A Different Rhythim

by Arcanum -Phantasy

Rating: teen
Tags: Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, DJ P0N-3, Other, Lyra, Romance, Original Character, Octavia, Comedy, Adventure
Length: 5511

A Changeling and his team is hired to protect the most famous musicians in equestria from Queen Chrysalis to keep her from using their fans as a source of power.

Due to their fame, Vinyl, Octavia, Rara, and Lyra have been chosen to become Queen Chrysalis's next tools against Equestria. To counter this, a small group of infamous Changeling Mercenaries called Mosquito-Hawk was called in to protect these targeted ponies.

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Published 2016-04-25 21:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2016-05-09 05:34:24 UTC

House Guest

It was a nice quiet night and Octavia was enjoying it the best way she knew how after a long performance; a good book and a glass of strait scotch by the fire. Vinyl was off at one of her late night gigs, giving the classical musician a break from her almost constant dubstep barrages. Make no mistake, Octavia loved her sister dearly, in spite of her "questionable" choice of music, but she also loved having these small moments of peace.

Still reading her book, Octavia took a small sip of her drink, letting out a satisfied sigh as she felt the burn of the alcohol travel down her throat.

"Perfect," she sighed.

Yes, this truly was a perfect moment, and like most perfect moments, it didn't last nearly long enough.

The front door flew open, slamming hard against the wall to its left as an thoroughly hammered Vinyl staggered in. Not far behind her was an equally inebriated blue Pegasus stallion.

"Hiya Octy," Vinyl slurred, her trademark shades hanging lopsided across her face.

"Really Vinyl?" Octavia sighed as she marked her place and set her book down onto a nearby coffee table.

"What?" Vinyl demanded, almost falling over.

"This is the third time this week you've come home like this,"Octavia groaned. "Honestly, can't you show a little self-control?"

"Hey," Vinyl growled. "What I do after work is my business. If I want ta have a few drinks, then thats what I'm gonna do!"

Octavia face-hoofed.

This had been an almost continuos routine whenever Vinyl had late night gigs, especially on the weekends. Once the job was done, she would go bar hopping for a couple hours and when she finally drank herself stupid, she brought a stallion home as a "souvenir" to enjoy for the rest of the evening. Thankfully, she didn't drag ponies home with her often enough that it became a problem, but it was still a portion of her sister's ritual that Octavia found especially irritating.

Looks like I'm not getting any sleep tonight, she thought, lightly glaring at the Pegasus behind Vinyl.

"Fine," Octavia sighed. "Just keep it down, please?"

"I promise nothing," Vinyl smirked.

Before Octavia could say anything else, Vinyl grabbed her guest and dragged him to her room.

With an exasperated sigh, Octavia walked back to her spot in the living room and her waiting glass of scotch. As she brought the glass to her lips, she thought about what the rest of the evening was destined to become and, instead of taking a dainty sip, downed the entire glass.

Perfect! she thought bitterly.

***

The rays of Celestia's sun peaked through the living room blinds, bathing the room in dim light. Sprawled out on a sofa set next to the coffee table was a grey Earth Pony mare with a black mane. With a groan, she opened her eyes and after determining her location, grimaced. Last night, Vinyl and her new friend had decided to be especially rowdy, with her sister being more vocal then Octavia was comfortable with. Though she was slightly impressed that the fellow could keep up with her. Eventually, Octavia had to take shelter in the living room to escape the racket.

I swear, one of these nights I'm going to kill that mare and not a single court would convict me! she thought, yawning.

Grudgingly, she got off of the couch and made her way into the kitchen. After brewing a pot of coffee, Octavia took a moment to enjoy another moment of peace, though she knew better than to expect it to last. Sure enough, no sooner had she poured herself a mug did she hear a loud yelp and thud come from Vinyl's room. Octavia casually looked at the kitchen clock.

Hmmm, 9:43am. A new record.

As she was about to take a drink, the sound of a door slamming made her pause. A second later a terrified Vinyl Scratch ran into the kitchen.

"TAVY! TAVY! WE'VE GOT TROUBLE!"

Octavia set her mug down on the kitchen counter and walked towards the panicked DJ.

"What's wrong? You look like you murdered somepony."

