The Trojan Brigade Or Light Gust Gets Some Mane

Chapters

Facultative prologue: Twilight Fucks Up
Chapter 1: Light Gust goes to Ponyville
Chapter 2: A Welcome In Purple

Facultative prologue: Twilight Fucks Up

Three days after Tirek's defeat.

Stallions were once something common. The streets of Equestria’s towns and cities were once bustling with a sort of natural music, the lower tones and higher tones of stallions and mares like a harmony of voices.

Now, mares meandered in the streets of Canterlot, speaking in hushed tones about the events that had unfolded only a few days before, so sudden, and so quickly gone all the same. Foals followed close to them, sometimes daring to ask where daddy went, only for their mother to place a hoof on their head and assure them everything was alright.

Twilight Sparkle had taken great care to document what had happened. It was the least she could do. Day after day, guilt wracked her, and she couldn’t look at anypony with anything but shame.

It had been her fault. She could feel it.

After the demonic entity Tirek had stolen the magic of every pony in Equestria, she had defeated him with the help of her friends, and restored the stolen magic to everyone.

However, something had gone terribly wrong.

Stallions everywhere became ill. In the span of only a few days, the near-entirety of the male population had been stricken by the strange disease. Canterlot’s top scientists — including her — had examined the males to determine the cause of the unexplainable plague.

At the moment, she was pacing nervously in the sterile research lab of Canterlot Hospital while her team fanned around her. Only a few swiveling chairs dotted the room, as well as a few tables filled with instruments. Shortly after the start of the illness, they had collected several stallions from multiple hospitals to examine them, hoping to find the reason behind it. Earlier, the room was filled with the bustle of the team’s frantic activities. Now, everyone stared at her, not daring to disturb her pacing. Even Spike, her faithful assistant, hadn’t made a wisecrack the entire day. The tension in the room could have been cut with a knife.

“Well?” She fidgeted in place, several notepads and quills floating around her in an uncoordinated dance. “What were the results? Are the subjects all right?”

A red unicorn named Vial Dreams stepped forward and took a deep breath. She had been the one in charge of handling the few stallions that had accepted to become their test subjects after Doctor Whiterobe had fallen sick. She had been handling everything fairly well. Considering. “They’re recovering in their rooms right now.” She glanced at her team and clicked her tongue. “I can confirm what we feared: the cause of the illness is Tirek’s corrupted magic. On that note, I have some good and bad news.”

Twilight breathed a sigh of as much relief as anxiety. “What are the good news?”

“They’re unlikely to die, that’s something we are fairly confident about.”

Twilight nodded, relief washing over her. “That’s good to hear.”

Vial Dreams’ research team just stared at her, unable to look her in the eyes. The knot in Twilight’s throat that had undid itself mere seconds ago tightened again.

“The bad news?”

“They’ll never recover fully, I’m afraid.”

The news hit her like a charging Ursa Major. “What do you mean?”

Vial Dreams parsed the pages of her notepad. Twilight could feel her sweat on her brow with each crinkling turn, as Vial Dream took her time reading and re-reading the results. “Infertility.”

The air stood still. Twilight cocked her head. “Excuse me?”

“Infertility,” Vial Dreams repeated. “Most stallions we tested have become infertile. Their sperm count has dropped to zero.” She snorted nervously and tugged at her pages, like she was still processing the results she had herself written down. “If this affected every stallion in Equestria…”

Twilight’s ears dropped as panic swelled inside her. “Then ponykind will go extinct.”

Whispers rose around them, the scientists unable to stop themselves from fidgeting at the news. Twilight’s heart raced inside her chest. She might have stopped Tirek from directly destroying everything she knew and loved, but how would that even matter if…

“It’s all my fault,” she whispered to herself.

“Twilight, it’s not your fault.” A clawed hand touched her side. “You did what you had to do.”

“I should have checked.” She shook her head. “I was careless. I should have scanned the magic, given it back little by little, one pony at a time, instead of all at once. Anything to make sure that demon hadn’t done something to it.”

“Twi—”

“I condemned ponykind to extinction, Spike!” The Alicorn’s panicked voice rang through the room.

The ponies stood awkwardly, waiting for her to speak. She didn’t feel like speaking. She felt like running away, to hide from her shame. But a thought struck her, pinning her in place. “What of the mares?”

Vial Dreams blushed and flipped a few pages. To be safe, they had also tested a few willing mares, even though nothing seemed to have happened to them. “Well, it’s a bit different. Nothing serious, but—”

“But what?”

“The opposite happened to them, actually.”

Twilight blinked. “What do you mean?”

Vial Dreams clacked her tongue again. “Hyperfertility. And one of the mares who— ah— was in heat reported it to be unbearable. Nothing else, however. I’ll have my team compile the results and I’ll send you the folder.”

Already, concepts, theorems, and theories swam in Twilight’s mind, trying to made sense of it all. If her intuition was right, then Tirek’s magic might have had the effect of taking one sex’s fertility and transferring it to the other. A cruel joke from a cruel foe. She straightened. “There might still be hope.”

The scientists looked at her with eager eyes, notepads ready. She cleared her throat. “Some ponies are born possessing XX chromosomes even though they themselves are perfectly male. If we’re lucky, then these rare ponies might not have been affected by this change.”

Her heart calmed down as the scientists wrote down her idea. They looked at her, hopeful. She felt a bit taller now, more confident. With enough luck, she could save Equestria.

Spike rolled his eyes and mumbled. "That's honestly one of the dumbest things I've ever heard."

Only a few short weeks after the start of the plague, Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, stood before the council of her elders with a lineup of scientists and lawmakers. Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Princess Cadance considered her with cold stares. A rigid silence floated in the throne room without the usual noise of the court, and the paling moonlight did little to pierce the shadows that wrapped the diarchy and the Crystal Princess. Even Spike held his tongue and stuck close to the youngest's legs.

Twilight cleared her throat and swallowed a hard lump. “I’m sorry for bringing this to your attention so soon, and—”

“At 2 in the morning?” Princess Celestia interrupted. “You do know I barely slept, do you?”

Princess Cadance nodded. Heavy bags drooped under her eyes. “With how upset the Crystal Empire has been lately, I barely got a good night’s sleep myself. Tonight was supposed to be the night, but apparently, you had something important to show us?”

Only Princess Luna regarded her smugly, fresh and fully awake, clearly enjoying her sister’s pain. “Please, do share what you have to say with us, Twilight.”

The youngest Alicorn cleared her throat and gave a nervous chuckle. She was positively drenched in sweat, and if she could have just died on the spot at that very moment, she would have. “Well, it’s about that — ah— fertility problem I brought to your attention recently.”

Princess Celestia nodded, kind eyes piercing thought her tired looks. “You put a lot of effort on that problem, didn’t you? Even after I offered to help, you still wanted to do it all alone.”

Twilight sighed as the Princess’ words brought her tiredness back to the surface. It had been weeks since she hadn’t had a good night’s sleep, and she could feel it in the numbness in her bones. Still, if her works had borne fruits, each and every ache and pain would have been worth it. “I’m sorry I didn’t accept your help, but you and I both know you couldn’t have possibly done your usual work and spare time for mine without working yourself half to death. However, I believe I might have found the solution.”

She gestured to the line of males behind her. They stood proudly to attention, unlike most other stallions in Equestria who had either been admitted to the overflowing hospital around the kingdom or were bedridden at home. The princesses raised a collective eyebrow at the display. There were twenty males, all in good shape, and none with anything that could visibly explain why they weren’t in the pitiful state of the other males.

“Well?” Twilight grinned only with her mouth, her eyes nervous. “Impressed?”

“I mean, yeah,” Cadance said, slightly raising her hoof in puzzlement. She looked right, to her aunts, who seemed to share her confusion, and back to Twilight. “How did you cure them, though?”

