Chapter 7: Complications

All I ever wanted was to be left alone. I’ve wanted this as long as I can remember. I will admit, this is nopony's fault but my own. Still, it didn’t make things any easier. I’m not used to feeling how I’ve felt. All I know is that change sucks, but I am learning that it's not necessarily change itself, but fear of change that is worse.

Fear is a new feeling to me as well. Now I have many fears, when I used to have very little. Fear of abandonment, fear for the well being of others, and the worst by far… Fear of letting them down.

It's almost as if I used to be free, whereas now I am not. The worst part about it is that now that I have ventured to the other side, I am not sure if I can go back to being content with the life I had. Everything is such a hassle, but that may be attributed to my lack of experiences in this matter. No one is good at everything right off the bat. Given time, who knows? I may become so good at dealing with these new experiences, that I just handle them without paying them a second thought.

A mare can dream. One thing I know is that I will never get better if I don’t at least reluctantly trudge through the madness. There are just so many factors against me right now. My finances for one. I have absolutely no money. Social obligations is another. I feel like I am already being expected more of than I am capable of. The worst one is sleep. I have gotten on average one to two hours of sleep every night. It wasn’t a problem when I could devote all my time to sleeping, but now it's very draining. I don’t even use my magic as often as I did because it is just too taxing on my body. My mind is quite used to running on little sleep, my body however, feels like it might give any moment.

I feel like any of these problems, I would have no problem dealing with one at a time. All at once is another story. I can't help but wonder if I'm taking the best course of action.

Another feeling I had purged long ago, has resurfaced. I miss the only friend from my previous life back before I left home. I really hope my little sister is ok. She probably hates me more than anything in this world. Feelings suck.

I awoke in a way, that I had not experienced before. I could feel the world jumping back and forth. As well as pain in my joints. I could hear shouting, from both sides of me.

The world shifted right.

“What are you doing? How can you take advantage of her in her sleep like that?” Clare screamed.

The world shifted left.

“You did it first, and when I couldn’t stop you, I decided to join you!” Bea explained.

The world shifted right.

“I wasn’t licking her face, you letch!”

The world shifted left.

“I wasn’t grinding all over her, you pervert!”

The world shifted right.

“I wasn’t grinding, I was trying to get comfortable.”

The world shifted left.

“Yea, it's hard to get comfortable when you are trying to shove a pony in your crotch!”

The world shifted right.

“You were trying to eat her face!”

The world violently shifted right once more. Uh oh.

As I was launched from my dwelling, I could feel the wind on my body, making spots on my face and thigh feel cold, as if wet. Gravity soon took effect.

ragdolling my way across the room, I took the precious time to consider my options. I could brace myself for impact, flip and land on all fours or accept the bed frame as my new opponent and attempt a headbutt. Meh, I'll choose the path of least effort.

My face planted in Clare's bed frame and I couldn’t help but wonder if I should have picked one of the first two options. One thing I am thankful for is my decreased sensitivity to pain in this state. It still hurts like hell, but it would be worse if I were fully coherent.

Still too asleep to move, I succumbed to the position my body had taken and silently lie there. I could hear sounds of two mares strangling each other for about 20 seconds before I heard Bea speak.

“Oh crap! Fae!”

They quickly scrambled off the floor and scurried over to me, picking me up to see if I was hurt. My face did feel rather wet.

“Fae, I am so sorry, that was an accident!” Clare said with great concern. Her voice was anything but pleasant this early in the morning.

“It's my fault too, I’m so, so sorry Fae!” Bea apologized.

Well at least they weren’t trying to strangle each other anymore.

I struggled to my hooves as I tried to grasp reality. I bore a face that resided somewhere between expressionless and psychotic. Eyes half open, I stared at the two assassins.

“I am still to asleep for this right now. You two! Get on my bed now!”

They quickly obeyed out of a mix of fear and repentance. Both of them sat on my bed without fuss.

“I am going to go get cleaned up. As punishment, you two are going to lay here and spoon each other. Quietly. Until I come out of that bathroom, you are not to get up. You are not to speak. Do you understand?”

I received a mumbled “Yes” from them.

I fully opened my eyes to stare them down.

“Yes ma’am!” they shouted in unison.

They reluctantly laid back down and performed the same grapples they had used on me.

I zombied into the bathroom, not before looking back to make sure they obeyed me.

I shut the door and flopped into the bathtub. My head hit the ceramic and I resumed my slumber. Thankfully, I never have a problem going back to sleep, so long as I don’t fully wake up.

Upon awakening a second time, I stretched and crawled out of the bathtub. I hoisted myself over the counter to look in the mirror to see a majority of my face covered in dried blood. First and foremost, I made sure to fix my hair. Only then did I begin to scrub my face and top it with an inadequate bandage.

I shuffled out of the bathroom to see that Bea and Clare were still caressing each other. Their heads shot up.

Clare was the first to speak “You were in there for two hours!”

“Sorry, I must have fallen asleep.” I said with a sadistic grin.

“How are you feeling?” Bea spoke almost unphased by the punishment.

“Oh. It was no worse than my usual morning spill.” I replied.

“Can we get up now?” Clare asked.

“Only after you kiss each other and make up. And I want to see tongue,” I answered.

