The Heart of Pleasure
By Haunter Rayne
Chapter 120 - Confronting Rivalries

It wasn’t very long before the two of them had started to create a scene in town right in front of the Ponyville Cafe.

“No! I am sorry Magnus but I will not leave it alone. I demand to know why you are looking for Rayne!” Twilight insisted.

“And as I said, it is a personal matter. It doesn’t involve you so there is no reason for a princess like you to get involved.” Flash Magnus retorted.

At this point, a small crowd of ponies had already gathered, all watching as the situation devolved. While neither pony was yelling exactly, any passerby on the street could tell there was tension between their local princess and a representative of the Canterlot Guard.

“Tell me!”

“No.”

“I’m sorry, but I must insist. I assure you my reasons are important!”

“So are mine. Perhaps even more so.”

“I highly doubt that.”

“Please leave!” A server at the cafe pleaded as the two bantered back and forth in front of their establishment. Both Twilight and Magnus frowned at that point but stepped a few paces further away while a couple of their mutual friends who had arrived on the scene worked to help mitigate the escalating tensions between them.

“Now easy there Twi, ain’t nopony done said anything ‘bout anypony being in trouble.” Applejack whispered calmly while trying to contain the princess’ frustrations.

“Yo, Magnus…” Dash quickly cut in, not likely to have missed a crowd forming around trouble in Ponyville. “I get that you may have your reasons for wanting to see our friend, but Twilight also has her reasons for wanting to know why you’re showing up here out of the blue. So why don’t we take things down a notch and-”

“Thank you, Rainbow Dash, but I’m afraid I will not be dissuaded!” Magnus remarked. “I have come here to see Rayne and this is a meeting that I’m afraid is far overdue. Now, will somepony please tell me where I can find him before you turn this simple request into a scene?”

“You’re already causing a scene!” Twilight belted out angrily as Applejack literally darted in front of the princess in case she needed to be held back.

“HEY!” Came a voice from behind them. Everypony looked over as a dark stallion stepped through the crowd and yelled out with an authoritative voice. “What’s going on here? If you’re looking for me then here I am.” Rayne shouted as he stepped right in between the two opposing parties.

“Ah, there you are at last. Now, if only your friends would excuse us, you and I need to have a conversation.” Magnus informed him. “However, I think it might be best if we took this someplace else before we did so.” He added while looking around seeing about a quarter of the town staring at them now.

Before Rayne even got the chance to respond, Twilight lowered her head as her horn sparked with energy and said, “I couldn’t agree more!” After that, there was a flash before she, Rayne, and Magnus with his entourage all suddenly disappeared.

“Dashy!’ Applejack shouted while glancing towards the castle.

“On it!” The pegasus yelled before speeding off back through town.

• Inside the Castle of Friendship -

“There!” Twilight shouted after teleporting in with the three other stallions to the map room.

Magnus immediately growled in frustration after realizing where he’d been taken while the two guard ponies just looked around curiously. “Twilight!” The agitated legionnaire shouted. “Your devotion to your friend is admirable but I assure you that this situation does not require your meddling!”

“Oh yeah?! Well, I-” Twilight began but then was stopped abruptly as a dark hoof grabbed hold of her shoulder and spun her back around towards a smiling face.

“Wow, Twilight. I don’t even know what’s going on, but what it is you’re doing, it’s all just to stand up for me? I’m touched.” Rayne remarked charmingly, while his nonchalant attitude to the situation proved to be a distraction enough to calm Twilight down some. Then as Rayne turned to face the other stallion himself, he calmly said, “So let’s have it then. What is all this about?” He asked while stepping forward in an attempt to supersede Twilight right out of the conversation.

“I assure you Rayne that all I wanted was to sit down and have a talk. There was no need to have matters escalated to this degree.” Magnus sulked, finally relenting to the fact that he wasn’t going to get the private audience he had hoped for.

“Then WHY did you show up here with the Canterlot Guard?!” Twilight bellowed out.

Magnus sighed while pointing to the two stallions behind him. “Yes, these two stallions do happen to be members of the Canterlot Guard. But that’s not why they’ve come with me today. Allow me to introduce Noble Shield and Righteous Banner—they are my friends.”

“Hi there, you can just call me Noble.” One said.

“And I go by Banner, princess.” The other added, as both stallions took off their helmets and attempted to offer a friendly smile.