“I didn’t cure them.” Twilight swaggered with pride. “Because they were never sick in the first place. As I had correctly hypothesized, males carrying XX chromosomes seemed to be immune to Tirek’s spell.”

“Actually,” Luna corrected matter-of-factly, “Tirek casted no spell. The tainted magic simply needed to be purified before—”

Her words hit Twilight like a train, whose ears flattened on her head. Celestia punched Luna in her side, and the darker Alicorn yelped in pain. While both sisters turned to each other and began a shouting match, fluttered her ears to make them stand upright. It was too late to feel sorry for herself. She had to present a good front for the princesses, and for herself too.

A light blue aura surrounded the two fighting sisters.

“Please, Twilight.” Cadance ripped Luna and Celestia from each other with her magic. “Continue.”

Twilight nodded. “I have here twenty specimens of the most virile males I could find that haven’t been stricken by this corruption.”

“Virile?” Celestia and Luna asked in a questioning tone, breaking their hateful staring in doing so.

“Virile?” Cadance asked before licking her lips.

“They are only the beginning,” Twilight continued, pacing in front of them like a proud general in front of her army, her plan lifting Luna’s careless words off her. “I believe we have in these kinds of stallion the key to stop the extinction of the pony race as we know it.”

Luna cocked her head. “The… extinction of the pony race?”

Twilight froze. A heavy silence hung low in the room. “Oh, yeah, about that.”

“About what, Twilight Sparkle?”

“Every stallion affected by this curse has become slightly, um, sterile.”

Worry crossed the faces of the princesses, except Cadance, whose gaze was locked with one of the males behind Twilight.

“I have not been advised of this,” Celestia said, slowly.

“I have,” Luna retorted. “Well, Vial Dreams let it slip about a week ago. I have the feeling someone here didn’t want to bother us with unnecessary stress, as unwise I would consider it to hide something of that magnitude to us.”

“Don’t worry!” Twilight hurried to add, “I have created a team to search out the most virile stallions in Equestria to prevent that disaster from happening. I present to you: The Trojan Brigade!”

The sound of Spike facepalming punctuated Twilight's proud announcement.

Chapter 1: Light Gust goes to Ponyville

Light Gust stretched his light-grey wings as the kind Nurse Redheart of Ponyville examined him. She pattered around him while humming a happy tune and prodding him here and there with various medical devices, half of which the grey Pegasus was certain weren’t needed. The whiteness of the room matched Nurse Redheart’s coat, although the mare’s pink mane gave life to the air around her. Her movements, sure and lively, contrasted with the cold metal trays and counters surrounding them, but her red cross Cutie Mark made her absolutely belong to the place. His own mane sure matched the decor. A light blue, it was at home among the posters of the same colour lining the walls, although he liked to associate it more with the blue of the sky than sterile hospitals and clinics.

He didn't study the room so closely because it caught his eye, but rather to distract himself from the harsh beating of his heart. It wasn't the first time he'd gotten a job, and it wasn't the first time he had to pass a medical examination for one, but it was the first time he'd gotten such a job, and his mind still couldn't believe it was happening.

Nurse Redheart stepped away from him and considered him. His heart skipped a beat.

“Great, you look like a very healthy young stallion.” She hummed her approval of his physical form. She replaced a metal stick inside her coat, tracing Light Gust’s grey body with her eyes, unaware of the relief washing over him. She turned to a table near her, pen held in her magic aura, and filled lines of paperwork. “You’re a great candidate for the program. Who did you say recommended you again?”

“Oh, uh, Miss Rarity.” He fiddled with the fly of his flight jacket, a thick blue thing made to resist high-altitude chill. As she seemed to be finalizing his release, he dressed himself back up.

“That mare always had a good taste, hadn’t she?” Nurse Redheart chuckled. “How did you meet her? I never saw you here before. Oh, before you leave I just need to do some more basic examinations on you, you can keep your jacket for now.”

“We met in Canterlot.” Light Gust raised a wing to let her prod at his flight muscles. For a non-Pegasus, she seemed to know what she was doing with them. “I moved there a few years ago. We met there during one of her visits to Fashion Alley. I used to work there and I helped her find her way through our hundreds of departments.”

The nurse giggled. “You must’ve been one Tartarus of a guide. I can’t remember Rarity ever getting lost.”

He shrugged. “Honestly, at first she just wanted me to point her to the right direction, but we started to talk and we hit it off pretty well. Ended up going to a friendly dinner with her the day after.”

“Friendly dinner, huh?” Nurse Redheart looked at him with the biggest smug face he’d ever seen. “And that’s what pushed her to recommend you for the Brigade?”

Light Gust gave a nervous smile. Members of the Trojan Brigade were specially picked to be the most virile stallions a pony could find. To be recommended for that job, especially by a close friend of the princess of Friendship herself, had very obvious implications. “It really isn’t what—”

“Hmm-hmm.” Nurse Redheart winked at him. “Don’t worry I won’t tell.”

The squeaking of a swivel chair sounded as Redheart’s magic pulled it closer to them. She plopped down on it and rested her face in her hooves, an excited grin on her face. “Go on, I'm listening.”

“There’s really not much to tell. You see…”

“Oh, Light Gust! You are such a charmer!”

Heads light with good, fine wine, Light Gust and Rarity made their way to the Unicorn’s lavish hotel room, laughing and cheering. It had been the third time they enjoyed a night together since they first met, and it had been definitely the best of the three. As her business in Canterlot was done for the time being, they had decided to take a little break and explore the city's wonders, which eventually led them to some of the best wine in Equestria. When they finally crossed the threshold of the hotel room, Rarity hurried to close the door behind them and threw herself on the regal bed in the center of the room, stretching herself and turning to her side to face Light Gust.

“I had so much fun tonight.” She smiled a coy smile. “But what’s coming next will be even better.”

Her head was adorned with a small elongated tiara finishing with an opal gemstone. Light Gust, for his part, wore a badly-sewn pillowcase on his head, letting only his face show through a hole cut in it. A crimson flush appeared on his face as she spoke.

“You bet it will be.”

He jumped on the bed and landed hard next to Rarity. The mattress jiggled under them. She came close to him, enough for the Pegasus’ sensitive neck feathers to rustle under her breath.

“You know what time it is?”

Light Gust drew in a deep breath. Rarity did the same. For a moment, the world seemed to stand still.

“It’s Adventure Time!” Both ponies yelled at the same time before falling to a fit of laughter. Wiping tears from her eyes, Rarity levitated the remote and quickly set the channel to the six-hours-long marathon they had set to record before going to the local costume store and a game shop. For such a business-centric pony, Light Gust never imagined she would be a fan of one of his favourite shows. But apparently, the craziness and creativity of it had spoken to her.

Soon, ice cream, popcorn, and soda joined them on the bed as they watched the adventures of the goofy protagonists of the show. They huddled closer to each other, relishing each other’s presence to their side.

They stopped paying attention to their surroundings when the Ice King, a terrifying icy-blue unicorn threatened the heroes yet again. Even as absorbed in the show as he was, a small touch to his thigh made Light Gust start. Rarity, her eyes set on the TV, felt around him where the popcorn bag had been a few seconds ago.

“Uh, Ra—”

Her hoof hit the soda bottle, making it spill all over Light Gust’s legs. She jumped as he did, face red as she stared at the mess.

“Oh, goodness, I’m so sorry!”

“It’s no problem.” He tried wiping himself with his hooves while his brain processed what was happening.

“Oh, dear, just go take a shower.” She got off the bed and pulled him off in turn, directing him to the bathroom. “I insist, I’ll change the sheets in the meantime.”

He stumbled inside the bathroom. His wine-hazed mind finally understood he was covered in sticky soda and he groaned. They were having such a wonderful time, why did that stupid soda bottle have to ruin everything?

