The Incantation

On the way to the garden, me and Fluttershy had run into Rainbow Dash, outside the castle talking to one of the Wonderbolts.

And I wish we hadn't.

When Rainbow saw us, her attention swayed in our direction. "Hey, guys! Glad to see you two together." She snickered a little.

I gave her a dirty look. "What's that supposed to mean? And why is it good?"

"Whoa," she said, growing serious. "Just hanging out, is all I meant."

Sure. "I see." The Wonderbolt gave me a wave, and I returned a nod.

"How are you enjoying the gala, Dashie?" Fluttershy asked in a tone far friendlier than mine.

"It's awesome. I was just chatting it up with Soarin' here." Rainbow smiled gleefully.

"I had a feeling you would," Fluttershy replied.

I took a quick look around, seeing hardly anypony else outside beside us four. "Where is everypony?"

Rainbow shrugged. "Beats me. Better for you two." She turned back to Fluttershy as I snorted angrily. "So, do you remember?"

Fluttershy looked momentarily confused. "Remember...?" She suddenly looked surprised as she remembered whatever it was. "Oh! Um...I don't know..."

"Come on," Rainbow urged. "You have to. We bet on it."

Now I finally got what they were talking about.

Fluttershy sighed. "I know..." She looked off into the night sky for a moment. "Okay."

"Sweet!" Rainbow turned to Soarin'. "Can you show me those moves now? I betcha I can keep up!"

"Alright. Let's go," he said and flew off with a whoosh.

"Later you guys. Don't have too much fun," Rainbow said with a quick wave and a giggle, then left for Soarin'.

Me and Fluttershy stood alone now, just outside the castle.

I cleared my throat. "Well, um, where were we?"

"Oh, yeah, the garden." She motioned ahead down the cobblestone path heading into a cluster of trees in the distance. "It's not far now."

We started walking again. "That's good. I've been here before, but I don't know all the animals that live in the garden." I smiled at her. "But I know you do."

She blushed at that compliment. "Thanks..."

The garden was packed with a large selection of animals hoof-picked by the princess herself. They roamed freely in the decently-sized chunk of forested land in the courtyard of the castle. Honestly, though, I could care less about the animals tonight. It was Fluttershy that had my heart.

"So...what was Rainbow talking about earlier? A bet, or something like that?" I asked, legitimately interested to know what Fluttershy would say. I hoped she would tell the truth.

She sighed. "I knew you'd ask."

I looked over at her. She was still red from earlier, when I complimented her, which told me she was probably going to tell me - or ask me, that is.

"Well," she continued, her voice shaky. I noticed how the light of the moon seemed to amplify her natural beauty to the point I was shaky. "I was...g-going to ask...um, to ask you - "

"What a pleasant surprise!"

Of all the characters to run into..."Discord, what are you doing here?" I demanded.

He was wearing a tuxedo with a top hat and glasses. "Well, Celestia invited me, of course. You don't think I'm here to crash the party, do you?"

"No, of course not," Fluttershy answered before I did, and that was probably for the best. "How are you?"

"Marvelous!" he exclaimed, spinning around in the air. "I was just going to see the princess, until I ran into my two best friends!" He eyed me with a sneaky smile.

"You already met Discord?" Fluttershy inquired, turning to face me.

I nodded slowly. "More or less."

She grinned excitedly, looking back to Discord. "That's great! I'm glad the two of you are getting along. I was hoping you two would, to be honest."

Discord flew up beside me and threw an arm around my shoulders. "Yep! We're best pals, right Emerald Rain?"

My heart skipped a beat. "Ixnay on the name, ay," I muttered through clenched teeth.

"Oh, right, sorry. Mist."

Fluttershy beamed at us. "I'm happy you two are friends. So happy."

"So am I," Discord agreed, squeezing the life out of me. "So am I."

"Well," I gasped, trying to work myself free. "You should...er...probably go see the princess before she...gets too busy."

He squeezed harder. "Nonsense! I'm going to hang out with my friends," he said.

"Actually, Discord, me and Emerald were going to the garden for a while," Fluttershy informed him, in my defense, it seemed.

"Splendid! Can I tag along?"

Fluttershy cleared her throat. "Well...just me...and Emerald...were going to the garden..."

"We'll...catch up...with you...later..." I struggled to tell him.

Discord finally let me go, and I coughed and gagged on the ground, with Fluttershy giving me an odd look.

"Okay then," Discord said resignedly. "I'll see you two around." He slumped and trudged off, heading towards the castle.

"Oh...sorry!" Fluttershy tried, but Discord went on.

I finally sat up, still in slight pain. "He'll be fine," I wheezed.

Fluttershy helped me up. "Are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

I wiped some dust off my suit. "I'm good. Let's just head to the garden."

And we walked off.

Orion was watching, waiting, hoping.

Emerald had still not shown up, but he'd still been looking for him, though not as hard as he was for the mare that was supposedly his mate.

Even with his view of the whole castle, and its surroundings, he'd still had no sight of either targets. After he'd seen the mare enter with friends, she'd disappeared.

But Orion was patient. He had to be, and this also wasn't the first time he'd had to watch and wait. His last three missions had been like that. And each time he got what he needed.

And this time would be no different.

With a sigh, he continued scanning the whole area in his view.

The garden was devoid of anypony but me and Fluttershy.

We'd walked all throughout the garden while she pointed out and identified all sorts of rare animals to me. But once again, it wasn't the animals I cared about.

"You know, you never finished telling me what you were going to say earlier before Discord interrupted us," I said, as we stood near a small pond with the moon overlooking it. The mood was set.

