Author's Note
For those of you who read this, I'm sorry...but I'm not sorry...
My entry for Kilala's contest. The fact I've chosen is:
One time, Anthea and T mutually decided that they should take a little break from each other since they were together pretty much 24/7. T was a mess because he'd keep worrying about her and was scared that she wanted to break up with him. During the little break, Anthea ended up showing that she could hold her own and be very productive. Because she wasn't with T, she ended up grabbing the attention of quite a few stallions all of which she had no interest in. T, however, felt that he was unneeded by her and was holding her back the whole time. They got back together around a week later and Anthea spent the week after that reassuring T that she loved him.
Good Intentions
Turquoise's sigh ended with a half snort, causing small plumes of smoke to escape from his nostrils. It was currently noon, and the half dragon, half pony had spent the entire morning sitting in a tree, atop the only one of its massive branches that was big and strong enough to hold his weight. T was comfortable under the leafy canopy; rays from the summer sun pierced through the gaps in the leaves, hitting T's body and filling him with a pleasant sensation. The dragon-pony never knew why, but he adored warm days like this; strangely, in a twist of fate, he despised cold weather. Maybe it was the reptile in him...
However, as comfortable as he was, T only wanted to do one thing, and only one thing: spend time with Anthea...
"Annie..." T quietly muttered to himself, his eyes drifting over to her cottage.
He sighed again, this time dishearteningly as he lowered his head so that his chin rested on the wood below him. As much as he wanted to hop off the tree and glide across the stream towards Annie's front door, he knew he couldn't, and...shouldn't. T couldn't help but think back to the last conversation he had with Annie seven days ago...
It's been nearly a week, and T was clawing at the walls! (Figuratively speaking of course...) For six days, T did just what Annie asked and tried to find 'his own thing'; he trained with Starburst, helped Del out at his family's farm, worked with his sister Claire at her shop, he even put up with Prism's showboating attitude when he hung out with him. But despite doing all that and more, Turquoise felt no closer to finding 'his own thing', instead, he felt the same as he always did when doing those things--difference was, he kept thinking about Annie the entire time.
The only reason T was even near her house right now was because of habit. He had gotten up early like he usually did, showered, ate his breakfast of jewel-encrusted pancakes prepared by his mother, Rarity, then flew over to Annie's. It wasn't until Turquoise raised his hoof, ready to knock on her front door, that T remembered. 'Oh...right...we're on a break...' Saddened by the realization, and not knowing what else to do, T had decided to just laze about in one of the nearby trees.
This was Turquoise's first ever 'break', so he had no idea what the proper procedures were; he thought it would only be a day, two at most before they got back together, but he never imagined it'd be six whole days! T was starting to get worried, and it didn't take long for his mind to go into dark places...
Oooh, what if she found someone else during this break? T thought, nervously scratching his head with his hoof-claws. Who wouldn't want Annie as their marefriend? She's the smartest, kindest, prettiest mare in the world, and I was lucky to even have her in the first place! What could I have done wrong that caused this, this...break!? T was mulling through his thoughts, searching for the answer to that question.
T had been raised by his mother to be the ideal definition of a gentle-colt, so he had always been chivalrous with Annie. He never raised his voice at her, nor had he ever hit her; T knew that he was naturally stronger than most ponies, so he was always careful with his strength, that coupled with the fact that T was terrified of hurting others practically ensured that he could never harm a hair on her head.
Was she just bored with me!? T wondered. 'We need a break', was that code for 'I don't like you anymore and we should see other people', was that it!?
T was turning into a nervous wreck, thinking these thoughts; Annie was the drug that kept him sane, and without her, he was practically going through withdrawal.
What if...what if something happened to her!? Without realizing it, T was digging into the tree's bark with his claws. She could have gotten hurt in these six days without me! She could have been hit by a run-away cart, fallen down a well, or maybe she forgot to breathe! T had to stop himself there, even he thought that last part was dumb...
Or...or maybe she's...stepping outside of her house...
Lo and behold, that was what he saw; Annie had just stepped out of her house, saddlebags on her sides. She closed the door behind her with her magic, then faced the road ahead of her while taking in a deep breath. Scratch that 'forgetting to breathe' part... T thought.
T was relieved to see that she was in one piece, and he quickly deduced why Annie had the bags; it was that day of the week where she would go for groceries. The dragon-pony had accompanied her before on many of these occasions and he wanted nothing more than to fly over to her side and join her.
Wait...if I did that, wouldn't that be breaking the...break?
As he tried to solve the complex social formula in his head, Annie was beginning to cross the small bridge in front of her home that spanned over the stream. Suddenly, Annie fell on her face, causing T to nearly jump off the tree to see if she was alright. But before he could do that, Annie got up on her legs and used her magic to pick up a small object and bring it closer to her face so she could inspect it. Despite the distance, T could see that the object was a rock; it must have somehow ended up on the bridge, tripping Annie. After Annie stared at the object and felt it with one of her hooves, she shrugged, then chucked it into the stream.