“Damn you, soda!” he said to no one in particular, shaking his hoof at the air. Maybe the soda god would hear him and feel guilty. He hiccuped and chuckled before the stickiness of his fur reminded him he needed to wash himself.

The bathroom was bigger than his apartment. Granted, he had expected Rarity’s luxury suite to be bigger than his tiny lodgement, but the bathroom? He spun around on himself, admiring the gilded tiles and the chandelier hanging overhead. The shower was wide and roomy too, and — he realized with a blush — clearly made to host two ponies at once. Or more. With hoofholds set much at just the right height to line up with somepony leaning on the wall and a non-skid coating to prevent untimely slipping, the design was clear.

The alcohol was making his head spin as much as the sudden rush of hormones from the mere thought of two ponies going at it in the shower he was stepping in. The rush of water as he turned the knob did little to distract him from his thoughts, and neither did the smell of Rarity’s shampoo that permeated the shower and rose in the heating air. Flowery, proper. He closed his eyes. He could feel her, smell her, like she had her mane pressed against his face as he—

In his drunken mind, the image of Rarity took shape. A Rarity who looked at him with a gleam in her eyes, who came closer, closer, swaying her beautiful round hips as she did. Who reached and touched his face, kissed him deeply.

He was slipping out of his sheath rapidly. He bit his lower lip, his length emerging and hardening from his sinful thoughts. Images swirled in his mind. Rarity’s smile. Her delight when she learned his fondness for what she loved. Her precious laugh. Her warm body pressed against his as they walked side by side on the boardwalk. The scent of her shampoo.

His hoof wandered to his underbelly and touched his throbbing length. He sighed, his fantasy dissipating from the situation. No way he would go down for at least a few dozen minutes. He could take care of it quickly, be presentable to go back to the show. Yeah, that wasn’t a bad idea at all.

“Oh, Lighty?” The door slammed open. “The towels are—”

Light Gust froze. Rarity was standing open-mouthed on the threshold. Her eyes lowered down, down, to his barrel, to his hoof firmly around his shaft. He cringed as her eyes widened. His tipsy brain spun on itself and tried to come up with the best explanation he could come up with.

“Hey, Rarity. This is a bit awkward.”

The shock on her face slowly morphed to amusement. She brought a hoof in front of her mouth and chuckled. “My, my, Lighty. If you needed this so badly you only had to ask.”

He blinked, not believing his ears. “What?”

She sauntered closer to him. “I’m almost hurt you didn’t think of asking me to help you.” Her horn lit up, and the tiara in her mane floated to the counter. “After everything we did today, don’t you think this would have been the perfect activity to close the day? Especially with how you were looking at me all the time, I thought you’d jump on me the moment we were back in the room.”

Under any other circumstances, he would have fainted from the pressure. However, his mind muddled as it was, he simply smirked as his heartbeat picked up. “You make it sound as if it’s easy to ask somepony like you.”

She hummed and brushed against him. “I’m hurt.” her hoof came to his side, gently rubbing him. “I thought we were on a date today.”

The idea hadn’t even crossed his mind. Still, he took what she had said and rolled with it. “And I thought Canterlotians liked to let their dates simmer for months before moving to more interesting activities anyway.” He followed his instincts and passed a hoof through Rarity’s curly mane which now hung lower, wet from the shower. It felt strange to touch a mare like that, but something inside him knew exactly what to do. “Not that I mind, of course.”

She giggled. “I’m from Ponyville, actually.”

“That must explain why. You’re so different from mares I know. So much more energetic. So much more passionate.” He brought his hoof down to her cheek, and she half-lidded her eyes with a wicked grin. “As much in your daily life as your nightly life it seems.”

She touched the hoof on her cheek with her own. “I have to admit I haven’t had much time to be passionate about my nightly life recently.” She leaned forward and whispered in his ear. “And I fully intend to change that.”

His cheeks flushed crimson. The beats of his heart had officially gone over jackhammering and were reaching critical territory, screaming at him to break off and take a breather. However, one look at the mare's eyes, and any and all desire of leaving melted away. “I would love nothing more.”

She leaned back and looked at him with a sultry smile. “Well then, what are you waiting for?”

All of his life seemed to vanish in a sort of tunnel vision focused only on the incredible beauty standing wet in front of him. He brought his face closer to her. Closer. Closer still, until their lips touched. She pulled him lightly toward her, tilted her head, took his kiss deeply. His hoof stroked her head, her neck. The warmth of her mouth was unlike anything he'd ever felt before. She tasted like soda, popcorn, and candies. Most of all, she smelled and tasted of herself, of the mare he'd been having so much fun with those last few days. Her lips parted slightly as she deepened the kiss, and he answered in kind. Their breaths mingled, their tongues touched for the barest of moments before the sensation sent a shiver up his spine and he lightly pulled back.

She broke the kiss with a sigh and grinned. “This wasn’t your first time kissing a mare I hope.”

He chuckled nervously. “Yeah. Between moving to Canterlot, my studies, and my work, I haven’t found much time to be passionate about my nightly life either.”

She brought a hoof to her chest. “My word, you certainly don’t act the part. I almost can’t believe you. You’re a great kisser.” She reached for his lips again, placing a gentle hoof on his chest, going lower, lower. He wanted to stop her, his brain unable to understand that it wasn't all a big, fantastic dream. But the softness of her touch held his worry at bay. She reached under him and squeezed his length lightly, her hoof hardly reaching all the way around. Her eyes widened, and she smacked her lips. “Very gifted too. It’s a wonder mares aren’t fighting over you.”

“I haven’t been looking. I only stumbled upon a diamond by accident.”

She chuckled, her cheeks flushed. Despite the heat, despite the steam rising around them from their pounding hearts, he couldn’t help but chuckle at the sheer cheesiness of his words himself.

“Well, my apprentice gem digger, I’ll make sure your first time is one to remember.” She gave a light peck on his lips before pushing against him, pinning him to the shower wall. His back hit the warm ceramic with a wet slap. Her light blue eyes locked with his own. “Now, do you want to do it here or on the bed?”

“Both?”

She giggled and kissed him.

“And then what?” Nurse Redheart was on the edge of her seat, almost sweating.

“Then we made love.” He sighed. He was sitting upright on the edge of the table. “My friends told me my first time wouldn’t be anything special. They sure didn’t have theirs with Rarity.”

“Made love? Fancy term, loverboy.” She smirked. “Usually, stallions brag about how they fuck or take the mare they slept with. I think in my career I’ve heard only one say it like that.”

“Who?”

“You.”

He laughed, and she followed suit. “I guess I can be a bit romantic sometimes.”

“Romantic? Try sappy.” She looked at him with a gleam in her eyes. “Details?”

He mimed the action of zipping his lips. “Professional secret.”

She groaned but nodded all the same. “Fine.”

Silence hung in the room for a few seconds before Nurse Redheart jumped from her stool and resumed her prodding. “Well, let’s get this all over with, and maybe you can tell me more about you later.”

“Get this all over it? I’m very much enjoying myself in your company. I’ve been to clinics before, but yours is the only one I found myself really, really enjoying. You're a great conversationalist.”

She chuckled. “Not enjoying yourself too much I hope?”

“Hard not to, with a lovely mare such as you.”

He blinked. How those words had escaped his mouth, he couldn’t even begin to guess. The retelling of his previous experience had really gone to his head.

She faked a gasp. “Lovely mare? Me? I really need to take you out now. If you’re talking like that here, I can’t imagine how you’d be like in front of a nice candle diner.”

He smiled and returned the banter. “This almost sounds like a date, nurse.”

“Don’t be silly.” She flicked him on the head. “Consider it a follow-up to this exam.”

