The Bridge: Building Bridges

Chapters

The Tease: Anguirus - Ki Seong
The Quiet: Aria Blaze - X
The Flirt: Blade Dancer - Xenilla
The Trusted: Luna - Junior

The Tease: Anguirus - Ki Seong

=======================

The day prior to Chapter 30

Fits of laughter coursed out of the quiet evening passing over Ponyville. Celestia’s sun was setting whilst her sister's moon was on the rise, casting a brief, spectacular sight above the town that two souls were keen to enjoy along with each other’s company. It was the day before Anguirus was to meet back up with the other kaiju at Canterlot and he was spending his free time where he usually did. A specific restaurant with specific company.

Ki Seong, still snickering and glad she used her magic to pour some tea instead of holding the kettle by hoof, lest she wear it on her coat, did so for “Quill Coat’s” cup before continuing her story.

“And the blizzards back at my grandparents’ cabin in the mountains! Nimiral, the snow piles!”

“Quill Coat”, as Anguirus had been calling himself for the past few weeks, cocked a joking eyebrow. Might not have known quite what she just said, but he knew an expletive when he heard one being used as an exclamation point.

“That bad, huh?”

Seong snorted, sporting a smile ear to ear while waving a hoof above herself in a reaching motion to indicate height.

“Let me put it like this. We went sledding for an hour and came back. Took us three hours to figure out which snow hill was the cabin!”

Anguirus nearly spat his drink, quickly covering his mouth and whacking himself in the chest to keep the tea he was trying to quickly gulp down from going down the wrong pipe. Seong, having the sense to not be trying to drink and speak at the same time, leaned over from her seat at the booth and helped steady her companion. Anguirus managed to keep himself together, clearing his throat and cracking a large smile whilst Seong giggled.

“Carrea sounds like quite a place. Guess the weather pegasi do a good job around here.”

He took a moment to study her face as Seong snickered and nodded. Physical attraction wasn’t so much a factor in why he liked looking at her. Truth be told he wasn’t even quite sure if he was made with that sort of thought process in mind but logic would dictate it be more based off the reptilian given his base was a Tarchia. Still there was a quality to her expression he enjoyed, like how one would enjoy a night sunset or a piece of art. In this case it was how expressive Seong’s face was when she emoted. Either by merit of her build or her just not holding much back, he always could get a read of what was going through her head in times like this. And seeing her happy, sharing a laugh and company, and expressing such was quickly climbing the ranks of things Anguirus liked seeing the most. It helped that such emotions on her were infectious.

Seong finished her laugh, huffing a bit to get her breath.

-Alrighty, time to cast the line and see if I get a bite of truth out of you, Angy.-

Nudging a lock of mane out of her face, the kirin lightly tapped Anguirus with her tail while leaning closer to him.

“It was home after all. What was yours like? The… South Frontier, right? I’ve been to the coasts but never there before."

Anguirus’ reaction was rapid enough he didn’t notice the mildly sad mannerism given off by Seong’s flattening ears, having flinched up too quickly to notice. Seong opted to try and backpedal, putting her hooves up and motioning towards “Quill Coat”.

“Sorry! I was just curious seeing as you freeze up when I ask, like a scared bunny… Kinda like you’re doing now. Didn’t mean to hit a nerve.”

Anguirus wasn’t petrified in fear like Seong worried he was, rather he was mentally stalling out trying to find a way to articulate a lie and still sound unassuming. Needless to say, deceptive speaking wasn’t something King Manju had in mind in his design. The temptation to not even try was growing like a greedy flame.

-Come on Anguirus, admit it already. You like this one, and more than how Rodan likes every pony he sees. The kindly manner, hours of stories, nice smell, not a gripe in sight. So just open up already! Lots of these folks like Rodan well enough and the Element Bearers took no issue. Daiei, Junior had one crushing on him!.... Just like-

His lips pursed and puzzled, pushing against each other while mulling over his options uneasily. He could practically feel a rock in his stomach where the tea had gone. The stallion averted his eyes from Seong even as he felt the kirin curl her tail around him to try and offer some comfort for what she mistook for terror.

-Just.. like I am here with Seong… No, not yet. Might be in this world another month, might be in it for years. Whatever is going on, you’re going to both enjoy it while it lasts and not rush it. First thing in a long while to go right for you and you’re not spoiling it. Got another 30,000 years before destiny calls, you’re in no rush… Now, what can-

“Qu-...Quilly, are you okay?”

Seong whispered, having to force herself not to speak his true name. Anguirus glanced over at the kirin and was almost taken aback by how close she was to him now, leaning closer after having moved towards him some while her tail hooked itself around his midsection. Seong tilted her head, letting the beads in her draping bangs click against each other. While she did think he was more afraid than he actually was, the discomfort was clear and it spread a cold feeling from her chest as a frown invaded her muzzle.

-And here I was hoping you’d finally tell me about Terra... I know what you are, recognized you from the sketches Gentle Leaf scribbled out for me. Why won’t you just say so?-

Seong nudged the motionless stallion gently. Anguirus shrugged and nudged back with his shoulder, letting his tail overlay her’s while a small, sweet smile grew across his face.

-Slow burn Anguirus, slow burn.-

“Sorry, I just got lots going through my head. Pretty rare for me. Not best for company so my apologies.”

-Yep, back into your proverbial shell. It’ll be okay Seong, he’ll speak up when he feels up to it. Wonder why the tight lips though.-

“No no, it’s alright really! I didn’t mean to prod, rude hostess material on my part! Ehehe.”