Vinyl tried to speak, but in her panicked state, all she could do was stammer incomprehensible chatter.This terrified Octavia. Normally, nothing short of a massacre could get under the ivory Unicorn's skin. For her to be scared this badly, something huge must've happened.

Octavia grabbed Vinyl by the shoulders and shook her.

"Vinyl! VINYL!!! Calm down and tell me what happened."

Vinyl seemed to get some of her senses back and took a deep breath to steady her nerves.

"O-Okay. S-So, you remember that guy I brought home last night, right?"

Octavia gave her a flat expression.

"I slept on the couch last night Vinyl," she grumbled, taking her hooves off of Vinyl's shoulders.

"Oh...." Vinyl blushed. "Sorry about that."

"It's alright," she sighed. "I've grown rather use to it by this point. Anyway, you were saying?"

"Oh! Right! Well, ya see when I woke up there was a bucking Changeling laying next to me!"

All the blood drained from Octavia's face as Vinyl's words sunk in. Of all the things Vinyl could've brought home with her it had to be a love-eating bug-pony! To top it all off, the poor Unicorn had actually slept with one! It was then that she came to another unpleasant realization.

Octavia looked at her shaken sister, then down at her own forehooves.

"Octy?"

Octavia said nothing as she trotted towards the kitchen counter and shoved her forehooves into the sink and with her mouth turned on the tab.

"Ew. Ew. Ew! Gross!"

"Hey!" Vinyl barked. "How do you think I feel?!"

"point taken," Octavia said, drying her hooves. "Now, where is it?"

"St-Still in my room."

"Did you lock the door?"

"N-no!" Vinyl gasped. "I-I didn't think to!"

Suddenly, the two heard a deep groan come from the direction of Vinyl's room. They gulped as they crept out of the kitchen and towards Vinyl's bedroom door. Along the way, Vinyl grabbed a metal bat that they kept by the door with her magic and Octavia grabbed a fireplace poker. Cautiously, Octavia opened the door. It creaked open and everything was quiet. Octavia looked around, poker gripped firmly in her mouth, ready to strike out at anything that moved. A slight movement brought her attention to Vinyl's bed and what she saw filled her both with dread and wonder. Just as Vinyl had said, there was indeed a Changeling in her bed, but it looked a lot different from the ones that attacked Canterlot. It had a deep sapphire blue exoskeleton and long crystal wings. Its frame was also longer and more slender than the other ones were as well, and she could see both the lack of holes on its body or a horn on its head. One new feature that made her a little more eager to use her makeshift weapon was the Changeling's tail. It was about a yard long and resembled a lizard's, but when one got to the end the similarity ended as a large curved foot long stinger came into view.

Vinyl stepped beside Octavia, her bat ready to strike. With a determined glare, the two nodded at each other and quickly brought their weapon's down on the sleeping Changeling. A second later, a strong breeze shot through the room and the Changeling disappeared. The two mares stared at the messy bed, wide-eyed and slack-jawed, Octavia dropping her weapon as a result.

"W-Ware'd he go?" Vinyl stammered.

Octavia was going to answer but a loud crash from the kitchen cut her off. The two of them bolted back to the kitchen. Sitting at the kitchen counter was the same Changeling drinking a cup of coffee.

"Ah," it sighed as it pulled its lips away from the mug. "Sweet necture of life."

The two mares stayed quiet as they snuck up on the invader. Luckily, it chose the seat facing away from the kitchen door, giving them a clear advantage. As the two of them got within striking distance, Octavia made sure not to take her eyes off of that tail, knowing full well that that stinger would spell instant death if it was put to use. Vinyl Kept her attention centered on the rest of the Changeling, ready to strike with her bat if it so much as twitched a wing. Then, just as they were about to attack, the Changeling spun in its chair, a board look on its face. They froze, both mares two scared to move as the Changeling's neon-green eyes burned into theirs. Then, its posture became more relaxed and in a slightly mocking tone said, "Want some coffee?"

***

In all of her life, Octavia could not remember a more awkward morning than the one she was having at that very moment. On one side of the dinning room table sat two still very shaken mares while the other catered to a blue Changeling. In front of each of them sat a mug of fresh coffee, but the only one actually drinking there share was the Changeling. The three sat in awkward silence for a few minutes until their "Guest" ran out of coffee and decided to break the ice.

