Target Acquired: Tickle Time!

The night was a crisp, quiet time in Ponyville. Without the hustle and bustle of the bigger cities burning the midnight oil, nothing but the rustling of leaves in the wind and the occasional cricket broke the silence of the atmosphere around the small town. Ponies of all ages slept well and made not a sound in their place, even the resident Speed Shifter was a rather silent sleeper despite his normally energetic personality.

Of course, being a feline and all, his sleep was much different compared to most. He usually curled up under his blankets and sometimes even purred softly in his slumber. And tonight was a very special night, a night that would bring in another chance to change a life forever.

–

In Fury's Dreamscape…

“Aw, yeah!” Fury cried out, as he passed Rainbow Dash in their race from Canterlot to Appleloosa.

“Show off!” Rainbow playfully teased, before a third contestant passed both of them.

“Slow pokes!” Starlight shouted, giving them a smug grin.

“Oh, it’s on now!” Fury stated, picking up his speed. Fury loved a good race between friends, almost as much as his love for exotic food. Usually, he would race from one side of town to the other with Rainbow or Twilight, sometimes even going cross country if he got one of the other princesses in a competitive mood. But nothing beat making up his own reality bending race within his own dreams.

“Aw yeah, Appleloosa is just ahead! Just in time for my victory party.” Fury said smugly. But as he crossed the line and was about to embrace the cheering crowd, a whirling wind blew them away and picked him up off the ground.

“Woah woah woah, what’s going on!?” Fury said, finally getting set down by the raging wind and grinding to a halt. He watched as a blue mist creeped in from out of nowhere, and the blue sky turned to darkness.

“I never expected a good dream to end this way. I wonder what the deal is,” Fury said to himself, looking around. It was then that he noticed Luna approaching him from behind.

“Lulu?” He said with confusion. Luna rolled her eyes at the name, her memories of his insults towards her childhood nickname returning to her.

“Hello, Night Fury,” Luna greeted, solemnly. “We do apologize for the abrupt conclusion of this pleasant dream of yours. However, we believe a resident of Ponyville might need your assistance.”

Night Fury was still in a bit of confusion at that statement. “Not trying to sound rude here, but why ask for my help? Why don't you just do what you usually do and save them from their nightmares?”

“We assure you, we have already done so,” she stated, calmly. “However, this pony is in a rather deep well, so to speak. We have already banished her nightmare, but she requested your help, personally.”

“She? Who's got the goosebumps this time? Is Fluttershy having another social mishap scenario? Is Twilight having another one of her ‘Celestia fails her’ fiascos? Ooh, wait! I've got it! Rarity is freaking out about what eyeliner she's gonna wear tomorrow! Eh? Ehhh?” Fury managed to say before Luna placed her hoof over his mouth, stopping his rant.

“We swear, you are just as bad as Ms. Pie!” Luna thought to herself.

“No, Fury,” she stated. “The trouble is with Twilight’s student: Starlight Glimmer.”

“Starlight's asking about me?” Fury asked, shocked. “What for? She hasn't seemed all that troubled over the past few days and Twi doesn't seem to be too in the know herself either.”

“I know,” Luna said, with a sad smile. “Twilight has informed us of that, as well. But I believe you just might have a wild card, so to speak, that might get Ms. Glimmer to open up. If I knew somecreature better suited for the job, that’s where I’d be right now. Please, Night Fury. Starlight needs this. I’m begging you.”

Fury looked on at the desperate looking princess and sighed. If she came all this way to deliver a message from Starlight, asking for his help, then he had to take the job. She was just as much of a close friend as Cadence was to him, and he couldn't disappoint her when she came to him personally.

“Alright, I'll see what I can do.” Fury decided. “I'll find her tomorrow morning and see what the deal is.”

“Thank you, Fury. I know you’ll succeed in this,” Luna stated, happily. “I will inform Starlight that you agreed to help. And I wish both of you nothing but the best!”

Luna then trotted her way back to the moon, signifying the end of the dream.

–

In the Real World…

Fury jolted awake and looked out the window. Morning was already here and the roosters were getting the day going around town. He was amazed that his dream, even though a short one in hindsight, was long enough to get him through the entire night and into the next day.

Wow, time must be really weird in the dream realm if a couple of minutes there can pass for hours out here.

He hopped out of bed and pulled out his list, flipping to Starlight's page.

“Looks like I’ll be getting to you sooner than I planned, Starlight.” he chuckled. “Don't worry, help is on the way!”

Circling her picture, he had his first target of the day.

“Target Acquired!”

—

As Fury trotted his way through the rural streets of Ponyville's shopping market, he kept his eyes peeled for a light purple unicorn in need of help. He even took the time to ask around for any information on her whereabouts. He went to the usual suspects; Maud, Trixie, Ms. Cake, even Sunburst, who was visiting at the time. But with every question came the same answer; nopony had seen her that day.

