The morning sun shined brightly over the pristine Capital of Equestria, the golden rays of Celestia’s light giving the stained windows of the castle a beautiful display of dancing lights. The local scent of the bakery and dinners that dotted the main road gently cascaded through their windows and graced the residents of Canterlot with their wonderful mixed scents of sweet and savory. Unicorns of prestigious pedigrees populated the polished and paved paths as well as earth ponies who traveled from near and far to see the gem of Equestria.
Among these many posh ponies was a mare among the highest of caliber, but lacked the arrogance that many a Canterlot Unicorn held. Her golden blond mane a sharp contrast to her pristine and crimson red coat. Her voice a tender and soft melody of grace as greeted the locals with a warming smile. “Good Afternoon!” She greeted the residents, her horn glowing a pale blue aura as a parade of bags and boxes followed behind her. The day seemed to be giving this gorgeous mare a chance to indulge in some much-needed shopping therapy, though she had indeed started running low on her usual cosmetic enhancements and other essentials to keep her looking like the rose that she was.
So imagine the mare’s surprise when she felt a heavy force accidentally shove her a bit to the side, a grunt coming from the object in question as she felt her magic waver and her bags of preciously purchased parcels almost fall to the ground. “Oh, excuse me. I wasn’t looking where I was going.” She stated, straightening herself up and offering a friendly smile as she apologized. Her ocean-blue eyes seemed to widen, however, when they fell upon the Pegasus in front of her.
“Oh, no no no. It’s my fault, I wasn’t paying attention either.” He stated, offering a friendly laugh as he raised his hoof to rub against the back of his head. That long, azure mane tied up in a Top Knot with strands flowing in the wind, his light yellow coat glistened in the wind from signs of sweat. It took her a few moments to make sure the Pegasus in front of her was indeed the same one she had known a few years back, but it couldn’t have been. That pony was brash, immature, chaotic and, despite his best efforts, always seemed to cause more trouble than he helped fix. The pony in front of him held himself with more respect, almost as if he had been raised in Canterlot his whole life. His muscles far more defined and expanded and his body kept to absolute perfection.
“I’m sorry, but...” The blond mare started, offering a friendly smile as she asked: “You wouldn’t happen to be Razor Breeze, could you?” With a raised eyebrow, the Pegasus offered an almost confused smile, pausing to look over himself. Her suspicions even stronger when she saw the shield in front of a gale of wind on his flank. Only one pony that she knew of had that Cutie Mark…
Laughing it off, the pony simply nodded and said “Yep, that’s me! Though I’m used to being called Kaze Tau, I haven’t been called Razor Breeze since I came back.” After lowering his hoof, the Pegasus slowly lowered his upper body, offering a polite bow as he added with a more calm tone “It has been a while, has it not, Madam Scarlet Rose~”
Kaze Tau? So Razor really must have been from Neighpon, Scarlet though as her crimson cheeks brightened while the Pegasus bowed to her. With a slight bow of her own, she gave a warming smile, amused that the young troublemaker had become such a respectable, proud and handsome Stallion in such short years. “How have you been, Mr. Breeze? Last time we spoke, I believe you were having a slight identity crisis that Lucien had to help you through.”
This earned a slight red hint to the Pegasus’ cheeks as he gave off a slow nod of his own. Razor’s smile never wavering as he straightened himself back up. “Oh, I have been fine. I am actually here on a business trip from home, you know how my brother and I co-own and are partnered with a few establishments around here. I was merely checking on things for now, though I was about to head to Ponyville once I was done here.” His cyan eyes slowly shifted to the many bags and boxes that trailed behind her like a parade of minions and his eyes widened as he added “Would you like some help, Miss. Scarlet? It wouldn’t be much of a bother, it honestly would give us time to catch up.”
That friendly attitude and lack of awareness for politeness certainly cleared any doubts in the mare’s mind; This was the Razor that she was aware of. She was about to deny his offer, raising her hoof to be as polite as she could, but she found her hoof weighed down by her curiosity. He was never a bad pony if her memory served correct. In fact, she remembered that all this Pegasus really wanted to do was make other ponies happy and their lives easier.
A memory of when they were younger came to the forefront of her mind, her arm wrapped around a battered, bruised and burned Razor. His left foreleg in a cast after trying and fetch several rare ingredients from the Everfree Forest and Ghastly Gorge for Twilight. The Pegasus’ will to complete the task in front of him never wavering, never faltering or breaking. That glimmer of the Pegasus from the past seemed to shine with the one before her now. Her small smile growing at the fond memory as she turned her head a bit to the side. “If you wouldn’t mind. I do have a few more things I would like to look at and it would be just grand if you could help me with the heavy lifting, darling.”