“Eheh, pleased to meet you?” Twilight tried.

Continuing on, Magnus said, “They’ve followed me here not because guards were needed but just to offer me emotional support.” He admitted while trying to keep his chin raised to not look emasculated. “It was actually your friendship book that I learned it from, princess. There was a passage you wrote about how having great friends at your side can help see you through any challenge. Well as I’m sure it comes as no surprise to you, talking things out with other ponies is not exactly my strong suit.” Magnus said glumly.

“You got this!” Noble chimed in.

“We’re with you all the way!” Banner also added.

However, at that instant, a new voice shouted in from the doorway. “Well WE are Rayne’s friends and we’re also here to support HIM when he needs us!” Rainbow Dash shouted proudly as she stood there with the rest of Twilight’s friends all rounded together.

Looking over at the gathered group of ponies, Magnus frowned and rubbed his forehead in frustration. Meanwhile Twilight made her way to her seat while the rest of her friends filtered in. “Everyone, you all know Flash Magnus, of course. And to catch everypony up, he was just about to tell all of us why he was roaming around Ponyville with his friends searching for Rayne.”

There were a few muted questions from the others as they all made their way inside but before this could go around in circles any more than it already had, Rayne just stepped up himself and said, “Look, Magnus, it doesn’t seem like Twilight is going to let you out of this. So let’s just have it. I’m right here so whether anypony else is around or not, go ahead and let me hear what you have to say.”

The instant the words left his mouth, both stallions stepped up to one another uncomfortably, with each side’s supporters offering little words of encouragement as they did so. Straightening himself up fully, Magnus looked Rayne in the eye and said, “Thank you, and I wish I was here under better circumstances. I do respect you Rayne and I consider you a valuable acquaintance. But I’m here to make a request that I’m sure you may not like.”

“And that is?” Rayne asked, already imagining what he would have to say.

Looking around at the others uneasily, Magnus looked back at Rayne and said, “Over the last several days or perhaps even weeks, you have been entertaining the notice of courting Princess Luna romantically. I don’t know if your intentions actually go as far back as the gala or even before then, but I am here to ask you to henceforth cease any further attempts at pursuing a relationship with the princess.”

Magnus wasn’t surprised to see a few jaws drop. However as for Rayne, he had seemed uphased while simply staring back at Magnus with a smirk. A moment of silence went by as the dark stallion contemplated how he wanted to respond, but out of every pony present, it was actually Fluttershy who spoke up next.

“I’m sorry Sir Magnus, but I’m afraid I don’t understand.” She stated aloud. “Has Rayne broken some kind of law? Is there some kind of rule in place that says that Rayne can’t date Princess Luna?”

“Oooh, ooh! You mean like royalty can only date other royalty like in some of the old fairy tale novels?” Pinkie Pie added.

“Ahem, no. It’s actually nothing like that.” Magnus responded. “You see, his actions are creating a hardship that he may not be aware of. And it would just smooth things over quite a bit if you, Rayne, would heed my request and simply stop your attempts at dating Luna.”

“And why, for any reason in Equestria, would I choose to do a thing like that.” Rayne scoffed, feeling not in the least bit moved.

“Because I’m pursuing a romantic relationship with her already,” Magnus responded before raising his chin proudly.

“WHAT?!” Over half the mares in the room shouted in unison while the others wore about equal expressions of surprise.

“Nope, I’m out.” One voice in the room immediately called out. It was Starlight’s voice. She pushed her chain away from the table and stood up on her hooves. “If the only reason you’re here is so you two boys can have a pissing match over a girl, then I’m not needed for this. Rayne, I’m sorry, we’re still good friends but watching my ex get into a debate with another stallion, and for Princess Luna of all ponies, is just way too awkward for me to emotionally handle.” She cried out and Rayne nodded, showing that he took no offense to her feelings as she walked herself right out of the room.

Twilight spoke next as Rayne seemed content to watch the situation play out in the room. “Okay so let me get this straight. Rayne isn’t in some kind of trouble. You’re just here to tell Rayne to back off from dating Princess Luna because YOU want her?”

“As I said before, this situation was really none of your business Twilight,” Magnus answered with a nod.

“Uh, howdy there, uh, Sir Magnus, sir?” Applejack began. “Now I hear what yer sayin’, as surprising as it is. But I’m thinkin’ that you might not really know that much about Rayne if you think that a little talkin’ to like this is going to do the trick.” She cautioned him uncomfortably.