“Hmm…” Fury thought to himself. “If no one’s seen her today, maybe she hasn’t left the castle. Perhaps Twilight or Spike has seen her. I’ll ask them.”

And he made his way to the castle. Upon entering, he made his way to the library. Since the interior was still much a maze to him, he believed it would help to have a guide. And, just like he’d hoped, he found Twilight lost in a book.

“Ahem.” Fury said, clearing his throat and getting Twilight’s attention.

“Fury? What are you doing here?” She asked, before remembering the previous night. “Oh… right. Luna got the message across, I take it?”

“Like Equestria's most graceful messenger pony. Starlight feeling a little self-conscious lately?” He asked.

“You could put it that way,” she stated. “I’ve tried asking her about what happened, but she’s been keeping her distance from me. From Spike, too. I don’t really know how to help her. Do you think you could get her to talk?”

“Sure, I'll see if I can get her to speak up. But before I do, I think I may have some idea of her problems.” Twilight's ears perked at that notion.

“What do you think it is?” She asked quizzically.

“Let me ask you this: Has Starlight been pushing you to make up more friendship lessons lately?” He asked.

“Yeah… she has. I figured it was just her drive to find out more about friendship, but then it got to an uncomfortable degree. It was almost as if she was desperate for them.” Twilight answered.

“Okay, next question. Has Starlight been jumpy at the mention of the other princesses? Even if it was just in passing conversation?” Fury continued.

“Strangely, yes. It's like the mere mention of Celestia, Luna or even Cadence makes her uneasy. But with all of this in mind, what's the verdict?” Twilight stated.

“Twi… I think Starlight's afraid that your mentorship might not be doing good enough to prove that she's changed to the rest of your royal comrades.” Fury concluded. ”The jumpiness at the mention of their names and the desperate pleading for more lessons proves that she's looking for ways to try and overdo what's already been working in an effort to satisfy what she sees as the least defensive line between freedom and possible imprisonment, if not banishment.”

Twilight’s mouth hung agape and her eyes were as wide as dinner plates. Tears began to form at the corners of her eyes.

“But… why would she think that?” She thought out loud. “Surely she knows that my friends, Spike and I would defend her in case that did happen. You would too, as a matter of fact. Fury, please do whatever you can do to cheer her up. And make sure she knows that we all have her back.”

“I'll try my best, Twilight. You did the same for me when you and the girls helped me with my harsh past. Now it's my turn.” Fury said, turning to leave and find the Princess of Friendship’s pupil.

Then he felt himself begin to levitate, and notice a violet magical hue around him. Twilight walked up to him and gave him a hug.

“I’ll escort you to her room. This castle can be quite a-maze-ing.” she giggled.

“Wow, that was… just wow.” Fury said with an eye roll.

“Well, that’s just the way I roll.” she added, mimicking his action as she led him through the halls.

A few minutes later, they stopped in front of Starlight’s bedroom door. The mare in question could clearly be heard sobbing from inside.

“Oh boy, that isn't good.” Fury said softly. “Better leave this to me and her. I've got a plan.”

Twilight shed a few sad tears of her own, before giving Fury a hug and leaving him to his work.

“Here goes nothing…” Fury thought, as he rapped on the door.

“Y-yes? Come in.” Starlight called.

Fury walked in and made his way to Starlight’s bed, where he could tell she’d been lying down and crying for quite some time.

“Oh… (sniffles)… Night Fury,” she stated in a semi-happy tone. “Th-thanks for coming.”

“Hey, when a dreamwalking moon alicorn comes to you in your dreams to tell you your friend is having some trouble, you might wanna listen.” He quipped, earning a small giggle from the lilac unicorn.

“That is true, I suppose,” she said, before getting to the point. “D-do you think I’m a bad student? Am I unteachable?”

“Of course not, Starlight. You went through so much just to get to this point in your life. Why would you think you'd be unteachable if you've gone above and beyond to prove you're just like us?” Fury asked, sitting next to her.

“I… (sniff)… I’ve just had a pretty nasty week. I’ve been failing a lot of Twilight’s lessons… (sniffs)… and others, like Spoiled Rich, have been talking about me behind my back. (Hic)... It feels like I take two steps back for every step I take forward,” Starlight admitted, sadly.

Geez, she's barely holding herself together. I need to give her some perspective on the matter. Fury thought.

“Come on, Starlight. You're still getting used to having good friends and learning about friendship.” Fury reminded her. “It's all about spending time getting an understanding of what you need to do. And the comments don't matter. Spoiled Rich always gossips about ponies behind their back, it's just what rich ponies do. Do you know how many times I've caught conversations about my… heritage being not suited for proper society? It's nothing I haven't heard before and it's certainly not going to bother me now like it probably would’ve a few years back.”

“Well… (sniff)… you’ve got a point, there,” Starlight admitted. “I suppose it’s the guilt of how bad I used to be that’s caught up with me… (sniff)… I’m not sure what to do. And, truth be told, I’m scared to ask Pinkie Pie for help… even though she’s known for easily helping others find happiness. What would you suggest that I do?”

