I'll Wait For You
Ink Mage

Chapter Three
Age Fourteen

"So... you're having a slumber party tonight for your birthday? Can I join you?" Crystal Hoof teased as he and Flurry Heart walked through the hallways of the castle. They were heading downstairs for dinner.

Flurry Heart smirked. "Sure you can! You can join us as we shine our hooves, make our manes, and talk about colts," she said, shooting him a glance to see his reaction. Crystal Hoof's eyes widened at the last part. He turned to look at her.

"Colts?" he asked, before his lips drew up in a playful smile. "And who is this mysterious pony who caught the princess' eye?"

Flurry giggled under her breath, before reaching out to tap his chest. She winked. "I guess you'll never find out," she said, walking ahead of him. Crystal Hoof gave her a lopsided grin as he followed her.

"Should I be worried? Concerned, even?" he asked. "Oooh what if I tell your parents?"

Flurry stopped, turning around to stare at him. "Oh you wouldn't dare."

Crystal Hoof smirked. "Try me. You know how protective they are over you, even as much to appoint me as your personal guard," he said. Flurry rolled her eyes, memories streaming back to her.

"Oh haha... I remember that day, when I found out what my parents put you up to," she said, holding back a laugh as she saw his face change.

"I still can't believe you knew all along," he said. Flurry Heart smiled.

"There are a lot of things I know, that you all don't know I know," she said before grimacing, "did that come out right?"

Crystal Hoof grinned. "Yeah, I get what you mean, and... I won't question it further, I guess," he said with a shrug. Flurry Heart nodded, before hearing a chiming sound of the doorbell.

"Oh! Those must be my friends!" she exclaimed, spreading her wings out and fluttering into the air. "Gotta fly, see you tomorrow?" she asked, turning back down to look at her companion. Crystal Hoof nodded with a bow.

"Always the pleasure, Princess," he said, before turning around. "Wait..." He looked back at her. "As your personal guard, shouldn't I stay with you?" he asked. Flurry's eyes widened.

"Oh! I... uh..." she stumbled on her words.

"Not to worry," a new voice chimed in. Flurry Heart and Crystal Hoof both turned to see Princess Cadance standing tall in front of them. She shot them both a smile before continuing, "Crystal Hoof will join Shining Armor and I in the kitchen for dinner. There's something I must discuss with him. Flurry, you and your friends can head on upstairs. I'll bring dinner in a few minutes, alright?"

Flurry Heart grinned, leaning up to kiss Cadance on the cheek. "Thanks, Mom!" she said, before hurrying to the door and opening it. Two fillies stumbled inside, both wearing big smiles.

"Flurry Heart!" Ink Mage and Neon Garay exclaimed at the same time. The three went in for a group hug, before separating and making small talk while walking upstairs.

"Happy birthday!" Crystal Hoof managed to yell up to her before the three fillies disappeared.

Cadance turned to Crystal Hoof, smiling at his fond expression. "You really care about her, don't you?" she asked with a knowing glint in her eyes. Crystal Hoof's eyes widened as he stared at her.

"I'm not sure what you're implying by that, but I'm going to chose not to answer," he said smartly, putting his nose up in the air and marching towards the kitchen. Cadance laughed as she quickly scrambled to follow him. The two joked more as they made their way inside the kitchen where two other ponies were waiting for them.

"Sunburst?!" Crystal Hoof exclaimed, gaping at the sight of Flurry Heart's crystaller and mentor. Sunburst and Shining Armor looked up to see the colt. They both smiled as Sunburst fixed his glasses.

"Hullo, Thorax. Is it nice to see you again," he said. Crystal Hoof grinned, instantly erupting into green flames and detransforming back into his changeling form. Sunburst smiled wider.

"Hello, Sunburst! It's awesome to see you again. It's been forever!" Thorax exclaimed, shaking Sunburst's hoof as he and Cadance took a seat at the large dining table.

Shining Armor and Cadance quickly exchanged a loving glance, before returning their attention back to Sunburst and Thorax.

"Sunburst is here to discuss a few things concerning Flurry Heart," Cadance explained. Thorax's ears perked up as he looked between the three ponies sitting besides him. He gulped, and nodded cautiously.

"I see... well, what do you want to talk about?"

"You," Sunburst said, causing Thorax to mentally choke. "We want to talk about you, Thorax. As Princess Flurry's mentor and past crystaller, Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadance thought it was only fitting for me to join in on this conversation," he said.

Cadance and Shining Armor both nodded, looking over to Thorax.

"We know it's been hard for you, all these years, keeping such a big secret from one of your best friends. And we are all truly sorry for doing this to you," Shining Armor started, leading his wife on to take over.

"That's right... and we just wanted to say that we-"

"You're letting me tell Princess Flurry Heart about who I really am?!" Thorax interrupted eagerly. "About time too! It's been horrible trying to fend for myself without her knowing."

Cadance frowned.

"Oh... I'm sorry, Thorax. But that's not what we wanted to talk to you about," she said, putting her head down in shame. Thorax's eyes widened as he sighed, sitting back in his chair.

"Oh... ah, I should have known. Whatever, continue, please," he said, waving a hoof at them. Sunburst took a deep breath.