“Then I don’t see why not.”

She stuck her tongue out at him. “Thanks, hon.” Her country accent was absolutely charming. Not as thick as others he’d seen, it had a warmth to it, unlike the Canterlot folks’ who sounded permanently offended. “And yes, if you’d like…” she coughed and cleared her throat, chuckled. “Well, if you’re free, I’d love to see what my friend Rarity saw in you. You’re not dating anyone I hope?”

He tsked her. “Nurse, that is not very professional of you. Not only are you asking your patients out but you’re also prodding at their private life?”

“I’m not asking you out,” she retorted with a fakely offended scoff and got off her seat. “I’m simply taking you to a friendly dinner. Nothing more.”

She brushed against him and dragged her hoof along his thick jacket. The gentle-yet-pressing touch sent shivers running through Light Gust, as did the blush on her cheeks that rivaled the colour of her mane. No way. This couldn’t be happening again.

She cleared her throat. “Dear, I’ll need you to remove this silly thing now. I can’t take your pulse with that on you.” She lightly touched the zipper and offered him a sly smile. “Or maybe you’d like for me to remove it for you?”

He grinned, heating up under the nurse’s gaze. “You Ponyvillians really are passionate about your jobs, aren’t you?”

She giggled and dragged the fly down, revealing Light Gust’s puffy fur underneath. She reached all the way down to his underbelly and brushed against his sheath as the zipper fell either side of her hoof. Light Gust’s wings snapped wide open. Blood rushed to his cheeks to the cadence of his racing heart. His head spun. Oh yeah, it was happening again.

“Getting a little daring here.” Light Gust smirked, hiding the stress seizing him. “Not that I mind one bit.”

“Don’t be silly. If you’re going to join the Trojan Brigade, I need to see what you have to offer.” She continued down his sheath, gently rubbing at the growing flesh. “Nothing unprofessional at all with this, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Absolutely.” He sucked in a breath. Nurse Redheart went down to his heavy balls and worked him like a pro, and soon he was sliding out of his sheath and into her waiting hoof. Her eyes and her grin slowly widened as he reached full mast, his hard length pointed directly at the ceiling and throbbing gently. His wings fluttered either side of him from delight.

“Celestia’s holy name!” She breathed in and gave his mast a long stroke. She let out a shaky breath as she reached the bottom of his shaft, and grinned. “I think you are more than qualified.”

Light Gust’s chest swelled with pride. Two lovely mares complimenting him that way did wonders for the ego. “I don’t think you’ll get a very accurate reading of my pulse now. I hope this makes up for it.”

“Almost.” She started to move her hoof up and down his cock, long strokes that fully took advantage of his impressive length, sending an incredible feeling coursing through him without bringing him too close to the edge. “I just need the confirmation that you’re still productive. Standard procedure.”

“Standard procedure, huh?” He hummed in contentment, his anxiety melting away under the Nurse’s ministrations. “Do you do this with all your patients?”

“No.” She gave him a wink. “Don’t worry, though, as long as I just use my hoof, it’s only a necessary part of the process. Only more fun, wouldn’t you agree?”

He nodded. “I would say I’d close my eyes on whatever you would want to do to me, but I wouldn’t dare take them off your lovely face.”

Nurse Redheart broke her rhythm on his length as she buckled in laughter.

“What can I say?” He shrugged, his cock bobbing in the air. “Trust me, having me keep my eyes on you will make your job that much easier.”

Nurse Redheart’s spastic laughter quickly subsided, and she looked up at him with a hungry gleam in her eyes. She circled the examination table, brushing her hoof against Light Gust, and pushed him gently down to the cushioned surface. His cock towered between his legs like a belfry.

“Let’s do this right then.” She flicked her tail to the side, spreading the scent of her arousal around the room, and pressed her muzzle against the underside of his cock, front hooves firmly holding the edge of the table. Her flat tongue went up, up, and flicked against his head, collecting a bit of pre that had started to leak. She licked her lips and, without a word, lifted herself higher and took the head in her mouth. A hot, wet sensation envelopped his cock, and he bucked his hips. She angled herself to take the involuntary trust in her throat, drinking his pre like a sweet nectar. He could barely think through the impossible pleasure he was lost in. The only things that seemed to exist were his cock, and the nurse’s throat around it, massaging it, taking him deeper and deeper with every passing second. She sure had some experience and was pushing him closer and closer to release, judging from the heat rising through his body. She slowly went back up, dragging her tongue against his shaft as she did, and suckled on his head, locking her eyes with his. After several long seconds, he groaned as a particularly good move of her tongue made his thick cock throb and release a squirt of pre that splashed in her mouth. Nurse Redheart looked surprised for a second, and the engorged tip popped out of her mouth, smearing her lips with the clear white liquid. Light breathed at the sudden release, and his cock gave a hard throb of disappointment at being removed from the nurse’s care.

“You are…” she swallowed. Her breathing was ragged, uneven. “...delicious. A bit of a quickshot, but delicious”

“Quickshot?” He grinned and wiggled his hips a little, making his rock-hard cock sway in the air. He had been close, but not that close. “Nurse, we have barely started here.”

Her cheeks flushed crimson. “Oh. My.” She gave a transfixed smile as she came close to him again, breathless. “I’m sorry, I really thought—”

“I could have, with how great of a job you were doing.” He reached a hoof to her head and pulled her closer. “You are absolutely incredible.”

She breathed in deeply, and he followed suit. The air was thick with their scents. Like spurred on by the alluring aroma, Nurse Redheart took his cock between her hooves and lapped at its underside, pumping it up and down as she did. She purred. “I love my job.”

“Couldn’t agree more. I—” His words were cut as she dragged her tongue all the way up and took the tip in her mouth again, eliciting a moan from him. He wasn’t sure if he was glad or not to not have gotten himself off recently. On one hoof, the increased sensitivity felt absolutely heavenly. On the other, if she continued being as good as she was, she was going to make that incredible pleasure end sooner than he’d wished.

“You’re cute when you moan like that.” Her voice was half-muffled by the mouthful of cock.

“Don’t you mean incredibly virile and stalliony?”

“That too.” She slid down his length, taking more of him in her throat. “‘Ood’ess.”

“Don’t try to talk, silly filly.” He put a hoof on her head and guided her gently as her throat took him as best it could, her warmth enveloping more and more of his length. “Careful.”

She hummed around him and started going back up. She had barely taken half of him, but even that was impressive. Most mares who had tried him had barely made it past the head. Nurse went back down, and his hips bucked slightly. “Oh, Clouds, you’re so amazing!”

For a long moment, nothing existed in the world except for Nurse Redheart’s throat around his cock, and his ragged breath. She alternated between going slow and fast, looking at him and closing her eyes. But she always drove herself around his cock with a heated passion. He felt pressure rise from deep inside, inexorable, and drawing nearer by the moment. “I’m getting close!”

She grinned and went faster, deeper, until she hilted him fully inside. With a groan, he bucked his hips to her mouth as his cock throbbed and pulsed, and shot ropes after ropes of cum deep inside Nurse Redheart’s throat. She didn’t move at first, enjoying the feeling of him filling her stomach, but after several seconds of him showing no sign of stopping, panic filled her face and she surged back up and stumbled backward, gasping for air. She fell to her haunches, and his cock throbbed in the open air, shooting several ropes over her before stopping. They laid on their elbows, Light Gust panting from the effort, and Nurse Redheart panting from oxygen deprivation. Finally, she let herself fall flat to the ground.

“I think you pass just fine.”

“A— are you alright?” Light Gust lifted himself a bit higher despite his strength being completely drained from his release. His cock was rapidly softening and retreating back to his sheath, leaving a mess on his coat.

She rose a hoof and let it fall down with a laugh. “Never better. By the Princesses, I feel so full. With a bit of training, you’ll be one of our best members.”