T couldn't help but think that if he were with her at the time, he would have seen the rock and prevented her from tripping. As he watched Annie travel down the trail towards Ponyvile, he realized that there was no way he could go another day without her, and this incident with the rock proved that she needed him. Sure, it was rock right now, but next time, it could have been a ditch, or maybe even a cliff! T didn't want to go on constantly worrying about her, then without warning, he had an idea. What if, by some crazy coincidence, he suddenly showed up right when Annie needed help. If he just so happened to be heading in the same direction Annie was heading, and prevent something from befalling her, then that was just one heck of a coinkydink! She'd realize that she needs T there and would demand that they end the break and get back together.
His mind made up, T decided to follow Annie, but he'd have to be stealthy; he knew she wasn't entirely blind and could still see colors, so if she spotted his green blur among the tan-ish brown dirt trail now, she'd know he was following, and T wouldn't get his opportunity to be her sudden savior. It was because of this that T chose to jump from tree-top to tree-top, using the leaves to camouflage himself in.
As Annie walked down the trail, she couldn't help but wonder what that strange rustling sound in the trees was, stranger still, there was no wind to cause it. Anthea stopped to look at the trees behind her; she noticed that the sound was always some distance behind her, yet as she looked back, all she could see was the mish-mash of blue for the sky, green for tree's leaves, and brown for their bark. She narrowed her eyes, trying her best to spot any hint of brown or black mixed in with the green, thinking that maybe it was a bear or raccoon...maybe even a bear-coon... The mare couldn't help but roll her eyes and giggle at that thought; there were dragon-ponies, and chaos-creature-ponies, so a bear-coon wasn't too far-fetched. Thinking that maybe it was just some animal scurrying in the trees, Annie continued her trek to Ponyvile.
T carefully moved some of the leaves aside and took a deep, calming breath once he saw Annie walking away; a bead of sweat ran down the side of his head as he was thankful that he made the right call of choosing not to move when she was looking his way. That was too close, he thought. Having learned his lesson, T waited for Annie to have walked further away before he followed--this time, from a greater distance.
* * *
Several minutes later, Annie stepped into Ponyvile, and unbeknownst to her, T wasn't that far behind. The dragon-pony hybrid peered around one of the homes' corners, spotting his target as she walked down one of the main roads. As Annie moved further down the road, T made sure to follow at a distance of at least two houses; while doing this, several of Ponyvile's citizens gave T odd looks--not because he wasn't entirely a pony, they'd seen him before plenty of times, but because every time he made a move, he would stop to duck behind a crate or the occasional barrel, even if it wasn't large enough to completely conceal him. T didn't seem to notice that most of the ponies around him where raising their brows at him, as he was too focused on Annie.
It wasn't long before Annie stepped into Ponyvile's outdoor market; it was a large open space where all sorts of vendors had set up stands, giving them a place to sell their wares from.
"What can I do for you, ma'am?" asked a fruit vendor, sitting behind the stand Annie approached. The vendor was a thin, tan pegasus stallion wearing a store apron who had a short dark brown mane, he was one, maybe two years younger than Annie. T propped himself against one of the nearby stands, straining his ears to hear Annie's response.
"Oh," Annie said, placing her front hooves on the stand's wooden counter. "You're new. What happened to the usual guy?"
"You mean my uncle?" asked the pegasus. "Came down with the pony-pox this morning, so I'm fillin' in for him."
"Well I hope he gets better." Annie said. "Anyway, I'm here to pick up my order, did your uncle tell you about that?"
The pegasus nodded. "Matter of fact, he did; left me a list an' everything." He then lowered his head behind the stand and later reemerged with parchment held in his mouth. He placed it on the counter, then unfurled it before reading from it. "Lets see...unicorn mare, unicorn mare...oh, here's one." He raised his head from the paper and looked at Annie. "You Anthea?"
"Yes," Annie answered with a nod.
The pegasus then, once again, lowered himself behind the counter. Moments later, his head popped out and placed several brown bags on the counter. "There you go, ma'am. Should be just about everything."
Annie patted some of the bags, confusing the pegasus. "You sure it's everything? Something feels...off."
"Well I gave you everything on the list," said the pegasus; just to reassure her, he read from the paper out loud. "Oranges, grapefruit, kiwis, pears, peaches, plums, grapes, pineapples," he stopped reading from the list and gave Annie a questioning look. "You trying to run your own fruit stand?"
Annie turned her head and scratched her cheek. "Nooo, just a lot of hungry mouths to feed back home..." T pictured Miss Fluttershy's animals.
The pegasus shrugged, then continued reading. "Limes, lemons, apricots, figs, and raspberries."
"Wait, that's it?" Annie asked, confusion in her tone. "What about the cherries?"
"Cherries?" the pegasus said before quickly re-reading the list. "Sorry, miss, no cherries on this list."
"But they should be," Annie protested. "I paid for all of that in advance with the cherries included! Mom was very clear not to forget the cherries!"