The setting sun cast its fading beams across the horizon, catching both Anguirus and Ki Seong in its last rays before Luna’s softer, silver light took over the sky. Anguirus and Seong both frowned, knowing what it meant as they rose to their hooves.

“Well, let me have this ‘sorry’ then. Gotta head back or Mrs. Smith is going to chew my ear off.”

“Impressive feat for her, could have sworn she had falsies.”

“....”

Anguirus and Seong slowly glanced over at each other out of the corners of their eyes. After a few more moments of straining they failed to keep their composure.

“...Pfft!”

“Hehehee!”

Letting a laugh take them both, Anguirus let himself again survey the kirin’s features as she laughed. Exactly what he concluded was hard to sum up in words, but the answer was simple enough. Between the sight and the sound, he really loved her laughing. The sentiments were evidently mutual as when the laughter died down between them, Seong shifted closer and let her nose gently brush up and down against Anguirus’ brow in a soft nuzzle. If one looked behind them, they’d see her tail slowly swaying back and forth like it was wagging. She’d done this as of six visits in and the kaiju concluded he enjoyed it plenty too. But rather than return the motion, another idea crossed the Guardian Beast’s mind.

-Yep, she’s worth it. Here goes nothing.-

Recalling Miss Rarity’s advice and repeating the motions action by action; Anguirus lifted Seong’s left front limb, held the appendage up, and brought his lips to just above the wrist. The unicorn’s instruction on etiquette or not, he still wasn’t going to kiss what one walked on so he could only hope this was a good substitute. The kirin’s briefly wide eyed expression melted into a pleasant, beaming smile, telling him it was so. Anguirus chuckled.

“Thanks for the food, story, and company Miss Ki. I’ll be back after a quick trip to Canterlot I gotta get done with my cousin.”

Anguirus shifted to motion and began to pace after the faded sunset to get across town and back to Sweet Apple Acres. Nodding his head, the stallion glanced and threw his voice back.

“When I get back, I’ll tell you all about the, Frontier. Trust it won’t scare you now.”

“C-Can’t wait for it! See you later!”

Seong beamed, waving to bid him goodbye. When he was finally out of sight, the typically very composed kirin reached to her side and frantically slammed the door shut behind her. Bracing against the red painted wood, Seong huffed and patted her torso just above where her pounding heart was.

-T-TRUST IT WON’T SCARE ME?! What kind of hop'ung does that mean?! S-So all this time he’s been lying was because he- he didn’t want to scare me off because he… he!-

Seong looked at her shaking hoof, eyes staring at the spot “Quill Coat” kissed. Her expression widened with her expanding eyes.

“He’s been shy…DaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAW!”

The kirin squealed, jumping up and practically prancing up and down in place like an excited filly. Leaping over to a window, she caught a glimpse of Anguirus’ fleeting form crossing the bridge out of town and towards the orchards. A toothy grin peeked across her face. She knew this was a good soul before she met him. Rescuing her niece, Gentle Leaf in such a way one would swear the gleeful silly had been saved by Supermare. And the good company, the willingness to always listen; rushing to her “rescue” when that horde of kaiju babies ran amok; Seong was definitely very fond of the “good stallion”. And maybe, she’d find herself liking the honest kaiju even more.

Author's Note

Proofed by Faith-Wolff and Lance-Omikron

Next Fluff -
Aria Blaze and Monster X during that cutaway from Chapter 29

The Quiet: Aria Blaze - X

====================================================

During latter part of Chapter 29 just after Enjin was destroyed

Aria Blaze slowly reached out and let her sore hands slide over the dark gray skin on X’s scarred face, the latter closing his eyes and sighing at her touch. Tension sloughed off the two in waves as they sat alone and together in the crater a much larger Monster X had made while breaking his and the then-unconscious siren’s fall. Heartbeats for both slowed, no longer needing to drown in adrenaline for fear the nightmarish being they’d been fighting, Enjin, would get back up again. After an internal attack by the siren and an external obliteration by the kaiju, the Aspect of Land finally seemed to be dead for good. But even as the beat in her chest slowed, Aria could feel each throb growing in strength.

Steadied hands touched and slid across X’s face, tenderly running a fingertip across the small divots his old scars etched into his skin, burrowing into his hairline; and oh so gently moving some stray dirt and snow away from the more recent wounds. It was a thought process difficult to put to words but the increasing hardness in her lungs and thumping inside her torso made the siren completely ignore the fact he was also in the form of a naked monkey. Ignore the detail that this entity was her enemy when they first met with as much a threat he posed to her family and their precious siren hearts. And she completely blocked out the fact he wasn’t anything notably attractive by human standards even without the old and new wounds, she’d seen and could easily charm better. If Aria Blaze was anything however, it was decisive and decisive about what she didn’t ignore. And right now that decisiveness was being honed on the unavoidable fact that just looking at X’s face and it’s injuries, aged ones in the form of scars and new ones in the form of the bleeding cut across his brow he got protecting her, was making both her actual heart and siren heart glow.

Monster X needed a moment to mentally reboot due to the enormous amounts of déjà vu he was getting. Flashes of sensations from experiences or memory was hardly a new concept to him, but this context certainly was. For decades, for as long as his memory could travel, life was isolation, training, and combat occasionally broken up by seeing those he called friend in joint missions or a stroll through a familiar yet alien city in military parades through the capital city. Those times were different though and now he knew why. He had a life once, one his other side remembered and sought revenge for. X himself still couldn’t remember much of it, but the fleeting glimpses of what he’d seen in the depths of his fractured subconscious told him the feelings he had forming over the last weeks and experienced at their peak when Aria was captured, when he struggled to revive her, and now sat alone with her now; were not new. This was something he had once and that other side of him, Kaizer Ghidorah, craved to have back or to avenge. X went still for a fleeting second when he felt Aria’s thumb draw across his nasal bridge down to his cheek in the trail of a scar. A smile, tiny at first but growing, formed across the tired kaiju’s face.