“WHAT!?” Clare shouted.

Bea leaned towards Clare while sliding her freakishly (sexy) long tongue out and homed in on Clare.

“Woah woah woah! Kidding! Bea I was kidding. Put that thing away!” I nervously interjected.

Clare practically had a heart attack as she climbed out of bed.

“Awww…” Bea sighed. I couldn’t tell if she was teasing or being serious.

“Not that I don’t enjoy being violated by the two of you, but I am going to be late for work, I have to go.” Clare said as she started to head out.

“Wait Clare, let me do your hair.”

"Really, you don’t have to do it everyday. You said it would be good for about two days." Clare objected.

"It's less effort to maintain the enchantment rather than cast it again." I explained.

"Oh, I didn’t know that. Ok then, let's do this!"

After fixing her hair and hugging her goodbye, I turned to Bea. “Your turn.”

Bea approached with extreme caution.

"What about what happened last time?" She asked in a near whimper.

"I have no idea why you two fainted when I did your hair, but Clare seemed fine," I rationalized hoping to attain more information about this event.

For the duration of the hair treatment, Bea was shaking. Whatever happened obviously scared them both to a great extent.

Man, using my hair spells 3 time in such a short period was very difficult. My vision started to double.

Luckily, Bea was too busy admiring her hair to notice any irregularities in my behavior.

“It's terrific Fae. But it's not necessary as I am just going to shapeshift.”

“But at least you will feel better knowing that underneath, you are even prettier.” Geez, I can hardly think straight. My mane-shield is a highly advanced spell.

“Thank you, I’m sure the boost in my confidence will help me find work!” she turned to leave.

“Wait!” Oh this was going to suck, pun intended. “Eat up before you go.”

“Are you sure? I don’t need to feed everyday” she said with concern.

“I will be fine. Please, I want you to.”

Bea threw her arms around me before stepping back to began. Damn, this time hurt ten times as much as the others. Every second was utter agony as I could feel my soul getting ripped out. Bea had a look of bliss as she was performing her ritual. I held on for as long as I could, but eventually the pain got to be too much and I winced. Bea immediately noticed this and bit off the stream of energy with her fangs.

Her eyes went wide as she looked like she saw a ghostly apparition of sorts. She came close again and delivered a hug followed by an apology.

“I am so so sorry. I have to go!” She transformed into Bea-Fae and quickly fled the room.

Oh shit… Too much… Can’t stay…. Awake…

I passed out in the middle of the kitchen.

*****BEATRICE*****

As I shut the door behind me, I stood my ground to make sense of what happened.

Both times before, as I fed, I drained her of her lust because that was her dominant emotion.

This time… It wasn’t lust. That would explain why she reacted so badly this time. It must have been extremely painful. I can't keep doing this to her.

Though, that was the most delicious thing I’ve ever had by far. I could feel a surge of energy as it coursed through me.

It was love…. And not a stolen one. It was love being directed at me.

***************

I came around midday. I don’t know what time it was, for I had yet to replace my clock. As I laid on the floor, I could feel that I had recovered a good bit of my magic (and soul I think, I can’t accurately measure that yet.)

I managed to pick myself up. I can’t afford to lay here. I need to go make money. I can take it easy when rent is paid and we have a better stocked kitchen. There are three weeks remaining to make 200 bits minimum.

I threw my hoodie on and stepped outside. I still can’t get over how much I like this article of clothing. I will have to make sure I go thank Marshmallow. I departed for the bulletin board in hopes of finding an easy well paying part time job.

Ponyville was too busy for my liking. Bright rays of light beat down from the sky making everything hurt to look at. I dislike ponies. It takes a great deal of effort to blend in without looking like you don’t want anypony to talk to you. Thankfully, this hood helps a lot, though I can't help but wonder if it makes me look suspicious, thus attracting more attention. Oh well, at least I can't see the attention.

The bulletin board appears to change completely everyday. I didn't see any of these requests before. Luck was on my side, as I saw a posting for a temp job at a local pawn shop. It looked like it paid pretty well. 300 bits to move inventory from one building to another next door. Plus, I shouldn’t have to hurry because it looks like they are looking for a few ponies to help. Set for 3pm. The clock hanging on town hall says it's 11AM. Huh, I thought I was out longer than that.

I can’t go home and wait, I will not know the time. Stupid broken clock. When I get around to getting a new one, I will definitely have to reinforce it with magic.

*Thump*

As I was lost in thought, something collided with me, sending me forcefully to the ground. A pretty something at that. Upon inspection. This something was dark purple mare with a black mane that flowed down and out as if adding wings to both sides of her neck. I have never seen this hairstyle before, and it intrigued me a good deal.

She wore a black saddlebag. The latch had come undone just enough for me to catch a peek inside. She was hauling flowers. Wait… I know those flowers. Those are Lotus flowers. Not the fakes you see everywhere, but real lotus flowers. Lotus flowers can cause mild sedation, memory loss, euphoria, and apathy. Where did this mare find such a rare and evil plant?

I pulled myself up and offered my hoof to her. She grabbed it and joined me in standing. On the way up, we locked eyes, her eyes were a cute hue of pink, but surrounding them were puffy eyelids.

“I'm sorry, that was my fault.” She said in a dull tone. Her voice was very soothing.