The pegasus shrugged. "Sorry, not on the list; if you want them, that's gonna be extra."
"But I paid for them already!" Annie exclaimed, causing the vendor to shrug again.
T was getting excited, he was there when they pre-paid for the fruits a week ago, and he definitely remembered Annie asking for the cherries. This is perfect! He thought. I'll just casually walk by and say, "Hey, Annie, what are you doing here? Shopping? Cherries? Oh yeah, I remember you ordered those. Sir, this beautiful mare is telling the truth, I stand witness to that transaction." T gave himself a firm nod, preparing himself for his chance. However, he stopped when he saw Annie doing something before he acted.
Annie had her head lowered, seeming to be staring at the wooden stand. She then took a deep sigh before facing the pegasus.
"Is there nothing you can do?" Annie said in a low, seductive voice, her eyes half-closed and her lips pouting. She continued as she inched her head closer to the pegasus. "I'm sure a big, strong, handsome stallion such as yourself can do me this one favor, hmm?"
The pegasus seemed to be getting red. "Geez, a...a strong and handsome stallion you say? Uh..." He looked around before coughing nervously into his hoof, then gave the paper one last look. "Oh, would you look at that, they are on the list! My mistake, give me just one sec, ok?" He lowered himself again, and this time when he returned, placed another bag on the counter. The vendor then spoke with a nervous smile. "There you go ma'am, so sorry about the mix up, hope to see you again soon."
Annie used her magic to move the bags into her saddlebags. "Thank you," she said with a nod, "and I will, goodbye." She gave the pegasus a wave of her hoof before walking off.
The tan pegasus leaned over the counter and watched Annie leave, the sigh of a smitten stallion escaping his lips. He then turned around and organized the fruits that were on display behind him, but stopped when a large shadow encompassed over him. Confused as to what could have blocked the sun, the vendor turned around; what he saw caused his eyes to widen. T was there, standing on his hindlegs, his forehooves at his sides and his wings flared, eclipsing over the vendor.
"Can I...help...you?" the pegasus asked with trepidation.
T had a hard look in his eyes as he leaned his head over the counter, getting face to face with the pegasus, a low growl emanating from him, and soot shooting upwards from his nose. The vendor was immobilized, too scared to move; he wasn't a Ponyvile regular, so he had no idea what the creature before him was. He got even more nervous when T moved one of his hooves forward, terrified when two claws extended from it. The vendor was shaking as he expected the worse, silently praying to Celestia and Luna, wishing for one of them to save him. The hoof-claws were nearing his face when...they changed direction? While still facing the stallion, T moved his hoof so that his claws were pointing at his own narrowed eyes, then at the vendor's. The stallion was left confused when T slowly backed away, lowered himself onto four hooves, then trotted off.
* * *
"T, what are you doing?"
"Ha!" Turquoise nearly jumped, he was peering around a building, watching Annie as she picked up more groceries when a voice from behind startled him. He turned around and spotted his little filly cousin, Pixel Bit. "Pixel," T said, a hoof on his chest as he tried to slow his breathing. "You startled me."
Pixel smiled as she tilted her head to the side. "Sorry, but what are you doing?"
T turned around and looked back to Annie, seeing she was still chatting with a different vendor. Satisfied that she hadn't moved, T answered Pixel. "Oh, nothing really..."
"Nothing?" Pixel said. "I've been following you around for like, twenty minutes, and it doesn't look like you're doing nothing."
"That's because I--" T turned around, and raised his brow at his cousin. "You've been following me?"
Pixel shrugged. "Well, yeah. I saw you were being all sneaky-sneaky for some reason, and I wanted to see why, so I also got sneaky-sneaky and followed you. Buuut I got bored of doing that and just decided to ask you." She then stepped forward and peered around T's side. "Wait, is that Annie over there?" The filly looked up to her older cousin. "Why are you sneaking around her?"
T nervously scratched at the back of his neck. "It's uh... It's complicated..."
Pixel had a confused expression on her face as she tapped T's foreleg. "Is this a 'couples' thing?"
"Nnnn," T uttered as he rolled his head, "kinda..."
"If you two are having a fight or something," Pixel walked around T and headed for Annie, "we should just go over there and talk to her--"
T pulled his cousin back around the corner. "No, it's not that, she just can't see me!" T exclaimed, confusing Pixel.
"She can't see you? Well why not?" Pixel's face suddenly brighten. "Wait! Are you two playing a game? Is that why you're sneaking around?"
T bit his bottom lip, he didn't feel like lying to his cousin, but he also didn't want to tell the truth. "Y-yeah, me and Annie are playing a game. We're seeing who can sneak the best around the other."
Pixel grinned. "Oh cool! I wanna play!"
"No!" T quickly said before replying in a calmer tone. "I mean, it's kind of a two player game, you understand."
"Aw, come on!" Pixel shouted, prompting T to look around nervously. "That sounds like fun, and I can help you out!"