Hiding a frown spurred by a rare moment of visible sympathy, Aria Blaze felt at a damp spot on X’s face just below his eyes.

“You look like you’ve been crying...”

X shrugged at the siren’s blunt tone, knowing full well she was showing concern but masking it. He forcefully shoved the none to pleasant memories of his absolute panic while trying to revive her and the relief he’d gotten upon restarting her heart.

-Don’t you dare scare me like that again, witch.-

“Fight was painful.”

Aria knew the real reason before she even got the stoic answer.

-He was scared he hadn’t gotten to me in time.-

The siren grunted, feigning disbelief.

“Humph, I’d bet.”

The siren muttered with a tiny chuckle, bundling up some of X’s scarf to dab across his face. Noting each wound and tear stain she went to work attempting to clean them all out. While she gently pressed the cloth to an open cut bleeding across X’s face, Aria could feel her cheeks warming up when one strong arm reached across her back to support her up while the other put the other end of the scarf to her own scuffed-up face. Monster X said nothing, merely looking down at the purple siren with a slight, but beaming smile both on his maw and in his eyes that soon infected Aria. They kept tending to each other for a minute or two, until they ran out of cuts to stem, dampness to dry, or dirt to clean off and just looked at each other. Cast in the hovering moon’s silvery radiance, the eyes of a grouch and a stoic, violet and cinnabar, stared through one another with happiness visible across the board.

Aria Blaze felt her breath grow hitched slightly, a sentiment returned by the kaiju given both of them were wreathing each other in their exhaling mist. The presence of the red magical haze coming off of X and flowing into her gem was proof of what she was experiencing and Aria wasn’t keen to ignore it. This was different and it was just a start, but a restart she enjoyed. She certainly wasn’t about to do the typical mermare response of what to do with a suitable male, even if she did ever find herself being a typical mermare. But the more she looked at the face before her, the more it almost felt like the unmasking wasn’t even needed. He might have terrified, aggravated, and antagonized her before; but her mind couldn’t help but trail back to when those same red eyes stopped to show her mercy when they were foes. How they’d study her and patiently listen when they were allies. And how they looked when filled with fear for her regard as their owner tried to save her life as a friend. It was just a new starting point but she had made up her mind, she really liked his eyes. And she really liked him.

Though they didn’t mutter another word between them, body language and X’s eyes were word enough her sentiments weren’t isolated. Recalling the motion from a lost memory, X tightened his hold around her back and middle, putting his forehead to her’s and closing his eyes. It was an old Xillian motion, one Aria was a bit perplexed at. But for whatever information was lost, context was more than made up for by the heat settling over her and the noticeable increase in red haze pouring into her siren heart. The reddening on both their faces was growing in spite of the surrounding cold and their dark skin tones. X knew what he was doing however and didn’t regret it.

-Purpose without a mission. First for me, but I like it.-

X sighed, feeling a rare moment of complete content and holding onto it. His mind briefly recalled the memory from his other half, namely how said half was so completely focused upon it that nothing else would matter. In some weird way it made him pity Kaizer Ghidorah. So caught in the past it couldn’t live for the present. Not like X had when he befriended his teammates, new and old; and not to ever feel like he did when Aria saw him face to face. Monster X had friends and had found love, something Kaizer Ghidorah never did. It was probably the reason X managed to defeat him with Aria's help.

The small smile on X’s face momentarily spread onto Aria before fading. There was still a dozen problems pressing down on her mind but the violet siren wasn’t about to let them crush her anymore. Stuck in a new world outside of her proper body? She’d make do with this one. Weird new power source and song? She figured out already she liked it more. Worry with having burned bridges with her cousins in her quest to overpower Adagio? She’d find a way to patch it back up, probably show them to song to help. To quote one of the pieces Adagio had written for future use, nothing could stop her now.

Confidence brewing and her revitalized siren heart banishing tiredness, Aria reached up and put her left hand on X’s cheek and jaw while snaking the other to the back of his head. Straddling him to take some pressure off his legs and equal their height, she pulled back from the forehead press and tilted X’s face down and sideways to put her lips to his. Eyes closing, Aria held them in place to feel his presence while her gemstone glowed brighter than it had before. Had she still had one, the siren’s tail probably would have been wagging. X was momentarily confused at the action, not knowing what a kiss was, as Aria had been confused at his forehead bump, but the admittedly adorable cooing sound coming out of the siren told him not to pay it any heed. It was an strange action, but one he soon returned.

They stayed like that for a long time before getting up to head towards a road in hopes of getting out of the falling snow, hopefully to be picked up by the other sirens. Having a fractured leg, X was forced to put an arm around Aria’s shoulders and have her support him despite assurance he could manage. The banter between them wouldn’t sound quite as loving as their previous actions had been, but siren and xillian could easily tell what the other was actually saying.

“I can try to levitate some to take pressure off. I’ll be fine.”

-You care too much.-

“You’re The Worst. Lied to me once this evening, not fooling me twice.”

-I’m too stubborn to let go.-

“Stubborn sea-witch…”

-Who'd gotten me to consider things beyond following orders. Thank you.-

“Worst alien...”

