Light as a feather

Chapter 17:

The ‘Apple Dumpling’ reminded Amber of Thyme and Dime though he didn’t understand why since it was at least twice as big and much more elegant. For a moment he let himself wonder what Short Order was doing and who the old stallion had gotten as his replacement, but being a rather antisocial pony Amber assumed it wasn’t someone he knew and stopped caring.

Mortar gave a low whistle as the pair followed their escort into the kitchen through the back door. It was a large kitchen, easily dwarfing every kitchen in which Amber had ever been, the exception being that of Canterlot castle. Stainless steel appliances and fully stocked cabinets alongside a walk in freezer gave even Mortar pause.

“They really went all out for this didn’t they?” He mused.

“The bigger question is who are we feeding?” Amber muttered tersely as he trotted to the swinging doors separating the kitchen from the dining hall. He peered through the narrow window his eyes scanning the sparsely occupied tables around the perimeter of the large room. He recognized, only vaguely, several of the previously eliminated ponies sitting around them, not as patrons but as spectators.

It was flamboyantly clear which table was meant to accommodate the special celebrity guest given it was not only in the center of the room surrounded by vacant tables, but was decorated almost acrimoniously with the rest of the décor.

His anxiety about unintentionally poisoning some strange Canterlot celebrity pony with his sorry excuse for desert was quickly replaced by a very different kind of anxiety as the restaurant doors opened and a very familiar pair of ponies trotted in. The always eccentric Vinyl Scratch, her ever present goggles perched on her muzzle was accompanied by a timid less assured Fluttershy, doing her best to hide behind her pretty pink mane.

Amber swore between his teeth.

“Problem…?” Mortar inquired curiously stepping up beside the cowering colt and glancing out the window. The smile on his lips widened as he spied on the pair of mares.

“Our celebrity guest sees me as the exception.” Amber answered hinting at his earlier conversation with the ashen grey pony. A malicious chuckle left the stallion’s lips as he turned back to the kitchen proper. “This should be entertaining.”

“Bastard.” Amber swore at the unicorns retreating form before glancing one last time out the narrow window. His flank quivered slightly as his stomach swarmed with butterflies and roaches, nervous anxiety and eager anticipation fighting for control of his stomachs contents.

--

“The hour for visiting our sister is late Twilight Sparkle.” Luna observed turning to find her sister’s apprehensive protégé standing in the doorway. The dark alicorn stepped from the shadows, her lithe form bathed in swatches of faded moonlight as she approached. The starlight in her mane put the actual starlight to shame with its vibrant intensity and her expression emulated her unspoken worry.

Twilight hesitantly stepping forward. She had been here many times before, when she was still a young filly, but never at night and never alone with the younger royal. Luna was still exiled when she’d first become Celestia’s student and it had only been a matter of months since Luna had been freed from her imprisonment as the vessel of Nightmare Moon.

“Do not worry yourself Twilight Sparkle. A full night’s rest should see her well enough by morning.” Luna answered softly. “Our sister has yet to relinquish her control as you can clearly see. Were it my night again the stars would not weep as they do now.”

As she glanced out the window, where the stars indeed fell like tears, Twilight scoured her thoughts for a reply but found she had nothing to say in response. She did not know Luna as she knew Celestia, and she found she was afraid to speak should she inadvertently incur some dormant wrath swirling in the depths of the dark alicorn’s heart. A smile touched Luna’s lips and for a moment Twilight was taken aback by the serene essence emanating from it.

“She’ll be alright won’t she?” Twilight asked quietly.

“Our sister is stronger than you realize Twilight Sparkle.” Luna said draping a wing around the conflicted filly. Twilight flinched a moment beneath it but quickly embraced the comfort the youngest royal sister was offering.

--

The evening passed quickly, with Mortar flawlessly executing both tasks with an exuberant air and a mocking smile when it came time for Amber to do the same. The rusty orange colt fared equally well for a reason linked more to who he was than to his actual performance, which though good was not without its flaws. Mortar stifled his laughter as Amber emerged into the kitchen, a scowl replacing the cheery facade he’d worn not moments before.

“Guess we got lucky.” Mortar said distractedly as he watched Amber prep the cake he’d prearranged for Vinyl. Regardless of what she’d ordered he’d have fed her cake, even if she asked for pie, or cherry crumble, or ice cream.

“What makes you say that?” Amber asked inattentively.

“That mare’s got it bad for you.” He answered. “And because of that she’s going to say she likes it, and give you an equitable score, no matter how disgusting it is.”

Amber snorted derisively. “She’s not that shallow.”

“You want to bet?” Mortar challenged.

“What are you offering?” Amber retorted. A smirk rose on the grey unicorn’s lips at how quickly Amber took the bait. “If you’re right and she doesn’t like it, then I’ll give you half my prize money.”

“And if I lose?” Amber asked narrowing his gaze suspiciously. The grey pony pondered a moment. “If you lose then you owe me.”

“Owe you what exactly?” Amber asked warily. The grey pony leaned forward, so as to whisper and not be overheard despite the lack of any other ponies in the room. His voice was tinged with enmity and fervor alike. “Anything I want.”

Amber agreed to the terms with only mild hesitation as he settled the tray on the tip of his muzzle, confident in his ability to repulse, if not poison, the unicorn mare with his culinary fare. With the promise of extra prize money at the forefront of his thoughts, the distracted colt wasn’t prepared for what happened next…

--

Amber’s eyes flew wide as Vinyl rose from her place at the table and kissed him, her lips tasting like the charred cake she had just sampled. His own lips parted slightly to accompany hers, his body eager to embrace the kiss while his mind whirled with confusion and surprise. Several long seconds passed before he regained his sagacity and stepped back, his hock slamming against the vacant table behind him.