“No, I am sorry, I was spacing out in the middle of the street.” I apologized.

“I’ll be on my way. Sorry again.” She started to leave.

I hate myself for this.

“Excuse me ma'am, I couldn’t help but notice those pretty flowers you have there.”

“Yes, they are. They are beautiful.” She said without emotion.

There was something not right…

She looked a little rough.

“I didn’t catch your name. Would you be so kind as to enlighten me?” I asked.

She perked up and replied “I’m sorry, that was rude of me, my name is Kat with a K”

“That is a lovely name, Kat with a K. I am Fae. I moved to Ponyville not too long ago.”

“It’s very nice to meet you Fae.”

“The pleasure is all mine. Tell me Kat, do you believe in fate?” I asked.

She thought on this for a moment. “Yes I do.”

“Perfect! Because I am in need of some assistance. There’s this job I want to take but I can't take it by myself. I know it seems odd to ask a complete stranger, but would you be willing to help me out? You could make yourself some coin while you are at it.” Careful Fae, you have to play this just right.

“I don’t know if you would want my help…” She said, voice trailing.

“So it's just a coincidence that you bumped into me when I was in need of help?”

“I... No, I guess you're right. Sure, I’d be happy to assist you.” She said with what I perceived to be a reluctant smile.

“You are a life saver, Kat. I’m looking forward to getting to know you. Meet me at the pawn shop at 3pm.”

Her smile appeared to turn genuine. “Ok, will do.” She said as she trotted off.

Fae, you are an idiot, just walk away...

With a job lined up and time to kill, I decided to look into one of my biggest mysteries at the moment.

I arrived at Golden Oaks library to be greeted by a familiar chime of the doorbell.

"Fae! I was beginning to wonder if you would ever come say hi to me," Twilight beamed.

"My apologies, Twi. I've been meaning to come by and thank you again."

"No thank yous are necessary. I can only assume you have other business with me as well?" Twilight said with a smirk.

"As perceptive as always, yes. I have a matter that is proving troublesome that I am oblivious to. I could use some assistance." I looked around to see that the library was empty. "It's about my magic. Whenever I fix up somepony's hair, they appear to suffer horrifying psychotic attacks. But it only happens the first time I do it to a pony."

"That is odd. What spell are you using?" Twilight inquired.

"It's one I made myself called mane-shield. It resides purely in the school of alteration. It should not have these effects. What makes it more problematic to figure out is that I did a lady named... uh... hmm... She is a dressmaker..."

"Rarity?" Twilight suggested.

"Yea that’s it. I did Rarity's hair and she was unaffected."

I revealed all the information I had about the subject to Twilight.

"That is curious. Was anything different about the scenario with Rarity?"

"Well, there was the fact that with a mare who was not passed out, I was able to... erm... perform a small dance to aid in my efforts. Also, we had to trick her so that she wouldn't find out about my magic." I was struck by a sudden realization. "She was wearing a blindfold and earplugs!"

"That’s a great lead to investigate! Let's go do it again, but this time, we will let her see you." Twilight suggested.

"That's a problem for me. I can't. Too many ponies know of my magic already."

"Rarity is one of my best friends in the world. She would never do anything to hurt anypony. I put my word on the line." Twilight proceeded to add "This sounds like the only lead you have to go on. You should do it."

I thought on this for a few moments.

"Fine, if that is what is necessary, I'll do it. Will you come with me? I've never noticed this before, I do not trust my ability to pick up on it. Another pair of eyes would be great."

"Sure, I don't mind. But, what if I am affected too?" Twilight asked.

"It has yet to affect the same pony twice. It would definitely give us more information if you were to experience it first. But, from the sounds of it, the experience is worse than death. Clare has locked the memory in a vault, just to be free of it," I explained.

"If they are fine now, I don’t see any long lasting harm. I don’t mind doing it to help you." Twilight said.

"Lets discuss this with Rarity first. Are you sure she will keep my secret?"

"I'm certain!" Twilight responded.

The doors to Carousel boutique chimed as we entered. Rarity was sitting at the front counter, bored by the looks of her. Once she noticed us, she quickly perked up to her usual self.

"Twilight, dear! How great to see you today. Oh and it appears you know miss Fae!" Rarity spoke with regal elegance.

I forced a smile and stepped back. Best to let Twilight do the talking, she knows Rarity far better than myself.

"Actually, we've come to ask you for your help, but it might be a little risky. Something is happening whenever Fae styles hair." Twilight warned.

"Is something wrong with her spell? It seemed perfect to me, darling."

"You knew it was a spell?" I asked in awe.

"Sweetie, I'm not dense. I have a scent for magic, though I will give you credit for that spectacular ruse you played." Rarity revealed in between a few playful chuckles.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I assumed you were keeping it a secret for a reason, dear."

"Well, Twi was right, I think I can trust you, Rare." I said with a grin.

Rarity looked pleased at this comment. The purple unicorn explained the situation in detail to the dressmaker.

"Of course, I'd be delighted to help. Plus it sounds like I will get another dose of that wonderful Mane-Shield!"

"I've already cast this spell three times today This is going to be difficult. Rarity, do you have a room I can do Twilight's hair in? It is imperative that you do not witness this first attempt."