-Who'd forced me to see what was important and to make do. Thank you.-

Aria’s hand that held X’s arm shifted, weaving her sore fingers between his gloved ones while they walked towards the road and towards a pair of headlights they'd soon find their respective parties behind.

Author's Note

Proofed by Faith-Wolff and Lance-Omikron

Next Fluff! -
Blade Dancer and Xenilla, 2/18

The Flirt: Blade Dancer - Xenilla

Blade Dancer’s eyes slowly began to flutter open from an evidently blissful rest given her content smile and deep slumber. Said smile soon flattened when she began to feel something wasn’t quite right. Gone was the radiating heat and firm muscle she’d been electing to call her favorite pillow, replaced with, well, a pillow. The guardsmare’s eyes snapped open and she jolted upwards to look at where she was. She was in the same room in the Crystal Castle she recalled falling asleep in, the excessive quartz crystals and large stacks of books were evident to that, but the one she’d been sleeping on, Xenilla, was sitting across the room with his back to her and surrounded by several piles of library rentals. Blade Dancer lowered her brow at the stallion and snorted, not fond of being shortchanged out of her favorite resting spot even if he’d been kind enough not to wake her. The kaiju in question, either sensing her through the surrounding crystals or just by being a good guesser, threw his voice over his shoulder.

“Oh, you’re awake. Good morning, Blades.”

“How long ago did you get up?”

“I don’t sleep much. I’ve been awake for three hours now.”

Electing to drop her annoyance, either due to it not being worth it or her having difficulty staying miffed at the social dolt, Blade Dancer took a moment to stretch out before beating her wings to hover over to Xenilla. Landing on top of Xenilla upside down, Blade Dancer laid her head atop his and looked at the books he was levitating in front of him.

“Not too surprised there, Junior was the same way back in Canterlot. What you hoofing through?”

“Defensive spells and wards.”

Xenilla muttered, turning one book upside down so Blade Dancer could make out the annotated illustrations for a barrier guard.

“After King Sombra’s unexpected recovery I’m not waiting to see if him dying this time sticks or not. And in light of Empress Cadenza and Prince Consort Armor’s history with this Queen Chrysalis figure whom is at large, I’m not taking this risk.”

Blade Dancer puzzled at the book, inwardly grumbling given this likely meant another shut-in day for Xenilla.

-And after that fiasco in Canterlot, he and I could both use a day not cooped up. Hmm….-

“I swore I’d protect the Empire and the Crystal Imperial Royal Family, an oath I intend to uphold.”

One could practically see the lightbulb go off over Blade Dancer’s head as she lit up with a realization. Rolling herself over to rest her chin on Xenilla’s scalp just behind his horn, she tapped at his shoulder.

“Well, you know that also involves getting on their good side. Might want to secure that especially considering you kinda used Princess-”

“-Empress.”, Xenilla stubbornly corrected, earning an eye roll and chuckle from Blade Dancer.

“Right, Empress. You did kinda use her as bait.”

“I appreciate the reminder…”, Xenilla shrugged, earning a slight wing-hug from the pegasus mare.

“Buuuuuut, she is going to be having that baby. Maybe you could start by getting the tyke a baby shower gift!”

Xenilla went silent for a time. After several long moments, Blade Dancer looked at his reflection in a crystal and saw the kaiju-turned-stallion had a wide eyed, almost shocked expression frozen onto his face.

“The baby…”

“Xenny?”, Blade Dancer muttered with concern growing on her face.

Xenilla trembled slightly.

“She’s been with child all this time and didn’t know. She jumped into the fray against King Sombra not knowing she was pregnant and then didn’t follow any maternity procedures afterwards!”

“Uh, ehehe. But the doctors at Canterlot did say the kid was alright, remember?”

Xenilla suddenly stood up and tossed his book on wards and defenses to the wall, moving up in such motion he didn’t even feel Blade Dancer’s weight on his back as she was picked up with him.

“Yes but those fools also said Empress Cadenza’s magical aura inhibited their sensors, details could have been missed! Healthy yes, but they couldn’t even tell the race!”

Blade Dancer clung to Xenilla’s neck and back, feeling his temperature grow as it usually did when his heart rate increased. She futilely tried to pat at his shoulder and stop the train she unknowingly set in motion despite the fact it was clear there were no brakes.

“Ehehe, Xenny? Calm down now. It’s not like she’s been in anything stressfu-”

“Icka’brod’s attack on me! She attempted to halt it and nearly passed out. I’d say that counts as stressful. Come on, we’re going!”

“Where?!”

Xenilla telekinetically threw his doorway open and power walked down the hall past a confused Flash Sentry.

“To secure the means to ensure a stable pregnancy. The heir to the Crystal Empire is at risk and if the Empress and Prince Consort decide to be ignorant of actions ensued in their chambers, I will not. The rest of Empress Cadenza’s term must flow to the best degree to ensure a healthy progeny, something I will see to!”

Blade Dancer only had mind to make sure she had her bits satchel on her before hopping off and jogging alongside Xenilla. She could hope this was going to be sensible, keyword being hope.

-This is the same guy whose strategy for getting at Sombra was to get himself thrown in jail… Well, least I got him out of his study!-

========================

Crystal Empire, Main Street

After rushing the library and checking out half a dozen books on pregnancy and healthy foal growth, Blade Dancer found herself walking down towards the market district alongside Xenilla; who had books levitated in front of the both of them to look through as they went along.

“So you sure you don’t mind me tagging along?”

Blade Dancer muttered after reading through a passage on pregnant exercise regimes, cocking an eye at the large stallion beside her.

“Of course not. You proved yourself to have a sharp wit the first day we met.”

