggles. “I can tell it’s gonna be really fun.” She frowns for a moment as she seems to remember something, then hops down from her chair. “Now I need to go wash my face before I forget.”

Much later that day, the three girls have left the house and begun their walk to the forest. A now-clean Alloy leads the way, knowing where the campsite is, and Night glides leisurely just above and behind her. Autumn trails along last in the line, now with her own large bag on her back and slight difficulty in carrying it. She wonders how her friends are able to handle the weight without having to go any slower.

It doesn't take long for the trio to leave the city, as Autumn's house was already on the outskirts. Their path to the forest is a mostly straight one, just over a couple of hills, leaving them time to chat without worrying about getting lost.

"Doing alright back there, Autumn?" Night asks, slowing down her speed until she is flying next to and just above the unicorn.

Autumn looks up at her and nods. "Yeah...just not used to carrying this much." She shifts her back to move her bags into a more comfortable position.

"Let us know if you need to rest or something; it's no fun of you get there and just go to sleep because you're tired." Angling herself so that her wings give a breeze to her friend, she adds in a teasing tone. "And don't forget what your mom kept saying when we were trying to leave: remember to stay hydrated."

The unicorn groans. "I know, I know..." She smiles as the breeze hits her face. "I'll get a drink when we reach the campsite. My hooves are kind of busy right now, and I don't remember where the water is in my bags, so I can't grab it with magic."

Nodding, the thestral calls forward to their pink guide. "Hey Alloy, this spot we're going to has a lake, right?"

"Um..." The pegasus slows down a bit as she remembers. "There's one nearby, but we'll have to set up camp a little ways away. There's not enough room right by the lake." She speeds back up. "I can show you where it is after we get there."

The batpony goes quiet for a little as they walk, but eventually the silence beyond hoof steps is too much and she speaks once more. "So, have you ever camped before, Autty?"

Alloy snickers. Autumn stops in her tracks and looks at her flying friend with a raised eyebrow. "'Autty'?"

Landing, Night scuffs her hoof against the ground. "Look, I'm trying my best okay? Your name is hard to make a nickname out of..."

She sighs. "I told you that you didn't have to..." Shaking her head, she smiles. "Anyway, no, never been camping before. My mom sent me to a summer camp a few years back, before I got my cutie mark, but it wasn't really the same as camping." Her smile fades. "Wasn't really fun either."

Her friend extends a green wing over her comfortingly. “What happened? What kind of camp was it?”

“Just one of those little activity camps for colts and fillies who don’t have, or just got, their mark. Problem is, for somepony who doesn’t have their mark, it’s hard for them to figure out what to have you do. So they just assign activities to you based on your race.” She rolls her eyes. “And because I was one of about fifteen unicorns at the camp, they threw me into every magic-involving activity there was, even though I wasn’t fully developed yet. So the entire experience was mostly me giving myself headaches and getting treated like a baby.”

“A whole summer of that?” Night says in awe, pulling Autumn close. “You poor pony…”

Autumn stumbles from the pull, nearly losing her balance. “I-It was only a month, actually...only half the summer, not the whole thing...”

“Whoops, sorry.” Righting her friend with her wing, Night giggles sheepishly. “Still though, what did you mom say once you got back? Well, I mean I guess one thing I can bet she said is how much she missed you. She seems like that type.”

The unicorn nods, smiling thankfully for the help. “That was definitely one of the first things. When I told her how it went, she basically apologized a lot and promised never to send me back there.”

“Yep, pretty much what I expected. She’s nice and doting like that.” Giggling for real now, the batpony inquires, “Did Alloy already hear this story? She hasn’t said anything in a while.”

“She has.” Autumn looks forward. “I think she’s just focusing on getting to the site.”

“Pretty much,” the pegasus replies without turning around, smiling to herself. “Besides, I don’t want to interrupt your bonding experiences. Don’t mind me.”

Blinking, the thestral looks at the unicorn a moment before looking back at her pink friend. “Nothing says we can’t do three-way bonding…”

Alloy waves a hoof. “I’m already good friends with you both, but you two just met. I don’t want to be a third wheel.”

Autumn pauses her walking for a second before hastily continuing, glancing to the thestral. “...what?”

Tilting her head at the blue pony, Night responds. “What do you mean ‘what’?”

“I thought...” The unicorn looks ahead at Alloy for a moment, then sighs and shakes her head. “...never mind.”

“...okay…” Shrugging, Night continues with them, walking now. It’s not like she can’t fly more later anyway.

After another while of walking, the three reach the entrance to the forest. Once inside, Alloy stops facing straight ahead and begins looking around above them at the trees. “Won’t be long now...just don’t get separated. It’s easy to get lost in here.”

The second she says that, Night hugs Autumn to her with her wings and grabs Alloy’s tail in her mouth. “Gosha!”

Alloy freezes in place. “...Night, let go of my tail.”

The playful pony opens her mouth and lets the strands fall from it. “Sorry… did I pull it accidentally?”

“Yes.” The pegasus tucks her tail between her legs before continuing to walk, shivering a bit. “I really don’t like that...”

“Don’t worry, Night,” Autumn says with a smile. “I don’t mind the hugging.”

“Yeah… guess I don't have to bite your tail, huh?” She tries to make a joke to lighten the mood.

The unicorn smirks. “Unlike Alloy, I don’t mind having my tail pulled a little. So even if you did, there wouldn’t be a problem.”

“Oh really?” Night smiles wide, her fangs showing as she nuzzles her friend. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Alloy glances back. “Careful, Night. There’s a bit more to that than just her ‘not minding’.” She faces forward again, missing Autumn’s glare.

“Oh really?” The thestral grins wider, giggling mischievously as her own tail swishes back and forth. “Now I have to try it… but when you’re not expecting it.”

Autumn sighs. “This isn’t gonna end well...”

“We’re here!” Alloy announces, picking up her pace. A few seconds later, they reach a large clearing, the faint sounds of a lake off to the left. “Get your bags off. Time to unpack and set up.”

With a small ‘thump’, Night simply sits, her bags sliding off onto the ground. “Done!”

Autumn, meanwhile, grunts as she uses her magic to levitate her bags onto the ground beside Night’s. “Now I need a drink and a bathroom...”

“Well, your canteen is there.” The batpony points to the top of a flask the can be seen poking out of one of Autumn’s bags. “As for the second, umm… there’s bushes over there.”

“Right. That first.” Quickly, the unicorn gallops off to the bushes, disappearing into them away from view.

Alloy, having already dropped her bags, has begun work on setting up. “Night, think you can help me pitch the tent?”

“Sure!” She bumps her winged friend’s hip as she passes her. “Sorry for the tail thing.”

The pegasus smiles. “It’s fine. Just don’t do it again.” She pulls out some wooden stakes from her bag. “Start hammering these into the ground where we’re putting the tent.”

“On it, boss!”

Several minutes later, Autumn comes back from the bushes at a much more relaxed pace, blinking in surprise at the tent already standing up. What surprises her more is the sight of Night lying on the ground, ears plastered against her head and eyes shut. Worried, she trots over quickly. “Night? What’s wrong?”

Alloy pokes her head out from inside the tent. “Oh, Autumn! Don’t worry about her.” She climbs outside. “She has to use the bathroom too, and she was waiting for you to get back. The sound of the lake wasn’t helping, so she kind of just shut out all the sound she could.” She walks over and nudges the thestral. “Night, you can go now.”

Opening her eyes and peeking around, the batpony sees Autumn. Springing onto her in a sudden hug, nopony has time to blink before she zips off into the woods, leaves swirling and falling to the ground in her wake.

“...okay, that was not something I expected.” Autumn glances at the setup. “I see you got the tent ready...just unpacking now?”

“Basically. When Night gets back, I’ll show you two the safest way to the lake. There’s a few plants along the way that you need to avoid.” Alloy returns to her bags, taking out a blanket and bringing it into the tent.

Autumn nods, following her in. “Anything else we need to do? What about the fire?”

“We don’t need that until the sun starts going down. It’s just for light, warmth, and cooking food.” She finishes straightening out her sleeping bag. “We don’t need any of those just yet. Besides, once it starts, we need to keep it going until we go to bed, which is just unnecessary work at the moment.”

“Oh.” The unicorn goes quiet for a moment. “...I’m really not used to this...”

Alloy smiles. “Don’t worry about it. Every experience has a ‘first time’. For now, just focus on getting yourself unpacked and re-hydrated.”

“Got it.” With that, Autumn exits the tent.

After a few more minutes, Nightshade comes back, though much slower than she left. Her wings are folded in front of her, cradling something in them that she looks down at with a smile. “Hey girls, you’ll never guess what I found!”

Autumn looks up and Alloy sticks her head out of the tent. “What is it? A bug?” the unicorn asks.

Shaking her head with a small frown, Night walks closer and tilts her wings toward them, revealing a bright blue plant from stem to leaf tip. “It’s this plant I’ve never seen before. In fact, I’ve never seen anything close to it; not even in my garden!”

The two other girls peek at the flower, Alloy humming and poking it. “I haven’t seen anything like that either...feels like a normal flower, though.”

Autumn smiles and pokes it as well. “I like the colour.”

“I had to take a sample of it!” Going over to her bags, she digs around a bit before coming up with a jar and placing the plant in it like a vase. “I’m gonna see if I can make it grow well in my garden at home. It’ll be a really nice splash of colour even when the rest of them aren’t blooming.”

Alloy smiles. “Well, I hope you have fun with that. For now, on the topic of plants, let’s get going to the lake so I can show you which ones to avoid.” She gestures with her good wing for them to follow and begins heading off in the direction of the splashing sounds.

Chapter 6

After a couple minutes of walking and pointing out any plants that should be avoided, Alloy arrives at the lake with her two friends. “Here it is.”

While nothing is overly notable about the lake, the fact is that as one of the largest bodies of water near town, it does have a certain majesty to it. Its shimmery surface has proved quite the siren call on summer days.

“Cool…” Nightshade says in awe.

Autumn looks over it. “Wow...I’ve never been out here before.”

“It’s not actually that hard to get to from the entrance to the forest. There’s another path branching off that leads directly to it, no plants in the way. The way we took is just a much shorter route from the campsite.” Alloy smiles. “Back when my father took me camping, sometimes I’d go swimming in it.”

“That actually brings up a question I had.” Night looks at both her friends seriously. “Are we doing one pieces, bikinis, or naked?”

Autumn instantly goes red and covers her face, groaning. Alloy just giggles. “Unless you brought either of the first two, we’re going with option three.” She glances at Autumn. “What’s with you?” The unicorn mumbles incoherently into her hooves.

“Huh? What did she say? I could only get a few words…” The batpony leans forward, her sensitive ears twitching.

Alloy smirks. “If I heard right, which I think I did, she said something about how now she can’t get the image of us in swimsuits out of her head.” The unicorn flops onto the ground in a lying position in response, face still covered.

“...and now I can’t get the image of us modeling them for her out of my head…” The thestral says seriously. “I’m strangely okay with this.”

“Stooooooooop!” Autumn cries, clear despite the hooves over her face.

“What’s the big deal?” Night crouches down in front of her friend, looking into where her eyes would be if she had clear line of sight. “We’re always naked; what would wearing clothes do?”

Alloy chuckles nervously as she steps closer towards the thestral, pulling her back a couple feet and leaning in towards her ear. “She...kind of has a thing for that...”

“Huh…” Still speaking at normal volume, the batpony responds. “Guess that’s why that got a bigger reaction than thoughts of us wet and naked in the lake.”

With a cry of desperation, Autumn goes from lying down to jumping through the air, flopping into the lake to shut out the thestral. Somehow, her glasses are left behind almost comically.

Snickering loudly, Night looks to Alloy to see how she fared. The pegasus has a much more subdued reaction, just rolling her eyes despite a hint of red on her cheeks. “Okay, now I have images in my head, and I don’t think I want them.”

“Well, when she comes up, you’ll have another one to… see…” As she says this, Night actually does see Autumn emerge from the water with a gasp, her mane hanging wetly down her neck. “...umm… definitely pulls off that look…” Her wings flap once as she keeps looking.

Autumn rubs her eyes to get the water out of them, brushing her mane out of her face. “Are...we done...talking about that?” She glances up at Night, squinting. “...why are you going flying?”

“I’m not, just, umm… debating if I want to jump in or walk in.” The gray mare nods to herself and the others.

Alloy giggles. “I’d say walk in, or jump if you’re not going very high. The water’s not as deep as it looks, and you might hurt yourself.” She sits at the edge of the lake and dips her front hooves in.

Nodding again, Night walks into the lake, the water splashing and shifting around her. “Heh, warmer than I thought…”

“Well, it’s summer,” Alloy points out.

Autumn, deciding to stay in the lake, treads water over to a part shallow enough for her to stand in. “Enjoying it, Night?”

“Uhuh…” The thestral paddles around, her wings spread slightly to give better control. “This is nice… and it seems to have cleared your head of dirty thoughts, or at least you accepted them.”

“...it was the former, but now they’re back.” The unicorn sighs and sits, rubbing her forehead. “Hopefully I can just ignore them. I don’t think taking another dive will help this time.”

“Maybe a nice swim then?” Night flips onto her back and floats over, looking at Autumn upside down with her mane and tail flowing around her in the water. “It may actually be starting to make me stop making those comments. No promises about when we get out, though.”

Autumn shrugs. “Maybe. I’m not too big on swimming, and we need to stick by Alloy.” She looks over to the pegasus, who is making little splashes in the lake with one hoof.

“Hey, Alloy!” The emerald maned mare calls out loudly, sitting up and waving her hoof. “Come join the wet and wild club!” She looks to Autumn sheepishly. “Whoops, guess there was one left.”

As Autumn facehoofs, Alloy shakes her head and calls back. “I can’t; my leg, remember? You two have fun, though!”

“Aww… come on, we can carry you or something once you take it off. You should enjoy this too!” Night pleads.

The pegasus shakes her head again, looking a little nervous. “I don’t think I’d be that easy to carry...and if I just sit somewhere, I might slip...I don’t want to risk it.”

“We could play in the shallows…” Still she insists.

“Well...” Alloy looks down, then sighs. “Fine. But I’m not going any deeper than I can stand up in.” Scooting back from the water, she lies on her side and curls up, pulling her prosthetic leg towards her with a hoof and biting down on the liner. She pulls that down and off, then rolls down the top of the limb. Slowly, she extracts the stump of her leg from the prosthetic replacement, then slowly gets up shakily onto her three good legs, moving carefully into the water.

Flipping back over, Night sinks down into the water until only her nose and above are in the air. She slowly paddles towards the pegasus.

Once her stomach touches the water, Alloy stops moving, sitting down nervously. “I-Is this okay?”

Slinking up to her, the thestral rises out of the water and grins. “Maybe.” Erupting in a huge splash, she soaks the pegasus and hugs her at the same time, giggling madly.

Yelping, Alloy clings desperately to the batpony, holding her tightly. “Night!”

“Wet hugs!” Night happily announces, still laughing.

The pegasus whimpers, her grasp not slipping. “D-Don’t do that! Ever!”

“What? I held onto you… do you not like water?” Her ears fold, wondering if she messed up again.

“You startled me!” Alloy replies, her voice calming down a bit. “If you didn’t grab me...” She buries her face in the thestral’s chest, trying to slow her breathing.

Yep, she messed up. Shooting a sad look to Autumn that asks for help, Night apologetically pats Alloy’s back.

Autumn starts swimming over, having trouble seeing what’s happening but able to tell something’s wrong from what she hears. Seeing the two apparently hugging, she just joins them, rubbing Alloy’s back to try and comfort her. “Night? What happened?”

“I scared her bad… I didn’t mean to…” She sniffs. “I just wanted her to have fun…”

The unicorn leans over and nuzzles the thestral. “Don’t worry...it’s not your fault. You just didn’t realize the problem.” She looks down at Alloy. “She’s just scared...I’m sure she doesn’t blame you.”

Night doesn’t say anything, just idly splashes a little water with her hoof.

Autumn sighs, rubbing her shoulder. “Night? Please, cheer up...”

“...are you two still my friends?” Her voice is low, as is the emotion behind it.

“What?” The unicorn’s eyes widen. “Of course we are! What...why would...” She gives up on trying to speak and just gives the thestral another nuzzle, hugging her tighter. Alloy, having lifted her head when she heard the question, does the same thing with a small smile.

Raising her wings out of the water, Night hugs them both. “I’m sorry…”

“It’s alright, Night...” Alloy tells her, cuddling against her. “I’m not mad at you, okay?”

“Okay…” Dipping one wing into the water, the thestral does a few little splashes at the both of them, a hopeful smile on her face.

Giggling, they both splash back at her with one of their hooves, keeping the other around her to keep the hug going. Laughing, she does a few bigger splashes, actually getting herself a bit too. Soon, the three are having fun splashing at one another, Autumn and Night circling around the shallow area where Alloy sits.

After a bit, Night flops down in the water onto her side, raising a hoof dramatically. “Ugh! You got me! I am defeated… you are the better splashers…”

Grinning, Autumn pounces onto her, holding her in what is partially a hug and partially an attempt to hold her down. “You have been conquered! You must obey our bidding now!”

Curious, the thestral nods. “I submit. What would you have me do?”

From her spot, Alloy laughs. “You have fun with her, Autumn. I’m going back to the camp to start dinner.” Slowly, she walks out of the water and shakes herself dry, steps back into her leg, and walks off to the campsite.

Autumn grins wickedly down at the batpony. “Your first task, new servant, is to give me a ride out of the water and back to camp.”

Giggling, Night stands up, Autumn on her back as she starts trudging out of the water. “Do I have to call you master now?”

“No, I don’t like that. Just stick to Autumn...or ‘Autty’.” She smirks, resting her chin on the thestral’s neck.

“Yes, Autty.” Ears flicking a bit of water off as she walks, Night mutters to herself. “This is kinda nice…”

Autumn giggles. “I heard that. It’s nice for me too.” She leans down and nuzzles her friend’s cheek, grabbing her glasses off the shore with magic as they pass them. “Can you fly while carrying me? Or would you rather walk?”

Shifting her back a bit, Night muses. “I could probably carry you; you don’t weigh a lot. I wouldn’t be able to fly too far, but to the camp is easily doable.”

“Then fly, my loyal servant!” Giggling, the unicorn sets her glasses onto her face. “The sun’s going down in a bit. We need to be back soon.”

“Right!” Spreading her leathery wings, Night takes flight, her flaps much bigger than those of a pegasus, but less frequent. Skimming over the treetops, she smiles as her mane is blown back.

Autumn smiles as well, enjoying the feeling of the wind blowing into her face. “Wow...you batponies and pegasi are lucky, getting to fly like this.”

“Hey, you get magic. I say things are pretty equal.” Banking a bit to avoid a tree, she straightens out once more. “Should be seeing camp in a moment…”

“Magic is nice, but flying is awesome.” Autumn pouts. “I order you to give me your wings.”

“One moment…” Flapping a bit faster but with less force, she lands easily in their little clearing. As soon as her hooves touch the ground, she holds her wings straight up on either side of Autumn. “That’s about as close as you’re going to get. Go ahead and admire your pretty new wings.”

The unicorn giggles, gently taking the wings in her magic and making them lightly flap. Alloy, who was sitting outside the tent, walks over when she sees them land. “Is she okay, Night?”

“S-Seems fine to m-me…” The thestral struggles not to giggle and squirm as her wings are played with.

Noticing her friend trying not to crack up, Autumn gets an idea. She lets the wings go and hops off, but once she hits the ground, she starts tickling the base of her left wing.

“Eek!” With a squeal, that wing springs upwards, fully extended as she giggles, trying to shy away from the unicorn.

Autumn refuses to let her escape, continuing her tickling and even leaning in to nuzzle it. “You can’t escape!”

Squealing again, the thestral awkwardly hops as she tries to get away, her balance thrown off by the stiff appendage. Her face goes a bit red as she finds her side against a tree while her other is nuzzled. “T-That tickles!” Her tail tries to swat at the unicorn even as she wears a small smile.

“That’s the point!” Autumn lets out through her own laughter. Glancing back, she sees that Alloy has left the two alone and returned to setting up the fire. Smirking, she looks back at the batpony. “I know about how sensitive wings are, you know...” She returns to nuzzling, even giving a small lick.

A small shriek actually results from this action as the thestral raises up on the tips of her hooves before collapsing on her other side, her wing still up in the air and her face red. Muttering quietly to herself, Night nonetheless looks up to see if Autumn will do it again.

The unicorn lies down beside her, smiling mischievously. “Did you like that?~” She goes on to just rubbing near the base of the wing with a hoof.

Covering her face with a hoof in embarrassment, Night slowly nods. She lets out another small squeak as she rubs.

“Hey, no need to hide like that, silly.” Autumn leans down and nuzzles her wing again. “Besides...consider this ‘payback’ for those comments earlier.” She licks again, dragging this one out for a good couple seconds.

For those few seconds and a few afterward, Night’s mouth just hangs open. Unbeknownst to Autumn, she is emitting a high-pitched noise outside the unicorn’s hearing range, face completely red once she stops licking. “Might… might have to make more comments like that if this is the result…”

Autumn’s mischievous smirk soon becomes a look of slight embarrassment, but the smile remains. She nuzzles the thestral’s neck. “You really like that, huh?” She grins. “Shall I go tell Alloy we’re gonna be busy for a while?”

Shyly, she nuzzles back, her wing still up. “She seems to be giving us plenty of time to… bond… so probably not necessary… didn’t you have ‘orders’ for me or something, though? Not that I’m not enjoying this…”

“Oh, believe me, I have plenty more orders for you.” The unicorn sticks her tongue out. “But I suppose now’s as good a time as any for my next one...remember that comment you made about modeling swimsuits?” She pokes the batpony in the chest, grinning. “After this camping trip, I order you to actually do that for me...maybe a few other outfits too.”

Gulping and blushing, Night nonetheless nods, a smile still on her face. “I’ve never done anything like that before… but, it sounds kinda fun… nopony else gets to see except you… and Alloy I guess.”

“I don’t know if Alloy would be into that sort of thing...but I’m glad you’re looking forward to it.” She smiles. “I know I am.” She licks again, even longer.

The batpony rolls completely onto her side, all of her limp except her neck and her wing. The lick leaves her panting, smiling goofily. “Wow… you’re really good at that…”

Autumn giggles. “Thank you. Hmm...I wonder how far I can go with this?” She leans in as though about to lick again, but this time, gently nibbles at the base instead.

“Yipe!” A yelp followed by a small whine comes from the thestral. “Y-You… ah…” Her words fade as she lays down, letting out a quiet groan. “Feels great…”

“Really?~” Autumn slowly uses her hooves to roll the batpony onto her stomach again, climbing onto her back. Using her magic, she extends the other wing, and begins to massage it with her hooves as she treats the already-stretched wing to further nibbling. “Any other sensitive areas on your body you want me to tease you with?”

“Nya... ma... ah~!” The words are little more than gibberish and sounds of happiness as Night lets Autumn play. Blinking rapidly, she tries to compose herself enough to speak. “You’re… really going all out with my wings…” She stops to pant a moment, her tail flicking back and forth. “Don’t know why the sudden interest… but I’m not gonna stop you…”

The unicorn pauses for a moment as she thinks about that. “...I don’t know either, actually...at first I was just messing with you, but...I’m actually really enjoying this too.” She blushes a bit. “W-We’ll think about it later...so, answer to my question?”

“I… umm…” Night blushes as she buries her face in the grass. “You’re pretty much at mid tier right now… the only better other ones are… umm…” She buries her face further, tail still flicking.

“Ah...well, maybe we should avoid those for now...” Autumn’s face reddens further, but she smirks as she gets an idea. “...maybe save them for later.” She goes right back to nibbling and massaging.

“Wha...what? But…” She actually lets out a moan as she tries to stretch out, loving what she’s feeling in her wings. “You make it hard to think…”

“Hmm...should I stop for a bit?” Autumn suggests. “Maybe let you...get back at me for a while?~”

An unreadable look on her face, the thestral turns her head and nods, eyes staring right into Autumn’s. The unicorn rolls off of her, lying on her back on the ground, sticking her tongue out playfully.

Night blushes, keeping her eyes on Autumn’s face as she shakily gets up, both her wings stiff. She slowly walks over, nuzzling the unicorn’s chest before moving upward and licking her neck.

Autumn hums in pleasure, nuzzling back as she comes close to her face. “Sorry I don’t have wings like you do...they’d make this a lot easier...”

“Well… you do have something else…” Hey eyes dart upward to the spiraled blue horn. “I wonder…” Stepping fully over Autumn, two hooves on either side of her, Night leans forward and gives a small lick to the base of it.

The unicorn squirms slightly, but makes little vocal reaction. “I-It’s only really sensitive when I’m using magic...like this...” Her horn glows slightly as she casts a basic light spell, just for the sake of casting magic.

Night gives it a much longer lick, from base to tip. Autumn’s whole body goes stiff for a second, her horn glowing brighter almost instantly, as she lets out a quiet moan and her breathing starts to pick up pace.

“Heh… glad you like it…” The thestral giggles, nuzzling the horn before gently nibbling on the tip, careful with her sharp teeth.

Autumn kicks her back legs a bit as she moans again, eyes going half-lidded. Her tongue slowly begins making its way out of her mouth, just hanging there limply like the rest of her body. Her mouth moves as though trying to speak, but no sound comes out.

Gaze moving down to her face, Night waits a moment before quietly asking. “Hey… mind if I try something else?”

The unicorn pulls her tongue into her mouth to speak. “G-Go ahead...” She smiles in anticipation. “What is it?”

Swallowing nervously, she says simply, “This.” Leaning down, she gently touches her lips to Autumn’s, closing her eyes. The blue unicorn’s eyes go wide, but she doesn’t struggle, nor does she reciprocate at first; she just lies there in shock, but after a second, wraps her front legs around the batpony and begins kissing back.

Beaming on the inside, Night lowers herself until their chests are touching, her forelegs wrapping around the filly as best they can. She doesn’t try to push anything, just laying there and enjoying the kiss.

For several seconds, they lie there in that position, enjoying the feeling of one another’s lips. Finally, Autumn slowly pulls back, a goofy smile on her face. “You know...I wish you tried that sooner...”

“I had to get up my nerve… and you weren’t giving me much chance earlier.” She wiggles her wings. “Driving me crazy…”

“Aww...sorry...” Autumn leans up and nuzzles her. “If I had known...honestly, I probably would’ve kept doing it.” She giggles. “You’re so cute...”

“You did keep doing it…” Giggling, she leans down and kisses her neck. “And you’re adorable… except when you’re wet, then you’re hot.”

The unicorn blushes. “H-Hot...that’s a new one...” Smiling, she nuzzles her again. “So...um...what does this mean for us?”

“Well, umm… what do you want it to mean?” Night nuzzles back. “I mean… I really like this, and I really like you, so… we could be… you know…”

“Girlfriends?” Autumn asks bluntly, smirking. “You can just say it, you know. And...” Her smirk becomes a softer smile. “I think I’d like to give that a try.”

“Me too…” The batpony gives her another quick kiss. “So, uh… wanna keep going? I do wanna make my special somepony happy.”

“Well...I do, but...food.” She glances over towards the campsite. A fire is now burning within a circle of rocks, and Alloy has vanished, presumably to inside the tent. “Later, maybe? I don’t want Alloy to worry and come look for us.”

“Oh, okay. That makes sense.” A sudden thought occurs and Night blushes. “Hope she didn’t hear any of the sounds we made…”

Autumn giggles. “If she did...we can just draw on her face again.”

“Yeah…” She goes to get up, only to pause and kiss Autumn once more, a bit longer this time. Once she breaks it, she climbs off, smiling. “Wanted to have something to think about while I wait.”

The unicorn smiles and stands up. “Good. It gives me something to think about too.” With another nuzzle, she begins leading the way back to the campsite.

A bit of time later finds the three fillies in front of a very good looking spread. On one end is a small pile of baked potatoes, freed from their foil they were cooked in. Beyond them are various chopped and lightly cooked veggies like onions, bell peppers, squash, and lettuce. There’s also a surprise fruit appearance by tomatoes. The entire thing is on a small foldable tabletop set on the ground and spread like a buffet.

“Thanks for taking care of the potatoes, Alloy. Those things take forever to cook.” Night nods, eyes glinting as she looks over everything.

“No problem!” the pegasus replies. Noticing the look in her friend’s eye, she smirks. “I take it you like vegetables just as much as fruits?”

“Well, not quite as much, but I do really like them.” She waits for Alloy to serve herself. “Veggies are more… rich, while fruits are sweet.”

Alloy nods, seeming to understand, as she begins stuffing her own potato with lettuce and onions. “Sorry there’s only one type of fruit. This is more of a veggie dish, so there weren’t many options.”

“It’s fine. Fruits are a big part of my diet, but I need other things too.” She smiles before adding as an afterthought, “Like snuggles.”

Autumn giggles. “I have no problem helping you fulfill that need.”

Alloy looks between the two of them, a little confused. “You two have been really giggly since dinner started...did something happen?”

“Umm…” Night only partially succeeds in repressing a blush as she looks over to Autumn. “Did something happen?”

Autumn opens her mouth to speak, then closes it, thinking. “Well...” Finally, she shrugs. “Just...some playing around. I’ll tell you about it later.”

The pegasus tilts her head, but the promise of getting some context later on seems to placate her, and she nods before starting to dig into her meal. Autumn glances at Night to see how she reacts.

The thestral relaxes, looking back at the unicorn and shrugging. She flutters her eyelashes for a quick moment before giggling and starting to make her own food. Autumn giggles as well, patiently waiting her turn. Night loads her potato with onions, bell peppers, and a nice slathering of tomatoes on top. Carrying it in her wings, she walks past Autumn, brushing her shoulder with her tail before she sits down.

Alloy snickers at the batpony’s selection. “I knew you’d go for the tomatoes pretty much right away. Are you sure you’re not secretly a vampire fruit bat or something?”

“Fruit part, yes; vampire… well,” She bares her fangs. “Maybe if you or Autumn volunteer your necks I could find out.”

Autumn, who has just arrived with her own potato filled entirely with lettuce and tomato, sits down with a confused yet intrigued look. “What’s this about our necks?”

“Night’s thinking of giving in to her secret vampiric bloodsucking desires,” Alloy replies with a smirk.

“You brought it up! I was just playing along… I wouldn’t actually bite your necks...hard.” She quickly takes a large bite of her potato before she says anything else.

The unicorn snickers. “Did you want to try a taste of mine or something?”

“No, blood would be gross.” She sticks out her tongue, shaking her head. Coincidentally enough, it’s actually stained a bit more red than normal from her food. “Maybe your neck though… Alloy didn’t seem to be into it.”

“Maybe later, then. Don’t want to ruin your appetite for real food.” Giggling, Autumn returns to devouring her potato. Alloy scoots a couple inches away from the two, looking slightly grossed out from either the discussion of sucking blood or Autumn’s table manners.

Noticing this, Night eats casually for a minute before turning to Alloy and raising her eyebrows repeatedly while flashing her teeth. The pegasus cringes. “Are you trying to give me nightmares?”

“Nah, just messing with you. I assure you I only cause good dreams.” Putting her hoof over her heart, one can almost see a halo appear above her. “Though I do charge in affection.” The halo dims a bit.

“And how much affection will it cost to get you to help remove the thought of getting the blood drained from my neck?” Alloy asks seriously.

“Hmm… I think one nuzzle with work.” Night shrugs, taking another bite of her food.

The pegasus leans in and nuzzles the thestral for a couple of seconds. “Done.”

Autumn, who has been watching all this, laughs at their antics. “You two are silly.”

The thestral turns to her. “You can be silly too, you know. We all just have fun, it’s good this way.”

“Yeah, but...nightmares? You couldn’t cause somepony to have nightmares even on Nightmare Night.” She giggles. “You’re just too adorable.”

Blushing, Night giggles. “Aww… thanks…”

“Especially when you blush like that.” She grins. “If I was more like my mom I’d pinch your cheeks.”

“Do you mean my face?” the batpony asks.

Autumn blushes. “W-Well, yeah! Did you think I meant...” She trails off.

Night just looks down, her tail wrapping around her shyly.

The unicorn looks away, then looks back once her blush is gone. Seeing Alloy focused on her food, she leans forward and whispers, “Wouldn’t mind doing it the other way too, though...”

Shivering, the thestral looks up at her marefriend. “I so want to kiss you right now…”

“Just have to wait until tomorrow...you can come over to my place, or I can go over to yours.” She smiles. “Trust me, it’ll be worth the wait.”

Licking her lips, Night whispers simply. “Your place.”

“My place it is.” She goes back to her regular sitting position, but scoots closer to the thestral. With another dive into her potato, she has cleaned it out and begun chewing away at the potato itself.

Turning back to her own food, Night quickly follows suit. Alloy is the last one to finish, and when she does, she stands up and stretches, yawning. “Think we should start getting ready for bed?”

Looking up and seeing the stars out, the thestral shrugs. “I have no idea what time it is, so it’s up to you guys.”

“I’m definitely in the mood for sleeping,” Autumn says, standing up as well. “We don’t want to wake up late.”

Nodding, Alloy slips into the tent. “I’ve got our sleeping bags set up already.”

Popping her head inside first, Night exclaims as she sees the sleeping arrangements. “Yay! We don’t have individual bags!” Indeed, instead of just laying three sleeping bags out, the pegasus instead has fully opened one, making a soft surface to lay on, while another bag is off to one side, possibly a blanket.

“You like it?” Alloy asks, giggling. She opens her bag and begins pulling out a set of light blue pajamas. “I had a feeling you two would rather sleep this way, and honestly, I prefer it too.”

“There will be snuggles, you both know this.” The batpony giggles, going over to her own bags and rummaging around for her sleepwear. “Hope you don’t mind that I don’t use real PJs. I usually just do the shirt thing or go natural.”

“Not a problem for me,” Alloy replies, starting to pull her own outfit on. “I don’t usually bother with them either, but I don’t want to get cold.”

The flap of the tent opens again and Autumn steps in, dragging her bag sheepishly. “Left it outside earlier...”

“I doubt Dizzy liked that.” Night giggles.

The unicorn blushes, dropping her bag off in the corner of the tent and unzipping it. “I think he’s fine...it’s not like I just left him on the ground without any cover.”

“He’s probably thinking how lucky he is to be able to sleep with three cute mares instead of one tonight.” The batpony pulls a green shirt over her head, putting her wings through the slits in the side.

“Niiiiight!” Autumn groans, her face going even redder. She pulls out a set of pink pajamas, quickly beginning to pull the shirt on to cover her face.

Just giggling more, the thestral takes advantage of the unicorn’s blindness for a moment as she darts forward and snatches her bottoms in her teeth. “Whatcha gonna do?” She waves the pink clothing back and forth teasingly as she waits for Autumn to see.

“Huh?” When the unicorn is able to see again, she glares. “Hey!” She pounces at the batpony, trying to retrieve the article of clothing.

Having nowhere to go in the small tent, Night unfortunately gets tackled, but still stretches her back to keep the fabric out of her friend’s reach. “Nope!” She giggles through the fabric.

“Night, give me those!” Autumn demands, trying to scoot closer to her pajama bottoms without letting the thestral stand back up. “I’m gonna be cold without them!”

Hooking the pants with a wingtip, Night just moves them further away as she pouts. “But I'm warm…”

Autumn finds herself growing less angry as she looks at the batpony’s pouty face. “Night...come on...please? I feel weird and exposed like this...”

“You know we never wear clothes anyway, right?” Alloy points out.

“I said it was weird, okay?” the unicorn retorts.

“Okay, since you asked nicely…” The wing folds up, dangling the pants in front of Autumn’s face. “I wouldn’t want you to feel exposed… yet.” The last word is in a barely audible whisper.

Blushing, Autumn takes the pants and starts pulling them on. She replies in a whisper of her own, “Honestly, I’d probably have done the same thing to you.” She sticks her tongue out.

“Good to know we’re both silly and flirty.” Night winks as she decides to just lay where she is, comfy.