Pinkie Pie chimed in next saying, “Yeaaah… you see, when Rayne sets his mind to something he’s got a really good knack for finding some way to make it happen. Let’s just say that he’s the kind of pony who could look at something you might find impossible, and make it possible.” She said while glancing cheekily back and forth from Applejack to Rainbow Dash. Almost immediately, other mares became flustered and motioned for Pinkie to quiet down as they did not want to get dragged into this.

Magnus was feeling uneasy at this point because the pony with the least to have to say about this seemed to be Rayne himself. After looking back to Noble and Banner, who supportively encouraged him on, Magnus stood up straight again and announced, “I figured that this wasn’t going to be a request that would just be taken laying down, so what I’m really here to do is to reveal the reality of the situation that he is interfering with.” Now every eye in the room stared at the pegasus intently. “I’m here to say that I have already made a silent proposal to the princess for the two of us to be wed.”

The objections from the room immediately fell quiet, as Twilight and a few others slumped their ears after hearing this. “You proposed to Princess Luna? To be married?” Twilight asked in disbelief.

“Indeed I did, and it was some time ago, I might add.” Magnus acknowledged. “The proposal has been kept quiet due to the significant ramifications that it could have. Our feelings aside, this will of course have a resounding impact throughout Equestria. The marriage of a princess to one of the previous pillars of harmony will be very big news indeed, once a formal announcement can be made. So as you can now see, Rayne, I am asking you to back off not only for my sake but for Equestria and everything that my union with Luna will mean.”

The silence in the room had become deafening as all of the feisty mares who were so quick to stand up to Magnus before now slumped in their seats with nothing to say. With a somber and comforting tone Twilight reached out to place a hoof on the dark stallion’s shoulder and said, “Rayne, I’m so sorry. I know you were really interested in pursuing a relationship with Luna.” Then a room full of disappointed eyes all turned towards his way, as one after the other, his friends stared at him sympathetically.

However, Rayne never even broke his smile as he beamed right back at Twilight and said, “It’s alright, Twilight. There’s nothing to be sorry for. I just feel bad for Magnus that his coming here was a big waste of his time if you ask me.” He declared boldly, immediately causing Magnus’ nostrils to flare as his friends looked up in shock that he’d have the audacity to say what he did.

“Rayne, darling… I know you’re of the determined sort but Magnus just said he’s already proposed. Surely the stallion of dashing gentlemanly character that I know you to be wouldn’t go as far as to soil somepony else’s engagement?” Rarity asked.

Then Twilight looked at him and added in, “Rayne, are you really serious about this? You would stand here and deny Magnus to his face when he just told you that he and Luna are already going to be married?”

“You bet I would,” Rayne answered, only grinning wider as his friends gasped again. “And I do so Twilight, because he and Luna aren’t to be married.” He clarified.

“Okay, I’m confused again.” Fluttershy sighed.

Softening his expression to give the yellow pegasus an apologetic glance, Rayne then turned back to stare Magnus dead in his eyes and say, “Think about his words. Magnus only said that he proposed to Luna. He never said anything about her actually accepting his proposal.” Then one by one realization set in, and all the ponies looked up to Magnus for confirmation.

“Wait a tick, he’s right!” Applejack cried out.

“Let’s have it, Magnus! The WHOLE truth this time!” Dash questioned loudly.

Gritting his teeth as his two Canterlot friends looked on uneasily, Magnus grumbled out, “Technically… he’s right.” It didn’t make him feel any better when everypony’s mood immediately changed. Even his friends standing behind him weren’t quite sure what to say at this point. “But that is only a technicality as the princess simply needed time to think things over! So, Rayne, I will ask you again. I come here calmly, not looking for a fight. I beseech you politely as any gentlepony would. Please, friend, give up your attempts at courting Luna.”

Tossing his mane back and smiling almost politely, Rayne looked the other stallion right in his face and said, “No.” Now several of the gasped as Fluttershy shrunk down in her seat from the rising tension. Rayne slowly walked up to Magnus amid the sentence, “Here’s the difference between us. You say you do not want to fight. Well, you see, the thing is, I am!” Rayne called out with fiery resolve. “The time I’ve spent getting to know her… The wonderful mare whom I’ve laughed and bonded with… I AM willing to fight for her!” Rayne growled, almost frightening the two stallions standing behind Magnus.

