Twilight Sparkle and the Stupid Original Pony

Isha hurried all the way home to check on her domicile. Even if somebody managed to steal ten tonnes of particle accelerator, material goods were the least of her worries. She just wanted to get this over with and get back to Tanna’s place. Yet again fate had tripped her up when she thought her dreams were about to come true. But she was confident that before dawn Tanna, oh sweet Tanna, would definitely be getting laid.

Spending three days running around a pristine world, stealing glimpses at what would soon be hers, had been delightful. True, they had worked their asses off helping the Longshot colonists, but their share of the work was done and now there would be time to—

Finding that the elevators did not respond pulled Isha from her sensuous reverie.

“Lockdown,” said one of the fellows at the control desk. “I can take you up.”

He stood.

“Log Doctor Myrtle in.”

Another desk creature noted the time.

The Golden Way security guy escorted her to the domicile and explained the situation during the elevator ride.

The power and data feeds had been severed and while the monitoring systems were blind, unknown perpetrators had penetrated the building. Isha’s dom’, and the few other occupied units, had been broken into and vandalized; other acts of sabotage would render the building unsuitable for occupation and there were not enough residents to warrant repair. After an emergency inspection, the entire arcology was condemned.

“How soon do I gotta be out?”

“You are out already, doctor. You can pick up some personal belongings, or box them up for shipping if you want, but you can’t stay.”

“It’s my own damn place!”

“Uh, not any more.”

“The owners can’t break my contract; there’s nothing about that in the terms.”

“The building occupancy license has a buyout clause that overrides individual contracts, and it’s been activated. Your account has already been credited for the reacquisition fee. Just grab any valuables and replace everything else, the payoff was generous. And insurance covered your equipment.”

The elevator stopped, unexpectedly, on her floor – its doors no longer blocked by a mountain of old furniture and rubble.From here Isha could see the doorway to her domicile – the door lay flat on the floor with hinge and locks slagged. Char marks here and there revealed where her security nodes had been.

Inside, the violation of her home was thorough in its disruption, but nothing was missing. Every shelf was swept bare, if not ripped right off the wall, every drawer was pulled out and dumped.

Even her Jeeves unit had been torn from its discreet closet mounting and burned almost in half.

Inspecting the Arthrac she saw a few panels were dented and an off the shelf control sequencer was bashed open; the core still hummed, placidly holding its hellish energies inside. Someone had done a clownishly theatrical job of trashing what had once been her most prized possession. After her breakthrough, she had spent more time in the lab than working on her own gear, but she hated to see the equipment mistreated. On the other hand, while fixable, it was far too heavy to carry – and probably not worth what it would cost to have it craned down and hauled to the lab where she could repair it. Let it go, she thought as the keyed in a sequence to safely drain the charge cells.

There really wasn’t anything worth keeping, no more than there had been anything worth stealing. She stuffed a bag with a few items and a couple changes of clothes picked out of the wreckage.

“Listen. I’m going to go stay with a friend. Can I just shower before I go,so I don’t show up on her doorstep smelling like three days of hard work?”

“Can’t you shower at her place?”

“I could, but I want to be presentable when I get there.”

He wasn’t looking convinced.

“I’m going to ask her to marry me!”

“Oh, shoot!” He could sympathize with Isha’s desire to freshen up before approaching the woman she loved. “The pumps are offline, but there’s probably enough water in the pipes if you keep it quick. But I’m not allowed to leave you alone here.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry. I have to keep any former residents under observation while they collect belongings. And with the building shutting down, I can’t risk getting a poor referral for not following orders. I need to be able to get a job.”

“You gotta be kidding me.”

“There’s an hourly hotel just across the street. You could get a room and clean up there before you go propose.”

He was right, of course. The expense was nothing: it wasn’t like she needed to buy a new domicile with her sudden influx of funds. But it would cause further delay.

“Enjoy the fucking show.”

Isha stalked into the bathroom, leaving the door open. Angrily, she undressed, used the toilet, and stepped into the shower. As much as possible she kept her back pointedly to the door, never even glancing in that direction. Unlike presiding naked over a congregation of the goddess’s devotees who looked to her for guidance, unlike working naked on a new world side by side with the colonists whom Tanna had saved, scrubbing herself under the watchful supervision of a near stranger was galling. But she couldn’t let anger or audience prevent her from fully cleansing the body she would offer to Tanna. Head to toes she washed, and if she flaunted herself a little, well the security guy deserved whatever frustration the sight engendered.

To stop obsessing about being watched, she tried to imagine that it was Tanna who was cleaning her body. Every square centimetre, gentle inquisitive fingers would… or maybe not. Maybe she would boldly — oh Tanna! Maybe her imagination was getting a little carried away, but she didn’t want to miss any lingering smudge of sweat or grime from the three days on Gallop.

Purified at last, she turned off the water and grabbed for a towel.

Soon she would offer herself and their love would become a by-word, a blessing, and an inspiration.

She dressed in the best she had salvaged from the wreckage of her closet. Undergarments were chosen for sheerness and ease of removal.Her outfit comprised the crispest greys, coordinating stylishly. She had been fortunate to find her new designer top in a corner, undamaged. It had replaced an old favorite, though she was sure Tanna hadn’t noticed the change. But even if her attire had elicited no response, Isha was positive her body had caught Tanna’s eye, though Isha has discretely failed to acknowledge noticing the surreptitious glances sent her way.

Isha finally looked to the door. She saw that her audience had found a semi-intact chair among the wreckage of her furniture and sat with his back to her.

“Have you been sitting like that the whole time?”

“Yep. I didn’t look.”

“Thank you for being respectful, I’m sorry for getting bitchy about it. It’s not like I’m modest, but when you suddenly don’t have a choice—”

“It’s okay, my fiancé, she wouldn't want a stranger ogling me, and I’m sure your girl will feel the same about you.”

“You’re not going to get in trouble for—?”

“Nah. Auditory surveillance, right? Kept you from causing any problems.”

“Sure. I guess you missed a good show. Tanna seems to think I’m fairly attractive.”

Isha slung her bag and they left.

“I’m sure. I bet you must seem like a goddess to her.”

Isha just smiled at the memory of their various near approaches. Nothing on Terra would get in the way now.

“Have you talked to her yet, about getting married?” He asked as the elevator descended.

“Not yet. You would not believe the crazy shit that happens every time I almost get close enough.”

“Try me.”

“Dancing. Moonlight. I was about to kiss her. An orbital shuttle in distress nearly landed on us.”

“‘Kin’ a’!”

“So this is my chance. Tonight.”

“But she’ll say yes, this time, right? I’m sure she will!”

Isha answered with a grin.

“Good luck, miss, and Frig with you.”

His fingers unconsciously sought the Norseling charm hanging around his neck, rubbing the carven fragment of bone through the fabric of his uniform shirt as he blessed her.

“Thank you, and may the Allmother bless you, her dutiful son.”

With Aphrodite at her side Isha was about as confident as a woman could be. But if Mother Frigga was with her too, that wouldn't hurt a thing.

The elevator doors opened at ground level; it was time.

A ten minute transit ride, one question, and her world would change forever.

The missing husband had had his chance by now and after this many years he had no right to consider his claim on Tanna inviolable. Tonight that connection would be cut. Isha knew she would find Tanna ready for what would come next.

There was a fire down below, oh yes there was. But this love, Tanna, would save her life.