Autumn smiles and lies down beside her, levitating her glasses off and resting them on her bag in the corner. “Guess we’re just sleeping like this, then?”

“I don’t see why not. I’m not sure any of us brought pillows.” The batpony giggles, pulling the unicorn to her and nuzzling her, a bit more sweetness to it than usual.

“Sleeping bags are usually padded enough to act as a pillow themselves,” Alloy says as she lies down on the other side of Night to join the cuddling. “So we don’t have to sleep with our heads on the ground.”

Shrugging, the thestral stretches her forelegs and wings under her friends, bringing them right up against her. “Doesn’t matter to me. All that matters is I got this cuddling you promised me.”

Alloy giggles. “Speaking of promises...” She nuzzles Night. “You promised you’d show Autumn and me your echolocation noise.”

Autumn blinks. “Huh?”

Shifting nervously, Night nods. “Okay… but try not to laugh.” She clears her throat before opening her mouth and letting out an echoing high-pitched chirp, her ears twitching.

The two other fillies are quiet for a moment before Alloy speaks up. “That...was adorable!” She hugs the thestral tighter, which Autumn immediately does as well, both giggling.

“You don’t think it’s weird?” The batpony snuggles into the embraces, nuzzling Alloy and giving Autumn a small lick on the cheek.

“I don’t see why you were so embarrassed about it,” Alloy continues, not noticing the lick. “Do all thestrals make that noise? Or just you?”

“Well, we can all do the echolocation, but each of our sounds is different.” Night smiles. “Some do little shrieks, some do chirps like me, my dad does this lower tone bark. It’s one way to tell who’s doing it if you know their sound.”

Autumn nods. “I’m guessing it’s easier for batponies to tell the difference between them? Because honestly, I don’t think I’d be able to recognize just different shrieking or chirping sounds from one another.”

“Maybe because we grew up with it.” The emerald-maned mare shrugs again. “I don’t know, all I know is it’s something we’d do a lot in dark caves to test ourselves.”

“Do you use it very often?” Alloy asks. “I know that regular bats need to use it because they can’t see very well, but you can see just fine, so...”

“Not really, mostly at night when I’m too lazy to turn on a light.” She lets out a small sigh. “Not much call for it around here.”

Autumn nuzzles her. “Hey, don’t get mopey. We all have some sort of skill that we realistically would never use in everyday life.”

“Oh?” She looks between the two of them. “Like what?”

“Well, I have my shield magic, which isn’t exactly useful around the house or for many jobs,” Autumn offers. “And Alloy can dislocate her wing, which...well, same thing.”

Night shivers. “I’d never be able to dislocate my wing… I don’t even like thinking about it.”

“I’ll try not to do it around you then.” Alloy smiles. “It’s really only good for freaking ponies out at school.”

“Bleh, less gross talk more snuggling.” She nestles deeper into their pony pile before a thought occurs. “Umm… hey, Autumn? Can you drag the other sleeping bag over with your magic so we don't get too cold?”

Nodding, Autumn lights her horn and picks up the second sleeping bag with her magic, slowly hovering it over to them and laying it across them like a large blanket. “There we go.”

“Let’s see then… warmth, softness, snuggles, friends… looks like we have everything for a good sleep.” She looks to the two of them. “Am I missing anything?”

“Nope!” Alloy chirps, snuggling in closer and closing her eyes. “Not that I can think of.”

“Same here,” Autumn agrees, before giggling and giving Night a quick goodnight kiss on the forehead. “See you two in the morning, then.”

Smiling and blushing slightly, Night nods. “Yeah, goodnight…”

Feeling warm and comfortable, the three fillies soon drift off to a peaceful sleep.

Chapter 7

Morning comes as it always does, but to those with nothing in particular to get up for, it comes slowly. A certain grey-furred batpony resists as she first feels the sign of awakening, taking what little consciousness she has and snuggling what feels to be something small and furry to her as she tries to go back to sleep.

Soon, however, the small and furry thing she has been cuddling begins to squirm, a quiet yawn coming from it, followed by a quiet voice. “Morning...”

Not quite awake, Night pats the thing in her grasp. “Dizzy… quiet, you don’t talk…”

The thing goes quiet for a moment before speaking again. “...I’m not Dizzy, Night...”

Ears flicking as her brain connects voice to identity, the batpony raises the form up to her, blindly nuzzling it. “Autty…”

“Ow!” The form squirms further. “Night, stop!”

“Huh? Why?” The thestral finally starts fluttering her eyes open, looking at the blue form in front of her.

Much to her surprise, the pony she identifies as Autumn appears much smaller than the previous night. Her mane and tail are quite a bit shorter, her voice resembles that of a much younger filly, and her cutie mark is gone. The unicorn rubs her eyes. “Your fur feels like sandpaper...”

“...are you sure?” Night is still as she looks over her marefriend in her new form.

“It definitely feels...like...” Autumn stops squirming and blinks. “...why are you looking at me like that?”

“Because… you are the single most adorable thing I’ve ever seen at the moment… and if I do feel like that, I can’t cuddle you.” Her eye twitches.

Autumn blushes. “I...what do you mean? I don’t look very good in the mornings...”

“You’re so… tiny!” Night’s hooves gingerly curl around the foal, not bringing her in but the tense muscles clearly say she wants to.

“I’m...what?” The unicorn looks down, seeing her new form...and screams. Loudly.

The high pitched scream forces Night to relinquish her hold in favor of covering her ears, scrunching her eyes and curling up into a ball. The pegasus sleeping nearby jumps instantly up onto her hooves. “What’s going on?!”

“I don’t know!” Autumn cries, now curled up into a ball similar to Night’s.

The batpony slowly uncurls, peeking out at the blue filly and forcing herself not to hug her to make her feel better. Alloy puts a hoof on Night’s shoulder comfortingly, only to yank it away. “Ow!” Night’s eyes shimmer at this as she lets out a small whine.

“What happened?” Autumn asks in a whimper.

“I don’t know...you’re a kid, and Night’s become part cactus.” Alloy stands up, raising an eyebrow as a loud squeaking sound echoes out from her hooves as she does so. “...and either I just stepped on a mouse, or I’m a squeak toy now.”

The batpony can’t help but giggles, peeking out of her ball again. “Better not let you near any dogs…”

The pegasus takes a few more steps around the tent, similar squeaking sounds coming out whenever her hooves touch the ground. “This is weird...if it was just Night’s condition, I’d say she just got some sort of skin rash from one of the plants around here, but...I don’t think any plants around here cause squeaky hooves and de-aging.”

“W-Was it something in the lake?” Autumn asks, her childish voice eliciting a snicker from the pegasus.

“I don’t know… Alloy said she’s swam in it before…” Night uncurls herself and stands up.

“I haven’t seen anything new on this trip compared to previous ones...” Alloy taps the ground as she thinks, a quiet squeak coming from each tap. “Except that flower Night found...could that have been it?”

Giggling from the squeaks, the thestral shrugs. “I don’t know… spores in very magical plants can do things, but something this varied? I have no idea…”

“We should head back home and get help,” Alloy suggests. “We’re not going to figure anything out by just staying out here.”

“Yeah, maybe your mom can help? This does seem fairly magical,” Night offers, looking to Autumn.

The filly’s eyes widen. “After how much she was telling us to be careful, you want to go back to her and say we weren’t careful?!”

“But we were careful!” Her bat-winged friend exclaims. “We didn’t do anything wrong, stuff just happened!”

“B-But...” The filly whimpers. “What if she gets upset at us?”

Sighing, Night flexes her wings. “Okay, well… if we don’t go to her, what else do we do? I don’t really wanna go around like this.”

“Neither do I,” Alloy comments. “And I imagine you don’t exactly want to go back to school looking like a kid, Autumn.”

“...I don’t...” she admits, sitting down and covering her face with her hooves. “I don’t know what to do...”

Groaning, the thestral stomps her hooves on the ground. “Alloy, please hug her and make her feel better in my place. The cute sad face is killing me…”

Alloy walks over and does just that, scooping the filly up into a squeaky hug. “Autumn...I think your mother will understand that it was all an accident...” The filly mumbles something, but doesn’t respond other than that. “There’s nothing else we can really do anyway. It’s our only option.”

Autumn goes quiet for a moment before mumbling, “Fine…”

Pounding her hooves into the ground in agitation, Night starts to try and fold everything up. “Then let’s hurry up and get back before I cover myself in this stuff just so I can hug you both.”

Nodding, Alloy joins in helping to put everything away. Autumn does her best, but her apparent new age leaves her with little in the way of both physical and magical strength, and she eventually just gives up and sits beside her bag to wait.

They quickly get everything gathered and put away, even stowing Night’s new flower in her bag. Looking over at the filly, the batpony asks, “Do you want to ride on the way home?”

Autumn smiles. “I’d like that...but who’s gonna carry my stuff?” She looks over at her bag, which is now far too big for her to carry alone.

“Umm…” Night looks to the other winged pony. “Think there’s an easy way to split this between us?”

Alloy glances at Autumn’s bag. “She brought the least out of us, and I brought the most...I’ll carry her stuff and yours, you carry my stuff and her. That’s probably the most even we can get it. Besides, we’re all headed to the same place anyway.”

“Fair enough.” A few quick bags swaps are made before Night crouches down next to Autumn. “Hop on, little Autty.”

The filly climbs on top of the batpony, looking nervous. “Please don’t drop me...”

“I would never do that.” Her wings extend, standing straight up on either side of her to make walls for the filly. Autumn smiles and relaxes, but still holds on tight just in case.

“Alright, let’s get going,” Alloy says, leading the way. “Hope Mrs. Rune can help us...”

Looking up from her book, Rune marks her place, setting it on the nightstand. Stepping off the bed, she walks over to the door as she muses to herself aloud, a habit she noticed she picked up ever since she had her daughter. “I wonder who that could be… probably the girls. I hope they had a good time.” Reaching the door, she unlocks it and opens it with a bit of magic. Seeing Night and Alloy on the front porch, she smiles. “Hey there, you two. Where’s Autumn?”

The filly slowly peeks up from her spot on Night’s back, where she had been trying to hide behind the bag joining her for the ride. “...h-hi, mom...”

Blinking at her foal again child, Rune’s mouth falls open. “Autumn? But… how… are you?” She reaches out, instinctively picking up the filly and cradling her to her chest. “What happened?”

“We don’t really know...” Alloy says with a sigh. “She woke up like that, and Night and I have our own problems too.” She taps her hoof on the ground, several squeaking noises coming out. “Don’t touch Night. Her fur feels like cactus needles.”

The thestral whines, looking up with shimmery eyes. “I can’t hug anypony…”

“Oh dear… oh dear oh dear… come inside, let’s see what we can do.” Rune stands to the side of the door. The two quickly walk in. “Okay, now I have to check, but… were you girls sure you were careful? This is definitely magic of some kind, so did you see anypony casting spells nearby, or…”

“There was nopony else around that we saw,” Alloy answers. “And I made sure we kept away from any dangerous plants...though Night did find something that might have caused this.”

“Hmm?” The mare quirks an eyebrow as she rubs her filly’s back.

“Yeah, it’s right here…” Night fetches the blue plant from a side pocket in her bags on Alloy. “I didn’t see it spew spore or anything, but… it is the strangest thing we saw.”

Just in case, Rune doesn’t touch it, but she gets a good look. “Never seen anything like this before… certainly pretty, but… here, come with me. Maybe I have something that can help us.” She walks down the hall, heading past both bedrooms and the bathroom to another door. The girls follow her, curious.

“Guess you probably shouldn’t plant it in your garden after all, Night,” Alloy remarks.

Night pouts. “But I liked how it looked… oh well…”

Rune opens the door to what is revealed to be her office. A desk is the centerpiece while a filing cabinet, bookshelves, sketches, and a few boxes surround it. “My mother always told me to hang onto these just in case…” Walking over the shelf, her magic pulls out one of many thick tomes. “Guess she was right.” The title, Medical Dictionary, glints for a moment before the pages start turning. “Let’s see… what would they call this…”

“I don’t know...the effects vary from pony to pony, apparently, so that’s not much of a clue...” Alloy sighs as she rubs her temple.

“Something common perhaps; age regression? Though her mind is intact, so whether it truly is that, I’m not sure.” The mother’s face is serious even as she still holds Autumn. As she flips through more pages, she looks to the filly. “Are you doing okay?”

Autumn nods. “I-I think I’ve calmed down a bit...I just don’t like being so small and weak...”

Patting her back, Rune nuzzles her. “It’ll be alright sweetie, I promise.” She gets to her desired page. “Here we go… always surprising how many things can cause one effect.” She goes over them, eliminating them one by one until she comes to one referencing a hoofnote. “See poison joke… hmm…” Pulling out another tome, she sets it down on the first, flipping faster this time. “Ah, poison joke: a rare plant only found growing naturally in areas in or bordering the Everfree forest. This bright blue plant doesn’t look dangerous, nor is it injuring or life threatening in any direct way, but it’s effects are usually so varied and distressing that most cure them as soon as possible. After emerging, symptoms can be cured with the following ingredients…” She trails off as her eyes glance over the list. “Looks like I’ll need to go shopping.”

“I’m sorry for all this, mom...” Autumn whimpers, her ears drooping.

“Shh…” Rune speaks softly as she gives Autumn a kiss on the head. “It’s not your fault. None of you could have known about this realistically. At least it can be cured simply, I’ll just need to get a few things.” She looks at the other two. “I’ll need you two to watch over my baby while I’m gone.”

“Can do, Mrs. Rune!” Alloy replies, saluting playfully.

“Yes ma’am!” Night steps forward towards Autumn, but cringes and backs away a moment later.

Seeing this, the mare frowns sadly. “Poor dear… if you look in the hall closet, there’s a number of blankets if you want to pad yourself. You look like you’re suffering hug withdrawal.”

“I am…” Night quickly runs into the hall, finding said closet and diving in.

“Is there anything else we can do?” Alloy asks. “I can talk to my parents about trying to pay you back for the ingredients...”

“I can cover it easily, Alloy, but thank you.” She smiles, leaning down and nuzzling her. “It helps you girls, so it doesn’t even matter that it costs money. What matters is you girls are fine.”

Alloy nuzzles back. “A-Alright...thank you.” She smiles, still looking a little worried.

Tilting her head, Rune questions her. “Is something still wrong?”

She shakes her head. “N-No, nothing’s wrong...it’s fine.”

“Hmm…” The mother raises an eyebrow, but lets the issue drop for now. “Alright… here, hold Autumn for now.” She passes the filly over. “I need to go get all these ingredients for you all to bathe in.”

Alloy nods, hugging Autumn. “We’ll make sure she doesn’t get into any trouble.”

“Good girl.” Leaning down to the filly’s height, Rune nuzzles her daughter once more. “Try not to be mopey, okay sweetie? Mommy likes her little filly to be happy.”

Autumn nuzzles back, but a small groan escapes her throat. “I’m not a little filly...I’m not supposed to be, at least...”

“You’ll always be my baby… just more so right now than usual.” Rune giggles, kissing her once more before standing up and fetching her bags.

Alloy giggles as well. “Should I spank her if she starts acting up?”

“Of course not, I never spanked her and she turned out fine.” Rune sniffs. “Just give her plenty of love, make sure she doesn't make a mess when she gets something to drink, and if you come across her old onesie PJs, do not hesitate to put them on her and take pictures.”

“Mooooom!” Autumn whines, her face going a bright red.

“Sweetie, you know as well as I do that you are adorable, so excuse me for wanting a souvenir.” She giggles. “It’s either that or spending all evening cuddling you.”

The filly pouts. “I wouldn’t mind the cuddling...”

“I know dear, but you’re with your friends at the moment and we can always cuddle later when one of them isn’t around pining for it too.” She heads towards the door. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Alright...” Autumn relents, sighing.

“Take care.” With those words, Rune leaves, shutting and locking the door behind her.

Night, or what is assumed to be Night, emerges from the closet. More of a vaguely equine mass of blankets than anything else. “I have come for hugs…” she says in a zombie-like voice.

Alloy shrieks playfully and holds Autumn in front of her. “Take her, not me!”

The blanket monster grabs the filly, holding her close and nuzzling her. After a moment, Night’s voice comes through again. “It helps… but it’s not the same…”

“Don’t worry. You’ll be able to cuddle her normally pretty soon. At least for now you can enjoy her being pint-sized.” Alloy grins. “Want to start looking for her old onesie?”

“I do… but I don’t wanna let her go either.” Shaking a bit, Night’s head pops out of the blankets.

“Then you hold her, and I’ll go digging through her stuff.” Grinning wickedly, Alloy ignores Autumn’s protests and hops off to her friend’s room, hooves squeaking the whole way.

Holding her mini marefriend, Night whispers quietly. “This isn’t how I imagined spending our time at your house together.”

Autumn gives up on yelling at Alloy and just sighs, relaxing into Night’s hold. “It’ll get better when we’re cured and Alloy goes home...trust me.” She smiles.

“I’ll hold you to that.” The blankets hug her tighter. “Is it bad I still want to kiss you right now?”

“Not really...but try to wait a bit, just in case.” The unicorn snuggles into the blankets. “We still have to explain...us...to Alloy and mom, anyway...”

“I know… I wanted to be able to enjoy it first though. We just started.” Sighing, Night settles into the blankets. “I’m new to this kind of thing… I don’t want to answer questions yet.”

“Then we’ll wait a bit,” Autumn says. “Just until we’re more comfortable talking about it.”

“Thanks, Autty… you’re the best.” She tries to make the hug warmer, but can only do so much.

The filly smiles. “Now we just wait...hopefully Mom gets back before Alloy finds it.”

“Why? Is it so bad?” Night giggles. “I thought it would be cute… even if I can’t enjoy it as much if you aren’t full sized.”

“There’s cute, and then there’s humiliating,” Autumn grumbles.

Turning off the tap, Rune pours the final bag of ingredients into the hot tub, the dust mixing seamlessly. “At least it stays colourless so it won’t stain the tub…” She calls back over her shoulder. “Girls! The tub’s ready for whoever wants to go in! All at once or one at a time, it’s up to you!”

After a few seconds, Alloy and Night enter the bathroom. “Autumn will be here once she gets her onesie off,” Alloy says with a wide smile.

“Aww, I was enjoying seeing her in her little bunny outfit…” Rune sighs. “At least I have the picture. Thank you, Alloy.”

“Anytime, Mrs. Rune!” the pegasus replies as she sets about to removing her leg.

“Do you want some privacy, Alloy?” Night asks sincerely.

Alloy shakes her head. “I don’t see a problem with us bathing together. The tub seems big enough for all three of us.”

“Oh good,” Rune says happily as she stands up. “I was worried about Autumn bathing herself with her new… old… young body.”

“I still know how to bathe myself,” the filly replies as she walks into the bathroom. “My mind didn’t de-age too, mom.”

“I know… I just worry, sweetie.” She sighs as she walks over and nuzzles her. “It just makes me nostalgic for when you were this little…”

Autumn sighs too. “I don’t remember enjoying being this little...so the nostalgia doesn’t really affect me the same way.”

“I know, sweetie… don’t mind me.” She turns around as she gets to the door. “Do you girls need anything else before I leave you to it?”

“I think we’re fine,” Alloy replies with a smile as she shakily stands back up, minus one leg. “Thank you again, Mrs. Rune.”

“Not a problem dear. I look forward to when you all get cured.” With that, she walks out, shutting the door behind her and heading to the kitchen.

The pegasus props herself up on the edge of the tub with her front legs and pulls herself in. “Night, can you lift Autumn up and place her in?”

“Of course.” Gingerly, using only her wings, Night picks up the tiny unicorn and lowers her into the water. “Didn’t stick you, did I?”

Autumn smiles up at her. “No, it was fine. Thank you.” She looks around. “So...do we just bathe like normal?”

“I guess, she just put all the stuff in so maybe we just cover ourselves in it?” Night shrugs and steps in herself, settling in the water. “I didn’t expect us all to be splashing around together again so soon.”

Autumn takes in a deep breath before dunking her head into the water; with her size, she is easily able to submerge her entire body. She comes up a second later, rubbing her eyes. “Am I big again yet?”

Night shakes her head. “No, I’m pretty sure we’ll know when you are. Maybe we do have to wash…” She looks around, spotting the soap bar and grabbing it with both hooves.

“Wash the little one up first,” Alloy says. “Easiest job to do.” She ignores the glare she receives from the unicorn.

“I’d love to.” The batpony turns to Autumn, smiling. “So, where do you want it first? Shall I get your little hooves… or your stomach, or your mane…”

Autumn sighs. “Mane and tail first, please...”

The bar slips from her hooves and into the water. “Probably best…” She looks instead to the bottle of shampoo, finding it much easier to grab. “Alright, here we go.” She puts a bit on her hoof before she starts washing the small mane.

The small unicorn smiles, sitting still and letting her work. “That feels good...”

“Glad you’re enjoying it… but I’m actually done already.” She shrugs apologetically. “Sorry. Big hooves, small mane. Now then… turn around and let me at that tail, please.”

Autumn nods, turning around and crouching down, lifting her rump up. “Is that good?”

Night giggles, patting the flank lightly. “Still adorable…”

“You’re supposed to wash her tail, not cop a feel,” Alloy jokes, currently washing her own body with the recovered bar of soap.

“Fine…” She starts washing the tail, giving it a tiny playful tug when Alloy isn’t looking.

Autumn gasps lightly, looking back at Night with a small blush. She quickly shakes her head.

The thestral just winks before gently washing her tail, no other playful antics. “There we go.”

Autumn sighs in relief. “I guess washing the rest of me, now?”

“Aww… still so cute…” She starts washing the filly once more, soon having her all lathered up. “There you go, should be all squeaky clean once you rinse.”

With a thankful nod, the filly dunks herself under the water once more. She comes up after a couple of seconds, but no longer a filly; she has miraculously returned to her proper age and size.

“Good to know it works,” Alloy says with a sigh. She finishes soaping herself up and begins rinsing off as well, not being able to just dive under the water like Autumn.

Night moves to hug the newly grown mare, but stops herself just in time as she pouts. “Right… still can’t hug yet…”

Autumn rubs her eyes and looks down. Seeing herself back to normal size, she smiles and relaxes. “Finally...this feels so much better.”

“Just start soaping yourself up, Night,” Alloy says. “Then you can snuggle all you want.”

“You aren’t gonna wash me?” She flutters her slightly damp eyelashes.

Alloy shakes her head. “You’re still prickly, remember?”

Huffing, the batpony quickly starts lathering herself up. “Stupid prickles… won’t let me do anything fun…”

Now all cleaned up and cured, Autumn begins climbing out of the tub. “That is not an experience I want to relive...”

Washing herself at lightning speed, Night nods as she scrubs her mane. “I’m not good without my affection fix.”

Alloy starts climbing out as well, her hooves now silent. “I think I’ll head home soon. Mom told me to be back before noon, and that tent isn’t exactly light.” She picks up a towel and starts to dry herself, as Autumn has already begun doing. “Hope you two can have fun without me.”

As she finishes her tail, Night pauses to answer knowingly. “Oh, I’m sure we’ll find some way…” She dunks herself, swishing around in the water.

Autumn grins. “Yeah, I think we’ll find something to do.” She giggles. “Don’t worry about us.”

Smiling, Alloy finishes drying off and begins reattaching her leg. “I’ll tell your mother that you’re both cured on the way out. Don’t forget your stuff when you go home, Night.” She stands up and heads for the door.

As she shakes herself off in the tub, Night mutters. “Home, right…”

Autumn smiles. “Don’t worry, Night. I’ll help you remember.” Once Alloy’s out of the room, she adds in a quieter voice: “I also plan to help you forget...”

Still wet, the now soft thestral steps out of the bath, closing the distance and giving Autumn a kiss. As she breaks it, she speak as she starts to dry off. “You have no idea how much I was looking forward to that…”

The unicorn giggles. “I think I do have an idea...I was looking forward to it just as much.” She blushes as she looks over the batpony’s dripping wet body. “W-Wow...”

Halting her towel movements, Night blushes as she covers herself. “What?”

Autumn pouts. “Aww...don’t cover up...you look amazing like this.” Smiling, she steps forward for a nuzzle. “It’s not like anypony else is around, you know...”

“True… I’m just not used to looks like that…” She takes the towel away, still dripping on the rug. “Do I… look nice?”

“Nicer than nice.” The unicorn hugs her. “Adorable, beautiful, and sexy all at once...I think that goes beyond ‘nice’.”

Night squeezes her marefriend tightly, nuzzling her. “I’ve never been called sexy before… You know this is just getting you wet again, right?”

“Worth it. Completely worth it.” She kisses her on the cheek. “Not like I can’t just dry off again anyway.”

“Yeah…” She smiles as she looks into the blue filly’s eyes, but her thoughts are interrupted a moment later as a knock comes through the door.

“When you girls are finished in there, I made some dinner. It’s on the counter and it’s still warm. Will you be joining us, Night?”

“Yes, Mrs. Rune.” She pauses. “And umm, is it okay if I stay the night?”

“Of course, dear. I’ll be sure to leave you two alone so you can have your fun.”

“Thank you!” Waiting a moment as she hears the hoofsteps fade, Night kisses Autumn once more. “Well, it was a small interruption, but it should be the last one after we eat, right?”

Autumn nods. “I think so.” She smiles. “Which is good, because I don’t want to wait much longer.”

“Good… one last kiss before we dry off and eat?” Night smiles hopefully.

The unicorn grins and nods. “Fine by me.” She leans in, pushing her lips against the thestral’s happily.

Chapter 8

Nightshade practically skips through the door to Autumn’s room, her tail wagging as she turns around and waits for the unicorn to catch up. Autumn is practically right behind her, giggling like mad as she closes the door behind them both. She pauses a moment, then quietly clicks the lock on the door. “Just in case.”

The thestral nods, bounding onto the bed and laying on her stomach, eyes glinting as she looks at Autumn. “I… I don’t even know where to start…”

“Just whatever you feel like doing,” Autumn replies with a giggle, hopping onto the bed with her. “We can cuddle; we can kiss; we can play around...maybe you can do that little ‘modeling show’ you promised.” She winks.

“I don’t think I have anything to wear like that, though… not even at my house.” Nevertheless, she leans against the unicorn, nuzzling and licking her neck.

Autumn nuzzles back, wrapping her in a hug. “Maybe not, but I’ve got some clothes stuffed away in my closet that I almost never wear...all I ever bother with are pajamas and the occasional dress for special events.” She rubs one hoof at the base of Night’s wing.

“I bet you look amazing in dresses…” Her wing extends as she lets out a few pants.

“I dunno...I like to think I look good in them, but I haven’t exactly made jaws drop.” She leans in and goes right to nibbling at the joint.

“Eep!” The batpony squeaks as her wings shoot out to full extension. She rolls over onto her side, forcing herself to speak. “Probably because I haven’t seen it yet… heh, deja vu right now…”

“I think I’d rather see you in one...and then help take it off, but that’s beside the point.” Autumn stops nibbling so that her marefriend can talk, but gives small licks every now and then along with the constant massaging.

Night keeps panting, petting Autumn’s mane gently. “So… what were those other things you said you have stashed?”

“Hmm...I can’t recall off the top of my head.” She smiles from the pets and nuzzles her hoof. “I do have some things I know we’d both enjoy seeing the other in...”

“Oh?” Night curls her body around her marefriend. “Well, that certainly sounds like somewhere to start… don’t know how long they’ll stay on though.”

Stopping with her massages and licking, Autumn hops off the bed. “We’ll see...” Smirking, she trots to the closet, swaying her hips as she does so.

Night lets out a playful growl. “Oh come on… I just want to pounce on you when you do that… claim that flank for my own…”

Autumn stops moving and bends down, deliberately waving her flank back and forth. “Too bad...my butt, my rules~” She grins over her shoulder.

“Maybe… but you’re definitely making me an enthusiastic player…” Her own rump raises into the air as her tail flicks back and forth.

Opening the closet door, Autumn starts rooting through it, only her back end visible as she goes right to the back depths, tossing aside a few formal-looking dresses and loose sets of pajamas. “What do you want to go for first? Cute, sexy, or just good-looking?”

“Well, all things considered… I think we can go sexy for now. I doubt I’ll want you to put on something else after the first set anyway. We can do more some other time… is that okay?” she asks, wanting to make sure she wasn’t crossing a line.

The unicorn smiles. “I have no problem with that.” She rummages through some more until finally coming out, a large paper bag in her magic. “Go ahead and put this on. I’ll look away. I want it to be a surprise.”

“Huh?” Night looks in the bag, blushing as she rummages through it. “Oh my… why do you… this is… wow…” She sets it down and steps off the bed, starting to slip everything on after the unicorn turns away and covers her eyes. “I never thought of wearing something like this outside of hormone dreams… I hope I don’t look silly…” She pulls on the rest, turning to the side and striking a small pose in her new pink ‘sexy nurse’ outfit, complete with white stockings and lingerie underneath. “Okay… you can look…”

Autumn swiftly turns around, excited. Upon seeing her marefriend in such an outfit and pose, her face goes bright red and she gasps. “W-Wow...you look...” She trails off, unable to come up with a good word to describe the sight.

Night blushes, looking down and turning away, not realizing what the outfit looks like from behind. “It looks good… right?”

When she turns away, Autumn gasps again and has to sit down, unable to look away. “Looks...a-amazing...” She’s starting to breathe quickly, taking in the sight. After a second, she stands up again and begins to shakily walk over.

Looking over her shoulder, Night still blushes. “Thank you…” She blinks as she sees the unicorn getting closer.

Without warning, Autumn wraps her in a hug. “So...amazing.” She licks the thestral along the neck.

Night shivers, her wings spreading halfway. “Autty!” Still, she leans into the hug, nuzzling as best she can from this angle.

Autumn giggles. “You were right...sexy was the best choice. I already want to take it off you...well, maybe just the dress itself...” She nibbles Night’s neck playfully.

Neck leans her head away, giving her more neck to nibble. “Well, if you do that… I could model what’s underneath for you…” She blushes more at the thought, but her tails wags in excitement.

The unicorn perks up, slowly grinning. “...yes. Please, please, yes?” She gives the batpony her best begging face. “Pleeeease?”

“Okay, okay…” Giggling, Night faces Autumn once more. “But you have take the dress off me.”

“Deal.” Taking the collar in her mouth, Autumn begins to gently tug the article of clothing up and off, deliberately not using her magic so she can get up close.

Bending her head down, Night lets the dress slip off her. This leaves her standing there in nothing more than stockings and lingerie, the latter of which only amounts to some lacy panties attached to a bra for her teats; still far more than most ponies wear.

Once she’s taken the dress off of her marefriend, Autumn glances at her to see how she looks now. The dress falls from her mouth as her jaw drops. “...o-oh...”

Feeling the clothing hug her, Night giggles nervously as she backs up a pace. “So, I’m supposed to model, right?” Putting a certain sway in her hips, she struts away from the unicorn, tail swishing back and forth.

Autumn can’t help but stare, mouth still wide open as her eyes follow the rump in front of her. She tries to speak, but can’t form a coherent word, let alone sentence.

Night turns around, strolling back up to Autumn with a burning blush, but half closed eyes. She keeps walking until her face is an inch from her marefriend’s, just staring into her eyes. “How’d I do?”

The unicorn stares back, mouth still open, until she finally speaks in a quiet voice. “...I kind of wish...you could just wear those all the time.”

“But then it wouldn’t be special… right? They’re for nopony else but you…” Night gently presses her lips to Autumn’s.

The unicorn is more than happy to return the kiss, deciding she doesn’t need to really answer that question. She opens her mouth to allow the thestral’s tongue access. Night obliges, remembering how good it was last time and eager to feel it again. Her tongue eases into her marefriend’s mouth, dancing with her own as they stand.

For several minutes, they continue like that, until Autumn slowly pulls away just to dive for the batpony’s neck, giving it a long lick. Night freezes, stretching her neck languidly as she lets out a happy moan.

Autumn smirks, giving another lick as she slowly starts to walk around her. Once she’s close enough, she gives Night’s cloth-covered rear a soft pinch.

“Eek!” Night squeaks as she does a small jump forward, budging Autumn’s bed. Still, she doesn’t turn away, looking over her shoulder and giggling. “Aren’t you cheeky? Pun not intended.”

Autumn sticks her tongue out. “This type of clothing is meant to draw attention to the covered areas. I’m just showing it some attention.” She pinches again before rubbing it gently.

Night shivers as her tail raises, the mare herself blushing and ducking her head. “I think it likes it…”

“Well, you tell me when to stop.” She giggles, licking the thestral’s neck once more before continuing to massage her rump. “Otherwise I’ll keep this going all day.”

“As much as I’d like that… and I’m really liking this...” She giggles. “I want to make sure you feel this good too… fair is fair.”

Autumn frowns. “I’m not going to just stop right when I’m getting into it.” She goes back to smiling. “Two more minutes?”

“Okay… but I’m getting you back for all this, just so you know.” Her tail wags nonetheless in it’s raised state.

“Relax. I just want to make sure we’re back to square one before we continue.” The unicorn giggles as she lights her horn, unclasping the bra strap on the batpony’s back.

Night gulps as the fabric falls to hang freely, only held onto her by the two pieces connecting it to the band of the panties. Still, her teats are out for the world to see, should it look.

While the world doesn’t necessarily look, one certain blue mare sure does, and she blushes immediately but doesn’t lose her smile. “I was wondering when I’d be able to get a good glimpse of those.” Giggling, she goes for the final step, taking the waistband of Night’s remaining clothes in her teeth and slowly pulling them down.

Night freezes once more as she feels herself being fully exposed, her tail too raised to do anything and her clothing now leaving. She gulps as her most intimate of areas becomes unveiled right in front of the unicorn.

“Ooh...it’s like opening a birthday present.” Autumn smiles as she once again gives the cheek in front of her a pinch, this time with nothing in the way. “I can’t wait to play with it.”

The batpony lets out a small whine as she stands in place, clad only in stockings as she feels a warmth in her nethers. “Me neither…”

After one more pinch, Autumn walks back around to the front of her marefriend, smiling as seductively as she can. “So...you said something about getting me back?”

Nodding and panting, Night locks lips with Autumn again, pushing her back towards the bed. The unicorn gladly goes along with it until her rump is being pushed against the bed frame. Rearing up, Night keeps pushing, crawling over Autumn as she falls onto her back on the bed. Finally breaking the kiss, she smiles. “I think I told you once how my tribe likes to nibble…” She bends down to the unicorn’s neck, sharp teeth being surprisingly gentle as they nibble up and down it.

Autumn lets out a quiet moan, eyes closing in bliss. “Y-You did tell me that...and I see why you like it...”

Giggling, Night licks where she nibbled before moving south and doing the same to her chest, and even then, moving on and doing it to her cutie mark. Nip, lick, nip, lick. Always the same pattern and always gentle.

The unicorn’s reactions only escalate the lower she goes. At her neck, she mostly hums in pleasure. At her chest, she gasps and seems to shiver in delight. But once the thestral’s mouth touches her flank, her eyes shut and she lets out a loud moan, body going stiff.

Night raises her head and ears at the sound, hoof rubbing the mark on her flank. “Wow… did you really like that? It sounded like when you nibbling my wing bases…”

Autumn nods, breathing heavily. “M-My flank is...pretty sensitive...” She smiles. “In a good way, though...”

“Heh, looks like I found a good spot to pay you back for all you did for me.” She moves once again downward, nibbling more on her cutie marks but not bothering to lick now.

The unicorn moans again, kicking her back legs a bit. “N-Night...that’s not f-fair...” Despite her protests, she has an obvious smile on her face along with her blush.

“Hmm? What part of this isn’t fair?” She gives a long lick all the way up her flank, still having not looked between them.

“I...oh~” Autumn moans once again, eyes closing. “...again...”

“Well, if you say so…” Night giggles mischievously as she nips again, one hoof drifting down and finding her tail, pulling ever so slightly. The unicorn gasps, her body tensing up before relaxing as she lets out a quieter, but longer, hum of pleasure. “Wow, you make all the cute and sexy noises, don’t you?” Hesitantly, Night nips again, but this time halfway to her inner thigh.