They stayed in silence, and Light Gust was left to wonder how they were going to clean that mess before the doctor came back.

“So.” Nurse Redheart rolled to her side and got up on shaky legs. She wiped her face with a hoof and idly licked it clean. “Are you free tonight?”

He offered her an apologetic smile. “I would have loved to, but I have a meeting with Princess Twilight Sparkle tonight. She’s going to walk me through what my job implies. I’m so sorry.”

“Too bad.” She levitated a sheet of paper to him. “This is your medical form. And…”

A pen zipped along the corner of the page. She ripped the corner off, and slipped the series of numbers in his jacket’s pocket. Light Gust started as she gave him a little peck on the cheek.

“I need to clean up before the next patient,” she said, gesturing to the sticky mess around the table. You should go home and clean up too.” She winked. “And keep this piece of paper handy.”

“I will.”

"Good." She poked him in the chest. "I'll give you lessons on how to talk dirty to a mare. I think you'll need them. Now, go, don't make the Princess wait." She gently turned him around and pushed him out the door with a smile.

Once the door closed behind him, he let out a deep breath, his entire body suddenly relaxing all at once. He took out the piece of paper and scanned the numbers on it. He grinned like a foal. For the first time, a mare had given him her phone number. After years of being too shy to even speak to a mare, he had not only one, but two beautiful and fascinating mares take interest in him.

As much as he felt like a jerk for thinking it, he really had to thank that demonic centaur if he ever broke free from Tartarus again for unknowingly giving him that chance.

Chapter 2: A Welcome In Purple

More than apprehension, sheer incomprehension stopped Light Gust from entering the place Twilight had told him to meet her in.

Before him stood a gigantic crystal structure shining in the daylight and casting shimmering pools of light on the ground. Unlike Cloudsdale’s Citadel and Canterlot Castle, Twilight’s residence looked like a natural formation that happened to have taken the form of a castle and shot out from the Earth in such a way that he couldn’t fathom why or how that thing had ended up in Ponyville, a small town with small houses and small goals. On the main street leading straight to the castle, it had been quite the confusing experience to hear ponies talk about their crops and small town gossips while the mountain-like structure towered over them like some gigantic ancient fortress.

And he thought the medical exam had been stressful.

He took a long shaky breath. Everything was going to be alright, Nurse Redheart had even told him he would make a great addition to the program, so there was no need to stress. Even then, his heart beat hard with each of his steps toward the castle. Rather than feel any measure of reassurance as he came closer to his destination, his legs started to waver under him, and sweat pearled on his forehead despite the relatively chilly air. His ears went flat against his head as he entered the shadow of Twilight’s castle and he paused for a long moment.

Would it be like every other time in his life when things just hadn’t turned out right?

The Junior Speedsters Team he let down. The Flight Academy he had given up going to because of the cost. His move to Canterlot to work a dead-end job to try and scrape together enough bits to get by.

He felt the medical paper in his jacket and the memories of the previous hour came rushing back. Nurse Redheart, her kind smile and her encouragements, both verbal and otherwise. Her soft touch. Next to it, a letter from Rarity recommending him to the Brigade. He looked back at the castle and narrowed his eyes, determined to tackle his greatest obstacle yet.

I will not fail. Not this time.

The doors creaked open and Light Gust jumped with a yelp of surprise. A powerful light surged out of the castle, silhouetting something on top of the stairs. Light Gust shielded his eyes from the sight and instinctively readied himself for takeoff.

“Oh, you’re early.” A bored high-pitched voice sounded. “Well, actually, for Twilight you’d be right on time. Maybe a bit late.” The silhouette shrugged. “Oh well.”

Light Gust blinked to chase away the spots in his vision. Even though it was still blurry, he could make out the shape of an upright creature with its arms crossed. It was small. Maybe half the size of the average pony.

“You coming?”

Light Gust snapped out of his daze. “Oh! Yes, of course!”

The creature sighed and ushered him in. As Light Gust entered the light, he saw it clearly. A Dragon child, barely as high as his barrel, with soft rounded spines running along his head and back. Despite his childish appearance, however, the look he cast him was one he’d only seen before on tired bureaucrats and jaded workers who had to deal with some menial task so far under them that worms feasted on it. Still, even with underlying animosity clearly on display, the Dragon gestured to the corridor beyond the doors.

It was made entirely of crystals reflecting the sunlight. Shifting lights crawled along its sides like a gigantic kaleidoscope.

Light Gust offered his best smile. “Thank you, I—”

“ — am so honoured to be here, so lucky to see the princess, yada, yada, yada.” The Dragon rolled his eyes and started forward with a grunt. “Not the first time hearing that, not the last. Now can we just get on with it so I can go back to my comi—”

“Spike!”

The pair stopped dead in their tracks as the shout boomed and echoed in the corridor.

A door at the end of the hallway had opened, and a pony had stepped out, surrounded by a halo of light. An Alicorn with an air of command. A lavender coat in which the prismatic lights shining out of the castle’s walls played, and well-preened wings that would make the most beautiful of Pegasi jealous beyond reason.

She also had a serious case of unkempt mane, and frazzled bangs hung over her eyes. Despite that, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of vertigo seize him as she approached him. Power seemed to emanate from her, ready to explode at any moment.

“I’m so sorry for my assistant’s behaviour.”

Her hoofsteps sounded against the crystal floor. Although her walk was soft, her gaze was two daggers aimed directly at the aforementioned assistant, who cowered as she approached.

Light Gust genuflected, brought to the ground by the approaching pressure. “Your Majesty.”

Princess Twilight Sparkle seemed taken aback for a moment, and shook her head, the anger in her eyes disappearing. And what eyes they were. Despite the dark circles under them, they shone with an intelligence he’d hardly ever seen before, a curiosity that considered him, analysed him.

Finally, her lips rose in a smile. “Please, there’s no need for that. Just call me Twilight.”

“But—”

“No buts. Trust me, I haven’t been a princess long enough for it not to feel weird.”

“Very well—”

“Oh, and also, please don’t do that.” She gestured to his bent knees and looked away with a small cough. “Please. Not long ago I checked out books for a living, and to be honest I still do. See, being a librarian had always been my dream job and once I—”

“Twilight.” Spike’s voice came from behind Light Gust. “You’re doing it again.”

Twilight let out a nervous chuckle. “Sorry. I haven’t been getting much sleep lately. I tend to digress.”

“Yeah, me neither,” Spike said, stepping out from behind Light Gust. “Either I’m working with you or you’re sending me on errands all around Ponyville. It’s getting—”

“If you’d actually work and get some job done, Spike, we wouldn’t have this problem.” She slammed a hoof against the floor and Light Gust jumped at the sudden booming sound. “Instead, you always sneak off to read your comics and leave me to do everything by myself!”

“That only happened once! Okay, twice!” His speech quickened as anger returned to the Alicorn’s eyes. Light Gust scooted to the side, unwilling to be caught in the fight between them. His heart beat like a panicked rabbit while the Dragon and the Alicorn shouted at each other. He had half a mind to turn back and leave to the safety of the clouds. He’d heard tales of the new princess, of her obsessive tendencies, of the way she went on flights of untempered stress. He had pictured her as someone akin to his sister. A bit manic, a bit stressed out. Nothing huge.

The borderline explosive display before him had not been something he had expected. In fact, nothing that happened recently had been anything he had expected. The walls seemed to close down around him as his flight instinct started to kick in. Those damned instincts that made him flee everything.

Those damned instincts that made him leave behind Cloudsdale, his family.

Maybe he should go back to them.

“So I’ll allow you a regular 15-minutes break every four—”

“Two!”

“ — two hours.” Twilight scratched off something on a clipboard.

“With bathroom breaks whenever I want.”