T looked down to his cousin. "Pixel, don't you have somewhere to be? Isn't there a meeting you have with the Cutie Mark Crusaders or something?"
Pixel made a short raspberry while waving a hoof dismissively. "Treehouse got trashed by bear-coons, so we're moving our usual meeting spot to Sugarcube Corner till Api's dad and uncle fix it. Meeting's not for another fifteen minutes though, so why not play with you till then?"
T shook his head. "Pixel, no, I really--"
Pixel cut him off. "Oh come on, please! I'm great at sneaking, I beat Metal Cog Serpent on hard mode! I can even help you out, look!" The filly then used her magic to bring over a discarded box from behind one of the stands, coincidentally, it was a cherry box. Suddenly, everything went dark for T as the box was floated over him; it wasn't big enough to cover his entire body however, just his head and a bit of his shoulders.
T's muffled voice could be heard from within the box. "Uh, Pixel...I don't think this is gonna work..."
"Just give it a chance, it worked for Serpent!" Pixel said. T was getting annoyed by the box and instantly removed it. Pixel gasped. "Oh no! Everypony can see you now! It's game over, man, game over!" She then stood on her hindlegs' knees and raised her forelegs into the air, yelling, "T!? T!?!? T!?!?!?!?"
T brought a hoof to his face and quietly grunted into it. "Pixel....what's it gonna take for you to go wait at Sugarcube Corner for your friends?"
The filly raised a brow at her cousin. "Wait, are you bribing me to go away?" T, his hoof still on his face, nodded. Pixel brought a hoof to her chin as she thought of what she'd want. "I guess I could go for a milkshake..."
"Done." T then pointed in the direction of the bakery. "Just go there, order one, and tell the Cakes to put it on my tab." He eyed his little cousin. "But just one, understand?"
"Gotcha!" Pixel said, saluting her cousin before running off.
As soon as his cousin turned around the next corner, T took a calming breath, then peaked around the building to see-- that Annie was gone!
Where'd she go!? T thought, running into the middle of the market, then scanning around for her. Unable to find her among the sea of ponies, T flapped his wings and took to the air. Once he was high enough, he raised one of his hooves over his eyes, shielding them from the sun's rays as he desperately looked for Annie. After quickly realizing that Annie was no longer in the marketplace, he shifted his eyes down the main road leading back to her house, only to find that she wasn't there either, not even on the trail that ran to her home.
The dragon-pony rotated a full three-sixty degrees, scouring along nearly every street and building, hoping to find her before something bad happened to her and he wasn't around to save her. Or maybe gets a new coltfriend... T frowned, that thought took him entirely by surprise. It probably didn't help when T saw Annie flirting with the vendor earlier; that was practically wood thrown into the fire that was his fear of Annie finding love in somepony else, leaving T all alone. He shook his head, trying to get rid of that negative thought; Annie had assured him that she still loved him and that this break would be good for them. Still...T knew a lot could happen in six days, and the possibility that Annie had met somepony new was still possible.
Trying his best to push these negative thoughts into the back of his mind, T continued his search. Finally, he found her. From high up in the air, T spotted Annie as she was stepping out of Sugarcube Corner. She seemed to be waving goodbye to a light-blue, earth pony mare whose wavy mane was pink with white stripes; T instantly recognized her as Cotton Candy, a friend of both his and Annie's. T silently landed on one of the nearby buildings, just in time to hear what they were saying.
"Alright, see you then!" Candy yelled. "And don't you worry, I'll get right on it!"
Annie responded. "Thanks, but I think you might have to do it sooner than expected. Is that gonna be a problem?"
Candy clasped her forehooves together, then rubbed them. "Oh, I'm up for the challenge." She said with a determined look and a large smirk on her face.
"Excellent," Annie said with a nod, saying one last thing as she walked away. "Fire when ready."
"Will do." Candy answered. Right as she was about to turn around to head back into the bakery, she stopped to greet two fillies, Api and Echo, who were running into the store. "Hey girls!"
T turned away from Sugarcube Corner, and focused on Annie as she walked elsewhere.
That's weird, T thought. She's still not heading home. Is there something else she has to do today?
* * *
"There you are, Annie."
T spied over the roof of the building he was on, spotting Annie as she was greeted by a dark colored pegasus mare whose mane was two shades of blue, and had a cutie mark that was the image of five contrails. T had no idea who this mare was, yet she seemed to know Annie and was apparently close enough with her to call her by her nickname instead of 'Anthea' like most ponies did, only her close friends called her 'Annie'. Even though this mare was a complete stranger to T, she somehow felt...familiar to him...
"Hey, Ni--" Annie seemed to stop and correct herself. "Err--Jet Stream."
Jet Stream spoke with a bored looking expression on her face, her eyes moving from the ground to the very walls of the houses. "Hmm... Why have you called me here? I was busy with matters of grave importance."