“I just...ah~” Whatever Autumn was going to say is cut off by her own sound of enjoyment. Her back legs kick slightly.

Pausing, Night glides up her marefriend’s body again. “Well, you were nice and let me talk, I’ll do the same for you.” A hoof draws small swirls on the unicorn’s belly.

Autumn gulps before she manages to speak. “...y-you’re really good at this...”

“I’m just doing what feels good… to me and you. That’s how this is supposed to work, right?” She leans down, kissing her once more.

She smiles. “That’s right...” She nuzzles her. “Though...how far do you want to go with this? It’s only the first time for us...”

“I dunno…” Night nuzzles her back. “It all feels so good… and it makes you feel good… I don’t really want to stop. I mean, I’m nervous, but it’s you so I’m excited. I mean… I let you undress me, and you stared… and I liked it… and I’m rambling…” She giggles, nibbling her neck again to shut herself up.

Autumn smiles, pulling her into a hug. “I like it too...I just don’t know how far we plan to take it tonight. I mean, we’ve only been together a day, and nopony else even knows about us...” She blushes. “And I don’t know what we’d do if mom overheard us...”

“That would be embarrassing…” The thestral blushes as well. “I mean, I know we don’t have to go all the way tonight, but… is it bad that I still want to do more? I just feel like I’m coiled up… and I just… I don’t even know.” She once again kisses Autumn, trying to convey what she means.

The unicorn just kisses back, saving her reply for when they eventually break away. “I don’t mind going further...it’s up to you when we stop.”

“Heh, okay… so, what do you want to do now then? We seem to just be taking turns making each other squirm.” She growls playfully. “Not that I mind that.”

Autumn giggles. “We can keep going with that, but get a little more...intimate...” She leans up and licks the batpony across the cheek.

“Does that mean you’re taking your turn then?” Night licks back, smiling.

The unicorn responds by grabbing Night in her magic and flipping over with her so that she lies on top, the batpony beneath her. “Mm-hm.”

The emerald-maned mare blushes, her forelegs folding on her chest. Suddenly being on bottom has her smiling shyly at her marefriend.

“Aww, what’s wrong?” Autumn coos, nuzzling her. “Not used to this?”

Nodding her head, Night squirms. “Yeah… like a lot of stuff today, it’s new, but exciting.”

“Well, don’t worry. I’ll go gentle.” Lowering herself down so she’s practically lying on the thestral, their chests touching, she grins. “Unless you don’t want me to, that is.”

Blushing harder, something she didn’t think she was capable of doing, Night speaks quietly. “Gentle please…” She shivers in anticipation.

Giggling, Autumn lowers her head down and licks the batpony on the neck before starting to trail down, moving onto her chest and stomach. She keeps going in this direction, slowing down near her target to glance up at Night’s face as if for confirmation.

Somehow between her eyes closing and panting breaths, the thestral looks down at her marefriend’s face. Seeing her pause, she squirms once more, nodding her head and motioning for her to continue.

Autumn smiles and picks up the pace again, licking down to between the batpony’s hind legs before ending her journey, proceeding to lick in circles around that area.

Leaning her head back, Night lets out a quiet mewl as her hindlegs twitch. Her hooves grip the sheets as she tries to steady herself. “Autty…”

The unicorn giggles. She licks around the petals a couple more times before flicking her tongue directly across it. The thestral’s whole body flinches as contact is made, her breath hitching as her eyes go wide. Still, after a moment she relaxes once more, hoping the blue mare does that again.

As if reading her mind, Autumn repeats her action, making it last longer this time. As she does, she uses one hoof to stroke the side of the mare’s flank. “Liking it so far?”

“Yes, yes… oh yes…” Night pants, giggling in between breaths. “It’s like… woah…”

Smirking, Autumn goes a step further, positioning her tongue right at the entrance of her marefriend’s flower and slightly pushing it in.

Letting out a long high-pitched sound, the batpony covers her mouth with a hoof. Her hindlegs raise up and curl around the unicorn’s barrel, keeping her where she is as she feels intense heat flush her nethers. She calms after a few moments, speaking shakily. “Autty… I can’t… I might… you’re too good at this… I might… in your face…” She hides her eyes with her other hoof.

Autumn retracts her tongue for a moment to speak. “That’s a risk I’m willing to take.” Grinning, she sticks it back in, twirling it around inside.

Muffling herself again with one hoof, Night squeals, her other hoof darting down to Autumn’s head and resting on the back of it as her back arches. Fireworks explode in her head and lower as her legs lock up. Her whole body feels like some sort of wonderful combination of tension and relaxation as she rides it out, feeling something shoot out of her.

The unicorn doesn’t give up, continuing to lick in small circles as her marefriend releases. Once she doesn’t feel anything else coming out, she pulls back and begins wiping her face off with her hoof, occasionally licking at the sticky substance. “Well, you’re certainly quick on the draw.” She giggles.

Panting as she lays flat, Night lifts up a hoof. “That’s what happens when a weapon isn’t fired for more than… ten times total, and none within the last year.”

Finishing cleaning off her hoof with her tongue, Autumn smiles. “Well, you definitely kept it loaded all the way.” She lies down beside the thestral and snuggles against her. “Don’t tell me you’re worn out just from that.”

“I’ll be fine in a moment… it was just the most intense thing I’ve ever felt…” Holding Autumn close, the thestral nibbles lightly on her ear, speaking between bites. “Not sure… I can measure up to that.”

The unicorn giggles from the nibbles. “Don’t worry...I don’t have any past experiences for you to live up to, so however you do it, it’ll probably be the best I’ve ever felt.”

Pausing her nibbling, Night looks at Autumn curiously. “Wait… have you never…” she motions south on both of them. “To yourself?”

Autumn blushes. “W-Well...sometimes...but only in heat, to keep myself calm.”

Nodding understandingly, Night starts nibbling on her neck now. “I get it. That was really the only time I did it too… well, except for my last few where I’ve been trying other things. I just felt like I wasn’t in control then.” She pauses for a moment. “Well, I guess now we could help each other when they come around in like a month, so that’ll at least be nice instead of torture.”

The unicorn giggles and nods. “True...though I hope that isn’t the only time we’ll get together like this.”

“Of course not!” The thestral lifts herself up and straddles Autumn, leaning down and kissing her deeply. When they finally come up for air, she smiles, nuzzling her. “This’ll happen whenever we want it… speaking of which… am I right in thinking you want it now?”

“Maaaybe...” Autumn smiles. “Whenever you feel like it, really. I know this is new for us both, so I don’t want to rush you.”

“I don’t think that will be a problem.” Night giggles knowingly, giving her one last neck nip before gliding down her chest and beyond, one hoof trailing through the blue coat as her breath wafts over it. She pauses above where Autumn did, looking at two blue mounds there before looking back up at her marefriend’s face.

The unicorn giggles. “It’s not a museum display. You can look and touch.” She sticks her tongue out playfully.

Looking back down again, Night nuzzles the soft peaks, sticking out her tongue and giving one a light lick. Autumn shivers in pleasure, giggling again. This only encourages the thestral, who wraps her lips around a perky peak and sucks lightly.

Moaning lightly, the unicorn shuts her eyes, her body twitching a bit as her smile grows wider. Night parts her lips, giggling. “This is a little strange… but I still like it, and so do you.” She nuzzles and licks the mounds once more before moving on, finally gazing at what she had avoided so far. One hoof raises and gently brushes down the slit. “...I feel like I should say something romantic but… I can’t think straight easily right now…”

The unicorn has already gone stiff with tension, breathing heavily. “N-Neither can I...m-maybe we don’t n-need to say anything…?”

Nodding silently, Night puts her hooves on either side of the entrance and pulls, revealing the pink inside. Reverently, she sticks out her tongue and gives the petal a long flat lick from top to bottom.

With a squeak, Autumn tenses up her hind legs, bringing them up a bit to either side of the thestral’s head. Her eyes close slightly as though she’s in a daze, which she might as well have been.

Seeing two targets, the nub above and the hole below, the batpony goes for what her marefriend had. Narrowing her mouth muscle, she squirms it slowly inside her passageway. Autumn gasps, her breathing picking up pace as she waits in anticipation, her back leg starting to twitch. Night probes deeper, her tongue wider the more goes in. She writhes it around inside, trying to touch every last inch she can while driving Autumn crazy.

She is clearly succeeding in her goal, judging by the unicorn’s reactions. Autumn continues to moan as her leg twitches faster, her eyes shutting completely. She feels a warm buildup she hadn’t noticed before down where Night is, and before she can get out a coherent warning, feels it all burst out.

Feeling a warm liquid flow around her tongue, Night laps it up. Due to this, she ends up drinking a bit more than expected, but nevertheless, when she finishes, she looks up at Autumn with a goofy face. “Did I taste that good?”

The unicorn is no longer tensed up and is instead lying limply, breathing heavily as she tries to focus. “I...” She grunts as she starts trying to force herself to sit up. “Huh?”

“...” Night stays silent for a moment before giggling, crawling back up Autumn’s body until they are face to face. One hoof lags behind, playfully toying with a mound as she speaks. “I said… did I taste that good? Because you did…”

“Oh...” She squirms a bit, giggling. “You definitely tasted better than I expected...”

“Glad to hear that…” The thestral nuzzles her, hoof coming back up as she embraces the unicorn. “You were my first, you know… and I’m glad it was you…”

Autumn smiles, hugging back. “Same with you.”

“Hey, umm…” Night nuzzles her again as she speaks. “I can do you again if you want… but I think I’m good for tonight… I think after so long of nothing, if I went off again I might pass out… and I want to cuddle.”

“I’m fine with just some snuggling,” the unicorn responds. “Besides...I was trying to keep my voice down, and I don’t think I could manage that if we did a round two.” She giggles, nuzzling the thestral’s chest.

“Yeah…” Rolling off the unicorn and onto her side, Night keeps them close. “Heh, I wonder how crazy we’ll get if we have the house to ourselves…”

Autumn blushes. “I don’t know if I’m anxious or scared to find out.”

Wrapping as much as she can around the unicorn, Night licks her before responding. “You don’t have to be scared with me… I don’t care how cheesy that sounds, it’s true.”

The unicorn smiles. “Alright then...” She cuddles closer, yawning.

One wing stretching towards the covers, Night giggles as she thinks of something. “We didn’t just scar Dizzy, did we?”

“Night...he’s a teddy bear.” Autumn looks slightly bemused. “I’m not that childish.”

“Oh, fine…” She pulls the covers over them up to their shoulders. “...it occurs to me I’m still wearing the stockings… should I take them off?”

“Only if they get uncomfortable for you.” The unicorn smiles, nuzzling her. “Feels weird to sleep naked...”

“Why?” Night giggles, gently scraping her fangs down Autumn’s neck as she whispers sensually. “Afraid now that we’re together, we might be… tempted? Because you might be right.”

Autumn twitches a bit, whimpering. “D-Didn’t you say you’d rather just cuddle now? You’re gonna get me excited again...”

“Okay, okay, I’ll cool down…” She pulls her into a soft kiss, letting it last well over thirty seconds before breaking it. “So, wanna tell me now why it’s weird, my naked pony?”

The unicorn giggles. “I’ve just never slept this way for as long as I can remember...I got into wearing clothes to bed when I was young, and I just never grew out of the habit.”

“Well… think of me as your clothes for the nights when we’re together.” Night giggles. “I keep you warm by pressing myself against your soft coat, and when you wake up you’ll wonder how you ever slept without me.”

Autumn smiles. “Sounds good to me...” With another yawn, she snuggles closer against her marefriend. “I’m already wondering how I got by without you.”

The thestral smiles softly, resting her forehead against the unicorn’s as she closes her eyes. “Same… goodnight, Autumn…”

“Goodnight...” Autumn closes her eyes as well, ready to let sleep take them both.

Chapter 9

Ornate opens the door, her amethyst coat sparkling as usual while her smile matches it. “Hey, you two. Glad you could make it after I had to do something so odd as to wait for you after school like a parent.” She opens her front door wider as she moves, giving them space to come in.

Alloy and Night both slip in quickly, the pegasus giving the mare a sheepish smile. “Sorry...not really something we can get out of.”

“I know that,” the mare responds as she leads them to the living room as per usual. “It’s just not where I’m used to contacting you at, but considering you were gone most of the weekend, I had to make due with the time constraints.”

“Yeah, we had a camping trip...and then Night stayed at a friend’s house all day Sunday.” Alloy glances at the thestral as she says this. “She won’t tell me what they got up to, though.”

“You’ll find out in due time.” The batpony pats her friend’s head, but is unable to wipe the smile off her face or still her happily swishing tail.

The pegasus grumbles. “That doesn’t make me any less curious.”

When they get to the living room, they find that a fourth member is attending the last-minute meeting as well. Zesten smiles at the two newcomers, sitting patiently on a cushion at the living room table. A small slip of paper lies in front of him.

Looking around and seeing nopony else, Night hums to herself. “Huh… when you said it was just a little get-together, you weren’t kidding.”

Ornate nods as she lays down on a cushion. “Well, as I implied, this isn’t a real meeting and more something Zesten and I are doing to make sure you’re up to speed.”

The zebra nods. “Yesterday, we spoke with the pony Snowdrift had hired, only to hear the excuses of which she had tired. He claimed that he would soon get it done, but the fact he was lying was bright as the sun.” He shakes his head. “If this is the way things have to be, we will have to resort to Plan B.”

Night giggles as she rubs her hooves together. “Exposure and vengeance?”

Zesten sighs and nods, lifting up his slip of paper. “The others have heard what they have to do; we will meet up with them in an hour or two. That should give us time to tell you your parts.” He looks to the thestral. “This is your first real mission. Are you ready to start?”

“Hey, I did good on the fruit one, right?” she defends, her giggling stopping.

Alloy raises an eyebrow. “We normally don’t stop to sample what we’ve taken until we’re back home.”

Seeing the batpony pout, Ornate raises a hoof. “Now now, we just meant this is your first big mission. While you have gone on a few gatherings, this is different. It will be more risky, more impactful.”

Sighing, Night nods. “I know… I just didn’t think I was still in the ‘proving myself’ stage…”

“Night, I’ve been with these guys for about a year now and even I don’t think I’m out of that stage yet.” Alloy rolls her eyes playfully. “I’m pretty sure you stay there until you don’t have to skip or be late for meetings on account of your parents grounding you.”

“I guess…” Perking back up, the thestral turns to the only male in the room. “So, what’s the plan, then? What do we do?”

“First, we have Portal get us inside the walls,” Zesten begins. “Once in, we need someone to scout out the halls. We decided, Nightshade, that is your task; for thestrals have the night vision of bats.”

She salutes as they move on to the rest of the plan.

Just half an hour after midnight, a group of forms dressed in dark blue move silently along various buildings, staying off the streets and keeping to back alleys or yards whenever possible. They don’t stop until they enter the alley just beside a certain window shop, moving deep in until they are completely hidden from anypony walking by on the street.

The smallest of the forms breaks off from the others, walking up to the wall of the building and moving back and forth along it. The darkness makes it difficult to see exactly what it is doing, but after a moment, the form stops walking and appears to mess with the wall in front of it. Somehow, after several minutes, it disappears through a hole that had not been there before.

One of the cloaked forms tilts its head, but shakes it off, spreading leathery emerald wings as it takes flight. Quietly, Night wings in a circle, eyes darting around as she emits a sound outside normal pony hearing range, her ears twitching. Not seeing or hearing anything suspicious, she glides back down, landing near the hole. She tilts her head at it once more, a small frown on her face.

Through the hole, the dark inside of the building can be seen, the smaller form standing at the mouth of the hole and looking back, waiting for her to enter. Beyond him is what looks like some sort of back room, a staircase nearby leading up to more floors above and a door opposite it that likely leads to the front desk.

One of the other forms nudges her rump with their muzzle from behind. “Go in!” Alloy’s voice hisses quietly from the darkness.

Huffing, Night quickly goes through the hole, not wanting to spend more time in it than needed. Once inside, she smiles at the small form before crouching and starting to prowl around the interior now, slitted eyes darting everywhere. An almost imperceptible rattle is heard as she tries a door before returning to the hole and slipping out once more. She looks to the rest of them. “Clear, but the doors are locked.”

“Well, that’s why we have Snap.” Alloy nods to the rest of the group, and one by one, they start filing in. Alloy and Night are the last ones in, and by the time they enter, almost everyone else has split up and gone off to do their part of the plan.

The thestral looks around for a moment before turning around. However, instead of seeing a hole, she only sees the solid wall as little Portal walks away from it. She blinks, opening her mouth a moment before just shutting it and shaking her head.

Over at the door, Snap takes only a moment to unlock it, slowly pushing it open with a quiet creaking. Once it’s open for the others, he begins working on the filing cabinets, Snowdrift watching over him. Zesten heads upstairs, pulling a small pouch out from beneath his outfit as he does so.

Observing everyone, their leader nods approvingly as they go about their tasks. Looking at Night, he motions her towards the cloaked colt. After she nods, he turns toward the stairs, beckoning Ornate and Alloy to follow him. The younger of the two mares gives the thestral a reassuring smile before following him upstairs, leaving the batpony with the youngest member of the group.

Without saying a word - quite unlike her first impression of him - Portal reaches beneath his outfit and pulls out several cans of spray paint, one by one, setting them upright on the floor in a small row in front of Night.

Again, she tilts her head in silent confusion. She eases one hoof forward, poking one of the cans. The colt scowls and nudges it back into place with his muzzle before he pulls out the last two cans, setting them in the same order.

Scratching her head with a hoof, she looks at him questioningly, motioning down at the cans. He looks back up at her for a second before he finally speaks, whispering loudly. “We’re spraying the logo on the wall in the front room.” He points to the logo on his hood.

Her mouth opens in an ‘o’ as she nods. Picking up a can randomly from the line, she moves to begin. Behind her, Portal groans, and the quiet scraping sound of metal on the wood floor reaches her ears as he tries to arrange the cans back into a proper line.

Having finished her share of the scouting, Alloy quietly walks back over to the other two figures that had gone upstairs with her. She taps Ornate on the shoulder. “Think we’re clear.”

Looking away from where she had been staring upwards, the crystal mare nods. She looks toward their leader as he slowly walks around. “It’s a fairly simple structure; it wouldn’t support any more rooms than we’ve seen or know about.”

He nods, trusting her expertise. “Good, we don’t need any surprises. Let’s check on the others.” He leads them back downstairs to see their lockpick finishing with the cabinets and moving to the front room, his escort close behind.

Ornate tilts her head towards the cabinets questioningly, getting a nod from the boss. Walking over, she starts sifting through the drawers, pulling out a few files and browsing.

“Anything interesting?” Alloy asks quietly as she walks up beside her, looking over her shoulder at what appear to be sales records.

“Nothing so far… grab a drawer and see if you can spot anything.” She flips to another one as the last shape walks over and does the same.

Nodding, the pegasus pulls out a drawer and starts rifling through the files inside. For several minutes, the three of them just sit there shuffling through papers, looking for anything even remotely useful to them.

“Well, I found Snowdrift’s charges,” Alloy finally says with a sigh, pulling out one of the pieces of paper and glancing over it. “Wow...what kind of job did she need done again? It was just something small, right?”

Ornate nods. “Yes, just some resizing or replacing. Why?”

“This guy must be some shrewd businesspony then.” Alloy frowns at the paper. “I wouldn’t pay that much to replace all the windows in my house with stained glass, let alone just another window that fits properly.” Sighing, she sticks the paper back into the file. “Probably just as well that we’re ruining his business if he’s pricing simple jobs that high.”

“And a good thing she’ll be getting a refund, plus some.” The crystal mare finishes, setting down her file and looking over her younger cohort’s shoulder. “Alright… at least we know a ballpark of what to take now.” She trots toward the front room.

The pegasus stands up to follow, glancing down at the files left strewn on the floor in front of the cabinet. She picks them up, glancing at the team’s leader questioningly.

He shrugs. “Keep looking if you want. Might be something interesting in there.”

Nodding, she tucks the files under her good wing. “I’ll look later. For now, we should follow Ornate.” She proceeds to do just that, quietly heading towards the door. As she gets closer, she can hear the quiet sound of spray paint.

Through the door, they can see that the two assigned with the job of painting have made decent progress. They’ve finished the rather large blue circle, and Portal is currently retrieving the red spray paint so they can begin the moon.

“Never knew this was so time consuming…” Night mutters as she tries to quietly shake her can.

“It’s still one of the easier jobs,” Alloy responds with a small smile as she trots over to the cash register, watching Ornate as she opens the machine. “Trust me, until they figure out your proper role in the group, be glad this is all you have to do.”

“Is scout not considered my role?” she replies, picking up a different can.

“That’s more of a default role. You’re just exceptionally good at it because you can see in the dark.” She peers in over the crystal mare’s shoulder. “Huh...not a lot in here.”

“Yes… definitely going to need more.” Ornate thinks aloud as she gathers every bit in a small bag, closing the register after.

Alloy rubs her chin. “Maybe the register is just for small change. There’s probably some sort of box or safe in the back or upstairs where he keeps his actual profits until he brings it home.”

“Right. Why don’t you go check up there with the rest while I stay down here?” the crystal mare offers, heading over to a window and peering carefully out of it.

The pegasus nods. “Alright. It shouldn’t take too long.” Nodding to their leader, she trots back through the door into the back, giving Night a quick goodbye wave before she disappears, the leader right behind her.

When the door shuts, Portal’s ears flick and he looks over, noticing Ornate staying behind. Curious, he trots over to look out the window with her, wondering what she’s looking at.

Spotting him next to her after a moment, she smiles, rubbing his head fondly with a hoof. “Nothing to worry about, Port. Just keeping busy by seeing if anypony decided to drop by out of the blue.” Smiling from the head rub, the colt nods, glancing back at Night to see how she’s doing.

The clothed thestral narrows her eyes as she uses a hoof to hold the can and a wing to steady it. She makes a smooth red crescent along the blue one already present, sighing as she completes it before resetting to do it again. “I’m just glad we don’t have a complicated logo…”

Portal nods in agreement despite the batpony not looking his way. He sits on the floor and looks back at Ornate, speaking in the loud whisper he seemed to believe was necessary. “I normally do that by myself.”

“I know, but it’s good to have everypony involved in these excursions of ours,” the mare whispers back to him. “Is it bad having her help? You aren’t on your own now.”

“I don’t mind.” He idly taps his front hooves on the floor, the sound thankfully muffled by his sleeves. “Just weird to see somepony else do what I do.”

She giggles. “Well, at least you don’t have to worry about her making holes, right?”

“Mm-hm...” The colt seems to have taken an interest in the pattern of tapping his hooves are doing, staring down at the floor as he continues to tap in an odd, muffled rhythm.

Seeing this, Ornate leans down and nudges him with her head. “Maybe go help her finish? I don’t think we’ll be here for too much longer.”

Portal blinks, pausing his tapping to look at her for a second before nodding. Standing up, he trots back over to the hovering thestral, picking up his own can of the red spray paint along the way.

A small muffled curse comes from the thestral as she presses the nozzle on the can off-center, still painting the wall, but getting a section of the edge of her wing red as well. Setting the can down, she starts trying to rub it off with a hoof, but is less than successful.

Portal tilts his head as he sees this, walking to her side. “Does it hurt?”

“No…” Her voice has a small whine to it. “But it won't… come… off…” She continues rubbing. “Is this stuff at least washable?”

The colt nods. “Just spit on it. That’s what I do.”

“Eww!” She shakes her head in defiance. “There has to be another way.”

“Wait until later to wash it with water then,” he replies. “That’s the only other way I can think of.” Turning to the wall, he looks up at the unfinished moon and puts the can of paint in his mouth before putting one hoof on the wall. He puts the other one up next, then his back hooves, and soon is crawling his way up like he’s on a rock climbing wall.

She blinks, her mouth falling open as she observes this. The thestral makes several short utterances before she finds actual words. “But… how… you… wall… not…”

Either ignoring or not hearing her, the colt keeps climbing until he gets high enough, then begins painting the spots she had missed. Ornate silently laughs as she sees the filly take deep breaths before resolutely turning away from the colt, resuming her painting.

The room is silent aside from the gentle scraping and clicking of the pony’s tools. Though he could work amongst noise, the others find it polite to grant him the silence to do his job well. They wait patiently as he fiddles with the lockbox, Alloy passing the time by searching through the files she had pilfered.

Soon, Snap backs away from the box, nodding at the two who had brought him to it. Their boss nods, stepping forward and easily opening the container, revealing the enormous amount of bits inside. “Perfect. This should cover both the refund, and the hassle.” As Ornate had done, he withdraws a bag from within his clothing, emptying the bits into it and stowing it once more.

Alloy looks up at him. “I found something you might want to take a look at.” She points to one of the many sales records. “Look at all these jobs he was hired to do. Full window installation, various repairs and replacements...” She flips to a different page. “And look at Snowdrift’s. Just a few adjustments, maybe a replacement here or there.” Her eyes narrow. “So how come what she got charged is almost four times as much as these more complicated jobs?”

He huffs, scuffing a hoof on the ground. “Probably the same reason she paid up front and never actually got the job done. See any others with price spikes and lack of completion?”

“Now that you mention it...” She flips through the pages some more, setting aside any that didn’t have what she was looking for. “Yeah. Most of them regular jobs, none of them completed, all of them way more expensive than any of the others.” She squints. “And he’s scribbled something next to some of them...I can’t make it out.”

“May I see those?” He holds out a foreleg. Nodding, she passes over all of the sheets that seem suspicious. Casting an eye over all of them, he nods, growling quietly for a moment. “He wrote their species. Just another bigot. Alloy, see if you can find a nice red marker. I think we’ve found more wall decoration.”

She nods, trotting off into one of the second floor rooms and coming back a couple minutes later with two thick red markers and a roll of tape in her mouth. “Thith’ll be great!”

After several minutes of scouring the sales records and outlining everything suspect with a bright red circle, the two begin trotting back downstairs, ready to finish the job. When they get to the front room, they find the logo fully painted and the rest of the group gathered there.

The big boss nods. “Alright, we’ve got what we came for, so now we just need to leave them a few parting gifts and get out of here.” He nods to Alloy. “Post our little discoveries on the wall so they know exactly why we did this.” Next he looks to Ornate. “Call the police and let them know an incident occurred.” Next is Zesten. “Give them a little something extra to find when they get here.” Lastly, he looks to Portal. “Work your magic, little one.” As they all scramble to their positions, he walks over and pats their griffon’s back reassuringly, her giving him a smile in return.

Within the next few minutes, the group seems to descend into a quiet chaos. Portal begins working almost frantically, walking around the perimeter of the room and poking the walls before finally going into the back room to find the spot he had gotten them in with. Alloy quickly tapes the marked papers underneath their logo on the wall, while Zesten removes a small pouch from his outfit and places it on the desk, taking several seconds to position it meticulously so that it would look as though it had been thoughtlessly discarded. Ornate, meanwhile, heads to the phone and plays the part of the concerned citizen, letting the authorities know of a disturbance she thinks she saw.

Once they have all finished their jobs, the gang heads to the back room, where a large hole is waiting for them. They waste no time in getting out, Portal stopping only to close the hole up as everyone is looking for which way to go, and disappear into the night just moments before a small squad of officer ponies come galloping up to the building from the other side.

Listening for any disturbances and hearing none, the first officer in line tests the door and finds it still locked. Not wasting any time, he turns and bucks it, forcing it open with a loud crash. Four or five officers swarm in, looking around at the scene with expressions of shock, confusion, and anger.

To them, it is a strike against their authority. Files upturned and posted on the wall, signs of the place being thoroughly searched, suggesting plenty of time to do so. Worst of all is the familiar symbol brazenly painted on the wall, defying them by telling them exactly who did it, yet bringing them no closer to actually capturing them.

As the officers split up to search the building, one of them takes note of the files stuck to the wall. Stepping over, his eyes flick left to right as he reads through it. “Sales records…?” He blinks as he comes to a line circled in bright red. “Xander...window frame replacement...zebra?” His eyes widen as he takes a look at the listed cost, looking up and down the sheet to see if that sort of pricing was consistent. “Hey, you guys might want to take a look at this...”

“How about a look at this instead?” another officer retorts, lifting up a small pouch from the desk with one wing. “Somepony left their beneviolet just lying around here...”

The first officer raises an eyebrow, then turns to call into the back. “Keep an eye out for beneviolet, or anything else of the sort!” He looks back to the forms on the wall, then looks up at the logo. “What are they up to...”

Another week comes and goes. Before anypony realizes it, Friday has once again reared its head, bringing hope to all. To a certain enchanting shop, it also brings the usual Friday rush. Inside, mother and daughter dart around and serve customers like well-oiled machines. Orders, pick-ups, purchases, questions; everything is done in its usual excellent quality.

As the time goes on, the flood starts to be fought back, eventually to the point where there is only one or two customers at once as the work hours near their end. Rune smiles as she puts a small pale green gem into a bag, floating it over to a stallion. “Here you are, sir. Just tap it once to light it up and it will server as an excellent nightlight for your little filly. It certainly worked for mine.” He nods gratefully, putting his bits on the counter as he leaves the shop with a smile on his face as well.

At the other end of the counter, Autumn is finishing up with a customer as well, passing her a small cloth bag, enchanted to prevent any outside magic from interfering with its contents. “One cooling-off gem. Just put some magic into it, and it’ll help keep your house cooler for when summer comes around. Just be careful how much you put into it; once you start it, you can’t turn it off until the effect fades away on its own.” Nodding in thanks, the mare takes the bag and leaves her payment in a small pouch on the counter, trotting away looking relieved.

Rune comments as she watches the mare leave, “Why most of them go for the cheaper simpler one instead of the more controllable one, I don’t get. But, it’s what they want, so I’ll give it to them.”

“Maybe they pick it because it’s cheaper?” Autumn suggests, trotting over. “Or they just don’t need the more controllable one that badly?”

Shrugging, the shop owner looks to the door to see if any more will come in. “Naturally I assume that, but I suppose I’m more biased towards the complicated ones because I actually know their potential.”

Autumn sighs and nuzzles her. “Not everypony can be as smart as you, you know.” She giggles. “That’s the point of this shop, isn’t it? Provide a service for those who can’t take care of it themselves. It’s only natural they won’t know exactly what to do.”

“A fair point, I suppose… and one that I must remind myself of every once in a while.” Hugging her daughter to her, Rune nuzzles her lovingly. “That’s my smart filly…”

The younger unicorn giggles and hugs back. “Just trying to help.”

Nuzzling her a little longer, the mother’s nose twitches. Blinking, she leans back and looks her daughter in the face. “Autumn? Do you have something to tell me? You smell like freshly pressed clothes for some reason…”

Autumn blinks, confused, before suddenly remembering. “Oh, right!” She turns to the saddlebags on her back, sticking her muzzle in before coming out with some white articles of clothing, which she lies on the counter. “The tennis team’s outfits just came in today. I was bringing mine home and just forgot in the sales rush.”

Giggling gleefully, Rune claps her hooves together. “Oh this is wonderful, sweetie! I know we were excited when they said you officially got in a few days ago, but this just makes it seem more… official! Oh, and I bet you look adorable in it… I wonder if you’ll start wearing your mane in a tail again…”

The blue filly blushes a bit. “I don’t know...I haven’t tried it on yet...and, well, I could switch my mane style up again.” She rubs the back of her neck, a little embarrassed.

“Hmm…” the green mare puts a hoof to her chin as she thinks. “I wonder if we could get Nightshade’s opinion… you two have certainly been hanging around each other enough to where it wouldn’t be that difficult…”

Autumn’s blush increases, and her eyes widen. “Y-You mean have her see me in those?” She glances to the tennis outfit a little frantically before catching herself. “I-I mean...s-sure. That...shouldn’t be a problem.” She tries to smile.

“No need to be embarrassed, sweetie.” Rune giggles. “She’s your friend. Plus, all the fillies will be wearing that, so it’s not like you’ll be alone in it once you start playing.”

Her daughter nods. “I know, just...” She tries to think of how to best explain it without getting too specific. “I don’t know how she’d react.”

“I’m sure she’ll love it.” Rune nuzzles her one more time before letting go and putting away what she can. “Maybe you’ll inadvertently give her ideas for her own wardrobe.”

The mere thought of this causes Autumn’s blush to return in full force before it had fully faded. She giggles. “I hope so...”

Her mother soon joins her in giggles, though for very different reasons. “Heh, imagine if you two started wearing clothes daily to school. Think of it, every morning you’d pick out a cute shirt, a nice skirt, maybe a little accessory, then off you go. soon, everypony is doing it and suddenly we have no idea how we ever went walking around without… that would certainly be strange, wouldn’t it?”

The younger unicorn just nods absentmindedly, staring at the wall with a goofy grin on her face as various images run through her mind.

At the literal tail end of her thought train, Rune looks back at her own tail. “I never really did do skirts… I wonder how I would look in one…”

This quickly derails Autumn’s own thought process, and she shuts her eyes, looking away from her mother before making a face. She shakes her head rapidly before taking a deep breath and turning back around, feeling much better. “Um...should we start heading home?”

“Once we close up the shop, dear. We have to make sure everything is nice and secure.” A small frown comes to the mare’s face as she locks her safe, her horn lighting up as runes flash across it’s surface before fading from view. “Doubly so due to that break-in a couple of streets over.”

Autumn pauses, looking over. “Break-in? Another one?”

“Yes, it was quite strange.” Rune speaks as she locks everything down by means both mundane and magical. “Apparently somepony saw something and called the police, but when they got there it was like… a robbery combined with vigilante vandalism. True, every bit was gone, but it brazenly showed just how bad of a pony the owner was, so nopony would even do business there anymore. It’s been the talk of the town for most of this week. The shop is even for sale now.”

“Huh...was it that gang that’s been running around?” the younger unicorn asks, curious. “The one that hit the produce shop?”

“Allegedly hit the shop, yes.” The mare nods. “They even put their signature on the crime, so they had no qualms about letting the town know.”

“Well, if the owner was a bad pony, I’d take pride in showing that off too.” She huffs. “What did he do, exactly?”

Rune’s coat bristles along her back as she narrows her eyes. “Apparently he was nothing more than a bigot; a pony who thought that just because others were different, they were lesser. Hmph!” She sniffs, lifting her nose up. “I’d have thrown him out on his ass if he tried to pull something like that in my store. Apparently the Hearth’s Warming pageants aren’t doing their jobs these days.”

Autumn winces, not used to hearing her mother get like this. “Wow...um...yeah, that’s pretty bad...”

“And if that wasn’t bad enough, apparently he was also involved in drugs!” Her nostrils flare as she rears for a moment. When she lands, she shakes her head, mane getting a bit wild. “The very idea…” Her breathing slows as she looks to Autumn, relaxing. “But… at least you never get involved in things like that. That’s my girl…”

The young unicorn walks over and hugs her. “I’ve never seen you get that mad before, Mom...is everything okay?”

Hugging her tightly, Rune nuzzles her daughter, kissing her head. “I’m alright, sweetie… I just can never understand ponies like that… so hateful, so corrupt. I’m just glad you turned out better than that.”

Autumn smiles, feeling the worry leave her body. “I’m glad, too...”

The mare hums. “Come on, let’s pack everything away and get ice cream on the way home. I think it’d make us both feel better.”

“Alright.” Nodding, the filly gathers up her tennis outfit to put away before helping her mother with the rest of the packing up. “At least we can relax since it’s the weekend now.”

As they lock the door and walk onto the street, Rune looks to Autumn. “Think I can get a picture of you in your new outfit this weekend?”

Giggling, she nods. “I’m planning to try it on when we get home, so we can do it then if you want.”

“Yes!” A victorious hoof pumps.

Autumn rolls her eyes playfully. “You’re way too excited over this...”

Chapter 10

The door to Rune and Autumn’s house swings open, the handle glowing a light blue, as the younger unicorn steps in first with the rest of her magical focus holding onto a vanilla ice cream cone. Her mother steps in after, happily licking off a bit of her strawberry one.