"Alright, well... we were thinking the other day, about your kind. And... well, we were wondering... uh... if it is possible to transform into a pony who doesn't exist... if it is possible to transform into a pony that was created out of imagination?" he said, more of a question than a statement.

Thorax's eyebrows furrowed as he considered the question.

"No, that's not possible. Changeling transformations can only transform a changeling into somepony that is living and breathing. Somepony that is alive. We can't change into ponies that have already passed away, or ponies that never were living at all," he explained, before he tilted his head. "Why?"

Shining Armor looked at his wife in alarm. "So... technically speaking, there's another Crystal Hoof out there?"

Thorax did a double take. He had never considered this.

"I... uh.. wow..." he started, "I guess? I mean, yeah. Yeah there is," he said quietly, trying to figure out what this meant. Shining Armor, Cadance and Sunburst breathed out. Cadance closed her eyes, deep in thought. Shining Armor was getting redder by the second, and Sunburst just looked flabbergasted.

"I can't believe we never saw this earlier..." he said, turning to the prince and princess. "Do you want to take any precautions to keep him away?"

"Well, I don't really see any reason for that," Cadance said, "he never did anything wrong."

"Besides," Shining Armor put in, "if he hasn't shown up yet, what are the chances he will ever?"

Thorax shrugged. "It is very unlikely..." he said slowly.

"Alright, so that's settled. We're just going to see where the road takes us?" Sunburst said. Cadance and Shining Armor looked at each other, before giving him an affirmative nod.

"I guess we are," she said.

"So what's going on with you and that cute colt downstairs?" Neon Garay asked Flurry Heart as the three made their way into Flurry's room. Flurry quirked an eyebrow at her friend.

"What, Crystal Hoof?" she inquired. "He's my personal guard. Nothing more to it," she said.

Ink Mage raised her eyebrows. "Oh really? Do you want anything else out of your strictly professional relationship?" she asked with a teasing smirk.

Flurry Heart shook her head. "No, and besides. Our relationship isn't strictly professional. We've been friends since I was a baby," she said.

Neon Garay sighed. "So he's available?"

Flurry slapped her friend as the three laughed.

"Hey!"

"I'm just teasing, Flurry," Neon said, putting a hoof to her mouth in an attempt to stop laughing. Flurry Heart grinned at her two friends, reaching out besides her bed.

"Do you guys want to do something?" she asked, pulling out a drawer. Neon and Ink nodded excitedly, beginning to rummage through her stuff.

"You have three hoof shiners?" Neon exclaimed.

"Woah, look at all these magazines! Oooh," Ink said, flipping through a bunch of scholarly articles. Flurry Heart just rolled her eyes.

"Feel free to take anything, I don't normally use this stuff," she said. Ink gasped, instantly taking as many books as her hooves could carry. Flurry laughed. "Alright, maybe not that many," she said teasingly. Ink Mage grinned, picking out a select three magazines and using her magic to put the rest away.

"Yeah yeah, I'll get them out of your grasp someday, Flurry," Ink said, clapping her hooves together and giving her an evil smile. Flurry raised her eyebrows.

"Oh yeah? Well I'd like to see you try," she said.

"Is that a challenge?"

A pang of nostalgia hit Flurry Heart like a wave. She still remembered that day, an entire year ago, when she and Crystal Hoof had almost an identical conversation.

She smiled giddily before answering.

"And what if it is?"

"Then I'd steal your hoof shiners," Ink Mage replied, before grabbing the bottles and whisking them into the air with her magic. Neon and Flurry both laughed at their friend's antics, before happily joining in.

"Be careful! Those are new!" Flurry exclaimed between her laughs. Neon grabbed one and read the label.

"Ooh, pink shiners? What fun! Ink, come here! This should work nicely with your coat," she said, gesturing for the unicorn to come forward. Ink Mage nodded, settling down in front of Neon and sticking out her hooves for her to coat.

"Don't forget about me!" Flurry exclaimed, shimmying her way next to Ink and resting her own hooves on a pillow. Neon gasped in fake annoyance.

"Hey! Don't I get a turn?" she asked teasingly. Ink Mage nodded, grabbing another bottle labeled, 'Clear' and painting Neon's hooves with it. Quite sloppily too.

"Ink," Flurry started, eyeing her friend's work, "you're horrible at this."

"Ehh, books are more my thing," Ink replied, capping the bottle and laughing with her friends.

"Want some cake?" Flurry asked with a lopsided grin, gesturing over to the giant platter in the corner of the room.

Neon Garay and Ink Mage both gasped simultaneously.

"How did I not see that big beautiful chunk of amazingness before?!" Neon exclaimed, licking her lips eagerly. Ink nodded.

"Agreed! That thing looks heavenly!" she said, as the two rushed over to the dessert.

Flurry laughed lightly. "Hey! Save some for me!"

Author's Note

Art in this chapter by NorthernLights8!

I really just can't even begin to express my thanks for everything you guys have done for the success of this story. You all are brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

Oh and, I've been getting some assumptions and predictions in the comments... I won't tell you if you're right or wrong, but I will say this- what's going to happen is something you would have never expected. Trust me.

Oh and, I forgot to mention last chapter. Ink Mage is my personal OC, Neon Garay belongs to xXRainbowHeartXx, and Electric Flame belongs to NorthernLights8.