The Heart of Pleasure
By Haunter Rayne
Chapter 119 - Understanding and Strife

It was still early on this particular morning when Maud began to stir. Having the advantage of being able to set her own hours though, meant that she never needed to rush to get her day started. Her first instinct every morning was to reach out for a warm stallion to snuggle to while he lay close beside her. Although on this morning, as it sometimes was the case, there was no stallion to be found. Maud lay there quietly for awhile without any reaction. “Good morning, Rayne.” She whispered out in any case. Then she was eventually up on her hooves, bending and stretching for a short exercise for the day.

“Mm-hmm, what are you doing? What time is it?” Another voice called out groggily from where a different female had been sleeping on the floor cushions not far from Maud’s bed.

“I’m stretching for the day.” She said plainly. “Rayne isn’t home so I was going to get ready for work,” Maud added before fulfilling her uncanny ability to state the obvious. “And I have no idea. It’s impossible to tell time down here because we are in a cave.”

From within the pile of pillows and blankets, a thin-framed body of smooth red chitin sat itself up while looking dreary-eyed. “Maud…! You know what I mean.” Anansi whined.

“Yes,” Maud answered in between breaths from doing hoof-touches. “I do.” She added before standing and doing side bends two times each. Once she had finished, Maud then stepped over to the grandfather clock she had ordered as a present for Rayne and checked on the time. “It is nearly 9 am. Do you want some breakfast?”

“Yes please, that would be nice.” Staying where she sat, the changeling nodded and watched as the earth pony lifted the blanket away from a corner of the living space to reveal a clean set of dishes while another area resembled a food pantry. “So, Rayne is gone today?”

“Mhmm,” Maud affirmed as she began pulling out two sets of plates. “Oh, I’m not sure if I should ask but, would you like for me to serve you? Or would you prefer to feed off my love energy?” Maud offered in her deadpan tone as usual. “I would not object if you chose the latter.”

With a grateful smile, Anansi shook her head. “No, thank you. It’s true that I was one of the changelings who initially resisted giving up feeding on love energy, but I’ve acclimated. And I only ever ask that from Rayne on occasion because it literally doesn’t hurt him. I’d be sad if I fed off you and it ended up putting you out all day.”

Maud simply nodded that Anansi’s logic sounded reasonable and in a couple of minutes she had pulled a salad together along with a side of nuts to serve some protein to go along with the greens. Once the food was served, the two sat together in silence as they ate. Neither one of them spoke and once the meal was over they both showed the same proclivity to clean up after themselves, making the after-meal chores go by that much faster.

“The meal was great. Thank you, Maud.” Ansani said before sitting and watching as the earth pony stepped over to a set of tools and began strapping a large pack onto her back. “So, what are you going to do now?”

After hauling her gear onto her shoulders, Maud looked over and said, “I was planning to head down into the caves to do some exploring of the deeper caverns. It’s actually what I do for a living.”

“Oh, I see. Well, that seems really interesting.” Anansi said with her insect-like wings fluttering anxiously behind her. “Normally when I speak to ponies they just want to tell me about their lives up on the surface. Or they ask me how changelings have adjusted to no longer living below ground. It’s refreshing to meet a pony who is actually interested in what lies down beneath the soil for once.”

Maud paused for a moment and noticed how Anansi sat there calmly but with her wings twitching behind her in excitement. “You could always come with me if you’d like.”

“Really?! You mean it?! I mean, I didn’t want to impose. But if you’re really sure that you don’t mind.” The changeling exclaimed in an instant while popping straight up onto her hooves.

Maud looked over and gave the changeling a nod. “If I haven’t already told you, I do enjoy your company, Anansi.”

Right away the already rose-colored changeling had her cheeks grow even rosier. “Aww, you don’t mean that.”

However, Maud was quick to counter by saying, “Have you seen any of Rayne’s other girlfriends being allowed to stay here?” To that Anansi blinked, never having noticed that before. “No, so far it’s been only you. And it isn’t just for his sake. I do enjoy having you around.” She stated while slowly beginning the long trek down the slope through the cave tunnels.

With Anansi flapping her wings and hovering through the air close beside, the changeling looked at her and said, “Well, I’m really happy to hear that, but I have to ask… why?”

Maud thought about it for a moment while the two traveled deeper underground together. After a while, she looked over toward Anansi and told her, “I think that you’re a lot like me. We’re both a little different from our respective communities. And you’re quieter than most of the individuals I’ve interacted with. Most other ponies would have still tried talking to me during breakfast, even if they didn’t have anything to say. And you don’t do that, which makes me feel… comfortable around you.”