“Wheeen I read a big book or shot you down after punching you?”

“Latter.” Xenilla grunted almost casually without breaking stride. He sensed the frown forming on her face and chased it down.

“What I meant was, I’ve respected you since then. To be honest I thought you to be some love-drunk who tailed my brother due to some beauty standards in your culture. I am... happy, to have been proven wrong. Didn’t hurt your case that you were actually right about me.”

Blade Dancer’s smile returned, beaming sweetly while she put a wing across Xenilla’s back. Xenilla made no attempt to protest, he simply didn’t want to considering his second reason.

“We’ll need all the information we can get for the child. To be honest, and please do not repeat this in front of others; but I admire your emotional maturity. Certainly more stable than I was. So, I appreciate your company, greatly.”

“For the help?”

“For it in itself.”

Blade Dancer’s face started to turn as red as her hair and she shot Xenilla a sly look. Despite the fact his face was obscured by his book, she’d remembered what his body temperature increasing meant and could feel it on her wing. She knew how badly he must have been flushing despite his covered face. The pegasus snickered with a tiny squeal, using her other wing feather to turn her page.

“Says here on nutrition there is a table of things recommended for the mother to consume to ensure optimal balance through the placenta.”

“May I?”

Blade Dancer nodded and let Xenilla telekinetically switch the books around.

“Hm. Big list, where could we secure these?”

“Think the health store should have good stock… I take it that’s our next stop?”

“... Do you need to really ask that?”

=============

Health Store

Blade Dancer methodically read through a list while perched against the cashier’s desk, half mumbling to herself how Xenilla managed to scribble all this down, let alone take the time to cross the “t”s and dot the “i”s while in a sprint. She had to remind herself this was Xenilla she was thinking about, whom was busy scanning the aisles for the other half of the list.

“And we’ll need-”

She squinted and held it up closer to make sure she was reading it right.

“-crushed or ground citrus skins for the C vitamins, copper, calcium and folate. Um, you got any oranges?”

“Make sure to cover the kelp or kelp powder for the pantothenic acid and zinc, can substitute for frost moss considering the climate here and we’re land locked-”

Xenilla called out from behind an aisle, stopping to momentarily rub his chin.

‘-unless I convinced someone to change me so I could fly to the coast.”

Blade Dancer rolled her eyes, not looking up from her list.

“No, we are not doing that just so we can get fresh kelp.”

She leaned over towards the incredibly confused and equally amused store clerk.

“Please tell me you've got frost moss…”

“Aisle 2.”

"Hey! Aisle 2 for moss!-"

She turned back around to the clerk with a smile and nod.

"Thank yoooou.”

The cashier giggled, popping up on her tippy hooves to see the top of Xenilla’s head poking out over an aisle and heading to the aforementioned aisle 2.

“Hehe, dedicated one. That him?”

“Yeeeep, that’s my dork. Might as well be the king of them too.”

“Well if he’s still dead-set on stuff like this, he’s a keeper!”

She snickered, elbowing a blushing Blade Dancer. Blade Dancer smiled adorably before tallying up the charge.

“And you sure you don’t mind this big an order?”

“Hey you got enough to pay for it and then some. I’m just not sure about getting all this so soon since some of it is perishable.”

Blade Dancer could only shrug in response.

“Trust me, we wouldn’t leave the market district without a full list. And according to the books on this sort of thing we’re actually at about the right time.”

The clerk paused and went quiet for awhile, causing Blade Dancer to look over at her with a tilted head.

“... What?”

The clerk stood there blinking a few times before cocking an eyebrow and looking back and forth between Blade Dancer’s head, something lower down, and then at the distant head of Xenilla sticking out from above the sign for aisle 2. Her face curled into a look of complete befuddlement.

“A-Are you sure you want all this stuff so soon? Most of these go bad long before you’d need them.”

“Huh?”

“I mean, I can understand you maybe getting it out of worry. After all you’re a pretty big mare and he’s enormous, so your kid will probably be plus size too. But...shouldn’t you be showing more by now?”

One could have heard a pin drop both in and outside of Blade Dancer’s head as her eyes popped out wide and her lips tightened. In the span of half a second her face went from near porcelain pale to cherry red and both of her broad wings shot straight up. Evidently, either due to the relative quiet in the store or enhanced senses a kaiju, Xenilla had heard that last part too. Nearly half a minute ticked by before he awkwardly grunted and held up a jar from behind the aisle.

“....Found the frost moss. Where’s the citrus skins?”

“Oranges on aisle 4.”

It was late afternoon when they finally started heading back to the castle, Blade Dancer not minding Xenilla was the one who was carrying most of the “groceries” via levitating them above them even though she insisted on hauling some of them herself. Both of them were still more than a touch red in the face from earlier.

“....”

“I feel communication could have gone better.”

“You did ki-inda charge into the store to attack the crystal aisle for minerals.”

“... My apologies, communication hasn’t been my forte.”

“She said “showing more by now”, do I look-”

“Rotund? Enlarged? Inflamed?”

Blade Dancer’s face deadpanned instantly.

“Pregnant.”

Xenilla opted to look off to the side, feeling awkward for one of the first times in his life.

“No. I think you seem very much, not so… I’m told you’re quite the looker by your race’s standards and you seem very toned and fit to me.”

Blade Dancer perked her ears up some and tilted her head.

“Who told you that? Not denying it mind you but I didn’t take you for the type to ask.”

“One of the female guards at Canterlot. Cached’ something I think.”

“Oooh Cached Ire, we used to date.”