“Two bathroom breaks allowed per hour.”

Spike sighed. “Fair enough.”

Light Gust blinked. Had he missed something? They had been at each other’s throat mere moments ago. Now, the pair was sitting on the ground, a clipboard floating in front of the much calmer Twilight. Spike for his part barely even looked annoyed anymore.

“And that’s when I work here.”

“Mhm.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “No spying on you when you’re doing errands.”

“In exchange, I’ll clean the kitchen every night and rise early to make you coffee every weekday. Oh, and I’ll stop sneaking away.”

“I’ll give you a day off per week and maybe another if I feel like it. Deal?”

“Deal.”

With a last flourish of the quill, the clipboard vanished in a puff of light, and Spike and Twilight shook hoof and claw. Spike pointed his thumb at Light Gust. “Now, you wanna entertain our guest, or…”

Twilight looked at Light Gust like she saw him for the first time. She let out a small gasp and brought a hoof in front of her mouth. “Oh, Celestia! I’m so sorry!”

“It’s— it’s alright.” Light Gust didn’t dare move from his position against the wall quite yet.

Twilight swept strands of wild mane behind her ear like she just realized her appearance wasn’t proper. “As I said, we haven’t gotten much sleep lately, so I might have gotten a tad overwhelmed.”

Light Gust swallowed and nodded. “If I may, what happened?”

She threw a side glance at Spike. “Just some negotiations.” She turned back to Light Gust with a small smile. “Now, you must be Light Gust. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Rarity told me only good things about you.”

He gave a nervous chuckle. “Good things?”

If she had heard anything raunchy from her friend, Twilight didn’t show it. She simply nodded with a hum of confirmation. “Yep.”

Despite the Princess’ smile, every hair and feather on Light Gust rose as a feeling of imminent danger overcame him. Corner-danger, Pegasi called it. When you were flying, you learned quickly that the biggest threats were those just out of your line of sight and developed a strong feel for dangers just at the corner of your eye.

And at that moment, for a brief second, he could swear that two reptilian eyes bore holes through his skull, and a faint puff of smoke dissipated through the air above Spike’s nostrils. When Light Gust turned his gaze to meet the Dragon’s, however, he only wore a bored expression, leaning against the wall with one foot crossed in front of the other. Spike rose an eyebrow. “What?”

“Uh, nice castle you have here.” Light Gust tried to hide his discomfort by flashing Twilight a grin he felt painfully fake. “Didn’t expect to see anything like this in Ponyville.”

“Me neither, honestly. It just kinda grew out of the ground.”

Light Gust waited for the punchline, but seeing the absolute seriousness in Twilight’s expression, he decided this was not a question to press.

“Well I’ll leave you two be.” Spike pushed himself off the wall and pattered away toward the entrance. Before leaving through the gigantic double doors, he cast a backward glance at Light Gust and narrowed his eyes. The Pegasus swallowed painfully. Whatever bone the Dragon had to pick with him, he wanted none of it.

“He’s usually not that moody.” Twilight ushered him toward the end of the hallway, and Light Gust followed without skipping a beat, all too eager to put any kind of distance between Spike and himself. “I think he’s just mad he didn’t get to finish his comic before you arrived.”

“I’ll take your word on that, Princess,” Light Gust said. “I’m sure you know him better than I do.”

“Well, yeah, I pretty much raised him alone from the egg.”

Light Gust whistled in admiration. Although Spike didn’t look too old, the Princess of Friendship showed no sign of being much older than a young adult herself. “Impressive.”

The Alicorn puffed up her chest at that and shot him a confident smirk. “I actually helped him hatch way back when I first joined Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. She was so impressed she insisted on me becoming her personal protégée. He hasn’t left me ever since.”

Light Gusts nodded, unsure how to even respond to that. The most responsibility he himself ever had trust upon him had been taking care of a young skyfin which had strayed away from its family. It hadn’t lasted more than a couple of days before his father had found its nest and brought it back. He couldn’t even start to wrap his mind around having to take care of such an incredibly rare creature at such a young age as the Princess did.

But then again, she was Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship herself. If the story he had heard about her were true, raising a Dragon was the least of her impressive feats.

And impressive she was. Not only in term of accomplishments, but as she walked before him, he started to realize just how incredible her very appearance was. Now that he had had a better view of her, there was a subtle height difference between the two of them. Not enough that he had noticed it at first glance, but enough that it had reinforced the aura of command that had given him his previous case of vertigo. She wore it so naturally he would never had noticed had it not been for her horn. There, the difference between her and a regular unicorn was marked, as the elongated spiraling alicorn reached almost twice the size of a normal horn. That anomaly had made him examine the rest of her body more closely, and it hadn’t taken him long to see that her transformation which had been the talk of Equestria for a solid month had done more than give her wings. Her legs were long and slender, and her body more defined than that of a regular Pony.

And by Celestia did she have a glorious butt.

A glorious butt which danced in a hypnotic fashion as she swayed her hips. He couldn’t tell if she did it on purpose or not, but he could say he never wanted her to stop. With each of her steps, with each bounce of her ass, her tail swung like a teasing curtain before a forbidden treasure.

“Light Gust?”

“Yes, Princess!” The Pegasus snapped back to reality with a spike of fear. The Princess was looking right at him, stopped in front of a closed door. He had almost bumped into her. Had she noticed him staring? Even though his job was surely more sexually charged than any other, he was pretty sure there was a hard limit to staring at a Princess’ ass.

“How about you tell me a bit about yourself?” Princess Twilight smiled back at Light Gust. Her horn glowed alight and the door opened before them. If she had noticed him staring at her, she didn’t seem to feel any need to mention it or berate him about it. “Given how strongly Rarity recommended you, I bet you have a lot of interesting things to say.”

They stepped into the newly-opened room while Light Gust gathered his thoughts. Or rather, tried gathering his thoughts. The sheer size of the room crushed any attempt at focusing on those. In the image of the castle as a whole, crystal made up the entirety of the room, casting a rainbow of shimmering colours around the floor. An equally crystalline table jutted from the ground in the middle of it all, surrounded by six gigantic thrones and a smaller one. Just over it, an array of shining crystal pearls hung from tree roots like a myriad of sentinels watching the room. It took him a few moments to adjust to the sight of the single room bigger than his entire apartment.

“Please, sit.”

The soft voice made Light Gust start again. While he wasn’t looking, the Princess had sat in the throne next to the smaller one. She gestured to a throne facing her. Her deep purple eyes were set on him, watching as he took place on his designated seat. There was something about those eyes. Far from cold, promising instead a gentle guidance, he still couldn’t help but feel as vulnerable as a foal in front of one of his flight instructors.

The seat wasn’t cold like he had expected. Rather, the crystal radiated a soft heat. He squirmed a bit in it, trying to adjust to the strange feeling of the heated crystal.

He looked back at Princess Twilight, who smiled at him, expectant.

“Oh.” He scratched the nape of his neck, which had suddenly become itchy at the realization his life pretty much amounted to nothing. “Well, I was born in a good family, went through flight school with good grades, moved to Canterlot where I met Rarity, witnessed the near-end of the world, and found out apparently I’m one of the only remaining stallions who can actually, you know…”

He winced. At his last words, the Princess’ ears dropped slightly and a shadow crossed her face. He inwardly scolded himself. Of course, that even must have taken its toll on her.

“Princess, if I may,” he ventured to say, “the world owes you so much.”

“I’ve heard that before.”

She cast a longing look at the crystals hanging from the gigantic roots overhead. “What good is it to save the world if you end up dooming it instead?”

Light Gust stayed silent. What could you say when one of your heroes, one of Equestria’s greatest defenders, looked so down on herself despite the strong face she presented?

“That was a question, Light Gust.”