"So," it started, making the two flinch. "Sorry about last night. I tend ta get a little loud when I've had a few."

"N-No problem," Octavia squeaked.

The Changeling grimaced.

"Look, I'm not gonna eat ya guys or anything so just chill, alright?"

The two of them nodded but still looked a bit unsure.

"Besides," it smirked. "I know at least one of you was happy I came over last night."

Vinyl glared at it.

"Oh come on! You know you liked it."

Vinyl levitated a bat.

"Okay, okay, just chill out," it said, putting its claws up defensively.

"Could we at least get a name?" Octavia said, gradually getting back her courage.

"Meh, I guess, but first, could you help me out with something?"

Octavia narrowed her eyes.

"What is it?"

"I'm looking for a pony named Octavia Philharmonic. Do you know where I can find her?"

Octavia's eyes widened.

"D-Depends," Vinyl said, failing to hide her worry. "What do you want with her?"

"Just a bit of guard duty," it shrugged.

"F-From what?" Octavia asked.

The Changeling looked like it had just ate something bittier and with as much venom as it could muster said, "The Three Queens."

The two looked at each other in confusion.

"Who are The Three Queens?" Octavia asked.

"Bad news," it said coldly. "Especially for this Octavia mare. If I can't find her before they do, she could be in a whole heap of trouble."

"How do we know your telling the truth?" Vinyl asked, once again grabbing her bat with her magic.

It grinned and said, "Because you're still here. Not in some hive somewhere getting your love milked out of you like a cow."

Both of them shivered as the thought passed through their minds.

"Good point," Vinyl sighed.

For a few minutes the two thought carefully about what they were going to do next. All the while, the Changeling sat with its front legs crossed over its chest, an impatient scowl on his face. Eventually, Octavia let out a sigh and with weary tone said, "I am Octavia Philharmonic."

The Changeling smiled.

"Nice to meet you. My name's Blue Vibe."

As it said that, it held out a claw for her to shake. Reluctantly, Octavia accepted the friendly gesture. With an weary moan, Vinyl rose from her seat and started walking out of the kitchen, leaving her bat propped up by the kitchen door.

"Vinyl? Where are you going?"

Vinyl turned and a death glare aimed at Blue Vibe said, "Taking a shower."

With that, she stomped out of the kitchen leaving her older sister alone with their new house guest.

"Geez," Blue grumbled. "What stung her flank?"

Octavia deadpanned.

"Really?"

A Roses Thorns

A Roses Thorns

"C'mon Bonnie," Lyra cried, dragging a reluctant Bonbon through the Ponyville Market. "We promised Vinyl and Octavia we'd meet them at Sugarcube Corner today!"

"Yeah, two hours from now," Bonbon deadpanned.

Lyra facehooved.

"You Know how packed that place gets, right? If we don't get a good spot, Octavia's gonna have a fit!"

Bonbon groaned.

"Oh c'mon Lyra. Octavia's not that critical."

Lyra paused in her tugging to give her a bemused expression.

"Really Bons?"

"What?"

"Remember that one time your tail brushed up against her cello? It took an hour to get her to chill out."

Bonbon cringed at the memory.

"Okay, that was just one time though."

"You're right," Lyra sighed. "Cuz she's even worse when she's had a few drinks."

Both mares trembled.

"I still have flashbacks,"Lyra mumbled.

"Yeah," Bonbon agreed. "Who knew she could throw knives like that?"

The two exchanged a nervous laugh.

"Anyway," Lyra sighed. "Let's get moving. Maybe we can get some fresh muffins before Derpy gets to them."

Bonbon nodded and the two peacefully made there way towards Sugarcube Corner. Meanwhile, a tan Earth Pony mare watched them from the shadows. With a cold smile and hungry eyes, she fallowed them through the market, careful not to draw to much attention to herself.

Excellent....

***

Octavia was not a happy mare. She liked having things in some form of order. It was simple really. Wake up, have breakfast, brush teeth, clean herself up, grab her cello, and work on her music or preform. Some would consider such a life boring, but if Octavia wanted excitement, she could get plenty of it fallowing her sister to "work". Now she not only had to live with the fact that an army of bug-ponies want to capture her to do Celestia knows what to her, but she has to play host to her Changeling Bodyguard. In spite of this, the grey Earth Pony maintained an air of calm neutrality as she walked towards Sugarcube Corner, but to the white Unicorn and blue Pegasus tailing her, Octavia was a tempest of flames.