Xenilla’s voice momentarily faltered and if Blade Dancer wasn’t so confused by it given how used she was to his normal tone, she’d think he actually sounded defensive as he started walking a bit closer to her.

“She seemed still plenty fond of you…”

“We’re still friends, was an amicable break-up. I’m on good terms with most of my exes.”

Xenilla went quiet for a time, giving Blade Dancer time to look him over. While he wasn’t quite anything ideal by a hetero or bisexual mare like herself, and this certainly wasn’t his true form; there was definitely a type of charm there he shared with his brother. Tall, muscular build, a bit of a dangerous-looking appearance with the short fangs, colored sclera, and bony nasal ridge. Bulk wise he was very comparable to Godzilla Junior, but the more structured, less wild-looking mane gave him a more intelligent and orderly look complete with what almost looked like sideburns. When she first met him, Blade Dancer actually didn’t like it a bit given the behavior and demeanor behind that look seemed to zig in every way Junior zagged. Junior kept his stance relaxed, hunching slightly in laxness which took away a bit from his height; while talking in a dutiful but casual manner that made him seem friendlier. Fact he was so easy to confuse and tease at with her flirting made him just a treat. Xenilla at the start always carried himself high, puffing his chest out some and keeping his head straight up and level to look down on others. His tone was very intelligent, but smug to the point of condescending.

But ever since the fallout of his fight with King Sombra, especially after she’d seen him have a breakdown; that image of Xenilla never popped up. He still stood tall, had a method to his speech, and avoided nonsense as much as possible as evident by the meaning of this day out; but it wasn’t smug or prideful anymore. He’d emote, he’d worry, and he’d actually take others around him into consideration. This was the Xenilla Blade Dancer was guessing at was the true one ever since the day she saw him get uncharacteristically quiet upon discovering the aerenth crystal as well as saved her from a falling hunk of ceiling.

And, this was the Xenilla she found herself liking more and more. The fact she could tell he wasn’t rejecting some of her old, playful nature was definitely a bonus as the return of the flirt ensued. Blade Dancer sighed, leaning in a bit closer and pushing her head up against Xenilla’s neck to feel the heat coming off him. The heat momentarily increased and she felt it spreading to her scalp and ears. Xenilla had put his snout across the top of her head. After staying like that for awhile, they pulled away, shooting each other a smile before approaching the castle doors.

“I’m sorry if this day out caused some chaos for you.”

“Meh, read this and I’ll see to it that we make it even.”

Blade Dancer muttered with a wink as she pushed a book into Xenilla’s face. Xenilla pulled the paperback off his snout and looked at the cover, seeing an illustration of a pegasus on a mat of some sort with another atop them with hooves on their back.

“... Wing massages and preening, how-to for dummi-... You insult my intelligence, Miss Dancer.”

Blade Dancer put a hoof to her mouth, snickering before bringing down one of her wings on Xenilla’s haunch.

Author's Note

Proofed by Lance-Omikron and Faith-Wolff!

Up Next!:
Princess Luna and Godzilla Junior, 2/25

The Trusted: Luna - Junior

Hooves stomped dents into the floor as their massive owner bulldozed through several barricades of overturned shelves that blocked the hall, hardly slowing in his sprinting pace as the showers of splinters and shattered glass flew around him. Pace only increased at the sound of screaming coming from the end of the hall. Godzilla Junior lowered his head down and to the side, not even flinching as the thundering crack of splitting wood and twisting metal shot out when he rammed down the door with the lunar symbol inscribed on it.

Skidding to a halt in Princess Luna’s room, the kaiju quickly checked his bearing but was too slow to avoid being blindsided by a wave of black energy firing off from above him. Gritting his fangs and enduring the cold snap that accompanied the shockwave, Junior looked to and fro. The dark tsunami of magic caused the world around him to distort and darken, resembling an oil painting more than it did reality. Luna’s chamber twisted and wavered, becoming almost a nightmarish parody of itself as one light after another was snuffed out. Taking heed to protect his angles, Junior stood at the ready and put his back to the wall. With the last candle snuffed, the only light in the room was currently coming from Junior’s ignited mane and the flickers of burning blue slipping from the corners of his mouth.

Silver luminescence trickled in from the window opposite of him. Howling gales tore the window open, letting in gusts of chilling winds and the encompassing glow of the full moon. The lunar body itself rose up with the image of a dark alicorn etched into its surface. The image moved, seeming to throw its head back and laugh in a chorus Junior could hear all around him before she spread her wings and leapt out of view. Black streams of mist shot out of the moon and into Luna’s chambers. A tall, shadowed figure with an alicorn's outline appeared where the black haze did, slowly walking forward into the moonlit patch of floor space before the window. Sapphire blue armor gleamed and Nightmare Moon cracked a fanged grin as her eyes became flooded with black light. She fired a torrent of dark magic, forcing Junior to dive to the side, roll back to right himself and return fire. Nightmare Moon smirked and jumped back, disappearing into a haze only to reappear from another dark corner of the room.

They danced for several minutes, dodging, disappearing, reappearing, firing and returning fire. Sometimes the malefic magic encasing and distorting the room would cause Nightmare Moon’s magic blasts to rebound or bend, forcing Godzilla to either dodge again or discover new methods to negate the hit.