“Now hold on just a min-” The amber pegasus tried.

“No, you hold on, because I’m not finished yet!” Rayne roared with authority and even his friends jumped in their seats as they had never heard the gentle and romantic pleasure pony actually raise his voice in anger before. “Now is not the time, and you are not the pony for me to be professing this to… but I’ve grown to love Princess Luna! And I don’t care what you’re the pillar of! I’m not about to just back off because you asked me nicely. I would fight the sun and stars for her and I would search the world if she were to go missing. And if someone were to put a mountain in my way, I would blast that mountain to smithereens if I had to!” Rayne shouted, his horn sparking with energy. “So you can take your pretend engagement and shove it, because there is NOTHING that would dissuade me from how passionately I feel about her! And if you decide to be the rock that stands in my way, well, I think I’ve already told you what I would do to a mountain, friend!” Rayne growled in the other stallion’s face, the two standing almost head to head against one another now.

Everypony’s heart in the room was thumping at that point from the sheer ferocity Rayne expressed while delivering that speech. “Rayne… do you honestly mean what you just said?” Twilight asked him while watching the stallions continue to glare at each other. “Do you truly feel that way about Luna?”

“I do,” Rayne answered while never taking his eyes off Magnus.

From the other side of the friendship table, Rainbow Dash just threw up her hooves and slouched in her seat before whispering quietly over to Applejack. “I know Rayne never specifically stated that he’d broken up with us… but I’m pretty sure we can take that declaration to mean that we are both officially dumped by him.” She chuckled lightly.

“Heh, I reckon so.” Applejack nodded with a soft smile, but neither mare seemed like they held any hard feelings over it.

Ignoring the conversation between those other two, Twilight spoke up to Rayne again and asked him, “Rayne, if what you’re saying is really true then… I mean you’re a pleasure pony. So according to what we heard from Discord, that means Luna is-”

“I’ll let you save that thought Twilight until after Sir Magnus here has said his peace.” Rayne interrupted while still staring deadlocked with the amber pegasus in front of him. “Now I’ve heard your request, oh Sir Pillar, and you’ve heard my answer.” He declared in roaring mockery to the other stallion.

“Rayne… This cannot go on. Please, be sensible. If we continue to be at odds with one another then the only pony who will suffer from it will be Luna herself.” Magnus urged, trying again to talk the other stallion down.

“Why don’t you be the one to give up then?” Rayne shot back with shameless audacity. “By your own admission, she’s not exactly jumping into your hooves, Magnus.” He taunted. “And if this is all you have to say then you can save it! Because in my opinion, the princess is perfectly capable of choosing between us by herself. I won’t stand here bartering for her behind her back like some kind of business arrangement for Equestria, as you put it.” Rayne announced, callously lording himself over the other stallion with no regard for anyone who was there to witness it.

“What?! That’s not-... How dare you?!” Magnus shouted back.

With a cold and maleficent tone, Rayne glared into Magnus’ eyes and said, “I think you’re done here... Get out of my town…”

Ponies had their hooves up to their mouths as they sat stunned in silence, watching over the heated exchange. Twilight, almost in a panic now, couldn’t help but interrupt as she raised her hoof saying, “I don’t know if you can really command Magnus to leave like that, seeing as you don’t actually own Ponyville or anything and this is technically my castle so…”

“Um, actually…” Fluttershy piped in with a squeaky little voice from where she sat almost hiding beneath the table. “Ever since Rayne struck up a deal with Filthy Rich and became his partner, Rayne owns just under fifty percent of almost every home and business in Ponyville.”

“It’s true.” Applejack conferred. “Why, short of Sweet Apple Acres and your castle here Twi, there’s not much a store or house in this town that Rayne hasn’t got a hoof into its deed by now.”

“Say WHAT?!” Twilight screamed and stared at Rayne almost fearing what else he might be capable of.

Magnus, however, had finally chosen to speak back up again and said, “You needn’t worry, Twilight. It would seem that Rayne and I can agree on at least one thing. Me coming here really was a complete waste of time.” Then Magnus glanced back to his two friends behind him as they both looked up to him in surprise. “Come on, we’re leaving. Oh, and Rayne, I can only say that I’m disappointed. I had hoped you would be more sensible about this.”