"What crawled up her plot?" Blue Vibe whispered.

Vinyl raised a brow at him.

"Really bro?"

Blue Vibe reared.

"What?"

Vinyl sighed.

"We're lucky Octy has plans today, otherwise she'd probably be pounding scotch right now."

This peaked Blue's interest.

"Hmmm, Miss Stuffy getting plastered? I'd pay bits ta see that!"

Vinyl chuckled a little.

"Yeah! Last time, she thought she was a Unicorn and spent an hour trying to levitate an apple! The whole time she looked like she had to take a leak!"

Blue burst out laughing. Just picturing it was comedy gold!

"Excuse me," Octavia said over her shoulder. "But if the two of you wish to return home in one piece later, would you kindly shut up?"

Reading the venom in her sister's tone, Vinyl tightly closed her muzzle, but Blue either didn't notice or didn't care. With a smirk, he flapped his wings and rose into a low glide just above Octavia.

"What's wrong? Time of the month or something?"

Octavia glared daggers at the faux Pegasus hovering over her.

"No, but if you don't back off I promise you will regret it."

Instead of fallowing her advice, he shrugged and landed next to her, walking in pace with her. Vinyl watched this in shocked aw. Though Octavia wasn't a particularly violent pony, she did have the skills necessary to do some serious damage if she needed to.

"Oh my, how frightening," Blue Vibe said dramatically. "A pretty mare with no combat experience threatened to hurt me! What ever will I do?"

Octavia glared at the Changeling's theatrics.

"Please, shut the buck up," she growled.

Blue reared back slightly and continued his performance.

"Such language! Why I don't know if my little heart can take it. But since you said please I guess I could indulge you."

As he said that, he flashed her an obnoxious smirk that made Octavia want to knock his teeth in.

"Thank you," she growled.

"But first!"

Before she could react, Blue put one of his wings over her back and pulled her close to him. Octavia's eyes shot wide with shock as she struggled in vane to get out of his iron grip.

"You need to chill."

As he said that, a soft vibration started to come out of his wing. At first, the strange sensation scared Octavia, but as the vibrations washed over her, she began to find them quite pleasant. Almost to the point of being therapeutic even. Slowly, the tension in her muscles started to fade away and a happy sigh slipped out of her muzzle.

"There ya go," he smiled, releasing a very pleased Octavia from his wing. "Better?"

"V-Very," she blushed. "Thank you."

"It was nothing," he smirked, bowing to the gray mare. "After all, what kind of guard would I be if I let my charge's head pop off?"

Octavia didn't quite know how to react to this. On one hoof, she was disgusted that a Changeling touched her in such an intimate manner, but on the other, she couldn't help but think of the fairytales her mother read to her when she was a filly and just how much like some of the Knights from those stories reminded her of the disguised creature kneeling before her. Plus, that thing he did with his wing was simply amazing!

"Besides," he continued, straitening himself. "All that anger was starting to make me sick."

Octavia just stared at him as she watched him walk towards Sugarcube Corner, completely flabbergasted by Blue's sudden shift from charming to indifferent. She also couldn't help staring at the set of headphones he had on his flank.

"Enjoying the view?" Vinyl smirked, closing the gap between them now that her sister was in better spirits.

Octavia flinched out of her trance and shot Vinyl a confused glare.

"What?" she shrugged. "He's a looker. All things considered."

Octavia groaned and fallowed her bodyguard, Vinyl not too far behind, a dorky grin plastered across the DJ's muzzle. Once they made it to the eatery, Blue Vibe held open the door for the two mares and with some reservations, they stepped inside. Sugarcube Corner was always packed, especially around breakfast and lunch time. A fact that made getting a table at the establishment very difficult if you didn't get there really early. Octavia considered herself to be a relatively patient mare most of the time, so the idea of waiting for a table didn't bother her to much, but the site of her friend Lyra waving her down from a table by one of the bakery's windows was a welcome turn of events.

"Yo! Lyre! Bons!" Vinyl cheered, catching the two mares in a hug. "Long time no see!"