The Pegasus started out of his thoughts. Princess Twilight’s eyes had gone from soft, to longing, to calculating in the matter of seconds in such a way that shivers went up his spine.

“I don’t think you should blame yourself for that,” he said slowly. “What matters is that you did what was right when you needed to.”

He waited, unable to look her straight in the eyes. He didn’t know— he couldn’t know! He had never been in the situation the Alicorn had been! He had just said what had come to mind in the moment.

Still, Princess Twilight seemed to ponder over what he had said for the briefest of instants. When she straightened back on her throne, he had the feeling she had done more introspection over his line in a second than he could ever do in his entire life.

A dizzying thought.

“Thank you,” she said. The smile she gave him almost made his heart skip a beat from how genuine it was. “I mean it. I think Rarity made the right choice in recommending you to the Brigade.”

He bowed his head. “It’s nothing, really.”

Couldn’t even keep himself from mumbling like a fluttering schoolfilly. Great start.

Princess Twilight brought her hooves forward on the crystalline table with a look of seriousness, all trace of the warmth she had shown moments ago gone. “There is a reason why I asked you this question. As a matter of fact, I asked it to every candidate that ever crossed this door.”

She fell silent again, waiting for him to ask the obvious question. “Why?”

“It’s very simple.” She got up from her seat with a swish of her mane and started pacing around the table. “I believe somepony’s first reaction is telling of their deep character, and a good start to guide them through their journey in the Brigade. I have received all kinds of answers, some alike, some not. But looking at how the answer is delivered is the most important step of all.”

She stopped near him and considered him. “You showed admirable adaptation. Even though you were wholly unprepared for this session and showed clear signs of anxiety and stress, you answered in a concise, polite, and disarming way. You also showed you can read people fairly well, appealing to my worry about the immediacy of the situation I had been plunged into and reassuring me that my decision had been driven by a want to help instead of foolishness.”

She grinned while he tried to come down from the rush that overcame him. If it hadn’t been for sheer luck in answering the right way, he would have stepped right through a cloud and plummeted to the ground, embarrassing himself and dashing all chance at ever making it into the Brigade.

Probably.

“Are you sure you want to be part of the Brigade?”

The question took him aback. “Why do you ask?”

She walked back to her throne and laid her chin on her hooves. “This organization is an open secret. It’s not the easy life you might think is going to await you. I’ve had too many young stallions come to me asking to be part of it simply by virtue of having been spared. They come in thinking their life will amount to live in a luxurious palace surrounded by mares with which they — well I don’t think I need to go into much more detail about what they think. Most of them ask to leave after a week. All of them save for a few ask to leave after a month.”

She kept her eyes on him, and he knew she was granting him time to think and process what she had told him. “What happens to them?”

She grinned. “That’s a secret!”

“Um…”

After a few seconds of Light Gust probably making the most embarrassing terrified face Princess Twilight had ever seen, the Alicorn burst into laughter.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist. It never gets old.” She regained her composure, although a small mocking smile remained. “In truth, I send them home with — ah — a few less memories. It’s a benign process but not a particularly pleasant one, and I try to avoid it whenever I can.”

Light Gust swallowed a hard lump in his throat. “I can understand that.”

“I’ll give you a few minutes.” She rose from her throne. “Well, honestly, take as much time as you want. Spike will show you the kitchen so you can get some snacks to help you think. If you decide to continue forward with this, I’ll walk you through everything. If you don’t, well, I’ll let you decide where you want to go from here.”

“Where I want to go from here?”

She nodded. “I’m not ungrateful. Just for showing up here, I’ll help you with whatever endeavour you want to undertake.”

He stared at her, dumbfounded. “For real?”

“Hmhm.”

While he thought of all the possibilities a Princess’ help would help him attain, she trotted out of the door, leaving him alone in the cavernous room. He dumbly followed her with his gaze. Whatever he had imagined her being like, the princess that had welcomed him couldn’t have been further from what he had expected. Well, not entirely. Despite her seeming much more unstable than the poised Alicorn he had imagined, he had felt the sharpness of her mind as clearly as a knife pressed against him. It had been a crushing sensation, the feeling of being less than a dumb child before a tidal wave of brilliance.

What exactly had he gotten himself into?

Before he could push his reflexion further, the door to the throne room opened again and in walked a bored-looking Dragon. He stopped a few meters away from the table and glared at Light Gust.

“Hey,” Spike said.

“Hey.”

The two stared at each other, Light Gust holding Spike’s hateful gaze as best he could. It was so strange. One part of himself wanted to hold Spike’s gaze in defiance, unimpressed by the child’s petulant attitude. However, another part of himself wanted to look away and cower before the fire-breathing, razor-sharp-claws-possessing beast.

Spike sighed and turned to another door. “Follow me this way.”

The Dragon halfheartedly ushered Light Gust into the kitchen. Not quite as vast as the throne room, it was a homely place with a half-wall separating the kitchen proper from the eating area, where two chairs flanked a simple table. A few plates of cookies, veggies, and other snacks waited on the table. For some reason, a bowl of expensive-looking gems also adorned it. Well, surely the Princess didn’t fear anyone stealing a gem in her own home.

Not that she didn’t have enough gemstones or crystals to go around....

As he went to sit, something caught Light Gust’s eye. The chair opposite the one he was sitting in was covered in scratch marks.

“Serve yourself.” Spike gestured to the plates with an exaggerated bow, letting the door slide shut behind him before making his way to the table.

Light Gust’s stomach didn’t resist the smell of freshly-baked cookies for long, and, soon enough, he had one of the soft scrumptious goodies in his mouth. Tender, warm, and filled with chocolaty goodness, he couldn’t even remember his own mother making them as good as the one he had the joy — neigh, privilege — of tasting. Another cookie followed after the first one, each bite nothing short of heavenly.

“Wow, those are really good!” He swallowed a half-chewed bite and licked his lips. “Did Twilight make them?”

Spike scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Please. Twilight wouldn’t be able to take her nose out of her books long enough to make herself coffee, let alone bake a tray of cookies.”

The Dragon reached up to the scratch-covered chair, and, like a squirrel, climbed on the seat by digging his claws into the seat before pulling himself fully onto the chair and dropping down on it. The gem bowl clinked as he swiped a big ruby from it and twirled it between his claws.

“You mean you made them?” Light Gust’s voice didn’t quite tremble from the sight of Spike’s exposed claws, but his cookie suddenly felt hard to swallow.

“Yep.”

Spike brought the ruby to his mouth, and Light Gust stopped chewing.

Spike bit down on the ruby with a sickening crunch, and Light Gust almost jumped in surprise. However, instead of the broken teeth and unhinged jaw he expected to see, Spike’s teeth were intact, save for bits of gemstone glistening on them. He gestured to the plate of cookies with his half-bitten ruby . “Made them all myself. Don’t make a mess of crumbs.”

Whether Spike had willingly wanted to intimidate him or not, he definitely succeeded. Light Gust tried not to think of the stone-breaking jaws chewing on pure mineral right in front of him, and instead turned his thoughts to the question at hand.

Are you sure you want to be part of the Bridgade?

No. No he wasn’t. And that thought killed him. The only reason he had gone there in the first place was…

The letter he had received only a few days ago. He took it out of his flight jacket’s front pocket and unfolded it. The faint scent of Rarity’s mane was still on it.

Dearest Light Gust,

Surely you have heard of the special task my good friend Twilight Sparkle has put together, called the Trojan Brigade. Despite her insistence they remain a secret, not a day passes without them being mentioned in the newspaper.

I digress. The reason why I am writing you this letter is quite a simple one. Surely, you must remember that wonderful evening we had a few months ago, shortly before I had to go back to Ponyville. I know I remember it fondly. I have caught wind you haven’t been affected by Tirek’s evil curse after his defeat and I just had to give your name to Twilight as a personal recommendation.