“Huh… I think I like that.” Anansi paused to say while thinking it over and smiling.

“Over here.” Maud suddenly called and Anansi rushed to catch up.

• -

Once Maud had picked a spot, she set down her equipment and began unloading everything. Anansi sat back where she felt she would be out of the way and simply watched. “Would it be a distraction if I asked what you are doing?”

Maud stood on her hind legs leaning upwards against a stone wall. It didn’t have any gems that were visible in it and yet was still composed of a multitude of colors. “No.” She responded candidly while inspecting the color variations with an eye lens.

Sitting forward more Anansi asked, “Alright, so what are you doing?”

After a brief pause Maud leaned back and then pointed with a hoof. “See these reddish variations in the stone structure? They are comprised of some sort of pollutant to the sediment and I am attempting to determine both its nature and its source.”

“Oh, I see,” Anansi answered with genuine intrigue. “So you’re not just mining around down here. What you’re really doing is studying the very nature of the tunnels themselves! How they’re formed, what they consist of, and what made it possible for all of it to happen to begin with!”

Turning from the rock wall to face her friend, Maud said, “Yes, that is correct. That is my job down here and it’s also how I make myself useful to the town.”

Tilting her head a bit, Anansi asked, “By town I’m going to assume you mean Ponyville, and how exactly is studying these tunnels so far underground helpful to the ponies on the surface?”

Sitting herself down now and becoming actually entertained in the conversation, Maud replied, “The vast majority of Equestria’s underground is actually cavernous with tunnels just like these. I help to study the rock formations which support the foundations underneath the town. Basically, it helps ensure that nobody has their house collapse into a sinkhole due to where it’s been built.”

“Oh, I get it!” Anansi cheered, feeling as if she were learning something new about her friend. “Over time you map out all these tunnels and make note of any areas that might be structurally weak. So that way when the town above needs to expand, the construction workers can know certain areas to avoid because it could be hazardous to place heavy buildings upon them.”

Sitting there with the beginnings of an actual smile, Maud nodded and replied, “Yes, that is correct. It’s definitely nice to find someone who can understand and appreciate the work I do.”

“Oh? Well, I think it’s fascinating! And it’s so different from how we used to do things when we changelings lived underground.” Anansi exclaimed.

“How do you mean?” Maud asked, now deeply intrigued to gain the insight of a natural subterranean dweller.

“Well you see, back before mother’s throne was destroyed, the changeling magic permeated deep into the soil all around the hive. The tunnels would shift and change, making it so no pathway or landmark ever stayed the same for long. We changelings had to learn to navigate by remembering what direction each room was located in according to how we moved about in the hive.”

“So you’re saying there were no naturally occurring tunnel systems in the hive. They were all formed or manipulated via magic? That makes me wonder exactly what kind of effects that would have on the soil. Or with a geological region as large as the hive is, to find out what kind of foundation could have formed to support an expanse that big when it was constantly changing shape and structure.” Maud mumbled, more to herself as she looked down to her hooves in thought.

“You know, you don’t sound like somepony who is in this line of work just for the cartography,” Anansi asked with a hint of teasing to her voice.

Looking back up to face her, Maud replied, “That’s because I’m not. My primary interest is in the soil itself. Analyzing different mineral components, studying both current and historical plate tectonics… These are what truly excites me.”

The changeling smiled as she stared at her friend, being able to innately feel Maud’s love for her craft swelling within her. “I’d love to hear more, really. Why don’t you tell me more about the tunnels underneath Equestria?”

Turning to face Anansi in excitement, for as much as her monotone and reserved demeanor would allow, Maud answered with, “Well, for one thing, we really have no clue as to why they exist in the first place.”

“What do you mean?” Anansi asked, catching interest of her own and genuinely wanting to find out more.

“Most cave tunnels are either the result of underwater rivers eroding away at the stone over hundreds of years or else from shifting of tectonic plates which tear holes open and create underground passages. However, many of the cave systems beneath Equestria don’t seem to be caused by either of those phenomena.” Maud informed her.

“Ohhhh… So then, what else could have caused them?” Anansi asked, leaning forward on her hooves wanting to hear every detail.