"Hey, Vine!" Lyra cried, returning the white Unicorn's greeting with gusto.

"It's good to see you too," Bonbon gasped, Vinyl's bear-hug crushing the air from her lungs.

Smiling, Vinyl released the two ponies, one of which struggled to get air back into herself before acknowledging the two behind the DJ.

"Its good to see you again Octavia," Bonbon smiled.

"Likewise," Octavia said, a soft smile gracing her own muzzle.

It was then that she noticed the Pegasus stallion standing next to her.

"And you are?"

Blue smirked and strolled up to Bonbon, confidence pouring off of him.

"I'm Blue Vibe, and might I say it is a pleasure to meet you."

With that, he took one of Bonbon's forehooves into one of his own and gently kissed it. Bonbon blushed as he let her hoof slip out of his grasp and fall back to the ground.

"W-Wow," she gasped. "Never been greeted like that before. I'm Bonbon."

"Again, charmed," he smirked, bowing slightly.

This got Bonbon to blush a little brighter.

Lyra saw this and frowned.

"Hey pal!" she snapped, stepping in between Blue Vibe and Bonbon. "Hooves off my mare!"

Blue reared back and for a moment looked startled by Lyra's sudden show of hostility for a moment before his air of confidence returned. He smiled and lowered his head in a respectful bow.

"Sorry, where I'm from, that's just a greeting," he said, raising his head out of the bow. "I didn't mean to imply anything, ma'am."

"Oh," Lyra cringed, all aggression leaving her features. "Sorry."

Bonbon let out an annoyed groan and rolled her eyes at her Marefriend's antics.

"Seriously Lyra, you don't have to be so paranoid."

Lyra turned towards Bonbon and sighed.

"Hey, I can't help it. Your a catch!"

Bonbon giggled then gave her mare a nuzzle.

"Thanks Ly. Now come on, I think we've held everypony up long enough. I'm starving!"

Everypony except Blue cheered in agreement and took a seat with Bonbon and Lyra sitting on one side, Octavia and Vinyl sitting opposite with blue sitting at the head with the DJ at his right and the mint-green Unicorn. As the four mares talked, Blue scoped out their surroundings, taking note of every pony's actions and more importantly, if any of them gave off any of Queen Chrysalis's magic.

All clear for now, he thought, glancing down at his menu. Hopefully it'll stay that way.

Suddenly, he had the feeling he was being watched and looked up from his menu to see the four mares at the table staring at him expectantly.

"Yeah?"

"Didn't you hear me?" Bonbon asked, raising a brow.

Blue blinked.

Bonbon groaned.

"I asked you how you met Octavia and Vinyl?"

"Oh! Funny story actually. Last night, I was at Vinyl's show and-"

At that moment, the front door slammed open, drawing everyponie's attention. Standing at the doorway was a tan Earth Pony mare. Her tail was a long and strait violet curtain that trailed behind her like a ball gown. Her mane was in a similar form, covering the left side of her face. Her visible eye was icy blue and scanned the room with purpose. After a moment, her gaze locked with Blue's and a predatory grin crossed her muzzle. With the confident grace of a cat, the mare navigated her way through the crowded bakery, all the while still keeping her eye locked on Blue. It wasn't until she was standing by their table that anypony said anything.

"'Bout time you got here," Blue smiled.

The mare chuckled.

"Sorry, but even I can't keep up with your insane speed."

"True, true," Blue shrugged with a smirk.

The four mares looked back and forth between the two ponies as the conversation progressed until Lyra lost her patience.

"Okay, who the buck is this?!"

Everypony, including the mystery mare stared at Lyra, with the new pony and Blue Vibe not giving the Unicorn a look of shock.

"I take it you haven't told her yet," the mare said, raising a brow.

Blue chuckled awkwardly.

"No, not yet. But I guess now's as good a time as any."

With that, he turned towards Vinyl.

"You can do a noise bubble spell right?"

"Yeah?"

"Do it."

The flatness of the usually whimsical Changeling's tone halted any potential questions or protests from the DJ. With a gulp, she cast the spell, encasing them in a red dome of energy.

Blue vibe let out a sigh.