The white unicorn gave him a playful smirk before she addressed the spectators an assortment of unexpected expressions adorning their faces. “You all got a problem with a mare appreciating some damn fine service?”

Several curious eyes suddenly found they had better things to ogle and turned away while Amber recovered from his sudden shock and awe, the bet he’d made with Mortar only a moment ago the furthest thought from his mind.

“C…Can I get anything else, for you, or um…your guest…?” Amber stammered his lurid embarrassment clearly visible beneath his rusty orange pelt. Fluttershy was looking down at the tablecloth, her bottom lip clutched tightly between her teeth.

Vinyl shoved another forkful of the charred blackened desert into her mouth and chewed noisily, it seemed for no other reason than to annoy the dozen or so still gawking observers. Amber gave a sidelong glance to Fluttershy as he left without an answer, her pale blue eyes brimming with unshed tears.

He withheld his exhaustive sigh until he was fully within the kitchen where he promptly slammed his head onto the counter, repeatedly. Mortar’s wide excited smile stretched across his muzzle, his dark eyes glistening deviously. “Guess that means you owe me.”

--

Rainbow Dash hovered near the rooftops, her dark magenta eyes watching as the buttery yellow form of her friend fled the restaurant, tears falling from her eyes. For a moment she thought to follow but something, or rather somepony stopped her.

A familiar voice echoed up from the nearby alley, followed by a second one she didn’t recognize. Curiously she fluttered to a nearby balcony, careful not to disturb anything that might give away her hiding place. Through the darkness she was able to make out two forms, one a recognizable rust colored stallion, the three feathers on his flank clearly visible, seeming to glow with an odd luminescence in the moonlight. The second pony, a filly by the look of her, was less visible, her ivory white coat dull in comparison to the colt’s glowing cutie mark.

Rainbow Dash’s ear twitched as she realized the ponies were arguing. Intrigued by the pair she leaned closer, curiosity winning out over her better judgment. In truth she should have been looking for Fluttershy, asking why she was upset, trying to comfort her, but something about the argument was far more interesting.

“What the hell was that Vinyl?” Amber asked angrily.

“What did you expect me to do?” The mare retorted. “That cake was disgusting! I had to get the taste out of my mouth!”

“And that was your first choice?!” Amber snorted. The mare matched his glare and his anger ebbed a bit. Her vibrant ruby eyes were really beautiful in the pale moonlight, and for a moment his heart skipped a beat.

“It’s not the kiss that I’m upset about.” Amber explained awkwardly, scuffing his hoof on the ground as he spoke, his anger quickly failing as it was replaced with embarrassment. “But did you have to kiss me in front of her, in front of everyone?”

From her perch on the balcony Rainbow Dash caught the hesitation in Amber’s voice at the allusion to Fluttershy, and suddenly the yellow filly’s tears made sense. Rainbow hovered a moment intending to find her friend and explain the situation but again the conversation stopped her progress.

“So, you liked it when I kissed you?” Vinyl asked curiously.

“Yeah,” Amber answered honestly. “I did.”

He had been kissed before, but they had always been fleeting, and from mares he’d never seen again, the last actual kiss years previous, from a classmate who had made a bet and lost. Never before had he found himself wanting to embrace the feeling, or return it, like he had with Vinyl. Regardless of how wrong it felt, it was something he sought, for reasons he couldn’t explain. He almost wished she were wasted again, so that she would repulse him, and the feeling would go away.

“Then why are you upset?” She wondered uneasily.

Amber was quiet a moment. “…Because you don’t like colts.”

A quivering smile touched Vinyl’s lips and she laughed shakily. She failed to hide the sudden sob that tore through her fragile laughter and her cheerful disposition was easily broken by the tears that fell like rivers across her cheeks. “But I like you…” She managed to say her words choked by her continued sobs. “More than I’ve ever liked a stallion.”

“Vinyl…”

“Please, don’t push me away…” She interrupted.

The stallion bit into the hem of his coat sleeve and prayed that Rarity would forgive him for what he was about to do. With a swift pull he tore the sleeve from his coat, surprised to find the seams came apart clean, and offered it to Vinyl. She stared at it blankly for a moment before a small smile creased her lips and she took hold of it. Amber cringed as she cleared the gunk from her face, tears and mucus alike soiling the expensive fabric.

“Better?” He asked earning a nod and a smile from the white unicorn.

“I always thought this would feel different.” She admitted her voice cracking beneath the weight of her confession. “I’m sorry...”

“Don’t apologize.” He murmured softly, admiring the crimson hue across her muzzle before leaned in pressing his lips to hers. The faint taste of char and the salt of shed tears remained, but beneath those it was all pony, all Vinyl Scratch. After a length of breathless moments he pulled away, finding a silly grin spread across the mare’s face, her lips still slightly puckered.

Rainbow Dash hovered several inches above the balcony. She had taken to the air to dispel the tingle in her wings at the exchange, warmth rising to her own features. She hoped she’d be able to hide it the next time she saw him face to face; the thought of explaining her sudden blushing wasn’t something that she wanted to have hanging over her head. Giving the pair one final glance she murmured quietly, “Sorry Fluttershy.”