She was silent for a moment as she stood beside me, looking up at the moon. "Oh, yeah...that..."

I put my arm around her shoulders. "You know you're the most amazing mare I've ever met?" The moment I said that, my heart rate increased. No going back now.

I saw an embarrassed smile creep across her face as she looked down at the ground. "You're sweet...thank you."

"I really mean it," I went on. "You're sweet, beautiful, generous, beautiful, with the voice of an angel..." I grinned and added, "Did I mention beautiful?"

She gave a quiet little laugh. "Um, yes...you did..." She looked up at me, our eyes meeting. Her eyes glittered in the pale moonlight like two precious teal gems. The most precious gems in my life.

I leaned a little closer to her, our muzzles only a few inches apart, close enough I could feel her breath on my snout. It sent a shiver up my spine. "So, about that stuff you were going to tell me earlier?"

She gave one of those smiles - the ones that showed how happy she was. It was one of those dazzling, toothy smiles that always seemed to take my breath away and capture my heart like a net. "Um...well, I-I'm...not sure how to...tell you..."

With my other hoof, I took hers. "Whatever it is, it won't effect the way I feel about you." Definitely no going back.

"Th-the way you...feel about me?"

I nodded slightly. "Yes, the way I feel about the most incredible mare in Equestria."

She turned rosy-cheeked again. "Oh, my..."

I pressed on. "So, you were saying, sweetheart?"

She swallowed. "I...I...um...well, I...kinda...um...really...like..."

I put a hoof over her mouth gently. "I know what you're going to say," I said softly.

"Y-you do?"

I smiled. "I do. I really like you too, Fluttershy. More than I've ever liked anypony before. Nopony has ever been more important to me than you are now. You're the star of my life now, the very reason I keep pushing everyday, the reason I haven't given up on myself. I moved here thinking I'd be alone, isolated from everypony else...but...you've shown me a kindness I didn't even know existed. I...I've fallen in love with you, Fluttershy. You're the mare of my dreams." I finished that speech with my heart pounding in my chest like a jackhammer.

Tears welled up in her eyes as her smile grew bigger. "Do you really mean that?"

I nodded. "From the bottom of my heart." I paused, thinking of a way to prove it. "Here, let me show you."

I placed my hoof on her cheek as gently as possible, and I leaned closer to her.

She was red as a tomato now, and pulled her head back slightly, then changed her mind, and instead leaned in, her eyes squeezed shut.

In a triumphant few seconds, our lips had met - our first kiss.

Her lips were softer than I imagined, and I could smell the perfume she had on much better now. Her eyes were closed, but I kept mine open. I was just too excited.

She finally pulled away, looking slightly embarrassed, but still smiling lightly. "I...um...never did that with anypony before..."

I pushed her mane behind her ear and smiled back. "Neither had I - until now."

She gave me that smile again, and I knew right then and there that I had something more precious than a billion bits.

I had her heart.

He'd finally spotted her.

Orion had seen the mare strolling with an unknown male pegasus. It looked like she was sharing an intimate moment with him.

What a slut, Orion thought disgustedly. Can't be happy with one mate, can she?

He flew off his perch to one lower and closer to the garden - what appeared to be a rotunda for tools and feed for the inhabitants of the garden, he assumed. The moon was directly behind him, which he thought as perfect for his next plan of action.

The mare was sitting side-by-side with the male facing directly at him, but he doubted they could see him, much less recognize him for what he was about to do.

He watched the mare and the stallion kiss.

Oh, how romantic, you little whore, he thought. Enjoy this moment while you still can. He readied his bow.

I studied her facial expression, trying to read her emotions, but she suddenly threw her arms around me in a tight embrace.

I hugged her back. "So, you'll, uh, be my marefriend now, right?"

"Of course, silly," she said with a sniffle. A few seconds later, she pushed away, taking a hoof in each of hers and smiling at me. "I was ...kinda supposed to ask...you out...that was part of the bet me and Rainbow made a few days ago..."

I shook my head. "It's okay...I'll say that you asked me."

"But I'll still lose 10 bits."

"I'll pay her," I said with a wink.

She beamed at me.

Orion held up his bow and aimed. "Quit hugging, dammit!" he hollered, trying to readjust his aim every time the mare moved.

Our glasses of champagne were empty now, and I could tell that Fluttershy was a lightweight. Any more and she'd probably start acting tipsy.

"So, you and Rainbow made a bet that I liked you?" I asked curiously. We were sitting face-to-face, with the pond and the moon to our left.

"Um, well...yes," she admitted. "She does that all the time, though."

"Bets?"

She smiled. "Sort of..."

Orion watched them split up again, although still holding hooves. When he shot her, he expected the male to go get help, and that's when Orion would fly down and scoop up the girl.

He held the bow steady, aiming for her neck.

He let out his breath and released.

I was listening to Fluttershy tell me about some "bets" she'd made with Rainbow Dash, when something caught my eye in the distance.

Against the moon, on a building  not too far away, the outline of a figure holding up something captured my attention. Since I had pretty good vision, I squinted trying to see it better and saw -

"Watch out!" I yelled and pushed Fluttershy out of the way just in time as something whizzed up and embedded itself into the soft flesh of my side, just in front of my right wing.

I immediately felt a liquid warmth spreading through my body, and my vision started fading to blackness. The last thing I heard was Fluttershy screaming before everything went to black.

The idiot got in the way! Orion raged. The arrow struck the male. He'd seen Orion last second and managed to pull a heroic move and save the girl.

Damn fool!

Orion took one last glance down at the two and flew off to his apartment to formulate a new plan of attack.