"Pfft, no you weren't." Annie said with a roll of her eyes. "You were probably just lazing around in your room, am I right?" Jet Stream gawked, and Annie's response was to put a hoof on her shoulder. "Anyway, I have something important to talk to you about, but not here." She then nudged Jet Stream forward. "Come on, let's walk and talk."
And just like that, the mares were on the move, with T in pursuit, hopping from one roof to the next as the two mares walked down the street. Since T was being extra careful to avoid being spotted--on account that Jet Stream wasn't blind--he could only hear bits of what they were saying. A couple minutes later, both mares were walking through an alley when Annie stopped, prompting Jet Stream to halt as well.
"Annie," Jet Stream said, "why have we stopped in this filthy place?"
Annie turned to the pegasus and smirked. "Hold on, just want to test something."
Suddenly, Annie moved her lips over Jet Stream's, surprising both her and T. Turquoise's eyes widened and his jaw dropped, he had to place forehoof over his mouth to suppress the noises he was making.
Jet Stream broke off from the kiss, her wings stiff and a flustered expression on her face. "Annie! W-what was that!?" She asked.
Annie giggled, T couldn't hear what she then said to Jet Stream because of the noises he was trying to suppress, but what he did pick up though, was Annie saying that the kiss was just pla--plant-tonic...or was it planet-onic? He wasn't sure which.
"Relax," Annie said with a smirk, "it was just a joke."
Jet Stream turned her head to the side, trying to hide her blush. "Well it wasn't funny..."
It...it was just a joke..., T thought, sighing in relief. He was actually worried that he was so bad of a coltfriend that he actually drove Annie to mares. After T calmed himself, he noticed that the mares were on the move again, forcing him to follow.
After some time, T noticed that the two mares were resuming their chat as they passed by Sugarcube Corner, causing him to wonder why they were walking in a loop. Regardless, T continued to trail them. Soon after T jumped to the next roof, he peeked over the building to get a look at the mares, but just as he did so, something splatted against his face, blinding him! Surprised, T quickly used his hooves to wipe his face, once he could see again, he saw that there was some sort of white cream on his hooves. Lowering his eyes, he saw what it was that hit him...a pie.
What the? Where did that come from? T's thought was interrupted when he felt another splat, this time from the back of his head. T removed the new pie from his head and turned around, yet couldn't see where it came from, soon he felt two more splats on his side. Each time T turned, he'd be bombarded with pies from a blind spot.
"Who's doing that!?" T yelled, his question going unanswered. The dragon-pony, whose hide was now more white than green, looked around, hoping to find whoever was responsible, when suddenly, the pies stopped. "Thank you," T huffed to no one in particular, wiping some of the cream off of himself. He said that too soon, as the next thing T knew, even more pies rained on him; it was as if it were hailing over him, but with pies!
T jumped to the next rooftop, trying to escape the pastries, but they followed him there too! When T tried to jump to the next, one of his legs stepped on one of the pies, causing him to slip and fall off the building! T landed on the ground with a grunt; he didn't fall that far down, after all, almost all of the buildings in Ponyvile were just one or two stories. When T forced himself up, he noticed that it was no longer raining pies, giving him the respite he so needed.
"Finally," T muttered as he looked up at the sky, hoping to spot a pegasus pulling a pie cart up there, but failed to see one. That was...weird... T looked down the street and saw that Annie and Jet Stream were turning around a corner. T headed in their direction, this time, from the ground--he so didn't want to tempt fate with the pies again.
Once T reached that corner, he stepped around it and felt his hoof step on something. Suddenly, T saw a wooden handle raise up and hit him in the face, dazing him!
"Ah!" T shouted, clutching his face as he trudged forward. Who leaves a rake laying around!? With his eyes closed from the pain, T moved forward, soon, he felt his other hoof step on some sort of taunt string near the ground. Confused to what that was, T opened his eyes and saw a pillow on a string heading right for him before it quickly slammed against his body, spreading loose feathers everywhere which then stuck to the pie cream T was still covered in.
Moving some of the feathers away from his eyes, T noticed his reflection on one of the nearby windows; he appeared more like a chicken than a dragon-pony now! T wanted to go wash himself off, but knew that if he did so, he'd lose Annie and wouldn't get his chance to get back together with her; he then trotted after her, trying to close the distance while leaving a trail of feathers behind him.
As he got closer to his target, T heard three fillies cry out in unison, "Cutie Mark Crusaders javelin throwers!" T yelped--he just felt something prick him on his side! Turning his head, T saw three javelins sticking out of his flank; luckily, because he was half dragon, his hide was nearly as though as one's, making him more of a dartboard than a skewered and dead pony.
"Oh mah gosh, girls!" Yelled Api as she and the other two crusaders approached T. "We hit a...giant chicken?"
"Mom?" Echo asked.
"T, is that you?" Pixel said before taking a sip of her milkshake.
T wrapped his claws around the javelins, then yanked them out of his hide. "Yeah, it's me." T said, sounding like he was having the worst of times.