I so dearly hope you accept this invitation to join us in Ponyville.

Yours,

Rarity.

He folded it again and put it back in his pocket with a sigh.

When he looked back up, he caught Spike’s burning glare boring holes through him. Thin tendrils of smoke were coming out of his wrinkled nose.

“Aren’t you supposed to be thinking about staying or leaving?” The Dragon puffed out a cloud of smoke.

“I’m trying.” Light Gust had half a mind to tell Spike he really wasn’t making that job any easier for him by being such an acerbic jerk for no reason, but the telltale black mist that settled around the Dragon like a cloak of sooth held him back.

“Well, hurry up, I don’t have all day.”

Light Gust frowned. Spike wasn’t looking straight at him anymore. Rather, his gaze seemed to be directed at the pocket containing Rarity’s letter. After a few seconds, even his harsh glare softened to an almost longing stare.

Truly, the crystals in this castle must have had the effect of making everyone exposed to them unstable and volatile like an uncorked bottle of storm clouds.

Of course, he wouldn’t have minded if said inhabitants weren’t an Alicorn who could probably scatter his atoms to the wind, and a Dragon who could burn him to a crisp.

Although either of them doing so would probably never happen, Light Gust couldn’t stop himself from contemplating the possibility. Pegasi tended to be especially sensitive to dangers however small they were. Such was the perk of living a life where one collision with a bird at the wrong angle could send you plummeting to your doom.

Light Gust’s danger sense had picked up and stuck with him ever since Twilight had mentioned all those stallions who wanted to opt out of the Brigade shortly after joining. He sighed with nervosity. That deal seemed less and less tempting as he thought about it. It might have not been Princess Twilight’s intent to put him on edge, but he couldn’t help himself.

He felt his pocket for Rarity’s letter. Truth be told, she had been the reason why he had even considered it in the first place. That, and he couldn’t help but respect Princess Twilight not only for all the work she had put into that Brigade, but all of her feats she had accomplished during the last two years.

Even if she came off as a bit unstable.

“You know, most stallions who come here usually don’t take that long,” Spike shot dryly. “It’s just a simple yes or no answer.”

“It’s not as easy as it sounds like.” Light Gust’s tone came off sharper than he had intended to, his nerves starting to be rubbed raw by the Dragon’s acrimonious gibes.

Spike rolled his eyes. There was an odd twitch to his ear frills when Light Gust spoke, the Pegasus noticed, like his voice was grating on Spike. And he just kept staring at the flight pocket containing the letter too, his eyes narrow, his nose wrinkled.

“If you can’t decide, then maybe you should just leave.”

This time it was Light Gust’s turn to frown. “What?”

“Obviously,” Spike said, “if you can’t make up your mind then you don’t really have much to gain by accepting. You should just go back to Cloudsdale or whatever, and go back to your normal life.”

“Well maybe I’ll do that!” Light Gust snorted, his irritation reaching a peak. “I’ve been considering taking Princess Twilight up on her offer to help me with whatever I wanted, and I think I’ll do just that. I don’t need to stay here with a Dragon that’s constantly insulting me.”

Spike snorted in turn. “Sure. Man, I really fail to see what Rarity saw in you.”

Light Gust froze. “Excuse me?”

“Light Gust this, Light Gust that, blergh.” He let his tongue stick out in disgust. “She couldn’t shut up about you for weeks after she came back from Canterlot.”

“I—”

“I bet she begged you to come here, didn’t she?” He sneered. His tone became harsher, more spiteful with every word. “I could smell her on that letter from here. Bet you would never have ever considered applying if she hadn’t asked.”

Taken aback, Light Gust was at a lost for words. “What do you mean you could smell her?”

“Dragon nose.” He tapped his snout with an angry smirk. “I can smell her perfume on that letter as well as I can smell the stink of fear on you.”

A shiver ran up Light Gust’s spine despite himself. Spike grinned, wicked-sharp teeth showing.

In that moment, he made his decision.

“You’re right.”

Spike blinked. “Huh?”

“You’re right. I would never have come here if she hadn’t asked. This all was a mistake. Let’s go.”

Spike let himself down his chair with visible surprise. However, it didn’t last long before delight took the place of his puzzled expression. “Perfect! Let’s go see Twilight.”

Light Gust swiped another cookie and shoved it in his mouth, chewing thoughtfully. He didn’t know what clouds Spike had to kick with him, but that hadn’t stopped him from making some damn good cookies.

Light Gust became more lost in thought than he had expected as they walked to Princess Twilight’s office. Again and again, the decision he had taken came back to his mind to prod him like a painful stab.

I’m going to go back to Cloudsdale and finally go to the Flight Academy.

The high cost of admission had barred him entry the first time he thought of joining. But with enough luck, Princess Twilight would be generous enough to get the Academy to waive his tuition or pay in his place. She was a princess, surely she could afford to do that.

Although going to her with his tail between his legs broke his heart.

But he couldn’t do it. Maybe he had wanted to return Rarity’s favour? Maybe see her again? Whatever the case, he couldn’t do it. Not if the job implied so much secrecy and danger. Not if he had to rub shoulders with that Dragon.

Spike opened the door the the Princess’ office with more energy and cheerfulness than was necessary. “We’re back!”

“Oh!” Twilight took her eyes off a book she was reading. “Back so soon?”

The office was a small room with a simple, paper-covered desk, and two chairs in front of it. A row of bookshelves spread along the walls, surely only a fraction of the archive-like library the castle was rumoured to have. It was comfortably cramped, like the office of the Flight School’s headmaster.

“Yep!” Spike practically skipped into the room and stopped in one sharp motion before Twilight. “It wasn't that hard, really.”

He looked back at Light Gust with a wicked grin. “Sometimes the decision makes itself.”

Twilight leaned forward with an excited smile. Light Gust stepped into the room.

“I'm—”

I can't do this. Forgive me, Princess.

“I—”

However I would like to graciously accept your offer to help me. See, a dream of mine—

“Come on!” Spike's biting tone made Light Gust jump. “We don't have all day!”

— is to see that arrogant, annoying jerk of an overgrown lizard be catapulted out of a window!

Cold anger shot over everything else. How could Princess Twilight deal with that thing all day?!

“Guess I'll just say it then.” Spike snorted. “Poor guy's too much of a—”

“I accept!”

The Dragon fell silent for a second, then exploded. “WHAT?!”

“If you believe I would be a good fit for the Brigade, then it’s only right that I would return that trust.” He shot a quick look at the Dragon. “It was an easy decision.”

Princess Twilight clapped her hooves together. “Great! I was afraid for a second you were going to refuse. Oh well, I am so glad you accepted.”

What have I done?

Below him, twin volcanoes glared at him with unrelenting fury.

Twilight hopped off her chair and trotted to Light Gust. “Spike will finish your paperwork. I’ll show you to your room.”

“I—”

“I insist!” A lavender aura opened the door and she went out of the room, beckoning Light Gust to follow with a nod.

“Yeah, just go.” There was an almost imperceptible growl in Spike’s voice, but Light Gust heard it as clearly as if it was a thunderstorm roaring outside. “I love filling out paperwork.”

Twilight beamed at him. “Wow, I thought you would complain about having to do all that. Well, you’re not my number one assistant for nothing!” She turned back and winked at Light Gust. “Follow me.”

Light Gust followed Twilight in the corridors of the massive crystal castle. A sensation of vertigo rose in him, worse than any dive he ever had to make.

What had he done?

Had he taken the job simply to spite Spike?

That thought brought him as much comfort as shame. But in a way, he had spoken the truth.

Princess Twilight had put her trust in him. She deserved the same respect.

It didn’t change the fact that he felt like he had done something horribly, horribly wrong.