“That’s just the thing, we don’t know. There could have been cataclysmic disasters in ages long past. Or perhaps there is a race of subterranean creatures unknown to ponykind. The possibility exists that they may have been digging away down here for centuries and all we have seen so far are the results of their work.” Maud hypothesized before standing and walking back over to stroke one of the cave walls with her hoof.

At this point, even though Anansi was excited, Maud’s story had caused the changeling to go into a little bit of a panic. “So, you’re saying that there's no one who knows the real answer, and out of all the ponies in Equestria, the only one who is taking the risk and putting themselves on the line to explore the truth is… you?”

Maud paused and thought about it for a moment before turning back to Anansi with a completely straight face and answering, “Yes.”

Slumping her shoulders at Maud’s carefree attitude, Anansi stood back up as well and asked, “But, don’t you think that’s a little dangerous, considering what all of the different possibilities are?”

“It’s completely dangerous,” Maud replied in her signature matter-of-fact tone. “Studying new and never before explored cave systems presents a number of potential hazards. There could be a cave-in or I could misplace my footing and fall through a chasm in the dark. There is no end to the number of underground gas pockets that could be lethal for me to run into. And the possibility does exist that I really could come across a new hostile lifeform... And when I’m down here, I’m usually alone. So there’s no pony to bail me out if I get in over my head.” However, understanding that her friend was beginning to worry, she added, “But it’s what I love to do. Exploring these tunnels and learning everything I can about what helps to shape the foundations of our world helps to make me feel alive. Without it, I wouldn’t feel like I have a purpose. Does that make it clearer?” She asked, taking an experimental gesture at being more empathetic to her friends.

“It does actually. In more ways than you know.” Anansi sighed which made Maud come back over and take a closer glance at her friend. “You see, back before Chrysalis was overthrown, we changelings had a much simpler life. Every day the entirety of our goal was simply to, ‘serve the Queen.’ Now yes, I know you ponies would say that there is so much more to life than that. And believe me when I say that we don’t resent our newfound freedom. But with simplicity also comes clarity, I think. We always knew what to do with ourselves. And now… maybe we have too many choices. Now… maybe some of us don’t know what to do with ourselves to make sure that our existence really still matters.” Anansi whispered, perhaps saying more than she had meant to as she trailed off while staring at the ground.

This was not missed by Maud who thought Anansi’s words over and felt a connection to their meaning. Any previous doubts in Maud’s mind of Anansi only sticking around for her sexual relations to Rayne vanished immediately. In their place, Maud saw a friend who was hurting with no place to belong. And while at first glance, a life lived in servitude to another might not have seemed like a fulfilling life to Maud, she knew that a life lived underground looking at rocks could still be a happy one even if other ponies didn’t understand her.

“You know…” Maud began, bringing Anansi out of her daze as she looked up at her. “I don’t have to always explore these underground passages alone.” Her face might not have shown it but Maud was happy when she saw Anansi’s eyes spread wide. “If I had another friend who could relate to the joys of a subterranean living, and perhaps someone who could share in my interest of studying mineral formations… then I would be happy to have a partner, and perhaps the two of us could look out for one another.”

“Are you saying… you would want to have me around to help you with your work?” Anansi gasped, having assumed her tagging along had only been her pony friend entertaining her temporarily.

“It would be nice to not have to be alone all the time. And I would like it if you would be the one I work with since I feel comfortable around you and we can actually share in this interest together.” Maud told her sincerely and steadily.

Standing there becoming almost bashful in her disbelief, Anansi’s voice could not have sounded more overjoyed as she whimpered out, “I think that would be great. I would love to work with you, Maud. Learning more about underground structures that are different from the hive would be really interesting to me. And getting to do so with a friend I think makes it all the better.”

After that, the two just stood together for a moment, neither one talking and both wearing muted smiles. They didn’t embrace one another with a hug and neither of them broke down into becoming too emotional. But instead, the two unlikely kindred spirits found a connection to each other that the unusual pair could bond over.

“Oh, and don’t worry too much about the dangers down here.” Maud abruptly added, before picking up her bag of gear to start heading deeper into the tunnel system. “Despite all I said before, dating Rayne has its perks and he’d never allow anything to happen.”

While following along down the tunnel beside her friend and newfound work partner, Anansi looked over at Maud and tilted her head curiously. “Yes, Rayne has some really amazing abilities. But he can’t be there to look out for you all of the time. Like right now, for instance, he isn’t here with us at the moment.”