“Well, I'll tell you this. Don't let the comments get to you.” Fury answered. “That's the easiest way to start circling the drain and eventually falling into a depression. My advice: Take a break and go do an activity. You've been trying too hard to make yourself into the perfect pupil that you haven't given yourself the time to decompress and think things out. I taught the princesses the same thing.”

Starlight snapped her vision over to Fury. “You… taught the princesses? But that's-”

“Impossible? I don't think so. The word itself even says I’m possible. Celestia and Luna are multi-millenia old rulers and Cadence might as well have been doing it for just as long. But despite their age and experience, all three of them had the worst work/life schedules I'd ever seen. And for Celestia and Luna's case, that balance might as well have been non-existent.” Fury explained, snickering a little.

Starlight nodded. “That is true. I’ll give you that… By the way, how did you help them, exactly?”

“I pretty much dragged them away from their paperwork and responsibilities and showed them the side of themselves that they'd basically forgotten about,” Fury explained. “I cleverly disguised a trip to Las Pegasus as a “Business Endeavor” with their advisors and showed them the sights and sounds of the outside world. Did you know that under all that cynicism and dark exterior, Luna is actually more fond of the day than she is the night?”

Fury's words made Starlight's jaw drop. Luna? A day pony? That's basically like saying a snail can move fast like a cheetah if it wanted to.

“I can tell by your reaction that you didn't see that coming.” Fury chuckled. “But it's true. Turns out, she likes some of the day’s activities as much as she does the calm serenity of the night. And also, Cadence is a major foodie! She's just been hiding it under layers of diet restrictions set in by her personal trainer to maintain an, as they call it, ‘Presentable Figure’. But I'm getting off track.”

Starlight snorted, trying to keep herself from laughing at the mental image of Princess Cadance looking like a glutton.

“My point is that you shouldn't let your responsibilities get the better of you. Let yourself have some fun, get some fresh air, be goofy some of the time. It's all about keeping a good balance between getting work done and slipping away from it to clear your head. Not only will it help you feel more energetic, but it will give you a chance to get away from a clustered atmosphere and actually have space to think about your next moves.”

“Wow…” Starlight gasped, impressed by his words. “That’s some pretty good wisdom. I’ll have to remember that. Oh! Speaking of Cadance's eating habits, did you know that ‘diet’ is short for ‘Did I eat that?’ ”

“Hah! You think I don't know!? Luna always preaches to me like a mother that I shouldn't eat so much and that I'll ‘Ruin my appetite’ with all the sweets I get from Pinkie. But she forgets that I can literally turn myself into a fly on the wall, and boy… the amount of apple pie she can scarf down. Let me tell ya…” Fury said with a laugh.

“I hear the same thing from Twilight just as often,” Starlight chuckled. “Spike is just too good a cook. Speaking of which, do you happen to know why he and Twilight have been so happy, recently? Because… I’m kind of jealous.”

With those words out of Starlight's mouth, Fury's mind realigned with his true objective in this little heart to heart moment.

“Well, that's actually the other reason I'm here. You see, those two have been made… targets in my recent endeavors. A little trickery and mischief on my part and I had them singing my praises. And now, it's your turn.” Fury smiled cheekily as he got into position.

“And… (gulp)… how do you intend to make that happen?” Starlight asked, slightly afraid of his methods, even though she knew she was in no danger.

“Oh don't be so scared, it's just a little friendly tickling. Nothing too harsh. But it will have you begging for mercy.”

Starlight’s eyes widened in surprise, and she blushed profusely. But she couldn’t respond before he began lightly scritching his claws all over her tummy.

“GYAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Starlight screamed, writhing in ticklish bliss.

“That’s it. Just laugh,” Fury encouraged her. “Laugh your worries away.”

After a few minutes he decided to move on to her hooves.

“Oh no,” Starlight gasped. “Fury… please… not there!”

“Why?” He asked, cheekily. “Too ticklish her for you? What with how often you get them done at the spa, this should be easy for you to handle.”

He began tickling her hooves before she had a chance to retort his statement. This made her begin laughing and blushing even harder. Because, much to her dismay, his statement was very true. And she had had a visit recently, so her hooves were extra extra soft. And very sensitive to the touch.

“GYAAAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA!” Starlight bellowed, uncontrollably.

After an hour of tickling Starlight’s hooves, Fury let the poor mare go. Starlight’s cheeks were as bright as a red delicious apple, but she was still grinning from ear to ear.

“So… are you happy now?” Fury asked, casually. However, the look on Starlight’s face already told him everything he needed to know.

“Yeah,” Starlight sighed, contentedly. “That was fun, Fury.”

“Glad to be of assistance, me lady,” he said, with a bow.

“Let’s do this again sometime, and sometime soon,” Starlight suggested, watching him take his leave.

“Oh, we will, Starlight,” he said, pulling out his list and crossing off her name. “We will.”

Target down!