With a confident nod, Razor simply trotted over and slowly lowered his head to let the boxes float over to him and rest on his back. Spreading his wings allowed her to rest some bags on them as well and by the time he was at the limit of things he could hold, Scarlet only held a small bag of perfume in her magic. “Are you sure you can hold all of that, dear?” She asked, feeling a bit guilty for having the Pony carry all of her luggage. However, without showing any signs of weakness, the helpful stallion merely nodded and gave her a beaming smile.
“It’s no trouble at all, Madam Rose. I honestly expected some of this to be much heavier than it actually is.”
Well, if he wasn’t going to complain, Scarlet Rose though with a slight nod before turning around and continuing down the road with her companion behind her. During their shopping spree, the two Ponies got to catch up on the time they missed as well as learn more about one another. Apparently, while Razor was away from Equestria, he and his brother Kick Start traveled around the world for a few months, helping out other ponies and searching for tombs long forgotten or thought cursed. He’d tell her of the many adventures that seemed to hold her attention rather firmly despite his attempts to learn how her life had been. From saving a village from a gang of rampaging bull bandits that called themselves the “Angry Anarchists.” to spend a few months helping a group of Nomad Zebras across a dangerous part of the Zebrahari Desert. It seemed those few months had been very eventful, with the duo never slowing down or taking a rest.
“Oh, my,” Scarlet added as they left a boutique, a new dress hanging up not far from her with the hanger held firmly by her pale blue magic. “Those months appear to of been quite fascinating indeed. I almost can’t believe some of the things you told me. But, I have to ask; what about the rest of the time? I don’t mean to be rude or nosy, but the time you have been away from Equestria for almost five years now, and those events seemed to of only taken six months.” She asked, continuing her trot back to the hotel which she was staying at, only to stop a few feet away when she noticed the Pegasus’ hoof steps suddenly stopped and she turned to see what was wrong.
Razor’s eyes had focused on an alleyway, the normal Equine pupils he normally held now slanted like a serpent as he seemed to glare at the dark gap between the restaurant and the souvenir shop. Before she could ask what was wrong, however, the stallion spoke in a hard, quiet voice that held something that demanded her attention. “Scarlet, please take your groceries and go get a guard. A group of Ponies just pulled a Griffon into that alley and I don’t like how it is looking.” The news took her aback; it was in the middle of the day and a ponynapping was happening now? But when he began to slowly lower himself and put the bags down, she quickly raised her hoof to him in an attempt to stop the Pegasus from flying in.
“Wait, Razor. You shouldn’t go flying in there without thinking. You can get a bird’s eye view and find a guard faster than I can, anyways. Please, don’t do something reckless.” Scarlet pleaded with him, which for a moment seemed to get a response as he hesitated from putting the bags down. However, he let the plastic parcels down on the ground and turned to the alley, slowly sliding some of the boxes off of his back while Scarlet took the others.
“You’re right, it would be faster for me to fly up in the air and locate the guards and lead them to this alley. It would probably be the safest route, as well. But I still haven’t grown out of it, seeing a pony in trouble and denying them any help. I’m sorry, Madam Rose, but I have to be a bit selfish right here.” Razor stated, taking to the sky and flying over, disappearing out of sight in a few mere seconds. Scarlet couldn’t help but scoff and roll her eyes a bit; Stallions were all the same in the end, it seemed. Macho, tough and always needing to run head first into danger and ignoring the logical solution.
Deciding to pick up her shopping bags and boxes up with her magic, a little groan escaping her lips from the combined weight of it all, she turned to begin heading to where a guard was normally stationed at within this area. Just down the street, take a right at 6th, then head over to Blue Blood Avenue and finally find she’d find herself on Mane Street where a guard was stationed to help direct air traffic. The route was simple, and it would only take her a ten, maybe twelve minutes to get to the guard and back. But just as she took that first step forward, she stopped. Twelve minutes that Razor would be alone, seven-hundred-and-twenty seconds of no pony but her even knowing what was happening. Her mind raced what all could be done in that short amount of time, how many acts that could follow with no certain variables.
Silently cursing Razor’s brash yet infectious attitude, Scarlet turned and dashed towards the gap between the two buildings, doing her best to avoid and lightly make her way through the traffic of ponies that were going about their day and living their peaceful lives. Once she finally crossed the busy street that was one of many within the Capital of Equestria, the mare peaked her head around the corner and watched with wide eyes at the scene before her.