The mare lets out a happy sigh as she enters their home, closing the door behind them. “Ah; home, family, and ice cream. I can’t think of a better combination at the moment.”

Autumn giggles. “Somewhere to sit down would also be welcome.” She carefully slides her saddlebags off, leaving them by the door to get later. “Is it fine to eat these on the couch?”

“Just watch your drippings,” Rune replies casually, floating her own bags down the hall and into her room. “And no being playful and dabbing it onto each other’s noses. I’d rather not end up sticky right now.”

“Fiiiiiine...” the young unicorn whines, smiling nonetheless as she makes her way to the couch and sits down, holding her cone steadily.

Getting down to the actual cone of her treat, Rune takes a small nibble of it, crunching thoughtfully before speaking. “So, out of curiosity, have you been practicing with your new water extracting shield we worked on?”

“Yep!” Autumn replies happily. “I think I’ve finally got it down. I tried it last time I showered, and it worked perfectly.”

“Excellent work, sweetie!” The green unicorn leans over and nuzzles her. “I knew you could do it. What do your friends think of it?”

Her daughter nuzzles back. “I haven’t shown them yet. Haven’t really had an opportunity to. I don’t exactly shower in front of Alloy or...Night...” She blushes a bit as she thinks about that.

Rune giggles. “I’m fairly certain school showers are still one giant room for the whole gender, plus you three did bathe together last weekend. Oh, I bet that must have been adorable…”

“W-Well...their gym classes are at different times than mine...” Autumn tries to stay focused enough to continue the conversation, but mental images clearly have other ideas. “And last weekend was really fun...”

Her mother swishes her tail. “Oh, did you enjoy the camping that much? Maybe you should gather them and recreate that weekend then.”

The young unicorn giggles, starting to give in to her mind’s desire to wander. “I’d love to recreate that...”

Rune pauses a moment at the tone, but continues regardless. “I’m glad you have so much fun with your friends, sweetie. It’s good for you to have those sorts of bonds.”

“Definitely fun...” She starts to regain control of her thoughts and blushes madly before starting to lick her abandoned ice cream again to keep herself from continuing to blurt things out.

“Oh, that reminds me…” The older unicorn take another bite of her cone, licking out the ice cream stuck inside. “You’re still doing that little fashion show for me once we eat, right?”

Autumn nods. “I still need to try it on anyway to make sure it fits, so sure. Then I can figure out if I want to show Night or not.”

Rune raises an eyebrow knowingly at this. “Oh? Expecting quite the reaction from her?”

“I hope so.” She smiles.

“Well, now I’m curious.” The mother pops the rest of her cone into her mouth. “What kind of reaction are you expecting? Well, I assume it involves hugs in some way if I know that filly.”

“Um...yeah, hugs sounds about right.” Autumn nods, glancing away. “Something like that, yeah.”

Tilting her head, Rune questions this. “Autumn… is something wrong?” Her daughter just shakes her head in response. “Is there… something you want to talk about?”

“I-It’s nothing bad,” Autumn tries to assure her. “Just...if I tell you, promise not to tell anypony else? At least for a while?”

“Of course, sweetie.” The mare brings her into a hug, keeping an eye on her ice cream, ready to catch it if it falls. “You know you can trust me.”

Nodding, the young unicorn takes a moment to figure out how to word what she wants to say. “Well...you know how Night and I have been hanging out a lot?”

“Yes, you and she seem to be getting along famously.” Rune nods.

“Well...” Her face takes on a red tint. “...we’re kind of...together.”

Her mother blinks. “Oh… oh! Well, that might explain why you’ve been hanging out so much… and why you’re so giggly when she comes up in conversation. Umm… how long, sweetie?”

“Just a week, now...” She fidgets nervously. “Sorry for not telling you...we just weren’t sure how to come out about it.”

Rune just laughs, bringing her into another hug. “Oh, sweetie, I could never be mad at you for that! I’m just happy you found somepony that makes you happy!” She pauses a moment. “She… does make you happy, right?”

Autumn smiles and hugs back. “Definitely.”

“Good.” She smiles. “I’m glad, but I still need we all need to have a talk, then… about this. Nothing bad, I just want to address her properly as my daughter’s special somepony.”

The filly frowns a bit. “You’re not going to scare her, are you?”

The green mare looks away sheepishly. “Maybe for a moment… but it’s all good things after that, I swear!”

“Mom...” Autumn groans. “She’s really easy to frighten or upset...please don’t make her cry...”

“I would never do that… unless the unthinkable happened.” Rune smiles reassuringly. “I just have to do my single mom duties. I promise I won’t make her cry.”

“Alright...but I’m going to be there, and I won’t be happy if she does.” Sighing, the young unicorn relaxes on the couch, leaning against her mother. “She’s been kind of jumpy lately, too...”

“Really? Like how?” A green hoof comes up and strokes Autumn’s mane.

Her daughter smiles at the petting. “Well, I hugged her by surprise today, and she started pushing me away for a second...usually she takes any hugs she can. I figured she was just tired, but she might be nervous about something instead...”

“Maybe she’s just nervous about being together with you?” Rune offers. “She might be inexperienced in this sort of thing.”

“Maybe...but that just makes me even more nervous about your talk with her.” She sighs. “We arranged for me to go over to her place tomorrow...maybe you could come with me and have the talk then? She might feel more comfortable if it’s her own house.”

Tilting her head back and forth, the mare replies. “Well, I’d be okay with that, but what about her parents? I’d have to be sure they’re okay with me being there. Actually… do you think they know yet?”

“She only lives with her father, and I doubt she would’ve told him...it was her who wanted to hold off on telling anypony.” Autumn thinks, then shakes her head. “I’m assuming you’re the only one to know, besides us.”

“I’ll have to be careful with my words then.” Thinking for a moment, the mare raises a hoof. “Actually, as much as I want to have these conversations as soon as possible, perhaps it’d be best if you asked Night what she prefers? Just so you aren’t just springing this on her because of me.”

“I guess so...alright then.” She nods. “I’ll ask tomorrow, and maybe bring her over on Sunday or after school next week, and we can sort it out then.”

“Alright then… now, do I get to see your outfit before you go try and seduce your marefriend with it?” Her tone switch from parental to teasing is almost instant.

Autumn blushes madly. “Mooooom!”

Giggling like a schoolfilly, Rune covers her mouth with a hoof. “What? I can see all the lines I need to read between now.”

The filly buries her face in her hooves and almost curls up, the hold on her almost-melted ice cream wavering a bit. “Please stop...”

“Okay, okay… eat your ice cream, go put on your uniform, and I’ll trade teasing you for gushing over how adorable you look. Sound good?” she asks.

“Alright...” Slowly sitting back up, Autumn returns her attention to her cold treat, eating quicker now that she’s almost down to the actual cone. “I hope it fits. Otherwise I have to bring it back in Monday and exchange it for a different size.”

Unable to resist one last quip, Rune muses, “I don’t know… Night might like it if it’s a little tight…”

“Mom!” Autumn covers her face again to hide her blush, losing focus and dropping the cone from her magic hold.

Catching the cone in her waiting magic, the enchantress hovers it in front of her filly. “Couldn’t resist, sweetie. You know how much of a romantic I am.”

Whimpering into her hooves, the cobalt unicorn eventually takes her hooves away, her red cheeks not quite back to normal. She takes the cone back in her magic, mumbling a ‘thank you’ before continuing to eat.

Once finally done, she stands up, looking less embarrassed now. “Should I put it on in my room and come out with it, or just put it on here?”

“Up to you, Autumn, I just get to see the final product.” Her horn lights up and a camera floats over from one of the shelves.

“I’ll just do it here, then.” Levitating her bags over from the door, Autumn pulls out her outfit and begins to don it, piece by piece. First is a short-sleeved white shirt, with a couple of buttons up near the collar and ‘Hoofington Hydras’ written across the front. Next, she pulls on a white skirt that just barely covers her cutie mark, her tail sticking out from underneath. Last is a white tennis hat, which she fits onto her head before turning to her mother to see her reaction.

A click of the camera happens right as she looks to her, the mare in question revealing her beaming face as she brings the little device down. “Perfect. You look absolutely wonderful, sweetie, and the outfit is just as adorable as I thought.”

Autumn giggles. “Thanks...it feels good, too.” She flicks her tail, pleased that it doesn’t mess with the skirt. “They got the size right, thankfully.”

Getting up and walking around the blue filly, Rune nods. “Oh yes, looks like they definitely got it right.” She stops next to Autumn’s side, smoothing the skirt a bit. “And I was right, I do love this skirt; good length, simple design… I’ll have to see if I can whip one up for me.”

“Good length?” Autumn looks back at it. “I know it’s supposed to be this short, but...doesn’t it seem kind of...” She trails off, hoping her mother understands.

“Kind of what?” She looks to it as well. “It’s not too long so as to be restricting, it’s not so short that it might as well be a fabric belt…”

The younger unicorn nods. “I know...but I can’t help but feel like, outside of actually playing tennis, this sort of thing would just be a head-turner.” She thinks. “...not that I mind exactly...”

“Well, worn on it’s own, I would suppose so, but the outfit tends to tie it together,” Rune explains. “But yes, clothes are generally meant to turn heads when considered beyond practical reason. If it make you feel better, think of it this way: at least it actually covers things instead of being like a saddle that has eye-drawing frills at the back.”

Her daughter giggles. “True...I guess I’m just not used to wearing clothes that don’t cover my rump completely.”

Her mother nods, giggling as well. “And yet we’re all used to wearing nothing… what a strange concept. Still, be sure to let me know if you want me to make you some of these for personal use, okay? You know I like to indulge in my hobby.”

Autumn nods, grinning. “I’ll definitely let you know...Night might want some too, you know. I could ask her tomorrow. You might end up with another repeat customer.”

“I’d be delighted if things end up that way.” Rune beams. “Just be sure to tell her that she has to honor the same deal as you: she doesn’t have to pay a bit as long as she models it for me.”

“Got it.” She looks over herself. “Are you done taking pictures? I kind of want to take these off and wash them. They’ve been in my bags for a while now.”

“Let me get a few more…” The mare quickly takes pictures from front, back, and side views. “...and done. There you go.”

Smiling, Autumn nuzzles her mother before taking her hat off. “Thanks...I can’t wait to show this to Night.” She giggles as she starts pulling her top off.

“I’m certain you’ll have her be putty in your hooves, sweetie.” Rune winks.

“I hope so.” Once the outfit is off, she picks it up in her magic and heads off to wash it, preparing it for the next day.

Nightshade hums happily as she walks into her house from the back garden, a fresh tomato in her mouth as she gleefully sucks the juice out. Her tail swishes happily as she trots into her room, going over to a small desk and making a small mark on her plant calendar. Nodding to herself, she grabs a book and hops onto her bed, taking a large bite out of her snack.

She barely gets a few sentences into the book before there’s a knocking at the front door of the building. Snapping the rest of her snack into her mouth, Night jumps off the bed and heads toward the door. “I hope that’s Autty...” She opens the door.

Sure enough, Autumn is standing there, but not as she had expected. In addition to the saddlebags on her back, the unicorn is decked out in her new and clean tennis outfit, grinning happily. “Hi there, Night!”

Blinking, the thestral’s wings half-raise as she sees the outfit. “Hey you…” She smiles, stepping forward and nuzzling the fellow filly lovingly.

Autumn nuzzles back, giggling. “I take it you like the outfit?” She pokes one of her marefriend’s wings. “Or do you just really want to go flying?”

Blushing lightly, Nightshade nips one of the unicorn’s ears. “Maybe I just really like you… and the outfit threw me off guard because I like it too.”

The unicorn smirks and kisses her on the cheek. “So that’s a yes to the first one. Thought so. Mind if I come in?”

“Not at all.” The batpony stands to one side, watching as her marefriend comes in. She also may or may not have peeked under her skirt… just a little.

“Hope I wasn’t interrupting anything,” Autumn says as she pretends not to notice the peeking. Despite her slight worry the previous day over the short length, she now enjoys it and the teasing it allows for.

“I wasn’t really doing much. Just got done in my garden, and I was going to settle down with a book.” Night shuts the door.

Autumn nods, turning to face her. “Good. Wouldn’t have liked to barge in right in the middle of something.” She giggles. “So, what would you like to do?”

Giggling quietly as well, the thestral scuffs her hoof against the ground. “Can I look at you in this outfit a little more?”

Smiling knowingly, the unicorn replies in an innocent tone. “Sure! You think it’s cute, huh? I do too.” Like a model, she slowly starts turning, subtly lifting her tail a bit when she’s facing away from the batpony.

The sudden sound of displacing air announces the batpony’s fully outstretched wings. Shyly partially averting her eyes, Night speaks quietly. “Cute, sexy, it looks great… I wonder if this is what it felt like to be you last weekend.”

“Well, I’m not wearing anything under it, so I doubt it has quite the same effect.” She gives her flank a few shakes before continuing to turn.

“I don’t know about that…” Night waits until she completely turns around before giving her a brief deep kiss to vent before speaking. “Well, I got my activity… you get to choose next.”

The unicorn thinks. “Hmm...better keep it outside your room, or I’ll get tempted.” She starts shrugging off her saddlebags, kneeling down so they slide off onto the floor. “You mentioned you had a garden. Can I see it?”

“Yep! Follow me!” Night turns around, being sure to lightly drag her tail under Autumn’s muzzle as she starts to go towards the back door. The unicorn follows, nipping at the tail as she does. Squeaking playfully, the thestral lightly gallops out the door, beckoning Autumn to follow.

Giggling, Autumn gallops out after her, stopping just short of crashing into her. She looks out over the yard. “Whoah...”

The yard is of decent size, almost as big as the house, and at least half of it is devoted to the garden. It is clear the gardener cares for her plants, each one given its own area so as not to be crowded by others. Most of the vegetation is bushes, crawling vines, small plants, or climbing vines. Each one is slightly different, and while a few have some buds on them, two draw the eye currently. One is the tomato vine, with its bright red payload fully grown and ready to harvest. The other is what appears to be a relatively new patch with a small fully blue plant in the center.

Autumn smiles at the sight before noticing the familiar blue plant, frowning in worry. “You...you kept it?”

Seeing her face, the batpony rushes to reassure her. “I couldn’t help it, it’s so pretty! Look at the colour it brings. Now that I know what it does, I’m careful.” She motions to some blank white signs against the house. “I’ve got some danger signs already that I’m gonna put, and I even use gloves to touch it.”

“And your dad doesn’t mind having a dangerous plant in his garden?” the unicorn asks, only slightly less nervous. “And what if it starts growing and more pop up?”

“I’ll keep it trimmed,” Night reassures. “Also, it’s my garden, not his. Plus, I already told him not to touch it.”

Autumn sighs. “Alright then...just, do me a favour and don’t tell my mom, okay?” She smirks. “If she finds out this stuff is easily accessible, I’m afraid she’ll cover me with it while I’m sleeping just so she can see me as a tiny filly again.”

Giggling at the thought, the thestral nudges her with her flank. “Yeah; cute as you are when small, when you’re big, you’re still cute, but you can be other things at the same time.”

The unicorn blushes a bit, but laughs as well. “Yeah, hard to imagine mini-me getting up to the same things we do when I’m regular size.” She nudges back. “I like the garden overall, though. You’ve put a lot of work into it.”

“Yeah, I’m hoping to get some more things into it; can’t really do fruit trees, though.” She giggles, leaning against Autumn. “You know, since I met you, I have had the urge for something specific to plant in here. I’m just not sure what kind of plant it is yet. Have you ever heard of…” She sticks out her tongue and licks behind the unicorn’s ear. “Passionfruit?”

Autumn blushes even more, shivering from the lick. “N-No...though I wonder if you’ve already found it...”

“Nah,” Night nuzzles her playfully before pulling away. “I haven’t ever had one, but I look forward to seeing if I can, and if it deserves its name.”

The unicorn giggles. “I hope you’ll invite me to try it with you.” She sticks her tongue out playfully.

“Deal.” She looks around the yard, nodding contently before turning back to her marefriend. “I’m glad you liked my garden. It’s sort of my constant project area. Did you have any more questions about it?”

“Not really...I don’t know much about plants, so all I know is that it looks really good.” She smiles. “So...you choose the next activity, then.”

“Hmm…” Putting a hoof to her chin in thought, Night thinks aloud. “Not sure exactly what to do… but maybe if we go back to the living room I’ll get inspiration.”

Autumn nods. “Then let’s head back.” She grins. “I assume you want me to lead the way?”

“Only if you want to… I know I for one would appreciate the view.” The thestal winks, flicking the unicorn’s flank with her tail.

Jumping a bit, the unicorn’s face reddens before she turns quickly to hide it. “R-Right.” She starts walking back into the house, a deliberate sway to her hips.

Nightshade follows, her eyes on the prize and her wings spread as she grins.

When they get back into the living room, Autumn starts trotting to the couch. “So, got any ideas yet?”

“Maybe…” Crouching for a moment, the batpony lets out a playful growl as she pounces on the unsuspecting mare, whose hat ends up flying off. They both land on the cushy rug, the thestral standing over the unicorn before laying all her weight on her to pin her. “Got you!”

Autumn looks over her shoulder up at her assailant before grinning and lifting her tail up, wrapping it around Night’s and tugging on it. The batpony squeaks, her blush coming on full force. She narrows her eyes, tugging back with her own tail. This causes the unicorn to gasp and tense up. “O-Okay, that worked against me...”

Leaning up and nipping one blue ear, Night giggles. “Looks like I win this little bit of wrestling. I’m not so helpless as when you have me in the same position in the woods.”

The unicorn struggles a bit, only to find that not only can she not get out from underneath the thestral, but their tails have gotten intertwined enough that she can’t untangle hers, so almost every movement causes a tug that slowly furthers the warmth between her legs. She’s forced to lie as still as possible and wait to be released, whimpering all the while.

Hearing this, Night leans down and nuzzles her. “Hey now, this isn’t that bad, right? It was just a really quick round of playful wrestling. What, would you have rather we started on equal ground?”

“M-My tail...” Autumn mumbles out, squirming a bit as she tries to untangle herself, only to keep tugging. She shuts her eyes, grunting as she tries to remember to stay still.

Looking back, the thestral sees the problem. “Oh… is that really bothering you that much? Can’t you just undo it with some magic?”

“N-Not when I can’t really focus...” She whimpers again. “C-Can you undo it? It’s getting me riled up...”

“Well, that's not really a bad thing, but I like you to actually be able to do things.” Reaching back, the batpony manages to get their tails looser by a combination of wiggling, pushing, pulling, and luck. Finally, their strands separate, sliding easily away. “There we go…” She leans back down, letting herself flop over Autumn. “Better?”

The unicorn can only nod, breathing heavily, as her marefriend’s efforts to untangle their tails ended up tugging on hers quite a few times. She curls up as best she can with a pony lying on her, moaning quietly.

Concerned, Night embraces and nuzzles her marefriend. “Hey… you okay? I tried to be gentle…”

Autumn nuzzles back. “Y-You were...I’m fine...just really excited now...”

“Aww…” The thestral giggles as she nuzzles her. “Does that mean you don’t want to play wrestle more? I wanted to see how we’d do if neither of us got the jump on the other.”

“We can...but I need to calm down...” She sighs. “S-Sorry about that...”

“Hmm…” A mischievous grin grows on Night’s face. “Well, what if I told you I’m not willing to wait, and if you win, I’ll help you… calm down.”

The unicorn’s eyes widen. “...you promise?”

The thestral nods. “Promise.”

Spurred on by this, Autumn manages to roll over onto her back and grab the batpony around the torso, flipping over with her so that they swap positions. Once on top, she leans down, her front legs holding Night’s own legs down, grinning triumphantly.

Night squirms under her, using her wings to try and throw her off. “Hey!” she says playfully. “We were supposed to start out evenly!”

“Oh...” Autumn’s grin vanishes, and she slowly slinks off of Night’s body. “Sorry...”

The batpony stands up, shaking a moment before squaring off, a grin on her face. “So…” She scuffs a hoof and licks her lips. “Ready for real this time?”

The unicorn nods quickly, shaking a little herself. “I’m going to be very disappointed in myself if I lose.”

“Oh, smack talk from the innocent one, nice.” Her tail swishes once before she jumps and glides toward Autumn. Growling, the unicorn lights her horn and throws up a translucent shield in the thestral’s path. She smacks against it, sliding down and to the floor on her rump. Blinking, she stands up and starts pawing at it with her hooves. “Still gonna get you!”

With a smirk, Autumn suddenly drops the shield and grabs Night’s hooves with her magic instead, holding her in place as she runs up and tackles her from the side, bringing them both down to the floor lying in a cross pattern, the unicorn currently on top.

Like some kind of animal, Night throws her head back and forth as she tries to get free, growling playfully. “I won’t be defeated!”

Autumn giggles, turning her body so she has her tail near the thestral’s face, tickling her nose with it. “Surrender now and be spared!”

Blushing as she tries to dodge the tail, the thestral cries defiantly. “Spared what?”

“...I don’t know, a cruel fate that I’ll decide if you don’t surrender!” the unicorn retorts, resting her chin on her captive’s rump as she has fun trying to get her with the tail.

Yelping slightly at the pressure on her flank, Night squirms a bit more before flopping and sighing dramatically. “I lose… again.” She giggles quietly. “Though, the last time I lost turned out well, so I’m not really worried.”

Autumn rolls off of the thestral and sits up, pumping her hoof. “Success! Victory!”

Night tries to lift her own hooves, only to find them still restrained. “I’m starting to wonder if this is a pattern…”

Letting her go from her magic, the unicorn offers a hoof to help her up. “What do you mean?”

Taking her hoof and getting up, the emerald-maned mare explains. “Just thinking about wrestling, getting pinned, sexy things happening afterward.”

“Do you have a problem with it?” Autumn asks, smirking.

“No…” She leans forward, brushing her lips against her marefriend’s. “But I do like how I got to see the modeling show this time.”

The unicorn blushes as she remembers the outfit she has on. “R-Right...um, should we head to your room for this? I don’t want to mess up the living room...”

“Sounds good to me…” Once again, Night trails her tail under Autumn’s chin as she walks by her, sashaying her hips much like she had done. “I can always wash the bedsheets.”

Autumn nods, following along. “Speaking of washing...” She looks back at her skirt, blushing as she sees that her excitement started showing itself a little early. “May need to give this outfit another cleaning...”

“Well, maybe if you come and take it off for me, I’ll be extra motivated.” Eyes half-lidded as she gets into the mood, Night winks, lifting her tail a bit before slipping into her room.

Grinning, Autumn trots faster to follow her inside, already lighting her horn to start pulling her shirt off. “I would’ve thought you’d have liked to be the one to undress me.”

“With my eyes, perhaps.” Looking back and seeing the unicorn, the thestral pauses, giving her a small kiss with the tiniest bit of tongue. “Not like that…” She saunters over to the bed, jumping onto it and stretching out into a model-like pose. “Take it off slowly.”

Autumn pauses, then nods with a giggle and slows down, trying to milk as much from this as she can. “You’re the boss...” Once the shirt is off, she starts working on the skirt.

Night’s wings quickly spread to full length as her eyes focus on the cloth. Her whole body leans forward as she watches with bated breath. “Let me see that flank…” she says to herself.

Smirking as she hears this, the unicorn starts to lower the skirt, almost agonizingly slowly. However, just before her cutie mark comes into view, she whirls around, hiding her rump from the thestral’s view and sticking her tongue out.

Eyes bugging out, the batpony stands up, wings spread as her tail swishes back and forth quickly behind her. “Please! I want that flank!”

“Hmm...” Autumn thinks, her smirk not leaving. “How much do you want it?~”

“Considering I’m debating shoving my head under your skirt and taking it… I’d say I’d do anything to get it!” Her hind legs rub together as she speaks.

“Ooh, I like the sound of that.” The unicorn giggles. “But fine, I’ll show some mercy...” She lights her horn, but rather than continuing to remove her skirt, she grabs the batpony by the wing, albeit gently. “...if you let me play with your wings.”

“Done, and anything else you want.” She steps forward, eyes hungry. “Now let me give you an x-rated hug!”

Autumn nods, turning her rump back to her marefriend, the skirt halfway down. “Go ahead and take it off, you lustful little thing.”

Pouncing forward, the fanged-pony wastes no time as she rips down the skirt, leaving it around the unicorn’s hooves. Her forelegs grasp onto the shield cutie marks, her nose sniffing rapidly before she gives a single, long, unashamed lick to her marefriend’s most sensitive areas.

The unicorn moans loudly, her front flopping onto the ground as her backside remains in the air, her back legs wobbling. “Wh-whoah...didn’t know you were that pent up...” One of her back legs kicks slightly, causing her to collapse to the ground with another moan.

Night’s head follows her down, growling lightly as the yellow and brown tail moves in front of her prize. Gently biting down on the blue dock, she moves it out of the way. “Mine…”

Humming in pleasure, Autumn looks back, eyes almost glazed over. “A-Anything else...you want?”

Giving her lower lips a sniff, the batpony looks up, blinking at the blue mare. Slowly, she walks around, nudging her onto her side with her head before mirroring her pose, chest to chest. Wrapping her hooves around the unicorn, wings unable to be moved much at all, she grinds her lower half a little against Autumn’s. “All I want is you…”

The young unicorn mare moans a bit, grinding back. “I f-feel the same...” She pushes their faces together in a forceful kiss.

Night responds equally, not caring as they start to roll from the force. Her embrace only tightens, wanting to feel as much of them touching as possible.

Soon, Autumn pulls away, breathing fast and eyes desperate. “N-Night...” She keeps grinding, getting faster.

“A-Autty…” The thestral’s hips start rearing back a little and slapping against her marefriend’s, not unlike a stallion might do, though minus the equipment. She lets out a small keening moan as she leans down, gently biting her neck.

Finally, the unicorn can’t hold it back anymore, and she moans loudly as her body tenses up and fluid begins to squirt out over her marefriend’s lower half.

Night quickly cuts off the moan by wrapping her own lips over Autumn’s. Her own grinding intensifies, but even with the warm juices on her, all anything seems to do is make her itch stronger. She whines as she grinds furiously. Sensing the thestral’s desperation, Autumn forces herself to keep grinding, even slowly moving one of her hooves down to help out; anything to get her marefriend to finish.

As the blue hoof moves down, when Night’s hips start to slap again, one lands her button right on top of the appendage. Her emerald eyes go wide as her tongue slips into Autumn’s mouth, trying to show her appreciation as her lower half shudders, drips, and slightly squirts.

Autumn eagerly returns the kiss, her hoof and lower body slowing down and eventually stopping, satisfied with the results. She wraps her forelegs around the thestral, ignoring the sticky substance on one hoof.

When Night eventually breaks the kiss, she tucks her head under Autumn’s chin, nuzzling her neck. “Wow… sorry for jumping you, I just… I guess you got me pretty riled up…”

The unicorn smiles, nuzzling back. “It’s fine...that was kind of my goal anyway.” She giggles. “You really know how to hold out...”

“Barely…” The thestral licks her marefriend affectionately. “Of course, we did have a deal, so I guess my wings are yours. You can have the rest of me too if you want.”

Autumn licks back. “Oh, I do want...but let’s catch our breath first, okay?” She glances over at her discarded tennis outfit. “And maybe put my uniform somewhere safe...”

“I guess… as much as I want the smell of me and you all over it so everypony knows you’re mine… that might get a bit rank.” One hoof lazily motions toward her closet. “Just stick it in there for now.”

Nodding, the unicorn reluctantly gets to all four hooves. She grabs the outfit in her magic and walks to the closet, opening the door with a hoof and lightly tossing in the white clothes. She glances at the inside of the closet before closing the door. “Ooh, you’ve got a few outfits of your own.” She can’t help but poke through them; a one-piece swimsuit, a gardening outfit complete with straw hat, a dark blue hoodie with an odd crescent moon logo on the hood, and a few other outfits for more formal occasions. “Could’ve told me about these...I would’ve asked you to wear one.”

Night lays on her side, one hoof scuffing the carpet. “I dunno… none of those are really that sexy… not like anything you seem to wear…”

Autumn giggles. “Maybe not, but you’d look cute in them at least.” She nudges the door mostly closed, leaving it slightly ajar as she trots back over, nuzzling the thestral.

The emerald-maned filly nuzzles back, smiling contently. “Well, I guess I could wear one if you ask… I’m not sure I can say no to you.”

The unicorn smiles as well. “Well, think you could throw one on then? I’ll leave it up to you which one.”

“Well… I think I know one.” Rising slightly shakily, Night brushes her tail over herself to make sure she isn’t dripping before sauntering into the closet and shutting it behind her. “No peeking~!”

Autumn rolls her eyes playfully and turns away, shutting her eyes. “I’m not!”

Only a minute later, the bat pony comes back out, her blue swimsuit on her, hugging her body as waterproof clothing is meant to do. “Okay… take a look.” She can’t help but blush, tail swishing nervously.

Turning around, the unicorn takes a look before bursting into a grin. “Aww...just like I thought: adorable.” She giggles, tilting her head. “And it hugs in all the right places, too.”

Looking down, Night giggles nervously. “It… doesn’t make my flanks look huge, right?”

“No more than normal,” Autumn replies teasingly as she trots over.

“Oh, okay… I like to think I have good flanks.” She wiggles them teasingly, but her wings stretch as Autumn walks over, remembering their deal.

“Oh, believe me, you do.” The unicorn lights her horn, sending a slight tickling sensation through Night’s outstretched appendages.

The batpony shivers, her legs going stiff as she sucks in a breath. “Oh~!”

Continuing to work her magic, Autumn increases the strength of the tickling, becoming more of a magical massage as she leans in for a kiss. Night happily leans forward as well, the force behind their meeting of the lips suggesting she’s having trouble holding herself up. Gasping, her tongue licks the other mare’s lips, asking for entry.

Autumn is more than happy to open her mouth and allow access. She wraps her hooves around the batpony, partially for close contact and partially to help keep her standing up. The thestral closes her eyes, leaning against her marefriend as she hums happily.

They stay like that for almost a full minute before Autumn pulls away slowly, giggling. “Feeling better now? I hope I didn’t wear you out already.”

“Not a chance. With you I can always go more.” Night smiles confidently, her fangs flashing.

“Well, then...” The unicorn smirks. “Think you’re up for a round two?”

“Maybe even a three if you ask nicely…” She flutters her eyelashes.

“Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it.” Grinning, Autumn leans in for another kiss, already getting excited again.

Chapter 11

As Autumn and Night are walking back towards the former’s house, the unicorn back in her tennis outfit, she decides to break the comfortable silence. “So, um...you’ve met my mom, right?”

Blinking, the batpony shakes her head as her thoughts had started to wander. “Umm, yeah. A few times, remember?”

Autumn giggles nervously. “Um, right! Well...” She scuffs her hoof on the ground, realizing how difficult this is going to be. “Um...you trust her, right?”

“Yes…” She says slowly, wondering where this is going. “Why? Is she going to do something crazy and your flank is tempting me into a trap?”

“No no no!” the unicorn rushes to assure her. “At least...not that I know of...” She clears her throat. “So, you trust her...would you say you trust her enough to know of, um...us?”

“... you cracked and told her while under the influence of her understanding and soft touch, didn’t you?” Night deadpans.

The blue mare pauses. “...kind of?” She sighs. “Okay, yes...”

Sighing as well, the thestral shakes her head. “I should have known you’d tell your secrets to another hugger… we can be very persuasive.”

“If it helps, she’s perfectly fine with it...” Autumn offers. “She just wants to have a talk with you.”

Freezing on the spot, Night’s eyes go wide. “Oh Luna… she’s a single mom with a single foal and I’ve started dating her… I am not prepared for this.”

Autumn blinks, then puts a foreleg around her. “Night, don’t worry. She promised not to scare you.” She bites back a ‘much’. “Just a little talk, and it’ll all be fine. I’ll be right there for the whole thing.”

“Easy for you to say… you’re not the one facing a mom wizard.” She shivers, leaning up against her marefriend for support. “There’s no telling what she’ll do to me if I make her mad…”

“Then don’t make her mad.” The unicorn rolls her eyes playfully. “It’s pretty hard to.”

“But what if she thinks I’m taking her baby away? I’m doomed!” Her wings flare out, holding Autumn tightly.

The blue mare just gives her marefriend a deadpanned look. “I think you read too many cliché romance novels. She’s not going to go crazy and toss you out, we’re not going to be forbidden from seeing each other, and I’m not going to get kidnapped by a dragon for you to slay.”

Night looks up and raises an eyebrow. “Are you sure you aren’t the one reading too many novels? I was just thinking she’s overprotective, you’re the one who went dragons.”

“We’re studying dragons in biology, I sort of have them on my mind.” She sighs. “I’ll agree with you on that, though. She’s...a little overprotective. But she knows you, so I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“Okay…” They start walking again. “But can I hide behind you in the case of worse coming to worst?”

Autumn narrows her eyes. “How do I know you won’t do that just to get a good view?”

“It’s not just for a good view before I die.” Night huffs, pretending to be offended. “It’s because the time it takes her to get around you to get to me will allow me to both look and have time to spin you around and get one last kiss.”

“Night, you are not going to die!” Autumn groans as they walk up to her house. “If on the very, very slim chance my mom gets angry, I’ll just cover you with a shield until she calms down. Okay?”

“...can you be in the shield with me?” she asks hopefully.

The unicorn opens her mouth, then shuts it before thinking. “...fine. But keep in mind I can’t make opaque shields yet, so if you try anything funny, she’s gonna see it.”

“I promise to only take comfort hugs…” She salutes with a wing. “...and maybe a few panicked kisses. I crave affection, you know this.”

“Fair enough.” Lighting her horn, Autumn opens the door and strolls inside, calling out loudly. “Moooom! We’re here!”

“Welcome back, sweetie!” a voice calls from the direction of the bedrooms.

Gulping, Night asks quietly. “Am I underdressed?” She looks back at her all-natural form.

“I don’t even think that deserves an answer,” Autumn replies with a playful smirk before calling back. “We’ll be in the living room when you’re ready!”

“I’ll be there in a minute! I’m finishing the last seam!”

The batpony tilts her head. “Huh? Seam?”

“She’s sewing,” Autumn explains as she leads the way into the living room, pulling her shirt off as she goes. “It’s a hobby of hers. She made most of my outfits.”

“Wow, really?” Watching the shirt come off, Night tries not to have flashbacks of the first time that happened. Suddenly, she blushes for a different reason. “Wait, like… those outfits?”

The unicorn blushes as well. “Um...well, some of them...I bought the rest before that became something I felt comfortable asking her for.” She rubs her neck, sliding the skirt off and starting to fold the outfit up with her magic.

“Huh… so… you’ve always been into outfits?” she asks.

Autumn nods. “Originally I just wore clothes most of the time because I got cold easily, but eventually I started going around without them like most ponies. But I still like wearing them, cold or not...for different reasons, depending on the outfit.”

“I bet you look great in all of them.” The thestral leans against the unicorn, nuzzling her neck.

Autumn giggles. “Aww...thanks.” She nuzzles back and leads the way to the couch. “Maybe after we’re done with the talk, I can show you some more. Maybe mom could make some duplicates for you.”

“She can do that?” Night asks as they hop onto the couch.

“I certainly can, I do take pride in my hobby after all. Though Autumn knows my price.” Rune walks in from the hallway, a piece of black fabric hung over her back. “Good morning, you two.”

Autumn smiles and waves. “Morning, mom! Sorry for interrupting your work.”

Night waves as well, earning a smile from the mare. “Oh, it was no trouble, sweetie. I was just getting done with my current little project.” Her horn lights up and the black fabric lifts, revealing it to be a black version of Autumn’s white skirt, except made for a larger pony. “What do you think?”

“It looks great!” The unicorn filly grins at it. “How long did it take?”

“Not as long as you’d think, actually. It was sort of a learning process, but these sorts of uniforms are mass produced so they aren’t complicated.” She folds it back up. “I think it took about an hour, but I was taking it slow so I could make sure I got it right. Now the end result is me having a new nice skirt to wear when I dress up!” She grins happily.