"Certainly, miss Fae." She pointed us down the hall to a room at the end. "I will be right out here if you need anything."

The test subject an I proceeded to the vacant room. Once inside, I had to ask once more, already knowing the answer.

"Are you sure you are ready for this? It happens so fast, I won't be able to stop it." I had a bad feeling about this.

"I can handle myself. If I find its too much, I will stop it myself. Don’t forget, you aren't the only one who can do magic."

"If you say so," I shrugged.

We emerged from the room, Twilight was barely able to walk. Rarity noticed and quickly came to check on her friend.

"Twilight! Your hair is absolutely delightful! How was it?" Rarity was concerned about the hair before Twilight?

Twilight was shaken to the core. She looked around in confusion as she regained her senses.

"Rarity, don’t do it. It's bad. It's really really bad. My magic was useless. It was the single most terrifying experience in my life by far."

"Twilight... I am sorry." Words cannot express my remorse for my actions. She looked awful.

Rarity delivered a hug unto Twilight that lasted for almost ten minutes. After that, Twilight seemed to have recovered for the most part. Still a bit shaky though.

"I think I'm alright now. Fae." Twilight turned to me. "I had a mental barrier in place. There was absolutely no magic involved in... Whatever that was. If you don’t notice anything yourself, then I doubt there's anything more I could tell you from seeing it. I would prefer Rarity not go through that. I'm sorry, but I must ask you not to perform it on her."

"I understand. It's not an unreasonable request. I really don't think i could cast it again without risking another hospital visit anyway." I could feel my body fighting itself between disappointment and relief.

"I may know somepony who can help though. If anypony could have a clue as to what is happening, it's Zecora." Twilight was still a little short of breath. "She is an expert in... Unusual affairs."

"Zecora? Never heard of her. A zebra I assume?"

"How did you know?" Twilight asked.

"It's a zebran name that is passed down in every generation. When one Zecora is near the end of their life, they will train a new one." I explained.

"I never knew that. What does that title mean?" Twilight let her curiosity take hold as she seemed to rally.

"It means Keeper of the Tales."

"You speak Zebran?" Rarity joined the conversation.

"Not enough to be fluent in it, but I know a decent amount. I used to read old Zebran texts to see if I could find any leads on the source of my magic, to no avail." Most of the written language is comprised of drawings and squiggles. It took almost a whole week just to learn the damn language good enough to research those books.

"She lives deep in the Everfree forest. If you want, I can take you to somepony to guide you through the forest. It's dangerous to go alone." Twilight offered.

"Oh crap! What time is it?" I panicked.

"About 2:30. Why?" Twilight answered.

"As much as I would prefer to get this done with today, I have to get going. I have something important I need to do." I said while ducking out of the conversation.

"What could be more important than this mystery?" Twilight seemed disappointed about this.

"I have to pay rent! Raincheck!" I said while heading out the door.

"Well that sounds about right." Rarity said with a gentle laugh.

I arrived at the pawn shop at 2:45 to see that Kat was already waiting for me. Hey, I remembered her name! Hurray for me!

“I am glad to see that you came.” I said with a smile. All these damn smiles are starting to hurt my face.

“Of course, I did agree to help you after all.” Her voice still as tranquilizing as before.

We entered to see that most of the wares in the building had been boxed up. There was a stallion behind the counter to greet us. This stallion was a bigger fellow with a very shiny head. You could tell he wasn’t, but his resting face looked almost angry. His cutie mark was that of scales balancing gold on one side and silver on the other.

“Excuse me sir. We are here about the job.” I said in my most polite tone.

"Hello ladies. Say, I've bought stuff from you before haven't I?" The stallion inquired.

"Yes I was in here a while back. I thought we could use some spending money and all." I small talked.

"My name is Strict. I know it doesn’t sound pleasant, but we can't choose our names right?" He said with a bright, yet threatening expression.

"I know how you feel sir." My name is a negative one as well.

“It shouldn’t take too long to do. I just need the stuff in these boxes taken over to the building across the street. Some of these are very valuable, so I must warn you that any damaged items will be deducted from your pay.” His expression lightened while he spoke.

“Sounds reasonable. Just stop us before we get in the negatives. *Forced chuckle* We will get started right away. Do we need to unbox them or just place them over there?” I said.

“Moving them over there is enough. I will be back in my office combing over paperwork if you need anything.” This immediately made me think of several bald jokes. Thankfully none of them were audibly vocalized.

We nodded in response.

There were so many boxes…. There had to be at least 100 of them scattered everywhere.

I turned to Kat “Well let’s get started then, shall we?”

She smiled at me and said “Sure.”

We equipped ourselves with harnesses to assist in carrying boxes, with a flat surface on top that held steady.

As we carried boxes back and forth, we conversed. I had a plan for this conversation. I just need to focus on slowly adjusting the angle of the corners of the social labyrinth so that she does not catch on.

“Do you have any roommates Kat?” I began.

“No, not at the moment.”

“I have two. They are some of the kindest ponies I have ever met.”

I went on to tell her about all of Clare's pranks and Bea's shenanigans. Then, explained in elaborate detail of the festival and the paintball tournament.

“Those have been the best moments of my life.” I said.