No more than fifteen feet away from her and to the far right, a light brown Unicorn laid under a white Pegasus, both groaning in pain as they appeared entangled in a mess of limbs. Further down, possibly thirty-to-forty feet from the street, stood three other ponies, the Silver and Pink Earth ponies appeared to be holding a light gray and white female griffon down, her beak tied shut by a dingy looking cloth. A black and red unicorn seemed to be doing their best to hit Razor, who was currently in an aerial ballet with a pale green Pegasus. Every time the thug attempted to capture the light yellow Pegasus, it seemed as if he was just a few inches off or just lacked the agility to match him. It almost seemed like her worries were unfounded until a stray bolt of pale green magic managed to hit Razor right upon his side, opening him up for a solid blow to his stomach from the other Pegasus that promptly threw him into the ground.
Scarlet attempted to cover her face to muffle her gasp but seemed to only attract the attention of the others as they all seemed to glare at her with malicious intent. However, she didn’t seem to run, but instead calmly begin walking down the alleyway, head held high as she sported a slightly disgruntled frown. “I do hope you all are aware that ponynapping is a felony within Equestria.” She scolded the group, watching as the two ponies off to the side seemed to untangle themselves and realize where they were.
The hot pink pony, which Scarlet managed to confirm was a male with his build and tone of his voice, seemed to scoff and laugh at her words, making pressing down harder onto the poor Griffon’s back to show his superiority in the situation. “Well, aren’t you just a pretty little filly? How about this, you come with us quietly, and we won’t hurt your friends. Sound like a deal, doll?” This earned a slight scowl from the prestigious mare, though a glimmer from under the pale green Pegasus’ hooves seemed to turn her scowl into a confident smirk.
“As wonderful as an offer that is, darling. I have an even better proposal. You let the Pegasus and the Griffon go, turn yourselves in and I’ll do everything in my power to assure you all get the comfiest beds Equestrias correctional facilities have to offer.” The group of thugs seemed to stare at Scarlet after her offer for a few moments, only for the lot of them to burst out in hysterical laughter at her, some even pointing their hooves at her as if she had just made the most foolish joke. “Or you can find yourselves in a most uncomfortable situation. It appears you choose the latter, however.”
Once they all ceased laughing, the silver Earth Pony, which Scarlet assumed to be a female due to her longer eyelashes and slightly (?) feminine voice, pointed at the crimson beauty and continued to laugh. “You must have gotten some brain damage with all that hoof polish and face masks you get done on a daily basis, you pathetic prissy pony. I guess we’ll have to take you with us as well!”
To their total surprise, Scarlet seemed to laugh at this statement, covering her muzzle with her foreleg to hold her ladylike posture. Before the thugs could even attempt to ask what she thought was so funny, the mare simply looked at the silver and pink ponies and stated: “You seem to misinterpret grace and beauty with fragility and vanity.” This earned a group-wide snarl and the pale green Pegasus seemed to prepare to tackle her next.
The next five seconds happened so fast, yet to her seemed so slow. Razor, how had been still under the Pegasus that took him down, slipped his hind legs between the hind legs of his capture, spreading them and spinning on his side, knocking the Pegasus off his footing before sinking his teeth into the poor stallion’s foreleg pulling him into a spiral, only to be tossed towards the silver and pink ponies. While the Pegasus tried to slow himself down as best as he could, Razor turned to face the duo who were originally down and charged at them with a fiery glare in his cyan eyes, slamming his side into the Unicorn and earning a loud scream of pain as the bolt of pale green shot off into the air. The last Pegasus seemed to dive out of the way and charged at Scarlet in an attempt to earn a bargaining chip against the battle enraged Razor.
The white Pegasus slowly drew closer and closer, Scarlet watching as the pony slowly took up her entire vision. His hooves outreached to grab her as soon as he could and steadily anticipating the prize to come. Scarlet could eventually see her own shocked reflection within the stallion’s eyes, only to watch her frown turn into a confident smirk. Raising her forelegs, she used one to push the Pegasus upward, redirecting his energy around her as she brought her other foreleg once he was above her and began pushing him down as she jumped up, forcing him into a full circle flying pattern. With a loud thud and grunt from the stallion, Scarlet put all of her weight into his chest and stomach, finishing the improved hip-toss, topping it off by fixing her mane with a simple flip.
The last unicorn stood, staring in shock at what had just transpired before him. In less than five seconds, five of them had been taken down and now it was only him. When he saw Razor turn to face him, head lowered and letting out a puff of heated air through his nostrils, the menacingly colored Unicorn seemed to back away, shaking in fear at the display before him. “D-Don’t come any closer.” He stuttered, quivering on the spot as he looked between the two of them. “Don’t do it, I’m warning you! Come any closer and I’ll...I’ll...”
“You’ll what?” A sweet, innocent voice asked right behind the unicorn. Slowly turning around, it appeared the Griffon had managed to cut herself free with her sharp talons and now stood right behind the unicorn, head slightly tipped to the side and beak curved into a sweet smile as her beady teal eyes waited for the answer to her question. Scarlet heard a strained noise come from Razor and when she looked over, she saw the stallion holding his chest and falling backward, faking a heart attack.