“Oh, that’s where you got that urge from…” the batpony says, looking to Autumn.

The blue filly rubs her neck. “I guess so...” She clears her throat. “So, um...mom, you said you wanted to chat with Night?” Her eyes narrow a bit. “Nicely?”

“Yes, yes I did.” The mare walks over and sits down in front of them, her face neutral and serious. “It’s good to get this out of the way first.”

Night gulps, shrinking into the couch a bit. Autumn puts a foreleg around her in an attempt to comfort her.

Staring right into the thestral’s emerald eyes, the mother begins. “Now Nightshade, you know Autumn is my foal and I love her with all my heart.”

She nods. Autumn blushes.

Rune continues. “To that end, I never want to see her hurt, and I know that emotional pain can be just as if not more damaging than physical. So, I’m going to make this quick, but clear.” She leans down close, not blinking. “If you hurt her, if you ever make her cry, if you ever force her to do something she doesn’t want to… there will be no place you can hide from me.” Her normally soft and cheery voice goes as hard as a diamond-edged blade. “Do we understand each other?”

Swallowing again, Night replies quietly. “Y-Yes ma’am…”

Autumn coughs loudly. “Mom.”

Rune maintains the stare for a moment longer just to get her meaning across before her face softens to its usual expression. “Just wanted to make sure she knew, dear. Now, group hug to make all those bad feelings go away!” She scoops up both of them, nuzzling them as she squeezes them against her.

The other hug fiend in the group blinks, finding her tension draining away quickly. Autumn sighs, enjoying the hug. She speaks quietly to the thestral. “See? Not that bad.”

“She’s still scary when she wants to be,” Night replies.

“Yes, but usually I want to be loving and caring, so no need to worry.” Rune giggles. “And, I have a few little peace offerings to offer the newest addition to mine and Autumn’s family.”

Autumn blushes. “Mooom...”

“What? You know it’s true…” She nuzzles them both more.

Night giggles awkwardly. “Wow, family already?”

“I guess...” Autumn sighs. “What did you mean by peace offerings?”

“Well, first off I have cookies in the oven that I just need to turn on and let bake.” Rune smiles. “And of course, there’s the access to my services granted by my little hobby. I can try to make her anything she wants clothing-wise.”

Snapping out of the small trance she was in once the word cookies was mentioned, Night tilts her head. “What? For free?”

“We have a deal arranged. Would you like to explain, sweetie?” The mare looks to her daughter expectantly.

Autumn smiles. “It’s all free, as long as you model whatever she makes you for her.”

Night blushes. “M-Model?”

“Of course. I have to know if you like it and it can inspire new creations,” Rune explains.

“Oh… yeah, I guess… that’s alright.” The batpony nods, still sort of stunned by the whole situation.

Autumn laughs a bit. “I’ve been doing it for years. It’s easy, and fun. Don’t worry about it.”

“Heh… I guess it does sound fun… and I get free clothes.” She smiles.

“That’s the spirit!” The green mare exclaims as she sets them down. “Now, let me go get the cookies ready, you two lovebirds.” Humming happily, she walks into the kitchen, leaving the two on their own.

Autumn sighs in relief and nuzzles Night. “There...not a problem, see?”

“Yeah…” She puts a hoof to her chest. “Phew, my heart was pounding for a bit there, then she got all nice again.”

“She gets like that sometimes...from nice to scary then back to nice.” She shudders. “You should’ve seen her when she was talking about that window repair guy.”

“Huh? Night tilts her head. “What do you mean? What about him?”

Autumn tilts her head as well. “You didn’t hear? Apparently that gang broke into his business and outed him as a racist who was charging non-ponies way more than he should have. And apparently had drugs stashed all around, or something...it was hard to keep track of what she was saying.”

“Oh…” The thestral goes quiet. “Well, at least he got what was coming to him.”

“Yeah.” Autumn nods. “Kind of surprised it happened at all, though. From what I’ve heard, the ‘Restless’ - I think that’s what they’re called - have just been causing trouble and stealing stuff. Now they’re like some sort of back alley equal rights movement.”

Shrugging, Night looks around. “Ponies have all sorts of sides to them, I guess.”

Autumn shrugs as well. “Guess so...”

Rune comes back in after another round of quiet. “Okay, the cookies should be ready in a few minutes. I also had something I wanted to talk to both of you about, but for now, Nightshade, any requests for outfits?”

“Well, I…” The batpony finds herself at a loss for words. “I don’t know… never really had the option before…”

Her marefriend giggles. “Just think of something you’d like to have. Just about anything.”

“Umm… I need a moment to think.” She looks to her marefriend. “What would you want me to have?”

Autumn blushes a bit. “Um...” She glances at her mother, feeling a little awkward. “...m-maybe a copy of that one outfit of mine you wore the other day?”

Blushing as well, especially when she sees the mother in the room raise a knowing eyebrow, Night mutters. “Are you sure we should ask for things like… that?”

“You asked what I’d want you to have...” she replies, face growing redder. “I-I dunno...”

Swallowing almost as much as before they got here, the batpony turns to the mare. “Mrs. Rune… do you… make… you know… s-sexy clothing?”

Smiling smoothly, Rune nods. “Of course, but only for family. Do you know what you want?”

Night blinks. “Wait, what? Just like that?”

“Why not?” She shrugs. “She may not have fully realized it, but that’s another thing Autumn got from me. Think of this like an embarrassing adult birthday gift… except anytime and not in front of your friends.”

The thestral’s mouth falls open slightly as her wings rustle. Autumn giggles and nuzzles her. “Go on, tell her what you want.”

“Can I have a…” Night giggles nervously. “Gosh, this is so weird to ask this of my marefriend’s mom… Can I have a… sexy nurse outfit?”

Rune’s knowing smile stays where it is. “Anything else?”

Feeling a little more comfortable, she continues. “Maybe… like a maid costume… and a cat costume too?”

The last one raises the eyebrow again as Rune looks over to her daughter. “Found a wild one, didn’t you?”

The younger unicorn laughs nervously and rubs the back of her neck. “G-Guess I did...”

With a glowing blush, Night laughs along before a sudden thought occurs to her. “Wait, so I have to model these too?!”

Rolling her eyes playfully, Rune pats the batpony’s head. “Dear, I do that because I like seeing ponies enjoy them, and so I can know any changes to make for the future. Plus, I’m a mother and a mare; trust me, you’ve got nothing I haven’t seen before. You should be more worried about what Autumn will do if she watches.”

Emerald leather wings spread out slowly as Night turns to Autumn. The young unicorn pretends to be interested in a spot on the sofa, refusing to meet the eyes of either pony.

“Don’t worry.” The mare nudges the thestral. “You should know by now: she’s shy, but feisty.” The filly in question groans and buries her face into the cushions.

The batpony giggles. “Oh, I definitely know that…”

“Can we change the subject to something that isn’t me, please?” Autumn mumbles.

“Well, okay, but one last question for you, sweetie.” Rune turns to the blue filly. “Do you have any orders you’d like me to make? Since you have somepony else to wear them for now.”

Autumn thinks. “Uh...” She glances at Night. “I’m not really sure what she’s into, so I dunno...any suggestions, Night?”

The thestral tries to reign in her wings as she thinks, her blush growing. “Umm… school filly?”

Her marefriend giggles, blushing as well. “School filly outfit, then. Please and thank you.”

Rune giggles along as well. “Hmm… socks, shoes, skirt, shirt, bow, and undies… a very classic arrangement.” A timer goes off in the kitchen. “Oops, those are the cookies. Be right back.” She leaves quickly.

Once she’s out of the room, Autumn nudges her marefriend, smirking. “Didn’t know you were into that sort of thing.”

“Y-You’ll have to be more specific,” Night says, looking away.

“Well, the cat suit, for one thing.” She giggles. “I don’t have a problem with it, I just didn’t expect it.”

“I-It was just a random idea I had!” the batpony blusters. “You know… the whiskers are neat, and the ears are cute, paws, a bell… and I already have the eyes and teeth…”

Smiling, Autumn nuzzles her, trying to calm her down. “I know...it sounds cute to me too. Just surprised me is all.”

“Kinda like how you surprised me with all this on our first night…” Night whispers. “Suddenly I found myself a sexy nurse with a very unruly patient.”

Autumn lowers her voice as well, adopting a more seductive tone. “What can I say...I needed my medicine.”

A small whooshing sound occurs as the thestral’s wings spread fully. Her face glowing red, Night playfully tackles Autumn, pinning her. “You are so bad! Roleplaying too now?!”

“I’m bad, am I?” The unicorn keeps up her alluring tone, grinning widely. “Maybe you should teach me some manners.” She sticks her tongue out.

“No no no!” The grey filly hides her face in her marefriend’s fur. “You are not talking me into a teacher’s outfit to pair with your student one!”

“That wasn’t what I was thinking...but now I like that idea.” She cackles with laughter. “Or we could just stick with the nurse’s outfit. Schools have nurses, right?”

Her mind starting to fill with all kinds of naughty images, Night huddles down more. “Stop making me think such alluring things!” She lunges forward, her teeth lightly clamping on the filly’s neck. Not near enough to pierce the skin, just enough to make the bat-pony feel better.

Autumn gasps, going quiet for a second before speaking again, back to normal volume. “Night...you’re getting me excited again...”

Night’s voice hisses through her fangs. “What do you think you’re doing to me?”

“I’ll stop, I’ll stop!” the unicorn promises. “Just...don’t let mom find us like this, please!”

A familiar yet dreaded voice speaks from the doorway. “A bit late, sweetie.”

Autumn freezes, then flops down as though trying to play dead. Night, meanwhile, looks up with the guilty face of a cat caught with something it shouldn’t have.

Rune simply smiles at the two of them, setting down the plate of warm cookies on the table. “And here I was thinking I’d have to come up with some strange way of broaching the next topic. Yet here you two are bringing it right into view… in the living room no less. Quite shameless.”

Autumn groans, wishing she could just disappear. Instead, she opts to roll out from underneath Night and hide behind her as best she can.

Left before the surprisingly stoic mother, Night swallows yet again this evening, her wings still spread. “Umm… the cookies smell nice?”

“Don’t they?” A green aura floats one to all three of them. “Here, have a bite and collect yourselves.”

Sighing, Autumn takes the cookie offered to her and nibbles on it, letting herself relax. Nightshade does much the same, taking a bite out of the cookie and immediately humming happily. “Mmm!”

“Glad you like them.” Rune calmly eats her own, silence settling in as they enjoy the treats. Pushing the plate towards the fillies as she grabs another cookie, Rune speaks. “So, how far have you two gone?”

The thestral’s eye bug out as she freezes, the sheer bluntness of the question stunning her. Autumn coughs, nearly choking on the cookie. “Mom!”

“What?” Rune says innocently. “It’s just a simple question.”

Autumn rubs her throat. “Simple question, not so simple an answer...” She looks to Night for help. The batpony shakes her head vehemently, crossing her forelegs in a big ‘x’. Autumn sighs. “...define ‘far’?”

“I’m simply wondering if you would now consider yourself sexually active,” her mother states, deftly taking a bite of cookie. “Admittedly, I don’t have to worry as much as if you liked colts, but as a mother I still worry and want to make sure you are comfortable and aren’t having problems or anything.”

The younger unicorn looks away, scuffing the floor with a hoof. “Well...we’ve, um...gone a couple rounds...” She trails off, hoping that’s enough of an answer.

Rune nods at this. “I’ll take that as a big yes then… have you started using toys or roleplaying? Do I need to go over safety with those?”

“Mom!” Autumn cries again, face more red than blue now. “No, no, and no!”

Blushing her own amount, Night raises a tentative hoof. “Well, technically that second one is a ‘we’ll see’...” The young unicorn glares at her, causing her to shrink. “What? It’s true… and safety sounds good…”

“I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: I like you, Nightshade. Good head on your shoulders.” She settles into her sitting position. “So, roleplaying, hmm? I guess that’s why you need costumes.”

Autumn sighs. “I blame her...she brought it up.”

“Me? You were the one putting all the thoughts into my head!” Night exclaims.

“Well...” The blue unicorn trails off and shakes her head. “Never mind...”

“Oh? What’s this?” Rune’s eyes chuckle with just as much mirth as the rest of her. “Is my little angel secretly a subliminal succubus?”

“Mom, I don’t even know what that is!” Autumn cries, flopping onto her back and covering her eyes.

Night looks to her. “It’s a-”

“Ah ah ah, let’s not go there right now.” The mare offers more cookies. “So, would you be willing to hear me out on some things, no matter how embarrassing?”

Autumn groans. “You’re not gonna let me leave without hearing them anyway, are you?”

“Safety reasons, sweetie,” she says, taking a sip of milk. “Also, it helps make things more fun and pleasurable.”

Her daughter sighs. “Fine...” Night just watches and listens attentively, her wings folded once again.

“Alright, first off, roleplaying is all about having fun as a character. However, it is important to know when one is in or out of character, so that you can communicate properly,” Rune lectures, her tail swishing. “This can be done easily once you get experience, but for beginners I might suggest a safe-word.”

“Safe-word?” Autumn looks up at her, confused.

“I think I know this…” the batpony says. “It’s like something that would never be said normally, so we know it when we hear it, right? Usually something weird like… I dunno… rubber ducky or something.”

“Once again, Nightshade scores points,” the green mare remarks. “I’ll have to make sure you didn’t write the answers on the back of your hoof if you keep this up.”

Night just smiles from the praise. Autumn facehoofs. “Is this a competition now?”

“No, but if she’s more informed than you then she is more likely to lead these little sessions of yours. So either learn to know, or learn how to start convincing her to let you lead.” A mischievous twinkle is in Rune’s eyes as she continues. “Now, the second tip is the last one: trust. It is all about trusting your partner, whether them knowing you well enough to not take it too far, or as far as you like it. It also stresses the importance of talking to each other. Discuss what you like, don’t like, all your little kinks. If it’s out in the open, it can be explored and you might discover new things.”

Autumn nods slowly. “That sounds easy enough...I’m pretty sure Night already knows all my kinks, though.” She smirks at the thestral. “She’s done enough experimenting.”

Rune’s smiling mask shatters at this as she blinks. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Not the way you’re thinking,” the younger unicorn explains. “Just when we’re fooling around, she stumbles onto something, like how sensitive my tail is. Or, like you walked in on, my neck.”

Slowly the mask comes back. “Never assume you know everything about one another, sweetie. There is always more to discover. Though I might suggest more private places to discover things next time. For now though, I think that concludes this little safety lecture.” She raises a hoof. “Fair warning: the one on toys is longer, more in depth, more practical, and comes with visual aides.”

Autumn swallows. “I-I think we’ll hold off on that one...for a century or two...”

“Y-Yeah…” Night nods nervously.

“Suit yourselves.” Rune shrugs before standing up. “For now, follow me. I still need to get Nightshade’s measurements before I release you two to do unspeakable things to each other.”

Autumn rolls her eyes, but chuckles and stands up as well, pulling Night up with her. “Okay, mom...”

Chapter 12

Another night, another house, another meeting of a particular group. Tonight though, the last member to arrive is much larger than the usual ones. Gracefully, the form glides down onto the doorstep of the humble home, her talons clacking lightly on the pavement. A moment later, the griffon taps on the doorway with one, trying not to look suspicious.

After a moment, the door opens, the familiar zebra who owns the home standing in the doorway. He smiles and silently steps to the side to let her in, revealing the room behind himself. The inside is an unpainted wood, even the floor, with a few scrapes and scratches. Some odd trinkets, seemingly from a foreign land, are either hanging from the walls or placed carefully on shelves, which are also lined with coloured pots and jars labelled with long names in careful hoofwriting. Other, larger jars are on the floor on the back; nearby is a large cauldron, apparently having been haphazardly moved aside to allow for company. A curtain covers a nearby doorway that presumably leads to the bathroom and bedroom.

The rest of the group already sitting in the middle of the room in a rough circle, idly chatting with one another or entertaining themselves in other ways, such as Snap reading a book or Portal trying to bite his own tail.

She smiles at him and them, a fairly subtle gesture for one with a beak. “Sorry I’m late, guys. I got trapped in conversation with the new repairpony.”

Alloy smiles back. “That’s great! I’m glad it didn’t take long to find somepony who’d actually do the job.”

“He certainly grilled me for details, that’s for sure…” Snowdrift laughs lightly. “Took forever for him to let me leave, but he said he’d be over tomorrow for measurements, so things are already moving faster.”

“Good to hear.” The pegasus looks to the rest of the group, most of whom had already directed their attention to the new arrival. “Think we’re ready to start now.” She taps Snap on the shoulder to let him know the meeting is about to begin.

The only one of them still wearing clothes clears his throat, his face hidden out of force of habit more than anything else. “Alright, to recap on our last mission… it was a complete success.” His posture straightens proudly. “The window pony was brought in for questioning on all things that were found in his shop. While they did eventually clear him of the drug charges, it was plenty of time for everypony in town to see his shop, because it was a crime scene and could not be tampered with. Word spread fast and apparently not one pony wanted to have anything to do with his shop once he got back to it. Suffice to say, his shop is now up for sale and he is seeking new employment. He isn’t homeless, but he will be dealing with hardship for a while. Exactly the level of humility we needed to bring down on him. Excellent work everyone.”

Most of them nod or even clap while Alloy quickly translates for Snap. When they are done, Zesten speaks up. “And let us not forget to congratulate Miss Night; for her first real assignment, she did her part just right.”

“Yes, a wonderful job, Nightshade,” the leader agrees. “Our newest member has once again proven herself quite the asset.”

“I should have baked a cake,” Ornate muses.

Blushing from all the attention, Night smiles, her wings shuffling. “Aww… thanks you guys… I’m glad I made you proud.”

Alloy smiles, patting her on the shoulder. “Hope you didn’t have any trouble.”

The thestral looks up. “Nah, I had it covered. I knew it was important.”

“Speaking of important…” The hooded figure gains their attention again. “I actually had something I wished to bring up with all of you.”

They all look to him, except for Portal, who’s walked over to examine some of Zesten’s jars in the back, unnoticed by the others. Alloy tilts her head at their leader. “What is it, Reflect?”

He waves to all of them as he speaks. “Well, as you know, we operate on the principle of secrecy. Whether it is complete secrecy so we can secure something, or strategic secrecy so the police know we did something, but still not who we are. To that end, after our last excursion, I think it would be prudent of us to try and perhaps better our uniforms. If anyone gets close enough to us, they can still tell what tribe or species some of us are, which narrows it down. I would like to avoid that.”

Alloy blinks. “What do you suggest, then? Masks would hide our faces more, but wouldn’t really help with things like size.” She glances to Snowdrift. “And anything else that could help in that department would impede our movement.”

“You are right in those points. Plus, honestly, masks get annoying if it’s warm, and they can muffle words.” Shaking his head, Reflect continues. “I was thinking something a little more… arcane.”

Many heads tilt to the side curiously. Portal speaks up loudly from the back. “But none of us are uni-” He gets cut off by a small clang, and when they turn to him, they see him standing inside the zebra’s cauldron, peering over the top at them. “-corns.”

“True, but I believe we can get what we need from another source.” Gesturing in the direction of the market district, he explains. “You all may or may not know of the very successful runemaster who runs her shop all by herself. I believe her enchanting is what we can use. Some sort of illusion to either disguise us completely, or simply blur us enough to where no details can be seen.”

As a few murmurs go around, the one batpony in the room has her eyes widening by the moment as she hopes they don’t mean a particular place she is thinking of. Alloy has a similar reaction, looking to her nervously before back to their leader. “Um...wh-what shop is this, sir?”

He tilts his hidden head at her. “It’s the only one like it in the city. You know, the one that sells basic enchantments, does custom orders, run by a single green mare?”

Night looks to her pink friend worriedly, who just looks back. Portal speaks up again from the cauldron. “So we’re gonna rob it?”

Reflect nods. “Yes, but only for this specific thing. We have no idea how much this would cost us for it to be done through proper channels, our identities would be revealed by doing so, and even if they weren’t directly, we have no idea how this mare feels about the Restless.”

Seeing the two fillies so tense, Ornate speaks up. “Something to say, you two?”

Alloy swallows nervously, glancing at Night before replying. “Um...maybe we shouldn’t?” Before she can be questioned further, she hastily continues. “I mean, a place that sells magic enchantments...she’d probably keep them protected pretty well, right? I, um, don’t think this would be like a food gathering assignment or something...”

“Very true,” their leader admits. “I do not expect one who creates enchantments to not do the same to her own shop. That is why I don’t really have a time limit for this mission, if you can even call it that at the moment. We don’t know what we are up against, merely that we need what is inside.” He spreads his forelegs wide. “I am open to suggestions.”

“Can we simply make a pass at the place to test the defenses without actually trying to get in?” Snowdrift offers.

Reflect shakes his head. “I don’t think so. She might just change it after she realizes they were tripped.”

“How about steal it while it’s open?” Portal suggests, rocking back and forth in the large pot. “Then she won’t have them active, right?”

“A fair suggestion,” the hooded one responds, “but we have no idea how long we would need to locate the spell, and maybe even some gems it’s casted on. Anyone who was trying to find it would need to be hidden the entire time, and I would rather try other options before we have that much risk.”

Alloy coughs a bit. “Um...maybe I could just try getting it on my own time?”

Quickly grabbing onto a solution to what was becoming a horrible train of thought, Night’s head nods rapidly. “I could help!”

Reflect looks to the two of them in surprise. “How do you plan on getting it yourselves when all of us together can’t think of a way yet?”

“We’ll...we’ll think of something?” the pegasus offers meekly. Her mind races to come up with a plan, or at the very least, a way to change the topic. She remembers something from a previous meeting and clings to it. “Besides, this way the rest of you can focus on Snap!”

Ornate’s ears perk up. “Oh? Is he ready to come forward with his problem?”

Alloy looks to the pony in question, who has all but dozed off, having stopped paying attention long ago to the meeting. “Well...he already told me, so I can just tell you myself.” She sighs. “For the past few months, Snap’s been renting a room from someone, since he can’t really live on his own safely. But even though he pays his rent on time, they’re kicking him out in the next couple of weeks.”

Everypony, including the usually distracted Portal, is suddenly all ears. Reflect leans forward, his voice gone from light and casual to deep and serious. “Do you have any more details?”

“Aside from the address, not really,” she admits. “Just that they don’t seem to have any actual reason for it. He didn’t tell me much, and he seems pretty tight-lipped about it.” She winces. “I-I mean...um...never mind.”

Reflect waves a hoof. “It’s fine, Alloy. We’ve heard worse choices of words… from Ornate.”

“Hey!” The crystal mare lightly swipes the side of her leader’s head. “You said you’d never bring it up again!”

Chuckling, he straightens his hood. “Just teasing. Back to the matter, though. Alloy, do you think you could get more details from Snap?”

“I don’t know...I tried asking him more after the other meeting, but he said that was all he could think we’d need to know. Maybe we could ask his landlord about this?” She shrugs a bit, looking sheepish.

“Yes…” Reflect rubs his chin in thought. “Inquiries will definitely be made… Ornate, do you think you could do a little investigating? Ponies will likely be more comfortable around you than the rest of us… well, aside from Portal, Night, and Alloy, but it would be difficult for a colt and teenagers to get straight answers.”

The mare nods slowly. “I’ll do it, but if I end up having to use feminine wiles I don’t want to hear it from any of you.” She points a hoof at each of the group. Zesten chuckles lightly.

Reflect claps to gain attention once more. “Okay, so a few of us now have some things to do. Everyone else, just go about your lives and we’ll meet again soon.”

Nodding, the group starts to disband. Snap has to be shaken a bit, but soon he is leaving as well. Portal manages to climb out of the cauldron, but ends up knocking it over loudly.

Calmer now, Night looks over to the colt. “What? Didn’t want to become part of a potion?”

He looks away, deliberately distracting himself with trying to push the cauldron back up, before Zesten comes over and fixes it himself. Sighing, the colt turns to go as well, still looking embarrassed.

Smiling, Night leans down and scoops him into a quick hug. “You’d probably make a cute potion.” He whines, curling up into a small ball. “Aww…” She nuzzles him too now.

“Niiiiiiiight...” Portal groans, like a child being fondled over by their mother. He wriggles around, trying to escape.

“Yes, mission buddy?” Her grip loosens slightly, but being the hugmaster she is, she still leaves it inescapable.

He squirms some more regardless. “I need to go home...”

“Okaaaay…” Her whine is similar to his earlier one as she nuzzles him once more before setting him down. “Be safe.”

Nodding, he heads off, only looking back once. As Zesten returns to fixing up his house from the visit, this leaves Night and Alloy as the only ones who have yet to head back home. The pegasus walks up to the thestral, a little worried.

“So...how are we gonna do this?” she asks.

The thestral thinks for a solid minute before she answers. “Ask and hope?” Her suggestion is more of a question.

“...that’s probably the best we’ll get.” Alloy sighs and starts walking. “Tomorrow, after school?”

“I guess there’s no reason to delay…” Night stretches her wings. “I think we might have a better chance if we ask Autumn though, not her mom.”

“Agreed. Plus, Autumn’s less likely to ask questions...I think...” Alloy shrugs. “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

Suddenly sitting down, the batpony spreads her forelegs and looks at Alloy expectantly.

Rolling her eyes playfully, the pegasus walks over and hugs her, smiling. “There. Does that fill your quota for today?”

As her tail wags happily, Night muses. “Hmm… within acceptable margins. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, silly.” With a quick nuzzle, Alloy detaches from the hug. “Good night, then.”

“Good night!”

Throughout most of that week, despite their vow to get it done as early as possible, Alloy and Night find themselves backing out of every opportunity to ask Autumn for help. It isn’t until near the end of the week when they decide they need to get it done once and for all.

Thursday is one of two days during the week when Autumn has tennis practice, the other being Tuesday, and so she gets out of school about an hour or so later than the other students. She notices her friends waiting for her, and skips changing out of her outfit in order to meet up with them.

“Hey, girls!” she greets, approaching them. “You didn’t have to wait for me.”

Night smiles brightly, giggling. “Wouldn’t miss this for the world…”

Alloy rolls her eyes. “We’re here to ask her for help, not admire her. Calm your wings.”

The batpony looks back at her already half extended wings, blushing as she tries to reign them in. Still, her face tries to remain passive. “I can multitask.”

Autumn raises an eyebrow. “Ask me for help? What is it?”

Straightening herself back up, Night clears her throat and tries to be serious… failing within three seconds as she relaxes at the sight of her marefriend. “Well, umm… we need your help with some magic.”

The unicorn motions with her head for them to walk and talk, and starts doing so. “You know I can’t do much besides shields, right?”

“Didn’t your mom teach you the family trade?” the thestral asks, a little surprised.

Autumn brightens up, smiling. “Oh, that’s what you meant! I know some runes, sure, if that’s what you needed. I could ask mom for help if I...” She trails off. “Wait...what do you need magic for?”

“A… project…” Unable to come up with something quick enough, she turns to Alloy, eyes pleading.

Fortunately, the pegasus has had enough time to think of an excuse. “We’ve been put into pairs and given a random topic to write a short essay about in language class. We got, um...illusion magic.”

Autumn slowly nods. “So...you need an illusion rune, or something? What kind? That’s kind of generic.”

Night tries to take up the ball again as they pass a few stores. “Like the kind that ponies would use to keep others from recognizing them. Like spies or something.”

The unicorn raises an eyebrow, and Alloy quickly jumps in to field for her. “That’s Night, always trying to make everything more dramatic.” She laughs nervously.

Sighing, Autumn shrugs. “I can try, though my mom might need to help out with that. I don’t know the rune myself, but she could probably...I don’t know, show it off to you and give a copy of the rune sketch.”

“That’d work great!” Night nods. “Thanks, Autty, this will really help!”

“No problem.” The unicorn nuzzles her gently as they pass by a familiar building. Pausing, Autumn looks inside a window. “Hey, isn’t this that window repair guy’s old place?”

Alloy looks over, noticing the building and looking inside as well. “Yeah, it is...” She squints, seeing a few ponies inside. “Guess they’re cleaning it up. Maybe somepony’s buying it or something.”

“Probably.” Autumn glances around. “They’ve got almost everything in this room, actually...all that’s left is the logo on the-” She cuts off abruptly, going quiet.

“Something wrong, Autty?” the thestral asks as they walk.

“...do either of you have any plans for after school?” she responds slowly.

“No, not really.” Night shrugs, one part of her getting excited at spending the afternoon with Autumn, but then curious as to what all three of them would do.

The unicorn turns to them both, a neutral expression on her face. “Good, because I have some questions for the two of you.” She continues walking, at a quicker pace now, forcing the other two to keep up.

With the new speed, they get to Autumn’s place in little time. The unicorn unlocks the door with her key and steps inside, looking back at the other two and waiting for them to step in as well. “Mom won’t be home for a bit, so we have time. My room, now.”

Night doesn’t know about her pink friend, but personally part of her is nervous and the other half curious at this new blunt tone. She even manages not to think dirty thoughts about Autumn’s words as she complies swiftly. Alloy follows along, but casts a worried glance back at their friend as she follows behind them.

When they get to her room, Autumn walks in last and shuts the door behind her. Now, she doesn’t bother to hide the angry expression on her face. “Now. Tell me all about your involvement with the Restless.”

Night immediately stiffens as her mouth clacks shut, not wanting to say anything. She knows she’s a terrible liar to her friends. Alloy looks back and forth between the two, panicking. “...what?”

Autumn growls. “Something’s been going on with you two. First, it’s pretty obvious you knew each other before I first met Nightshade.” She turns her attention directly to the batpony. “Then, you have a hoodie in your closet with the Restless logo on it. I recognized it when we looked into that building. And then the two of you come asking for, rather specifically, a rune to conceal identity.” She stomps a hoof. “I don’t know if you’re stupid, or you think I’m stupid, or what. But I can put two and two together. So tell me. What’s. Going. On.”

Letting out a whimper, Night falls to her stomach in a submissive posture. Her wings fold forward, trying to hide her from view as her tail tucks between her legs. Alloy looks guilty, but rather than trying to hide, she just kicks at the ground awkwardly.

After several seconds, Autumn takes a deep breath. “Night...Alloy...I’m sorry. But you’ve been keeping secrets behind my back for...for...I don’t even know how long for. The least you can do is tell me what’s going on before I help you.”

“... you don’t hate us?” The bat pony’s voice is quiet as she stays in her self-made shelter.

The unicorn kneels down in front of her, trying to be gentle. “I could never hate the two of you. I’m just mad that you’ve been going behind my back for so long. And furthermore, that you outright lied to me.” She puts a hoof on Night’s. “Tell me...please?”

Alloy just watches, staying quiet for the moment. She sits on the bed and waits for Night’s response.

A sniff comes from beneath the emerald wings as a grey hoof grips a blue one. “Okay… I’m really sorry for lying to you, Autty… this was the only thing I ever lied about, I swear.” Wings open to reveal a single slightly teary eye. “We… aren’t involved with the Restless… we’re part of the Restless. We’re members.”

Autumn nods slowly, not pulling away. “I had a feeling...but why? What does the Restless do, exactly? And why are you in it?”

“To help… to belong… to equal…” Night’s wings open up to allow both eyes to be seen. “Not everypony is like your family, Autty…”

“I know...” The unicorn nods again. “So, let me guess...the Restless work towards equality? Regardless of, you know...” She gestures to the thestral. “Race, or...” She motions to Alloy. “Condition?”

“That’s the basic idea,” Alloy finally chimes in. “All the members have had to deal with discrimination for one reason or another, or are just working to help improve the lives of those who have.”

Autumn raises an eyebrow. “So, wait...the window repair pony...that was you two?”

“Well, not us two specifically, but we were involved,” the pegasus admits. “One of our members, a griffon, hired him to repair her windows, but not only did he charge way more than he should have, he never got around to the work. When we discovered he’d been doing that to others, we made sure the rest of the city knew it as well.”

The unicorn sighs. “I’d call what you did ‘underhooved’, but really, he didn’t do much better...” She looks back to Night, smirking a bit. “Let me guess. You were behind the produce shop robbery too.”

“That was a coincidence.” The thestral’s wings fold back fully, but she stays on the ground, ears pinned back. “Some of us were low on food. That guy wasn’t a bad pony, so we only took what we needed…”

“And yet just about all the fruit he had on display was gone the next morning.” Autumn boops her marefriend’s nose. “Now who could’ve done that?”

A small giggle escapes the mare. “Some of us were hungry…”

Autumn giggles as well. “I could tell.” She looks between the two of them, her smile fading. “Look...I want to help, but I don’t really know if I can...mom would want to know what the rune is for, and I really don’t think I can lie to her.”

“Yeah…” Night sits up, still holding Autumn’s hoof. “Hard to lie to those you care about…” Her other hoof wipes her eyes.

The unicorn pulls her into a hug. “I’m sorry for yelling, Night...I really am...” Glancing at Alloy, she motions for her to join as well. With a smile, the pegasus hops off the bed and embraces them both.

“I’m sorry for hiding stuff from you…” Night mumbles into her friends’ withers. “I don’t like ponies upset at me…” Her lips meet Autumn’s cheek as she squeezes all of them tightly.

Autumn smiles, kissing the thestral’s cheek in return. “I’m not upset anymore. It’s alright.” She’s quiet for several seconds before speaking again. “...can I meet them?”

“Huh?” Night blinks, not sure what she means.

“The other members of the Restless.” Autumn pulls back from the hug to look her in the eye. “I want to meet them.”

“Well… I… I don’t know… I’m kind of the newbie of the group…” She looks to Alloy.

The pegasus sighs. “I’d have to ask the boss first...if you’re willing to at least try and help us, though, he’ll probably go for it...”

Autumn nods. “I’ll do my best.”

“Then...well, we’ll see.” Alloy nods. “I’ll ask him.”

They hug in silence for a moment before Night speaks up. “I’m more scared of Rune finding out this secret than the first one…”

Autumn pauses, then speaks up again. “...I can try to keep it a secret from her...it’s not really lying if I just don’t talk about it, right?”

“I think so…” Taking a deep breath, the lunar pegasus relaxes a bit more. “This afternoon got very stressful… can I go back to ogling Autty in her uniform? It’s a lot easier on my mind.”

The others laugh a bit, and Autumn nuzzles her. “I’d say yes, but I still need to shower and get it washed from practice. Maybe later, okay?”

“I can be a good filly and wait.” She nuzzles both of them. “Though Alloy has to be my cuddle buddy until you get back.”

Alloy chuckles and hugs her. “I’m fine with that.”

Autumn nods, giggling as she detaches from the two. “I’ll be as quick as I can.” She opens the door and heads off to start her cleaning.

Chapter 13

Friday evening, most ponies enjoy staying up later than usual and celebrating the upcoming weekend. So it isn’t an odd sight for three young mares to be walking along the side of the street, chatting idly with one another.

Once they’re in a less populated part of the city, the unicorn turns to the other two. “Where are we going, exactly?”

“Ornate’s place,” Night says simply. “Her house is where we all meet usually. You should like her, she’s nice.”

“Alright...” Autumn looks a little nervous. “Are all of them gonna be there?”

She nods. “They usually all are. I think the boss misses more meetings than anypony, but he’s private and keeps up with everything anyway.”

The unicorn nods. She stays quiet for the rest of the trip.

When they get to the house, Alloy looks back at the other two. “Autumn, wait out here. Night, stay with her, okay? I just need to talk to the boss.” She then turns and knocks on the door, motioning for the two to get out of sight.

Pulling her marefriend to the side, Night covers her and uses her darker coloring to disguise her from prying eyes. Just in time, the door opens, revealing the amethyst mare herself, who smiles and lets Alloy in per usual, closing the door after.

Alloy smiles back, glancing around and seeing the rest of the members already assembled. Upon noticing their leader, she trots quickly over to him. “Sir? Can I talk to you for a moment?”

Looking down at her, he smiles and nods his head. “Of course, Alloy.” He stands up, walking with her out into the hall.

The rest of the group watches them go with confusion, before returning to their prior business. As the others resume chatting or reading, Portal sidles up beside Ornate. “Did you talk to the lord pony?”