“It sound like you have a great life.”

Lifting another box onto my back, I smiled.

“Tell me about yourself.” I suggested.

She loaded a box on herself.

“Not too much to tell. I grew up in Canterlot. Lived there my whole life.”

“That must have been… Busy,” I said trying to steer the conversation.

“It was. Never a dull moment.”

For a majority of the leg of the journey, I focused on personal questions that you would casually talk about with an acquaintance in passing. Slowly, I began going deeper.

"What do you do for work?" I continued to quiz.

"Actually, anything I can. I can never seem to hold a job for more than two weeks..." She answered, clearly distraught.

Oh crap, dodge!

"That sounds great! I bet you have all kinds of experiences in many different areas. I'm envious. Do you have any hobbies?”

“I like to read. I also play the violin. Being an earth pony in Canterlot means you either have to be really smart, or very creative.” She said with a hint of joy. Bingo! Off a sore topic on to a good one.

“I’d love to hear you play the violin sometime.”

“S-sure.” she stuttered.

"Do you play any instruments?" She asked. Great, now she is fishing for information.

"That’s kind of a personal question don't you think?"

"O-Oh! I'm sorry" She said backing off.

"I am kidding. I can play a few, but only things I have heard. I lack the creative ability to make the music. My favorite to play is the piano. No instrument brings me as much joy to play as the piano."

"Oh my. That's by far the hardest instrument to learn for a pony. Griffons seem to have no problem, but they have an unfair advantage, having claws and all. We should play together sometime." She said, breaking the normal face I have been speaking with. She seemed a little happier at least.

Before I knew it, I think I was actually enjoying this conversation. Four hours had gone by before I knew it. Four hours is the owners idea of not too long?

Almost done here, just a few more boxes. I will say that I am definitely not enjoying the effort involved in this task. At least I will not have to work for another three weeks after this.

“One last box.” I spoke with great relief.

It was perched on top of a tall hutch that has many bottles of liquid inside. Potions of all varieties by the looks of them.

“I’ll hold the step ladder for you.”

She paused but eventually nodded and climbed the ladder to retrieve the box. As she climbed the last step, the board securing her hoof caved in. In a desperate attempt to catch herself, she ended up swatting a bottle of grey liquid, shattering it in the process. I tried to catch her, but as she spun around, she socked me right in the face.

Damn that wet punch hurt. We both fell to the ground. She landed on top of me, but didn’t do any serious damage.

“Damn, are you OK, Kat?” I asked through the pain.

“Y-yeah. Fae I’m so sorry. Are you OK?” she sounded very worried.

“I'm fine, but can you let go of my face please?” I asked standing up.

She pulled her hoof away, but my face went with it sending me back to the floor.

“Owowowow!”

“Fae, I think it's stuck!”

The manager came out of the back “What happened?”

I wanted to know this as well. Kat was still holding my face.

“I'm sorry sir, I broke the stool and slipped. Now my hoof is stuck.”

He looked at the remains of the shattered bottle and broke out in laughter, though it was more of a prolonged snicker. “I'm sorry, it's not funny. But that bottle was The Flim Flam Brothers wonder glue. It’s the strongest stuff money can buy.”

“What?” I asked.

“It is quite literally, a perfect bonding adhesive and it is not possible to break it.”

Kat looked very upset.

“What???” I repeated. “Surely there must be a way to undo it!”

“Well, it’s not permanent. The magic in it will only last for 72 hours, after that there should be no trace of it ever having been there.” Strict was fighting the laughter, rather poorly.

“Fae, I am so sorry.” Kat was beginning to tear up.

“So you are saying we are stuck like this for 72 hours?” I already knew the answer.

“I am afraid so.” He said in a serious voice.

Well shit…

“It is not that big of a deal, it will give us plenty of time to bond… See what I did there?” I jest, I am actually quite upset about this.

The manager broke out in another snicker, while Kat gave a very meager chuckle.

“Well, aside from that, you two did a pretty good job. Unfortunately, that compound is worth 500 bits.”

Oh fuck me….

“I understand sir.” Damn damn damn! "It is only fair."

“Let me just get you the rest of your pay.” He walked over to the cash register and counted out two piles of 50 bits. He also pulled a camera off of the shelf and took aim. With a flash he grabbed what was ejected from it before returning it to its former resting place. "If it's any consolation, here's a memory," He said handing me the photograph.

"One last thing. Do you still have my necklace I pawned?" I asked with hopeful optimism. "I was hoping to use this money to see if you can hold it for me for a little while so that I may buy it back when I have enough."

"I'm sorry, I just sold it this morning. If I see the pony who bought it again, I will let her know you are interested in buying it, if that helps you out any."

"That works." I lost the ability to keep up my fake smile."It's my fault, I didn’t realized how much it meant to me until it was too late."

"That happens a lot around here. The best I can do is let them know," Strict stated.

"I appreciate it, thank you," I talked. That’s all it was, talk. There was no emotion or feeling in my voice.

We left the pawn shop. Kat hobbled a bit only walking on three legs and I bobbed a bit having my cheek tugged and pushed every step. The sun had set and nightfall was upon us.

“Lets go sit for a bit.” I suggested pointing to a bench near a bridge spanning a river.

“Okay…” Kat had remained silent for some time now.