-They said dark magic can play havoc with my ability to heal, can’t take too many direct hits.-

The latest such ricochet blast was deflected by a nuclear pulse charged backhoof and kicked through the roof. Seeing that the current strategy was not working, Nightmare Moon was quick to alter it. Melting back into the twisting nether, her solitary pair of glowing eyes were soon replaced by half a dozen. Six dark alicorns flew into action, firing their magic blasts from multiple angles or flying around the dark room to get a better spot from which to charge or fire from. Godzilla Junior frantically dodged and returned fire as best he could, batting away a blast and unleashing a ray of plasma at one of the alicorns. Only, much to his confusion, for the beam to pass right through her and hit the ceiling. Junior narrowed his eyes and trailed another one of the Nightmare Moons while he braced himself to tank a magic blast to the chest. Wincing and bearing through the biting cold, his mind became alight when he noticed a very subtle detail. Some of the Nightmare Moons were flying into things and not reacting, a wing clipping into a wall, two of them flying so close to one another they should have collided, or in one case one’s tail passing by another’s magic blast but not responding to the concussive force or the shockwave.

-There’s not six of them, just one.-

Junior rolled off to the side and honed his eyes upon the group as he tried to discern the fakes from the real one. One Nightmare Moon unleashed multiple concussive blasts in his direction. After taking a moment to brace just in case, Godzilla Junior growled and walked right through the fake attack. Another Nightmare Moon surged at him from the side. This time he didn’t even react, choosing instead to study the other four remaining alicorns to find what he was looking for as her fake attack passed right through him. Junior paused, locking eyes with one Nightmare Moon hovering in the middle. She glared at her foe, magic spiraling up the lines of her horn. Junior stomped a crackling hoof into the ground as a blue fiery hue overtook his mane. Nightmare Moon unleashed her wrath, cackling madly while sending a three meter thick column of magic out to engulf the kaiju. In response Godzilla Junior, mane alight turned to his side to face the Nightmare Moon who’d been rushing him from the side and reached out to her as the dark magic engulfed the both of them.

The shower of angry magic swallowed the two up for a solid ten seconds before it finally dissipated. When it did both Junior and the Nightmare Moon he’d turned to face were standing still, the alicorn having dropped her hooves and looking down at a tingling pressure on her side. The gentle touch was just below her wing, Junior’s hoof tracing across a barely visible scar present there. Nightmare Moon sighed, casting a smile as the distorted dimension around them lifted. They were back in Luna’s room as it normally looked with the duplicates freezing in place and disappearing in puffs of haze. The black coloration around the remaining Nightmare Moon evaporated off, releasing a smirking Princess Luna. The Princess of the Night silently reached up and trailed her hoof along Godzilla Junior’s brow, cheek, and jaw, tracing the same barely visible scar she had on the night she’d gained some insight on her new bodyguard. Luna giggled, putting her horn to Junior’s and causing the dream realm she’d put them in to lift away like a drawn curtain.

Princess Luna closed her eyes and beamed, tilting her head and giggling after Godzilla Junior woke up from the dream walk shaking his head in confusion. The facsimile of her chambers had been washed away, paved tile and cobblestone replaced with the isolated calm of Starswirl’s Glade. Waiting for Junior to come to fully, Luna reached out with her wing and gently bopped the stallion on the head.

“How did you know which one was the real me?”

“You smell-”

Junior’s blunt suddenness elicited a slight leer from the princess before he could finish that statement.

“-distinct. I didn’t scent anything from the others and it narrowed down.”

“Oh.”

She muttered, bouncing back to amicableness.

“Well I guess that’d be a useful trait if the purpose of this is to teach you to not be fooled by dark magic. Many types of dark magic focus on sight, touch, and sound more than smell to deceive, so should you find yourself against such a foe they might forget to change that or just not change it enough. Unexpected, but I won’t argue.”

“Only probably wouldn’t be effective in crowds.”

“Well, thankfully unless you’re accompanying me somewhere; not a problem.”

“Tell that to the unicorn school.”

Junior mumbled his retort partially under his breath. Princess Luna, now sitting herself beside the unicorn as he put his side up against hers, raised an eyebrow and her ear to his word.

“What was that?”

“I like kids as much as next fellow, but that chib-something Mariner Moon kid really needed to stop trying to copy my beam.”

“Not her fault she assumed it was magic, she was definitely eager.”

“... She blew a hole in the roof with a pink death ray.”

“Shaped like hearts! And I made sure she got an A+ for it! Clearly a prodigy!”

Luna chirped with a laugh, having to cover up her muzzle to keep from snorting. Godzilla Junior couldn’t help but glance over to the alicorn next to him and note the contrast. When in public she was always prim, composed, often authoritative with a booming voice and that weird manner of speaking that still confused him. Seeing her now was a contrast that, for not attempting a pun, looked like a new moon versus a full one. Princess Luna in public was a new moon, a princess first and only giving a bit of insight, like a new moon’s outline, as to what was going on in her head. In private or if quips from other were to be believed, on Nightmare Night, she was Luna first, Princess second. Just like a full moon doesn’t hide things from its facing surface, she didn’t hold things back. She’d joke, laugh, jest, let her tone drop, and just emote more in general no matter if it was happy or sad in nature. Junior shrugged, letting the alicorn’s smile infect him. He didn’t much care for Princess Luna the first days, but after getting to know Princess Luna in the weeks after, especially after the night at the bedside or the twilight he found her here in the glade; he could bear through it. He knew which one was real by now and liked the result.

Still, didn’t hurt to test the theory. He nudged the alicorn at the shoulder.

“Question that’s been with me for some time. Your speech pattern at the school, I saw you use it when in the meetings I accompanied you to.”

“Oh? You mean the Royal Canterlot dialect? Sorry if the shouting hurts thy ears.”

Junior rolled his eyes at the last part, chuckling briefly before replying.