“Landlord,” she corrects. “And yes, I did. Unfortunately… it seems what Snap told Alloy is true.”

Portal’s ears flatten. “What do we do?”

“Unfortunately, I’m not sure we can help Snap keep his current apartment…” Her own ears fold as she sighs. “It’s not a case of the landlord hating him, or being a bigot against him. He’s just unused to dealing with someone with Snap’s condition and communication is very difficult. What with him not reading lips too well and sign language not commonly known, if management ever needs to get a hold of him, they have to wait until he finally comes out and hope to catch him. Apparently the landlord is just not used to having to focus that much effort for a single tenant and it’s getting to him.”

The young colt pauses, mulling this over for a moment. “So...do we do anything to him?”

“I’m not certain, little one…” She rubs his head a moment. “It’s within his right to do something like this if he believes he cannot deal with Snap… despite how it forces Snap to find somewhere else to live.”

“Then what are we supposed to do?” Portal lies down onto his belly, resting his chin on his hooves almost like a dog.

“We either need to find him a new place… or have him stay with one of us.” The crystal mare nods to herself. “We need to make sure this is as comfortable as possible for him.”

Before Portal can respond, he notices Alloy and Reflect coming back from the hall. The pegasus looks relieved, and starts heading to the front door, while Reflect walks back over to the rest of the group. They all stop what they’re doing and look up, curious about what’s going on.

Looking between all of them, he is brief. “Everyone, we have a guest here in our meeting tonight. I want you all to make her feel welcome, and show her we are not as bad as some would believe us to be.”

The members look at one another, confused. The sound of the front door opening and closing catches most of their attention next, and when they look to the entrance to the living room, they see Alloy returning. Behind her is Night, and last in line is a unicorn, unfamiliar to them.

“Everyone, this is Autumn,” Alloy introduces for her. The unicorn glances over the group, trying to smile, but coming off as a little awkward. “She’s going to be helping us out for a bit.”

Reflect analyzes the newcomer, speaking calmly. “Welcome, Autumn. I think this is the first time someone has sat in on our meeting without the intention of joining us.”

She nods quietly, looking him over quickly. “Um...you must be the leader, right?”

He nods. “I am.” Lifting up a hoof, he smoothly slides his hood off. “My name is Reflect.” Revealed in the light, his form is unlike any of the others in the room. Two solid aqua eyes gaze at her, with only a slightly lighter spot in them to show where he is looking. A pair of fangs protrude from his closed mouth. A horn, curved, sharp, and smooth, just out of his forehead. All of this is set into a vaguely equine face, but with a covering of dark grey chitin just a few shades shy of black.

While most would be scared by this sudden reveal, Autumn only blinks in surprise. “You’re...a changeling?”

He smiles at her, his voice having a small reverb to it if you knew to look for it. “Yes; not many could make such an assumption as calmly as you just did.”

She smiles back. “Well, I already noticed a griffon, a zebra, and a crystal pony, not to mention Night. I may not have expected a changeling, but it doesn’t really surprise me.”

Chuckling, the changeling replies. “If only many more were as calm as you about such diversity.” He waves a hoof to his right at the crystal mare. “Allow us to introduce ourselves.”

“Ornate Design.” The mare inclines her head in a small bow. “Architect and the owner of this home. Very nice to meet you.”

The zebra steps up next, not bowing, but rather simply nodding in greeting. “Thank you for coming, Autumn my dear. I am Zesten; it is a pleasure to have you here.”

The sole predator in the room smiles. “My name is Snowdrift. I look forward to seeing what you’ve got.”

Autumn looks noticeably a little more nervous as she waves back at the griffon, but her attention is quickly seized by a small nudging at her legs. Looking down, she sees a young colt looking back up at her, as though trying to see through her. After a moment, he smiles. “I’m Portal!”

The only member of the group who has yet to speak is still lying across the couch, either unaware of Autumn’s entrance or just ignoring it. His attention is instead focused on a thick tome. The unicorn blinks at him. “Um...hello?”

Night smiles sheepishly as Snowdrift leans over and taps the reading stallion. “Sorry about him. He can’t hear. He’s not trying to be rude.”

Autumn’s ears flatten. “Oh...sorry.”

The stallion, after being disturbed, looks up and takes note of the unicorn. He raises a hoof in a halfhearted wave before going back to reading. Alloy sighs. “That’s Snap Gun. He’s our lockpicker. Not very social.”

“I can tell.” She tilts her head, looking at all of them. “So...you’re all here because of, um...discrimination, is that right?”

“To more or less extents, yes.” Reflect nods as he answers, unzipping the front of his hoodie but leaving it on. “We are outcasts from what is considered ‘normal’ and there are always those who reject what is different. Instead of dealing with this on our own, we came together, and are stronger for it. Strong enough to at least try and make a difference.”

Autumn nods. “I think I understand...” She looks around. “Sorry, I just hadn’t expected a ‘gang’ to be this...friendly.”

The griffon shrugs. “You’re friendly to us, it wouldn’t be right to not be friendly back.”

She smiles. “That makes sense.” She looks back to Reflect. “So...you wanted a rune, right?”

He nods. “Yes; we need to keep our identities hidden, so we were hoping to imbue our cloaks with some sort of illusion to make it harder to recognize us.”

Autumn nods. “That leaves a lot of options. What are you looking for, exactly? Something that makes you look completely different? A small illusion so you look the same, but anyone who looks at you just can’t make out your actual features?”

“Something like the second one,” he answers. “We don’t need much, just enough to not be recognized. Can you do it?”

She slowly nods again. “I think so...that sort of illusion seems easy enough, but I’d need to get the rune sketch first. But that might be a problem.” She averts her eyes. “My mom runs the enchantment shop in town, so I could ask her to help...but she’d probably want to know why I need it, and you can probably see the problem with that...”

Casting an eye on the other two fillies of the group, Reflect comments. “I see why you brought her in, now.” Looking back at Autumn, he continues. “I do see the problem. The more ponies that know about us, the more risk there is for us. I don’t suppose you could just come up for a reason of why you need it?”

Autumn keeps her eyes pointed at the floor. “Um...I can try, but I’m not the world’s greatest liar...especially to her.”

“Well, I certainly hope one of you think of something,” Ornate points out. “Because the alternative will be worse for everypony involved.”

The unicorn looks to her, a little worried. “W-Well...I’ll try to avoid mentioning you guys...” She rubs her neck a bit. “But...”

Night leans up against her, giving her silent support. Alloy puts a hoof on her shoulder as well.

Autumn smiles a bit. “Right...I’ll do my best.” She nods to Reflect.

“Thank you.” He smiles at them. “We owe you for this.”

Saturdays are for sleeping late. This is a philosophy Rune had followed her whole life, and continues to do so this day. As her body slowly starts to get up on its own accord, the green mare cracks open her eyes. Stretching languidly and wiping a bit of drool from the side of her mouth, the mother rolls out of the bed, landing on two bare forehooves and two socked hind ones.

With her mane and tail having a distinctly ‘wild’ look to them, she yawns and immediately heads in the direction of the kitchen. Along the way, she hears another loud yawn coming from another room, followed by a tired groan. But rather than coming from her daughter’s bedroom like she’d expect, it seems to come from the living room instead.

“Hmm?” Motherly instinct forgoes even the morning routine as she detours. “Autumn?”

Sure enough, her daughter is in the living room, lying on the couch as splayed-out as possible. She still has on a set of soft light green pajamas, and her mane and tail both appear to be victims of bad bedhair. However, all hints of her having slept are contradicted by the deep bags under her eyes, which aren’t even covered by her glasses. She pulls herself into a sitting position upon seeing her mother walk in and tries to rub any exhaustion from her eyes. “Morning, mom...”

Walking over, Rune sits next to her, pulling her against her side with one foreleg. “Sweetie… rough night?”

Autumn gratefully leans into the hug, glad for the support. “Um...yeah, something like that.” She covers her mouth as another yawn escapes her. “Just, um...couldn’t sleep...wasn’t really tired.”

“Autumn…” Leaning down, she nuzzles her foal. “You should have come and got me… I would have found a way for you to sleep.”

The younger unicorn sighs. “I didn’t want to wake you up...sorry.” She tries to think of how to bridge the topic into her question; the one she had, in truth, spent all night worrying about.

Her horn lighting up, Rune lifts the teenager in her magic, standing up and setting her down on her back. “Come, a nice glass of milk will do us both some good. You’ll probably need a nap later.”

Autumn nods, not protesting being carried into the kitchen. As they travel, she speaks up again. “Um...before I take one, do you think you could help me with something? Please?”

“Of course, baby… anything.” The mare turns her head and kisses her daughter on the forehead before rummaging in the fridge.

“Well...” Her nervousness and exhaustion make this task much more difficult than it should be. “There’s a rune I’d like to learn for...a school project?” She nearly chokes on her words when they come out in such an unconvincing manner. “S-Sort of an...illusion, disguise...spell?”

“Illusions for a school project?” Rune’s face is unreadable as she pours two glasses. “Can you be specific on what you need?”

Autumn’s mind races as she tries to remember the discussion she had the previous night. “Um...something you could cast on...say, a piece of clothing...and when worn, it blurs out the wearer’s face so they can’t be recognized.” She accepts her glass of milk and quickly shoves it to her lips so she doesn’t say anything else.

Sipping her own drink, her mother stays silent for a moment. “What class is this?”

Autumn lowers the glass. “Er...social studies?” She quickly latches onto that and runs with it. “It’s, um, sort of an experiment on...interactions between ponies when you can’t really see each other.”

“Hmm…” Rune takes another sip. “The same could be achieved with a curtain. To be honest, sweetie… this sounds more like something extracurricular that you just don’t want to tell me.”

She winces. “I-It isn’t, mom...” Her mind goes blank, and she just leaves it at that.

“Are you sure?” Her mother actually turns to her. “You know, I never did get a sense of whether you had performance anxiety or not. Are too many ponies watching at tennis practice?”

Autumn shakes her head. “No, that’s not it...”

“Are you getting bullied at school?” Her eyes narrow at the thought. “Because I can easily tell you ways to remedy that permanently.”

The younger unicorn shakes her head again. “No, I’m fine...”

“Is it one of your friends then?” Twisting her head around more, Rune nuzzles the blue filly. “Do Night or Alloy need to hide their faces? I know Alloy is strong now, but Night seems sensitive.”

“It’s...kind of like that.” Autumn finally nods a bit, deciding it wasn’t completely a lie.

“... they asked you to keep it a secret?” the mare asks shrewdly. Her daughter just nods again. Rune sighs, thinking. “Is anypony getting hurt from this secret?”

That one, Autumn has to legitimately think about. After a second, she shakes her head. “I don’t think so, no.”

“Hmm…” Rune thinks a bit more before nodding to nopony in particular. “Alright, sweetie. I’ll help you.”

Autumn smiles, relieved, and nuzzles her. “Thanks, mom...”

“You’re welcome.” Her smile is gentle as her nuzzle back. “Now, finish your milk like a good filly so you can grow to be big and strong.”

She giggles, nodding and putting the glass back to her lips.

As Sunday ticks on, a certain pair of fillies are content to spend it together. The winged one of the relationship giggles along with her marefriend as they continue a fun game of hypotheticals.

Putting a hoof to her chin, Night thinks. “Okay, so say you could be completely invisible for a whole day; what would you do if you would have no bad consequences?”

Autumn thinks as well. “Well, first, get out of school.” She smirks. “After that...probably just go around and scare ponies by pretending to be a ghost. There’s probably a lot more I could do, but even if there’s no bad consequences, I’d rather not do anything illegal.”

“True, illegal things are usually bad.” The bat pony nods. “At least I get spared from your invisible shenanigans.”

“Oh, trust me, I’d follow you into any changing rooms you went into.” The unicorn winks.

The thestral gasps dramatically, pulling her tail around her lower half like a stereotypical damsel. “You fiend! You would spy on me in my most private and vulnerable moments?”

“Wouldn’t you do the same?” Autumn giggles, pulling her closer.

Leaning against the unicorn and nuzzling her, Night giggles. “Many mysterious breezes would be happening whenever you wore a skirt, and you don’t even know what I’d do once you got home. I could strike from anywhere!” Her hooves raise threateningly as her tongue sticks out.

Autumn snickers. “Whatever it is you’d do, I don’t think I’d mind.” She pokes the thestral in the belly. “Okay, my turn. Say that you grew a unicorn horn. What kind of magic would you want to be able to use?”

“Hmm…” Night mulls this over as she fights back giggles from her stomach being poked. “I want to… this is tricky…” It takes her a moment to actually find an answer. “Maybe nature magic? Plants and stuff. Oh! I want to magically grow a huge tree I could live in, and yet the tree is still alive!”

The unicorn giggles. “I’m pretty sure that’d be impossible. But plant magic definitely suits you.” She nuzzles her.

Giving her a playful lick on the cheek, the thestral asks this time. “How about the reverse for you? If you grew wings, what would you do with them? Other than actually learning how to fly, because I assume that’s number one.”

Autumn licks back before answering immediately. “Get you to massage them.”

“Oh…” Night giggles as she squeezes her marefriend. “I’d be happy to oblige you.”

“Excellent.” The unicorn nuzzles her. “Hm...here’s an odd one: if there was a movie about your life, what would it be called?”

“You and your tricky ones.” The thestral goes on her instinct with this one. “Diary of the Love Bat.”

Autumn snickers. “‘Love Bat’?”

“Do you deny my title?” She flutters her eyelashes.

“Oh, I definitely don’t.” The unicorn nuzzles her. “Just sounds a little silly. Then again, you are silly.”

“Yes, yes I am.” Night smiles as the two continue embracing, nuzzling, and giggling.

“Aww…” A familiar motherly figure stands in the doorway of the bedroom, looking at them with a big smile.

Autumn looks back at her and smiles. “Hi mom! Is it finished already?”

“They all are,” she answers. “Ready to start the show when you two are.”

Autumn looks to her marefriend. “Ready to strut your stuff, love bat?”

Despite her blush and averted eyes at Rune’s raised eyebrow, Night nods with a smile. “I think so. I hope you like them.”

“Let’s go find out.” Standing up, they head into the room, Autumn hanging back by the doorway to let her mother get Night ready.

“Alright, dear, just head behind this little privacy screen I set up so Autumn can’t peek as I give each one to you.” As Rune stands next to three piles of fabric, she motions to a curtained off area of the room.

“Okay.” Both excited and nervous, Night casts one last look at Autumn before disappearing behind the curtain.

“Let’s try something familiar first…” A light blue pile floats up and behind the privacy screen.

Autumn watches from a chair she has pulled up, trying to resist the urge to get up and try to peek behind the screen. Instead, she just bounces up and down a bit in anticipation. Rune watches this with a small smile, one ear focusing on the screen as Night’s mumblings come through.

“Hehehe… I know Autty likes this part… oh, good, wing holes… if this wasn’t so naughty, it’d be more than comfortable enough to wear all day…”

The young unicorn’s ears perk up at that, and her face already goes a little red as she imagines in her head what it could look like. She keeps her eyes focused on the screen, waiting for her marefriend to come out.

Finally, Night’s voice comes out clear. “Ready!”

Smiling, Rune sits down to watch the show. “Well, what are you waiting for, girl? Come strut your stuff!”

Night emerges from behind the curtain, a smile on her face and a sway in her hips as she walks towards the center of the room. The nurse outfit she is wearing is very similar to the one she had gotten previously from Autumn, but this one has a few adjustments. The colour is light blue instead of pink, going better with her colours. Additionally, as she turns around on the spot, one can see the lingerie underneath is definitely of the naughty variety as its curves and edges glide around the young mare’s form. The matching socks rise up high enough to just reach the bottom of the lacy bits, keeping the eyes going upwards.

Autumn wastes no time in looking her over, grinning widely as her blush grows. She makes sure to take it all in, eyes lingering around the rump for a good few seconds. “Wow...”

Watching the two, Rune’s grin widens. “Careful Night, keep up this performance and you really will have a patient to take care of if Autumn passes out.”

Night giggles, her tail swishing teasingly. “That doesn’t sound too bad…”

Autumn squirms a bit. “I dunno...if I pass out, I can’t see anymore. I don’t want that.” She frowns playfully.

Just as playfully, the thestral does one more twirl. “I think I know what you do want though.”

“Probably.” Autumn happily continues ogling her. “Though it’ll have to wait until we’re done here...”

Ignoring that last part, Rune watches as Night goes back behind the screen. “Alright, dear, strip down and we’ll go with something more… innocent.” The black and white pile floats over now. Autumn looks on with interest and curiosity.

“Bet Autty would love to see this part…” One by one, a few piece of clothing start draping themselves over the top of the barrier. At first it’s only the cap and gown, but soon the more risque items make an appearance.

Autumn bites her tongue to keep from commenting, remembering that her mother is in the room. Instead, she just lets her imagination keep her occupied as she waits.

Finally as the last tiny bit of cloth folds over the top, Night begins putting on the next piece. “Again, this is all weirdly comfortable… I do like all the ribbons on this one…” Before long, she cries out again. “Ready!”

This time when she comes out, her outfit is less seductive, but still very attractive. A classic black and white color scheme, the maid outfit comes with all the accessories. Everything from a lace headband, crisp white apron, pure white cotton socks, and a nice big bow on the back. Finally, the skirt is actually of decent length, but the lace trim offers the smallest peek of what appear to be white cotton undergarments to go with it.

Fluttering her eyelashes, Night smiles at her marefriend. “Maybe you should hire me to clean your room…”

Rune laughs at this and does a small cheer. “Woo! Work it!”

Autumn blushes, unable to resist looking her over and trying to get a proper view under the skirt without being too conspicuous. “Mmm...I might take you up on that...what do you charge?” She smiles back, more of a smirk than anything.

“I charge in affection, though I may give discounts to repeat customers…” Keeping in character, the bat pony gives a cute giggle.

Autumn pulls her into a quick kiss. “I think I could afford to hire you full-time, in that case.”

As Rune gathers up the pieces of the other outfit, Night darts in, giving Autumn a kiss just as quick, but deeper than the one she was given. “We’ll discuss this job offer later.”

“I look forward to it.” Autumn nuzzles her. “Now, go on. You’ve got one last outfit to show me.”

Nodding, Night is soon behind the curtain again. The last outfit, a slightly darker grey than her coat, floats over the curtain. “Well this is definitely different… ribbons and instructions? Hey, what’s-” The sound of a small bell jingling comes through.

Rune giggles, looking at her daughter. “Oh, I had fun with this one.”

Autumn giggles as well. “I can tell...can’t wait to see it.” She starts bouncing in anticipation again.

“Ready… I think.” Night comes out once more, her hoofsteps noticeably quieter. It soon becomes apparent why as she pads to the middle of the room. The cat costume seems to mostly be based around accessories, with only what appears to be a sort of soft one-piece for the outfit itself, almost like a swimsuit in shape. The additions are where it shines though: cute little cat paws for the hooves, whiskers for the face, a ribbon tied at the base of the tail, a hairband with cat ears to cover her pony ones, and even a collar with a small golden bell on it.

Lifting up a ‘paw’, Night does a playful swipe in Autumn’s direction. “Meow~.”

Autumn’s chair is quickly abandoned, left rocking in place from the speed at which she jumped off. She pounces on the ‘cat’, forelegs wrapped tightly around her. “Mine!”

Staying in her own chair, Rune giggles softly. “Didn’t know she liked cats that much…”

Night, meanwhile, is a bit preoccupied to hear this as she is pounced on. She squeals, falling to the floor with her marefriend on top of her. Autumn nuzzles her, a big grin on her face. “You’re adorable!”

The batpony smiles, her tail swishing happily as she nuzzles back, even making a purring sound. Autumn squees at this and only continues nuzzling, giggling like crazy.

Rune mentally takes a picture of the cute moment as she straightens up the other outfits. “Well, it seems to me all the outfits were a huge success.”

“Yep!” Autumn calls back before turning back to Night. “Now, it’s up to you which one you want to wear.” She leans down and gives her a kiss on the neck before standing up. “I’ll be waiting for you.” With a wink, she starts heading off to her room excitedly.

Rune sighs wistfully as she watches her daughter leave. “Ah; to be young, in love, and full of hormones… they grow up so fast…” Her eyes close as she stands there.

Night, on the other hoof, is blushing heavily as she stands back up. “Umm… Mrs. Rune, can I have the maid outfit back?”

“Of course, dear. All of them belong to you now.” Floating all of them behind the screen, the mare turns to leave the room. “Remember: stay safe, make each other happy, and I sound proofed her room the other day. Have fun!” With a wink, she leaves for her own room, leaving a rapidly blushing and changing thestral in her study.

As fast as she can, Night slips back into the maid outfit, composing herself into her little role. She gracefully, yet quickly, walks down to Autumn’s room, knocking on the door. “Come in~!” a singsong voice calls back through the door. Taking one last breath, her tail wagging in anticipation, Night opens the door and enters.

To her surprise, Autumn has an outfit on as well; one she hasn’t seen before, but definitely knew was coming sooner or later. Lying on her side on the bed, the unicorn is dressed in a moderately short red plaid skirt, along with a white button-up top and white socks on her hindlegs. Two red bows have been tied into her mane, and a third near the tip of her tail. The way she’s positioned, the thestral is unable to see anything beneath the skirt, but they both know that won’t last long.

Night freely allows her eyes to roam up and down the form in front of her, only remembering her own voice after. “I take it the new school uniform is to your liking, miss?”

Autumn giggles. “It certainly is, thank you.” She sits up onto her haunches, pretending to stretch. “I think it fits just fine...don’t you?”

Nodding as she closes the door behind her, a small shimmer going over it as she does so, the thestral replies. “I think it looks lovely on you. Does my cleaning uniform similarly meet your approval?”

“Oh, most definitely.” The unicorn smiles, her eyes half-lidded. “Though I can’t quite get a good look at it...come closer, won’t you?”

A small blush and a happy smile on her face, Night gracefully walks forward, stopping a pace away from the bed. “Is this alright, miss?”

Autumn crouches a bit so she’s more on her marefriend’s level. “Better...but just a liiiiittle closer?” She changes her expression to a more innocent one, but the tone of her voice remains the same.

Putting on a shy face, the batpony takes the final step so that she is against the bed. “Alright, miss, but I do need to clean…”

“Aww...” The unicorn’s face shifts to a pouty one before going back to her smile. She nuzzles Night gently. “Fine, but don’t keep me waiting. I have something to show you when you’re done.”

“Of course, I look forward to it.” With a small knowing smile, Night begins to ‘clean’. Really, she’s just picking up a few things off the floor, but she makes sure to bend down nice and low to get them, as well as stretching her wings and legs out to reach some things. All this she does faced purposefully away from her marefriend.

Autumn giggles to herself, happily watching the little show. Lighting her horn, she gives Night’s skirt a little flick. As Night had been bending down when it happened, this sends the top of her skirt over her back a bit, revealing everything beneath. “Having a little wardrobe malfunction there, dear?”

Blushing for real, Night squeaks and pulls it back down, though her slightly flagging tail doesn’t let her completely succeed. “My apologies, miss. I did not mean for that to happen.”

“No need to apologize,” the unicorn replies amusedly. “I don’t mind a pleasant view every now and again.”

“T-Thank you for your words, miss…” Finishing up the last few things, the thestral turns to Autumn. “Is there anything else you would like me to do, miss?”

Autumn smiles. “Just one little thing. Could you take a look inside the closet and make sure everything in there is all tidied up as well?”

“Of course, miss.” Heading over to the closet, Night opens it and walks halfway inside, her back half still visible. “Seems fairly clean…”

Silently crawling off the bed, Autumn approaches her from behind. “Are you sure?” Before her marefriend can respond, she nips the tip of her raised tail.

Feeling the small tug, an only slightly less small squeak comes from within the closet. “Y-Yes… everything does seem to be in order…”

“That’s good.” Letting go of the tail, the unicorn giggles. “Sorry; I saw your tail a bit more…‘at attention’, than normal. I wasn’t sure if there was a problem, or if you just really wanted to give me a show.”

As her tail raises more, Night keeps her head in the closet to be playful. “I assure you… there is definitely not a problem.”

“Oh?” Autumn backs up a couple of steps, smirking. “Then that leaves one option...and I very much approve of it.” She moves back in, giving the thestral’s rump a small nudge with her muzzle.

“Eep!” The maid hops a small bit forward before backing out of the closet. “Miss… you are being very forward tonight…”

The unicorn tilts her head, looking concerned. “Does it bother you? I can tone it down, if you’d like...”

Looking down and scuffing her hoof, Night smiles. “I didn’t say that…”

Autumn perks back up. “Well, I’m glad...because I wanted one last little thing from you.”

Straightening herself, the thestral perks up. “I am at your command.”

“Kiss me.” The unicorn’s order is blunt and without hesitation.

Blinking only for a moment, Night nods and steps forward, meeting their lips. Autumn pushes back against her, deepening the kiss, as she parts her lips invitingly. The bat pony’s tongue answers readily, entering its partner’s home and enticing it to come play. The other tongue happily accepts, and the two begin an almost choreographed intertwining dance.

Ignoring her role for a moment, Night takes another step towards Autumn, deepening her kiss as she pushes. Autumn continues to push back, not wanting to disconnect just yet. She lifts a hoof, stroking the side of Night’s neck with it. The bat pony leans into it, opening her mouth wider as her wings do the same.

Detaching for a moment, Autumn giggles before speaking. “I hope you’re not planning on flying anywhere.” She motions to the fully-extended wings.

Shaking her head, Night’s gaze is lidded. “I’ve got everything I want…”

“Really?” The unicorn smirks. “Are you sure there’s…nothing else you’d want?”

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that, miss?” Night smirks back, touching noses with Autumn.

Autumn playfully bats at her ear. “Perhaps...I’d ask you to make my bed next, but I think there’s something I want more...and it’d make doing so basically pointless.” She winks.

Darting forward and giving her cheek a lick, the thestral smiles. “I am at your command.”

The unicorn smiles as well before motioning to the bed with her head. “Care to join me, then?”

“It would be my honour.” Night starts walking towards the bed, her flagging tail wagging now as well.

Autumn turns and hops onto the bed in a single bound, landing on her belly and bouncing a bit as she faces the batpony. “Honour or no, I hope it will at least be your pleasure.”

“I think it will be both of ours…” A mouth of sharp teeth grins.

“Let’s hope so.” She offers a hoof to help her up.

Night takes it gratefully, pulling herself up and onto the bed. Normally there might be some concern due to the amount of fabric the two were wearing and what they were planning on doing, but she isn’t particularly worried; it was fun after all.

“Now, first thing’s first.” Autumn magically flicks her marefriend’s skirt again. “Your uniform seems to be suffering some covering issues...shall we remedy that?”

Looking back at herself, Night feigns innocence. “Does it not cover enough?”

“On the contrary...I think it covers too much, actually.” The unicorn frowns. “While it fits perfectly for your working environment, it just doesn’t seem to be the proper style for our...alone time.”

“Does your uniform not cover just as much?” Night asks.

Autumn glances back at herself. “Hm...perhaps you’re right...I guess we both need to take care of similar problems.” She looks back to the batpony. “What do you suggest?”

A bit of the real Night slips through for a moment. “Get naked? Ahem, with umm… with each other’s help, of course.”

The unicorn blushes, putting a hoof over her mouth in mock surprise. “Why, I never expected such bluntness out of you!” Behind her hoof, she tries to hold back a smile.

Matching the blush, the thestral hides her face in the sheets. “Forgive me, miss. I don’t know what came over me.”

“Well...” Autumn reaches a hoof under the sheets, stroking her marefriend’s cheek. “Let’s try that again, shall we? What do you suggest?”

“Umm…” Trying to resist her natural urge to jump her marefriend, Night thinks. “If coverage is the problem… it should be corrected, yes?”

“That sounds about right.” Autumn looks over the thestral, then smiles. “How about we decide on what should be removed together?”

“Oh? And here I thought miss had some sort of pair of naughty dice she was going to break out.” Real Night refuses to be completely silenced.

Autumn sticks her tongue out. “Sorry to disappoint you, then. But this is much simpler.”

“Okay then,” she nuzzles the unicorn, “would miss like to go first?”

“Of course.” Autumn nuzzles back before glancing over her. “Hmph. For one thing, that skirt is far too long for my liking.”

Looking back, Night blinks. “But… the skirt is part of the dress…”

“Then the whole thing will have to go, won’t it?” The unicorn giggles. “Unless you can find a way to keep the skirt hiked up?”

“Well…” Smirking, the thestral stands up and with a bit of dexterity, unties the bottom string of her apron, folds her skirt up, then ties it down with the apron string. “Does this please you, miss?” Her pure white cotton panties are on full display.

Autumn grins. “It most certainly does. Thank you.” She giggles, enjoying the sight.

“Perhaps you would agree fair is fair?” Night motions down to Autumn’s own skirt, give her flanks a little shake if convincing is needed.

The unicorn blushes, but nods, still giggling. “Perhaps I would...care to do the honours?” She lies down and turns so her side is facing the thestral, but she can still look her in the eye.

Licking her lips, the thestral leans down, nipping and pulling the waistband of the skirt so it detaches from itself. Reduced to a single piece of fabric loosely wrapped around her marefriend, she wastes no time nosing it off her so that Autumn is merely laying on the skirt. The unicorn is left in a pair of light pink panties with white frills along the edges and an attention-grabbing pattern of small, multicoloured dots.

“Mm...better?” Autumn asks, still blushing but retaining a grin.

Night can only nod as her eyes remain locked onto the small piece of fabric. She licks her lips again, teeth bared as she slowly leans down towards it.

The unicorn scoots a couple inches away. “Hey now, you had your turn. Play by the rules.” Her voice takes on a scolding tone, but her expression betrays it.

A small whine comes from the thestral as she eyes her prize, even getting into a pouncing position, only to sigh and flop onto her side. “So… tempting…”

Autumn giggles, leaning down and nuzzling her. “Calm down, you. Soon.” She nudges her. “For now, it’s my turn, and I say off with the dress.”

“Do you want to strip me yourself?” Night asks, her tone teasing.

“Well, if you can talk me through it...I’m not sure how to work that thing.” She blushes a bit.

“Well, getting everything on takes a bit, but getting it off…” She leans her head down. “Just pull it over my head to leave me almost fully exposed.”

Autumn grins, leaning in. “That sounds delightful.” Taking the collar in her teeth, she carefully begins to pull it up and off, taking it slow and steady to relish the moment.

Night tries to stay still as she feels the dress slide off her. Despite this, she trembles from the mounting tension of getting closer to the main event. Autumn, meanwhile, is enjoying every teasing second. Once the dress is off, she drops it to the floor and begins ogling the thestral. The winged-pony blushes, her rump the only thing left covered as she feels strangely exposed after the little game of dress up.

Autumn giggles. “Looking great as always.” She leans in for a nuzzle, using a hoof to massage the batpony’s wing as she does so.

Gasping quietly, Night nuzzles and licks back. “Same to you, sexy…”

The unicorn gets in a quick peck on the cheek before retreating back a couple feet, smirking knowingly. “Now...your turn, I believe?”

Nodding, the thestral lets her eyes linger on the panties, but she decides to play fair. Without a word, she leans forward and starts nipping open each button, working her way down the shirt. Autumn smiles, staying still to let her work. Once the shirt is completely unbuttoned, she slides her forelegs out of the sleeves, leaving herself just as exposed as her marefriend. “Saving the best for last, then?”

“Something like that…” She growls. “I plan to make you scream…”

“Ooh, feisty.” The unicorn smirks, lighting her horn. “Should I get rid of that last little bit of fabric of yours?”

Laying down on her back, Night smirks. “What’s below is all yours.”

Autumn gleefully grabs the panties in her magic and slowly tugs them down the batpony’s legs, her eyes taking in everything as it gets revealed. Dropping the cloth to the floor, she leans in close and gives a teasing little lick before backing up again.

Night lets out a moan and squirms, her hooves covering herself, but not too well. Panting ever so slightly, she narrows her eyes. “You know I’m going to get you for that.”

“I’m hoping you do.” Autumn flops down onto her back, but sits up just enough to keep looking at her. “Your turn~”

“Hmm…” Positioning herself just below her marefriend, the thestral grins as she leans up, tugging down the taunting fabric with her teeth. She makes sure to let her muzzle rub over it all the way down.

The unicorn moans a bit, one of her back legs twitching. She watches, eyes glazed over, as her final piece of clothing is removed, sans the bows in her hair. Her prize revealed, Night moves back up and sniffs the petals before sticking out her tongue and giving them and long hard lick. This elicits another moan, Autumn squirming a bit underneath. Already wound up, the thestral practically pounces, locking her lips around Autumn’s lower ones and wiggling her tongue inside, lapping up the taste.

“N-Night...” Her speech barely coherently, Autumn can only kick her back legs as if wanting to get her off, despite her desires being the exact opposite.

Lifting her head out slightly, Night flicks her tongue across the blue teats above her. “I told you I’d get you…”

“And y-you did...” One more moan, and already release begins to squirt out of her lower regions.

Trying to make it last, the thestral moves back down, pressing her muzzle so it presses her nub down as she begins to make out with her lips again. Her forelegs press her marefriend’s hind ones to the bed, keeping them spread and still. This only speeds up the release, Autumn going from moans to heavy breathing within a short timeframe. Realizing her miscalculation, Night slows her movement slightly, knowing she would be sensitive.

Soon, Autumn sits up, grabs the thestral, and drags her over into a cuddling position, snuggling in close. “Mmm...”

Slightly bitter since she herself is still heated, Night nonetheless embraces her marefriend with a sigh. Not unaware of this herself, Autumn only rests for a moment before her hoof starts traveling downward.

She flashes a grin. “Your turn now...”

Chapter 14

The senior members of the Restless, plus Alloy, all gather at Ornate’s house once more, though this time for a singular purpose. Namely, what to do to assist one of their own with a problem they can’t just make go away. The five gather in the living room, on cushions once more in a circle.

“Has anyone gotten any ideas?” Alloy finally asks after a few moments of silence, presumably either waiting for someone else to show up or speak up. “We don’t have much time left.”

“We don’t really have much choice,” Reflect says, looking between all of them. “He needs someone to live with him, and on short notice, the only thing we can really do is have him with one of us.”

Alloy signs this to Snap, who raises an eyebrow. He doesn’t even need to sign back for Alloy to get the idea. “If his original landlord couldn’t handle living with him, how could we? I don’t think any of us who can properly communicate with him have the room.”

“I know it’s not ideal, but this seems like the best thing.” Ornate sighs. “Maybe… you could give lessons to whomever takes him in? Otherwise I’m afraid we’ll have to resort to crude basic signs.”

“Maybe… it isn’t easy to learn, but I can try.” She sighs as well. “Who would it be, then?”

“I could host him,” Reflect offers.

“As could I,” Snowdrift adds, raising a talon. “My house is fit for living now, after all.”

Alloy signs this to Snap, who nods before glancing at the quiet crystal mare curiously. Ornate shrugs. “You could stay here on the couch, but I am a contract worker so I can be out for long periods of time.” Signing this to the deaf stallion only gets an understanding nod before he begins to sign back.

“He says he’d rather stay with ‘the leader’,” Alloy translates.

“That’ll do.” The changeling nods, looking to his future roommate. “If these lessons don’t go fast enough for me to help you in day-to-day things, I’ll see if I can find a workaround.”

Some more signing later, Alloy stands up. “He understands. I know you know a few basics, but I can show you some more specific things tonight.”

“That would be appreciated.”

Snowdrift raises a claw again. “Should the rest of us get some basic tonight as well?”

“If you want to, Snow,” their leader replies. “It’s probably good for all of us to get at least a few words we can say to Snap in an emergency.”

Alloy nods. “I’ll give the others the same lessons next time they’re at a meeting. Okay, so to start...”

For almost an hour, she shows them different hoof motions and explaining their meanings, struggling a bit with Snowdrift and her talons. However, soon, they all have a few things nailed down, and as the meeting draws to a close, so do the lessons.