For his part, Rayne just stood there. He had nothing else to say to the other stallion and cared not for who ended up with the last word. Taking his two tag-alongs with him, Magnus nodded respectfully to Princess Twilight before storming his way out of her castle.

Once they were gone and the castle doors had shut closed behind them, everyone who was left scrambled out from their seats and instantly crowded around the stallion while feeling overcome with disbelief.

“Rayne! I simply cannot believe what you just did!” Rarity exclaimed. “You just told off one of the Pillars of Harmony and threw the news of his proposal to a princess right back in his face! Why, I don’t even know what to say about that!”

“Well, I do! It was AWESOME!!!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “That was the coolest telling off of one pony to another that I have ever seen! I don’t know if there is an award for such a thing, but if there is, then you should definitely earn first place!”

After that, Spike stepped over, and with somewhat of a cocky smile he asked, “So Rayne, is that where you get all your fiery energy for your Ogres and Oubliettes character? From thinking about Luna? Because that was one epically adventurous speech you just gave there.”

Chuckling as he worked to calm himself down, Rayne replied, “Love is the greatest adventure, Spike. And I know in my heart that I want to explore it with Luna.” He said warmly, just as Spike looked over toward Rarity and knew exactly the kind of feeling he was talking about.

Barely a moment later, a pair of purple hooves snagged hold of Rayne’s shoulders as an extremely nervous Twilight quickly accosted him. “Yes, love and adventure… that’s all well and good and all, BUT DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU HAVE JUST DONE?! Rayne, I mean, having feelings for somepony is one thing. But you just declared your intensions in front of somepony who is said to have PROPOSED to her! Are you really certain that you are ready to make that kind of commitment after only going out on just a few dates?!”

Now all of Rayne’s friends stood around him with tender expressions. Desiring to put their anxious faces at ease, Rayne answered assuredly, “Don’t worry, Twilight. I’m not about to pressure Luna with a proposal of my own. Just because Magnus thought it appropriate to jump the gun with her doesn’t mean I have to make the same mistake.” Then every face in the room seemed to let out a sigh of relief. However, he added, “Although I did mean what I said. I do love her, Twilight. I feel different around her. There isn’t some underlying feeling of fixing something in her life. It’s more that she doesn’t need me at all, and that couldn’t make me happier. Just being with her, spending time together… I-... that’s the most magical thing I’ve ever experienced.” The unicorn said, being fully aware of the irony that he’d made.

After coming back from spacing out unintentionally, the stallion came to realize he was the center of some very light chuckling. Looking around and seeing the ring of teary-eyed faces smiling at him, the now embarrassed stallion became aware of just how sappy of a comment he’d made.

Interrupting the tending moment though, much to the frown of several of the girls, Spike decided to speak up next while asking, “So Rayne, I guess now the cat is out of the bag between you and Magnus. You’re both officially competing with one another over Luna’s love. What are you going to do now?”

Rayne brought a hoof up to his lips while taking a moment to think about that. But then he just laughed, before tossing his mane back with a confident smile. “Well, I don’t know Spike. I guess I’ll just have to go out and win the heart of a princess.”

Author's Note

I hope it would be assumed by now, but in case it is wasn't clear, Twilight was protecting Rayne because she didn't want Magnus to accuse him of something and then have Rayne's heart explode from being a pleasure pony. I know it's been a long time since that was explained, but it will become a part of the story... one day.

And this conflict between Magnus and Rayne was inevitable. We all knew it was coming eventually. Especially after Fleetfoot put the idea into Magnus' head. So now we just need to see what becomes of it.

Okay so I know I didn't focus a lot on it, but I considered it a really important aspect that Magnus showed up with friends to encourage him. It's part of me trying to cast more of a light that Magnus is not a bad guy. He has faults, he gets nervous, he makes bad decisions... And he makes good decisions too. This is a struggle. And both Rayne and Magnus are both going through their own fair hardships through it. Neither are perfect, and both of them would have had a fair shot Luna if the other never existed. But ultimately it's up to Luna and not either of them. Also, Luna isn't perfect either. Every character in my story has had a chance to shine, and go show their foibles. Because that's realistic. So these three ponies will continue to struggle through this until Luna can make a decision. But things are definitely escalating. And it won't be long before the princess will be forced to make a choice soon, whether she is ready to or not.