“More than just the shouting, the wording. I noticed you drop it when out of view. Never seen you use it much beyond a brief mention here or there when we talk. Or when you talk to Celestia.”

Princess Luna paused, looking out across the glade and sighing contently.

“Never felt much need for it. Sometimes it’s draining to keep using, especially when it’s improper.”

“Improper?”

“The Royal Canterlot voice and its manner were something Starswirl and Platinum came up with for us when we were named protectors of the realm, though back then it was just the “royal” voice. Didn’t live in Canterlot then. The intent was to display power to assure the normal folk they had the mighty looking out for them.”

“And above them I take it?”

“In a way, yes. Definitely helps when talking down an unruly governor or noble. But, as an announcement of status and stature, it’d be improper to use it on my own sister since she’s the elder.”

“And what about me? Is it like how Celestia says I need not call her “Princess” because she considers me an equivalent royal?”

“Well you are titled “King” of the Monsters… But, no actually.”

Luna paused, earning a tilted head from Junior. Luna looked out into the glade and with her mind’s eye she looked further. The alicorn saw many things. A moment where an entity she once held in suspicion stubbornly refused to leave her side when facing her father figure’s headstone. Another, sillier moment when that same being, not even knowing what he was doing, caused her to get flustered like a filly after dumping an uprooted rose bush in front of her. And of course, a turning point in her view when she saw something that walked with thunder and stood above almost anything was in fact riddled with scars while learning why he got them. She’d seen the real Junior that night and the motion she repeated as she reached over and traced a line across his brow and cheek reminded them both of that. Luna pulled her hoof away and smiled.

“It’s because it’s improper to do so to a... confidant. A sentiment I suspect you understand, given your lack of calling me “Princess” lately.”

Luna’s answer came not in words but by Junior shifting over and putting his hoof to a line of tender scar tissue just below her wing, one hardly anypony knew was there. Most would see a monster king battered by scars as humbling while a permanent marking on a lunar demigoddess was a blemish upon her form. But for Luna to Junior, Junior to Luna, they just saw themselves in someone they trusted. Luna cooed lightly, leaning over and touching her horn to his.

They stayed like that in the quiet for a time, until some of the silver beams of Luna’s moon started to fade over the horizon. The two looked out across the glade and towards the moon.

“Looks like my timer is almost out. We should begin to return to the castle.”

Junior, noting Luna’s words, stood up and glanced back behind him to eyeball the distance.

“Will take time then. It’ll be dawn before we return.”

“Oh? Have a schedule to keep?”

“No, but I know you well enough to know you prefer to be in your bedding before your sister raises the sun up.”

“Point made.”

Luna deadpanned with a slight snicker, testing her wings.

“I could fly back if you express such concern for my time… But I presume you haven’t gone off and learned any teleportation spells behind my back, correct?”

“No.”

Luna pulled her wings back and stood up beside Junior, smirking briefly before she held her head high and started to walk back to the castle. She didn’t even get three steps out before Junior’s words chased her down.

“You could carry me.”

“!?”

The alicorn stumbled and looked back and over at the mutant unicorn pacing up beside her, his eyes cast high towards the castle. She couldn’t help but cast a more than slightly incredulous look.

“C-Come again? Thought you hated flying”

Junior just shrugged, barely hiding a bemused expression in response to Luna’s confusion.

“What? You’re strong enough to kick me through a wall, I’d think you’d be strong enough to lift me.”

Luna’s face flattened with brief contemplation before a frown grew over it.

“That is true but-”

The alicorn placed a hoof upon her friend’s shoulder as he shrugged, knowing what she was going to bring up.

“-it’s not like you have a good record of individuals carrying you into the air. Are you sure you wouldn’t be unnerved by it? I really have little issue walking and being a touch late.”

Junior just slowly shook his head, muttering placidly.

“Destroyah and the gyaos dropped me, you wouldn’t.”

“N-No I wouldn’t, but wouldn’t the experience worry you throughout it? I wouldn’t want to cause you distress.”

“You won’t.”

Junior tilted his head over and cast a pleasant, relaxed smile he didn’t get to wear as often until he came to Equestria. He gave the alicorn a subtle nod.

“I trust you.”

========================

Several minutes later and Luna was steadily beating her wings to fly home, the peaceful smile on her face quickly turning into a mischievous grin upon hearing a low grumble. She raised an eyelid to peek to her side, unable to stifle a sudden fit of giggling when she saw a pair of yellow eyes surrounded by red looking back at her. Upside down. Godzilla Junior held himself like he was sitting down on his haunches, forelimbs crossed in front of him as his tail and wild mane hanged down below him despite Luna’s magical aura wrapping around him.

“Hehehe, regret it Goji?”

She quipped slyly, smirking. Junior just narrowed his eyes and grumbled.

“When you put me right-side-up and get me out of this magic hold, you'll find out, Lulu.”

Author's Note

Proofed by Faith-Wolff and Lance-Omikron

"Mariner Moon" is a joke name I came up with for a character who showed up multiple times in the IDW comics. It seems to be a running gag that any time the magic school is shown, the students are modeled after magic based series like Harry Potter. Well one such series that's actually popped up multiple times even in the show is Sailor Moon, to the point the whole cast has made appearances. Character name dropped, "Chib-Something Mariner Moon" is in the lower right, pink maned filly with the pigtailed based off "Chibi Usa". And I figured given Sailor Moon is a Japanese series I've already homaged and Godzilla is from the same country, the thought of some ponified magical girl trying to fire a death beam in fangirly emulation of an older Japanese series was too funny. But I never found the place to put it in the story so I just referenced it here. Might show the actual scene if I get the chance latter.