Moments after we sat on the public bench, Kat started breaking down.

“Fae I’m so very sorry, it’s all my fault!”

“It was an accident” I tried to tell her.

“No it wasn’t! It was my bad luck! I’m cursed Fae!” Kat was tearing up. “My whole life, I’ve had extraordinarily bad luck. On a cosmic scale! Machines malfunction when I am near them, ponies trip, things fall from the sky, I’ve even had a building collapse. One that had just received an honor for being the safest structure in Canterlot.”

“That is impressive.” I realized after I said it, I should’ve chosen my words better.

"With me attached to you, you are bound to get hurt. I've never gone a day without several instances of bad things happening ever since I can remember."

"Are you certain it's not clumsiness?" I asked.

"It's not. No amount of clumsiness could cause windows to break without me touching them."

"I just don’t see how it's possible. There has to be some underlying cause.

“Now you probably hate me too. It's ok, I don't blame you. I hate myself. ” She was crying pretty hard now.

“Says who? I don’t hate you. I spent a lovely evening with a new friend and had an eventful ending.”

“You’re just saying that. Everypony hates me eventually. I can’t take it anymore.”

I lowered my tone and stared at her eyes trying to be serious with a hoof in my face. “So you think it would be better if you were apathetic?”

She looked at me in shock.

I continued. “The flowers in your bag, those are Lotus. They are legendarily rare plants that are known to effectively castrate your emotions. To stumble upon them is almost impossible. You looked scraped up when I met you, meaning you must have just finished foraging for them. I assume you have done your research on them before traveling all this way to acquire them.”

She looked away. “I have a miserable life. Any chance I get at happiness blows up in my face every time. If I can just change myself to a pony who doesn’t care about that...”

“Remember all those stories I was telling you about?” I asked.

“Yeah”

“Those are all from the last few weeks. My entire life before that was a boring meaningless existence. I was OK with that, until I met them. Now, I actually have hope. Hope for a better life. It scares the living crap out of me.”

“Why?”

“Because I never wanted more than what I had. Now that I do, I’m scared of losing what I have acquired and what has yet to be obtained. So why should I be given hope when I didn’t want it, yet you yearn for it and can’t seem to find any?”

"This is my ticket out. I will still be alive and can still live a life." She sounded as if she were trying to convince herself.

"Do you know exactly how those petals grant apathy?" I asked while building to my point.

"No, all the books I have found were so battered and worn out that I couldn’t make out most of it." She replied, intrigued.

"That plant will erase your memory. You cannot care about your past if you don’t have one."

"I-I didn’t know... I don’t want to lose my memory... "I-I just want to stop being sad." Her eyes told me all of this before her mouth.

"Memories make up who you are. If you forget all your life experiences, you will reset everything you’ve ever learned from experience. Every mistake will be repeated for you to relearn, many of which may prove fatal to you or somepony else. In due time, if you are extremely lucky, you will be right back to where you are now. Besides, apathy isn't a solution, it's a problem. A severe one that will make ponies hate you, but worst of all... You will not care."

"How do you know all this?" She asked in a mixed state of shock, awe, denial and sorrow.

"For a while I was fixated on things I could never obtain. Which makes me more surprised that you found them. More than anything I've ever known to be true, you finding that flower just means you are unluckier than you thought."

“You thought of all this just from me bumping into you?” Kat asked still crying.

“Tell me, Kat. Do you believe in fate?”

“I- *sniff* Yes. I do.”

“Are you still planning on erasing all that makes you, you? Because I don’t want you to. You are my friend now, like it or not. Can you accept the possibility, that maybe I can help you?”

“You think you are my fate?” her tears were starting to run out.

“Hello Kat, it's nice to meet you, my name is Forlorn Fate. But my friends call me Fae.”

She sobbed and laughed at the same time. “But why? Why do you want to help me so much that you are willing to go through all this? It sounds like you figured all of this out before you stood up after I knocked you down.”

“As I’ve told you, I’ve recently found myself in a new life surrounded by friends. It helped me when I didn’t think I needed it. If I help you, then that’s another friend I can learn to enjoy life with. If it turns out to help her as well, then why wouldn’t I do this?” I just wanted her to stop crying. “So you have two options; erase yourself and you will definitely never be happy, or take my hoof and with me by your side, you may be happy.”

She threw herself around me, except for the half stuck to my face. We embraced each other for quite some time. She smelled like hazelnut, a scent that I was fond of.

“Fae…Thank you. Thank you so much” she continued to weep.

“There is only one minor problem.” I said.

“What?”

“This is going to be VERY hard to explain to my roommates.” I said with a laugh while I tugged at her hoof.

We went back to her new home, my apartment, under the spell of a full moon.

As I opened the door, a peachy mare dove out, tackling me to the ground, taking Kat along with us.

“WELCOME HOME FAE!” she yelled in mid-flight.

Kat shrieked in surprise. I wish I could say I was surprised.

Lying on my back I responded “Hello, Clare. I am home.”

“Hey Fae, who’s on your face?” Clare asked.

Bea-Fae came walking up “Hi Fae. Hello Clare.” Noticing the extra mare she ran up to me and threw her hooves around me “What are you doing touching my love?!”