"So why are you like that?" T's cousin asked. She then tapped her head with her hoof. "Oh, I get it! You won't wear the box, but you'll disguise yourself as a chicken!?"
T answered as he tried to remove some of the cream and feathers. "Not a chicken, and I don't know what's going on any--" T stopped when he noticed something on his hoof, something red. "--more..." He looked back to his flank, there he saw three red droplets, blood.
T had a terrified expression on his face as he tried to wipe the blood off his hoof onto the feathers. When he looked back at it after doing that, it was still there, only smeared.
"You ok there, big guy?" Api asked, seeming concerned.
T was getting lightheaded as his body was starting to sway, the fact that it was his blood was too much for him to process. "I...I..." Suddenly, there was a loud thud as T fell over, having lost conciseness.
* * *
"Is he the one?"
"Yes, officer. It's him."
Wait, that's Annie's voice... T struggled to open his eyes, but found it difficult to do so. Soon, he felt somepony harshly nudging him and heard a deep voiced stallion say something.
"Get up!"
T's eyes widened, he looked up and saw a royal pegasus guard staring down at him. It took T a few tries with his mouth before he said something. "Wha-what's going on?"
"On your feet, now!" Ordered the guard.
T did just as he asked and quickly got up, once he did, he noticed Annie was standing behind the guard.
"Annie." T said as he made a move for her, only to be blocked by the guard.
"Stop right there, criminal scum! Nopony breaks the law on my watch!"
T faced the guard with a confused look on his face. "Break the law? What are you talking about?"
"You know very well what you did, lawbreaker! There have been reports of an individual matching your description who has been stalking this fair lass." He said that last part as he used a wing to point at Annie.
"T, how could you?" Annie said, tears forming from her eyes.
"Stalking? What, no!" T protested, his head shaking left to right, causing loose feathers to fall off. "Let me explain!" He tried to go around the guard, but the guard mirrored his movements.
"Oh no," the armored pegasus said, "the only place you're going to, is jail!" Suddenly, a second guard flew down, joining the first as they then wrapped a forehoof around one of T's, then carried him off as they flew away.
T was forced to watch Annie as she got further and further, he could have used his strength to easily overpower the guards, but his better judgement told him otherwise. "Annie! Annie!! AAANNNIIIEEE!!!"
The next thing T knew, he was in a dark cellar-like holding cell as he was being hosed down by one of the guards. T violently shivered as the cold water continued to barrage him, washing off the pie cream and feathers, leaving him as clean as he was after his morning shower.
"There," the guard said after spitting out the hose from his mouth, "now you look somewhat presentable for your court date."
T struggled to ask his question around his clattering teeth. "W-w-when's th-th-that?"
The guard walked out of the cell, then closed it before answering him. "First thing in the marrow, so sleep tight." He then walked out of T's sight, leaving him alone in his cell.
There was no way T could 'sleep tight', not in this cell; it was made out of damp bricks and seemed to pre-date most buildings that T had seen. As T looked around it, he noticed some writing scratched into the walls.
Starswirl was here.
So was King SombraDr. Sombrero "Maracas!"
R.D. was here
Prism Bolt was here
"First comment!"
T wasn't that surprised that Prism had been here, that guy was always getting into trouble. Still, T couldn't help but add his own mark here, just to surprise Prism the next time he ended up in here. Using his claws, T carefully etched just one thing into the brickwork.
T
T must have somehow fallen asleep without realizing it, because when he blinked, he was no longer in the cell. Instead, he was in a court room, sitting behind the defendant's table.
"What the?" T said, looking around the room, confused. "What's going on?"
T felt something tap his back, when he turned around, he saw his father, Spike. He was sitting next to his wife, Rarity, who was dressed in the same manner as somepony attending a funeral.
"T, sh!" Spike said, placing a claw over his lip to shush his son.
"Dad?" T replied, earning another shush from the grown dragon.
"Shh, you have to be quiet till they call you on the stand."
"Dad, what's going on? How'd I get here?" T whispered.
Spike responded, his voice low. "Son, I know you're probably a bit confused right now, but don't you worry, we got you the best lawyer we could find on such short notice."
"Lawyer, who?" T asked, before he turned to his side to look at said lawyer, then immediately turned back to his father. "Our mailmare, Miss Ditzy Doo!? That's who you could find on short notice!?"
Ditzy turned to T and waved at him with a smile, one eye focusing on him, the other...somewhere else... She even came dressed as a lawyer; she was wearing a sharp business suit along with a pair of reading glasses.
Spike nervously smiled with a shrug. "What? She finally got her diploma in law after like, fifty tries, but nopony would give her a chance; and you know, your mom was being all generous and stuff, so we gave her one."
T anxiously brought his hooves to his head, gritting his teeth as he tired to suppress a scream. He then felt Ditzy place a reassuring hoof on his shoulder.
"Don't worry," Ditzy said, sounding confident, "I've got this in the bag. See this?" She then used her hoof to pat a small white box before her on the table. "This is evidence that proves you weren't doing anything wrong."