“Zesten knows sign language as well, so he can help you too,” Alloy finishes. “If his place wasn’t so small, it’d be easier to just have Snap stay there, but this is the next best thing.” She glances over at the silver earth pony and giggles, seeing him fast asleep.

“Looks like I’ll be carrying him home…” Reflect sighs as his horn lights up, lifting up the stallion in a green glow. “Thanks again for letting us use your place, Ornate.”

The crystal mare gives a dip of her head. “Anytime.”

Bidding their own goodbyes, sans the sleeping stallion, all attendees of the meeting go their separate ways, only the owner of the house staying behind.

Ornate stretches a bit, flicking her tail a few times to make sure it’s not tangled. “Now, maybe i can get to work on my dinner…”

Over the next couple hours, two out of place sounds penetrate her ears. The first begins only a few moments later; the sound of drops of water hitting the ground outside, splattering against her windows as well. Fortunately, no sounds of thunder or flashes of lightning occur, leaving only the almost soothing sound of rain.

Almost three hours later, the second sound, louder to her than any thunder, pierces the calm air of the household: frantic, loud pounds on the front door.

Concerned, she gets off the couch where she had been reading, trotting quickly over to the door and opening it. Immediately, her leg is wrapped up by a colt in a familiar outfit, face hidden beneath his hood and buried into her leg. “P-Please help…!”

“What… Portal?” Shutting the door on reflex, she sits in shock, the urgency in his voice worrying her. As she brings her other foreleg over him, she feels just how soaked through the outfit is. “Portal… what happened? What’s wrong?”

After a moment, he looks up at her. His eyes are bloodshot from crying, a bruise has begun to form on his left cheek, and he has a bloody nose not helped by his sniffling. “...h-help… please...” He leans his forehead against her leg, trying not to start crying again.

Eyes wide, she brings up her foreleg, cradling the colt to her chest as she embraces him with the other leg. “Shh… I’ve got you… you’re safe here…” Leaning down, she nuzzles him softly.

He spends only a couple more seconds holding back before he starts letting the tears flow, a bit of blood dripping onto the floor with them before he starts trying to sniffle it back in. “...they got mad...”

A dark feeling wells up in Ornate’s heart as she shivers slightly. Her hoof strokes his mane as she speaks quietly. “What… what do you mean? Who did this to you?”

He whimpers a bit before responding, his speech slow but lengthier. “...d-dad… he was yelling at mom… then he yelled at me… he hit me and told me to go to my room… he kept yelling… I ran...”

Muscles in her back tighten as she nuzzles him again. “Okay… okay… oh, Portal, I’m so sorry…” She holds him even as her hoof runs over him, checking for more injuries.

Fortunately, aside from a ragged appearance from running in the rain, the colt is unharmed past the face. He sniffles, the tears dying down. “He… he was still yelling… when I left...”

She hates having to ask, but she needs to know before she starts acting on things. “Did your… did the stallion’s wife yell at you, hit you, or get hit?”

He pauses. “...she got hit a couple of times… before he started hitting me...” A sniffle. “...she kind of just… fell over and got quiet...”

Ornate’s breath hitches for a moment before she shakes her head and strokes his mane again. “Okay… don’t worry, you’re here with me now. He won’t get you here… I promise, I’ll keep you safe.” Her eyes flick to the lock on the door, making sure it’s fastened.

Portal sniffles a bit more, eventually nodding. “O-Okay…” He doesn’t loosen his grip.

“Here… why don’t we go get you cleaned up and out of your Restless outfit?” She starts walking to the bathroom on three legs, still holding him to her chest. “We don’t want you to get sick.”

He nods again, trying to squirm in closer to her. “...th-thank you...”

A glance down at him reveals blood and water both soaking into her crystal coat, but the mare can hardly care about that right now. Entering the bathroom, she nuzzles him as she gets out a few things. “Portal… I’m going to have to set you on the counter, okay? I’ll still be right here.”

“Okay...” He sniffs, tears gone and blood drying, but the cold of his wet outfit now affecting him.

“Do you want some help with your outfit?” She has a fluffy towel at the ready.

As if he hadn’t realized he was still wearing it, he quickly starts trying to pull the hoodie off. “N-No thank you… I can do it...” Getting the first wet article off, he starts on the pants. Soon, the orange colt is fully disrobed, but still shivering.

She pick him up, placing part of the towel under him before setting him back down and gently drying him off. “There… is that a little better?” She lets the towel drape over his shoulders. He just nods, shivering gradually coming to a stop. “Okay… now... “ Bringing up a small damp cloth, she moves it towards his nose. “Try to stay still for me, okay? I’ll try to make it as painless as I can. I just need to get the blood off so I know if you’re still bleeding.”

Nodding once more, as words seem to be failing him this evening, he makes himself as still as possible. Even his breathing practically stops, his chest staying in one place, though the sound of air entering and exiting his nostrils still reaches her ears.

She quickly dabs away the blood on both him and herself, tilting her head afterwards as she looks up his nose. “Seems to have stopped… do you feel anymore dripping?” He shakes his head slowly. “You can move now, you know. I just didn’t want to accidentally hurt you by touching your muzzle if it’s tender.”

As if reactivated by voice command, all the little body movements and twitches he had stopped immediately start back up again and he whimpers a bit. “...I don’t want to go back...”

She pauses, having been going for some painkilling antibiotic ointment. Setting it down, she pulls him to her again, nuzzling him. “It’s okay, Portal… I’ve got you…”

He sniffs, squirming to get closer. “Thank you...”

“You’re welcome…” She sits so she can use her other hoof while still holding him. Putting a bit of ointment on it, she speaks softly to him. “This will probably sting a little because I’ll be touching it, and it might feel weird, but this should help your bruise heal faster, okay?”

“Okay...” He nods, trusting her.

Gingerly, she rubs the medicine into his coat over the discolored area. Aside from a slight whimper, he stays quiet, just waiting for the stinging sensation to go away. It stops as soon as she removes her hoof, wiping it off before she gives him another nuzzle. “Are you feeling a little more comfortable? Anything you need?”

The colt nods again in response to her first question. “...can I please stay with you?”

Hesitating for a moment only because of the suddenness of the question, she nods, hugging him to her. “Of course… I won’t make you, nor do I want you to, go back there. It’s too dangerous.”

Smiling for the first time that night, if only slightly, he nuzzles her. “Thank you, Miss Ornate...”

Walking out of the bathroom, she hums as she rests her muzzle on the back of his neck. “Do you need something to eat or drink before we see about where you’ll be sleeping?”

He stares from his current position at a wall for several seconds. “I don’t think I can eat anything right now… um… d-do you have any water?”

“Sure.” She makes her way to the sink in the kitchen, starting to fill a glass. “I take it the rain wasn’t enough?” She gives a slightly strained smile at the weak joke. The colt blinks at her, confused. “Umm, nevermind, here.” She offers the glass to him.

Relieved, he takes it and starts to sip the water, trying not to fumble the glass. “Thank you...”

“You’re welcome…” Stroking his mane once more, she looks at him with soft eyes. “Are you tired, or has everything still got you wound up?”

“The second one, I think...” He continues to drink, relaxing with each sip. “...I don’t like them.”

“Hmm? You don’t like what?” She focuses on the colt’s face, trying to get a read on him.

He doesn’t look her in the eye, instead staring down at the floor. “...my parents...”

“Oh…” Her ears fold back, but her eyes harden a moment. “Neither of them?”

“They’re both mean… I really don’t like dad, though...” He finishes his drink.

She stays quiet, thinking. After a minute, she nuzzles him, more for herself, as she speaks. “When I said you don’t have to go back to… them… I meant it.”

He nuzzles back lightly. “I… I can stay with you?”

She nods, smiling softly at him. “Yes, if you really want to. I’ll have to look into getting you some things, but yes.”

Smiling, he hugs her. “Th-thank you...” A small yawn escapes his mouth.

“Looks like it’s time for little colts to rest, especially after a long evening like yours.” She sets the glass on the counter before making sure he’s comfortable in her foreleg. “Do you want me to set you up with some blankets on the couch or would you be more comfortable somewhere else?”

The idea of being away from her causes him to whimper, and he curls up tighter into a ball. “Can I p-please stay near you?”

Her heart giving a pang, Ornate hugs him close. “Of course, Portal… how about you sleep in my bed with me?” Already she heads toward her bedroom.

Smiling once again, he nods. “Yes please.”

Her tail swishes once. “How do you normally sleep? Do you like a story before bed? Pajamas? Something to snuggle?”

“Mom stopped reading me stories when I was three... I read my own until I was seven...” He thinks. “The other two things I like, but I didn’t bring anything...”

“Well, I think I have some things you can use… it’s a bit late for the story though. I’ll have to figure out what you like anyway.” Going over to her drawers, she opens the top one, a fierce blush coming to her face as she shuts it quickly, clearing her throat. “Erm, wrong drawer.” She goes for the second drawer, thankfully not containing her panties and socks, and pulls out a t-shirt. “It’s a bit big for you, but I think that should make it perfect for a nightshirt.”

The colt takes it with a smile, nuzzling her before he starts trying to pull it on without squirming out of her grasp. Due to the large size compared to him, however, he ends up sticking his head through one of the sleeves, almost a perfect fit.

Giggling, she sticks her head through the actual neck hole, which happens to right over his stomach. She nuzzles his little belly as she coos. “This isn’t where this hole goes…”

He giggles, squirming from the ticklish feeling. “Whoops… s-sorry...”

“It’s fine.” With a little effort, she gets the shirt on him the right way, his head popping out of the right hole this time. “There we go. How’s it feel?”

Smiling, he gives her a quick hug. “It’s comfy… thank you.”

Giving him a quick nuzzle between the ears, she heads over to the closet. “Now… I think you deserve a little something special to snuggle tonight.” Rearing up, she grabs a small stuffed bunny from the top shelf and offers it to him. “This is Miss Fluffy. She was mine when I was a little filly. She can keep you company if you want.”

Taking the stuffed bunny, he squees and hugs it, giggling. “I love her! Thank you so much!”

The mare smiles at this, hugging both of them. “I’m glad you like her.” By instinct, she plants a small kiss on his head. “How about all three of us get comfy in the bed?”

He nods, looking a little embarrassed from the kiss, but still smiling. “Okay!”

Setting him on the pillow on one side of the bed, the mare slides into the other side, watching him. After taking a few seconds to find a comfortable position, he clutches the bunny in his foreleg and scoots closer to Ornate, lying on his side facing her.

She brings him up against her chest with a foreleg, curling protectively around him as she tucks him in the crook of her neck. “How’s that?”

He nuzzles her neck. “Comfy… thank you...”

Nodding, she nuzzles him before closing her eyes. “Alright… good night, Portal. Sleep tight.”

He closes his eyes as well, smiling. “Good night… mom...” The last word comes out as a sleepy murmur.

Ornate’s eyes shoot open as she silently looks down at the colt. A few heartbeats go by before she lets out a breath and makes sure he’s tucked against her. With that done, her tail flicks up, curling behind him as she settles down to sleep with a smile on her face.

Early the next morning, the colt sits up with a yawn, the stuffed bunny still in one foreleg. Seeing the mare beside him, he gives her a quick nuzzle before hopping out of bed, already wide awake. As if transporting a child, he places the bunny on his back and carefully walks out of the room.

After a quick stop in the bathroom, he heads down to the kitchen, placing the bunny on the table and sitting in a chair, facing it. And, as younger colts and fillies would be more apt to do, he starts to talk with it.

About half an hour later, Ornate wakes, yawning and stretching. As her hoof taps empty bed, she wakes quickly, looking around for the colt. While his form is absent, his voice can be heard from downstairs. Curious, the crystal mare gets out of bed, heading towards the kitchen with pricked ears.

Upon arrival, she finds Portal, still in the oversized shirt, having gone quiet after hearing her get up. However, the guilty look on his face and the stuffed bunny sitting right in front of him give a good enough clue as to what he had been doing.

The mare doesn’t seem to mind. "Good morning." She walks up to him, giving him a nuzzle. "She give any good advice?"

He blushes. “...she said to ask you for help… is it weird?”

“Of course not. She’s right, it’s good to ask me for help.” She tilts her head at him. “What do you need help with? Breakfast?”

The colt shakes his head. “That too, but… I left my stuff at their house...”

“Oh… I see…” She stays quiet for a moment. “Well, I guess we’ll just have to go get it, won’t we?”

“I don’t want them to see me...” He whimpers, looking down.

Hearing this, she embraces him softly. “They won’t see you. We’ll go in smart, just long enough to gather your things while they aren’t there. I promise… you’ll never have to deal with them again.”

A smile comes back to his face as he hugs back. “Thank you...”

Running out of things to say with how often he thanks her, she just nuzzles him. “I think we can solve that breakfast problem a bit quicker, though. Anything come to mind?”

“Usually I just have cereal...” He shrugs, unsure.

Letting him go and walking over to the fridge and pantry, she hums. “Well, I have that… oatmeal, toast, eggs… oh! Even a bit of waffle mix still in here.”

His ears perk up. “Um… could I please have waffles, then?”

“Sure thing.” Starting to get out a few things, she looks back at him. “Would you like to help me? A little assistant chef always makes cooking better.”

Smiling, he nods and hops over to help. “What should I do?”

“Well, first…” She brings over one of the chairs. “Let’s make sure you can actually get to the counter.” He climbs on, giggling. “Okay, so this stuff is fairly simple.” She shows him the box. “We just add water, though I like to use milk instead.”

He reads the box, squinting for several moments before he finally nods. “Okay.”

Noticing this, but not mentioning it, Ornate pours both mix and milk into the bowl, adding a spoon. “Now, put your hoof on mine that’s on the spoon.” He does so, watching curiously. She starts stirring, guiding his hoof. “Now, it’s going to get thick in a moment, but the key is to go fast enough to mix, but slow enough so you don’t spill.”

He nods, helping along as best as he can. “Okay...”

Watching him, she nods. “Okay, now keep stirring while I get out the waffle iron.” She lets go, ducking down into another cabinet. As she goes, he continues to stir at almost the exact same speed, watching the spoon go in a circle with a small giggle. She pops back up a moment later with the specific appliance. “Here we go; now, careful after I plug this in. I don’t want you to get burned by touching it, okay?”

He nods. “Should I keep stirring?”

“Hmm… only occasionally. It’s mostly fine.” Cracking open the iron, she shows him the inside. “All we do is pour enough in to fill the bottom, close it, then wait until it’s done. Simple.”

He nods again and stops stirring for now. “I’ve never seen waffles made this way...”

“Oh? Let me guess.” She carefully picks up the bowl and starts to pour. “Frozen?”

“Yeah.” He watches her pour closely.

She eases up just as the batter reaches the level they need. “Most ponies know those, then again, many ponies don’t have a waffle iron. I can promise you these will be much better than any other waffle you’ve tasted if you’ve only had frozen.” She shuts the top, a slight hiss coming out.

His tail wags and he smiles, waiting patiently. “...do we tell the others?”

“Tell them what?” She looks to him in confusion. “Waffle secrets?”

He blinks. “I meant about my parents...”

“Oh…” She sighs, frowning as she looks at the iron. “I really don’t think they deserve those titles…”

He pauses before speaking again. “Yeah… still, should we tell the others about this?”

“If you want to, Portal. I won’t force you to.” She places a forehoof on his back. He smiles and nuzzles her in response. “Do you want to tell them?”

“Kind of...” he admits. “They should know...”

She nods. “Alright, do you want to tell them yourself or should I?”

“...can we both?” he asks quietly. “If it’s just me, they might not believe me...”

She nuzzles him. “Of course, I’ll support you. I saw what the aftermath was…” She shivers, her eyes hard.

He smiles and nuzzles back. “Thank you...”

"Anything for you." She picks him and hugs him, giggling as the shirt drapes over his form.

He giggles as well. "When should we go get my stuff?"

"Well... today if you want. As long as those ponies are out of the house." She sniffs the air, seeing if the waffle is done.

"'Dad' has work from noon til eight... I don't know about 'mom'..." The odd emphasis he puts on their titles seems to imply he's thinking twice about them. "I hope he didn't hurt her..."

"..." Ornate is quiet as she thinks of how to answer that. "Portal... from what you told me, he already did..."

"I meant after I left..." He looks down.

Feeling that bit of dread she felt when he first showed up last night, the crystal mare strokes his mane. "Okay, I don't know what happened at that point, but if he hasn't hit her before, maybe he didn't do it again so soon."

He doesn't respond.

She struggles to come up with something. "Okay, umm... maybe... maybe you can leave a note to her in a place only she goes to, telling her to get out like you did?"

"Maybe... but what if he stops her?"

"Then we... umm... maybe the police can..." A scent hits her nose and she plops him onto the chair. "Well, looks like the waffle's ready!" Her smile is slightly forced as she pops it out and onto a plate. "Butter and syrup sound good?"

Suitably distracted, he smiles and nods. "Yes please!"

Glad they got off that topic, Ornate fixes the waffle for him, bring that, the chair, and the colt back to the table. A moment later, a glass of milk joins them. "Here you are." The mare smiles even as she thinks on what he had brought up, knowing how horrible and tricky cases like this are.

He gives her a quick nuzzle before starting to eat, managing to go fast without making a mess. The topic seems to have disappeared from his mind altogether. The crystal mare is left with her thoughts after she sets her own waffle to cook. Most of them are troubled, conflicted, and altogether, nothing is decided on.

"...is something wrong?" Portal asks after a minute or two.

"No no, just... thinking." She smiles at him. He tilts his head, but goes back to eating, accepting that. "So, I take it you like it?" She walks over, looking at his plate.

He nods, having just about finished. "It tastes really good." His smile returns.

"I'm glad you think so." She nuzzles him once more. Knowing she'll be skirting dangerous territory, but lacking other ideas, she asks. "So, do you still want to stay here, after having slept on the idea?"

Immediately, he nods again. "Yes please! I like it here, and I like you."

This simple statement warms and gladdens the mare to the point that she gives him a kiss on the head like she did last night. "I'm very glad to hear that. I'd love to have you stay here with me... so you will!" She giggles.

He giggles as well and hugs her, his now-empty plate abandoned for a moment. "Thank you!"

"My pleasure, Portal..." She holds him to her chest, feeling as she did last night when they went to sleep.

He nuzzles against her, enjoying the hug for a minute or two. "...can I call you 'mom'?"

Her eyes open wider as she looks down at him, silent for a moment before her emotion-laden voice comes out. "You... you really want to?"

He looks back up at her with a smile and a nod.

"...I’d love it if you called me 'mom'." She squeezes him tightly, nuzzling his head affectionately as her tail wags.

He happily cuddles against her. "Thank you... thank you so much..."

Cradling him against her chest, she coos to him as she kisses his head. "Anything for my little colt..."

A light giggle comes from him before a familiar scent reaches both of their nostrils, and he sniffs.

She turns her head. "Waffle's done." Leaning down, she ruffles his mane. "Be right back." She goes to fix her own breakfast. The colt plops back into his seat and giggles again, picking his plate up to bring it to the sink. Sitting down at the table with her waffle, Ornate smiles at him. "Why thank you, Portal. That's very polite of you."

Giggling, he goes back to his seat. "I wanted to help."

She just smiles proudly at him before starting to eat. "Still, thank you for doing that."

"You're welcome, mom." He watches her eat for a moment before his attention being drawn to the wall, staring off into space.

She lets him think as she eats, curious what a colt his age thinks about. Probably not fillies yet. After a few minutes, he blinks and sighs. Without a word, he slides out of his chair onto the floor, lying on his side. She tilts her head at this as she eats, wondering if he’s tired or something.

After a few more moments, he speaks, not getting up from the floor. “When’s the next meeting?”

She swallows the bit of food in her mouth. “Well, it’s been about a week, so… tonight actually.”

He smiles from his spot. “Okay… whose house is it at?”

“Hmm… I think it’s Snowdrift’s turn to host.” She nods as she takes her last bite. Standing up, she moves over to him before lying down on the floor next to him, mirroring his position. “Room for one more?”

Giggling, he scoots closer to her. “Sorry...”

“Why are you apologizing?” She scoops him against her, nuzzling him once more.

He snuggles against her. “Whenever I do this I get in ponies’ ways...”

“Well, I guess I can see that.” She shrugs. “Of course they could always go around you… or you could lay down against a wall and out of the major walk areas. Little things.”

“Usually I don’t think that far ahead...” He shrugs as best he can given his current position, nuzzling her.

“That’s fine, plenty of young ponies are like that.” She giggles as she keeps nuzzling him. “Believe it or not, some of them aren’t into nuzzling. They don’t know what they’re missing.”

He giggles. “Really? But it’s fun...”

“Is it?” She thinks on this. “I just thought it was nice and showed other ponies how much you cared… fun though? That’s new.”

“Well...” He pauses, thinking. “It’s those things… but I think that’s what makes it fun… maybe?”

“Hmm… fun is just something you enjoy doing, so… yeah.” She nods. “Alright then, from the mouths of foals, snuggling is fun. Thus… we should do it as often as we want.” She moves down her muzzle until she is nuzzling his stomach again.

He giggles from the tickling, squirming around. “S-Sounds good to me...” He nuzzles her neck.

She laughs, rolling onto her back with him now on her chest. He yelps, but goes back to giggling after finding his new perch, and snuggles against her further. Some relaxing is just what they both need after the previous night’s events, and the planned mission later that day.

Snowdrift’s house is a modest one, noticeably more care put into the second floor than normal, but to one who enjoys her ‘roost’ this suits the griffon just fine. Still, as the Restless gather in her largest downstairs room, none can complain. The griffoness has, as is her tendency, created small cushion nests for everyone, ensuring comfort.

Autumn, Alloy, and Night all stick close to each other, the unicorn looking rather tired and even a little guilty. Portal and Ornate also stay close, the colt in her forelegs with his eyes closed as though asleep, but his flicking ears when the others talk prove otherwise. Everyone else stays by themselves in the haphazard circle as they converse.

As the others clue in those who missed the previous meeting about Snap’s situation, Alloy looks to the motherly mare and the young colt with a smile, but also a look of confusion and even worry in her eyes.

Once everyone is up to speed, Reflect clears his throat. “Alright, now that that’s done. Does anyone have something they wish to bring up that we don’t already know about or are working on?”

Portal slowly sits up now, looking a little worried. He glances at Ornate. She nods at him, holding him a little tighter and nuzzling him. Nuzzling back, he finally speaks, opting to go right to the point. “...I ran away from home...”

This gets silence from the room. The lone thestral is the one to voice the question. “What? Why?”

Ornate looks down at him, silently asking if he wants her to do it. He shakes his head before continuing. “They didn’t like me… they kept arguing about me, and yesterday… ‘dad’ started hitting us both...” He gives an almost sarcastic inflection to the title. “I ran...”

The crystal mare picks up from there, noting how tight everyone's expressions have turned. “He showed up at my door last night during the rain, his face bruised, bleeding, and crying. I took him in, cleaned him up, and comforted him. He told me he didn’t want to go back, nor would I make him. So… he’s staying with me now.”

Alloy turns to sign to Snap, only to find him asleep again, and turns back to the colt and mare. “What if they go looking for him? Or what if this was just a one time thing?”

“Does how often it happens matter?” Autumn quips. “I don’t care how mad, drunk, crazy, or confused I am; if I had kids, and I hit one of them even once, I wouldn’t blame them for running off.”

“I guess...” Alloy concedes. “My first question still stands, though.”

Ornate looks to the filly seriously. “Even if it’s just a one time thing, if they truly didn’t care for him, this is an excuse to get him away from there, to a better home. If they come looking for him… I’ll hear the mare out, but not the stallion. I have words planned for them myself if it comes to that.”

Hearing a bit of her own mother in those words, Autumn feels both relieved and worried. “What if they call the police? Technically, he’s still their child...”

Ornate doesn’t change her expression. “He was adopted by them. Why, I have no idea, but the fact remains they weren’t doing a very good job. If they call the police, I’ll respond with what exactly happened that night.” She leans down and gives the colt a kiss on the head. “We take care of our own… and he is mine now, so it goes many times over for him.”

A couple of them giggle or d’awww at the sight, especially when Portal blushes. Alloy takes the chance to speak up again. “If you ever need help, that’s what we’re here for. Don’t forget that.”

“I know. I just didn’t think you wanted to practice being a mother just yet.” Ornate winks at Alloy.

The pink mare rolls her eyes. “It’s not that. I just have experience with this sort of thing. Not kids, but ponies who...” She trails off, looking sheepish as she rolls her hoof a bit. “...you know.”

“I know.” The crystal mare nods. “Thank you for offering.”

Snowdrift looks around at all of them. “They say it takes a village to raise a child. I think between all of us, we’ll do fine.”

Nods come from all around. Portal, unused to the attention, curls up against Ornate, as if trying to hide his face. She smiles and nuzzles him softly. “It’s okay… these are all our friends, remember?”

“I know...” he says in almost a whimper, nuzzling back.

“Shy little one, isn’t he?” Autumn asks with a small smile.

Night nods. “Yeah… he’s so cute tucked against her like that.”

“I’m not cute!” the colt whines, his face burning red.

Ornate gives the girls a look, prompting them to quiet as she speaks to Portal. “There’s nothing really wrong with being cute, you know… but I can ask them to stop calling you that.”

“Guys aren’t supposed to be cute...” He wiggles around a bit, sitting up but keeping his head down.

“Now who told you that?” She smiles down at him. “Fillies who like a colt tend to tell them they’re cute. Are you going to tell them they’re wrong?”

He pouts. “Fillies don’t like me anyway...”

“Maybe not now… or maybe you just haven’t noticed.” She pokes his lip with a hoof. “You never know, maybe there’s one with her eye on you.” She winks.

The colt just shakes his head. “No...”

“Mmm hmm…” She giggles knowingly.

Autumn opens her mouth to say something, but looks at Ornate first as if asking permission. The mare nods to her, and she smiles before speaking. “I’m sure you’ll find somepony sooner or later. You never really know where they can come from.” She punctuates this by nuzzling Night. The lunar mare giggles and nods.

Portal watches for a moment before curling up against Ornate again, not speaking, but not trying to continue his denial streak either. Seeing this, the mare looks up. “Why don’t we switch to another topic for now?”

Alloy nods. “I think so. We’ve discussed Snap and Portal, and nobody else seems to have anything going on...”

Slowly, Autumn raises a hoof. “...may I?”

Reflect waves a hoof. “You have the floor, Autumn.”

Now with attention on her, Autumn suppresses a yawn as she speaks. “...I got the rune.”

Murmurings of approval and awe erupt from the others as Reflect smiles. “And you know how we can use it?”

“It’ll take a while for me to put it on everyone’s outfits, since I’m not as experienced with runes as my mom is… but yes, I know how.” She nods, clearly faking a smile.

Even if he wasn’t a changeling that could feel her emotions, Reflect would have seen through that. “I take it some part of this is still bothering you?”

After a few seconds, she nods again. “I managed to avoid telling her about the group… but I’m sure she’s still worried, maybe suspicious, and it’s going to take a lot of lying to get rid of that. Lying I’m not particularly looking forward to.”

“Well, we do appreciate you bringing us the rune. Is there any way we could help you get through this?” He gestures to himself and the group.

She looks up at all of them, pausing for a moment. Eventually, she smirks and answers. “...I want to join.”

The drone blinks, expecting many things, but not that. “Wait… what?”

“I want to join the Restless.” She looks at him seriously. “Your goal is to promote equality in this city, right? I’ve had to deal with my friends being ostracized for the very reasons they’re in this group, and had to keep things such as my own sexuality a secret to avoid the stigma. If I can help change that, I will.”

He looks at her thoughtfully, nodding slowly before looking around at the others. “Do all of you agree to this? Night, Alloy, that questions excludes you because of how close you are to her.”

Portal nods, smiling. “I like her.”

Ornate nods as well. “She helped us and she believes what we do.”

Zesten, who had been spending all this time silently meditating and listening, comes out of this state to offer his two cents. “We should never refuse an offer of assistance. I, for one, welcome her to our little resistance.”

Snowdrift simply smiles. “I vote yes.”

The only one yet to chime in, naturally, stays silent. A few minutes pass as Alloy wakes him up and speedily signs to him, him watching in either indifference or exhaustion. Once she’s done, he shrugs, nods, and curls up again.

“...well, at least he was awake for a moment,” Alloy comments dryly.

“We really need to try and get him awake during these meetings…” Reflect covers his face with a hoof. “He sleeps through at least half of them these days.”

“To be fair, it’s not like he has much to do during them...” The pegasus shakes her head. “Getting back on track… so Autumn’s in?”

“I think so.” He stands, walking over to the blue filly and offering his hoof. “Welcome to the Restless. We’ll see about getting your uniform before next meeting.”

She takes the hoof, grinning ear to ear. “I promise I won’t let you down!”

Chapter 15

Almost three months had passed since Autumn officially joined the Restless, and summer vacation had come and gone. While it took almost a full week due to the toll the new runes took on her magic supply, she managed to enchant every outfit - her own new one included - with an illusion set to activate whenever the hood was pulled up. And ever since, every time she pulled her own hood up, she still felt a pang of guilt at how she had gotten the runes from her mother in the first place.

For the other members, however, everything is business as usual. Portal still lives with Ornate, and his ‘ex-parents’, as he called them, had yet to go out looking for him or contact the authorities. Snap still lives with Reflect, though with how much he would just stay in his room and try to avoid bothering the changeling, they still barely saw each other. And everyone else was just getting by like they always have, glad to be able to go a time without any real missions beyond the occasional grocery swipe.

One evening, an unlikely pair heads through town to a small restaurant, not getting as many looks as one would expect. Upon being seated, Alloy looks to the changeling across from her with a slightly raised eyebrow. “Any reason we keep coming to this same place to talk?”

“A variety of reasons.” He leans back, getting comfortable. “A few being that the food and drink is good, the place is comfortable, and it’s usually not too loud or crowded.”

“And your house is less comfortable and more crowded?” she asks, eyebrow not going down.

“As I said, many reasons.” He smiles at her before his eyes are distracted by the green pegasus waitress coming up to their table.

She notices them and smiles. “Well, fancy seeing you two again. Guess we can skip the introductions this time, hm?” She passes them each a menu. “Same things to drink as usual?”

“Yes please, Miss Hilltops.” Alloy smiles, dropping her disbelieving face and putting on her typical ‘polite filly’ act.

The drone nods as well. “Anything looking interesting on the dessert menu today?”

“Nothing new this week, sorry.” She chuckles before stifling a small yawn. “P-Pardon me… um, I’ll be back with your drinks soon.” Smiling sheepishly, she quickly trots off towards the kitchen.

Alloy looks back to Reflect, a little smirk on her muzzle. “We’ve gotten stares and glares, but never yawns. I wonder if we can count it towards our goal of being treated normally if we’re apparently boring now.”

The leader lets out a chuckle. “Maybe we’re just too good at our work nowadays. I don’t think I’d mind that too much.” He closes his eyes a moment, as if taking something in before his smile shrinks ever so slightly, growing back a moment later.

She blinks. “I saw that. Something up?”

“Ah, you know me, just keeping an eye on the emotions of the place.” He waves off her words as he looks towards the kitchen.

“...emotions of anyone in particular?”

“Everyone really, though some seem to spike more than others.” He looks back at her evenly. “I won’t be broadcasting them to intrude on privacy yet.”

She sighs, putting her menu down. “Reflect, my parents are both psychologists. I know how to tell when someone’s trying to avoid a direct answer. Just give me one so we can move on to the discussion topics we came here for.”

He raises an eyebrow at her much like she did at him before. “Hmm… to which question? You asked a few.”

“Who are you so concerned about right-” Alloy pauses before glancing back at the kitchen. “...is it Hilltops?”

His ear flicks. “...her… and some of the emotion of those around her have me concerned as well.”

“Do you think she’s getting yelled at or lectured back there?” She taps a hoof on the table. “Would explain why it’s taking so long just to get two glasses of milk...”

“Something like that…” His tone and expression both seem to drop the longer he speaks of it.

She pauses for a moment. “I know working as a waitress eight hours a day, especially on the shift that goes right up until closing time, can’t be fun… but now I’m thinking back to all the times I’ve noticed her seem a little stressed, and starting to doubt that her job is the reason. This is the fifth time we’ve been here this month, and it seems to get worse every time for her.”

His voice is quiet, but serious. “Then perhaps it’s time we… helped.”

She smirks. “We’re not gonna barge into the back room, are we?”

“Not unless particular emotions spring up.” He looks towards the kitchen again. “For now, we help in a different way.”

“Just talking. Got it. Though I doubt we can pull her aside during her shift for very long...” She stops her train of thought when the topic of their discussion comes out of the kitchen, a quicker pace to her walk as she approaches them with the two glasses.

She sighs as she sets them down. “Sorry for the delay. Just… had some obstacles in the kitchen.”

“It’s fine, Miss Hilltops.” Reflect’s horn lights up as he takes a sip from his glass. “Everything alright back there?”

The waitress nods hurriedly. “Y-Yes… I think so, at least.” She looks back at the kitchen and winces at the stallion glaring at her from the doorway. “I’ll… um, be back soon… just flag me down when you’re ready to order.” She walks back to the kitchen, her head low, and follows the stallion inside.

The changeling’s eyes narrow. “You don’t need to feel emotions to see that.”

“Yeah.” Alloy bites her lip. “We might need to have a talk with more than just her.”

“Yes… the question is which to do first… I think Miss Hilltops, so she doesn’t give in to depression or something worse.” Though he sips casually, the drone’s translucent wings snapping out and back under the plates on his back show his agitation. “Between what I feel from her and him, choice things will need to be done for both.”

She hums before smirking. “We might be able to do both at once… you meet up with her after her shift, and I’ll take care of who’s presumably her boss.”

He looks at her, not with incredulity, but with an analyzing look. “You sure you want that one? Plenty of resentment and loathing in him.”

“I doubt I can turn him off that in one fell swoop, but I can either find out what’s going on or plant the seeds. Maybe both. Would work even better if I grabbed Portal first.” She tilts her head and smiles sweetly. “After all, who’s going to brush off a couple of innocent kids asking about their friend?”

He chuckles wryly. “You never cease to amaze me. Go ahead, though you know you’ll need to let his mother know. Ornate’s fully embraced how protective she can be of her foal now.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll be doing more than just telling her what’s going on.” She smirks, leaning in. “If he is heartless enough to tell us to get lost, we’ll be stubborn until he gets mad. Then he’ll yell at us. And that means he yells at Portal, which makes her our secret weapon.”

“Is it always the pink ones that are devious?” he asks with a toothy grin. His magic musses her mane fondly. “You make a drone proud, you know.”

She laughs, trying to fix her mane with her hoof. “I learned from the best.”

“In that case, time to think of how I’ll be working on Miss Hilltops… perhaps honesty? I am a concerned friend after all.” He gestures with a hoof to ask her opinion.

The filly nods. “We’ve been here often enough and you’ve seemed concerned a time or two. You could catch her as she leaves without seeming like a stalker, ask some subtle questions leading up to the main topic, or just go right for it. She probably knows about changelings sensing emotions, so the latter would make sense.” She glances down at her menu. “...we should probably also order something so we don’t get her in trouble.”

“Well put, despite how only one of us actually needs to eat.” He shakes his head a bit as he flips over to the desserts menu. “Hmm… perhaps ice cream with hot fudge…”

“You go ahead and indulge. Unlike you, I need to worry about healthy eating.” She glances down at her stomach and frowns before going back to the menu. “...and now you’ve tempted me.”

"I could always switch exclusively to salads to set a good example if you want." He looks to her honestly.

She shakes her head. "No, no... it's your business what you eat, not mine. It's my fault for just paying so much attention." She puts the menu down after apparently deciding. "Problem is the healthy options here are about as filling as a slice of bread, but cost as much as a full meal."

"Hmm..." He browses it himself. "I could always order you two things and pay for it. I'll just have another glass of milk and do a little more emotion skimming."

Again, she shakes her head, this time with a smirk. "If you do that, it's gonna look like we're on a date."

He chuckles, one fang poking out as he smirks. "There are worse things, but perhaps you're right. Still, you should eat something."