“He doesn’t need to be,” Maud replied while glancing to Anansi beside her. “Take a look at my shadow,” Maud instructed while taking off her helmet light and pointing it back at herself. “Come on boys, don’t be shy. She already knows about you.” She then called out.

A moment later several obsidian snouts and more than a few pairs of claws stuck themselves partially out from her shadow. They barked and yipped but with no actual sound being made and then eventually disappeared back into Maud’s shadow below.

“I don’t know how many of Rayne’s obsidian-wolves he’s assigned to me exactly… but I know that I’ll be saved if I actually get attacked by something or if I fall from a height that’s great enough that it would hurt me,” Maud explained as if it were a harmless and insignificant detail. “They don’t need to eat, they don’t need to sleep, and since they consider wherever Rayne tells them to be as home, they will never rest when it comes to keeping their assigned location safe. So Rayne never has to worry about me, even if he’s far away and can’t look after me himself.” She explained, and then added, “You should probably have at least one too, I’d imagine.”

“I do?!” Anansi gasped and then almost jumped as if worried that she might step on one.

“Mmm… I would assume that lots of individuals have them. If they’re close to Rayne, he’d want to make sure they’re kept safe.” Maud explained while shining her light down low toward Anansi’s red chitin hooves. “And they don’t even know about it,” Maud added as a single shadowy hound peered upwards with its glowing green eyes before vanishing below again.

“I see…” Anansi remarked, checking again but could no longer find even a trace of the wolf now that it had gone.

“Just remember…” Maud spoke up with a serious and determined tone. “It’s not a curse and they’re not an endangerment to you. You don’t have to worry about hiding them around other ponies and it’s not Rayne’s way of spying on you or anything like that. If there’s one thing that I won’t stand for, it’s having anypony betraying his trust or turning against him.”

However, Anansi just smiled and raised up her hooves. “You don’t have to worry about that from me. Rayne has been concerned with nothing but the happiness of everyone around him for as long as I’ve known him. And even if he does control a horde of scary monsters, if he’s using them for good then that’s okay by me.” Her tone was genuine and her smile was sincere. She even went as far as giving Maud a friendly flank bump with her side before adding, “Besides… without him, I never would have met a great friend like you.”

Then the two simply smiled before embarking together, carefully descending to a lower path and venturing into the tunnels together.

• Back in Ponyville -

“Sooo… how are you two doing?” A perfectly uncomfortable Twilight Sparkle asked the two individuals sitting across the cafe table in front of her.

“Really darling, Spike and I have been dating for months now so must you carry on so discourteously every time you address us together?” Rarity asked, feeling a bit put out that her close friend hadn’t fully accepted her cherished relationship yet.

“No, no, you’re right.” Twilight relented and then gave more of an honest smile as she repeated, “Really though, how are things going between you two?”

“Are you kidding? It’s going great!” Spike shouted. “Although…”

As the three sat together at a table outside the Ponyville Cafe, Rarity placed a hoof over Spike’s claw and scooted her chair in closer to be right beside one another. “I think what my charming boyfriend here is trying to say is that we are grateful that you arranged this little get-together for the three of us. You see, this is actually the most that Spike and I have gotten to see one another in quite awhile.”

“Wait, really?” Twilight asked, not having expected that.

“Well, sure,” Spike confirmed. “Think about it, Twilight. Between all the work that goes into the School of Friendship, and me still being your assistant, even when we’re not grading papers and writing lesson plans.”

“And as for me Twilight, don’t forget about all of my trips out of town as the height of fall fashion is wrapping up, only to prepare for the onset of the winter line. Why I’m barely even lucky to spend more than a day or two in Ponyville, let alone have time for personal relationships. And who's going to look after Sweetiebelle if not for me, despite all my busy schedule?” Rarity reminded her.

Sitting in her chair across from them blinking, Twilight found herself feeling surprised and almost a little sorrowful for the two of them. “Oh wow. Naturally, I would have thought that you’d be spending all kinds of time together. But I never considered how difficult maintaining a stable relationship could be for the two of you due to the busy lifestyles we all have.”

“It’s okay, Twilight,” Spike said. “We might not get all the time that we’d like, but make sure that the time we do spend together counts.”

“Really, you needn’t worry yourself too much about it.’ Rarity conferred along with Spike. “Quality over quantity, as they say. And maybe it’s for the best to help make sure that I don’t become lazy and start taking my Spikey Wikey for granted.” She teased while nuzzling his cheek with her nose but only for a moment so as to not get too mushy while in front of present company.