T was a bit relieved to hear that. "Really? What's in--" He couldn't finish that sentence, as the judge, who was an older looking unicorn with one of those judge wigs, then said something.
"We now call for the defense."
Ditzy nodded, then turned to T and whispered, "Alright, I got this." Ditzy got up from her chair, then picked up the white box before moving it over to the evidence table. "Thank you, your highness," she said to the judge, prompting him to raise a brow. The grey pegasus then spoke as she walked around the center of the room. "As you all may know, my client, Turquoise Blitz, has been accused of stalking his former marefriend, Anthea. YET!" She yelled as she quickly raised her hoof, surprising almost everypony in the room. "I have with me, evidence that proves, without a shadow of a doubt, his innocence!"
Soon the courtroom was full of whispers and murmurs, the judge looked down at Ditzy, seeming to be intrigued. "Interesting, and what is this damning evidence?" T was getting hopeful, all she had to do was show it and he'd be set free.
Ditzy walked up to the white box, then placed her forehooves on both sides of it. "The truth, that you can't handle!" She then pulled the box up, revealing...a half-eaten muffin... "Oh, wait..." Ditzy muttered. "I brought the wrong box..."
The room was silent, the only sound being the loud slap caused by T slamming his forehooves into his face.
I'm doomed...
The judge rested into his seat, coughing into his hoof to regain everypony's attention. "In spite of this 'new evidence', I now ask for the sentence to be read by the jury of Mr. Blitz's peers."
"Right away, your lordship!" Api called from the jury stand.
Wait, what? T stared at the young apple, wondering how she counted as his 'peer' when he was more than twice her age! And she wasn't alone either, she was joined by the other two Crusaders, Echo and Pixel--who was sipping from a milkshake!
Api pulled out a roll of paper and unfurled it with her hooves before reading it. "We the jury--and members of the Cutie Mark Crusaders: second generation, find the defendant, Turquoise Blitz," T could feel his heart beat as he awaited his fate, "...hetlina?"
Everypony in the courtroom was confused, not knowing what 'hetlina' meant. Soon, Pixel looked at the paper, then whispered something to Api.
"Oh!" Api exclaimed, flipping the paper. "Whoops, it was upside down... He's guilty though."
T's jaw dropped, an inaudible gasp escaping from his mouth. The judge then spoke in a booming voice.
"You, Turquoise Blitz, have been found guilty by your peers, and for the crime of stalking your ex-marefriend, I sentence you to one-thousand years in Hightower Maximum Penitentiary! May Celestia have mercy on your soul..." And with that, the judge banged his gavel, sealing T's fate.
T was left there speechless as two guards approached him, he offered no resistance when they started to drag him out of the courtroom, as he was practically a rag-doll to them.
"My baby, my baby!" T's mother, Rarity, cried as she tried to reach her son, but was held back by Spike.
"Honey, there's nothing we can do for him now!" Spike yelled, pulling her into an embrace.
Rarity cried into her husband's chest. "Oh, Spikey...where did we go wrong?"
Spike carefully ran his claws through her mane. "I don't know...but...we could always make another one..."
"I...I suppose..." Rarity said through her sniffles. "Oh, Spike! I'm not looking forward to getting fat again!" She then buried her face into his shoulder.
"I know, honey...I know..." Spike reassured her before his hands slid down her back and rested on her flanks.
Once T was pulled out of the courtroom, he saw Annie in the courthouse lobby.
"Annie!" T yelled, struggling to get to her, but held back by the guards who were much tougher than they looked.
"T..." Annie said dishearteningly. "Why didn't you just trust me?"
"I, I do!" T shouted as he was getting further from her. "I do trust you! But this is all a mistake! You have to tell them!"
Annie shook her head. "I'm sorry, T, but...I found somepony new..."
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a large stallion who looked like he had a career posing for statues walked up to Annie's side.
"Oh there you are, sweet'ums. Come along now, I'm sure mumsy is just dying to meet you."
They both turned around, but before they left together, Annie turned back to T. "Goodbye...T..."
"Annie!? Annie!?" He was then pulled out of the building, getting one last look at her before the doors closed.
"NOOOOOO!"
* * *
"Is he dead?" A filly asked before T felt something poking his cheek.
"I hope not," said another, "I'd rather not have a picture of my murdered cousin on my flank."
T groaned, his eyes slowly opening.
"Hey, he's not dead!" Cried Echo.
T forced himself up, placing a hoof on his head. "Ugh...what happened?" He asked.
"You tell us, mister!" Api said, looking up at the dragon-pony. "You got all wobbly, then just fell over! Yah know, T, I know you don't like blood an' all, but I didn't think you'd faint from the tiniest amount of the stuff!"
"Blood!?" T was starting to remember, he looked back to his flank and noticed that somepony had cleaned him of the pie cream and feathers, and even applied three band-aids over where he was bleeding from earlier.
"You girls did this?" T asked, pointing at the band-aids.