"Good. Now everypony listen carefully to what I have to say. Right now, a Changeling Queen named Chrysalis is targeting the most popular musicians in equestria. The plan is to replace or brainwash them and use the love from their fans to increase the strength of her hive. If successful, she would have an army strong enough to take over Equestria and most of the surrounding nations in a matter of days."

Bonbon and Lyra swallowed hard, terrified at the idea of being at the mercy of the same monsters that attacked Canterlot.

"To counter this," Blue continued. "Princess Celestia called my team and I to act as bodyguards. I'm currently in charge of protecting Octavia while my second in command Rose Thorn, will be guarding Lyra Heartstrings."

As he said this, he gestured towards the tan mare across from himself. Bonbon gave Rose Thorn a hard glare.

"Are ya sure she can do the job?"

Blue Vibe chuckled.

"Trust me, there's no better Changeling to have on your side."

This got the two mares to bolt to their hooves.

"She's a Changeling?!" Lyra cried,

"Yep," Blue Vibe said casually. "I'm one too. I'd show you, but I think you understand."

Trembling, the two mares looked at Vinyl and Octavia in disbelief.

"Did you know about this?!" Lyra screamed.

The two sighed and nodded.

"And you didn't tell us?!" Bonbon cried, pointing at Octavia.

Octavia was about to argue, but Blue interrupted her.

"Actually, They didn't find out until this morning and trust me, you two are getting eased into this situation way better then these two."

As he said this, he nodded towards Octavia and Vinyl.

They looked away awkwardly, remembering the battle and interrogation that took place this morning.

"And don't worry. Believe it or not, We're different from Chrysalis and her swarm."

"How so?" Lyra asked, easing herself back into her seat.

"For starters," Rose Thorn said, startling everypony. "We aren't part of a colony and have the ability to think for ourselves."

"Is that rare for Changelings?" Bonbon asked taking her seat as well.

"Not exactly," she shrugged. "You see, there are two types of Changelings. There are Colony Changelings that live in hives and are linked to their Queens. Then there are Solitary Changelings like Blue Vibe and I who have personalities and free will. In fact, Solitary Changeling society is almost the same as what you ponies enjoy."

"You also don't need to worry about us turning you into 'love slaves' or anything like that," Blue said, sounding almost board. "Solitaries like us don't need to eat emotions that often and generally don't like to take it without permission."

"Besides," Rose Thorn grimaced. "Love is such a bland emotion. I can't understand what the Clones like about it so much."

Blue shrugged.

"Wait," Lyra said, holding up a hoof. "If you guys don't eat love then what do you eat?"

Blue Vibe and Rose Thorn looked at each other, shrugged and turned to Lyra.

"Well," Blue started. "I'm not particularly picky, but I like confidence."

"And I like lust," Thorn hissed, licking her lips.

Lyra gulped.

Both of them sighed.

"Can you two chill out," Blue said wearily. "Fear isn't exactly our cup of tea."

Thorn nodded.

"Sorry!" the two of them said quickly.

Both the Changelings and sisters let out an annoyed sigh.

"How about we drop the subject for now and just focus on getting something to eat," Blue said, looking at his menu.

Vinyl nodded and with a loud pop, dispelled the sound bubble.

The rest of the morning meeting more or less shifted back to normal, though Bonbon and Lyra did seemed eerily interested in Blue and Thorn's eating habits.

"What?" Blue asked, swallowing a mouthful of muffin. "Is there something on my face?"

"No," Bonbon said, still staring at him. "I just didn't know you guys ate normal food."

Blue shrugged before going back to devouring his muffin. Thorn barely touched her doughnut. Instead, she stared at a gradually uncomfortable looking Lyra.

"Can I help you?" Lyra asked, leaning away from Thorn's gaze.

Thorn smiled and with an impish tone whispered, "How often do the two of you bang?"

This got three of the mares to choke and spew their drinks across the table. Blue face hoofed, groaning what sounded like a curse in some unknown language. Lyra's face turned as red as a cherry as her brain processed what she said and tried to find the right response. All that came out was an incoherent sputtering of random words.

Thorn casually leaned back in her seat, seeming to enjoy the effect her question had on the mare.

"What the buck?" Bonbon growled. "That's none of your Celestia damned business!"

Thorn looked at Bonbon and licked her lips.