"Yeah..." She sighs. "I blame you for not having any missions lately where I do a lot of running."

Still smirking, he counters. "I could always start assigning training missions."

"I'd rather you didn't, and I think the others would too."

"I know." He laughs again, motioning to the menu. "Have you decided?"

"Yeah... since I need to be able to focus when I deal with the big bad boss, I'm just going for a full meal this time." She leans back and glances at the kitchen. "Getting a tinier tummy can wait."

"Don't give up on that. I can taste that doubt you have. Trust me, be glad you can't." He smiles at her. "It'll happen."

She smiles back. "Alright... thanks." She glances back to the kitchen and frowns. "She still isn't back out yet..."

His smile instantly disappears. "I noticed... and I don't like it or what I'm sensing."

"Want me to go play the innocent child act early?"

"...yes please. I'm a little worried about her."

She hops off her seat, brushing her mane back. "If I'm not back in five minutes, come in after me and pretend to be my slightly overprotective dad." With that, she heads off and trots into the kitchen as though she doesn't care about the 'Employees Only' sign on the door.

A couple minutes go by before she comes back out, leading a very relieved-looking Hilltops by the hoof. The stallion once again glares at her as she leaves before retreating back into the kitchen. Alloy turns back and sticks her tongue out at the closed door before bringing Hilltops to the table.

Looking between the two, Reflect looks concerned. "How bad was it?"

"I'm fine," Hilltops tries to assure him.

Alloy shakes her head. "I couldn't hear what he was saying to her, but he definitely seemed angry while saying it. He turned and started getting mad at me when I walked in until one of the cooks stopped him." She tugs on Hilltops' hoof a bit. "I pretended to start crying and she took me out."

"...you mean you weren't going to cry?" The mare looks surprised. "He wasn't exactly being kind with you..."

"She's a tough filly..." His eyes narrow as he frowns. "But that doesn't mean I'm any happier about someone verbally abusing her or you."

"Oh..." Hilltops clears her throat, watching Alloy sit down. "Um... well, thank you..."

"Do you want us to pretend to be deciding what we want so you can have a moment to talk or gather yourself?" He picks up and opens his menu.

She looks down at the floor. "Thanks, but he's already mad enough as is... stalling might make it worse..."

"Why is he mad?" Alloy finally asks. "You're doing fine."

"It's... a long story." The waitress waves a hoof. "I'm just... not really trusted."

"Well... we wouldn't want to get you in more trouble." He gives her a smile. "Still, don't give up. Things will get better, I promise."

"Right..." She sighs before taking out a small pad and a quill. "So, um... orders?"

"The ice cream bowl with hot fudge sauce, please," the drone replies.

Alloy makes a bit of a face at first, then sighs. "...I'll take the same thing."

"Had dinner already, hm?" Hilltops smirks a bit as she collects their menus. "I'll be back with your food soon... hopefully." She turns toward the kitchen, hesitating for a moment before trotting over and in. Reflect gives the pink pegasus a look, but doesn't say anything.

She looks back for a moment. "What?"

Like any smart male, the drone replies automatically. "Nothing. Just curious how much of a sweet tooth you have."

"Too much." She folds her forelegs on the table and rests her head on it. "Ever since that one time Autumn baked a cake, I've been craving chocolate and sugar basically all day every day."

"And... is it ever enough?" He tilts his head at this new problem.

"When I actually eat some? Yeah. It gets me over it for a few hours." She groans. "But then it just gives me a more recent taste to remember, and then I just want more..."

He reaches over and pats her mane. "Have you tried just small amounts? Maybe chocolate milk?"

She shakes her head. "It's never enough... I need full slices of cake, big chocolate bars, or... well, bowls of ice cream. Anything that just whets my appetite makes it more unbearable."

"Hmm... I wonder if it's hormones that are giving you cravings... unless..." He blinks rapidly, looking up at her before shaking his head.

"...unless what?" She raises an eyebrow. "And don't play the 'oh it's nothing' game with me."

"Well, if you really want me to say it... you didn't get with a colt during your last heat, did you?" The changeling has to draw on all his acting skills to keep his face straight and calm.

She blinks before glaring at him. "I'm not pregnant, idiot! I'm still in high school!"

For once, Reflect's ears fold back as he clears his throat. "That doesn't stop some, but I just wanted to be sure... sorry. I should have known better than to think you would be careless like that."

She huffs. "Yes, you should have." Getting herself under control, she shakes her head. "And I'm not sure about it being hormones... then again, I don't know much about those in the first place."

"Well then, I'm not really sure what to say other than what you already know about its effects on your health." He offers an apologetic shrug. "I'll help if I can, but right now it just seems like you’re addicted."

"Yeah... I blame Autumn."

He chuckles. "She does seem like a sweet one."

She laughs a bit as well. "Night can attest to that... but you know what I mean."

He puts a hoof to his chin. "Hmm... should we take her off the dessert position for the next meeting? It's what she was assigned to bring."

Alloy very quickly nods. "Yes. Our group name wasn't supposed to be because we're always on a sugar high."

"Alright, I'll let Ornate know." He just chuckles more. "Maybe we can wean you off the stuff..."

"Thanks, but..." The kitchen door opens and Hilltops comes out, depositing their desserts and hurrying back without a word. "...not at this rate." Distracted by looking at where the mare had disappeared, Reflect only nods. "You know you can stop ogling her, right? We'll help her when her shift's over or if we think things are getting violent back there."

His wings flick before he looks back to the filly. "Ogling?"

"Yep. Ogling." She smirks before taking a large bite.

As he takes a bite of his own food, Reflect chews on his words a bit before speaking. "It's plenty of worry too..."

"It's still ogling." She sticks her tongue out. "You haven't exactly kept your eyes off her any other time we've been here."

"...was it that obvious?"

She rolls her eyes. "Need I mention my specialty in this group again?"

He raises an eyebrow. "Scout and apparently with aspirations of second in command?"

"The one who notices everything your emotion radar doesn't pick up on." She raises her own eyebrow back. "And what do you mean 'aspirations'? Who's second in command if not me?"

"Technically I think Ornate is."

"...am I at least third?"

"Zesten."

She looks down at her ice cream and tries again. "...fourth?"

"Hmm... I don't know... Portal has connections now..." He has to struggle to not smile.

Her ears fold down. "...oh... okay..." She starts eating again. "...fifth?"

Finally unable to hold it, he lets out a chuckle. "Alloy, I don't think anyone really outranks anyone right now. We each have our skills and expertise. Although I will say I've grown fond of your counsel."

She sighs in relief, scowling at him with her eyes but her mouth in a small smile. "That was kind of mean, you know."

Pausing for a moment, she hops out of her seat and trots around the table, giving him a point-blank glomp.

"Hng!" He gasps as she squeezes, but soon hugs her back. "Forgive me for being 'mean'?"

She nuzzles his cheek. "Only if you forgive me for calling you mean in the first place."

"I can do that." He smiles and squeezes her. "Now, we have ice cream to eat."

She nods, releasing him and heading back to her seat, starting to eat quickly so it doesn't melt.

A few minutes after her shift ends, Hilltops exits the back of the restaurant into the alley, waiting for the door to close before a scowl comes over her face. Muttering a string of curses under her breath, she slams her foreleg into a dumpster, not even wincing.

A voice speaks from behind her. "Quite durable and irritated; not a great combination for those in your way."

She jumps, whirling around to see a familiar changeling. "...can I help you?"

"That's my line," he says simply, staying where he is.

She walks over. "What do you mean, exactly? ...and whatever it is, can we walk and talk about it?"

He bows and motions with a hoof. "Ladies first."

Chuckling, she starts to lead. "Alright then. So, since I never got it, what's your name?"

"Reflect, your friendly neighborhood changeling." He smiles at her.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Reflect." She nods in greeting. "Mind if I ask why you wanted to talk to me?"

"Well, I know for a fact you could use someone to talk to." His wings flick. "The emotions I got from the kitchen had me worried..."

"That's just the manager... he doesn't like me." She says this matter-of-factly.

"I noticed, but I can't fathom why. You're a very likeable mare." He says this with a tone matching hers.

She sighs. "Well, I come from a family of not-so-likeable ponies."

He tilts his head. "...and?"

She raises an eyebrow. "What do you mean, 'and'? You should know where the story goes from there. Father and older brother in prison for making and selling drugs, mother a killer still on the loose, older sister a prostitute barely flying under the radar. Logically, this means my younger sister and I must be destined for trouble too." She says this last part with a voice dripping with sarcasm.

"...not really. You're your own pony, quite a pleasant one. I can't speak for your sister because I don't know her, but you at least I'm confident about." He says this all plainly, as if it should be obvious.

"And I'm confident you're a nice guy too. But when have you ever gotten that respect from the general public?"

"Admittedly there are some who refuse to learn no matter what they are shown, but I've found friends who accept me, and I them. I'm just saying if you're truly a good pony, there's really no reason for other ponies to treat you as otherwise." His smile fades a bit. "There is no excuse for it. None. Especially when it hurts you."

"And what am I supposed to do about it?" She faces forward, glaring. "I tell them I'm not like the rest of my family, and they just say 'give it time'. I do good things, and they just think I'm trying to fool them. And every time I get even a little bit angry or disobedient, they get that smug look on their face because they think it's finally. Fucking. Happening!"

Grimacing from the waves of anger coming off her, Reflect puts a hoof on her shoulder. "Easy... don't let them turn you into something you're not. I'll support you while you vent, though."

She takes a deep breath, trying to steady herself. "I'm sorry... just... I want out of this hellhole. Whether that means just quitting my job for one where I get treated properly, or leaving this city altogether... I want out."

He nods. "Well, as much as I enjoy you being my favourite waitress, I can completely understand. Want some help?"

The pegasus snorts. "Unless you can give me enough money to pay for bills on my parents' house and food for two ponies until I can find this dream job, I don't think there's much you can do."

"Well, admittedly I have plenty in my savings, but... hmm... if I can see what I'm working with, I might be able to find another way to help." He adds after a moment. "Plus, either way, we're working to see what we can do about your boss."

"What, gonna drop a rock on his head so he forgets who I am?"

"I'd rather avoid that. I was thinking either changing his mind about you or getting him to leave you alone long enough for you to be able to look for another job while not suffering every day at your current one." He shrugs. "I could always leave big tips."

She sighs. "Look, I appreciate it, but you're just gonna get my hopes up. Nothing's gonna change that sonuvabitch's mind about me, even temporarily, until I cure the common cold or something like that. And he just swipes the tips anyway."

"Oh does he now?" Reflect puts a hoof to his chin. "Would that happen to be against either the law or company policy?"

"He makes his own rules at the restaurant, and there's nothing about letting waiters and waitresses keep tips," she says defeatedly. "And if it is against the law, I doubt they'd find out anyway."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." His grin grows. "Though, quick question: you say he makes his own rules. Does he just do that on his own, or is he allowed to?"

"Well, considering it's a local restaurant rather than part of a bigger company, and he's literally the one who owns the whole thing in that case... it's both."

"Right, legal route then." He nods. "I'll have to do some looking into it. Either way, I think I can be persuasive enough to make the rest of your time there no longer miserable."

"Good luck with that." She rolls her eyes. "If you were able to actually make it a reasonable place to work, I'd... I dunno what I'd do for you in return, but I'd think of something."

He is quiet for a minute before making his request. "Would you be happy?"

"...I would be happier." She looks down. "I won't really be happy until my sister and I have a decent life, rather than this prejudiced bullshit."

He blinks, looking at her for a while before stepping closer and nudging her a little with his head. "Looks like I've got my work cut out for me then."

She pauses, looking at him. "...you're not really going to go out of your way for this, are you?"

He tilts his head at her. "I don't really think it's out of my way if I want to do it."

"And do you actually want to?" She doesn't look away.

There's a long pause as she faces forward again. Eventually, she stops walking. "...forgive me for this, but... I won't hold my breath." She turns to him. "But... if you can help us... it would mean everything to me."

He smiles honestly at her. "All the more reason to do it quickly then."

Finally, she manages to smile back. "...thank you, Reflect."

He chuckles. "There's that smile. Been a while since I saw it. And backed by happiness too? I'll have to get more of that going."

She throws her forelegs around him in a hug. "You... are... amazing..."

He sucks in a breath before hugging back, filled with the fuzziness of her emotions. "I'm trying to help a mare I'm fond of."

She gives him a nuzzle before breaking the hug, blushing a bit. "F-Fond... right..." She rubs the back of her neck. "Um... w-well, my house is coming up, so... I won't take any more of your time..."

"It's proper to see a lady to her door, and as far as I can see, we aren't there yet. Mind if I stick around a little longer to make sure you stay safe?" He dips his head in a quick bow a happy smile on his face.

She blinks and chuckles. "Such a gentleman. Sure, if you insist." She continues walking, her eye on a house not too far down. "I'd invite you in, but my sister's asleep, and if she wakes up for a drink of water and sees a changeling..." She winces. "I-I don't mean offense by that! Just... she's never seen one before, so... yeah..."

He shakes his head. "I understand. With the fangs, holes, and lack of pupils, I know we can look scary in the dark." With a brief flash, he suddenly changes into a pony version of himself, same coloring and everything. "I like to think I'm fuzzy on the inside though."

She jumps at this, before laughing. "Wow... um, well, I guess you can come in if you're like that..."

"I wouldn't want to intrude if you'd rather me not come in." He laughs with her. "Though I admit I'm curious about this mysterious sister of yours now."

"I have no problem with you coming in, no matter your form. I was just afraid of her getting scared." She shakes her head. "She's a little shy..."

He smiles. "I understand. Pony form will do then until you feel you want to break it to her. I'm surprised at how used to walking around in my normal form I've gotten."

She chuckles. "It's good to feel comfortable being yourself." Reaching her door, she unlocks and opens it, walking in and holding it open for him to come in behind her.

He hesitates for a moment, but comes in, looking around. "Wow... much bigger than I imagined."

"Like I said, it was our parents', and they had to fit a family of six." She shuts the door. "Sugar - that's my sister - is a deep sleeper, but please try to keep your voice down if you can."

He switches to a whisper. "I can do that. Still though... a family of six? Wow..." The awe is clear even at this volume.

"Yeah... mom had some wild heats." She sighs, heading to the kitchen. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

He thinks. "Mmm... I think I'm good. The milk I had earlier did the trick."

"If you're sure." She grabs a glass of the white liquid for herself. "We can watch TV together, if we keep the volume low... or I could take you up to see Sugar, but unless she secretly stayed up late to read again, I don't know if you'll be able to actually talk with her."

"As guest, I shall leave the itinerary to you, my gracious host. I can always see her another time." He smiles at her.

She smirks back. "Let's go check on her first and then we'll decide, okay? It would do her good to make some friends."

"Well, I do know a few younger in various age groups that could do that." He follows her. "If she's like you, they'll get along wonderfully."

"We'll see. I wouldn't say she's really like me, since she doesn't go around punching walls when she's alone and swearing up a storm, but she's definitely a sweet little filly." She gets to the door and sees a light coming from the crack, smirking a bit. "Sugar? Are you awake?"

A lot of shuffling noises come from the door, followed by a sigh and a quiet voice. "Yes..."

Hilltops giggles. "I'm not mad, Sugar. Actually, I wanted you to meet someone. Can we come in?"

A small pause. "...okay."

Nodding to the disguised changeling beside her, Hilltops opens the door to let the two of them in, smiling at her sister.

A little purple earth pony filly is sat up in her bed in flowery yellow pajamas. She looks between the two older ponies as they walk in. "Sorry for staying up, Toppy... I couldn't stop reading."

She giggles. "It's fine, Sugar. As long as you're getting your sleep." She gestures for Reflect to introduce himself.

The disguised drone steps forward, waving a hoof. "Hello Sugar. I'm Reflect."

"Hello!" She waves back. "You seem nice." She looks to her sister. "Who is he? Coltfriend?"

She blushes and shakes her head. "N-No, he's... just a friend. He's helping me out with a few things at my job."

Sugar smiles. "Oh. Thanks Mister! Toppy doesn't like her boss very much because he's a jerk."

He chuckles. "He certainly seems like it. That's why I want to help her."

"I'm still not sure how you will," Hilltops comments, sitting on the bed with her sister. "But yes. Mister Reflect is going to be helping us, so I wanted you two to get to know each other a bit."

He blinks, looking at the mare and gesturing to himself questioningly. She pauses for a moment before shaking her head. He nods, looking back tot he filly. "So, umm... Sugar, how old are you?"

"I'm nine!" She continues to smile, scooting over closer to her sister as though making space on the bed for him.

He takes the spot, smiling. "Almost ten? You'll be getting your cutie mark soon."

Sugar nods. "I don't know what it's gonna be for, but Toppy thinks it's gonna be something about baking."

"Oh? You can bake?" He tilts his head at her.

"Sometimes... I'm only allowed to when she's home, though." She leans against Hilltops. "I don't know a lot of recipes."

"If you know any, you know more than most foals your age." He smiles at her, looking up to Hilltops. "And it sounds like your sister is taking good care of you."

The mare smiles and nods, but mutters to herself. "At least somepony is..."

"What's your special talent, Mister Reflect?" Sugar asks.

"Well, umm..." On the spot, the changeling tries to think of something. "My talent... is helping my friends."

The filly tilts her head. "Really? What does a mirror have to do with that?" She points to his cutie mark.

"Well..." He thinks quickly. "One of the happiest things a pony can see is to look in the mirror and see themselves surrounded by their friends."

"Oh!" She smiles again. "That makes sense... I like that!" Behind her, Hilltops tries to hold back her snickering. Reflect sees this and sticks his tongue out at the older sister. She sticks hers out back, and Sugar looks between the two. "...did I miss something?"

"Your sister was being silly."

"And so was he."

The filly giggles. "You're both silly."

"Are you silly, too?" he asks.

"I don't know." She shrugs. "Sometimes ponies call me silly."

"Nothing wrong with being silly." He chuckles. "It'd be pretty boring without silly ponies."

"Do you know any?" She tilts her head.

"Well, there is this colt I know... his name is Portal, and he's pretty silly... he's pretty smart too though."

"Silly and smart...?" She looks confused, as though she can't imagine those two adjectives being used to describe the same pony. "Wait... Portal? What does he look like?"

"Earth colt, orange coat, blue mane and tail," he responds quickly.

"Ohhh! I think he's in my class..." She thinks for a moment. "...I think I can see the 'silly'... I never really talked with him, though, so I don't know..."

"Maybe you should talk to him then. I think he'd like you." He smiles.

"I think I will." She smiles too.

"See? Already a potential friend." Hilltops ruffles her sister's mane.

Reflect raises an eyebrow. "What does that leave me as?"

"You're my friend too!" The filly hugs him.

He smiles, looking over to Hilltops. "Seems everypony wants to hug me today."

She chuckles and joins in. "You say that as though it's a problem."

"It's definitely not." He hugs them both, giving them a gentle squeeze and basking in the happiness.

After a moment, a quiet yawn comes from the filly. Hilltops looks down at her with a smirk. "Finally tired?"

Rubbing her eyes with a hoof, Sugar nods. "Uh huh..."

The older sister plants a kiss on her forehead. "We'll leave you alone now so you can get some sleep. Want me to tuck you in, or have you outgrown that?"

Sugar latches onto her sister. "Tuck me in, please?"

"D'aww..." Reflect coos at the sight.

Hilltops giggles. "Sure thing. Reflect, could you please put her book on her desk?"

Lighting up his horn in green magic, the disguised changeling does so, setting it down gently as he gets off the bed.

"Thank you." The pegasus picks her sister up and moves her to the pillow, folding the blankets to the side as she sets her down. She folds the blankets back over the filly before going to the shelf and taking a stuffed dog off of it, bringing it to Sugar. "Want to sleep with Bungles tonight?" She nods quickly, holding out her hooves much like one would for a hug. The stuffed toy is quickly placed in her arms, Hilltops giving her another kiss on the forehead. "Goodnight, Sugar."

"Goodnight, Toppy..." She snuggles down into the covers, rolling onto her side. "Goodnight Mister Reflect..."

"Goodnight..." He whispers. Hilltops motions for the disguised changeling to follow her out as she heads for the door. He does so, the door being closed behind them. "Alright... she was simply adorable and made me want to hug things."

"She's a little sweetheart." She smiles, but sighs. "And I want to keep her safe... and that's hard."

"Well, hopefully I'll be able to make it a little easier." He smiles at her, his expression soft.

"I hope so." She hesitates before leaning in and gently nuzzling him. "Again, thank you."

His tail flicks before he nuzzles her back. "You're welcome."

She giggles. "Now... how long until you need to go somewhere? If you do at all? I want to know how much time we have together."

"Hmm..." He thinks on that question. "Alloy will have headed home by now, Snap probably wouldn't come out of his room anyway... I could stay until tomorrow if you would have me."

This causes a surprised look to appear on her face. "Really? Wow... I think that'd be nice." She smiles before wincing. "...oh... um... a-are you fine with... sharing a bed? We converted all the unused bedrooms into storage a while ago..."

He tilts his head. "I'm fine with it, but are you? I mean, I can always sleep on the floor."

She shakes her head. "Please don't... I don't want you to feel uncomfortable. You're helping me, and you're a guest. ...also, every floor is hardwood." She rubs the back of her neck. "And I'm fine with it too, if you promise not to... you know... try anything."

"I'll probably stick to the far edge of the bed then... I have been known to cuddle." He says this without shame.

"...cuddling is fine." She smirks. "Just promise not to stick anything in me and we'll be good."

"I promise, but I go ahead and plead damning male morning issues now for any awkward situations." He smirks back at her.

She pokes his chest. "As previously stated: as long as it doesn't go inside me."

He nods. "Kidding aside, I do understand. I wouldn't do something like that."

"Thank you." She nuzzles him. "It's still a little early, though... TV?"

"TV."

Chapter 16

While all who know him well enough would agree that Portal is an early riser, they likely wouldn't consider him enough of one to wake up at seven in the morning on a Saturday. Yet he does, but not for normal reasons.

His eyes spring open suddenly and he gasps, sitting up quickly and suddenly in the bed he still shares with Ornate. He takes several deep breaths to try and calm himself down, his belly inflating and deflating beneath his purple-and-white vertical striped pajamas, before he suddenly turns and latches onto the mare beside him, whimpering.

Ornate wakes up quickly, murmuring. "Portal?" Her hooves wrap around him. "Portal, baby, what's wrong?"

He nuzzles against her, still breathing quickly. "...b-bad dream..."

"Oh, Portal..." She kisses the top of his head as she holds him tight, nuzzling for good measure. "I've got you..."

He snuggles into her, noticeably already calming down. "...I saw everyone... our friends... they were monsters, hurting ponies..."

"Shh... it's okay... it wasn't real..." She hums as she holds him.

"I know..." He sniffs a bit. "...we don't hurt ponies..."

"There you go.. don't worry... Mommy's got you..."

It takes a few minutes, but he finally manages to calm down completely. He doesn't exactly try to escape the hug, though. "Thank you..."

"You're welcome." She kisses his head again. "Should we hug some more or get started with our day?"

"Can we do both?" he asks sheepishly.

“Of course.” Scooting him up to her chest, she holds him there as she yawns and steps out of bed.

He clings to her, the contagious yawn evoking one from him as well. “Sorry for waking you up...”

She glances at the clock. “It’s not too early. Plus it gives me time to make a good breakfast.” Her nose sniffs a few times. “After we shower.”

“At the same time?” He tilts his head. “Like you and Zesten the other night?”

She blushes a crystal crimson. “Ah, umm… yes. Just… not as long. You knew?”

“Yeah… I got home and I heard the water running, so I went to bed.” He gives her a curious look. “Were you two really dirty or something?”

Averting her eyes, she nods. “Yes… very very dirty…” She shivers as her tail flicks.

He still looks confused as they enter the bathroom. “Why?”

“We were, umm… playing a lot,” she says vaguely as she starts the water.

“Oh.” He seems to accept that, watching the water come down. “...what’s heat?”

Losing her balance momentarily, Ornate catches herself with a hoof as she looks to him nervously. “Where did you hear that word?”

He tilts his head at her. “A lot of places… it was used differently yesterday at school. Somepony said she was glad she wasn’t old enough for it, and somepony else said he hated how it kept his parents busy… I asked if they meant temperature and they laughed at me.”

“Oh… well, heat is…” She sets him on the counter and starts taking off his pajamas. “Heat is… the time when nature lets a mare and a stallion make a foal.”

Portal looks at her in confusion. “What do you mean? How do they know when it is?”

She sets his clothes to the side. “They, well… they get hot… and itchy… in places… not to mention it only happens twice a year at around the same time.”

“So… to have foals, you have to get all itchy?” He hops off the counter. “I thought they just had to rut each other a lot until it worked.”

The mare’s eyes shoot open as she stares at her son in shock. “Portal! Where… where could you possibly have heard that?!”

He flinches back from her outburst. “...they talked about it a lot...”

“Oh…” Her expression softens as she hugs him to her once more. “Do you, umm… do you know what it means?” She steps over to the shower.

He hugs back, clinging to her again as he’s carried to the water. “It means… um… putting a stallion’s parts in a mare’s parts and transferring the foal like that...” He watches his words this time to avoid a similar reaction.

Ornate groans, stepping into the shower. “Oh my… well, I guess you have the basics… heat is… when the mare has the urge to do that. A lot. And it’s in heat that making a foal is possible.”

“Ohhh.” He smiles, though shuts his eyes from the water. “I think I get it now… is it going to happen to you?”

“It happens to every mare, Portal.” She sighs, letting her mane slick down. “In about a week, maybe a week and a half, mares will get moody, antsy, shut themselves in their rooms, and if they have coltfriends, drag them in there with them.”

He’s quiet for a moment. “...so are you and Zesten gonna…?”

She clears her throat. “Well, umm… yes, probably… having access to a coltfriend means I’ll at least be able to think straight for a bit at a time. So I’ll… probably spend time with him, come out, do things, check on you, then go back in my room with him two hours later and we start all over.”

He turns to try and get water on the back of his neck and in his mane. “So I should leave you alone during it?”

Still blushing, she thinks. “Well, umm… how about this: if I’m in my room and it’s noisy, wait a bit, and when it gets quiet, then we can do things, okay?”

He nods, smiling. “Okay!” He gives her a nuzzle.

“It might get a little boring during heat for you. Maybe you could go to the park or something those days?” She gets the soap and starts to clean him. “I’ll still cook and have time for you in the evenings when you get home.”

The colt groans. “Outside is boring too...”

“Well, most little ones get bored and go outside during heat week. Maybe you could make some new friends?”

His ears flick at this before drooping. He just silently shakes his head.

Her ears fold back as well. “What’s wrong, Portal?” She nuzzles him as she gently washes his mane.

The colt’s response is uncharacteristically snarky. “I’m not in the Restless because I’m popular, mom.”

She frowns. “Portal, there’s no need for that tone. Especially when I’m worried about you.”

“Sorry...” He dips his head. “It’s just… ponies in my class think I’m weird, so… I don’t think anypony else wouldn’t...”

“Portal… the Restless aren’t the only good ponies. You just haven’t run into more yet.” She kisses him, avoiding suds.

He squirms a bit in response to the kissing, but for obvious reasons, can’t get away from it. “There’s a lot of mean ones, though...”

“I know… not all of them are bad ponies though, some just don’t understand…” She just hugs him.

“I wish they would...” He leaves that part of the discussion with that comment, hugging back before continuing an earlier part of it. “...where’s the park?”

“Just a few roads down. It’s where the trees and ponds are.” She starts washing her own mane. “Many ponies hang out there because its relaxing and you can usually find something to do.”

He tilts his head. “There’s just trees and grass… what’s there to do?”

“Well… tell you what? Why don’t we go there and I’ll show you?” She smiles at the idea.

The colt pauses for a moment. “...maybe… okay.” He smiles as well.

“There you go. There’s my happy colt.” She touches her nose against his.

He giggles and nuzzles her. “Are we almost done cleaning up? I want to go as soon as possible now...”

“Before breakfast?” She giggles at him.

“...oh… right.” He blushes a bit as his stomach growls. “After eating, please?”

“Of course, Portal.” She grabs the soap once more.

The cool breeze blows through the trees at the local park. Ponies of all ages walking, talking, sitting, playing, or anything they want to do dot the landscape. Ornate has a light pair of saddlebags on as she and Portal enter the grassy area.

He looks around, sticking close to her, as though unsure of his surroundings despite the simple appearance of the place. “Um… what should I do?”

“Whatever you want to, dear.” She gestures around them. “We could play in the grass, trees, pond, feed the ducks, pony watch, run around, anything at all.”

He continues to glance around, seeming to look for colts or fillies his age. “Maybe… watch the ducks, then?”

“I think that sounds nice.” The two end up over on the shore of the pond, relaxed as they look out over it’s surface at the waterfowl. However, the ducks are not the only ones to be observed. A purple filly spots them, thinking as she looks at the colt.

Oblivious to being watched, Portal only takes a few minutes to grow antsy, and begins fidgeting around where he sits. He starts swiping at his tail with a hoof.

Ornate spots this and giggles, unknowingly mimicking the filly watching. “Portal, if you’re that bored, why don’t you run around a bit or something?”

He smiles and gives her a nuzzle. “Okay.” With that, he stands up and takes off like a dog off its leash, galloping for a large tree in the middle of the park. Upon reaching it, he starts climbing without a second thought, trying to burn off some excess energy.

The filly tilts her head at this, taking a few steps closer. In just those few steps, Portal has already climbed all the way up and disappeared into the leaves, only his silhouette visible as he crawls across a branch just thick enough to support his weight. She walks to the base of the tree, looking up at him curiously.

After a moment, the tree wobbles around as the colt seems to disappear from view. A second later, he suddenly lands on the grass beside her, doing a small roll before he ends up in a sitting position, unharmed and giggling.

The filly giggles along with him, clapping her hooves together in applause. “That was great!”

He blinks before looking to her. After a second, he smiles. “Hi!”

“Hello!” She smiles back.

He stands up, shaking himself off. “What’s your name? I’m Portal.”

“My name’s Sugar Crystal.” She looks at the tree then back to him. “How'd you jump from there?”

He looks up as well. “...I dunno. I just did. I’m used to it.” He shrugs.

“Do you climb trees that much?” She tilts her head at him.

He nods, smiling. “It’s fun!”

"Don't you worry about falling?"

He shakes his head. "I don't fall."

"But you could." She points a hoof at him.

"...but I don't."

"How?"

He shrugs before suddenly changing the topic. "Do you want to play?"

"Sure!" she replies reflexively before tilting her head questioningly. "Play what?"

He shrugs again. "I dunno. What do you normally play outside?"

"Hmm... tag?" She offers.

"Okay!" He smiles and boops her nose. "You're it!" He sprints off.

"Hey!" She giggles as she runs after him.

Her tongue sticking out, Sugar focuses on maintaining her balance. Her hind legs kick in the air as she stands on her head, tumbling back down onto her rump after a moment. "Phew... your turn. Truth or dare?"

He giggles before replying, batting at his tail. "Truth, this time."

"Hmm..." She taps her chin. "Which class do you like most?"

He flicks his tongue out as if trying to lick the tip of his own nose. "...math, I think. It's easy."

"Really? I thought most ponies don't like math..." She tilts her head at his actions, a smile on her face.

"It's more that I just think it's easy rather than I like it. It's kinda boring." He finally succeeds in his mission and smiles. "Truth or dare?"

"Umm... truth."

"What's your favourite colour?"

"Well... blue," she says simply.

He accepts this with no further questions. "Your-" He suddenly sneezes in the middle of his sentence, seeming to surprise himself. "...turn."

She giggles at him, her tail wagging. "Your sneezes sound like mine. Truth or dare?"

He blushes a bit. "Dare..."

"I dare you to..." She smirks. "Grab your tail with your mouth and run around in a circle."

Portal tilts his head at this before standing up, turning, and biting down on his tail. After a second, he starts galloping in a circle, making it about two full rotations before he trips and flops over, landing almost in a headstand.

Sugar flops onto her side as she bursts out laughing. Her legs kick frantically to try and quell her mirth. After some flailing around, Portal manages to right himself, and tries to hide his reddening face behind his hooves.

She continues giggling, rolling over and walking to him. "You're funny. I like you."

He peeks up at her, then uncovers himself and stands back up, face still tinged with pink. "Th-thanks... um, truth or dare?"

"Dare!" She smiles at him expectantly.

He grins. "I dare you to go into the water!"

Her eyes shoot open before her ears fold. "Umm... not too deep, right?"

"Hm... up to your neck and then just dip your head in?" he offers.

She looks up. "Well, at least it's a warm day..." Walking over to the pond, she ignores the curious ducks looking at her as she wades in, dipping her head in once she can. With a few loud splashes, she's back on shore, her coat, mane, and tail all plastered to her. "Done."

He giggles, looking over her. "You look really silly now..."

She narrows her eyes at him. “I hope you have a plan for getting me dry before I hug you while wet.”

“...not really,” he admits, starting to scoot away from her.

Spotting this, she steps toward him. “Uh uh… you don’t get away after that.” She pounces, landing on him and making sure to spread the water. He lets out a squeal, flailing around beneath her as he tries to get away. She laughs, holding on and making sure he shares in her recent hydration before flopping off him and kicking her legs in the air as she continues to laugh.

He grumbles as he stands back up, shaking himself off like a dog and his face devoid of any amusement. “Please don’t do that anymore...”

She flips over, a smile on her face that fades as she sees his. “Oh… sorry… I didn’t mean anything by it…” She stands there, dripping as her ears splay out.

The colt sighs as he tries fixing the hairs in his coat that have gotten damp and pressed down. “I would’ve thought of a way for you to dry. I hate being all wet...”

She walks over, sitting next to him. “At least you’re not alone, right?”

He glances at her before smiling sheepishly. “...good point… sorry.”

“Heh, it’s fine…” She shakes herself, droplets flinging off her coat. “Umm… truth or dare?”

“Truth, this time.”

“Why did you want me to go in the pond?”

He thinks before shrugging. “I thought it’d be funny to see… and isn’t that the point of truth or dare? To be able to laugh at each other?” He giggles. “Like how you made me run in a circle?”

She nods. “Oh, okay then. I just wasn’t sure if there was another reason or not. Your turn.”

Portal tilts his head at her for a moment before speaking. “Um… truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

He pauses, then grins as he speaks. “Do you have a crush on anypony?”

She blinks, thinking for a moment before shaking her head. “Not really… I mean, I know what they are, but nopony really tells me what they feel like. I don’t think I have one…”

“Oh… okay then.” He rubs the back of his neck. “Guess it’s your turn?”

“Actually, I think it’s my turn to say something.” Ornate’s voice comes from over Portal’s shoulder.

He jumps a bit before turning to her. “Mom? What is it?”

“It’s time we head back home, sweetie. Say goodbye to your friend for today, alright?” She smiles at him, looking between her colt and the filly.

“Aww...” His ears droop as he looks back to Sugar. “Sorry… I need to go now...”

“That’s okay… we’ll just play again next time, right?” She smiles at him, used to the common foalhood saying of ‘say goodbye to your friends, it’s time to go home’.

Portal, not being so used to the saying, has a bit more trouble grasping the concept. He just nods as he stands up. “Okay… see you later, then.”

She waves a hoof at him. “See you!”

Ornate smiles at this as they start heading home. “So it seems you made a new friend after all. Quite the cutie.”

He waves back before replying. “She’s nice. I like her.”

“Seems she likes you, too.” The mare smiles, having watched the two young ones play for a while before she had interrupted. “I don’t think you’ll be bored when I’m occupied now.”

There’s a pause, followed by the colt moving close to press up against her as best he can while still walking. “I still like spending time with you...”

“I know, Portal… and since I’m not busy until things start warming up… how about you and I spend plenty of time doing fun things until then?” She dips her head down, picking him up by his scruff, tucking him against her chest in a foreleg, and nuzzling his stomach.

He laughs and kicks his back legs in response, though careful not to hit her. “Y-Yes please!”

“That’s my colt…”