Api shook her head. "Nuh-uh, it was them." She then pointed somewhere behind T. He turned around and...
Oh boy...
"Hey, T." Annie said nonchalantly, Jet Stream standing beside her.
T was nervous. "A-Annie! W-what a surpris--"
Annie raised a hoof, silencing him. "Can it, I know you've been following me."
T tried his best to play it off. "W-what are you talking about?"
Annie rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue. "T, I may be blind, but even you can't sneak around me."
"How--"
"Did I find out?" Annie said, cutting off T. "Well... It was probably when I passed by you and you were trying to hide under a box..."
T turned to his little cousin and gave her a glare. Pixel saw this and finished her milkshake, then raised a hoof defensibly.
"I'm telling you: it worked for Serpent..."
T turned back to Annie. "Annie, I--"
Once again, Annie cut him off. "T... Just take me home."
T pulled his head back, giving Annie a bewildered look. "What?"
"Just take me home," Annie said calmly. "I've got a ton of fruit in my bags, and I'd rather not haul it all on my own." She then gestured to Jet Stream. "She's not large enough to carry me, but you are. So just take me home." She then raised a brow at T. "Or would you prefer I yell at you in front of your cousin and her friends?"
T weighed his options, but obviously chose the first. "Ok, uh...here." He lowered himself and allowed Annie to climb onto his back. Once she was secure, T took the air, and Jet Stream followed.
The entire ride back was the most suspenseful T had ever felt; nopony was saying anything, and T was too scared to initiate a conversation, for all he knew, she'd break up with him for good, here and now. After both T and Jet Stream landed at Annie's house, she hopped off and headed for her door.
Before Annie opened the door, T forced the lump in his throat down and spoke.
"Annie, I--"
"T." She said, not even looking back at him. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Annie, I'm sorr--wait, what?"
Annie turned around and faced him. "I said that I'll see you tomorrow."
T raised his hooves and shook them. "Wait, wait, wait." He then squinted his eyes at her, getting her in better focus. "You're not angry?"
Annie shrugged. "Well, I was at first, buuut I think you suffered enough..." T was confused by that statement, but let her continue. "Also, I'd be lying if I said that I didn't miss you during the break."
T leaned his head forward. "Wait, does this mean...?"
"Yup," Annie said with a nod, "consider the break, over."
"Oh thank goodness." T muttered with a relieved expression on his face.
Annie smiled at Turquoise. "T, go home for now. We'll talk about it tomorrow."
T quickly nodded, his fangs revealing themselves through his huge smile. "Yeah, yeah. Tomorrow! I'll see you then!" He then turned around and walked in a brisk pace down the road, much too happy to fly home.
Annie then opened her door and gestured for Jet Stream to enter, after she did, Annie followed and closed the door behind her.
"We'll you're back." Said a voice from a dark corner of the room. A lamp was then turned on, revealing the owner of the voice to be Cotton Candy.
"A little uh...dramatic, don't you think?" Annie said. Candy's response was a shrug and a smirk. Annie then walked over to a drawer, pulled out some bits from it and floated them over to Candy with her magic. "Here you go, I hope it's the amount we agreed on."
"Excellent," Candy replied as she accepted them before arranging them from lowest valued bits to the highest.
"What exactly are the bits for?" Jet Steam asked.
Candy answered. "Eh, she hired me to prank T as he followed Annie. You have NO IDEA how hard it was to aim multiple of mom's pie-delivery-catapults at a moving target on a roof, then place a rake on the perfect spot, being absolutely sure that he would step on it and set off a tripwire." She shifted the bits around, then turned back to the mares. "Oh! And convincing the Crusaders how cool it is to have a javelin for a cutie mark." She then moved towards the door, saying one last thing to Annie. "I'm a bit upset that you called the prank off early; I was so ready to have it escalate to explosions!" She then exited the home with her newly earned bits; the amount was lower than they agreed upon, but Candy didn't care, she was in it more for the prank itself, what few bits she earned was just a little bonus to her.
Jet Stream raised a brow to Annie. "Wait? Did your plan involve me as well? Is that why you asked me to orchestrate his dream like that?"
Annie grinned as her eyes went to the side. "Actually...I didn't count on T fainting at all... I mean, you were there, and I knew you could influence ponies' dreams, so...I kinda just rolled with it..."
Jet Stream lowered her head and grinned, a low chuckle emanating from her. Suddenly, her body shimmered, revealing herself to actually be Princess Nidra. "Annie, you sneaky mare." Annie took the compliment with a smile. "And to think, I was called here just for a prank."
"Oh no," Annie said, shaking her head, "that's not why I called you here. I really do have something to talk to you about. It's about..." She stopped talking when she noticed that Nidra wasn't paying attention. Annie inched her head close enough to see that she was looking out the window. Annie turned to it and saw what she was staring at; a green blur, the reason Annie called Nidra here.
Both mares muttered something quietly to themselves.
"Mmm, dat T"
"Dat blur."