"So, not often I take it. Explains the temper. Take my word for it, if the two of you don't get to it soon someponie's gonna lose it."

Bonbon glared at her to which Thorn simply smiled.

"Or maybe somepony can't satisfy the other."

"THAT'S IT!" Bonbon growled, jumping to her hooves and bolting towards the tan mare. "YOU! ME! OUTSIDE! NOW!"

Thorn kept smiling, completely unfazed by Bonbon's fury.

"Very well," she said, gracefully rising out of her chair. "I could use a good workout."

With that, Bonbon stomped out of the bakery, slamming the door open as she made her exit. Rose Thorn moved to fallow but was stopped by a call from Blue Vibe.

"Yes boss?"

"Rose Thorn," he said, tone flat and face serious. "I forbid you from killing her. Understood? You may do whatever you want with her, but you are not to kill her."

Rose Thorn nodded and fallowed Bonbon out of the bakery. The remaining four members of the party left some bits and fallowed the previous two. What they saw when they stepped out shocked them. Bonbon was on her hind legs, letting loose a barrage of punches that were easily blocked or dodged by an almost board looking Thorn. After a minute, Bonbon fell back onto all fours and turned around to buck her, but Thorn countered with a buck of her own, sending the candy maker flying face-first into the dirt. Bonbon stood back up, spat out a mouthful of dirt, and with a furious snarl, bolted towards Thorn. Thorn looked at the incoming mare with disinterest before she side-stepped her and grabbed one of her hind legs with her long tail. With a sigh, Thorn lifted her tail, raising Bonbon five feet into the air before quickly slamming her into the ground. The crowed slowly forming around the two fighters cringed at the display of power. Lyra moved to try and save her mare but Blue stopped her with one of his wings.

"Don't," he said, not looking away from the fight. "If you get involved you'll just get hit in the crossfire."

Lyra was about to argue, but then she saw Bonbon get back up, crick her neck, and bolt towards Thorn again. This time the candy maker dove into a slide below Thorn and landed a powerful two legged hind-leg buck to the gut, sending the Changeling three feet into the air. Thorn gasped as she landed on her hooves four feet away, struggling to get some air back into her lungs as Bonbon charged again to keep the pressure on. Before the Changeling could get her bearings, Bonbon tackled her in the face with her shoulder, knocking her back another foot.

"GOT YA!" Bonbon cried, as she grabbed her dazed opponent's foreleg.

In one fluid motion, she hooked the foreleg over her shoulder and flipped Thorn over her back into the ground. While Thorn was still down, Bonbon took the limb she was still holding and locked it behind Thorn's back, effectively pinning the Changeling to the ground.

"Now take back what you said," Bonbon growled.

Thorn just grinned.

"Why? I've already won."

Before Bonbon could say or do anything, Thorn's tail wrapped around Bonbon's barrel and pulled her off of her. Bonbon tried to free herself from the surprisingly strong curtain of hair, but again found herself slammed into the earth. With a groan, Bonbon rolled onto her back, no longer able to move her body. Thorn let go of the battered Earth Pony mare and walked up to her, a satisfied smirk graced her muzzle as she looked down at her.

"D....Damn it," Bonbon groaned.

Rose Thorn's eyes became half lidded as she lowered her head, face only an inch away from her own. As she did, her mane fell over, making a thick curtain around their heads that cut off the outside world.

"That was the most fun I've had in a long time," Thorn said, voice coming out a little husky. "Thank you."

"S-Sure," Bonbon stammered, a blush forming on her face.

With an evil smile, Thorn planted her lips against Bonbon's. Caught off guard by the sudden show of affection, Bonbon's eyes widened as Thorn pulled her face back. At the same time Bonbon felt something get pulled out of her, scaring the living daylights out of her while also giving her a strange sense of satisfaction.

Thorn licked her lips and said, "And thanks for the meal."

Bonbon's face turned apple red as Thorn stepped back to give her some space. Lyra, seeing that the fight was over, bolted towards her marefriend, worriedly checking her for any serious injuries. After a quick scanning spell, Lyra found that aside from a few scratches and bruises Bonbon was fine. A little dazed, but fine. As she helped her marefriend get to her hooves, Thorn strolled up to the pair.

"So, do you two have a guest room or do I sleep on the couch."