Kat looked like she had too much to absorb.

With a laugh I said “This pony is my sister Beatrice.”

“Oh, damn! I’m your sister, right!” She backed off.

“This is Kat, she is going to be staying with us for a while.” I said.

“Hello, it is a pleasure to meet you two, Fae has told me so much about you.” Kat was very polite and refined in her mannerisms.

“Hiya! I’m Clarie! Why are you on Fae's face?” She smiled while looking as if she were about to commit arson.

This was going to be a long night…

We made our way inside and sat beside the beds while I explained the circumstances of my new appendage and showing the picture, even though that "Memory" was still happening.

“Teeheeheehee!” "Muhuhaha!"

Clare and Bea-Fae doubled over in laughter when they heard. I just sat there with one eyebrow twitching.

“I’m sorry for any trouble I may have cause you all.” Kat bowed her head to the floor.

Clare patted her on the shoulder, “I’m sure this is just going to be an opportunity to make a new good friend.”

Bea-Fae joined in “Yea, Fae is an excellent judge of character, I’m sure you are going to be a blast. Besides, one more rival will just make my victory all the sweeter.”

"Let's get this picture framed and up with the others." Clare said while sliding it into a frame and placing it on the solitary shelf.

“Oh, we should probably tell her about you Bea, before she finds out and freaks with me attached to her hoof.” I suggested.

“Fae, I trust you completely with my life. If you think we can trust her. I trust you. Please Kat, don’t be alarmed?”

“I‘ll try.” Kat said worriedly.

Bea-Fae reverted back to her true form in a brilliant display of yellow.

“Eeep!” Kat squealed. “Are you a changeling? I’ve always wanted to meet one!”

“I didn’t expect that, shouldn’t you be trying to squash me?” Bea asked confused.

“No way! I can’t believe I’m actually friends with a changeling!” Kat went to hug Bea and forgot about our special connection, so I unwillingly became part of the hug.

“You are alright Kat, I think we will be goods friends.” Bea said with a smile.

*Yawn* “It is getting pretty late.” I suddenly deadpanned. “How am I supposed to bathe?”

I didn’t think things through. Kat blushed and brought her free hoof to her face. Bea and Clare grew very upset.

“If she gets to bathe with you, I want to bathe with you too!” Bea demanded.

“I think I should get too as well!” Clare joined in with great ferocity.

“I'm sorry, I didn’t want to upset anypony.” Kat started to tear up again.

“Woah, Kat, we aren’t angry at you. This is how we express ourselves.” Clare said.

“Yea, please don’t cry Kat” Bea said. “How about this? You bathe with Fae until you two are free from the glue. That’s three days. Then, Clarie takes her turn and bathes with Fae for three days. Then I bathe with Fae for the rest of her life.”

“What?! Why do you get more than three days?” Clare jumped up in anger

“Because, I’m going last, so it balances out” Bea rationalized.

“That big of a difference is insane, how about you go second and I take the rest of her life?” Clare shot back.

“Umm. Excuse me, but what if I give up going first? Can I have the rest of her life?” Kat asked.

“That’s not possible!” Clare shouted.

“How about Kat goes first but she isn’t allowed to bathe Fae. I go second, and we bathe each other and Clarie can go third only if she keeps a towel wrapped around her face?” Bea's is either really bad at logic or really good at wishful thinking.

“Why do I have a towel wrapped around my head?” Clare blew up.

“Hey girls, don’t I get a say in the matter?” I chimed in.

“NO!” Clare and Bea shouted in unison.

Kat spoke up “What if we all bathe together?”

“That could work.” Bea said.

“WE CAN'T ALL 4 FIT IN THE TUB!" Clare interjected. "Is everypony but me crazy?”

"Ok, I’m not going to lie, this is very entertaining to watch, but I’m tired and want to be clean. If you all can’t figure out a system, I’m going to magic us clean until this wears off” I said, growing weary.

“You can do that?” Clare asked.

“You can do magic?” Kat asked.

“You can’t do that!” Bea pleaded “I want to bathe with you!”

Oh Luna, please have mercy on this poor soul.

Twenty minutes later they had finally settled on a plan. I had kinda been drifting in and out of it the whole time.

“Alright, it's settled. Clarie, go buy some more of that glue and we will both attach a body part to Fae!” Bea declared.

“Yes ma’am!” Clare agreed with a salute.

“Wait what?” I just registered what they had said.

“Nope! Magic time.” I stood up taking Kat with me.

In two bright azure flashes, Kat and I became squeaky clean.

All three of them sighed in disappointment with an “Aww…”

I’ll admit, I am disappointed, but at least there won’t be bloodshed… Or magic crazy glue.

As I lay in bed, to no surprise I couldn’t sleep. About an hour ago, I started devising plans to get to my stash without a pony who is affixed to me finding out.

Unfortunately the only feasible plan I could think of required another pony as well as my magic. Clare is a heavy sleeper but Kat will surely notice a bright light from in front of her face.

I gracefully placed my blanket over Kat's face as I waited for any signs of disturbance. A few moments later, I gathered my magic.

Using a trick I'm not very experienced with, I proceeded to project my thoughts below me.

[Bea, are you awake?] I thought.

"Yea." I heard from below.