Though the black and red unicorn, probably didn’t fake one as they watched his eyes roll into the back of his head and fall on the ground. Scarlet couldn’t help but offer a confident huff as she flipped her mane once again and walked on the white Pegasus under her, earning a grunt of pain from her living mat. “Well, that was more stress than I needed.” She stated, glaring over at Razor as he straightened himself up. “You, sir, owe me a dinner for putting me through that.”
his earned a bashful little smile from the Pegasus as he shied away from her for a moment. “Yeah...Sorry. I thought I had them, but this alleyway is simply too narrow, it’s almost impossible to maneuver in it properly.” He stated, attempted to find a way to excuse his blunder. However, the irritated glare he was receiving from Scarlet informed him he would receive no mercy from the mare, which made the stallion finally sigh in defeat. “Fine, you name the date and the place and it’s on me.”
As Scarlet gave a confident and satisfied nod, the high-pitch, excited noise from the young Griffon seemed to catch them both off guard as she flew over to the two and stated: “That, was, awesome!” She looked over to Razor, getting uncomfortably close to his face as she excitedly said “How you just came in, threw that Pegasus into the unicorn and flew up and began flying around that other chump. I thought you were done for when you got hit, but then you were all like ‘Wa-cha!’ and did those wicked moves and helped get those bullies off of me. Then you just went ‘rawr!’ and rammed yourself into that guy!’
She then promptly zipped over to Scarlet, who took the excited little girl’s invasion of personal space much better than Razor, who was currently on the floor, rocking back and forth. “And you came in with such confidence and were so cool! ‘Hah, ah, no. You jerks just turn yourselves in and I won’t have to lay the smackdown on you.’ That’s what you should have said, though I guess you were cooler because you didn’t say it.” She let out an excited gasp of air as she continued to retail the events that transpired, showing the duo had certainly earned a fan that day.
It took a few more hours to make sure a guard arrived to transport the thugs to a carrier wagon so that they could be sent to prison and even more to convince the Griffon to return home. By the time all was said and done, the sun was already setting off in the distance and the two ponies were in front of Scarlet’s hotel door, the mare casually reaching into her saddle back and getting her key to unlock her door. “Well, today was quite an eventful day, wasn’t it?” She asked, trying to make small talk as the two entered her abode.
Razor offered an exhausted chuckle, trotting in with her bags and boxes that she had acquired through her shopping spree. “You’re telling me. I didn’t get anything that I was supposed to get done today. Guess I’ll have to extend my stay for another week if I want anytime to return to Ponyville and see Kick.” As he gently placed the objects on either the ground, counter or table, a sharp gasp suddenly came from the Pegasus as he reached over to his ribs, rubbing the clearly bruised area in an attempt to sooth it.
“You see, that is what happens when you are reckless.” Scarlet scolded, trotting to her fridge with her nose held up as she grabbed a cool bottle of apple cider and levitated it over to the stallion. “If you would of simply just flew over and go the guard on Mane, the chances they would have been able to escape by the time you made it back would have been minimal and you wouldn’t of gotten hurt.” This earned a chuckle out of Razor as he rolled his eyes and opened the bottle with his wing, taking a long chug of it as she made her way over and wrapped his neck in a cool cloth which earned a shocking jump from him. “However, you seemed fully aware of what you were doing, so I guess no harm no foul.”
The Pegasus merely offered a weak blush as he made his way over to the window, taking a moment to look down from the 7th floor of the building, getting to see the still busy streets of Canterlot. “You must really love hearing your right. Every mare dose, after all, huh?” Scarlet gave him a gentle nod to confirm as she watched him stare out the window for a few more minutes. After a while, he turned and headed over to the door, stretching his limbs as he walked over to it and stated “Well, I’m going to get out of your mane. Got to get up early anyway if I want to be sure I can get all of this stuff done anyways. It was nice seeing you again, Scarlet. Take care.”
Just before he could close the door behind him, Scarlet quickly called out “Wait!” Which Razor did stop, slowly turning around to see what was wrong. Before he could ask the question, however, he found the words lost as the mare pressed her lips against his own, her eyes closed as she enjoyed the mint flavor from the light yellow pony. After a few more moments, she slowly pulled away, offering a soft a warm and friendly giggle as she said “Good night, Mr. Tau.” Before slowly closing the door.
Razor, stunned by what happened, stood in the hallway for a few seconds, the faint taste of cherries still on his lips as he processes the events. Only after a few seconds of realizing what had happened, he gained a warm smile and turned, trotting down the hallway before whispering “Good night, Madam Rose.”