“Quality you say? Huh…” Twilight mumbled while staring at the two with over a dozen different scenarios running through her head. “So, seeing as you two haven’t spent a lot of time together recently… if you weren’t here hanging out with me and were just alone on a date with each other… then I’d imagine that you’d-”

“Twilight,” Rarity began, “now we’ve talked about this, and Spike and I have agreed to withhold our romantic gestures while within your presence. Our relationship aside, my friendship to you and the fact that Spike is rightly family to you must always come first.” Rarity explained while Spike nodded along.

But in this instance Twilight held up a hoof. “And as your friend, I can show that I can be more understanding. So because it’s been awhile since you’ve gotten any real quality time in then I suppose I could look the other way for… I don’t know, a minute or two, maybe?” She squeaked out.

Spike and Rarity immediately looked at one another. They both were surprised but their unsated romantic yearnings put them into a state where neither were in any mood to object. An instant later, Twilight was sitting there trying to pretend nothing awkward was going on as she sipped her drink through a straw while trying to keep the sight of Spike and Rarity passionately kissing one another out of her peripheral vision.

It was also about this time that Derpy Hooves came casually trotting along down the street. She stopped for a moment and seemed to stare into the direction of their table with Spike and Rarity hardly coming up for air and Twilight regretting locking eyes with anypony who passed. Needless to say, it didn’t help as Derpy smiled and waved relentlessly while Twilight just grimaced in embarrassment and waved in return until the gray pegasus finally continued strolling back down the street.

“OKAY, THAT’S ENOUGH!” The princess eventually snapped when it seemed like the two of them would have continued snogging forever if nopony put a stop to them.

“Wooow…” Spike mused happily with Rarity’s lipstick smeared all over his lips.

“Hehe, manners darling…” Rarity poked at him, handing Spike a napkin to clean himself with after she herself had already finished touching up her lipstick faster than Twilight could even notice.

Putting her embarrassment aside, Twilight sat up and smiled warmly at the two of them. “As much as I don’t want to make a habit of sitting through that, it does make me happy to see the two of you so happy.” She chuckled warm-heartedly. “And Spike, while I don’t want you slacking off from your duties just to make time for more schmoozing sessions with Rarity, it might be okay to let me know if I’m working you too hard and not giving you enough time off to maintain your relationship, alright?”

“You got it, Twilight.” Spike cheered. However, before any of them could continue the conversation further, Spike seemed to notice something in the distance behind Twilight and asked, “Hey, what’s he doing here?”

As the other two mares looked over in that direction, they saw not one but three different pegasi in armor making their way around town.

“Finally, there are some ponies that I recognize.” A large amber pegasus called out with a smile while two stallions from the Canterlot Guard seemed to be accompanying him.

“Good afternoon, Flash Magnus,” Twilight said while giving a nod from her seat. “And what brings you to Ponyville today?”

After clearing his throat, he stood up straight and announced, “I’m actually here looking for a friend of yours but nopony seems to have seen him today. Would you be able to tell me where I might find Rayne? As it happens, I need to have a chat with him.” He said lightheartedly, and yet, as the three sat looking at the castle guards who were accompanying Magnus, their hearts were still filled with worry.

Author's Note

So we all know that Maud studies rocks, etc for "her work." But it is never explained in the show how that equates to a real job. Now as previously stated Maud isn't hurting financially but she still works because she loves it. She applies her skills in two ways. One is underground cartography which she delivers to City Hall for construction purposes and such. Her other task is simple geological research and discovery, which I assume she could report to somepony in Canterlot for reward and recognition if she finds anything interesting. Secondly I just wanted to give Anansi some more screen time. She's a character that I've come to enjoy and you readers seem to like her too. But I felt she deserved a better role in the story than just being Rayne's bedsheet tagalong. Giving her a connection to Maud not only gives her purpose and something for the characters to bond over; it also helps to fill in the world for what other characters are doing with themselves because the world doesn't entirely revolve around Rayne. Everyone else continues to exist with their own lives even when he's not around and I have no problems with showing that.

Now also it's time to start working some Sparity back into the story. Their involvement was small here and they won't be the focus of the next few chapters. But the passage of time is taking place and I'm revealing how things are continuing to create some foreshadowing for future content.

Yay for other characters, but it's time to bring this story back around. Rayne is our protagonist after all and it's time to start focusing on how he'll deal with this next development in Equestria.