[Shhh... Im using telepathy. I still kinda suck at it though. I can't hear what you think unless you think the words 'I accept' very strongly. But just so you know it projects whatever you are thinking and it's easy to say something you don’t mean to say. I need your help to get to my potions. If you are willing, please think those words]

[I ACCEPT I ACCEPT I ACCEPT I ACCEPT!] The volume caused me to jump. Luckily, Kat was still out.

[Not so loud! Just think at a normal indoor thought.]

[Fae, this is sooo cool. You are amazing!]

[I'm glad you think so, but as far as telepathy goes, I'm still a beginner, never actually cast it before, so we need to hurry. This is quite straining.] I humbled.

[Telepathy is a very rare ability in itself. I've never met a pony who could do it at all.]

[Stay on track, this is really difficult. Ready for your mission?]

[I am yours, do with me as you wish...Damnit, I didn’t think that! I meant to think, What is the mission master? Damnit, not master! My love!] She was starting to ramble.

[Relax, Bea. Stressing over your thoughts makes you lose control of them.]

[Ok... I'm good. What do you need me to do?] Bea recovered.

[My sleep crate has a two part lock on it. It requires my magic and my touch. I need you to bring it to my free hoof while I attempt a doublecast.]

[You are so impressive, Fae.]

[I need you to fetch my box and bring it up to my hoof. Once I unlock it, bring it back down and take out three for me and however much you want.]

[Fae... Isn't that a bit much?] She thoughted concerned.

[I have a pony superglued to my face,] I pointed out.

[Fair point.]

[I'm starting the mission!]

I reached my left hoof off of the bed and waited for the touch of the box to unlock it. Light began to flood the room in a haphazard manner.

[Damn! I'll be impressed if this doesn’t wake up the others] I thought. Much strain must have been in my mind as Bea reacted to it.

[Fae, please be careful. Don’t overdo it!]

*Click*

[It's unlocked] I thought in relief as I let down the second spell.

The box left my hoof, moments later Bea emerged from the edge of the bed.

[What are you doing? You only had to hand them to me.]

[You are in a rare position, one where you can't react. Maybe I'll just take the bottles and deliver them via kiss?] Bea had a menacing look about her.

[That would be so hot! Luna-damnit! I mean you can't take advantage of my predicament like that! No matter how much I want... Beaches, parks, spoons. These are all things I hate. I am thinking this to stop my current mindset from going too far.]

Bea leaned in close as I braced myself, eyes shut.

I felt a glass bottle on my lips as my sleeping potion began to flow. Once empty, the bottle left and was replaced by another, then one more.

[Oh thank Celestia! You had me worried.] I thought.

[Relax, I just like teasing you]

[I could tell.]

[You seem exhausted, I'll let you get some sleep. One day, we really need to sit down discuss what all you can do, haha.]

[We can do that. Oh and Bea... Thanks.]

*End call*

I severed the connection and was filled with relief. That was mentally and physically taxing. Today has been... Difficult.

Damn, I am exhausted. I have done as much as I did today in an entire month of my old life. But, I have one more person in this world that I can tolerate.

I shifted my eyes to look at Kat. Now that I have the chance to notice, she is a lot prettier now that she’s not scraped and bruised. Another unique quality is her lips. They glimmer so brilliantly in the moonlight. And her midnight silky hair, it compliments every curve and feature of her face. She looks so at peace while she is sleeping. As if the troubles of reality do not follow her into dreamland. I found myself mesmerized by her. Her tail is done up in many ponytails throughout the length of it and resembles that of a feline. It also perfectly suits her mane. Her flank, there is a cutie mark of a black cat wearing a witch's hat on it.

Her smell, hazelnut…. With a hint of… Lavender?

I snapped out of my delirium as I felt the bed creak from the intrusion of another pony. Well here we go again. Time to act like a bear is attacking and play dead.

Yup, she is straddling my left leg, and my neck. Kat seems to have woken up. She sees what’s going on and is now trying to mirror Clare, with the extra difficulty of being stuck on my face. Kats body felt so warm. And Clare’s so delicate. The two of them were gently fighting for control of my chest.

After the movement calmed, I counted down. 3…2…1… Right on cue, I felt a third body, this one lighter.

Holy crap! She is trying to take the center position! She is crawling up through the blankets! I can’t tell if it was on purpose or not, but I felt her arm slide past a very sensitive region, and as one of the holes in her arm slid past, it caused a wave of pleasure to surge through me. I couldn’t help but lightly moan. That didn’t stop her, she continued until her face was over mine, our noses touching. I felt her snake like tongue glide across my cheek in a playful motion. She then retreated under the blanket curling up on my chest. I could tell she was thrilled because her tail was wagging, and I knew this because it was beating against a very special place, sending more vibrations through me.

Lavender, honey, and hazelnut.

I wonder...

In this situation…

Am I lucky?

Or unlucky?

Author's Note

Huzzah for a new chapter! I do hope you are enjoying my little pony story. Next chapter will be delayed (or sped up) As i will be down for a week for some simple surgery. Nothing major.
Please let me know if you have any tips or comments about this chapter!
I edited this to the best of my current ability. As I have said before, I will perform an overhaul on the whole thing when I finish it. (Don't worry, this one is going to be a long haul.)